Journal Entry

• I'm sick again, unfortunately....but to me that's good news because no work! Anyways. I woke up Sat. with a huge sore throat and my voice nearly gone, (right now I sound like a girl with strep throat that chained smoked for years, haha) No offense to those that smoke, my hubby smokes so I know all about it :) Anyways, I decided that I would take the day off on Monday to see if it would subdue but I woke up today a little bit worse. I called in, went to the doctor's office, and came out with 2 prescriptions and a 'bed rest for 2 days' note!
• My look for today! I'm really loving this blush I got from Biglots called Revlon Lovestruck, Limited edition.... and if you are familiar with it, it's the one in the black and clear compact and the actual blush has heart shapes on it, soooo cute. It was only $2 and I'm in love....Maybe I'll go and get more :) Eyes- MAC Artifact Paintpot, NYX slim liner Seafoam green, Revlon Lovestruck blush, Lips- MAC She loves Candy lipglass
• Now onto the nails, I was feeling a bit silly last night, I wanted a fun nail to wear thru-out the day so i ended up making them like this...
  haha, to me they remind me of easter eggs :) Basically I applied a pastel pink cream on the entire nail bed, I applied polka dots from various other colors I had like China Glaze Spontaneous, MAC Phosphor, and China Glaze For Audrey. I thought it came out cute. I'm thinking about doing them again tonight, maybe Skittles inspired this time?
• I have a few pics, FOTD's and EOTD's to show ya but I'm having huge trouble with my computer and pics folder. For some reason it is running really slow and I'm also having trouble transporting pics from my camera to the computer, soooo As soon as I get a scan going to try and see if I have infections I will post them quickly. I can't live without my computer :(
• Everyone have a great week and I'll talk to you later!
  
  

MAC Style Warriors is available now online

Just a quick note: MAC Style Warriors products were originally not suppose to debut until later on in May, but I have logged in this morning only to find the Style Warrior products on their website. So if there was anything that caught your attention within that collection....
I think almost everything in the collection is limited edition and products might go fast! If you are unsure of the colors, check out my MAC Style Warriors collection blog post...
Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!

www.maccosmetics.com

Revlon, Milani, NYC preview

~Revlon~

New Revlon Shades

in the Super Lustrous Lipstick

-Luminous pink

-Sparkling cider

-Blushing nude

-Spicy cinnamon

-Satin plum

-Sultry sable

in the Super Lustrous Lipgloss

-Mauvelous

-Foiled

in the Nail Enamel

-Opulent pink

-Crushed crimson

-Bewitching bordeaux

-Steel her heart

and a new 12 hr eyeshadow quad...

-Azure mist

~Milani~

New Milani Pretty Pair lipstick & gloss

-Two perfect

-Two pretty

-Two cute

-Two good to be true

-Two beautiful

-Two to tango

-Two hot to handle

-Two sweet

~NYC~

Pink Persuasion Collection

which unfortunately doesn't list names of the colors :(

This collection consists of....

Lush Blush mosiac blush's

Just Duet, eyeshadow duo's

Delicious kisses lipglosses

New York Minute nail enamel's

Super Smooth long wear lipcolor

and Covergirl News

$2 off any lip product coupon in Sunday's paper!

Also, if you are a chocolate-holic or just love chocolate treats go to

http://www.realchocolate.com/

to get your coupon for free chocolate. Only good on Friday's. You get the coupon in the mail in about 6 weeks. Remember, Friday's only : )

Have a great weekend everyone!

Shimmering Forest Green Eyes, EOTD

A smoky dark green look as promised to a reader. Please excuse the eyebrows, I'm going to get to them tonight :) I'm swimming in things to do so my brows have been neglected :D I usually don't like doing greens because greens are really not my color but I enjoyed the color combinations with this look and I just might wear it one day!

