Real Techniques Bold Metals Colleciton: Review!

Can we all just take a moment to soak in this beautiful sight...

The metallic handles, the luxe gradient to white brush hairs, the packaging. If you didn't already know these are the Real Techniques Bold Metals collection. I saw a picture of them on Instagram a few weeks ago and almost developed a hernia out of excitement. Today I found them in store and I am so glad I did. 

Now these are much more expensive than regular Real Techniques brushes. The face brushes were around 25 dollars and the eye brushes were around 15. This does seem like a steep increase but honestly they are still significantly less than MAC or even other luxe brushes that are sold at Ulta so I didn't have much issue handing over my VISA, especially because coupons and point rewards apply!

As you can see I picked up four brushes, the large powder brush,the tapered blush brush, the shader brush, and the pointed crease brush. They are one of three metallic hues, face brushes are gold, eye brushes are silver, and my personal favorite, the cheek brushes are rose gold. There are a few more brushes in the collection however they didn't seem super worth it for my personal preferences (they were gorgeous though). 

This is the large powder brush. All the brushes feel heavy and very luxurious so this is no exception. Its a dense semi flat paddle style powder brush that I know I will use daily.

This is the tapered blush brush. It's quite a small blush brush but I love that because it's unique to the rest of my blush brushes. It's wonderful for blush application as well as contour or highlight.

Quite possibly my favorite of the collection is this tapered crease brush. It's incredibly dense, short bristled, and excellent at what it is intended to do, which is apply color in the crease. I used this today and I loved it for the exact application of crease color that I desired. After that I blend out the color with one of my fluffier brushes and voila!

My last brush choice was the classic shader brush. This one is superior to the others I have because it is large enough to cover my inordinately large eyelids in one swipe. It applies a good wash of color evenly and beautifully.

Overall did is obviously a rave. The price could be cheaper, however, when is that not true? It's obvious that with the upgraded price they have also upgraded the quality in the brushes. 

Will you be picking up any of these gorgeous brushes? I'm not positive but it seems like these are limited edition. 

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and/or Hanukkah. Mine involved a lot of food and alcohol, which in my world is how it should be! 

Winter Makeup Look

There really are no excuses for my absence at this point other than I started a new job and have been overwhelmed preparing for grad school. Damn, those are excuses, aren't they?

Anyway, let's get down to business (to defeat, the Huns). I'm writing to you from a very dangerous location, it's called Nars Lane. Aka, the place where I bought one Nars powder product and now can't stop. The blushes, the eyeshadows, the special collections. I can't help myself and I don't really know if I want to. 

So here's my take on a glowy, probably overdone, definitely themed winter makeup look.

The star of this look is my Nars Dolomites eyeshadow duo. This came out with the autumn collection so it may be hard to get your hands on it, but if you can, do. I hunted it down off of Barneys.com and am so glad I did. The lid shade that I used is the purplish pink on the left. It has a shot of silver sparkle that gives the shadow a metallic look on the lids. After applying one or two layers of this over my Laura Geller Cool Lids Eyeshadow in Rose Gold (a product I got in a kit that is nice but I wouldn't necessarily recommend), I worked the brown hue on the right into my crease. 

The costar  of this show is definitely Nars Almeria Blush. It is also limited edition although it was from the winter collection so it should be more available. The packaging is special (not pictured, a shattered glass-esque print of the front of the normal Nars packaging). In addition to that, the actual product is gorgeous. The color is a rusted brown plum color with hints of red. The perfect "wind swept" winter blush to pair with any lipstick, especially those of the darkest hues.

To complete my cheek look I pulled out my newest and go-to highlighter, the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Moonstone. I could probably write an essay about this product and let me know if you want a full review, but overall it's just a gorgeous, pigmented, smooth, soft as butter, and luminescent highlighter. It creates the most gorgeous candlelit glow that I can't get enough of. I also use it as a highlight on my inner corner and brow bone.

