Nails of the Week!

This week's design is a really simple, structured design centered around the top of the nail. This is really great for making your nails look more square and shaped than they really are!

Here's how to recreate this design:

1. I began by creating a triangle beginning halfway down my nail and stretching almost to the opposite end. I used Gone Platinum in 60 Seconds by OPI, which is a blue-silver color with a satin finish.
2. I then created a second smaller triangle going in the opposite direction using Blue Paradise by China Glaze which is a satin finish dark blue.
3. Leaving a small space under the dark blue triangle, I used a white nail art polish to create one stripe.

Let me know if you try it out!

xoxo 

Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick~Hooked on Pink, Review & Swatch

Maybelline Color Sensational lipstick in 065 "Hooked on Pink" is the perfect color for fall!

This is a cream finish lipstick (it may look shimmery in the swatch below but it is a cream!) in a berry, almost red color.

I'm really impressed with the application of this lipstick. It glides on smoothly and doesn't highlight any imperfections. It does have a bit of a cosmetic-like smell, but it's not too bad.

True to life color!

The Pros:

This deep berry color would go great with a bronzy, darker look for fall. It's reasonably priced at around $5.50 at most locations, and overall it feels nice on my lips.

The Cons:

It does have a bit of a smell, but it's not too bad.

The Bottom Line

9/10

I happen to really enjoy this color and it's a great way to wear a darker lip color without looking vampy!

elf Essentials Concealer Brush

My new holy grail brush!

Although this is your typical small concealer brush, I love this because it's only $1 and easily found at Target. It's a synthetic brush, which it great because it works well with so many products. What I really love is the multi-purpose points of this brush. It's perfect for pinpoint concealing, running shadow along the bottom lashline, applying eyeliner, and applying lipstick! The bristles are thick and dense, which really made this brush stand out.

The Pros:

I pretty much just listed them above <3

The Cons:

None!

The Bottom Line

10/10

No shedding, the brush feels solid, it can do so much, and it's only $1. I'm running out as soon as possible to grab some more! I'd highly recommend it!

Milani HD Advanced Lip Color~Cotton Candy, Review & Swatch

The Milani HD Advanced Lip Color in 111 Cotton Candy is a very soft, glittery baby pink lipstick.

The product comes in a black tube embossed with 'M's and gold accents. It's twist tube style, but very slow, and since the product is so soft, I would not recommend twisting it farther than just beyond the top.

Before you apply this, I warn you to make sure you don't have dry or chapped lips, or this lipstick will show up absolutely horrendous! There's so much glitter that it gives a foiled effect and highlights any imperfections on your lips. Also, there's a very strong, fruity scent emitting from the lipstick, so I'm not sure what's up with that.

I personally don't care for this lipstick much. It's not just that I'm not into glittery makeup, it's the feeling when it wheres off after a little while. All you're left with is coarse glitter on your lips and it's a horrible feeling!

True to life color

Now what really gets me, is on the product page on the Milani website, it claims that this lipstick "nourishes, hydrates, and delivers a sheer wash of color with clarity and perfect radiant shine. It instantly comforts dry, chapped lips, and provides long-term moisturization." 

Ha. It was very opaque, drying, and oh yeah, there was more shine from the glitter than a four-year-old's tiara. Nice try Milani. 

The Pros:

I love the baby pink color.

 ...

The Cons:

It's far too soft for my taste, the products smells weird, and there's so much glitter that it looks like it came from a child's makeup kit.

The Bottom Line

5/10

I'm just not impressed. Yeah, maybe I'll wear it occasionally with a cream finish gloss over top to tone it down a bit, but other than that, it's unfortunately going to sit in my drawer.

I received the product for free, but the review is 100% honest

My Experience at the Bare Escentuals Outlet Store

Yesterday I visited an outlet mall near me, and I decided to pop into the Bare Escentuals outlet store.

Now, the only makeup-oriented store I had ever visited before is Sephora. I know, I have yet to make it to an Ulta! So, for those of you who haven't been to 'makeup-oriented stores' or are relative newbies when it comes to makeup, I thought I'd give you a rundown of my experience!

The store itself was very nicely set up, with all the displays and what not, and a big table in the center where the workers could do swatch tests and show you how their makeup works.

