E.l.f The Villains limited edition collection

October is the month when makeup lovers await for the E.l.f limited edition Villains themed items. Let me just start off by saying that these items can be ridiculously difficult to get a hold off solely because each store will generally only carry 3 peices of the same item. Thes E.l.f limited edition itemes are only available ar Walgreens. Sometimes you can find them available for sale on Walgreens.com, but that is not always a guarantee. Being that I work at a makeup counter, I know that these products fly off the shelf. I actually wasn't able to get a hold of them at my local Walgreens, because they sold out within the first 2 days, but after hunting them down I found them! I honestly didn't want to even bother with the book eeajadow palettes because the staying power of those is non existent. I was going to just boycott the limited edition items because although the packaging is the cutests, the quality just isn't there. With that being said, these pictured below were $3.99 each, so I  decided to give these a try. The only product I have worn so far is the blush in shade jealous, and I do really like it. Nice pigmentation but most importantly it has lasted on me during my 8 hour work shifts.  Like I mentioned previously, these items sell out fast so call your local Walgreens and ask if they are still in stock. Have a wonderful weekend.

Review and swatches of the new Maybelline matte lipsticks

The Balm: The manizer sisters palette

The Balm has done an amazing thing, they have put all the luminizers together in one single palette! I saw a picture of this bad boy on instagram a few weeks ago and I tracked it down. So far, it is only available in certain Kohl stores. I picked mine up this afternoon, but I called ahead and had the sales associate put it on hold for me this morning. It's a good thing I did too because when I got to the store there where none on the shelf. I have never tried anything by The Balm before, but I have watched these previously and they are so smooth and creamy. Their texture and pigmentation remind me of the Becca highlighters which are my absolute favorite. Check out the pictures below of this. Keep in mind that these are smaller versions of the individual luminizer compacts.

L'oreal La Palette Nude 1 dupe for Urban Decays's Naked palette?

It's finally happening, drugstore based brands are creating full eyeshadow palettes. I love that the drugstore makeup industry is changing and growing so rapidly. I previously reviewed Maybellines'  The Smokes and The Nudes palettes and I was pretty disappointed at the lack of pigmentation. I can't say anything about the lasting power of the L'oreal palette because I have yet to try this (I just purchased it earlier this week). However, I did take pictures of both the L'oreal and Naked palette so you can decide if the colors are similar. You get 10 shades in the L'oreal palette, both matte and shimmery, and right off the bat I can say that these colors are a lot more pigmented than the Maybelline palette. In the pan some of the shades resemble the Urban Decay palette, but when swatched on my hand, the shades don't resemble each other at all. Although you do get 10 unique neutral shades in the L'oreal palette, the colors are not similar to the Urban Decay Naked palette. If you're interested in purchasing this palette it retails for $19.99 at Ulta and you can see it here. I wasn't too impressed with this palette, it's nothing mind-blowing to me, but that may be because the Urban Decay Naked palette, although a little pricey, is superb in color and quality. What do you guys think? Have you tried this palette? Let me know your thoughts, as I have yet to try it.

Pictured below, L'oreal La Palette Nude 1

Champagne pop by Jaclyn Hill & Dior air flash spray foundation

As a self proclaimed beauty junkie I ordered the new limited edition Champagne Pop highlighter by Jaclyn Hill from Becca cosmetics. Let me just say that, this product did not disappoint. The color is so beautiful. I am pretty faired skin and highlighters can tend to look a bit awkward on my skin tone, but this highlighter has beautiful golden tones that just give my face a radiant glow. Along with this beautiful highlighter I also picked up the Dior Airflash spray foundation in the shade 200. I have tried it for the past week or so and I have to say that I really like it. It sets to a nicely, not to matte and not too dewy, just the perfect combination. I like to set this foundation using the Rimmel Stay Matte translucent pressed powder. It has amazing coverage as well, I'd say about a medium to full, because its very easy to build. It blends smoothly and has a very airy texture. It has a very unique consistency and because it's not liquid or cream, it doesn't feel the least bit heavy, despite its coverage. It lasts a good 8-10 hours on my skin, it doesn't get shiny even though I have pretty oily skin. I almost wish that I didn't like it so much because it has a hefty price tag! But, it is a very good luxury product. I also reviewed the Dior primer in an earlier post, so if your'e interested in this brand check my previous post. 

