Spring Time Make Up!

I adore Spring because that's when the weather warms up but not too much that it is burning not! It just feels great to be outside - it makes me happy!!

But I'm also switching up my make up as well... here are some things I am loving for SPRING!

1) SHIMMER SHIMMER SHIMMER!!

Milani's Glimmer Stripes

I love to add shimmer to my face because it adds a glowing affect! Kinda a healthy glow!! Brightens up my face.

2) PURPLE EYE SHADOW!!


I still love using my neutrals but I love adding a touch more color in my make up for Spring. These two colors are pretty much dupes of each other. They are so pretty and shimmery and they aren't BOLD. They are both on the neutral side which is great for school or work.

3) BRIGHT LIPS!!

Revlon's Colorburst


Wet N Wild's Megalast

When I go w/ a neutral eye (which I do a lot of times), I like to pair that with some bright lipsticks! Above are some of my favorite colors because they are so bright. I love the Revlon Colorburst one just because I feel like I can sport that one anywhere! The WnW ones are a bit bright for everyday! I like to blot them and make them into lip stains instead.

4) BRIGHT NAILS!!

NYC's Mod Mauuve

When I'm not wearing anything colorful on my face - I'll always have my nails to finish off the look!

* * * * *

What are some of your favorite Spring products?

I hope you guys are enjoying Spring as much as I am!!!


Thanks for READING!!

Drugstore Look-a-Likes

When I look at some of the products I have purchased/swapped over the years, I have to say that, when it comes to eye shadows, I'm in love with 2 types of colors: bronze and taupe!! What I love love about these shades is that I can just swipe the color on my lid, liner, mascara, and I'M DONE!!!! No fussing about outer corner or crease shades or blending.

So I decided to pull out my collection and swatch them to see how similar the colors are. Have I been wasting my money on the same exact shades?!?! Or are there slight differences to them that I can detect.

Bronze:


1) ELF's Butternut quad
2) Revlon's Coffee Bean quad
3) Cover Girl's single in Swiss Chocolate


My favorite to wear is the Revlon one because it is so soft and easy to apply! I feel like I always get compliments when I wear this. I recently got CG Swiss Chocolate from a swap and already really enjoy it! It is also really soft and pigmented! I love it. Now, the ELF one is not as soft but still just as pigmented and it is one of my oldest shadows. All three are extremely easy to blend and looks great in the crease as well as all over the lid!

Taupe:



1) Maybelline single in Beach Blush
2) Cover Girl's single in Tapestry Taupe
3) Wet n Wild trio in Silent Treatment
4) L'Oreal's HiP in Sassy
5) Wet n Wild trio in Mojave Mauves


Let's see, I would say that the best texture and pigmentation would be the Wet N' Wild shadows and the L'Oreal HiP. The cool thing about L'Oreal's shadow is that it is a good dupe for MAC's Satin Taupe. However, I find it a bit dark for everyday wear. Sometimes, it is easy for me to go smokey with this if I'm not careful. However, the WnW ones are amazing! I swear, Mojave Mauves is one of my favorite trios ever and that taupe shadow is probably most worn. Of course, CG's shadow is quite popular and it is a really cool taupe because it is more silvery taupe. Very cool! I don't like the texture that much - it can cause a lot of fallout as well. WnW's Silent Treatment is also a silvery taupe. Finally, the Maybelline single is really cool - texture isn't as good as I would've hoped - but I still love the color and it really brings out the brown of my eyes. Very interesting indeed! These are really fun to have - taupes are a lot prettier than regular brown, IMO. These are extremely easy to wear! One swipe on the lids and I'm done w/ my eye shadow look.

So, what do you guys think? What color do you guys tend to buy?

I also just realize I have a lot of matte dark brown shades too... but I guess I can save that for another time. ALso - the swatches show how dry my skin was... GROSS!

♥ ♥ ♥

I went to see No Strings Attached with a friend yesterday...




and I thought it was cute -- but really cheesy!!! Ha ha but I think it's kinda good timing for this movie since Valentines day is right around the corner. It's good for couples and singles to go and watch :)

I think Natalie Portman is freaking awesome and she is a great actress. However, I hope she does more amazing films.

