Red Summer Glam

This summer look is by my best friend Abbi. I am totally in love with these pictures and look. It is completely different from something I have ever done. It was so fun teaming up. All editing, photography, hair, and makeup credit goes to her! To start she groomed the brows and used ABH Brow Definer in "Medium Brown" to give a bolder brown than usual. She then concealed around the brow using Urban Decay concealer in the shade "Light-Neutral". For the eye she used brown shadeds from my Lorac Pro palette and "Morocco" from ABH. She did something totally different and did a red lip liner (in the shade "Perfect Red" from Too Faced) for my eyeliner then used "Morocco" again to blend the liner. Tape was used to create a precise edge and is an awesome trick to really make this look work. She then lined the lower lash line using the same colors as the lid to make an ombre effect. The top lash line was lined with black liner from Marc Jacobs. Moving onto the face- she applied Nivea Men's Post Shave Balm as a primer to start. Then for foundation she used the Nars All Day Luminous in the shade "Barcelona". (funny story, we dropped the packaging of the foundation then used a beauty blender to pick it up off the ground and apply it to my face because no makeup can go to waste, especially not Nars!!) She then concealed under the eyes and in the T-Zone with her Urban Decay concealer in the shade "Light-Neutral" She contoured my nose and cheek bones with the Wet n' Wild Contouring Duo. Of course she baked after using Cotty Airspun Loose Powder to make the contour really pop. She then highlighted using my Laura Geller highlight in "Gilded honey". Last but of course not least, she used Colour Pop's Ultra Satin Lip in the color "Cozy"!

That 5 page essay ^ pretty much sums up the look! 

Anyways I loved this look and it was so summery and fun!

-C

Urban Decay: Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette Review

I got this palette from Sephora for $25! That was discounted 50% because it was a limited edition palette and this was the last one in stock. You know I had to get my hands on this. Plus it helped that I made friends with the associates in Sephora after being in there for over an hour. 

First of all the packaging is sooo cute. Like gold? Hello!

This palette has 15 colors ranging from neturals to pops of color. It has a good amount of mattes and shimmers to create many versatile looks. 5 creamy mattes, 5 metallics, and 5 vibrant satins in this palette makes a very even balance. 

A nice plus to this palette is the big mirror. With a magnetic closure it has a very lux feel to it!

These colors are not a joke! Sooo creamy and very pigmented. Except one actually is a joke. The one in the top right, "punk" was not comparable to the others. It was chalky and not pigmented. And in the pan it looks like a warm brown but it comes off very cool toned on the skin. I feel like every other shade is well worth the money especially since I got it for half price. I love that it has so many lighter shades because my go look consists of a lighter glittery shade on the lid and a matte in the crease, so I can create a lot of variations of my everyday look just using this palette. I feel like this forumla is even softer than most Urban Decay shadows and thats saying a lot being that they are known for their eye shadow. If you want this palette I would check your Sephora or Ulta and see if they have one in stock! You can also order online at Ulta and Sephora for the half price!! I just checked and its still in stock. Links here---->  Sephora Gwen Stefani, Ulta Gwen Stefani

This palette is perfect for creating an everyday look but with the pops of color it could suit anyone and any occasion. Tbh I think I might like this more than Urban Decay's Naked Palettes... So you can tell I'm not fooling around!! And neither should you, so get your hands on this palette while you still can! #NotSponsored #WouldBeSponsoredifIcould

-C

WetnWild Eyeshadow Dud: Poster Child

I have a blog post 2 Drugstore Eyeshadow Palettes Worth the Money.<<Click that link to read more about it! I talk about an all matte palette from Sonia Kashuk and a neutral eye shadow palette from Wet n Wild. I love that Wet n Wild palette. The shades are so buttery and pigmented. So I thought I would try out palette with a little more punch. I bought this palette thinking it would be so fun for summer and it was only $5.

This is in the shade 'Poster Child.' The palette looks like it could be fun to play around with but...

It's awful.

I feel bad saying it's awful but look at the swatches! There is NO color to these shades. These might have been the worst shadows I have ever used there very stiff and looked like nothing on the eyes. Which I find very interesting because the Wet n Wild 'Comfort Zone' Neutral palette might be the best eyeshadows from the drugstore. That palette is worth every penny and more. However, this palette isn't worth a darn thing!!

-C

Maybelline The Nudes Pallete Review; Original & Blushed

I really like the idea of affordable eye shadow palette. These are two palettes from Maybelline. The original The Nudes palette is $10. The Blushed Nudes palette is also $10 dollars. Maybelline also came out with The Rock Nudes palette, The Brights palettes, and The Smokes palette which are all also $10. I have not bought any of these palettes simply because I wasn't personally interested in the color selection in any of those palettes. The colors in both of these are super beautiful and versatile.  Also I really like the layout of these palettes. They are very beginner friendly it shows you how to break it down into duos, trios, and quads for easy application. 

