Saturday, May 24, 2014

Accident... oops

Deleted everything from my account on Google+ which deleted everything from here so I will be re-doing them tonight and tomorrow. Please forgive me. It'll all be back up soon. Thank you. 
XOXO

Too Faced Boudoir Eyes Palette Review and Swatches

The Too Faced Boudoir Eyes is in no way new but these tiny palettes have intrigued me for far too long for me to never try them. This is the first out of the tiny palettes that I tried and one of 4 palettes that I got recently. (Lorac Unzipped Palette review is already up and two are to come) That being said this is by far my favorite out of the lot.


($36.00 at Sephora.comUlta.com and TooFaced.com)
All products are cruelty free.
The container is small but a metal material. Think something like the Naked 2 & 3 palettes from Urban Decay. However, this in no way feels as though it closes as secure as the others. It hasn't opened on me yet though.


The palette comes with 9 shadows and a mirror. The palette is fairly small so don't expect that big of a mirror. It also comes with a set of instructions on how to make a look using the three suggested color combinations.


Day:
In the Buff
In the buff is a matte white/slightly off white color. It's buttery and pigmented, and looks as though it contains a sheen/satin finish in the palette but comes off matte on my eyes.

Fuzzy Handcuffs
Fuzzy handcuffs comes off white a slight shimmer and is a champagne color. It's a very neutral light color that can be used for a simple nude look. Think my eyes but better.

Voulez-Vous
This is a lovely color, in fact it's my favorite color. It's a purple satin with a slight golden dou-chrome finish. It can be used as an all over lid color for a more smokey look or as a crease color for a soft definition that is really interesting considering it's not a brown but a purple.


Classic:
Satin Sheets
Satin sheets isn't shimmery but more of a pearl color in every sense of the word. It has a sheen that catches the light perfectly and came off a little more golden than it really is in person. In my opinion it's too shiny for a highlight but really nice for a simple all over lid color, that doesn't look simple at all.

Sugar Walls
Sugar walls is a complicated color, it looks exactly as it does in the swatch. It has a hint of lavender and gold pearly finish and is gorgeous. 

Garter Belt
Garter belt is your final matte shade. It's a matte light grey color that blends like a dream. I recently got into the habit of blending out my smokey eye looks with a brown and a grey color and this shade is perfect. It doesn't take away from the intensity of colors and doesn't add too much more harshness to any look. It's amazing.


Fashion:
Birthday Suit
Birthday suit is a pearly champagne shade that is simple but I think is still too much for a highlight. ( I prefer matte shades for my brow bone)

Lap Dance
Lap dance is a grey-ish hint of lavender pearl finish.

French Tickler
French Tickler is a black with golden glitter. This is the only shade with glitter in it and if I had to make a bet I'm pretty sure it's really similar to the black shade in the Wet n Wild Color Icon Trio in Silent Treatment. It comes off as matte unless you pack it on intensely enough, which I don't. I use it in the corner of the crease and blend it to make a darker look. It's super blendable but pigmented so be careful.

Overall, I love this palette. It was my favorite that I bought/was given for valentines day. I'm super excited to try more of them if they are of the same quality as this tiny palette. If you are interested in any of these colors (I'd say multiple colors) then give it a go, the quality is fantastic.

The Balm Nude'Tude Palette Review and Swatches

Recently The Balm Cosmetics had a 24 hour flash sale where everything was 50% off on the entire website and the proceeds went to charity. In case you haven't heard of The Balm since you cannot get them at Sephora or Ulta they are a brand of cosmetics that in my opinion has some of the cutest most 1950's esq. packaging ever.


 (Nude 'tude palette $36.00 at TheBalm.com)


Nude 'tude comes in two different pallet forms, you can get the Naughty Palette which has the cute nude pin ups. (Get it NUDE 'Tude? eh? eh? okay I'll stop ^-^) or the Nice Palette which just has the same image as the front on the inside in case the girls aren't your cup of tea. I personally think they add personality and are super cute. 
The palette comes with 12 shadows, a large mirror, and a tiny two sided brush.


As you can see the palette isn't built anything like the Naked palettes. You get a large range of colors that don't all have the same underlying base color like the Urban Decay palettes do. This is highly appreciated by me because every now and again a good burgundy/wine color makes for a good crease color.


