Shakeup Your Makeup: 2013

Swatches of Revlon Color Burst Matte Balms in 250 Standout Remarquable and 225 Sultry Sulfureuse

11:50 AM

After reading numerous reviews of the Revlon Colorburst balms, I decided to use some CVS Extra Care Bucks to put towards two of the matte shades called Standout Remarquable (250) and Sultry Sulfureuse (225).

Standout is a bright, neutral, red. On my skin tone, it appears a bit cooler, but I think overall this is mostly on the neutral spectrum. Sultry is a deep mauve shade. Both are matte, and have a smooth, almost velvety texture when applied.

I have found over time, that a lot of the matte lip colors out there are either drying or cakey. These most definitely are not. The Revlon ColorBurst apply so smoothly, evenly, and with precision on the lip. Pigmentation is stellar - comparable to a lipstick - not translucent or waxy like a lot of the crayons on the market right now. Truly a great product, I would certainly suggest you grab one for your purse in a color that you wear the most. If you are looking for a good, go-to red, pick up Standout. It is quite honestly the most perfect red I have in my bag right now.

Below is a FOTD using the Sultry. Love it.

What color have you picked up? I am going to snag some of the other shades/types and swatch them as well. These really are great!

These are available to purchase at your local drug stores and mass merchandiser - retail for approximately $7.99-8.99 depending on the location.

Almay

Spotted at Walgreens: New Almay Shadow Softies - Color Whipped Eyeshadows

10:48 AM

Almay has come out with whipped eyeshadows, called Almay Shadow Softies, which I finally spotted last week at Walgreens. The collection consists of 6 matte shades and 6 metallic shades. These are said to be lightweight, crease free and pure color. I haven't tried them personally, although I keep looking at the olive green metallic (second down on the far left), but cream and mouse formulas tend to wear poorly on me, so I have opted out of picking these up. Nouveau Cheap just did a review the other day, which you can click here to see.

Have you tried these? What are your thoughts?

CVS

New Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Collection Spotted at CVS - Great Stocking Stuffer Ideas!

9:30 AM

CVS has their beauty clearance going on right now, but prior to finding anything on sale, I saw this display piece for the new I *heart* Nail Art collection by Sally Hansen. This full display includes nail colors, top coats (Big Matte and Big Shiny topcoats), nail color pens, and as the closeups below show, a collection of nail art kits that include glitters, studs, and other applications to bedazzle up your nails! A fun little collection that would be great for the stocking of any nail art guru!

Lots of pictures below - enjoy!

These are the I *heart* Nail Art kits, and I took closeups of each below.

How fun, and just in time for the holidays!

FUSE

Spotted at Walmart: Fuse Gelnamel All in One At Home Gel Nail Polish

8:42 AM

Something new from the makers of SensatioNAIL, FUSE is a simple, two step process for at home gel nails! Paint your nails and flash dry with the FUSE LED light, and you are ready to go! No more base coat, color coat, top coat - this is an all in one collection, with the starter kits running $24.98 and the various colors approximately $9.99 for the polish.

A picture of the display is below. There are a lot of colors to choose from, including creams, basic reds, pinks, and some fun colors like blues, teals and shimmers. Definitely an interesting, and simple, concept! There are a lot more colors online on the FUSE website, as well.

Have you seen these all-in-one FUSE nail sets yet? Think you will pick one up?

CVS

Spotted at Walgreens: Revlon Perfumerie Nail Polish Gift Sets "Indulgent" and "Paradise"

9:16 AM

The newest nail polish collection from Revlon is called Perfumerie. The collection includes shimmers and cremes, all named for their fragrance - display picture below, from CVS.

Walgreen's, as well as the other drug stores, have started to put out their holiday displays. On top of the shelves I saw a couple of boxes with the Revlon Perfumerie polishes in them - gift sets of two polishes for $10. The two gift sets I saw were Indulgent (Spun Sugar and Bordeaux) and Paradise (China Flower and Pink Pineapple). Cute little gifts or stocking stuffers (or an in expensive way to pick up two!).

Have you seen these yet? How about the Perfumerie polishes? Have you tried them yet? I just picked up Autumn Spice from the display above at CVS, so I am anxious to give it a try. The color looks beautiful in the bottle.

eos

Spotted at Walgreens: Well & Walgreens Lip Balm in Watermelon (EOS Dupe)

3:55 PM

Looking for some of the new gift sets for the holidays, I stumbled across this little guy at Walgreen's last night - their own Well version of the EOS lip balms. This particular one was Watermelon, and I didn't see any other flavors out there. Regularly priced at $2.99, they are currently BOGOFree!