BTW - Natalie Portman and Alicia Keys are two women I really want to be like. Their make up and clothing styles aside, they are both extremely talented and really smart and just fantastic at what they do! They live life under pressure and fame but doesn't succumb to all that crap. Very admirable indeed.

I Apologize In Advance

I'm sorry I have to do this but I'm always excited about "dupes"... and UNFORTUNATELY... this product is a limited edition product. However, I saw this quad at Walgreens last week still so who knows... maybe there are still some laying around.

I'm talking about Wet N' Wild's palette in Sugar Plum Fairy - the Holiday limited edition. But I'm also talking about a certain dupe... and this one is kinda awesome so to those girls who own the palette... you can be sure that you have dupe of MAC's Trax in your hands.




L, MAC || R, WnW


The last pic is kind of blurry but it is to show the golden glittery shimmer that makes this color very awesome and unique. Let me just say that MAC's Trax might look a little bit darker and more cooled tone but that just might be because I layered it too much. I put a few layers on Trax while the WnW shadow is only 2 swipes... so if I'd built WnW shadow more, it might even be the same.

As you can see, it is not a perfect dupe but the WnW shadow still has that gorgeous golden shimmer and the color goes on so beautifully! You can actually make this look very natural just because both colors can come off neutral but then you can dress it up more to make it look very dramatic. Trax has a bit more cool undertone... I still say - pretty darn close match!!

My first dupe! I'm excited... I'm just sad that you guys might have a hard time finding it... sorry! I just recently got this palette as a swap so I couldn't have done this sooner if even if I wanted to.


♥ Hmm finally know what I want - too bad it is impossible to get!
♥ Swatching eye shadow is kinda messy - not gonna lie!
♥ Yay weekend is almost here! I can taste it.
♥ I wish I had time to read actual book. It's been too long. And I was too lazy to do Xmas break.
♥ I know summer is not coming for another 4-5 months but... I've already figured out what I want to do + back up plans and everything - I cannot wait!
♥ The weather here has been fantastic! I know in some parts of the country, it is snowing and storming, here, it has been in the 70's F* and I've been sitting outside and everything!

Golden Leaves and Fall Weather

Okay, so it has been Fall for awhile... no? But it only had started to feel like Fall here in the lovely Southwest! It's been nice - 40s F in the morning and then 70s F throughout the day. Yeah, very nice!

But in the spirit of Fall, here are some items that I think of as "Fall items". They just represent the season very well and they are items that I tend to reach for these days.


Revlon quad in Coffee Bean

You can't really see the colors really well here but that 3rd shade down - it's like this rusty-coppery color! It reminds me so much of the colors of Fall - earth tone that is warm and sultry. I wear that all over my lids and use the rest of the color to help out with the blending and such. I also line my eyes w/ the dark brown. That color is definitely the star shade of that quad - easy to blend, pigmented, really pretty - and I get compliments when I wear it... love love love!!


Maybelline quad in Natural Smokes

Speaking of earth tones - this quad has all of that loveliness for you! It's got a nice taupey shade and then got a nice warm rustic color again! This is such a lovely quad to use for everyday and then for a more glamorous look for going out or something. Very very pretty!

PS. I've done better reviews on these quads - feel free to check them out!

Other things that I like using for this weather are:


L'Oreal Juice Stick in Chai Love You // Lancome's Lipstick in Ecran Square // Victoria's Secret's Very Sexy lipstick in Sweet Nothing


Very nice neutrals - they don't wash me out; they give me color but they are also not BRIGHT IN YO FACE - you know what I mean. I like wearing them to give me more warmth to the face but very natural as well. These are definitely "my lips but better".


Milani's Brown-alicious // Essie's Tomboy No More // Zoya's KI // Revlon's Midnight Affair


Again with the warmer and darker, vampy, colors! I mostly wear the dark colors on my toes but that Revlon one is GORGEOUS in the light. It looks dark but you can tell it is navy... however, those sparkles within it are just amazing!!! Very distracting - for me. I couldn't stop looking at it. The first two are your typical warm and, again, sultry, earthy colors!

So what are some of your favorites????

