Face of the Day - Bright Purple & Pink Eyes

Products:

Rimmel Fix & Perfect Pro
Revlon Colorstay
Milani HD Advanced concealer
Milani Minerals Compact Makeup
Prestige Brow Perfection Light/Medium
Maybelline Great Lash clear mascara
Maybelline Color Tattoo - Fuchsia Fever
Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box - Fishnet
Make Up For Ever #92
Make Up For Ever #75 (on eyes and cheeks)
Wet n Wild Eyeshadow - Brulee
NYX single eyeshadow - Black
Milani Liquif'eye - Black
L'Oreal Voluminous False Lashes
Rimmel Lasting Finish lipstick - Airy Fairy

Bright Pink! FOTD - May 17

Face:
Urban Decay De Slick Spray
Revlon Colorstay foundation
Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer
L'Oreal True Match powder
Physicians Formula Happy Booster - Rose

Eyes:
MAC Painterly paint pot
Urban Decay - Scratch
MUFE - 75
L'Oreal Voluminous mascara - Carbon Black

Brows: 
Wet n Wild Vanity Palette - Matte Dark Brown
Maybelline Great Lash clear mascara

Lips:
MAC Candy Yum Yum lipstick (a thin layer)

Venturing Into High-End Cosmetics

For several reasons - including wanting to limit the growth of my collection and simple curiosity - I've decided to start experimenting more with buying high-end beauty products. Because these products are more expensive, I put more time and effort into making sure they are a product I want and will actually use. If possible, I sample products for awhile before finally buying them. Since so much more planning will go into these purchases, I think I'll spend about the same -if not even less- than when I go to the drugstore and pick up a bunch of random products pretty frequently.

That said, today I went to get some samples from Sephora of products I've been wondering about, as well as see some colors in person. I got these samples to try: (if any of you have any tips on how to best use these, I'd love to hear!)

I also tried the MUFE lipstick #37 and I loved it - the color, texture, and staying power all seemed really good. It - as well as NARS Pure Matte lipstick in Carthage and MUFE Smokey Lash mascara - are on my list of products to probably purchase eventually. 

I also stopped in the MAC store on this mall visit. I decided it was finally time to get the eyeshadow in Lucky Green that I think I've been lusting after for at least a year by now, and there were a couple lipsticks I wanted to see in person. I ended up getting the eyeshadow and the lipstick in Rebel. I am really excited for both of these and am very pleased with my purchases. 

In case you're curious, I swatched the lipstick straight from the tube and the eyeshadow with just my finger without any primer. 

Milani Cyber Monday Haul & Swatches - plus a high-end comparison!

Definitely click this one to see it bigger!

Paint Palette
Red Vino blush
Earthly Delights quad
Atlantis and Java Bean singles

All swatches done over NYX white eyeshadow base and applied with sponge-tip applicators.

I'm really excited to try this stuff out!! If you've tried any of these, I'd love to know your thoughts.

Also, while swatching the Paint palette I noticed some similarities so I tested it out:

L-R: Paint Palette, Makeup Forever #92, Paint Palette, Makeup Forever #75

#92 is definitely more pigmented and a bit cooler, but the pinks are extremely similar. And to think - the Paint Palette is about $8 (I got it for $4 with this sale) and the MUFE shadows are around $20...

Playing around

I felt like playing around with my makeup tonight and because I liked how both eyes turned out I thought I'd share them (even if I do look crazy with two different eye looks at once).

I used the NYX HD primer, nude from Wet n Wild I <3 Matte palette, and L'Oreal Voluminous False Fiber Lashes mascara on both eyes.

The lipstick I used is Milani Rose Hip.

For the pink eye, it's just Makeup Forever #75 eyeshadow, Physician's Formula 2 in 1 eye booster in black on the upper lash line, and Rimmel white eyeliner on the waterline. Since I realized that the Milani lipstick is the same shade as the eyeshadow, I decided to also use the shadow as a blush to do a monochromatic look.

For the other eye, I used the blue and green from the Wet n Wild I <3 Matte palette. I really packed on the blue to get it as intense as possible, but the green was applied with a lighter hand. I used Milani Liquif'eye pencil in Aqua on the waterline. I used the Wet n Wild blush in Pearlescent Pink.

I got the mascara in the mail today from a giveaway L'Oreal had on their Facebook page earlier. This was my first time using it but I think I'm going to like it! Have you tried this mascara? What do you think of it?

Sephora Haul and Swatches!

