Liebster Award!

I'm excited to say that we were nominated for a Liebster Award by Margo at CityGirl! Haylee Ann and I are soo exicted! Also, Margo is currently doing a 200 post giveaway of eos Alice in Wonderland lip balms! Congrats on hitting 200 posts, Margo, and you guys should enter her awesome giveaway! :)

Here are the answers to the questions:

5 Facts:
Anna:

1. Most of my cooking is baking/making desserts. Most of my baking/making desserts involves chocolate.
2. I enjoy crocheting and am currently making a sweater.
3. I wear a size 5 and a half in shoes.
4. My least favorite fruit is papaya. My mother fed it too much to me as a child.
5. I own a pair of socks that have the periodic table on them. My roommate is majoring in Math and has a minor in Chemistry, and so she got us matching pairs for Valentine's Day one year. Yes, I know...we're really cool....

Haylee:

1. Out of the two of us, Anna and Haylee, I am the oldest.
2. I almost failed kindergarden because I did not know my right hand from my left hand. I'm pretty sure I still don't...
3. I hate scary movies. It doesn't help when your sister decides to scare you by hiding in the bathroom at night dressed up as the girl from The Ring.
4. I grew up in a small town but I am pretty much a California girl that dresses like I belong in New York City or Boston College or J. Crew Magazine.
5. I listen to AOL Radio's Nature Sounds Radio all the time because I like hearing the sound of the rain and the ocean.

1. If you had to pick one country to live in the rest of your life (and it can't be the country you currently make a home in) where would it be and why?
Anna: I would pick Singapore. I like it because it's tropical but still very modern.
Haylee: I would love to live in Spain. The culture is amazing and Madrid is my favorite city. I love everything about it, the food, the people, the language, etc.

2. Pick one makeup brand that you would gladly wear the rest of your life. Why do you love it?
Anna: Ohhhh this is hard... MAC. They have such a wonderful range of lipsticks that have great staying power. I also love their range of eyeshadows. I also love the lipglasses. I guess I love everything!
Haylee: MAC, their products are always perfect and make me look flawless. They also have the perfect amount of pigment for darker skin tones. Plus they have very diverse looks so I can go from natural to sexy in a heartbeat.  My second favorite would be Urban Decay.

3. What character of a novel or movie do you really relate to?
Anna: Bella in Twilight! I always have hot werewolfs and vampires chasing after me. No, just kidding!
Haylee: Maybe Mandy Moore's character in A Walk to Remember. I was the nerdy, anti-social girl when I was in school. Like Landon, my boyfriend is the last guy anyone would have guessed I would eventually date...but he's a sweetheart. :)

4. Facebook or Twitter?
Anna:Facebook; I've never understood the appeal of Twitter. If someone wants to explain it to me, I'm all ears!
Haylee: Facebook...Twitter is just lame. I don't want to know what people are constantly doing or thinking all the time.

5. Riddle me this. You move to a new town and it's time to get your hair cut. The town only has two hairstylists. You go to the first one; her hair is cut horrendously, it's messy, sloppy, uneven and basically looks like a weed-whacker hit it. You drive to the second stylist. Her hair is clean, neat, cut perfectly and looks like a million bucks. Which stylist do you go to and why?
Anna:I go to the second one. Maybe the first one likes her hair looking like a weed-whacker hit, but I don't, so I'd pick the other one.
Haylee: The weed-whacker. I love getting crazy haircuts and rocking them. I think it takes a confident girl to rock a very different haircut. For comparison, right now I'm wearing Victoria Beckham's very popular inverted bob look. I get very different opinions from the people I know. Either you love it or you hate it...but what matters to me is how I feel about it and really that's all that counts.

I nominate:
Dana Nani George of BlakGirlMakeup
Cindy of A Girl's Guide to Makeup
Christine of Lollipops n Lipsticks
Helene of KulchicBeauty
Lauren Elizabeth of Living Lovely

The rules of the award are listed here. I did 5 facts since Margo had 5 questions for me. Your questions are:
1. What's one beauty product you couldn't live without?
2. What's one talent you wish you had and why?
3. Name one place in the world you want to travel to (that you haven't visited) and why.
4. What's your favorite celebrity haircut?
5. What's a trend that you think is sooo overrated?

I look forward to seeing the nominee's answers if you choose to do this! Reminder: the Stila Post Holiday/New Year's Giveaway ends in 3 days!!! Have a good week everyone!

Butter London Knackered Swatch

Hello!! :)

I just wanted to do a quick post about Butter London Knackered. It's a beautiful purple/teal duochrome polish with microglitter:

This is a very sheer polish, and so it took three coats to make it opaque enough. It dries fairly quickly, though.

