Functional or Not???

 Backstage Eyeliners-To-Wear Multi-Wear Adhesive Eyeliner Patches

 I received an email from Sephora about this new Dior product and was INSTANTLY intrigued!  My first thought was "oh my gosh, MUST, MUST have!"  First of all, there are SPARKLY CRYSTALS on them and secondly, I practice and practice my winged eyeliner but still have yet to reach perfection.... Then my brain (or wallet) got the best of me and I wondered just how functional these were.  

 It says that they are re-useable, so that is a plus.  My concern is more so with the application and wear process.  I just see this application going terribly, terribly wrong!

 

Dior Describes Them As:
A set of innovative eyeliner "patches" that are ready to wear in minutes.  Designed by Dior makeup artists, the results of these velvet eyeliner appliqués are spectacular. Like a sticker or transfer tattoo, the designs range from the simplest matte-black to the most lavish, lacquered finish bedecked with sparkling Swarovski crystals.

This set contains:
- 4 pairs of eyeliner patches: 2 black ones, 1 all pasted with anthracite grey crystals, 1 black with white crystals
- small glue

What else you need to know:
These adjustable, multipurpose patches are comfortable and easy to apply. Expertly designed and adaptable to every eye shape, they can be applied to the eyelids and to the base of the lashes. Included in a sleek Dior sleeve is a sheet of eyeliners to be applied onto the eyelid.

Price:  $59

Has anyone used these yet?  What are your thoughts on them - worth the price?  Easy to apply?  Look good?  Let me know!

Dior Show 360 Mascara: Photos & Review

A few weeks ago I gave in and purchased the Dior Show 360 Mascara.  I had been considering trying it for awhile, but had to convince myself to swallow the $36 price tag.

I have been using it almost daily since I bought it, and it does work nicely.  I notice it helps to lengthen my lashes, and thickens them a little bit.  The main feature of this mascara is the 360 aspect--the brush rotates when you turn it on!  It can rotate in two different directions, depending on which direction you choose.

Dior Describes it As:  A professional mascara mimics a makeup artist's application technique for a perfect 360-degree lash-styling effect. Featuring a patented double-helix brush with extra-smooth fibers and a sculptable wax formula, this mascara features a spinning brush that rotates in both directions to adapt to every need, whether you're left- or right-handed or you want to pump up upper or lower lashes.  Dior claims that it is a volume-boosting, lengthening, and curling mascara with a spinning wand.

My Thoughts on the Application:  It takes a couple applications to get used to the rotating brush.  I don't mean that in a bad way, and it's not difficult to work with, but it is something you aren't used to happening when you apply your mascara!  I also notice you have to be much more careful when applying this mascara (when it's rotating) as it was much easier to unintentionally get mascara on your eyelids (which is one of my BIGGEST pet peeves!).  After a few times it became much easier to avoid this, but even with practice, I did have to pay much closer attention and take more time applying this mascara than I would any other mascara I have used.  The instructions say that you can use one direction of spinning for the top lashes, and the opposite direction for the lower lashes, but I didn't find it necessary to use the spinning feature on the lower lashes, mine define just fine with normal application methods.  :)


My Thoughts on the Formula:  I was somewhat impressed with formula of the mascara, it did seem to make my lashes look longer and slightly thicker than they would with other mascaras I have used-- my lashes just seemed to stand out a little bit more than they normally would (and I love my lashes to stand out, so that's a compliment!).  I think the rotating brush helps with the lengthening, as it's probably not just the formula that does that.  I didn't notice anything significantly different about the volume of my lashes, and would say it maybe only increased my lash's curl a tiny bit.  I usually applied 2 coats of this, sometimes 3.

My Thoughts on the Look of Lashes:  While did do like how my lashes look afterwards and can see they appeared a little longer and thicker than with other mascaras, I must say, for $36, I was hoping for a much more dramatic look than what I saw.  I usually use MAC's Opulash in black, and can achieve a very similar look, maybe just a smidge less longer and thicker looking.


Final Verdict:  With Opulash being less half the price of Dior Show 360, I will probably just stick to using Opulash normally, and may pick up 360 again if it's on sale or something.  If you have the extra money to spend on a mascara or have very short and/or thin lashes, this may be worth your while.  My lashes are of a decent length and thickness on their own.  Just FYI-When I use any mascaras, including this one, I do not use a lash primer or lash curler, I strictly put on a few coats of mascara.

