Collab with the girls from GetBookish

Hey everyone! This is just a fun video I did with my best friends. They have a YouTube channel: Http://www.youtube.com/getbookish! Check them out!

Urban Decay Urban Glow Highlighters

Moonshine and Wicked

Moonshine and Wicked

I think I've mentioned this before, but to anyone new here: I'm obsessed with highlights.

This started when I bought my Smashbox Fusion Softlights in Baked Stardust. I bought it on a whim because it was on sale and frankly I was going a little shop happy. I had no idea what to do with it, so naturally I went to my good old friend YouTube for some advice. Then I started swirling it around with my brush and brushing it on my cheekbones, my temple, the bridge of my nose, and sometimes my chin. It gave me the most beautiful sheen I have ever experienced. I'm speaking of it in the past tense because as I used it every single day, I hit pan on it pretty quickly. I wore it down further and further until one day while transporting it from my mother's house to my father's house, half of it crumbled. Since then I had kept it with my bronzers and highlighters occasionally trying to use it. Very recently my youngest sister, Maddy, was bored and made me throw out old or broken make-up. Sadly, that was one of them. I don't want to pay full price for it, something along the lines of $28, but I can't seem to find anything to replace it as of yet.

ANYWAY, I've ventured into cream highlights. These were and I think Wicked still is $6 in Urban Decay's sale section, so I had to get them. The only complaint I have is about Moonshine.

As you can see from my pictures of the products in the pan, Moonshine looks very white and Wicked is a little pinkish. However, in the swatch picture, Moonshine comes off as being quite a bit pinker than Wicked. Why? Because although Moonshine is white, it has an incredibly pink duo-chrome. While in the pan it doesn't really appear, it's very vibrant on the skin. So naturally, if I'm putting highlight in various places on my face, Moonshine is going to look a little funky say on my nose. I am much more likely to put it over my blush, but that doesn't really give me the look I'm going for: subtle glow.

Wicked is much more neutral when it comes to applying it all over the face. I have been using it much more than Moonshine. It is a very natural color.

So I think I prefer powder highlights to cream, but these are good products and if you are interested you should pick some up while they are still this cheap. These are easily blendable and wear a long time.

Let me know what you think! Please comment and subscribe!

Haute Look Alert

Hey everyone! I'm here with another Haute Look alert!

Until 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning Haute Look has a sale on NYX goodies! I just purchased the Butt Naked palette and a set with four pigments and a matte lip cream for the price of the Butt Naked palette! Be sure to check this out!

Click the link below to join the site! There's an app (I have it on my iPad) that you can set to notify you of all the great deals. They don't just sell beauty products FYI, those are just the only things I pay attention to.

http://www.hautelook.com/short/3CkaV

Please leave any questions or comments and don't forget to subscribe! Let me know if you buy anything!

The Body Shop Primers

Vitamin C Skin Boost Left and Matte It Right

Vitamin C Skin Boost Left and Matte It Right

These are two primers from The Body Shop, one of my favorite places to find skin care!

Now I've had the Vitamin C Skin boost for a long time. I love the way it feels on my skin. The smell has gone from great to not so great, but it still works really well. It has something in it that makes your skin glow! It also really helps my make-up to stay.

I haven't had Matte It for that long, but so far I like it. Its clear and has no scent. It seems to help with oil better than the Vitamin C Skin Boost. As far as the longevity of make-up, it seems to be pretty on par with the Skin Boost.

I would recommend both these products although I like the Vitamin C Skin Boost more. Check them out!

Please leave question and comments and subscribe!

NYX Sale!

Hey everyone! To anyone who is interested, I just discovered that CherryCulture.com has a couple NYX items on sale. Most interesting to me, the round lipsticks are on sale. I'm having a bit of a love affair with them at the moment. I am seriously considering buying nine of them. I'll list them for the fun of it: Fig, Femme, Doll, Gardenia, Fire, Herades, Apollo, Celebrate, and Chloe. If you are looking for decent swatches (in my previous post I mentioned that the swatches on the NYX site and others are horrendous) I found this: http://babyjaprn.blogspot.com/2011/06/swatchfest-iv-144-nyx-round-lipsticks.html

First of all, let me say how impressed I am with her for taking the time to take ALL THOSE PICTURES!!! From the times I've spent in front of my mirror trying on my different lipsticks (my friends will attest to the fact that I am a little swatch happy), I know it can really do a number on your lips. So major kudos to her. Secondly, DOES SHE OWN ALL THOSE??? SO JEALOUS! If I ever win the lottery...