(Left to Right: Sassy, Stubborn, Selfish, Sophisticated, Sexy, and Stubborn)

Sexy-
Sexy is a white pearl that is super rich and pigmented. It makes a nice sheered out highlight or a good concentrated lid color.

Stubborn-
Stubborn is a beige pearl shade. This shade like the rest of the palette are very pigmented, soft, and buttery. 

Selfish-
Selfish is a light taupe-y brown pearl with micro glitter that does look like it would be straight out of the Naked (one) palette.

Sophisticated-
Sophisticated is a nice mid-range brown with golden micro glitter. Also very reminiscent of the Naked (one) palette.

Sexy-
Sexy is my perfect matte wine color. It's so smooth and works perfectly as a crease shade for me to smoke out a lot of the darker shades in this palette or any of my other palettes just in case I don't want to stick to browns, blacks, or my new go to shade grey.

Serious-
Serious is a nice buttery matte black. Like jet black. A little goes a long way guys and gals so be careful with this shade. It can be applied as softly or intense as you see fit. 


(Left to Right: Snobby, Stand-offish, Sultry, Seductive, Silly, and Sleek)

Snobby-
Snobby is a crazy color to me and honestly maybe the most interesting. It isn't gold, it's a yellow with micro glitter. Like a canary yellow with glitter guys! AND it's completely wearable! I'm super impressed by this color.

Stand-offish-
Stand-offish is a champagne color with so much shimmer! It's pretty, nothing crazy out of this world but really pretty none-the-less.

Sultry-
Sultry is a matte mid toned brown that works wonderfully at blending or as an all over lid color. It's buttery and perfect.

Seductive-
Seductive is a golden brown with tiny glitters again. The color yet again is perfect but I'm sure I have something similar to this in my collection.

Silly-
Silly is a dark brown with reddish, gold micro glitter. It's like the shade Blackheart from The Naked 3 Palette only unlike Blackheart you can actually see the glitter when you apply it. However, it is also less pigmented than Blackheart. (I just swatched them side by side to check)

Sleek-
Sleek is a dark almost blackish matte brown. Really blendable and awesome. 

Overall:
I was iffy about this palette when I got it, but after playing with it for a while I really came to enjoy it a lot. It's really versatile and can give you a basic look or a very smoke dramatic look. The brush is really stiff but I found it good for applying the shadows as liner for the bottom or top lash line. It's thin and has a magnetic closing. I can't find any downside to it besides having to order it online because none of the normal high end make up retailers sell it. All in all if you ever find them having a good sale (they are on Hautelook very often) try it. 

Monday, February 24, 2014

Lorac Unzipped palette review and swatches

The Lorac Unzipped pallet isn't exactly the newest thing on the market but it was something that I was super curious about it because of the rose gold trend that was started up thanks to the Naked 3 that came out late last year. 
The pallet is sold at Sephora, Ulta, and on the Lorac website.
This palette comes with five large shadows and an eye shadow primer and also has a large mirror. The palette is small and really easy to travel with. It also has really cute cleaver names.

Undercover
Is a shimmery very pale beige. It's super subtle and contains no glitter, just a soft shimmer to it. It's super soft and pigmented.
Unbelievable
Is also a shimmer that contains several rose undertones with gold shimmer and is absolutely stunning!
Unattainable
is less of a rose color and very much more of a darker more sunset gold color.
Unconditional
This shade is a matte rosy brown that reminds me a lot of Nooner in the Naked 3 pallet. However, Unconditional is a lighter less intense shade than Nooner. 
Unbridled
Is also a rosy brown matte shade. However, Unbridled is darker and a lot more brown than rosy.
(The matte shades are pigmented and really easy to blend just fyi)

Undiscovered
Undiscovered would be the shade that I would have figured would have been like Half Baked from the Naked 1 & 2 palettes but this shimmery gold is like sunshine in an eye shadow. It's beautiful and a shade lighter than Unattainable.
Unreal
This shade is like a classic shimmery beige, nothing too impressive about it honestly.
Uncensored
Is a shimmery brown with rosy/gold shimmer. In the swatch it definitely looked more golden and like Smog from the Naked 1 palette.
Unspoken
Is the perfect midtone shade of matte brown. It's just matte brown though, there are no hints of rose or gold in this shade and works perfectly as a blending shade. 
Untamed
Is a shimmery darker brown. It has a tiny bit of gold to it but nothing insane. This is the darkest shade in the pallet and can be built to add more intensity and darkness.

