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? 

What's in my (now much smaller) handbag!

Recently I was going through TJ Maxx as I so often do, and I found a gem. I started, as usual, in the handbag section of the store. Normally I just drool over the Michael Kors and Kate Spade purses I can't have and then I saw it, a hook with multiple Rebecca Minkoff bags. I've been lusting after this designer's bags since they got fame in the youtube community and it seemed like every vlogger I was watching had a mini MAC. So, I couldn't turn it down. And, I splurged. Treat yo self, amiright?

This is the Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAC in Neon Yellow and Almond. It has one small pouch in the front where I usually keep my phone then just one large pocket with a small separated section where I keep my name tag. This bag is much smaller than all my other daily bags but I love that I have to pare down what I bring along with me. I'm definitely guilty of putting way too much stuff in my purses and I don't realize it until I carry it for more than five minutes and my shoulder is throbbing. I've cut down what I carry to the real essentials. I have my Coach wristlet which I use as a small wallet, my car keys, my name tag for work, a lip moisturizer, eyedrops for my chronically dry and itchy contact lens wearing eyes, and my perfume rollerball that has my summer scent, Mark Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh. Within my wallet I have my necessary credit cards and debit card, along with my license and if by some miracle I have stopped at the ATM, cash.

I hope everyone enjoyed this post, seeing as I am the nosiest kind of reader I love these types of posts and videos so I hope you do too.

Until next time!

The Color of my Summer: Hot Pink

Summer 2014: The summer of hot pink, at least for this girl. Last summer I was obsessed with orange toned hues for my lips and cheeks, and I do still love a great orange-red lip, but this summer my favorite tone has been a bright, almost neon, fuschia-pink hybrid. It's brightening, flattering, and always makes me feel a little bit less dead at 7 am when I leave for work. I've found products for my nails, lips, and cheeks in this color and I figured I would share my newest obsession.

First on the docket, one of the only lip glosses I'll use. This is the Revlon Lip Gloss in Pink Pop, and it's actually not a recent purchase. I've re-discovered this beauty from when I picked it up at my homeland of Target a year or so ago. It's glossy, a little sticky, and has a good color payoff, especially for a drugstore gloss. All in all, I would say it's worth a try.

Ahh, the lipstick that sparked the movement, Lorac's Highly Pigmented Cream Lipstick in Vixen. This is a matte, bright fuschia pink that goes on easy and stays on forever. I love this formulation but unfortunately the other colors seem to come off as dull and a little boring. Maybe that's just me though. Overall this is a must have lipstick for me and I've used it a bunch this summer.

Another oldie but goodie, this is Maybelline's Vivid Lipstick in Fuchsia Flash. This color is insanely bright and beautiful. My only problems with it are the smell, that awful Maybelline cheap makeup smell, and also the fact that it's not matte. For brights like this I prefer them to be matte but I usually dab this in after I apply and wear it that way. It gives a nice stain afterwards and I often get compliments on it. If you're looking for a drugstore option, I would give this a try. 

Oh yes, I bought another bright pink lipstick. And this one, is my favorite. Thanks to the beautiful program that is Back2Mac (6 empty products for a lipstick or eyeshadow), I didn't even have to pay for my new favorite lipstick. This is MAC's Pink Pigeon. This was special edition a while ago and I remember being mad that I missed it, but back then I was scared of lipstick and just oogled them from a far. But it was recently re-promoted and released permanently so I'll never be without this gorgeous, matte, bright pink lipstick ever again.

Yes, I did include non-lip products. This is MAC's Beauty Powder Blush in Bred for Beauty. It came out with the Moody Bloom collection so it may be hard to get ahold of, but if you can, do it. It's a bright, reddish pink that comes off on the cheeks as a great natural flush and pairs well with all of the lip products I talked about earlier in the post. I highly recommend it.

My last addition to my bright pink collection is an overpriced but beautiful nail polish by Nails inc. in Sloane Street.It's the same bright pink hue in an acceptable, standard formula. The reason I say it's overpriced is that it does take a few coats and it is a dollar more than an Essie and has less product. However,  when I bought this at Ulta I spent a good 15 minutes taking it around with me and comparing it to all other nail polishes from every brand I could find and I couldn't find another exact dupe. So I bought it, and it's gorgeous.

Here are the lipsticks and blush swatched, starting from left to right it is MAC's blush in Bred for Beauty, the Revlon lipgloss, the Lorac Pro lipstick, the Maybelline Vivid lipstick, and my all time favorite, the MAC lipstick.

