Muh Favs: May 2011 + Swatches

     I'm in the finally stretch of school and it's killing me. I HATE ESSAYS, who likes them other than...essay lovers. yeahh. The past couple weeks have been so busy, but I just couldn't leave my makeup alone. I've seriously applied makeup every single day. I think I'm going to do some posts on my everyday makeup and stuff like that. But here are some things I've been using a bit more than everything else. (Note: From last month I haven't stopped using my Sonia Kashuk Blush and Smudger brushes. Benefit Sugarbomb is still a fav, I've been venturing out though. Everything else has changed quite a bit though)

     1. I've been using the Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow Quad in Not Just Nudes alot. The first shade on the left is a matte cream color which I like as a base to even out my eyelid color. The second is a nice shimmery pinky brown which looks like on the lid. The third is a nice  matte warm light milk chocolate which works well in the crease. And the last is a shimmery dark chocolate which I like in the outer corner. These work really well as bases, I don't usually use them alone because they will crease.

     2. Next are the MAC Superslick Liquid Eyeliners in Smoky Heir and Defiantly Feline. These are amazing liners. Smoky Heir is a dark purple with blue and red micro-shimmers. Defiantly Feline is a bronzy brown with puny golden specks. I adore these, the applicator is perfect, the formulation is perfect, the colors are perfect. I think I'll go get the regular black one to be a basic black liner. I'm glad these are in the permanent line. (: Oh and creds to my best friend for buying me Defiantly Feline for my birthday last year. >w < 

     3. MAC Ever Hip Creamsheen Lipstick is such a gorgeous Spring and Sumemr lipstick. It brightens my face just a bit and has such a smooth formula. I love it for when I do a brown eye or for when I do a super simple face with only mascara. Better pictures and swatches here: http://valeriestlbm.blogspot.com/2011/04/swatch-mac-ever-hip-cremesheen-lipstick.html

     4. The two cheek products I've been liking a lot are Benefit Hoola Box Powder and Illamasqua Powder Blush in Excite. I like Hoola for contouring, I use the MAC 109 brush which you will see later in this post. I like it since it's matte and more natural. Excite is a bright coral orange. It's really nice for spring time. I like this when I was a fresh face and I only use mascara on my eyes. Crazy pigmentation! To see better swatches and a quick review of my Illamasqua blushes, see: http://valeriestlbm.blogspot.com/2011/05/illamasqua-blush-swatches-and-first.html

     5. Lancome Dual Finish Powder in Matte Neutrale II has been a powder I reach for quite a bit. This is a powder foundation, but I like it as a setting powder since I use a fluffy brush that won't apply too much of this powder. When I want light coverage, I just use some concealer and use a bit more of this powder. You can use this wet, but I haven't tried yet.

     6. The Sephora Professionnel Round Powder Brush #41 is such a fun brush. It's so big and fluffy, I love it. I use it for a quick sweep of loose translucent powder.

     7. A generic eyelash spoolie is a basic for me, I just decided to add it in. I just use this to get rid of clumps in my mascara, super useful. I love this for when I try to finish a crappy mascara. Haha. I got this in a Asian market.

     8. The MAC 109 Brush is so frikin' useful. A lot of people like this for cream products and foundations, but I heard a bunch of hairs also come out when you use it that way. I haven't tried since I like to apply my foundation with my fingers. I love this as a contouring brush sicne it fits perfectly under my cheekbones. The density also allows for buffing out the contour powder. If I apply too much blush, I also use this to buff it all out. (:

     So that's all for this month. I need to get back to typing up my final essay. If you have questions about any of these products do ask me. I'll be doing reviews on some of these later.

Thanks for reading, byebye. C:

Don't Bite Your Nails: Sephora by OPI Under My Trench Coat Swatch and Quick Review

     The Sephora by OPI nail polishes have really impressed me. I only have three, but they want me to pick up a couple more. Here's Under My Trench Coat!

     Under My Trench Coat is a dirty taupey brown with tiny silver shimmers. In different lighting, it can sometimes look like a light gray. It's a nice neutral color I think is appropriate for more formal occasions. It's very mature and chic. The nail polish applied well. For all three Sephora by OPI polishes I have tried, I feel that the formula is super liquidy. This can be a good or bad thing. It you apply to much it's a drag. But the polish also doesn't get thick and clumpy too quickly. I get a good weeks wear from these polishes. (:

Thanks for reading, hope that was helpful. Byebye. (:

TIME TO GET FAT: Guess who made pizza dinner?

     Of course ready made pizza is hecka easy to do, but I added a bit of stuff, so yeah...

     So the pizza already had pepperoni on it, I just added some garlic that i cooked a bit in some olive oil. The other half of the pizza already had onions on it. (:

     The salad is regular romaine lettuce, some cooked hot Italian sausages that i cut up, Parmesan cheese (the best cheese on Earth), and a bit of salt.