Photos Wearing L'Oreal:

Photos Wearing Dior Show 360:

The ridge is the toggle switch, where you can activate the spinning action, and depending on which way you toggle, what direction the brush will spin:

Photos of the brush and wand:

Green and Gold Look!

I know St. Patty's has come and gone, but I wasn't able to post this at the time.  I think it's still a fun look to, and can inspire similar looks with different color combinations!

As you can see from the photos, I didn't do this look expecting to feature it here, so they were taken on my computer and are not the best quality.


Here is what I used:

Eyes:
-Urban Decay Eye Shadow in Graffiti in the crease
-Urban Decay Eye Shadow in Half Baked all over the lid
-MAC Glitter in Reflects Gold all over the lid covering the gold shadow.  Before applying the glitter, I did a thin layer of  MAC's Mixing Medium all over the lid (over the gold shadow), I let it set, becoming a little more tacky, then used a flat, stiff brush to apply the glitter all over the lid and mixing medium.
-MAC Mineral  Eye shadow Duo in She Who Dares (using the green portion of the duo) in the outer crease
-LA Splash glitter in Dragons Lair along lower lash line.  Before applying, I first used a small eye liner brush and applied MAC's Mixing Medium to the lower lash line where I wanted the glitter to appear.  I let that set for about 30 seconds, allowing it to become more tacky, then took another small, fine pointed eye liner brush and applied the glitter.
-MAC #2 Lashes


Lips:
MAC Lipstick in
MAC lipglass in
MAC lipliner in
MAC prep + prime Lip

Face:  Dior Skin AirFlash in Light Beige (200), first applied to MAC 187 brush, then applied all over face and lightly on the neck.  On the cheeks I used NARS Blush in Orgasm

Super Quick Look: Never Say Never

Yes, yes, I am only a tiny bit embarrassed to say I went and saw Justin Bieber's movie, Never Say Never in theatres (and in 3-D!!!!).


Moving on,  I had been at work all day so wasn't up for doing much fun make up stuff, but still wanted to do a little something for this festive occasion.  In honor of the Bieb's favorite color, I did purple winged eye liner and then added a bright pink lip to add more flare!  


It's nothing super special, but still kinda cute!


I Used:




Eyes:
-MAC pigment in Helium all over the lid, up the brow.
-Urban Decay 25/7 Liner in Random all over the upper and lower waterline.  I actually used a very small, fine pointed eyeliner brush and used one hand the spin the pencil very quickly, while holding the liner brush against the point of the pencil, to gather color from the pencil to use to create the wing.  I had never tried that before, but I knew that just using a very sharp pencil would not be enough precision for me to create the wings.  It worked pretty well!  UD's 24/7 liners are always very pigmented and a softer texture, making it easy to transfer the color onto the brush and then apply.
-MAC Opulash Mascara in black


Lips:
MAC lipstick in Pink Burst
MAC Lip glass in Hot House (from their Venomous Villains Collection)

Getting my Body Glam: Nutrisystem

Well guys, I've always had weight issues--ever since I was around 17 my weight started fluctuating.  I danced for many years, and when I stopped that, I didn't change my eating habits, and I gained quite a bit of weight.  I would gain weight, do a diet, be fine for awhile, then gain weight back, and so on.  And here I am, 27 years old, and still watching my weight go up and down on the scale!

As of right now I am back to my "heaviest  point", I was also this size about six years ago, but managed to lose the weight and keep it off for a few years before slowly gaining more weight over the past few years.

This post isn't so much about my eating or work out habits and my insight into my weight issues, but it's more of a tool to help keep me accountable AND to share my experience about Nutrisystem with you guys in case anyone else has been curious about the program, food, etc.

I did Nutrisystem in April 2010 before my wedding and lost 10 lbs in about a month's span, not bad. I found the food to be pretty good, overall, and REALLY love that all of the food is prepackaged and designated to eat when, what.  I am pretty busy between school and work, so don't have time to count nutrition facts and track things, etc.  It's a huge help just being able to pick out what sounds good, and throwing my whole day's food into my bag.

