All I Want For Christmas Is…

I recently got a request to do a Christmas Wish List of beauty products (thanks, Erika Milliun!). Great idea, right? I’ve included essentials that I’ve mentioned over and over again, awesome products that I use but haven’t talked about, and ones that I’ve heard great things about but haven’t tried yet.

Here we go!

1.)  Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eye Primer: I won’t put eyeshadow on a bare lid because it usually won’t stay. I consider eye primer to be an absolute essential, and this is the one I reach for most often. It helps shadows and liners stay on, stops shadows from creasing, and covers any tiny veins or discoloration on the lid.

2.) Illamasqua Liquid Metal Eye Color in Solstice: This highly pigmented cream shadow is perfect for the holidays. It’s hard to find a gold shadow that’s pigmented and long-lasting, but this meets both important criteria. If you want to try something new and fun for a holiday party or night out, but are afraid to go for a bright color, you’ll love this.

3.) NARS The Multiple in Copacabana: Use this shimmery pearl highlighting stick on eyes, lips, or cheeks (just not all at once!) for a pretty glow.  I love doing a holiday party look with red lips, silver eyeshadow and Copacabana on the cheekbones.

4.) Make Up For Ever Lash Fibers I haven’t used this product, but I heard a positive review from a trustworthy source–and I adore this company–so I’m going to recommend it.  It’s a white mascara-like product that you apply before your mascara.  It lengthens and thicken the lashes, so the mascara adheres to that.  And who doesn’t want bigger lashes?

5.) MAC Pro Longwear Fluidline in Blacktrack: Consider this black gel liner to be like your favorite pair of jeans.  It’s a classic that you can wear with lots of different looks. It goes on smoothly, stays put and the little jar will last you a while. Just make sure to close it tightly each time so it doesn’t dry out.

6.) Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Blackberry:  This is the time of year to go for berry lipcolors, so give it a try! I’ve found this shade to be flattering on most people and you can’t beat the price. So if darker lipcolors are out of your comfort zone, at least you can try it on the cheap (and if you buy it from CVS, just return it if you don’t like it–they accept even opened makeup returns).

7.) Tarte Cheek Stains: You know that flushed cheek look you get from being outside in the winter?  Well, you don’t have to freeze your ass off to get it. These gel blushes give you that same look, with a variety of shades to choose from. And since you only need a little bit, it lasts for a long time.

8.) Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Foundation: This is a great one for your wish list because not only is it the best foundation I’ve ever used, but it’s a little pricey and I know it can be hard to justify spending money on yourself during the holiday season. So let someone else get it for you! This liquid foundation gives amazing coverage, feels like nothing and photographs and films beautifully.

9.) Dior Diorshow: My name is synonymous with two things: Biggie Smalls and Diorshow. So for me to not include my favorite mascara on this list would be blasphemous. Basically, it’s the bomb. Long, full lashes, no smearing, flaking, or smudging.  Just get it alreadyyyyy.

Hopefully you’ve been a good girl this year and you get everything you ask for. Because if all you get is coal in your stocking, I can’t help you.  Kohl liner, however, is a different story…

Happy Holidays! Have a beautiful day 🙂

What a Delight!: NARS Lipgloss in Turkish Delight Review

We all know what Kim Kardashian is famous for.  You look at her and can’t miss it.  It stands out and she knows it.

Her makeup.

From the brown and silver contoured eye on the Vegas cover, to her crimson-lipped perfume ad, to her signature smokey eye, Kim has rocked some major looks.  Several times, I’ve read that Kim’s go-to lipgloss is NARS Lipgloss in Turkish Delight.  It’s a pale  pink gloss that NARS describes as a “pink sorbet” color.  In other words, a perfect fit for a dark smokey eye.  Being a huge fan of the smokey eye, I decided years ago that I had to try this gloss.  So it makes no sense at all that it took me until last week to order it.

The color is exactly what I hoped it would be.  It adds a little lightness to the face (which is flattering when there’s dark makeup on the eyes), but it’s not frosty or too pink.  It doesn’t feel sticky–it actually has a creamy consistency–and it stays on for a good amount of time.  The only thing I don’t care for is the scent–it’s slightly plastic-y.

Even so, I am 100% happy with this purchase.  Thank you, Kim!

You can buy NARS products at a number of stores, including Sephora and NARSCosmetics.com

http://www.narscosmetics.com/Lip-Gloss-C11_makeup_7.aspx

Have a beautiful day 🙂

Totally Tubular: Blinc Mascara Review

A few years ago, beauty tubes mascara was popular.  For those of you not familiar with “beauty tubes technology,” basically the tubes are mascara fibers that encase the eyelashes, as opposed to regular mascara, which essentially paints them.  Because of this, makers of the beauty tubes mascaras claim their product is water-resistant. Beauty tubes mascara was created by a company called Blinc (formerly called Kiss Me), but L’Oreal had a popular one and a few other drugstore brands did too.

I tried the L’Oreal one back in the day and I wasn’t impressed. But I recently decided give beauty tubes technology another try, mainly because I do a lot of weddings and waterproof or water-resistant mascara is a must. I bought a tube from Blinc and eagerly tried it out. Because I strive to be a positive person, I’ll talk first about the good aspects of this mascara.

Blinc’s tubing mascara doesn’t budge. I didn’t cry while I was wearing it, but I feel confident that you won’t see a smudge or flake when wearing this mascara.  That is definitely an important part of a solid mascara, so props on that, Blinc.

It does add length to your lashes. So if you’ve got thick lashes that you only want to lengthen and you’re an emotional person or someone who struggles with smudged mascara, you can stop reading right now and go get yourself a tube.

But if you need volume in your life, pass on this one. I’ve found that most people, myself included, need the volume and length combo. I like big hair, big handbags and big lashes, and I’m not ashamed.

If you do decide to try a beauty tubes mascara, I need to prep you about the removal process. You don’t need eye makeup remover to get this mascara off, so I guess that’s a plus. After you wash your face, put some extra warm water on your lashes.  This will help loosen up the beauty tubes. Then gently pinch your lashes and pull the mascara off, tube by tube. All the little black pieces that look suspiciously like eyelashes decorating your sink basin? Breathe, homegirl–they’re just beauty tube corpses.

The Blinc mascara is $25, and the L’Oreal version (which is a double sided tube with a primer type product and the mascara) retails between  $8.99-$11.99.

So for now, I’m sticking with my DiorShow and MUFE Smoky Lash mascaras.  They may be tube-less, but I’m okay with that.

Have a beautiful day 🙂