Pictures that inspire me.

Please let me know if I need to credit you for a picture... I sadly cannot remember the sources of them all!

Homemade MAC Lipstick palette by Muhsine

 Pretty blues...

...as worn by Tali, one of my favorite bloggers who has made a comeback!

Neutral, but stunning looks by Karrie...

Marbled nails by Chloe's Nails

Sephora by OPI combos that make me really happy!..

Lipgloss organization by The Beauty Lookbook

Holo-sparkle by Makeup By Nadia

Recents: Wet n Wild, Essie and Revlon

 

Wet n Wild Color Icon Palettes

in Vanity and Walking on Eggshells

I use the Vanity palette DAILY - especially the matte cream color that's top left!

These shadows are creamy, easy to blend, and highly pigmented - and for the price?! I am thrilled to have discovered Wet'n'Wild shadows (and not to mention nail polishes!) via the blogging community.

'Walking on Eggshells' is not used as often as 'Vanity', but the quality is all the same. And if I'm remembering correctly, they are all MAC dupes? Not sure of the shimmering white/cream, but the middle brown shade looks a lot like the limited edition 'Time and Space' eyeshadow from MAC's Neo Sci-Fi collection, and the champagne-y/pink color is quite similar to 'All That Glitters'? I don't own many MAC shadows though, so I'm definitely not certain!

Essie Nail Polishes

in Sew Psyched and Turquoise & Caicos

I'm pretty disappointed in both of these. I was expecting Sew Psyched to be a lot more green, and therefore a lot more unique, and for Turquoise & Caicos to be a lot more opaque. With Turquoise & Caicos I was really just looking for an alternative to my all time favorite nail varnish, China Glaze's For Audrey, but I just suppose nothing can compare. Sigh.

Compared to China Glaze's For Audrey...

Revlon Nail Polish
in Stormy and Silver

So very pleased with these two shades. Revlon is seriously the best. 'Stormy' is a really standard and typical gray, super "on trend", thought I should have it around, blah, blah, blah. What I really love about it though is it's opacity and crazy fast drying speed. AND it was like $4...... You heard that right.

And 'Silver' is not silver at all (or at least not the silver that I and I'm sure most of the world are familiar with), first of all, it's a cream, no where near metallic or shimmery. And second of all, it has a lovely light blue/lavender running through it - it's subtle though. It's beautiful. I love it.

Lisa Eldridge Look Montage.

I just re-watched this amazing video done by makeup artist Lisa Eldridge. It completely inspired me and I wanted to have some stills as "hard" inspiration in my archives. Hope someone gets as much of a thrill out of these as I did!

And of course some Ellie Goulding goes perfect with this!

Look 1:

Look 2:

Look 3:

Look 4:

Just a few Gel Liners!

Clinique Brush-on Cream Liner in True Black -

The hype around this product is appropriate. It is so much more wonderful then any Stila Smudge Pot (and I'm willing to guess... MAC Fluidline). It's super slick, but when dried, absolutely DOES NOT budge. It stands strong through tears, sweat, allergies (i.e. itchy eyes), and tossing and turning around a pillow (I was dead tired a couple nights ago and couldn't bring myself to remove my makeup, terrible, I know). Also, contrary to what the swatch below might perceive, it is jet black, and stays jet black pretty much until you take it off. The swatch really reflects the blue liner's true color more than the black, but I figured you all know what black looks like...

Sephora Brand Waterproof Smoky Cream Liner in The Deep End -  

This review is actually just more so that a swatch of it is now floating around somewhere, for someone to find if they need it. It is nothing special, but definitely nothing bad. It is waterproof, and easy to apply, but doesn't have that 'special something' that the Clinique gel liners seem to have. I'd definitely recommend this though for the $10 price! It's a fun thing to have. 

('The Deep End' and 'True Black')

Tarina Tarantino Sparklicity Pure Sparkle Powder

(please excuse the liners that snuck their way in there!)

Tarina Tarantino Sparklicity Pure Sparkle Powder -

"Get Ready to Sparkle!" ;)

The Sparkle Powder is an extremely finely milled pink shimmer, and un-like any shimmer-type powder I've used before. It doesn't leave you with that tacky shimmer finish that a lot of them do, but more of a sexy, 'wet shimmer'. It's hard to describe, but literally changes my mood when I put it on. I'd go swatch this bad boy for yourself! Really...

