CoverGirl FOTDs!

So, in the last post, I mentioned I got my CoverGirl NatureLuxe Liquid Silk Foundation sample from Walmart a few months back. It consists of 2 packets of foundation, one in 320 Aspen and the other in 340 Maple.





This kinda sucks because I feel like CG just sends out two shades they think would be popular but it's not gonna fit everyone's skin tone. I think Maple fit me way better and Aspen is a lot lighter.

Here are some pictures of before/after application of Aspen.

before

after


before

after

Please ignore the fact that the foundation is a bit too light for me - esp. on my forehead. Still, it worked out a bit - don't you think?

So what amazes me is the coverage! Yes, look at all my "flaws" in the before pics and then look how the foundation pretty much just blends everything together and make my face seem more "flawless"! That is what I love most about it. All the redness and other discoloration isn't as noticeable as before!

Blending and application is so easy and the foundation is really nice and light across my skin.

The only things I don't like is that it does make my dry spots a lot worse. So make sure if you have dry spots, you moisturizing them well!

Also, it makes me look like I'm wearing a mask even though I did blend it a lot! So... I don't know. I like the coverage but I hate what my face looks like with just foundation on. To fix this problem, I did my entire face of make up, which leads to the FOTDs full of only CG products:









LIDS: CG's quad in Tropical Fusion's orange color
CREASE: CG's single in Swiss Chocolate
UPPER LINER: CG's single in Brown Smolder
LOWER LINER: CG's quad in Tropical Fusion's green color

CHEEKS: CG's blush in Pretty Peach

And I just want to show you guys my other FOTD w/ the other foundation color in Maple. I think Maple fits my skin tone better but it still a little bit light on my face. Even with this one, I still felt like I was wearing a mask. Plus, it was at night time and my camera had flash so it made this foundation look way lighter due to the SPF that is in this product.







LID: CG's single in Tapestry Taupe
CREASE: CG's single in Swiss Chocolate
OUTER V: CG's single in Brown Smolder
LINER: CG's Perfect Point Plus in Grey Khaki and single in Brown Smolder on top

CHEEKS: CG's cheeker's blush in Pretty Peach

LIPS: CG's Amazemint in Slap Happy

That's pretty much it. I really like the way the foundation make my skin look pretty flawless w/ very little hassle. Still, I wish it didn't make my face look so mask like - even though it could be fixed with more make up (like bronzer and blush). I also don't find it to be the most comfortable foundation to wear since I could feel it sitting on my face. I think this would work best with all skin type - but dry skin should moisturize!

What do you guys think?

SORRY I've been so busy lately! Life is just gotten a hold of me... but I'm on Spring Break ;) Yay... I'll have more time to write and such.

PS. I just hauled something yesterday - the Maybelline Falsies Mascara! Can't wait to try it out... so far... it's okay. Clumps a bit... not enough volume. We'll see how I enjoy it.

100 Things: 21-25 + Ramblings

I haven't done one of these in awhile... so I figure I need to keep up!! Here goes!

21) MAGIC


22) Music


23) Perfume


24) Conversation


25) Hawaii


♥ ♥ ♥



In other news, I got my CoverGirl Natureluxe Silk Foundation sample I ordered from Walmart a week ago and it came in two different sample packages. Each package contains enough (and a bit more for me) to do the entire face. Unfortunately, I didn't get to choose the shade but it worked out okay for me... I think. Here's a pic of what it looked like on. My skin look pretty good on camera - gotta say. I think I'm gonna try out the 2nd one soon and then decide if I want to buy the real thing or not.


Wearing 340 Maple w/ flash

The only thing I noticed is that it isn't as light weight as I thought it would be. I still felt it sitting on my skin. It blends easily and it looks pretty flawless. It did exaggerate my dry patches though (mostly around my nose). The cool thing is that I think this is definitely a light-medium coverage and more medium for me, even though other reviews had said light coverage for them. Overall, quite interesting... I'm gonna have to give this one more try.

If I was to buy a brand new (as in new 2011) foundation right now, it'll have to be the Maybelline Fit Me or this CoverGirl one.

I'm still waiting for my free sample of the Maybelline Fit Me...!

♥ ♥ ♥

One more thing that is beauty related is that I'm on a search for a new skin routine. My cleanser, day and night moisturizers are all running low! I need to repurchase all three!!

