80's Challenge and a Brief Haul Video!

Here's my 80's look! What I remember from the eighties is bright purple, pink, and blue eyeshadow! Ha. :) So that's what I used. My mom told me that EXTREMELY winged eyeliner was "in" back then, so I added that into the mix. I was also rockin' a high side ponytail and an off the shoulder shirt. :) The off the shoulder shirt is pink and I didn't have one in another color so it was PINK overload. NO joke. LOL. :) Sorry about that. :P Hope you find this funky 80's look entertaining. LOL.

What I Used
Face:
Everyday Minerals Intensive Foundation in "Buttered Tan" (applied wet)
Everyday Minerals Concealer in "Sunlight" (under eye circles/bags)
NYX Concealer Pot in "Beige" (blemishes)

Cheeks:
T 1-2-3 Minerals Blush in "Cool Pink"
Val's Beauty Blush in "Passion"
Silk Naturals Blush in "Vino"

Lips:
NYX Lips Lipstick in "Narcissus"
NYX Lip liner Pencil in "Pinky" (lined and filled lips)

Eyes:
The She Space Pigment in "Plastic Paradise" (foiled on lid inner 2/3 of lid)
The She Space Pigment in "Save the Trolls" (foiled in crease)
Milani's Single Eyeshadow in "Shock" (above crease)
Baby Pink in the Amuse Sweetheart Palette
Indelible Gel Liner in "Blackout"
NYX Pencil Eyeliner in "Sapphire" (on waterline)
Clean Definition Telescopic Mascara in "Blackest Black"

Here are links to the other beauty bloggers who participated in the 80's look. Click on their names to visit their page and check out THEIR 80's looks. :)

Lakahna
Yummy411
The Muse
Beautyful Habit
Nilla Cookie
Divine Blackness
Seymone
Baby Doll
Mrs. Lynne
Rocketqueen
Slvrlips
Missjaclynrose
Nessasary Makeup
The Stylistic Femme

I also did a small video to show you guys the look better and show you my small haul from today! I went to Target today, so I picked up a few things! :)

RE.EDiT:
Lurve, I'm NOT going crazy. LOL. After I saw your comment I thought I had misnamed the brushes, but I checked and I didn't, because I was able to dig up the packaging the brushes came in. LOL. Now I find this REALLY odd that the same brushes we saw have different names. LOL. :P Sonia Kashuk is running a conspiracy against us! >=P LOL. :)

The She Space Haul and Piggie Experiment #1

I love bright pigments, and you guys KNOW this. The She Space is one of my fave mineral companies to purchase pigments from! Their samples are only $0.50 per baggie so you can sample a whole bunch of colors without having to break the bank! ;) Anyway, I got my She Space haul in today and I've got pretty pretty pictures to show you guys! :)

Taken with Flash

Taken in Natural Lighting

Taken in Natural Lighting
Swatches are applied wet without a base

Taken with Flash
Swatches are applied wet without a base


Taken in Natural Lighting

Taken in Natural Lighting
Swatches applied wet without a base

Taken with Flash
Swatches applied wet without a base

So from my samples (I didn't get that many THIS time) I want "Make Believe". "Make Believe" is a gorgeous light minty green color that reminds me of mint and easter eggs. Ha! :P It's going on my Wishlist. ;) I think I can skip on "Take the Cake" piggie because it's REALLY similar to "Pom Pom Chic", there is a difference, but a tiny one. "Take the Cake" has more of a purple undertone while "Pom Pom Chic" is more of a pink undertone, but the difference is really slight.

Just to give you guys a heads up, I LOVE The She Space's piggies when FOILED. I'm not too crazy about them dry, but when you foil them they look EXACTLY like the color that you see in the baggie or jar. :D But I foil most all of my piggies when I wear them, so no big. :) Most mineral pigments don't look all that hot unless foiled. The only company's piggies I haven't had to foil are Franchesca's (T 1-2-3 Minerals) and Urban Apothecary's. :) I have to foil Taylor Made Minerals, Fyrinnae's, The She Spaces, etc. I've heard that Pure Luxe's piggies are good dry too, but I haven't sampled from Pure Luxe for myself YET... so I can't say that it's true in my opinion. BUT, it definitely is worth a try. I will be sampling that brand next. :)

RE.EDiT:
After Katrina's comment I decided to try the she space piggies dry with UDPP under. :) They are actually pigmented pretty well even applied dry. They're still not as vibrant when foiled but still pigmented nicely for a more subtle and wearable look for day. :) I don't feel comfortable using the piggies dry though because I have SUPER oily lids and I feel like they'll fade faster without foiling them... plus the extra punch of vibrancy that foiling gives the piggies is addictive. LOL. :)

RE.EDiT #2:
I conducted an experiment today using The She Space's pigments DRY. I already expressed my concern of fading when wearing the shadows dry and not foiled and my experiment has proven that using piggies dry fade like no other on ME and my SUPER oily lids. :P By the way, this doesn't just happen with The She Space's piggies, but ALL of the piggies I've EVER used, regardless of brand... well to me and my cursed eyelids. LOL! Anyway, I used the piggies dry on top of UDPP. :P

So if you have super oily lids like myself, I highly suggest using piggies foiled. It makes a HUGE difference... well, for me at least. :P Heh. :) Eww... check out the oily lids? Ga-rosss. LOL. :) I think I'll conduct one more test using UDPP AND L'Oreal's HIP cream to powder shadows as a base. I suspect it'll hold up better... but I have a feeling I'll still prefer foiling over using it dry, regardless of which type of base I use.