Ahh, a plum lipstick. My old friend. This is an old tone for me but a new product. This is Bobbi Brown's Creamy Matte Lip Color in Crushed Plum. I'm pretty obsessed with this formula because as an avid matte lipstick wearer I often suffer from dry lips. This color is mostly matte and doesn't dry out my lips to the point of no return. Way to be Bobbi. 

So here's the finished look! A winter look that I wear in about ten different variations all winter long.  Glowy skin, smokey-ish eye, dark lip. 

I hope everyone is having a fantastic start to the holiday season. Wear some red lipstick, sing some Christmas songs, and drink some hot chocolate (either spiked or not). 

Happy Holidays, I'll be checking in soon! (I've been buying myself two gifts for every one I buy for someone in my life...whoops)

Tarte Pin Up Girl Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush Palette- Holiday 2014

A few months ago I saw a fellow and much more successful beauty blogger's instagram post which featured what she was wearing that day. Well, she had a beautiful Tarte holiday palette on display. Now, I began hunting it down like a ravaged wolf, however it appeared to be completely out of stock. I had hoped to find it on ebay or something for an exorbitant price which I would have gladly paid but alas, I could not hunt it down. Cue my excitement when I heard rumblings of another holiday blush palette being released by Tarte this year. The second I knew it was in stores I drove to Sephora and snatched it up. (I was actually working that day at Sephora, which I believe is the last time lol whoops sorry I am not cut out for mall work). Anyway, I bought this beauty. And let me tell you, it's freaking gorgeous.

WHY CAN'T I INSERT HEART EYED EMOJIS ON MY MACBOOK.  I would put them right here if I could.

From left to right they are: Breathless (a pinky beige-brown), Embraced (plum rose with shimmer), Whimsy (true pink), Bashful (a rosy peach), and Irreplaceable (a mauve rose).

These blushes are just as gorgeous as the normal Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 hour Blushes, which is saying something because we all know that oftentimes Holiday releases are sub-par in quality. Well, not this time. The colors are rich, unique, and supremely gorgeous. The only one that isn't matte is the second one from the left, Embraced, and it gives off the most beautiful and subtle glow when applied. Here they are swatched in order:

The only problem I have with this palette is the packaging. It's a chunky, gold, paisely patterned clutch with a ribbon and two bobby pins attached. I'm not even picturing it because it's in my opinion heinous and pretty useless. Luckily for Tarte I can't resist their blushes, especially when new colors are released. They are quite possibly my favorite formulation of blush, especially because of the longevity of wear. They stay on your cheeks pretty much all day, they may dull down but they are always present on my makeup remover wipe at the end of the day.

Overall for 40 or so dollars, I say snatch it up and enjoy. It's quite beautiful and definitely handy to have stuffed in my makeup drawer amongst all the Revlon Lip Crayons I have an about 6 eye makeup palettes which are perfectly arranged. I attribute this skill to years of tetris on my Motorola.

Until next time!

Fall Face of the Day

Today was the first day that Michigan felt like fall and so of course, I went all out. I donned my new leather jacket, pulled on a pair of Steve Madden combat boots, and did my makeup the way I love to do it the most. I broke out my Naked 3 palette, layered it over a paint pot, and gave my cheeks some color with a favorite blush. Here's one of my go to looks for fall.

As you can tell I went for a warm, bronzed eye look with a little bit of smoke and a lot of blending. First I put Trick, a beautiful golden peach shade, across the lid, then added Buzz, a darker pink color, to the outside corner. I blended it all together with the two matte shades, mainly Limit in the crease and then Nooner on the outer corner and lightly through the crease. Then I highlighted with Strange on my brow bone and innter tear duct because your girl can't not highlight.

