September 2011 Favorites

September's favorites seems to consist mainly of theBalm and lip balm. School's been hectic so minimal makeup has again taken over my life.

Favorites included:

1. theBalm Betty-Lou Manizer (bronzer) (buy here)
2. theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer (highlighter) (buy here)
3. theBalm Mischievous Marissa & Devilish Danielle (from Shady Lady Vol. 2 Eyeshadow Palette (buy here)
4. Kiehl's Scented Lip Balm #1 in Mango (buy here)
5. Kat Von D Autograph Eyeliner in Black Metal Love (buy here)
6. C.O. Bigelow My Favorite Night Balm (buy here)
7. C.O. Bigelow Mentha Supreme 2X Lip Shine (buy here)

I'd usually elaborate on each but I don't have the time -I have so much schoolwork to get done! I'll see you all back here by Friday or so. Please feel free to ask questions about the products in the comments. I will respond -just don't have the time to talk about each right now.

Have a lovely Monday everyone -I already can't wait for the week to be over!

Nudey Tuesday: 16 Reasons to Love Brown Eyeliner

When it comes to makeup, I usually wear eyeliner whether it's just on my upper lashline, bottom lashline, or both. Like so many others, I've found that's it's nice to throw out the deep black liner every now and then and break out the brown. Brown eyeliner gives you a more natural look -a nice alternative to the harsh black.

Above from top: NYX Jumbo Eyeliner Pencil in Dark Brown, Bourjois Regard Effet Duochrome Eyeliner in Brun Mordore, Milani Liquif'Eye Pencil in Brown, L'Oreal HiP Eyeliner in Brown, Revlon Luxurious Color Eyeliner in Sueded Brown, Almay Eyeliner Crayon in Black Brown, L'Oreal Le Kohl Pencil in Black Sable, & Urban Decay 24/7 Double-Sided Eye Pencil in Zero/Whiskey (Whiskey side)

Swatches..

Above (no flash):

Top Row (from left)- Almay Eyeliner Crayon in Black Brown, Bourjois Regard Effet Duochrome Eyeliner in Brun Mordore, L'Oreal HiP Eyeliner in Brown, L'Oreal Le Kohl Pencil in Black Sable, Milani Liquif'Eye Pencil in Brown, Revlon Luxurious Color Eyeliner in Sueded Brown, NYX Jumbo Eyeliner Pencil in Dark Brown, Urban Decay 24/7 Double-Sided Eye Pencil in Whiskey

Bottom Row (from left)- Eyeko Graffiti Eyeliner Pen in Natural Brown, Kat Von D Autograph Eyeliner in Immortal, Romantico, Milani Eye Tech in Brown, Formula Shimmer Strips Gel CreamLiner (Blue Eyes) in Brown, (Hazel Eyes) in Taupe, Urban Decay Liquid Liner in Smog, Physicians, Wet 'n' Wild Mega Liner in Dark Brown

Above: Urban Decay Liquid Liner in Smog, Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Gel CreamLiner (Blue Eyes) in Brown, (Hazel Eyes) in Taupe, Kat Von D Autograph Eyeliner in Romantico, Immortal, Wet 'n' Wild Mega Liner in Dark Brown, Eyeko Graffiti Eyeliner Pen in Natural Brown, Milani Eye Tech in Brown

I don't have time to do reviews of each of these but I hope you enjoy the swatches. I've done individual reviews on most of these eyeliners though so check them out if you're interested!

Do you like brown eyeliner? What are your favorites? Have a happy Nudey Tuesday everyone!

P.S. Happy Birthday to my boyfriend. =)

Cheeky Lemmings: Wishlist

Face Products by themakeupdrawer on Polyvore.com

I go through long periods where I'm totally consumed with certain beauty products. For the last 6 months or so, I've been buying and obsessing over lip products. Before that, it was eyeshadows. Before that, mascaras. Well for the last few weeks or so, it's been cheeky products -particularly bronzers, blushes, and highlighters. This really stinks because they're one of the more expensive types of makeup products! Oh well.. here's what I'm totally lemming for:

1. Shiseido Luminizing Satin Face Color ($30.00) in BE206 (beam gold), RD103 (petal), Shell, Starfish, Medusa.

2. NARS Blush ($26.00) in Gilda (coral), Gina (tangerine), Luster (sheer golden apricot), Sin (berry with gold shimmer).

3. Shu Uemura Glow On Blush ($23.00) in p91 (pearl peachy gold), p53 (pearl golden orange), p42 (pearl shell peach), p47 (pearl medium peach), p45 (pearl vivid peach).

4. Too Faced Leopard Love Complexion Perfection Kit ($30.00)

5. Smashbox Bronze Lights ($28.00) in Suntan Matte

6. NARS The Multiple ($38.00) in Copacabana (glistening pearl), Luxor (iridescent pink), Musique (iridescent peach), St. Barts (taupe shimmer).