While I was there, one of the ladies very kindly did a full face of makeup on me using their mineral foundation, an all over face powder for a bit of depth, and their famous mineral veil.

As for the makeup she put on me, it looked fine when she first put it on, and about an hour later I looked like I had been aged 10 years. It was positively ghastly! My undereye circles looked awful (despite her applying "concealer"), and all of the powder had settled into the fine lines under my eyes, which generally aren't noticeable. Not impressed!

Since I went to an outlet store, all of the prices were severely marked down as opposed to what you would find at Sephora or Ulta. For example, I bought a radiance color in Rose Radiance (review coming soon!), which only cost me $6.50, but is listed as $19.00 on their website. Lipglosses from the Bare Escentuals line were $6.50, and many of the brushes were listed as $6.50 as well. They had a nice display of eyeshadows that were $9.50.

Overall, it was a pretty nice store. While I'll stay away from the face products if I go back, the prices were phenomenal and a lot cheaper than drugstore makeup!

Have you visited a Bare Escentuals Outlet store? Let us know what you thought in the comments!

Nails of the Week~8.26

I've decided to start doing a nails of the week post! They won't always be on Fridays, I change my nails pretty much whenever I feel like it!

This week's design was inspired by a recent tutorial by Love4nails on Youtube, but she did the design on her toe nails and I wanted to change it for my finger nails!

 

Here's the instructions:

1. I began with using Tickled Pink by Wet n Wild as a base color.
2. I used Blazed by Wet n Wild to go over half of my nails in a diagonal shape.
3. I then used Limelight by Creative Nail Design, which is just a very yellow glitter nail polish on just the part of my nail that's orange/red.
4. I took a white nail art polish by Art Deco and I first made a long line separating the pink from the orange. I then made a second smaller stripe going more into the orange.
5. I finished my design off with Seche Vite top coat!

Here's all the polishes I used in the order I used them:

Tickled Pink, Blazed, Limelight, White, Top Coat

 I've gotten so many compliments on this design, and it's fairly simple to accomplish!

Let me know if you try it out!! 

elf Translucent Matifying Powder, Review

I recently got some pictures taken and needed a powder to keep the shine away since it was an outdoor shoot in the forest. A word of advice for those doing photoshoots in the forest: if you think you have enough bug spray on, add two more coats. I got 27 mosquito bites. I was not a happy camper!

Anyway, I was really hoping this powder would at least keep my t-zone free. The disappointing thing is that it unfortunately didn't work as well as I'd hoped.

As you can tell in the photo, the powder does have a tint to it, but trust me when I say there's absolutely no pigmentation. You would seriously have to cake it on for the color to show.

The texture is very chalky and grainy. But for $3, it could be worse.

The Pros:

It's a basic powder at a basic price

It will keep some of the shine at bay

The Cons:

Some people won't like the color of the powder, but like I said, it depends on how much you put on.

The Bottom Line

7/10

When I looked at the pictures before they were photoshopped, you could definitely see some shine in my forehead. But, it was 85 degrees outside so that just might not have been helped. But, the texture of the powder puts me off.

Elf also has an HD powder for $6, but I wasn't able to get ahold of it before the shoot. I have heard several good reviews on that, so if you had the option, I might opt for the HD powder!

Beauty Steals and Deals~8.21.11

•  Beauty Sales
• At Walgreens this Saturday, Revlon is 40% off (Their Satur-date with beauty thing is a little confusing in the ad this week so you might want to take a peak!)
• I believe Wet n Wild Cosmetics at Rite Aid is 40% off (you might want to double check this! My Rite Aid flyer doesn't come until Wednesday)
• Coupons
• $1 off a Rimmel Volume Accelerator Mascara or any Rimmel product @ redplum.com 
• Clean & Clear has some great coupons on their website 
• Online Sales
• Sephora.com has some pretty amazing products on clearance right now: The mineral foundation I reviewed here is only $3 now, but it's only stocked in darker shades. Stila Smudge Proof Eyeliners are $5, Stila palettes are $14, and a whole host of Bare Escentuals products were recently marked down! 
• Urban Decay online started a huge sale last week and while most of it is sold out now, there's still a few things for under five bucks! 
• New Products
• e.l.f. recently uploaded some new products online, including a retractable lip brush, a wrinkle refiller, and a makeup lock and seal set. 
•  Rite Aid brought out some new makeup brushes, priced from $3.99 to $9.99. Check out some pics and a review from Nouveau Cheap!

