Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick

I'm not sure when Maybelline first introduced there Color Sensational line but I feel like recently I've been seeing the commercials more on TV recently. Maybe because I've started watching more TV? Anyways, I finally gave in and decided to get some to try. They were $7.99 at Walgreens but I bought it when it was Buy 1 Get 1 50%.
The lipsticks come in 4 groups: Red, Neutral, Pink, & Plum. The lipsticks tube is a color tinted plastic that is also coordinated according to the grouping, i.e. if you buy a lipstick in the red family the tube will be red. There is something about the packaging that I don't like. I can't quite really figure out what exactly.
I do love this lipstick. It has great consistence, pigmented, smooth and it doesn't dry out my lips. The colors in the collection range from soft to bold and anyone can find the right shade for them. Maybelline's site has a shade finder if you need help finding the right shades for your skintone.

Final Verdict

Pro: Smooth, Pigmented without Drying

Con: None

Buy Again: Yes

Price: $

Packaging: ♦ ♦ ♦

Overall: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

April Makeup Haul

So this month I've bought a few things to add to my growing makeup collection. There were some good deals out there. Hopefully, I'll be able to review these products soon. Here's what I bought:

E.L.F products are always inexpensive (most things are under $5) but they had a 50% off sale on their studio line, which are usually $3 each, so I advantage of trying out some of products. I was surprisingly please with how good the products were.

• 4 E.L.F Studio Line Blushes
• E.L.F Studio Line Blush/Bronzer Duo
  
• Eye Lash Curler
• 2 Professional Line Brushes
  
• Makeup Remover Cleansing Cloths

From Sephora I bought 2 gift sets from Nars. Plus I had free shipping for spending over $50.

• Dolce Vita Gift Set: Nars Blush/Bronzer Duo & Dolce Vita Lipgloss
  
• So Famous Set: Deep Throat Blush, Bettena Lip Liner, Mini Orgasm the Multiple
• Sephora Daily Brush Cleaner
  

From Walmart I bought Neutrogena products.

• Neutrogena Makeup Remover Towelettes
  
• Healthy Skin Foundation

From Cherry Culture I bought some NYX lip products that they had on sale. Cherry Culture usually has NYX products at a lower cost then what you would get from the NYX site or store.

• NYX Round Lipstick
• NYX Round Lip Gloss

From MAC I bought: (Shipping was free for $50 & over purchases)

• Prep + Prime Lip
• 4 Eyeshadow & Quad Palette
• Paint Pot in Soft Ochre

From Walgreens I bought:

• Bio Oil
• 4 Maybelline Color Sensational Lipsticks
  

Lorac Sale at HauteLook

HauteLook is having a sale on Lorac Makeup. Check it at out at HauteLook.com

50 Ways to Use Vaseline

I saw this on BellaSugar.com and it's has great ideas for using petroleum jelly.

Best Makeup Looks for Asian Faces

Best Makeup Looks for Asian Faces
Follow the lead of these celebrities and accentuate your beauty with similar makeup looks and expert tips.

Did you know that Asia is home to 60 percent of the world's population? Yup, it's true. That means there are a lot of Asian women in the world, from many different countries, and just like every woman: no two Asian women are exactly the same. Face shape, skin tone, bone structure, eye color, etc. all depend on the individual. So what's the one thing all Asian women do have in common? The ability to look absolutely stunning. They do happen to share some similar features and attributes as well, all which can be made up to glorious perfection.

We found examples of the best makeup looks for Asian women on the red carpet worn by gorgeous celebrities like Sandra Oh, Margaret Cho, Lucy Liu and more. These stars show off their radiant skin, pouty lips, flirty lashes and smoldering eyes, and here we'll give you the scoop on the makeup techniques employed to create them, with help from an expert, of course.

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Top 12 Products for Oily Skin

Top 12 Products for Oily Skin

Stop grease and shine with oil-controlling makeup and skin care from brands like MAC Cosmetics, Neutrogena and more.

Posted using ShareThis

NYX Lot Sale

NYX is having another of their lot sales. Starting today until Monday, May 3rd, 12PM PST. There's only 1,000 of each set and it's 1st come 1st serve.

Tarte Sale

In celebration of Earth Day, Tarte is doing a sitewide sale starting today till April 25th.

10 Best Lipsticks

10 Best Lipsticks
Want lips that pack a punch of color? Pucker up to these top-rated beauty products

MAC Pret-A-Papier

MAC's newest collection, Pret-A-Papier is now available. Free shipping is available until April 25th, 2010, 11:59PM using the code PAPIER.

Craft-paper couture - an inspired idea cut like a pattern and whipped up into a seamless spectrum of parchment-to-vellum beiges with an occasional, clever colour spill, coral among the most au courant.

