I have been absolutely DYING to do a makeup tutorial using the new Urban Decay Naked 3 palette! This palette is gorgeous and I love the rosey/gold tones of the shades that UD decided to use. I chose to do something simple but still glamorous and it would be perfect for any Holiday parties you may be going to! I hope you all enjoy this tutorial and have a great Holiday!
Face:
Sephora Ultra Smoothing Face Primer
Revlon ColorStay Liquid Foundation 150 Buff Chamois & 180 Sand Beige
MAC Pro Longwear Concealer NC15 & OCC Conceal Y2
MAC Studio Fix N5
Tarte Blush in Darling
Tarte Bronzer in Park Avenue Princess
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light
MAC MSF in Whisper of Gilt
Eyes:
MAC Painterly Paint Pot
Naked 3 Shadows: Strange, Burnout, Limit, Nooner, Liar, & Darkside
Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner in Blackest Black
MUG Corrupt to set liner
Tarte Lights Camera Lashes & Maybelline Big Eyes Mascara
Brows:
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Brunette
Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel
I have quite the blog post for you today! Just to warn you, there are a TON of pictures haha! A few months ago I was contacted by .em Michelle Phan Cosmetics and they asked if I would be willing to try out some of their products for review and I couldn't turn down the offer! I really wanted to give their products a try since I have seen a few videos and blog posts throughout the beauty community and I figured I would see for myself how the products performed! .em allowed me to choose a few of their products that I was interested in for review so I decided on a Life Palette, two lipsticks, and a mascara.
I will be showing you the products that I received and what my personal thoughts are of each of the products!
How about we get started!?
To start off, I want to talk about the Life Palette that I chose, which was the
Night Life palette. The palette comes with 36 total products: 24
shadows, 8 lip products, and 4 blushes. I absolutely love the shadows
that are in this palette. The majority of them are very pigmented and
are easy to apply and more importantly, BLEND! This palette comes with a nice blend of mattes and shimmer/satin shades.
The only issue that I
had shadow wise, were with the purple shadows. I suppose it comes along
with the territory that purples are one of the more difficult to work
with and get good color payoff, so as I sort of expected, the purples
aren't fantastic in my opinion but they are workable and definitely not the worst purples I have come across by any means. I just find that
they take a little extra work to get them to blend and apply evenly.
This palette also comes with a sheet that has each of the 4 quadrants separated and looks that you can do using each quadrant. I thought that this was great to include and perfect for those just starting off in makeup and looking for ways to pair the products together!
I also wanted to swatch some of my favorites out of this palette. Now, the palette does come with names for each product on the back of the palette, but it's so small in person that the wording wasn't big enough in picture form. But there are product names, which is AWESOME!
Can we please just talk about this matte black for a moment?! It's soooo incredibly pigmented and rich, I was PLEASANTLY surprised with how awesome it is! I also love the two shadows next to the black, the deep purple and taupe/purple/brown, I always use them in my crease and outer V. The gold is just spectacular and one of my "go to" shadows for all over the lid! These shadows last all day with no creasing!
As I said before, there are 4 blushes that are in this palette. Now, I find it hard to actually say that they are all truly blushes. Two of the shades are very light and I would consider them more of a highlight than an actual blusher. I also find that the more brown/tan toned blush would work okay as a bronzer. The only true blush in my opinion is the pink, but I honestly mix the pink and the bronze shade to create my own blush color and it works well! I find that these blushes last all day and are fairly pigmented.
Left to Right: Light pink/champagne blush, pink blush, light tan blush, deeper tan blush
Now on to my least favorite part of this palette, the lip products. It's not that these are poorly made products in the least, I just cannot stand when cream/lip products are put in the same palette as a powder product. It's inevitable that the powders will have fallout into the creams and it just creates a huge mess and ruins the color of the creams.
This palette comes with a mixture of glosses and lipsticks. The lipsticks are more of a matte finish and the glosses are quite thick and slightly sticky (but tolerable)! I find the glosses to be quite comfortable on the lips but they don't have the best staying power for me. I was able to get about 2 hours wear with them. The lipsticks are more of a dry formula and I found them to be a little uncomfortable on the lips. The red lipstick was a bit patchy and wasn't the most pigmented red I have worked with. The glosses and pink lipstick were pretty decently pigmented. I was able to get about 4 hours wear out of them.
One thing that I was very happy about with this palette was that it comes with a smaller travel size empty palette. This palette gives you the ability to swap out shadows for daily use or take certain products from this bigger palette for travel! I was so happy to find out that they provide the smaller palettes for FREE when you purchase a Life Palette! So handy! The larger palette comes with a little tool to remove each product to put it into the smaller one! Way to go .em!
