FOTD with Ombre Lips!

I've always wanted to try the ombre lips trend, so I did it! It didn't really turn out how I imagined, but I'm still pleased with the result; it's very subtle, although the lip itself is quite dramatic. I paired it with a really neutral eye.

Eyes
Maybelline Browntones Eyeshadow Duo (right shade allover lid)
Inglot AMC Shine 27 (inner 1/3 of lid and inner corner)
YBF Automatic Brow Pencil in Universal Taupe
Fairydrops Scandal Queen Mascara

Face
MUFE Full Cover Concealer in 7
Pur Minerals 4-in-1 Foundation in Blush Medium
theBalm Hot Mama Blush
Benefit Hoola
theBalm Sexy Mama Powder

Lips
Maybelline Red Revival (on outer lipline)
MAC Viva Glam Nicki (inner lips)

I have to say, I am in LOVE with my new camera. Cue awkward mirror selfie...

Anyway, what do you guys think of the ombre lips trend?  Would you ever wear it out of the house?

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!

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!

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!

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!

FOTD May 6: Falsies!

I got these in my MyGlam bag, and since I'm planning on just doing homework and an internship application today, I figured I might as well try them out. They're VERY dramatic, and I don't regularly wear falsies, so this was quite different for me. These aren't uncomfortable, but I can definitely tell I have them on. I can see them, they cut off a bit of my line of vision, which is quite annoying. Anyway, here's my FOTD!

Eyes
-Urban Decay Primer Potion
-Urban Decay Foxy (Naked 2 palette) all over lid as base
-Inglot 423 Pearl allover lid
-Inglot 405 Pearl inner 1/2 of lid
-Urban Decay Rockstar pigment in crease
-Stila Kitten in inner corner
-Urban Decay Bootycall (Naked 2 palette) as browbone highlight
-Azade Emerald Stone on lower lashline
-YBF Brow Pencil in Universal Taupe
-Al-Belle Natural Lash in Blue Extreme

Face
-Pur Minerals 4-in-1 Foundation
-Milani Luminoso
-theBalm Sexy Mama Pressed Powder

Lips
-Inglot 145 Lipstick

My HG Gel Liner: Review and Swatch of Inglot Gel Liner in 74, Plus Dupe!

I already had this in 90, which is the brown colors. I love these liners, and I figured I'd review this one here for you guys.

The color is a dark purple eggplant with plum tones. This eyeliner is totally waterproof and smudgeproof. Once you put it on, it stays on. I do sometimes have trouble getting all of it off, but it's honestly worth it for such great staying power. The texture is super smooth, and it glides on. Super easy to apply.

I really like purple eyeliner, because I think it makes my brown eyes pop a bit more. Brown eyes, in my opinion, are the hardest to make stand out in comparison to hazel, blue, green, or other eye colors. So I really quite like purple eyeliners. This eyeliner is very pigmented, which I love. But I was putting this into my drawer after swatching, and I noticed a possible dupe! My Physicians' Fomula Gel Eyeliner Trio for Brown Eyes!

Physicians' Formula on the left, Inglot on the right

I was thinking the middle color might be a dupe. Here's how the two pots look side by side.

In the pot, the Physicians' Formula looks like it has less plum tones and is a brighter purple. Here's how they look swatched next to each other.

(Inglot on the left, Physicians' Formula on the right)

As you can see, they swatch to be pretty simiilar! The Physicians' Formula one does have less plum undertones and is a little brighter of a color. It's also less pigmented and doesn't apply as smoothly. However, in the end these two are pretty close! The Physicians' Formula one does transfer a bit to my upper eyelids after a day of wear and isn't waterproof, though. I prefer the Inglot one, but they're both solid purchases. The Inglot liner is $12, and the Physicians' Formula liner is $10.95 but comes with a black and a brown as well. You get 2g of product per pot for Physicians Formula, and 5.5g in the pot for the Inglot liner. Sorry I'm throwing a lot of numbers at you here. But in the end, it breaks down to $1.825/g for the Physicians Formula Liner if you count the other two colors as well, and $2.18/g for the Inglot liner. I personally prefer the Inglot liner, and the price difference in the end isn't so huge. Hope this was helpful!

Did you like seeing the price breakdown with all the numbers, or would you rather hear overall product opinions when I talk about dupes?

How to Get Inglot Eye Shadow Pans Out of Their Palettes

I have chipped pretty much every single one of my Inglot eyeshadow's trying to pry them out of their palettes. Inglot eyeshadows are notorious for being hard to move around. I used some sort of nail tool previously, until I finally found a solution. Before, I would often take over 5 minutes to get an eyeshadow out of its place, often chipping bits out of it on accident during the process. Anyway, my problems are all over now. It now takes me mere seconds to get my eyeshadow out of its palette. Here's how.

This is what you'll need.

Some magnets (I actually got these in the Google Retail store, but any very strong magnet will do. If you use a small magnet, put the lid in between the magnet and the eyeshadow so that the magnet doesn't touch the eyeshadow)

An Inglot Palette (mine's a bit worn, haha)

Then, you simply place the magnets on top of whichever shadow you want to take out of the palette, like so.

