EOTD- Urban Decay "Peace" and "Ransom"

*I am trying the Ardell Lash and Eyebrow Growth Accelerator, it's in testing phase right now, I will use it for a week or two and let you know my review, as some of you asked. :)





What I used:

Eyes:
- MAC PP in "Painterly" all over the lid up to brow bone
- MAC "Vanilla" Pigment all over the lid
- UD eyeshadow in "Peace" on the lid and lower lashline
- UD eyeshadow in "Ransom" on contour (outline)
- Indelible Gel Eyeliner in "Black Out"
- L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara

Sorry i've been taking only "EOTD" (eye of the day) lately, now that the BF lives with me, mornings have been so grueling since both of us get ready at the same time, and I hardly even have the time to take a full face pic! It's weird having to "share" my space, I am so not used to it, lol. I am the eldest and I was the only child for 9 years before my sister was born, so I NEVER, EVER had to share a room, share clothes...NOTHING; so it's weird now that some of my stuff (like my drawers and shampoo, lol) is also his. It's cute, but man it takes a lot of getting use to! I hope I don't sound selfish, it's not that I don't like sharing, it's just weird since I never had to really share much being the only child for so long, but I am sure the same goes for him as he is the oldest and has a younger sister and brother.

My family just adores him so they are perfectly fine with the arrangement, he got a job 5 minutes away from my house, so he ended up moving in with me since he used to live in Azusa (about 40-45 minutes away from my house), and with gas prices going up, it was the only logical thing to do, especially since LA traffic sucks.

Playing house has it's perks, he cooks for me, haha. And it's nice to watch your favorite TV shows with someone. He is even meddling in my skincare stuff! That lotion stealer! LOL.

Work Toys...

The rest of the crew at my work arrived last night from the Santa Clara show, so they were all in the office today, and they got me some cool toys from the other booths, I can't wait to go to NY again next month and do a little makeup shopping! :)

Gezebel always makes me laugh with her endless pen toppers and work toys, so I thought id share mine, at least some items that get me through the day!

I got a cool Rocketship Google Pen that lights up, I love it, haha I am such a dork.






I think of Rosie O'Donell when I see or hear "Koosh Balls" since she always flinged them around when she had her own show, now I throw em around at my co-workers, LOL. Of course, gotta have pics of the hubby!


Feng-shui madness, my Arowana fish that supposedly will bring me good luck, health, and fortune (and maybe makeup???), the BF got it for me...


My cool egg lamp that changes color:






Gotta represent!


The cutest baby on my calendar!


My pop-up brush and mirror:

My version of the Sephora Look using MUFE & Product Review

So this was my super fast version of the Sephora look, I honestly rushed this look, didn't even take 15 minutes, so it didn't come out as good as I wanted it to IMO (in my opinion), it's also a lot more vivid in person..I didn't have any tiny flowers so I substituted flower stickers I found in my drawer. I also used "Bright Fuchsia" Pigment for the pink flowers, and "Golden Lemon" as the middle of the flower.





Here is a brief tutorial on how to apply these eyeshadows, I used: MUFE Flash Pots in White, Purple, Turquoise, and Coral using a sponge-tipped applicator, I highly recommend when dealing with creams to use a sponge-tipped applicator because the sponge holds onto the color and when you DAB it on your lid it doesn't streak unlike a brush where it will streak.

I started with the Flash Pot in "White", all over the lid up to the brow bone:


I then applied the "Turquoise" in DABBING MOTIONS, since these are a lot creamier than paint pots, they are more slippery, so you MUST dab little by little to your desired coverage of color on your eyelid, this also helps preserve the pigmentation so the color remains vibrant and not dull...


You should get this result, don't worry about blending yet, you will blend later after all the colors have been applied. The reason you do not want to blend in between each color is because it's going to fade each color and you'll find yourself applying more and more of it causing it to crease, so you will blend all the colors at the end.


Then I added the "Purple" on the Outer-V and contour again in dab and pat motions (this was a struggle!)


I applied "Coral" in the middle just because I wanted to use as much of the colors as I can...


Then BLEND LIGHTLY (not shown), don't put too much pressure because you may wipe some of the color off...then voila!

________________________________________________________________________________

PRODUCT REVIEW:

Makeup Forever Flash Pots, Sephora ($17)

Product: 2.5 out of 5
Packaging: 5 out of 5
Quality: 4 out of 5
Overall: 3 out of 5

What it is: Flash Color Pots by MUFE are cream-based, vibrant colors that you can use on the face, eyes, lips, and body.

PROS: These are incredibly vibrant as you can see from my swatches. They come in a wide array of colors, from the simple, basic colors, to the most daring bold colors. More colors are offered with MUFE than the MAC Paint Pots (at least as I write this!), I do not know too many makeup brands (that are at least available to me) that carry something similar, there is also a lot of product in each pot. My favorite colors are Turquoise and Leaf Green.

