NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base

from Nordstrom.com

I got a deluxe sample of Nars Smudgeproof eyeshadow base from Sephora.  I had really high hopes as it had high reviews from both Makeupalley and Temptalia.  I have about used up the sample, so I've given it a good try.  I am sad to say that I am disappointed.  I saw creasing, not significant creasing, but definitely creasing.  My eyeshadow did go on nicely over it and blended well.  I don't think it increased the pigmentation like Urban Decay primer potion does.  

This has a doe foot applicator and comes in a long round tube.  Here, it has the foot up on UDPP, which we all know has the ridiculous packaging that tricks you into thinking its all gone when really there is a ton left.  

Overall, this might work for you if you have dry lids.  I might put this sample away and try it again a little later since the weather is cooling down.  

Lemmings Lemmings Everywhere

Today I'm just going to post pictures of some stuff I am lemming. 

image from nordstrom.com 

This is the new eyeshadow palette from Giorgio Armani for fall 2010.  I swatched this in Neimans and it is to die for. 

Image from karlasugar.net

I am dying for the rouge d'Armani in plum 603. Look how hot that shade is!!

I am also lemming clear skin.  I have been battling with this for as long as I can remember.  My face is currently breaking out in lovely cystic acne thanks to my TOTM.  

Please post your lemmings in the comments section.  I would love to hear what everyone is lusting after. 

My Favorite Makeup Magazine, Makeup4All

The fall issue of the Makeup4All magazine has officially been released.  I have been reading and loving it since her first issue.  I especially enjoy that Marina interviews beauty bloggers such as The Beauty Look Book and Cafe Makeup.  Give it a look.  I guarantee that you won't be let down. 

Makeup4All Magazine

Giorgio Armani Bronzer #1

And now that we have officially finished the bronzer season, I will review a bronzer.  I am so on top of it aren't I? 

Bronzer #1 is the perfect bronzer for those on whom other bronzers turn orange.  There are absolutely no orange tones in this whatsoever.  It is also perfect for those who are guilty of overbronzing, such as Snooki, because it is very subtle but also quite buildable.  The product does have shimmer in that, so if you are someone who shys away from that kind of thing, you might want to pass on this or save it for going out.  The staying power is great, as is to be expected of Armani beauty.

Disclaimer: I purchase this with my own money from Armani's own website. 

Chantecaille Tigers in the Wild Palette

I am such a sucker for causes.  If something supports a cause, I am so much more likely to buy it.  This brings us to Chantecaille Tigers in the Wild Palette which donates money to Traffic, an organization that brings awareness to the dwindling population of wild tigers.  O, did I mention that I am also a sucker for animals? Yea, this one was a dead ringer.

Look how cute that is!! The colors are also gorgeous, and surprisingly very pigmented for Chantecaille. 

There are 3 eyeshadows and a blush, all shimmery.  The eyeshadows are an ivory, a taupe that is more silvery-gray than the traditional taupe, and blurple.  The cheek shade is somewhat of a corally pink which I love because it makes me look so healthy.

The colors lasted fairly long on me when used over a primer.  I also found the whole look created with them to be very sophisticated and classy. 

My love for Chantecaille continues as today I got their discontinued Sylvie's personal palette in the mail from a lovely ebay seller.

Disclaimer: I purchased this with my own money.

Chanel Joues Contraste in Rose petale and In love

Look Away lest you see the offensive pan porn!!  Unfortunately, I am not responsible for this pan.  I swapped for my rose petale in this condition.  Today is going to be a shorter post.  I already reviewed the Joues Contraste formula when I reviewed Fresque, so this is more for swatching purposes. 

This little beauty is in love.  It is a nice peachy coral shade that is very pigmented.  I have to use a light hand when applying it.

Here are the swatches. Top is In love and bottom is rose petale. 

Disclaimer: I swapped for both of these, yay for saving money!

Chantecaille Future Skin

I am in love with the purple box.  Yes, this is probably because I am also currently obsessed with Chantecaille cosmetics which is only exaggerated by the fact that my local Chantecaille sales girl is amazing.  I have amassed a small collection now: 2 potted glosses, 1 shadow, 1 blush, foundation, and 2 palettes(one I just ordered from evilbay). 

I bought future skin during Neiman's beauty event that is still going on.  I believe it ends on the 19th.  However, I have been testing it out for a couple of weeks thanks to a generous sample from my lovely SA.  I was matched to the shade cream.  Chantecaille base products are amazing in their ability to blend right into your skin.  I prefer my foundation to have a yellow undertone to help counteract some of the redness I have in my face.  Cream matches me very well now, but I imagine I will have to get the lighter shade in just  a couple of months. 

The texture is like a gel.  You only need a tiny amount to cover your whole face.  It blends like a dream and just sinks right in to create a your skin but better kind of look.  I prefer to set it with powder just because my skin is on the oily side right now.  Those with drier skin would probably be fine without that step. 

