Wednesday, July 31, 2013

TARTE Friends and Family Sale!!!!!

So, the makeup gurus from above have personally blessed me with this Tarte Friends and Family Sale.  LOL. I'm being a bit dramatic.  But seriously, I was just browsing the net last night and stopped on Tarte's website and saw that they are currently having a Friends and Family Sale, 30% off your entire purchase (yes, even clearance)!!! YES, 30%!! That is a worthwhile sale, AND free shipping on purchases of $40 or more! So you'll really see your discount.  I don't know how long the sale has been going on, but it ends August 4th (Sunday).  I think it's a great deal, and with 30% off everything, I will try a couple of the Glamazon lipsticks.  You really can't beat that, it takes the price down from $26 (a bit steep for me) to $18ish dollars (not much more than a MAC lippie).   

I only own one Tarte blush, which I do like, and I've heard raving reviews of their BB cream (which unfortunately there isn't a shade for me in).  I'm not a Tarte expert or conneisuer but I do want those lipsticks, and will def be taking advantage of the sale.  

However, like I mention pretty frequently, I will not be making any new purchases, probably with the exception of RiRi's Fall Line for MAC, Antonio Lopez's Fall Line for MAC and perhaps something from Nars 2013 Fall Line.  But that's it...no more random spending here and there.  I've got bigger things to save for now!!

**The coupon code is TARTEFF for the 30% off.**

My Haul from MAC's So Supreme Collection

So I know I said I wasn't originally going to get anything from the So Supreme collection, but I lied.  Sorry.  I ONLY picked up three of the six lipsticks though.  These I picked out because the colors (prior to purchase) looked original, less dupable, and not quite like anything I have in my tiny lipstick collection.  The three I got are: Gotta Dash!, Candy Apple, and Pleasurefruit.  Check out the swatches below.  These lippies have a nice finish and are creamy and fully opaque upon swatching. Sheen supreme lipsticks combine the color quality of a lipstick with the sheen of a lipgloss.  These lippies were certainly very shiny/sheeny like a lipgloss, with good coverage.  The coverage is a bit slippery, so I'd recommend wearing with a liner of some sort.

My favorite out of the three I purchased is Candy Apple.  It reminds me of a lighter, shinier Heaux (from Rihanna's collection).  Gotta Dash! was a bit lighter than I expected, with not fully opaque coverage.  Pleasurefruit is a nice bright pink, but not "rare".  It reminds me of a darker Candy Yum Yum.  Or perhaps a Candy Yum Yum + Girl About Town concoction.


Yesterday's Haul-Rite Aid (Maybelline) and Ulta (NYX)

Yesterday, unintentionally, I picked out a few things while out and about.  I picked up two of NYX's butter glosses from Ulta that I did not have, as well as some mascara from Rite Aid. The mascara is Maybelline's Great Lash mascara, in the new limited edition colors.  There are six colors in total, I picked up four.  I was thinking about getting the other two, but they are similar to the ones I picked, so I'm not sure.  These retail for $5.39 at Rite Aid and were buy one get one 50% off.  The colors I picked out are: Teal Appeal, Wink of Pink, Vision in Violet, and I See Blue.  The two I left behind are: Very Berry and Go Go Green.  I will do swatches of them and post those up later.  Check out the haul pic below.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Hautelook Sales for the Week

HauteLook has a couple of sales this week that I'm totally going to be checking for! Today, at 8am Pacific time Urban Decay goes on sale.  Thursday, August 1st theBalm goes on sale.   NuMe hair tools also has a sale beginning tomorrow that I will take a peek at.  My problem with NuMe tools is that they are super overpriced only so that NuMe can "mark them down" or "have a coupon code" for certain people in the beauty profession.  I am generally not a fan of companies that constantly mark their items up JUST to make it seem like they're offering a good deal by having all of these "exclusive" coupons, discounts, or sales.  Seriously, if a curling iron is $262, and really worth $262, are you really going to offer it for $50 constantly??  Just make it the price it should be and skip the sales.  Regardless, if it's a quality product, your customers will know.  Random rant, sorry. 

But yes, def check out the HauteLook sales this week...you don't have to purchase anything.  I find that some companies come up on the HauteLook sale list regularly, every couple months or so.  Anywho, good luck shopping (or browsing like me)!

