Halloween Nails 2

I used orange nail polish on the bottom and applied black nail polish to look like a jack-o-lantern face. Unfortunately my hand isn't quite as steady it needs to be so they aren't as neat as I would like. Hope you enjoy!

Maybelline Baby Lips in Peach Kiss

I'm pretty sure that it is impossible not to love this balm. It feels great on the lips and it smells amazing. It's so good I want one in every flavor! The best thing about this balm is that it's really cheap! I'd rather buy this than chapstick any day! It even gives a bit of tint to the lips! I'll be picking up all the other flavors soon!

Halloween themed nails!

So this nail look takes a very long time to dry if you do it the way I did it. You could layer the red, but it would take a very steady hand to do so.

On the bottom I used a dark blue. I used a bright red for the blood appearance. What I did was let the red drip down my finger nails and then I painted the tips red as if I were doing french tips. Because I let the nail polish drip, it took FOREVER for the red to dry. I have since added a couple coats of clear nail polish which makes it look better. I love the way it looks like blood is dripping down my nails! Perfect for Halloween!

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Blog re-vamping.

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L'Oreal Color Riche Le Gloss in #152, Nude Touch

Congratulations L'Oreal, you have made a gloss that I would expect to find hob-nobbling with Clinique and Estee Lauder in a department store. This gloss looks and smells exactly like an Estee Lauder High Gloss that I had a very long time ago. Link: Estee Lauder High Gloss (the resemblance is uncanny!). The cost of the Estee Lauder gloss? $16.00. The cost of L'Oreal's dupe? $7.95! I think I know where my money will be going!

On to the actual gloss. I prefer my glosses to give me a natural color. Nude Touch is the perfect natural color for my lips. This gloss is VERY long lasting and it smells and tastes amazing (like other high end glosses it has a vanilla cupcake-y scent). I almost couldn't think of anything bad to say about it, it lasts a long time, it's not sticky, it comes in a huge variety of colors, it smells amazing, and on and on... But there is one thing. The gloss is a little chunky when it comes out of the tube. I don't know if that's the best way to describe it but as long as you really go back and forth with it it's not a big problem. It's definitely not worth paying the $16.00 for the Estee Lauder gloss when you can have a gloss that I think is just as good (minus the one defect that could honestly just be in my tube). Basically, I'm in love with this product and I will definitely be buying it in more shades.

Please share your thoughts on this gloss as well as any questions! Thank you!

Urban Decay in Uzi

This is a beautiful silver shadow with a ton of glitter. Unfortunately like with other Urban Decay shadows the glitter just gets everywhere. You practically need glue to make sure you don't get glitter all over your face. This could be used with a darker color for a really shimmery pretty look.

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Philosophy The Present

I read online that this was an amazing primer so of course I had to try it out. Not only is it a primer, but it also moisturizes your face. After you put in on your face, you have to wait for two minutes before you can apply your make-up or else it doesn't work correctly. I really like this product. There are some things that won't stay on my face no matter what (Bare Minerals Foundation) but this works really well for other things like my MAC mineralize foundation. I would definitely suggest this product to anyone who feels like their foundation doesn't stay on their face well!

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Check out this website!

http://www.105looks.com/
I took a look at this website and I really enjoyed it! Their eye essentials video is very informative and great! Check it out!

Urban Decay in Midnight Cowboy

This is a great highlight color except for one problem. There is way too much glitter in this product. This is a problem I have been seeing in a bunch of Urban Decay shadows. The glitter refuses to stay in one place even with a good primer and it ends up all over my face. Of course, if you want glitter all over your face this is perfect. But if you just want a simple highlight this isn't it. This could also be used as just a white shadow blended with something else.

Liplicious in Paris Amour

I love Bath and Body Works' Liplicious glosses. They smell amazing and they always have nice color. Because they are sheer they can be worn over lipsticks. This one is pretty good although it smells more like caramel than the actual Paris Amour scent. The color is gorgeous. The only complaint that I have is that it can be pretty sticky unless you go really lightly with it. Other than that I love it. I would definitely suggest everyone go pick up a couple of these glosses because they are very very affordable, and pretty high quality!

Foundation Woes

Is anyone else having difficulties with foundation lately?

As I have only recently started wearing make-up (April of last year), I haven't yet undergone the transition from summer to fall. Over the summer my skin was incredibly oily and absorbed my make-up like crazy, I even had a hard time keeping it on.