I know you are all wondering the price of this huge palette. The cost of the Life Palettes are $75. Yes, I thought it was a bit steep when I first saw the price and still kind of do think it's a lot. I do wish that .em Cosmetics would take out the lip products and just leave it with the blushes and shadows; making a more reasonable price point and possibly making the palette even more appealing to customers.
Next, I would like to talk about the lipsticks that I received! I LOVE the formula of these bad boys! I was able to get the cream formula, which is always my favorite formula anyways, but these are amazing! So comfortable on the lips and they last quite some time! I was able to get 4-5 hours wear, which is a lot for me, so I was very pleased! They are not drying on the lips at all and are extremely opaque! My favorite of the two is Misty Mauve (you have seen this already in a few tutorials of mine)! The lipsticks are $16.50.
Left to Right: Love Me! & Misty Mauve
Lastly, the mascara! I chose the Dramatic Volume Mascara and I ended up being sent the waterproof version, which I was bummed about because I am not a fan of waterproof, but that's okay! I really enjoy the formula and found that it yields amazing volume and slight length! I liked to use it paired with other mascaras as I normally do that anyways! If you are a fan of waterproof mascara, you will love this one! It's almost impossible to get off and it holds a curl like a mother! I was very impressed but not so much when I tried taking it off haha! I did find that I lost some lashes while removing it so just keep that in mind, but otherwise it's a fantastic product. The mascara costs $20.
I really hope that you all found this extremely lengthy blog post to be helpful and if you have tried out .em Cosmetics, let me know how you like the products! I overall really enjoy the products that I received and my favorites are the shadows and Misty Mauve lipstick!
**DISCLAIMER**
Some or all products in this post have been provided by the brands stated for
review or use. All opinions are my own and it is my obligation to give my
readers an honest review of any products received, whether positive or
negative.
I received a few products from em Cosmetics do review for you all and I wanted to show them in a tutorial and then I will follow with the review in a few days! I actually really enjoy the shadows in the Night Life palette that I received so I have been dying to show you how they perform! I really hope that you all enjoy this tutorial and let me know if you have tried any em products and how you like them!
Face:
Sephora Ultra Smoothing Primer
Revlon ColorStay Foundation 180 Sand Beige
MAC Pro Longwear Concealer NC15 (mixed with foundation)
Ben Nye Banana Powder
MAC Studio Fix Powder N5
jane. Cosmetics Bronzer in Dream
em Cosmetics Blushes in Wink Wink Pink & First Date
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light
MAC MSF in Lightscapade
Eyes:
Lorac Behind The Scenes Eye Primer
em Cosmetics Shadows: Creme, a la carte, Get Ready, Mini Skirt, Hors, Private Party, & Twinkle Twinkle
Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner in Blackest Black
Physician's Formula Eye Booster Liner Pen in Ultra Black
Maybelline The Falsies Big Eyes Mascara & Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara both in Black
Brows:
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Brunette
Maybelline Great Lash Clear Mascara
Lips:
MAC Prep + Prime Lip
em Cosmetics Lipstick in Misty Mauve
-Alicia
**DISCLAIMER**
Some or all products in this post have been provided by the brands mentioned for
review or use. All opinions are my own and it is my obligation to give my
readers an honest review of any products received, whether positive or
negative.
I am so incredibly happy to be back to filming! I have missed it so much, but have been so busy with studying that I just didn't have time to film tutorials. Luckily, I passed my exam so I am back! I have been dying to use the new Urban Decay Vice 2 Palette in a tutorial and I figured I would start with this look here. It's more neutral but still perfect for a night out! I definitely plan to do more tutorials with this palette and add in some color! If you have any requests for any of the shades to be used in a tutorial, please leave it in the comments! Let's get on to the tutorial!
Face:
Sephora Ultra-Smoothing Perfecting Primer
Revlon ColorStay Foundation 180 Sand Beige
MAC ProLongwear Concealer NC15 & OCC Conceal Y2
BenNye Banana Powder
MAC Studio Fix Powder N5
Jane. Bronzer in Dream
MAC Stereo Rose Blush
MAC MSF in Lightscapade
Eyes:
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
UD Shadows: Habit, Rewind, Poison, Derailed, Strike, & Dope
Jesse's Girl Liquid Eyeliner Pen in Black
Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner in Blackest Black
Maybelline Big Eyes (The Falsies) Mascara in Black
Ardell #110 Lashes
Brows:
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Brunette
Anastasia Brow Duo in Dark Brown
Maybelline Great Lash Clear Mascara
I have a very fun and colorful post for you! Today I will be showing you the new Jesse's Girl Holiday 2013 Frosted Gum Drops Collection! Jesse's Girl came out with six new polishes for the Holiday season and as to be expected, they did not disappoint! I absolutely adore the colors that they chose for the polishes in this collection and how they each have their own unique way of representing all that is Winter and the Holiday season!