Monday, July 29, 2013

Tarte Glamazon Pure Performance 12 Hour Lipstick

I've been eyeing these lippies for a while now. Today, while in Ulta I decided to swatch them all. Big mistake. There was one color I was originally dying over, but now I want them alllll! Maybe they'll magically fall out of the sky one day lol. Anywho, the colors are swatched below. Left to right: Pure, Inspired, Playful, Fierce, Wild, Bold, Whimsy, Foxy, Graceful and Enlightened. Oh, these babies were also super creamy and smooth.  These retail at $26 and are available at Ulta, Sephora, and Tarte online.  Check them out here from Sephora.

If I had to pick one, Inspired is the one I've been in love with for ages!


Sunday, July 28, 2013

OCC Lip Tar: Sephora's Pro Picks Lip Tar Set v2.0

Hey guys! Part of my birthday haul was OCC!!!! I've been wanting to try lip tars for forever, but I just never got around to it.  I've been eyeing this value set from Sephora and it's been in "my Loves" section for probably more than six months.  Well my mom got them for me for my bday! You can check them out here on Sephora's website.  There are currently three sets of OCC Lip Tars like this, the "Sephora Pro Picks".  I picked up volume 2, because it has colors that I was already eyeing, and for the $49 price tag., you get 5 full sized lip tars (which normally retail for $18 each) and one full sized brush. 

The colors in the set I picked out include: Pretty Boy, Hoochie, Lydia, Kava Kava and Iced.  Pretty Boy is a gorgeous bright fuchsia color.  Hoochie is a bright fun purple.  Lydia is a deep mauve berry color.  Kava Kava is a peachy nude color.  Iced is a pure white color.  Yes, I know not everyone will be interested in wearing white lip tar, but its main purpose is for mixing and creating your own shades by mixing with the other colors.  The great thing about lip tars is that because they are liquid and in a squeeze bottle, you can use them to create custom shades according to your own taste.  Lip tars are to be applied using the brush only, as it gives the best application.  You can put a tiny drop on your hand or directly on the brush, and apply.  A little goes a long way with these babies.  Check out the pics below.  I'm going to update soon w/pictures of them on my lips. (Peep those free samples from Sephora, gotta love it!)


Mini Haul from MAC'S Nudes and Metallics Collection

So originally I said I wasn't going to get anything from this collection, but ultimately I changed my mind.  I picked up two nude lipsticks (in my quest for the ultimate perfect shade for me) and one eyeshadow.  I was going to get two, but I waited too long and Brazenly was unavailable.  I saw swatches from these eyeshadows online and they were absolutely gorgeous and contrary to MAC's tendency to underperform in the eyeshadow department, all of these shadows were gorgeous in color and highly pigmented!! I did not order any of the nudes because I have so many nude palettes that I just could not justify it. I'm still on the lookout for Brazenly though.  It's gorgeous and I NEED it in my life!!!! Check out the swatches below!  The collection is sold out completely now in all shadows, and the only lipsticks available are the metallic ones.  and wholesome and restrained from the nudes. Both blushes were still available last I checked.

Left to Right: Nearly Nude and Wholesome lipsticks, then Crimson Tryst eyeshadow.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Birthday Face

Hey y'all!! So here's my birthday face. On my eyes I have the original Naked palette, MAC's fluidline in blacktrack, and Nars org*** on my cheeks.  On my lips I have on Rihanna's Heaux in one pic and in the other Up the Amp with a touch of Lavender Whip in the center. Excuse my awkward poses lol.

Too Faced Pretty Rebel Palette-Limited Edition (PICS Only)













Birthday Haul!!!!!!!!

My birthday is today, so over the weekend I ordered a couple of things for me (from me and my mom :)).  They were delivered this week! Here are some pics below! I will review the makeup in separate posts following this one.  Check out the pics below!

Items:  Amazon-Real Techniques Brushes, MAC-couple of items from the Nudes and Metallics Collection, and Sephora-OCC Lip Tar. 



Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Too Faced Fall 2013 Collection

Hey Guys! So here's my first Fall 2013 post.  Too Faced will release, for their fall collection, a new eyeshadow palette, Pretty Rebel, Lip Injection Color Bombs, and Glitter Glaze.  I know for a fact that the eyeshadow palette is limited edition, but I'm not 100% certain whether the lip bombs and the glitter glaze are limited edition as well.  I will look into that and update.  These are available online now at Sephora. 

Pretty Rebel Eyeshadow Palette-Limited Edition-$46
Pretty Rebel is a ten shadow palette, and I won't get into details about it BECAUSE I ACTUALLY JUST GOT IT IN THE MAIL TODAY AND WILL DO AN ENTIRE REVIEW!  Lol...sorry for the caps!  

