Comparing Mascara

I wanted to take the time to start comparing mascaras, and in these photos you will see how my blonde natural upper lashes look with each one. There is no additional lash combing, eyeliner, fake lashes, extensions, curling, etc. done to my lashes in these photos, this is just each mascara on its own using the mascara wand it originally came with. I will be applying several coats of mascara (as I see fit) so that you can see the full potential of each product. These images are not enhanced, nor am I being paid to review them, etc. I will probably be adding more mascaras to this post in the future.

Rimmel - ScandalEyes Lycra Flex Mascara

Too Faced - Better Than Sex Mascara

NYC - Big Bold Curl Mascara

Loreal - Manga Mascara

NYC - Big Bold Volume Mascara

Tarte - Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara

Benefit - They're Real Beyond Mascara

CoverGirl - LashBlast 24hrs

Top 3 Bronzers

I wanted to take the time today to list my top 3 bronzers (in no particular order) which I mainly use to contour my face with and sometimes use as eyeshadow. All these bronzers are fairly different from one another but these work best for my needs and fair complexion.

CoverGirl Trublend Bronzer in Golden Sunrise
($8.29 for 0.63oz)
A little of this loose powder bronzer (on a brush) goes a long way (this has lasted me forever), it's build-able and great if you want to do some seriously dark contouring as well.

NARS Bronzing Powder in Laguna
($38 for 0.25oz)
This bronzer goes on looking less intense than it seems and it looks the most natural since it blends out well (maybe a little too well at times) and ultimately gives a subtle natural contoured bronze look (great for subtle nose contouring). You can also get this as a duo with the ever-so popular 'Orgasm' blush.

Flower in Gloriously Golden
($9.98 for 0.28oz)
For a bronzer that lasts all day long this is the one to get (love!) as it's build-able with a smidge of blendability (apply with a light hand). This also comes paired with a sweet baby pink blush.

Physicians Formula Organic Wear Mascara - Review

The other day I 'tweeted' about having received a sweet compliment about how lovely my lashes looked and it happened to be the same day I changed mascaras, and from a perfect stranger. That being said I was glad I found this Physician Formula Organic Wear Fake Out Mascara at Walmart which was a 'buy one get one free pack' at the store so, for under $9 for 2 it was coming home with me.

I would probably compare this mascara to CoverGirls LashBlast mascara's, although I find the PF to be a bit more on the wet side, less eye irritating, and it does remove more easily (for once I was wishing to find a waterproof version of this mascara but it doesn't appear one exists). Since the formula of this is wetter than the CG I find the PF to provide better/easier lash coverage. The main thing you may also like about this mascara is that it is natural, hence "organic wear".

Physicians Formula Mascara after using a Maybelline lash curler

*EyeShadow used is Maybelline's eyeshadow duo in Indian Summer.

For another online review I found on this product checkout the link below!
http://theflaxenowl.com/natural-swap-mascara/

V-Day Look

I usually don't show my outfits but had bought a few new items recently and thought this would be cute for V-day.

White and gold striped sweater - Kmart
Hot-pink lace-back jacket - Debs
Heart necklace - Target
Bootleg blue jeans - Debs
Black knee-high boots - Target
Lipstick - CoverGirl, LipPerfection in Coral Twist 235
Nude nail polish - Dollar Tree
White nail polish - Wet N Wild in French White Creme

Infinite Spoiled Brat Makeup

Eyes
Prime Lids: NYX eye-base in White
Brow Bone & Lower Lid: Wet N Wild eyeshadow in Brulee
Highlight: NYX eyeshadow in White
Lid & Cat-Eye: Wet N Wild's 'Spoiled Brat' palette in Eyelid (shimmery silver color)
Top Lid Liner: Milani liquid eyeliner in Infinite
Top Lashes: Maybelline MegaPlush mascara in Very Black (Apply 3 quick coats)

*Use a strip of 1-in masking tape along the outside of your eye to help make a clean and sharp cat-eye line, then remove the tape gently once you've applied your eyeshadow.

