May 2014 Favorites

Time for some favorites for the past month!  Let's get to it.

Clarins Liquid Bronze Self Tanning (review) -- I've been using this every other night to give me some color on my face and décolleté.  It's light and milky, and feels kind of refreshing.  A great, gradual self tanner.

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation -- True story: I needed a new foundation to match my newly self-tanned face, and I didn't want to spend too much money on one because I wasn't sure how often I was going to self-tan, or even if I was going to like doing it.  So, I went to CVS and looked for the cheapest (or close to it) foundation and discovered this one for $6, plus I had some Extra Bucks, so it cost me $2.  I hadn't done any "homework" on it, so I was buying it with only having read the ingredients on the back (I liked the fact it has titanium dioxide for sunscreen).  I took it home and immediately slapped it on my face, and discovered it was a light, liquidy, comfortable foundation with light to medium coverage.  It was a win!  I've been wearing it almost everyday, and think it is rather great.  The packaging, however, leaves something to be desired.  It is a glass bottle with no pump that is narrower at the bottom than the top, so it is quite tippy.  Chance of me spilling it: near 100%.

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder -- I have already repurchased this powder.  It gives a nice finish to the skin, doesn't look powdery, and it isn't drying.  Inelegant packaging, but whatever.  It works.

Too Faced à la mode Eyes -- This palette has nothing but shimmery shadows, so I have to supplement it with matte shadow from somewhere else, but I don't mind.  The colors are so springy/summery and just feel right for this time of year.  My favorite colors: Jardin (shimmery peach), Cannes (shimmery and sparkly copper), and Soleil (shimmery plummy brown).  De La Mer (shimmery navy blue) makes a great liner color.

MAC Lipglass in Water Deities from the Alluring Aquatics Collection -- This is a very shimmery "light bronzy pink" (according to MAC). It has the signature Lipglass vanilla scent and tacky texture that makes it long-wearing.  Gorgeous color.  Pretty packaging doesn't hurt either.

This is only a small part of the garden!

My Garden! -- The garden is looking lush and full now that all the plants are up.  Plenty of spring flowers have been blooming over the past month, and it's really fun to see what blooms when, what starts growing when, and where I need to add more plants!

I'd love to hear about some of your recent favorites!

MAC Alluring Aquatics Haul

Yes, I fell for the MAC Alluring Aquatics collection just like everyone else.  I did some website stalking to get the stuff I wanted.

I will be keeping these boxes (which look green instead of the turquoise they are because the lime green wall behind them is being reflected in the metallic goodness of the boxes)!

I bought Mystical Creamsheen Lipstick, Water Deities Lipglass, Silver Sun Extra Dimension Eyeshadow, and Refined Golden Bronzing Powder.

from left: Silver Sun eyeshadow, Water Deities Lipglass, Mystical lipstick, Refined Golden bronzer

I am now regretting not buying Fathoms Deep (the blackened metallic purple eyeshadow in the collection).

Did you get your hands on anything from this collection?

P.S.  All right.  Full disclosure time.  I couldn't decide on which bronzer to get (Refined Golden or Golden), so I bought them both.  *sheepish grin*

Here they are side-by-side.

 from left: Golden, Refined Golden

Golden is definitely lighter and more subtle, and not as warm-toned as Refined Golden.  Refined Golden also has some gold sparkle, which is more obvious in the pan than on the face.

I've been self-tanning, so Refined Golden is my color of choice right now, but Golden will be great for when I'm not self-tanning.

Orange Lips

One of the big makeup trends this spring is orange lip colors.  Not coral or peach, but orange.  I don't actually own more than two "true" orange lip products, but I have a few that are kind of orange-y or orange-ish.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous -- This is probably the truest orange lippie I own.  It has a smooth and balmy texture on application and can be easily sheered out to make the color less intense.  It isn't as moisturizing as a regular balm, but it is not drying (like I thought it would be because of the staining effect).  It's a medium orange with a little shimmer.

MAC Tinted Lipglass in Pink Lemonade -- A pearly, peachy pinky orange with quite a lot of pigmentation.  It is a Tinted Lipglass, so it's got the vanilla scent and the stickiness that MAC Lipglasses are known for.  I love this in the summer.

L'Oreal Colour Riche Colour Caresse in Sunset Angora -- This definitely has pink in it, but I think it's a wee bit orange-y.  It has a lovely, light balmy feel that I find slightly moisturizing.  I think it looks great with cheek colors like warm pinks, corals, peaches, and even just bronzer.  I've even worn it with a cool-toned pink blush (Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Dollface), and thought it worked well.

