I Got Baked With Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso

I really wasn't expecting much from this blush.  I have never really had great luck with baked makeup in general.  I buy it because "Oooo pretty!" but it usually ends up being powdery and sheer.  I hate NEEDING to applying baked eye shadows wet.  I like options!  But this... this was smooth, dreamy heaven in a pan.  I barely had to touch my finger to the blush and it left a coat of soft pigmented powder.  It even blended out well just using my finger.  I can never get that result without using a brush with most blushes.

I picked Luminoso because it seemed to be the least glittery of all the baked blushes.  It does have shimmer but it shows up more as healthy sheen on my skin.  I also own nothing like the color of this blush.  It is a little more orange than I usually go for, but I'm expanding my horizons one shade of blush at a time.  Also, in my swatch it shows up REALLY orange, but it more of a peach color... closer to the way it looks in the pan.  I didn't try the brush it came with, but I'm assuming you are better off using your own brush.

EDITED TO ADD: I added a picture of myself wearing Luminoso.  You can see in in this post here.

I don't particularly care for the look of Milani's packaging.  The gold just looks cheap and outdated to me.  That being said I don't care at all if packaging is ugly if the product performs well.

The brush is housed under the blush along with a mirror.

Taken in the shade

Taken in the sun

Taken in the sun

Pros:

• Very pigmented
• Soft texture that is not too powdery
• Blends well
• As good quality as high end blushes

Cons:

• Packaging is not my taste (This is the only con!!)

Available:

• Retails for $7.99 at all places Milani is sold- drugtores, grocery store, etc.
• Milani's website
• Cherry Culture

Thank you for reading and have a great day/night/whatever!

A First Foray Into Lipstick- Wet n Wild Mega Last Lipsticks and Swatches

I have to admit that I don't wear lipstick that often.  I tend to go for semi-sheer glosses or balms.  I think lipstick looks weird on me too.  I put on red lipstick for the first time and my boyfriend told me that I looked like a clown because I was so pale and my lips were so red.  I laughed because it was true.  And I usually like the way red lipstick looks with pale skin...

I want to be able to wear pigmented lipsticks, but I always think that when I wear one people are just staring at my lips thinking I look weird.  To try and train myself to wear lipsticks I've been buying cheaper drugstore ones.  I'm not sure WHY I'm trying to create another obsession.  The last thing I need is to spend more money, haha.

I have two Wet n Wild Mega Last lipsticks that I picked up during their last 50% off sale at Walgreens.  A bright, bright red that so far I have just worn around the house.  My dogs thought I looked glamorous though!  The other is a pinky rose-brown.

Both shades are matte creams that last forever on my lips.  They are a bit drying (I'm not used to lipsticks so I don't know how this compares to other matte lipsticks), but I thought they applied well.  Especially for me being a lipstick novice.

This is Wet n Wild Mega Last lipsticks in 911D Stoplight Red and 906D Wine Room.

Left: 911D Stoplight Red      Right: 906D Wine Room

Left: 911D Stoplight Red      Right: 906D Wine Room

906D Wine Room

 Ugh, I hate how my skin does this.  It makes everything looks super dark.  I wish it looked more like it did in the tube... I think this is too dark for me.  Also, on me it looks like a color my grandma would wear.

906D Wine Room with Revlon Crystal Lilac lip gloss on top

I decided to make the lipstick prettier and layered Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss in Crystal Lilac on top that I swatched in this post.  I like that it lightens the color and adds a bit of opalescent shimmer.

906D Wine Room with Revlon Crystal Lilac lip gloss on top sheered out

This is the same combination from above but I blotted my lips twice; once after applying the lipstick and once after applying the gloss.  I like the more pigmented one above, but I will probably wear it like this more often.


Available:

• Wet n Wild Mega Last lipsticks retail for $2.99 and are found at most drugstores and anywhere Wet n Wild is sold.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day/night/whatever!

Holographic Plum Frankenpolish

I'm not very good at frankening polishes. I can combine the most beautiful and nuanced colors and it will come out looking one-note and blah. If I ever took color theory I would probably fail miserably.I suppose I understand the basic concepts, but being able to successfully put them into practice eludes me.

Of course, none of this prevents me from attempting to franken quite often.

Which leads to this polish. This wasn't the result of careful planning and thought, but of a broken nail polish bottle emergency where I was determined not to let a beautiful polish go to waste.  I dropped one of the polishes from this post. Luckily it wasn't my favorite one or I would have gotten in my car right then and drove to Ulta for a replacement.

It's hard to mix non-holos with holos and still keep the holographic effect.  This is a mix of LA Splash Tidal Wave and Sally Hansen Magical Nail Makeup in Copper Cauldron.  Copper Cauldron is a long discontinued holo that I bought on eBay.  I haven't taken a picture of this one by itself yet, but you can see swatches from the all-mighty Google.  I think the polish turned out okay, but I'm never done.  I'm already thinking of things I can add to improve it.  Also, I couldn't think of a name.  I'm terrible at naming so I just call this Plum Holographic.  I'm going pretend I don't fail at naming and just call myself practical for picking something descriptive.