Face
Moisturizer: Olay touch of foundation
Liquid Foundation: Maybelline 24hr stay in Sand Beige
Powder: Revlon pressed powder in Light

Lips
Prep: Aquaphor Lip Ointment
Lip Gloss: Revlon lip gloss in Peach Petal
Lipstick: A dab of CoverGirl lipstick in Sultry

Brows
Define: Wet N Wild brow pencil in Taupe
Fill: Prestige brow perfection in light to medium in Medium

Contour, Blush, and Highlight
Contour: Milani multitasking face powder in Tan
Blush: Barry M blusher in Strawberry Whip
Highlight: CoverGirl blush in Shimmering Sands

Patriotic Pinup Makeup

Eyes
Primer: UDPP in Original
All over base: NYX base in White
All over shadow: NARS in Albatross
Crease: Maybelline almond satin trio in Crease
Under brow highlight: NYX eyeshadow in white
Top lid liner: Milani infinite liquid eyeliner in Infinite
Outer cat-eye liner: L.A. COLORS eyeshadow in Black
Mascara on top lashes: CoverGirl 24hr mascara in Blue Black

Face
Moisturizer: Olay touch of foundation
Liquid Foundation: Maybelline 24hr stay in Sand Beige
Powder: Maybelline pressed powder in Ivory

Brows
Define: WnW brow pencil in Taupe
Fill: Prestige brow perfection in light to medium in Medium

Contour and Highlight
Contour: Milani multitasking face powder in Tan
Highlight: CoverGirl blush in Shimmering Sands

Lips
Prep: Aquaphor lip ointment
Liner: Nabi lip pencil in Apple
Lipstick: Wet N Wild in Red Velvet

Makeup MatchUp

Upon purchasing a new liquid foundation this week since I had ran out of my fave stuff (Maybelline 24hr Stay in Sand Beige) and the store hadn’t stocked up on any I ended up purchasing CoverGirl, TruBlend Liquid Makeup, in Warm Beige 4/445. The foundation definitely wasn’t a dupe for my fave stuff as it was a bit brighter/lighter and more on the pink side. Thus, I decided to make the best of it and experiment with colors that I felt went best with this CG foundation color. Sooo… if you’re perhaps a warm beige skin tone or use this same foundation shade then maybe these other makeup items I picked out will work for you to re-create the below look (sorry it looks overly pink, cell cam and lighting were a bit yuckster).

Click to Enlarge

Foundation

-CoverGirl, TruBlend Liquid Makeup, in Warm Beige 4/445
-Maybelline, Mineral Power Natural Prefecting Finishing Veil Translucent Loose Powder

Lips

-Wet n Wild, Megalast Lip Color, in Pink Suga’ 900b
-Neutrogena, Moisture Shine Lip Gloss, in Fruity Pink

Brows

-Wet n Wild, Color Icon Eye Shadow Palette, in Vanity (2nd row, left column)
-Boots no7, Lash and Brow Perfector, in Clear

Blush & Contour

-Barry M, Blusher, in Strawberry Whip/BL8
-Neutrogena, Healthy Skin Blends Natural Radiance Bronzer, in Sunkissed 30

Eye Shadow

-L.A. Colors, Mineral EyeShadow, in Beige/BME489
-Wet n Wild, Color Icon Eye Shadow Palette, in Vanity (3rd row, right column)

Mascara

-Rimmel, Glam Eyes (Non-Waterproof) Mascara, in Extreme Black

-CoverGirl, LashBlast Volume Blasting (Non-Waterproof) Mascara, in Very Black

Overall I thought this look came out nice, feminine, and natural (better looking in person I think) since the colors seem to work harmoniously together (art history class may be paying off after all, LOL).

Gyaru Inspired Eye Makeup

Generally Gyaru style makeup consists of circle contact lenses and over-exaggerated false lashes however, the look I did (below) does not consist of either of those.

Eye Primer: Loreal Decrease

All Over Eye Base Color: Revlon Skinlights (first shade on left of palette) and Maybelline in Almond Satin (lightest shade) over top.

Lid: MAC in Sharp, apply at the outside of the lid and blend it out going toward the inside of the lid.

Outer V and Crease: MAC in Dark Edge, apply at the outside of the lid and blend it up into the crease going toward the inner eye (cat eye the outer V line to come straight out rather then upward).

Lower Lid: MAC in Dark Edge, you want to follow the top cat eye line but don't connect the two together (you want a small gap between them) and blend out the line going toward the inner eye. You also don't want the eyeshadow near the top of the lid near the water line (you want there to be a slight gap).

