Thursday, May 3, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Friday, December 10, 2010
Holiday Party Look
Holiday Party Look by sidraa on Polyvore.com
Here are a few tips to look radiant at the holiday parties you attend this winter.
First, prime the eyes with Smashbox's primer. Then brush the lightest shadow in Smashbox's "Eyelights" kit color all over the eye, then brush gold shadow (Bobbi Brown) on just your lids, blend the darker colors in the creases. Then place false lashes, like MAC's #36s, apply liner and coat with mascara to give the lashes a more blended look. Without mascara, lashes can look painfully fake. On your face, use a tinted moisturizer like Laura Mercier, and cover the apples of your cheeks with a mineralized blush like MAC's in "Dainty". Finish off the look with a bright red lipstick. Lovely!
The above look is kind of like Beyonce in this photo....Super cute!!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
My Beauty Wish for the Holidays
Oh the holidays, a time of joy, a time of giving, and a time of treating oneself to fabulous holiday sets at Sephora and Ulta!! With single pots of eye shadow running me $14.50 a pop (hello MAC!) or $18 a pan (ouch Stila!), who can resist the fabulous deals on eye shadow kits out around this time? I have two faves, and both are AH-MAZING because not only do they include a ton of shades, but they have a little tutorials too for beauty queens in the making. Now which one should you get? Well, that’s completely up to you and where your loyalty lies with brands...but I went ahead with Smashbox.
Smashbox’s Eye Wish palette is making me wish I met this eye shadow brand before I met MAC. Their vibrant colors go on smoothly thanks to Vitamin E, and this $45 palette includes Smashbox’s famous Photo Finish Lid Primer—an amazing sample (and almost as good as Urban Decay’s Eye Shadow Primer Potion…check back later for reviews!) and their incredibly volumizing lash DNA Mascara (still, Maybelline is great and less pricey). With 12 incredible shades, 4 cream liners, AND 8 tutorials on how to apply them for the bombshell in the making, this is a deal I could not resist. Ok fine…I really didn’t know about the tutorial until about five minutes ago…but I plan on using them!
Do I regret my purchase after I saw Stila’s $38 beauty deal, the Color Wheel Eye Shadow Palette? I’m not so sure now. Stila’s individual eye shadows retails at a whopping $18 a pan, this 37-color wheel is an outstanding deal and a big competitor. Smashbox includes primer and mascara, but no brushes. The color wheel includes a 16-page tutorial, two double-ended eye shadow brushes, and 37 vibrant shades. I sound like I’m in regret heaven (or hell?)…but I’m pretty pleased with my Smashbox Eye Wish palette. Maybe if I make it on Santa’s Nice List this year he’ll get me the Stila set for Christmas? *HINT HINT TO MY FIANCE*
There is no denying that both brands offer solid colors and are both incredible sets to share or purchase for oneself. I personally find them to be a better deal than MAC’s Holiday “A Tartan Tale” collection which has just 6 shades and retails at $36 at Nordstrom. Not worth the money at all! Their holiday brush set is $49.50 and sells out QUICK!, however, since their brushes retail at about $18 each, I think these are totally worth the price. I’ve had mine for over two years and have had no complaints.
For all the beauty geeks out there who are suffering still from this recession, the holidays are the BEST time to get amazing deals on palettes and sets like this, so I highly recommend you stock up now.
Next post: me trying to use the tutorials that Smashbox includes!
 |
| Smashbox's Eye Wish Set |
Smashbox’s Eye Wish palette is making me wish I met this eye shadow brand before I met MAC. Their vibrant colors go on smoothly thanks to Vitamin E, and this $45 palette includes Smashbox’s famous Photo Finish Lid Primer—an amazing sample (and almost as good as Urban Decay’s Eye Shadow Primer Potion…check back later for reviews!) and their incredibly volumizing lash DNA Mascara (still, Maybelline is great and less pricey). With 12 incredible shades, 4 cream liners, AND 8 tutorials on how to apply them for the bombshell in the making, this is a deal I could not resist. Ok fine…I really didn’t know about the tutorial until about five minutes ago…but I plan on using them!
 |
| Stila's Color Wheel |
Do I regret my purchase after I saw Stila’s $38 beauty deal, the Color Wheel Eye Shadow Palette? I’m not so sure now. Stila’s individual eye shadows retails at a whopping $18 a pan, this 37-color wheel is an outstanding deal and a big competitor. Smashbox includes primer and mascara, but no brushes. The color wheel includes a 16-page tutorial, two double-ended eye shadow brushes, and 37 vibrant shades. I sound like I’m in regret heaven (or hell?)…but I’m pretty pleased with my Smashbox Eye Wish palette. Maybe if I make it on Santa’s Nice List this year he’ll get me the Stila set for Christmas? *HINT HINT TO MY FIANCE*
There is no denying that both brands offer solid colors and are both incredible sets to share or purchase for oneself. I personally find them to be a better deal than MAC’s Holiday “A Tartan Tale” collection which has just 6 shades and retails at $36 at Nordstrom. Not worth the money at all! Their holiday brush set is $49.50 and sells out QUICK!, however, since their brushes retail at about $18 each, I think these are totally worth the price. I’ve had mine for over two years and have had no complaints.
 |
| MAC's A Tartan Tale Collection |
For all the beauty geeks out there who are suffering still from this recession, the holidays are the BEST time to get amazing deals on palettes and sets like this, so I highly recommend you stock up now.
