I finally broke down...

Yes, I finally purchased a NARS blush! Whatever took me this long, I don't know, but I finally have joined the ranks!! ;-) Can you tell I'm a little excited about this?? Maybe.... but to get back to the amazing makeup, I just got my blush in the mail today, and have swatched it on my hand, but have not yet worn it! Tomorrow is the day, and I obviously intend on using it and letting you know how it goes!!
I ordered the color 'madly', which is described as a seashell pink, I believe. It's a gorgeous very neutral light slightly pink color, which has a little shimmer to it. It looks amazing on my hand, and it has stayed on my hand for hours, I'm sure wearing it tomorrow will go well!
I also got a free gift with purchase, a mini illuminator in the famous 'orgasm' shade. I have also swatched this on my hand, and it's gorgeous! I think I'm going to have too much fun with these! I did take pictures, and I'll upload them and give you a full report on their wear tomorrow or the next day!
Stay Tuned! :-D

So I tried to get a good swatch picture, but it didn't do the products justice whatsoever!! Madly is a gorgeous beige neutral color, perfectly pigmented, blends like a dream, and has quickly became one of my favorites!! I also love to layer blushes on top of this, usually just on the apples of my cheeks. A nice bright pink, purple, or peach. Such a great blush, I'm glad I got it!!

As for the illuminator, I haven't quite got the hang of that. It looks alright on me, but somehow I think it kind of blends too well and I blend it too sheer? I don't know, I have very fair skin and for some reason I can't see this as well on me!! But it is a gorgeous color, and I'll keep trying to make it work!!

MAC angel flame quad look

Oh MAC angel flame quad, how I love ya!! This eye look is one of my favorites, and here are two different ways I've worn it. This eye shadow look is the same in each picture, I just used different makeup on the top picture compared to the bottom picture. The top photo is more on the natural side, while the bottom look I did a stronger blush and lip with the same eye.

I have used both bare study paint pot and my new let's skate paint pot for my base, both work very well, although let's skate(limited edition, but you can still get it right now at nordstrom.com I believe) makes the pink a bit brighter since it is pink-based.

The angel flame quad was from the fall colour collection, but I do believe you can still get it online at maccosmetics.com. I use the heather pink color all over my lid, followed by the angel flame color (the orange-ish color) through the crease. I then use the gravel (grey) to line my upper lash line, and highlight with the chamomile (pale yellow) color for the brow and inner corner.

It's such a feminine but different look with the pink and orange together, but it works really well for me!

For my softer look (top pic), I used my spaced out (limited edition) blush, and lollipop loving (limited edition again, sorry!) lipstick. Both are a light warm peach color, both have 'shift' to them, so they aren't true peach.

For my darker cheek look (bottom pic), I used equillibrium (bronze, and limited edition) to contour and blend up onto my cheeks, with stunner (light coral, and again, limited edition) on the apples of my cheeks. I also used a medium pink lip color, possibly snob, with a lipgloss on top.

And as usual, I used Lancome hypnose drama for the lashes.

A fun look to try out, and even if you don't have this quad, you could use a light pink for the lid, and a soft orange through the crease to get the same effect!! Love to wear it, have fun with it!

a purpley look ;-)

This is an eye look I did for work last week.... just a soft nice not-too-bright purple eye anyone could wear!

I used (all MAC unless otherwise stated) : painterly paint pot for a base, followed by creamy bisque (shroom can be used) for the inner corner of my eye and just below my brow. For the lid, I covered it with shale, then used smut to create the outer v. I used a clean brush to blend that outer v color up through my crease, and then went over the crease and outer v with some sketch.

I then used dark diversion paint pot for the top and lower lash lines, which is limited edition, but you can find any purple gel liner for this look as well.

I'm also wearing Lancome hypnose drama mascara.

It isn't too vibrant, it's more muted purple, which comes across as more of an everyday kind of look! I would probably pair this with a warmer cheek, maybe a peach or a bronze, as well as a more neutral toned lip, maybe even just some gloss. Enjoy! :-)

makeup look inspired by mom!

