Throwback Thursday with Benefit Kitten

Benefit's Kitten Powder was (and still is) an awesome sparkly/glittery body powder.

There were three of these powders, and each had different colored glitter.  "Kitten" (this one) has gold glitter, "Kitten Goes to Paris" had silver glitter, and "Kitten Shops New York" had copper pink glitter (I had to look up this last one).

It has a huge puff.

Sparkle, sparkle!

I believe these were introduced around 2002, and discontinued in 2010.

I still use mine on special occasions.

Wee Sephora Haul and EotD

So, yeah, I bought the Kat Von D Monarch palette.  If you are a regular reader, you know the Chrysalis palette became a fast favorite, and this one is no different.

I also cashed in some points for an Elizabeth and James Nirvana White rollerball.

Swarches:

entomology, telepathy, tiny death

wrath, papillio, summerfly

killing jar, delaney, vanish

disintegration, shadow box, deadhead

Here's some eyes of the day using the palette:

I used summerfly (sparkling gold) all over the moving lid and lower lashline, papilio (shimmery brown) in the outer corner and crease and lower lashline, wrath (shimmery orange) above the crease, entomology (matte cream) under the brow, and tiny death (lightly glittery cream) in the inner corner.  I also used L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly mascara, and a black eyeliner on the lower waterline.

Actually, maybe the size of this palette makes this haul kind of large.

Oh, and I bought this.

Heh heh.

Revlon Colorstay Skinny Liquid Liner in Electric Blue Swatches and Review

Are you looking for a bright, in-your-face, "look at me!" blue eyeliner?  I have one for you.

Revlon just introduced a new liquid eyeliner that boasts a very skinny, fine tip brush.  It comes in four colors: Black Out, Mahogany Flame, Green Spark, and Electric Blue.  I bought Electric Blue.

Revlon says: "Finally, a liquid liner so skinny, it makes bold color mistake-proof.  All-day wear with non-stop impact."

Electric Blue is an apt name for this color.  It is a "YES, I AM WEARING BLUE EYELINER" kind of shade.  It dries to a matte finish and has no shimmer or sparkle.

This is the type of liquid liner that you need to shake up before use.  The brush really is skinny and tiny (Revlon says it is 0.1 mm).  You really can create an exquisitely thin line.  It is possible, however, to make a thicker line by adding and layering color because the liner doesn't pick up color as you go over it like some liquid liners do.  The liner is opaque in color in one pass of the brush, and it dries quite quickly.  The brush is soft and pliable, versus stiff like a felt tip liner.  The wear time for this liquid liner is really pretty good (as long as you don't touch it - more on that later).

thin line

thicker line

This liner is not without fault.  I have found that Electric Blue does rub off if I run my finger over it.  I suppose this is really only a problem if you are an eye-rubber, but it is something to consider.  It does also transfer to my upper lid by the end of the day if my eyelids are bare (no shadow or primer or anything).  I have fairly oily eyelids, so this might not be a problem if you have more normal or drier eyelids.  It also doesn't seem waterproof.  I doesn't run, just fades.  I don't think it claims to be waterproof, though.

Now, I will admit, steady hands and non-blinking eyes (both of which I don't have) would probably help with application and drawing a really fine line.  I find it easiest to actually rest the brush on the base of the lashes to help steady the brush.  I do get blue liner on the lashes using this technique, but I think mascara covers it up pretty well.  Plus, there are times when blue lashes are cool.

I decided to compare Revlon's Colorstay Skinny Liquid Liner in Electric Blue Electric Blue to Chella's Eyeliner Pen in Indigo Blue that many people received in their ipsy bag a few months ago.

Revlon Colorstay Skinny Liquid Liner in Electric Blue on the left, Chella Eyeliner Pen in Indigo Blue on the right 

You can see the Revlon liner is much, much brighter.  Much.

I've really been enjoying wearing this with nothing else on the lids, and light corals or nudes on the cheeks and lips.  The color is bright and modern, in my opinion.

If you are looking for an obscenely bold blue liquid liner, you might want to try this one for the color alone!

Revlon Colorstay Skinny Liquid Liners retail for around $8 USD.

Patriotic EotD

Happy Independence Day to my American readers!  I created a red, white, and blue eye look in celebration of the day.

I used:
  NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk (matte white)
  "browbone" color (sparkling white) from Wet 'n' Wild Shimmer the night Away palette
  Naked (matte tan) from the Urban Decay Naked palette (tiny bit in the crease)
  Benefit swingin' sweetie eye sparkle in Swing (sparkling red)
  Darling Girl Cosmetics loose shadow in You'll Shoot Your Eye Out (sparkling blue)
  CoverGirl Liquiline Blast eye liner in Blue Boom (royal blue)
  Sephora Outrageous Volume Mascara in Blue (lower lashes)
  L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara in Blackest Black (upper lashes)

from left: Urban Decay Naked, NYX Milk, Wet 'n' Wild "browbone", Benefit Swing, DGC You'll Shoot You Eye Out, CoverGirl Blue Boom, Sephora mascara

Have a happy 4th of July, everyone!

