Friday, January 20, 2012

January Birchbox

Hey guys! Sorry I've been kind of sloppy with the last couple of Birchboxes, I haven't posted them at all! But that's because I was so unimpressed it was just really meh to me and not even worth the effort of posting them. I hadn't gotten a full-sized product in a while, or one I considered useful. They all seemed like filler stuff. But this month's Birchbox is totally different! Not only is there a full-size product, but I liked the box overall!










*Product list to be updates at a later date

Sunday, January 15, 2012

MAC Redhead Mineralize Skinfinish

Hello everyone! Recently I stopped by MAC, and even though I really wanted to look at the MAC Naturally Collection, I did hold off because I knew I would end up buying it all. I set my sights on just 1 piece from the collection- Redhead MSF. I've been wanting the Brunette, Blonde, Redhead Collection to relaunch for forever because all those MSFS were gorgeous, as was the whole collection. Unfortunately for me I don't think they will ever relaunch the whole collection, or at least not the pieces all together, but they did at least release Blonde and Redhead MSFS (why no Brunette?! I wanted that one too). So I have for you here, Redhead. There are swatches galore, as well as pictures of me wearing it as blush (it can also be used as a highlight, or in any way your heart desires really). There are two different types of swatches- the strips individually, all the strips swirled together to make the blush I'm wearing in the pictures, and different combinations of the strips. Finally, I beg you forgive the messy handwriting on my skin accompanying the swatches! I was writing on skin after all :x





Each Strip Individually

Each Individual Strip and the colors all swirled together

Close-Up of All the Colors Swirled Together

Combinations of Strips Swirled Together:
First Two Strips| First Three Strips| Second & Third Strips| Last 3 Strips| Last 2 Strips 


Pictures!







Overall: Overall I like the Redhead MSF and don't plan on returning it, but I don't think it's a product you can't live without. It does emphasize pores a little, but it's a nice overall cheek product, and gives a nice glowy pinky-peach shine. I imagined it a little more bronzey- pinky, as opposed to peachy. Sorry if I uploaded too many pictures of myself, but I wanted to show Redhead in as many different ways as possible to give an accurate idea of what it looks like on the face. It's not a very obvious blush, it gives more of a hazy all over glowy cheek as opposed to a solid blush look. At $28 it is pricey (at least to me), but it's something I waited to reemerge for forever, so I don't regret buying it.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Girl About Town

MAC Girl About Town that is! I must warn you that throwing this lipstick on will make you feel like a girl about town. I felt like one, even in my pajamas! I do apologize for that haha, because the first three pictures are me in my Betty Boop shirt :) Don't worry, afterwards I throw on an acceptable blazer ;)

Getting back to Girl About Town, it is best described as a great hot pink/fuschia color and the perfect choice for an unexpected bright and bold lip. In terms of my makeup, I honestly felt like anything less then the eye makeup I did (as neutral of a smokey eye I could achieve with such a lip) on my face and features would just make the look too unbalanced. Most people go by the standard of either dramatic lips or dramatic eyes, and I agree with this standard when I'm doing eye makeup for glasses, but on my face I feel like it needs a bit more punch to look done and finished in general, when it comes to me with my rare contacts.

 I did a lot of shimmery light highlighting under the browbone and gave my lid a nice shimmery vanilla beige-y color, with some glitter sparkle added on top thanks to MACS Antique Gold Reflects Pigment. I used Urban Decay's Darkhorse, a great dark browny shimmery shade in the crease and outer V, and added some black to the Outer V and right above my lid. I added black liner on top and in the waterline, and a dark brown to my lower lashline. Add false lashes, bronzer, blush/highlighter if you desire, and of course Girl About Town (or a similar hot pink lipstick!) and the look is done :) 





Note: I will try to get a picture of the lipstick w/o flash because it shows up as more neon then it is! In person it is a bit darker and really hot pink, whereas this looks like more of a Barbie pink, but I figured it was worth the close-up anyway :)

Brows:
Shiseido Brow Pencil

Eyes:
Urban Decay Darkhorse Eyeshadow
Urban Decay Creep Eyeshadow
Stila Kitten Eyeshadow
Stila Bare Eyeshadow
TheBalm Sultry & Sleek combined for lower lashline
MAC Antique Reflects Gold Glitter Pigment dusted on lid lightly
Maybelline Colossal Lash Mascara
Demi Ardell Wispies (I really don't like them in these pics, either I applied them badly because they look too obvious and criss-cross/spiky, I got a defective pair, or it just didn't work for this look and I wish I had just changed my choice in false lashes to a different pair)

Face:
Graftobian Glamour HD Creme Foundation
NARS Casino
NARS Madly
Dior Amber Diamond Highlighter
Laura Mercier Setting Powder

Lips:
MAC Magenta Lip Pencil
MAC Girl About Town

Bonus: I did this makeup today to take pictures with a friend! We had, a very interesting experience, to say the least, taking these classic photo strip pictures at Forever 21. I got the hot pink lip and she got the red! Enjoy our hilarity, and our many, many bloopers :)

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Bridal Makeup

Wedding mania has become more pronounced then ever, and the heavens have responded by providing women everywhere with magazines, shows, and movies dedicated to the big day. From Bridal Guide Magazine, to Say Yes to the Dress, to wedding-themed movies such as Bride Wars and Bridesmaids, weddings are definitely the buzz on everyone's lips, and for good reason. A girl's wedding is definitely one of the most important days of her life. So in honor of weddings, I have decided to do a post on wedding makeup!

