Glowing Embers Tutorial/FOTD

I know, I know, the title is interesting, to say the least. But it's the best my friend and I could come up with. All name credit goes to my friend Mia, thank you! This morning, I decided to do a look with my Inglot eyeshadows. Inglot is probably my favorite makeup brand of all time - they have such consistent products at a fantastic price! Anyway, their eyeshadows are just fantastic in terms of texture, color, wear, and everything else you could think of. You guys have probably heard me rave about Inglot eyeshadows countess times on this blog, so I'll stop now. Anyway, I felt that my Inglot eyeshadows hadn't gotten enough love recently, so I used all Inglot eyeshadows this time around. Here's the look, and then I'll do a tutorial on it! My pictures didn't come out as well as I liked, sorry about that. =/

This look has pale golds, burgundy brown, and copper, although it doesn't show super well in the pictures. It's a really gorgeous look in real life! Here's pictures and swatches of the eyeshadows I used, so that you guys can find dupes in your collection.

Clockwise from bottom: Inglot Pearl 423, Inglot Pearl 405, Inglot AMC Shine 27

From top to bottom: Inglot AMC Shine 27, Inglot Pearl 405, Inglot Pearl 423

Hopefully you guys will have similar colors in your makeup collections! Anyway, here goes the tutorial:

1. Place Inglot AMC Shine 27 (a cool toned shimmery gold, I can't think of any dupes right now) over the inner 2/3 of your lid

2. Using a small shader brush, place Inglot Pearl 405 (a true copper, dupes could be MAC Amber Lights, credit to Temptalia, or Stila Copper) in the very center of your lid, making sure the color is visible.

3. Using that same small shader brush, place Inglot Pearl 423 (a brown with hints of burgundy, dupe could be Urban Decay Hustle) on the outer 1/3 of your lid.

4. Blend out all the colors

5. Add eyeliner if you wish, and mascara.

Here's a complete FOTD product list.

Eyes

-Urban Decay Primer Potion

-Inglot AMC Shine 27

-Inglot Pearl 405

-Inglot Pearl 423

-Fairydrops Scandal Queen Mascara

-YBF Automatic Universal Taupe Eyebrow Pencil

Face

-Pur Minerals 4 in 1 Powder Foundation

-Make Up Forever Full Cover Concealer in 7

-theBalm Hot Mama Blush

-theBalm Sexy Mama Powder

Lips

-YSL Rouge Pur Couture Vernis a Levres Glossy Stain in 15 Rose Vinyl

Hope you guys enjoyed the tutorial, I want to start doing more FOTD/tutorial type things in the future. I think they're a lot of fun! Next time I'll take step by step pictures so it's easier to follow and hopefully come up with a name that's not quite as cheesy (not that I'm bashing the name)! Hope you guys are all having a good day!

Toasted vs. Toasted

First off, it's my birthday! Yayyyy! 6 months until I get my driving permit...you do the math if you really want to know how old I am ;) Unfortunately, I'm at debate camp. I'm having fun with my friends here though, so it's not awful. Some of my friends shipped me presents, which I wasn't expecting at all. I woke up at 7:30am today (albeit grumpily), got ready and had to do speaking drills at 9am. Great start to the day...it's been fun otherwise though, I went out to lunch with friends. Today, I thought I'd do a post that I took pictures for before I left for camp. Enjoy!
In this post, I'm going to be comparing Urban Decay Toasted to Urban Decay Toasted. I swear, I'm not crazy (I think) so keep reading! I had the Urban Decay Show Pony palette, and I absolutely fell in love with the color Toasted from that palette. Toasted is a shimmery brown color with taupe in it. The texture is super smooth and buttery, and it has pretty much perfect staying power. I didn't love the palette overall, though. So I decided I would swap the palette away and buy the single of Toasted.

I haven't yet managed to swap away the palette (I might put it up if I do a blog sale), but I did swap for a single of Toasted. It was chipped, but I haven't used up an eyeshadow yet, so I was fine with that. I apologize if the obvious use hurts your eyes. Anyway, when I held the two Toasteds side by side, I saw that there was a definite difference in the two supposedly identical eyeshadows.

The difference isn't as obvious on camera, but it's definitely evident in real life. The single of Toasted looks a lot warmer than the version in Show Pony. I swatched the two side by side to see if the difference still showed up that way.

