March Beauty Favorites

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Those of you following me on Twitter/Instagram know that I am on the brink of moving house. In fact, I am moving this coming Friday! Because of that, almost all of my stuff is packed already. Including my makeup. I’ve been living out of my makeup bag recently.

First, what bag do I use? It’s the super awesome set bag by The Kim Greene Line. The 2nd edition Essential Bag, in pink. It holds a TON of stuff. This bag is my life right now. :) It holds more than the items I’ve been using/am blogging about this month, believe it or not! Sometime I’ll do a “what’s in my makeup bag” post, but these are the creme de la creme. ;)

Complexion

My usual foundation if I am going to wear any is Urban Decay Naked Skin. This stuff is so flawless. I love it. It actually comes light enough for my pale ass self (I wear shade .5!), and it feels weightless once it’s on. My bottle is almost empty, and I’ve already made sure I have a second one to start using as soon as I unpack it. It’s a little on the pricey side, but one bottle will last quite a while since a little goes a long way! ($39, Sephora)

Along with the UD foundation I have been wearing Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Skin concealer in shade Y0. It’s perfect for spots as it blends naturally and wears like iron. Win! ($20, Sephora)

Cheeks

This month’s cheek looks can pretty much always be attributed to The Makeup Show LA and NARS. Both of my favorites are NARS products and I got both of them at The Makeup Show. I’ve been using the new Contour Blush in Paloma ($42, NARS), the lightest shade for contour & highlight. For a color, I am in love with the new blush shade “Love” ($30, NARS). It’s like a non-shimmery Deep Throat. Let’s be honest though, I’ve never met a NARS blush I didn’t like. As per usual, the gals at the NARS booth at TMSLA were very supportive of my crazy NARS addiction very helpful in helping me make my purchases.

Eyes

Since I still get up at the crack of dawn (just a few more days of that! yay!), my eye makeup has been pretty simple. I like the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette because it’s completely idiot-proof, no-brainer eye makeup. I go over the lid with Naked 2, the crease and/or outer V with Faint, and highlight with Walk of Shame. Boom. Done. Sometimes if I wanna get fancy I will do the crease with Faint and the outer V with a mix of Faint and Creep (mostly Faint, little tiny bit of Creep). I can line my eyes with Creep or Faint, so then all I have to do is add mascara and I have a complete eye look with one little palette. Seriously, it might be basics, but they’re AWESOME basics. ($28, Sephora)

I’ve also been sort of addicted to the Make Up For Ever Aqua Color  in 20E. It’s a pinky taupey basic BROWNISH shade with shine/shimmer finish. It’s one of those shades you can just pop over the lid, blend out, and be DONE with it if you want to. And I have, many times. Or other times I’ve incorporated it into a Naked Basics look to add a little ‘oomf’ to the mattes in that palette. ($20, Sephora)

You all know from my review that I am madly in love with the Kevyn Aucoin lash curler. I’ve been using it every day. Want more info? Read my review. ;) ($21, Nordstrom)

Also getting lots of love and previously reviewed? Maybelline The Rocket mascara. LOVE LOVE. Still love. I haven’t loved a mascara this much since I tried that ungodly-expensive Hourglass Film Noir. And Maybelline is MUCH friendlier on the wallet! Check out my review. ($6.99 at Drugstore.com)

Also at The Makeup Show LA, I picked up another Senna Sketch-a-Brow. Brows you can literally throw on in 5 seconds? Yes please. This time I’m actually wearing the shade “Blonde”, which is not too light. It’s just more ashy than the Brunette shade. I’m always really impressed with how these pencils wear, too. They wear like iron! A very important quality in an eyebrow pencil, I say.

Lips

I have been living in 3 shades of Revlon ColorBurst Balm Stain virtually non-stop all month. They’re really hydrating, and the color does leave a light stain. Moreso for the brighter colors, but even for the lighter more neutral colors too. The three I’ve had in rotation are Sweetheart, Honey, and Precious. Sweetheart is a bright bright pink. This one is the most staining of the three. Honey is a rosy pink. Precious is a pinkish beige nude. ($7-$9 depending on the drugstore you go to, $8.99 at Drugstore.com)

So those are my favorites… what are yours?