Here was the eye look that I wore today, and mind you, these pictures are taken about 14 hours after I put all of this on.... so if you see some flakes from my mascara, it's because its already been through a lot!! This eye look was thought up by my mother! Love it! And I didn't wear that red lip all day, but I was having fun, so that's what you got for pics! I think it's fun though!

Just a list of the products I used:

MAC nubile paint pot (you can use painterly)

MAC creamy bisque (you can use shroom)

MAC paradisco

Urban Decay toasted

Urban Decay bourbon eyeliner

Sephora liquid liner in black

Lancome hypnose drama mascara

I first blended the paint pot on my lid and up through the crease. I used MAC creamy bisque on my inner corners, and also swept it right under my brows. I then put MAC paradisco all over my lid, and then used Urban Decay's toasted for the outer v and crease area. So simple! I used urban decay's bourbon for the outer 1/3 of my lower lashes, and then topped that with toasted again. Winged out my liner on my top lash and there you have it!! And in case you're wondering, I'm wearing Lancome's hypnose drama mascara... which I love!

As for my cheeks and lips, I'm wearing:

-MAC strada blush to contour and cover cheeks (again, limited edition, sorry! I hear harmony is a good neutral blush, that could work as well. Just a neutral brownish blush to add a little color to fair skin)

-MAC stunner blush on the apples (LE again, sorry! Pink swoon could work too I think, just a brighter coral or pink blush)

-any cool toned highlighter will work for this, I used yet another LE mineralize skinfinish, called pink pearl I believe.

for the day, I used a medium pink lipstick (MAC a rose romance), with Lancome's miracle lipgloss on top (a pink with tons of glitter)

for the picture, I used an Avon lip liner called red brick, and I topped that with an NYC lipstick called sheer red. Very cheap, but very fun color!

So I hope you enjoy this easy eye, I love how it brings the blue out of my eyes so well, but it's still so wearable! Thank you so much mother for the inspiration! :-)

halloween makeup!

I know I'm super late, but I thought I'd post these pictures of the makeup I wore to work on Halloween! It was super fun to do, and I was happy with the way it turned out!! I got the inspiration from watching a youtube video from xsparkage, an amazing youtube guru!

I a primer, probably urban decay, and then put zero eye pencil all over my lid and lash lines, then topped that off with oil slick eyeshadow. I applied a nyx jumbo pencil in white from just above my lid to my brown bone, and topped that with a little white shadow, I think I used a single from wet n wild. Then I used a liquid liner to draw on the spider webs! My cheeks, I think I just wore mocha from mac, and my lips... I honestly don't remember! Obviously a medium pink... but I can't think of which one right now! Anyway! Very fun to do, fun to wear, and I wish I could get away with these fun looks more often! :-)

Breast Cancer Awareness!

How is it they find a way to support breast cancer foundations through makeup? They totally know how to get me! I love a good cause, and if it means I "have" to buy some makeup to help out.... Oh I guess I'll do it!! ;-) just kiddin'! But all kidding aside, I chose to buy a lip duo from Bobbi Brown to help out the cause! And maybe I wanted to try out some products of theirs too...

So here they are.... Bobbi Brown's lip duo includes Pink Lip Color, and Bellini High Shimmer Lipgloss. They are beautiful!! The lipstick is a fabulous, deep pink, with a more satin to matte finish, and the lipgloss has a beautiful light pink duochrome kind of base, with tons of shimmer! They wear soo very well together, and have a very comfortable feel to them! I am very happy about my purchase!! :-)

I think I'm going to try and wear as much pink lip looks as possible this month for Breast Cancer Awareness! It will be a fun little challenge, and I think it will remind me how blessed I am to not have this problem in my life. My heart goes out to those that have gone through, or who are going through this cancer!

Affordable highlighter!

I believe that products are to be used in whatever way works best, even if it's not used for the purpose it is marketed for! Which is why I love using this creme eyeshadow stick to highlight my cheeks!