Upper Lid Liner: Milani gel liner in Black, line the entire top lashline and drag the liner out past the eye 1-2cm (follow the outside base line you did with your upper cat-eye eyeshadow).

Lower Waterline Liner: Almay pencil in Black, only apply about 1-2cm in the center of the water line (under where the iris is).

Mascara: Covergirl LashBlast in Very Black, apply several coats of mascara on top lashes and 1 small coat on the bottom lashes (keep the outer bottom lashes a bit bolder then the inner ones).

Brows: Prestige brows in Light to Medium (lightest shade).

My Go-To Products for 2011

There have been a few products which I find myself loving and using quite often this year, so here's a quick list I put together...

CoverGirl LashBlast Mascara: An oldie by now but still my go-to mascara, I really don't think I'll ever change mascara's as long as this is available as I've tried practically every drugstore mascara on the market. My mom prefers the waterproof formula in this and myself the non-waterproof (in "very black" color). I apply 3-4 coats (one after another) onto my top lashes. I don't use an eyelash curler normally and voila, still lovin' it this year.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss Peach Petal 150: I have become a bit fond of this nice pale nude gloss which has found its home in my purse this year as it gets used very frequently (almost done with my first tube of this) out of all the lipsticks and glosses I own currently. I even bought this in 2 other shades this year which were nice, but this shade is still my fave and has yet to make its way out of my handbag.

Colgate Total Toothpaste Whitening: It's probably a first for me to talk about a toothpaste on here, but even my mom has taken notice that my teeth are looking whiter since I started using this. I discovered this when I stayed at a friends house in Orlando earlier this year and was surprised to feel like there had been an actual change in the color of my teeth (by the next day!). I have used other whitening toothpastes in the past which claimed to whiten but never seemed to do anything for me before, so this product will definitely be hanging around my sink more often.

Emporio Armani - White for Her, Perfume: I read another blog (can't remember who it was though) where the blogger loved this perfume soooo much but it was discontinued, luckily I had found a ton of samples online for a good price this year so I opted to try it out. I really do like this perfume, although I kinda wish it was a little stronger because the scent is kinda addicting to me, haha. It's one of those perfumes where really only the wearer can smell it because even my mom who was sitting next to me in the car didn't notice the scent (as she's usually the first to complain about overwhelming perfumes). It's definitely not like the sickly sweet perfumes I generally go for but it's soft, lovely and I wish I had a huge bottle of it.

CVS Cold Cream: I recently replaced my Pond's Cold Cream, cool classic with this CVS dupe because this has the exact same ingredients in it, it's cheaper and it works just as well. I only use the cool classic type because I noticed the others contain paraffin's and such. To use I wet my face, rub this product all over, rinse, and wipe off with a warm washcloth (if you don't use a washcloth your face will feel super oily so it's a must!). It works great for removing my makeup and it doesn't dry out my face (no need for moisturizer after really!). I love this stuff and wish I had discovered it sooner.

Boots Hawaiian Islands Jasmine and Cocoa Butter Body Scrub: I found this at Target earlier this year not expecting a miracle of course, but something in this seems to work great for me. When used as regularly as possible during my shower/bath it helped to clear the bumps on the back of my arms which I've had since I was a kid. No other scrub has done that for me, yet alone any product except for one lactic type ointment which had been prescribed to me a few years back. I'm not sure if any of the other scented scrubs in this brand do this but this one worked for me!

Get the Look - Colorful Mod Pinup

I'm a colorful individual and I really don't care if my makeup is "work appropiate" or not as I just love sporting a lot of different looks regularly. Trust me, this look here is tame for me! People are generally always commenting on my looks out in public, but its with those comments that I learn to fix, adjust, perfect and share these looks with others. So, as usual I've been experimenting and creating some new makeup looks and wanted to share a quick one here, enjoy!

Get the Look - Colorful Mod Pinup

This lip color looks better in person :)

Eyes
Milani Infinite Liquid Eyeliner in Infinite Line the top lid and cat-eye out.
CoverGirl LashBlast Volume in Brown 815 Apply several coats on the top lashes.

Cheeks
Barry M in Pink Orchid or Apricot (which may look really cute too!)