Bottle picture in the sun

Taken in full sun

You can sort of see the holo on the nail.  It really is more evident in real life.  This was 2 coats and it applied like a dream.


Thank you for reading and have a nice day/night/whatever!

MAC's Superslick Liquid Eye Liners Rock My World! Swatches and Review

Just because I like the world to be aware of my failings, I want everyone to know that I'm terrible with liquid eyeliner.  Pretty much the only eyeliners I'm okay at using are pencils.  I have a shaky hand and more than once have gouged my eyeball.  Between that and wearing contacts for 12 years, I have eyeballs of steel now.  The other day a drop of vinegar flew in my eye and all I had was a mild burning that went away after 5 seconds.  Because of my shakiness, my eyeliner usually ends up looking like it was applied by a 6 year old with caffeine jitters.  To remedy this I apply my eyeliner a bit thicker to even it out and by the time I'm done, half of my eyelid is "lined".  And I will still have a gap right by my lash line.

Okay, maybe this is a bit of an exaggeration, but not much.  It has taken me years to get mildly proficient at applying eyeliner.  Which is why I thought MAC's Superslick eyeliners would never work for me.

Well spank my bum and call me Sally!  Was I ever surprised when I was able to get a smooth even line on my first try!  I attribute it to the pointed applicator that has a bit of give to it and glides along perfectly along my lash line.  Also, the colors are beautiful and opaque.  I'm still a novice and don't quite have the application down perfect yet, so sometimes I need to go back and put another coat because I push down too hard and the liquid smooshes out on either side of the applicator leaving a little trail in the middle.  You know what I'm talking about?  I attribute that to user error though.  The formula is great; it's thin but not watery.  It dries down very quickly and won't budge until you want to remove it.

I currently own 4 colors and plan on picking up more when my budget allows it.

I have:

• Pure Show- a neutral gold microglitter packed in a sheer base
• Treat Me Nice- a medium green with gold shimmer
• Desires & Devices- a blackened dirty gold with olive tones
• Smokey Heir- a darkened purple shimmer

 

Pros:

• Extremely long lasting
• A good range of colors
• Easy to apply
• Great pigmentation
• Dries quickly

Cons:

• A relatively small amount of liner for the price
• The gold may need two coats for opacity if you aren't careful in your application
• Needs more than soap and water for removal.  An oil-based eye makeup remover works best.

Available:

• $17.50 at MAC stores, counters, and their website
• Macy's website
• Dillards' website
• Nordstrom website

Thank you for reading and have a great day/night/whatever!

Like Buttah- Korres Lip Butter Glaze Review and Swatches

I love Korres.  I love the aesthetic, I love that they're natural, and mostly I just love the products.  Okay, so I don't LOVE the prices because I'm a drugstore girl at heart, but all of their products I've tried have been worth it.  The very first time I stepped into Sephora I didn't know any of the brands or what products were good.  I just walked around in a daze due to sticker shock.  I somehow ended up in front of the Korres display and the Lip Butters immediately caught my eye (I've been a lip balm lover for as long as I can remember).  While still more than I was used to paying, at $10 the Lip Butters were less expensive than some of the other items I had been eyeing, so I pick one up in Pomegranate.

I love the way they feel on my lips. They're pigmented, but still feel soft and moisturizing.  What I'm not so crazy about is the packaging.  I'm not really a germaphobe so I don't mind sticking my fingers in pots for that reason, I just don't like having bright coral lip balm all over my hands.  I'm not a kid anymore so I can't get away with wiping it on my shirt or jeans (ahh, those days were nice).

But Korres listened to their fans and put the Lip Butters in squeeze tubes with a slant tip applicator.  YAY TOOBS!  They're $4 more than the Lip Butters in pots, but have 0.34 oz versus the pots' 0.21.  And I actually got mine in a set around the holidays with 3 tubes for $24.00... a great deal.  Even though the set is no longer available, the tubes are still worth the price (Also, Korres often has discount codess for 30% off their website).

The colors I have are:

• Jasmine- a sheer milky light pink
• Pomegranate- a bright coral
• Raspberry- a berry red

They came in the packaging.  I know some people complained about it being ugly, but I like it for some reason.

From left: Jasmine, Pomegranate, Raspberry

The bottom swatch of Pomegranate is from the Lip Butter in the pot.  The color is exactly the same but the ones in the pot are a little thicker and not as shiny.

Bare lips for reference

Lip Butter Glaze in Jasmine

This one feels a little gritty or something.  That happens with lip balms sometimes when the butters or oils crystallize.  I'm not sure if this is whats happening here, but I think I may just have an off tube.  The others I have are not like this.

Lip Butter Glaze in Pomegranate

Lip Butter Glaze in Raspberry

Pros:

• Moisturizing and comfortable on the lips
• Easy to apply from the tube
• A good option for those looking for a pigmented moisturizing gloss
• Non-sticky
• Offer more product than the Lip Butter pots

Cons:

• More expensive than the lip butters in the pots
• Only available in 5 colors
• One of mine has a gritty feel

Available:

• $14.00 at Korres' website
• At Sephora stores and their website
• A 4-pack for $29.95 at HSN

Thank you for reading and have a great day/night/whatever!

