LOTD: smokey eyes using MAC pigment

Working with loose pigments is my least bit favorite thing about make up because it's just such a mess. It also takes practice so don't give up on them because the color pay-off is wonderful. I've tried a bunch of mineral make up such as Bare Minerals and All Natural Face and they're good products but I don't catch myself reaching for them... at all, but if I do it's usually for highlighting underneath my eyebrows.

In these pictures, I'm using my new Canon camera that catches every megapixel of my face really well. How lame, because as you can all see, in existence within the photos are my pores that make me self-conscious! But I'm flawed and I know that, so my self-esteem isn't so low. :)

We had attended a wedding reception for Dustin's aunt... so... honestly, this is the first look in a while where I had a reason to get dolled up. Lol! 

My generic Conair hair curler stopped working, kinda and what a day to not cooperate. It did a decent job though, and of course I got that replaced. :)

Products used

Foundation: MAC studio fix in NC44 set with Coty Airspun loose face powder in translucent

Concealer: Kat Von D concealer in almond

Lips: MAC l/s in spirit, glossed with Too Faced glamour gloss in pillowtalk

Eyeshadow base: MAC paint pot in bare study. I was in a rush and had forgotten to put on UDPP or TFSI! It's alright though because I was in an air-conditioned setting and it was just for a few hours.Eyelashes: Red Cherry lashes... sorry I forgot the number, but they're not as dramatic. Eyeliner: Smashbox jet set gel linerBlush and contour: MAC blush in harmony, MAC blush in desert rose, and MSF (MAC skin finish) in soft and gentle for face highlight. 

Eyeshadows 

MAC pigment: naked

MAC e/s: carbon

Stila e/s: white eyeshadow to highlight. Sorry but I don't know any of the names for my Stila eyeshadows. 

Brows

MAC paint pot in quite natural 

Jordana color effects eye shadow in total black out

LOTD: dazzlelights + carbon & new hair cut!

On Friday I went to pick up my new point and shoot camera that shoots HD video. I've been wanting to make youtube videos but my Sony point and shoot takes the smallest videos (320x240!!!) and my dSLR is too heavy and takes too much memory. So I went and got a Canon one although I haven't tested it out, and because I didn't have a chance to try out my new eyeshadows, I created this look:

Products used
Foundation: MAC studio fix in NC44 set with Coty airspun loose face powder in translucent
Concealer: Kat Von D concealer in almond
Lips: MAC l/s in spirit
Eyeshadow base: Too Faced shadow insurance and MAC paint pot in bare study
Eyelashes: Maybelline one by one mascara in black. I really don't like this mascara because it doesn't hold the curl as much as I'd like it to, although I do like the way it thickens. I just lost my trusty Maybelline falsies mascara, I hope I find it soon, but just in case I don't I already went to my neighborhood drugstore to replace it.
Eyeliner: Smashbox jet set gel liner
Blush and contour: MAC blush in harmony


Eyeshadows
MAC e/s: dazzle lights
MAC e/s: mystery
MAC e/s: carbon
Stila e/s: white eyeshadow to highlight. Sorry but I don't know any of the names for my Stila eyeshadows.

Brows
MAC paint pot in quite natural
Jordana color effects eye shadow in total black out

Incidentally, I got a new hair cut to get rid of my split ends and get rid of the tremendous amount of layers that I had from the same haircut over and over and over again. I also colored my hair but might be coloring it back to black or dark brown soon.


In other news, I'm irritated at the fact that a few days ago I had re-done my tag list and because it just had to be during the time when blogger was having issues so it got reverted back to the old tags. That was a waste of time...

Review: Sally Hansen "flirty eyes" eyelash curler & haul

Even though I know that you should stay away from curling your eyelashes, I do it anyways because it's the only way to make my single eyelids bigger to seem more awake. I naturally always look tired because my eyes are so small. :( So thank goodness for eyelash curlers and mascara when you don't feel like wearing falsies or investing in eyelash extensions, eyelash growth products, or the patent pending lash mascara that lasts for weeks. 

I can get away without wearing make-up... except for my eyebrows. When I'm drawing in my eyebrows, I tell everyone it isn't make-up just to make myself feel better... hahaha. So, I don't tweak my eyes every single day of my life because sometimes I get lazy or run out of time since I'm not quite a morning person. 

On another note, I love great drugstore beauty buys. One of my favorite drugstore brands from the very start is Sally Hansen. I was always fascinated with nail polish so I would be excited to see 40% off sales and would bulk up on products. Sally Hansen just came out with a bunch of beauty utensils that don't look like it's from the drugstore. I don't care whether or not things look like its from the drugstore, I just care if its decent or great quality for a bargain.

I got a nipper $10.99, brow scissors $6.99, and eyelash curler $5.99 from Walgreens. I know they're currently on sale at CVS (in Hawaii for sure) and they're 40% off which is the best deal ever. I bought mines too early. :( Oh well. 