7. Diorskin Shimmer Star ($44.00) in Amber Diamond

8. Kat Von D Shady Bronzer ($22.00)

9. Pop Beauty Bronze Belle ($28.00)

10. Pop Beauty Rose Belle ($28.00)

11. Pop Beauty Glow Belle ($28.00)

May Favorites!! ..And Sex And The City

The weather over here has been blazing hot for the last few days. It was cold pretty much the last 2 weeks which is really crazy since it's usually super hot starting late April. I'm super happy that we're finally getting some summer weather and hopefully it stays this way. What's my favorite summertime treat?

Slurpees! I love these year-round actually but they're definitely the ultimate, cheap summertime treat. Moving onto my May favorites..

1. Styli-Style Browliner24 in "Brown"- I needed a new brow liner since I dyed my hair from dark brown black to medium goldish brown but didn't want to buy a new liner. I found this in my makeup drawer -I never got a chance to use it since it never "matched" me. This is such a perfect match for my new hair color that it's almost scary. It glides on super easily and lasts all day long. Plus it's cheap at only $6 compared to my usual $19 on my MUFE brow cream.

2. Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream- This is only a sample size but I'm happy I've rediscovered this stuff. Because I have eczema, my skin is really sensitive to many lotions and creams -especially anything scented. I've been using this since I was a kid.. like 4 or 5 years old and stopped using it at 18 when I found Cera Ve. I'm using this again now -switching back and forth between the 2. The texture to this cream is really, really thick which might be great but for some, it might feel too heavy. There's also a Cetaphil lotion but I prefer the cream because it's more moisturizing for those with really dry (and/or sensitive) skin. Also, you can use this stuff anywhere you desire -both face and body. This is available pretty much at any drugstore and they sell it at Costco in sets of 2 or 3.

3. Shiseido Perfect Rouge Lipstick in "Spiced Cream"- I raved about this in my review here and still can't get enough of this lipstick. The texture is so smooth and creamy -it feels like a lip balm. The lipstick bursts with color and gives me the perfect nude lips -not too dark, not too light. I love this lippie.

4. Clarins UV Plus Day Screen High Protection SPF 40- I really need to buy a full size bottle of this stuff. I got a sample from a Nordstroms GWP awhile ago and have fallen in love with it. First off, it contains SPF 40 (although I'd still want something higher) which is a must. People, you need to wear sunscreen on a daily basis. We all know that wearing sunscreen will protect us from deadly illnesses like skin cancer and will also keepy the wrinkles and nasty sun damage away. Anyways, I think this has got to be the best sunscreen I've tried so far. It's not thick at all and feels very light on my face. It doesn't give me a gray or white cast -not even in photos, which is a big problem with many sunscreens. Also, there's no gross sunscreen smell. It doesn't have a gross taste either (don't ask! LOL) And lastly, it doesn't dry me out like most other products that contain SPF. This feels like a nomal moisturizer and I often forget it's actually sunscreen.

5. Kat Von D Autograph Eyeliner in "Black Metal Love"- I declared my love for these Kat Von D liquid liners here and am still loving them. The brush makes it so easy to achieve a thin or thick line. I love the color too -it's a true black with silver shimmer. This is a nice alternative to my usual dark brown liquid liner.

6. LORAC Cream Lipstick in "Babydoll"- I bought this about a year and a half ago. I remember wearing this every single day either alone or with Too Faced Mirror Mirror Gloss on top. The reason I love this lipstick so much is because of the color. I've never been able to find a dupe for this -it's a pale salmon with hints of pink. It's one of the best "pale" lippies I've ever found in my whole life. The reason I stopped using it was because it made my lips look super dry (because of the light color.) It also doesn't moisturize my lips (but not drying either) so I just stopped using it. I'm happy I rediscovered it though and now instead of just slicking it on like I would a normal lipstick, I instead pat it on my lips which doesn't give me that "dry effect" it normally would.

7. Milani Eye Tech in "Brown"- Since I reviewed this here, I've been using it a lot lately due to it being so easy to use. I never use it when I need my liner to stay on all day long but for shorter days, I love using it. It just goes on so easily without much effort at all and I love the natural brown color -perfect for those low key looks.

And one more thing..

I found this lovely picture of the SATC ladies the other day. I think they all look super gorgeous -especially at their age. I think Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is the cutest and has the best figure though -plus she's my favorite character. Ok back to the picture, I think there's ONE thing that's really off about one of the ladies.