Now it seems completely different. As the weather gets colder my foundation seems to have turned on me. When I use my foundation brush to apply my MAC mineralize foundation and then dust my mineralize skin finish natural over it, my skin gets all scaly and I can see my foundation on it. It's disgusting. I've realized I definitely need to use more moisturizer and primer. Also, I have to use my beauty blender or everything looks streaky.

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Stila Color Wheel Palette

As I also have a palette like this in neutrals, I had to get this one with all of its beautiful colors. As you can see from the swatches, this palette is really fantastic. All of the colors are very pigmented.

When I use this palette, I like to use the two colors that are next to each other on a spike. Take the greens. I use the outer, lighter green color on my lid and the darker color on my crease. I then line my eyes with the middle color. If you use this technique, you can never go wrong. It's really a great palette, especially if you love color on your eyes. For a pop you can use the brighter turquoise color, but if you want something more neutral you can use the light pink colors. There are multitudes of things you can do with this palette ranging from tame to really wild.

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Urban Decay Show Pony/Preen palette

Note to all, I ordered the Show Pony and the Preen palette thinking that they were different palettes. They are not. They have different cases but they have the exact same colors in them. Pictured here is the Show Pony palette.

I love Urban Decay. I think that they do eyeshadow better than anyone else. I love it when their palettes include the eyeliners and primer potions as well. All the colors in this palette are amazing. The neutral colors can be worn every day, and the other colors are amazing to give eyes a pop. Flash, the purple, is probably my favorite color in the entire palette. I like using the bright colors to line my eyes if I plan on wearing them in an every day setting.

All of the brighter colors blend really well with the brown colors. This palette is very versatile, the perfect palette to take on a vacation if you need daytime and evening looks. I would definitely suggest this to people to purchase! I love it!

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October Birchbox

 This is what I received in my October Birchbox. The theme of this Birchbox was "Prep & Prime." I was so so on this Birchbox. There wasn't any product that I would go out and purchase. So let's get down to the review.

Ouidad Moisture Lock Leave-in Conditioner. I really like this. The second I put it on my damp hair, I knew it was a good product. My only complaint is that it is for curly hair and I have straight hair. Sometimes my hair has a mind of its own and some parts of it will try to curl and this product only helped it. I had little wispy curls ringing my face while the rest of my hair was pin straight. That being said, if Ouidad makes a Leave-in Conditioner for straight hair I will purchase it. I'm even considering buying their shampoo and conditioner to give that a try (if I ever break up with Paul Mitchell that is). I have to say that this is probably my favorite product that came in this month's Birchbox.

Laura Geller Spackle Primer in Bronze. I read that a lot of people love this primer but I just don't get it. It did nothing for me. I saw no illuminating bronzy glow on my skin after using it like the product suggested there would be. It also did nothing to hold my foundation on. I don't know if I was using it incorrectly or something but I just didn't think this product was worth all the fanfare.

Juno Transformative Lipid Serum. I would absolutely never ever purchase this. First of all, I'm 21. I have no fine lines or wrinkles and I really don't see the point of using a serum at my age. I used it a couple times on my face just to give it a fair try but I really don't see the big deal. It made my skin soft but I can do that with moisturizer. The main reason I would never purchase this, however, is because it costs $125. Seriously? I'm even disappointed in Birchbox for sending me such an expensive thing. Sure it's great to try out all sorts of things but I'm really not going to go out and drop $125 on an expensive serum. I'd rather buy 3 Urban Decay palettes. I will have to look through my beauty survey on the Birchbox site to see what I entered to deserve this. I was really disappointed that I didn't get the adorable Anastasia lip gloss that other people got. Oh well.

Ahava Mineral Hand Cream. I like this hand cream but not enough to purchase it. This is in part due to the smell. Sometimes I'd rather things just not have a scent at all because they are just too overwhelming and gross. This is the case with this hand cream. I did like what it does for my hands, but the scent gives me a headache instantaneously.

Ahava Dermud Foot Cream. I might purchase this product if the price is right. My feet are disgusting. They are dry as a bone and my heals are cracked. One of the people I follow on Youtube (TotalMakeupJunkie101) suggested Vaseline on the foot with a sock over it overnight to solve this problem. That's a great solution but this foot cream is even better. I could see a difference the next morning after I used it. I wish I had gotten a larger sample of this but I think this was my treat for the month so I understand why I didn't.