Review and swatches of TKB Trading micas

While doing my usual makeup swatch browsing on instagram I stumbled upon a company called TKB Trading based in Oakland, California. Almost immediately I fell in love with the gorgeous pictures of these pigments, and for only $1.50 for 6 grams of product I placed an order. There are very few reviews of this company and I couldn't find too many videos on these micas on youtube either. I ordered the 6 colors pictured and named below. My total was $16.40 including all shipping and handling fees. See the pictures for yourself, these micas commonly referred to as "pigments", are absolutely beautiful! They can be used as hi lighters or eyeshadows; the company says that they are also FDA approved and safe for use on lips as well.You can even create your own makeup by simply just mixing your choice of micas together to create a new blend. How cool is that? If only I had more time on my hands. The 6 grams of product that you get for each product come in bags, but I will be storing my micas in tiny 5 gram containers that I found on Ebay. I also found some very informative videos on youtube on how to press these Micas, if you are not fond of their loose form. I would do this if I had more time, you only need 2 ingredients to press the micas, 90% alcohol and a binder which can be purchased on the TKB Trading website tkbtrading.com, Ebay, or on CostalScents.com 

Pictured below without flash,

From left to right (first row): Apricot, Aurora, Brilliant Gold, and Cinnamon Sugar

From left to right (second row): Echo Hilite Gold, Honey Mica, and Starlight Gold

Costal scents brushes

I placed an order on the Coastal Scents website last week when they had a 50% off the classic brush line. Coastal scents carry a wide variety of synthetic and natural brushes. I have been purchasing from them for the past 4 yeats and I truly believe that they're brushes are so under rated. For the past 4 years that I have had them, I haven't thrown out a single one. All of them have held up so well, I can't even complain about shedding! I re stocked up mostly eyebrushes as you can see in the pictures below. I needed a new fan brush and this synthetic one is perfect. It's soft and much bigger than my regular fan brush that I use for highlighting. I chose to get natural hair eye brushes because they pick up powdered products a lot better than the natural ones. However you can choose what style of brush you want and choose wether you'd like synthetic or natural. For my face (powder, blush, and founfation) I like synthetic brushes because they won't harness as much bacteria. These brushes are very affordable and the quality is superb. If you sign up for their mailing list you can be informed when they have a good sale going on.

Review of the Maybelline Colossal Chaotic mascara

Review of Becca full cover foundation & Dior pore minimizer

CIRCA by Eva Mendes now available at certain Walgreens

Walgreens and Maesa Launch Exclusive Masstige Color Cosmetics Line, CIRCA, In Collaboration with Eva Mendes. Eva Mendes describes her experience with the collaboration:

"I've been involved with the beauty industry for a long time and wanted to help create a cosmetic line that could reach a wide variety of women – when Maesa approached me, I knew that opportunity had arrived," said Eva Mendes, creative director for CIRCA.  "As a Latin woman, it was important to me that we create a line of products that work for all women and is accessible without compromising quality."

The blushes pictured below retail for $10.00. The blushes have a very beautiful velvety and satin like finish. They are decently pigmented and they blend very nicely too. I do think that the price range is a little bit on the high side for such a new brand, but the quality makes up for this concern. The concealer is nothing amazing in my opinion. The concealer seems pretty dark for its shade and it is very light - I find that it doesn't cover much if anything at all. Shade 02 Flamenco beach is a nice shade for bronzing. 

From left to right: 01 Belle mare, 01 Champagne beach, 02 Flamenco beach, 03 Hanalei bay, and 04 Punta mita

Nonie Creme Color Prevails Haul & Swatches

Nonie Creme recently launched her new cosmetic line available exclusively at select Walgreens. Here are my thoughts on some of her products.

Foundation: It is a very light coverage foundation and is build-able to a light-medium coverage (you will need to apply more product than needed though). I have oily skin and I definitley need to set this product with a powder because it feels somewhat damp on my skin after even several minutes. The lasting power is okay, like I mentioned before, you should set this with a powder to extend its longevity. The shade selection is quite large and it did match my skin nicely. I am a shade NC 20 in M.A.C for color reference. 

Contour/highlight stick: The highlight part leaves a very subtle glow to the skin but the contour side has very orange undertones. Once blended, I find that the contour side makes my cheeks look orange. I don't find this useful or flattering for any skin tones. I just wasn't a fan of it.

Duo blush bronzers: The colors are very pretty but these products lack pigmentation. These are great if you have a heavy hand because its hard to over apply these. However, the formula just seems so chalky/powdery. The bronzer right sides of these are nice bronzers, but the pigmentation just makes application a little difficult.