Anyways, not only are they discounted from $4 to $2.99, CherryCulture.com is having a memorial day sale that lasts until the 29th I believe. It's an additional 20% off! Oh and if you spend over $20 you get a free lip balm but frankly I don't care so much about that.

So, let me know if you buy anything! Also, if you have any of the aforementioned shades please let me know your opinion on them! I love comments! As always, please leave me questions and comments, and subscribe!

Wet N Wild Silk Finish Lipstick

511B Left and 521A Right

511B Left and 521A Right

511B Left and 521A Right

You will probably notice that I'm having a bit of a love affair with Wet N Wild lately. I will admit, I used to look down on the brand. This is partially due to their eyeliners which actually hurt my eyelids when I use them. My feelings about the brand radically changed recently when I noticed the hype about the Mega Shield lipstick and decided to try some out. While these products aren't quite on par with say a MAC lipstick there is one HUGE bonus: the price.

I believe these two lipsticks are $1.99 each. I would advise anyone who wants to try out interesting colors to buy these instead of other brands because they are that cheap and frankly, how often does one wear fuchsia lipstick?

The shade 511B is a rasberry shade. It is creamy and there is no scent. 521A is fuchsia with a purple sheen. It is also creamy with no scent. The colors have sheer to medium coverage as advertised and are quite buildable.

I will definitely be picking up more of these colors in interesting shades to try out!

Please leave questions and comments and subscribe!

Tarte Lip Surgence Review

Fiery Left, Joy Right

Fiery Left, Joy Right

Fiery Left, Joy Right

Wow I've been a little lip product crazed lately. Lip products are my absolute favorite products so sometimes I can get a little carried away!

Anyways, this is a review on the Tarte Lip Surgences that I own. Funny story, I didn't purchase either of these. No no no, I didn't rip off a store (no one sells Tarte within 100 miles of where I live) but for the price, $24, I'm certainly glad I didn't pay for them!

Fiery, the red color, I received as part of a Sephora 500 point perk. I loved everything else, but I was especially delighted with the red. The red is long lasting and cool toned so it looks good with my skin tone. I wore it to a CD release and received lots of compliments on it.

The coral-y/orange-y color, Joy, I received in a Birchbox. Birchbox has this funny habit of doing that. Just when I'm so fed up with Birchbox sending me the most unappealing products, they send me a box with something amazing. Joy is amazing. While it looks pretty orange, it comes off a coral on my lips. I am in love with the color it gives me. It is creamy and shiny. It doesn't last as long as matte Fiery, but I don't mind reapplying lip color.

I love the packaging of these lipstick pencils. They are like the Clinique Chubby sticks. They twist up so you don't have to worry about sharpening! The pencil format allows for precise application. I also love the smell of these lipsticks. They are very minty, but not overpoweringly so.

Would I spend $24 on these? Only if I was looking to treat myself. I see $24 as an investment. I want a product that will really last for $24 and I prefer a traditional lipstick for that. However, I would buy these in kits and such. I really do enjoy them. The bottom line is, they are good products just a little pricey for me.

Please leave questions and comments and subscribe!

NYX Round Lipsticks

Margarita, Christie, Haute Melon, Tea Rose, Spellbound, Snow White

Margarita, Christie, Haute Melon, Tea Rose, Spellbound, Snow White

Margarita, Christie, Haute Melon, Tea Rose, Spellbound, Snow White

I've heard so much about these lipsticks that I had to try some for myself. Unfortunately, the swatches on NYX's website, Ulta's website, and Cherry Culture are all inaccurate color wise. This is something that happens frequently with lipstick swatches and it is very frustrating. Instead of swatching each color on the site, the company takes a picture and then digitally alters it to an approximation of the color. This is usually inaccurate color wise, and it doesn't show frosted colors, duochromes, or shine. Because of this, I usually prefer to buy lipstick in a store. Unfortunately, I don't have a store that sells NYX products (other than my Urban Outfitters which sometimes carries NYX palettes) anywhere near me. What I ended up doing was looking up the round lipstick swatches in YouTube Videos and on other blogs. I would look up a certain color multiple times on different skin tones to see how it looked. This proved to be the most effective way to search for good colors.

