FOTD feat. Tarte Call of the Wild palette

Today I used my new Tarte Call of the Wild eyeshadow palette. I'm not fond of shimmery shadows because of fall out, but I'm very happy to say that they don't have fall out! So I LOVE it!

Face:

- Smashbox Photofinish Oil-free primer (not pictured)

- Tarte 12-hr Amazonian clay foundation in Fair

- Tarte Waterproof concealer in Fair

- Maybelline Dark Eye Eraser Concealer in Fair

- Tarte Finishing Powder

- Benefit Hoola bronzer

- Buxom True Hue blush in Swept Away

- Urban Decay All-Nighter setting spray

Eyes:

- Cover Girl Brown Smolder

- Maybelline clear mascara

-  Tarte Clean Slate Creaseless Eye Primer

- Cover Girl Perfect Point Plus black eyeliner

- Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner

- Tarte Call of the Wild eyeshadow Palette

Call - used all over eye

Meow - on outer half of eyelid

Wild - in crease

Instinct - highlight brow bone

- Maybelline Great Lashes mascara

Lips:

- Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Charm

- Too Faced Glamour Gloss in Sex Pot

 

I'm still trying to master the art of applying shadow, but I don't wear it on a normal basis so I don't have much time to practice. But I really love the look eyeshadow gives! Looks like I will need to practice to make it perfect ;)

February Favorites 2013

This month I have enjoyed several products. Majority is beauty except for one item, which is a hand soap.

• Bath and Body Works Aloha Orchid Foaming Soap
• This soap is part of the BBW spring/summer collection. I absolutely am in love with the scent! It smells like "iced papaya, guava nectar, sun-kissed strawberries and creamy white orchids."
• Revlon Nearly Naked foundation
• I recently picked this up and have been using it pretty much every day! It gives a nice natural, light coverage. (review coming soon)
• Tarte 12-hr Amazonian clay blush in Blissful
• I believe this is my perfect blush color. I love peachy shades and it gives me a healthy glow.
• Maybelline Great Lash Transparent mascara
• This is a re-found love. I use to use it several years ago but forgot about doing eyebrows. Now that I have been shading in my eyebrows every day, it sets them perfectly.
• Too Faced Glamour Gloss in Sex Pot
• This lip gloss is very nice and I have been reaching for it often to use by itself or to use on top of another lip product. It provides a unique color when combined with other lip products.

Maybelline Lash Stiletto Mascara

Maybellline Lash Stiletto is the mascara that I have been using every day for the last couple of months. I have actually been enjoying this mascara because it lengthens my lashes while still looking natural. It does not provide a lot of volume, but when you try to layer several coats on, it can tend to get clumpy. I only do 1-2 layers of mascara.

Lash Stiletto can be found at drugstores for around $7-8.

Compared to other mascaras, this one has less product, .22 oz. 

The brush is long and very straight. The formula is a bit dry. 

Pros

-Lengthens eye lashes

-Affordable

-Does not flake off

-Looks natural

Cons

-Less amount of product compared to other mascaras

-Does not provide volume

Would I repurchase? Maybe, only because I want to look for a mascara that lengthens and adds volume. I'm still trying to find my perfect mascara.

Have you found your perfect mascara? If so, which one?

FOTD: Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation Review

Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-In-Place claims to be a 15-hour staying power foundation that has a natural, semi-matte finish. The coverage is medium and is buildable, but I usually just do one layer. It is oil-free, dermatologist tested, non-acnegenic, and fragrance free. The foundation comes in a frosted glass 1.0 oz bottle, and is $36.00. 

***(This review is about the older formula.)***

The foundation I have lasts all day, has SPF 10, and is a medium coverage. I have not tested it out to see if the 15-hour is accurate, because I wash my face once I get home. Even if I was to go out again, I would redo my face with a new application of foundation. I have normal to oily skin, and my oil does start to break through as the hours go by. The foundation blends nicely and takes a little bit to set. 

The shade Ecru, is a drop too dark for me, but I bought this foundation at a time when my face was a lot darker from the summer months. So when I wear it, I have to wear some bronzer on my neck to match up the color. (I cannot STAND having my face a different color then my neck, even if it is just a drop different. It bothers me too much!)

Estee Lauder recently reformulated the foundation and added new shades, and since then, they have received lots of negative reception. People have complained that the formula changed, that the SPF was taken away, and so on. But others still find it to be a terrific foundation. I have used a mini sample of the new formulation, and found it to be okay. I personally like the older formula better. 

No makeup

EL foundation on left half of face

Face

-Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation in Ecru

-Maybelline Loose Powder

-Benefit Hoola

-Nars Lovejoy

Eyes

-CoverGirl Eye Enhancers Brown Smolder (for my eyebrows)

-Maybelline Great Lash Clear gel

-Maybelline Lash Stiletto mascara

Lips

-Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Charmed

-Too Faced Glamour Gloss in Sex Pot

Finished look

Pros

-Blends nicely

-Nice coverage

-Stays in place the hours I wear it

Cons

-A tad to dark

-Pricey

Would I repurchase? Maybe, because I want to find a cheaper foundation that still looks nice on my skin. However, if I don't find anything else I like, I would come back to this foundation.

Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Eyeliner

Hey! Hope you are all having a great middle of the week. Here is Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black. It comes in a glass pot with an angled brush. I have been using this brush, but you can use any kind of brush you are use to. The reason I chose a gel liner is because I thought it would be  a little bit easier to use then liquid liner...and it kind of is. The brush technique is a little difficult for me at least, but if I make a mistake, I can use a Q-tip to erase it (unlike liquid liner that dries quickly).

When I first bought it, I thought the texture would be more creamy, but I find it more on the dry side. 

 When I put in on, it does not look like blackest black, but more like black grey. Since it is more on the dry side, it takes several dips in the pot to intensify the color. It is spreadable across my lash line, but it requires several dips as well to move it across.

You can do a normal top liner look, or do a winged eye. 

Pros:

-Found at drugstores

-Easy to use

-If I make a mistake, it can be fixed

Cons: 

-On the dry side

-Brush is a kind of difficult to use

-Not blackest black

FOTD - Valentine's Day: Sweet or Sexy

Hey everyone!

I had a crazy week due to having 4 exams in a period of two days, but that is the life of a bio major! Due to barely sleeping, trying to study for those exams, I got very sick and right now am recuperating. So since I was bored at home, I decided to do my Valentine's FOTD!

I bring to you two different looks. One is sweet and the other is a more sexy version. The main difference of the two looks is the cheeks, lips, and eyeshadow. Everything else is the same! The sweet seems to be more of a day look, whereas the sexy seems more of a night look.

Sweet                                           or                            sexy?

Sweet Look

• Face
• Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation
• Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian clay waterproof concealer
• Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles concealer
• Maybelline Shine Free Loose Powder
• Too Faced Chocolate Soleil matte bronzer
• Tarte Amazonian clay Blissful blush
• Eyes
• Covergirl Eye Enhancers Brown Smolder (for eyebrows)
• Maybelline Great Lash clear mascara (for eyebrows)
• Too Faced Romantic Eye Shadow Palette
• Kiss the Bride
• Cut the Cake
• First Dance
• Revlon Colorstay liquid eyeliner
• Maybelline Lash Stiletto mascara
• Lips
• Clinique Chubby Stick - Mighty Mimosa
• Korres Cherry Full Color Gloss - Buff

Sexy Look 
*everything is the same as above except what is noted below

• Face
• Nars blush - Lovejoy
• Eyes
• Too Faced Romantic Eye Shadow Palette - *applied more heavily
• Kiss the Bride
• Cut the Cake
• First Dance
• Un-Veil 
• Lips
• L'Oreal Colour Riche Lipstick - Fairest Nude 

 What would you wear for Valentine's Day? Sweet or Sexy?

Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes

 Today's review is about Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes. This mascara is from the same line as their famous Great Lash original formula. It is around $5 at a drugstore, so it is fairly cheap.

The packaging is actually  kind of cute; it has pink and green and a little heart! (I love hearts). The bristles of the brush are made out of plastic. I found this to be weird because all of my other mascaras I've had, had a different material for the brush. 

before mascara

after mascara (with some eyeliner)

The mascara lengthened my eyelashes, but it did not really volumize them. It also grouped some of my lashes together instead of separating them. Overall, I think this is a good mascara for everyday, but not something to wear if you are trying to play up the eyes or have a more dramatic eyelash look. 

FOTD: feat. Tarte

When I woke up this morning, I decided to do a face of the day featuring a cosmetic company. Since I have several products from Tarte, I chose it to be featured today! Not every product used in this FOTD is from Tarte, but majority of it is. Products I still have yet to try from Tarte is their bronzer, mascara, eyeliners and eyeshadows.

Products used:

-Tarte Clean Slate Poreless 12-hour perfecting primer

-Tarte Amazonian clay 12-hour full coverage foundation (I used a sample from Sephora, which is in the mini clear tub) in Light

-Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian clay waterproof concealer in Fair

-Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian clay finishing powder (a deluxe sample from Sephora 100 point perk)

-Benefit Hoola bronzer

-Tarte Amazonian clay 12-hour blush in Blissful

-Cover Girl Eye Enhancers in Brown Smolder

- Revlon Colorstay Liquid Liner in Black Brown

- Maybelline Lash Stiletto mascara in Very Black

- Tarte Lipsurgence natural lip tint in Joy

FOTD #1

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! Here is my Face of the Day numero uno! This look is typically what I wear to work. Enjoy!

Face:

• Estee Lauder "Double Wear" Stay-in-Place Liquid Foundation in 1N1 Ecru (old formulation)
• Maybelline Shine Free Loose Powder in Light - focusing on areas that tend to get oily
• Nars Laguna bronzer - underneath my cheekbones and up to frame my face by my forehead
• Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Splendor

Eyes:

• Cover Girl Perfect Point Plus Eye Pencil in Black Onyx - on upper lash line
• Too Faced Romantic Eye Shadow Palette
• Soulmates
• I Do 
• Un-Veil 
• Maybelline Lash Stiletto Mascara in Very Black
• Cover Girl Eye Enhancers in Brown Smolder - fill in eyebrows

Lips:

• Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Balm in Mighty Mimosa
• C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Tint in Pink Mint