Makeup of the day – Daytime smoky eye with MAC 

So, from time to time, I find myself pining for the Urban Decay Smokey palette.  I always talk myself out of it, because I HAVE THOSE COLORS (repeat to self 500 times).  I’m a sucker for packaging and I have the other 3 Naked palettes and will probably keep pining, though…even with my psychology degree, I’m a marketer’s dream come true!  Regardless, here’s a smoky look today I put together with some MAC shadows – enjoy!

  
  
  
Eye look was done with Bobbi Brown Cream Eyeshadow in Bone as a base, then I used MAC Copperplate eyeshadow as a transition shade in the crease and MAC Howzat shadow (LE, but substitute any deep frosty grey you like) in the crease below the transition shade and all over the lid.  I used MAC Electra eyeshadow to highlight the center of the lid. I blended Blanc Type on the brow bone as a highlight and used Howzat below the eye with a pencil brush.  I then used MAC Nehru on a 266 angled eyeliner brush for a soft smoky eyeliner…no liquid liner today!

You can take this look even smokier with black or grey liner on the waterline, but spring allergies dictate that I’m not doing this today – LOL! 

Blush is NYX Ombre Blush in Mauve Me and Lipstick is Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in Lovecraft.

What are you wearing today? 

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Bold lips with Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in Mercy 

I recently found myself really lusting for a Kat Von D Studded Kiss lipstick.  I had a credit after returning something to Sephora.  I still really couldn’t justify the price unless I found a shade unlike anything I already owned, yet something I would wear all the time (so not black or green, though I am still looking at those!), so I settled on this unique shade called Mercy.  Mercy is described as a “romantic garnet berry;” however what makes this really unique is that it is somehow matte and metallic at the same time.  It still manages to have a creamy and comfortable formula, unlike the unfortunate experience I had with a similar shade I had from the old Foiled Love line called “Oh My Goth.”  Oh My Goth was dry and dragged on the lips and had uneven pigment.  This lipstick is smooth and manages to be everything that one should have been – I’m in LOVE! 

Look at this beautiful packaging.  Kat says she designed it to look like her favorite studded wrist cuff.

  
The logo is stamped into the lipstick bullet.

  
This is a beautiful wine garnet shade!  If you aren’t pale as a ghost, this will not seem quite as dark. 

  
Pardon the damp hair!  Hubby’s napping and I don’t want to get out the noisy blow dryer.  

Do you have any new makeup favorites? 

Kat Von D Lock-It Featherweight Primer — First Impression

I got a sample of this foundation primer with my last Sephora order and kept forgetting to try it!  I finally got around to using it today.  Here’s what Sephora has to say about the product:

What it is:
A lightweight, water-based face primer that hydrates, smoothes, and protects skin while it reduces the appearance of pores—creating the perfect canvas for long-wear foundation application.

What it does:
Get locked-in hydration, locked-up comfort with this fast-absorbing, water-based primer. It’s the ultimate prep step that hydrates, protects skin, and smooths the appearance of pores for flawless makeup application. This innovative, lightweight formula is formulated with advanced polymers that help even out the skin’s surface while it provides a flexible, protective barrier to prevent foundation from settling into fine lines and pores. Scentless, colorless, and weightless, it delivers essential hydration and its infused with vitamin B5, aloe vera, jojoba, and shea to bring nourishment to the skin’s surface, leaving it feeling refreshed and comfortable all day—even underneath long-wear, full-coverage foundation.

My take:

I sort of had a feeling this product was not going to be for me, but I wanted to give it a shot.  I felt like maybe this was going to be more suited to normal to dry skin types and I am more normal to combination.  This is a water based primer, but I was not prepared for it to feel like…well, it just feels like lotion.  Just plain old straight up…lotion.  Like lightweight plain old buy-it-at-the-drugstore lotion.  I guess I’m not used to primers that don’t feel…primer-y.  Like, oil controlling, or siliconey with some slip, or something.  I was putting this product on and kind of not seeing the point?  It didn’t really blur pores or minimize fine lines or anything like that.  It definitely felt hydrating, which is nice, but I get properties like that from my skincare, which I always use before I use a primer.  I suppose if you are extra dry and need that little boost of moisture, this could be great.  But, this is an extra step for $32.00, and as far as actual foundation priming, I didn’t see it doing much.  It did give a dewy look to the skin, which can be nice.  In my case, in the summer, I need something that will control oil and fill pores, so this product isn’t right for me in the first place.  If you’re very dry and like a dewy look to the skin, you may love this.  I would definitely get a sample first!  I for sure was shiny in the t-zone in no time and I had to powder my face more often throughout the day than I do with my Smashbox Photo Finish Primer.  Like I said, I’m not really the target audience for the Kat Von D Lock-It Featherweight Primer, so give it a shot if you’re looking for a water based primer for dry skin.  (Note, this is water based but it does contain dimethicone halfway down the list, so it is not totally free of silicone based ingredients.)

What’s your favorite primer?  Do you even use one?  Sometimes I skip it altogether, but lately I’ve been switching between the Smashbox one (thanks, Ipsy) and NYX Photo Loving Primer (the two are very similar).

Makeup of the Day

Five minute makeup!

  

Eyes: MAC eyeshadows in Nylon, Ricepaper and Aquadisiac, Wet n’ Wild MegaLiner liquid eyeliner in Black, Urban Decay Perversion mascara

Face: Kat Von D Lock-it Tattoo Powder Foundation in Light 44, NARS cream concealer in Chantilly

Lips: Rimmel Provocalips lip paint in Dare to Pink, Cailyn lipgloss in Love Affair (I think – rubbed the name label off)

Guys, serious alert here on the face stuff! If you have desperately pale porcelain skin like mine, these are fantastic. The powder foundation isn’t heavy and cakey like some powder foundations, it actually looks really natural… And te concealer is hands down the best concealer I’ve ever used.

Sephora Birthday Goodies! 

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?