Overall, I just wasn't impressed with these products. I did purchase one of the nail polishes (not pictured), and it was one of the products that I did actually like from this line. Everything else, I have to admit that I just wasn't slightly happy with, and I love trying new products! But when the pigmentation is clearly lacking, it makes it easy for one to judge these products badly. Have you tried any of these products? What are your thoughts on them?

Makeup of the day

I had some extra time on my hands this week and I really just wanted to play around with my makeup. Ah, it's such a stress reliever for me. I stuck to using my usual but none the less, amazing favorite makeup products and created the following look below. I also felt like dolling up and curled my hair. Oh, if only I could have the time to have this much fun on my regular school days.

Products used:

Garner Miracle Blur primer

Maybelline Fit Me Smooth + Dewy Foundation (shade 120)

Maybelline Age Rewind concealer

Mac Whisper of Guilt highlighter

Rimmel Stay Matte powder

Revlon bronzer (shade bronzilla)

Milani blush (shade tea rose)

Milani pencil eyeliner (black)

N.Y.C liquid eyeliner (black)

L'oreal butterfly mascara (black)

Revlon growlucious mascara (black)

Ardell eyelashes 

Duo eyelash adhesive

Makeup Revolution 100 awesome eyeshadow palette

Every product and tool used pictured below.

Review of the new Maybelline Dewy + Smooth foundation

Let me begin by saying that I have tried the original Maybelline Fit Me foundation formula and I completely dislike it. I purchased this new version of the foundation on a whim, along with the new matte formula. I just had to write a post about this Dewy + Smooth Fit Me foundation because it has blown my mind this whole month. It is a light to medium coverage foundation. You can definitely build it up to full coverage easily. It has such a beautiful finish. It's smooth but not oily. Nothing dewy or greasy looking, it's just perfect in my opinion. It's lasting power is what completely blew me away. I wore this yesterday from 8:30 am to almost midnight (it was a long day!), and I even took a 3 hour nap in it. I did not intend no fall asleep with this on, but I must say that when I woke up, despite the tossing and turning and humid/hot Los Angeles weather, this stayed on beautifully. I tend to get pretty oily throughout the day but this held up amazingly the entire day. The finish reminded me a lot of the Giorigio Armani Lasting Silk foundation, but its staying power is better. This product is worth a try and is a keeper in my book.

For reference, I am in shade 120.

If you're Mac user, I use shade NC 20.

Best full coverage drugstore foundations for oily skin

Talking about foundations never gets old for me. I love experimenting with new formulas, textures, and most importantly, testing how foundations last on my skin. Working at a drugstore has giving me the privilege of trying out a lot of products first hand. 

Revlon color stay: Full coverage, long lasting, great for oily skin.

Cover girl outlast stay fabulous: Medium to full build able coverage, long lasting, semi matte finish.

Rimmel stay matte: Very full coverage. It has a thick mousse like consistency. A little goes a long way. This looks amazing with the Rimmel stay matte translucent setting powder.

L'oreal Infaillable: Medium to full coverage foundation. The formula is very light and bendable. It feels like your wearing no product. I love that this foundation feels light but is so easily buildable. 

Wet n' Wild:  Medium coverage foundation. I don't think that they have the best color range in this line but the product itself is pretty good for an affordable foundation. I purchased this on sale for $2.00 at Walgreens a month ago. To my surprise, it doesn't have a strong fragrance, it feels nice and creamy and covers blemishes pretty well. It has decent lasting power as well for you oily skin types out there.

How to wear leather pants

A simple outfit of the night. It was super affordable (except for the bag) and comfortable for those days that you might have a little fuzz on your legs and are feeling like looking sleek and pulled together with little effort.
Pants are from charlotte russe
Top is from forever 21
Shoes are from Anne Michelle
Purse is the Alma vernis by Louis Vuitton

First impression of Giorgio Armani Lasting Silk foundation and swatches

I got a sample of the infamous Giorgio Armani Lasting Silk foundation at Nordstrom in December and I finally got a chance to try it out. This was my first time trying it. I wanted to try the Giorgio Armani Luminous silk one but the sales woman advised me that it might  it be the best for my oily skin. I told her I was looking for something that had good lasting power and she suggested I try this one. The foundation retails for $65. She did not write down the shade which is why I did not list it. I applied it a little before 3 pm and I removed it at 11:42 pm. I wore it to lunch and to the theatre that day and it held up very nicely. I only retouched one time at 7 pm but I didn't really need to. I went grocery shopping at 10 pm after the theatre and the foundation didn't look shiny at all. I would have to try it to work to see how good it can hold in my fast paced retail environment. I would definitely that it does have a very good lasting power and that's saying a lot because I have trouble dinding higher end foundations that have a good staying power.