~Base/Primer~

MAC Soft Ochre Paintpot

~Brows~

Loreal Deep Mocha e/s

applied with a MAC brush 266

~Contour~

MAC 'Bitter' e/s

for wash of color right below the highlight color

~brow highlight/inner tear duct~

MAC 'Sweetjoy' e/s

~Contour~

Urban Decay 'Graffiti' e/s

this one is right below 'Bitter'

~entire lid~

MAC 'Grand Entrance' e/s

all over the lid, outer 'V' and blended into 'Graffiti'

~lower lashline~

'Graffiti'

I put 'Grand Entrance' only on outer half of lower lashline

~eyeliner~

on waterline only 'Black' eyepencil by Ulta

~Mascara~

Covergirl pro in Black

My thoughts on MAC prep + prime Transparent powder

8 grams. $21

What MAC says about it:

A silky finishing powder that provides an invisible way to set makeup. Reduces shine while optically minimizing the look of pores, lines, imperfections. Available in one universal colour that suits all shades. Wear over makeup or on bare, moisturized skin.

My thoughts:

At first I was seeing magic, like my flaws on my face would magically disappear and my face would look matte and flawless, like an airbrushed painting. Well, days went by and I found that as my skin went through changes (basic pimples, dry patches, etc.) the powder no longer worked to conceal pores and finish off looking flawless, as described before. So basically, I can see that it did a great job of blotting and finishing off a look, but unless skin is already flawless and great, I find it doesn't quite do a great job no better than any other powder, blot powder, loose finishing powder or translucent powder compact can do. Minimizing pores was another thing that was important. I wanted to see results, but to me it was mediocre, concealing them was easy but it didn't really last, so re-application was a must. The description says it is an invisible powder but really as I put it on I could see a slight change in the color of my foundation/skin. The powder itself is white, my face looked white too, but not as noticable, very subtle...that's not what I call 'invisible'.

product: 4 stars out of 5

packaging: 3.5 stars out of 5

quality: 4 stars out of 5

overall : 4 stars out of 5

would buy again? Not sure, but I'm leaning more towards 'No'. I'll just use up what I have.

where to buy: At any MAC cosmetics counter or at maccosmetics.com

pros: Sets your makeup to a matte finish, is invisible when applied lightly, a little goes a long way, can be used to blot oil on your face. A basic finishing powder. Corn starch based.

cons: Is so-called 'invisible' but I've experienced slight color change on my face after applying, packaging is pretty bad - flies everywhere if not too careful, is no different than any other setting loose powder or translucent loose powder or compact.

overall: Does a great job absorbing oil/shine, is great as finishing powder when applied lightly. Works best on skin that is already flawless.

Notes:

I'm going to stick to my favorite translucent, transparent powder, the 'William Tuttle finishing powder' ($10, makeupmania.com)

Neno's Award

I got another award by the beautiful Rochelle (Kawaii & Colorful World) again. This lady is too sweet : )

Check out her blog at http://www.rochellerivera.blogspot.com/

Thanks Rochelle!

My List of Recipients whom are really talented, their blogs are amazing and have inspired me the most, Congrats to all of you!

Brittany

Christiana

Aubrey

Sofia

Angie

Haru

Terms & Conditions For the Award Recipient:
1. Paste the Award Logo in your blog
2. Give out the award to 10 Blogs that you feels the most inspired and most friendly.
3. Make sure u back linked the recipients' blogs to your blog.
4. Inform the recipients about the award by leaving them comments on their blog
5. Give some love to the person who give you this award.

Devil Red and Black Eyes, EOTD

Haven't done one in a while plus I don't have any reds on my blog and I really wanted to make one with a vibrant and scary color, yes Red is sometimes intimidating but I worked with it as best as I could without looking possessed >:) lol, Enjoy!

~Base/all over lid~

MAC Soft Ochre paintpot

~Entire lid~

Red Shimmer eyeshadow from Coastal Scents 88 shimmer palette

blending it upward towards the highlight area

~Cut crease~

Black eye pencil from Ulta

~Crease shadow~

on top of eye pencil

Galaxy eyeshadow from Ulta

making it darker on outer 'v' and on crease only blending it upwards

~Brow highlight~

Pink shimmer eyeshadow from Coastal Scents 88 shimmer palette

~Brows~

Loreal eyeshadow in Deep Mocha

blended with a brow brush MAC 266

~lower lashline~

Black eye pencil by Ulta

~waterline~

Black eye pencil by Ulta

~Inner tear duct~

just a dab of Pink Shimmer eyeshadow from the Coastal Scents 88 palette

~Mascara~

Covergirl pro in Black

Friendship Award, Best Blogger

First award of the year, that is so cool! Thank you very much to Rochelle (Kawaii & Colorful World) for nominating me. Such a beautiful wife, mother, and friend. You can check out her blog by clicking on her name (above) or just click here. Once again, Thank you Rochelle!