Overall:
I really enjoyed this pallet, it's cheaper than most of the other palettes (I also got it with my professional discount so I got it super cheap) and Lorac makes great quality eye shadow. I think it's worth it if you like these type of colors, don't have any of these shades in your collection or are just interested in something that could really just be a basic palette in your collection. I love it and would really love to try out more Lorac palettes. 

Monday, January 27, 2014

Eyes Lips Face (ELF) Mineral Eyeshadow Review and Swatches

I should have most likely started off my blogs with these because I have had them for so long and you know everyone is always love/hate with ELF because it's inexpensive AND has hits and misses. I point out that AND because I don't think that since it's inexpensive it should be awful quality. 
ELF Mineral Eyeshadows $3.00 each at eyeslipsface.com

They have a mixture of matte and shimmer shades in 26 different shades total. At $3 a piece and how often they have website sales these eyeshadows are a good deal in general but lets go over the 8 eyeshadows I have.


"Wild"
Wild is a nice true brown with gold sparkle in it. 

 (Left No Primer, Right Primer) 
With these eyeshadows a primer makes all the difference. Also not being afraid to layer the color until you get the intensity you want helps. This shade is one of the most pigmented of the bunch and even then I like to add two coats in order to make the color pop! The sparkle is more intense with primer but either way this shade is beautiful.

"Royal"
Royal is a nice dark purple shimmer.

(Left No Primer, Right Primer)

Yet again this shade is really pretty to me. I can't help but love it and use it as an accent color or for a smokey eye. Pigments in general to me don't seem to go on full color, but they are easy to layer because of how finely milled they all are. With flash this shade does become a mid-range purple.

 "Sweet"
Sweet is a pink with gold sparkle in it.

(Left No Primer, Right Primer)

This shade is a little bit too barbie for me personally but I have used this as a lip color and it looks really nice because of the golden sparkles. (Yeah I know it's too barbie for my eyes but not too barbie for my lips? I'm weird don't mind me.) It's a cute color, I don't think it would look good as blush since it has so much shimmer but using it as a lip color is something worth trying.

 "Elegant"
Elegant is completely the epitome of eggshell shimmer.

(Left No Primer, Right Primer)

Eggshell in general isn't a very pigmented color on my skin tone but this color would be completely lovely with a simple, updated vintage look. (Since all vintage looks are done with matte shades) You put this eggshell shimmer on the eyelid add a nice brown crease with a winged liner and a red lip. Perfect.  

 "Temptress"
Temptress is a very light matte pinky-taupe.

 (Left No Primer, Right Primer)

This shade is definitively the least pigmented (on me at least) of the bunch. I have to wonder how much better it would look wet because it really isn't pigmented dry, even over primer which is super disappointing, I love the idea of the color.

"Partier"
Partier is a matte blue/grey.
(Left No Primer, Right Primer)

As you can see this eyeshadow is non-existent without primer, however over primer it's completely pigmented and actually a good smokey eye base. I wore this one today under a couple of purple Urban Decay eyeshadows from the Vice 2 pallet and I really like the outcome. 

(Excuse my eyebrows I need to go get them threaded again)
See? Not too shabby.

"Socialite"
Socialite is a dark brown/taupe color that is less sparkle more sheen.
 (Left No Primer, Right Primer)

This shade may very well be my favorite of the bunch. It makes the perfect smokey eye for me. It's buildable, blendable, and just beautiful. However, the swatch on the website and how it looks in person is completely different. I have no idea why, but I couldn't even recognize the thumbnail when I was looking for it. It's a really lovely color though, completely worth the $3.

"Glamorous"
Glamorous is a muave shimmer.

(Left No Primer, Right Primer)

This one is really not too pigmented without a primer but does pack a nice punch over primer. With shades like this one you have to be careful you don't end up looking dead, since the shade can drown you out but you can use it as a lip color and I'm betting wet it would take on a whole new dimension that would be fabulous.