Three OPIs- a Green, a Blue, and a Pink

I think OPI is somewhat overrated.  They do have a huge variety of colors, but for the price, I often find that the colors are very sheer and sometimes streaky.  But then you get the special colors, like Mad As A Hatter, which totally redeem the brand in my eyes. Unfortunately I don't own MAAH.  I was dumb and passed it up thinking I would have the chance to buy it later. So wrong!  Has this happened to anyone else before?

I'm usually a pretty verbose person, but I'm runnin' on empty right now so I'll get straight to it.  Like the oh-so-cleverly-named title mentions I have a green, a blue, and a pink to show you.

They are:

• Who the Shrek Are you?- an olive-tinged chartreuse creme
• Sea? I Told You! - bright blue shimmer with silver particles
• Shanghai Shimmer- a dusty mauve rose with green shimmer

These are all swatched without a base or top coat.

Who The Shrek Are You? in full sun

This was pretty sheer.  It took 4 coats to reach opacity but the color is worth it.  The finish ends up pretty even and non-streaky for a color with a lot of yellow pigment.

Who The Shrek Are You? in full sun

 It is really shiny without a top coat which I love even though I always use a top coat when I'm not swatching.

Sea? I Told You! in full sun

This one is also pretty sheer.  This took 4 coats.

Sea? I Told You! in the shade

Shanghai Shimmer in full sun

I really like this color.  Without the shimmer it would look like a grandma color, but the shimmer makes it look funky and unique.  This was 3 coats.

Shanghai Shimmer in the shade

Here is a bottle picture in the sun to clearly show the pretty green shimmer.

Available:

• Ulta stores
• Check OPI's website on where to buy to find local salons that sell the polishes
• Etailers like TransDesign

After all the pretty I just wanted to share something gross with you.  I saw this while looking at the ad for my local grocery store.

Doesn't that look absolutely foul?!  First of all, the name. EconoMax.  I will NEVER eat anything named EconoMax.  EconoMax is not the name of anything remotely edible.  It sounds like a brand of budget motor oil or something.  Plus, it's a pound of bologna for $1.  I have a hard time believing this is a meat product.  I'm going to the grocery later and bet yer britches I'm looking for this.  I'm curious what the ingredients are.


Thank you for reading and have a great day/night/whatever!

Okay Ulta, I Won't Ignore You Anymore! Ulta Glitterati Palette Review and Swatches

I'll just put this out there right now- this whole post is a tease.  This palette in not available anymore, but I'm showing it because I want to prove that Ulta can make some quality makeup, too.  Its easy to overlook the Ulta brand of makeup, but you can find some real gems.  They have made a version of this palette before so you never know, it may come back.  Also, many of the shades, if not all are permanent eye shadows in Ulta's collection and are sold as singles.

This is Ulta's Glitterati palette.  It looks like it is trying to dupe the style of more high-end brands like Urban Decay.  I'm not sure why they call it Glitterati; the shadows are mostly shimmers with two shades being matte with microglitter.  Silly name aside, this was a great find for $12.99 and I'm really impressed with the quality of the shadows.  They are soft, blendable, and most are very pigmented.  The mattes with microglitter are a little more patchy, but I never have good luck with those type of shades.  Especially the dark ones like black and brown.

The colors are:

• Flutter- a ballet slipper pink shimmer
• Amethyst- a reddish-brown burgundy plum shimmer
• Molten- a matte dark brown base with lots of gold microglitter/shimmer
• Silk- a creamy beige shimmer
• Galaxy- a matte black with silver micoglitter
• Peacock- a dusty navy blue shimmer
• Verdigris- a forest green shimmer
• Lustre- a medium champagne brown shimmer

Taken inside with flash

The palette's packaging lives up to the Glitterati name.

Taken inside with flash

I took a picture with the plastic name insert over the shadows.  The names aren't listed anywhere else on the palette so you need to keep this if you want to remember the names.

Taken outside in full sun

Taken in full sun

1st row in sun

2nd row in sun

Here is going to be a look I did with some of the shadows.  I've never done a look specifically for my blog before so I'm nervous.  I'm still a novice at multiple eyeshadow looks and blending, but this gives you an idea how the shadows perform.  They are applied dry over primer (Too Faced Shadow Insurance).

This is Peacock on the inner third of my lid, Verdegris on the outer third and below my lower lashes, and Molten in the crease. Lustre is above the lid blended down and Silk on the inner corner.  I used Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Binge on my upper lashline and waterline.  And my mascara is Cover Girl Last Blast Volume (the big honkin' orange tube).

I've had pretty good luck with Ulta's eyeshadows.  I have a few singles I need to swatch for you, but they're having a sale right now for 2 singles for $6 so I may buy some more and swatch them all together.  For the price they are (cheaper than a lot of drugstore brands when they go on sale) they are worth experimenting with.

Thank you for reading and have a great day/night/whatever!