Please note that I LOVEEE The She Space's piggies, they are definitely one of my favorite brands! It's just I can't use them dry, but people with dry lids can! :) Using them foiled is my personal preference and improves it's lasting power and vibrancy, at least in my opinion and from my experience. :) I am NOT in anyway discouraging anyone from trying out The She Space's piggies because Heather honestly has some of the most gorgeous piggies and they do work wonderfully. :) I've been fortunate enough to find a way of application that works for me. :) Mind you, I foil ALL of my pigments (except for Franchesca's, because hers actually look BETTER dry than foiled) because of my oily lids. :) And I DO recommend The She Space's pigments to everyone because they are GORGEOUS GORGEOUS colors. I LOVE them. And if I thought there was NO WAY to wear them, well then I wouldn't bother purchasing full sizes or wearing the product. Like I said, I've been fortunate enough to find a way of application that works for me.

Second Cherry Culture Haul

So, I was missing stuff in my second haul as well and the missing items from my first haul WEREN'T included in the second haul. So now, I'm missing a total of 4 items. Great. :) Ehh, whatever. Now here's to hoping that I get my missing items soon. Anyway, on to the swatches. :P

This shadow is the PERFECT shade of orange. It's bright, it's vibrant and oh is it gorgeous. I love LOVE LOVE it. I've been looking for an orange this exact shade. :) Woo hoo!

I took a comparative picture of my lippies from my first haul and this haul because they looked sorta similar to each other. LOL. So I got kinda worried because I was thinking, "Oh man, did I get colors that are the same?!" LOL. So as you can see, "Harmonica" is a pale pink color while "Mute" is more of a pale beige/creamish color. "Plum" is a reddish purple with more reddish undertones while "Pandora" is a fuschia color with more purpley undertones.

Thanks goes out to Jaclyn Rose for recommending the lipstick color "Plum" because it IS a gorgeous color. I love it. :)

I'm missing two NYX Round Lipsticks in the colors "Chole" and "Hebe". :( Beh. That sucks. Whatever though.

On a brighter note, I got my laptop back again and it actually works. Woo hoo! I'm actually blogging via my laptop right now. :D Hehe. So that cheers me up a bit. Oh yeah, that's why I've actually been able to add the labels onto my picture too, because I have photoshop back. Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVEEEE torrents? Haha. Because now I have FREE Microsoft Word for school and FREE Adobe Photoshop CS3 for leisure. :)

I was watching some Youtube videos today and I came across one that I really liked. :) I use to be a mean old hip hop head back in the day and I USE to love to dance. But not anymore... well, after watching the video it reawakened my interest in dancing. It's a pretty bad ass video though. :) My boyfriend actually dances pretty good, and I think it's SUPER sexy. Haha. :) Back in the day he was a bboy... but not anymore. Freakn' old fart. LOL. Kidding. But I guess you can say the same for me. LOL. :P I also really dig what the chick's wearing in the video but I've always loved the hip hop/urban style and I did use to dress like that too... back in the day when I danced and HAD abs. LOL. Anyway, here's the video.

My 5 Beauty Crimes

Everyone is guilty of committing some sort of beauty crime, and I am no different. LOL. So here is my rap sheet in regards to my makeup crimes.

I've been tagged by lady starr and fabu-less beauty. :)

My 5 Beauty Crimes

1.) I don't wash my makeup brushes as often as I should. To be FAIR, I don't wear makeup that often so I don't think I should wash my makeup brush at the end of the week if I only used once that week! LOL.
2.) I pop pimples and pick at any imperfections that I have. I can't help it, it bothers the eff out of me if there is something foreign on it. I know I'm not suppose to do that and that it causes scarring, hence my acne scars, but I CAN'T help it. LOL.
3.) I smoke. As I revealed in my Easter post I smoke. It's bad for your skin, it smells, and it stains your teeth. But you have to admit, I have some pretty decent skin for being a smoker. LOL. kidding!
4.) I bite my nails. Such a horrible habit, I know. Now you guys know why I never have super gorgeous nails. LOL. I only have pretty nails when I have fake nails on, but I can't afford to keep them on regularly. Beh. :P
5.) I'm an overplucker. LOL. I have some sort of obsessive problem with blemishes and brow hairs. LOL! I don't MEAN to overpluck, but it just happens sometimes. Thank God for brow powder. ;) Ha!

I tag everyone else who hasn't been tagged. It seems everyone else in the blogosphere has been tagged, so if you haven't been tagged... TAG YOU'RE IT! :D Neener. LOL. :)

Cherry Culture and jW Cosmetics Hauls!

So a couple of hauls have come in, and as promised, I'm here to share pictures and swatches with you guys. :)

I ordered the Indelible Creme Eyeshadow in "Bare Necessity" from jW cosmetics along with their angled liner brush. :)

A picture of the creme eyeshadow and the brush I got from jW cosmetics. :)

My creme eyeshadow. It had a crack in it, as you can see in the picture. It didn't bother me though because it didn't compromise the product in anyway. If you own the Indelible gel liners, the indelible creme eyeshadows come in jars that are tiny bit smaller.

Swatch of "Bare Necessity" on the back of my hand.
Taken in natural lighting.

Swatch of "Bare Necessity" on the back of my hand.
Taken with flash.

So the color "Bare Necessity" is a nude color with a slightly pink undertone to it. I did try using it as a base for my eyeshadow and unfortunately, if you have oily lids... using this creme shadow as a base will not work all that great. The finish is still too silky and it does crease HORRIBLY for me (I have SUPER OILY lids). I haven't tried it with UDPP underneath but if that's the case, I'm better off with just the UDPP. I don't think I'd repurchase this Creme Eyeshadow again. I would suggest just getting L'Oreal HIP's Cream Paints because they seem to have a drier finish than the Indelible Creme Eyeshadows. :) If you have DRY lids, you should definitely try out the creme eyeshadow seeing as it will probably work better for you.

