Cover Girl Palettes

After my Cover Girl haul yesterday, I couldn't wait to swatch the eye shadows to test their quality. I was actually pleasantly surprised. First up, the Sunset trio:

This one consists of a pinky tan color, a warm gold, and a golden vanilla color (all shimmers). Though all the colors in the palette are really beautiful, I really love the first color- its perfect for day without going over the top. The middle color would be perfect for  sunlight golden look while I could see the last color making a really beautiful highlight. The quality of the shadows themselves were average compared to the newer drugstore shadows such as Wet n Wild which are really amazing quality.
Here are some swatches (no primer):

The next palette is the quad "Coffee Shop". The colors are very similar to the Sunset trio except this one contains a matte dark brown.

These swatched incredibly. The colors were much more pigmented and creamy than the trio except for the dark brown which was just a tad chalky.

Overall, I'm glad I picked up both of these palettes as I can see them becoming go-tos for travel and/or everyday looks. Plus they're super inexpensive and if you wait for a BOGO sale, they're even more of a bargain.

Happy Thursday! We're almost to the weekend! ☺

OCC Lip Tar

I've heard so many amazing things about this product that I've seriously wanted to try it ever since OCC (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics) became a brand. The fact that it for the most part has to be purchased online always held me back though. Unless its something I've already tried in person, I never really shop online for makeup- I feel like it takes the fun out of it! Anyway, I picked up 2 Lip Tars at IMATS, and today, I'll be reviewing "Interlace"- a nude of course!

After swatching, I liked the color so much, I seriously considered getting a backup. Honestly though, this stuff is SUPER pigmented. I really mean it when I say a little bit goes a looooonnnnggggg way.

unblended on the left, blended on the right

This is less than half a pea-sized amount and it is way more than enough for my lips. You can see from the swatch above that the tiniest amount offers great coverage and it doesn't settle into fine lines- which often happens with nude lip colors.

On my lips, it offers a completely blanked-out look. I usually really like it with a full-on smokey eye, but for everyday wear I like to add a gloss to it to give some extra dimension. Even with a gloss or balm over the top, the color doesn't migrate into fine lines and has good wear time(I'd say 2 hours with a gloss, 3-4 hours by itself.) Another cool thing about it is that though it is a matte finish, its not drying on the lips at all- its actually weirdly moisturizing.
Overall, I really recommend this product. The company has a wide range of colors and just one tube will seriously last you forever and a half. If you're interested in browsing the Lip Tars, or other OCC products, you can find them here on their website.

Have you tried anything from OCC?

Lush Goodies!

Two of my must haves from Lush are the Glitterbug and Black Stockings massage bars.

Glitterbug on left, black stockings on right

Glitterbug is a clear massage bar that has pink-purple iridescent glitters in it. Just like the other massage bars, you rub this little egg-shaped bar onto your skin until it gets warm. The product then gets melty and distributes the glitter for a fun, glam look. I've heard others say that this smells like vanilla, but to me it has that typical "Lush" smell- you know, that smell you smell as soon as you walk into a store? I know this is extremely helpful lol. The smell doesn't bother me at all and it isn't overbearing and awful like some of Lush's other products (I'm looking at you Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter!) Anyone who knows me also knows that I LOVE anything with glitter in it. Unfortunately, the Glitterbug is discontinued, but the good news is, you can recreate the same look at home! All you need is your favorite moisturizer (I would recommend using your favorite Lush massage bar for staying power) and body glitter or shimmer of your choice that you can pat (sparingly!) anywhere you choose. I love the iridescent glitter, so when my Glitterbug runs out (tear!) I will definitely be using this trick.
Anyway, here's what Glitterbug looks like up close:

I intentionally blurred the picture so you could get a better idea of what the shimmer looks like. I'm soooo sad that this product is discontinued (wth, Lush!). If this type of glitter is too full-on and/or you prefer something that has a more subtle sheen, then Shimmy Shimmy would be the product for you. It is a heart-shaped massage bar that has fine golden shimmer in it and also looks beautiful. It is not discontinued so run, don't walk to your nearest Lush ◕ ‿ ◕