It was a good dinner. Thanks for reading. Byebye. :P

FOTD: Weird weather...

     The weather was really weird today. A couple hours of overcast, an hour of sun, 20 minutes of hardcore raining, half an hour of sun, and now it's overcast again. I spent the day thinking that I should be doing homework, but not doing it... whatever, I have tomorrow and Memorial day. Oh and tonight. I'll definitely start tonight. (:

     Do you see the weird change in lighting in the photos? I always feel like my camera makes my eye shadows looks all brown so it looks like I'm wearing the exact same thing every time. BUT IM NOT. The first two pictures are more true to color, sorry you can't see me eye lid in those...


     On my face I'm wearing...

Sephora Green Primer

Revlon Colorstay Foundation in 200 Nude

Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in #2 (under eyes)

Maybelline Mineral Power Concealer in Ivory Light 2-3 (under eyes, my bags are sooo bad)

Revlon Colorstay Pressed Powder in Fair

     On my cheeks I have...

Illamasqua Powder Blush in Excite (it's blended out a lot, and my camera isn't picking it up, it gives a nice peach flush)

stila Illuminating Finish Powder in Gold (highlight)

Benefit Hoola Bronzing Box Powder (contour)

     On my eyes I used...

Urban Decay Primer Potion (this isn't working out for me, it creases)

Revlon Cream Shadows Quad in Not Just Nudes (matte cream color all over lid, medium matte shade in crease, darkest shimmer shade in outer corner)

wet n' wild Silent Treatment Trio (brow bone color on 1/4 upper and lower lid, eye lid shade on rest of upper lid and middle lower lash line, crease color in outer v and outer lower lash liner)

Rock&Republic Eyeshadow in Veil (brow bone)

LORAC Take a Brow Kit in Dark Brown (tightline)

tokidoki Perfetto Liquid Eyeliner in Sabochan (mini winged liner, starting where pupil is)

Benefit badGal Mascara in black

     On my lips, I used my new favorite combo which I discovered today...haha...

MAC In Synch Lipliner (lined and just a touch on the inside)

Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Soft Nude (lightly dabbed on)

stila Lip Glaze in Kitten (center of bottom and upper lips)

     Woohoo. I really liked the lips today. I've been trying to figure out how to get that perfect sheer natural nudey lip that can  be worn without a smokey eye. So basically it doesn't totally wash me out. I like this lip since you can definitely see the pinkiness of my lips peek through. I'm still going to try and find a lipstick that will give me this effect without all the work, since I'm lazy.

     

     Hope you liked this. (: Thanks for reading. Byebye. ;)

Rock&Republic Eyeshadow Swatches and Review :D

     I've been meaning to do this post for a while now, and I finally decided to since I'm taking a break from writing my finals paper. I purchased these myself quite a while back and I still remember my day long bus ride to pick them up from the UPS station. These are the Rock&Republic Eyeshadows. I have them in Ambition, Veil, Sabotage, and Fiend. Sketchy names, hmm?

     All the swatches are taken under natural light. (:


     Ambition in a white with very apparent gold shimmer/duochrome. Veil is a off-white beige matte color. Sabotage is a lighter shimmery brown with a bit of taupe, it leans cool. Fiend is a blackened navy black with blue specks in it.


     The pigmentation and texture of these shadows vary slightly. Ambition is nicely pigmented and very smooth. Veil lacks just a bit in terms of pigmentation, and although it is smooth, it can get chalky. Sabotage is pigmented, although not as much as Ambition, it's smooth, but not too smooth. Fiend is a bit more sheer, and a bit harder than the other three shadows.


     The application of these shadows also vary. They wear very well though, I can get through the whole day without much fading. Ambition glides on well, but it's also a pretty weird/hard color to wear. You need to know where to wear it and how much to use. If you use this on the inner corner I recommend a light layer or it will look super unnatural, unless you want that. Ambition does look really good as a lid color over a gold base like MAC's Rubenesque Paint Pot. Veil is a nice brow bone color, it applies well. Sabotage looks so good as a lid color, it was in my most recent favorites post. Fiend is harder to apply than the other colors because of the black in it. It tends to lose the blue the more you blend it.


     The packaging is absolutely funtabulousssssss. It's so classy and rich. I do admit that these are very heavy and bulky. Also the exterior packaging that they came in were absolute wastes, it was a bit extreme on that end.


     Overall, I'm satisfied with these shadows. I've learned to work with all of them so that none of them will go to waste. I definitely recommend Sabotage. You can get these on Hautelook once in a while, but I'm pretty sure that these aren't sold on the Rock&Republic site anymore. 


