Sephora Haul

I don't normally do hauls but I went and picked up a bunch of stuff I'd never tried before, so I figured it would only be appropriate to let you guys know what I got! (Pardon the awful picture, I am by no means a photographer)

2 of them were things I'd had already and loved, being the Stila Stay All Day liquid liner in Intense Black, and a bottle of the Peter Thomas Roth AHA/BHA Clearing Gel that's not in the picture.
The liquid liner by Stila is by far my favorite I've ever used, it glides on really easy and the Stay All Day part is no joke. It takes an intense amount of makeup remover to get it to even budge. For some people that could be irritating, but for me, I'm super happy if I don't have to worry if my eyeliner is smudging/cracking/flaking/moving. The other thing that I love: typically eyeliner pens dry out really fast; I'd used the MAC Penultimate liner and it used to dry out in a matter off 3 or 4 months. My Stila pen usually lasts 7 or 8, and that's with daily use!
The Peter Thomas Roth clearing gel is a staple in my skincare routine; I was devastated when I ran out and I ran straight to Sephora to grab a new bottle. It's the only thing that keeps my skin clear...I've tried just about everything and this is the only one that leaves me smooth, oil-free, and feeling fresh, not dry.
NOW:
On to the products I'd never tried before...-drumroll-
I got my little birthday gift because my birthday is in October so they were giving out the "Libra" box, so it came with two Make Up For Ever products, one of their mascaras, and one of their lipsticks. I'm super excited to try these; I call myself a product junkie...I like to try everything I can get my hands on, but especially mascaras because I'm always concerned that my eyes will get irritated, so I try them like crazy trying to find my favorite. It's currently the Smashbox Full Exposure mascara, but we'll see how this one goes!
The lipstick I'm excited about because I'm always looking for something to add hydration and a pop of color...I've found that I really like Kat Von D's lipsticks, and I'm a big fan of just about anything from Bite Cosmetics. I'll let you all know how I like the Make Up For Ever one!
I picked up the Tarred/Feathered Lip Balm duo from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (which I will abbreviate OCC from now on) because I love to play with my natural lip color, but I would rather do it with something more natural (they're vegan!) and I'm so tired of nudes! I've never seen anything like this one before, so expect a review when I try it out!
I also picked up the Lip Tar in the shade Black Metal Dahlia. I got the idea for this one from Michelle Phan on youtube; I loved her grunge makeup look that she posted...especially the dark lip. I LOVE a dark, vampy lip for fall and winter. I think it makes your skin look bright and smooth, and it really gets me ready for nights out with crunchy leaves, (faux) leather jackets and boots, and cozy sweaters.
She used the shade Black Dahlia in her video, but when I got to Sephora they were sold out of that one, so I picked up their new formulation with a bit of metallic shine, which I'm okay with because I love a touch of glitter! I'm probably going to group a review of that one in with the review of the Tarred and Feathered duo.
Expect that one some time either this week or early next week! Until then, beauties, stay fabulous!

Caudalie Instant Foaming Cleanser: First Impression

I'm always on the hunt for good skincare products, but the one thing I've found is that I'm a total cleanser junkie. I've always found myself switching out my cleanser if I don't like something in my skincare routine because I absolutely love cleansing my face...is that just me?

So let's cut to the chase here. I recently ran out of my Boscia Detoxifying Black Cleanser (which I loved for the warming feeling and how clean and soft it left my skin), so naturally I went into my local Sephora to check out what they had that was good.
Well, that's not exactly true. It started out as a routine trip during my lunch break at work, which turned into me swatching 900 different eyeshadows, followed by a Sephora employee asking if I need help because I'm covered in colors. This time, I told her "oh no, thanks, I'm okay". She turned to walk away and I found myself yelling "WAIT! I think I do need help...how good are  you with cleansers?"
She perked right up. We discussed my skin for a little while; I told her that I'm addicted to cleansing oils and she showed me the Boscia Makeup Breakup cleansing gel. She then asked how into skincare I was and I laughed. She knew that meant I'm just a little obsessed, so she asked if I was into trying something different, and of course I said yes.
So she brought me to Caudalie. I'd heard of them before, Elle Fowler uses their Beauty Elixir so immediately I thought "oh hey, luxurious". She tried the foaming cleanser on the back of my hand dry (which I have come to find out is the wrong way to use it, it's supposed to be used on damp skin) and it still removed most of the swatches I had made with the exception of some hardcore pencil liners. So I said why not!
I tried it for the first time in the shower this morning, and so far it's made my skin so incredibly soft and smooth and radiant. I'm currently experiencing a breakout (ugh PMS) so we'll see how it goes...but if any of you have tried it please feel free to let me know! I'm excited to see how it works- I'm always in the market for the perfect skincare routine. I'll keep you all posted as I use it some more...maybe I'll do an empty bottle review when it's finished? :)