The next product is Black Stockings. This product is meant to be a temporary bronze tint used on the legs or where ever to amp up the skin's healthy glow. It also works really well for those who are a bit pale and would like some temporary color just to warm up their skin tones. There are two versions of the tiny- Silk Stockings which is the same idea but a lighter tone, and Black Stockings, which is the darkest. To me, this product has a light cinnamon scent which disappears quickly.
Here's what it looks like:

I love to use this on my legs and decollete for a night out. On me, it translates to a rose gold, bronzey sheen which I really like as it makes my skin look bronzey, healthy, and moisturized. It sounds expensive at $9.95, but you do get a good amount of product and because a little bit does go a long way, you can get at least 10 or more uses from this.

Finally, here are swatches of Glitterbug and Black Stockings on NC25 skin:

Glitterbug on the left, Black Stockings on the right

Have you ever tried Lush massage bars? Which are your favorites? Any you hated? Let me know!

Coral Lip Trend

By far, the biggest trend I've been seeing for spring is coral. With this, everything goes: makeup, clothing, accessories- coral is a gorgeous color that brightens up any look. I thought I'd kick off the week with my top 6 coral lip colors. The best part is, they are all under $10! Happy Monday! ☺

First up, is Milani's Coral Cabana. This is a pretty peachy-coral lip color that has gold shimmer to it. This is not a bright or in-your-face color, which is perfect if you aren't used to wearing a lot of color but would like to experiment with the trend.

Milani Coral Cabana

Next is Avon Liquid Lip balm in Coral Sands. Though its labeled as a liquid lip balm, to me this is more of a gloss. Its absolutely gorgeous and is more on the pink side. This would look amazing on fairer skin tones or those who want a more sheer wash of color. Coral Sands also smells AMAZING. It reminds me of summer as it has a very tropical, coconut smell. I purchased this a long time ago and did not see it on the Avon website, but there may be a few left over that Avon can track down for you if you call them

Avon Coral Sands

This next color is a matte by Revlon in Smoked Peach. I have to admit, though I love the color, I haven't had much luck with Revlon's matte formulation. They're not the typical matte and its really hard to describe because its not drying, but it feels... slippery. Also, minor point but to me, the name of this color is really unattractive. Smoked peach? Pleh...

Revlon matte Smoked Peach

From the Revlon Colorburst Gloss line comes Sunset Peach. This is a really pretty but muted peachy-coral that warms up your look. I also love the multidimensional quality the golden and pink shimmer add. I also love that this gloss is not sticky and relatively long lasting (about 3 hours on my lips). This color goes really well with a smokey eye.



Revlon colorburst Sunset Peach

Milani 3D Glitzy Glamour Gloss in Stylish. This is a more orange gloss but it does have coral, pink, and gold shimmer in it. It would also work really well layered over any coral lip color to add shimmer to it. Plus, it smells like animal crackers! Always a plus in my book.

Milani 3D Gloss Stylish

Last, but definitely not least is the LUSH Lip Tint in Chilli Tingle. In the pan it looks like a tomato red but, on the lips it packs a punch as a reddish coral. This will give you a statement lip and is a beautiful color. I have found that the LUSH lip tints tend to dry my lips out, so you'll want to apply a lip balm under this one.

Lush Lip Tint Chilli Tingle

And... *bonus*! Swatches of all the colors mentioned:

From left to right: Milani Coral Cabana, Avon Coral Sands, Revlon matte Smoked Peach, Revlon Colorburst Sunset Peach, Milani 3D Gloss Stylish, LUSH Lip Tint Chilli Tingle.

What do you think of the spring coral trend? Is this something you'd want to try? What are your favorite coral lip colors?