I am on my second day, and so far so good!  Here is my menu so far:

Day 1:
Breakfast: chocolate muffin: I like the chocolate muffins!  Granted, they don't have the delightful chocolate chocolate chunks most 'normal' chocolate muffins do, but this is DIET food people!!
Lunch:  red beans and sausage:  This was my first time eating this dish, and I actually was surprised with the amount of flavor and spice.  I liked it a lot.  However,  it was a very small amount that came in the package!  (This is true for about all of their items-the portions are small, obviously for a reason....)
Dessert (which I ate as an afternoon snack):  Pound Cake. Pretty good, not bad, but not super sweet like typical pound cake.
Dinner: Buffalo chicken wrap: the taste is not bad, but the presentation is not promising, it mainly looks sort of a buffalo sauce colored goop, not like the photo on the box.  But again, it doesn't taste bad.  It is messy to eat though, so eating it at work or on the go is not the best idea (which is what I did, ha!).

I will keep checking in and post updates about how it's going and anything noteworthy about the food and the program, but at least wanted to put this out there for now!

Coming Soon! Benefit Radiant Skin Care Review!

I have been wanting to try a few things from the new Benefit skin care line, and saw this little kit at Ulta, and had to get it!

I am already phasing in a new facial cleanser for my regular use, and do not want to bring in any additional new products for another week or so, BUT I will be trying these out at that time and will post a full review.

For now, here are some of my snap shots of the un-opened kit!  :)

PS: it was only $12 for this kit!  There are additional products to this line (cleanser, eye cream, and more), and on Benefit's web site you can purchase a sample kit of ALL of the new line for only $24--def a good deal if you are interested!

It's Electric!

I thought I would share a look I tried out today.  I always get nervous when blue eye shadow is involved, but I think this out turned out pretty nicely!!

This was not that hard to do, just took devoting time to sitting down and applying everything one at a time and then blending out each step.

I am wearing:
-NYX Jumbo Shadow in Electric Blue (How appropriate!)
-Coastal Scents shadows in blue (on the lid, over the jumbo pencil) and pinks (one light pink, one a darker plum-pink). The pinks were applied in the crease and slightly upwards of the crease until the highlight color, with the darker plum pink applied only in the outer corner and blended into the crease about half way, but not blended as high up as the lighter pink.  (these were from their 88 color palette, and they don't have names or identification, I could only point them out on the palette, sorry!)
-Urban Decay shadow in Radium: Applied on the lid over the jumbo pencil and also applied on the lower water line over the Zero eye liner.
-Stars Make Up Haven in Walkin' After Midnight (crease to help blend upwards).
-MAC shadow in: Shroom (high light), Contrast (outer corner and crease)
-Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Zero:  Applied in the lower water line and on the upper lash line.
-False Lashes: Ardell 102 Demi
-MAC lipstick in sweetie (LOVE that color!!)

Brushes Used:
-I used MAC 224 brush for application and blending in crease
-MAC 219 pencil brush for applying the Contrast in the outer corner in in crease and also for blending in the crease.
-MAC 228 to apply blue shadow on lid, since I was applying the shadow over the jumbo eye pencil, I patted the color onto the lid instead of swiping.


What do you think???!

If you would like a tutorial, please share that in the comments!  :)

There's a little bit of creasing here, but this was after 7 hours of wear. Under the blue shadow I was using an NYX Jumbo Pencil, which sometimes do crease after several hours. (I got so excited about photographing I didn't think to do a quick touch up!)

Stars Make Up Haven: Shadow Reviews & Swatches

I thought it would be interesting to do a post with swatches and a review of Stars Make Up Haven eye shadows.  They are a pretty small company (and I believe available only online at their website: starsmakeuphaven.com).  I purchased 11 of their shadows a few months ago and overall, I am very pleased with the quality!


For $6.00 for each shadow, and .04oz in each pan (each pan is .26mm wide), it's a good value!  They have a couple options where if you buy one of their palettes and pick shadows to fill the palette, then you get the shadows sold at a cheaper price.  At the time, I didn't want to purchase the minimum amount of shadows to fill a palette, so I just bought the 11 colors for $6 each and attached magnets to the back and added them my existing palette!

