My Obsession: MAC lipsticks!

I'm super excited for this weekend, I'm thinking about piggin' out at my all-time favorite sushi place on Sat. but not sure yet....Gosh, and the time has flown by so quickly it's already going to be February and I'm getting bigger! It's a little surprising but everytime I think to myself that I have like 3 more months left to go I get all excited :) Time really does go by so fast!.... Lots of good things coming up in the next few weeks too...I'm moving into a new home and baby is coming in May!
So I knew the time would come that I would display for you all my favorite part of being a makeup junkie - swatches and pics of my latest MAC lipstick collection....What a sweet array of colors :) It may not be much but it's good enough for me...The original dubbed 'Lipstick Army' name was from the all-time amazing Nessa. Check out her Lipstick Army here!

My lipstick Army.....Names after the pics....

Don't know what was wrong with my camera but the single ones on the bottom came out blurry, gah I need a new camera :)

{LE - Limited Edition lipsticks}

Eden Rocks
Charasmatic
Cute Ster - LE
Pink Plaid
Bombshell
Ravishing
Profusion - LE
Jist
Flowerplay - LE
Viva Glam II
Lavender Whip - LE
Girl About Town
Kanga Rouge - LE
New York Apple
Saint Germain
Cream de la Femme
Ruby Woo
Syrup
Fast Thrill - LE
Diva
Hang Up
Russian Red
Honey Love
Gilty Kiss - LE
Blast O Blue - LE
Big Bow - LE
A Rose romance - LE
Lame
Lady Danger

Goldens and Black Sharp Dramatic EOTD

It's raining outside and I love it! We are expecting super cold weather on Friday but hopefully it doesn't rain on Saturday because I'm suppose to go to the CCO : /
Anyways, I was a bit bored today so after scanning thru a bunch of pics in my computer I came across an EOTD that I never released...I guess I must've thought it didn't come out good or something so I never posted it and forgot about it....Anywho, here it is :)

For the eyes I used:
UDPP
MAC Ricepaper as highlight
MAC Indianwood PPOT as a base on lid only not passing the crease
MAC Amberlights pat on top of Indianwood
Took a bit of Amberlights with MAC Carbon applied on crease and outer sharp V to shape the outer edge
On outer V and to depthen the crease I used ULTA Galaxy (lightly)
Almay liquid eyeliner on upper lashline
Amberlights on lower lashline
Revlon CS eyeliner as lower lashline and lower waterline and smudged
I used a bit of the Ricepaper to clean up the outer dramatic line
Lancome ProCils mascara
Brows were done by me, I used Loreal e/s in Deep Mocha with a MAC 263 brush

PS: A makeup giveaway is in the works, stay tuned to my blog for more details! :)

Best Makeup brushes money can buy!

If you are looking to invest in some quality makeup brushes but aren't sure which ones to get and also you don't want to spend a fortune, please read on. I've took the time to look for the best quality brushes that money can buy without spending an entire paycheck on  expensive ones. Let it be known that there are plenty of good options out there for  quality makeup brushes that are low-priced, but you must keep an eye out for them. Here are some of my favorites, that of course didn't cost me much!

Sonia Kashuk for Target blusher $10.99

The blusher brush is so great, it feels nice, it doesn't shed (at least not for me) and it picks up colors wonderfully. Actually this brush is so soft it feels like air! It feels nice on the skin, not scratchy. The bristles are light and feathery, and did I mention it picks up colors very nicely? Just love it.
buy here

Eco-Tools kabuki brush $8.99

Perfect for travel, will apply bronzer or translucent/finishing powder nicely. The bristles are super soft, there is no scent in the actual brush. Mineral application is a breeze. I'd recommend this brush to anyone wanting a quality kabuki brush.

buy here

ELF eyeshadow brush $1.00

The first actual makeup brush I ever bought and I loved it so much I bought 5 more! I think this brush is very good in my opinion...it picks up color nicely, not much fall-out, but then again it depends on the way you apply the shadow. The brush is super soft and I'd recommend over and over because it's just that good! plus it's affordable!
buy here

ELF concealer brush $3.00

What I like about this brush is that it is so versatile! I use it for emollient based products, I use it to apply MAC Paintpots, I use it for undereye concealer, I use it to spread out my NYX jumbo pencils. I like that the brush is silky but firm. Love it and I'd recommend to anyone needing a good brush to spread out Paintpots or apply concealer.
buy here