I tried out the angled liner brush and I like it. :) It's nothing special, I mean it is JUST an angled liner brush, but it definitely gets the job done. :) I used it for the wings of this look. :) As you can see, it gets the job done, so I can't complain. :)

I finally got ONE of my cherry culture hauls in. Yes, I placed TWO cherry culture orders. LOL. I know what you're thinking, "TWO ORDERS?! ONE wasn't enough?!" HORRIBLE. LOL. Anyway... onto the swatches! :)

Here's a swatch of everything that I got! :)

Let's move on to EVERYONE'S FAVE, NYX's lipstick swatches! :)

From Left to Right:"Harmonica" and "Pandora"

NYX Round Lipstick in "Harmonica"

NYX Round Lipstick in "Pandora"

I like both of the colors I got in THIS haul. LOL. :P Pandora is a gorgeous color. It's a fuschia-ish color that is Very VERY pretty. :) Harmonica is a semi-sheer pale pink. :) It doesn't look all that great on it's own but I think it would look STUNNING with some clear lipgloss over it. :)

Have I mentioned how much I LOVEEE NYX lipsticks? They are AWESOME definitely one of my fave brands of lipstick. :) They are actually pretty moisturizing, so my dry lips are at ease when I wear these. :D GREAT stuff. :)

Swatch of NYX Mega Shine Lipgloss in "Beige"

NYX Mega Shine Lipgloss in "Beige"

This color is a very pretty and it's a natural looking pink, definitely not too bright of a pink. Yes, it's PINK not beige. LOL. :) It's really very pretty, I'm really glad I got this color. :D

Swatches of NYX Long Lip Pencils

From Left to Right: "Pinky" and "Current"

Pinky is a bright pink lipliner and Current is a medium/dark plummy color. :) Love them BOTH and they go great with alot of the lipsticks I have. :)

Swatches of NYX Pencil Eyeliners

From Bottom to Top: "Gold" and "Sapphire"

And now... on to the irritating news. When I first opened the box from cherry culture, THIS note popped out on to my lap. Upon reading it, I was rather irritated.

Click on picture below to read the note.

Yes, TWO of my items were missing from the box. :(

And what two items are missing from my order? These two, you know, the ones that have evil blue checkmarks by their names. >=/

Besides all of that, my second order from Cherry Culture should be coming in tomorrow. Alrite, if I'm missing ANYTHING from my second order, I will be pissed. Why you ask? Because if I'm missing stuff from my second order, this means they're disorganized. Meaning, not keeping accurate tabs on inventory and/or need to learn how to manage their online store more efficiently and accurately. I understand they had a big sale and all, but if you KNOW you're going to be offering a big promo like this past one they had, you had better be prepared for the chaos that comes with any sale. It's common sense, but hey, that's just my two cents. We'll see what happens when mr. mailman delivers the goods tomorrow. LOL. :)

jW Cosmetics has the Indelible Creme Eyeshadow back in stock!

*does happy dance* Yay. Hehe. So instead of waiting to get it, I got it. LOL. :P I got the color "Bare Necessity" and I can't wait to try it out as a base for my shadows. :) Hehe. :D I didn't get any of the frost ones because I'm not too crazy about having a "frost" finish. I'm not a huge fan of sparkly/shimmery stuff. Although, I'm not sure if the creme shadows have a very shimmery finish or a subtle sheen. Someone who bought one of the frost colors really needs to chime in here and let me know! :) Did any of you buy it? Have any pictures to share? Swatches? Comments or thoughts on it? C'mon people. Feed my curiousity. LOL. :)

NYX Lipstick Haul

I found a place that sells NYX Lips Lipstick around here! The downside is that it cost more, but I suppose it's okay because I think of it as paying for the convenience. :P It cost $2.99 at the place I bought it from today and I was able to get the rest of the NYX Lipsticks that I couldn't get in my Cherry Culture Haul! I took pictures of how the lipsticks look on my lips and swatched on the back of my hand.

Warning: I have dry lips, and they were even more dried out because I wasn't applying my lip salve regularly today AND because of the constant rubbing to take off the lipsticks. :P So sorry about that! Ha! Just enjoy the entertainment of my janky looking lips! Hahaha! :)

"Rea"

"Thalia"

"B52"

"Shakira"

"Narcissus"

Swatches of the lipsticks on the back of my hand

From Left to Right: "Rea", "Thalia", "B52", "Shakira", and "Narcissus"

See how dry my lips were by the time I applied "Narcissus" to my lips. Hahaha. :P Not to fear though, these lipsticks AREN'T drying. I can tell when I apply a lipstick if it is drying, and these aren't THANK GOD! :P "Rea" looks great on other people, I'm not so sure if it'll workout for me. I don't know yet though, maybe I just have to find the right look for it. :P But to be honest, I wasn't too crazy about how it looked on me when I tried it on. LOL. :P We'll see though. :) I DO Love "Thalia", "B52", and "Shakira". "Narcissus" looked a little funky on me too, but maybe I just need to find the right look for that one as well. :P Okie dokie guys, that is all! Hope this helps some of you! :D Tee hee hee. I still have "Pandora" and "Harmonica" coming in my Cherry Culture order so I'll swatch those/try them on when I get my haul in. :)

RE.EDiT:
So... someone's been skimming through my blog and when I saw what type of things they were searching through, it kinda irked me. LOL. Want a few weird examples?

01:37:23, Mar 19 -> 5 http://christianadivine.blogspot.com/search?q=boyfriend
01:39:29, Mar 19 -> 7 ...Personal Business?up
01:38:46, Mar 19 -> 6 http://christianadivine.blogspot.com/search/label/Personal Business

I don't know about you guys, but I find it kind of weird that someone came on to my beauty blog and only ended up doing searches about my boyfriend and personal business. No makeup related searches at all. Uhh... okay. LOL.