UD Toasted from Show Pony palette on top, UD Toasted single eyeshadow on bottom

Aha! See, they're not the same! The difference is evident. Why, Urban Decay, why? I loved the palette version. Urban Decay is usually an extremely consistent brand - their eyeshadow singles are usually the exact same color as in their palettes. However, this time I was let down. The single version is just a tad too warm for my taste - the slightly cooler version works much better on my skin. Although I do have warm skin, I can't wear extremely warm colors, such as true copper. Anyway, I just thought I'd post to let you all know about the difference. Maybe one of the items was off-par (is that a word?) and that's the reason? If anyone has had a similar experience or has an idea why the two Toasteds swatch differently, let me know in the comments!

Giveaway Update!

Hey guys! There was a technical issue with my giveaway, and Kim had previously won the giveaway, so she wasn't eligible to win again. However, I've picked a new winner, Juliana! Congratulations! I've emailed you and someone from Apothica/SkincareRX should contact you shortly!

I'm co-hosting the Brightside Beauty Weekend Blog Hop!

<center><a href="http://meetmeonthebrightside.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Meet Me on the Brightside" src="http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j287/kaquino21/Blohhopbutton.jpg"/></a></center>

     Hi everyone, hope you're all having a good evening! I was lucky enough to become this week's co-host of the Brightside Beauty Weekend Blog Hop! The lovely Kristin is the weekly host of this evend. The Linky list will be open now until this Sunday night 11:59 pm, Ohio time. There are only a few guidelines , so read and follow them all and let the fun begin.  Don't forget to come back to Kristin's blog every Friday to join the blog hop and enter future giveaways :)  The blog this weekend with the most views will win a co-host spot on next weekend's hop so get your network on :)

Hosted by:
Meet Me on the Brightside

Hop Guidelines

1.  Follow Meet Me on the Brightside -

In Pursuit of Beautiful

On FB, or GFC, and be sure to leave us a comment so we can follow back!

2.  Add your Beauty, Fashion, Style Blog, Blog Post, or FB page link to the linky list below, before list closing on Sunday evening, Ohio time.  

3.  Visit other blogs on the list, follow at least two other blogs you like, and be sure to leave them a comment so they know to follow back.  Please be kind enough to follow back as well.

4.  Not mandatory, but if you grab the button and place it in your side bar or somewhere on your blog, tweet, or post about the hop, you can help to increase your co-hosting chances. 

Again, the blog that has the most views this week will be my co-host next weekend so make sure to network! 

NOTD ft. Julep Blake and theBalm on Hautelook!

A while ago, I visited my aunt and uncle in Seattle. My aunt is a Julep maven box subscriber, and she offered to let me try out her nail polish! Since I've never subscribed to Julep or tried any of their nail polishes, I was pretty excited. Since I don't own any yellow nail polish, I decided to try Blake, which was a beautiful pastel yellow. Long story short, I didn't get a picture with the bottle in hand. I loved this nail polish, it went 5 days without major chips!

I'm considering purchasing the full size of this nail polish, I really love it! I'm still at debate camp, so I'm having a bit of a hard time keeping up with my blogging as well. I'm currently writing a speech about conditionality (nothing to do with hair!) in policy debate and whether it's fair. Sounds fun, right? Eh. I am having a good time at camp overall, though.

By the way - theBalm is having another sale on Hautelook tomorrow, and I have my fingers crossed that they'll have some of their lovely blushes on sale - I know at least one is going to be up (FratBoy)! Here's the preview picture:

Anyway, thanks for reading, hopefully you are all having a fantastic mid-July!

Post 100!

Guys, first of all I'd like to thank you for reading what I write. When I started this blog, I thought nobody would read it. Thankfully, I was proved wrong. And I am grateful to every single one of you who takes the time out of their day to read my musings on beauty and occasionally other topics. It really, really means a lot! I love to write, and I love makeup and beauty. I love getting comments on my posts and discussing stuff with you guys. I hope that I help you guys out when you make decisions about buying products; that is my end goal. Overall, I'm just incredibly grateful to all of you for subscribing and reading and commenting. Thank you all (this is post 100 by the way, that's the reason for all the gushing)!
Oh, and just a heads up: I'm currently at debate camp, and we have a really full schedule. So I might not post as much as usual for the next 3 weeks, please bear with me. I'll try to get posts up when I can, though!

4 Step DIY Moisturizing Lip Scrub!

In this world, there are a lot of people who use lipstick. And since there are so many lipstick users out there, there are consequently a lot of lipsticks out there. Some of these lipsticks require exfoliating your lips previously to make the lipstick look good. I happen to own a couple of these lipsticks. Additionally, exfoliating your lips is good for them. And lastly, I'm too cheap to go buy a real lip scrub. So, all of these things added up to me deciding to make my own lip scrub. I'm quite pleased with the results, which is why I'm sharing the how-to with you today. These are the things you'll need.

