Tag Archives: makeup

What’s on my nails? Sinful Colors Endless Blue 

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Hold on to your hats, color lovers, this electric cobalt blue nail polish is BRIGHT and it’s only $1.99 and found in just about every US drug store.  I’m in love!


Sinful Colors Professional nail polish Endless Blue, $1.99

This cream formula is just the right consistency and goes on opaque in just 2 coats with no streaking.  It’s shown here with Poshe fast drying top coat over it, because I’m a clutz and I have to use a fast dry top coat or I ruin every single paint job I do within minutes. 😉

  
At $1.99 and with such a great color and formula, I’m calling Endless Blue a WIN.

Today I’m Wearing – A Little Urban Decay, A Whole Lotta MAC

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So, today was a whole lotta lazy!  It’s a Sunday and I basically hung around, house sat/fed my sister’s cat, and I didn’t even put on any makeup until 5:00 pm, and that was only because I wanted to play with the gifts I just got and some samples.  Most Sundays are spent barefaced and laying on the couch watching Game of Thrones!

Well, I was having a great time experimenting with the MAC shadows my good friend sent me when I remembered that a couple years ago, she had sent me the Crush Metal Pigments Stacked 1 set!  I decided I would layer the icy violet one on the lower lid over the Mega Metal shadow in Mating Call (LOL, that name).  Even used wet, the glittery pigment still managed to get everywhere including on my face and in my eyes, causing me to have a major tear-fest and red-eyed reaction of Not Good.  Well, here is an example of how glittery it is:

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Top middle frosty glittery concoction is the pigment from Stacked 1

So beautiful, so not fun if you get it in your eye.  Reminds me of Kitchmas in lavender.  Be careful with glittery products, you guys.  I don’t even have sensitive eyes.  I can wear almost anything.

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Me with bloodshot eyes and a face full of fun purple makeup; see below for breakdown.

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Featuring Urban Decay Revolution Lipgloss in Bittersweet

FULL BREAKDOWN:

FACE:  NYX Photo Loving Primer Lavender (I don’t see color correction here, so the clear version would probably be a fine alternative, but I love this primer!), Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Foundation in Porcelain with damp Beauty Blender, MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC15 with Sigma E10 brush for pinpoint concealing (thanks for the tips to Lisa Eldridge), MAC Mineralize Concealer in NW15 under eyes blended with tip of damp Beauty Blender, MAC Casual Color in Evening Stroll (lovely violet!) sheered out with Sigma F82 round top kabuki brush, foundation lightly set with Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Powder in Translucent and MAC 150 Powder Brush.

EYES:  Too Faced Shadow Insurance, MAC Vanilla eyeshadow as highlight, MAC Mega Metals shadow in Mating Call (lid) and Noir Plum (crease/outer V/lower liner), MAC Chromaline in Deep Purple, L’oreal Infallible gel liner in Black, Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara, Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo Ebony with No 7 double ended brow brush set with ELF Clear Brow Gel.

LIPS:  NYX Slim Lip Pencil in Deep Purple with Urban Decay Revolution Lip Gloss in Bittersweet (thanks for the sample, Ipsy!)

Most of these products are all available to be purchased currently except the two Mega Metals eyeshadows and the Casual Color by MAC, since they love to do those limited edition runs.

Everything here was purchased by me or given to me by a friend.  All opinions are my own!  🙂

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.)

Makeup Of The Day 

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Today I’m wearing Maybelline Color Sensational Rebel Bloom lipstick in Brazen Berry.  I tried it two ways, first with NYX Purple Rain liner just to outline, and then with Urban Decay Ozone 24/7 Lip Liner (clear) underneath like a primer.  I like it best with a primer under!  It seems to really even out my lip texture and the color seems smoother, but honestly, the difference is small.


Brazen Berry with NYX Purple Rain lip liner


Brazen Berry over UD Ozone 24/7 Clear Lip Liner

Can you tell a difference?

FULL MAKEUP BREAKDOWN!

Face:  Tarte Clean Slate Poreless primer, Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Foundation in Porcelain applied with Sigma F82 kabuki, MAC Studio Finish Concealer NC15 to spot conceal, MAC Mineralized Concealer NW15 under eyes, Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless lightly swept over face to set, MAC Sculpt Powder Bone Beige for contour, La Femme Blush in Purple Passion (wish this was more purple on me), Temptu S/B Highlighter Pink Pearl (thanks, Ipsy!).

EYES:  Bobbi Brown Cream Eyeshadow in Bone as a base, MAC Vanilla shadow as highlight shade, The Balm Nude Dude shadow in Flirty (thanks, Ipsy!) on lid and crease, Hustle shadow by Urban Decay (Naked 1) in outer V and lower lashline, L’Oreal Infallible gel liner to tightline, L’oreal Infallible Super Slim liquid liner for upper lash line, Cover Girl Clump Crusher mascara black, Anastasia Brow Powder duo (light shade) with mini double angled brush for brows set with ELF Clear Brow Gel.