Fall Trend 2014

I know, I know, it's only August right now. BUT it's important to look to the future! I know we're all being told to live in the now, and while I agree with that...I believe we should be living with our brains focused on upcoming beauty trends!
Wait...maybe I'm giving bad advice...
The colder weather is coming, which means we'll be drawing inspiration from our surroundings. Reds, golds, and browns are always popular in the fall months, and that is no different for this year!
I'm always a big fan of metallics moving into the colder months; it reminds me of the beauty of the snow and the magic that is Halloween and Thanksgiving. Hence why so many runways were seen using metallics, from Rodarte to Armani to Issey Miyake.
This trend can be done many different ways- my personal favorite is a subtle pop of metal in the inner corners of the eyes to brighten them up. Try doing this with a shimmery gold or silver, like Stila's Magnificent Metals Foil Finish eyeshadows in Metallic Dusty Rose or Comex Platinum.
Metallic Dusty Rose is a pinkish (just like it sounds, a muted rose color) and Comex Platinum is a beautiful opalescent white.

Dusty Rose is on top and Comex Platinum is on bottom. These photos were from Google (don't wanna take credit for what isn't mine)
Pop these on the inner corner of your eyes or just beneath the lower lash line and they'll pop beautifully! Pink and opalescent colors are flattering on just about everybody.
Also, I constantly recommend Stila products because I absolutely adore their quality. If you have never tried their Kitten products (their signature color), I promise you, try it once and it will forever change your life.
Happy glittering, beauties!

IMATS New York Haul!

This year I had the privilege to go to IMATS New York. Since I'm in school as an esthetician and I'm now a certified makeup artist, I knew it would be imperative in continuing my education to go to a huge trade show like IMATS to get the experience...okay who am I kidding? I was just so excited to go and grab some new makeup!

Here's the overview of what I got- I haven't used all of it yet but I can give you the general overview.
The first thing I picked up was my new Dinar airbrush machine- I'm addicted to airbrush after learning how to do it in school. It's so fun, easy and natural looking that I knew I had to add one to my kit. Here's a closeup of my beauty...

I wanted it in black or the opalescent white that they had, but being that I went on Sunday rather than Friday or Saturday, they were sold out of most of the colors, so I went with the hot pink! My other options were lime green and highlighter yellow and those were so not me.
So I tried this baby out for the first time yesterday- I was trained on a machine that my teacher manufactures so it felt a little bit different. The only difference, to be honest, was the compressor. There wasn't a dial to control air flow, it was all one strength so I didn't have to turn a knob like I do on the Dinair, but I'm totally fine with it. I got used to it really fast. I airbrushed my mom before she left for work and she loved it, and when she came home it was still on looking even and fabulous. Needless to say, I love it!

The next thing I bought was the concealer palette from Make Up For Ever. I didn't have a concealer palette in my makeup artist kit yet, so I grabbed the one that I'd heard the most about, and that had the most universally flattering colors. It has a purple concealer that is especially great at concealing yellowness in the skin, but it also has 4 very neutral shades that could work on almost any skin tone. It might be a little light for darker skin tones, but my next investment is a bigger concealer palette with more colors. You'd be surprised how hard it is to find one...the only one I've found is by BH Cosmetics.
The palette I got is for "Asian skintones" according to the Make Up For Ever website, but I have very pale skin with a reddish undertone, while my neck is a little yellowish, so if I want to correct I would need a more yellow concealer. I think it could work on just about anyone, I really, really dislike that that's how they describe the colors.

 

My next purchase was of course an IMATS hoodie because I know I'm going to wear it everywhere. If there's one thing I can't live without, it's a good hoodie.

