Collective Haul! March 2012

Happy Tuesday lovelies! Today I thought I'd share with you a little collective haul of a few things from Sephora and Ulta. I don't know about you, but when I heard about the Naked2 palette I actually wasn't all that excited, at least once I noticed the similarity it shared with the original one. I even told Angie with assurance that I wasn't going to get it, and yet here it is in a haul -___-

The reason I gave in wasn't because I was excited, or felt like I HAD to have it. It was more because I basically only wear neutrals on a day-to-day basis and I undoubtedly love the formulation of UD shadows, so this palette has a value that's quite difficult to pass up on (in my opinion). I know I will get a ton of use out of it!

Believe it or not, I was most excited to try the Soap & Glory Hand Food Hand Cream because Ingrid or Missglamorazzi from Youtube has said such great things about it. I definitely was not let down. This is hands down the best hand cream I've ever used. It leaves your hands baby soft and has such a beautiful scent.

The Tarte box was a 500-point perk from Sephora. I was so so excited for it because I had been waiting for what seems like forever for a good option and this was it! I've only played with the LipSurgence Natural Matte Lip Tint which was in the color, Fiery, a bright red. I absolutely love it!

The Nars products were a V.I.B gift which I was so excited for because Nars has slowly become one of my favorite make up brands! It included a sample of its Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base, Bronzing Powder in Laguna, and Illuminator in Orgasm. I've mostly used the eyeshadow base and so far so good, I prefer its consistency over the UD primer potion, not sure if I'd repurchase it though. The last goodie I wanted to mention was the deluxe sample of Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial. HOLY COW is this stuff good! People have said they get results in as little as one day but it took a week for me to see real results. My skin tone has basically evened out completely, its incredible! This is now a holy grail product for me.

Moving on from Sephora, I was out shopping yesterday with my girlfriend and we went into Urban Outfitters. We were looking around when I laid eyes on the Stila Daydreamer palette. I've been wanting this little guy for months! I think I first saw it some time in December at a Sephora inside a JCPenny. I had trouble finding it online afterwards but finally found it ironically on the UO website. Even then I kept thinking it over and over. Just a few days ago I decided I was just going to get it but yesterday when I was at UO I had to do a double take because the palette was marked at $4.99! My jaw dropped, literally. The palette was originally at $18, so there was no question about it at that point. I cannot wait to start playing with it!

Last but not least I had a $3.50 off coupon for Ulta, so naturally I HAD to get something. I was in need of a waterproof mascara and my girlfriend recommended the Maybelline Illegal Length, so we'll see how it works out. I'd also been dying to try the NYX Slide On pencils and I needed a bright electric blue color so I grabbed Azure. If it lives up to my expectations, my bank account will suffer the consequences.

What was your latest purchase?

-Michelle

Seven Deadly Sins of Beauty :D

hehe enjoy :)

Nail Of The Day: Fast Track by China Glaze

Hello beauties! We are now in March, which means: THE HUNGER GAMES!!!!!!!!!! Yes, I am incredibly excited about the upcoming Hunger Games movie releasing on the 23rd, and honestly all things Hunger Games. I read the books, I will watch the movie, so it only makes sense that I would also get my hands on some of the polishes from the Hunger Games collection released by China Glaze. The one in the pictures above is called Fast Track. I would describe it as a nude with fine golden glitter. As far as nudes go, I feel like this a little darker than your typical nudes, almost a light brown. You definitely need two coats to get full opacity, but if you want to use it as a top coat over another color, one coat will do. I really love this color and feel like I will get a lot of use out of it during the summer. It's basically a nude with a punch, so it's a nice for the days you want something that looks sophisticated, yet fun. The entire collection consists of 12 colors, with finishes ranging from cream, to chunky glitter, so chances are, there's something for everyone's individual taste.

Which will you be rocking opening night?

Michelle <3

Besy Eye Products 2011...finally!

We are finally in the last post about 2011! My sincere apologies for dragging this all the way to March, I’m going to try and get better about this blogging thing. The products listed below are my favorite eye products for the year of 2011. It took a lot of thought, as I have an immense amount of eye-shadows, eye shadow formulas, eye shadow brands and so on and so forth! I tried to make this post as short as possible, with only my true favorites mentioned. Enjoy!

Best Eye Primer:

Too faced shadow insurance: This is the second year that this is my favorite, and they last so long, I have only had to purchase this twice, and I’m still going through my second tube. I find this primer makes my eye shadows stay on all day without creasing, and make colors appear greatly vibrant.

Any cons? It’s a bit on the pricey side.

Best colored eye shadow base:

Mac paint pots: These are amazing!  They are so creamy and feel so smooth on my eye; they have the power of transforming an eye shadow color, and prolonging staying power. 

Any cons? Price tag. I also find them kind of bulky to store.

Nyx Jumbo Pencils: Remember when these were all over YouTube? I picked up on them kind of late, but I still love them! They are so creamy and pigmented and come in a huge variety of colors, so you can be sure you will find one that you love!

Any cons? Nyx can be hard to find sometimes.