Wet N Wild has creme eyeshadow sticks, and I have 130 Pixie. This is a nice frosty champagne color, and it creased out of control when I used it as creme shadow on my eyelids! But, since it didn't work on my eyes, I figured I'd make it work for something! And in my experimenting, I found that this is a perfect product for the cheekbones!

I apply it after my bronzer and blush is put on, right on top of my cheek bones. I focus more on the outer part of my cheek bones, not going farther in than below the center of my eye. I find that the frosty sheen adds a nice glow, and it lasts for hours! I got this product so long ago I don't remember the price, but it couldn't have been more than a few dollars! For beautiful cheekbones, check it out!

(And I'm sorry about the picture, my camera didn't want to focus!)

Yummy body spray!

I am a fan of smelling nice, as most people are, and recently discovered that I like trying body sprays from the drugstore to switch up my scent wardrobe! I don't own a lot of sprays at once, I tend to buy smaller sizes, so I use them up faster, and move onto a different scent! So the scent I most recently picked up, is from Body Fantasies, called Sugar Apple Fantasy.

This spray, has an amazing apple smell to it!! I actually found it interesting that I could smell apple that distinctly! It also does have a sweet tone to it, hence the 'sugar' part of the name. I just thought this was such a nice fall-type scent, and the best part, I got it for $1!! I could smell this stuff all day, and I might just have to pick up another one since it's so cheap!

So if you're in the mood for a new scent and don't want to spend a small fortune on a new perfume, I say check out what the drugstore has to offer... you never know!! Also, my WalMart and Kmart have more of a selection of perfumes these days, and you can usually get them in small sizes, making them affordable, and also making it fun to go through a bottle and move onto a new scent, just like with the body sprays! :-)

Great affordable eyeshadow primer!

Oh how I love a good affordable product that works!! I had heard of this product long before I ever tried it, because of my skepticism. I didn't even know about eyeshadow primers until a few years ago, and now I can't live without them! I do own some colored cream shadows that can act as primers, but as for a wonderful, affordable product that will work wonderfully, this is it!!

Palladio herbal eyeshadow primer! I picked up mine at Sally Beauty Supply, but it is available other places as well, such as Ulta, or online. This product comes in a lipgloss type tube with an applicator also like many lipglosses. It is a silicone-feeling product, very smooth and comfortable to put on. It's also colorless, so you don't need to worry about competing colors of eyeshadow.

It's really a wonderful product to have and use! Very easy, just sweep some across your eyelids and smooth out with your ring finger. I usually put it from my lash time and blend up through the crease, and not quite to my eyebrows. Then top with your favorite eyeshadows! I would recommend this product to anyone not wanting to spend around $20 for a high-end primer, this little beauty was around $8! A great product to have, whether you've just started trying out a primer, or you're sick of spending a lot of cash!

Pink lip combo from the drugstore!!

So I am a huge fan of layering my lip products if you haven't figured that out yet! And I am also loving my Maybelline Baby Lips, so of course I ended up layering a few things and loved the results today! I used my Peach Baby Lips, and put my Rimmel Moisture Renew lipgloss in Pink Benefit on top!

Rimmel makes great drugstore glosses at awesome prices!! I recently saw that a girl I love watching on youtube got this gloss in Purple Rescue, which will most likely be my next purchase from this brand! It says it has collagen, and vitamins a, c, & e, along with an spf 15! It wears very smoothly, and lasts a decent amount of time for a drugstore gloss! So if you're going for a nice baby pink lip, this would be a cheap, moisturizing, wonderful way to do it!

I would most likely wear a light pink lip like this with... anything really! I think it works for most looks in general, from a smokey eye to an everyday neutral eye, this will be a great go-to lip look! :-)

A not so great product...

Avon brow gel.... maybe my expectations were too high? I thought that brow gel was something that you put on your brows to keep them in place for more than an hour... or even ten minutes. This product felt just like water on me! I've used it for a couple of days now, and I must say, I don't like this stuff!! I even got a zit right by my eyebrow.... and I'm guessing it came from this product!