Throwback Thursday with RareMinerals

Before BareMinerals had a proper skincare line, they had "RareMinerals."

RareMinerals Skin Revival Treatment was a nighttime treatment for the skin that was meant to be used over all the rest of your skincare.  The weird part?  It's a powder.  It's packaged in a jar with a powder puff on top, and it came in four colors (clear, light, medium, and tan).

I think this was introduced in 2006, and it was discontinued in 2011.  One of the selling points of this "treatment" was that it was made from "Jurassic, virgin soil."  I remember this because RareMinerals was introduced to the market when I was working at Sephora, and we sold it.  In fact, we couldn't keep it in stock the first few months it was out.

This product was marketed to be a nighttime skin treatment, but also a nighttime makeup.  It was marketed for the person who wants to shrink their pores, even out their skintone, and improve their skin; or for the person who was uncomfortable with their significant other seeing their completely bare skin, and wants something to wear to bed; or for the person who is always in a hurry (or running late) in the morning and wants to be able to roll out of bed and have a little coverage on their skin; or for the person who thinks their BareMinerals is "so natural, you can sleep in it."

swatch of Clear

The RareMinerals Skin Revival Treatment was really nothing but a mineral powder.  It seemed gimmicky to me, and seeing how it was discontinued after only 5 years, maybe so did everyone else.  I didn't think it was really a great idea to wear a powder to bed, but I had to try it, of course.  All it did for my skin was dry it out.

Convenient mirror on the top of the lid

I do think this was a pretty unique product.

Do you remember RareMinerals?  Did you ever try it?

June 2014 Favorites

Wow.  We're halfway through 2014.  Okay then.  Time for some recent favorites!

Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Color High Gloss Nail Lacquer in Ahoy! -- This polish is from the Summer Escape 2014 summer color collection.  It is a pinky coraly dark peach that screams "summer" to me.  It's incredibly long wearing, and the brush makes it quick and easy to apply.

MAC Refined Golden Bronzing Powder -- The packaging is from the Alluring Aquatics collection, but the bronzer is a permanent color.  It is a warm tan that looks pretty glittery in the pan, but not sparkly on the skin.  It warms up my skin beautifully.  I love pulling the compact out of my makeup bag (well, out of the box the that I keep in my makeup bag -- I like to pretend it's brand new every time I use it).  I have to gaze at it for a bit before I use it.

L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara (review)-- This mascara is still making my favorites list.  I just noticed my new tube says "Lash Out Butterfly" on it.  But the picture of the tube on the L'Oreal website says "Voluminous Butterfly."  Way to confuse the consumer, L'Oreal.

Revlon Colorburst Balm Crayons -- I think I'm a bit late to the party for these.  I thought they would be drying and not balm-y for some reason, but after trying Rendezvous (one of the balm stains -- it's a slightly shimmery orange) this spring, I decided I needed to try more of the different formulas offered in the line.  I now own Lacquer Balms in Demure and Coquette, Balm Stains in Honey and Rendezvous, and a Matte Balm in Elusive.  I'm really surprised how much I like Elusive.  I'm not a matte lip person, but I'm really enjoying this one!  They aren't as pepperminty as I thought they would be, either, thankfully.  If you haven't tried them, you probably should.  I'm just saying.

from left: Demure, Coquette, Honey, Rendezvous, Elusive

Detroit Tigers Baseball -- I am watching every game I can!  My favorite announcers are Rod Allen and Mario Impemba from Fox Sports Detroit.  A couple of nights ago, Rajai Davis hit a walk-off grand slam.  That is why you watch the game until the last pitch.

Whoo hoo summer!

P.S.  I didn't include any eye products because I've been using so many different ones, that I couldn't decide on any favorites!

Ahoy! Nails of the Day

Elizabeth Arden's Summer Escape 2014 collection is all nautical inspired.  The nail lacquer called Ahoy!, which is a pinky coral deep peach, is what graces my nails today.

The packaging for this nail polish is quite fun.

The brush is flat with a rounded tip.

Only one coat is needed for full color coverage.  The brush makes it incredibly easy to apply, and the formula is great (not too thick or thin).  With a top coat (I use Essie's Good To Go), this lacquer lasts on my nails for over a week.

This is one coat of the polish!

The color is just perfect for summer, isn't it?

Have a fantastically nautical day!