Staying power is pretty darn good.  The coverage is light but blendable.  I find myself using less concealer because it makes everything about your skin just look better without being heavy. 

Overall: I would recommend that anyone at least try this.  I actually think it has helped improve my skin. 

On a more personal note, I finally got a job!!! I have been searching for one since May and am so relieved that the search is finally over.  For anyone who is curious,  I will be a receptionist for a veterinary clinic.  I am so excited to be working around animals again.

I will leave you with this picture of Maverick hiding under my sleeping bag.

Disclaimer: I purchased this with my own money. 

Stuff on the Cheap: Rimmel Stay matte foundation

I got pretty darn tan at the beginning of this summer which left me with a dilemma, what the heck am I going to do about foundation?  I moseyed over to the drugstore, something I rarely do for foundations, and picked up this little baby.  I had heard tons of good things about the Stay Matte powder, and I was getting pretty oily from the humidity.

I picked up 200, which has the right undertones, but is probably still a little lighter than I should have gotten. 

*note: I know this looks like a decent match and maybe a little dark, but I prefer to match my face to my chest, which is darker than my inner arm. 

The texture of this is nice and it's fairly easy to blend.  The coverage is on the lighter side of medium, but I wouldn't recommend trying to build it up or you risk caking.  Staying power is pretty decent, much better than I was expecting from a drugstore product.  I did still need to powder it but only because of the hot weather. 

Overall: Pretty darn good for the price!

Disclaimer: I purchased this with my own money.

Neiman Marcus Beauty Event

I live gifts.  If I can find a gift, I will probably spend more to get it.  It's such a curse.  I had preordered Chantecaille Future Skin and the Tiger in the Wild palette with my beloved Chante sales associate, so I went on Friday to go pick them up.  There was an event going on and some general rudeness went down (which I don't really want to get into on here), so I ended up leaving without my purchases.  I came back the next day and thankfully my favorite SA was there.  I told her what happened, and she felt so bad that she ended up giving me 2 of the beauty gifts. 

I got the green bag and the purple bag.  Both have a bunch of samples in them.

The Beauty event lasts until the 19th and the gift is with a $100 purchase.  Most of the brands are also doing separate gifts.  I got the Chantecaille gift also.  I will do a separate review for Future skin and the Tigers palette, but I just wanted to let everyone know about all the awesome gifts going on.

Benefit Gilded

First of all, I must admit that I have owned this product for quite some time.  I think Benefit has redone their chubby pencil packaging and made them slimmer, but don't quote me on that.

As mentioned right up there, this is a chubby pencil.  That means it will be really really difficult to make a thin line with this.

This pencil is best used on the waterline, as an all over shadow, or smudged under the lash line.  I prefer to use it the third was as I'm kind of a sucker for gold under my eyes.  In terms of golds, this one does not disappoint.  It is a warm, kind of peachy gold.

This pencil is super creamy which means that it has a tendency to crease when used as an all over shadow.  Unless you have insanely dry lids, I wouldn't recommend using it in the way without setting it with a powder, even over a primer.  Wear time is average.  I usually have to reapply which is fine with me.

Overall, lovely gold and a staple for all gold lovers.

Disclaimer:  This was purchased with my own money a very long time ago :P

This can be purchased here.  Note: this is an affiliate link. 

Dior Diorshow Waterproof Mascara in Azure Blue

As much as I love neutrals, I also love a pop of color.  Saying this to makeup artists at various counters has sometimes gotten me in trouble though.  I once walked out of a makeover with 80's blue eyeshadow all the way up to my eye brows and bright orange cheeks.  That, I would not consider a pop of color.  That would be coloring throwing up on me.  Even in high school, I really loved a neural eyeshadow with a bright colored eye liner.

For summer, I decided that I wanted to get a nice blue mascara.  I really can't tell you why I chose Diorshow.  I actually despise the formula.  I have owned the original and just hated it.  I thought it was clumpy and didn't make my lashes look dramatic at all.  And I have pretty nice lashes to start out with!  Anyways, maybe I just bought it for the shade.  It is a lovely one, a very bright blue.

It doesn't translate this blue on your lashes unless you are in direct sunlight.  Also, if you load up on coats it gets pretty bright.  Despite my aversion to Diorshow, I quite liked this mascara.  I think it served its purpose as a nice blue for summer while actually being waterproof, even when submerged in a lake. 

Here is the brush.  It is pretty darn large by my standards, which is probably a large part of the reason that I do not like it.  I also hated Benefit Badgal which I think has a similar brush. 

Overall:  If you are looking for a nice poppy blue colored mascara that is also waterproof, this is for you. 

Disclaimer: I purchased this with my own money.

Milani Infinite Liquid Liner in Forever

If you have been following my blog, you might have noticed that I am much more prone to buying high end cosmetics (or put less pc, I'm an HE hoor).  However, I do alot of shopping at CVS who gives a whole bunch of x amount of money off of x purchase.  Well, I surely cannot waste a coupon! So, I try to spend that amount so that I can get the savings.  Makes sense right?  HA

On a semi recent trip to CVS during one of these such occasions, I added Milani Infinite liquid liner in forever to my cart.  Did I mention that I love bronze things?  Well, I do, and this is a gorgeous bronze.

