Review & Swatches: Maybelline Color Elixirs!

Hey Everyone!

Today I am going to be showing you 6 of the 20 Maybelline Color Elixirs that I have recently purchased to try out! I have been seeing these bad boys all around YouTube and I wanted to give them a try to see how well they perform.

As stated by Maybelline, "the color elixirs are made up of a trio of concentrates that deliver the color of a lipstick, the cushiony care of a balm, and the glass shine of a gloss." The Color Elixirs are a hyperpigmented gloss that have amazing color payoff and have an extremely high shine. I found these lip products to be pretty true to these claims. The majority of the shades are quite pigmented and they are all very shiny and have amazing staying power. They feel awesome on the lips and are not in the least bit drying! They really do a great job at keeping the lips moisturized. I did find that the Elixirs have a buttery feel to them and have the slightest bit of tackiness, just enough to keep them on the lips but not uncomfortable to wear at all. As for wear time, I was able to get about 3 hours of wear out of the Elixirs!

 The applicator for these lip products is quite unique as well; it's an angora brush that is shaped like a triangle and has a bit of a bend to it for the perfect application. The applicator is so soft and makes application extremely easy by having the end go to a point so that you can have nice clean lines with no product buildup at the edges of the lips.

 Swatches anyone?!

• Swatch photos taken in artificial light.
• Swatch photos taken with flash.

From Left to Right: Fuchsia Flourish, Celestial Coral, Captivating Carnation, Mauve Mystique, Raspberry Rhapsody, & Nude Illusion

From Left to Right: Fuchsia Flourish, Celestial Coral, Captivating Carnation, Mauve Mystique, Raspberry Rhapsody, & Nude Illusion

Fuchsia Flourish: Fuchsia Flourish is a gorgeous, highly pigmented bright pink. It's a more blue toned pink similar to Candy Yum Yum by MAC but not as bright. This is one of the most pigmented of the Elixirs that I picked up!

Celestial Coral: Celestial Coral is a beautiful pinky-toned coral. It's quite pigmented and is great for a more natural look and if you are just starting out wearing corals, this would be a great option for you!

Captivating Carnation: Captivating Carnation is a beautiful deeper coral mauve. This Elixir is another great everyday lip color.

Mauve Mystique: Mauve Mystique is a beautiful true mauve shade. I found this Elixir to be less pigmented than the others but it still yields decent color payoff.

Raspberry Rhapsody: Raspberry Rhapsody is a beautiful bright purple-pink. This Elixir is a bit sheer, so it takes a few swipes to get it to be opaque. I find this shade to be gorgeous for all year round but especially for the Fall!

Nude Illusion: Nude Illusion is a beautiful peachy nude shade. This Elixir is extremely pigmented and this is saying A LOT for a nude gloss! I was very impressed by the pigmentation this Elixir has and it completely covers your true lip color (even after swatching all of the other Elixirs on your lips!!)

Overall, I really enjoy the Elixirs and I find that they are a great product to have in your collection! The only downside that I believe some people may have a problem with is that they do have a slight perfume scent to them. The scent does go away within minutes of wearing the product.

I was able to find the Color Elixirs for $6.94 (for 0.17 fl.oz.) at Walmart!

I really hope that you found this review to be helpful! Have you tried any of the Color Elixirs? What are your thoughts?

My favorites from this bunch are Nude Illusion, Fuchsia Flourish, and Mauve Mystique!

-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.

First Impressions: L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara!

Hey Everyone!

Today I am going to be doing a first impressions on the fairly new Loreal Butterfly Mascara! I have been dying to try out this mascara for a while now, so I figured I would just go out and give it a try!

"L'Oreal Paris introduces the new Voluminous Butterfly mascara featuring a breakthrough wing tip brush to lengthen, stretch and volumize every lash to the outer corners of the eye."

"The Butterfly Brush: L'Oreal Paris creates an asymmetrical wing tip brush featuring a unique shape to catch every lash from corner to corner and flexible arches to lift up at the outer edge.
The Butterfly Formula: A new formula infused with 1.2mm fibers instantly coats the lashes with a soft and delicate veil for longer looking, silky feeling lashes with up to 6x the volume.
The Butterfly Effect:  Every lash is extended for a dramatic lash fringe that flutters.

• Clump - free, flake - free, & smudge - free "

As you can see, this mascara has a ton of claims that L'Oreal says it lives up to!

I got the formula in Blackest Black. I always prefer this color over regular Black or Brown as it really gives a nice, deep look to the lashes.

As you can see, the brush has an asymmetrical design that is meant to lift the lashes and bring them into more of a winged out placement.

The brush is a plastic brush that has a lot of flexibility to it. The bristles on the asymmetrical side go from being very short towards the tip to fairly long towards the base. As for the other side of the brush, the bristles are fairly short, making using this side for the bottom lashes easier.