RE.EDiT #2:
Okay guys, I don't have some crazy stalker. LOL. False alarm. Someone explained to me what they were looking for, so it makes sense now. Hahaha. Lakahna, we're good girl... no need to regulate. LOL. Kidding.

Weekend Haul AND PRETTY Pink Makeup Brushes. :)

I got ALOT of makeup from Mr. Santa Claus (the mailman) this weekend. :) Tee hee hee! :D I've taken pictures as usual to show you all what I got! :D I got my hauls from Taylor Made Minerals and T-1-2-3 Minerals (Franchesca). :)

NOTE: MOST of these can be enlarged by clicking on the picture! :)

A picture of EVERYTHING that I got. :) I know, it's alot. Hehe.

The pigments I got from TMM (Taylor Made Minerals)

Swatches of the pigments from Taylor Made Minerals
Swatches are applied DRY without a base.

Left to Right: Kitty, Afterglow, BeBe, Vegas, Crush, and Sunflower

Swatches of TMM pigments
Applied WET without a base.

Left Row - From Top to Bottom: The She Space's Pigment in "Acidic Reign" and TMM's Pigment in "Sunflower"
Right Row - From Top to Bottom: "Vegas", "BeBe", "Afterglow", and "Kitty"

The Pigments from T-1-2-3 Minerals (Franchesca)

Blushes from T-1-2-3 Minerals

Swatches of Franchesca's Pigments
Appliled DRY without a base.

From Left to Right: "Antique Gold", "Sugared Mulberry", "Rose Bronze", "Soft Cocoa", "Earthtone Pink", "Petal Pink", "Gray Blue Sparkle", "Deep Sea Green", and "Sunshine Lime"

I forgot to swatch the blushes I received, but I will do so if any of you request it. :) They're GORGEOUS blushes though, in all honesty.

I have ONE more haul that should be coming in, and it's a haul from The She Space. I was finally able to narrow down which colors I wanted full sizes of, so I'll be posting pictures/swatches from that haul as soon as I get it. :)

RE.EDiT:
Coastal Scents has a new set of brushes that have PINK handles. I love the color pink... I really do, and my favorite foundation brush has a pink handle. :P Hehe. So when I got the newsletter that says they have NEW brushes with pink handles I got excited! I'm honestly eyeing the PINK cleansing brush and PINK duo fiber optic brush. :) These are personally my two favorite brushes from Coastal Scents and NOW they have pink versions of them?! Yay! Haha. I'm also eyeing the pink handled angled liner brush out of curiosity. :) There are a number of other new pink brushes if any of you are interested. :)

Click on the pictures to go to the Coastal Scents Website and purchase that specific item if you're interested. :)

Pink Duo Fiber Stippling Brush $7.95

Pink Cleansing Brush $1.99

Pink Angled Liner Brush $1.79

RE.EDiT #2: I'm SO bad. LOL. I've been trying EVER so hard to resist Cherry Culture's 20% off everything sale... but I've failed. LOL. Okay, if it's FAIR, I've had my fill of eyeshadows so most of my haul was lipglosses, lipsticks, eyeliners, and lipliners... and ONE NYX eyeshadow. Haha. :) I will post up pictures of my hauls (both the she space one and the cherry culture one) once I get them in. UNFORTUNATELY three of the NYX lipsticks I wanted were sold out: "B52", "Thalia", and "Narcissus". So I'm HOPING they have those lipsticks at the Longs Drugs down the street. Hehe. :P

After that, I'm OFFICIALLY on a NO BUY! Okay!? Please remind me this next time I speak of shopping! Sheesh. o_0 This has to be unhealthy. LOL!

Jessica's Makeover/FOTD

So my cousin slept over this weekend and I gave her a mini makeover. :) I really liked how it came out on her, and she has GORGEOUS eyes that were REALLY easy to work with. :) They didn't need much defining because she has deep set eyes. :D

I was lucky to have some mineral foundation samples that were too dark for me and they worked perfectly for her! :) However, my lashes were lifting alot off of her because they're already molded to my shape, and her eyes have have more of a curve, so the innner corners were lifting like crazy! I reapplied them a number of times but they kept lifting on the inner corners. :P After a while, I just got lazy. Hahaha. :P I think she wants me to do her makeup for prom, so I won't be a lazy ass when I do her makeup then! Hah. :) I wish I had a new pair of lashes so that I could have shaped them for her eyes. So please excuse that tiny problem. LOL. Also, I didn't use the waterproof glue on her which I SHOULD have because she kept yawning, therefore tearing, therefore the lashes were lifting at the inner corners. :P LOL.

What I Used
Face:
Sterling Minerals Dewy Foundation in "Jacinta"
Everyday Minerals Intensive Foundation in "Medium Tan" (concealer and highlight)
Wet N Wild Bronzer in "Medium/Dark" (contour)

Cheeks:
Franchesca's Blush in "Dark Melon Pink"

Eyes:
The She Space's Pigment in "Chasing Rainbows" (Foiled on inner half of upper lid)
The She Space's Pigment in "Save the Trolls" (Foiled on outer half of upper lid)
Urban Apothecary's Pro Pigment in "Kitch Witch" (Contour in outer 2/3 of crease, 1/3 of outer upper eyelid, and outer 2/3 of lower lashline)
The She Space's Pigment in "Little Candy Kisses" (Foiled on inner V of eyes and inner 1/3 of lower lash line)
Milani's Wild Violet's Quad but I only used the white/purpley color as a highlight under her brow
Ardell false lashes in "#112" on bottom lash line
Elise Faux Lashes in "#300" on top lash line
Indelible Gel Eyeliner in "Blackout" (Outer 1/3 of upper lash line)

Lips:
Urban Apothecary's Kiss And Tell Lipstick in "Orchid"
NYC's Moisturizing Lipstick in "Petal Pink" (highlight on middle portion of lip to give pout)

I will be posting another post about the hauls I received this weekend! :) Yes, I got more goodies in. Haha. :P I got another haul from Franchesca and my haul from Taylor Made Minerals. :) I have swatches and everything so I'll be posting it up soon! :D

Dupe for MAC paint pots?!