Lip Injection Color Bombs-$21
Too Faced's Lip Injection Color Bombs are lip pencils that claim to be super moisturizing plump lip tints.  They come in 6 shades: Never Enough Nude, Coral Pop, Plump It Up Pink, Eastwood Red, Bigger Berry and Candy Burst.  These have vitamins A, C, E and mango butter.  I'm sure these will live up to the promise of providing moisture. Pigment? I'd have to check them out first. 

Too Faced Glitter Glaze Transforming Shadow Topcoat-$21
Now these look super interesting to me! I haven't seen anything like it.  These shadow topcoats are available in 2 shades, Goldie Rocks and Silver Spark.  These can be worn alone for nice shimmer, or you can put them on top of your eyeshadow for a"metallic" look. I'm not normally a fan of super sparkle, but I might pick one of these up just to see how it transforms eyeshadow.

It also seems that they are promoting the Better Than S** Mascara with this collection too.


Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Time for Fall 2013 Makeup!!!!

I know it's July, almost August, but Fall 2013 collection information is being released left and right for all brands of makeup.  Some collections are even available for sale now, or will be available in August for sure.  I personally tend to love fall makeup, because it's warm and cozy and works for my skin.  I'm super excited, and will try and write a new post for a company's Fall 2013 makeup line.

Did I mention that my birthday is Friday? Woot Woot! The big 30 lol!!

Monday, July 22, 2013

MAC's So Supreme Lip Collection

MAC released, online a new collection last week, "So Supreme".  This collection is a lip only collection.  It's available now online at MAC and Nordstrom.  I'll have to check and see if it is going to be in stores or not. The collection features six lipsticks and eight lipglass tints.  Some of the colors are permanent and some are limited edition.  These lipsticks promise to give you the color of regular lipsticks, plus the shine sheen of lipglass.  The lipglass tints promise high shine with a creamy formula that leaves long lasting color and features pigments that work with the body's temperature for fresh, custom color. The lipsticks retail at $16 and the lipglass tints at $20, a bit different from MAC's regular pricing, but the packaging is a bit different, especially for the lipglass tints.

The Sheen Supreme Lipsticks are:
  1. Candy Apple (midtonal warm plum-LE)
  2. Gotta Dash! (pale clean coral-permanent)
  3. Playtime (bright coral pink-LE)
  4. Pleasurefruit (bright warm pink-LE)
  5. Sweet Grenadine (bright orange-LE)
  6. Pret-A-Pretty (soft warm pink-LE)

The Sheen Supreme Lipglass Tints are:
  1. K-Wow (soft cool pink-LE)
  2. Bubble Gum (soft warm pink-LE)
  3. Simply Wow (midtonal cool mauve-LE)
  4.  Heart & Soul (warm peach-LE)
  5. Kiss, Kiss (cool peach cream-LE)
  6. Gyi-Yo-Mi (midtonal raspberry-LE)
  7. Blushing Berry (midtonal cool red-LE)
  8. Glorious Intent (warm plum-LE)

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Thick or Winged Eyeliner (Updated w/pics)

**Updated with pics.  Clearly, I forgot to attach them, as I should have probably been in bed asleep not on blogger! LOL. Also, I found my stash of liquid eyeliners, I knew I had some.  They were in a box mixed in with eye pencils (not with my mascaras as I originally thought.**

Hey guys. Super quick post here. I had a friend ask me if she could do a super thick winged eye with a regular pencil eyeliner (as opposed to liquid eyeliner). In my personal opinion, I'm going to say no. First, if you're doing a thick eyeliner you're going to want to use a creamier pencil not a hard one, because that would be pretty painful to color in. The problem with using a creamier pencil is that you won't be able to get the best precision (likely) and it will very likely smudge, move, or smear. 

I personally am the worst at using liquid eyeliner, but I keep saying I'm going to practice more. I'm not a fan of those felt tip pen like liquid liners because I've found that for me they don't apply with even consistency, causing awkward application and streaky lines. I actually went to try it out with a pencil liner and realized that I don't have any liquid liner at all lol!  I've got to fix that problem. Instead I used my Mac fluid line, which is a gel eyeliner. It's kind of the best of both worlds. It's super creamy and even and dark. But it's also easy to apply since you use a brush, leaving less room for error (ideally). Anywho, it worked fine for me with the blacktrack, but with the pencil it looked horrid. Lol. The pencil smeared and I couldn't get the line or wing I wanted. So I'd def recommend liquid eye liner or at least a gel eyeliner. 

