Tidbits from a Makeup Noob

April Giveaways

2010-03-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

The lovely Cash or Charge will be giving away one of the following:

1) Bobbi Brown Nectar shimmerbrick
2) Bobbi Brown Pink Quartz shimmerbrick
3) $40 worth of make-up from MAC Art Supplies collection
4) An Urban Decay Shadow Box (you can choose from Show Pony, Ammo, Wallpaper, Deluxe, or Sustainable)

Ends April 1st

http://closetofanaddict.blogspot.com/2010/03/first-giveaway.html

A Small Hawaiian Giveaway 15 readers

2010-03-16T21:17:00.000-07:00

This is a thank you to my lovely readers for sharing a love of makeup with me and finding the time to reply to my inquiries, read my posts, and just mingle on the internet jungle. I want to share a bit of my home, Hawaii with you all so please enjoy!

1)(2) packages of each chocolate. One for yourself and one to share with a loved one.
2)A lovely lipstick holder designed and crafted by the lovely Teresa. I met Teresa on MUA and she included this as an extra in a swap. I don't own any lipsticks so I would rather this go to someone who does. It holds MAC lipsticks perfectly. She has a plethora of holders available for sale at: TeresaEllis.etsy.com. Items pictured inside holder not included in prize.

Here is a picture of awesome work she creates. This is not included in the giveaway:

The giveaway is open internationally. All current 16 readers are automatically entered and have been given a random number from 1-16.

To enter:
1) +1 entry: Must be a follower and comment below on what makeup products or food items you are interested in from Hawaii. *Hint* a future giveaway may include these items. I may also add additional items if there is interest.
2) +1 entry: Make a blog post or link on your sidebar of your blog about my giveaway. Please be sure to include a link to your post/blog in your comment.
3) -500 entries if you Twitter about it. Twitter is way too stalker friendly and seriously who on earth would be interested in what I am doing every second of the day :)
4) Winner will be notified in a blog post and will have 5 days to claim their prize. They must also be willing to let me know how they liked the prize.

Deadline: April 16th 11:59pm Hawaii time.

Help? Headed to Washington D.C.

2010-03-12T13:59:00.000-08:00

I am attending a nursing conference in Washington D.C. at the Fairmont hotel next week and I have a day to relax so I would love to do some shopping! If anyone knows any bloggers located in D.C. or if you yourself know about the area recommendations would be much appreciated!

Thanks so much!

NYX I Dream of St. Kitt Review

2010-03-11T14:07:00.000-08:00

NYX is an excellent drug store brand known for its pigmented eyeshadow and cute packaging. I typically purchase NYX shadows in trios or singles and find them to be wonderful. I was also able to swatch one of the 10 palettes, sorry I didn't take a picture. I found the pigmentation to be chalky and resembled makeup for a 3 year old. I was able to swatch this palette prior to purchasing it on sale for $7 and I was surprised in the pigmentation difference of the 10 palette and 5 palette.

The Product:

I am not a fan of the glossy packaging. I like the matte packaging better as the glossy cover makes it look cheap and reflects dents and scratches easier. The matte packaging is similar to the NARS finish.

Boo! You can see my reflection. Yes I am a camera nub and couldn't figure out how to make myself disappear.

The Swatches:

Swatched without primer.

Overall Rating:
Great neutral colors at a great price. Personally, I prefer NYX neutrals to MAC neutrals. I know many will not agree with me, but I prefer to forgo spending $14 per eyeshadow on MAC neutrals. I will venture into more pricey territories for unique colors.

Packaging: B
Pigmentation: A-
Price: A
Overall: A-

Disclosure:
All products are purchased by me or received in a swap unless otherwise indicated. I would never allow some ho-hum money hungry company to corrupt my opinion! ... and seriously why would they bother with someone who has less that 20 followers lol.
SKIN: NC25, MUFE 120, BE Fairly Light

Sunsilk $4 off (2) items Coupon

2010-03-11T11:12:00.000-08:00

If anyone is interested I have (2) coupons for $4 off any (2) Sunsilk products. For those of you that live in a cheaper state (Hawaii is so darn expensive) you could potentially purchase (2) Sunsilk products for $1 each. I would have to mail the coupon to you must be above 18 as I don't want your parents suing me for stalking their child.

The Coupon:

Mineralize Skin Finishes (Revlon and MAC)

2010-03-11T10:44:00.000-08:00

Mineralize skin finishes (MSF) are put on top of foundation or powder foundation and can be used all over the face or as a highlighter. I especially like to use them directly on and above my cheekbones as it adds a wonderful glow that makes my skin look healthy and dewy.

MAC sells MSFs for $28, but if you are lucky and have a CCO nearby you can get them for 30% off of $28--that wouldn't include me :*( --. Anyhoo, I was introduced to a Revlon product that is very similar to the coveted MAC MSF called Revlon Colorstay Mineral Finishing Powder that sells for $14 in drug stores. Of course if you wait for those wonderful "buy one get one free" sales you can snatch one of these puppies for a mere $7. Cha ching! Score! Touchdown!

The Product:

The Swatches:

One lovely tidbit that I came across is that another color, Revlon Pure Confection is a dupe for MAC Lightscapade. You can read a comparison at: http://www.bleucerise.net/?tag=revlon&lang=en

Another product I am hoping to try as I have heard it also dupes MAC MSFs is Prestige Skin Loving Minerals. Has anyone tried this product? If so, I would love to hear more about it!

Disclosure:
All products are purchased by me or received in a swap unless otherwise indicated. I would never allow some ho-hum money hungry company to corrupt my opinion! ... and seriously why would they bother with someone who has less that 20 followers lol.
SKIN: NC25, MUFE 120, BE Fairly Light

My Purple Obsession

2010-02-27T19:25:00.004-08:00

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:

The Swatches:

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

2010-02-27T19:25:00.003-08:00

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:

The Swatches:

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

2010-02-27T19:25:00.001-08:00

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:

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:

The Filled in Swatches:

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!

Giveaways Ending in March

2010-02-26T10:22:00.001-08:00

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*

Giveaways!

2010-02-18T10:45:00.000-08:00

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

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

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

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

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

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