For my face I did my normal concealer/powder routine to perfect my skin. To add color I put Rockateur, Benefit's best boxed powder in my opinion, across the apples of my cheeks and up farther back onto my cheekbones. It's a gorgeous bronzed, pink shade with enough shimmer in it to give a nice natural sheen. to highlight even more I added my all time favorite highlighter, The Balm's Mary LouManizer highlighter, across the top of my cheekbones, on my cupid's bow, and as another highlight on my eyes. This stuff gives the most beautifl gleam to the skin, giving my ever-pale complexion much more depth and life. 

For my signature dark lips, I utilized two Mac products. I lined and filled in my lips with Currant lip liner and then applied Media lipstick. It turns into a gorgeous vampy shade with a bit of shine, which is odd for me as you all know matte is the way to go for me on most occasions.

Here's the look again!

Why yes, that is a lipstick patterned sweatshirt I have on. Fitting, no?

But yes this is a normal fall day's makeup for me. Personally I love a multitude of options for a fall look but it usually boils down to a bold lip and smoked out eye. 

What do you wear for fall? Do you go all out or go for a more natural look?

A Switch to the Dark Side

By the time mid-August rolls around I'm ready to ditch my bright lipsticks and begin to embody my witchy self and head for the dark side. It might be a bit soon to some but to me, fall is the time I get to dress the most "me" so I'm going to wear dark lips and combat boots as soon as possible. Some may call me gothic, some ask me if I am a witch, but in reality I just love a dark lip against my complexion (and also I want to be a witch). 

They're all MAC save for one, and no one is surprised. When I go dark I pretty much go matte and because of this, I lean toward MAC. In my opinion they make the creamiest, most pigmented, and longest wearing while still comfortable mattes. Yes, they dry your lips out after wearing them the entire day, but I accept that when I get a beautiful, long wearing, lip color. I also have one Lorac Pro color in one of my favorite non-matte lipstick formulations.

From left to right I have MAC Lingering Kiss, MAC Instigator, MAC Media, Lorac Pro Dominatrix, MAC Diva, and MAC Sin. Do the first two make me look goth? Yep. Do the last four look too much alike to justify owning them all? Probably. Do I regret any of them? NOPE. I love wearing dark lips daily in the fall through the winter so I love having all of these options. 

Lingering Kiss is darkened burgundy red color that is absolutely striking and unique. It's a matte formula and a new purchase for me as it was just released with the MAC A Novel Romance Collection. If you see it and like a dramatic lip like I do, get it. You won't regret it.

Instigator is ugh, my best purchase last winter. It's a dark matte purple/burgundy. It's much more purple than the rest of these and inspires the most questions of my witch status. Am I a practicing witch? Only in my dreams. But this is as close as I get to living my fantasy.

Media looks darker in the tube than it really is. Yes guys, to me, this isn't that dark. It's another dark burgundy matte color but when paired with a burgundy lip liner it's absolutely perfect for fall. It's permanent but a must buy to me.

Dominatrix by Lorac Pro is the least matte of all of these, giving off a slight sheen. I don't love this aspect but it is nice to have a not so drying option for a super dark lip. It's still not shiny or anything crazy. The pigmentation is excellent and the formula is creamy and easy to apply. 

Diva is an all time favorite and the nub of lipstick in this color that I have left proves it. It's a beautiful dark matte, burgundy red. I used this all last fall and winter because it was the only matte color I had in this kind of hue. Thus, all these other purchases.

Sin is very similar to Diva in color and texture. It has a hint more purple than Diva and for that I figured it was worth picking up this special edition gem. Let's be real, you put a MAC matte lipstick in front of me then tell me it's going to disappear soon, I'm going to get it and love it. 

Do you feel comfortable wearing a dark lip? Every time I do I get comments, whether positive or negative I decided a long time ago to do what I want and not care what anyone thinks.  

