Style Black by MAC

I'm super excited about this collection, I better start saving up for it because, no kidding, I think I'm going to end up getting everything! haha

Mattene Lipstick:

Midnight Media (dense matte black)

Night Violet (deep purple grape)

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Lipstick:

Black Knight (creamy true black)

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Glimmerglass:

Bling Black (sheer black w/ gold pearl)

Blackfire (sheer black w/ pink purple pearl)

Blackware (creamy true black)

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Mineralized eyeshadows:

Cinderfella (black w/ silver pearl)

Young Punk (black w/ pink purple pearl)

Gilt by Association (black with gold bronze pearl)

Blue Flame (black with blue pearl)

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Paintstick:

Intense Black (black base with purple shimmer)

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Nail Lacquer:

Nocturnelle (cream true black)

Seriously Hip (black w/ gold particle pearl)

Baby Goth Girl (black with pink and purple pearl)

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Other items:

Penultimate liner in Rapidblack, Eye Kohl in Smolder, brush #214, Volcanic Ash Exfoliator, Volcanic Ash Thermal Mask, Cream Colour bases in Black & Batblack.

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Click here to visit Specktra to view a few swatches.

Electric Eel Eyes EOTD

Hi everyone! By now you're probably wondering why I've gone like EOTD crazy over the past weekend...Well my left eye has pink eye! Gah! I'm always super careful being a germaphobe about touching my eyes except when I've just washed my hands and evidently it crept up on me. So, for the past 3 days I've been makeup-free and nothing to do. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend! So, here is a really easy Electric Eel eye that I did, I love the colors, I'm thinking about wearing this as soon as my other eye gets better, Enjoy!

Here's what I used:

UDPP

NYX Milk

MAC Delft PPot

MAC Electric Eel e/s

MAC Lavender Sky e/s

MAC Gesso e/s

MAC Contrast e/s

MAC Vanilla e/s

Optional: Lightly pat on eyeshadow 'Peace' by Urban Decay on top of Electric Eel for a little sheen.

Lime and Rust Eyeshadow - Colorful eyes

Just a quick EOTD.... I loved An Aura Chic Beauty's tutorial on her sunset eyes and used her colors except switched out the yellow for green. So I credit her for the colors, Check out her youtube channel, she is amazing and talented. So, hope you guys enjoy!

What I used:
UDPP on lid

NYX inner lid

MAC Gorgeous Gold, entire lid

UD Vert on top of Gorgeous Gold

MAC Coppering outer V and lightly on crease

MAC Fig. 1 to deepen on top of Coppering, lightly on crease

MAC Vanilla as highlight

Fig. 1 on lower lashline

optional: MAC Parfait amour right under fig. a on lower lashline

Vanilla on tear duct

Gorgeous Gold is a nice Yellow golden color but has a weird greenish tone to it.

Coppering is a beautiful rust/copper color

and Fig. 1 is a nice, dark purple fig color

Everyone have a great week!!

I made a MAC quad! plus EOTD

Hi everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying this last weekend of August, September is just around the corner & I can't wait for the leaves to fall off of trees and cold weather to start rolling in! So, yesterday I was bored and wanted to design a quad out of some MAC shadows that I already had. I figured that I would use them more since I tend to overlook my palettes. I also had to mark the bottoms of alot of them since I depotted them.I came up with these colors! I literally sat at my vanity for about an hour trying out, marking my hand and swatching several eyeshadows to come up with this quad, the results are magnifico! I love the way each and every shadow compliments each other and better yet, the quad is so versatile :)

So without further ado, here is 'Hey', 'Pink Venus', 'Carbon', and 'Antiqued' - All MAC eyeshadows.

I was really surprised because Pink Venus is a lustre, which in my opinion my experiences with other lustre colors happens to be too bitty and flaky, almost too glittery, but this formula of Pink Venus is very smooth, almost feels like a frost. 'Hey' is a veluxe pearl but has the look of a frost. 'Carbon' is a matte black color and I believe Antiqued is a frost.

Here is an EOTD using this quad.... Loooooooves it!!!!