As for the colors I purchased, Margarita is a coral with a lot of frost. I would prefer there to be less frost but I still like the color a lot. Christie is very light pink with frost. Usually a color like Christie would make me look pretty trashy but Christie looks quite nice. The next color is Haute Melon. Haute Melon is like Margarita except it comes off matte and has no frost. This one is tricky. It feels pretty waxy and drying when I apply it so I prefer to layer a gloss over it. I really like the color though and for $4 I can't really complain. Tea Rose is my favorite of all the colors I purchased. It's a my lips but much better color on me and it is very creamy. That will probably be the first that I run out of. Spellbound is a deep pink. It is very creamy and while it is bright, it is still a wearable color for every day. Finally, I have to admit that I purchased Snow White because of all the Snow White hype that has been happening lately. Also the swatches looked really good on everyone else. Snow White is dark, super dark. I wore it in my April favorites video. If I have the right eye look going on, I can either look like a Disney villain or a film noir damsel. This is definitely a night time lipstick, but it is fun to play with.

I hope to get more and more of these lipsticks. It would be awesome to find a store near me that sells them so I can witness them in person!

Please leave questions and comments and subscribe!

Wet N Wild Mega Shield Lip Color

Within These Adobe Walls top, Lolly Popstar bottom

Within These Adobe Walls top, Lolly Popstar bottom

These Mega Shield lip colors are brand new from Wet N Wild. They cost around $2.99 at drugstores or wherever Wet N Wild is sold. These have been getting a lot of notice on YouTube lately, so I thought I would check these products out. They are advertised as sheer to medium coverage but I think they are more of an opaque coverage. They are very moisturizing.

The first color, Within These Adobe Walls, is a peachy pink color. It is definitely my favorite out of the two. It is a very pretty color. The second color, Lolly Popstar, is a frosted raspberry color. It's pretty bright and I'm not overly fond of the frost, but I do like the color itself.

I do have a couple complaints about these though. First of all, the color extends above the casing which means that when taking off or putting on the cap, you run the risk of denting the lipstick. Also, the cap comes off extremely easily so it is best not to let it roll around in your purse.

All in all, flaws aside, this product is an extremely good value and I will be checking out more from the line!

Please leave questions and comments and subscribe!

Naked vs. Naked 2, A review and comparison

Naked 2 on top and Naked on bottom

Naked 2 on top and Naked on bottom

As a graduation gift to myself, I bought myself the Naked 2 palette. I had been wanting this for a while, but because it was $50, I wanted  to save it for a special occasion. I will now review and compare the palettes!

So first off, the packaging. The original Naked palette is in a velour cardboard palette with magnets that secure it. It has a small mirror on the inside. Naked 2 comes in a hard case that closes with a clasp. It has a much bigger mirror inside. In terms of packaging, Naked 2 is clearly superior.

Naked and Naked 2 both come with brushes and extras. Naked comes with an eye shadow brush and a mini Urban Decay primer potion. I absolutely love the brush that comes with the Naked palette. It is my brush of choice every day when I apply my eye make-up, no matter what shadows I am using. The primer potion is also really good. A lot of people were happy that the Naked 2 palette doesn't include a primer potion as Urban Decay usually includes it in their other palettes. I do think that it is unfortunate that they don't include it because for people who are new to the brand and who decide to buy Naked 2, they won't be getting the primer potion. I recommend the primer potion highly! Naked 2 comes with a dual sided brush and a mini lip junkie in Naked. The shadow brush on the dual sided brush is smaller than the shadow brush in the original Naked palette. I don't like it as much as the original brush because of this, but it is still a very high quality brush. One thing I do enjoy about the dual sided brush is the crease brush. It is a nice brush, although I have crease brushes from Sigma that I prefer. I like that they include a crease brush, if I take this palette with me on a trip I won't have to bring two separate brushes! The lipgloss isn't my favorite. When it comes to lip plumpers I prefer Buxom plumpers. The color also kind of washes my face out. It's so neutral that I probably wouldn't use it in conjunction with either Naked palette as I feel it looks best with a bright eye. I would have to say when it comes to the additional items in the palettes, the original Naked wins.