The color looks great on a brown skintone. I also like that this polish has glitter in it, but is still subtle. I took another picture right under my lamp to try and capture the amount of microglitter in it because I thought the glitter was so lovely:

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!! :) Our Post Holiday/New Year's Giveaway ends in 4 days!!

-Anna

Rainbow Glitter Sandwich Nails + A Reminder About Our Stila Giveaway!

Hello dear readers!!

I got a multi-colored glitter, Milani Gems, as a gift last year and haven't used it much because there are only a few colors that I really like it over. However, a few weekends ago, I thought I would try using it in a sandwich. I think it looks pretty cool; it ended up looking like confetti. 

I did one coat of Julep Kelly, one coat of Milani Gems, and another coat of Kelly. Milani Gems is similar to OPI Rainbow Connection and Nicole by OPI Rainbow in the S-Kylie.

Just a reminder that our Post Holiday/New Year's Giveaway ends in 10 days!!! We're giving away Stila's "Under the Mistletoe" palette and 3 of their holiday lip glazes (Left to right): Jingle, Joy, and Holly. The palette is an $85 value and Stila lip glazes sell for $22 each, so the entire package is valued at over $120! Stila lip glazes are WONDERFUL and so you don't want to miss this!!

Red Lipstick for Darker Skin Tones: Swatches and Tips for Choosing one

Hello everyone! :)
Today I have swatched some of the red lipstick I collected on my quest to find the perfect red lip. There are two true reds, two pinkish-reds, and a wine red liquid lipstick as well as a wine lip liner.

Left to Right: Covergirl 335 Tempt Seduction, Estee Lauder Pure Color 16 Cheating Heart, Rimmel London Kate Moss Lasting Finish 11, MAC Viva Glam I, and Maybelline Super Stay 24 2-Step Color Everlasting Wine

Here is a picture of the lip liner I swatched, Loreal Infallible Never Fail Lipliner in Red/Wine.

                                       (picture from lorealparisusa.com)

Loreal Infallible Never Fail Lipliner in Red Wine

There ended up being two pink-ish reds (the Covergirl and Estee Lauder lipsticks), two true reds (Rimmel and MAC), and the wine-colored Maybelline liquid lipstick. The Loreal lipliner was pretty wine-colored, but on my lips, it does seem a little pink or berry-colored. All of these types of reds look great on brown skin tones. Orange-reds can look great on some people, but it is very bright, and some people may feel too shy to wear something so bold. I've discovered that orange-reds do not look good on me.

Left to Right: CoverGirl 335 Tempt Seduction, Estee Lauder Pure Color 16 Cheating Heart, Rimmel London Kate Moss Lasting Finish 11, MAC Viva Glam I, and Maybelline Super Stay 24 2-Step Color Everlasting Wine

Loreal Infallible Never Fail Lipliner in Red/Wine

REVIEWS:

I was not a big fan of the CoverGirl and Estee Lauder lipsticks: first of all, they were pinker than I wanted, and second of all, they both bleed a lot, especially the Estee Lauder one. The Estee Lauder one also transfers a lot. If you wipe your face even a little bit, the lip color will smudge outside the lines. Also, the stain that these lipsticks left on your lips was very pink.

I really wanted to like the Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick; I'd seen such great reviews, and I loved the classy packaging. At first, when I put on the color, I loved it. The color didn't seem too pink. However, after the lipstick wears off, the stain that this lipstick leaves on your lips is much, much more pink than the original color the lipstick was. (The lipstick originally looks like the swatch above.) Also, this lipstick bleeds.

MAC Viva Glam I is my perfect red lipstick. It wasn't too bright: the person at the counter steered me from Russian Red to this one because it is a slightly darker version of Russian Red. This color also last around 4 hours. After eating a meal, even if the lipstick had worn off, I had a nice stain that matched the original red that my lips had been.

I bought the Maybelline Super Stay lip color for a semi-formal event in December because I wanted a wine-colored lip that would last. The color and the staying power of this product was AMAZING. Some people have complained of it being too drying, but I slathered my lips with the lip balm provided ("step 2"), and I have never had that problem. The color literally lasts 12 hours, through eating and drinking, and still looks like it did the moment you put it on. It also does not transfer at all, so you can kiss your boyfriend with it on! The only downside is that I had to use an oil-based makeup remover to remove the product. If you want a wine-colored lip, but really want an actual lipstick, I would recommend MAC Pro Longwear Lip Creme in Endless Drama. The color is rich and lasts around 4 hours. It isn't drying. However, it does transfer easily.

