My Favorite Drugstore Brand

The answer people often give to the question, "What is your favorite make up brand?", is: "Oh, I love all sorts of brand. I don't like this just one!".

This is so true - I look at my make up collection and think - I love all different brands! Each brand carry a different item that I love so it is impossible to choose. But I thought I'd think about this a little harder... and here's the extended version of my answer:

Brand I go to for face products: Maybelline

Maybelline's Dream Mousse Concealer
and
Maybelline's Mineral Power Concealer

I absolutely love both concealers! I love the Mousse one more just because it is so easy to apply!!!!!! Makes my make up routine a million times faster.

Brand I go to for Blush: Jane
Brand I go to for Bronzer: Rimmel

Rimmel's Mineral Bronzer in Sun Light (L)
Jane Blushing Cheeks in Blushing Petal (R)


Blush and bronzers are a must for me because I'm kinda pale and with the combo of both, I look like a I have healthy complexion! I look awake and ready to take on the world!! Jane blushes are so soft and, this one in particular, is so pretty and natural on me! The Rimmel Bronzer is my favorite bronzer and I love just dusting it all over my face. I feel like it brings life to my face... weird huh!

Brand I go to for High Lighter: Physician's Formula

Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips in Vegas Strips

Love the pigmentation and texture of this! Very beautiful shimmer that isn't over stated. I use this both on my eyes and my cheeks to high light! I usually hate shimmery products but I love doing this during the month of spring because it gives me that fresh glow!

Brand I go to for Lip stuff: Revlon

Revlon's Colorburst lipstick in Soft Rose
and

Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Glosses

I really love the way Revlon lippies look and they feel great on the lips too. I find that Revlon has a lot more selections when it comes to types of lipstick, finishes, colors... etc. Their lip glosses are the only ones I really enjoy wearing also.

Brand I go to for Mascara: Maybelline

The first mascara I ever tried was Maybelline's Great Lash and at the time, I was so a n00b that I bought it in Brown! Boo! The 2nd I tried was the Full n' Soft and that was a great everyday, natural mascara! Even though I haven't tried any others, I feel like this brand has the most to offer me w/ all their new mascaras coming out. Some that I'm dying to try are: Lash Stiletto Voluptous, The Falsies, and Define A Lash.

Brand I go to for Brushes: ELF

ELF's $1 Professional Eye Shadow Brushes

I own two of these along with the $1 crease brush. These three are my essential weapons for eye make up! Besides that, I also own a few studio brushes and I really like them all! They are so cheap that you can have great tools but you can also save the money for more products to play with.

Brand I go to for Single Eye Shadow: CoverGirl

CoverGirl's Single in Tapestry Taupe

I am starting to fall in love with these shades! They come with so much products and various types of colors! Now, I do love the NYX singles but I feel like I don't reach for those as often as I reach for CoverGirl... not sure why! I also have Brown Smolder and Swiss Chocolate - both fantastic shades with great pigmentation and easy to wear.

Brand I go to for Palette Eye Shadow: Wet N' Wild

Wet N' Wild's Mega Eyes Trio in Mojave Mauves


This is my go to palette - eye shadows are soft, pigmented and freaking fantastic! I have two other palettes: Sugar Plum Fairies and Silent Treatment. Here are two recent FOTD's I did with these WnW eye shadow palettes:

1/29/11 w/ Mojave Mauves
1/25/11 w/ Sugar Plum Fairies

Brand I go to for Lip Balms: Burt's Bees

I am quite sure I've used up about 4 tubes and that's only because I wanted to use up my other lip balms too. I've used so many different lip balms but always go back to this one! LOVE IT - will repurchase when I run out of my other lip balms!

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.

100 Things: 6-10 + FOTD!

To continue from my previous post.

6) Sleep



7) Spring



8) BOBA!!!



9) Relaxation



10) Letters



♥ ♥ ♥


A couple of weeks ago, I decided to sport this cute natural eye. It's very maroon toned... very pretty! I love it! I used my Wet N' Wild palette in Mojave Mauves. On my lips, I'm wearing WnW's megalast lipstick in Rose Bud.







