Category Archives: Lipstick

MAC Amplified Creme Lipstick in Chatterbox

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Yesterday, I brought my 6 items to the local MAC counter to recycle for their Back To MAC program – their recycling program where you can bring or send in 6 plastic, glass, or metal items that are empty for recycling and in exchange, you can chose a lipstick, lipgloss, or small eyeshadow (I think perhaps limited edition items are excluded, but don’t quote me on that).  This time I picked out Amplified Creme Lipstick in Chatterbox, as it seems I have really loud lipsticks and nudes, but not much in the way of mid tones.  The Amplified Creme formula is my favorite and I have more of these than any other formula:  they’re packed with pigment and moisturizing with a little sheen.  I love the vibrancy and comfort of the lipsticks in this formula and Chatterbox does not disappoint.  What’s odd about this color is that nobody can agree on its undertones!  It’s definitely a mid-toned pink, but when I read reviews, I saw it described as everything from yellow based to blue based to everything in between.  It does appear that it looks different on everyone, so try this one on before buying if you can! 

Here it is swatched on my arm.  For reference, I wear an NW10 foundation in MAC, so I’m very pale. 

  
Here I am wearing it today!  I have on Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless foundation in porcelain, which is more yellow than my normal MAC NW10 Studio Fix Fluid.  I think this pink shade of lipstick is fairly warm, possibly a yellow based pink, at least on me.  I’m in love with it!

  
Here it is with Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss in Luster on top.  Another nice sparkly one to go over this would be Revlon Colorburst lip gloss in Crystal Water.  

  
I love Chatterbox because I think it will be a great shade no matter the time of year and will go with just about any and every eye look.  What’s your favorite go-to lipstick?  

Makeup of the Day 

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Well, I’m breaking out and I forgot to put my nose ring back in, but gosh darn it, I look cute anyway!  (Heehee)  I am wearing the Naked2 Basics eyeshadow palette, Hikari blush in Tango, and MAC lipstick in Diva-Ish.  I also tried out ELF Gotta Glow blush as a highlighter and it’s gorgeous, but you can’t see it in my pictures – it has a beautiful golden sheen in the sun!

  

Sephora Birthday Goodies! 

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So, every year I grab an item or two from Sephora around my birthday to treat myself and to get their yearly birthday freebie.  This year, it’s this awesome NARS duo of lip crayons:


Sephora Beauty Insider birthday gift, NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella and Satin Lip Pencil in Rkugen

Cannot wait to try this!  They look interesting.

I ordered myself two rather luxe items.  First, I ordered something I’ve been wanting to try for ages, but I’ve been waiting to use up another product (took me a year to use up my MAC Mineralize Concealer).  The object of lust is NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Chantillty, and oh my gosh…it appears to PERFECTLY match my ridiculously pale skin tone.  If it covers and wears well like the reviews say, I’m thinking this is worth the $29.00 for the color match alone!

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Chantilly

Next is something I have lusted after since before it was released (thanks, YouTube), the Urban Decay Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Blush in the shade Bitter Sweet.


Urban Decay Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Blush in Bitter Sweet

Dat packaging tho…


AHHHH GAHD!  Can we talk about purple?  Let’s just talk about purple.  Purple is my favorite color and you can easily find purple eye shadows and lipsticks.  Blushes?  Not really.  You can find the rare lavender, but they usually end up reading as pink on the skin.  I can’t tell you how excited I am that UD is bringing back the COLOR with this blush line.  Check out the other shades and you’ll see what I mean…not everything is nudes!

SO EXCITE.

Anyway, Sephora was having a deal with a coupon code where you could get 3 deluxe samples, so I jumped on that.  Here’s what I got:

Deluxe samples of Fresh Sugar Lip Scrub, Jack Black lip balm, and Dolce and Gabbana Passion Eyes curling mascara

How awesome is that?  I usually make my own lip scrub with sugar and coconut oil, so having one from Fresh is always awesome when they have these samples (it’s a very nice product).  The Jack Black lip balm has SPF 25, so that’s going right in my purse!  I have tried the Dolce and Gabanna Passion Eyes mascara, but not this curling version (I liked it, just not $30 worth, LOL).

Sephora also always offers 3 free samples so I got this Urban Decay card sample of the blush trio in Naked Flushed:


Urban Decay Naked Flushed sample card

I also received a Christian Dior Diorshow mascara sample and a sample of the Kat Von D Lock-It Featherweight Primer (I’m excited to try this, since it’s a water based primer):

Samples of Christian Dior Diorshow mascara and Kat Von D Lock-It Featherweight Primer

All in all, I would say with all the deluxe samples that this order was a great value for the money and made my birthday feel rather special!  I cannot wait to share how these things work for me with all of you!

What do you guys do for your birthday?  Anything special?

A care package from a friend – with a little Sleek, a little NYX, and a whole lotta MAC!

