Florida Sunrise

Hey! It's been a while since I've done a look, and I want to start doing a lot more on this blog.  I know that everyone does these typical sunset looks with these colors, but I liked how this turned out, and this is what I felt like doing, so here you go.  Also, it's about to be summer break, and I think that this is what everyone thinks of when they think of summer, right? Enjoy!

Finally a full face shot, huh? I finally figured out how to make them look okay; they used to be awful.

Eyes:

• Too Faced Shadow Insurance
• Coastal Scents white concealer
• Revlon Cream Eyeshadow Quad in Copper Canyon. (It sucks, by the way)
• Sugarpill Flamepoint eyeshadow
• Inglot Square AMC eyeshadow #60
• Wet 'n Wild Blue Had Me at Hello palette
• Inglot Square Matte eyeshadow #340 (I think)
• MAC Surf the Ocean Crushed Metallic Pigment set (the mint one)
• Urban Decay Perversion liquid eyeliner
• Urban Decay Perversion pencil eyeliner
• Coastal Scents 88 Warm palette
• Ardell Lashes: 109

Cheeks:

• Benefit Hoola bronzer
• Estee Lauder Peach Nuance blush

Lips:

• MAC Lush Amber

 So, I hope you guys liked the look and are excited to be seeing a lot more of them. And maybe you're excited to see my face? Haha. This look was really fun for me to do, and it was an excuse to go shopping, because I had to buy new lash glue (Duo really is the best!) and new lashes. Not an impressive haul, but I've done enough shopping this weekend anyway.  

I hope you guys all had a great memorial day, and if you don't celebrate it where you live, I hope you had a great weekend!

Face Up to It: Maybelline Fit Me Foundation

So, I ran out of my L'Oreal Magicsmooth Souffle Foundation, and so I had to get a new liquid foundation. I saw that the Maybelline Fit Me wasn't too expensive, so I decided to give it a go.  I believe that it was around $7.  

I don't like foundation bottles like this, because I always pour too much out, and then have to pour some back in, which is kind of gross.  The color is 220, Natural Beige.

Both of these pictures are pretty color accurate. It's pretty much a light tan. Unfortunately, it has a little bit of a greenish undertone... So I don't think that this foundation is anyone's natural color. On the otherhand, I guess that the green tone helps with red color correcting.  Anyway, the right swatch is thicker than you would wear it on the skin, but it shows the finish of the foundation really well. Which, by the way, sucks.

I hate the finish of this foundation.  It looks just as shiny as it looks in that picture.  This foundation gives the most oily looking finish that I've ever seen. Now, I always wear powder to set my foundation, but I have to use so much to set it and make it look matte that my face looks incredibly cakey.  This foundation is so shiny that even people with dry skin, who like dewy finish's would not like it.  I honestly don't know anyone who would like the natural finish of this foundation.

This foundation has pretty good coverage, but it's a little bit streaky when you apply it.  You have to take care to blend it out, and this also makes it so that it's not very buildable.  I feel like maybe it would apply better with a brush, but I just don't feel like I could ever get it too look good on its own. 

Regardless of the oily finish, I didn't find that this foundation moved around any more than any others that I used, whether I used a primer or not. The oilyness was just in how it looked, not really how it performed.

Long story short, I don't like this foundation at all. The color is kind of weird, the finish is terrible, and the packaging is not ideal.  It's not a bad price, and it's not so bad that I won't use it up, but I don't recommend it to anyone, especially because this isn't the first bad review that I've seen. 

What finish do you like for your foundation?

China Glaze Phat Santa

 China Glaze Phat Santa from the 2010 'Tis the Season to be Naughty and Nice collection.

So, I believe that this was 3 coats; this color is more sheer than you would think that it is. It's almost a jelly, but not quite, and it only really seems like one just because it takes more coats to be opaque than you would think.  It's a medium-deep red with brown tones to it. Definitely more of a winter color, and little more color accurate to the lower picture.  It's relatively shiny on it's own, but as always, wear a top coat!