Here are the corresponding captions to the following pictures:
First & second pic: right eyelash curled with no product on
Third & fourth pic: both eyelashes curled with two coats of Maybelline falsies mascara (my HG product! <333)

Review: I personally like this eyelash curler. It fits my eye just right so don't get it unless you have small eyes like me. It's not as wide as other eyelash curlers like Shu Uemura's or MAC's, I know that even though I don't own any of those. They do have another type of eyelash curler, so maybe it'll be a hit... or miss... for you beauties who have bigger eyes than me. :)

LOTD: mash up/review of Borghese, Jordana, Coty, Rimmel (LONG POST!)

So for the past many months that I haven't been blogging, my make up collection has been expanding (but that's not new!). Part of my collection is a bunch of Jordana color effects eye shadows as well as a set of Borghese brushes from Costco. They're great make up buys since the eye shadow retails for $1.69 at my local CVS and the ten-piece brush set for $23.99.

I like how the brushes have a label for usage, although most of the time brushes are indeed versatile. 

Included are:

Round foundation brush

Duo-fiber blending brush

Angled eye contour brush

Eye powder fluff brush

Concealer brush

Domed smudge brush

Eyeshadow brush

Angled eye/brow brush

Powder kabuki brush

Products used
Foundation: Rimmel Match Perfection foundation in 420 warm sand set with Coty airspun loose face powder in translucent
Concealer: Kat Von D concealer in almond
Lips: Jordana lipstick in mauve
Eyeshadow base: Too Faced shadow insurance and MAC paint pot in painterly
*Eyelashes: Falsies from eBay
Eyeliner: Stila smudge pot in black.
Blush and contour: MAC blush in blunt

Eyeshadows - all Jordana
Mauve my way
Gunmetal
Ms. brown
High maintenance
Creamy vanilla
Total blackout
Pretty peach

Brows
Wnw eye brow pencil in charcoal
Jordana color effects eye shadow in total black out

*Eyelashes: I personally don't like the eyelashes that I got. They're a boxed set of like a dozen lashes. They're too heavy for my single eyelids, so I wouldn't wear them out. I've used them for many of my past looks but just for the added dramatic look.


REVIEWS
Borghese brush set: Overall they're all great brushes. Some shed during the initial uses, but that's expected and it stops. The duo-fiber blending brush is practically a smaller version of E.L.F.'s stippling brush, of which you all should know by now is a highly-raved product although I haven't done a review of it. The eyeshadow brush and eye powder fluff brush were pretty big but still useable for blending. The powder kabuki brush is also HUGE! This is a total must for all you make-up lovers. Think of it as buying ten brushes for the price of one at Sephora, Nordstrom, or MAC! =)

Jordana color effects eyeshadow: Some are hits and some are misses so you don't necessarily get what you pay for. My favorite is total blackout and creamy vanilla, I guess because those are the colors that I use in almost every palette for personal use. I do believe that having a good eye shadow primer applied to your eye prior to usage is very important! It's VERY, VERY, VERY important, emphasis on very. I love UDPP and Too faced shadow insurance topped off with MAC paint pots. Try it out, you'll love it! And a little goes a long way!

Coty airspun loose face powder foundation in translucent: Great, great, great powder for setting foundation since it's very finely milled, and cheap! I've got oily and problematic skin, and this doesn't break me out so it's love. <3

Rimmel match perfection foundation in warm sand: It's a great drugstore foundation. A bit sheer so if you're looking for medium-heavy coverage this isn't for you. This type of foundation is my "everyday" foundation for when I go to work or school, meaning when I don't want to use my expensive foundations or don't have much time to put on make up I'll turn to this. It's hard to find a drugstore foundation that's the least bit closest to my skin color, but this one seems to blend in well even though it may be a tad bit light for me. I like going lighter rather than darker anyway.

Stay tuned for upcoming posts:

• Comparison of Borghese duo-fiber blending brush and E.L.F.'s stippling brush
• Swatches of Jordana color effects eye shadows

Phew, now that was a mouthful. I hope you all have a great Mother's Day weekend!

LOTD: purrfect eyes + trolley ride

I am officially on vacation mode, kind of. After all, now that school is over I'm working full time... which sucks but I need the money. 

I don't know if you can tell much, but my eyebrows are growing. See how super thin they are, and how much it wouldn't matter if I plucked them or not. Up close, like 6 inches to my face it's pretty noticeable, but confrontation at that sort of level seldom ever happens. 

I am totally loving my lashes, because they complement my Asian eyes well. I'm sorry but I do not know what brand they are, but if you look through my previous posts, it was a 2-pack one in a haul with a few of my Missha falsies. 

I kind of forgot what I used, but it was my typical foundation routine with the use of one of Stila's talking palettes, "purrfect eyes." 