Jemma Kidd Ultimate Lipstick Duo in Ingrid -- A dark orange-y coral with a little red in it.  It has a balm on one end and a lipstick on the other.  The lipstick is quite creamy, so I'm not sure why a balm is paired with it.  I wish the bullet was bigger.  I feel like I'm going to use this up quickly, and it's a discontinued product, I believe (I bought mine on amazon.com).

Shiseido The Makeup Lipgloss in G13 Red Coral -- I consider this to be the other true orange lip product I own, although it is on the sheer side, so quite a bit of my natural lip color shows through.  This is a dinosaur in my collection, and I don't think it's available anymore except maybe on ebay or possibly amazon.com.  It it a sheer, sparkly orange that looks much darker and brighter in the tube than on the lips.

from left: Revlon Balm Stain in Rendezvous, MAC Lipglass in Pink Lemonade, L'Oreal Colour Caresse in Sunset Angora, Jemma Kidd Lipstick Duo in Ingrid, Shiseido Lip Gloss in Red Coral

So, there are my most orange-y lip colors.  My favorite is the Revlon Balm Stain in Rendezvous.  I have been considering adding NYX Lip Butter Gloss in Cherry Cheesecake to my collection...

Do you have any favorite orange lippies?

P.S. Sorry about the lack of lip swatches.  I'm feeling supremely lazy.

MAKE UP FOR EVER Lab Shine Diamond Collection Lip Glosses in D8 and D14 Swatches and Review

MAKE UP FOR EVER (I feel like I'm yelling the name when typed in all caps) makes 3 different Lab Shine lipgloss forumlas: Diamond, Star, and Metal.  Sephora was selling a couple of sets that had 2 Diamond glosses for $16, and I decided to pick up the pink set.  

D8 is described as a shimmering baby pink.  It looks more hot pink in the tube.

D14 is described as a shimmering Indian pink.

MAKE UP FOR EVER Lab Shine Diamond Collection Lip Glosses in D8 and D14

The applicator is a short, little brush.  I generally like brushes for lipgloss, but occasionally a few of the bristles will splay out like this one.

The formula is exquisitely smooth and non-sticky, and, even though they are sparkly, they have no grittiness.  They have a slight fruity scent but no taste, and feel light but pretty hydrating on the lips.  These are sheer, and are quite glossy.  Surprisingly, they aren't as sparkly on the lips as I expected.  They aren't particularly long-lasting because of the slipperiness.  

D8

D14

More about the three different formulas from the Sephora website: Available in 35 shades across three unique collections: Diamond, Star, and Metal. The Diamond Collection includes 12 shades that give natural looking color with sparkling, sheer coverage. The Star Collection has 14 shades with a pearly shine for medium coverage. The Metal Collection consists of nine highly pigmented shades that offer full coverage with an intense, chrome finish.

Obviously, these will look quite different on lips with different pigmentation from mine because they are sheer.  They look nice and glossy on their own, and work nicely over a lipstick or lip pencil.

D14 over Milani Color Statement Lipliner in Nude

You can see the sparkles in D14 better in this awesomely blurry photo.

I think these are sophisticated glitter lipglosses.  The sparkle seems to make the gloss look even glossier.  How do you feel about sparkly lipglosses?  Do you like them more glittery than this?

Almay Color + Care Liquid Lip Balm in Lilac Love Swatches and Review

It seems like Almay doesn't generally get too much attention or love for some reason.  Maybe they've had sort of average/boring products for too long.  I think they are really stepping up they're game recently, though.  I don't think they offered any lip products for a few years (correct me if I'm wrong), but last year they introduced a liquid lip balm.  I've been on the radiant orchid kick, and I had been wanting try one of these "balms" for a while because I'd heard good things about them.  I decided to try the color Lilac Love, which seems like a color that fits with the whole orchid color theme that Pantone decided would be the "color of the year".

The applicator on the wand is a standard slanted doe-foot tip.

It has pretty good pigmentation (although on the lips it has less pigment than the swatches), feels like a medium-weight gloss (not too thin, not too heavy), not at all sticky, and quite hydrating.  It has a fairly strong vanilla scent that lingers slightly after application.

daylight bulb

flash

natural light

one layer

two layers

Lilac Love has very very tiny blue glitters in it that aren't really apparent on the lips unless you are looking in a magnification mirror.