Let me know! I might stop by and pick some up.

SPEAKING OF BUYING THINGS: 75% off on some L'Oreal products at CVS! Click here for more info from Nouveau Cheap!

Have a great day!! Off to study for my BIOCHEM exam! Wish me luck... I need it!!!

Favorite Purple Shadows

Fall is here... and the best color for fall, I think, are purple toned shadows!!

Whether they are in taupe form, crease color form (dark colors), or pretty lid color form - purples are just really fun to have in my make up drawer. I tend to reach for them when I am getting bored with my browns and neutrals. I also think they make an eye look more feminine - just because they are PURPLE!

Now, sadly, I don't have any bright color purples :( But I do have a bunch of favorites that love to use and switch around.







1) WnW Trio in Mojave Mauves (I forgot to take a pic!) - lovely burgundy color!!! It's actually sheer enough to look really nice in the crease - and VERY blendable!! Really great shadow - one of my favorites.

2-3) Smashbox Trio in Photoshoot - Really soft and pigmented shadows! The only problem with them is that they don't last too long on my lids... but they make AWESOME fall shades! I really like #3 - really good crease shade! It's also a matte shade which makes me love it that much more!

4) MAC's Sketch - must I say more? So many people love this shadow and it's because it looks so pretty in the crease! It's a nice color to have to just give your look something special. Browns move over, there's an awesome color in crease town!

5) Lancome's Guest List - I really like it in the crease - very very pretty! I also have a problem of this not lasting too long on my lids but pigmentation and blendibility is really great. Another shade that makes the eye look more unique.

6 & 8) L'Oreal's Sculpted - #6 is a darker shade - people compare this to MAC's Beauty Marked. It's really pretty because it has these glitter in it. The only thing that I wish is that it would be a bit softer and easier to blend. #8 is more pink than purple but also a nice girly color to have around.

7) Revlon Quad in Nude Element - this is a taupey color - something that I would totally wear all over the lids. However, this color is so pretty in the crease too. It gives a nice, soft, natural contour.

-----------------

That's pretty much what I have for you guys! Sorry I've been MIA (I finally know what that means BTW! SAD huh!) - I blame it on school :D

But like I said before, I haven't really bought much make up b/c of a major tight budget! But my mom actually bought me a mascara the other day - L'Oreal's Bare Natural! Very cool!! Thanks MOM!!

Thanks for reading!!!

Eyeshadow Collection - The Motherload

So about a year and a half ago, when I just got into make up, I only had a few shadows here and there. My love for eye shadows really increased when I finally purchased an eye primer - UDPP. The problem with me and eye shadows have always been the creasing so UDPP really helped my shadows stay all day and stop looking horrible.

But the biggest problem with me and shadows is still blending and working with the colors. That is still something I must keep practicing! However, you can't practice much if you don't have a lot of eye shadows to play with. This is pretty much my collection... I have quite a lot. I wouldn't say as much as some of you out there, but definitely more than my friends combine!! Luckily, I'm a cheapie and so these are all fairly inexpensive items.

Without further ado:



Notice how there is almost two of everything???

I think I will start with the left top corner...
ROW 1:
- I have 2 sample MAC pigments: Vanilla and another brown color... never knew the name.
- Victoria's Secret baked shadow in Expresso Lane
- Wet n Wild's Trio in Mojave Mauves
- Two Smashbox shadows: Photo shoot and Test Shoot
- Maybelline single in Beach Blush

ROW 2:
- Lancome quad that my mom gave me.
- 2 Cover Girl singles in Tapestry Taupe and Brown Smolder
- 1 Cover Girl quad in Tropical Fusion (my first palette EVER)
- Milani's single in Java Bean - if only I could find more of them in the store!
- MAC's single in Sketch.

ROW 3:
- Jane's single in Midnight
- 2 Maybelline quads in Neutral Smokes and Chai Latte
- 2 ELF quads in Drama and Butternut
- 2 Revlon quads in Nude Element and Coffee Bean

ROW 4:
- 4 NYX singles in Taupe, Champagne, Root Beer, and Iced Mocha (lots of drinks here... except for Taupe though)
- 2 L'Oreal HiP duos in Sculpted and Sassy

Then, I have the cream shadows and eye primers and what-nots!