Hope you enjoy! Here is a list of what I used:

-Maybelline Pure Makeup medium 4

-Physicians formula mineral powder Buff Beige

-SK concealer daytime

-NYX jumbo e/s pencil Milk

-MAC PPot Fresco Rose

-my MAC quad

-UDPP

-Loreal Deep Mocha for eyebrows

-Revlon CS eyeliner

-Lancome Cils Design mascara

Taupe & Grape for Fall FOTD

Not a precise look but I just had to post since I hadn't done one in soooo long :) Sorry if the pic looks a bit washed out. The homemade taupe color was really easy to make so I'll be doing a blog post of that in a few days, enjoy! I love the way taupe and purple looks together so decided to do this look, also just in time for fall and winter too!

Face:

Neutrogena untinted moisturizer

MAC SFF nc 40 lightly applied

CG advanced radiance pressed powder #120 (applied with MAC Buffer brush 182)

Cheeks:

(as blush) MAC So Ceylon MSF

(as highlight on cheeks, forehead, chin and nose) L.A. Colors pressed powder Light

Eyes:

SK concealer daylight

Homemade primer in Taupe (all over lid)

Wet n Wild e/s Palette Paradise Cove (Taupe color middle row, 3rd down)

Cargo e/s duo Sarasota (white color-on top of WnW and inner tear duct)

MAC e/s feast (outer 'v' and crease color)

MAC e/s Deep Feelings (outer 'v' and crease)

WnW White color top left (as highlight)

Almay liquid eyeliner

Santee eye pencil in Charcoal

Clinique high impact mascara

Lips:

Too Faced lipstick Totally Nude

MAC lipglass Magnetique

Milani Crystal Gloss Swatches

Here is a swatch of the 2 Milani glosses from my last post that was requested. If you would like me to swatch any lippies please let me know! Have a great evening!

My Favorite Fall & Winter lippies

Someone asked me to post all my favorite Fall and Winter lippies and give suggestions as to which colors are great for the seasons coming up. Might I add I have many!! I have broken them down to color categories, Nude, Brown, Plum, and Red. Those tones always tend to be the most loved during the fall and winter seasons...[On occasion the regular 'summery' pinks, corals, and bronzes, lol]....

These are my favorite ones! Before venturing out and trying out some for yourself remember that yours and my skintone may be different so not every color will come out as expected. If you wanna use me as a reference I am an NC40 color in MAC and Rich Tan color in Revlon CS, and I have yellow undertones. Hope that helps, now on to the colors!

Bottom: Bonnebell liplites in Cappuccino [love! and it's only like $3!]

Left to Right: Milani Crystal Gloss in Secret [very similar to MAC lipglasses], MAC Viva Glam II, MAC Eden Rocks, Bobbi Brown #62 Pink Beige, Too Faced Totally Nude, Milani Crystal Gloss in Innocent.

Left to Right: Guerlain #551 Sweet Beige, NYC Cafe, ELF Bare Brown [these are the mineralized ones & they are really pretty!], Maybelline Sunlit Bronze

Left to Right: MAC lipglass Magnetique, Revlon Plum Baby, Maybelline Plum Wine, MAC Hang-up [Cremesheen!], MAC Viva Glam VI, MAC lipglass Little VI [the Magnetique and Little VI look amazing together!]

Left to Right: MAC Diva, Loreal True Red, MAC Factor #44 Ms. Right, MAC 'Girl about Town', Tarte Vinyasa.

Do you have lippies to suggest that aren't listed here? What are your favorite fall and winter lippies?

:)

Haul and Recap of my Vacay!

I'm always up for trying out new products for my face. So I was in my office one day and decided to watch MichellePhan On The Go reviews (which give really helpful info) Click here to see her videos. I had seen it before but did not take notes so while watching I made a list. I needed some new stuff because my face soaps, scrubs, and lotions were getting near empty. I knew I needed a gentle facial scrub and night lotion. Also, I decided on renewing my shelf with some more Aveeno face brightener scrub. I think I've used this stuff like 4 times over, it is amaaaaaazing! My only gripe is that if it gets in your eyes it gets a little irritating. Main reason I went to CVS was to return my 2 bottles of colorstay, I can officially say that Revlon Colorstay foundies won't work with me anymore, my skin is way too yellow, not enough yellow in the colorstays to make me happy so back they went.