Now on to the colors. Between the two palettes, there is one color that is the same and that is Half Baked. One interesting fact about Naked 2 is that the shadows were formulated with Urban Decay's new formula. I couldn't really tell the difference between the two when I swatched both versions of Half Baked. When it comes to the two palettes, Naked has more warm shades and Naked 2 seems to venture more into cool shades, especially more towards the right side of the palette. I love that Naked 2 includes two silver colors. One thing that I would change about Naked 2 if I could would be to arrange the colors from light to dark like they did (more or less) in the original Naked palette. Naked contains two matte colors, both brown crease colors. Naked 2 contains three matte colors, a highlight color, a crease color, and a black. I enjoy the selection of mattes in Naked 2 more than the ones in Naked.

All together I do like both palettes. I believe that both palettes stand alone but can also easily be used in conjunction with each other. I think the original Naked is perfect for a beginner. It was one of the first palettes that I ever purchased. I would say that Naked is what really enthused me about make-up. I think Naked 2 is great for someone with more experience. I love both of the palettes, but it is not necessary to own both.

Please leave questions and comments and subscribe!

A Couple Looks

Liz

Maddy

The other day my sisters and I decided to fool around with make-up and I came up with a couple looks for them. On my sister Liz, I used the Tarte for True Blood palette to give her a silvery, smokey, cat eye. On my sister Maddy, I used the ELF 100 palette to give her rainbow eyes. I wet an angled eyeliner brush to line her eyes.

It was super fun! Please leave questions and comments and subscribe!

Haute Look Alert!

Hey Everyone!

I thought I would let you in on another Haute Look alert! Today until 8 a.m. Friday, Haute Look is selling products from TheBalm! I just placed an order for the Nude 'Tude palette which I have been coveting for the longest time!

I also noticed this: http://makeupexplorer.blogspot.com/2012/01/thebalm-shady-lady-palette-cheetah.html on the page. I love that palette. Everything appears to be half off! Check out this deal while it is still available!

http://www.hautelook.com/short/3CkaV <---- Click here to shop!

Please leave questions and comments and subscribe!

Urban Decay 24/7 Pencil Stash

Left to Right: Delinquent, Rehab, Juju, Sin, Clash

Left to Right: Delinquent, Rehab, Juju, Sin, Clash

Left to Right: Delinquent, Rehab, Juju, Sin, Clash

 I had been eying these for a long time before I found them for $12 on HauteLook. Now they are $9 in the sale section on the Urban Decay website!

So let me describe these for you all. Delinquent is a dark purple with purple glitter. Rehab is a shimmery medium brown. Juju is a shimmery taupe color a few shades lighter than Rehab. Sin is a shimmery champagne color. Clash is a bright blue with silver sparkles.

These pencils are not full size, but they are well worth the price. I brought these with me when I went to Florida and I loved them! They can be worn as a shadow, liner, or base! They don't crease on me and they are easily blendable. As you can see in the third picture, it is pretty easy to blend them out before they dry. My sisters even ditched the make-up that they brought to Florida to use these every day and when we got back, one of them bought this kit!

These are perfect for anyone who wants quick and easy tools when they are on the go!

Please leave questions and comments and subscribe!

My Hiatus

Dear everybody. I haven't posted anything on here in almost a month. This is inexcusable. I have been very busy with the end of the school year. The hiatus is over!

First of all, here is my latest video:

(Look I'm smiling in the thumbnail! A FIRST!)

Also I'd like to announce an exciting addition to my site. I am going to make a page that will keep track of all of my products. I will update it as I buy new products and as I run out of products. If you want to request a review or tutorial for one of them, just shoot me an email or leave a comment! This will probably take some time to put up, but it will be fun!

As always, please tell me what you want to see and I will be happy to oblige!