July Ipsy Bag!

     Hi Everyone! Once it gets to be about the middle of the month, I'm always excited every morning to go out and see if my Ipsy bag has arrived in my mailbox! I got mine this past Friday. Here's what we have going on:


     This month they were going with a "Beach Beauty" theme. I really loved what I got in this bag, I think it may be my favorite yet! (I've been a subscriber since April.) The bag itself isn't my absolute fave, but it definitely goes with the beach theme. It's a clear pink cylinder, and really looks like it belongs in a beach bag. :) Here's what I got:

• Derma E Microdermabrasion Scrub - haven't tried it yet, but very excited to! I'm a sucker for scrubs :)
• Pop Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon in Coral Crush - I've used this several times so far and absolutely love it! It's the prettiest shade of pinky coral, and it has a slight staining effect too. Even after all of the product wore off of my lips throughout the day, there was still a slight coral-y color to my lips.
• Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Beach Spray - I tend to like everything I try from the Sexy Hair brand, and actually am surprised that I've never picked this up! I'll be trying it this weekend, for sure!
• Coola Mineral Sunscreen/Tinted Moisturizer - I've never tried anything from this brand, so I'm anxious to see how this tinted moisturizer turns out!
• BH Cosmetics Eyeshadow Trio - this is my first experience with BH Cosmetics, and I'm not sure what to think. The colors look beautiful in the pan, but were slightly dry/flaky when I swatched them. I haven't used them on my eyes yet though, so we'll see! :)

 

 

Swatched from left to right - Pop Crayon in Coral Crush, BH Cosmetics Eyeshadows in Malibu, San Francisco, and Hollywood

 

     Overall, I'm in love with this bag! I'm very pleased with my Ipsy subscription, I think I definitely get my $10 worth every month! I also like how it's like getting a beauty present in the mail every month, I never know what I'm going to get! (You can see sneak peeks of items on their website and Facebook page, but I never look. I like being surprised!) 

 

     Do any of you subscribe to Ipsy? Did you get the same products as me or something different? Have a wonderful day!

 

<3 Vanessa

 

Nails of the Day

     Hi Everyone! I thought I'd share with you the look I came up with for my nails today! I got the inspiration from Pinterest. :)

     I painted all my nails except for my ring fingers with two coats of Chiffon Chic, then I painted my ring fingers with two coats of the white side of the Revlon Nail Art. I used the Kiss Nail Art Paint to make black stripes on my ring fingers, then used Chiffon Chic with the small side of my dotting tool to make the hearts. (Make sure you let everything completely dry before moving on to each step, or you'll be left with a hot mess!) I then topped it all off with Essie's Super Duper Top Coat.

     Verdict - although this look is kind of a pain because there's so much drying time between steps, I absolutely love the final look! As for the individual products -

• Maybelline Color Show in Chiffon Chic - while I really love this soft pink color (and the cute name), I'm not really impressed with the super thin formula or the small brush. I'm not sure I'll be buying any more polishes in this line unless I see a color I have to have.
• Revlon Nail Art Neon in High Voltage - I bought this recently on clearance at CVS. It was kind of a mistake, because I took the term "Nail Art" to mean that they had the skinny little brushes to do nail art with. I was quite disappointed when I got home and found that they were just regular sized brushes! The orange is kind of a weird shade that I don't think I'll ever wear as a color all over my nails. The formula is alright, nothing spectacular. I do like the white shade, it's nice and bright.
• Kiss Nail Art Paint in Black - I really enjoy this, the brush and formula are both really good for getting nice clean lines. (My shaky hands, that's another story!) :)
• Essence Dotting Tool - I love this thing! It comes with two different sized tips on the ends, and is so versatile for creating lots of designs. I got it at Ulta for only a buck or two.
• Essie Super Duper Top Coat - this does exactly what I look for in a top coat - gives me shine, and make my polish last.

Have a great day everyone!
 
<3 Vanessa

Face of the Day - Daytime Glam

     Hi Everyone! I hope you're having a good start to the week! As I was doing my makeup this morning, I knew I wanted to do a toned-down smoky eye - alluring, yet wearable for daytime. So I got out my Nude 'Tude palette and started playing! I really like what I came up with!
 
First off, the face.
 

• Rimmel Fix &Perfect Pro Primer
• Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation in 100 Ivory
• Covergirl + Olay Concealer Balm in 330 Light
• Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in 004 Sandstorm
• Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Light (dusted lightly over entire face)
• Can you tell I love my Rimmel face products? :)
• elf Cool Bronzer as my contour
• Wet n Wild Color Icon Blush in Pearlescent Pink
• NYX Mosaic Powder in Dare (lightly dusted over blush for some glow)

Now, onto the eyes.

 

• I filled in my brows using NYX's Nude Matte Shadow in Betrayal and a liner brush
• Urban Decay Primer Potion (the original cream colored one) all over the lid
• These next steps are all with shades out of The Balm's Nude 'Tude palette. First, I patted Stubborn, a beautiful pink shade, on the inner half of my eyelid.
• Then Selfish, a gorgeous shimmery taupe, on the outer half of my lid, as well as blending it into the crease.
• I then took Sexy, a matte burgundy/plum shade, and concentrated that on my outer V. I blended everything slightly with my Sigma E40 brush.
• I used the shimmery peach/pink color called Stand-offish as my inner corner and brow bone highlight.
• Lined my upper and lower lash lines with Sexy
• Essence I Love Extreme Crazy Volume Mascara on upper and lower lashes

• I finished the look off with a coat of Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in Pink Whisper

     This may seem like a lot of steps, but it really didn't take long at all! I love this look, and know I'm going to be using it a lot in the future. I will sometimes fall in the habit of using the same two or three shades in a particular palette, and sort of falling into a rut, but the way this turned out has inspired me to keep experimenting with different shade combinations. :) Do you have any favorite combinations using this palette? I'd love to hear them!