Have you spotted any deals! Leave them below in the comments!!

Have a lovely week 

xoxo

CoverGirl Natureluxe Gloss Balm~Marble, Review & Swatch

You know how when you're in the store and the colors of products look amazing, but when you get home and actually try it, it turns out to be a big disappointment?

Yep. That's this product.

In real life, the color is a muted bright fuschia color in the tube, and while I knew the color wouldn't exactly transfer to my lips because it's just a lip balm, I thought I would get something!

A slight tinge of pink.

I reviewed the coral color in this range, and it is lovely. But "Marble" is nothing more than a soft clear gloss on your lips, really.

The Pros:

It's pretty to look at in the tube?

The Cons:

You get so little product.

This color is not something I'd associate with 'marble'.

It's almost completely clear.

CoverGirl prices these at an insane price (in my defense, I got it on sale with coupons, so it only cost me $1.99)

The Bottom Line

2/10 

What it comes down to is personal preference. If you buy this product for the tint, please skip this color. For eight bucks it's not worth it. But, if you are looking for just a soft gloss to add to your lips without the stickiness of lip gloss...skip this too :D One of the many $1.99 drugstore lip balms will do the job just as well!

Pure Ice~A List Nail Polish, Review & Swatch

$1.97 at Walmart

I was bored one day and in desperate need of new nail polishes, but I didn't feel like spending money. I had never heard of Pure Ice or seen it before, so I decided to give this color a try!

For being under $2, the nail polish isn't too bad. It goes on evenly, but streaky. And if you have any bumps or bad ridges in your nails, this polish (it might just be due to the shade) will certainly highlight it.

The color is quite nice. The pictures I took are pretty true to life as far as the shade goes. I would describe it as a silvery blue. It's actually very close to "Gone Platinum in 60 Seconds" by OPI, but the Pure Ice one is a bit bluer and a bit poorer in quality.

The Pros:

It's relatively nice for the price, and the color is quite unique. You would think that it would be a sheer shade, but after 2 coats it was fairly opaque.

The Cons:

It does settle into imperfections, and the formula just feels...cheap.

The Bottom Line

7/10

It's not bad, and it's not good...it's just okay. But if you're looking for a unique color without the expensive price, it's worth a try!

CoverGirl Natureluxe Gloss Balm~Coral, Review & Swatch

I love lip balms. I love how it's so easy to look natural and have soft lips with them. And let's just say, when this tube is used up, I will be very sad.

I bought this on a whim (really because I got it for $1.99 on sale w/ coupons), but I really think that the bright coral color called to me from the display! And the color is absolutely gorgeous! This is a staple product for me now because I can have my lips a gorgeous coral color, without having it look like I have lipgloss or lipstick on.

The actual balm is very moisturizing and light on the lips. It does have a slight hint of shimmer, but it honestly just makes my lips look healthy. This particular shade is quite opaque for being a tinted lip balm, and I couldn't see any imperfections or uneven color after I applied it.

Pretty much true to color!

The Pros:

It does everything I would expect from a genuinely good tinted lip balm: moisturizes, has an SPF of 15, opaque color, and makes my lips look gorgeous!

The Cons:

It does have a slight smell, but after I apply it, I don't really notice it that much. The price is also a problem. I've seen it priced from $6.50 to $8 in the stores in my area, and these lip balms aren't really worth more than $5 due to the fact that there's so little product in the tubes. There's 0.067 oz of product in these, compared to the Burt's Bees tinted lip balms, which have 0.15 oz and retail for less :(

The Bottom Line

8/10

I really love this shade from the line, and if you can catch them on sale, I would definitely try it out. But the regular price is such a downside compared to the amount of product you really get. It won't take me long to go through this tube!

So It's Been a Little While...

I know, I officially suck:(

But, I do have a reason for not being to update for a little while! I am finishing recovering from some major back surgery that really put me out of the game for a while. But I'm almost feeling back to normal and I hope to start updating really soon!

Trust me, it definitely sucked! I haven't been able to shop for makeup in ages and it's killing me.

I hope all your summers have been better than mine <3

xoxo

P.S. I'm still definitely doing a giveaway @ 100 followers!!