Guest Post: Nail of the Day - Ombre and Stripes

I'm super excited today for two reasons: first, I'm halfway to my goal of 30 followers!!! Remember to enter my Stila Lip Glaze giveaway; I'll pick a winner once this blog reaches 30 followers on Bloglovin or GFC. Second, I have a GREAT guest post today from Steph of Fun Sized Beauty:

I know Anna is a huge fan of nail polish and nail art, so I thought I'd try my hand at something interesting! This nail look is a combination of a rainbow ombre and striping tape. 

Products Used: 

• Maybelline - Porcelain Party 
• Born Pretty Store -Striping Tape
• Quo - Makeup Sponges
• Julep - Renee
• Forever 21 - Baby Blue
• Cheeky Monkey - Tramp Stamp

How to get the look:

1. Use a 2 coats of your favourite white polish. Make sure to let it dry completely before moving on to the next step.
2. Place striping tape randomly criss-crossing over the nails.
3. Paint one stripe of each Blue, Pink, and Purple over the sponge and pat the sponge over the nail. Apply more polish as needed and do the same patting motion on the other nails. For more detailed instruction on the ombre sponging see here.
4. Quickly remove the striping tape with a pair of tweezers. Removing the striping tape will reveal crisp white lines underneath. 

Ta-da! Your striped ombre pastel nails are complete! 

Will you try out this nail look?

Aren't these great?! Thank you so much Steph for doing a guest post!! This is a great tutorial!!

Maybelline's New Blush Review and Swatches

So Anna and I decided to try out the new Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blushes. You should have seen the look on Anna's face when I told her I wanted us to get some. But she's a TOTAL addict now!

We applied the blushes with just our fingers since it is more of a cream blush. It takes a bit of a light hand to apply the blush (we looked like we had joined the circus the first time we applied them!). I think it's my new favorite blush. Anna said she was going to just take the blush out and poke it when she's stressed just because the texture was so interesting. She described it as walking on the moon. The product last a long time and only costs between $6-9 (unfortunately I can't remember the exact price). The two middle colors Peach Satin and Plum Wine blend together nicely for a soft peachy red glow. The swatches below are laid out in the same order the blushes are photographed above (l to r: Coffee Cake, Peach Satin, Plum Wine, and Orchid Hush)

There is a bit of a down side to the product (but I won't stop buying it!). I've only used powder blushes till now so this one takes a bit longer to put on in the morning because I'm using my fingers. For some reason I hate using my fingers to put on makeup. Also Anna and I had to return Orchid Hush and Coffee Cake back to the store and we NEVER return beauty products. The color payoff was so bad that darker skinned girls would not be able to use them. I don't even know if pale skinned girls would be able to either. We also thought the containers were a bit hard to open (note the large crater in Orchid Hush).

Happy Thursday! It's almost the weekend! XOXO,

Haylee

St. Patrick's Day fun: Green Eyeshadow, Food, and a Mint Blazer

Hello everyone! I hope you had a good St. Patrick's Day!! My boyfriend and I celebrated it by making dinner, drinks, and going to a St. Patrick's Day party at a friend's place, and then the next day I flew out to Haylee Ann's place for Spring Break, so this is the first chance I've had to write a post about St. Patrick's Day.

Here's a picture of the eyeshadow I did for that night:

I used my Smashbox Studio Pop Eye Palette for this. First, I put pieces of Scotch Tape from the outer corner of my eye to the end of my eyebrows in order to create a winged shape. I used Nutmeg, a golden bronze, all over my lid and crease. Then, I put Emerald, a bright green, on my lid. I originally wanted to blend Nutmeg and Emerald to make an olive color, but I liked it this way so I left it. Then, I used No. 54 Black Lace from the Sephora Collection (it's a matte black eyeshadow) on the outer edges of my eyes and dragged it from there through my crease.

I lined my eyes using Milani Liquif'Eye Metallic Eyeliner in Black and used  Maybelline Great Lash mascara. I finished off by using my fluffy powder blush to clean off the area under my eyes. Just in case you're curious, I used Merle Norman Angel Glow as my blush because it is a nice, subtle pink. I also wore NYX round lipstick in Perfect so I would have a pretty neutral lip.

My boyfriend and I made Irish car bomb jello shots, Shepard's pie, and Irish coffee. The jello shots were a little hard to cut out of the cups, and so I included a picture of the shots in a cup and outside the cup:

Haylee Ann celebrated St. Patrick's by buying a mint blazer from Wet Seal:

Isn't it cute? I don't know if you can see it, but it has some lace on the side, a little in front of the area in front of her arm. It was $30, but she got a code for 10% off by a promo Wet Seal is doing. If you text "wetseal" to 82257, they send you a code for 10% off. (Wet Seal says that standard messaging and data rates may apply, by the way.)

Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to do St. Patrick's Day-themed nails. But I do have some OTHER nail art to show you guys soon, so be looking forward to that!!!

Swatches & Review: Maybelline Stylish Smokes Eyeshadow Quad in Natural Smokes

Hey everyone!
Sorry Haylee Ann and I haven't posted much recently!! Haylee Ann is in Vegas for Spring Break this week, and I have a ton of school work to finish up since this is my week before Spring Break. :(

Anyway, here's a picture of the quad:

Maybelline Stylish Smokes Eyeshadow Quad in Natural Smokes

I actually bought this palette for a friend's wedding when I was a bridesmaid. The wedding had a tight budget, so we bought one or two of these palettes and had everyone do their own makeup. That's part of what makes this palette great--it looks great on a variety of skin colors: we had 2 South Asian girls and 4 Caucasian girls, and it looked great on everyone!

The shadows are good for the price. I do have some trouble with the grey: It's easier to apply it using your fingers. If I use a brush, it isn't pigmented enough. Also, the grey has quite a bit of fallout. The brown and the liner go on great with a brush or fingers. I don't use the "base" color, since that's too light for darker skin tones. However, the palette still gives a nice, pretty neutral smokey eye.

I would definitely recommend this product! It's a great palette for someone who is interested in trying out eyeshadows and doesn't want to spend too much money. You just have to play with it a little in order to learn the best way to apply it and see what you like. For example, I hated it at first and thought it looked weird on my face. I had issues with the grey ending up a lot farther on the outer edge of my eyelids than I wanted it. After playing with the color and trying different bases, I finally figured out how to get the grey color to stay put. :)

Have a good week! If you're on Spring Break and travelling, have a safe week! If not.... I feel your pain, but we'll have our turn next week!! :P

Maybelline Caffeine Rush Eyeshadow Palette - Swatches and Review

Hello everyone! Today I'm doing a review of Maybelline's EyeStudio Color Explosion Eyeshadow in Caffeine Rush. Here's a picture of the packaging:

Here are swatches:

Clockwise (ish): white, peach, gold, the brown in the "V", and the brown/grey in the triangle

All the colors are creamy and go on easily except for the gold. The gold is very grainy; its texture almost reminded me of loose glitter. When I used the gold, I had to go over my lid several times to ensure that I had even coverage. For the other colors, you can get away with using your fingers to apply them, but for the gold, I'd strongly recommend using a brush.

I've worn the gold and the browns. They blended pretty well. I needed a primer to keep the eyeshadows from transferring or moving around. (I used the Mary Kay white jumbo pencil as a base.) After removal, I did have lots of tiny specks of glitter around my eyes, especially from the gold.

Overall, I'd recommend this palette; it's very good, especially for a drugstore brand. The colors look great on brown skin. Are there any other drugstore eyeshadows that you've found that are really good? Let me know below!

Have a great week everyone!

xoxo,

Anna

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!!