Urban Decay Sale at HauteLook

HauteLook is having a sale on Urban Decay products. All the products on sale are 50% - 75% off their original prices. Check it out at HauteLook.com

Lipstick Kick

So I've been on this lipstick kick for the last month. I just wanna buy lipstick. I think I've gone so long not wanting lipstick and opting for lip gloss instead that it's come back to haunt me. Maybe I'm growing up and being more mature with my makeup? Who knows? LOL. In the past I thought lipstick were always too drying on my lips but now they've gotten so much better. I still having a hard time finding the right shades for my skin tone so I just keep buying and buying. It started out with MAC then Revlon & Maybelline, and I recently ordered some from NYX. MAC is fairly expensive so I'm taking my time buying it. Revlon & Maybelline always have some kind of sale at drugstore so I get it whenever they are Buy One Get One or 50% off. NYX is usually the least expensive but with such great pigmentation that I bought a handful from Cherry Culture. I've still been picky about what I buy because quality is very important to me but the money is starting to add up. Hopefully this kick will end soon.

The Lipstick Lines I'm Loving...
Revlon's Colorburst
Maybelline's Color Sensation
NYX Round Lipstick
MAC Lipsticks

5 Beauty Items You Don't Regularly Wash... But Should

I saw this on Shine from Yahoo! 5 Beauty Items You Don't Regularly Wash... But Should by Kaboodle.com's Blog

Most of us forget to clean household beauty items we use every day, but a little extra elbow grease goes a long way in ensuring better hygiene and clearer skin. Read on to

discover the why, how, and how often of getting your beauty tools up to code—and treat yourself to less breakouts and allergies.

1. Your toothbrush
Why: If you’ve been sick recently, it’s time to disinfect your toothbrush in order to bid adieu to any illness-related germs. Likewise if you share toothpaste in your household, which, if your and others’ brush touches the toothpaste tube, is like playing tonsil hockey with whoever used the paste last. Gross!

How: Toss your brush, throw it in the dishwasher, or boil it for five minutes. Or, if you’re using a more pricey electric brush, pop the head in the microwave for 10 seconds to zap bacteria.

How often: Sanitize your toothbrush every few weeks and completely replace your brush about every three months, or as soon as the bristles have begun to fray or remain bent as a result of use.

2. Your Hairbrush

Why: You know all that oil, dandruff, and hair product that you wash out of your hair every (or every other) day? Well, all that debris stays on your hairbrush unless you clean it. If you don’t, every time you use your hairbrush you are depositing all that grime right back onto your clean hair, making your hair dirtier faster.

How: Remove hair from the brush with a comb and dispose of it in the trash, or get crazy and use that bundle of hair as an all natural bump-it. Once the hair’s been recycled or tossed, load your hairbrush into the flatware tray in your dishwasher. Fill with dishes, start the cycle, walk away, and come back to unload a like-new hair-care tool!
How often: Wash it once a month or whenever the collection of stray hair becomes noticeable and distracting.

3. Your Makeup Brushes
Why: Dust, old makeup, and other environmental deposits that would make your dermatologist cringe build up on makeup brushes, and then you slap all that stuff right onto your skin every time you apply your makeup. Good skin means keeping makeup brushes in pristine condition.
How: We like spraying Sephora’s anti-bacterial Daily Brush Cleaner ($6-$14) directly onto our brushes and then wiping off excess liquid onto paper towels. (Swirl kabuki brushes in circles and wipe off eyeshadow brushes like you’re painting.) Be careful not to slam brushes into towels head on, which deforms the brushes’ intended shape. Or fill your sink with water, hand wash your brushes with shampoo, and be in awe of how much junk comes off on paper towels and in the sink. Lay brushes out on a clean towel overnight and they’ll be good to go in the morning when you’re ready to put your face on!

How often: Freshen up makeup brushes as obsessively as every evening, or as often as once a week to ensure your skin is receiving the best treatment possible.

4. Your Pillow Cases
Why: All of that night cream, and—heaven forbid—makeup that you forgot to wash off piles up on top of sweat, dust, and dirt to create an unhealthy combination of no-nos on your pillowcase every single night. Fresh pillowcases mean a fresher looking face because bacteria can cause acne.

How: This is what washing machines were invented for.

How often: Dermatologists recommend replacing your pillowcase nightly. If that sounds like a hassle or an insane water bill and you’re more prone to bacteria-caused acne, put a large T-shirt over your pillowcase and get four nights out of it. Simply turn the pillow over, turn it inside out, and turn it over again. If you’re not worried about your skin, be sure to at least refresh your case once a week along with your bed sheets.

Tip: Satin and silk cases are better for your skin than cotton ones because they help keep skin hydrated, among other benefits (like taming frightening bed head).


5. Your Pillow
Why: It makes sense to toss your pillowcase into the washer because your face makes direct contact with it each night. What you might be forgetting also needs a little TLC is your pillow. Sweat turns pillows yellow over time and dust mites—well I’ll let your imagine run wild with the dangers of shacking up with mites.

How: Read the tag on your pillow and if possible, toss it in the washing machine. Lay it outside on a clean towel on a sunny day to dry. Drop off down pillows at the dry cleaner to ensure they’re handled correctly.

How often: Wash pillows at least four times every year, and consider replacing them entirely each year.

Go forth towards a more sanitary lifestyle and enjoy your freshly spruced beauty items!