And the nominees are:

Sofia, Sofeeaahs Brighter Days

Vanessa, Nessasary Makeup

Bella, Cafe Beautique

Congrats ladies! Enjoy your award!

[The rules are: 1. Take your award here 2. Put the logo on your post 3. Link the person who awarded you
4. Nominate at least 7 other bloggers 5. Add the links of those bloggers on yours.
6. Leave a message for your nominees I would like to nominate.......]

Journal Entry

• I had a great Mother's day! I hope all you mommies and mommies-to-be had a great one as well! My day started off with sleeping in, which I'm sure was most requested by mommy's, then me and the familia went to eat brunch, which was really good! I had my favorite- Cheese enchilada's, even though I shouldn't have, but who cares! it was mother's day! Then we went to Target so I could browse in the makeup section :D I ended up getting more Milani mineral powder since I was running out, love that stuff! Then we visited with my grandmother, whom in fact is my 'mother' by choice, long story. She is the greatest of all, so we went by there and spent some time and then I got dropped off at my house and my husband took the kiddos to my in-laws house for a few hours so I could rest, relax or do whatever I wanted alone at my house! Very relaxing! After they came back I took a trip down to Wal-mart to spend some of my mother's day money, I spent alot of time in the makeup isle and handbags too! I went home afterwards and enjoyed an easy dinner of chili dogs with my family. Yes, mother's day was in fact very nice for me! I'll include pics in the next post to show you what I got.
• I just wanted to let you all know that you must be careful with ebay and paypal. Over the weekend some dirtbag from HongKong hacked into my paypal account and charged me a few hundred dollars. I found out today by email. I was furious (I still am). It didn't take me long to race over to my bank to get them started an a fraud alert. After all this is over with I'm going to close my account with ebay and paypal because this is ridiculous. Paypal is suppose to prevent stuff like this from happening. I already submitted a dispute with paypal *keeping fingers crossed*. I'm really upset about it so I just wanted to warn everyone to keep an eye out with your ebay & paypal accounts. I'll keep you posted.
• I'm so excited to be a tia again! My sister-in-law is pregnant with her 3rd child and I couldn't be more happier for her! Congrats Joann!
• Everyone please have a great week! Talk to you soon! :)

Tag: About Lali.Amora

Hi! I was not tagged to do this but wanted to anyways :D

TAG: Getting to Know Me, Getting to Know You

Q: What made you choose your blog?

A: I basically wanted to make new friends and just enjoy writing. I love writing! but most of all I chose to have a blog because I wanted to go more in depth with reviews & swatches of beauty products since I was having a hard time finding in-depth reviews about different products online, so I just decided to start my own reviews to help others in the same situation.

Q: What's your actual name?

A: Erica

Q: Do you have any nicknames?

A: haha! no, there really isn't a short way of saying Erica, unless you call me Eric, but then my son will turn around and say 'what?' because his name is Eric, lol. But sometimes my husband calls me Shortstuff. haha maybe because I am a shorty, 4'11 to be exact :D There's also

Mizz Erica as my friends call me, Oh! and the best nickname ever is Erickita which was developed by my beautiful Grandmother that raised me.

Q: Apart from the obvious make up / beauty hobby, what other hobbies do you have?

A: OMGosh, I have tons of hobbies... reading books (Richard Paul Evans my favorite writer), Jewelry making, Art-like painting, computer graphic drawing, blue-prints of homes (i guess like architecture), Music collecting, Movies collecting, Swimming, Camping, Fishing, Hiking, Baking, Arts and crafts, research projects, gardening...I'd list more but I have a day job :D

Q: What do you do?