     Thanks for reading, hope this is helpful. Byebye. >w   <

Don't Bite Your Nails: Sephora It's All About Me Swatch

     With Spring and Summer coming, I decided to go a little more bright this week. I recently picked up my first Sephora nail polishes, and got It's All About Me. Here are some photos and swatches. (:

     It's All About Me is a bright hot-pink that leans cool. It's really nice and refreshing. The formula of the polish is really liquidy, but it doesn't not streak and it is not too sheer. I got an opaque cover in two layers. I do recommend this polish, I think it'll look great on toes.

Thanks for reading! Byebye. ^_^

Dior Lip Addict Lipstick Quick Review + Swatches ft. Couture and Miss Dior

     When I got my recent Sephora haul in, I was expecting the Dior Lip Addict Lipstick in Couture to be a peachy pink color. Instead I got a sheet pinky red, of course, I don't unhappy...but with spring time coming, I've been searching for the perfect peachy lipstick. So on my next Sephora visit, when I originally planned to pick up the limited edition Hello Kitty palette, which was sold out, I picked up Miss Dior.

Top to bottom: 1 swipe of Couture, 3 swipes of couture, 1 swipe of Miss Dior, 3 swipes of Miss Dior

Bare lips for reference

864 Couture

343 Miss Dior

     As you can see, this lipsticks are very sheer. Which is my largest complaint, I'm basically worried that I paid $28 for .12 oz, but it'll run out so quickly since I need to apply so much more for the color to show. I guess you do pay a lot for the beautiful packaging, which I do adore. (:

     Couture is a sheer pinky red, it's similar to MAC Viva Glam Cyndi Lipstick, but it is obviously more sheer. Miss Dior is a very sheer peachy pinky, I mean super sheer. However, surprisingly, they last well on my lips. I got Couture to last at least 5 hours which is hecka good for sheer lipsticks. I'm not too sure about Miss Dior yet. I'm not going to return these lipsticks since I can just slap them on when I'm lazy, but I also don't think I'll be purchasing anymore, oh but there's a color called Bobo, and the swatches online look really pretty...

     That's all I can say about them for now, I'm pretty neutral slightly leaning negative because of the sheerness. I've been searching for that Hello Kitty palette, OMG 3 weeks in a row to check Sephora and I still can't get it!

Thanks for reading, hope this was helpful. Byebye. B)

Smooth as a Baby's Butt: Philosophy Purity Cleanser Review

     When I buy a cleanser, it really depends on the purpose I want to use it for. When I bought the Philosophy Purity One-Step Cleanser, I definitely bought it based on the reason that it claims to remove all your makeup, deep clean your face, and tone it. The thing is, I shower when I come home which is around 5-6pm. Since my face will be wet, and I want to remove my makeup as soon as possible, I do it all in the shower. So Purity stays in my shower and I use it everyday. When I don't shower, I just use MAC wipes to remove my makeup which only happens once a week, probably on Fridays. 

     I really like Purity, I'm sure you've all seen other raves about this cleanser. But really, it does what it says. At first, I didn't like this cleanser very much, I don't know why, it just didn't appeal to me. But after I placed it in the shower, it became so convenient to use, and I starting really noticing the benefits.

     First of all, the positives... the cleanser removes all my makeup, and doesn't dry out my skin as long as I use a good moisturizer. I found that when I'm super tired, I can just wash my face with this and apply a moisturizer and I won't break out. That tells me that it really does a good job of cleaning my face. Short and simple huh?

     The negatives of this product are really case sensitive and they may only bother me, I'm nitpicking. The packaging of the first bottle I got was really sucky and it was hard to squeeze out product. The second bottle I got is totally different and product comes out very easily. There's also a very strong sort of alcohol smell, that bothers and irritates my eyes just a bit.

     I really think this is a nice cleanser, especially since it does what I want. I do recommend a separate eye makeup remover because this will not remove all of that stuff. I purchase the 8 floz bottle which is $18 and it lasts maybe 3-4 months. I will recored with my new bottle.

Thanks for reading! Byebye. >w <

MAC Brush Haul. (:

     I woke up yesterday to a beautiful Saturday morning and what did I find? My dogs had chewed up a couple of my makeup brushes. Basically I lost a couple essential brushes, luckily  my favorite Sonia Kashuk Blush Brush wasn't chewed up or I'd need to find a way to get to Target. However, this time I decided that I would invest in some really nice brushes (I found a better way to hide my brushes from my dogs so I don't expect these to get chewed up). Of course, I decided MAC would be a nice choice so I got my second MAC brushes...not first since I had one 109, which was chewed up after being much loved, I was most upset about this brush being chewed up...