I've often thought about my big day. To be honest, I have so many ideas swimming around about it that I've never been able to pin down exactly what I want it to be like. I do know however what kind of makeup I want, and that's glamour makeup. I want to be a glamorous bride, and the epitome of what I want to look like is embodied in these two pictures:



This is one of the most beautiful makeup looks I have ever seen, and although it wasn't designed to be a bridal look, I think it works perfectly as such. Everything about it is glamorous, but not too over-the-top or inappropriate. The eyes are soft and smokey, the lips are full and pinky neutral, and the skin is flawless. The hair itself is also ultra-glamour queen, set in soft, full Hollywood waves. 

That's my specific ideal of the perfect wedding makeup. However, tons of varieties exist. In general, wedding makeup tends to be neutral. 






In terms of eyes a girl's best friend are shimmery beige, bronze, gray, and taupey colors. Lips are more flexible, but tend to be pink, peach, beige, or red (for very dramatic brides!). Skin is always flawless and set to last all day, and the cheeks are usually glowy and flushed. So, in order to help you gather inspiration, or achieve that soft smokey eye or perfect neutral look, I have compiled a TON of my favorite Bridal-inspired YouTube tutorials. I hope you enjoy!

Vintage Bridal Makeup:

Celebrity Artist Kandee Johsnon's "Perfect Bridal" Makeup Tutorial:

Megan Fox Glamour Makeup:

Kim Kardashian-inspired Bridal Makeup:

Asian Bridal Makeup:

DulceCandy's Very Own Bridal Makeup Tutorial (what she really wore on her big day!):

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Night Out... almost.

I was getting ready tonight to go clubbing for a friend's birthday when the plans got cancelled :( Good for me really because traveling at night in New York City from Washington Heights back to Queens is a horrible horrible journey. But I was still disappointed. Nevertheless I made use of the makeup I spent so much time on anyway by documenting it in order to post it here! I hope no one minds that I was on the phone in most of these pics! A girl's got to do what a girl's got to do! Anyway, I did a classic red lip smokey eye combo (medium gunmetal was the main color) with bronzer, blush, and highlight. The colors were so much more vibrant in person, and I'm sorry I forgot to take a picture looking down so you can see all the shadow! :( I plan on redoing this look in the future, so hopefully then I will have made a few more dramatic changes and will photograph it more adequately. Lastly, I wore the necklace I picked up from the Alex & Chloe collaboration with Forever21, which I mentioned in my post below, in case you were wondering what it looked like on! Hope you enjoy.





Eyes:
Stila In the Light Palette (Matte Cream, Shimmery Black, and Matte Black colors)
Maybelline Colossal Lash Mascara
Ardell Demi Wispies
Urban Decay Zero Eyeliner

Lips:
Chanel Dragon Allure Lacque

Face:
Graftobian HD Glamour Creme Foundation
Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder

Cheeks:
Tarte Park Ave Princess Bronzer
NARS Madly Blush
Dior Amber Diamond Highlighter

Friday, January 6, 2012

Forever 21 Jewelry Haul!

I went to Forever21 with my friend Nicole yesterday and found a few great accessories! :) I bought the two items I was most interested in from the Alex & Chloe collaboration with Forever21 which was a little pricey. The cross earrings were $6.80 and the necklace was $14.80. I believe the other two earrings were $3.80 each. We had a blast playing in the photobooth too! I decided to be a hippie and grabbed a hideous fur vest and aviators. Unfortunately you can't really see the vest in the pic, but if you look really hard you can see a little of the gray peeking through! My friend changed in each pic!

 






Love it! :) Hope this gives you inspiration <3

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

My Deepest Darkest Desires...

Not really! But these certainly are a few things I wish I had :) 

My Christmas List:


I'm so happy that I got a big portion of what was on my list :) If you want to know what I received, check my post down below!

My Current Lusts (including of course what I didn't receive from the above list haha):

Mr. Bunny and Mrs. Bunny Sigma Synthetic Brushes! I want one in a travel size and one in a full size :)
The Beautyblender Sponge
Estee Lauder Maximum Coverage Foundation
Gold Glittery Flats (Esperaza from Call it Spring)
Fur Vest (specifically one from Pac Sun which I refuse to accept is now sold out)
MAC Mineralize Foundation
Z Palette
NARS Lovejoy Blush and Laguna Bronzer
MAC Reflects Antique Gold Pigment (So glittery!!)