A: I'm staff at the Health and Science Center (for all my San Antonian ladies, you know where!), which is great because I'm in healthcare & education in one.

Q: What would you like to do?

A: Hmmmm, not sure what this question means, but at the moment I'd like to go home and change and go to the mall! I have lots of Back2MAC to do! hahaha

Q: Tell us something embarrassing, but that you love doing?

A: Hmmm, wow I have alot of embarrassing things I do!

Q: Tell us a little something that we don't already know about you.

A: I was in the Marine Corps, 8 yrs, honorably discharged 2005, did the bootcamp, trained with weapons, traveled the world, etc-etc. I was active for 7 yrs but my last year was carried out while back in San Antonio. And sometimes I miss it!

Q: What achievement are you most proud of?

A: I have 2, becoming the best mother to my 2 sons & my experiences in the Marines.

Q: What do you most like about yourself?

A: I'm patient

Q: What would you change about yourself if you could?

A: Nothing really :)

I tag:
Rochelle
Sofia
Brittany

Eco-tools, Tropez Haul

Just a little bit of shopping around town, Texas Dollar store, Walgreens, and Target to name a few. I'm trying not to buy really anything makeup related until next month just to save up a little bit. But I still managed to get bargains and shopped for things that are like $1 to $5. I had fun anyways, so here is what I got!


The Olay face scrub smells amaaaazing! And I love how the Deep Clean by Neutrogena calms your mood.

I wasn't too pleased with the Physicians Formula Shimmer strips in 'Waikiki Strip' peachy glow. I actually bought another one also in 'Vegas...' something rather and was not pleased at all for that one, I'm already prepared to return it. Story: I went to Target because I had a coupon for Physicians formula $1 off any product. So, why does Target give me a hard time by not letting me use the same coupon for both products? I'm beyond amazed they happen to follow petty rules and risk losing a customer. When I worked for Macy's (a long time ago) we used to do it for our customers all the time, there is nothing wrong with that, it's called being nice and giving the customer great customer service. I'm thinking about complaining to the supervisor but we'll see, I'll keep you posted. I just don't understand why she wouldn't let me apply the coupon for both of them, she's going to take my coupon anyway, so what is the difference, lol.

But back to the product, for some reason it just added shimmer and barely enough color to put on as a blush. I don't know, I might keep it, if I return it I can't get my coupon back so I don't know what I'll do :/



LA Colors loose shimmer's were just a $1



I wanted to chat about some of the things:

Pixi Lip Palette (Target)

[colors top row: 1-4

bottom row: 5-8]

Pixi lip palette in no.1 'Tan Topper' (weird name for a lipgloss palette : P )

I've had my eye on this for a while and I ended up buying it, which I would never have if they weren't on sale because girlfriend has them for $28 dollars a pop! yikes which to me is seriously over-priced. But naturally I couldn't say no to it's new price of $7. I admit, she has some nice products but regular priced items are just not cool, I usually wait until they go on sale to haul her products :) I'm throwing this little palette in my purse....So I guess I better add that to my Purse essentials post from yesterday, lol.

Eco Tools

Eco Tools Powder Retractable brush

And I just wanted to come and share my joy about the amazing Ecotools makeup brushes. I once was going to buy the whole collection but wasn't sure about paying the price, So I wanted to wait for them to go on sale which surprisingly they don't, hmmm don't know why, but I just caved and bought the one brush I did need, the retractable powder brush ($8). Review of this brush coming soon.

What EcoTools says about their RECYCLED ALUMINUM Retractable powder brush:
Great for applying face powder or bronzer• Soft, cruelty-free bristles• Natural & recycled
materials
This earth-friendly powder brush provides a smooth, soft finish and sets your makeup. And, it shows respect for the planet:
• Retractable case is made from Recycled Aluminum.
• Synthetic taklon bristles are 100% cruelty free.



Tropez Bronzer & Tropez Eyeshadow Dupe for MAC e/s 'Beauty Marked'

I've never owned any Tropez products before so I was excited to buy these gems at great prices. The bronzer ($4) is lovely and I'm seriously thinking about going back for another.