I have photos, swatches, and my thoughts on the colors below.  Please note that my descriptions and feedback are based on the color when it's in use, NOT from in the pan (i.e., something may look purple in the pan, but really apply as a pink):

From Left to Right: Walkin' After Midnight, 1492, Fifi, Striptease, Foxy, Ultra Violet, Plum Crazy, Bee's Knees, Aurora, Cat's Meow, Lime Light.
*These were swatched without a shadow primer of any kind.

-1492: Dark electric blue. One of my favorites!! It's so vibrant!!! It has frost to it, and a little bit of this goes a long way!

-Walkin' After Midnight:  A VERY dark blue with a little frost, could use more pigmentation.

-Plum Crazy: A dark purple with frost. Has great pigmentation! This has become a purple I work with a lot, and I have a lot of different purples!

-Ultra Violet: A dark purple, but still comes across as bright with frost. This color applies 'thick', making it  harder to blend and harder to work with.

-Foxy:  A dark lavender with frost.  Very soft to the touch and nicely pigmented!

-Fifi: A pinky-purple-with some plum undertones. This color had noticeable fallout.

-Striptease:  A true lavender with frost. Very nicely pigmented.

-Lime Light: Literally, a lime green color, very bright! This one is very pigmented.

-Cat's Meow: A fuchsia, but still coral pink with some shimmer. This color had noticeable fallout when being applied and just when putting my brush into the shadow.

-Aurora: Light pink with frost.  Aurora comes off a teeny bit chalky when applying making it a little harder to work with, but still do-able.

-Bee's Knees: A light cream color with shimmer. Very nicely pigmented and very pretty!  Would be a great highlight color!


I should also note, starsmakeuphaven.com also sells more of their own products beyond shadows, and they also sell a random assortment of MAC products, seems to be former limited edition and discontinued products.

Please leave comments and let me know what you think!!  Have you used SMUH shadows before? What about other SMUH products?  Share!

MAC Wonder Woman available online NOW!

Get free shipping with promo code "POW"

Enjoy!!!!!

MAC Wonder Woman!!!!

It's almost here!  MAC's newest collaboration with DC Comics!  The collection will launch in stores and counters Thursday Feb. 10th, 2011.  Keep an eye on the MAC site, often times these collections release a day or two BEFORE the in store/counter date!


Check out the product deets below:

Lipstick ($15.50 U.S. / $18.50 CDN)

-Marquise d’ Sandy cream peach (Lustre) (Limited Edition) (Repromote from Brunette, Blonde, Redhead ’09)

-Russian Red Intense bluish-red (Matte) (Permanent)

-Spitfire Bright creamy magenta (Satin) (Limited Edition)

-Heroine Brown bronze (Frost) (Limited Edition)

Lipglass ($19.50 U.S. / $23.50 CDN)

-Emancipation Pale neutral pink (Limited Edition)

-Wonder Woman Bright red with soft pearl (Limited Edition)

-Athena’s Kiss Bright blue fuchsia (Limited Edition)

-Secret Identity Mid-tone copper with soft pearl (Limited Edition)

Opulash Mascara ($15.00 U.S. / $18.00 CDN)

-Victorious Purple (Limited Edition)

-Army of Amazons Green (Limited Edition)

-Themyscira Blue (Limited Edition)

-Black Black (Permanent)

Penultimate Eye Liner ($18.50 U.S. / $22.00 CDN)

-Rapidblack True black (Permanent)

Nail Lacquer ($14.00 U.S. / $16.50 CDN)

-Obey Me True red (Limited Edition)

-Spirit of Truth Navy blue (Limited Edition)

Lash ($14.00 U.S. / $17.00 CDN)

-#48 Lash

Defiance Eyeshadow Quad ($40.00 U.S. / $48.00 CDN)

Defiance Iridescent white pink (Veluxe Pearl) (Limited Edition)

Paradise Island Soft warm pink (Satin) (Limited Edition)

Star Studded Mid-tone violet pink (Satin) (Limited Edition)

Real Drama Dark burgundy with pink pearl (Satin) (Limited Edition)

Lady Justice Eyeshadow Quad ($40.00 U.S. / $48.00 CDN)

Lady Justice Bright silver with white pearl (Frost) (Limited Edition)