Cynthia Nixon (Miranda) has extensions. From a distance, I though, "WOW! She looks so hot with longer hair!!" I looked closer though and her extensions are totally the wrong color and do NOT match her real hair color at all. I am certainly no hair expert and know nothing about hair but I'm positive this is all wrong. How could her hair stylist get this wrong?? Shame on her stylist for doing this to her! She looks great but she'd look even more gorgeous if the extensions would've matched.

P.S. I watched Shrek Forever After yesterday and if you're a Shrek fan, go see it. It's the last one! It was pretty good -I expected it to be better, but still good. It also beat out SATC (haven't seen that yet.)

*I found the SATC pic on one of the Yahoo slideshows but forgot to copy the link! Sorry!

FOTD: Nudes, Naturals, & Sleepyheadness

Headed to see Iron Man 2 for the second time!!

Eyes:

1. Urban Decay Primer Potion

2. MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre

3. LORAC Serenity, LORAC Luxe, NARS India Song, NARS Habanera, NARS Alhambra

4. Kat Von D Autograph Liquid Eyeliner in Black Metal Love

5. MAC Pearlglide Intense Liner in Black Line (from Art Supplies)

6. Prestige My Biggest Lashes mascara

7. Shiseido The Makeup Mascara Base (lash primer)

8. Make Up For Ever Waterproof Eyebrow Corrector

Face:

1. Physicians Formula Healthy Wear Bronzer (with SPF 50) in Medium

2. LORAC blush in Couture

3. MAC Beauty Powder in Shell Pearl (from Liberty of London)

4. CeraVe Moisturizing Lotion (I can use this for face and body. LOVE it)

5. Clarins UV Plus Day Screen High Protection SPF 40

Lips:

1. Shiseido Perfect Rouge lipstick in Spiced Cream

2. Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm (with SPF 25) in Lemon & Chamomile

Funny that all those bazillions of products are used and the outcome is just a simple, "natural" face.

Super sleepy after watching Iron Man 2.. can you tell??! LOL. Had such a hard time staying awake.

Closeup though my camera didn't capture the shadows well. I need to learn how to take "eye" closeups!!

Super random but I did not know Proactiv had vending machines now.

My Old Navy Supermodelquin..

Ok so Old Navy had this "make your own supermodelquin thing (can't find the link now) but I tried to make her look like me as much as possible..

OMGosh this doesn't look like me at all!! It's funny (and lame) that they always make all the "Asian" eyes the same but give people of other ethnicities tons of eye choices. My hair is more wavyish than this and my skin is darker but the next "skin" shade was way too dark to look like me.

I tried to make the outfit very "me" too and I guess it's sort of close. I wear cardigans but not with those frilly flowers pinned to them. I love white tops so that's good. I wear cuffed jeans sometimes but mine are a little tighter and fitted since I look really weird in baggier boyfriend jeans (I like them though.) The bag is a total miss but it was the only "big bag" option in a neutral color. And I always wear flats so that part is pretty spot on.

Kat Von D. Lightning Sheer Lip Gloss in "Rocker" (Review & Swatches)

In my previous post, I said I was going to review this $9 Kat Von D Lightning Sheer lip gloss and here it is! Ok so here's the thing, for awhile I wasn't updating my blog! Anyways, I'd always take pictures and write down notes about what I thought about a product and well ..I can't find my notes! It's a bummer but I do remember most the things about this gloss. I ended up getting rid of it because I didn't like it (so I can't just go give it another test run.) Sorry! Anyways, here's what I can tell you..

The Packaging: It's so so -pretty standard. It comes in a clear tube with balck rubbery cap -think NARS packaging. The little floral design on the tube is cute though. I do like that the brush is a doe foot sponge applicator for this particular gloss.

The Product: Ick! I didn't like this gloss. For the full $18 price tag, I would never buy it again. I wouldn't even pay the $9 sale price for it. I'm not saying it's terrible -it's just not great. More of a cheap drugstore lip gloss if anything. First off, there's the lack of pigmentation. I knew that I was buying a "sheer" gloss but I expected at least a "tint" to show up on my lips. This goes on clear like any regular old gloss -and I don't even have super pigmented lips! The product wasn't moisturizing or dry -somewhere inbetween. Now what really put me off was the smell. To me, it was right on the fine line between gross cough syrup and yucky candy that tastes like medicine.

Swatches..

The Color: I bought "Rocker" which is described as a "toffee red with red and pink shimmer." I would say that the description is correct -red with the slightest hint of warm brown and a bit of shimmer. I did see pink and red shimmer when I swatched it but you have to look closely. You can't even tell that it's there in the picture or in person -so don't expect amazing shimmer like MAC Dazzleglass or LORAC 3D Multiplex.

