Shadows and Liner!

Hey everyone!

This will be a small, quick post as i just wanted to give a mention of 3 products I picked up, but I am also extremely busy with last minute paper writing and other boring priorities. However, I decided a break was in order to post this :)

So, I did a little shopping last week and found some really pretty eyeshadow shades and an absolutely stunning eyeliner, Yay!
I have been avoiding buying the L'oreal Infallible eyeshadows for a long time, yet I'm not sure why I refused to try them despite the good reviews I've seen. The powder consistency just seemed like it would be a loose mess and end up all over my face instead of on my eyelid - which after trying them, actually can happen depending on how you apply them.

I picked up the colors Forever Pink and Sahara Treasure.

They both contain a lot of shimmer which I was concerned about at first, but these actually end up looking fantastic on the eyes! The powder is a lot more loose than I am accustomed to, so I had to play around and figure out which brush works best with these shadows. Do not use a fluffy crease brush for these, it makes a mess and the pigment ends up under your eyes. Instead use a very dense, short shadow brush or even your finger (yes, that actually works for these) and apply these by pressing the color down onto the lid instead of swiping your brush over it. Trying these wet also makes them a little easier to work with so that they don't flake off.
Overall, I like these shadows- theres a few more colors I may try, but for now I'm going to keep using these to test their staying power and versatility for everyday wear.

On to the eyeliner. Oh My Goodness, this liner from Urban Decay's 24/7 line is the most amazing color I have ever seen. Pictures and swatches do not do it justice - it is truly a product you must try.
Sabbath.

This is a deep deep royal blue shade that is like nothing I have ever seen before. It is neutral enough that I replace my black liner with this very often, and it looks amazing with brown eyes (blue shadows/liners on brown eyes always make the eye pop).
Urban Decay eyeliners are pricy (in the $20 range), but they are not disappointing. They slide on smoothly, give you a little time to smudge if you want to, and then set so well that no amount of rubbing will budge them (makeup remover obviously does the trick). Although I love the entire line of the 24/7 pencils, there are drugstore brands that offer the same benefits for much less; therefore, I usually only buy an Urban Decay one when the color is something I cant find elsewhere. Seriously, this color is definitely a favorite of mine at the moment.

Swatches

L'oreal Infallible eyeshadows: Sahara Treasure & Forever Pink
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner: Sabbath

Thats going to be it for this little post today. As the end of June is tomorrow I will be doing my best to post a June favourites in the next few days and that will definitely be longer.

Feedback is always welcome!

Thanks for reading! Love!

-J

Benefit They're Real!

Hey guys!!

First, it's an absolutely beautiful day out today. I'm sitting at our little bistro set on the apartment balcony, in a dress and loving it. Finally summer is starting to arrive here! Anyway, I was so excited to be blogging outside that I had to share that; on to the makeup!

So, I'm probably going to post a few things over the next few days as I've got some things in mind that I want to share with you all! I might do a daily skincare routine of the products I use and when; you'll definitely see a June favorites in about a week, and there was a recent Shoppers Drug Mart trip that I'll probably talk about soon as well.
For now, I'm going to do a very quick post about a product we all already know and probably love - but I have actually just tried it for the first time this month.
Benefit's They're Real! mascara.

As you can see, the brush has rubber bristles and then has this weird little end that just seems strange, but trust me, is very useful. I will admit - it took some work getting me to like this mascara (I'm sure someone is screaming at me for saying that right now). The first few times I used it, I found that the consistency was just too wet, or there was just too much product on the brush, and it was pretty much fusing my lashes all together and making them look ridiculous. I didn't give up though, and I'm glad I didn't. After playing with it for about a week, I somehow mastered how to apply it to get optimal results. Maybe it dried out a little, or less has been coming out on the brush, or maybe I just discovered the right application process. Either way, if you guys give this a try and don't like it at first - keep playing around with it; I promise it gets easier.

I know, I know, I'm super late jumping on this bandwagon. Honestly, I just couldn't justify paying $29 + tax for mascara when my drugstore brands, that I love, work just fine for me. However, a friend of mine gave this to me as a birthday gift a few weeks ago, and now I am in serious trouble because I dont think I can revert back to anything else. I will forever be purchasing this mascara (maybe; forever is a long time in makeup world).