Loreal Infallible 24 Hour Eyeshadow

When Loreal came out with a their 24 hour line of eyeshadows, there was tons of hype in the blogosphere about them. When I checked them out in person though, nothing really stood out to me, they all seemed like colors I already had in my collection. However, awhile back, I was perusing the aisles of the drugstore feeling sorry for myself after a particularly harsh day. This usually leads to the inevitable decision of  rewarding myself with a little pick-me-up. So I picked up one of the 24 hour shadows for $7.95- #892 Amber Rush.
I was hesitant about these because the packaging is typical of a pigment and I just tend to not reach for pigments as much.

This is the front of the product- a screw-top jar:

The back of the jar is flat and allows you to clearly see the shadow

When I unscrewed the jar, I was surprised to find that the shadow is not a loose pigment as I thought it was. Here's a close-up so you can see what the texture and color are like. You can see that I've swatched from the left side of the jar and the right is untouched. The pigment is extremely smooth and creamy. Love this.

It does come with a pigment press which it tells you not to discard (you should replace the press back onto the shadow after each use)

I was really impressed with the first swatch. The 24 hour seems to be a pressed pigment that has AMAZING color payoff. I barely touched my finger into the product and had rich, metallic color:

And here's a swatch on my hand:

I barely applied any pressure and used only the product on my finger to swatch this. Amer Rush is a medium, warm bronzy color that looks like rose gold. It looks like I've foiled (applied pigment wet) for the swatch, but I haven't. Its just great color payoff!

This is a great product, and others have compared it to the Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill. I haven't used any of those eyeshadows, so I wouldn't be able to directly compare but what I can without any hesitation say is that for a drugstore product, the 24 hour eyeshadows are truly outstanding. In all honesty, this shadow blows many other department store products out of the water. This is definitely something you should check out! I'm currently on a no-buy ban but I can't wait to check more of these out!

Mini Elf Haul

Hey all!
I wanted to kick off the week with a mini Elf Haul from my visit to Target over the weekend. Here are the goodies:

First up is the eyeshadow quad in Drama- perfect for smokey eyes.

Drama is imo a well rounded quad- it has a matte white, a shimmery charcoal, a shimmery black, and a shimmery silver. I couldn't wait to see what the pigmentation was like, so I opened it up and swatched right away:

The eye shadows were SUPER pigmented and the texture was amazing- soft and creamy. For $1, you can't beat this deal with a stick! (lol...)

Next is the 2-in-1 Conditioning Gloss in Golden. The Conditioning Glosses are part of their studio line, so these were a bit more expensive at $3. Still, for the quality of these products, you are still getting a great bargain!

It seems like a color that would be really pretty over any lipstick, or just on its own.

Last is the 2-in-1 Conditioning Gloss in Supermodel

Supermodel is a punchy coral color which will be great as the weather gets warmer, I feel like this one will be a summer staple!

The applicators for the glosses were different than what I am used to. They were spongy doefoot applicators with a hole in the model for the gloss to come through when you squeeze the tube.

I don't know how I feel about this yet but I would have been happy with the regular plastic doefoot applicator that usually comes with these types of glosses.

All of these products can be purchased at select Targets (I don't think all Targets carry Elf) or on their website: http://www.eyeslipsface.com/

Have you ever tried elf? Any hits? Misses?

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector

I admit it. I am obsessed with highlighting products. There I said it. Some boutiques in NYC have "boutique" sections where they sell higher end products. That's why when I was browsing the Becca section, I noticed they had three liquid highlighters- Tan which leans golden bronze, Opal which is a light pink, and Pearl which is exactly that- a slightly off white with tiny silver shimmer particles. Though they were all pretty, when I swatched Pearl, the beautiful luminescent effect really stood out to me:

Unblended on the left, blended on the right

You can see from the picture that even the tiniest amount gives a beautiful, eye-catching glow. After this swatch, I could not put this product down! At $41.00, it will set you back quite a bit, but I don't have anything that delivers an effect even close to this in my collection. Here's what the packaging looks like:

Even though its expensive, you need a tiny pump which will be more than enough to (generously) highlight cheekbones, cupid's bow, brow bones, etc. Best of all, this truly lasts all day on my combination skin. The box says you can use this all over your face as a moisturizer, but that's about the one thing I would not do with this product. When used in strategic places, it makes your skin look healthy and glowing like no other, but when used all over the face, you may look super oily or like you have tons of fallout from shimmery shadow! I'm also looking forward to using this product on my collarbones and legs when the weather gets warmer!