Ultimately... I don't like this polish that much. It's not as opaque as it should be, it's a wee bit watery, and I honestly always think that the color is going to be less brown than it actually is when I put it on. But if that's your type of red, then go for it.

What's your favorite red creme? Blue-based, orange-based, bright, dusty, etc?

Zoya Crystal

Zoya Crystal from the Fire and Ice collection.

(With flash)

(Artificial light)

Zoya Crystal, 3 coats.  This color is not what I thought it would be, but in a good way.  It isn't quite as sparkly-shiny as Zoya Tiffany, but it has such a unique finish.  It's a blue foil with little gold flecks.  It actually looks like teeny-tiny pieces of gold foil dropped onto the top.  My friend had to ask if I had layered a few nail polishes to get this color, but it's not.  It's looks like a manicure with effort, but really it's just a normal nail polish. And, it didn't bubble! Zoya usually bubbles on me, and this one didn't! It's a good sign, I think.  

What's your favorite nail polish finish? Foil, frost, creme, sheer, etc?

Zoya Nail Polish Exchange, Take 2!

Earth day has come and gone yet again, as well as the Zoya nail polish exchange. It was one of my first posts on this blog, and here I am with more Zoya nail polishes, and less crappy/dried out/ used up ones!

Nail polishes I'm shipping away: Beauty Secrets Top Coat, Revlon base coat, Chameleon nail polish, China Glaze nail polish, Olay nail polish, Sally Hansen nail polish.

 Gemma, Crystal, and Harley

 

Dharma, Kissy, Kimmy

 

Gemma. Gemma is an army green with a very visible violet/indigo flash.  It's not quite a duochrome, because the different colors have different textures to them, and the purple shows only when the light hits it.  I love that the purple actually shows up in the nail swatch, rather than just in the bottle.  This is 3 coats, I believe. 

Crystal. Ugh, how stunning is that? I've been pining over this nail polish for over a year, now, and I didn't get it at the last exchange, only because I was concerned that it would look like OPI Absolutely Alice. It doesn't, don't worry! Though, this polish is a dupe for the rare Reflecting Pool by OPI.  Crystal is a smokey teal-blue base with little golden flecks in it.  These flecks look like little tiny bits of golden foil dropped into the polish. It's so stunning, and I'm sure I will wear this very soon! I think that this was 3 coats as well.

Harley. Haha, those two pictures look like completely different polishes. They're the same, trust me! It's a touch darker than the bottle picture, and quite a bit lighter than the nail swatch.  So, I don't believe that you can really see in these pictures, but this polish has kind of a frosty finish, but more so, it has fun little non-shiny particles in it.  Looks almost like broken glass; very pretty.  Anyway, this is 3 coats, I believe, and it's a perfect light grey for me. 

 

Dharma.  A light milky pink with blue flash/duochrome.  This color is super sheer, but it is buildable.  I believe that this is about 4 or 5 coats.  It's so delicate looking and gorgeous. I can't wait to see how annoyed it makes me, given it's sheerness.

Kissy. I've been itching to get this nail polish forever too. Ever since it came out, I've just thought I have to have that one.  And I finally got it! What's unique about this polish, is that it's a bar glitter, rather than normal hexagonal or circular glitter.  It's a dark magenta-pink with holographic glitter throughout, all bar shaped, in a clear base.  This was about 4 coats, and it fully opaque. You can see in the nail swatch that this definitely needs a topcoat, because it has a rather textural look to it, but it's not that bad, actually. Not super gritty. This color certainly does not disapoint, and I'm can't wait to wear it!

Kimmy. The most opaque out of all of these nail polishes, opaque in only 2 coats.  I'm wearing it on my toes right now, and I love it.  It's a bright, vibrant, tomato red with lots of golden flecks in it that gives it almost a orange look. Perfect color for summer, and it didn't bubble on me! Gosh, I hope my Zoyas stop doing that... This seems like a good sign. :)

So, I'll have nail of the day posts on all of these eventually, and I hope that you enjoy them.  Tell me if you ordered anything from the nail polish exchange or if you're waiting for next year!

Which one is your favorite/should I wear next?