Let's get down to whats most important, how the quality? Well as you can see in the swatches these aren't amazing or overly impressive. Some colors stand out more than others. The colors also can be built up and can be used over a primer for more impact. The shadows don't wear overly long either.

I think the pigment and overally quality is better in the palette. I prefer this palette over the original. I really like shadows with this pinky hue. The Urban Decay Naked 3, the pink one is my favorite naked palette. I really enjoy these shades.  I also think that palette wears better than the original.

Basically this is how I look at if if you are interested in the Naked 1 or 2, you want a neutral eye shadow palette or a pinky eye shadow palette. These aren't terrible, you can create looks that give you these looks. Would I reach for these over a naked palette or lorac pro palette? No! The difference in quality transfers to how well it looks on the eyes. But if you just want a simple wash of color in a certain color family, I think they are worth ten dollars. I would also like to add that I think there are also a lot of other drugstore eye shadow options that are better than this. That is just my opinion and review of these palettes! Everyone has their own preferences, I personally enjoy more pigment in my eyeshadow. Others might actually enjoy less for a more suble look. I hope you enjoyed!
-C

Too Faced Eye Shadow Dupes

Today I have some Too Faced eye shadow dupes for you! This is going to be shadows that are cheaper than the original and from the drugstore. All of these color matches for a higher end shadow. These dupes are also going to be formula dupes. I think they both look the same and wear the same on the eyes.

You can see in the swatches that colors are pretty dang close if not exact duplicates when swatched next to each other. These colors look the exact same on the eyes. (the too faced shadows are on the left.)

The dark brown in the quad I found a dupe for in the NXY natural eye shadow palette. They are both great shadow at deepening up any eye shadow look. It is a nice neutral shade, not too warm.  The matte white highlight shade is also a very similar shade. My favorite matte highlight shade is from Wet and Wild and it is sold as a single. The shade is in 'creme brulee' (it is shown in the bottom picture.) Best part is that its only $1 and its super creamy and pigmented. This palette also has some other nice shades. To be honest I'm not in love with every single shade in this NXY palette but over all I would say it is worth the money and is a nice eye shadow palette.

The wet and wild comfort zone palette has two great dupes for this quad. The pink shade is very similar to the eyelid pink rose golden shade. Now the shade that inspired me to do this whole post is the iridescent blue/brown shade. It is such a fun shade to play around with and looks so cool on the eyes. Now what even cooler is that I prefer the wet n wild shade over the high end shade. I think the drugstore shade wears better on the eyes than the Too Faced shade.

I love the wet and wild comfort zone palette! I would recommend this one over the NXY natural palette.

I have a full post about the wet and wild comfort zone palette HERE.

You could buy one eye shadow quad or all of these drugstore shadows that I think are just as comparable. I'm not trying to knock on this Too Faced quad, I really enjoy this and I think the colors work nicely together. I just wanted to show some dupiclcates in my collection! I hope you enjoyed! 

-C

Ulta Haul+Review: Makeup Revoultion, Loreal Brows, Revlon Liquid Lipstick

I recently bought some makeup from Ulta. I have been able to try out the products and these are my thoughts!

Makeup Revolution recently came to Ulta. The only thing I have ever tried from this brand is one lipstick in the shade 'love nude.' And I really love this lipstick. I wanted to pick up a few more items and check out the line a bit more. 

I bought Makeup Revolution Salvation Velvet Lip Lacquer in the shade 'Attract.' I have only used it twice but I'll tell you my thoughts. In the description of this product on Ultas website it says it goes on as a liquid and dries matte. Touch proof and long wearing. Essentially it's a liquid lip stick. The first time I used this product on it never dried down and its stayed fairly glossy. The second time I had it on longer so it did dry more but I wouldn't say it became fully matte. It is a slippery formula and it didn't stay in my lip lines very well. So bottom line would I repurchase?  Only select colors. The formula isn't great but if there was a color you really like I would pick one up. It is $5 and I'm willing to work with a great shade for this price. I really enjoy this shade. Also, since it's a slippery formula it will be a lot more noticeable if it slips out of your lip line in a darker shade. In a lighter shade I feel like it's a little easier to get away with. 

The next thing I picked up is the Makeup Revolution Matte Blush on the shade 'nude.' This shade is such a nice natural everyday shade. It such a smooth formula. It just feels so finely milled and is creamy. It has good pigmentation to it. I have really been loving this blush so far. Also it is only 5 dollars!

Like I have said earlier the only product have previous tried from this brand was the lipstick in the shade 'love nude' and that's a everyday nude shade. These lipsticks are only $3 so I wanted to try another shade.  I wanted to pick up a pop of color going into the spring. This is in the shade 'vice.'  And I feel like this is a very sheer formal. Which the nude lipstick has good pigmentation to it. This orange shade is just lacking in pigmentation and a little choppy. I'm not too happy with it. 