I didn't do a great job of showcasing the trolley ride in the pictures to come. But basically, it's what I think is to be the new annual tradition of my boyfriend's family - riding a trolley that takes us on a route around Ala Moana and down town, singing Christmas songs, greeting pedestrians, and spectating at the aurora of city lights that bring an inch of Christmas spirit into Hawaii. I sure do wish it snowed here, then it'd be perfect. Or if not, be at least cold to the point where we can see our breathe, giving me a legit enough reason to wear cute pea coats/trench coats. One day, one day... 

Dustin said the lights were pretty in the background (picture above).

My boyfriend looks awfully tired, and that was the exact reason he didn't want to camera whore with me on such a perfect and festive moment where we both planned job to wear red. Luckily I got him smiling in a decent picture. 

Gosh, my the fatness of my cheeks fluctuate on a monthly basis during that time of the month, and so do my arms. When it's time for my menstrual period, my arms are pretty stick thin an look a bit more toned. Haha. 

This would have been a nice picture if he didn't stick those darn middle fingers out. I didn't even want to smile after that. -_-

LOTD: Wnw lust palette + reviews (Wnw, Revlon, Lucido-L)

Last week, Revlon had contacted me via email and wanted to give me some products, so I was like sure. When I received and opened the package, I instant knew I would love the more dramatic falsies (even though I haven't worn it yet). :) 

I've never tried Revlon's falsies, neither have I tried any brand of fake nails. I have yet to try on the fake nails once I give myself a manicure, so stay tuned for that post. 

Please excuse my ugly fingers :( Here I have applied Revlon's lash adhesive to the falsies they gave me. This is enough product to provide for a great application. It looks blue-ish when you put it on the falsies, but it dries clear... thin and clear. 

Today I bought a bunch of wnw products, two palettes, and five lipsticks in fact, and I wanted to test one of the palettes. After all, many are currently raving on them. I'm using the 6-color palette in lust. Most of its swatches have matte colors... which I find rather on the difficult side to blend :( or maybe it was because the brush I used to apply the purple was still damp from a cleaning... which explains why it's like that. :P Over all, it's a great and affordable ($4.99) palette found at your local drug store. Great color pay off. I think that Wnw has been stepping it up, ever since they came out with more pigmented nail polishes.  

So I tried Revlon's false eyelashes in 91168? (The less dramatic ones on picture above). On it's packaging it says "ultra lightweight" which I definitely agree on! I've never bought their falsies because I tend to go for the cheaper ones ($1 for the win!). I believe they cost $3.49, but they're really, really ultra lightweight so I might actually buy these. I've only seen them in certain drug stores... I think Walgreen's carries them. But what I loved best about these lashes is they're the perfect size for my eyes. ^_^

I went outside to eat dinner after putting on my make up (lol, I put make up when I get bored or have nothing else to do even though I have no destination to go to... people do it all the time!) and my grandma instantly noticed that my eyes appeared bigger. She complimented me on how she liked my make up, but really I think the cause of my bigger eyes were because of the falsies. I love these eyelashes, it's no wonder a lot of other bloggers love them too. I'm late when it comes to product wonders at times. 

Revlon falsies

Price: n/a (but I think they go for $3.49)
Product: 5/5 Ultra lightweight... an absolute love!
Packaging: 5/5

Wnw palette in lust
Price: 5/5 $4.99
Product: 5/5 Great color payoff.
Packaging: 4/5 because I think it could go without the make up applicators I never do use.

Now I'm going to review the Lucido-L hair curl lotion. It's always great to apply some sort of styling product to your hair before you curl it because a lot of times if you don't, your curls end up looking crisp. Always use a heat protectant though! It's supposed to create an "airy" (as its bottle says) curl, and it really does. I used Conair's 1" hair curler to curl my hair, scroll down for my results. The spray has a light scent that goes away in an instant. Keep in mind to set your curls with a hairspray because this product alone won't do that for you. I love Lucido-L hair products, I actually bought two other hair products (can't read them though... lol) when I went to Hong Kong and I had a great experience with them. Incidentally, I think Lucido-L is the female version of the popular male hair styling products under Gatsby... I THINK. 

Lucido-L hair curl lotion

Price: 5/5 $5.99

Product: 5/5 Smooth hair! Great!

Packaging: Along with the rest of the Samy hair care line, their packaging is colorful and eye-attracting.

(products not shown have been shown in previous posts) 

Products used
Foundation: MAC studio fix in NC44
Lips: Wnw matte lipstick in 915B
Eyeshadow base: UDPP and MAC paint pot in soft ocre
Eyelashes: Revlon falsies
Eyeliner: L'oreal lineur intense

(My cheekbones are highly defined, and a lot of times it seems like I've added contour to my face, but I didn't. :P I love exaggerating my cheeks by contouring it with Benefit's hoola bronzer, MAC blush in harmony, or MAC blush in blunt.)

Eyeshadows
Wnw palette in lust

Brows
Ardell brow liner in black
Jordana eye shadow in black