Used up Product: Clinique Toner

So, in the month of April, I used up a lot of products, so I decided that I would review some of them! Given that I used this product for the last two months or so, I consider myself rather well-versed in it. This is the Clinique toner from the 3 step system, level 3 for combination skin.

I consider myself to have combination, acne-prone skin, but I found this entire line, cleanser, toner, and moisturizer very drying. First of all, the entire line, and a lot of Clinique products smell like alcohol.  Alcohol is known for being drying, so it isn't entirely unprecedented.  You may think that oily or combination skin would benefit from drying products, but I strongly believe that you need to moisturize your skin regularly, whether you have oily skin or dry skin.  Okay, I'm going to end this rant before I really go on a tangent, but bottom line, this is very drying.

People think that toner helps with getting smaller pores, acne scars, and things of that nature, but really, all that I've noticed any toners doing is acting as another cleanser.  I kinda think that it's even better though, because toners get off all of my makeup.  When you put it on a cotton ball, it removes everything, and you can see it doing so.  That's what I love most; that it gets everything off. But I've noticed that other toners do the exact same thing.  

It's a good product, and it is less drying when you don't pair it with other Clinique products, and and I love using when I don't have time to do the other parts of removing my makeup, but I don't think that this product is any better than any other toners.  It's fine buying it in a mini set, like I did, but I would not splurge on it, because it doesn't do anything miraculous.  I'm not giving it a thumbs down, but I would not repurchase it.

Toners are holy grail products for some people, are they for you?

Urban Decay Book of Shadows IV

Hey guys! So, for my birthday (May 3rd) I got the Urban Decay Book of Shadows IV palette! And since it was of Hautelook, it was only $24. I was amazed! $40 off? Yes please! Anyway, so beware that this is going to be a very long, photo-heavy post, so I'm just going to jump into it:

 (With Flash)

(Without Flash)

Blue Bus. So, I'm not leaving the pan pictures fully cropped, because I find that the colors around them are actually far more accurate than they are when I focus on them, so when you're looking at a color, consider all of the photos that it's in. Anyway, this is a blue with very, very strong purple flash or duochrome, so it actually appears more purple than these pictures show, contrary to the name. It's a frost finish, so it does take some building up to reach full opacity, but it felt very smooth and wasn't hard at all to pack; it'll just take a few layers.

Gunmetal. The swatch picture is of Gunmetal from the Book of Shadows on the left, and from the ever-popular Naked Palette on the right. As you can see, the BoS is darker and a little smoky-er, but it's also a little smoother than the one in the Naked palette. The shimmer, I suspect, (because this is a swatch post; not a review one) won't show up on the eye much, but it has a stunning shimmer to it.

Cobra. Ugh, I hate these uneven pictures! Anyway, Imagine the pictures a little murky-er and more yellow with a lot more gorgeous golden shimmer.  It's soft and pigmented, and I'm sure that some of the shimmer will show up on the eye. Would make a stunning green smokey eye look!

Baked.  It's a little more orange than in these swatches, very frosty, and the perfect 24 karat gold. Or at least it's the exactly color of my single 24 karat gold necklace.  It's very soft, very pigmented, and only a little darker than half-baked, but I guess that's why they're related, huh?

Bender.  Forest green frost. Nothing spectacularly unique about it.  It's probably the most powdery shadow in the palette; it picks up product super easily.  Would look gorgeous, and it's easy to use, it just isn't unique. But I'm fine with that; there's plenty of unique colors in this palette. Well, not unique to Urban Decay palettes, but unique if you don't collect Urban Decay Palettes.

Gravity. It's time to try defying gravity. I think I'll try defying gravity; and you can't pull me down. Ehrm. Anyway, Gravity is more vibrant and red toned than it shows in either picture.  It's very soft and has both shimmer and glitter.  It almost has a smokiness to it, and it's gorgeous.

Lost.  I find lost to actually be rather similar to Bad to the Bronze by Maybelline, one of their color tattoos.  It's just an average, frosty, medium brown. Slight frosty toned, a little on the dark side, very smooth, very pigmented. Sure to be pretty much a problem-free, easy eyeshadow.