CONS: The price is insane, $17 each but then again MAC Paint Pots are $16.50, and BOTH give you A LOT of product to last a lifetime. This product creases like no tomorrow! So that is such a big disappointment, I am trying to figure out a way to control it, I tried a paint pot as a base, powder primer, UDPP, STILL creases! I think these make great bases (under powder eyeshadow) or a look using both a powdered eyeshadow and the pots. They would have been PERFECT if they had the same exact consistency and texture as the MAC Paint Pots, as the MAC Paint Pots go on creamy, but dry to a nice powder-like finish. The MUFE Flash Colors Pots are just creamy all the way around, you can apply it and sit in front of a fan and it will still be creamy, it's like it never fully dries to where it will 'stay'. Also when you apply a color and you try to apply another color for some reason the first color will fade a bit, it's THAT creamy, so you always have to re-apply to maintain the intensity of the color.

Overall: I like the color-payoff of these pots, but I do not like the crease factor at all, and I don't even have oily lids! So if I can get around that, then I would definitely purchase it again, if not, then sadly I would have to return some of them just because I don't have patience to really sit there and try to make our relationship work! LOL!

If you look closely at the tutorial pics above, you will see the shine of the "creaminess" and then with all the colors, it looks cakey and "melt-y"...

CherryCulture.com Product Review: Eyeko Fat Lip Balm

Product: 5 out of 5
Packaging: 5 out of 5
Quality: 5 out of 5
Overall: 5 out of 5

I love lip balms and virtually every chapstick that can moisturize and soften my lips (and doesn't have a funky smell or taste). Especially around this time of the year, my lips take a beating and become so dry and chapped, at times to the point where the soft skin on my lips start to flake and can be so painful. Usually I opt for chapstick rather than lipstick because I am all about comfort and would rather work on getting my lips conditioned rather than having lipstick on that would further dry my lips.

I had the opportunity to try Eyeko's Minty Fat Lip Balm in “Minty”, and let me tell you how much I love this cute thing! I have always like big fat lip balms because they cover so much more lip area to ensure you get every little spot! The packaging was beyond adorable, it's about 3 inches tall, perfect to take anywhere, it's baby pink with cute designs on it, and has a cap that stays on. I can't tell you how many times my lip balms and other chapsticks get ruined because eventually their caps get loose and don't stay on the stick or the chapstick itself breaking off the stick for becoming too soft or too small, causing them to be more prone to breakage. With Eyeko's Minty Fat Balm, there's so much product- a fat stick of balm- that makes it so sturdy and worth every penny. You never feel like you may be applying too much pressure for it to break. It's also in a convenient twist-up tube.

This lip balm itself is very moisturizing, doesn't have a funky smell or taste at all, it smells and tastes like a nice vanilla mint, and I LOVE the cool tingly feeling it gives you on your lips that tells you it's doing its job! It really stays on your lips so you don't have to re-apply often and I have noticed such a tremendous difference. I have been using it for about a week now and I love how soft and supple my lips feel after using this. The color of the lip balm is a nice sheen baby pink, giving your lips a nice sheer clear pink tint.
There are two other yummy fruit flavors to tickle your fancy: Strawberry and Rapberry, each has their own unique flavor and sheer color. The price however may be a little steep for some, $13 each; which may be pricey for just a lip balm/chapstick, but they give you a lot of product that'll last awhile, and it's really unlike any other lip balm I've tried in which others have had a weird nasty wax feeling. This lip balm has a nice soft natural feeling to your lips I think you'll like!

EOTD- Using MUFE "Leaf Green"

*I didn't mean any insult on the last (temporary) post about the albinism btw, so sorry if any of you took offense to it. I know it's a real disease, I was not poking fun at all, that was just my honest reaction to first looking at the picture, I thought it was a ghost. There are so many fabricated/photoshop'ed pics of things on the internet, so you just never know. I just think it's so crazy, yet interesting- the kinds of diseases there are and most of them are just unexplainable, whether it's natural or scientific, it's fascinating. (Like that TV Show "Mystery Diagnosis"). Hence the reason why I even searched for "Albinism" in the first place. Some people don't know what it is, so I had to refer it to the movie "Powder" in case anyone has seen it.. :)

Anyway, here is the eotd I did using "leaf green" from the MUFE Flash Color Pot.

I used MAC e/s in "Eyepopping" on the inner corners, a little of the "Parrot" eyeshadow in the middle, and "Wondergrass" on the outer part of the lid and MUFE "Leaf Green" on the Outer-V and contour.





My tut on depotting MAC blushes is on Wikihow! [CLICK PIC TO ENLARGE]

Makeup Forever Flash Color & ULTA Haul

I recently got my Sephora catalog and have been lemming the Makeup Forever Flash Color pots ($17 each) because they are so pigmented, come in a wide array of colors, AND remind me so much of the MAC Paint Pots. I have always loved Makeup Forever, even moreso than MAC *shocker*! They are incredibly fused with color and have a nice finish; I just hate how expensive their products are! One eyeshadow is $18!