Sonia Kashuk for Target synthetic flat blusher $14.99

If you have been following my blog for a while you'd already know that this synthetic flat brush is my absolute favorite for applying liquid foundation. I love it! It creates this flawless airbrushed look and is a great stippler in case you have to stipple. The brush is soft, it isn't pokey or harsh or rough. There isn't any shedding at all. I love it also because you need very little liquid foundation so this saves alot of product. If you are looking for a good foundation brush I recommend this one.
Buy here


Loew Cornell Maxine's Mop 1/4 or 3/8 brush $2.15 - $3.99

OMGosh, who doesn't love these brushes? Originally designed as Art brushes, these brushes are gems! I initially collected about 15 of them but someone in my home stole them for use in art projects, not to mention names! That's ok because I saved the best ones for me which are the 1/4 and the 3/8's. I love to use these to pat on pigments, whether they are foiled or dry. They work wonderfully that way, or I like using them once in a while to apply Paintpots. The smaller one I've used to apply shadow on my lower lashline.
buy here

My thoughts on the Studio Sculpt Foundie by MAC

Semi-review, but take the information for what it's worth :)

My skin background: I'm an NC40 in MAC studio fix fluid and a NC40 and NC42 combo in the summer. My skin is Combo, which means both dry and oily at the same time. I moisturize my skin everyday for the obvious reasons: to prevent premature aging, and all the Etc. My skin though is very comfortable in my cheeks area but tend to get oily in the T-zone after a while-with or without foundation. I rarely break out at all. I may have maybe 3 small zits on my face once in a while, my only skin concerns are slight redness, discoloration in some places, scars from past zits.

I like foundation that is: full-coverage! I'm a big fan of full-coverage foundie's that feel light on your skin and make your skin flawlessssssss!!!! I don't like sheer coverage......I don't like wearing tinted moisturizer as foundation.....I simply love for my skin to look flawless, like airbrushed. I don't like foundation that is too moisturizing/oily. I like a slight dewy finish, unless it gives a matte finish then I dont apply powder afterwards. Sometimes I don't like to look dewy/slightly oily so I apply powder lightly.

Studio Sculpt Foundation

MAC says: it is a creamy, Luxurious, gel-based, and long-wearing. Medium to high coverage. Keeps skin smooth, plush and revitalizing.

From my own experiences I rate this foundation....

product: 4 stars out of 5


packaging: 5 stars out of 5


quality: 3.5 stars out of 5


overall : 3.5 stars out of 5


would buy again? No

My pros and cons:

pros: med to Full-coverage, dries to a dewy finish, alot of product in the tube and you need very little. 
cons: feels heavy on the skin, feels a bit sticky, not very long-lasting...the most is about 6 hrs, more expensive than the Studio Fix.

Here is what I thought: The one important thing I can say about the studio sculpt is that it is heavy! My skin has never felt so heavy by wearing a foundation before. The first time I applied it (only a generous amount, I did not build the coverage) the coverage was so-so....felt heavy and the foundation made my face look dull.....my taste was used to Studio Fix which made my skin glow simply because of the rich golden undertones.... After about 5 hours I could see it was wearing off slightly.... The second day it was heavy on my face (I wanted to apply it at a buildable coverage so I added more to the places I needed to). This second day the foundation lasted about 7 hours. 

On the third (and last) day of trying the foundation I had the same results as when I applied it the very first time. The coverage only lasted about 6 hours and started to wear off a bit after that. Unfortunately my skin was not used to this foundation and did make me break out slightly on the forehead and on the cheekbones, which is funny because I heard from a few people that studio sculpt foundation did just that.

On a scale of one to ten I'd rate: 5.5

Award for me? awww, Thank you!

I received this award from the very pretty Krystia! Thank you so much, you are the only one that gives me awards, because of this you are a blessing!

Ok, so here is 7 interesting things about me: (uh-oh, it's snooze time, you can click the X button if you need to! lol)

1. I'm addicted to hand sanitizer- I must carry one at all time in my purse and in my car!

2. I can't grow my own fingernails. Which is why I don't do much Nail posts on my blog unless I'm wearing acrylic nails...I've tried everything to make then stronger, I've tried drinking more calcium, I've tried the Jello, nail treatment polish, etc.....Grrr, my nails are super thin naturally!

3. I hate romance or romantic comedy movies! Yep, with a passion! I only watch Sci-Fi, Horror, Action, Drama or Animated movies! And it really depends which actors are in a Comedy for me to go see it :P

4. I attended Private school all my life.

5. I don't like cats. Nope, Dogs rule, plus studies show that Dogs are smarter than cats :)

6. As funny as this may sound I really can't stand walking in the mall. I know! I love Outlets though! The only time I go to the mall is if I have a little extra money (which isn't very often) or if I really need something-which in the latter case I just walk directly to the particular store, do what I gotta do and I'm outta there! Otherwise I am only visiting the Macy's portion of the mall to visit the MAC counter! lol Probably the last time I enjoyed the mall was when I was stationed in Tokyo, Japan, those malls are Amazing!