Overall: Even though it's only $9, I recommend just skipping this gloss. Save your money and put it towards a really great gloss. This has no "wow" factor for me and I already have way too many "so so" glosses in my makeup drawers. Also, I did swatch the other sale Kat Von D glosses while in the store and I remember all of them being almost clear -that's the reason why I bought "Rocker." It appeared to be the most pigmented but in the end, it was just like the others.. clear clear CLEAR with no color. I really wish I had a "thumbs down" (and "thumbs up") sign or something I could add to my reviews.

Kat Von D Rock n Roll Eyeshadow Duo in "Moonshine" (Review & Swatches)

I picked up this Kat Von D Rock n Roll Eyeshadow Duo in "Moonshine" awhile back along with some other Kat items that were on sale at Sephora. "Moonshine" is 1 of the 9 available Kat Von D duos that is currently on sale at Sephora for only $10 (was $20.) I also got these Kat Von D items:

I haven't reviewed the lip gloss yet but it's coming up. I have reviewed the liquid liners and I'm loving them. Click here to see the review for the Kat Von D Autograph Liquid Liners.

The Packaging: Overall, these little round compacts are pretty cute. The lid/cover contains the trademark Kat Von D "tattoo style" artwork. I like that when you open it up, there's also a mirror inside -great for touch ups.

The Product: I'm really glad I didn't take the plunge and grab 5-6 duos like I was planning to. When I swatched all the sale duos in Sephora, they seemed to lack pigment. I thought, "Hmm, maybe I'll give this the benefit of the doubt and buy at least one." (Hey, it could be the overused testers' fault!) When I got home, I gave it another shot and learned that  eyeshadow is chalky and requires that you layer up to get decent color payoff. This isn't a "one swipe" shadow -you're going to need to apply a few layers. Swatching just once results in a very sheer layer of color with minimal glitter. I don't get it -the colors look gorgeous in the pan!

Swatches..

The Color: Swatched, the left side is a pretty, medium dark steely blue with silver glitter and the right is almost the same color (just a tad lighter.. a very small “tad”) with shimmer. It looks pretty but I had to swatch about 8 times just to get good color payoff. These are chalky and they’re just really no good. P.S. I'm thinking back now (since I take notes before writing posts), I'm not sure in my swatches are in the correct order. The swatch on the left is darker and looks like the right side of the Kat Von D duo.. Oh well. You get both colors in the duo anyways!

Overall: I'd definitely skip these. I'm not sure what went wrong with these because I know that Kat Von D's True Romance palettes are highly pigmented and are way better than these quality-wise. Even though they're only $10, I don't feel that it's worth my time to have to apply tons of layers just to get decent color payoff.

SALE: $9 Kat Von D Autograph Eyeliners (Liquid Liners) at Sephora

If you visit Sephora or their site often, you probably know that lots of items from the Kat Von D line have gone on sale. I picked up a discounted lipgloss and an eyeshadow single but my best "beauty buy" from the sale were these Kat Von D "Autograph Eyeliners" which are liquid liners that come in a wide range of colors.

I'll start with the packaging. The packaging is pretty standard -bottle and brush applicator. The handle of the brush is black with some white florally scribbles and designs. The brush itself is pretty thin (thinner than the Urban Decay Liquid Liner brush) but it's easy to achieve a clean line in one go.

The "sale" colors include Call Girl, Brass Knucles, Immortal Love, Romantico, & Love Metal.

Shade Descriptions (In order of swatches left to right):

1. Brass Knuckles- Beautiful, pigmented yellow gold. Not a dull or bronzey gold -true yellow gold.

2. Call Girl- More of a flat, almost matte, periwinkle shade to me. It has that hint of lilac to it but it's a fairly dull color.

3. Immortal Love- True, deep, matte brown.

4. Love Metal- Shimmery silver.

5. Romantico- Olive brown with a hint of antique gold.

So which are my favorites? Immortal Love is the best because I don't have a good, dark, matte brown (no shimmer whatsoever) and Brass Knuckles and Romantico also have superb pigmentation. I only have to swipe all 3 of these shades once to get great color payoff. Love Metal and Call girl on the other hand..

Above is a picture that I took of Call Girl and Love Metal swatched only ONCE! In my swatches of all the colors above, I had to swatch both of these 5 or 6 times just to get some good color payoff.

Also, at first glance, Romantico reminded me of Urban Decay's "Smog" Liquid Liner but when I compared the 2, Smog was more of a browny olive while Romantico was the opposite -more olive with a bit of brown. The 2 are still similar though and both contain shimmer. Here's a picture..

Above (from left to right): Kat Von D "Romantico & Urban Decay "Smog."

I'm overall very pleased with these liners with the exception of the Call Girl and Love Metal and for only $9 each, these are excellent! You can also check out the "non-sale" Kat Von D liners here ..which are $16 each.

So what do you think of these liners? Have you bought any? What else have you tried from the Kat Von D collection at Sephora?