So I was lurking on the mineral makeup mania forum again and found a REALLY interesting post. :] It seems that MAD Minerals has Indelible Creme Eyeshadows now! And they look oddly similar to MAC's paint pots!

Here is the description of these creme eyeshadows taken from the M*A*D Minerals website:

Unbelievably fabulous!
If you love the indelible gel eyeliners, you will love these!
This highly-pigmented crème eye shadow glides on smooth and dries instantly for a beautiful finish. Advanced formula is waterproof, creaseless and long wearing. Comes in six amazingly wearable shades!

Here are the descriptions of the colors taken from the M*A*D Minerals website:

Apricot Frost - Shimmering golden apricot (peachy)
Carbon - Shimmering black
Nude Frost - Shimmering cream
Gold Frost - Shimmering gold
Bronze Frost - Shimmering bronze
Bare Necessity - Creamy matte (no shimmer)

Wow! how cool is that? MAC paint pots cost $16.50 but guess how much these babies are? Come on, guesssss... I dare you! LOL. Alrite, I'll tell you, they ONLY cost $8.00 on the M*A*D minerals website! They're on sale over there right now, they're usually $12.99! Also my favorite site to buy the Indelible Gel Liner (GREAT DUPE for MAC's Fluidline!) from, jW Cosmetics is selling these too! Her price for these creme shadows are regularly $9.99, just in case you miss the M*A*D Minerals sale! :] BUT something to keep in mind is that shipping IS cheaper on the jW Cosmetics website!

Okay, now a treat for my international readers... jW Cosmetics ships first class to the US and Canada for only $3.15. jW Cosmetics also ships to the Australia and the Phillipines international first class for only $5.90. jW Cosmetics also ships to the UK and Sweden first class for only $5.20. So if you live internationally, you can DEFINITELY afford this even with shipping! :] On the M*A*D Minerals website shipping is five something for US residents and $6.00 for all international orders... so the shipping is definitely cheaper on the jW Cosmetics website. :]

I'm going to HAVE to cop one of these. I would appreciate if one of you who uses MAC paint pots regularly would buy this and write a review/comparison of the two! I don't own any MAC paint pots so I can't really write a comparison. LOL.

I would probably end up getting Bare Necessity, Gold Frost, Nude Frost, or Apricot Frost! I would probably end up getting Bare Necessity first. :] Hehe. What colors would you guys get!? Any mac-a-holics care to let me know which of these would compare to specific paint pot colors from MAC? I'd love to know and think some of my readers will appreciate it!

My guesses on which colors from the Indelible line could be dupe for actual MAC colors are:

Source: The picture of the MAC paint pots is taken from Specktra Beauty News Blog. The picture of the Indelible Creme Shadows is taken from the M*A*D Minerals Website.

Indelible Creme Shadow in "Carbon" = dupe for MAC's Paint Pot in "Blackground"

Indelible Creme Shadow in "Gold Frost" = dupe for MAC's Paint Pot in "Greenstroke" or "Bare Study"
(description wise "Gold Frost" matches "Bare Study" but picture wise "Gold Frost" matches "Greenstroke".)

Indelible Creme Shadow in "Bronze Frost" = dupe for MAC's Paint Pot in "Indianwood"

Indelible Creme Shadow in "Nude Frost" = dupe for MAC's Paint Pot in "Bare Study"

Indelible Creme Shadow in "Apricot Frost" = dupe for MAC's Paint Pot in "Rubenesque" or "Constructivist"
(description wise "Rubenesque" and "Apricot Frost" match but picture comparison wise "Constructivist" and "Apricot Frost" match.)

Indelible Creme Shadow in "Bare Necessity" = dupe for MAC's Paint Pot in "Painterly"

These guesses are based purely on comparing descriptions and pictures between the two. :P So if you think I'm wrong in any comparisons, feel free to correct me! :] Also, I don't think there are two EXACT dupes so I based it on which colors sounded/looked the most similar to each other. :]

RE.EDiT:
You guys all bought out the creme eyeshadow that I wanted to try!!! LOL! "Bare Necessity" is sold out on the jw cosmetics website now! Now I can't buy it and review it. *Pouts* LOL. I guess it goes to show, I should post up finds AFTER I get what I need. LOL! Kidding.

5 Must NOT Have Items!

So I've been tagged by Xuanie! :] Here's my top 5 Must NOT Haves.

5 Must NOT Have Beauty Items:
1.) Bare Escentuals Bare Vitamins Revver Upper: I absolutely hated this and my skin reacted to it SOOO badly. It broke me out like no other and it had a weird smell to it from what I recall. It was absolute crap. LOL. I ended up giving it to a friend who did like the product.
2.) NYC Lipstick: It was a certain kind, I think it was the moisturizing one. I have lips that dry easily and this lipstick aggravated my lips even MORE. I know some people have great luck with it, but if you have lips that dry easily STAY AWAY!
3.) Maybelline Expertwear Eyeshadow Quad: The shadows are NOT pigmented at all and they weren't even pretty looking for being sheer. I did not like this AT ALL. I bought this quad a few years ago so maybe it's improved (I haven't tried the new ones) but the old one sucked. LOL.
4.) ANY boxed Dye Sets: Maybe the beauty store lover in me is being biased but for ME the boxed dye sets never came with enough dye and never stayed dyed long enough! I much prefer buying the professional developers and dyes by themselves at Sally's Beauty Supplies.
5.) Sephora's Kabuki Brush: I bought this and thought it would be great to travel with (it's fairly small) but the brush was horrible! It shed like no other, the bristles were too rough for my taste, and it cost more than my other kabuki brushes (which also, keep in mind, worked WAY BETTER). I returned the brush and exchanged it for some Rosebud Strawberry Lip Salve and Powder Jars.