I think the swatch speaks for itself.  It looks almost molten doesn't it?  This color is absolutely to die for with my blue-ish eyes.  The applicator is a brush, which I personally prefer as it is easier for me to use.  It sometimes has a tendency to get too much product on it, but there is definitely a learning curve which I am willing to do since it is a $6 product.

Now on to the big claims.  This product claims up to 24 hours of wear.  And you know what?  I believe it!  I haven't actually worn it for 24 hours because I'm pretty good at removing my makeup before I go to bed, but this stuff doesn't budge.  It removes fine with my shu uemura cleansing oil though.  It also claims to be waterproof which I think is also true.  I brought it with me on our vacation to the lake and wore it wakeboarding.  I even got complimented on it!

Overall:  run, do not walk, to buy this.  In fact, buy this in every color!  Excellent product. 

Disclaimer:  I purchased this with my own money, and I would do it again. 

Becca Prairie Moon Palette

Becca does excellent neutrals.  I have been dying for some new items for fall, and when I saw Becca's Prairie Moon palette (well that and the coupon code I posted about earlier), I knew I had to have it.

The palette includes 1 gloss, 3 eyeshadows and 1 liner shadow.

The gloss is called macchiato and is a carmelly nude shade.  It looks pretty dark in the shade, but it doesn't show up very dark on my lips.  It kind of is a my lips but better, very glossy shade.

The shadow next to the gloss is called voile.  It is a matte cream shade with some pink in it.  This is my favorite highlight shade I own.  It is very natural and subtley pretty.

The next shade is Nappa.  It is a medium brown shade with a lot of gray tones.  I would probably call it a matte taupe shade.  This was much more pigmented than I expected it to be.  It is really lovely as an all over wash.

The last shadow is called Chenille.  It is kind of a khaki color shot through with gold shimmer.  This is a harder shadow but still shows up pretty pigmented.  I like to use it in the crease or to smoke out my eye.

The liner shade is called Sagebrush.  It is even darker and more dense than Chenille, but is similar in color.  This color works well wet or dry.  The lasting powder is pretty decent, but we all know that I love powder liners.

This shows the palette from glow to liner.  I swatched the liner both wet and dry.

Here are the same swatches with flash.  I used flash to show the pretty shimmeryness of the liner shade.

Here are some more pretty pictures of the palette:

Disclaimer: I purchased this product with my own money.

This product can be purchased here.  Note: this is an affiliate link. 

Giorgio Armani Blush #2

I am in love with Giorgio Armani cosmetics.  If I could use only one brand for everything, it would be them and I probably wouldn't be too sad about it either.  Last year for their friends and family sale, I bought blush #2 and bronzer #1.  Both are big wins in my opinion.

Blush #2 is a soft, glowy peach.  It has shimmer, but I wouldn't describe it as shimmery, just glowy.  Armani blushes aren't crazy pigmented, but that is one of the things I like about them.  Sometimes I find crazy pigmented blushes to be very hard to work with as I'm not really into the strong blush look.  

I think my coloring (about NC30 at the moment) as probably the darkest that could still use this color as a blush.  However, it would make a lovely highlighter or brightening powder for those with darker complexions. 

Staying powder is decent.  I usually reapply if I plan on going out at night. 

Overall, I think everyone should own an Armani blush.  The formula is a dream and the colors are amazing.


Disclaimer: I purchased this product with my own money.

Becca Beach Tint in Peach

I have officially joined the crowd of the clarisonic users.  My mom is in town this week and she bought me one from QVC for my birthday (which isn't until October, but I probably won't see her again until Thanksgiving).  I'm so excited :)  It is sitting in my room charging so that I can use it tonight.  I want to try it out for at least a month before I review it.  I am way overdue for a review of all my skincare, but truth is that I am still trying to clear my skin up.

Anyways, on to the review.  I have been very enamored with Becca lately.  I have had this beach tint for a while and it is such a great products.  Beach tints are for lips and cheeks and are touted as a waterproof formula.  I must admit that I have used them on my eyes before because the peach looks great with my blue/ gray eyes.

Beach tint is essentially a stain as it is quite liquid in formula.  A little squeeze often dispenses more than you would need just for your cheeks, so I end up putting it on lips and such just so I don't waste products.

I think it is pretty east to blend, I use my fingers, and looks very natural.  Peach has no shimmer and would be great for a natural look for work and with a smokey eye.

This swatch is just to show color.  I would never apply this much for cheeks.  I find the lasting power to be great.  I didn't test it swimming or anything, but I can say that it stands up well to sweat.

Overall: Awesome product.  I would love to try other colors!

Disclaimer: I swapped for this product on Makeupalley.com


This product can be purchased here.  Note: this is an affiliate link.