Also, I need a new mascara and lip balms as well...

So if you guys have any suggestion for a good drugstore cleanser/moisturizers, please let me know!

I have normal-dry skin! Not acne prone and could be sensitive.

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.

My Hair + My FOTD

So I think it was Kalmo that mentioned how my hair is getting a lot longer now -- and she is COMPLETELY RIGHT!

My hair is getting really long but for once, I don't really care much for cutting it!

Weird huh? It's usually around this time of year that I'm begging my mother to let me cut my hair. Why do I still ask for permission? Because you know how Asian mothers can nag you about stuff (and this might just go for all mothers - not just Asian ones).

She'll start out nice:
"Oh but you're hair is so pretty - don't cut it"

Then she'll turn mean:
"You'd look ugly with short hair"
"You're face shape would not look good with short hair..."

But this year, I think I'll wait til after Christmas to cut it. I don't know why, I just really enjoying the long hair.







My favorite shampoo/conditioner combo right now (and I've been using this for a year... maybe longer):



Now I just want to master the curling iron to make my hair look like:



Oh, one could only wish!!

Finally, I just wanted to show you guys my FOTD for that day:





Lid: CoverGirl's Tapestry Taupe on lid
L'Oreal's HiP duo in Sassy - the taupe color on the crease

Cheeks: CoverGirl's Cheeker in Pretty Peach

Lips: Revlon's Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Life's A Peach

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

You know what I haven't done in FOREVER????

Is a REVIEW!

Yes, I will get to that as soon as I can... just need to think of something to review!

Alicia Keys = LOVE!

Okay, so last week (or a last last week... can't remember) I asked:

Which of these female artists do you like to be for one day?
Lady Gaga - 5 votes (41%)
Alicia Keys and Gwen Stefani - 2 votes (26%) (each)
Katy Perry, Rihanna, and Beyonce - 1 vote (8%)

In my opinion, all of these females are fantastic. Right now, their careers are bright hot and it seems like nothing is stopping them. I think they all portray female sexuality in good and positive manners. I guess we can all debate about that, but honestly, these females show strong characteristics and aren't afraid to show off what they've got.

Anyways, my favorite person is definitely Alicia Keys though. She has such a soulful voice and so musically talented on the piano. her songs are always really deep, meaningful, and relate-able (is that a real word?). She is well respected in what she does and she doesn't come with tabloids or drama either. I also love her style and also - the fact that she is smarty (got into college at like 16 or 17!) is pretty awesome. If i can be anyone mentioned above, I think Alicia Keys has got it all.

So, I was watching her latest video and I decided to do a look inspired by her:










On my lips:

NYX's Round lipstick in Apollo


I used CG's Tapestry Taupe all over the lids because I wanted a taupe that is really shimmery and reflective. I deepened my crease a bit with CG's Brown Smolder but not too much because her eyes are quite understated here. I lined my waterline (which I never do0 and then do a dark upper lash liner with ELF's drama quad. There is a really shimmering white shade in the Smashbox trio that I used for highlight and inner corner and then I just added a bit more color to the look using the more purple Smashbox trio.

** AngelicBB asked if I liked the CG shadows - I have to say that I do. I think the only thing that people complain most about is the texture. It is true that CG shadows might not be the softest or has the best texture but I think the pigmentation of the ones I have are great. I love Tapestry Taupe for those days when I just want a nice lid color - and that's all. And because it is so light reflecting, it really brightens up my eyes and my make up in general. Brown Smolder is definitely pigmented! The texture is a lot better than Tapestry Taupe and it is a matte shade. This is a fantastic color to have if you don't have something like this already. A nice, matte, easy to blend shade like this is so easy to work with and very versatile. I think these are great products to have and try out - especially if you are just starting out with eye shadows and make up. I really want to try out Mink and Forever Fig (I think is the name). They are both neutrals... but I love love my neutrals! I think since I only have 2 CG singles that I can't make a full review... but I think this is pretty accurate of how I feel.

Overall I enjoy the look. I think it is soft and feminine enough for like a date night or something... but the red lips definitely bring the sultry back in!!

Thanks for reading and commenting! I love seeing new commenters - makes my day. And ask me any questions and requests... I will definitely try to get back to you.

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.