Mascara for Sensitive Eyes

It's been too long. I could give you a lot of excuses but mainly my reason for not posting recently is that I've been spending my days working and sleeping, and that's about it.

I seem to have finally rested up from the semester so here's a post I've been meaning to make.

I have super sensitive eyes. They're dry, I wear contacts, and I have bad allergies. I pretty much have the holy trinity of eye sensitivity. Most mascaras make my eyes itch so incredibly bad to the point that I can't wear mascara at all. This may sound melodramatic but let me tell you, watery and itchy eyes aren't cute and make you want to sleep all the time. This is not really effective for life so I had to find a solution.

 I decided that this was just silly and that I could find something to work for me. I went on a mission to find good mascaras that don't make me want to pluck my eyes out. I felt like I was searching for Carmen San Diego. That song is now stuck in my head. Anyway, I proved victorious in my search both at the drug store and at Sephora. Here there are...

This is the Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara. Now, I've tried both of Tarte's mascaras and they both work on my eyes. The brand as a whole tries their best to be as natural as possible and in general they are low on irritants. At the moment this is my favorite mascara ever. It's a little bit expensive at around $19 dollars but honestly that's less expensive than many others at Sephora. Plus, it doesn't itch my eyes, so I would pay just about anything for it. In addition to not irritating my eyes it doesn't flake, keeps my lashes curled, separated, and lengthened. Plus it's very build able without getting too clumpy and making my eyelashes look like tarantula's legs, which is never a cute look let's be real here. The wand is pretty standard and the formula isn't very wet but it's also not going to dry up in a hot second. It's a happy medium. All in all it's great for everyone, even if you have the trifecta of ailments to your eyes like me.

This is a great option for the more budget conscious gal or guy. This is the Physician's Formula Fake Out Mascara from their Organics line. This one doesn't bug my eyes at all, however you have to be careful since the wand is quite wide. I often get mascara on my contact when I use this. Granted, my eyes are huge and I am not very graceful or careful with any mascara wand, but I felt I should warn you that it's not idiot proof. The formula is pretty dry. In general this gives a natural yet build able look to the eyelashes. It may flake slightly but only if you rub your eyes excessively like I do because it's a bad habit that I need to stop. It's the best and only drugstore option I've found that works well and doesn't irritate my eyes.

So there you have it, a few options for those of us who have eyes that are dry, itch, or require corrective lenses. But remember, these are great mascaras for everyone. I recommend them to all.

TGIF guys, happy payday and happy summer to those of us who are on summer vacation! (I am. mwahahahah) I'll do my best to post more frequently now that all I do is work and sleep, with the occasional dinner out with a friend. Oh and lots of quality time with my dog.

 Talk to you soon!

Face of the Day with the Tarte Palette!

I am in the midst of the hell that is finals week preparation. If you are in the same boat, may the force be with you.

Anyway, like the responsible college Junior that I am, I decided to procrastinate by writing a blog post. So here's a face of makeup I wore the other day that I really loved and felt great in all day.

 I started off with my normal face routine (I'll post later, I promise.) then I moved on to the eyes.

I used the Tarte Aqualillies palette for the majority of the look. If you want a full description and review of it I have a post. I used mainly Barefoot on the lid, with Bikini, Sundeck, and a little bit of Hammock in the crease. Then I used Parasol as a highlight in the inner corner and on the brow bone. It created a great bronzy, gold, brown eye that I really liked.

I used the blush, highlighter, and bronzer from this palette as well. Again, go check out the blog post for swatches and more detailed descriptions.

For my lips I used my new favorite lipstick of all time (it changes a lot), MAC's "Lady Danger". It's a great bright orange red color that's perfect for summertime. The finish is matte so it can be a little drying but as you know, I love a matte lip. It stays on for ages which is always a plus with the weather finally warming up.

And here's the finished look!

It's definitely simple but with enough color that it's perfect for summer. It didn't take my too long but all the products are long lasting so I didn't feel the need to touch up at all during the day, which is always a plus.

Good luck if you're like me and are finishing up your school year. Finals suck but we're all in this together. (Cue me singing High School Musical). Until next time!

Tarte Aqualillies Palette: Review

Recently I decided to go on a bit of a makeup buying binge. I had not purchased any "high end" makeup in a couple months and I needed my fix. (I realize I'm addicted. It's fine. I've accepted it and that's the first step, right?)

Anyway I was surfing the Sephora website looking for a new cheek color and I stumbled on this little beauty. I looked up reviews and was sold. It's the Aqualillies for Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Eye and Cheek Palette. Holy wordy title, Batman. 

Here it is in all it's gorgeous, summery beauty. Note the ridiculously pretty and sturdy packaging. I'm in love. Here are the colors swatched.

These are all the eyeshadows.