Sephora Bobbi To Go Palette

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I’m taking a break from the Monday Mashup this week because I got SO excited when I saw this new Beauty Insider perk from Sephora! I typically do not cash in my points, but this new “Bobbi To Go” 500-point perk grabbed my attention so much that I made an order for cotton rounds ($4) in order to cash in my points and get this perk. Don’t judge me. I actually did need the cotton rounds, and with the Flash shipping it was worth it. ;)

The kit includes a mini palette, a sample of mascara, and a sample of eye cream. I haven’t tried the eye cream or mascara yet, but I had to dig into the palette the very next morning after it arrived!

Let me preface my thoughts & swatches with reminding you this is a Bobbi Brown palette. Bobbi Brown is not known for having bright, vivacious colors. I typically do my makeup pretty naturally, and I like Bobbi Brown. If you are more into Sugarpill, Urban Decay, etc. you probably wouldn’t be interested, but I really like my Bobbi! I have several of her other palettes.

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Here she is. It’s definitely a mini – roughly the size of a credit card.

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The palette contains 1 blush, 4 shadows, and 1 mini brush. The brush is kind of floppy and would be useful for blending but not placing shadow or forming shapes, in my opinion.

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The blush color included is called Pale Pink. It’s from the regular core line and can be purchased in a full size for $25. Unlike the name would imply, it’s pretty bright!

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The 4 shadows. They’re pretty tiny, but great neutral colors. Clockwise from the top right they are Heather Mauve Shimmerwash, SaddleMahogany, and Bone. All of them are available in the core line for $21 each, however Saddle is not yet available on Sephora’s website.

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Here are the colors swatched. The Pale Pink blush is quite pigmented. Bone does have pigmentation but it pretty much matches my skin so you can barely see it right below Pale Pink. Heather Mauve shimmerwash is a shimmery taupe. Mahogany is a dark ashy brown. Saddle is a dark matte brown that also leans toward ashy rather than warm.

I’ll admit the mattes do not swatch well at all. They are kind of annoying in that way. However when working with them on the eye I kind of appreciate that you have to build the color up rather than it showing up full-throttle at first swipe. It gives you more control. Because of that though if you have a deeper skintone you probably would find these annoying. They’d take a lot of building and layering to show up with enough contrast. For pale-skinned me, however, it’s a plus.

Overall, I like this perk and I’m glad I got it. This is definitely a palette for someone who is already a Bobbi girl and knows what she is getting formula-wise. I look forward to trying the eye cream and mascara, and will certainly post reviews of those too.

Monday Mash-Up: Gettin Cheeky

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This Monday Mash-Up is all about the cheeks! I love love love my blushes…so much that I often wear more than one at a time!

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Sephora-Exclusive NARS Cheek Palettes

narssoulshineNARS Soulshine Cheek Palette
Do yourself a favor and click this to enlarge…

narsrealmofthesensesNARS Realm of the Senses Cheek Palette
(this one can be clicked to enlarge too)

I don’t really have anything to say about these other than HOLY CRAP LOOK AT HOW PRETTY THEY ARE. I can’t bring myself to touch them yet. I just like looking at them and staring in awe. BEAUTIFUL. I will post again once I can bring myself to mar the surface of these beauties…I have heard though that the shimmer logos are overspray, though, for those who are wondering.

If you want pretties of your own, they’re available on Sephora and retail for $41.00 each. If you’re going to purchase, don’t forget to use Ebates for 8% cash back!

