Thursday, January 31, 2013

January Empties

While I haven't been doing well with my promise to limit cosmetic purchases, I have done a fairly decent job with using things up!

Most of what I went through were body care items. I also threw out some mascaras that were old, getting dry, or almost gone anyway. There are some skincare samples as well.

Not too shabby for one month!

Urban Decay Naked Skin BB Cream

Urban Decay recently released their version of a BB Cream and, sadly, for me it's a fail. It's supposed to blur pores and fine lines and even out skin tone.

I picked up a sample from Sephora when it was first released and let me tell you, i had high hopes! Well, it didn't really do any of that for me. The color didn't work for me at all (it was entirely too orange/dark). It didn't do anything to even tone, but I do have a fair amount of redness in my cheeks. I don't have super visible pores, except on my nose, and they remained just as visible. I tried this on its own and as a primer. It just didn't do much for me. Even under foundation my skin had an unnatural orange cast to it. This also had a really strong mint smell too it, which was weird.

If you have really good skin to begin with, this may work for you. I love Urban Decay, but not this product.



Monday, January 28, 2013

Maybelline Color Whisper: Pin Up Peach

The new Color Whisper lipsticks are a gel like, sheer lippie. I have only picked up one so far, but I really do like the formula so will probably get more!

I have the color Pin Up Peach. It's a pretty coral and will be lovely in Spring and Summer! It's very comfortable to wear, feels moisturizing, and can be built up. It is sheer at first swipe as the name suggests.

Overall, these are great! The color selection is decent. They feel nice on and don't dry my lips. These are a win!





Friday, January 25, 2013

Urban Decay Naked Basics: My Workhorse

I recently picked this little palette up and must say, it is awesome. I'm pretty sure you've seen swatches/reviews already, but here's my two cents. I reach for this nearly everyday; for a highlight, shadow to even out my lid color, or a crease/liner color. This little palette has it all!



Thursday, January 24, 2013

Blush Swatches

I am not a big blush collector. I have a lot of natural pigmentation in my cheeks, so I've always passed on blush for fear of emphasizing it. Lately though I have started to experiment with blush a bit more and have added a few to my collection.

NARS seems to be the standard for blushes in the mid range cosmetics. I only have two: Douceur and a mini Orgasm (part of an old Sephora 500 point perk). Douceur is a dusty pink/mauve. It looks really dark and brown in the swatches, but looks less dirty in real life. I'm fairly sure everyone knows why Orgasm looks like...but it's a shimmery peachy pink.

From Tarte, I have two of the Amazonian clay blushes. Both were part of various kits and I'm not sure they are available individually. Charisma is a peachy pink with shimmer. Adventurous is a muted berry with shimmer.

As far as MAC blushes go, I currently own one (although I do have 3 MSFs). It is Launch Away and was released last summer. It's a nice, light pink with a bit of peach and no shimmer/sheen.

Lastly, I have a bareMinerals blush from the Ready line in The Natural High. I reviewed this recently, but it's (again) a peachy pink with shimmer.

(Do we see a trend with my choices?!?)

I definitely need to branch out some with my color choices and also get more matte/satin finishes, but I'm still a blush newbie. Do you have a favorite blush or one you can't wait to buy?



















Sorry For The Lack Of Posts!

Sorry I haven't been around much lately! Life is a bit hectic at the moment, but should settle soon. I hope to start regular posts again next week!

Sunday, January 20, 2013

New: Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Colors

Today I have swatches of two of the new Caviar Stick Eye Colors for Spring. I picked up Amethyst and Rose Gold. Amethyst is a beautiful purple taupe. Rose Gold is a pretty beige pink. Both are gorgeous, pigmented, and blendable.

Caviar Stick Eye Colors retail for $24. I picked mine up at Sephora.





Monday, January 14, 2013

New Drugstore Bb Creams

I was at Walgreens yesterday and saw a couple of new BB Creams. I picked up one from Olay and one for L'oreal. The Olay one is part of the new Fresh Effects line and is labeled as a 'skin perfecting tinted moisturizer'. I know a lot of people take issue with American BB Creams and their lack of coverage and my guess is this will be the same thing. I also got the L'oreal BB from the Age Perfect line. This has the little beads of color in a white base...these tend to go orange on me, but I'll give it a shot!


I'll have reviews up once I give them both a go!

Friday, January 11, 2013

Current Face Favorites

My skin has been looking fairly good lately, so I've switched up my foundation a bit. I've been loving MAC Face and Body (I use shade N1). It gives sheer, but buildable,coverage and a natural, dewy finish. I pair it with MAC Mineralize concealer in NW20 for under my eyes.

I really only need one layer of foundation to even out my skin. I like how it is so light! I really don't feel like I'm wearing anything. The Mineralize concealer is so nice to work with. It isn't the heaviest coverage, but does a decent job and blends nicely without pulling.

The swatches below are: Face and Body foundation unblended/slightly blended; Mineralize concealer unblended/slightly blended/fully blended.







Wednesday, January 9, 2013

bareMinerals The Natural High Blush swatch

The Natural High was released as part of bareMinerals' Spring Remix launch. It's a pretty, shimmery peachy pink. It's not so shimmery as to emphasize pores, but gives a nice glow. It can be built up in intensity, so it should work in a variety of skin tones.







Monday, January 7, 2013

Kay Von D Starstruck palette swatches

I picked this palette up for under $13. I can't seem to find it on Sephora's website anymore, but I have seen it in stores still.

This little palette has 4 warm toned shadows; 2 coppery browns, a gold, and a red. Swatches are shown top to bottom, left to right.

The 2 brown shades feel quite soft and smooth. The gold and red feel a bit drier, but still swatch incredibly well.







Friday, January 4, 2013

Mini Sephora Haul

When VIBs were able to get an extra 20% off sale items, I picked up a couple of items.

The first thing I got was the Smashbox Studio Pop Eye palette. This contains 16 eyeshadows in a variety of colors and finishes and 4 cream liners. I haven't used a lot of things from Smashbox, so I'm definitely looking forward to trying this out!

Next, I picked up a Kat Von D quad in Starstruck. I mostly wanted this for the bright red shade. I had seen some swatches and the colors are all nice and pigmented.

Lastly, and not on sale, I got a Make Up Forever Aqua Cream in shade 20. It's a bright shimmery blue and I purchased it to use as a liner.

I'll try and get swatches and reviews up as soon as I've had time to play!









Wednesday, January 2, 2013

MAC Eyeshadow: Matte

Continuing on my MAC swatching mission; here are the eyeshadows I own with a matte formula. All swatches are on NW15 skin.

Matte formulas can be hit or miss. They can be buttery and blendable or stuff and difficult to work with. I've had decent luck with MAC's matte shadows, but I do a lot of 'research' before I buy.

First up is Sand &Sun. This is a limited edition from Summer 2010. It's a pinky peach with a semi stiff texture.

Next is Embark. This is a deep brown with good color payoff and is nice to work with.

Then we have Corduroy. This is lighter than Embark with more of a red undertone. Again, this one is nice to work with. I swatched Embark next to Corduroy (l-r) to show the difference in color.

Next is Wedge. This is my newest matte and I really like it. It's a light brown and is nice as a subtle crease color.

Finally is Plumage. This is a deep, dark teal. It has excellent payoff and is nice to work with. I did two swatches here, one heavy and the other sheered out.

Swatches below are in the same order as above.

Thanks for reading!