Also, don't judge my wing on the pics below I'm working on learning how to draw them. Especially since I think a neutral eye and heavy winged liner go great with a nice bold lip. It's late and I was just playing around. I will post more tutorials after I get my brows done this week. Nothing worse than pretty makeup and bad brows!


First pic: using MAC Fluidline.  Second pic: UD Perversion Eyeliner Pencil.  This was right after I applied both, and clearly the pencil smudged immediately and didn't really let me do a "wing". 
 



Thursday, July 18, 2013

Ben Nye Powders

I found these babies at a local costume and makeup store here in Cleveland! I'm so excited that I watched a few YouTube videos and heard a a couple bloggers say that instead of ordering online (and paying high shipping fees), you could call up a local costume store and they might have it in stock.  Low and behold it's true! Apparently Ben Nye is a theater makeup, and that's why it performs so well for people using it in the regular making world who love it for its super matte qualities and long lasting formula.  These cost me a dollar or two more than they would have online, but again no shipping and I got to get them from the store and see them prior to purchase.  I got the world famous banana powder and neutral set (which is completely colorless--as long as you use it in moderation, lol).  The nice lady at the store is going to order me the two colors I also wanted to try out, which I will have in a couple of weeks. Anywho, check out the pics below.  Can't wait to try these out soon (for a full review)!!

HAVE I MENTIONED HOW EXCITED I AM TO TRY THESE OUT???

R.I.P. Talia Joy (Castellano)

I've been thinking about posting this for the past couple of days.  I didn't really want to dwell on something sad, or something that my readers may or may not know about.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was not sad after all.  If you are in the make up community or big on You Tube videos or not completely hiding under a rock, you may know of 13 year old Talia Castellano.  Talia lost her battle with cancer this week, after fighting for six years. Talia became a really big YouTube sensation back in the day.  Her love of life, beauty, makeup and all things positive radiated to hundreds of thousands (maybe millions?) of viewers.  She even became an honorary CoverGirl, and has appeared on the Ellen Show.  She radiated such positivity to everyone, even us strangers who admired her bravery from our computer and phone screens.  She was the pretty little bald girl, who never wanted to cover her head with a wig, and loved every minute of it.

I remember first seeing her thinking, there's no way this girl is so young, she has the wisdom and courage of someone years older than her.  Just writing about her brings tears to my eyes.  The love that so many people had for someone they've never met, and the positivity that radiated and was sent out to her family during these tough past few weeks has been nothing short of amazing.  I loved that Talia was a fighter, and never let cancer get her down.  I could not imagine having to go through everything that she did, and still keeping a smile on her face, even from her hospital bed.  

I know, based off of the Facebook and Instagram pages for Talia and her family that the past few weeks have been very hard for Talia, and that at moments things were touch and go.  Everyone pulled together and sent her family prayers and well wishes, many for a girl whom they never met.  As a mother, I cannot imagine the pain that Talia's mother is going through, but I can say that Talia has left a legacy here on Earth that will last forever.  Her kindness, beauty, and courage have touched each and every one of her "fans" or "admirers". I am eternally grateful and inspired by her bravery.

I know I might be rambling at this point, but I just wanted to pay my respect to Talia and her family.  She was truly an angel here on Earth.  Rest in paradise, always.  Just keep swimming.

Note: These are images I found on IG or Talia's page.  I didn't make these.




Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Ipsy July Bag 2013

So I signed up for Ipsy last month, and I got my first bag this month.  The July 2013 bag was a cute vinyl hot pink plastic bag. This is my first bag, so I wasn't sure what to expect or whether or not I should be super stoked or super let down by this month's contents.  Either way, for $10, you really can't beat that.  Especially since each month your products come in a cute travel bag of some sort.  There were many options for this month's bag.  My goodies were: Coola Unscented Sunscreen (sample size), Big S**y Hair Weatherproof Hair Spray (sample size), BH Cosmetics California Collection eye palette (sample), POP Culture lip color pencil in Coral Crush, Derma E Microdermabrasion Scrub (full size). 

For $10, it isn't a bad deal at all.  I've posted swatches below.  I love the lip color and the eye shadow colors.  I'm going to try the other products and review them in the near future! 

It comes mailed in this cute hot pink package.

Lip pencil in Coral Crush on top, followed by the BH eyeshadow palette.
Hollywood, San Francisco, Malibu



Monday, July 15, 2013

CVS Sale

Hey guys! So I stopped into CVS last night and thought they had some pretty decent deals.  First, all Orly nail polish was 50% off.  They were pretty cleaned out but I managed to pick up two shades (pictured below).  Also, there were many other random items mixed in that were marked with 50% off or 75% off stickers.  Additionally, for every $10 you spent on Maybelline (as well as Covergirl and Loreal),  you receive $3 in bonus bucks.  Or CVS dollars.  Or whatever they call them since I don't shop at CVS too often lol.  

