FOTD: Subtle Smokes, Pink Lips

In contrast to my last blog post, this look features a clean canvas - subtle smokey eyes, pink lips, clean skin. 

MUFE F&B Foundation

Chanel Rose Petal Blush

Dior Earth Reflections e/s Palette

MAC Black Track

Loreal Telescopic Mascara

Guerlain Kiss Kiss Gloss in #872

One of my favorite palettes from Dior - earthy and neutral with just the right amount of shimmer to create an ethereal, smokey or classic look

Guerlain Kiss Kiss Gloss in #872 - 

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you had a memorable one.

As per usual, mine included lots of grub. Food eating contest style! O_O

FOTD: Dark Red Lips

Hello readers!

I'm going to be doing a few looks for the holidays in the coming days and I'll be posting it as I go along. With Christmas around the corner and New Year's coming up, there are lots and lots of fun looks to create and makeup to be used. This year in particular, I've been smitten with dark red lips. On regular occasions, I don't dabble into dramatic lips because of my profession but I do love the intensity it creates with merely one lipstick.

So here's the look I did using Revlon's Black Cherry Lipstick. It is supposed to be dupe of Mac's Dark Side (which I picked up today! * squeal*).

Since the lipstick is on the drier side, I paired it with Revlon's Bordeaux to make it look glossier. 

Black Cherry is a deep red with purple undertones - vampy and gorgeous. Bordeaux is like its name, deep cherry tones.

It's an eye catching color, isn't it? I certainly feel more mature wearing it, if that makes any sense. 

Just with the lipstick on

Topped off with lip gloss

I love it! There's no other way to describe how much I love this combination. This combo lasted me all day today, for nearly 6 hours before I took it off. By then it was mostly a stain but it was still there by the time I came home. Really happy that it's low maintenance and easy. I wouldn't have it any other way =D

And here's the rest of the makeup I used to create the look. 

My little arsenal for today -

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in #52 - I'll have to do a comparison of the regular Healthy Mix and the Healthy Mix Serum one of these days. I absolutely love this foundation! It truly lives up to its hype. One of the best foundations I've ever used, hands down.

Milani HD Concealer in Light - I love this concealer! It has qualities like a brightening pen would and it's incredibly light-weight.

Of course, the dark lip duo! In general, I love Revlon lipsticks and lip glosses. Their whole range of lip products are inexpensive and versatile. You can find a lipstick for any occasion and it's always going to be budget friendly. I think one of the best lip glosses Revlon has made is this range here (Colorburst) and I've tried many of the shades, all too impressive. They're kind of my tried and true and something I'll always go back to. 

So that was my dark lip look for today. I'm hoping to get more holiday looks on the blog before Christmas so stay tuned! =) Thank you all for always stopping by to leave a comment and especially those who consistently leave me comments :) It's nice knowing there's people who actually read this thing! 

What do you guys think of bold lip colors? YAY or NAY? :)  

Sephora's Shimmer Harmony Gloss!

A lot of people are on one end of the spectrum when it comes to lip palettes - they either love 'em or hate 'em. I, on one hand, love them! There is something about a lip palette that speaks volumes with the different shades and textures. I guess in a sense, it channels my inner artist and makes me feel all artist-y to have one in my bag LOL. It makes applying lip color indulgent and I actually look forward to it. I love the meticulous way of brushing on the color, snapping the lid back on and tossing it back in my bag. In more simpler terms, it is FUN.

Usually during the holidays, lots of kits and palettes come out in various tins and cases. I don't like spending a fortune on lip products but I do like me some good quality, travel friendly kits. I bought the one from Sephora called the Shimmer Harmony Gloss because a) it was only $5.00!, and b.) I wanted shimmer and gloss.

The glosses are housed in a rectangular palette you see above ^^.  You can see that each shade is shown. 

Here is how it looks like after I opened it up. Obviously, I've used the colors! o_~ 

The palette has a little dip next to the mirror where you can actually mix colors! Doubt I'll ever do it but it's cool to have I guess! 

