Saturday, February 27, 2010

My Purple Obsession

I love purples! It may be because I feel it is the only color my boring brown eyes can work besides neutrals so I wanted to share my little collection with other purple lovers.

... Boohoo! I wanted to swatch the shadows using MAC Fix+ and I guess the bottle was broken when I received it in a swap as it spilled everywhere. Clumsy me! :*(

The Collection:
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The Swatches:
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The swatches are without primer and all of them have excellent pigmentation. The pressed pigments have an unfair advantage of looking their best due to the glycerin component of pressed pigments.
My personal fave is deep purple. It is wonderful for a smokey purple look! I would love to add MAC sketch to my collection and if anyone knows of any other wonderful purple colors please let me know!

All items were purchased by me and I am in no way affiliated with any makeup company or organization.

Milani Eyeshadow Review

These e/s have been discontinued and replaced by dome-like e/s that is disappointing. I lucked out and purchased these for $1.50 each (with free shipping) on ebay.

The Product:
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The Swatches:
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Swatched without primer on nc25, MUFE 120 skin.

PROS: The pigmentation on Java Bean, Flare, and Desert Sun are amazing! I am not a fan of Sheer Sand as its, well, too sheer. The colors are much prettier in person and they all have a fine shimmer to them.

CONS: The packaging is horrible! I cannot figure out how to depot the e/s and the e/s is so fragile! I dropped one of the e/s and the shadow broke! I also remember shipping one in the mail and it arrived in pieces! :*(

Overall, you can't beat the price for such lovely colors!

All products were purchased by me and I am not in any way affiliated with a related makeup company or organization.

Finding that HG eyeliner

I have been on the search for my HG items! (aka holy grail. I won't explain how long it took me to figure out what HG stood for. If you google it you come up with the abbreviation for mercury. Why on earth do all these women care about mercury?... ok, back on track)

Finding the HG black eyeliner that works best for you is a must! Don't ever listen to what one person reviews and if you love it even though it gets bashing negative reviews keep on loving it!

I have tried Urban Decay's 24/7 eyeliner in Zero and I hated it. It smeared within 5minutes and made me look like a raccoon and so did MUFE. I attacked the makeupalley.com boards searching everywhere for a good eyeliner. Surprisingly, I received numerous drugstore recs so here is a comparison of those recommendations.

Up on the chopping block:
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L-R: NYX Black Bean, Bourjois Paris Miroir, Prestige Total Intensity Deepest Black, Gosh Black Ink, Revlon Colorstay Black, Almay Black Brown

The Single Swipe Swatches:
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The Filled in Swatches:
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NYX Jumbo eyeshadow pencil in Black Bean--> yes, I know most use it as a base, but I wanted to swatch it as a comparison. It has a smooth and creamy application. The color payoff is excellent with a slight sheen. It smudges like no other so its obvious why it isn't an eyeliner.

Bourjois Paris Metallise in miroir--> I had it lying around from a swap so I figured I would make use of it. It has the tiniest sparkles, but you have to go over it multiple times to get a good concentration of color.

(tie) 1st place Prestige Total Intensity in Deepest Black--> amazing color payoff. In the single swipe swatch it hands down blew away the competition. I would say the color concentration rivals UD 24/7. Very easy to apply. Smudged more than Revlon.

Gosh in Black Ink--> this brand is not available in the US, but has an excellent reputation overseas. The color isn't very intense and I would probably pass on it.

(tie) 1st place Revlon Colorstay in Black--> 2nd best color concentration after Prestige. Very difficult to smudge. Easy to apply and you don't have to sharpen it like all the others.

Almay crayon in Black Brown--> Its hypoallergenic! Poor Almay. I realized afterward that it is not really fair to compare black colors to black brown. Best in the smudge proof department.

All of the products mentioned above were purchased by myself or were received in a swap from individuals who are not affiliated with the product company. I have no affiliation with any makeup company. I think by reading my post one would be able to make that distinction easily because alas, I am but a NOOB!

Friday, February 26, 2010

Giveaways Ending in March

It stinks that you only find out about new wonderful blogs when there is a giveaway, but that is a surprise in itself! So everyone is a winner! Feel free to checkout the links below. There are some amazing bloggers out there that sometimes don't get the recognition they deserve!

http://www.makeupsavvy.blogspot.com/
*Ends March 19th*

http://makeupper.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-first-ever-giveaway.html
*Ends March 31st*

http://www.ladyofthelane.com/2010/02/50-followers-giveaway.html
*Ends March 2nd*

http://getgawjus.blogspot.com/2010/02/500-follower-giveaway-d.html
*Ends March 14th*

http://secretbeautyblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/100-follower-giveaway-woop-woop.html
*Ends March 14th*

http://sparkleandshade.blogspot.com/2010/02/something-happier-aka-giveaway-time.html
*Ends March 14th*

http://makeupbycrystals.blogspot.com/
*Ends March 25th*

http://sarahxosoda.blogspot.com/2010/02/first-giveaway.html
*Ends March 1st*

http://chelistax3.blogspot.com/2010/03/125-follower-giveaway.html
*Ends March 31st*

http://makeuptomakeout.blogspot.com/2010/02/100-followers-thank-you-competition.html
*Ends March 16th*

http://meibelle.blogspot.com/2010/02/giveaway-time.html
*Ends March 19th*

http://tina-bobeena.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-first-giveaway.html
*Ends March 31st*

http://therealdealreviews.blogspot.com/2010/03/50-follower-giveaway.html
*Ends March 27th*

http://kimber-doll.blogspot.com/2010/02/giveaway.html
*Ends March 21st*

http://www.lipglossgossip.com
*Ends March 31st*

http://themakeupgoddessguru.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-100-followers-giveaway.html
*Ends March 11th*

http://kimmiii-x.blogspot.com/2010/02/giveaway-mac-eyeshadow.html
*Ends March 12th*

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Giveaways!

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Visit her blog at:
http://missp-princess-life.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-first-giveaway-200-followers.html

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Visit her blog at:
http://beauty-bow.blogspot.com/2010/02/giveaway-timeyay-so-let-me-tell-you.html
Ends March 10th

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Visit her blog at:
http://w0ngturn.blogspot.com/2010/02/macs-viva-glam-gaga-giveaway.html
Ends March 1st

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Visit her blog at:
http://www.makeupbycelly.com/2010/02/400-followers-appreciation.html
Ends March 4th

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Visit her blog at:
http://thatsallyeah.blogspot.com/2010/02/giveaway-annoucement.html
Ends March 27th

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Visit her blog at:
http://pearlsandpoodles.blogspot.com/
Ends March 3rd