Well that's all I received. I was a little disappointed but what can you do? I don't feel as if I have gotten any truly fantastic products in the Birchboxes I have received so far but then again this was only my second month. Hopefully next month will knock my socks off!

Do you get a Birchbox? Please leave comments about what you received, or any questions and subscribe!

September Favorites (late!)

So as September is back to school month for most people, my favorite things from the month were mostly about convenience. I used a lot of these products daily!

So first is DKNY's Be Delicious in Fresh Blossom. I love this scent for fall as it smells just like apples. My boyfriend likes it too. He told me it smells like an apple pie, and really is there anything better than smelling like apple pie this time of year? The only warning I have about this product is to go lightly with it. It lasts for a very long time and can be  overpowering if you use too much. I would suggest using one spray on the wrist and then tapping it everywhere else you want it. If I use too much, I get a headache.

The next product I really love, in September especially, is Bath and Body Work's pocket bac. Pictured here is the scent "Island Margarita" but I must have 10 others. I have them attached to all of my bags and I keep on in my pocket at work. I really don't know what I would do without these puppies. Sometimes you just need to sanitize and Bath and Body Works lets you do it with flair.

So the next thing I have pictured is a MAC lip gloss in Viva Glam VI (I also have the lipstick in the same shade name). I love this as it is very very long lasting and well pigmented. I have had this gloss forever and I would definitely say it is my go-to gloss for everyday stuff. I tend to stick to more natural pigments when it comes to lip stuff so this suits me perfectly. When my lips are washed out, this gloss pumps them up. I really don't have enough good things to say about it.

So the next thing is MAC shade stick in Street Cool. I can't tell you have nice it is to have this when you don't have enough time to do your eyes. I just slap this on and I'm set for the day. It stays in place for a very long time and it looks good! I know that MAC isn't the only company that makes these kinds of eye crayons so I would definitely advise people to go pick up an eye crayon in a neutral color for those days that you just don't have time to go all out.

The final product in my September favorites is the Too Faced Ooh La Rouge blush/bronzer combo in Avant Garde. For convenience I like this even better than blush sticks. I use each color and don't have to worry about using my fingers to blend it in. I love the way the colors work together and it has been my go-to blush/bronzer for a while now.

Well I hoped you liked this! Please leave questions or comments. Tell me what your favorites are!

Oops

I, like a complete idiot, deleted all my photos from Picasa Web Albums without really thinking that they wouldn't link correctly to this site. I will try to get them back and it will be a frustrating process but I don't think I can stand to see those damn apostrophes where the pictures are supposed to be... *Sigh*

Benetint and Posietint Review

I had to try something from Benefit because Benefit was one of the brands I've never even touched before, and I felt like these two were n high regard so I tried these! These are in the mini-size which you can get in a 3-pack (with high beam) for $15 on Sephora, or you can be crafty like me and get the two for 8 on ebay.

Benetint and Posietint are billed as lip and cheek stains and let me tell you, when they say stain they mean stain. If you put these on, they aren't going to budge without a proper makeup remover (which is why I love them!).

So we will start with Benetint. I don't know if any of you have Duwop's Twilight Lip Venom but I would say Benetint is formulated like that. When applying it to the cheeks it works like a charm although you need to blend and you need to blend fast to give yourself the perfect hue. Benetint smells like roses and leaves you with the perfect blush all day! What more could you want? Well if you insist on using it to stain your lips as well, that's where it gets tricky. You can't just brush it on like you would with a gloss. The formula is sort of oily and I've found that it only really sticks to certain parts of my lips (Twilight Lip Venom does the same). You really have to get in there with your finger and work to blend in the color evenly, and if you want a darker color you need to layer it. If you ask me, stains that are formulated specifically for the lips (like MAC long wear lip color) work much more effectively for lip color and I prefer to use Benetint as a cheek color.

Now on to Posietint. Posietint does not smell like roses, in fact it is not scented (it has a natural chemical smell). Posietint also has a different formulation. It is less oily than Benetint and feels more like a lip gloss would. I love Posietint! I think I like it even more than Benetint because of the color. Although the color isn't perfect for lips as it is very light, I think this gives the prettiest flush to cheeks. I also like it it in small doses on the lips. I find it easier to blend than Benetint and it is a lot more forgiving if you make mistakes.

I'm not sure if I would ever buy the full sizes of these products since so much comes in the minis but I love them!

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