I'll pretty much show you guys a before and after. I promise, I am not wearing fake lashes. I pretty much think a picture says a thousand words here for sure. (My goodness my eyebrows need tending! embarrassment!)

Before:

As you can tell - my natural lashes aren't amazing. Although, I do feel that this picture is doing an injustice to what I thought they really looked like without mascara. Regardless, I have a lot of dark, short lashes; they also aren't very sparse (yay).

After:

I want to add again that I do not have fake lashes on. Not only that, but I also did not curl my lashes at all in this picture. This is actually the mascara on its own with no other help. I applied 2 coats to my upper lashes, and one coat to the bottom.

Obviously, I fell in love with this stuff. It isn't waterproof - which made me apprehensive because I find mascara usually smudges on me if it isn't a waterproof formula, but this one doesn't smudge or flake at all throughout the day. Benefit has truly mastered mascara.

Again, I know I'm super late falling for this product - but I guess I'm just another one of those ladies who just didn't think $29 for a mascara was going to be worth it. Clearly, I was wrong.

Let me know what you guys want me to write about! I'll definitely pick up some products if you want to see a review, recommendation, or tutorial!

Thanks for Reading! Love!

-J

Mini Drugstore Haul!

Hey guys!

Ok, so in this mini drugstore haul, I purchased 6 NYX singles shadows, and 2 NYX trio shadows. I also picked up one of the Milani statement lipsticks everyone has been raving about.
I also just want to quickly apologize for the crazy delay in posts. I was in the process of packing, moving, and unpacking for the last few weeks. Moving, mixed with interviews, exams, and my weekend-long Birthday celebrations have made for quite a hectic few weeks!

The reason for all the eyeshadows is because Lawtons Drugstore had a crazy sale on some of their NYX stuff; the singles eyeshadows were on sale for $1.74, plus they were buy 2 get 1 free. The NYX trio shadows were on sale for about $3 as well. There were other things besides eyeshadows on sale, but the selection was slim. Also, all Milani products were 20% off so run out and get some! I highly recommend the baked blushes and liquify eyeliners, but I already have some of those so I decided to grab a lipstick instead; I'll probably go back to another Lawtons before these sales are over and stock up on some more things if the selection is better.

I have only tried out a few of the eyeshadows and the lipstick twice, so this wont be much of a review of products. However, NYX in general offers good quality shadows and we all know these Milani lipsticks are supposed to be amazing so I expect there to be a rave review of all products in the next few weeks.

NYX Singles

 Here are the 6 shadows I picked up. In order from top left to right and bottom left to right here are the names. Golden Amber, Asphalt, Ballerina Dream, (color name ripped off this one when I opened the packaging - oops), Red Bean Pie, and Eggplant.

Here are the swatches for each in the same order as listed above as well. Some of these colors are shimmery and some are a satin finish; none that I bought were matte.
I found the 2 shimmer colors (Golden Amber and Ballerina Dream) to have small amounts of glitter in them. They also seemed to swatch a bit chalky  but maybe if applied wet these could work a little easier and hopefully not flake off. The rest of the colors went on a little smoother and left a great color payoff. I used two of these on my birthday (Golden Amber and the nameless one) to go out and they had amazing staying power. I loved the color effect they gave me with a black liquid liner on top of them.

NYX Trios

These 2 trio palettes caught my eye because I love  a good blue for brown eyes, and the second palette just seemed great for summer. The top trio gave the individual names for the colors (left to right), Baby Blue, Pacific, and Navy. The bottom Trio just gave a name for the whole palette, Hippie-Chic.

When I swatched these, they were a little hit or miss again. For the blue palette, Baby Blue and Pacific gave great color; Navy actually needed more product to give that deep color and seemed a little more chalky. Again, hopefully a wet application will fix this.
Hippie-Chic had the exact same problem. The first 2 colors gave awesome saturation (which might be hard to believe because of the light color of the first swatch), but the lilac color on the right needed more product and also seemed chalky.
I'll definitely have to give these a try. Sometimes playing around with them can help you figure out a good way to make them work.