Lips
Barry M in Palest Lavender 129 with a dab of CoverGirl LipPerfection in Divine 330.

My Top LipStick/Gloss Picks for 2011

I went through all my lippies and decided to pickout a good handful of colors I'd like to wear throughout this year. From shades I want to use more this year, to popular shades, personal favorites and trending shades! Here goes...

Barry M
100
129
130
Maybelline
Pink Sand 005 (ColorSensational)
Coral Crush 515 (ColorSensational)
Bronze Beam 750 (ColorSensational)
Shimmer Shell (Shiny-Licious)
Revlon
Nude Attitude 001 (Revlon Matte)
Gentlemen Prefer Pink 450 (Super Lustrous)
Siren 677 (Super Lustrous)
Peach Petal (Super Lustrous SPF)
Papaya 020 (ColorBurst)
Crystal Cut Coral 700 (Moon Drops)
Wet 'n' Wild
909C (Mega Colors)
901B
Coastal Scents
Pep Pink (Smacks)
Prestige
Madrid CL-40A
CoverGirl
Divine Divine 330
Shiseido
Spiced Cream BE109

On the Outside Looking In

Yesterday I managed to replicate this look perfectly, here's what I used to acheive this eye look...

Eye Makeup

Step 1: Loreal DeCrease - Prime Entire Eye Area
Step 2: MAC Eye Shadow in Sharp - Lid
Step 3: Coastal Scents 88 Matte Palette Eye Shadow(4 across and 6 down, dark green shade) - Line Upper LashLine
Step 4: NYX Jumbo Pencil in Pacific - Lower WaterLine
Step 5: MAC Eye Shadow in Tempting - Lower LashLine
Step 6: Palladio Eye Shadow in Champagne - Under Brow HighLight
Step 7: Rimmel Liquid Eye Liner in Ebony Black - Upper LashLiner
Step 8: Covergirl LashBlastVolume in Very Black - Top and Bottom Lashes

Nail Trending

I picked up "For Audrey" by China Glaze recently, got compliments on the color in fact! The pink color is "Basket Case" by Orly which is one of my favvv pinks that also gets compliments as well and I totally dig the name, haha. The gold glitter on top is "Gold Rush" by CoverGirl which looks kinda cool with a matte topcoat if you don't wanna sport the normal shiny look as pictured above.

This is a marble water technique I found when surfin' YouTube. I put these two colors on top of Milani "Colorful in Coral" which is a reddish pink color. The yellow color is Sally Hansen "Lightening" and the orange color is Essie "Bright Tights" which is a bright orange that I've been searching everywhere for. This is a messy technique to be honest and I can't say I was THAT crazy with the results but it was my first attempt at this, so be easy.

This is Milani in "Timeless" which I came across last month I believe and it was the last one left at the store apparently and I haven't seen it on the web. The top photo has a matte top coat in Essie "Matte About You" which is suppose to be all the rage this fall...my mom hates it and for my personal review its kinda cool but the matte finish starts to rub off and my nails seem to chip more. Mr. Sweety complimented me on the shiny version of this ;PI've been upping my polish game to make more unique looks so I took the matte version of Milani "Timeless" and turned it into a french manicure style using NYC "119A" and leavin' it in a shiny finish. Tip for a cheap/easy french manicure: Place a piece of scotch tape over completely dry nails to get straight lines, peel off the tape as soon as your wet nail polish has been applied ;D

Haul Review

A recent post showed some of my purchases and now that I've had time to try out all of my products you can checkout my personal review and opinions of each item.#1: Sally Hansen Insta-Dry, SH is my Moms fave of all nail polish brands, so after getting so much flack on the color "Lightening" I had purchased prior to this "Uptempo Plum" colored one I must say the overall polish lasted pretty long (more so than Revlon polishes). It's quick drying but still takes time to fully harden as with most polishes. I lovvvve the flat style brush it comes with because it makes applying polish soooo clean and easy, I swear it's probably the first time I hardly got any polish at all on my fingers. I'd like to purchase more but this new line doesn't have too many colors I'm in need of or wanting. On the downside the colors don't exactly turn out the way I'd like as the yellow (Lightening) looked a bit orange/yellow once applied and dark purple (Uptempo Plum) looked black once 2 coats were applied.