See, below, compared to the EOS balms?! Have you seen and/or tried these yet? Would love to know what you think!

Loreal

L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara in Blackest Black

1:21 PM

I have seen a lot of chatter about the new L'oreal Voluminous Butterfly mascara on Instagram and around the blogs, so when I saw it at Walmart ($7.97) I picked up a tube of the Blackest Black to try out. The tube itself is the standard Voluminous tube, but silver.

The brush has a unique design. Where the "top" portion of the brush is pretty standard for the Voluminous line, the bottom extends out to these long combs, reminiscent to me of the old Rimmel Extreme Volume, which had a comb brush. This, the Voluminous, actually curves to fit the shape of the lashes, with the shorter combs being on the inside and the longer combs are on the outside.

A couple different views of the comb below - all pics can be enlarged for better viewing.

(side view)

(top view)

Below is a closeup of the mascara on. The product itself is definitely buildable. I didn't experience any clumping, so you can definitely get a lot of length and can continue to build until you get to the volume you desire. I really like how the brush gets up against the lashline, but I don't experience the smudging or smearing along the lashline I get with a standard brush that you are pushing up there to get close and pull across the lashes. Because of the comb portion, I also feel like all of the lower lashes get a good coat of mascara, so it is enhancing the small lashes there. I will say, the standard Voluminous and the Voluminous Million lashes seem to give me better volume.

Bottom line - I like it. I'd buy it again, although it isn't my all time favorite mascara. Still, the brush and the price make this very price friendly and easy to use!

Cover Girl

Swatches: CoverGirl Hunger Games / Capitol Collection - Scalding Emerald

1:59 PM

I have read about several sightings of the Hunger Games / CoverGirl collaboration, but hadn't seen it in the stores until this past weekend. What a gorgeous collection. I fell l in love with two of the nail colors (although all of them are stunning), so today I present to you Scalding Emerald. This is a very sheer, gray jelly base, with green and gold flecks. Very sheer, this would be gorgeous!

Below is 3 coats.

Laura Geller

A Quick Sneak Peak at the Laura Geller Baked Innovations Collection in Light

12:04 PM

Recently Laura Geller introduced a new baked foundation on QVC in her Today's Special Value, so I picked up the Fair shade. The kit comes with the foundation, a blush, a large kabuki brush and a liquid lipstick. I have been playing with this set, and yet to take some FOTD's, but I will try and post some in the upcoming week using the collection. Below are some closeups.

From the QVC Site:

What is it: Crave-worthy, neutral-hued makeup from Laura Geller, including Laura's exciting NEW foundation innovation--Baked Elements Foundation. This collection also includes Baked Brulee Blush and Luscious Lips Liquid Lipstick in fresh new colors, plus a kabuki brush for easy application.

Who is it for: All skin types. The universally flattering shades make this collection a must-have for every woman's beauty wardrobe.

Why is it different: NEW Baked Elements Foundation delivers luminous, buildable, full matte coverage while nourishing and hydrating skin with hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, and jojoba oil.

Immediately after use, 100% of women saw an improvement in the look of fine lines, hydration, radiance, and skin tone.

Formulated with Vitamin E and a special texturizing gel, Luscious Lips Liquid Lipstick is a highly pigmented, full-coverage formula that glides on as a liquid and dries to a weightless, semi-matte finish--never dry or sticky.

How do I use it: Using the large retractable angled kabuki brush, sweep Baked Elements Foundation all over the face, targeting areas of discoloration. For fuller coverage, apply with the sponge applicator found in the bottom of the compact.

The foundation has a slight pearl to it, although just to brighten the skin. It certainly doesn't make you look like a disco ball, like some can. There definitely is a difference in the coverage if you use a brush, or the sponge (below). Full coverage on the sponge, which I find us really nice to use under the eyes - the pearl in the foundation really helps brighten the dark circles.

The blush is absolutely gorgeous - a perfect flush with some shimmer to brighten the complexion and the color is truly that of pinched cheeks.

Did you happen to pick this up? What do you think so far?

Essie

Quick NOTD: Essie Merino Cool

11:16 AM

It's officially fall. Not only was my birthday yesterday, which tends to lead to pumpkins and harvest decor in and out of my house, but the weather dropped down into the 60's today, with lows in the mid-40's. So, yes, it's fall.

With fall comes darker and warmer mani's - out with the pinks and in with they gray's. I chose Essie Merino Cool for today. I love this color - it's an easy shade to wear and perfect for the fall wardrobe. In reality, I find it to be slightly warmer in person than the picture above, but considering this was taken with my iPhone, it works!

What is your go-to fall shade?

FOTD

FOTD: Fyrinnae Velvet Vampire and Alchemist Curse

9:30 AM

OK, so this may be one of my favorite color combinations in a while. Purple is one of those go-to colors for me when I need a pick me up, and Fyrinnae doesn't disappoint when it comes to their color selection. For this look, I wanted to wear Velvet Vampire, but needed just a pop more purple in the look, so I paired it with Alchemist Curse. Talk about two pretty colors together! On top of that, the dress I have on was Banana Republic steal from eBay, so I was one happy lady with this whole get-up!

Below is the full list of the look:

Face:
Laura Geller Spackle Primer
It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer
Laura Geller Balance 'n Brighten - Fair
Nars Laguna - Contour
Nars Orgasm - Blush

Eyes
Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy
Fyrinnae Alchemist Curse (outer corner/crease)
Fyrinnae Velvet Vampire (inner/middle lid)
I can't remember what was used on the inner corner
MAC Vanilla Pigment - highlighter
Mally Volumizing Mascara - black
NYX Gel Eyeliner - Black

Lips:
Kate Moss for Rimmel 08

Essie

NOTD: Essie "For the Twill of It"

8:36 AM

A NOTD from a few weeks back, Essie "For the Twill of It", from their Fall 2013 collection. This is a dark metallic with magenta, teal and green flashes. A bit thin, but after two coats it seemed to cover nicely.

I will say, I want to wear this one again now that my nails have grown out. I don't care for this on my short nails, but I think on my longer nails I would like it better.

Deals

Swatches: Sephora Collection Waterproof Cream Eyeliner - Bewitch Me

9:00 AM

Sticking with my clearance section finds, next up Sephora Collection Waterproof Smoky Cream Liner in Betwitch Me - retail $12.00 - I paid $2.99! This came out of a little end cap at the Sephora in the JC Penny next to my office. I love little unexpected finds like this! I actually snagged the green and bronze shade as well.

This comes in a sizable jar, and the product itself is extremely light and whipped, smooth and easy to apply with your standard eyeliner brush. I will say, this is so light and easily manipulated, I can see where this could be used as a cream shadow, or a base. And, it doesn't budge. I mean, does not come off with water! I scrubbed and scrubbed under running water to remove this swatch. Now, with that said, it's nothing a little makeup remover can't fix. But, for those of you with lids that cannot hold onto a liner, this may not be a bad option for you to try. The color selection is broad (both frosts and mattes), and it is easy to use.

Below is the swatch of the product on my hand. I will post a FOTD in the near future.

Have you tried these Sephora Collection eyeliners? What do you think of them?

Rimmel

Swatches: Rimmel Glam Eyes 024 Green Saphire

9:25 AM

A couple of weeks ago I went into K-Mart, which I very rarely get into since it's not close to my house. They had bins of clearance items, including a ton of the Revlon Lip Butters for $1.99, and a couple of various Rimmel quads, amongst a ton of other random cosmetics. I picked up this Rimmel quad in 024 - Green Saphire for $1.37.

This set is right up my alley - greens, golds and frosts. The gold shade at the bottom has a lot of green/olive undertones, and the dark shade on the right side is a black base full of gold and olive shimmer. The green on the left is a beautiful evergreen, and the highlight is a peach/nude skin tone color in the pan, but becomes a silver/taupe when applied to the skin.

Unfortunately, when I first swatched them, I got the top set of swatches (below)....bummer!

Upon further swatching with my Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy, look at how absolutely gorgeous these colors are!! I tell you what, there isn't an eyeshadow I put on without Pixie Epoxy. It is absolutely amazing how the product transforms these types of colors. Something I certainly can't live without! Do those bottom swatches look like a $1.37 eyeshadow? I think not!!

Have you tried any other of these Rimmel quads? I'm half tempted to run back to K-Mart and see what other colors I can snag for $1.37 a pan!

NOTD Brown

NOTD: Sinful Colors Dark Bronze

10:52 AM

Happy Second Day of Fall! I have been waiting for the cooler weather to hit, because now it means sweaters, boots, and of course, rich neutrals! Walmart had a massive Sinful Colors display up when I went in this weekend, and this color just spoke to me - Dark Bronze. And, you guessed it, it's a dark bronze color! Actually, these pictures give it a bit more gold and less of the olive undertones that I see in natural light, but still a gorgeous shade. This is a shimmer, but nothing over the top. It actually is relatively muted, and kind of muddy.

Click any picture for a larger view.

Shakeup Your Makeup