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I’m blessed to have a rich online life and a lot of online friends.  A lot of them are merely acquaintances; however, I have a few friends that I’ve had for over 10 years that I consider to be real, close, lifetime friends.  One of them was talking to me this week about a shadow palette I had bought from Sleek makeUP and wanted to try some for herself.  She bought the Sleek i-Divine Eyeshadow Palette in Bad Girl from Amazon, but unfortunately she ended up allergic to it, so she said, “Hey, I’ll send this to you and you can use it and blog about it.  I’ll send you some other things too, like this green NYX Wicked lippie.”  She mentioned some metallic MAC shadows, but I didn’t expect a gigantic box to arrive at my doorstep a few days later.  Imagine my surprise…

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Unboxing…

Wait.  What?

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Hold on a second…I’m confused.

SWEET MOTHER OF GOD!

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Ok, let’s clean this up and take it in the bathroom with natural light.

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Sleek i-Divine Palette in Bad Girl and NYX Wicked Lippie in Risque

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MAC Mineralized shadows in Cinderfella, Gilt by Association, and Blue Flame

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MAC Mineralize shadow trio in Danger Zone

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MAC Mega Metal Shadows in Noir Plum, Mating Call, Odalisque, Dandizette, and Chromaline cream liner in Rich Purple

The only casualty of the cross-country trip was this shadow from the Maleficent collection, My Dark Magic – not a problem, because I’m going to put it in a container and use it as a loose pigment and recycle the container at Back 2 MAC for a lipstick, as you do! 🙂

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MAC Mineralize Shadow My Dark Magic from Maleficent Collection

Words cannot express my gratitude at receiving such a kind package from this friend and what’s even sweeter is that it’s not the first time she’s done this.  I hope we’ll always be in touch and I am hoping to go visit her at some point!

And of course, I believe you should always pay your good fortune forward.  Kristin:  INCOMING!  😀  (I had to make room for all this somehow.)

Maybelline Color Sensational Rebel Bloom Lipsticks in Power Peony and Lilac Flush

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I’ve been a big fan of Mabelline Color Sensational Lipsticks for quite some time.  I have seriously flaky, dry lips and I love a moisturizing lipstick.  I also love bold colors that aren’t boring.  These are not always easy to find in the drug store!  Maybelline has really been stepping up in that department in recent years.  I recently picked up 2 of the lipsticks in the spring line, Maybelline Color Sensational Rebel Bloom.  (Rebel!  I like it already…)  I chose Power Peony, a milky pink pastel (yet not the lightest in the bunch) and Lilac Flush, a milky lavender.  Lilac Flush is not your typical drugstore color and was sold out when I first tried to get it, so imagine my surprise when my boyfriend walked in the front door with it about 2 weeks later.  REALLY?!  How did he remember I was looking for that?!  Awesome boyfriend, 5 stars, would date again!

Power Peony and Lilac Flush:

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Also shown:  Earth Essence Lavender Moisturizing Body Candle, Chanel No 19 mini, Guerlain L’Interdit mini, Balmain Ivoire mini

What Maybelline has to say:

“Super-saturated pigments take fresh picked pastels to a new bright

Never dull, washed out or shy
Honey nectar adds a sumptuous feel

Why You’ll Love It

Maybelline Color Sensational® Rebel Bloom lipstick. Now pastels rebel in 10 vivacious shades. A kicky boquet of lip colors in pinks, reds and mauves. Honey nectar adds a sumptuous feel

For Best Results

Apply lipcolor starting in the center of your upper lip. Work from the center to the outer edges of your lip, following the contours of your mouth. Then glide across the entire bottom lip.”

Well, thanks for the lipstick application tips, Maybelline.  But I’ve been doing that since I was five.  As to when I started getting decent at it is anyone’s guess! 🙂

The formula:  The Rebel Bloom lipsticks are a little bit different than the other Maybelline Color Sensational lipsticks.  They have a bit more of balm texture, so to me they are more moisturizing.  Fabulous!  They are a tad more sheer, as well, letting a hint of your natural lip color show through, unless you really layer them on.  I think this lends to the white based pastel shades being a million times more wearable than most of the white based, opaque pastel lipsticks out there.  You know the ones I’m talking about…the kind that nobody can pull off.  Still, I went a step further and added a gloss on top to add just a hint of dimension.

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Maybelline Color Sensational Rebel Bloom lipstick in Power Peony with a hint of clear gloss on top

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Maybelline Color Sensational Rebel Bloom Lipstick in Lilac Flush topped with a bit of L’Oreal Extraordinaire by Color Riche lip color in Purple Prelude.  I find this shade is so light and milky that deepening it a hint flattered my skin tone much better.

Wrap up:  All in all, these feel good on the lips, do not dry them out (even without a gloss on top or a balm under), and do not settle in fine lines and cracks.  I get a good 4 hours’ wear out of them before I need to reapply.  I like the pastel lavender tube, as well.  I paid about $5.50 each for these at Target.  I hope these go BOGO somewhere before they’re gone; Blushing Bud and Orchid Ecstasy are now on my wish list!

–Rachel