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush: Review

I can hear the chorus of "Ooh's" and "Aah's" as I type this. Yes, I am finally reviewing the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes. I have three of them, whoops. These blushes are some of the most talked about products to be released in 2014 and to be honest I hesitated for a while to purchase one. They're pricey, about $35, and they are available only at places that sell Hourglass, aka Sephora. I figured, Kylie, you have enough blush. But then, I saw them.

I mean come on, right? They're too pretty to walk past too many times. The shiny rose gold packaging, beautiful mirrors, and gorgeous veining were all calling my name so I treated myself. 

First I picked up Luminous Flush, a beautiful pink color infused with the prettiest gold shimmer that just gives a sheen to the cheeks. Now, when purchasing these, I recommend looking at them in person. And by that I mean open up the packaging in the store and make sure you're getting good veining. Every blush is different so if you want more color or more highlight then buy accordingly. After purchasing this bad boy I was hooked, and began to plan when I could afford to buy the others I wanted. 

Dim Infusion was my next purchase. It's a corally orange shade laced with the same gold shimmer. I'm telling you, that shimmer is like crack. 

Lastly and most recently I purchased Mood Exposure. This is a gorgeous neutral shade and mine has a lot more pigmented color instead of the shimmer. It's still gloriously sheen-inducing however. And I'm really looking forward to using this all fall.

Here are the three swatched in order from left to right. 

Overall, as you can tell this is a rave review. The blushes are gorgeous. I've seen a few reviews saying they weren't that pigmented but honestly I don't think you can understand how pretty they are simply swatched on the skin. You need to put them on your cheeks and wear them in the sunlight because that's where their true glory is seen. Yeah, they're just blushes, but they perk up any makeup look in my opinion. And that's worth a lot.

Until next time!

Stila "Eyes Are The Window" Shadow Palette Review

I know what you're thinking, "Kylie, you already have the Naked Palettes, a Too Faced Palette, the Lorac Pro Palette, etc, why do you need another neutral palette?" And to you I say "shhhh". No, I didn't need this. But did I want it? Yes. Did I leave work, speed to Ulta, grab it off the shelf like a rabid wildabeast, run to the counter, and throw my credit card at the cashier as if my life depended on it the day this came out? Yup.

*Insert heart-eyed smiley face emoji here* . That gold metallic packaging though.

 This is the palette in "Soul". There are three other very nice palettes but I chose the most neutral, obviously. This palette is a mix of shimmers, satins, and mattes all in a range of neutral and wearable hues. THey range from a matte cream, a champagne, to a dark brown shimmer and a matte black. I've already used every single one of these eyeshadows and I've owned this about a week and when you have as many eyeshadows as I do this is an accomplishment. This is the biggest accomplishment of mine this summer, that may be sad but it's my life so deal with it.

*Takes sip of beer

Anywho, this palette is quite beautiful. As I stated, all the shades are the kind that I wear on a daily basis. I generally take one of the shimmers across my lid and into my crease, then deepen the crease with one of the matte shades in the middle row. The shimmers/satins are definitely creamier than the mattes, as is true for most eyeshadow brands in general. The mattes do work well for crease work and they blend very well into the other shades.

These are the shadows swatched starting at the bottom with Kitten which is the champagne shimmer (it's kind of cut off sorry!). You can't really see the first shade in the upper left corner on my skin as it is intended as a highlight shade therefore it matches my skin tone.

As you can tell the shades are all pretty similar and as you get to the shimmer dark browns they aren't terribly pigmented with just one swipe, which is how I swatched them here. I don't mind that because when I add these kinds of colors I often just want them to deepen up the look, I'm not big on smokey eyes myself. My eyes are too big for too dark of an eye look and I start to resemble a lemur. Or my cat. She rocks a full eyeliner look as you can see here.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

So I would recommend that out of these new Stila palettes, if you want a true neutral palette then get Soul. Definitely take a look at the others though, they were gorgeous but had too much variation for me. My lipsticks are so bright that my eyeshadow has to stay pretty neutral.

Is this something you could see yourself picking up?