Tarte Flower Child Palette

Tarte's Flower Child Palette is a limited edition palette for Sephora. For $44, it comes with a 10 full size eyeshadows, a double ended eye liner pencil, a double ended eye shadow brush, and a sample of their eye primer.
The palette is a purple pleather case with a flower design in the front. It's a little heavy for a palette, a large mirror on the inside, and closes magnetically. The eyeshadows are magnetize as well and can also be taken out of the palette and replace with another shadow from Tarte. Tarte is big on reuse, reduce, & recycling. They are very Earth/ Vegan friendly. So unlike other palettes that give you sample size shadows, that can't be depot, you get the actual size eyeshadows which can be switched out.

The 10 eyeshadow are all shimmer shades except for one.
Top Row, Left to Right:

• Shimmering Soft Daffodil
• Shimmering Ecru Hibiscus
• Shimmering Pink Peony
• Shimmering Gray Periwinkle
• Shimmering Peach Tulip

Bottom Row, Left to Right:

• Shimmering Firewheel
• Matte Buttercup
• Shimmering African Violet
• Shimmering Deplhinium Blue
• Shimmering Vibrant Forest Grass

When I first saw this at Sephora and swatched it on my fingers I thought the colors were vivrant and pigmented. When I finally tried this at home I was disappoint to see that it was not as vibrant or pigmented on my lid. All the colors end up very soft. The lighter colors barely show. I do like the lighter colors to use as a highlighter and you could use the shades to blend with other eyeshadows, but on their own they aren't bold enough. This looked so pretty but it just didn't live up to my expectations.

Final Verdict

Pro: Full size eyeshadow that can be removed from the palette, Nice shimmer, Earth/Vegan friendly

Con: Not very pigmented or vibrant when applied to the lids.

Buy Again: No

Price: $ $ $ $ $

Packaging: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Overall: ♥ ♥

Using Ecru Hibiscus (highlight), Delphinium Blue (lid), Gray Periwinkle (outer crease), Buttercup(crease)

Two layer for each color

Revlon Colorburst Lipstick

The newest line of lipstick from Revlon is their Colorburst Lipstick. "A luxurious, rich color that's virtually weightless." They come in 20 different shades. They were originally $8.99 at Rite Aid but I got it on sale for $4.99 each. The lipstick comes in a black square tube with a criss cross design on 2 of the sides giving it a more luxury look.I bought Blush, Nude, and Baby Pink. The colors are very pigmented on my lips. I love how it feels and it doesn't dry my lips. I like it so much I'm going to buy some more. Right Now the Revlon website is giving a $3 coupon.

Final Verdict

Pro: Smooth, Pigmented without drying

Con: None

Buy Again: Yes

Price: $

Packaging: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Overall: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Sales

Not all makeup has to be expensive to be good. This week some of my favorite drugstore products are on sale:

Ulta is taking 40% off all Maybelline, Revlon, Almay, & Ulta products.
Cherry Culture has NYX Products on sale.
E.L.F has 50% off their studio line of products using the code EGSTUDZ

My 26th Birthday

Last night I celebrated my 26th Birthday with my friends at Red Star. It took me 5 hours looking for a "wow" dress and surprisingly I found my dress at JCPenny's. I kept my makeup simple and neutral since the dress was such a bold color.

Physician's Formula Eyeshadow/ Liner

Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Shadow & Liner is a palette that I've had for a few months now. I have the Brown Eyes palette and the Smokey Brown Eye palette (pictured). They cost around $9- $11 at drugstores.
Shimmer strips come in a clear, hard, plastic container with 9 color shadows and an angled applicator wand. The 9 colors are 3 trios (a highlight, a base, and a crease color) for a Natural (top 3), Playful (middle 3), and Dramatic (bottom 3) looks. They can be applied dry for a soft look or wet for more of an intense look. And of course all the color are very shimmery, hence the name.
I've had plenty of time to play with the colors wet and dry. I like using the darker shades wet as a liner. I do find that some of the lighter colors aren't has pigmented. The colors are complementary for brown eyes and there's 9 colors to mix and match that work well together to give you a desired look.

Final Verdict

Pro: You get 9 shadows that can be used wet or dry

Con: Some of the lighter colors aren't as pigmented

Buy Again: Yes

Price: $

Packaging: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Overall: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Early Birthday Splurge

I went to MAC at Macy's to get a new foundation and check out the Liberty of London collection yet somehow I manage to spend over $100. I ended up buying more then I planned. Oh well, it is for my birthday.

What I bought:
MAC 188 Brush
NC35 Studio Fix Foundation
Velvet Teddy Lipstick
Liberty of London Summer Rose Beauty Powder
Liberty of London Lipglass in Perennial High Style
& English Accent

MAC 188 Brush is my first MAC brush. I've probably started getting into make-up (more seriously anyways) around 2 years ago. I've never had a professional brush. I just used brushes I bought at drugstores. This one brush cost $34. I want to eventually expand my MAC brush collection but I'll have to do it slowly.

I've been looking at the Liberty of London Collection online and I liked the colors. When I saw them in person, I didn't like the ones I thought I would like as much and vice versa. They also were sold out of a few of the products I wanted. So Sad. I'll just have to buy them online.