Both of these products are from L'Oreal and I got these buy one get one 50% off.  I have owned the brow gel in the past but I needed a new one. It's called the brow stylist plumper this is in the shade 'blonde'. And I love this brow gel. I think it's the best eyebrow gel you can get from the drugstore at this point I time. It's great to use as a stand alone product or use over a eyebrow powder or pencil. Speaking of pencil I picked up the brow stylist definer in the shade 'blonde.' I love love love this brow pencil. This is my favorite brow pencil I have ever used. There is a spoolie on one side and the pencil on the other. The pencil is super slim. This helps your create almost hair like appearance.  The formula isn't too pigmented and this helps the brows not looked too drawn on. I just love this pencil it creates really defined brows yet natural. I highly recommend both of these but particularly the pencil. 

 Ulta also had a deal where all Revlon products were buy one get one 50% off. Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lip Color. These are liquid lipstick. And I love these I would recommend these over the makeup revolution ones for sure! They are not super drying at all. They are so comfortable and smooth. I got these in the shade 'flirtation' and 'seduction.' Seduction is the more bottom more neutral shade. And I feel like this shade is a must have! It is the perfect everyday neutral shade! 

I have not tried a ton for Ulta products. And too be honest I have not been to impressed with most of the items I have tried. When I went to Ulta, they had a deal where if you spend $19.50 you got a free bag of Ulta brand makeup. So this gave me a good excuse to buy Ulta brand makeup. I love color correcting. So I wanted to try out this Color Correct Concealer Palette. This was $15 and at first I was thinking eh that seems a bit over priced. But I love the Pixi peach corrector and that is $12 for just a peach corrector. This comes with 5 shades and dividing it up it would be $3 a shade. Which sounds pretty affordable. So I like this but I'm not in love with it.

It is pigmented and it creamy. I feel like these might be a little too pigmented at times but they are workable because they are sound blendable. I would say if you are interested in color correcting this would be all you need.

The freebie bag of Ulta makeup. If you spend $19.50 just on Ulta makeup you get this bag for free! It comes in either lilac or this blue shade. I will have post all about this bag and it will be all about my thought and swatches of everything! 

-C

Neutral Eye Makeup Tutorial

This is my first YouTube video! In this tutorial I use the following products;

Elf Cool Bronzer

ABH World Traveler

Lorac Pro Palette

Mac Fluideline Gel Eyeliner in BlackTrack

NYX Wonder Pencil

Covergirl Super Sizer Mascara

 With one eye done

With both eyes done

2 Drugstore Eyeshadow Palettes Worth the Money

Today I'll be reviewing the Sonia Kashuk Eye Couture Eye Palette - Eye On Neutral 2 and Wet n Wild Color Icon Collection Eyeshadow Set in Comfort Zone. 

The Sonia Kashuk is an all matte palette that is $20. The Wet n Wild is an all shimmer palette and costs $5. There is a big price difference between these. The reason I am comparing them together is because they are both considered drugstore makeup. They also pair great together. 

Sonia Kashuk is on the Target cartwheel app from time to time, so you can get it discounted. This palette has a great balance of neutrals, as the name would suggest. You can create whole looks with this palette, they will obviously just be matte. The orange tone is an awesome transition shade. There are shades that I use to fill in my eyebrows and some that could even be used to contour the nose. Black can add depth to any look or be used as eyeliner. This is a very versatile palette.  

The shadows are very pigmented. I would describe these as more of a stiffer shadow. I like how these build and layer as well as the fact that they are extremely blendabIe. I like all of the shades in the pallete. 

This pallet has a great selection of shades. They are wearable but there still is color. All of the shades in this palette are shimmery.  I think you can create anything from easy daytime looks to dramatic night time looks with these shadows. I do however think it's necessary to bring in at a matte shade into any look using this palette because too much shimmer can be overwhelming. I think even just a matte bronzer through the crease helps bring balance. 

This picture shows the one swipe-swatches. The colors can be built up more than this picture shows. These are such soft and creamy eyeshadows, unlike the previous pallete. My least favorite shade is the black 'Crease' shade. I think it's doesn't blend very well and should be more pigmented. I do however like all of the rest of the shades in this palette. The blue/red brown 'definer' shade has a nice duo chrome affect. I think it is the most unique shade in the pallete. 

I love both of these palletes and think they are both worth their price. I found that these two palettes pair together very well and combining the two can create a great look for day or night. It works well to have matte and shimmer to balance out any look. There aren't a ton of great matte shades at the drugstore so the Sonia Kashuk pallet is worth the money to me. And as for The Wet n Wild one you really can't beat a $5 eyeshadow pallete with soft build able eyeshadows.