Then you simply lift the magnets up, and the shadow should come up with them!

And voila! You have your eyeshadow safely out of your Inglot palette!

Hopefully this was helpful. Happy Thursday everyone (spring break starts Friday, whoo)!

And don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Giftcard Spending Haul!

I had a bunch of giftcards, and I managed to successfully spend all of them on Thursday (yay!).  I got pretty much all the stuff I've been lemming for a while. Anyway, a review on each of these products will be upcoming, so be on the lookout!

Above, from left to right to bottom:

-Clinique Acne Solutions Emergency Gel-Lotion

-Make Up Forever Eyeshadow in 92

-Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Vernis À Lèvres Glossy Stain in 15

-MAC Daphne Guinness Collection Blush in Azalea Blossom

-MAC Viva Glam Nicki Minaj

-Inglot AMC Gel Eyeliner in 72

February Loves and Blehs

This month, there were some things I fell in love with. There were also some that I grew to hate. In terms of beauty discoveries, February was a month where I bought quite a lot of makeup, since I had a Macy's giftcard left over from Christmas. I hit up Inglot and walked away with a pretty decent haul. I don't feel the need to review every Inglot eyeshadow individually, because basically all you need to know is they're amazing, and consistently so.

I'm currently planning on purchasing the new YSL Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain (wow, mouthful of a name) in the color #15, so that will be my big purchase for March, and probably my only one. Anyway, here's what I loved this month:

Rain Cosmetics Undercover Concealer in Master of Disguise - new favorite concealer, has the best coverage out of any concealer I've ever tried. Matches my skintone very well, since it has yellow undertones (yay)!
theBalm Hot Mama Blush - I did a review on this here. Basically, a fabulous every day blush!
Inglot Pearl Eyeshadow in #434 - a complex grey-purple shade. Perfect to smoke out a look, to place in the crease, or in the outer corner.
L'oreal Infallible 24 Hour Eyeshadow in Perpetual Purple - the texture and pigmentation of this is lovely, and I love the color! A full review of this is coming.
Deborah Lippman Nail Polish in Glamorous Life - this was limited edition, I'm not sure if it's still out. It's a ridiculously beautiful rose gold color.


And then, there were things that I just didn't really like. You can't have good things all the time, every time. There's bound to be some duds. I mean, I wish that I could love every single makeup purchase I made. Unfortunately, I can't. This month, there haven't been many products I disliked, but there were definitely a couple.

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lip Gloss in Cherry Boost - the applicator doesn't apply color well, and the smell is unbearable for me. It's honestly not worth returning (I got it on clearance for 75% off). I did a review on this here.
Lorac Multiplex 3D Lip Gloss in 4D - I bought this months ago and lost it. I found it recently, and tried it. The first time I tried to apply it, the applicator was as hard as a rock. I had to sort of splay the bristles of the brush out until it softened. The color was also absolutely not for me, it was too much of a whiteish pink. It looked dreadful on my skintone. The formula was sticky and applied gloppy. I really dislike this lipgloss.

Overall, it was a pretty decent month for me. My major new loves were the L'oreal eyeshadow and the Rain Cosmetics Concealer. Happy beginning of March & start of the weekend!

Mid-February Favorites

Just thought I'd do a mid month favorites post, since I missed the end of the month and I'm really excited about these couple items right now. From now on, I will do mid month posts when I remember, and maybe even end/beginning months posts (again, only if I remember). I was hoping to do some FOTD posts last weekend, but unfortunately I was at a debate tournament and had pretty much no time. I also have a debate tournament this weekend, so there goes more opportunities to put on makeup (I wear extremely minimal makeup at debates, just very natural/subtle looks). Anyway, I've been really loving each of these items recently.

They are: Inglot Cream Concealer in #21, Inglot Pearl Eyeshadow #397, Inglot Pearl Eyeshadow #434, Lipstick Queen Lip Stain in Medieval, Inglot Gel liner in #90, AMC Lip Pencil in #24

From top to bottom: Lipstick Queen Lipstain in Medieval, Inglot AMC Lip Pencil in #24, Inglot Gel Liner in #90

Lipstick Queen Lipstain in Medieval

It's a sheer red lipstain (it appears pink in the picture, but it is red). This stays on throughout a meal and about 6 hours. It's just really easy to put on and head out the door, and it's not a super in your face color, and it easily makes you look put together. The color is buildable, and it's just really easy and fairly natural, depending on how much you apply. I wore this during my debate tournament, because it required about three seconds to apply it - so easy, and if you accidentally get some outside your lips, you can just wipe it off, no makeup remover required.

Inglot AMC Lip Pencil in #24

Awesome natural and totally matte color, great for every day. I did a full review on it here.

Inglot Gel Liner in #90

This liner is just amazing. I know I rave about pretty much all Inglot products, but I can't help it - I just love everything they make. Only one of my favorites is non-Inglot this month. And this liner is no exception to the rest of Inglot's high quality products. It's totally waterproof, applies smoothly, and packs some serious pigment. It stays on and doesn't transfer.