Milani Statement Lipstick

 Lastly, I also picked up a Milani Color Statement lipstick in Fruit Punch. It smells Delicious! It actually smells exactly like fruit punch and makes me want to eat it. haha.

As I expected, the color came out amazing. I have used it twice now and so far I love it. It comes out that exact color on my lips, smells great, and is very creamy. It isn't a long wearing lipstick, not that I think it claims to be?, so I do find myself reapplying it if I eat or drink. That is a small price to pay for such a gorgeous color however and I will definitely be picking up more!












Ok! So that is all I have for you today; I will be posting another blog soon as I received some makeup gifts for my birthday that I would love to tell you guys all about! :)
Sorry again for the late post - sometimes life just gets in the way!

If you guys want to see tutorials on anything or some pics of how I'm using these products just let me know!!

Thanks for reading. Love!

-A

Mascara

Hey guys!

So, I am an absolute Mascara Junkie. I can never stop experimenting and purchasing new ones, and I can also never choose just one favorite. So I decided to do a little post about some of my favorite mascaras out there and why I like them (all drugstore).
The 5 I like best (yes, 5! haha) are:

Maybelline Mega Plush Volume Express in Blackest Black
Maybelline The Falsies Volume Express Flared in Blackest Black
Almay One Coat Get up & Grow in Blackest Black
CoverGirl Clump Crusher Water Resistant in Very Black
Maybelline Illegal Length Fibre Extensions Waterproof in Blackest Black (Not pictured above).

Maybelline Mega Plush

I really like this mascara mainly because of how it makes my lashes feel. This Mascara acts exactly like the name says and makes your lashes feel "plush". There is no hardness or stick-like feeling, just a soft lash that can still bend and looks fairly natural. It does give decent volume and separation, but it definitely isn't the best mascara for that. I wear this when I'm going for a more natural eye look and I dont want the gross hard feeling that you normally get with other mascaras. It washes off very easily, but doesn't smudge or flake off during the day. The only downfall of this mascara is the brush. It's is shaped so that the bristles in the middle are longer than either end; this makes is harder to get your inner and outer lashes coated without getting product around your eyelids.

Maybelline The Falsies Flared

I first tried the original Falsies mascara (the one without the Flared claim) and really enjoyed it. I went to repurchase it and ended up getting the Flared version by mistake but I also really like this one as well. To be honest, I don't see much of a difference between either of them, and the claims that the mascara will "flare" out your outer lashes is simply not true unless you just work harder at them - which can ultimately be done with any mascara. However, I still really like this mascara in general. It stays on all day, does not smudge or flake off after 8-10 hours, and can be easily removed without pulling lashes out. It provides good separation and some definite volume that works well with more medium eye looks (not natural daytime, but not full-on, going clubbing makeup). The brush is slightly curved with normal bristles that are all the same length and the wand has a joint in it so it can bend. Overall, I've gone through my second tube of this and will definitely repurchase it again.

Almay Get up & Grow AND Maybelline Illegal Length Fibre Extensions

Both of these mascaras I actually dislike on their own; however, together they make a wonderful combination that I absolutely love! Almay's Get up & Grow offers amazing lash separation that I've rarely seen in any other mascara. It also provides outstanding volume, and the formula is a perfect consistency- not too wet and not too dry. It also has a great brush; lots of big bristles and very "bushy". The problem then? The mascara adds absolutely NO length to my lashes, and smudges off on my upper lids in the matter of 2 hours, (I'm talkin', people politely telling me I have black all over my eyes kinda smudging). For those reasons, I actually really dislike this mascara on its own. Maybelline Illegal Length Fibre Extensions does just what it promises, lengthens your lashes using tiny fibres. The brush has a very small circumference which is great for using on the lower lash line. That is where the solo Pros of this mascara end. I find this makes me lashes very hard, extremely clumpy, and the formula is a bit dry so it ends up flaking. This mascara is not pictured above as I used it all up and have not repurchased it yet; I do plan on repurchasing though because of the results explained below.
Combine both of these mascaras together? You get volume and extension heaven. I use this combination when I'm going out and I want big lashes without applying false ones. For some reason, when these formulas and brushes are used together, the Cons of both completely disappear. I apply one coat of Almay first, and finish with one coat of Maybelline right after which the first coat is still a bit tacky-wet. This gives me incredible volume, lash separation, and length. My lashes do still feel hard, but there is no longer smudging, flaking, or clumps. Seriously - THE perfect mascara combination.