I desperately wanted to try them (the funnest part of being a beauty blogger is the testing phase), so I called my local Sephora and had them hold some colors for me based on the ones I saw on their website: Turquoise, Leaf Green, Purple, and Coral. They can be used ANYWHERE, eyes, face, lips, and body.

I ran home and was in AWE! They are GORGEOUS and absolutely vibrant! I missed out on the Alexander McQueen Collection from MAC so I never got the "Other Worldly" Paint Pot, so I was happy that Turquoise was a good dupe. This color isn't even turquoise to me, but more of a sky blue, yet it says turquoise. I can't wait to do a look with these and really try 'em out!

Here are the pics & swatches(no base, applied as is):




Swatches:


Without Flash:


I want to re-create this look:


Aren't they just the prettiest little things?? I WILL DO a thorough review on it soon.

I also re-did my nails and got a black line instead of my usual silver:


The BF and I went on a nice little date to a Japanese Restaurant in Pasadena, he is hanging out with his friend on Saturday and I guess he felt bad because it's "our day" so he took me shopping after dinner at the ULTA store across the street. Yay! He is too sweet! I went a little crazy because I hardly go to ULTA and because heck it was the BF's treat! LOL. Many of you have asked: ULTA EYESHADOWS FIT ONLY IN THE NIXIE PALETTE, NOT MAC PALETTES. (WWW.NIXIECOSMETICS.COM)

Here's what I got:


- More sponge makeup wedges
- Sponge-tipped applicators
- NYX Lipgloss in "Plush Red" (nice DEEP burgundy red)
- Ardell lower eyelashes falsies
- Ardell Brow & Lash Growth Accelerator to help speed up the growth of brittle eyelashes and eyebrows
- 3 ULTA eyeshadows (Which got me the free gift in the pink bag!): Bone, Knit, and Breeze
- Ardell Eyebrow Stencils
- Neutrogena Moisturizer
- 2 Bourjois eyeshadows
- Glycolic Acid Cream (to smooth the texture of your skin)















Top: Knit (Orange) & Breeze (Blue) on the Bottom: Bone

Milani Wet/Dry Eyeshadows VS. Vincent Longo's Eyeshadows

My good friend Izzy from Musemedia (who is such a sweetheart!) bought ALL of the Milani Wet/Dry eyeshadows and has done a thorough review on them comparing them to the very similar Vincent Longo Eyeshadows. She is so funny and has such an awesome personality!

Thanks so much Izzy!

CLICK HERE to see her awesome review!

Salvaging your MAC Lipsticks when it has reached it's end...

So you have a couple lipsticks that have already reached the end of it's tube, yet you find yourself holding onto it because there's a lot of product in there, yet your alter ego is telling you to turn it into MAC for B2M (Back 2 MAC- the recycling program in which you bring 6 empty containers for a FREE lipstick, eyeshadow or lipgloss; it could be containers from eyeshadows, pigment jars, even DEPOTTED ones- ANY MAC container you can think of can be recycled, except pro pans).

So here is what I do to speed up the process and get my free lipstick!

Get your lipstick, it will be a lot fuller than this once you've hit the plastic part of the tube, once my lipstick has reached it's end, I was using my lipbrush scraping what I could, hence the hole...(it's MAC's lipstick in "Folio" which has been discontinued)


Take your lip brush or anything clean and small enough to scoop out the contents...


Get a small empty jar or pot (I used a 3 gram jar):


And scoop it in! You can also put it on a spoon and melt it over a flame, THEN pour it in the pot, wait till it cools, so that it's "good as new" and it looks like a brand new lip pot, but I am one lazy gal so I am fine with it looking like that...lol.


Empty tube:


Collect 6 empty ones and you get....a free lipstick, eyeshadow, or lipgloss of your choice!

AVON Package Arrived!

My AVON items arrived today! And I must say, I am really impressed how far they have come. I know some of you are sticking to your grounds and are skeptical about AVON (as was I), but I have since welcomed AVON with open arms since their products have really changed since the last time I remember it!

As I was mentioning in my previous post regarding some AVON dupes, here is the actual comparison:

MAC Slimshines vs. AVON Glazewear Moisture Shines- The two in the back are the AVON lippies, "Honey Bare" (cute name isn't it!?) and "Ravishing Red"; the ones in the front are the MAC Slimshines in "Bare" and "Intimidate". The color payoff is incredible, and the shine as well, imo, just like the MAC Slimshines except these are way below half the price! I love them and don't they really look alike!???


Honey Bare


Ravishing Red


Mineralized Eyeshadow Duos- The AVON version looks a lot smaller in person, but they are about the same size because MAC's compact is a lot bigger (if you need to see the actual size, go back to my "depotting MAC blushes" post so you can see the REAL size after it's been taken out of the original pan). I got "Grey Matters", the white side reminded me of MAC e/s in "Rondelle". The pigmentation is the same to me, great color payoff, I wish they had more colors to choose from, I think i'd order them all!




Also got some cute comfy undies at Wal-Mart! I love 'em!