Lastly, here's what it looks like on me:

Have you ever tried Becca highlighters? What's your fail-proof highlighter?

Valentine's Day

In honor of Valentine's Day, I gathered up a few of my favorite pink and red lipsticks. I mixed in both drug store and department store finds to include a little bit of everything. Here they are in no particular order:

Stila Happiness

Stila Lip Enamel Luxe Gloss in Happiness. This is an opaque, warm-toned baby pink gloss with a slight silvery sheen to it. It came out about one or two years ago with their Barbie collection.

LOREAL Kerry's Rosewood

Kerry's Rosewood is part of LOREAL's Colour Riche line. For me, it is the "my lips but better" color. A nice neutral pink with slight brown tones. It's a bit sheer and glossy and also has small gold glitter. I happen to like the glitter because it punches up the color, and they aren't super huge or abrasive.

Viva Glam Gaga

Viva Glam Gaga is definitely an in-your-face pink! It is an extremely yellow-based light pink that is also super opaque, which may make it difficult to pull off for darker skin tones. For me, this is definitely a statement lip and is different from my usual super-nude lips. Like all MAC lipsticks that I own, it has the signature vanilla cupcake scent and is a Lustre finish, which translates to a more shiny, moisturizing color.

Revlon Carnation

Carnation is part of Revlon's Colorburst line and is a middle of the road pink, a bit like very light fuschia. For warmer or deeper skin tones, it can be considered an amped up neutral, in my opinion. It has a slight silvery sheen to it when you look at the bullet but does not translate on the lips. This is a pretty color and would make a beautiful "statement lip" for work.

Stila Tickled Pink

I LOVE THIS COLOR. Tickled Pink is another Enamel Luxe Gloss from the Barbie Collection. Its a bright fuschia that has a super glossy finish and is a go-to color for spring and summer. Definitely spiced up a fresh-faced look! Disclaimer: I have NO idea why it looks like I applied this lip color with my eyes closed! I absolutely promise you it doesn't look like that in real life- the shine really distorted the image lol.

I swatched all of the colors on my hand, and threw in a few extra! (from left to right) Happiness, Kerry's Rosewood, Viva Glam Gaga, Revlon lip butter in Cotton Candy, Carnation, Tickled Pink, Stila Joy (Barbie Collection), and Loreal Sunset Red.

What are your favorite pinks and reds? Are you more of a neutral gal? Let me know!

and last but not least.... Will you be my Valentine?

Benefit Sun Beam

Hey y'all!
The latest liquid highlighter to join Benefit's "beam" family is Sun Beam. Sun Beam is a beautiful bronzy-golden highlighter which can be used on the face or body.

On my medium-dark skin tone, it gives a very subtle warm glow that looks natural and makes my skin look radiant. Because the color is not too warm, I can see this looking gorgeous on fair skinned girls and looking especially amazing on darker skinned beauties. Here's what it looks like on me:

Benefit Sun Beam unblended on the left, blended on the right

I like to use this on my brow bone, on my cheek bones, and on the Cupid's bow. For a night out, this would also give a beautiful sheen when mixed with moisturizer on the decollete and on legs.
As for the longevity, with a primer or over foundation, Sun Beam tends to last a good 5-6 hours on me. After that, I notice the sparkle slowly begin to fade away. I wish it would last a little longer, but with a coordinating highlighting powder over the top, or Urban Decay's All Nighter, I'm good to go.

So what do you think of Sun Beam?