The little brush that comes along with the palette. It sits by the mirror but it's dainty enough. Personally, I love the brush! It makes applying the gloss really easy and the brush itself is soft and glides effortlessly. 

Swatch Board: These are not in order of the palette. The first two are shimmery clear-ish ones. The third one is a shimmery copper. I love that one! The pink and coral is also really pretty and the red is gorgeous! They're pigmented for glosses, that's for sure =)

#1 on swatch board - silver shimmers on clear gloss. Reminded me of snow and frost :)

#2 on swatch board - silver with a bit of gold on clear gloss. 

#3 on swatch board - the coppery shade with a tinge of gold. The shimmery flecks are just insanely pretty! Very very festive!

#4 on swatch board - creamy pink shade with silver shimmers. Very plush shade! 

#5 on swatch board - the shade i described as coral. It's more of a baby pink. Really subtle color but beautiful nonetheless.

#6 on swatch board - the pigmented blue based red gloss. It's an effortless, forgiving shade of red. I love the festive feel and the pretty shimmers.

Overall, I am very impressed with this palette. More so than I originally thought. I know there are really bad ones out there that feel dry and pressed. This palette is one of the best I've bought and one of the most inexpensive ones I've seen. You get a nice selection of 6 glosses and even the red one in itself is worth the $5 price tag :) It's small and dainty and I'm very much looking to use it during my holiday travels this year. 

The last I checked (yesterday), this palette went down from $5 to $3.00! It goes up and down and it's always in or out of stock, but they update it pretty frequently.

So that's my rave review on this palette. One of the best things I purchased this season, LOL! What about you, my friends? Do you like lip palettes? ^___^

Nars Lip Pencil in New Lover

I am in love with lip pencils. Why? Because they are genius! And very pretty and travel-friendly to own. The idea of a lipstick in pencil form is kind of new for me. I've always associated lip pencils with lip liners and lip liners to create extravagant lip looks (colors and/or textures) but most recently I noticed a slur of holiday buys that included jumbo lip pencils that are great for touch-ups, travel, and collecting.

The first one I ever tried is the Nars Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in New Lover. It's just a very developed, gorgeous red that has very fine golden shimmers and a glossy finish.

Nars Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil - New Lover

I've lightly worn this here and it's extremely pigmented and super flattering. The golden shimmers give a fresh sheen to the shade and that alone really amps up the pretty factor! The color is really festive but subtle enough that it looks great without much effort. 

I also ordered a lip pencil from Ulta, a much cheaper version of the Nars pencil, to see how it compares texture-wise.

Ulta Lip Crayon in Valentine

Ulta Lip Crayon - Valentine

Nars New Lover

Essentially, I couldn't even tell the difference in shades when I was wearing them two different days! The Ulta crayon is a bit more deeper in color than New Lover but the two colors very much looked identical on me. New Lover is more golden. Valentine also had a pretty golden sheen to it as well, but much more subdue. Texture-wise, Valentine was more matte while New Lover was glossier. I'd say the Ulta lip crayons are a much more drier formula than the Nars but the pigmentation for Valentine is pretty impressive. 

Overall, I'm really in love with both pencils. My Ulta one was a steal at $2.99, but I do think they are going to discontinue this shade soon. Regularly, they are $8.00 each while the Nars one retails for $24.00 full size. The one I have is very close to full size but it was part of the VIB freebie thing that i got. $24.00 is pretty pricey! o_o

What are your thoughts on lip crayons/pencils? Are they worth your while? What other brands would you recommend? :)

EOTD using Sleek's Au Naturel Palette

I used Taupe all over the lid, followed by Bark and Regal to create a smokey-ish eye. The darker colors are definitely winners in this palette! :) 

If you haven't seen my review on this palette, it's the very last post. I'm kind of turning over a new leaf on this palette because I had originally thought the pigmentation was poor but now I see that even though it's subtle, it doesn't get lost in the eye lids. It still makes for a really pretty natural look for daytime. I'm going to try and create more looks with this palette.

In the meantime, I am getting started up on Facebook again. I realized I follow so many of you on FB and thought I really should interact more ^_^

I'd love it if you gals follow me on Facebook (here)

See ya there! ^_^