CoverGirl Clump Crusher

This is a newer mascara on the market by the Lash Blast lineup and I have fallen in love with it for daytime use. It somehow grabs and separates every little lash I can find and coats it with a great black formula. The rubber bristle brushes are usually not a style of brush I go for, but this one is perfect. The brush also has a curve in it which works for getting all your tiny lases in the inner corner. It adds just enough volume and length that my lashes look outstanding, but could also be mistaken for just naturally outstanding. I don't find that the formula causes much hardness (definitely more than the Maybelline mega plush, but much less than the rest mentioned here), and there is no smudging or flaking. As the name says - it truly "crushes" clumps and provides all day wear that can be easily removed at night with no fuss.

So, there you have it! My favorite mascaras at the moment. I know some of these are older, but no matter what I try, I keep coming back to these in the end and all have been products I continue to repurchase when I run out.
Let me know what else you guys want me to write about and I'll gladly take requests!

Thank for reading. Love!

This or That: Eyebrow Pencils

Hey guys!

Today I'm going to be comparing 2 products for defining those brows! Both are from the drugstore, Maybelline's Define-a-Brow and Revlon's Brow Fantasy. I'm excited to share this with you because I feel like proper eyebrow color, shape, and definition can completely change the entire look of someones face in under a minute. It's actually incredible the difference a defined eyebrow can make.

To demonstrate the difference when filling in eyebrows: 2 different days (and lighting - sorry), but one picture with no makeup, and the other with. (Maybelline Define-a-Brow was used). You can click the pictures to enlarge them for a better look ;)

To start, I have naturally dark eyebrows, but they definitely need a little filling in; I also really like a thick, defined brow. Keep this in mind when reading my thoughts on these 2 products as you may like something a little different for your needs.

First, I have been using the Revlon Brow Fantasy in "Dark Brown" for years. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I decided it was no longer working for me anymore and I began searching for something different.
Revlon Brow Fantasy first caught my young eye because it is double ended and not only gives you a brow pencil, but comes with a colored gel for setting your eyebrows into place. Although maybe a little gimmicky, it is something I fell for and really enjoyed. Not only do you have the gel, but it is the same color as your pencil and aids in keeping that darker color in place. The pencil also worked fine and I found the product lasted all day.
It wasn't until recently I began to get annoyed that I constantly had to sharpen the pencil, and I realized I was losing out on so much product so I could keep the edge at a smaller, sharper edge. I found myself sharpening the pencil every few days, and sometimes caved and used the pencil when it was more blunt just to get more use out of the product. As we all know, this just leads to messy brows that are not as defined as we would like.

I've been hearing all the hype about Maybelline Define-a-brow for such a long time now, and decided to try it out. At first I was hesitant because the pencil is so much thinner than Revlon's Brow Fantasy, I almost felt I was getting jipped on how much product I was paying for; then I realized this is exactly the same problem I was already having, but I now just consistently had the thin edge I desired for definition. I have been using the Maybelline Define a brow for a few weeks now and I am loving it. Despite the thin pencil, I find the product distributes onto the brow well and sparingly and I have only had to twist up more product once since purchasing it. The only thing I do miss is the gel. I have been using this pencil alone now and I am still trying to decide if I really need an eyebrow gel for everyday use or not.

Overall, after using both, I am officially converted to Maybelline Define-a-brow. It offers the thinner edge needed for definition, while still offering excellent color payoff and all day wear. Although I am sad to let go of my Revlon Brow Fantasy after so many years, I do feel the product is now quite dated and is due for a definite revamp.

Side Note: I have also been hearing wonderful things about E.L.F's studio eyebrow kit; however, there is nowhere to purchase E.L.F where I live at the moment. I will soon be putting in an order and definitely adding that to my basket to try it out.

Thanks for reading! Love!