Guest Blog Post on The Makeup Rebel

Hey guys! I recently reviewed all four of Clinique's Cheek Pop blushes over at http://themakeuprebel.com/2014/04/21/guest-reviewer-and-friend-in-son/.   Check out my girl Raychl aka The Makeup Rebel, she's got great info on her page, including lots of posts on skin care, which we all know is the first step to great makeup application.  

Urban Decay F&F Haul

Here are the (only) two items I picked up during last week's Urban Decay  friends and family sale. I picked up the new revolution lipstick in 'shame' and the Vice 2 eyeshadow palette. The palette also comes with a dual sided eyeshadow brush.  It's an okay brush, but I personally don't think it's as nice as the brush in the Naked 2 palette.  I also got a free sample of the zero eyeliner pencil. It's black, but not as black as perversion, my favorite.  Check out the pics below!

October's Ipsy Bag

Here are this month's products:

This month's Ipsy bag (the bag itself) was adorable! Love it!! Anywho, in this month's bag I got a full sized Zoya nail polish, in a gorgeous sparkly purple color (Mason).  I also got a medium eyeshadow brush by Coastal Scents.  There was also a sample of La Fresh face oil-free face cleanser wipes.  There was also a sample of Bella Terra Mineral Cosmetics color in Navy.  Lastly, and last for a reason, a sample of StyleSexyHair's Spray Clay. I put this last because I, personally, am not a fan of hair products.  Ipsy could totally remove hair products from my packages and I'd be completely okay with that.  This is the second (out of four bags total) hair product I've received, and like the other, this is likely to go unused.

MAC Retro Matte Lip Collection-SWATCHES!

Hi guys! I posted about this collection last week, you can check out my previous post here.  The collection is out in stores, and the sales persons/make up artists still weren't able to tell me which of the new shades will be permanent.  I hear that most of them will be, if not all.  Anywho, I swatched the collection below.  Check out the shades, these are def some beauties!!

Lipstick, left to right: 

Steady Going, Dangerous, Runway Hit, Flat out Fabulous, Relentlessly Red, All Fired Up and Fixed on Drama.

Steady Going, Dangerous, Runway Hit,
 Flat out Fabulous, Relentlessly Red, All Fired Up and Fixed on Drama.

Pro Long Wear Pencil, left to right:
**For whatever reason, my MAC only had five of the pencils, so that's all I could swatch...perhaps the other colors are already part of MAC's permanent range**.

Dynamo, Trust In Red, Shock Value, Fashion Boost, and High Energy.

Mini Ulta Haul

I stopped into Ulta last night because they are currently running their 21 days of beauty, and there are some great deals in there.  I went for the Too Faced Shadow Insurance (eyelid primer) which was half off, so $10 instead of $20 for a full sized bottle.  That was a good deal IMO.  While there I also picked up this Natural Rebel set by Too Faced, which is exclusive to Ulta.  The set comes with Too Faced's Natural at Night eyeshadow set (gorgeous browns), a full sized Eyeliner pencil in Espresso, and a quad of lip gloss and creams.  I think it's a great value, considering the palette alone retails for $36.   So it's like you got the pencil and lip quad free!  Oh, and it comes with a free gift, which makes it a better value! Deluxe sized samples of Too Faced's shadow insurance and lip injection plumper.  Awesome.I can't wait to do looks using this baby soon.  I promise!

My Fave Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick Colors

Here are the swatches of my favorite Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick colors.  I love them all, but if I had to narrow the 22 shades down, these would make the cut!!

Row 1: Left to Right: Shame, Venom, Jilted, F Bomb, Rapture

Row 2: Left to Right: Bang, Naked, Turn On, Manic, Lovelight

Not pictured: Anarchy.  Gorgeous bright pink, reminiscent of Candy Yum Yum (by MAC).

RiRi Hearts MAC-Fall Release in October-UPDATED INFO!!

**UPDATE**

MAC tweeted last week that this collection will be available sooner than originally expected.  Instead, the collection will be available in MAC stores on September 26th and online September 30th.  The collection will then be available everywhere else on October 3rd.


Word on the street is that the Fall RiRi Hearts MAC collection will be released in early October (allegedly October 3rd).  This release is the largest of the RiRi Hearts MAC collection and will also feature "signature" packaging (which of course costs more).  The packaging is gorgeous! Pretty, gold, and covered with Rihanna's signature or "R" design.  The collages below are images borrowed from hausofrihanna.com!

The collection will feature:

• Lipsticks-$16.50
• RiRi Woo (retro matte blue red) (re-release) 
• Talk That Talk (retro matte deep plum)
• Who's That Chick (mid tone frosty orange)
• Nude Matte (nude cream)
• Lipglass-$16.50
• RiRi Woo will become a lipglass!!!!!!
• Blush
•  Bad Girl Gone Good (warm copper)
• Eyeshadow Palettes-Quad-$44.00
• Smoked Cocoa
• Grey/Champagne/Black w/silver/Charcoal
• Her Cocoa
• Bronze gold/Peach/Antique gold/Chocolate bronze
• Mascara $17.50
• Gigablack Extended Play
• Pro Longwear Lip Pencil-$21.50
• RiRi Woo
• Talk That Talk
• Blush/Bronzer Duo-$26.00
• Hibiscus Kiss (re-release)
• Veluxe Brow Liner-$21.50
• Deep Brunette
• Deep Dark Brunette
• Liquid Last Liner-$21.50
• Brushes 
• 187SE-$42.00
• 282SE-$32.00
• Lustre Drops-$20.00
• Barbados Girl (re-release)
• Eyelashes-$17.50
• #35
• #36
• Cream Color Base-$22.00
• Diamonds (soft pink beige w/gold)
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Review: Chanel Perfection Lumiere Foundation

Hey guys! I picked this foundation up a little while ago, while on my hunt for the perfect shade for my skin.  I read really good reviews online about this foundation, that it was radiant while not heavy or clogging.  The foundation is buildable and offers good coverage and is perfect for all day wear.  The first thing I noticed about the foundation is that it is scented.  I don't think the scent bothered me, but as soon as you pour some out you can smell the "perfumey" scent of the foundation.  The scent does wear off, but that was probably the most noticeable thing for me.  Normally scented face products bother me and I would immediately view the product as a poor performer, or likely to cause some sort of skin reaction.  Well, so far this foundation has not caused any skin outbreaks for me, so that's a good thing.  Also, depending on which liquid foundation you use you might find the Perfection Lumiere to be slightly more runny.  

