Rimmel Show Off Lip Lacquers First Impressions Review!

Quite a while ago I read a post by Essie of essiebutton.com about the Rimmel Apocolips liquid lipstick thingys. I googled my ass off and found out that they were a UK exclusive. After cursing the makeup gods for such a travesty I attempted to move on. But every time I walked through a drugstore or my mecca (Target) I would swing past the Rimmel section and scan for a beautiful display which would deliver to me what my heart desired. Two days ago I watched a haul video on Youtube by Eleventhgorgeous and they had bought these new Rimmel lip products called the Show Off Lip Lacquers. I was a little too excited to learn that they were the same product as the Apocolips. Rimmel tried to hide them from us but they couldn't. What saucy little minxes.

Once I knew they were in the US I was on the hunt. I checked out Wal-Mart and Target to no avail, but I got a text from my friend today which said that Walgreens was having a 15% Friends and Family sale and that these little babies were on display. I hurried my butt over there and purchased the two brightest colors they had and here they are.

I got the shades "Apocaliptic" and "Stellar"

Stellar is a great orangey pink color. It shows up more coral in real life than in this picture. It's incredibly opaque, creamy, and with a nice sheen. 

Apocaliptic is a fantastic bright pink shade that has a hint of coral to it. It has the same opacity and finish as Stellar.

Here they are swatched

Overall these have great pigmentation. I'm not sure what their lasting power is yet since I just purchased these but I will let you know. They aren't advertise as long lasting and they are quite smooth so I can't imagine that they will last more than a couple hours. The applicator is a doe foot shape that has a well in it that holds some of the color so one swipe gives you enough product to cover your lip and makes application a dream.

The major con for me with these is the smell. It is god awful. It's a heavy, plastic, incredibly potent smell that lingers for quite some time. I'm not usually sensitive to smells but this one is so strong that it legitimately turns me off to the product. Luckily these were only about 5 dollars at Walgreens so I can get past the scent. It does disappear eventually so I think these Lip Lacquers and I can still be friends.

These are a great product that lives up to the hype. I would definitely look into purchasing them even if you're not a huge lip gloss fan because I know most glosses drive me crazy and I like these.

In other news I just have to say that yesterday made me even more proud to be an American with the Supreme Court rulings on DOMA and Prop 8. Love is love people, and I really hope when I have kids some day this won't be an issue any more.

Until next time!

I Got that Super Base...or Do I?

I went for the Nicki Minaj reference. You're welcome.

Painting my nails has become damn near a daily routine. Honestly even if my nervous/bored habit wasn't picking my nail polish off I would still probably have to paint my nails a lot. My job includes a lot of unboxing things and filing, (yay country club summer job), and according to my mother our family has oily nail beds. Needless to say my homemade manicure usually chips in about a day. I refuse to bow down to my job and genetic makeup so yeah, I go through a lot of nail polish. I just like my nails to feel peppy and glossy and refuse to let them look as haggard as I usually feel at work at 8 am.

With all of this established it's clear that this girl needs a base coat. And a good one at that. So with this in mind I headed off in my little car to the bountiful land of Target. I trolled the nail polish section and decided after googling many a review and looking around as if I was shoplifting something, (which I wasn't), on this. It's the Essie "Fill The Gap" Treatment. It's supposed to be anti aging and also a good base coat for your nails which generally helps to prevent staining and extend wear. It is a milky color when it goes on. I usually apply this, two coats of my colored polish, then a shiny top coat.

As you can see it does have a slight color to it. I usually look for this in base coats because it makes my nail polish that much easier to apply and more vibrant. This one doesn't necessarily help my nail polish stay on longer, not much does, but it definitely helps with preventing staining which is honestly my biggest problem. My nails also seem to be growing faster since I started using it. All in all I would buy it again and would recommend it if someone is looking for a protective base coat.

Do you use base coats for your nail polish? If so, what kind do you like? I'm always on the hunt.

Until next time!

They See Me Haulin', They Hatin, Patrolin'...

And tryin' catch me hauling dirty?

Yeah the pun stopped working after the first line. I just couldn't help myself.

Recently I worked a bunch of extra hours so I was obviously compelled to blow it on makeup. A few were necessities but more were just for kicks. So, here we go!

As you can see, over the course of a few trips to Macy's and a few online orders  being delivered to my doorstep by my angels dressed in brown, aka UPS delivery people, my makeup collection has grown a bit. Here are the beautiful bits that I picked up;

This is MAC's Ruby Woo Lipstick. Because I definitely needed another red lipstick. I don't have enough at ALL. Either way it's matte and cool toned and gorgeous. I'm in love.

After purchasing Ruby Woo I obviously had to go back and get a liner to match and the lovely artist helped me pick out Cherry Lip Pencil. The artists at my closest MAC counter are starting to recognize me and I'm not sure how happy/sad that makes me. I haven't even used this puppy but I'll keep ya posted.