Ok, now getting back to the skincare....

I exchanged them for the Aveeno and something else, RoC. The french skincare line that I've seen but hadn't really given it much thought...mostly because I thought it was for older ladies in their 50's, etc. but what I found was that some of their products are perfectly fine if they aim at a more sophisticated buyer such as women in their late 20's and 30's. The whole idea I was going for was to shop for something that would improve my skin and prevent signs of aging, so to speak. What is great about RoC is that it is reasonably priced and is liked by many, so I've read. So last night I did a facial, I scrubbed with the Aveeno and did a Queen Helene mask (which is favorite mask by the way!) afterwards but right before going to bed I smeared the RoC on and went to sleep. By the morning I noticed a slight difference, which is no biggie since it was my first time using it. I will post a review on this particular night creme very soon!

New morning routine?

This morning I did something totally unexpected.... I smeared on my new Clarins wakeup lotion (see my review on it) and saw my face look like 2 times healthier. So excited :)I did my makeup and noticed a great difference in my skin appearance. haha, so I'm wondering if all products contributed to my good skin day or if it was just 1 particular product at all? I guess I'll have to try them all by themselves to be sure!

Vacay Rewind --

I had a ball! Went shopping, did a little damage to the CC. But overall my vacay was off the hook :) I made it a point to stay up until 2 am or so every single day that I was on, haha...

Started off my time with a trip to the Witte Museum, so much fun but obviously the word got out that it was free on Tues. because like all of San Antonio was there as opposed to last yr around this time it was nearly empty, but we had fun!

Witte Museum

3801 Broadway

San Antonio, TX 78209

(210) 357-1900

Separate exhibit called the HEB Science Treehouse is great and fun for the kids. Mostly aimed towards science and experiments for kids to learn from. If you are ever in San Antonio I recommend Witte as a nice time to see and learn things with the kiddos.

My littliest boy turned 7 the next day... aww! Missing upper central, haha

For his birthday we decided on a trip to Chuck e Cheese or how my mom likes to call it 'Chunkin' Cheese'..haha, with a few hundred dollars of coins is the way to do it...

Thurs was a relaxing day at our house while in the evening we parked ourselves in a local Applebee's for a late night dinner.... (sorry, poor quality pic! taken w/cam phone) Oh yah and Yuuuuuuummmmmm!! Kuddos to the amazing person that made my PULLED PORK burgers with kosher pickles!!!! :D and a side of mashed potatoes with pieces of hickory smoked bacon and sharp chedder cheese. Is it just me or is this sandwich notably really good?!?!!

Friday was Fiesta Texas day, I was already getting a headache by 1130 :( Also got sunburn.

Here are a few snaps of the day...

The Rattler

What an zany situation...the pic looks like he took one look at the rattler and balled his eyes out! Pics do tell a different story...

actually just learned he's a tad too short to ride the big rides...aww, but my lil' brave one rode the Boomerang & White Water easily....So so proud!Getting soaked at the Power Surge Bridge, where most ppl forget the ride... At the ol waterin' hole, as they used to call it After the laser show...

Tired much? Fell asleep during our 'nom nom' on delicious bacon burgers and curly fries at Pete's

But we had so much fun, can't wait to do it again in a few weeks. Part of the reason I needed a vacay was for a chance to do something fun with my kiddos since they go back to school very soon. I also needed a chance to get outta my office, my career is not stressful, I thank God for that, but I love staying home with my family. That is one thing I am thinking about doing pretty soon but will require much thought.....

OK, back to the vacation! Saturday was pretty much a recovering period from Fiesta Texas, so we didn't do much besides go out to eat and I did a little shopping at Ashley's.

Lamps, $88 a pair

Love them so much I decided to plant one in my bedroom...