Best Cream eye shadow:

Chanel Illusion D’ombre Long-wear Luminous Eye Shadows: Let me tell you a story, at the beginning of October I came in to work thinking it was going to be a normal day, I sat down on my desk and then all of a sudden I heard the word bomb. My coworker received a bomb threat on the phone. It was a false alarm, but needless to say we had to evacuate and the cops were involved. That’s the day I purchased this gem. We had to leave the building for about two hours and me and a couple of coworkers decided to go to the mall.

 This is by far the best eye product I have ever owned, you don’t need a primer at all to wear this it lasts all day on its own, the application is pretty fool-proof, and wow, it’s just absolutely gorgeous.

Any cons? Yeaaaaaaah its really expensive :P

MUFE Aqua Creams: I got two of these when I went to IMATS, they are really pigmented and are no doubt, waterproof. I swam with these on, they didn’t budge at all. They are also really smooth, which makes application pretty easy.

Any cons? They are pretty expensive and they can also fell kind of drying.

Best powder Eye Shadow:

Mac Eye Shadows: These never disappoint me; Mac has an array of beautiful colors to choose from for their eye shadows and a variety of formulas. The eye shadows are highly pigmented and most have a smooth texture.

Any cons? Not all formulas are exceptional, and they are a bit on the pricey side.

Wet n’ Wild Color Icon: I think you’ve heard of these. They were all over the internet! These eye shadows are by far my favorite of the drugstore. Not only are they extremely pigmented, but they have both matte and shimmer shadows. They have a lot of great colors and a lot of trios and palettes to choose from and at that price, I don’t know why I don’t own them all.

Any cons? Some of them can be a bit powdery.

Best Pigments:

Micabella loose eye shadow: I absolutely adore these, I got introduced to the brand by my sister, and soon I was on love with their shadows. I have 9 of their loose shadows and one of their glitters. They are highly pigmented and look great when dry, but apply them wet, and you will have an amazing color. What amazes me about these is their versatility I have used these not only for my eyes, but to make a unique nail color, a shiny lip gloss and a shimmery highlight. With the amount of product that you get, these will last you quite a while too!

Any cons? It’s hard to find a Micabella store that is close to me. They have them in mall kiosks, but not all malls have them.

Best Palette:

Urban Decay Naked Palette: As you can see my naked palette has gotten a lot of love. It’s funny because every time I watch a YouTube video starring the palette, everyone has theirs all clean and no one has hit pan on any colors. Yet mine looks abused ha-ha.  The colors in this palette are amazing, they are pigmented, easy to blend and are just plain beautiful. It’s one of those palettes that look so simple, yet they are so versatile.

Any cons? Not a huge fan of the packaging, it’s also a bit pricey, but well worth it for me.

Best Eyeliners:

Best liquid liner: Revlon Colorstay, this one has been a favorite for quite some time, I love the intensity and the staying power, and of course I can’t complain about the fact that it doesn’t hurt my pocket too much.

Any cons? This isn’t really the products fault, but man sometimes I make a mess when trying to apply this.

Best Pencil Liner: This has to be hands down, Milani’s Liquif-eye pencil liners, they are extremely creamy, very pigmented and have great longevity. I have them in three colors, but I want to own them all one day.

Any cons? I find Milani is hard to find sometimes, and while I love these liners, they can be such a pain to sharpen.

Best Eyebrow Products:

Elf Eyebrow shaping kit: I love the powder in this kit; it’s exactly what I like on my eyebrows. Packaging is very sleek and this product is only three dollars!

Any cons? I find the wax that comes with this, pretty useless.

Benefit’s eye shadow in bossy: I have used this for my brows on and off since 2008, it’s a great brown matte shadow, and it’s really easy to use.

Any cons? It’s expensive considering that you can just use another medium brown matte shadow.

Best under brow highlighter:

Urban Decay’s Virgin eye-shadow:  This looks amazing on my pale skin, it definitely acts as a great highlighter for my brow bone.

Any cons? Yeah, I use it too much.

Best Mascara:

Rimmel Sexy Curves mascara (original formula): This is my HG mascara; it creates a fantastic curve on my lashes and coats them evenly. It separates and elongates beautifully as well. Just don’t get the waterproof version, it’s awful!

Any cons? None at all for me!

Rimmel Glam Flirt Mascara: This one is so good for elongating my lashes! I swear when I use this they almost touch my eyebrows. The brush is also pretty thin, so it’s nice to use for my lower lashes.

Any cons? It doesn’t volumize as much as I would like it to.

Maybelline’s The Colossal: This one is also a great one for volume, it makes me look like I have a million lashes, and I don’t think I have ever felt like my eyelashes look clumpy in this. It’s a great mascara.

Any cons? It doesn’t make my lashes super long.

Best Eye Product Launched in 2011:

Maybelline Color Tattoo eye Shadows:  I knew this product was going to appear in this blog post somehow, and while the quality is great enough to be in my favorite cream shadow s category, I purchased my first one on mid-December, and I just didn’t feel right talking about the product in my 2011 post when I only used it about three times In 2011.

Anyway…on with the product. These shadows are amazing in quality, the packaging is sleek and they have a pretty decent color selection, the staying power is also excellent and pigmentation is incredible in most of these. Also, you can’t complain about the price!

Any cons? Oh gosh, don’t buy the purple one. It’s not good at all!

That concludes 2011 :D Thanks for reading and have a wonderful night!

Also what were your faves of 2011??

-Angie