I tag:
Imee (Iceygirl)
Anne (Yummybitez)
Jaclyn Rose (J.Rose)
Sheila (Sheila Ferrari)
Sara (Soulful Suga)

Urban Apothecary: Pigments, Glitters, Eyeliner Sealant, and Lipstick!

My favorite time of the day is when the mailman comes by. I know, it's horrible. Hehe. But that just goes to show how much I shop online. Hehe. :] Anyway, I got a package today and the packaging ALONE blew me away. The package was from a company named, Urban Apothecary, they're an online store that sells botanical and mineral makeup. Check out the site, they have some neat stuff over there plus they have colors that are BOTH everyday friendly and BOLD and GLAMOROUS for those of you who like it (i.e. like moi) haha. :] Anyway on to the post, let's take a gander shall we? Hehe. :]

NOTE: MOST of these pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them. :]

Here's the stamp that was on the box! The companies logo.

When I first opened the box I was blown away by the smell of ROSES. Yes, when I opened the box it smelt like roses and there were rose petals mixed in with the popcorn pellets in my box! Wow, so girly and pretty, I love it. I'm not one to usually be picky about packaging or care to much for for it but jeez! C'mon now, it smells like roses right when you open the box and there are rose petals inside! How luxurious and feminine is that? I loveee it. Haha.

Here is everything that came inside the box. :] It came with two pages of printed up information on the company Urban Apothecary and the company's Founder and CEO Cheri Tracy. It also has some information about a few other important women in the company, Kim Szlak (Customer Service) and Aimee Crump (National Makeup Artist). The second page contains customer reviews and even some reviews from a fashion magazine, and people of that nature. I found this to be a great add in because it gives you a good idea of what sort of company this is and gives you input on what other people like about this company. Cheri also sent me a handwritten card. Aww, don't I feel special. Hehe. *smirks*

The container that was buried underneath all of the rose petals and popcorn pellets was a semi-transparent chinese takeout box that has the company's logo on the front of it. How cute is this? Again, I'm not one who usually cares too much for packaging but... I was genuinely impressed with this company's packaging!

Here's how it looks when you open the chinese take out box. Okay, I know it's not formally called a chinese take out box but that's what I know it as, therefore, that is what I'll call it. Haha.

Now, moving on to the contents of the chinese takeout box. Hehe.

The pigments! These pigments are called Pro Pigments. The website describes these as highly concentrated loose powder pigments that can be subtle when applied dry and intense when applied wet/foiled. Here are pictures of the pigments in the jars.

Picture taken with Flash.

TOP - Left to Right:
-Rich Girl
- Faux Croc
-Paparazzi
BOTTOM - Left to Right:
-Czarina
-Sweet Inspiration
-Kitch Witch

Picture taken without Flash.

TOP - Left to Right:
-Rich Girl
- Faux Croc
-Paparazzi
BOTTOM - Left to Right:
-Czarina
-Sweet Inspiration
-Kitch Witch

Swatches of the Pro pigments.
Swatches were applied dry and without a base.

Left to Right:
-Paparazzi
-Faux Croc
-Rich Girl
- Czarina
-Sweet Inspiration
-Kitch Witch

Honestly, these colors still come out looking very pretty dry! But you know me... so you know I'll still foil them because I foil ALL of my pigments ALL of the time. Hehe.

I got two lipsticks from their Kiss and Tell collection. These are described on the website as being creamy and and vitamin rich, while still being pigmented and moisturizing.

The colors I got are "Orchid" and "Pink Bubbles"

Swatches of the two lipsticks on the back of my hand.

Left to Right: Orchid and Pink Bubbles

Here are swatches of all the colors! The lipsticks and the pigments! Oh, and I foiled one of the pigments just to show you guys how Urban Apothecary's pigments look both dry and wet. :] The foiled pigment is on the very left and it's the color "Paparazzi".

Swatch of all the colors taken without flash.

Left to Right:
PIGMENTS: FOILED: -Paparazzi
DRY: -Paparazzi
-Faux Croc
-Rich Girl
- Czarina
-Sweet Inspiration
-Kitch Witch
LIPSTICKS: -Orchid
-Pink Bubbles

Swatch of all the colors taken with flash.

Left to Right:
PIGMENTS: FOILED: -Paparazzi
DRY: -Paparazzi
-Faux Croc
-Rich Girl
- Czarina
-Sweet Inspiration
-Kitch Witch
LIPSTICKS: -Orchid
-Pink Bubbles

I also got some glitters from the Glitterazi collection. These are basically colored makeup glitter that you can use to spice up a look! :] They have different shades of several color families so you can go for more subdued glitters or more flamboyant ones!

I also received Urban Apothecary's eyeliner sealant which they call Liquif-Eye. Clever, no? Hehe. You can use this to make eyeshadows into liner and also seal any eyeliner that you may have problems with smudging or running. The website also claims that this "holds its own when you swim, splash, or even shed a few tears." I don't know if it's true because that's just UNBELIEVABLE to me... but you know I'm going to try it out just because I read that it MAY do that. Haha.