On the other hand, it has made me appreciate what I used right before this product, which was Maybelline Great Lash in clear. It has just enough stay to last the whole day, but it doesn't make you feel like you have stiff eyebrows either! So if you're in the market for some great cheap brow gel.... go for Maybelline!

Wonderful e/s trick!

I can't remember what I was watching exactly, or maybe it was reading... whatever the case, I found an amazing trick!! A problem I've always had with drugstore eyeshadows, is that most of them are very shimmery. I do like shimmery eyeshadows, but I like to mix and match my eyeshadow finishes, so in order to do this, I bought some more expensive eyeshadows, because I knew what kind of finish I was getting. Long story short, no need for this anymore!!


Wet N Wild, a brand that has a come a long way in my book, has come out with some matte eyeshadows, including a single eyeshadow called Brule. Just a nice, matte, skin-toned color that is very creamy and easy to put on. So the trick is, after putting on a more shimmery eyeshadow, you can tone down the shimmer by just putting a lite matte color on top!


I have tried this on different drugstore brand eyeshadows, such as maybelline and wet n wild, and have gotten the same results. It doesn't detract from the look you're going for in any way, it just tones it down to a more wearable level! So there is your quick tip, hope you like it as much as I do!! :-)

Maybelline Eyestudio Quad

Maybelline Eyestudio Quad! I remember these coming out about.... what a year and 1/2 ago or so? Whatever the case, I watched some videos on these on youtube, and everyone seemed to like them, however I never picked one up, until yesterday!!

The color I got, was Ravishing Rose. Apparently it's limited edition, I'm honestly not sure what collection it comes from either, I'm just beginning to get into the whole drugstore makeup deal, as I've been so pre-occupied with my higher end products to notice the drugstore gems! That being said, this is a beautiful quad, full of pinks, and one purple. One highlight baby pink color, one baby rose color, a little darker than the highlight, and medium dark pink with gold glitter, and a deep purple with more of a satin finish. What can I say, I'm a girl, I'm a sucker for pink!

So I tried this out last night, just to test it out before wearing it an entire day, and I was quite impressed!! Color payoff was pretty good! Not to mention they blended very easily, and the fallout was actually less than most of my Urban Decay shadows!! Sold!! I wore this today over an Urban Decay cream shadow, in Midnight Rodeo I believe, but I wore it over a regular base last night and had similar results.

I put this on around 10 this morning, and it's about 8 now, and it's all still looking wonderful!! In fact, I think I'll wear it tomorrow, and I am SOOO not the kind of girl to usually wear the same shadows twice in a row! Seriously, drugstore gem for me! I'm going to have to try out more shades!!

And just in case you were wondering what else I wore with this pink/purple eye look, I just wore a bronze colored blush (MAC Equilibrium), so I wouldn't detract from the beautiful pink eyes, and a berry lip (Maybelline Bit of Berry). I'll have to do a review on Maybelline lipsticks, they're a growing favorite of mine right now! And also I used my Maybelline baby lips in 10 - peppermint, which wears very well under lipstick! :-) Happy drugstore hunting!

How did I miss this site before????

So I've been struggling over high end products vs. low end products lately, trying to decide what is worth splurging over, and what isn't. I go through this every so often, so it's nothing new, but I found something this time!! I'm a huge fan of temptalia's blog, lots of great reviews and comparisons and just an overall very awesome site! But, randomly yesterday, I found a new site that I am already loving!!

It's called nouveau cheap, or nouveaucheap.blogspot.com. Where have you been all my life?? Silly me for not finding this site sooner!! I guess I hadn't really looked hard enough to look for a blog geared towards the drugstore brands, with lots of fun information!! So seriously, you should check it out!! :-)

Great Cheap Mascara

On my endless mascara hunt, I have found a drugstore mascara that really impressed me! Because of the price, and because of the wonderful wear of the mascara itself! I'm talking about the Rimmel Extra Super Lash, which you can get for around $3 at the drugstore!