I wore that look when I went to catch up w/ a friend at lunch. Man, now i really want to go back... it was so delicious!! And now that I've mentioned Boba as a drink - I want it sooo much now!!

ENJOY!!

Purple Haze

I think I've figured out a pattern... around Spring time, I tend to get OBSESSED over purple shades and purple looks! Instead of trying to break this pattern, I thought... hmmm why not show you guys some of the looks that I've done lately.

Feb 14, 2010
Feb 1, 2010
And lots more...

Favorite Purple Eye Shadows

So here some new FOTD for 2011!! And this time, I used shadows from my new purple-filled palette:











I used the Revlon Creme shadow all over my lids. Then I placed the violet color (2nd left) all over my lids and then I used the bottom left in the outer area/crease. Then, I placed put the darkest shade in the outer corner and blend it out to the crease. Finally, I placed the 2nd right overlapping the darkest shade to have a nice gradient. And then I used a highlight either from that palette or my ELF palette - don't remember.

But... TAH DAH!!!

And the shadows turn out really nice and pigmented. Man, that darkest shade: OMG - I lightly touched it and it packed so much pigment! Didn't not expect that at all!

Well anyways, thanks for reading!

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!

2010 Favorites

I don't meant to jump on the bandwagon but I absolutely love reading these posts so hopefully this will be fun for you guys too.

1) Best Products for $1



ELF's $1 Eyeshadow primer: Yes, this stuff is amazing - not as good as UDPP but perfect for everyday!

Wet n' Wild's Coloricon brow & eye liner in Taupe: This is a product I used almost everyday for 7 months straight. Love this stuff - just ran out so I had to buy a new one. My brows look so great and it costs 0.99 cents. Seriously, if you guys are looking for a cheap brow pencil - try it out - not gonna cost you an arm or a leg. It might even be your HG!

2) Best Eye Shadow Products


The first two - Maybelline's quad in Chai Latte and Revlon's quad in Coffee Bean - are two of my favorites "office/school" friendly palettes. These are my everyday palette and I tend reach for these A LOT! Right now, I like the Revlon one over the Maybelline one but in 2010 - I used them both equally. I recommend you guys checking these quads out - especially if you are on a drugstore budget and want a good everyday look.

Wet N Wild's trio in Mojave Mauves has been good to me but I only realized how much I loved it when I would use it CONSTANTLY during my trips. I would make a few palettes with me but one that I reach for every time I actually do my make up is this trio. Why? Because the colors are shimmery and they give nice washes on the face. They are also EXTREMELY pigmented and are so easy to work with and apply. I frickin love it! This is discontinued but I went to Walgreens the other day and saw new 2011 trios that are released... and OH MAN!!! They look so awesome!!! WnW makes some really great shadows - don't doubt the brand b/c of their price/packaging.

ELF's Butternut quad was my first eyeshadow and probably one of the best purchases a beginner would ever need. Besides the peachy shade, the quad is GREAT! Especially for $1... really good. I still use this all the time and the bronzy shade is awesome for summer.

3) Favorite Product Line



The Maybelline's Dream Mousse line is one of my favorites. I LOVE LOVE the texture and they are also very good products. I wrote most of my thoughts in that post but his might be the first line that I really enjoyed every single product I own! I still want to try the foundation... although I've heard mixed reviews.

4) Favorite Lip Products



Wet N Wild's Megalast lippies (I like WnW... they have a good year!!) has the best color payoff ever. So bright and bold! Really gorgeous - I love how these colors really brighten up the face. This isn't as creamy or moisturizing as I'd like but they are long lasting and great purchases for $2.99 each.

Revlon's Colorburst lipstick is FANTASTIC!!!! When I first got it, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would but after using it for awhile - I fell in love!! Ha ha... yes, this is awesome for Spring time!

5) Favorite Rediscovered Products



CoverGirl's Cheekers blush in Perfect Peach - one of my oldest blushes EVER! And for some reason, I have been using this product for most of Fall and still now. I don't know why - it gives me a really nice, natural flush! And it stays on quite well when in conjunction with creme blushes.