This "liquid lip balm" is, I think, just a more interesting name for a hydrating lip gloss.

I'm pretty impressed by this "liquid lip balm" and really like the color.

It matches Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure in Punch Drunk quite nicely.

Have you tried any of these liquid lip balms?

Sephora and Drugstore Haul

Cosmetics companies are so good at making us (me) constantly buy new things.  All the pretty new colors they constantly manage to introduce that aren't like anything else on the market or in my stash (:P), and the beautiful packaging that it really just a feast for the eyes.  Plus, Sephora occasionally comes out with some nice free stuff.  So, here is my latest haul.

From my local CVS where everybody knows my name (cue the Cheers theme song):

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hr Eyeshadow in Caramel Cool -- After seeing so many swatches of the Limited Edition Dare to Go Nude collection, I knew I had to have Caramel Cool.  I think copper colors are flattering for my eye color, and I don't actually have any cream shadows this color (surprising).

Maybelline Master Hi-Light Highlighting Bronzer in Light Bronze -- This is one that looks pretty in the pan, and I've read that these blush/bronzer/highlighter hybrids from Maybelline have a good formula.

Swatches of Caramel Cool eyeshadow and Light Bronze Hi-light Bronzer:

From Sephora (I used a gift card that my mom gave me for my birthday back in November):

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Luminous Flush -- I didn't jump on these during the VIB preview sale because I wanted to wait until I saw some swatches.  This one appealed to me the most.  I still kind of want Diffused Heat just because of the way it looks in the pan.

Swatch of Ambient Light Blush in Luminous Flush:

Also from Sephora:

MAKE UP FOR EVER Lab Shine Diamond Collection Lipgloss in D8 and D14 -- This set has 2 full-size lipglosses.  D8 is described as a shimmering baby pink, and D14 is a shimmering indian pink (p.s. what is indian pink?).  This is a $38 value for $16, so it seemed worth it.

Swatches of MUFE Lab Shine lipglosses in D8 and D14:

The free stuff from Sephora:

Balenciaga Rosabotanica EDP deluxe sample and printed scarf -- This was a 500 point perk.  I had been saving my points for a really long time, waiting for something cool to come along.  I decided to use them on this because the packaging of the perfume and the scarf looked really pretty.  The perfume itself smells really nice.  I am terrible at describing scents, so I'm not going to bother trying.  The large box in the group shot above contained the Rosabotanica set.

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Eyeliner in Intense Black -- I think this was just a deluxe sample with any $25 purchase.  Sephora says this is one of their best-selling liquid eyeliners, so I figured this would be a good way to try it.  It has a nice calligraphy-style pen tip, which is my favorite kind of tip, so I'm looking forward to using it.

Swatch of Stila Waterproof eyeliner:

What have you been hauling lately?

P.S.  I have a feeling I need to update my pop culture references.

January 2014 Beauty Favorites

I'm a little late with this post.  Maybe I should call it "The polar vortex/I'm fed up with winter favorites" post.  Wait.  That sounds like I'm fed up with winter favorites.

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette -- I've been using this almost everyday either by itself, or in conjunction with some other shadows.  My favorite colors: Limit (for the crease mostly), Nooner (to darken the crease), Buzz, and Trick.  Blackheart is a great liner, too.

from left: Limit, Nooner, Buzz, Trick, Blackheart

CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation -- I like the texture of this.  It's smooth and thin and feels light on the skin.  I would say it has medium coverage, but it can be built up for more.  It doesn't separate or break down on my skin, and it seems to have good wear time.

Milani Illuminating Face Powder in Amber Nectar -- This has been a long-time favorite of mine.   I've been using it more lately because I feel like warming up my skintone and pretending like I've been outside.

Maybelline Color Sensational The Elixir Lipgloss in 095 Blush Essence -- Balmy and shiny and a color that looks good with everything and I wear it almost everyday and this has turned into a run-on sentence.

Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Ultra Lipstick in Rose Aurora (limited edition from spring 2012) -- This is so perfect with the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette.  The lipstick is a shimmery rose that compliments the colors in the palette wonderfully.  Too bad it was limited edition.

from left: Milani Illuminating Face Powder in Amber Nectar, Maybelline Elixir lipgloss in Blush Essence, Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Lipstick in Rose Aurora

Thanks for visiting and have an exquisite day!

I almost forgot a non-beauty related favorite!  The new blanket my sister made for me!  It's made of fleece, and one side is Detroit Tigers material and the other side is Michigan State Spartans material.  How awesome is it?!