Thursday, June 28, 2012

June Favorites!

Everyone always says that the month flew by for them. I swear, every time I see a favorites post, someone will be saying "the month just rushed by for me!" For me, most of of the month rushed by. I had final exams and such up until June 6th. After that, although I know I'm being cliché, the summer days seemed to start sprinting by. I'm so happy to be out on summer break! Having free time again is awesome, I've been working on a whole bunch of posts for you guys, I'm so excited! Anyway, this month I've been really loving a couple products. So I thought I'd do a favorites post. I have pictures of the products and swatches of all of them. Here goes!

Clockwise from top: Make Up Forever Full Cover Concealer in 7, Inglot Gel Liner in 74, MAC Fleet Fast,  Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick in Carnation, Inglot Cream Concealer in G

Make Up Forever Full Cover Concealer in 7: This concealer is absolutely fantastic. I can only use it in the summer, since otherwise I'm too pale for it. However, it matches me really well at the moment! The coverage is fantastic - I use it to cover blemishes. It can be used for undereye circles, although it can turn out looking a bit cakey if you apply too much. It's super pigmented, so the one tube will last forever!

Inglot Gel Liner in 74: Inglot liners are my HG gel liners - they go on smoothly, they're pigmented, they're waterproof, and they last all day! 74 is a plum color that I feel makes my brown eyes pop a bit more (which isn't easy to do).

MAC Fleet Fast: This blush is a gorgeous color that lasts a long time, and is super pigmented! A review on this is coming up shortly.

Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick in Carnation: A gorgeous blue based pink. Lovely creamy formula, and doesn't highlight imperfections. It has a slightly shiny finish, but not glossy. A perfect summer lipstick!

Inglot Cream Concealer in G: A basic green concealer to hide redness. Doesn't appear cakey, and applies smoothly and creamily. It blends out really well.

Here's swatches!

From left to right: MAC Fleet Fast, Inglot Gel Liner in 74, MUFE Full Cover Concealer in 7, Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick in Carnation, Inglot Cream Concealer in G

And that's this month's favorites! What have you guys been reaching for a lot lately? Let me know in the comments! Also, don't forget to enter my Apothica/SkinCareRX giveaway!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Giveaway From Apothica/SkinCareRX!

I have some really exciting news for you guys! I have a new blog sponsor, SkincareRX/Apothica/SkinBotanica. They sell mainly makeup, skincare and hair products. They sell some of the best pore minimizing products out there! Here are just a couple of the huge selection of brands they have to offer:

-Boscia
-Cetaphil
-Stila Cosmetics
-Clinique
-Too Faced
-Smashbox
-Bobbi Brown
-Yves Saint Laurent
And tons more!


They've given me an opportunity to give away a $20 giftcard to you guys, my lovely followers!  This giftcard can be used at Apothica, SkincareRX, or SkinBotanica. I was so excited when they told me about this opportunity, because I want to thank you guys whenever possible and if I could buy you guys stuff and give it away to you every day, I would!
Unfortunately, if you're international, shipping and customs fees cost almost as much as the giftcard, so this giveaway is mainly for United States readers. Sorry to everyone who isn't located in the US. :(
Here's all the rules (otherwise known as the legal stuff):

-You must be 18+ years of age or have a parent/guardian's permission to enter.
-Your name and email will be kept private.
-Winner will be contacted by email 48 hours after the giveaway ends.
-Winner needs to respond within 48 hours or else a new winner will be selected.


Okay, so to win the giftcard, just enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below! It ends on July 8, good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Cloudy Skies: Makeup on my friend

If you can ignore the crappy title, this post is going to be a lot of fun, I promise. I haven't done a tutorial or FOTD in a while, and the other day my friend Anna (who would prefer not to have her real name disclosed) was over at my house and we decided to do makeup. Here's her before vs. after picture, with her  eye on the left undone and her eye on the right done:


I'm now going to tell you the steps to achieve this look.
1. Take Stila Cloud (a frosty silver taupe, but any taupe will do; try MAC Satin Taupe or Maybelline Silken Taupe) and place it all over the lid.
2. Take Inglot Pearl 423 (a dark brown with hints of burgundy, dupe could be Urban Decay Hustle) and place it in the crease.
3. Blend out
4. Take Inglot Pearl 397 (any shimmery light shadow will do, you could use the lightest shade in Wet N Wild Walking on Eggshells, or Urban Decay Sin if you like) and place it in the inner corner to brighten up the eye.
5. If you want, add eyeliner for more definition (I didn't, though)
6. Curl your lashes and put on mascara

And you're finished! Here's Anna's finished look.



The look came off looking more silvery in this light, and the brown tones in the crease don't show that well. However, nevertheless it's still an easy look that you can do with only 3 colors. Hope you all enjoyed the tutorial. Here's a full face picture of the finished look! Thanks a bunch to my gorgeous friend Anna for being my willing subject to put makeup on!