And then my favorite and final purchase of the day: the Naked Cosmetics pigments. Goodness gracious, I did not expect to absolutely fall in love with a brand or a product the way I did with Naked. They explained to me that they're some of the most pure pigments imaginable, the color has no additives to dull the color or shine or the payoff of the shade. I bought two sets (the pigments come in stacks, as you can see in the top picture) and you can only buy them that way- no single color purchases. At least not at IMATS.
What I found coolest about all of these pigments was they offered multiple mixing mediums and bases. They offered a clear nail polish so you could turn your pigment into a polish, a base to turn it into a shadow, and then they showed me using them wet with just some water to make a beautiful cream shadow or liner.
The pictures I'm posting of the colors I bought are off the Naked Cosmetics website, I'm not very good at giving the colors the justice they deserve like the website did.
I picked up the Desert Sunset collection:

And the Twilight collection:

Clearly I bought a warm and a cool. Both are so highly pigmented and stunning- I had the girl at the counter test all of the colors on my hand and I so wish  that I had kept swatches to show all of you. Maybe I'll do a separate review some time in the near future!
If I had to pick a favorite color it's in the Twilight collection- see that third color in the top row? Looks unsuspecting, right? It's PINK when you put it on. It's a muted grey with a PINK GLITTER. Stunning. Just so stunning.
I would love to buy some more of these, but they run $60 a collection. They were running an amazing deal at the show, though, 2 collections and the base were $60. We'll see, I'm probably going to end up ordering more because I love them so much.


I hope you enjoyed my haul, guys! If you went to IMATS, let me know what you picked up! Until next time, beauties.

Update: Where have I been?!

Hey there beauties!
So as always here I am to apologize for going MIA for a while again. I'm in school for esthetics and actually just got my certification as a makeup artist, so I'm really working towards the dream I've always had.
I go to school full time, so it's 5 days a week, and on top of that I'm still working at LUSH 4 days a week. I've been freelancing with makeup on occasion; I just worked on set for my friend's student film and then had a mother-daughter makeup gig for the daughter's bat mitzvah.
Needless to say it's been a very busy time for me.

So here's the deal:
I want to get back into blogging. Badly. I can't really make a schedule, however I can promise one post a week rather than two like I was doing before. Also, I'm going to be doing a lot more reviewing. I wasn't getting much feedback on my series posts that I was doing (such as ingredient spotlight), so I'm going to stick with what I really love to do, being trying new product! I just went to IMATS NY on Sunday so I'm going to be doing a little haul on that later in the week.

For those of you that have stuck with me this whole time, I appreciate your patience and I'm so, so glad to be back!

In Need of Perfume Advice!

Hi beauties! So this kind of post isn't really typical for me because instead of posting something to help you guys out, I need some help on a topic I'm not so good with!

Perfumes!
Here's my deal: I want to find a signature perfume for myself this season. However, I need a brand that is cruelty free (being vegetarian I have devoted myself to a lifestyle full of cruelty-free beauty-without-bunnies products) and not LUSH because I've tried perfumes from there and they don't stay on me. Any of them. Ever. -loud sigh-

Do any of you beauties have a perfume you can't live without?? I tend to lean towards more spicy scents rather than florals...maybe even something kind of aquatic.
Any help is appreciated!

I will be posting another ingredient spotlight as scheduled. :)

Sweater Weather Tag

Hi beauties! I was in the mood to do a tag today, I got this one from Missglamorazzi on YouTube (aka Ingrid, if you don't watch her you should start! She's super genuine which is a big deal for me when looking for the right beauty gurus to watch!)
So I tag all of you to do this tag as well when you finish reading, I'd love to see all of your answers!

-Favourite candle scent?

I'm currently saving my Pumpkin Carving candle from Bath and Body Works...I'm gonna cry when it runs out

QUESTION 2

-Coffee, tea or hot chocolate?

All 3! Depends on what mood I'm in that day, I love coffee on a cold morning, tea on a cold night, and hot chocolate if I've been outside.

QUESTION 3

-Whats the best fall memory you have?

This Halloween was probably my best Halloween/fall memory actually, I spent it with my boyfriend and our friends and watched The Shining and sat around eating pizza and talking. Sounds less exciting than it was, oh well.

QUESTION 4

-Which makeup trend do you prefer: winged eye liner or dark lips?

I say winged liner just because it's my go-to every day, but dark lips are always a must for fall!

QUESTION 5

 -What do you want to be for halloween?

Well Halloween is over already -sigh-, but I was Harley Quinn for ComicCon here in New York, and then I wore a t-shirt with Pinhead from Hellraiser on Halloween with a pair of yoga pants to stay comfy.

QUESTION 6

-Hats or scarves?

I'm a serious infinity scarf addict ugh

QUESTION 7

-Most worn article of clothing?