From left to right they are, Poolside, Sundeck, Parasol, Barefoot, Bikini, and Hammock. 


Now. There have been a few reviews that say some of the colors are slightly chalky with low pigmentation. In my opinion they are pretty solid eyeshadows. They aren't up to the caliber of Urban Decay, however Tarte is a much more natural brand that doesn't use any parabens or sulfates. I think they're pretty great especially considering that fact, plus they are very buildable so you can do a sheer wash or a high intensity color. They're very smooth and are good shadows overall which I enjoy using. I've used them all a ton save for Poolside, which I will have to build up my courage to use this summer, probably just under the eye as a pop of color or lightly in the crease.

The highlighter is "Champagne", the bronzer is "Park Avenue Princess", and the blush is, "Captivating"

These are the real stars of the palette to me. The blush is a gorgeous dark coral pink. The bronzer is known to be one of their best products, it's a nice matte, neutral bronzer that works even on my pale as the moon skin. The highlight is a gorgeous champagne highlighter that offers a nice sheen without sparkle.

Overall I am extremely happy I got this palette. I don't know yet if it's waterproof but I know these products pretty much stay on my face until I take them off with makeup remover at the end of the day. It's a perfect palette for travel and you can pretty much create an entire face of makeup with just this palette and a lipstick. The colors all go great with my pale, neutral toned skin and I think they would look great on pretty much anyone's skin. I've thoroughly enjoyed the palette and would recommend it to anyone. It's a great deal at $38 for all these products.

I hope everyone is having a nice beginning to their Spring. I'm finishing up my Junior year and I'm pretty much drowning in homework so this is probably my last post for a week or so. I'll be sure to post much more regularly in the summer. Talk to you guys later and thanks for reading. :)

The Day my Lips Accidentally Matched my Nails

You may be thinking, this is a random post. And yes, by golly it is. But I found this coincidence too funny not to document it. 

This reddish coral hue has become my favorite color for the awkward time between Winter and Spring. It's not too dark to be considered a Fall or Winter color and it's just bright enough for me to feel like it's sunny outside even when it's 40 degrees and sleeting. (Thanks, Michigan weather) 

The nail polish is OPI's "Red Lights Ahead...Where?". It's a great bright red with a hint of coral. I find OPI to be consistently great as far as consistency and application. It's probably my favorite brand in that aspect and this is no exception.  I have three coats on here but two would have been suffice.(I compulsively over polish) The lipstick is sadly discontinued, but it's one of my absolute favorites; Revlon Matte's "Strawberry Suede". It's the same bright coralish red as the nail polish and lasts for hours on end with minimal re-application required. If you can get your hands on this online snatch it up. I know I'll probably be repurchasing a backup because it may be my all time favorite lipstick.

I hope everyone is having a good week, I know mine has been way too stressful. I can't wait to go home and hang out with my family, whilst also writing my final research paper draft for my hardest class. Ahh, the glamorous life of a college student.

The Holy Grail of Lavender Nail Polishes

As you can see from the title, I have found my holy grail in a particular hue of nail polish, lavender.

Now, it is taking every ounce of my self control not to make a "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" reference here, so I'll abstain. But people, go watch that movie.

Anyway, back to my newest favorite nail polish. This color is from Essie's Spring 2013 collection, and it's entitled, "bond with whomever". What that means, I really couldn't tell you, but I know the polish is pretty spectacular. It's a gorgeous neutral, true lavender color. I have tried just about every lavender color out there from just about every brand that doesn't cost over 9 bucks for a bottle of nail polish, (Butter London you're killing me),and none of them compare to this beauty. Most others lean more pink or purple but this one is right in the middle.

It's a cream finish that is pretty much opaque in two coats, however being the OCD person that I am when it comes to my nails, I put on three for good measure, along with a top coat. The nail polish finishes pretty shiny on it's own, it's no gel polish but it's a nice shiny finish as are most Essie polishes that I have.

I obviously really love this polish, and I may have to go get another one as a backup before it disappears from the shelves. It's limited edition so if you're interested go pick it up!

I hope everyone has a nice week, I should be posting again soon. Thanks for reading!

Face of the Day #3

As the title suggests, this is another face of the day. I know, I know, I've already done a couple of these but I've been bogged down with school work, (Who let me double major? Why did I think this was a good idea? Someone tell me!), and so this is one of the easiest posts that I can make. I've still been pretty slow with posting so I figured it was okay that I show you what I wore the other day on my facial region.

These are the products that I used along with a picture of the whole look.

So as you can see I went for a taupe, shimmery eye look along with one of my favorite Spring lipsticks. For face I did my normal routine which I'll do a post on all by itself soon.

