Urban Decay F&F Sale is on NOW!

I'm sure you've already heard, but for 30% off all UD, head over to urbandecay.com and enter code: FNFW1

Offer is good November 9th-20th.

And yes, I already ordered:

-Pore Perfecting Primer

-Ink Eyes in Zero

-Ink Eyes in Demolition

-Brow Beater in Brilliant Blonde

Kicking myself for not ordering the 9-piece mini 24/7 liner set, so I may have to place a second order :)

Review: MAC "Fun in the Sun" Mineralize Kit

MAC 'Fun in the Sun' Kit

I know I’m a little late in reviewing this product, but it's worth a review- better late than never! :)

It may seem strange for MAC to release a bronzing kit for the holidays, but for me, this is perfect timing. After all, the weather is getting cooler and the air is causing my skin to get drier, so it’s nice to have a product to warm me up even when the outdoors don’t.

The kit includes a promotional size buffing brush (181SE) and 3 full-size mineralize products: ‘Shimpagne’ Mineralize Skinfinish; ‘Nuance’ Mineralize Blush; ‘Play on Plums’ Mineralize Eyeshadow.

I was so excited to see ‘Shimpagne’ being repromoted in this kit- to be quite honest, it was the make or break of this purchase for me. I first discovered this product a few years ago when it was originally released, but sadly I dropped it on the ground shortly after purchasing it, so I lost most of the product, and have been kicking myself ever since.

Shimpagne Mineralize Skin Finish

‘Shimpagne’ is the perfect warm highlighter. It adds glow without looking scaley or greasy. I love to apply it on the apples of my cheeks with a large powder blush (like MAC’s 150).

Shimpagne swatches

The next product in the kit is ‘Nuance’ Mineralize Blush.

Nuance Mineralize Blush

 Truthfully, I already own ‘Nuance’, and perhaps even more coincidentally, I’d been using it daily for the past couple months, so I could already appreciate it for the perfect peachy-corally shade that it is. That said, I’ve still got a ton of my original left, so I’m debating if I should keep this one or sell it, since I am not a huge fan of back-ups. But if you’ve not yet tried this blush, it is universally-flattering, so it will be great on any skintone.

Nuance swatches

Next, we’ve got ‘Play on Plum’ Mineralize eyeshadow. 

This was originally released in summer ’08 with the Electroflash collection. It is yet another perfect, universal eyeshadow. The lighter side is a gold-pink shade, and the darker side is, as the name infers- plum. These colors will make blue eyes pop like crazy, but will flatter any other color very well.

Play on Plums swatches

Finally, the kit includes a 181SE. 

181SE Brush

This travel-size buffer brush works well with any mineralize products- blush, foundation, MSFs, etc. The 181 is  multi-purpose, so I was happy to see it included in this kit. Now, do keep in mind that this is a "special edition" version- hence the "SE", MAC's way of saying that it's not expected to be as good as the regular 181 (which by the way is only LE, darn it!). Thus, I expected it to be coarse and unusable like many of MAC's other SE brushes; However, I am happy to report that this SE version is surprisingly soft- almost as soft as my full-size 182 brush, which is a good thing, because the 182 is very soft! 

So, after trying these products out, I definitely recommend this kit. It is full of fun, festive and effective products. It makes my entire face look glowy and healthy, even in this cool fall season. The price point is also ideal, because to buy these products individually would cost at least $25 more- so $59.50 is a great deal. 

Hard Candy Cosmetics...still around!

Just wanted to quickly share that while in Wal-mart today, I was surprised to find Hard Candy being sold, with new packages and products. I thought Hard Candy was d-e-d, but apparently they've just changed a little. I was very tempted to pick up a beautiful, baked blush called "Honeymoon" that looked soft like Pleasureflush- it was only $7!- but I resisted...for today. :) 

The products were affordably priced and the packaging was enticing. AND, they still have their signature, bright nail polishes, complete with the plastic ring. 

Has anyone tried the new Hard Candy line? What are your thoughts?