Next post: me trying to use the tutorials that Smashbox includes!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Rudolph in June
hat’s what you can call me. Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer and I both have the red, shiny nose thing in common (minus the cuteness factor). Even though I apply Neutrogena SPF 100+ generously to my face as I recommended in a blog post, I have apparently missed the tip of my nose, causing it to burn and flake. (picture below) The only place on my entire body that I burn is on my nose!
Last year, after my three-day trip to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, I went to Pakistan and my outspoken niece flatly asked me why my nose was so red. I was so embarrassed at how noticeable the red burn was on my brown skin. In Pakistan, I had no idea what to do about this reddened nose, so the tip of my nose flaked and eventually scarred. I was determined to avoid any scarring this year, so as soon as I noticed that the very tip of my nose made me resemble a very cute reindeer in a not-so-flattering way, I did a Google search on sunburn remedies. I realized that liberally applying my Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer would only cover up, not treat.
I found many, including applying white, plain yogurt, oatmeal, a baking soda mixture, vinegar and finally Aloe Vera lotion. The thought of applying food to my face freaked me out so I immediately crossed oatmeal and yogurt off my list. I knew that white vinegar had some magic healing qualities so I located some in our cupboard, soaked it into a cotton ball and applied it to my nose. And boy, did it burn and sting!! I immediately applied my cool, Vitamin E face cream from the Body Shop to my nose to curb the burning, and it subsided after about 10 seconds. I found that I was supposed to dilute the vinegar in cold water before applying, oops.
Still, the white vinegar helped reduce the redness of my nose overnight. While I am still flaking a bit, I hope that continuous application of facial lotion will help curb it.
So for all of you who want a quick, at home remedy for sunburns, vinegar is one of the many quick fixes! If you have body burns, you can take a cool bath with a bit of white or apple cider vinegar mixed in your water. You might smell like a pickle, but it will take away the pain.
Last year, after my three-day trip to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, I went to Pakistan and my outspoken niece flatly asked me why my nose was so red. I was so embarrassed at how noticeable the red burn was on my brown skin. In Pakistan, I had no idea what to do about this reddened nose, so the tip of my nose flaked and eventually scarred. I was determined to avoid any scarring this year, so as soon as I noticed that the very tip of my nose made me resemble a very cute reindeer in a not-so-flattering way, I did a Google search on sunburn remedies. I realized that liberally applying my Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer would only cover up, not treat.
I found many, including applying white, plain yogurt, oatmeal, a baking soda mixture, vinegar and finally Aloe Vera lotion. The thought of applying food to my face freaked me out so I immediately crossed oatmeal and yogurt off my list. I knew that white vinegar had some magic healing qualities so I located some in our cupboard, soaked it into a cotton ball and applied it to my nose. And boy, did it burn and sting!! I immediately applied my cool, Vitamin E face cream from the Body Shop to my nose to curb the burning, and it subsided after about 10 seconds. I found that I was supposed to dilute the vinegar in cold water before applying, oops.
Still, the white vinegar helped reduce the redness of my nose overnight. While I am still flaking a bit, I hope that continuous application of facial lotion will help curb it.
So for all of you who want a quick, at home remedy for sunburns, vinegar is one of the many quick fixes! If you have body burns, you can take a cool bath with a bit of white or apple cider vinegar mixed in your water. You might smell like a pickle, but it will take away the pain.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Lost-Lasting, Lucious Liners
I can be quite lazy with my makeup, and that is especially true when it comes to my eyeliner. I can’t be counted on to have a sharpener on hand no matter how many I buy, and I never, ever seem to be able to locate mine, so for that reason, I stick to liquid eyeliner.
I’m talking about you, MAC Penultimate eyeliner ($16.50). Here you come on the scene, a nifty pen type liner with a felt tip that reminded me of the felt pens my teachers used to grade my homework in elementary school. You seemed so easy to apply, and sure, compared to the gel pot liners, you were. You didn’t require extra effort or thought, it was a quick swish and there you were lining my eyes. Sometimes it was two swipes. But by lunchtime, this sneaky product faded to gray. Having to reapply did not go well with my laziness. It made me hate you, MAC Penultimate eyeliner. I needed a liner that lasted the entire day! Not an awful product that lasted just half a day.
- Cons: Didn’t last all day, not as dark as I’d like, required two applications to be dark
- Pro: Easy to apply, fast-drying
So of course, I took the advice of my cousin who showed me her fantastic L’Oreal Paris Telescopic Precise Liquid Eyeliner that lasts all day! The pointed brush wasn’t too soft or too long like some liners, and the texture of the liner was great. It didn’t smear or smudge which was so important to me. The best part—it did last me all day. I only had to reapply if I was going out at night, which I didn’t mind. The "brush" is actually quite stiff, similar to the MAC Penultimate, but it may take a while to get used. The price can’t be beat! It is just about $8 at your local drugstore, less than half the price of MAC’s Penultimate liner.
- Cons: it can go on thick and it doesn't dry fast, so if you aren't careful and blink right away, you'll end up with liner on the top of your lids. It's happened to me before.. not pretty.
- Pro: long-lasting, thick texture, rich, easy to apply, the black is super bold, matte finish
Another liner I love is the Sephora brand liquid liner. It is only $10, and while it is a bit more “watery” than the L’Oreal Paris liner and has a thin, long brush, I still did enjoy this product greatly. I am more loyal to the L’Oreal, but the Sephora brand is great too.
- Cons: Not water-proof like it claims to be, doesn't last all day (you might need a touch-up)
- Pro: good color, goes on super thin thanks to the brush
Stay tuned for my NEXT POST: Pencil Eyeliners
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