I also really like Loreal Infallible Never Fail Lipliner in Red/Wine. The color wasn't drying and did not bleed. It gave a very pretty matte lip that left a slight stain after eating and drinking. This color lasted for about 3 to 4 hours. 

WHAT I RECOMMEND:

-Maybelline Super Stay 24 Lip color

-MAC Viva Glam I or Endless Drama (This is a Pro Longwear Lip Creme)

TIPS ON FINDING THE PERFECT RED

1. Go to a MAC counter. MAC has a wide selection of many types of reds, and you can try them on here and see what kind of red you like: a berry red, an orange- or blue-based red, or a wine. 

2. Decide if you want to buy a MAC lipstick or a drugstore lipstick. I'd recommend buying a MAC one for a few reasons:

• They're excellent red lipsticks. With red lipsticks, you get what you pay for. MAC lipsticks wear for a long time, and the lip stain is strong and is the same color as the original lipstick.
• You may spend $17 trying to find a drugstore product you like.

If you decide to get a drug store lipstick, use Google to find swatches of the lipsticks before you get them, or try Googling for dupes of the MAC colors you like. If you don't like Maybelline Super Stay Lip color, I'd recommend going with a long-lasting lip liner like the Loreal one I swatched. Lip liners have great staying power, don't bleed, and can be easier to apply than lipsticks while still giving you a matte lip. Also, at least with the Loreal lip liner, you don't have to worry about the stain being a different color than the original color. 

Let me know if you have any questions!!

Smashbox Studio Pop Eye Palette

I thought I'd do a review of the Smashbox Studio Pop Eye Palette I recently bought. The set comes with 16 eyeshadows and 4 cream eye liners. 

Eyeshadows (Left to Right, going top to bottom): Nocturnal, Lunar, Emerald, Nude, Vanilla, Obsidian, Champagne, Bark, Cinder, Pastel, Orchid, Flamingo, Smoke, Amethyst, 24k, and Nutmeg. The 4 eye liners are on the bottom row: Bronze, Royal, Picasso, and Nightlife.

The palette also came with four cards with different looks to try. There is an "Easy," "Intermediate," "Advanced," and "Pro" look.

I haven't had a chance to try all four of the looks yet, but I tried the "Pro" one, and  I did not like how it looked against my skin. 

Even though I am not over the moon about the look cards, I am delighted by the eyeshadows and liners. They are very creamy and pigmented. The colors also blend together very well.

(Left to Right): Nocturnal, Lunar, Emerald, Nude, Vanilla, Obsidian, Champagne, Bark, Cinder, Pastel, Orchid, and Flamingo

(Left to Right): Flamingo, Smoke, Amethyst, 24k, Nutmeg, Bronze (Eyeliner), Royal (Eyeliner), Picasso (Eyeliner), and Nightlight (Eyeliner)

Nocturnal is a deep navy blue, Lunar is a shimmery silver, Emerald is a shimmery green, Nude is a matte brown, Vanilla is a matte ivory, and Obsidian is a shimmery slate grey. Champagne is a light shimmery gold, Bark is a shimmery dark brown, Cinder is a shimmery light violet, Pastel is a matte light pink, Orchid is a matte dark purple, and Flamingo is a shimmery coral. Smoke is a matte dark grey, Amethyst is a violet with copper glitter, 24k is a shimmery gold, and Nutmeg is a shimmery bronze. The eyeliners Bronze is bronze, Royal is a deep purple, Picasso is a dark blue, and Nightlife is a shimmery black.

I was initially afraid the lighter colors wouldn't work on my brown skin, but after blending them with something slightly darker, they worked well as a base. For example, I mixed Pastel with Amethyst before using it as a base. I then used Amethyst on my lid and Orchid on the outer corner of my eye. I finished off the look with the purple eyeliner, Royal.

I love Pastel, Amethyst, and Orchid; they make a wonderful purple smokey eye. My favorite eye shadow was Obsidian. I was disappointed in Bark; it looked more black on my skin than it does in the pan. Also, Amethyst is less pigmented than the other eye shadows. For the eyeliners, I love Royal and Picasso. Bronze does not show up on brown skin very well. I'm on the fence about Nightlife: sometimes when I wear it, it looks like a normal grey eyeliner, and other times, it looks "black with multicolored pearl" as the description on Sephora's website says.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this palette. Sephora still has it on sale online for $39 so you should pick it up before it's gone!

Happy New Year everyone!!

-Anna