The brush for this mascara is tapered, meaning the bristles on the brush get shorter towards the end of the wand. I like this because it makes getting the inner corners of your lashes much easier. The bristles are just like any regular mascara wand, they're not rubber, but I still find this brush to separate my lashes easily.

The formula itself is neither more dry or more wet than usual, I find it just the right consistency. I don't find that it flakes on me, and it doesn't transfer to my eye lids, or just under my eyes either. The life of this mascara is pretty normal, about 2 and 1/2 to 3 months. If you're on a tight budget, or just wanting to try something new, I highly recommend this mascara! :-)

Maybelline Baby Lips!

Random drugstore find!! I just barely found out about this product... last night I believe! I had gotten an e-mail from Allure, and saw this cute little pink tube with bright yellow lettering on it, Maybelline BABY LIPS! Yeah, super cute, and it obviously made a good impression on me, because when I saw it today at the store, right into my hands it jumped!! :-)

So they had other flavors of this gloss, I chose the pink because.... that's my default color that I choose, and the color is 25 - Pink Punch. Very pretty, very bright pink! The other tubes had different color combinations, and I might have to go back and check them out! The packaging says it has Vitamin E and C, shae butter and aloe, hydrates and protects with spf 20. It kind of reminds me of MAC's tinted lip conditioner, in stick form. I'll have to try it under my lipstick like I do with my MAC tinted lip conditioner, and let ya know! But first impression, very moisturizing, and I didn't feel like I had to cake it on to get that feeling! Just a swipe and my lips felt good!! :-) I'll let ya know!!

Update: I have gotten the peppermint baby lips, as well as the peach, and they are both wonderful!! Honestly, one of my favorite drugstore finds in a long time!! They wear wonderfully under lipsticks and lipglosses, and keep your lips beautifully moisturized for hours! Love love love!! Check these babys out!!

Revlon Coral Reef!

I've begun to layer my makeup more, specifically lip products. So i've been trying to branch out and pair totally random colors, which has been fun!! I found a wonderful layering lipgloss in this process! Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Coral Reef. It's a beautiful orange/coral color! It looks bright orange in the tube, and even when you swatch it on your hand... but I can't believe how many different uses I've gotten out of it!

Just to name a few, I pair it with MAC's viva glam gaga (the pink one), which makes an AMAZING pinky-coral, bright but still wearable. I didn't know how to wear such a bright light pink lip, and this warms it up just perfectly!! I have also worn it over MAC's lollipop loving lipstick, which is a peach with green, yes green, duochrome. I love that lipstick soo much, and finally I found a gloss to tone down the green just enough for me to LOVE this lipstick that much more!!

I really look forward to experimenting more, and trying out other Revlon lipglosses in this line! I know they have a light lilac shade, as well as a nude and other beautiful shades! The consistancy is wonderful as well, I feel that they aren't sticky, but are relatively long lasting! And they're only around $6 depending on where you buy them, which makes them that much better!!

So if you haven't tried these glosses yet, you should definitely try them out!! I'll have to update ya on other lip combinations I figure out as well.... I love experimenting!!

Yup.... I love lipglass!

It's official... I have been doing my lipglass trick, by putting my lipglass on before my lipstick, and it has been working out perfectly for me!! I've been trying to use a lipglass in a similar family as the lipstick I am wearing, then topping it with the lipstick. I find I get more wear out of the lipstick this way, and my lips don't dry out nearly as fast!! So there you have it, I LOVE lipglass! :-)

my new, unexpected, lip primer!

So I have some lipsticks, just like I'm sure a lot of girls do, that tend to really define the creases in my lips, and make them look old and nasty! Especially with nude lipsticks from the drugstore, or many other drugstore lipsticks as well. I do have a few higher end lipsticks I couldn't quite get right either, because of the frost or glaze finish (as in my MAC lipsticks with this finish). It always bothered me that I couldn't get them to work, since some of the colors are very popular and I figured everyone else knew a secret that I didn't!