#2: Sally Hansen Comfort Shine Lip Glaze, SH should stick with nail polish because this flavored lip gloss was a big disappointment. This "Fresh Mixed Berry" tasted like a cheap flavored gloss, the design is absolutely horrific from the container to the tiny all plastic brush inside. I don't see how you could ever get all the gloss out from the container with the tiny stick of a brush that rests in the center of this jar which has a screw-on lid. The gloss lasted maybe an hour, it really didn't seem like anything special and it didn't look as sparkly on my lips as it did inside the jar. I would not purchase this again unless someone said that one of the other flavors happened to be super delish.

#3: L'Oreal HIP Shocking Shadow, these are super pigmented and I currently own 4 other colors in this, but my absolute favorite color is "Visionary" (very pigmented gold color) and a total must have in my opinion. The one photographed here is called "Valiant" and I haven't played with it much thus far but I did notice some fallout with this shade and it's a bit harder to apply. My mom has actually confiscated one of the shades I have in "Intrepid" all for herself :P I also own "Feiry" which is great for those bold outting moments and I have "Exciting" which is one of my less faves, it has a pink gleam to its white shade.

#4: Covergirl Professional, I'm not sure if I really like this or not compared to Covergirl's LashBlast which is currently my choice mascara. I do like the fact that with the smaller brush I feel I can get closer to the base of my lash line although I feel I don't get the thickness as I do with LashBlast.

#5: Garnier skin renew, this is my favorite face product of Garnier and I've tried several other of their face creams/lotions/cleansers. I use this day and night usually, my Mom and I both really like this product. It just makes my pores seem smaller or something and my face just seems to look fresher the next morning. I'm starting to see why this is only for night because it tends to get a bit too oily with makeup throughout the daytime.

#6: Neutrogena Deep Clean relaxing nightly cleanser, I'd say this works about the same as their other thick cleanser products, generally good at removing my makeup. My skin is a bit sensitive and this tends to dry my face out a bit too much so I definitely have to moisturize after use. I didn't really find anything "relaxing" about this night cleanser except that I have a washed face before bed (hahaha), nor have I figured out why it was good for just night use.

Orange & Blue Makeup Tutorial

This is one of my fave eye shadow color combo's I've been creating this year.

2009 Spring Eyes

I got commented on my eyeshadow today, woot! By Mr. Sweety no less ;p I was looking on MSN the other day at the 2009 Spring Makeup looks. I really wanted to get the Gilded duo by Loreal, but CVS was all sold out of course, grrr. So I stuck with the same brand and instead bought a loose powder gold eyeshadow, it's very glitzy-glam on the eyes ^.^ the Gilded colors look like a combination of gold and dark brown but with my black hair I decided the black was more fitting than dark brown. Also peach blush is suppose to be in style which makes since because I've recently seen people using bronzer and blush on their cheeks and peach (the one I bought) is really a combination of both.
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How to get this exact look...Step 1: Apply L'Oreal De-Crease Eye Shadow Base in De-Crease 910 to your entire eye area, blend with you finger tip until absorbed.

Step 2: Using L'Oreal HIP Shocking Shadow Pigments in Visionary 924 I used the brush it came with to cover the entire eye lid area.

Step 3: Using Maybelline Expertwear Single Eyeshadow in Night Sky Shimmer Finish 240 I took the Maybelline Expert Tools Angled Definer Brush and did a cat eyed effect only using the black on the outer corner of the eye and the bottom lid.

Step 4: Curl lashes using the Maybelline Expert Tools Eyelash Curler and do two coats of mascara on top and one coat on the bottom using CoverGirl LashBlast Mascara in Very Black 800 (FYI: this is not the waterproof mascara they have).
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P.S. Mr. Sweety put me to a cologne smell test last night to see which of his colognes I preferred and ya'll know I know my stuff when it comes to scent. I ended up picking the Versace one...he then said I had classy taste, haha. Classy Lady ;) Some of the other ones he had consisted of Lacoste, Polo and Cool Water but meh...not so great. I'm still waiting to find the guy that wears my fav mens cologne Tommy...where are you?!! haha. My mom says I like that scent because it smells like some of my hair products, go fig, haha. Speaking of hair prod, I bought the Biolage shampoo and conditioner and lately everyone has been sniffin my hair! Smells nice and clean, haha.