PALETTES I REALLY WANT TO BUY

This year has been all about warm neutrals... and I love it... But there are too many tempting offers on the market... Listed are few that I'm really interested in (at the current moment)... trying to resist temptation...

1. Viseart warm mattes
2. Zoeva matte palette
3. Color pop palette that dupes Natasha Denona's sunset palette
4. Urban decay heat
5. New Dior quints


Palettes I know I'll be getting this year
1. Persona palette

I already purchased Colored Raine palette and Dose of Colors baked browns... but there is way too much eye candy.... decisions, decisions!!

Love for bareMinerals...

I've heard a lot about the bareMinerals brand and seen a lot of ads on TV. When the company came out with their pressed formulation, I thought like many others, I became more intrigued. Today's post is about a beautiful eye shadow quad I've had for a few months now from bareMinerals called the "THE TRUTH"quad. I heard about it first from some ladies on you tube who seemed to really enjoy it...

This quad is a gorgeous everyday neutral taupe/brown palette. The packaging is sleek, compact and made with rubberized material (can get dirty easily but you can wipe it clean with a cloth). The colors are serendipitous (shimmery white), magnetism (taupe grey with sheen), fate (plummy brown with sheen), and apropos (purple brown with glitter). There are no mattes in this palette. Fate and magnetism are gorgeous for everyday... in fact this whole palette is gorgeous and perfect for keeping in one's travel makeup case. This is a cool toned palette but the shades are neutral enough that they seem to complement my warm dark tan complexion fairly well.

This palette did cost me around $40 US - so it is a high end product... the texture of the eye shadows are quite smooth and soft (but no so soft that you have dust everywhere). If you happen to visit a bareMinerals counter, I definitely recommend testing these out - I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

GREAT NEUTRAL PAIRINGS PART IV

So this is not really a neutral pairing but a combination of different eye products to create a "neutral" look. I've been wearing it everyday for the past week with my Tom Ford wicked blush and a different pick lipstick/gloss daily.

NYX jumbo eye pencil in pure gold; Rimmel scandal eyes in deep blue

Elf elements compact containing MAC eye shadows: Arena (top left); Saddle (top right); Expensive Pink (bottom left); Sushi flower (bottom right)

What I first do is use my urban decay primer potion as a base. Then I apply the NYX jumbo eye pencil in pure gold all over the lid and blend using my fingers or a blending brush. Then I apply MAC arena all over the lid and MAC saddle in the crease as a blending color. I line my lower waterline with the Rimmel scandaleyes liner in deep blue, put on some mascara and I'm good to go. In my opinion, I don't find that the Rimmel liner is waterproof despite it's claims and I also don't think the urban decay primer potion is that long lasting. The NYX jumbo pencil is definitely not long lasting on my lids (at least compared to the Milani pencils) - but at least there are no claims saying that on the package.

Regardless, below I attempted to do some swatches but it was night time so my apologies for the poor lighting.

Swatches (left to right): Rimmel deep blue, NYX pure gold MAC arena, MAC saddle & NYX pure gold with MAC arena on top

I find these colors suit tan complexions quite well and is a great "every day" look for those with blue and brown eyes.

What do you think? Do you have suggestions that would look great on darker skin toned gals? Please share...

A beautiful spring blush

As the weather warms, the flowers bloom and the rain falls more frequently, it feels like Spring is upon us... giving me a reason to add more pinkie colors to my makeup routine. The first product that came to mind was the Tom Ford blush in Wicked.

Tom Ford blush in Wicked

I'm not sure how the designer came up with the name (I don't like it)... but I love this blush. It does have a soft shimmer and it is visible on the cheeks so it can emphasize pores. However, I like the fact that with this blush I don't need to use a highlighter. I use the a stippling blush to apply this product and it gives me glowing pink cheeks. His blush is very soft and shows up very well on my NC44 skin tone. It seems to last for several hours - however I do think that over time like most blushes it does oxidize on me... (I apply this blush on top of my setting powder).