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Send Me Sailing 3 Different Ways: Review of MAC Hey, Sailor Lipglass in Send Me Sailing

I only own one red lipgloss, and it's the Rimmel one that I hated. So it's totally okay for me for me to buy another, in hopes of me liking this one better. Or at least, that's what I told myself when I picked this up. Am I glad I did? Definitely. It's just a really versatile product, in my opinion. Red lip products are staples in every makeup user's arsenal. The way I saw it, it was important for me to have another. Plus, who could resist that adorable nautical packaging?



At this point, you guys have probably heard enough about the packaging in my other reviews about this collection's products. Let's just say it's fantastic and leave it at that.



The color is a yellow based red. It does sound a bit contradictory, but that's what it is. It's very, very, very glossy. However, there's zero shimmer or sparkle.


This lipgloss lipglass (I will never understand MAC's product names) is so, so, so pigmented! I've actually never run into a lipgloss lipglass this pigmented before. Due to this large amount of pigmentation, this lipgloss has enormous versatility. It can be worn a multitude of ways, and here I've listed 3 of them, but there are so many more!

1. Putting a tiny bit on and blending it out for a sheer hint of color

2. Applying it thickly for a more dramatic lip

3. Layering it over a lipstick (I layered it over Sail La Vie)

Sorry for the slightly blurry pictures, the lighting was awful that day.
Obviously, Send Me Sailing is a super versatile product, which I love! It would be great to travel with. However, I noted that it does have a bit of a tingly plumping effect to it. I absolutely despise anything with plumping, so this irritated me quite a bit. However, it's only noticeable when applied thickly. Since I rarely wear a lip that dramatic, I can get past it and still really like this product.

Another downside is that it's fairly expensive - $15.50 for just a lipgloss! And there isn't a particularly large amount of product. However, since it's so pigmented, it will probably last quite a bit of time. Speaking of lasting time, the staying power of this is excellent. Worn sheerly, it's about 3 hours before it fades and leaves a bit of an ugly lipline. Worn thickly, it's somewhere around 4 hours. That's incredible for lipgloss! Huge bonus points in my book. I think this color would work on pretty much all skintones.

Overall, this is a decent product. It's extremely, extremely versatile. The plumping effect does detract from its' appeal a bit, but in the end the versatility of the product outweighs. It is worth the higher price tag due to the great pigmentation and lasting time. I did like this product; if only it didn't have a plumping effect, it would be practically perfect in my book!

Friday, June 22, 2012

Butter London 30% Off!

I normally don't post press releases, sales, etc. unless I'm really excited about them. I just found out from the lovely G over at Noveau Cheap that Butter London is having a 30% off sale for all online orders, with the code: FFSUMMER12
Butter London has fantastic colors, and I'm definitely considering picking up a couple polishes during the sale!


Are any of you guys planning on purchasing a nail polish or two during this sale?

I was not compensated in any way for this post. This was made freely of my own accord, and I am not affiliated with Butter London.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Beauty Blogger Sins (That I Commit Often)

In the admittedly large world of beauty blogging, there are some unwritten rules that many professional bloggers seem to go by. Unfortunately, I seem to commit a lot of them on a daily or weekly basis. I thought this might be a fun post to put up since I didn't have a ride to horseback riding today  and thought I'd do some blogging instead. Here are some of the things that beauty bloggers are "supposed" to do, yet I never manage to consistently do. Let me know what you think of this post! I was inspired by Ling's post similar to this that I read a couple months ago.

Beauty Blogger Unwritten Rules:
-Never go out with chipped nail polish
-Paint your nails perfectly and do gorgeous nail art
-Take impeccable care of hands and feet
-Moisturize every square inch of body after showering
-Eat healthy all the time
-Wear makeup every day
-Be prepared for all makeup disasters
-Have flawlessly lit product photos
-Take perfect selfies
-Purchase all makeup collections the day they launch
-Dress impeccably
-Take perfect care of your skin

I'm not very skilled at a lot of these. Hope you guys found this post amusing and maybe a bit true. I don't mean to offend anyone with these, so please don't take it the wrong way! Happy Tuesday everyone!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

I'll Be Happily Sailing la Vie This Summer: Review of MAC Hey, Sailor Lipstick in Sail La Vie

I don't own an orange lipstick. This was my first bright, true orange lipstick. I figured, it's summer, so why not? I wear a lot bolder colors in the summer than I wear to school, since bright lipstick and dramatic eyes aren't exactly school appropriate. I was taking pictures of this on a cloudy day, and as soon as I finished taking the pictures, the sun decided to come out. So of course, I had to retake all the pictures, just my luck. But I want you guys to have the best photos possible so you know what the product looks like before you decide to buy! Here's the packaging:


I just have to say, I'm keeping this box. Normally I just toss the outer packaging, but it's so pretty this time. I love stripes, I wear a lot of striped clothing pieces. So I pretty much died when MAC released this collection - it's all stripes. I honestly didn't fall in love with any of the colors in this collection, I fell in love with the packaging. I like the colors, but I LOVE the packaging.