From L-R
- MAC's paint pot in Rubenesque
- Urban Decay Primer Potion
- ELF's Mineral Eye Primer and the $1 one
- 2 Revlon's Illuminance Cream Shadows in Pink Petals and Coastal Blues
- HiP's Cream Shadow Paint in Nervy

But if I had to recommend a few, I would definitely narrow down to these four:



1) Chai Latte is so easy to use. The texture is nice and smooth and you can wear this for an everyday look or a really nice glamorous look (because of that pretty metallic coppery shade). I'd say pick this up if you have been debating about it. It's totally worth it!

2) Coffee Bean is a perfect quad if you work in an office and you have to wear the most natural look ever. The colors are pretty and pigmented. You have a lot of good options with this quad. I definitely struggle between which one I like more - Chai Latte or Coffee Bean... but I think I'm going with Chai Latte... for now. Funny because I'm drinking more Chai Lattes lately than coffee too.

3) Wet and Wild Mojave Mauve is like my vacation trio. I take this with me on my vacation and I will NEVER EVER be disappointed with it. I always bring several eye shadows but this always work on me... it is so pigmented - easy to blend. And it isn't your typical boring neutrals. This has a gorgeous taupe, a nice maroon, and most of all, that lovely lightest shade... it's like a creamy lilac. I don't know, I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I recommend this to everyone and their mothers.

4) Butternut from ELF is something I recommend to people who are just starting out. At $1, this quad will help you learn what your style is and you can practice and practice with it until you get better. I don't like the idea of going out and getting something expensive if you don't even know what you are doing. Besides that, I enjoy the colors! That dark brown and the lightest shade are my favorites. Together they can make some nice smokey eyes!


As for colors, I really enjoy these two quads. The CG's Tropic Fusion was my first shadow palette ever... which isn't a good thing for beginners... ha ha. But I love using the colors (mostly the blue and green) to line my eyes. It makes the look more interesting. And the HiP's duo in Sculpted has the prettiest pink color and pretty purple. It can change the typical look into something more fun and girly!

I hope you enjoy this post. Please let me know what your favorite/recommendation is! I am always up for trying something new.

Last Minute June Shopping

So, even though my job situation isn't the best that it could be... I still bought some stuff - I guess to make myself feel better :p!

Anyways, the first two purchases are things that I couldn't pass up. You know - when you're really looking for something and FINALLY you found it and you're like - "AHH!! It must be fate!"

Well, that's how I felt w/ these shoes. I saw them at ROSS - yeah, Ross! Weird huh... I was looking for a pair of sandals that would give me a bit of height but I can wear to casual and non casual events.




I've worn it a few times already but absolutely love it! Although I wore it to work the other day - standing around for 5 hours - wasn't the most comfortable thing ever. But yeah, I really like this. I was sooo happy to have found it. I have been looking for something like this for weeks. I was ready to pay a lot more than I did - $12.99.

The next purchase was something that I wasn't looking for, but being a hardcore COLDPLAY fan, I HAD TO - HAD TO get this:





After seeing Knight and Day with my friend and sister, we all went into this store - dELIA (or something) and the girl was like - "oh, we have a bunch of sales, make sure you check them out". So I was just looking around and all of a sudden I see this blue shirt... and it had Chris Martin's face on it and it was just a moment of pure happiness when I saw that it was a Coldplay shirt - and it was on sale for $4.99. I squealed with delight for the first time that summer :D Ha ha probably not but it was something like that. Considering when I went to their concert and their band shirts were $30 and wasn't even that cute - I got an adorable band shirt for $5 and I love it! BTW - Viva la Vida has to be one of my favorite albums ever!

---------------------

So then, on to the make up stuff. CHECK THIS OUT - when money is tight - swap is the next best thing.

So I wanted to swap for Maybelline's new lip stuffies; and someone on Makeupalley was kind enough to agree to swap.

I got Maybelline Colorsensational Lipglosses in Strawberry Glaze and Sweet Tooth (both adorable names!).