And I think Tarino Tarantino + and creative team got the packaging oh so right for this product. As Muse said below, it comes in a heavy glass jar, no sticker labels in sight (except for the bottom one, but that doesn't really matter, does it?), and the product is surprisingly easy to apply. The bit above the sifter is deep, so you dont get a puff of shimmer the minute you open the jar up, and the sifter alows the product to come out easily, but not in an avalanche sort of manner. 

P.S. - ("The Muse" has a pretty great post on this product though, view it here, with a nice swatch picture! And she said it right, "...comes in an elegant heavy glass jar and is quite vanity worthy." It really is.) 

And I mean... look at this hot mama!?

 

ground covered in snow... lips red as blood...

Okay, so not exactly true to Snow White's story...

but winter time always makes me want to put on red lipstick.

What I use to achieve mine...

Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick in Crimson - 

 

• has got to be the most pigmented, smooth, even, and vibrant drugstore lipstick I've ever bought. And maybe not even drugstore, maybe just EVER. (Hands down my holy grail perfect deep and vibrant red lipstick)
• no taste or smell
• complements my NC25 skin tone (which basically means I'm very pale with red/pink undertones)
• with a lip liner or stain on underneath, (which I always use, just haven't found one that I think is super great) this sucker lasts! 

Revlon ColorBurst Lipgloss in Fire -

• on it's own, it very pigmented and vibrant
• long lasting
• thick, but by no means gloopy or overly sticky
• a bit drying
• not glittery or shimmery - jelly finish
• no taste, but smells the slightest bit like paint..

My favorite ladies who rock the red lip...

 

Also... one of my favorites, Avery, did a really nice video 

guide on how to rock dark lips. Check it out!

Slow night, so long!

(art by Caitlin Shearer)

I'm just ready for winter..... Autumn is still treatin' me oh so right though.

 Face:

Revlon Age Defying Concelar 

MAC Studio Fix Powder

Eyes:

Urban Decay Primer Potion

 Star's Makeup Haven Shadow in Bohemia and Warm & Fuzzy

MAC's Old Gold Pigment

Urban Decay Bourbon Eye Liner

Stila Smudge Pot Gel Liner in Black

Maybelline Pulse Perfection Mascara in Blackest Black 

Lips:

Maybelline Moisture Whip Liner in Rose

Ulta Lipstick in Moroccan Red

Rose Bud Salve

L'Artisan Parfumeur: Nuit De Tubereuse Review

Yo fumeheads,

I give you L'Artisan Parfumeur: Nuit De Tubereuse.

I won this trinket from Ms. Puckrick Smells' Summer Fragrance contest back in July. She is a sparkling gem of a reviewer! - you can watch her review on Nuit De Tubereuse here, 

just skip to 9:15.

What L'Artisan has to say, "Built around an absolute of tuberose, this magnificent perfume magnifies every single facet of this mysterious, ambivalent flower. The top note is delicately spicy (a hot and cold bouquet of cardamom, clove absolute, pink berries and pepper) and citrus fruits which turn to velvet beside sweet notes of tender but highly narcotic white flowers (tuberose, orange blossom and ylang-ylang). Rose takes its place in the form of essential oil and absolute to give the floral heart notes warmth and color. Mango gives it that touch of sparkle. An almost mineral vibration that emanates from tuberose root mingles with angelica in an unusual harmony. Gorse absolute strengthens its mellow but slightly tangy aspect. And its base vibrates in concert with an ensemble of rare woods ranging from sandalwood to pallissander, glazed with sensual musks and enveloping balms (benzoin, styrax)."

 

At first spray... very spicy, earthy/woodsy (dirt like), powdery, and a bit un-original.

After 10 minutes... super powdery, very mature smelling (I feel like I'm 50+ years old - not quite Elizabeth Taylor White Shoulders though... thank god), not so much spice anymore, still that dirt earth smell though, almost a little incense-y, absolutely no floral, rose is there though... a very powdery rose, still no tuberose in sight.

All in all, I don't like it. It's not my kind of scent. It's very Grandma to me. I thought the spice would stay strong throughout the perfume's life on my arm (tuberose would have been nice too, although, like I said, I smelled none), but it quickly faded into the incensed powdery rose smell that I detest.
 
 Perfume's I love:
Guerlain's Aqua Allegoria Mandarine-Basilic
Marc Jacob's Daisy
Chanel's Chance
Stella McCartney's Stella
Gucci's Flora
and if anyone's familiar, Soap & Glory's Clean On Me scent - I love it!