Tom Ford blush in Wicked

I find that along with my base, I can use this blush, a pink lip stick/gloss, some blue eyeliner and mascara and it gives me a really fresh looking, put together face for spring. I find that considering the quantity, quality and pigmentation of the product, this is a must have for me. 

GREAT NEUTRAL PAIRINGS PART III

So this is an eye shadow combo that I've been carrying with me in my makeup bag mainly because it's convenient and easy to use. I first heard about the Rimmel eye shadow quad in smokey brun from the lovely Lisa Eldridge when she was doing a video tutorial on you tube. I find it to be a very simple, basic neutral quad - although the shadows are quite powdery. I decided to use it with Laura Mercier caviar stick in sand glow. I really like using the caviar sticks. I don't have to sharpen the pencils and the color seems to stay put all day. How did she come up with the name "caviar sticks" though? I wonder....

Rimmel quad in smokey brun; Laura Mercier caviar stick in sand glow

With sand glow as the base, I usually mix the light lavender/taupe shade with the golden brown shade as an all over lid color. The white shade is used as a highlight and sometimes I deepen the crease or lightly line with the darkest shade. Often I use my blush/bronzer as a contour shade. The eye shadow quad apparently complements blue eyes well, but I think this combo is great for an every day quick, not-so-boring eye look.

Some serious love for maybelline....

So today I went shopping at Marshalls and decided to pick up some home decor and ended up spending close to $100. So much for "thrift/smart shopping"....

Anyways, while looking through my everyday travel makeup bag I found two of my favorite mascaras I thought I should share with you. Both are from the drug store created by Maybelline.

Left: Maybelline Lash Stiletto; Right: Maybelline Full N Soft

Maybelline Lash Stiletto is a really great lengthening mascara. I find that it does not add much volume but the brush is great for the lower lashes and for reaching the inner lashes to give it more definition.

Maybelline Lash Stiletto

Maybelline Full N' Soft is probably my favorite drug store mascara ever. It gives me the "my lashes but better" look. It is a great mascara for those who want the "no makeup makeup" look as people think I have naturally dark and thick lashes.

Maybelline Full N' Soft

From my experience (I wear glasses), I did not experience any flaking and they seemed to last all day for me. Also, they are relatively easy to take off with makeup remover and cleanser. For both mascaras, I personally enjoyed them more when I first opened them and the formula was more "wet" (not everyone likes that); they did seem to thicken in few weeks it's easier to apply multiple coats (personally I'm more of a one coat mascara kind of girl). I find these mascaras can last me a good three months so with all things considered, these beauties are a beauty staple for me.

FOUNDATION REVIEW

Tom Ford is a really interesting brand. It is very, very expensive but the designer has a very well edited line of makeup that is very appealing. I'm not a fan of his lip products, although I love the colors, I think they are extremely drying and suck the moisture out of my lips. However his blushes I think are some of the best on the market today. I decided to try out his liquid foundation in the shade praline. I bought mine from Saks Fifth Avenue.

Tom Ford liquid foundation in Praline

I love the packaging and the pump - you can control the amount of foundation you get. The foundation itself has a very light fluid-like consistency and coverage is light (similar to a tinted moisturizer). It gives a matte effect and I do find it slightly drying and that it can emphasize dry patches. The foundation on it's own does not seem to last more than 4 to 6 hours. To counteract the negative effects I make sure to exfoliate and moisturize my face well before hand. Also, I mix in Guerlain's face primer in meteorites perles with the foundation to make it a more gel like consistency. 

Guerlain meteorites primer

This primer also helps the foundation to last all day and gives a more soft focused finish. Would I recommend this product? For the cost, probably not. It is definitely not a must have and I think there are products that are lower priced that perform better. But I think it's awesome that the designer appeals to people with darker skin tones and if you are willing to splurge and/or are a foundation junkie this is definitely worth a try...