FOTD: Dark Fall Colors

Ok so this is some makeup I did for my sister a couple months ago. My sister has beautiful porcelain skin, and she usually just does very simple, neutral looks. I wanted to kind of turn everything upside down and give her a look that she wouldn't usually wear. She was super apprehensive about the dark and intense colors, but after she saw it applied, I think she was impressed at the way makeup can totally transform. Obviously, I wouldn't apply this every day, but it is fun for an occasion! :)

I should also mention that I didn't use eyeliner, I didn't make much of an effort on the foundation and other finishing products. It was a quick application for fun, and if I did it for a more serious occasion, I'd have definitely taken more time.

Products (all MAC, afaik):

-'Tempting' Eye Quad

-'Mosscape' Paint Pot

-'Blooming' Blush

-'Kirsch' Mattene

-'Jampacked' Lipglass

...Yes, this is a very Cult of Cherry-esque look. An oldie, but goodie!

Review: Illamasqua Cream Blushers

 

Another great product brought to you, 20% thanks to Sephora... and 80% thanks to me! :) So...I have been hearing rave after rave about the new British line, Illamasqua, and I figured this would be a great time to try it out.

I selected two cream blushes, Lies and Rude. I have been on a cream blush kick lately, and these are both gorgeous shades. 

Lies is a sheer light pink.

Even though it's fairly pink in the pan, when applied, it kind of reminds me of a slightly pinker version of MAC Porcelain Pink MSF. Here it is applied:

I'm on the paler side (my hand is probably NC20-25 right now), so the pink shows up rather well. However, I imagine that for the darker skin tones, it may just end up looking like a highlighter. It is very buildable though, and the formula allows for a little to go a long way.

Next, Rude is a more intense coral color. 

Like most corals, Rude is a universally-flattering tone, and because of its intensity, it can be applied lightly or heavily depending on the look you want. Just like Lies, I find that a little goes a long way.

Here it is applied fairly lightly:

I honestly am having a hard time finding any thing that I don't like about these blushes. They are everything I expect in a blush: 

-Easy to apply (try a 165 or 187 by MAC)

-Complementary, natural colors

-Soft and blendable for healthy-looking skin

-Decent-sized (slightly less than NARS, but still a good amount)

-Long-wearing

Even the $23 price tag, though not the cheapest, is comparable to blushes from other high end makeup lines, so it's really not a bad deal.

Anyways if you get a chance to check these out, you will likely be pleasantly surprised!

Review: Nars- The Multiple Trio

l to r: Copacabana, Orgasm, South Beach

Thanks to Sephora's F&F sale, I was able to get my hands on this lovely trio of NARS' mini multiples, and I'm excited to share my thoughts and a few swatches with you.

The Multiple is a many products in one compact roll-up stick. It can be used as blush, highlighter, eyeshadow, lipstick- whatever works for you. The set contains three varied colors: Copacabana, a nice soft pink-white; Orgasm, a universally-flattering and best-selling peach with gold sparkles; and South Beach, a buildable bronze. I find that all three colors are ones that can be used on a day-to-day basis- there are no obscure, difficult colors in the set.

I also love the silky texture that these have; it is a similar texture to NARS' cream blushes. It is easy to apply but won't melt on your skin. 

With Flash: Copacabana, Orgasm, South Beach

Without Flash: Copacabana, Orgasm, South Beach

The only thing I do not like about this product, is the price. Luckily, with the F&F sale, I saved a bit on the $40 retail price. Still, these sticks are only 0.14 oz each, which is a tad less than the typical lip balm- in fact, they are rolled up in the photo as far as they will go, and I have just tried them each once! So in nutshell, they average at about $13 for each- yikes!

Overall, the formula plus the convenience of having a lip, eye and cheek product in one container could ultimately make it worthwhile for you, as it was for me. However, if you are looking for a (much) cheaper version of these, I like Flirt! Big Deal Lip & Cheek Tint (my fave shade? The gold-hued Sheer Genius)! 

Enjoy!