I did find that this formula was rather wet, so I would personally prefer a dryer formula. The first coat that I applied went on well, the brush really separated my lashes and did give some volume and length to them. I let that coat dry a bit before applying the second coat... The second coat was pure bliss! Having some mascara to grab on to really helped the brush to drastically separate the lashes even more and give so much length and volume! I was so impressed!

I wore this mascara for about 8 hours total and I did not have any problems with smudging and NO FLAKING! I also noticed that the mascara did a great job at keeping the curl in my lashes, which never happens!

Overall, I am very pleased with this mascara and once the formula dries out a tiny bit, I know that I will love it even more! I would say that it definitely lives up to its claims and really gives beautiful length and volume, while not clumping the lashes! I would definitely recommend you try out this mascara if you want some kick ass lashes!

I was able to find this mascara at Walmart for $7.97. The price may range between drugstores and stores such as Walmart, Ulta, & Target.

Have any of you tried out this mascara? What are your thoughts?

-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.

Smoked Peach Makeup Tutorial

Hey Everyone!

Today I have a tutorial for you using some Glamour Doll Eyes shadows! I have been wanting to do a tutorial like this for a long time, so I finally busted out my GDE shadows and just started playing around! I really hope that you all enjoy this tutorial and try it out!

Face:
Rimmel London Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation 100 Ivory
MAC ProLongwear Concealer NC15 & OCC Conceal Y2
MAC Studio Fix Powder N5
Tarte Park Avenue Princess Bronzer
Milani Luminoso Blush
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light
theBalm Mary - Lou Manizer Highlighter

Eyes:
MAC Painterly Paint Pot
GDE Shadows: Flawless, Reckless, Inconsiderate, Big Brother, Urban Trash, Chocoholic, & Irrational
Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner in Blackest Black
Jesse's Girl Liquid Eyeliner Pen in Black
Loreal Voluminous Full Definition Mascara in Blackest Black
Ardell #110 Lashes

Brows:
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Brunette
Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel

Lips:
MAC Prep + Prime Lip
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Smoked Peach

Sigma Brushes Used:

F63 & F66: http://tinyurl.com/p9hthdm

E58: http://tinyurl.com/pdumevt

E21: http://tinyurl.com/qxbqke3

E17: http://tinyurl.com/lvlcfmq

-Alicia

Swatches: New Glamour Doll Eyes Shadows & HydraGlaze!

Hey Everyone!

My absolute favorite Indie company Glamour Doll Eyes is coming out with some new products tomorrow and I wanted to show you some that Vee sent to me (thanks Vee!!! :-D) Glamour Doll Eyes is releasing 16 new eyeshadows, 3 new blushes, and 4 HydraGlazes into their permanent collection! I received 1 HydraGlaze and 6 of the new shadows! Let's get on to the swatches!

• All photos taken in artificial light.
• All swatch photos taken with flash.
• All shadow swatches done over Lorac Behind The Scenes Eye Primer.

Shadows:

Left to Right: Surprise!, Funeral Parlor, Arsenic, Junkie, Frat Boy, & Busted

Surprise!: Surprise! is a gorgeous white shadow with a pink duochrome. This shadow would be perfect for an inner corner and brow bone highlight!

Funeral Parlor: I have been DYING to get this shadow (no pun intended!). Funeral Parlor is a gorgeous purple shadow with pink and blue shimmer throughout.

Arsenic: Arsenic is a beautiful orange shadow with orange and pink shimmer throughout.

Junkie: Junkie is a deep, almost blue toned red with red shimmer.

Frat Boy: This shadow is beautiful! Frat Boy is a gorgeous green with what looks like a holographic gold shimmer throughout, it's absolutely stunning!

Busted: Busted is a beautiful blue shadow with a purple shift/shimmer to it! Absolutely gorgeous!

Lips:

Sailor's Delight: Sailor's Delight is a beautiful bright, blue - toned pink gloss! The HydraGlaze is a thick and creamy gloss that has some tackyness to it, which helps prolong the wear. I really love this color and it's perfect for Spring and Summer! The HydraGlaze smells AMAZING as well! It smells like a vanilla cupcake!

I really hope that you found this post to be helpful and let me know if you end up purchasing any of these shadows or any of the HydraGlazes!

My favorite shadows of this bunch are Surprise!, Funeral Parlor, & Frat Boy.

-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.

First Impression/Review: Rimmel London Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation!

Hey Everyone!

Today I have a first impression/review of the Rimmel London Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation that Rimmel recently launched! This product claims to be a "lightweight, shine control foundation. This feather-light, liquid mousse blends flawlessly for natural - looking, all day shine control. Silky smooth formula leaves a perfectly matte, baby - soft finish. Lightweight texture won't feel heavy or greasy."

I ended up purchasing the shade 100 Ivory. When I first opened the bottle and put a swatch on my hand, the shade seemed to be a good match. Once I distributed the product out to see how it blended, it seemed to have a pink undertone, which I was a little bummed about.

I applied the foundation to my face with my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush. The foundation blended BEAUTIFULLY and felt just like a powder when I was applying it. Blending literally took less than a minute and there was no streaking! The foundation did seem a tad bit light and pink toned but once blended well into the skin, and once my blush and bronzer were applied, I found that I could make it work!