I didn't swatch the glitters because I don't have any adhesive for them, plus I don't want to waste them on swatches! LOL. Also, they're just colored glitter and you have to wear it with the right look to make them look great! I haven't tried the eyeliner sealant yet, but I will. I will be doing proper reviews on everything I got! I will also be doing some FOTD's or FOTN's using these products! Hehe. Fun, fun... more toys! :D

Oh, did I mention... they have a 100% GUARANTEE that lasts upto 30 days! If you don't like something (anything at all from their website), you CAN return it for a full refund. :] Hehe.

P.S. I'm SOOO keeping the chinese takeout box. LOL. :]

Homemade Face Masks!

So a fellow beauty blogger Elizabeth recently posted about her homemade green tea mask! I absolutely enjoyed that post because I am a natural skin care nerd. LOL. :] I love green tea as an ingredient in skin care and I love that I can find new natural skin care recipes from other beauty bloggers! :] I love it! Anyway, I decided to search for some green tea powder online because of her post. LOL. I found some interesting recipes! :]

Green Tea Facial Mask
Ingredients

2 teaspoons matcha green tea
1 teaspoon water

Some suggested optional ingredients
Witch Hazel - for oily skin
Honey - for hydrating
Rose water - for sensitive skin
Egg yolk - for nourishing
Egg white - for skin firming

Mix the matcha with water to make a paste. Add 1 teaspoon of any optional ingredients if you like.Spread the mixture onto the face for 10 minutes. Then wash off with warm water. Your skin will feel soft and refreshed!

If you have sensitive skin please test the mask on the inside of your wrist first for any irritation or allergic reaction.

Source: http://www.japan-green-tea.com/Green-Tea-Uses.html

Some of you are probably wondering what matcha is? I found a short article to simply describe the difference between matcha green tea powder and regular green tea powder. :]

All green tea powders are not Matcha. Why? If it doesn’t come from Japan, it is NOT Matcha. All other green tea powders are either mixes or milled whole green tea leaf. Green tea powders made from whole leaf include the veins and stems. Therefore, it is darker, heavier, not as mixable or dissolvable and much cheaper. Green tea powders other than Matcha are OK for making mixes - cooking - baking - soap or candles and does have the same health benefits of all green tea, with the addition of fiber. Regular green tea powder may be used in abrasive cosmetics, but for delicate skin creams and the like one MUST use Matcha.

Source: http://reviews.ebay.com/Green-Tea-Powder_W0QQugidZ10000000000927850

So if you have sensitive skin, you might want to search for matcha green tea powder instead of the regular one. I don't think it's important to be picky, but if you're concerned with any abrasiveness what-so-ever or you really think that your skin is overly sensitive, stick to the matcha. :]

There are so many other natural ingredients that you can purchase to make masks according to your skin! I personally love clay masks! I have oily/combo skin that blemishes and has hyperpigmentation, so clay masks are one of my best friends! Haha! A great place to buy pure clay to make clay masks is the Garden of Wisdom and here's the link to their clays page. If you click on clay's link, it'll list some of the clay's properties. Marky also has a wonderful inventory of different types of clays, and you can also buy the clay sampler so that you can try a bit of each out! I personally like Rhassoul Clay and Fuller's Earth Clay. Fuller's Earth Clay is only recommended for oily skin types though because it's highly absorbent, plus I would only use this one in the summer time! :] I use Rhassoul Clay currently in the winter and I'm doing fine with it, it's not over drying. :] What's fun about this, is that you can also add extra ingredients in with your clay mask mix like green tea, or egg, or honey... anything at all! :] Hehe.

If I could make one suggestion, it would be to think FRUIT and VEGETABLES when thinking extra ingredients. Hehe. Why?

Fruits and vegetables have great things to contribute to skin. For instance, green papaya and pineapple are GREAT to use if you want an exfoliating mask. Why? They have NATURAL fruit enzymes that dissolve dead skin cells. :] I can attest that this is true, because I use a mask with these two ingredients as KEY ingredients. :] Honey is great because it's healing and nourishing.

If you guys are interested in making some fruit and vegetable masks, here are some links to some very interesting recipes:
http://members.tripod.com/enisart/beauty/face.htm
http://www.coolnurse.com/facials.htm
http://www.healthy-skincare.com/fruit-facial-mask.html

If you google it, you can come up with some interesting recipes! Also, after looking up so many recipes and figuring out what fruits and vegetables do what, you can create your OWN recipe and use all the ingredients that are beneficial to your OWN skin. How awesome is that? Hehe. :] Then when you feel bolder, you can even incorporate using essential oils in your mixes. :] Which isn't hard either, it just takes a bit of research and experimenting to figure out how much to use and which ones are best for your skin.

There are also toners and other things you can formulate yourself. I use to make a Red Wine Vinegar Toner for myself in the summer time. :]

If you're interested in natural skin care and formulating your own, you should join in at The Garden of Wisdom Forum. There are TONS of helpful ladies there who are PROS at formulating skin care and can give you advice and tips! Also, there some already helpful recipes posted up as well. :]

But whenever you're formulating your OWN skin care keep in mind some basic guidelines:
- Perform a small patch test on your inner wrist prior to applying it to your face, to make sure your skin doesn't react to it.
- If you are allergic to any ingredients, DO NOT use it... at all! You just never know how badly you may react
- When mixing up a mask, only mix enough for ONE use. It is not wise to mix more because as time goes by the mask isn't as effective as it is if you were to mix it up freshly, and there are no preservatives in it so it is bound to spoil.
- Write down your concoctions for later reference, just in case you fall in LOVE with one and want to recreate it later.

Anyway, I hope you guys found this enlightening. :] I truly do have a love for natural skin care and since most of the stuff we use normally has things like parabens and synthetic preservatives, I think it's great to at least make one part of your routine natural and minimize your exposure as much as possible. :] But... that's just me. LOL. I will NOT give up stuff in makeup, like my NYX eyeshadows just because of the preservatives they contain; but skin care I can do. LOL. :]

A TREAT for my Monolid Readers!