 More gorgeous packaging! MAC's lipstick packaging is fantastic, they don't come undone in your purse/bag yet the lid is easy to remove. Unless your hands are greasy with sunscreen or something. Now that we've established how fabulous the packaging is, let's move on to the actual product.



The color itself is a bright orange that borders on red. It's definitely yellow based. This shade applies really creamily, and doesn't settle into fine lip lines as much as drier colors tend to do. Sail La Vie is a satin finish, so it has some sheen but isn't very glossy. It's VERY pigmented, and I really enjoy wearing this sheerly in terms of daily use. It has average lasting power for a lipstick, about 4 hours if applied regularly (not sheerly). From there, it starts to fade from the middle out, leaving a rather ugly lipline. So you have to remember to either wipe it off or reapply after four hours.



In conclusion, I like this lipstick a lot! It's pigmented, and can either be worn sheerly for everyday or worn full-on for a more dramatic look. The gorgeous packaging doesn't hurt at all, and the staying power is really nice! For me, it was definitely worth the $15.50 (I bought this from the MAC website).

June MyGlam Bag Review!

I'm still a MyGlam subscriber, and I got my Glam bag. I opened it and took pictures for you guys, and here's my review! Sorry it's late, I seemingly got my bag a couple days later than usual this month. Apologies for the lack of posts recently (finals, bleh), but it's summer now so I promise I'll be more active!


First off, MyGlam is still using these plastic packages (the gray splotches are the product of me editing out my address, just by the way). I really wish they would switch to recyclable cardboard boxes, like Birchbox.  It'd be much more eco friendly. Anyway, on to the contents of the bag!


There's some coupon type things from the Living Proof hair product line and philosophy, and there's a glitterbomb of a bag. The coupons aren't really worth much, just an offer of a discount set from the Living Proof line, and free shipping from philosophy. The bag is nice, it seems bigger than previous bags and I like the snap buckle as compared to the zip bags we got in the past.

The contents of the bag include:
-Marbella Permanent Eyeliner Pen in Black
-NYX Round Lipstick in Power
-Philosophy Take a Deep Breath Oil-Free Energizing Oxygen Cream Gel Moisturizer
-Living Proof frizz Nourishing Styling Cream

I'll go over the contents individually now, with a mini review for each!

Marbella Permanent Eyeliner Pen in Black:
This was actually awesome, since I actually don't own a liquid eyeliner. I've always been happy with my gel eyeliner, but it definitely doesn't hurt to have the option of liquid eyeliner as well. It's medium pigmented, not perfect but decent. I have to layer it to get a nice dark black line. Still, definitely a solid item in this month's bag!

(from top to bottom: one layer, two layers, three layers)

NYX Round Lipstick in Power:
These have gotten so many fantastic reviews! I was so excited to see this as part of this month's bag. I really like the color I got as well, it's a milky mauve pink, if that makes sense. This particular lipstick has a satin finish. It looks like a nude pink on me, since I'm a bit tanner than usual at the moment. It's super creamy and moisturizing, and I previously didn't own a nude lipstick. I was just so excited about this, definitely my favorite item from this month's bag! I at first thought it might be similar to Lancome's Love It! but when swatched, Power was much lighter, pinker, and milkier than Love It! which was much more mauve.
NYX Round Lipstick in Power
Power swatched
Love it on top, Power on bottom

Philosophy Take a Deep Breath Oil-Free Energizing Oxygen Cream Gel Moisturizer:
I personally don't really want skincare in my bag. I guess I'll use this when I travel. But I don't like Philosophy that much, their products have broken me out previously. I didn't really like receiving this in my Glam bag.


Living Proof frizz Nourishing Styling Cream:
I've always wanted to try a product from this line! I'm actually quite excited to give this a go, and the size of this is actually quite generous. I'm very happy with this particular product.


Overall, I pretty much loved this month's bag! A great combination of skincare, hair products (which I don't generally like, but this one I liked), and makeup! MyGlam really seems to be steadily improving their service, and I'm definitely going to stay a subscriber until next month!

Monday, June 4, 2012

NOTD and Review ft. Sally Hansen XTreme Wear in Pacific Blue

I had 2 of my 5 finals today, math and physics. They were really difficult, I don't know anybody who finished the math final. Tomorrow, I have Chinese and English finals, so I'm studying for those. But I felt bad neglecting to post for so long, so here's a short NOTD/review post for you guys!
This one took a round of practice to apply, the formula is thicker than I'm used to. So I did a terrible job the first time I applied it. In fact, it was just too terrible to post. So I gave it a go again, but this time I was more careful and I applied it much better, although the application is still not perfect. Plus, I kept forgetting to photograph it, so there's some tip wear. I know, I know, beauty blogger sin. But anyway, this wore for about 3 days before chipping noticeably on one finger, but wore for about another 4 days without chipping again. I love this color, it's a gorgeous bright cornflower blue, perfect for summer and spring. I love this polish, I just wish the formula was a little bit thinner. Hope you guys are having a good day!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...