Coastal Scents's Italian Angled Blush Brush was also rediscovered especially since the CG Cheeker is a bit strangely packaged. But I find I get better control applying my blush this way.

6) Least Used Products



I don't want to say NYX products because I think the quality is good but I have pretty much swapped for most of my NYX stuff. I don't own any jumbo pencils anymore - not because they are crap but because I just don't use them. Also I have gotten rid of my Round Lipsticks in Thalia and Circe and the Diamond lipgloss. The picture above is the megashine lipgloss in Frosteed Beige. I kinda hate this product because it started to leak and made a mess... the only ones I still like are the single shadows. Those are still awesome. However, I still want to try their mosaic and creme blushes.

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

This is all I have for now. One of my favorite things from 2010 is the lack of purchases I made and the fact that I wore make up almost everyday!!! Yes, to use up these items instead of buying more. Very awesome. I will have to do another post on products I've finished!

What about you guys? What are some of your 2010 favorites?

Autumn Is Awesome

So I'm sitting in my room with a sweater on right now - that's pretty awesome. I can actually walk my dog in the middle of the day now... double awesome!

But anyways, I did this look a few months ago - just kinda playing around with the colors that I have and thought this would be an AWESOME look for fall!

Now, normally for school, I don't do something like this. For school, one color on the lid is good enough. But I think this could be a great going out look or a date or something - YA KNOW!







Lids: WnW Trio in Mojave Mauves - lightest shade
Crease: Smashbox's Trio in Photoshoot - the shimmery color
Outer Corner: MAC's sketch
Liner: WnW black gel liner
Mascara: Max Factor 2000 Calories

Lips: Victoria's Secret Very Sexy lipstick in Sweet Nothing


I don't know if you can notice but at the time, I had the worse acne problem. New pimples would just pop up every day - on my forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin. I'm so relieved that it's all gone now and luckily without any scarring. I think the problem might've started with my new skin care routines. I'm still using that routine but I think it's because my skin is used to it now.

WEIRD huh!

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

I also just wanna talk about the poll that I had put up for the last 2 weeks:
What accessories do you think make your man seem extra hot?
58% say it's the facial hair!!
25% say it's the nice hair
16% say it's the nice scent/cologne

Good to know huh! So any boys reading... take a note of this. I totally agree with this poll too - I think those are my top three.

No one thought a tie or glasses make guys cute. I guess it depends on your taste... some guys look a lot smarter w/ glasses!!

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

That's all I'm gonna bother you guys with... for now! Stay tune for more girly polls!

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.

My Lip Colors

So, I did a poll a while back and the results are:




Since lipstick and lip glosses are tied with eyeshadow, I decided to show you guys my collection of both things. In this post, it will be lip items!!



I love my lips stuff. In my opinion, wearing lipsticks just really polish up any look. Especially since I have pigmented lips already (and not like a pretty color), lipstick really helps either brighten up my face or just make me look more sophisticated. I have written about part of my lip color collection before, but it has definitely grown this summer. Yeah, I have been a bit on the lippies craze all summer.

Anyways, I am not gonna show ALL of my lips stuff just because some aren't really that interesting. But I've split them into different categories!

1) LIP THERAPY:


- Burt's Bees is my GO TO lip balm. I'm obsessed with these and will forever repurchase like a crazy person.

- CO Bigelow Mentha Lip Tint is my favorite lip gloss ever. It is extremely moisturizing and it makes my lips glossy so I look a bit more polish than I do if I just wore my lip balm.

2) FIRST LIPPIES EVER


- Maybelline Moisture Extreme in Rosy Glow is one of my all time favorite lipstick. It is a warm toned pink and doesn't make me look dead. Instead, it looks so pretty on and it is extremely moisturizing, smells like watermelon, and has SPF 15.

- Rimmel's Lasting Finish (the old packaging) in Birthday Suit is the first lipstick I ever bought for myself. At the time, I didn't really know what I was doing but I think I chose a great color. It is a lovely nude that doesn't wash me out.