This foundation left a beautiful matte finish and it felt so light on the skin. I couldn't feel the foundation at all on my skin. I also found that it covered redness and blemishes very well. I still had to apply some concealer under my eyes to cover my dark circles, but that is due to the fact that I don't put foundation in that area.

The Rimmel Stay matte Liquid Mousse Foundation comes in 8 shades in the U.S. and the shades seemed to range from fair to very tan. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any shades that would fit an African American skintone, which I was disappointed in. Hopefully once more people start to use this foundation, Rimmel will come out with darker shades!

This foundation is great for those who are looking for beauty on a budget! I paid $4.99 at Ulta for mine! I was pleasantly surprised that for such a low cost, I found a great foundation!

Overall, I would HIGHLY recommend trying out this foundation! I honestly didn't have high expectations and I didn't think it would match my skin at all, but I was pleasantly shocked!

Have you tried this foundation at all? What are your thoughts about it?

-Alicia

Smoked Comet Makeup Tutorial Featuring The Lorac Pro Palette!

Hey Everyone!

Today I have another tutorial featuring the Lorac Pro Palette! It's been a little while since I have used this palette and I had an idea of color combinations that I wanted to use in a tutorial! I really love the color Garnet and I thought that it would look gorgeous mixed with some of the purples and mauves that are in this palette! I really hope that you all enjoy this tutorial!

Face:
Belletto Studio Airbrush Foundation in Brulee & Latte
MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NC15 & OCC Conceal Y2
MAC Studio Fix Powder N5
Tarte Park Avenue Princess Bronzer
Tarte Off The Cuff Mauve Blush
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light
MAC MSF in Lightscapade 

Eyes:
MAC Painterly Paint Pot
Lorac Pro Shadows: Cream, Lt. Pink, Garnet, Mauve, Deep Purple, Pewter, & Nude
Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner in Blackest Black
Loreal Voluminous Full Definition Mascara
Andrea #21 Lashes

Brows:
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Brunette
Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel

Lips:
MAC Prep + Prime Lip
Milani Color Statement Lip Liner in Nude
Rimmel London Show Off Lip Lacquer in Comet

-Alicia

Review: Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette!

Hey Everyone!

I have a review for you today on the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette that was recently released! There is A LOT of hype around this palette and I wanted to share my thoughts and let you know if it's worth it to purchase! Let's get on to the swatches and info shall we?!

• All photos taken in artificial light.
• Swatch photos are taken using flash.
• All swatches are done over Lorac Behind The Scenes Eye Primer.

The Naked 3 packaging is absolutely stunning. It's a rose gold case with ripples on the top and Naked 3 Urban Decay written in gold. The packaging feels quite sturdy and I really like the fact that it snaps shut, rather than with the first palette where there is just a magnetic closure. I also like the fact that the packaging is not a felt covering like the first palette as I find that type of packaging gets dirty easy.

This palette contains a large mirror in the interior, 12 shadows, and also comes with a double ended gold brush.

All of the shadows in the Naked 3 have a rose gold/pink tone to them.

From Left to Right: Strange, Dust, Burnout, Limit, Buzz, & Trick

Strange: Strange is a very pale pinky skintone shade that works great as a brow and inner corner highlight. It has a slight satin finish.

Dust: Dust is my least favorite of this bunch. It's a pink shadow containing glitter. The shadow is very hard to work with and any attempt of blending causes major glitter fallout.

Burnout: Burnout is a gorgeous rosey pink shadow and has a satin finish.

Limit: Limit is a mauve matte shade that is perfect for the crease as a transition color.

Buzz: Buzz is a deep rose pink with a satin finish. I like to mix Buzz with Burnout on the lid!

Trick: Trick is a beautiful rose gold. I find it to be much more flattering than Half Baked and it really makes Hazel eyes pop!

From Left to Right: Nooner, Liar, Factory, Mugshot, Darkside, & Blackheart

Nooner: Nooner is a deep mauve matte shade that works well to deepen up the crease for a more subtle look.

Liar: Liar is a beautiful rose taupe shadow that has a satin finish.

Factory: Factory is a slightly darker and more brown version of Liar.

Mugshot: Mugshot is a taupe with a slight rose undertone. I really love this shadow and find it to be one of my favorites.

Darkside: Darkshide is sort of like a duochrome in the sense that is has a brown undertone but comes off as being a very strong taupe. You can see a slight pink/purple undertone with this shadow.

Blackheart: Blackheart is a charcoal black with a slight pink undertone and deep pink/red sparkles throughout. The sparkles don't show up as much once the shadow is blended out.

Overall, I really adore this palette and I definitely think that it is worth trying out if you like these types of shadows. I find that this range of colors works great with pale skin and really brings out the gold in my eyes.

My favorites from this palette are Limit, Trick, Nooner, Mugshot, & Darkside.

This palette costs $52 and can be found at Sephora, Urban Decay, & Ulta.

-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.