** I gotta say, I really enjoy these! I think the texture is just great - very moisturizing and it isn't sticky at all! Even so, I think the lasting power is really great and the pigmentation is fantastic! I would say that these are both more opaque than the Revlon Lustrous Lip glosses. The only problem is that they are not very glossy - eventually the glossiness wears off and I get like a stain my lips. Which is completely cool with me but other people might not like that. Besides that I think these are really great lip glosses! I think there are a lot of colors to choose from. The only annoying thing is that the packaging is horrible - so plain and simple. The applicator is OK...

Finally, the swapper was extra nice and noticed that I've been wanting Revlon's quad in Nude Elements so she graciously added that in our swap without me knowing. It was such a nice gesture... I was so excited.





** The most pigmented colors were the white at the top and the charcoal at the bottom. However, the two mid shades are so pretty and something that I can use on an everyday basis - champagne and taupe shades are great for all over lid colors! The pigmentation is best when a base is used... besides that I see no other issues. I would say that this quad is one of those quads that would allow a day look to go into a night look - no problem. That dark shade in the bottom can make a great smokey eye! I don't know about lasting power since I always use UDPP and so the shadows stayed on all day. I will try to get a more in-depth review once I understand this quad better.

I was playing with the quad and came up with this:





---------------------

Thanks for reading everyone. I know I have not been updating as much as I should but there are things that I have to take care of.

I will be back soon though!

Happy Fourth of July!!!

Brown, Smoked, Well Done

Okay, so in April and early May, I did not purchase any new make up...

I definitely broke this trend today :D I'll post more about that later....

However, I managed to swap for a new things. This is something that I have wanting for awhile but I just couldn't bare to buy it - I cheap!

Point is, that I finally got my hands on it and I have been playing around with it. I now feel it is time to do a review!



Maybelline Expert Wear Quads - Natural Smokes

What do I think?

Well, first of all, I really like the lid color - that taupey shade. WOW that shade is really pretty. It's like a silvery taupe - it is very similar to CoverGirl's Tapestry Taupe. HOWEVER, it has the worst pigmentation and texture that the quad has to offer. But you know what - it is expected. I spent (or would've spent) $6 on this entire quad so if one shade is kinda a dud, I kinda expected it. The color is really pretty though and I would definitely suggest using the sponge applicator if your brush is not giving enough color.

The two darker shades are definitely better in texture and pigmentation. Easy to blend! Very deep dark colors! VERY SMOKEY COLORS FOR SURE! If you're gonna do a smokey eye, this quad is not going to fail you. I love that the darkest color will show up more as a matte shade than shimmery. It gives the quad a nice dynamic.

And the highlight color is definitely awesome. I love that it is matte and it is pretty pigmented too. It didn't disappoint :) Overall, I gotta say - easy to blend, easy to smoke, and colors are awesome.

I totally recommend this quad to anyone who loves neutrals as much as me. The nice thing about this quad is that you can go pretty natural with it too. Out of all the smokes, I think you can use this for the office/school and then come night time, smokey that look out for the social hours! I don't know, I just find a lot of uses for this quad.

This is one look that I did: even when I'm trying to do a smokey eye, I tend to get more natural with it. I obviously didn't bring the colors up high enough to be extremely dramatic but you guys can definitely do that.








Well, well, well, I am done for now! But hopefully this post will show you that if you are wondering about this quad - I would say GET IT! Or swap for it! You'll find a use for it - promise!

I also have to say that I am really enjoying summer. The weather is awesome. I'm getting ready to go on a cruise to MEXICO and...

I FOUND OUT THAT I GOT HIRED!!

I was suppose to go into training today but that is canceled... because the lady was sick. GRRR... so I'm really hoping that they reschedule tomorrow or Friday because I have to leave Sunday!! GRRR.... so many complications.

Don't you ever wish you can control life more. Don't you wish you can know exactly what will happen and how it will happen? I guess that'll just be boring then, wouldn't it. I always have to tell myself everything will work out in the end... BUT I am extremely impatient and kinda a control freak. Well, I just have to hope and hope and hope :)

Everything will work out in the end - no worries.

Thanks for reading everyone!!

BYE :D