     I can't wait to see how these will work out for me. (:

Thanks for reading. Byebye. :D

Compare&Contrast: Makeup Forever 23L and MAC I Get No Kick Swatches and Review

     Woohoo, the weekend is here after a busy week. Of course, that means it is my obligation to get some posts up. (: On my Sephora haul, I said I would compare the Makeup Forever Aqua Liner in 23L to the MAC Eye Kohl in I Get No Kick, and here it is! I will be called MAC I Get No Kick, IGNK just to shorten it (Please note IGNK was limited edition with the MAC Champale collection). First are some pictures and swatches before I go into the review.

 Top to bottom: MAC IGNK (one swipe), MUFE 23L (one swipe), MAC IGNK (6-7 swipes), MUFE 23L (3 swipes)

Liners on inner corner. Left: MUFE 23L, Right: MAC IGNK (Please note. I rubbed my left eye so MUFE faded which is stupid since I should have reapplied...Sorry)

     Both the MAC IGNK and MUFE 23L liners that are meant for highlighting, however they do have a couple differences. Both are champagne beige liners that I think is a great way to highlight. This type of liner is a necessity in my makeup collection.

     In terms of color + pigmentation, the liners have a different undertone. MAC IGNK is more of a warm yellow/golden undertone, whereas MUFE 23L is more or a cool pink undertone. (You can definitely see this in the swatches. I prefer a warm undertone since I have a neutral to warm skin tone. Although I prefer the color of MAC IGNK, MUFE 23L is much more pigmented.

      In terms of texture + application, these liners differ greatly. I haven't tried any other MAC Eye Kohls or MUFE Aqua Liners, so my view on these is only directed to these two liners. MAC IGNK is much harder than MUFE 23L. Unlike MAC IGNK, MUFE 23L glides on smoothly without dragging my eyes at all. I had to repeatedly draw MAC IGNK to have it show up. MUFE 23L is much more easy to blend also because of the creamy texture, I think that it has a similar texture to the MAC Chromographic liners.

     The wear of both of these liners is great. I think I can get about 8-9 hours of wear from both of these, unless I rub or touch my eyes.

     Overall, I prefer the MUFE 23L liner. It really is because the texture is so easy to work with. It would be so nice if MUFE had a warm toned liner like this. MAC IGNK is also very nice, and if it were not for the texture, I would have picked it over MUFE. Also, MUFE 23L is in MUFE's permanent line whereas MAC IGNK was limited edition. I definitely think that if you missed IGNK in the Champale collection, you should pick up the MUFE 23L. They're pretty much dupes since you can't really see a different once they are on the eyes.

MAC IGNK went for $14.50 for 0.048 oz. MUFE 23L is $17.00 for 0.04 oz.

Hopefully that was helpful!

Thanks for reading! Byebye. *_*

Hautelook ft. Lulu Bag Haul

     I made that alert post on the Lulu bag sale on Hautelook a while back, and I've finally received the bags... Well I got them on the 2nd, so not that long. Here are pictures of the bags. (: I had to sort of put them all together, or else it would have been so hard to get them all on...

     Like the Photoshopping I worked really hard on? The bags are really nice, so if you ever see these bags back on haute look, I recommend the purchase. However, don't purchase if they are regular price, I don't think the quality is THAT great. Yup. (:

Thanks for reading! Byebye. >_0

Illamasqua Blush Swatches and First Impressions: Lover, Excite, Panic

     As I said in my last haul post, I've swatched and gotten a good idea of the Illasmaqua blushes I ordered. I have Lover, Excite, and Panic, here are product photos and swatches.

(Lover) Concentrated, Diffused

(Excite) Concentrated, Diffused

(Panic) Concentrated, Diffused

     

     These Illamasqua blushes are really nice quality blushes. (Please be aware that I am doing a first impressions review). Lover is a lighter matte peachy apricot color which is probably the most wearable and one that is harder to overdue. Excite is a bright matte corally-orange. Panic is a bright matte cherry red. The product photos make Excite lighter than it actually is and Panic brighter than it actually is. They blended well on my arm, although it is definitely easy to overdo them because of the high pigmentation. The blushes were smooth, but not powdery. The packaging is pretty nice, very sleek, and very cool. Oh! They kind of smell like cinnamon, especially Panic. I can't say too much because I haven't really tried them enough.

     The blushes run pretty expensive at $24 each, but I justify it because the packaging is nice, the quality is good, you get quite a bit of product, and really...they're so pigmented that you aren't going to use that much each time. I recommend Lover for those who don't want to take on Excite or Panic. But if you think about it, Excite and Panic will look really good with a clean face and minimal makeup; just for a pop of color. Orange cheeks are in this Spring! I'm sure that if you blended well, the blushes will turn out very normal.

     I hope the swatches and quick review was helpful!

Thanks for reading. Byebye. *_*