From top to bottom: Inglot Cream Concealer in #21, Inglot Pearl Eyeshadow #397, Inglot Pearl Eyeshadow #434

Inglot Cream Concealer in #21

Okay, when I visited the Inglot counter looking for a concealer I had serious doubts that I was going to find one that matched my skin, since I have yellow undertones. This one has yellow-ish undertones and is lighter than my Make Up Forever Full Cover Concealer in #7, which is too dark for my cheeks (it doesn't blend out and leaves a sort of dark spot). There were other concealer choices with neutral or pink undertones, but the neutral one looked ashy on my skin and the pink undertones one simply didn't work. This one covers any blemishes I might have (I don't use it for undereye circles), and blends in perfectly with my skintone.

Inglot Pearl Eyeshadow #397

This is the perfect allover lid shade to wake your eyes up or to use as an inner corner highlight - its shimmery but not glittery, and I use it in the inner corner extremely often. It's a light pinkish white color, and it's just gorgeous. Super easy to swipe on and go.

Inglot Pearl Eyeshadow #434

This shade is actually remarkably similar to NARS Lhasa, now that I think about it. I got it after I returned Lhasa, so I can't compare them side by side. But Lhasa was a shimmery lavender grey, and #434 is also a purpleish gunmetal grey color. Here's a picture of Lhasa on the right and #434 on the bottom. 

The lighting is different in both pictures, but in all honesty the shades are at least decently similar. I'll try to take a picture of #434 in daylight next time we have any, so the comparison will be clearer. Anyway, this can be used for your average grey eyeshadow purposes (crease, outer corner, etc.), but better. It's slightly purple, so it adds a hint of intriguing color. People will stare at your eyes for hours, trying to figure out if you're wearing purple or grey eyeshadow. Well, maybe not quite that dramatic, but it is definitely a fascinating and unique color. I'm thinking I might do a post on different ways to use a grey eyeshadow. Valentine's day is coming up tomorrow, I might try to do a look with pink eyeshadow (which I normally avoid since it often makes me look tired).

What are you currently loving mid-month? Are you planning any special makeup for Valentine's day?

Inglot AMC Lip Pencil in 24

This was my first lip pencil ever. I got in in the Inglot store in New York on impulse, because I wanted to try something new. I figured I would probably never get anything from Inglot again (I did not expect my local Macy's to acquire an Inglot counter!), so I might as well grab it. I picked a shade I liked, took it home, swatched it and wore it once or twice, then promptly forgot about it. You know you're a makeup addict when you buy a new type of product you haven't tried and then forget about it after a week...Anyway, recently I was trying to decide what to take with me on a weekend trip when I happened upon this pencil again.

I pulled it out, and my first thought was "Hey, I remember this! I liked it, until I forgot about it!" So I swatched it on my arm and fell in love with it. I then put it on my lips - it's a MLBB (my lips but better) type color. It's a pink dusty rose color with a hint of mauve in it. However, it's matte as a pencil, and it's matte on the lips. Like, totally, completely matte. The only way you could get shine is if you put lipgloss over it (personally, I like layering a clear gloss over it). So if you want a matte lipstick, this one's for you. Here are some swatches:

It's pretty decently pigmented. I would only need to go over my lips once for full coverage. But the color is decently buildable, and it's just such a nice color. It's so natural, yet so put together. The only issue I have with it is that the cap falls off all the time if I travel with it, because it doesn't go on very tight - I'm afraid if I force it on, it will crack. Otherwise, I really like it! It lasts about 3-4 hours on me, and overall it's just an absolutely lovely product.

What do you think of lip pencils versus lipsticks?

Inglot Sleeks Lip Gloss in 40 Review/Swatch

This will be a really quick review. Okay, I love this lipgloss. It has a sort of lip-glossy scent to it, kind of sweet but fruity. Personally, I love it. This is honestly my favorite lipgloss of all time. It has some silver and iridescent glitter in it that does transfer onto your lips, which is lovely. It's not tacky at all. The color looks simple, but is actually quite hard to describe.

It's a medium pink with a slight mauve or purple undertone. It is mediumly pigmented, but still fairly sheer, making it the perfect gloss to throw on and go out the door - I doubt I would even need a mirror to apply this, yet it gives some really nice color to my lips. It's absolutely not sticky. Here's some swatches.

It lasts about 2-3 hours on my lips and leaves behind some glitter (it doesn't look weird, just vaguely glossy/shimmery). Overall, I absolutely love both the formulation and color of this lip gloss. I picked up another one in color 50, and will do a quick review on that soon. I really dislike how they don't name their colors like MAC does - it's so much harder to remember, and makes it feel less personal, somehow. Everyone knows "Satin Taupe", but if I was to say "Hey, have you tried Inglot Lip Sleeks Lip Gloss in 40?" I would get some weird looks. Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this review!

What do you think of makeup companies calling their shades by number? Which do you prefer, name or number?