Recently I've been annoyed with how my lipsticks were wearing off since the weather is so hot. Naturally this lead to my purchase of the MAC Prep and Prime Lip Primer. I also haven't tried it since I just got it but I'll surely do a review soon.

Ahh Nars Lip Pencils. You're gorgeous. This is NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Luxembourg. It's a great bright watermelon color. It's gorgeous, I'm in love, and I'll probably end up purchasing multiple colors. It wears well, applies like a dream, but is expensive for the amount of product that you get. Oh well, ya win some ya lose some. I would be that this will be shown in a face of the day soon.

This is my favorite concealer, the Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer. I'm obviously the shade Fair. It's full coverage and my Holy Grail concealer. I ran out, tried some others, and had to go back to this baby. There just isn't anything better.

I have a mild obsession with Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes and this is the newest addition to my collection. The color is Blissful. It's a great orangey (surprise) peach color that is a great everyday kind of color. Just like all it's brothers and sisters it is extremely long wearing and highly pigmented. It's love.

When I picked up the other MAC items I also repurchased a favorite, the MAC Mineralized Skinfinish Natural in Light. My drugstore powder ran out so I decided to retake the plunge and pick this up. It's a great natural looking powder that I'll probably always repurchase.

This last little baby is something I got for using a code in my Sephora order. It's the first CC Cream I'll try and hopefully it will work out. I've been wanting to give one a try since every BB cream I've tried has been too dark and just made my skin oily. Either way, it was free so I'm good with it.



So that's what I've bought in the last couple weeks! Hopefully I won't be able to do another one of these soon since I should be saving my money...

Oh well. Let me know if you like these kinds of posts! Happy June :)

My Top Summer Lip Colors!

Warning: if you don't like bright or matte lip colors I would walk away now. Or click away. Whatever. Alls I'm saying is, bright orange lips straight ahead.

Anywho, if you read the title you know this will be a list and swatchfest of my top summer lip colors. The majority of them are orange toned because I have convinced myself that they are the most flattering on my slightly warm toned pale skin. I apologize for my obsession with them but I am what I am. So here we go!

This little beauty is Mac's Vegas Volt lipstick. It's my second favorite finish, Amplified, and it's a gorgeous true coral color. Over a year ago, right as I boarded the lipstick obsession train, I was furiously googling for the perfect coral lipstick. I came across a review for this little gem and immediately placed an order on Mac's website. I put it on once and was sold. It's a gorgeous coral color that strikes the perfect balance between orange and pink. It's great for my pale skin that has a lot of peach undertones and I imagine that it would work on just about every skin tone since it is so balanced. It's honestly gorgeous and I find myself wearing it almost too often. I think it makes my other lipsticks jealous.

 

This lipstick is not for the feint of heart. It's Mac's Sounds like Noise and it is everything. Let me explain. This is the lipstick from the Hayley Williams for Mac collection that released in April. With that release my world was made. I'm not even being dramatic. Okay maybe I am but oh well. I'm a little too obsessed with Hayley Williams, I mean who isn't? I would love to be a badass rocker chick who can headbang and sing perfectly on pitch at the same time. When I found out about this release I had a conniption/heart attack combo. The only thing that I found incredibly necessary to purchase was this lipstick. With that incredibly long and unnecessary backstory out of the way, I can talk about the lipstick. It's a bright orange matte color that to me is perfect for summer. It's creamy and applies evenly while incredibly matte. If you're not really into orange toned things on your face run in the opposite direction of this because it's true to the color that it is in the tube. The only place you may be able to get your hands on this is Amazon or blog sales since it's sold out on the Mac website but if you're into oranges and you find it I say grab it. It's wonderful. 

Now guys, I debated on showing this one. But I had to stay true to what I really love for summer. The reason I struggled with adding this baby is because while it may be my all time favorite lipstick it's also discontinued. Long discontinued. It's Revlon's Strawberry Suede. But! You can still usually find a tube of it on Amazon or some other semi shady website that we beauty junkies find on our hunt for discontinued items that we have convinced ourselves that we need. I found out about this beauty from Estee of Essiebutton. She raved about it and I immediately searched for it online and found it on Amazon. I paid over what the original price even was but I got it and I haven't regretted it, even for a minute. This is a gorgeous bright, almost neon. coral. It has a lot of red in it which is why I love it. The formula for Revlon mattes is one of my favorites. They apply creamy and almost completely matte. They do dry out the lips but I expect that from matte lipsticks. Comparatively these aren't bad at all. All in all this lipstick is just perfect for summer and honestly, I've been known to rock it all year round.