Left to Right: Sleigh Ride, Sugar Plum Fairy, Mistletoe, Ho Ho Ho, Silver Bells, & Gift of Gold
Left to Right: Sleigh Ride, Sugar Plum Fairy, Mistletoe, Ho Ho Ho, Silver Bells, & Gift of Gold
The Holiday 2013 Frosted Gum Drops Collection is available in it's entirety on the Jesse's Girl website for $23.94 or you can purchase each polish individually for $3.99.
I would highly recommend checking out this collection, the shades are just beautiful and they are perfect for your Holiday manicures!
My favorites from this collection are Sleigh Ride, Mistletoe, and Sugar Plum Fairy. Which are yours!?
-Alicia
**DISCLAIMER**All
products in this post were purchased by myself and all opinions are my own. My
obligation is to give my readers an honest review of any products, whether
positive or negative.
I am wicked excited to announce to you that the Sigma Advanced Artistry Collection is now available on their website! I am honestly very excited for this release as I am a brush junkie and I love using all types of brushes for a variety of different things!
This collection contains three different kits that can be used for a variety of different makeup applications.
The first kit that is available is the Extreme Color Payoff Kit! This kit is great for applying color with a punch! Each brush has it's own unique way of applying color in a way that gives you the best color payoff of your shadows!
The next kit is the Perfect Blend Kit! This kit is honestly the one I am dying to try since I love blending brushes! In this kit, there are brushes that can be used for a more diffused blend or for more precise work, while still blending out shadows!
The third and final kit of this collection is the Spot-On Conceal Kit! This kit contains a variety of brushes that can be used to conceal different areas of the face. If you mainly have smaller blemishes, there are brushes specifically for you! If you need bigger areas concealed, such as redness, there is also a brush for you! Such a versatile kit and just a little secret (you CAN use them for other applications besides concealer!)
Each of these kits can be found on the Sigma website and are available for $63 each or you can purchase all three kits together for $175!
Have you tried any of these kits out yet!? What are your thoughts?!
I have an awesome review to do for you today featuring Femme Fatale Cosmetics! I have been dying to try Femme Fatale shadows for years now after seeing them swatched by Mandy of Prettymaking!
Femme Fatale has what they call a Press Kit, which is basically where bloggers can apply to have samples sent to them for review. There is a link here for more information about the kit. I thought that this would be a great opportunity for me to try out some of their products before purchasing a larger size!
I was fortunate enough to receive 11 shadow samples to review for you all! Let's get onto the swatches, shall we?!
All swatches are done in artificial lighting with flash.
All swatches are done over Too Faced Shadow Insurance.
I will be giving Femme Fatale's description of the shadows, followed by my own.
Left to Right: Impsy, Underlord, Dispersion, & Crimson Fury
Impsy:
FF: Impsy is a rich mulberry purple with red tones and golden shimmer.
ME: Impsy is a deep berry-purple with a red undertone and gold shimmer throughout.
Underlord:
FF: Underlord is a crushed berry with green shimmer.
ME: Underlord is a lighter, more red toned berry with green shimmer throughout. This reminds me of Dinospotz from Glamour Doll Eyes or Insomnia from MakeupGeek.
Dispersion:
FF: Dispersion is a deep mulberry with bold teal - blue shimmer.
ME: Dispersion is a light wine berry shadow with teal shimmer throughout.
Crimson Fury:
FF: Crimson Fury is a deep red - violet base with purple tones and a blue duochrome shine.
ME: Crimson Fury is more of a pink based violet with a purple/blue duochrome.
Left to Right: Desecration, Planeshift, Shadow Dance, & Moonglow
Desecration:
FF: Desecration has a bright green shimmer over a base mixed of cool grey, subtle brown, and pearly purple undertones.
ME: I found Desecration to lean more towards the brown - based purple spectrum of FF's description, but it does have a gorgeous olive green shimmer throughout.
Planeshift:
FF: Planeshift is a blend of pale jungle green and teal with slight grey tones and gold shimmer.
ME: Planeshift is a gorgeous olive green with a teal - grey undertone and gold shimmer throughout.
Shadow Dance:
FF: Shadow Dance is a grey with blue undertones and a scattering of subtle blue and pink sparkle.
ME: Shadow Dance is a gorgeous taupe - grey with blue undertones and it has blue and pink shimmers throughout. I was able to see more of the pink shimmer thank blue.
Moonglow:
FF: Moonglow is a pale Columbia blue with a prominent golden duochrome and subtle pink shimmer.
ME: Moonglow is a gorgeous pale blue with a gold duochrome and pink shimmer throughout.