 

The Benefits of Benefit Cosmetics

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About a month ago (yeah, this post is overdue…what else is new…) I attended a fun Benefit event at Macy’s in Westminster. I got my makeup done by supersweet MUA Katie, and she and I talked about the latest and greatest (and some cult favs) from Benefit! Inspired, here is my list of favorites from Benefit. If you’re new to the brand, or just want to try some new things, check these out! [Read more…]

Get $10 Off Your Purchase at Tartecosmetics.com!

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Just saw an awesome deal for Tarte that only lasts ’til 11:59 pm EST 3/30/13. – Get $10 off an order of $50 or more with the code BUNNY. Also, shipping is free on orders of $40 or more! And if you want some shopping inspiration, these are my faves from Tarte…

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My ULTAmate Wish List

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ULTA is sending out those magical 20% off cards again! They’re good for 20% off almost anything in the store, including most of the prestige brands, with a few exceptions. The one going around right now exclude Lancome, Dermalogica, and Urban Decay, but if you’re going to take your coupon on a little haul, check out my recommendations!

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July Favorites

Seeing as how it’s a week into August, and I’m now a week into being unemployed I’m taking the time to do an actual favorites post. I can’t even laughingly call these monthly anymore because they’re so…not monthly. But I feel like now that I have the time I might as well do a favorites post. Will they start being monthly? Nobody knows.  [Read more…]

MAC Tres Cheek Collection

The MAC Tres Cheek collection (super cute name by the way!) is a simple launch. It’s just 6 limited edition (duh) blushes. Nothing more. And I LIKE that. No gimmicks or bullshit, just some PRETTY BLUSHES! :)
The collection launches next week officially, but it’s already up for MAC Pro members to purchase, so if you’re fortunate enough to live near a pro store you might want to call and see if they have it in.
The colors are (starting at top left)…
Pink Tea – Pink-beige.
Immortal Flower – Bright peach.
Full of Joy – Lavender.
Lovecloud – Bright mid-tone pink.
Modern Mandarin – Red orange.
Peony Petal – Bright blue pink.
All of these are satins except Full of Joy, which is a frost. I’ve been told Lovecloud actually leans a little peachy. Darker skintones will probably want to avoid Pink Tea and Full of Joy as they will possibly read as a bit ashy on darker skin. Please, please, please check  out Modern Mandarin if you have dark skin. Orange blush can look amazing on anyone but it’s especially stunning on darker complexions. They will be online and at MAC stores/counters, and retail for $20 each.
Yes, I already placed an order… O:) I snatched up Modern Mandarin, Immortal Flower, and Full of Joy. I was tempted to grab Lovecloud and Pink Tea, but I was trying to be good because there’s so many great things coming out from MAC in the near future. I thought the three I picked would be the most unique to my stash. Peony Petal doesn’t speak to me because I prefer softer pinks since I’m so pale, and also being so so so cool-toned I actually like to wear more neutral blushes or even warm pinks. Whatevs. Personal preference.
I’m pretty sure these blushes are all going to fly off the shelves. Will you be purchasing anything from the Tres Cheek collection?

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush Swatches & Photos

Tarte’s Amazonian Clay Blushes are long-wearing, solar-baked blushes. Tarte says these will wear for 12 hours! The blushes are infused with Tarte’s new super ingredient, amazonian clay. This special ingredient nourishes dry skin and balances oily skin. These blushes are also full of vitamins A, C, and E. They’re not only gorgeous, they’re good for your skin. Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes retail for $25 apiece and are currently Sephora-exclusive, but they will be available at Ulta and Tarte’s website in mid May. You can also find exclusive Tarte goodies on QVC!
The Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush comes in sturdy packaging with a big mirror. The pans are actually held in with a magnet. You can poke a pin through the bottom and remove the pan if you want to depot them to put them in a Z-Palette or something else like that.
Tipsy
Exposed (my favorite!)
Amused
Blushing Bride
Swatches! All are matte except Blushing Bride.
Close-up of Blushing Bride in direct sunlight to show shimmer. On the cheeks it translates to more of a sheen, and the shimmer doesn’t really migrate that I’ve noticed.
Sample provided for editorial purposes.