In the Tropez palette in Maui Mauve ($4) I quickly noticed the black one w/ fucshia sparkles, and while thinking about it for a minute, I saw that is looked exacly like MAC e/s Beauty Marked. The only difference is the Tropez one is alot more pigmented and dark (but you can still see the sparkles), whereas the MAC one is sheer black and gives more sparkles pay-off. In the pan though they are very similar.

Wet N Wild Ultimate Expressions

Wet n Wild Ultimate Expressions
I got this is Paradise Cove. I seen great reviews about this palette and decided to try. I'm really impressed with the color pay-off. Portable also, included is a slide-out mirror & you get 2 sponge-tipped applicators.They have 3 color sets to choose from. I'm thinking about getting the other 2 :)

I hope you've enjoyed seeing this haul, and if you want me to swatch any of the lip colors and post pics just comment this post and let me know which number. Everyone have a great day!

Makeup Bag essentials, for my purse!

You know what's funny, I have 2 makeup bags in my purse, lol... yes, one has all the lippies and the other has the rest of the stuff! Those 2 pink bags behind the vaseline and clinique lotion. I usually don't carry alot of things with me since I feel better making up my face before I leave the house and never again until I come home. But once in a while I do need a major touch-up :) 1. Deodorant, I have to have this with me at all times, call me silly or gross or whatever but I have walked out of the house on 2 occasions totally forgetting to apply deodorant :P

2. Perfume, This is just in case I'm somewhere important like at a wedding or funeral, or family gathering and I've forgotten perfume, thankfully I have this one with me at all times.

3. Vaseline, special thanks to Nessa and her beautiful blog, from whom I got the idea. Vaseline has alot of uses. I use it for moisturizing my hands or elbows, lips, eye primer, hair shine, hair ends conditioner, etc.

4. Lotion for the face w/ SPF (Clinique dramatically dif. moisturizing lotion mixed with Olay face cream SPF30.) I like the lightness of Clinique dif. mois. lotion but I also like the SPF in Olay face cream, so I just mixed the 2 together, lol. I carry it with me because sometimes I'm such in a hurry in the morning that I forget to apply spf at home.

5. MAC blotting powder. This powder is only good for blotting and that's it. It does a great job too!

6. Clinique lipstick. Just because it suites my skintone good and is a creamy maroon pink color that is why I carry it with me : )

7. Nail file. For some odd reason I'll end up at work or somewhere with a broken nail that's jagged or a nail that looked like it was clipped half way. haha

8. Burt's Bees tinted lip balm. It's a very sheer color and is just a good balm to have. Smells minty like toothpaste

9. Yes to carrots lip balm. A great organic lip balm, I can never have too many lip conditioners :D Read my post about Yes to Carrots lip products here

10. Hair bands. I am in healthcare so one of the major do's is keeping your hair up and away from your face and neck. I just need one in my bag in case the one in my hair breaks!

11. Nude lipcolor (MAC slimshine). I like to carry any pretty nude lipstick in my purse, this slimshine just happens to be in my purse at the time. This one is in Bare. One of the prettiest nude lipsticks ever. It's sheer, nude, shiny and very comforting. Other ones that are good are MAC Plink, Clinique Tenderheart, MAC Viva glam II.

12. Milani eyeliner. I need a dark pigmented eyeliner to carry with me at all times just in case I ever forget liner for my eyes. This eyeliner is really nice because it doesn't budge and is really dark and pigmented.

13. Shaver. For my eyebrows only. Yes, I do shave my eyebrows only on occasion when I have no time to pluck, and lately it's been a trend!

14. Nail Clippers. For those times like on No. 7 lol

15. Sally Hansen lip plumper. I love using this lipgloss. I wanted to try out and test a whole bunch of different plumpers but this one seems to work for me. The colors are nice too. and the tingling is very subtle.

16. NYX lip pencil. Slim lip pencils by NYX are amazing. They last and last. And they are cheap too, just 1.99. I try to use all my lip liners, they help make your lipstick or gloss last longer.