<3 Vanessa

June Favorites!

     Happy Fourth of July!! Hope you're all having a fun and relaxing day! My day is pretty low key today, we have family coming in this weekend. So I thought now was as a good time as any to post my June Favorites! :)

     First up is my trusty Rimmel Stay Matte powder. My shade is in 004 Sandstorm. I've been reaching for this literally everyday this month! This powder is wonderful for giving a nice matte finish to the skin and keeping the shine down. The package says it controls shine for up to 5 hours, but I find it to be a little longer than that! (I don't have oily skin, but my nose and chin tend to get a little shiny in the summer.) You can't beat the price on this either ($4-$6), especially when Rimmel is often on sale at drugstores.

 

     I think one of the keys to getting a nice, non-powdery finish with powders is to use a good quality powder brush. (I learned this the hard way!) One I have been loving is my powder brush by Real Techniques. It's so soft and silky feeling on the skin! It swirls so perfectly in your powder, and just gives such a nice finish! I got mine at Ulta for $9.99.

     Next up is something I got in my June Ipsy bag. It's the NYX Mosaic Powder Blush in Dare. It's a blend of 5 different shades, some matte and some shimmer. When your swirl your brush over them, you get this beautiful light rose gold shade with a hint of shimmer. The way I've been using this is almost as a highlight. I like my cheeks to be glowy, especially in the summer, so if I'm wearing a matte blush, I'll just brush a little of this over top, and it gives my cheeks a beautiful glow! This sells for $7 on the NYX website, and they also have quite a few other shades that I'm interested in!

     Ahhh, Maybelline Color Tattoos...who doesn't love them?! One I've been reaching for so often this month is Bad to the Bronze. I think that this is one of the more popular shades, as I hear a lot of other blogs talking about it, and they always seem to be sold out! I love wearing this shade alone all over the lid and blending it up into the crease. It takes almost no effort, looks so beautiful, and literally stays all day without creasing or smudging! This is between $6-$8 at most drugstores.

     Lastly is the Wet n Wild Megalast Nail Color in Hot Candy. I love the whole Megalast line of nail polishes, and this is such a fun, gorgeous shade! This is $2 at drugstores.

 

Left - NYX Mosaic Powder

Right - Maybelline Color Tattoo

     That's it for my June favorites! I can't believe how fast the month just flew by. I hope you are all enjoying your summer! Thanks for reading!

<3 Vanessa

Ulta, Mally and Rite Aid Haul!

     Hi Everyone! I've been doing a little makeup shopping over the past couple of weeks, so I decided to post a haul for you! I went to Ulta a week or so ago, and they were having their "Buy One, Get One 50% Off" deal on a lot of things, so I decided to pick up a few products that I've been eyeing for a while.

                                  

I got Rimmel's Fix & Perfect Pro Primer, Rimmel's Stay Matte Powder in 004 Sandstorm, and from NYX I got a Jumbo Eye Pencil in Black Bean, and blush in Cinnamon.

 

 

Also last week I got my QVC order of Mally eyeliners in the mail! The top one is in Onyx, and the bottom one is in Hunter.

 

 

 

Then, this past weekend I popped into Rite Aid to see what kind of sales they had going on, and I'm really glad I did! They had a lot of brands' spring/summer collections at 50% off! The top picture is three Wet 'n Wild Fast Dry Nail Colors, from left to right in Quartz of Course, Rocking Rubies, and Emerald the Crown Jewel.

On the left I got NYC's Big Bold Bronzing Powder in MetropoliTan. On the left is a Color Sensational lipstick by Maybelline in Electric Fuchsia, and Rimmel's Stay Glossy Lip Gloss in Clear (I think it was called Seduce Me on the wrapper).

Everything except for the gloss was 50% off!

 

Swatches from left to right - NYX Blush in Cinnamon (the first swatch is concentrated, and the second is a little more sheered out), NYC Bronzer in MetropoliTan, and Color Sensational in Electric Fuchsia.

 

From top to bottom - NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Black Bean, and Mally Evercolor Waterproof Eyeliners, first in Onyx, then in Hunter.





     I haven't tried everything I've gotten yet, but the stuff I have tried, I'm very pleased with! I will do individual reviews on some of these products as I test them and use them more! Thanks for reading!

 

<3 Vanessa

 

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Welcome!

     Hello Everyone, and welcome to my blog! If you have a love for all things makeup (and coffee!), I hope you'll feel right at home here! I've been makeup and beauty obsessed for a while, but like many beauty enthusiasts, not many people in my personal life share the same passion! I thought a blog would be the perfect way to share my enthusiasm about makeup. I hope to make many friends who enjoy beauty as much as I do! As for what this blog will be about, I will be doing makeup reviews, hauls, face of the day, nails of the day, monthly favorites, and hope to come up with some series as well! Anything makeup will be fair game, and I might throw in some lifestyle posts as well! (After all, I adore makeup, but it's not my whole life!) I would love to hear from you as well, so please comment! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy my blog!

<3 Vanessa