Anything black and/or white for work, I've been working quite a bit the last few weeks!

QUESTION 8

-Favourite fall nail polish?

Essie's Berry Naughty with Shine of the Times on top! It reminds me of the way the trees look around this time of year :)

QUESTION 9

-Skinny jeans or leggings?

I'm going to have to say skinny jeans.

QUESTION 10

-Boots or uggs?

I'm a vegetarian so I don't wear any fur/wool/suede or anything like that, so man-made material boots all the way!

Birthday Haul!

Hi beauties! It was my birthday on Monday the 21st, and what was on most of my list was makeup and skincare (of course), so I thought I would share some of the stuff I got with you. I'm going to be reviewing these products as I use them, so stay tuned for that too!

1) Urban Decay Vice 2

I'm so excited to try this one out, I have the first Vice palette and I really like it. Some of the colors are a little chalky in the first and I didn't swatch the second yet, so we'll see how it goes. I love Urban Decay, 99.9% of the time the quality of their products is amazing.

2) Anastasia Catwalk Palette

I've never tried Anastasia's products before, but I fell in love with that deep maroon/purple second from the left in the top row and that's what ultimately made me ask for this...little did I know I'd love all the colors! I just tried this palette today and loved the quality of the shadows and how they wear throughout the day. I should have taken a picture to show you guys, but I was in a rush out the door on the way to work and then totally forgot :/

3) Stila All Over Shimmer Liquid Luminizer highlighter

I've been in dire need of a good highlighter- I was considering buying Feeling Younger from LUSH but for some reason decided against it, however I'm kind of glad I did. (Sorry, LUSH, I still love you!) I fell in love with the pink shimmer of the luminizer, and I'm really excited to try it out under my brows, on my cheekbones, and on my cupid's bow!

4) Stila Color Balm Lipstick in Bridgitte

I'm always looking for new lip balms, and I was dying for something in a nice wine color for fall. This one looks perfect, and I'm hoping to really get the full effect of a lipstick with the moisturizing effects of a balm! Fingers crossed

5) Urban Decay Glide On Lip Pencil in Ozone

This thing is awesome. I haven't tried it with lipstick or any color yet for that matter, but it claims to work in the same way as a lip pencil/liner. But it's clear. That's right, when you apply it you can't see it. Crazy, right? I'm hoping it doesn't mess with the color of my lipsticks, that's the ultimate goal. Usually you can see the outline of my lip liner because I try to be really precise with my lipsticks, so I don't always go to the edge of my lip liner with my lipstick in the hopes that nothing will feather. Again, fingers crossed!

6) Lorac 3D Liquid Lustre

I'd swatched this about a year ago at Sephora and fell in love but never found a practical use for it...so I figured I would ask for it for my birthday! I can't wait to put this over my eyeshadows around the holidays, glitter always makes me feel festive! 

As far as beauty products go, that's what I got for my birthday this year! I'm hoping to put up some reviews of these products soon, let me know if you've tried any of them and how you feel about them! Until next time, beauties!

Stila Magnificent Metals Foil Finish Eyeshadow Review

Hi beauties, I have another review for you today! There's a lot of controversy over the price and quality of the Stila Magnificent Metals Foil Finish shadows, and I figured I would try it out to form my own opinion.
I have a very mixed opinion about these. I have two shades: Metallic Lavender and Metallic Dusty Rose. I have both swatched below, with and without the primer they tell you to use them with...

The yellow star is what the colors look like when mixed with the primer. The swatches without the star are the ones that were just applied with my finger and nothing else.
They recommend that you don't use brushes with these because they are a really strange consistency; they're like a crunchy cream shadow, if that makes sense. It doesn't feel dry, it doesn't feel wet, it doesn't feel smooth but it also doesn't feel like you're putting chunky glitter on...I have to say you have to feel them for yourself to decide what you think it feels like.

So here's how I feel about Metallic Lavender:
I absolutely adore this shade. I have to say, it isn't really a lavender, it's more of a gunmetal grey with some purple undertones. In the packaging it looks much more purple than it does when you put it on.
You can see from the first swatch without the primer it looks like a shiny, fabulous grey that would be awesome for wearing out. I wore it to work and it got quite a few compliments because it's really, really sparkly. I put my usual Sephora brand primer underneath and just applied it with my ring finger (PAT, do not rub) and that's how it came out. I was so happy!
Then when you add the primer, you get a gorgeous opaque silver/gunmetal with more of a shimmer than a sparkle. I haven't worn this out yet, but I do love how it looks on my hand!