MAC Nudes & Metallics Collection...Available Online NOW

MAC's latest collection is the Nudes & Metallics Collection, which is a limited edition, online (or pro store) only collection.  So if you're interested in any of these babies, you've got to go online and order them.  Unfortunately, this is a collection I wished they had in stores, because it contains a lot of items that I personally don't enjoy buying without swatching, because I'm not sure how I'll like the product.  Specifically, nude and metallic lipstick. For nudes, because of my skin tone, I prefer to swatch, because there aren't many that look good on me.  For metallics, I never really like the finish/feel of them, so I usually pass.  But I wouldn't pass if the color of one was absolutely to die for. The collection is broken down into two parts: nudes and metallics.  Both collections have four lipsticks, four eyeshadows, and one blush.  Everything is limited edition. 

Nudes:
  • Angel's Kiss (amplified lipstick)
  • Wholesome (amplified lipstick)
  • Nearly Nude (amplified lipstick)
  • Restrained (amplified lipstick)
  • Bare Minimum (satin eyeshadow)
  • Glimpse of Flesh (satin eyeshadow)
  • Body Conscious (satin eyeshadow)
  • Exposed (satin eyeshadow)
  • Barefaced (satin blush)
Metallics:
  • Dominate (frost metallic lipstick)-deep purple
  • Pre-Raphaelite (frost metallic lipstick)-berry
  • Subverted (frost metallic lipstick)-brown
  • Show-All (frost metallic lipstick)-red
  • Love's Lure (veluxe pearl eyeshadow)-deep red
  • Brazenly (veluxe pearl eyeshadow)-deep purple
  • Crimson Tryst (veluxe pearl eyeshadow)-berry red
  • Deep Fixation (veluxe pearl eyeshadow)-deep brown
  • Stylish Me (satin blush)-mauveish
Looking at the swatches, the eyeshadows look gorgeous and pigmented, which isn't exactly common for MAC eyeshadows (anymore).  I'm thinking of picking up some of the nude lipsticks and some of the metallic eyeshadows.  

Friday, July 12, 2013

Suggestions for a Good Topcoat???

Okay, so I just did my nails yesterday.  Twenty four hours ago.  And this is what they look like now (the other hand as well).  Typically I don't use a top coat on my nails because I've found that it makes them super thick and doesn't really aid in the polish lasting any longer.  Well yesterday I decided to re-ignite my past love of top coats, and this is what my nails look like.  It's not that the polish is even chipping, but it is peeling, like you could literally lift a corner up and peel it off, with ease.  I've done this polish look before with no top coat, and it gave me 3 days worth of wear.  This here, I'm probably going to redo tonight.  

So, that leaves me with asking you guys, any suggestions for a good top coat? One that won't cause my nail polish to peel, help prolong the polish wear, or make them "bumpy" after application? PLEASE comment below! LOL.  Whoever finds me one that works well, I've got a polish giveaway for you!!  FYI-I used Finger Paints top coat for these nails. 

Thanks :)

NOTD: Nail of the Day

Hi Guys, here's today's nail of the day! Excuse the extra short length of my nails...I've been breaking them left and right, down to the nub, so I decided to just cut all of them down to the same length, and grow them back out together.  I'm also thinking about changing my natural nail shape from round to square.  I'm starting to like the way it looks, so my nails also have an awkward shape right now.  Anywho, for the colors I used China Glaze's Electric Beat (the blue) and the glitter is OPI's Polka.Com (polka dot com).  

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!

Check out the pics below!


Thursday, July 11, 2013

Ulta Online Haul

I ordered some things from Ulta that came in the mail last night.  The Eco Tools and Real Techniques brushes were all buy one get one 50% off, and I also used the 20% off coupon.  The Eco Tools brushes were Detailed Lip brush and the Sharpen and Smudge Duo (1275 and 1245).  The Real Techniques brushes are the blush brush and powder brush. I'm super excited about these because my former brushes were Target brand brushes and of course, they sucked.  I find the Real Technique brushes to be a good value for the price!  The Ulta products were all buy one get one free, so I picked up an eyeliner brush and an eyeliner gel pencil in Peacock.  The nail polishes were $6 each. Overall I think I got a really good deal!! Oh yea, check out those free samples in the back (next to the bread) lol! Didn't open the pack, not sure what they are, but I will update...because you know I love my free samples!!