I applied the foundation with my Tarte bamboo face brush, but I did feel like I used a bit too much product.  Like the sales associate at Nordstrom informed me, this foundation might be best used with a regular foundation brush (or your fingers if you'd like).  I think the color is a great match for my skin (I purchased it in 54 beige ambre) and it is by far one of the best matches I've seen in a while.  Keep in mind, however, my skin is still tan from this summer.  My skin tone may fade a bit as winter sets in.  I sincerely hope not, however, because this foundation comes with a price tag of $55.

I would give this product 4.5/5 stars. 

Check out this great image from karlasugar.net with swatches of the perfection lumiere line.

P.S. SPF factor in this foundation is 10.

MAC Antonio Lopez Collection Available Online NOW!

I haven't posted about this collection because it's such a big one, but I've received an email from MAC saying the collection is online now.  The collection will be available in stores next week, 9/12/13.  I will update with collection information later on.

Marc Jacobs Beauty--Swatched at Sephora

So during my Sephora trip I also swatched a few items from the new Marc Jacobs beauty line. I swatched a couple of the eyeshadow palettes (which were pretty impressive).  The palettes retail for $59, a bit steep.  Or a lot steep lol.  I swatched three of the glosses, which retail for $28.  They were okay, I wasn't overly impressed or anything, but lip gloss isn't my "thing" so maybe that's why.  They weren't magical or unlike anything I've ever had before. I think the standout item for me was Highliner Gel Crayon Eyeliner, which retails for $25.  There were six colors on display, Blackquer, Jazz(Berry), Ro(Cocoa), N(Ice), Intro(Vert), and Th(Ink).  These gel eye pencils are waterproof and color intense.  They really do not budge at all, and take some serious eye makeup remover and arm strength to completely remove.  I really really liked these.  Would I ever purchase them? Not sure, at least not right now.  I do love the Intro(Vert) color though! Check out the pics below.

Make-Up Removal

Makeup removal is super important for your skin, we all know that. Even more importantly, proper makeup removal is key to good (or better) skin. Using quality makeup removal tools and methods save time and stress to your skin.  If you wear makeup regularly then you might have a specific routine for makeup removal. For those who my wear makeup regularly you may not have a method, and maybe this article can help you.  The best thing to do to remove makeup is to take it off as soon as you're done for the day/night. Never sleep with makeup on if you can avoid it!!! If you feel yourself getting tired wash your face as soon as possible. I'm a firm believer in letting  your skin breathe.  Eye makeup is the hardest makeup to remove generally. Prior to washing your face you should remove all eye makeup. Then wash your face and follow up with your regular skin routine.  Otherwise you will wash your face and still look like you have raccoon eyes when you are done. My personal go to remover is Lancôme's Bi-Facil remover. Love it, got a deluxe sample and I still use it. I also use face wipes, they're just not my go to because they always make my skin feel weird or sticky  after, and I still have to wash thoroughly.  They're great for swatching or on the go removal. When I wear heavy or stay put mascara or eyeliner I may, sometimes, try and break up the makeup using Vaseline or oil. I find them great, affordable, moisturizing, and they work!! Far better than pulling and tugging and re-wiping your eyes to get the makeup off. You just apply, rub in, and wipe off.  A lot of your makeup is gone and you can just finish with your night skin care routine.  Either way, I recommend removing eye makeup then washing your face. It results in less pull and tug with your skin. 

To make your own eye remover you can use your preferred oil of choice and a carrier (water or a carrier oil).  Everyone has a preference of oil: jojoba, olive, almond, or grape seed. Mixing it with water helps it be less greasy. Just swipe it on a cotton pad and wipe. You may have to work it in if you've got waterproof eye makeup. Still, cheap and natural so that's a bonus!!

NARS Fall Collection 2013

NARS Fall Collection 2013 is available now.  It's a nice collection, featuring warm pretty colors, but I'm not sure if it's cohesive (in my mind).  There are some standout items, but I'm not sure if the entire collection, for me personally, blends.  Or works together completely.  Sometimes collections seem random, or seem that not all the colors in a collection work well with each other.  And I kind of get that impression from this one.  Again, just my opinion.  Check out the details below.

This collection features:

• Pure Matte Lipstick-$26
• La Paz (Deep, orchid purple)
• Peloponnese (Ginger pink)
• Velvet Lip Pencil-$25
• Mysterious Red (Deep, crimson red)
• Paimpol (Pink Chiffon)
• Nail Polish (Opaque)-$19
• Fury (Regal Purple)
• Galathee' (Dove Grey)
• Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner-$24
• Las Rambas (Yellow Gold)
• Via De' Martelli (Chocolate)
• Eyeshadow-$24
• Bavaria (Shimmer-Deep sea blue)
• Yamal (Matte-Maple sugar)
• Namibia (Matte-Grey moon)
• Kamchatka (Matte-Navy smoke)

This collection is available now at Nars Cosmetics (online), and Nordstrom. These are some pics of the products from the website. Nothing fancy, just off my iPhone, sorry.

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.