LIPS:  Either NYX Slim Lip Liner in Purple Rain or Urban Decay 24/7 Lip Liner in Ozone with Maybelline Color Sensational Rebel Bloom Lipstick in Brazen Berry

–Rachel

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

Kristin’s Ipsy Glam Bag – May 2015

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I’ve been doing the Ipsy Glam Bag thing for a long time now and I’m really pleased. I’m sort of a creature of habit sometimes and since I’m often on a tight budget I don’t step too far outside of what I know I already like. But I really feel like I’ve always gotten my money’s worth out of every one of these bad boys and the stuff just keeps getting better! (You want in on this? Right this way!)

This month’s is just great, but of course I’d say that about something that contains sunscreen (I hoard travel sized sunscreens for Burning Man), purple lip gloss and black eyeliner.

1. Urban Decay travel size 24/7 lip liner in “Ozone”, a clear pencil. I’ve never heard of clear lip liner before! I consider myself somewhat of a lipliner novice, to be honest, unlike Rachel who has more lipliners than I have colored pencils – and I’m a graphic designer! Anywho, I was reading up about this when I saw it was going to be in the bag this month and it seems really neat and definitely my speed – put it on and forget it and it makes your lipstick stay where it’s supposed to. Let’s hope that’s the case!

This came bundled with two of their little blister-pack samples of Revolution Lipgloss in Failbait (lololololol) and Bittersweet, rose and intense purple shades respectively. Looking forward to trying these on!

2. BelláPierre gel eyeliner in Ebony. Yeah, I basically just busted it out immediately and started writing my name and drawing stuff all over my hand. Color goes on great, no drag, and it took some SERIOUS makeup remover to get it off. Totally ready to give this a shot. And it’s full sized!


3. Pixi Beauty Bronzer in “Summertime” – I admit it, this pale porcelain goth girl is a bronzer newbie. I literally have no idea what to do with bronzer! I’m going to give this a shot, though, it actually looks like it might be a good color for me if I can get it to go on without looking like I rolled around in the dirt.

4. Bare Republic Natural Mineral Sunscreen SPF30 facial sunscreen. Not much to add here except that this got stuffed greedily into my Burning Man box as soon as it came out of the bag. I love sunscreen samples, Ipsy, keep sending them. Not having to carry around a full size sunscreen when the extent of my clothing is cut off cargo shorts and a bikini top is ace.


5. Nuxe Paris rêve de miel cleansing gel. Rachel tells me this stuff is luxe as fuck and I’m going to believe her because the whole thing is written in French. 😜 I love to travel so little bitty travel sized cleansers are always appreciated.

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So yeah, basically? This month’s haul was awesome! I’m a little meh on the bronzer but I’m not going to write it off until I try it.

Rachel’s Ipsy Glam Bag – May 2015

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Well, I keep thinking my Ipsy Glam Bags can’t get any better, until they do.  This time, I will absolutely use everything except the mattifying lotion and that’s only because I have the world’s most sensitive skin and this product is full of plant extracts and things that would make my face freak out.  Everything else is awesome!  Check out what I got!

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Ipsy is a makeup and beauty subscription service.  Every month, Ipsy sends a cute makeup bag full of 4-5 products, at least one of which is always full sized.  Well, this month it appears 2 of my products are full sized, the eyeliner and brush!  This month, I got:

1.  Urban Decay travel sized Ozone (clear) 24/7 Lip Pencil.  This can also be used as a lip primer!  I’m super excited to try this, as I have never used a clear lip liner before and I have never used anything except balms as a primer.  I know, bad makeup maven.  This is great timing, because UD just came out with a jumbo sized Ozone pencil for those of you who love Ozone as a primer for filling in the entire lip.  Great time to try!  On the card with the UD pencil is 2 samples of the new Urban Decay Revolution High-Color Lipgloss in Failbait (LOL) and Bittersweet (you guys, I am lusting after that matching blush so hard right now).  I can usually get several uses out of these gloss samples.

2.  Luxie 205 Tapered Blending Brush – Well, how awesome is this!  I need brushes all the time.  I don’t wash mine often enough and I use saturated colors, so I go through my brush stash fast.  Yay!  I have seen Luxie reviewed on YouTube and most seem to like them.

3.  Briogeo Reparative Leave-In Conditioning Spray – 1 oz.  This is a good sized sample!  I got a conditioning mask from them before in another Ipsy bag that was so good, I swapped on Facebook for a second one.  I hope I love this, because I just re-upped my color on my super long hair and it seems thirsty!

4.  BellaPiere Cosmetics Gel Eyeliner in Ebony – Full size!  From the box:  “Bellapierre creamy, preservative-free eyeliner pencil has been formulated with pure 100% minerals, natural waxes, and anti-oxidants.”  We’ll have to see about this…I like preservatives, guys.  I have had all natural products grow mold and stuff…preservatives are actually your friend (don’t get me started, LOL).  If I love this, I will have to try to use it up fast.  We will have to see if it holds up to my Urban Decay and Sephora waterproof pencils.  It looks very nice.