About a month ago, I won a contest on Erica's Facebook page with this look. (She also has a fantastic blog here.) As the prize, Erica mailed me a $100 Sephora gift card! I was so shocked to have won at all, and then there was such a fantastic prize. I've bought a few small items from Sephora in the past, but never anything over $10. I never thought I'd actually be buying full size items from there, despite how often I'd wander through and dream about what I would get if I could. After I made a list of some things I wanted to try, I went to one of the nearby Sephoras to get samples and otherwise try products out on myself. I also knew I was going to buy Stella McCartney's perfume in a rollerball since I've been wanting that fragrance for so long - I  would spray some on myself every time I went to a Sephora - but I didn't want to use up more than half of the gift card on an actual bottle. I've been using it most days since - I just love that scent!

Besides the perfume, I knew I would get the Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box and the 24/7 travel set as soon as I saw them. I also was considering MUFE Mat Velvet + foundation (which I decided I liked but not enough to pay 3x as much as my current foundation), a MUFE Aqua Cream (maybe in the future - this is something I'd be more likely to use in the summer), MUFE Smokey Lash mascara (I will DEFINITELY buy this in the future! It's amazing! But I have quite a few mascaras open right now so I'm going to wait until I've used up a few of them), and NARS Pure Matte lipstick in Carthage (an amazing color and product...but $25 for one lip product was a bit much for me...especially since I have so many pink lip products)

My eyes after going to Sephora to try things out - MUFE Aqua Cream #13 all over my lids, UD 24/7 liner in Ransom , and MUFE Smokey Lash mascara. I didn't have my lashes curled at all beforehand and I was using the disposable mascara wands, and I was still really impressed with the way my lashes looked. Plus it didn't flake or transfer AT ALL and it wasn't even the waterproof formula!

After I'd narrowed down my choices, I found out that the Friends & Family sale was coming up, so I decided to wait for that to take advantage of the 20% off and maybe be able to get something else! I ended up getting two MUFE eyeshadows instead of just one. So here are the things I got in my order!

The samples that came with my order - I'm excited for the perfume samples, but none of the Clinique samples are the options for my skin type! They're meant for dry skin but mine is oily.

These Makeup Forever eyeshadows are SO bright and fun! It was really hard to get them to photograph correctly in pan - the swatches are a bit closer to how bright they are in real life. The purple is #92 and the pink is #75. I also love the packaging on these. I wish all shadows came magnetized in their containers!

I love colored eyeliner so when I saw this set I knew I had to have it. It's the  24/7 Travel Size set of 5 in Electric.

This is one thing I have been eyeing at Sephora for quite awhile. I love bright colors and wanted a palette that had a good variety of them and I've always heard such good things about Urban Decay eyeshadows. Plus since it has a few neutral shades, including the black, I think it would work well as a travel palette for me. It also came with a small Primer Potion.

If you have any thoughts or experiences with any of these products or the ones I didn't end up purchasing, please share them! 

Rainbow Eyes : Inspired by Pixiwoo

After watching this video from Pixiwoo this week I knew I was going to have to recreate it for myself! I didn't copy everything exactly - it was more of an inspiration. 

I highlighted the shadows I used because I thought it'd be easier that way.

 NYX Yellow Funk, Jordana Luv2$hop,Wet n Wild Enter A New Realm (red only), generic 88 palette from eBay (mix of three greens), MUFE #92 and #75, Wet n Wild I <3 Matte (blue only)

Products and tools used to create the look.

I first put a layer of Urban Decay Primer Potion and a layer of NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk over the entire lid up to the brows and under the eyes. I used NYX eyeliner in Acid Green under the green area because I thought the green might need a little extra. Then I did all the shadow work, then brows, then lashes.

I used the darker powder in the Tweezerman brow powder duo for my brows.
To get the blue lashes, I used the white primer side of Revlon Lash Fantasy Total Definition mascara, then applied several layers of blue eyeshadow with a sort of flat-topped eyeshadow brush.

Face of the Day - October 12

Face:
Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet + foundation
Rimmel Match Perfection concealer
Revlon Colorstay pressed powder
Jordana blush - Coral Sandy Beach

Eyes:
Palladio primer
Jordana eyeshadow duo - Double Impact
Milani Infinite eyeliner - Everlast
Rimmel Sexy Curves waterproof mascara

Lips:
Milani Lip Flash - Photo Flash

Face of the Day - October 9th

Face:
MUFE Mat Velvet foundation
Rimmel Match Perfection concealer
Revlon Colorstay pressed powder
ELF Studio blush - Candid Coral

Eyes:
Palladio primer
Wet n Wild Pride palette (shimmery green, matte blue, matte white)
Milani Liquif'eye eyeliner - black
NYX single eyeshadow - black
Maybelline The Colossal mascara

Lips:
Revlon Colorburst lipgloss - Fire