17. Milani lipgloss in Dressed up. I try to carry a red sheer lipgloss with me at all times just in case my friends invite me to the movies, dinner or bar. I like to wear red lipstick or gloss for night time events, etc.

18. Beauty Rush VS lipgloss. I love these, I have about 20 and I love them all. I try to switch out the colors often.

19. MAC lip conditioner in Pink Fish. For sure I always must have a nice pink lipcolor, and to me Pink Fish is the best creamy and sheer light pink shade ever. I have 2, one for home and one for my purse

20. Moist towelette. I need to have some sort of napkin or paper towel in my purse & I don't like to carry tissues in my purse at all so I bring one just in case I ever need one.

My thoughts on Rose Romance by MAC

Basically, I ended up getting very few things from this collection because I really wasn't liking the colors. Mostly everything was indeed dupable with an exception of the lip color C-thru's (which I did not get) because personally I don't like looking like I have no lipstick on, my lips are thin and dry looking enough as it is so I was sure not getting those. The lipglasses seemed pretty but just about looked the same as other colors I own. The powders were nice but not too appealing to me, I would have disappointed myself if I had only got them just because of the rose imprint so I had to pass on those. Eyeshadows were dupable, but were nice. The e/s called Creme de violet looked alot like an eyeshadow I had, Lavender Sky. Here's what I did end up getting though. I had to have that Mutiny pigment for sure since I'm just now starting my collection of pigments and I missed Mutiny when it came out last time so I made sure to pick it up. I also got the Lipstick A Rose Romance, which is a pretty cotton candy pink with shimmer, which happened to remind me of a lippy I already had. So with much research turns out A Rose Romance lipstick looks alot like Pink Fish from the Hello Kitty collection!... except with the shimmer. I like it anyways because it is slightly different, but in a weird way I can't tell a difference between the two. Oh! and I also got a free mini Zoomlash Mascara, thank you MAC :P

And for some reason the Mutiny pigment reminded me alot of the pigment Aire de blu, which I have, I did a side-by-side comparison and they are just a tad alike but Mutiny is a bit brighter in color.

Swatch of Aire de blu and Mutiny Pigments





So, what are your thoughts on the A Rose Romance collection?

Hues of Green, EOTD

Primer: UDPP

All over lid: TSS 'Elves Rule'

Crease:MAC 'Contrast' and 'Patina' blended together

Contour area: MAC 'Gulfstream'

inner tear duct: MAC 'Vanilla'

Waterline: Urban decay eyeliner 'Zero'

Lower Lashline: NYX pencil 'Electric blue'

Upper Lashline: Clinique liquid eyeliner 'black'

Highlight: MAC 'Vanilla'

Mascara: Covergirl pro 'Very black'

Cosmedicine Honest Face tinted moisturizer

For some odd reason I just felt like putting on some face lotion today, fluttering on black mascara, and smoothing on some bare lipgloss. Maybe it was due to the fact that we had no patients today and today being the most relaxing day of the week. I am in a great mood today, I don't want to spend it worrying about my makeup, I just wanted to be comfortable and natural! So, a few days ago I went shopping for a really good tinted moisturizer, a fan of those that have great skin and want just bare or sheer coverage. I might be a fan of tinted moisturizer if only my face could stay break-out free for just one minute, but as always my face is up against tiny pimples, post-scarring, mild redness, and discoloration. Tinted moisturizer for me is not friend material, not even is moisturizer because of my oily t-zone skin, But I wanted to try it out for those natural look days, much like today was.

Here I have Cosmedicine's Honest face. I read alot of good reviews on it, the tint matched my skin perfectly and I'm giving it a try today. So far so good. A review on this should be up and coming a few days. [Buy here!] I'm loving it because it has tint, SPF, moisturizer, and Dimethicone all in one. Which would be a perfect face primer for foundation (I'll need to test this out tonight before I put on my makeup for dinner tonight). It feels wonderful and gives your skin this glow. Skin is very supple and moist and best of all it doesn't burn or feel heavy. It also contains antioxidants for that special treatment and it's great for sensitive skin.