 I started by priming my eyes as always and then applied the shimmering taupey gray color in the bottom left corner, called Sandy Rose, from this palette all over the lid, then applied the matte counterpart, called Hot Stone, from the upper right corner into my crease just for some definition. Then I used the white shade on the top left under my brow and in the inner corner of my eye for a bit of a subtle highlight. I got this palette over a year ago and it's the Bobbi Brown Sand Tortoiseshell Eye Palette. I don't think you can get it any more but you could use any taupe shimmery shade and get the same effect.

To finish off my eyes I used a new mascara that I have, the MAC In Extra Dimension Lash mascara. I hated this mascara at first but now that it's aged a little and dried up a bit I love it so much more. Apparently I'm a dry mascara formula kind of girl.   Unfortunately that means I need to get another new mascara soon. I'm thinking the Make Up For Ever Smoky Lash? Maybe? We'll see.

Moving on to cheeks, I went for a pretty natural and neutral pink blush, Benefit's Hervana Blush.

I truly love this blush and wear it basically every other day. It's the perfect neutral pink that goes with just about any eye and lip combination without ever overpowering either of those things. I also highlighted my face with my Mac Cream Color Base in "Pearl". This baby doesn't look like much in the pot but it's perfect for day to day use. It's a gorgeous cream shade with a pearl that gives my skin a nice dewy glow without any obvious sparkle or chunks of glitter.

Once I was done with all of this jazz I got to my favorite part, the lipstick. I didn't fully appreciate this lipstick when I first got it, but recently I've been reaching for it all the time. It's a great transition color for this time of year, when it's still cold (at least in Michigan, we're still in a deep freeze with no signs of thaw) but you still want to have some more color and brightness to your face. It's Mac's "Speak Louder" lipstick.

As you can tell this lipstick is a great dark, reddish pink. It's a creamsheen formula, which isn't my favorite most of the time, but in the Spring I do appreciate the extra moisture that this formulation provides. Here's the whole look!





So there you go, my third face of the day! I will be posting more in the next week or so, so keep a look out. Thanks for reading, I hope everyone is enjoying the madness that is March, and Go Green!

The Best Cream Eyeshadow, Ever (REVIEW)

Okay, first of all I'm sorry it's been almost a month since I posted last. After only about a month of being healthy I got really sick again. The combination of three illnesses at once along with being busy with schoolwork kept me out of the blogging game for a while. But I'm on Spring Break now and I actually have the time to breathe and do something I enjoy. Thus, this post.

So I have a real love for cream eyeshadows. They're a super simple and easy way to make it look like you've put a lot of effort into your eye makeup without actually putting in the effort, which is key to me for life in general. Plus, they tend to stay on a lot longer than powder shadows. All these reasons mean that I've tried quite a few cream eyeshadows. Whether I've owned them myself, tested them on my arm at Sephora, or used a bit of one that one of my friends has, I've tried just about every cream shadow out there in search of the best one. I think I've found it.

These are two of my holy grail product, MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Cream Waterproof Cream Color.

I currently have two of the colors, numbers 13 and 15.

Number 13 is a shimmery, champagne color. It has more pink in it than similar products, like Mac's Paint Pot in Bare Study. This is a gorgeous shade that I use all the time, as you can see by the sizable dent I've put into it. It's perfect for every day use, both underneath other shadows and on its own.

Number 15 is a taupey bronze shade. This is perfect for the days that I really want to look like I put a lot of effort into my makeup look but don't have the time to use four shadows from four different palettes. If you put this all over the lid and into the crease it gives great color and dimension that lasts hours.


Here they are swatched. #16 is on top and #13 is below it.

Now that you know what colors I have, here's my rave. These shadows are amazing quality. They are creamy and incredibly easy to blend. They give a subtle shimmer but have no chunks of glitter in them, unlike some of the other cream shadows I've used. They last as long as you want them to and I've never had a problem with them creasing on me. They can be used as bases or as shadows on their own. They are over all a fantastic product.

There are a few bad aspects to this product. First off, the packaging is plastic. This seems like a small detail but for the relatively hefty price tag, about $26, it would be nice if the packaging was glass, a la the Mac Paint Pots. My other qualm with these is the smell. They have quite a strong "cosmetic" smell that while I can't describe, because I'm awful at describing scents, I can surely tell you it isn't pleasant. You can smell it while you're working with the product until it dries on the eyelid. It's not awful but I would have preferred a nice vanilla scent as I usually prefer my makeup to smell almost good enough to eat. (I have an obsession with food, whoops)

Even though there are a few small problems the actual product is amazing. I intend to pick up some more shades at some point in the future.

I hope everyone is enjoying this (slightly) warmer weather that has settled over the midwest. If you're somewhere that is already warm or is always warm, I'm super jealous considering I'm still huddled under my heated blanket. Thanks for reading, gave a great week, and I'll definitely post again soon!