Afterwards we marched ourselves over to my mother-in-laws new house where she was in the middle of installing a new stove. Believe it or not the stove was found at a garage sale for a mere $10 (haha, not a typo, Best Buy!)

Mini-Hauling

Through it all I picked up a few things here and there........

Got flowers for my vanity

Chanel hair clips

Yummy Body lotions from Victoria's Secret
Earrings for work

and pristine necklaces from F21...

and for some odd reason I'm into dainty tiny necklaces now. So much I decided to make my own....

Swarovski crystals are my fave....

Tried out this CVS lipcare and decided I love it! It is smooth and creamy, has SPF and smells just like the Carmex :)

I also needed a new perfume since my 2 favorite ones ran dry...lol I've had the One for almost 2 yrs ...ran out.

My beloved P. Rabanne

was my oldest but holy grail, there is still some left in there but it is not purple the way it should be, instead yellow..ew! think I bought it in 2002 and I love it so much I'm thinking about buying again. SO finally got a perfume that I love, Viva La Juicy...

I chose this perfume very carefully, I knew I wanted one that would smell divine and wouldn't make me sick. But it was a little hard choosing between Juicy fragrance and Viva. Actually they both smell great, but I chose Viva since it smelled a bit more edgyier and strong while the Juicy fragrance smells light and girly.

Oh, and had a chance to swim thru my gob of MAC lipsticks to decide which ones I didn't like & came up with MAC's Plink! Thank God I didn't buy it cash, instead it was a B2M item... no wonder, it's a lustre, which I'm not a fan of....

I just can't wait for the next vacation which should be right before Christmas *yay* can't wait for it, I'm counting down the days!

Clarins Super Restorative Wake-Up Lotion Review

cost: $40
what it is: A light refreshing toner....minimizes fine lines & facial fatigue. Helps even skin tone. After application skin appears smoother and vibrant looking.
Review
product: 4 stars out of 5
packaging: 5 stars out of 5
quality: 5 stars out of 5
overall: 4.5 stars out of 5
would buy again? Right now, no (See cons)....But if it is still around by the time I'm in my 50's, then Yes...hahahahah
where to buy: Nordstrom, Macy's, Sephora.com, Clarins website
pros: Smells absolutely divine, you can see results-does what it says it is suppose to do, a little goes a long way, the bottle is huge! so it will last a while, reasonably priced.
cons: made to market for women in their 50's (restorative), which I am not, lol
Overall: This wonderful product was given to me by Clarins marketing to try out, (Thanks Zuania!) She gave me the set that came with a Replenishing Comfort mask, but I am going to have my mother-in-law try that out when she has the time because it is more geared to the older ladies.
Now for the wake-up lotion, I was blown away at how this stuff worked. I tried it for the first time but I used too much of it, so everytime after that I just used an amount that I was comfortable with. Keeping in mind that this lotion is more for ladies in their 50's I tried to use it seldomly, I'd say about once every week and half. When it goes on your skin it feel like a gel, but nonetheless it works it's magic while making your skin tighter and appearing more smooth. I was skeptical but ended up liking it alot. I use Clarins SRWL with my regular skin routine but do not use it during the nighttime, only during the day or under my makeup in the morning.

Ja'Maal lashes?

Ardell's and Red Cherry lashes are not the only ones that look fab, check out Ja'Maal's lashes and lash line and tell me what you think. He's the lash artist for celebs such as Beyonce and Rihanna.

http://www.jamaalbuster.com/

Just thought I'd throw that on my blog today! lol

Hope everyone is having a great day, weekend is almost here!

Makeup Art Cosmetics Collection 2009 preview

Click on pics to enlarge :)

**UPDATE: The eyeshadow Maira's Magic has been changed. The new name for this eyeshadow is Maira's Mood.

left to right - Young Thing, New Spirit, On Display, Personal Taste

left to right - Front Lit, Full Body, High Strung, Hold the Pose, Lovin' it

The Perfect Cheek blush

Notable blush

left to right - Artistic License, Graphblack, Full of Fuchsia, Obviously Orange, Colour Matters

Gloss Texture

More info at Specktra!