Insurmountable Dirty blue grey (Veluxe Pearl) (Limited Edition)

Bold Babe Deep metal blue with white pearl (Frost) (Limited Edition)

Deep Truth True dark blue (Frost) (Permanent)

Valiant Eyeshadow Quad ($40.00 U.S. / $48.00 CDN)

Valiant Light lime with yellow pearl (Frost) (Limited Edition)

Spinning Transformation Deep olive bronze with yellow pearl (Frost) (Limited Edition)

Diana Undercover Dark forest green (Satin) (Limited Edition)

Manila Paper Pale frost white gold (Veluxe Pearl) (Limited Edition) (Repromote from Spring Colour Forecast ’10)

Reflects Glitter ($21.00 U.S. / $25.00 CDN)

-Reflects Pearl White glitter with pearl sheen (Glitter) (Permanent at PRO)

-Reflects Bronze Sparkling rich gold (Glitter) (Permanent at PRO)

Pigment ($21.00 U.S. / $25.00 CDN)

         Bright Fuchsia Bright magenta (Permanent)

         Marine Ultra Vivid marine blue (Permanent at PRO)

Blush Duo ($24.00 U.S. / $29.00 CDN)

-Mighty Aphordite Warm peach coral with gold pearl/Bright coral pink with gold pearl (Satin/Frost) (Limited Edition)

-Amazon Princess Bright yellow pink/Deep blue pink with gold pearl (Satin/Satin) (Limited Edition)

Mineralize Skinfinish ($35.00 U.S. / $42.00 CDN)

-Pink Power Peachy rose with pink shimmer/Soft rosy bronze/Soft shell pink with fine shimmer (Limited Edition)

-Golden Lariat True coral with fine gold shimmer/Soft suntanned bronze/Soft gold with fine shimmer (Limited Edition)

Wonder Woman Makeup Bag ($30.00 U.S. / $36.00 CDN)

Utility Belt Eye Brush Set ($49.50 U.S. / $59.50 CDN) (Limited Edition)

Includes 224SE, 213SE, and 194SE

Utility Belt Face Brush Set ($49.50 U.S. / $59.50 CDN) (Limited Edition)

Includes 129SE, 109SE, and 190SE

Wonder Woman T ($25.00 U.S. / $30.00 CDN) (Online Exclusive) (Limited Edition)

Invicible Mirror ($20.00 U.S. / $24.00 CDN) (Online Exclusive) (Limited Edition)

I am MOST EXCITED for the Opulash colors, and really want to try the blushes as well.  When collections like this come out, I always first look for what colors are already part of the permanent collection, then which are re-promotes from previous collections.  After reviewing those, THEEEEEEEEN I start narrowing down my "interested" list.

I'm a little disappointed in the eye shadow colors and pigments/glitters.  These shadows aren't doing much for me, I was expecting much more fabulousness.  I also had high hopes for some limited edition pigments and/or glitters for this collection, but no such luck.  :(

Many of the products in this line are JUMBO sized and contain  LOTS more product than the usual sizes (the Skin Finishes, blushes, lip glass, and Opu lashes are all bigger than usual). However, while you are getting more bang for your buck, you are handing over a few more bucks for each product than you otherwise normally would for the standard size.

I have seen a few bloggers that are lucky enough to have received press kits early and have done reviews. I LOVE Temptalia.com, jump over to her site for a very detailed review of almost every product in this collection!

So, what are your favorite pieces of this collection?  Thoughts??!

Lashes and More Lashes, OH MY!

IT’S MY FIRST BLOG ENTRY, YAAAAAAAAY!!!!  I’m just so excited to finally start making postings, I had to share! 

Anyhow--I am browsing the web searching for great things to share and I happen to come across lashes made by Urban Decay!  I can’t wait to give them a try!  I am what you could call a lash addict, loooove wearing fake lashes, they make me feel better almost instantly!

For now I have just posted some pics and my personal faves, but I will be doing a follow up post on how they look, fit, feel, and apply, I just need to get my glittery little hands on them!!  Youc an find these on urbandecay.com and they all run for $15 per pair.

Check out the selection above which range from natural, to colorfully dramatic!  






From looking these are some of my favs and must-trys: