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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

NOTW - China Glaze White Cap With Sinful Colors Easy Going


This is what's been on my nails this week. I think I painted them last weekend and it has already started chipping.
I used Easy Going by Sinful colors, which you can find in Walgreens for relatively cheap...I think less than $2.00. It's a very light creamy pink, almost white. I used China Glaze White Cap on top of it and it looks amazing together! It's such a pretty shimmer! You have to see it in person to know what I mean. I took several pictures trying to capture the shimmers for you and the best I could are the pictures below. The shimmers look a bit more gold in person. I've already got a few compliments on this NOTW.

Hope you enjoyed this NOTW.




Giveway Winner Announcement

Hi everyone and thank you all for entering my giveway. It was nice reading all your comments.

The lucky winner of my giveway is Vivienne Lynn! Congrats! Please email me your contact info to xxxbeautyredefinedxxx@gmail.com by 4-02-11 and I will send these out to you by this weekend.

Thankssss :)

Monday, March 28, 2011

Small Sephora Haul--Tarte, Clinique, and Benefit


I got these goodies last Saturday. I went to Sephora after work to return my NARS Front Row Set because it wasn't all that. *Sigh* yes I have to work my butt off this week and weekend too.
In exchange, I picked up a couple things. I was really hoping to find the new Urban Decay Primer Potion in a TUBE! But they didn't have it. I guess it's only currently available online but I will pick one or two up next time they pop in store. In case you didn't know, they have all 4 of them in the tube. I'm excited about the new packaging! If you want to see how they look, follow this link http://sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml;jsessionid=FQYTUBICXAFNOCV0KQRRPIQ?id=P284715&categoryId=C10461

Anyways, back to what I was saying...I bought the Murad Acne Complex Kit (not pictured) for my son since the Clean & Clear stuff don't seem to work too well for him.


 For myself, I bought the new Tarte Amazonian Clay long-wear blush. I was intrigued since it is new and long-wearing. Most of my blushes have faded or completely disappeared by the time I get off work. I'm someone who is very busy and doesn't like to bother with touching up during the day so I tend to gravitate toward products that are long-wearing. This product claims to last up to 12 hours.
I got the shade Blissful, which is a pinkish coral. I love how natural this looks and it applies matte. I've worn it for the past couple days and I can say, it definitely outlast my other blushes and will get you through the day without the need to touch up. So if you are in the market for a long-wearing blush, you may want to check this out. It's not too powdery, the pigmentation is just right and buildable so you won't overdo your cheeks. Price $25.00.


Next, I impulsively bought this tiny bottom lash mascara from Clinique. For the record, I rarely wear mascara, even though I do have a few different ones at my disposal. This cost $10.00 so I thought, why not?! lol. See how cute and tiny the wand is? It's perfect for reaching those tiny lashes.
The formula is very black. It does a fairly decent job at coating the lashes. Another thing you'll need to know is this mascara is formulated to be removed with warm water. It comes off easily when you wash it off with warm water but try using your makeup remover and this will hardly budge if at all. Interesting, isn't it?


I used my 100 point perks to redeem for this sample Clinique All About Eye Serum. This is intended to "de-puff" your eyes. Ever since I've been using eye creams on the regular, I've noticed less puffiness around my eyes. I haven't given this a try yet so, I don't have much to say about it. This is free for beauty insiders and if you have 100+ points.

At last, I got this free (with any $35.00 purchase) new Benefit B.Right. skincare deluxe sample kit. This is only available to VIB. If you are a VIB, you probably seen the email offer.
This kit contains:
  • Triple Performing Facial Emulsion moisturizer
  • Foamingly Clean facial wash
  • It's Potent! eye cream
I think the glass packaging of the moisturizer and eyecream is so adorable!


That's it for my little haul. I didn't splurge like I did last week, lol. I hope you enjoyed checking out my new goodies.



ELF Green Fields Mineral Eyeshadow Set + Makeup Look



I purchased this set from Target for about $4.99 I believe. I was curious to try their mineral eyeshadows and I figure this set would be perfect.




When I opened the packaging, I was pleased at how pretty the pigment looked. However, I quickly noticed that there wasn't much product considering the size of the container. Weight is 0.02 oz or .57 g.



Earthy is a beautiful shimmery sage color with little hint of gold.
Outdoorsy is a dark forest green with a hint of black and green, teal, and gold shimmers.

I was worried to get fall out with Outdoorsy since the pigment doesn't seem to be as fine as Earthy. Fortunately, when I did the makeup look with these colors, they worked great and I didn't experience any problem. The pigmentation is also nice and blending was a breeze.

I was also excited to try out the new ELF eyeshadow brush. When I opened the package, I was a bit disappointed that the bristles weren't as dense as I would like them to be. It looks pretty flat and tapered. The good thing is that the brush isn't flimsy and offer a good amount of resistance. So far, I haven't experience any shedding.

Overall, I think this is a nice set if you like greens or would like to add more greens to your stash. The value and price is reasonable. I strongly advise the use of a primer or base as these are loose pigments. You can also use them wet for a foiled look.



What I'm wearing...

Eyes
  • NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil Horse Raddish (green base)
  • ELF Earthy (lids)
  • ELF Outdoorsy (outer V and crease)
  • Revlon Vintage Lace (brow bone)
  • MAC Superslick Liquid eyeliner Desires & Devices (upper lash line)
  • MAC Pearlglide Intense eyeliner Black Line and Milani Liquif'Eye Gold (lower lash line)
  • Make Up Forever Eyebrow Corrector (eyebrows)
  • ELF Natural False eyelashes
Cheeks
  • ELF Candid Coral
  • MAC MSF Perfect Topping
Lips
  • NYX Diamond Sparkle Lip gloss Orange Sparkle


Hope you enjoyed this post. If you've tried ELF Mineral eyeshadows, which color would you recommend? If you haven't, do you plan to try?



Friday, March 25, 2011

China Glaze - White Cap & Ahoy!

Here are swatches of the two new China Glaze polishes that I bought recently from the Anchor Away collection at Ulta.


White Cap has a sheer white base with and irredescent sparkling gold shimmers. I used 3 coats on the swatches and in spite of the sheerness of it. I still think the color is beautiful.






Ahoy is bright fuschia with blue undertone and pink sparkling shimmers. The bottle looks a lot prettier in person. I think this would be a fun summer shade. I could've skipped this one. I have other similar colors but IDK, I tend to gravitate a lot towards this shade of nail polish. This color applies smootly, evenly, and is quite pigmented. I did two coats on the swatch.



Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Cover Girl Lip Perfection Lipsticks - Entwined & Kiss

Here I go again with another overdue post.
These Cover Girl lipsticks launched at the beginning of this year as far as I remembered. I've had these two lipticks over a month ago. There are soooo many shades to pick from and I must have gone back and forth trying to decide which ones to get, lol.

Here is what it claims to do:
"Bright, gorgeous color that can transform your day and your lips. Enriched with Silk Therapy Complex, our formula helps sustain moisture levels and helps create soft, smooth, beautiful lips in just 7 days."

Packaging
  • I like the rectangular shape of it. It prevents my lipstick from rolling and falling
  • I think the color of the lipstick showing through on the base is helpful but can be misleading when purchasing.
Product
  • Wide range of colors to choose from
  • Very pigmented
  • Apply smoothly
  • Feels creamy but not slippery
  • Long-wearing. I get 3+ hours of wear with these and they'll stain your lips.
  • Retails for about $6
  • Has a sweet coconutty scent, similar to Maybelline ColorSensational. It doesn't smell as bad as the Colorsensational lipsticks IMO but the strong scent can be overpowering for some.



Entwined looks very dark and scarry in the tube, lol, but I think it looks beautiful once on my lips. The color is medium plum that leans more red. It has a satin finish.





Kiss is frosty coral. This color is so obnoxiously frosty and reflect so much light that I feel like I have high beams on my lips, lol. I would recommend you either skip shade or use a gloss on top of it to make it less shiny.


Conclusion

At first, I was very impressed at how smootly and evenly the color applies on my lips. I was also very pleased at the pigmentation. It feels really good on my lips when I first applied it. The sad thing is I don't think it does what it promises to do. My lips felt quite dry after an hour, even when I have primed them with a lipbalm prior to using the lipstick. I can't apply more lipstick on top of it because it would only emphasize my dried chapped lips. At this point, I would normally just apply more lipbalm.
I've heard great reviews about this lipstick but personally it really doesn't have enough moisturizing agent for me. My rating 6/10. I would have given this lipstick a higher rating if it was more moisturizing like it claims and less frosty (in some shade).  

Revlon Colorburst Lipsticks - Coral & Hazelnut (Swatches)

This post was long overdue but better late than never, right? A while back, I purchased these two lipsticks from my CVS hauls. They were dirt cheap and colors I didn't have. If you followed my posts, you know that these are some of my favorite drugstore lipsticks because they are pigmented, apply smootly, and feel creamy.
If you missed my other post and would like to see more color swatches of this lipstick line, you may click HERE to view the rest of the shades that I own.




I wouldn't describe this shade as a coral, if you ask me. I'd say it's orange leaning red. To me a coral falls between a pinkish peach. This color is very bright! Perfect for the summer, IMO, for that tropical look. See how much it brightens up my face?







Hazelnut is a nutty brown that surprisingly looks good on me, lol. I normally don't reach for this kind of shade when scoping out for new things to buy but since it was on sale, I bought it impulsively. I like that it's not too dark and has a pretty sheen to it, that just makes it more wearable. I know it totally doesn't go with the makeup I have here but this is more about the lipstick, lol. Can you tell the difference it makes as compared to Coral? Hazelnut really tones down my face.


L'oreal HIP Cream Liners - Midnight Blue, Teal, and Eggplant

Am I the last person on earth who just recently tried these? As you already know, these cream liners have been on the market for quite a long time already but I never was able to bring myself to buy them because they are kind of expensive for drugstore makeup. These retails for about $11.00.
Fortunately, I bought them way back when CVS was having their huge sale and when I saw that they were on sale for 75% off, I jumped on the opportunity. I thought finally I have a reason to buy this, lol.

Packaging
  • They come in a clear glass jar and a black cap, which look identical in shape and size to those of my Benefit creamshadows.
  • You get a good amount of product there so very unlikely to finish it soon.
  • 0.159 oz or 4.5 g


Midnight Blue is a beautiful navy blue with blue shimmers.

Teal is obviously teal. I love the pop of color this brings. The finish is matte.


Eggplant it is. The finish has a subtle sheen.

Product
  • They do feel slightly drier than I would have liked, therefore they are a bit harder to pickup with the brush. Consequently, you'll have to work a little faster during application as well.
  • They last all day without smuding or smearing
  • You can use them as eyeshadow base
  • They are very pigmented
Conclusion

I think the colors that I picked are gorgeous. They are a great alternative to black or brown for a little pop of color. I wished that they were creamier and a little easier to apply (as eyeliner). On the bright side, I really like the fact that they have a great staying power. Once you put them on, they won't budge until you take them off. Price-wise, I would advise to wait until they go on sale. My rating 8/10.


Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Blog Giveway - Ends 3-29-11

As promised, here is my giveway info.
This giveway is only available to my blogspot followers. If you are interested in my other giveways, you must check my other pages (Luuux and Facebook) and see if you meet the requirements.
You will receive exactly what is on the picture.




This prize consists of:
  • A fuchsia nail polish from Goldie
  • Buxom Lipgloss Misty
  • A dual ended eyeshadow brush from Designer Perfect
  • Revlon Colorburst Lilac
  • ELF 32 pc Everyday Brights eyeshadows
Rules to enter
  • You must be a CURRENT follower. Anyone who follows me after this post will not qualify for this giveway. However, you are more than welcome to follow me and be entered on future giveways.
  • You must be 18 and over or have parent’s permission
  • Last day to enter is 3-29-11.
  • Winner will be chosen randomly and publicly announced on 3-30-11 so SAVE THE DATE. He/She will have to get in touch with me and leave me his/her contact info in order to claim the prize.
  • Winner has until 4-02-11 to redeem their prize. If I don’t hear from the winner after that date, he/she will be disqualified and another winner will be chosen.
  • In order to be entered, please COMMENT HERE tell me what type of beauty post you enjoy the most…reviews, makeup looks, high-end, drugstore, nail polishes, skincare, hauls, or anything else you can think of?
Good luck everyone :)

Monday, March 21, 2011

Free Skin Care Samples



A while ago, I signed up for some free sample after reading Ashley's DP's post and never got them, lol...So, I messaged them again that I never received my samples and they gladly resent me some. This time I received them :D.

I'm pretty pleased at the sample sizes and they sent me quite a lot.


  1. Special Cucumber Lotion
  2. Kiwi Face Scrub
  3. Orange Tonic Mask
  4. Shaving Cream
  5. Ceramide Herbal Eye Cream
  6. Bee Pollen Night Cream
  7. Enzyme Cleansing Gel
  8. Pre-Shave Conditioner
  9. Collagen Moisturizer
So here's how to get your free samples if you are interested...Follow this link http://mariobadescu.com/questionnaire.aspx and complete the survey. After a day or two, you will receive an email asking you if you would be interested in receiving samples and simply reply to the email and that's it :D.

Swatches of My Latest MAC lipsticks

Once again, I just can't keep up with the makeup posts. I have so many things I need to post and review and a lot of pix I have previously taken a little while back are still not posted.
So these are the latest MAC lipstick purchases that I made. Let's start with the oldest.



About a month ago, I purchased Night Violet, which is a Mattene lipstick. I believe this lipstick is discontinued but I was able to get it from the CCO and perhaps you can too. For a while, I have been on the search for a deep violet burgundy lipstick and I believe my search is over. This color looks a lil vampy but not too bad. It's dark but not too dark and I absolutely love the color. The finish is matte but I love how smoothly the formula applies and it's very pigmented. This color also makes my teeth appear whiter.








Next, I purchased Heroine from the Wonder Woman collection. I believe the collection came out about a month ago. FYI, this color is still available! I guess a lot of people must not like it but it was actually my first choice from the get go. I liked this color because it looked different and unique. It's a bronze color with a frost finish. I see pink and gold shimmers. It looks pretty dark but I still like it. I think this shade is more suitable for warm and dark skintone and for those who are a little more daring and confident with colors. It looks a lot bolder than pictured.






Finally, I just purchased Baron's Rose last weekend. It was part of the MAC holiday lip set, which also included a lip pencil and Dazzleglass. I was most interested in this color and when I put it on, it was love at first application! lol. Don't judge a lipstick by its color. You never know until you put it on. In the tube the color looks somewhat similar to that of Heroine. But, on my lips it looks like a muted rose with brown undertone and a pretty gold sheen. Woaw! This color is freaken gorgeous! I would highly recommend it. I think it's suitable for both cool and warm skintone.



Which of these lipstick you prefer?

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