First impression review of Dermablend smooth liquid camo foundation in shade Mont Blanc

I picked up a sample of Dermablend smooth camo liquid foundation last week at Macy's and I put it to the test for work last Sunday. The woman at the Macy's counter told me that Dermablend had changed the formula of this product and that it was no longer as full coverage. The packaging specifically says that it is medium coverage. This retails for $35 at Macy's.

I built up the coverage to achieve my preferred look. I set it with Coty's airspun transluscent powder and used the L'oreal infalliable setting spray. I retouched it after 4 hours when I was on my lunch break because my forehead began to get shiny and it transfered easily. I set it with Mac's studio fix powder (shade NC 20) because it was the only thing I had in my purse. To my surprise at the end of my 8 hour shift, my face was still very shiny when I got home. Mac studio fix powder is full coverage and I couldn't believe it couldn't hold down the foundation. The curse of having an oily skin type. Usually foundations last longer on me when I'm in school or running errands, but when I am at work is when I am most physically active and most foundations don't hold up to well. As for now, I am still on the search for a higher end foundation for work. So far no high end foundations have replaced my beloved drugstore favorite foundations, Rimmel's Stay Matte and Revlon's Colorstay. 

Review of Nars All day weightless foundation

I decided to give the Nars All day luminous weightless foundation a second chance today and I have decided to return it. It just isn't for oily skin types such as myself. Here is the complete makeup look I did today and info of all the products I used. I wore the foundation again for a total of 6 and a half hours. In the following pictures you can see how it looks after it is freshly applied and set with the Coty airspun transluscent powder. I only wore the L'oreal miracle Blur Oil-free primer on the right side of my face (your left). The lasting power was the same on my right side (your left side) the foundation looked a lot smoother.

Picrured below, the foundation freshly applied at 11:51 am

At 6:23 pm. After a little more than 6 hours this is how the foundation looked. It didn't look that bad this time. All I did was do some light shopping and have lunch with my boyfriend. I began to get shiny around my tone after 4 hours. The lasting power is no where near 16 hours as it claims to be. When I wore it to work on Saturday, it literally slid of my face. It didn't work for me at all.

Have you guys tried this foundation? I am still on the search for a good higher end foundation, so far I still prefer my drug store foundations.

First impression of Nars All day luminous weightless foundation

*See my updated review of the Nars All day luminous weightless foundation here.

I was talked into purchasing the Nars All day luminous weightless foundation in shade Light 2 Mont Blanc by the girls athe foundation clamp to last 16 hours and it is oil free. Sephora. tI had high hopes for th is product because the sales associated swore by it. I was initially going to purchase the Sephora airbrush foundation which was amazing reviews on Makeupalley.com (it's supposed to be a dupe for the Dior airflash foundation). Anywho, I asked one of the girls there of she could hp me find my shade and she warned me that it was awful and suggested I try the Nars one because it was great for acne prone and oily skin types. I decided to try it because Sephora will return it of I keep my receipt. We weren't sure about what shade to go for because my chest is palm and my neck is a little more yellow. We decided that the shade Mont Blanc suited my overall body better. I the Neutrogena oil free moisturizer with spf 50 and the Eclos primer prior to applying the foundation today. My face was well moisturized but when I applied the foundation I noticed that it somewhat accentuated the pores and blemishes on my skin. The foundation wasn't moisturizing on my face and the sales girl had mentioned I didn't need a setting powder. However, because I have  oily skin, I used Rimmel's Stay Matte transluscent powder to set the foundation. The foundation just didn't look flattering on my skin at all. I looked dry and scaly. My skin looked more hydrated and smooth before applying it. I asked my co worker for her opinion after 3 hours and she mentioned that my forehead looked oily and agreed that the foundation looked like it was melting off. Sure enough when I saw myself in the mirror there were 2 drops of foundation ready to run down my forehead. Too much information but that was my overall experience with it. I wish I could give this product another shot because it is oil free but it's $48.00 and for that hefty price I expect something that will last longer than 3 hours. I work in retail, on the sales floor, nothing too demanding, and I don't see how th is foundation couldn't hold up. What are your thoughts on this prodcut?

In the picture belowme awfullyes how the foundation looked after 3 hours. Because of the lighting you can't see the shine too much, but I looked shiny.

I took the following picture below right after I got home from an 8 hour shift. Don't be fooled by the lighting though because it caked on me awfully.