Bronzed Blush Look

This time I have an actual real reason why I was absent from blogging for so long.
I had final papers due for my summer class and then, the unimaginable happened.
Fitz, my beloved Macbook Pro, was taken from me by Apple for a week and a half to be completely rehauled and repaired.

But now he has been returned. I'm all moved in to my apartment back up at college and I'm ready to buckle down and accomplish a lot of blog posts.

So normally in summer I switch from darker blushes to bright pinks, corals, and even some oranges. However, recently I've become obsessed with the neutral, bronzy cheek look. This is great for the transition from summer to fall. It adds color to my pale complexion without being completely unnatural. There are a few blushes I've been using to achieve this look.

   

This is MAC's powder blush in "Margin". It's a Frost finish, meaning it gives a sheen with no glitter, and it's a fantastic warm toned coppery natural pink. I actually got this as my first MAC blush ever for my senior prom, four years ago might I add (YEARS STOP GOING BY), and it's still going strong. It's necessary to have a light touch with this because it is highly pigmented and also can lean very copper, to the point of looking extremely unnatural. However, if you use a light hand it gives an effortless, bronzey glow to the cheeks with a sheen that I love.

This is the newest addition to my neutral blush collection, MAC's powder blush in "Poised". Now, this does not look all that different from "Margin", however on my skin it comes off much more brown and neutral. The sheen is less since it is a Satin blush. It has been my go to blush for the last month or so, I'm completely obsessed. I am convinced it would work on all skin tones because if it works on me, it will most likely work on you. 

This next beaut is MAC's Mineralize blush in "Warm Soul". This is a gorgeous beige pink with a gold pearl running throughout. It appears as if it would be glittery however it really isn't. It gives a beautiful warmth to my skin that isn't comparable to anything else I own. I wouldn't recommend it if you're extremely warm toned however.

Here's Mac's "Poised" on the cheeks!

Sorry I don't have swatches, I had some but they were lost somewhere between my camera and my computer. Let me know if you want specific looks with these blushes to show how I transition from summer makeup to fall makeup. Also I apologize that they're all MAC but I've really been loving MAC's blushes recently. They're affordable and just gorgeous on the skin.

Sorry this post took forever to post. I will try to be more diligent. Thanks so much for reading you gorgeous humans!

Face of the Night: A Summer Concert!

At the end of June my beautiful big sister took me to the O.A.R. concert for an early birthday present. I took this as an opportunity to doll myself up. Here's what I came up with!

Essentially I did a bronzey eye with a bright red lip. I also attempted to bring a lot of warmth to my skin so that I didn't look too pale in comparison to my arms, which have developed quite the tan for me.

These are the products that I used!

 After my normal face routine I moved on to the eyes. This is the Stila In the Light palette. This has been my go to summer palette this year, I have even used it more than my Naked palette from Urban Decay.  I put down a primer, then placed Bubbly all over the lid. I put Gilded Gold lightly on the outer corner and into my crease, added some Bliss in for good measure and a little bit of Sandstone in the far outer v as well. I highlighted with a mix of Bare and Kitten. I topped it off with some of the last of my Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay mascara and my eyes were complete!

This is the NYC Bronzer in Sunny. This is a great matte bronzer that I can see myself repurchasing for years to come. It's great to add a very natural bronze to your face, even if you're pale like me. For this look I added a healthy amount in the hollows of my cheeks for a bit of contour, then on my temples, down my nose, and on my chin. Oh and by the way this is only $2.99 so holla at your girl. This is my favorite drugstore purchase of all time.

For good measure I decided to go with a neutral blush. This is MAC's Warm Soul Mineralize Blush. It's a warm neutral pink hue with a vein of gold shimmer that adds a gorgeous shine to the skin and eliminates the need for a highlighter. I love it in the summer and winter.

Last for the lips I decided to go hard in the paint and went for my new favorite lipstick ever, MAC's Ruby Woo. I paired it with the Cherry Lip Pencil I hauled a few posts back and whala! A great red lip.

 

So this is my take on a summer concert look. I definitely didn't go for natural beauty but hey, you only get to go out and dance around to one of your favorite bands with your big sis so many times in your life!

I hope everyone has a great weekend, TGIF!

OPI Did it Again!

This past year or so I made a decision to use up as much of my nail polish as I could before buying any more. Slowly but surely I used up bottles and bottles of nail polish and I found myself left with very few colors for summer. It gave me a perfect excuse to stock up on pretty pinks and corals. This is my favorite so far this summer. 

It's OPI's "Shorts Story", the name of which is perfect for me since I essentially live in denim shorts during these hot months.

Isn't it pretty? It's the perfect bubblegum pink with just a little bit more oomph to it. By oomph I mean a deeper warm tone that makes it not your average pink. It's a great cream finish and goes on opaque in two coats. OPI has my favorite formulation and it lasts the best on me personally. This has been my go to for both my nails and toes the last couple weeks. 

I hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine as much as I am right now. It finally feels like summer in Michigan and I can guarantee you there's nothing better than a beautiful Michigan summer. 

Have a great day, thank you for reading! Talk to you soon.

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?