5.  Amie Naturally Kind Morning Dew Matte-Finish Moisturizer – This is the one product going in my swap box.  It’s not them; it’s me.  I have sensitive skin and this is loaded with plant extracts that would irritate the bejesus out of it.  Also, I have combination skin with dry cheeks, so if I used this, I could probably only use it on my forehead and nose.  LOL.  My skin is a jerk.  I’ll tell you all about it some time.  🙂

Now for the extra fun part!  I got…dun dun dun…FREEBIES!  That’s right, when you review things, or share things on social media, or people sign up for Ipsy with your link, you get points.  When you get enough points, you can redeem them for free stuff.  How awesome is that?  Well, this time around, they had some false eyelashes by Lash Attitude for only 100 points each!  I got one of each pair in “Shimmy” and “Can-Can.”  Fun names!  Makes me think of burlesque and showgirls or something.  Can’t wait to try these!  Kristin says she has trouble with lashes, so since I learned how to do them with ease when I worked at MAC (because they made us, hahahahaha), I am considering making a tutorial.  What do you think?

So, here’s the bag I got.  Ipsy did 3 versions.  I like this one, but all my products are important!

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Want your own Ipsy Glam Bag delivered to your door every month for just $10.00 USD?  You can use My Link and I’ll get points to redeem on cool stuff and you will get 5 items to try every month in your very own glam bag — AND when you review things and refer friends, you’ll earn points too.  It’s so much fun!  Kristin and I have been members for a long time and we love comparing what we get, sending each other what we don’t use, et cetera.  Yay!!  I love Ipsy, it’s like a mini holiday gift in my mailbox every single month!

Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless – Translucent Pressed Powder Review 

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Are you known as a PPP over on Makeupalley?  Don’t hang on Makeupalley and wonder what the heck I’m talking about?  Over on that awesome old school site about everything beauty, “PPP” is code speak for “pale porcelain princess.”  Well, I ain’t no princess, but I am pale and porcelain and finding a blotting powder at the drug store is usually nigh on impossible.  I usually use MAC Blot Powder in Light, but it’s very drying and so expensive.  I feel like if I drop and break that sucker, I’ve lost a major investment.  Nobody should feel that way about a product meant to throw in your bag to take on the go for touch ups!  Imagine my glee when I saw a blotting powder THIS LIGHT in the drug store:


Yes, I did take that sticker off!  Once I did, the packaging looked quite classy!


This is the Translucent 100 color.  There is a Porcelain shade, but it looks quite a bit darker and way more pink.  If you’re a very fair shade, go for translucent!  Now, a warning:  Many tanned and darker skinned folks have said the translucent shade is not for everyone.  I’m going to have to agree, because this powder actually has buildable coverage, so it is not completely invisible on the skin.  Get the shade that looks closest to your skin tone!

Hey, look!  Unlike some companies these days, Maybelline did not cheap out on a mirror and sponge!  Totally practical for taking with you.  THANK YOU, MAYBELLINE.  Considering this product is about $6.00, I’m sold.


Here’s what Maybelline has to say about the product:

“Tone + texture-fitting powder for the ultimate natural fit.

Mattifies and matches natural tone for a poreless-looking finish
For Normal to Oily Skin

Why You’ll Love It

Fit Me!® Matte + Poreless Powder from Maybelline New York goes beyond skin tone matching to fit the unique texture issues of normal to oily skin for the ultimate natural skin fit.

Fit Me Matte + Poreless Face Powder provides long-lasting, mattifying, shine control and up to 12HR wear for a natural, poreless-looking finish.

Buildable coverage. Does not clog pores. Oil-free.

For Best Results

With the provided applicator, blot the powder onto areas of face with excess oil. Apply to your forehead, nose, cheeks, and chin and blend all over using gentle downward strokes. Build for fuller coverage.”

Here it is on me over my Rimmel Stay Matte foundation.  I’d been wearing it 8 hours and was very shiny through the T-zone by then.  I love that the finish is not flat.  It’s rather lovely!

  

Please pardon the shoddy blush!  This is what happens when you are testing multiple colors for science!

Urban Decay 49 Nights Til Summer Contest

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YOU GUYS.  Look what I got in my inbox tonight.

  
So, I clicked the link, of course, and their event includes bloggers sharing fashion photos from all around the world in anticipation of summer.  But it also included this contest:

 
HOLY MOTHERLODE.  I just had a heart attack.  And then I cried a little, imagining if Kristin or I won this and then could split the booty and then review everything for the blog(s)!  OMG.

Here’s my entry for this week’s theme, UD Summer Nights:

  

Here’s Kristin’s entry, complete with Burning Man gear.  I’d select her if I was judging! 

  

Be sure to enter for your chance to win!

–Rachel