SWATCH & REVIEW: BB CREAMS: Smashbox, Too Faced, and Missha

I've been trying to clean my samples out, and so I finally got around to trying out Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream in Dark and Too Faced's Tinted Beauty Balm in Beach Glow. I have an Asian one that one of my roommates gave me, Missha, to compare the American BB Creams to:

Missha B.B. Cream (Sorry, the bottle is messy.)

L-R: Too Faced Tinted Beauty Balm in Beach Glow, Missha B.B Cream in No. 31, and Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream in Dark

Blended

I was interested in trying Smashbox and Too Faced's BB Creams because they offer the most coverage out of the American BB Creams. As you can tell by the blended swatch, they still do not offer near as much coverage as the Asian B.B. Cream, Missha, does. I actually use the Missha B.B. Cream as a concealer under my eyes; it doesn't crease and stays put for hours. It is also does not make my skin oily like traditional concealers do.

On to individual reviews of the American B.B. Creams:

Too Faced's Tinted Beauty Balm is probably my favorite American BB Cream! I am an NW35 in MAC, and Beach Glow was almost a perfect match! (It was a tiny bit light, but I would wear it anyway.) There was a bit of shimmer in it, and Too Faced's BB cream has a slightly dewy finish. The cream felt very light on my face, but it still evened out my skintone and did lighten up my dark circles a bit. This cream does offer enough coverage for me to wear if I was running errands, but probably not enough for me to wear it alone to class. The only con was that this cream did make my face feel a bit goopy after I ran errands for a few hours in the Texas heat. But I don't think it's realistic to expect a product to hold up well under 100-degree temperatures.

Smashbox's Camera Ready BB Cream was a bit disappointing. Dark was waaay too dark for me, and Medium was too light (if I remember right, it was too pink). This had less coverage than Too Faced's cream, but using two coats of this cream certainly improved the coverage. This BB cream did even out my skintone, and it fared much better in the heat--it did not become goopy at all! This BB Cream last me a good 5 hours. The biggest turn-offs were that this cream oxidized a bit, and it transfers easily. My face accidentally brushed up against a towel in my bathroom, and there was a dark spot of BB cream on the towel. So don't lay your cheek on your boyfriend's shoulder while wearing this!

Are there any BB Creams you would recommend trying? I am still interested in trying Sleek Makeup's Be Beautiful Blemish Balm if I can get a hold of it!

Smashbox's Beauty Blowout!!!

I have some news that may make your day better: Smashbox is having a sale! Some items are up to 60% off!!

screenshot of Smashbox.com

Some of their eye shadow trios, lip glosses, palettes, and sets are there! Check it out and see if there's anything you've wanted to try out or stock up on!

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!!!

Swatch & Review: Rose Gold Nails: Color Club Put A Pin In It

I wanted to do a quick review on a polish Haylee Ann got a while back: Color Club Put a Pin in It:

The color is very foil-y, and so it was tough to get a good picture of it!! I really like the color. It was a nice neutral color. Put a Pin in It dried pretty quickly. I did have some issues with the formula: the color was not opaque at all, and so I used 3 coats. I also had issues with my brush strokes showing up. Last, you can probably see the bubbling on my pinky. :(.

Also, I'm so excited we passed the 50 follower mark!! The 50 Follower Beauty Giveaway ends in 11 days, so make sure to enter!! The prize includes a Julep nail polish, Julep Nail Revitalizing Growth Serum, and Smashbox's Try It Kit. Don't miss out :)

xoxo,

Anna