So It's kind of difficult for me to do tutorials or eye looks for you gorgeous monolids out there, BUT I found a beauty blogger who IS a monolid AND she does GORGEOUS makeup! :D If you guys are interested, here's the link to her site!

Monolid Beauty

Just thought it'd be something nice to share, plus I really do like how she puts her makeup on! :]

FOTD Shortage?

For a short time, I won't be doing too many FOTD's. The reason is because I'm growing my brows out and I feel like my oogly brows will get in the way of the eye makeup. LOL! So for a short time, I will be abstaining from posting FOTD's. LOL. Hopefully my brows grow back fast so that I can continue posting FOTD's. It's a shame too, because I've been having color combos flying around in my head like crazy lately! LOL! :] But I promise to be back with FOTD's soon... hopefully sooner than later. LOL!

I won't stop posting though. If I find any cool shopping finds or if I'm able to complete a tutorial or something without having my brows being a distraction, I'll do it! Haha. So yeah, until then!

Oh yeah! I'll have my makeup book reviews post coming up soon! Probably by tonight or some time this weekend, so keep an eye out for that! :D

Mikiye: Luxurious Jewelry and Elegant Hair Accessories.

I just stumbled upon her blog and decided to visit her shop. I'm glad that I did, but in a way I'm not. Why am I glad that I did? Because she has some BEAUTIFUL hair accessories! NO JOKE! She also has some really pretty jewelry as well. Why am I not glad that I did? Well... that just means I have somewhere else that I want to spend money! Haha.

It's pretty neat because she makes all her jewelry and hair accessories by hand! :] She also does CUSTOM work. Wow... darn lemmings. LOL.

Mikiye's shop is on etsy and her store name is Mikiye Creations, and after skimming through it there are already some things that I'm lemming. LOL. For instance...

It's called "Pink Kitty" and it's a hair accessory! Killer, right?

This one is "Pink Bird Melody"

and this one is called "Petals of Love"

Yes, I'm attracted to the extravagant ones with feathers... so sue me. LOL. But they're just so darn pretty, aren't they! :] I think I'll have to pick ONE since I don't think I'll be wearing extravagant hair accessories all of the time. PLUS, I hardly ever fix my hair. LOL. Which one do you guys think I should get?

If I had to pick one between these three, I'd probably get "Pink Bird Melody". I don't know why, it's just the most aesthetically pleasing one... well to me. LOL. :P

If you could get a custom one done, what would you make it look like? :]

Picture Tutorial: Concealing Under Eye Circles & Bags

One thing I'm proud to say I've mastered is my ability to conceal my under eye bags/circles. I've always had under eye bags & circles ever since I was a kid. I'm unfortunately one of those lucky people who have inherited it as a natural trait. Lucky me, huh? Haha. As any of us may know, having horrible under eye bags or circles can RUIN a gorgeous eye look because the attention will not be on the beautiful work of art you've created around your eye, but instead it will be outstaged by those horrendous eye bags/circles that trouble most of us. So I've composed a little picture tutorial of how I like to "fix" my under eye woes. :]

What You'll Need:

- A Color Correcting Concealer (Everyday Minerals Concealer in "Sunlight")
- Foundation, one that MATCHES your skin (Mbo Cover It Mineral Foundation in W5)
- Foundation or Concealer, that is a shade or two lighter than your skin tone, but has the SAME undertones as your skin. This is the foundation or concealer you will be using to highlight underneath your under eye bags
- Large Concealer Brush
-Small Detail Concealer Brush
-Baby Buki Brush

HELPFUL TIPS:
- A great color correcting concealer is usually a bright yellow one (like my Sunlight concealer) for people with lighter skin, and for people with deeper skin tones, a golden orange concealer will work.
- When choosing a concealer or foundation to highlight, it should have the same undertones as your skin so that it's not too obvious. You can also mix your concealer into your foundation to lighten up your foundation without having to buy a new one.
-Moisturize your eye area with a good eye cream before applying any makeup. This will help to soften any lines or wrinkles that may be in that area. Also, give optimal time for the moisturizer to absorb before applying makeup so that the makeup doesn't streak or cake.

BEFORE:

My right eye, untouched. Note the discoloration and noticeable dark under eye circles and bags. The flash washed it out a bit, but trust me... it's there. LOL.

STEP 1:

Tap a little bit of your color correcting concealer into your mixing bowl (if you're using mineral concealer) and pick some up with your large concealer brush. Stipple the concealer on around your eye on the darkened areas only. Stippling will blend the concealer into your skin and still give you optimal coverage. Start with thin layers and layer it on accordingly. It's better to layer it in thin layers than in one thick layer. You get better coverage by layering it thinly versus one big thick layer. Also, applying one thick layer will more likely cake and crease.

STEP 2:

Take the foundation that matches your skin tone and tap some into your mixing bowl, then take your baby buki and pick up a tiny bit of your foundation. Stipple your foundation over the areas you just concealed with your color correcting concealer so that the concealed area matches your skin tone. If not, you will have BRIGHT YELLOW areas around your eyes. We don't want this. LOL.

STEP 3:

Take the foundation that is a shade or two lighter than your skin tone and tap it into your mixing bowl. Then pick up your detail concealer brush and pick up some of the foundation or concealer. You are then going to stipple the area under your eye bag. What you're doing here is highlighting the shadow underneath your under eye bag so that it comes forward. This will make the under eye bag appear more flat.

AFTER:

I hope this helps! This is the method that works for me, and as many of you know I use mineral makeup as far as concealers and foundations go. You can do the same thing with different types of concealers and foundations, it'll work the same! :] Have a great day!