What is your favorite color to don this summer? Do you like pink or are you more prone to corals or orange? 

Until next time!

NYX Butter Lipsticks: A Review

Ahh, the sheer lipstick. What a fickle, fickle friend the sheer lipstick is for me. If you read this blog or know me at all you know that I usually love an opaque, matte lipstick. I rarely reach for glosses or even my creamier lipsticks that leave a sheen. I don't know why but it's just what I gravitate away from. Cue the hype surrounding the NYX line of "butter" lip products, specifically the Butter Lipsticks. I was sucked in and I am not afraid to admit it. But, I have three and I didn't return any, so stay tuned to hear words that I didn't think were even possible.

I like these sheer lipsticks. There, I said it. The world didn't end and pigs aren't flying, although that would be completely awesome. These lipsticks are creamy, moisturizing, pigmented, and shiny. They're everything you could ever want in a sheer lipstick. 

Ok, I'm getting way ahead of myself. The colors that I have are "Little Susie",

"Razzle", and "Fun Size" left to right. "Little Susie" is a beautiful strawberry red, a perfect choice for lips that look like you just ate a pound of Bing cherries, (that's a shout out to my fellow Michiganders). "Razzle" is just what its name suggests, it's a fuschia toned bright pink that fits in perfectly with my favorite summer lip color: neon pink. Finally, "Fun Size", which was my first purchase, is a wonderful peachy orange nude that I can apply without even looking in a mirror.

Back to the review. As a whole, these are wonderful and I want more colors. I still find myself reaching for more matte lipsticks but for days that I want to wear less, be more subtle, or if my lips are just dried out from constant matte lip stains and crayon-like lip lipsticks, these are perfect. They are true to the colors that are in the tube just slightly more sheer with a healthy shine, but not a true gloss. Because we all know I am not a huge gloss girl. 

I definitely recommend these, from lipstick addicts like me to beginners there is a shade for anyone and everyone. And for the price, about 5 dollars without the almost regular buy one, get one 50% off deal at Ulta, they are a must buy.

Are you into the sheer lipstick trend? Are you splurging on Chanel or sticking to NYX like me? 

Summer FOTD!

Tonight I was going out to dinner and drinks with my friends from high school. I had plenty of time to get ready because Mondays are my day off and I had little else to do other than apply for writing jobs and hope someone hires me. So I figured, let's apply a ton of makeup and see how it turns out.

And here it is! As you can see I went for a golden, bronze eye with a bright orange-red lip. It's my go to look in the summer and I think it's season-appropriate while staying true to my makeup taste.

Here are all the products I used:

For my eyes I started off with a recent purchase, MAC's Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Rubenesque. It's a beautiful peachy bronze champagne hybrid color that works well with my brown eyes and also the summery look that I was going for. 

For my eyeshadow I used my new Lorac Pro Palette. I resisted the temptation to buy this palette for months but I finally caved. I'm so glad I did. The shadows are creamy and blendable. They're also all wearable and I find that I can get just about any look out of this collection of shadows. I used Light Bronze all over my lid then put Gold over the outer 3/4 of my eye. I worked Taupe into my crease, a beautiful warm brown shade. I then packed a little bit of Sable onto the outer third of my eye and blended like my life depended on it to create a bronzed, golden eye look.

I used my the deluxe sample of the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer that I have to warm up my face. I placed it primarily under my cheekbones, on my temple, and along my jawline. I then dusted a light amount of it over my entire face just to give my translucent skin a little bit of color. Ya know, so I don't glow. Then I added my new baby, the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Dim Infusion. A rave post about these blushes is definitely forthcoming. For an even better highlight I added The Balm's Mary Lou Manizer highlighter to my cheekbones, cupid's bow, and brow bone. 

For my signature red lip I used MAC"s Proenza Schouler special edition lipstick in Mangrove. It's a matte red-orange that I'm completely obsessed with. I mean am atte red, come on. It had my name written all over it.

And here's the complete finished look complete with a smile and awkward hand gesture. 


I really enjoy making my skin appear glowy and tanned (for me) in the summer so this is the kind of look I do every day, obviously switching up the colors. I hope everyone's summers are starting off well, I know mine is a bit of a bummer so far. The boy is far away in our college town and work is boring at best. Oh well, it's time to find a pool on my days off, save up money, and keep applying for jobs using my degrees.

Until next time!