Left to Right: Wildvine, Heroic, & Faerie Fire
Wildvine:
FF: Wildvine is a mid tone mauve/taupe with strong dusk pink tones and green shimmer.
ME: Wildvine is a neutral taupe shadow with green shimmer throughout (I have this shadow on as I write this post and it's just beautiful as a barely there all over shadow!)
Heroic:
FF: Heroic is a soft copper - tinged peach with golden shimmer.
ME: Heroic is a beautiful rose gold/copper shadow with gold shimmer throughout.
Faerie Fire:
FF: Faerie Fire is a lavender pink with cool undertones, highlighted by an electric lime gold sparkle.
ME: Faerie Fire is a beautiful pale, cool - toned lavender with lime green shimmer throughout.
I am absolutely amazed with how gorgeous Femme Fatale's shadows are! They are quickly becoming one of my favorite Indie brands when it comes to shadow quality and pigmentation! These shadows are very long wearing and last on me all day with a good base underneath. I find that they are great for an all over wash, with a base like Too Faced Shadow Insurance. Or for more of a punch, using a base such as Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy will really bring out the uniqueness of these shadows!
Pricing and quantity are as follows:
Samples (about 1.8tspn/ 0.20 - 0.40g) $1.10 (Samples are limited to two per shade max - NOT two per order).
Another great thing about Femme Fatale is, although they are an Australian based company, they ship internationally! Rates vary for where you are located, but local (AUS) shipping costs start at $6.50 and national delivery starts at $7.50, which honestly isn't bad considering the products will have to go through customs if you are located outside of Australia!
I think that these products are well worth the price and are absolutely amazing! My favorites from this bunch are Impsy, Desecration, Planeshift, Shadow Dance, and Wildvine! Which shadows are your favorites? Have you tried Femme Fatale shadows out? What are your thoughts?!
-Alicia
**DISCLAIMER**
Some or all products in this post have been provided by the brands stated for
review or use. All opinions are my own and it is my obligation to give my
readers an honest review of any products received, whether positive or
negative.
I am sooooooo excited for this tutorial I have for you today! I finally started my Halloween tutorials and the first one I decided to do is The Phantom of the Opera! I absolutely LOVE the play and I have been dying to do this as a tutorial! I didn't want to go out and buy a mask, as I wanted to try and recreate the look just using makeup! I hope I made you all proud haha! I really hope that you all enjoy this tutorial and if you end up recreating it, please share!
Products Used:
Sephora Ultra - Smoothing Perfecting Primer
Revlon ColorStay Foundation 240 Medium Beige
NYX HD Photogenic Concealer in Beige
BenNye Banana Powder
MAC Studio Fix Powder NC35
Benefit Hoola Bronzer
theBalm Bahama Mama
MAC Salsa Rose Blush
Naked Cosmetics Ivory Stack IV03
Rimmel Soft Kohl Eyeliner Pencil in Pure White
MAC Blacktrack Fluidline
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk
MAC Painterly Paint Pot
Sugarpill Shadows: Love + & Tako
MAC Shadows: Scene & Print
MUG Corrupt
UD 24/7 Liner Pencil in Zero
Milani Liquid Like Eye Liner Pencil in Black
Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara in Black
Ardell Demi Wispies
Wolfe Monster Palette: 008 Charcoal, 028 Blood, 052 Raw Sienna, 065 Blithe, 082 Bruise
OCC Lip Tar in Tarred
Lit Clearly Liquid Glitter Base
Lit Glitter #2 Chocolate Cherry
Sorry for the late post, but I wanted to stick to my plan and get a video up for you tonight! I was recently asked by one of my lovely subscribers to do a tutorial using the Pick Your Poison Collection from Glamour Doll Eyes! I really enjoy the collection since they are all gorgeous taupe - like shadows and taupes have a special place in my heart haha! I hope that you all enjoy this tutorial!
Face:
Sephora Ultra-Smoothing Perfecting Primer
Revlon ColorStay Foundation 240 Medium Beige & 250 Fresh Beige
NYX HD Photogenic Concealer in Beige
MAC Studio Fix Powder in NC35
BenNye Banana Powder
Benefit Hoola Bronzer
theBalm Bahama Mama Bronzer
MAC Blushes in Mocha & Blushbaby
MAC MSF in Litescapade
Eyes:
MAC Painterly Paint Pot
GDE Shadows: Urban Trash, Malicious, Mushroom, Bittersweet, Chocoholic, Inconsiderate, & Corpselike
MUG: Vanilla Bean
Milani Liquid Like Eye Pencil in Black
Physician's Formula Eye Booster Liner Pen in Ultra Black
Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara in Black
Andrea #21 Lashes
Brows:
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Brunette
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Duo in Dark Brown
Maybelline Great Lash Clear Mascara