3) COLORFUL and BRIGHT


- Wet n Wild Megalast lipstick in Wine Room is such a pretty color between pink and red. You can wear this during the day time but it can really finish up the look for night time too. Very multipurpose.

- Wet n Wild Megalast in Rosebud is such a pretty pink! It is a straight up "HEY, I'm pink!" but it doesn't look weird on the lips. You know how some pink color just looks too cool toned or it doesn't really work with some skin tones...? But this one really does. It is being loud but not overwhelming (I hope that makes sense). A color like this would look so nice on tan skin as well!

- Revlon Colorburst in Soft Rose is such a great color, again, for everyday and yet can be made into a bolder color for going out. CUTE packaging and fantastic pigmentation with a nice semi-glossy finish.

4) NEUTRAL and MY LIPS BUT BETTER


- L'Oreal Juice Stick in Chai Love You is like my all time favorite product from L'oreal!!! Okay, where to begin. I love the pigmentation - makes my lips look better but very very natural. I love love love the smell and the moisturizing ability. It is like a gloss in stick form and it just feels perfect on my lips. WHY OH WHY does it have to be discontinued!!

- Lancome's Lipstick in Ecran Square is one my first lipsticks ever. My mom bought it but of course I used it... and now it is mine because she doesn't really wear it anymore. Lovely neutral shade that lasts all day with SPF 15. Smells great (I love Lancome lipstick smells) and feels really nice on the lips. $25 is a bit much though.

- Victoria's Secret's Very Sexy lipstick in Sweet Nothing as the cutest name - by far (oh, well besides Chai Love You)... ha ha. I think this is a lovely neutral with a touch of pink. Great for everyday and even for smokey eyes too!

5) LET'S LOOK A BIT MORE SOPHISTICATED NOW


- Maybelline Moisture Extreme in Rum Raisin is very between a neutral and a more reddish color. It is very wearable but also very nice for special occasions.

- Rimmel Moisture Renew in Dusty Rose is very similar to the one I mentioned above but I can see it has a bit more mauve in it. It is very pretty and easy to pull off!

- Lancome's lipstick in Mars is my absolute favorite when it comes to more red lips because of all the golden undertone in this. So gorgeous I could cry. I love wearing this and have gotten compliments too!

- NYX's Round Lipstick in Apollo is a decent dupe of the Lancome one but it is definitely more red. I really like this lipstick but I have read negative reviews about it too... I guess it depends.

6) LIPSTICKS I RARELY WEAR


- Revlon Lustrous Lipstick in Wink for Pink is a cute light barbie color but the pigmentation is horrible and so on my pigmented lips - sometimes it looks good, and sometimes it doesn't.

- Wet n Wild's lipstick (I am not even gonna bother with the numbers) is really frosty - too frosty for me. When I first put it on, my mother was like "It looked like you just drank a thing of chicken fat or something"... and that is something you never want to hear. I noticed that it is very moisturizing and if I blend it out, it isn't as frosty and it has a cute pink tint. However, being so cheap, it has that plastic taste to it and the packaging is just falling apart.

- Lancome's lipstick in Pink in Limo is a bright hot pink, which I don't mind. But it is kinda frosty too and the color just looks very weird on my lips. Not a big fan of that.

7) LIP GLOSSES!! Some of my favs.


- Revlon Lustrous Lipgloss in Life's a Peach and Wink for Pink are two of my favorite lip glosses EVER. I don't like to wear lip glosses but I do really like these. They feel great on the lips, pigmented enough to look nice and I just really love the packaging.

- Maybelline Colorsenstational lip glosses in Strawberry Glaze and Sweet Tooth are very pigmented and feel very nice on the lips. The only thing I don't like is the smell... it reminds me of bubblegum but after a while, it reminds me of the dentist's office.

Well guys... we made it!!! WOW, that was a lot of stuff... just wait til we go into my eyeshadow stuff.... wow.... I do have a lot!!!

Thanks for reading & have a great - no - a fantastic - day!