You may think I'm crazy because yes, this is a strikingly similar color to Strawberry Suede. But alas, that's one of the reasons why I love it. This is Mac's Lady Danger. It's also a matte formula and it's my perfect summer red. It is a bright, orange red hue that immediately brightens up my complexion. I talked about it in my most recent face of the day post, which you should check out if you haven't already. I don't have much to say about this other than it's kind of perfect and if you're looking for a close dupe to Strawberry Suede this is pretty similar. I consider them pretty different but side by side there is minimal difference. I'm just obsessed with this kind of color so I hoard them like those people on Buried Alive hoard newspapers and cats.

This is my final orange lip color for this post, I PROMISE. Revlon lip butters are kind of perfect for summer, even for girls like me who usually rock a completely matte lip. I hate glosses so this is about as close to a shiny lip as I'll get. In addition to the three new shades of lip butters that I talked about in my previous post, which I'll be wearing all summer I can guarantee it, I love Tutti Fruitti. It's a great true orange with a slight hint of coral. Like all lip butters it can be sheered out or built up for a more opaque color. This one is a permanent shade and you can find it anywhere Revlon is sold. My preference is Target because their dollar cheaper price sucks me in every time. 

After all those orange tones we have reached the point in the post where I realize that most of my collection is composed of oranges, panic, and switch to a nice neutral pink. This is Mac's Chatter Box. It's one of the only pinks that I can comfortably wear without feeling like a bad hooker. This is a great middle ground for those out there who, like me, are terrified of barbie pinks but still want a rosy hue for summer. It's an amplified finish which means it's highly pigmented, goes on smooth and opaque, but has a ever so slight creamy sheen. It's a great color that I reach for weekly, and even more often in the summer.

This is a cult classic and I understand why. It's Mac's Impassioned amplified lipstick. It's a bright, hot pinkish coral color that is one of my all time favorites. Last summer I wore it just about every time I left my house at night. I warn you, it's damn near close to neon. If you're not into bright colors I would stay away from this beauty. But if you like to wear a bright lip, even every once in a while, you need this one. I have seen people of all skin shades working this lipstick so don't be shy if you are my pale as snow skin color or a much deeper skin color. Go to Mac online or find a counter and just buy it. Do it.





























This last shade is probably the most wearable. It's the Maybelline Color Whisper in Mad for Magenta. I have a whole post raving about these because they truly are a wonderful product. I have quite a few but I find this to be the most unique and fun to wear in the summer. It appears to be a dark purple but on the lips it comes off as quite a bright, purplish pink that is great for an easy summer lip. I know I'll be wearing it a lot on days that I want to look pulled together but can't quite put forth the effort.

Here they all are in order, swatched!

From right to left: Vegas Volt, Sounds Like Noise, Strawberry Suede, Lady Danger, Tutti Fruitti, Chatter Box, Impassioned, and Mad for Magenta!

What do you like wearing in the summer? Are you like me and go for brights every day or are you more of the glossy, natural kind of girl?

Gasp! New Revlon Lip Butters!

Revlon Lip Butters and I have had a tumultuous relationship. I bought my first one and regretted it the second I put it on. I remember thinking they were too shiny and not that moisturizing. I threw it in the back of my makeup drawer and didn't think about it again.

Then I kept seeing other bloggers and youtubers talking about it, so I pulled it out, applied it to my lips, and fell in love. They are a little shiny and they aren't all that moisturizing but I don't care any more. The pigmentation is great and the sheen that they give is about as glossy as I get seeing as lip gloss is my arch nemesis and my lips are usually as matte as the day is long.

When I found out Revlon was releasing a collection I got my friend to drive me to Target and we went hog wild. We ended up going to a few stores just to find one of them. I have a problem, I'll admit it but that doesn't mean I'm doing anything to change it.

Ahhh, aren't they just glorious? The collection had four colors but I only picked up three of them. These are Juicy Papaya, Wild Watermelon, and Sorbet.

Juicy Papaya is a great coral-peach color. It's a perfect my lips but better kind of color for me because I have a peach tone to my skin and my lips. This has been my go to color recently and it goes with just about every eye look. It's a no brainer and I highly recommend it if you're looking just to add a little bit of color to your lips without it being overpowering or difficult to apply.

This is Wild Watermelon. It's a gorgeous dark reddish pink that is a great summer option for a red lip, which we all know I love. It's a beautiful and very unique color that I find myself reaching for quite often.

This last color is Sorbet. It's a light pink-fuchsia shade that is great for me. Personally I'm not a huge fan of the barbie pink look with my complexion so this is a good option for me when I want a pink lip, especially for summer. I think this would be flattering on just about everyone and it's definitely worth a shot. 

Here they are swatched! From left to right, Juicy Papaya, Wild Watermelon, and Sorbet. 

These came out a little while ago but I still see them in most stores so I bet you can get your hands on them.

Do you like Revlon Lip Butters? If you haven't tried them then you definitely should!

I hope everyone is getting off to a good summer. Happy Monday!

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!