Well, I've figured out a secret of my own!! I have found that putting a sheer layer of MAC's lipglass in Underaged on my lips, and then letting it sit for a minute, makes a WONDERFUL lip base for my lipsticks!! Wearing Underaged by itself never worked out for my incredibly pale skin.... it's a peachy pink color, with a creamy finish, but for me I always thought it totally washed me out! Which is weird, since I do like nude lips sometimes. But I kept the gloss since everyone says how wonderful it is. And now I am so happy that I did!

I found this out the other day, just hanging around the house. My lips were a little dry, so I smoothed a very thin layer of the sticky wonderful lipglass on my lips. After a few minutes, I realized my lips felt very smoothed and hydrated... they felt better than when I put a more generous amount of this lipglass on! So I grabbed a lipstick that seems to be a huge hit for lots of people, L'oreal's Fairest Nude. It's a beautiful nude color, because it has a very dusty pink base to it, making you still look alive instead of like a corpse with totally muted out lips! As I put this on my lips, it glided on, without settling into any of my natural lip lines!! I was in shock!! I didn't even have to put a lipgloss on top, it felt good without it! Now I am happy with TWO of my products that I had no idea what to do with before, and I'm a happy camper!!

It just goes to show that you need to give products a second chance, maybe use them for a different purpose altogether to really see if you can make it work for you! So anyone who can't figure out MAC's Underage, or L'oreal's Fairest Nude, like I couldn't, maybe this will work for you too!! Happy makeup hunting! :-)

Homemade toner!

My lovely friend I work with, Cassie, taught me how to make my own toner.... and now I never find myself searching for anything else! I am so happy with the results that I get from it, that I have to share this awesome info with you!

Just as a general note, I have very dry, sensitive skin, which gets irritated very easily with most toners...

It only takes two ingredients, vegetable glycerin, and rose water. I use a small 3 oz. bottle (I believe), it's a travel size that I picked up at WalMart for a dollar. All you have to do is fill about 1/5 of the bottle with glycerin, and the rest with rose water! That's it! Or if you need a little more moisture, just up the amount of glycerin, if you need less moisture, use less glycerin to rose water.

I don't think it matters what brand of glycerin you use, I got mine from a local health food store, it's by Starwest Botanicals, all it says on it is '100% Pure Vegetable Glycerine'. The rose water you go for, however, makes a bigger difference. I recommend smelling the rose water you are going to buy because if you hate it, it's not going to be fun to use every day! The one my friend introduced me to is by Heritage Products, and it just says 'Rose Petals Rosewater *certified' on it.

I'll try and get a picture up soon.... my computer is giving me a little fit, but I hope this helps someone!! The bottle of rose water is 8 oz. I believe, and the glycerin was 16 oz. They both cost me somewhere around $10, but you'll be able to make plenty of toner to last you a long time! You hardly use any of that glycerin, that bottle will last me years! The rose water you'll have to get more often since you use more of it, but still much cheaper than buying other toner, and much better for your skin I'd like to think! 2 ingredients... that's all!! Enjoy!! :-)

It's been far too long!!

I know, I know, it's been a long time!! But I figured I'd start something up again, just for kicks!! Life has changed too much for me since the time I wrote on here last, so I won't even try to catch you up to speed!! I think I'll just run with the new stuff!!

For anyone who doesn't know, I'm a makeup junkie. I know a lot of girls out there are! I find it to be a form of art for me, I like colors, I like the way you can make things look different, it good ways, and I like the way it brings a lot of people together!

Speaking of, I just found a wonderful new pale girl to watch on youtube!! Her youtube name is daisynation, and she makes me happy!! I love her ideas, I just found here while trying to find the best blushers for pale girls, and I got hooked!! The first video was, ways to love your pale skin, part 1. It's hard for pale girls to find colors that flatter them well! Most people have medium skin, but us pale girls have to stick together!!

So there you have it, my first little blab on makeup. I intend on doing some product reviews, and maybe some looks as well! Hopefully someone can get some use out of it!! :-)