Here's how I feel about Metallic Dusty Rose:
No.
I actually really hate this one. The shade itself is stunning; it's a beautiful champagne pink with gold shimmer/sparkle. It reminds me of a MAC eyeshadow I had a few years ago and I can't for the life of me remember the color, but it was a part of their Halloween collection and they had gorgeous baked eyeshadow duos. *If anyone remembers the name of this collection please please please let me know!* It was my favorite eyeshadow in the world and it went with absolutely everything, it was so naturally colored but the shimmer made my eyes pop...I could go on for days about how much I adored that eyeshadow.
Anyway, this one is SUPER chunky. Like depressingly, foil falling in my eyes chunky. With and without the primer. So all in all, I'm incredibly disappointed. I don't know if maybe I got a bad one or something, but this color is gorgeous, just the quality and opacity of the shadow itself was not so great for me. There's such a significant difference between the look and feel in the two shades that I bought, and this one reminds me of your cheap first eyeshadow that came in some cheesy kit you got when you were 9. It flakes, it smudges...-sigh- I'm so sad.

So I'm incredibly torn about these, I may buy just one more to solidify my opinion. We'll see. I don't really want to spend another $30 on an eyeshadow but...for the sake of beauty! And you!

Let me know about your experiences with these, I would love to know how they've been working out for the rest of you!
Thanks for reading guys!

Cruelty Free Beauty (Stila edition)

Segment number two in our search for beauty without bunnies! Today's focus is Stila Cosmetics.

Stila is a cosmetics company that prides themselves on high quality products, and I can vouch for them when I say they do a pretty awesome job of making products that can be used for special occasions, every day...the works.
You can get Stila pretty accessibly, too, I know personally I can get it at the Ulta that's around 7 minutes from my house. However if you can't get to an Ulta or Sephora, Stila has a great policy: free shipping and handling for their website on orders over $50! (and I guarantee with the products they have, you're going to want to order well over $50)
So let's talk about some of their products that will help you achieve incredible amounts of fabulousness without the disappointment of knowing it was smeared on one of our furry friends first...
They have just about any makeup product you could ask for, from skincare (such as foundations and concealers) to waterproof mascaras and eyeliners, to shimmering and matte eyeshadows.
Their eyeshadows from my experiences are beautiful and highly pigmented, and range from crazy brights to neutrals. No matter what you're looking for, they're going to have it for your eyes. They even have a primer called the Prime Pot, very similar to MAC's Paint Pot! (just a bit stickier; I've found it works better for me than the Paint Pots do).
And now for the face: Stila offers BB and CC creams, as well as foundations, primers, concealers, you name it.
They even have lip and cheek tints in a handy pen-like package! Talk about convenient, right?

I'm going to pick up one of their "Magnificent Metals foil finish" eyeshadows tomorrow- I'll be doing a review of that some time in the very near future! Stay tuned for more cruelty-free beauty brands, as I'll be posting hopefully at least once a week. :) stay beautiful, everyone!

Cruelty-Free Beauty (LUSH edition)

Hi there my beautiful readers! For those of you that have checked back here,  I apologize for my disappearance but I plan on being around a lot more often now! For those of you that are new to the family, welcome!
I'm going to be starting a series of posts on cruelty-free beauty, so I will be making one post per brand I use to show you how easy it is to be fabulous without the mistreatment of animals in the process.

The first brand I'm going to talk about is the wonderful LUSH Cosmetics, of course. They have become pioneers in the world of beauty without bunnies, and they have everything you could ever imagine from skincare to body care to makeup (called Emotional Brilliance) and it's awesomely pigmented.
The cool thing about Emotional Brilliance is that it can be used anywhere on the face or body, being that the ingredients are all healthy for the skin. You'll find ingredients like jojoba oil which is great for moisturizing, rose petal infusion to soothe, and almond oil which is a moisturizing and emollient ingredient for smoothing and hydrating. These colors range from yellows to browns to black and red and pink.
They are long-lasting and highly pigmented without the animal testing procedures that so many makeup brands practice so it's feel-good beauty! Apply it like a cream eyeshadow and blend out, or apply with a doe foot applicator and use it as a lipstick. These colors all also work as eyeliner and mascara!
Stop in to your local LUSH store for a color reading where you pick your colors...then the meanings behind the colors are explained!
Comment and let me know which colors are your favorites! Until next time beauties, stay stunning.