Anyway, my overall conclusion is I like them a lot. I do think that NYX has loose eyeshadow that is more pigmented and needs less layers but the packaging in these is more convenient. Not exactly the best pigment on the market but I do love these a lot and a few of the shades really stand out from other things in my collection. Hope that helped. 

XOXO

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Fall & Winter lipstick revamping

Fall and Winter bring on the trend of everyday smokey eyes and dark lip colors. If you're like me you don't exactly have all the money in the world to shout out for brand new lipsticks every time a new trend comes around. I personally love to buy my basics. I love a few plums, a few pinks, and most of all reds. For me a red lip is always a classic, not to mention how the blue undertones can help make your teeth look whiter.
The easiest way to rectify the situation of following a trend but not exactly spending $15 for a new MAC lipstick every time you need a darker version of whatever shades you already love is mixing colors. By mixing colors you can revamp an old favorite, make custom shades, or even just keep up with the trend in your own comfort zone.
(shade to left is Lasting Finish Kate Moss collection from Rimmel London in shade 09)
The red color looks very plumy in the picture but in person it gives you the perfect deeper, richer red that I was looking for that had no brown-brick tint to it. I wanted a dark red lipstick and couldn't find one in drugstores so I created my own.

(The shade I used on the left was Covergirl LipPerfection lipstick in Eternal)
And by adding a purple lipstick to it I got a more plum red, more like the shade in the other picture. It's honestly so easy to try out and figure out if you like it or what colors work well with you before you go out and commit to a shade you might never wear.

(The shade I used on the left was Covergirl LipPerfection lipstick in Eternal)

Adding a more purple tone lip color that I didn't really like too much on it's own to pink lipsticks that I didn't really like on their own created a very nice pink hued purple and a bright lavender. Adding the shade to pinks brought pinks to a different level and made it easy for me try out the lavender/purple lip trend on a budget with pinks that I already had in my collection.

 Moral of  the story: You don't have to spend a whole bunch of cash to try out trends that are going on around you. Use what you have, do your research and most of all be creative! Have fun with your lip colors and express yourself.
(Also did you know coral and purple make mauve? They totally do haha)

Hope this was helpful ^-^
XOXO

Monday, December 2, 2013

Shimmer & Shake Show-Stopping Collection Swatches and Review

Shimmer and Shake Show-Stopping Collection 
$59 at Sephora
For anyone who didn't read my previous post that included a review on one of these shades these lip glosses aren't exactly the most opaque formula. if you enjoy high shine, minty plumping, and a bit of stickyness that helps them stay longer this may be the perfect set for you. It comes with 15 mini glosses in 3 different finishes. So lets get started.

(L to R: Sandy-- Trixie-- Katie-- Dolly-- Sugar)


Sandy
A very pale pinky nude with tiny shimmers or "Pink Nude"
Trixie
 Corally pink also with tiny shimmers or "Golden Rose"
Katie
 Baby Pink with tiny shimmers or "Pale Pink
Dolly
 Mauve with a hint of lavender or "Muted Plum"
Sugar
Brown with a hint of pink undertones or "Rose Beige" 
These glosses have tiny shimmers to them however they do not have glitter chucks in them like the last five. These can be purchased individually in larger sizes for $19 exclusively at Sephora.

(L to R: Kir Royale-- Pink Lady-- White Russian-- Mudslide-- Cherry flip)


Kir Royale
 A glossy berry/plum or "Rich Wine"
Pink Lady
 A bubble gum pink or "Electric Pink"
White Russian
 A pink hued nude or "Nude Pink"
Mudslide
 A Mauve or "Petal Pink"
Cherry Flip
 Light Red/Coral or "Red Poppy"
These are a smidge more opaque and have no shimmer to them. These can be purchased individually for $19 (full size) exclusively at Sephora.

(L to R: Victoria--Olivia-- Amanda-- Lauren-- Rachel)


Victoria
 Dark Mauve with a lot of glitter.
Olivia
 Bright Pink with a lot of glitter.
Amanda
 Clear with a lot of glitter.
Lauren
 Coral with a lot of glitter.
Rachel
 Pinky Purple with a lot of glitter.
These are very transparent and remind me of the Urban Decay Stardust lip glosses. Lots of shine and glitter and not a lot of color pay off. These aren't sold at Sephora.

Hope you enjoyed
XOXO