Hijack.  This is the one color that is pretty different than it is in the pan.  In the pan, it looks like your typical mermaid-y teal; pigmented, shimmery, and vibrant.  Well, it's not. It's so much more interesting.  It takes on a smokey blue with a tinge of green accented by glittering pools shimmer. It looks exactly like the nail polish Crystal, by Zoya, but without the golden glitter, or Noel by Zoya. As completely stunning as this color is in the pan, this color is so unique, interesting, drop-dead-gorgeous, and soft. Love, love, love. 

Midnight Cowgirl.  Sigh. As with nearly all light frosty colors, the frost obscures an interesting factors that may have been in the eyeshadow, making it a nondescript pearl color.  Yes, it has glitter, but most of that rubs off. It does have a slight buttery tone to it, and it is pretty, it's just irritating that this palette has five light shimmery colors that all end up looking pretty similar on the eye.

Sin.  Okay. I can't really pretend that either of these pictures are accurate.  Once again, in the swatch photo, the one on the left is from the BoS palette, and the one on the right is from the Naked palette.  Both colors are a much more obvious pink-based champagne color, rather than the beige in both of these pictures.  What the swatch photo accurately displays is that the BoS Sin is a little bit greyer, and perhaps a hair darker, but either way, they're extremely similar, and won't look different on the eye at all. You could use on on one eye and the the other on the other and no one would know.

Midnight Rodeo.  I noticed that Midnight Rodeo is very, very similar to sidecar in the Naked palette, so I decided to do a comparison of them as well. Both are completely stunning colors, but very problematic, due to fallout issues.  Sidecar is a little lighter and a little pinker, whereas Midnight Rodeo is a little more of a taupe. Sidecar is smoother.  These colors are some of my favorites, but they just don't work very well on the eye. So sad.

Crystal.  These pictures simply do not do this color justice. It probably won't be nearly as pretty on the lid as it is in the pan, but it's certainly beautiful there.  It has a silvery-grey base, with perhaps a touch of lavender, and then bright turquoise shimmer. Not the most pigmented, but it's an amazingly gorgeous color, and if I can get it to work on the lid, I will wear it all the time!

Bust. Probably the least frosty/shimmery color in the palette. And by that, I mean that it's a frost.  A diverse, subtle, frosty taupe.  I suppose it's a little bit more brown than in the pictures, but there's not really much to say besides that.

Missionary. It's a little more of a pinky-tan than these pictures show, though it's very similary to Sin, and very similary to the frosty light colors that I was talking about earlier.  Looks kinda interesting in the pan, but it's nondescript and unoriginal on the eye.  Still a nice color, though.

Skimp.  A buttery light shimmer.  Once again, looks like a normal inner corner highlight, but hey, I guess you can never really have enough of those, right? You do use them everyday after all. Or at least I do. This one is a particularly pretty one for warmer looks too...

Zephyr. Did I mention how much I love these names? Well, I actually only like this one because it's the name of one of the gym badges in Pokemon. "I got the Zephyr Badge! Pi pikachu!" And all that. Anywho, this is the most obvious inner corner highlight out of all of them. Very pale and frosty; slightly yellow toned.  Kinda whatever, but nice and buttery none-the-less.

Do you need this palette? Well, no, you don't but I love it, and I haven't ever used it yet. I can see myself every color.  It's important to point out that there are no matte colors, as it typical of Urban Decay, but I don't really mind. I love shimmery colors anyway, and they still have a variety of finishes within that denomination.  My favorite colors are Gunmetal, Cobra, Hijack, Sin, Crystal, and Bust.  I do wish that they had some darker neutrals, rather than all of the colors that I'll probably use exclusively as inner corner highlights.  I think that this is for sure worth $24 and even more than that.  Especially considering that this palette comes with a primer potion, mascara, and eyeliner and the weird electronic stuff that I didn't even mention.  

If you want a more in depth review about any of the products once I've used them more, or a look including any of the shades, just give me a shout! I'm already thinking of ideas...

Do you buy Urban Decay full price, or wait around for the often times that it comes on Hautelook?