Friday, June 29, 2012

MAC Blot, My Summer Go To

MAC Blot Pressed Powder is a sheer powder designed to keep grease and oil at bay. It doesn't really offer any coverage, but will keep your foundation in place and your face shine-free.

This has a permanent place in my purse during the summer months. You can use it to touch up throughout the day and it doesn't get cakey or powdery. It comes with a little puff, but I prefer a travel kabuki type brush.

I use the color Medium Dark and I'm about an NC/NW 20. Since it is sheer, the color 'match' doesn't need to be perfect. I don't find this is noticeable on my skin, but it does take away any oiliness/shininess on my skin.

Overall, it's a great powder and one of my summer staples.

Purchased by me.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Stila In The Light Palette

I picked this up recently since I had virtually no palettes in my stash. I wanted something neutral and this one caught my eye. It retails for $39, so less than the Naked palettes. I also had a 20% off any purchase at Ulta coupon, so this guy was a steal!

These are also my first Stila shadows. For the most part they feel nice and soft and have good pigmentation. Some of the darker shades are a bit sheer at a single pass, but it seem they can be built up. This also came with a great blackened brown eyeliner. swatches below are l-r, top row then bottom row.

Overall, I'm happy with it. It has a good selection of colors and matte and shimmery shades. I definitely think its worth checking out!

Saturday, June 23, 2012

MAC Fix+

MAC Fix+ is a setting spray, makeup refresher, and mixing medium. It comes in a spray bottle with a lockable nozzle (brilliant!). It retails for $20 USD.

Personally, I use Fix+ mostly as a mixing medium for loose pigments. You just spray a bit on your brush, dip it in your pigment, and apply. It's really good for this. I also use it to take down any 'powdery' look after I put in setting powder. It's nice in the summer too. Store it in the refrigerator and mist when you need a cooling blast!

I don't really use this to set my makeup, so I can't really say how it works in that way.

Purchased by me.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Dr Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm

I'll admit it. I bought into the BB Cream craze hook, line, and sinker! I love the idea of a multi-purpose, multi-benefit 'foundation'. As a mom of a toddler, anything I can do to simplify my morning routine is appreciated!

Dr Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm comes in one shade and is supposed to self adjust to give you a good color match. Now, this works on my skin and I'm fairly pale ( MAC NW 20 for reference), but darker skin may have issues with this. It has SPF 45/PA+++, which is excellent. It also contains anti-aging ingredients and antioxidants. All awesome. This can be worn alone or as a base for foundations. I prefer to wear it on it's own. I think it could get a bit heavy otherwise, but I'm not a full coverage gal.

Overall, I think this is a great product! I feel it does. Good job of evening out my skin and I like the higher level of SPF. It's also allows me to skip a couple steps in my morning routine. Most days I do apply moisturizer, but you don't have too and I can always skip primer with this.

Product purchased by me.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

MAC Hey, Sailor Eyeshadows

When MAC released their large Summer 2012 collection, not a lot grabbed my attention. Never the less, I did grab a number of things after seeing them in store and playing with them a bit.

Out of the eyeshadows, I picked up all but one. The one I didn't get was Crystal Avalanche, a frosty white that is part if the permanent collection. It's a great highlight, inner corner color, but I have similar colors already.

The four I got were Jaunty, Barefoot, Feeling Fresh, and Nautical Navy. Jaunty is a slightly yellow toned beige. It's a great all over the lid color. Barefoot is a gorgeous antique gold. I can't resist a gold shadow! Feeling Fresh is a grassy green. Nautical Navy is a blackened navy.

All of these are great shades. My favorite is Barefoot. It's really smooth and has good color payoff.

Swatches are l-r: Barefoot, Jaunty, Feeling Fresh, Nautical Navy. All purchased by me.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Laura Mercier: Lip Glacé for Summer 2012

I picked up 2 of the 3 new, limited edition lip glosses from Laura Mercier. These have an awesome formula; thick but not sticky and long lasting. They have a slight vanilla scent and taste, but it's not overpowering.

I have Orange Tulip which is a slightly milky peach. This is a great way to wear the orange that's so popular this summer! It's muted enough to not be scary to wear.

I also have Camellia. This is a gorgeous bright pink. Lovely on the lips and perfect for summer.

These are a bit pricey at around $24, but they are a great splurge item! Purchased by me.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

MAC Casual Color: Out For Fun

When MAC released the Casual Color Cheek and Lip pots, I was pretty skeptical as to if I would like them. I figured they would be either too dewy on the cheek or too dry on the lips. I have to say I was wrong.

I picked up Out For Fun, which is a bright pinkish coral. It looks a bit intimidating in the pot, but looks very natural on the cheeks an lovely on the lips. It dries fairly quickly and doesn't feel heavy or greasy. I would have liked a bit more wear time, but overall it was good. On my cheeks (over foundation/primer and under powder) it wore for about 5 hours before fading. At least it fades evenly and didn't leave me looking blotchy.

Please excuse my iPhone pics, they made the color look more orange than it is. These are $20 USD and limited edition. Purchased by me.

Mascara Love: MAC Extended Play Lash

I have tried MAC's mascaras and been disappointed more than once, so I admit I was skeptical about their newest offering. Extended Play Lash comes in one shade, "Endlessly Black" is what I believe it's called.

This mascara is awesome! It lengthens and separates like no other! The brush is quite small, so it really grabs all the little hairs and gets into corners easily. It doesn't flake on me and washes off with water. Folks...we may just have an HG (holy grail)!

I believe this is around $15. Purchased by me.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Lush Shampoo Bar: Seanik

For those of you who aren't familiar with Lush shampoo bars, they are a solid shampoo that you rub directly on your hair and then work into a lather.

Seanik is supposed to be volumizing and softening. It contains sea salt and small chunks of seaweed.

I actually really enjoy this! It has great lather, smells nice, and lasts forever. The one I'm currently using is going on 3 months now and I wash my hair daily. I like that you can toss it in a tin ad not worry about it spilling everywhere when you travel.

This retails for $10.95 usd. Purchased by me!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

MAC Hey Sailor! Pro Longwear Eye Pencils

When MAC released their large Summer collection, I admit to being underwhelmed by it. The colors didn't seem 'summery' to me and as a lip product girl...well, none of them really excited me. As any good makeup junkie though, I went on launch day to check it out.

I walked away with more than I thought I would! Over the next few days, I'll try and get all of it reviewed. I'm starting with the two Pro Longwear Eye Pencils I picked up.

First is Handforged, a pretty bronzey gold with sparkle. This one can feel a tad gritty and pulls ever so slightly while being applied. It's not enough to make it a skip though! The color is gorgeous and I feel it brightens the eye.

Next, I picked up Emerald Sea. It's a fabulous grassy green. This applies smoothly and has great opacity on one pass. It's certainly my favorite of the two!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Chanel Glossimer: Calypso

Calypso is a gorgeous, sparkling orange. This yields semi-opaque color coverage. It's most appreciates in the sun as it's shimmer really shows.

This is my first Glossimer and I really like it. It's nonsticky, had no scent, and it's so pretty on. It's limited edition for Summer 2012, so if you like it grab it up!

These retail for $29.50. Purchased be me.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! I am a stay at home mom who loves playing with makeup. I will be doing reviews, swatches, and some other fun things too. Thanks for reading!