The items wouldn't all fit in one picture, sorry about that! Here's a list:

-Brown sugar (any type)

-A small lip gloss pot

-A Q-tip

-Aquaphor or Vaseline

-Scissors

-A spoon

Now, let's begin!

Step 1: Cut off one of the cotton ends of the Q-tip

Step 2: Put some Aquaphor or Vaseline in the lip gloss pot.

Step 3: Get some brown sugar. The Aquaphor : brown sugar ratio should be about 2:1. So the amount of brown sugar depends on how much Aquaphor you used. Make sure there are no nasty chunks of brown sugar.

What you don't want:

What you do want:

Step 4: Mix the brown sugar with the Aquaphor.

You have now made your own lip scrub! Congratulations! The Aquaphor or Vaseline is moisturizing, and the brown sugar exfoliates. Hope you guys liked this tutorial, let me know if you want to see more like this!

Apothica/SkincareRX Giveaway Winner!

The giveaway has ended, and I'm happy to announce the winner! I used Rafflecopter (which uses Random.org) to pick the winner:
Kim D
You've won the giveaway, a huge congratulations! I've emailed you, and you should be contacted by an Apothica representative soon. Thank you to all who entered, and a big thanks to all of my followers, I love every one of you!

You'll Have to Be Fleet and Fast To Snatch This One: Review of MAC Hey, Sailor Summer Blush in Fleet Fast

Wow, mouthful of a title. Sorry about that. Anyway, this collection doesn't seem to be available online any more, but if you think you want this blush, you'll have to rush to the nearest store that sells MAC to snag it!

Look at that nautical packaging! As I've said in previous reviews, I'm a total sucker for stripes and nautically themed things. Besides the pattern, the blue plastic packaging is sturdy and the product won't open in your handbag if you choose to carry it that way. You snap it open with your fingernail. The packaging is just absolutely lovely.

The color itself is a muted red-pink with hints of coral. It's a Satin finish. The overspray makes it seem as if there might be some golden glitter in it, but for me at least, it reads as matte on my cheeks. It's medium pigmented - it can be worn very sheerly for the subtlest hint of color, or built up for a more dramatic look.

The texture of this blush is fairly dry, not as creamy as I was hoping for. However, it's still extremely finely milled. It's fairly easy to blend and work with, although not as easy to blend out as theBalm's Hot Mama blush. The lasting power is okay, clocking in around 6 hours when it's pretty much disappeared. Fading begins around 4 hours after wear. These times are both based on when I set it with powder. I think this blush would work best on warm toned skin, but I can see it being compatible with dark skin tones, although I'm not sure it would complement cooler skin tones as well as it would warm.

This blush is definitely on the higher end of the cost spectrum at $21. However, since it is pigmented, I don't need to use a lot to get the desired effect. Besides, I know I keep waxing lyrical about the packaging, but I just love it so much! For me, it increases the value of the product.

In conclusion, I like this blush a lot! It's awesome for when I don't want to wear a shimmery blush (this is my only matte or close to matte blush). The color is gorgeous and perfect for summer. I love the hint of coral, the color seems pretty unique to me. The staying power is solid, the texture is workable, and it's an overall great product!
Don't forget to enter my Apothica/SkinCareRX giveaway!

Make Up Forever 92 Eyeshadow Dupe!

I was looking through some old photos and realized I somehow had a side by side comparison of Make Up Forever 92 Eyeshadow and Inglot 114R. That is good news for you guys, because I now bring you the battle of the matte, red based purple eyeshadows! The bottommost, darkest stripe on the Inglot eyeshadow is the MUFE 92 dupe.

MUFE 92 left, Inglot 114R right

Can you tell which is which?

If not, MUFE is on the left, Inglot 114R bottom stripe is on the right!

Crazy, right? They're pretty much identical! Except for the fact that the MUFE eyeshadow is $19, and the Inglot eyeshadow is only $7 by itself! Sure, you get less product, but with something that pigmented, you won't need as much eyeshadow as you would otherwise. Both eyeshadows have fantastic wear time and soft texture, although the Inglot eyeshadow is a bit drier. They're both obviously matte, and are pretty much dupes for each other. Overall, I would say go for the Inglot. It's like the same eyeshadow, with less product but for much cheaper!
Hope you all enjoyed this post, don't forget to enter my Apothica/SkinCareRX giveaway!