(this was the only good pic of Hardee's I could find! Hardee's burgers are my fave!)

7. I like my burgers super well-done almost burnt. I don't like hamburgers that are juicy, ewww. haha I like them with tons of spice, dry and almost burnt, Yummm! :P

Just a quick note...

NOTICE: I have changed alot of my blog post titles, just because I wasn't satisfied with the way I named some of them. If at anytime you have trouble locating a certain blog post check my Tags-Beauty Bites which are located on the left side, or you can contact me and ask! I hope this doesn't cause any inconvenience, I updated to better serve the blog and it's readers. Thank you for reading! Stay gorgeous!

Erica

Random fun Haul

Baked eyeshadows: (Teal) #388120, (Pink) #388125, (Purple) #388127

Sallygirl eyeshadows: (left to right) Soft Pink, Glow Green, Latte.

A couple of days ago I went to Sally's to see if I could find a shimmery medium green for use in my MAC Lillyland FOTD that I did a few days ago, I didn't find any but I did find some nice eyeshadows to add to my sallygirl collection!

The Baked eyeshadows are really nice, I wore the teal one for a Party-lite party on Saturday and I love it! I'm needing to add these to my collection. Was informed at Sally that these were best-sellers last holiday as stocking stuffers :)

Wanted to go on a lipgloss haul so I got these NYX glosses after work on Friday because I was in the mood to buy some very light pinky glosses or clear dazzling glosses after I fell in love with my Fleur de Light gloss by MAC. I've been staying away from Clear or very sheer glosses because my lips have almost no shape at all, I just figure the clear or sheerness just accentuates my weird lips but I've been liking these kind of colors lately.

I also got this one by Klean Color in #8 for $1.99....I need to get more of these because the color is outstanding. The formula is smooth and the pigment is good, the dazzle of the sparkles remind me of MAC Dazzleglasses. This color I got is a white and light pink shimmer gloss with tiny gold, white, and pearl pink sparkles :)

I got wipes from the Dollar store, which work ok, MAC wipes work way better.....

I ran into these Princessa palettes for $1.99 each because the sales lady told me they were barely brand new, so definitely wanted to try them out! So far they are very nice, colors are pigmented but I have to apply a base for them to really stand out.

Swatches with a UDPP base:

Swatches of the Sallygirl shadows...

Swatches of the Princessa palettes...

That is all! Stay tuned for an EOTD and My MAC lipstick army!

Silvery Eyes w/ Brown FOTD

Incredibly easy to do! but I didn't feel like going all out with this FOTD, meaning I didn't apply finishing powder only because lately my skin has been severely dry which is odd since I have naturally oily skin, so I wanted to pamper my skin a bit with the natural oils of my skin & the MAC Studio Fix Fluid. I hope you all like it! I've been neglecting my HG shadow in Folie so I wanted to use it & decided to pair it with the Strip by Urban Decay.

What I used....

Face:

MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC40,

MAC blush Lovething,

EDM concealer Multitasking

Eyes:

UDPP,

Urban Decay e/s Strip,

MAC e/s Folie,

MAC pigment Provence,

Milani Blackmagic Blackened Pink,

Urban Decay 24/7 eyepencil 1999,

Loreal Bare Naturale mascara

Lips:

NYX lipliner Fuschia,

MAC lipstick Lavender Whip mixed with MAC lipstick Girl About Town

Beauty Rush Lipgloss Grapesicle

Glistening Gold and Blue, Dramatic FOTD

I'm here today with another FOTD which I think came out pretty good under the circumstances that I really wanted a more medium turquoise blue rather than a royal blue like the way this came out, but it is just fine, I really liked the color I used...but anyways, I hope you all like it!

Please don't mind my stray hairs on my head, I always have something out of place! lol

Tools I used:

Sonia Kashuk blush brush

Sonia Kashuk buffer brush

Essense of BEAUTY smoky Wide

MAC #263

MAC #217

MAC #109

HiP pigment brush

ULTA sponge tipped applicator brush

Face:

Cosmedicine Honest Face

MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC40

MAC Transparent powder

EDM Multi-tasking concealer

Maybelline Mineral blush True Peach II

Eyes:

CG eyeslicks Glistening Gold

NYX Jumbo e/s pencil Milk

UDPP

Cinema Secrets Hollywood Lights Gold

no name brownish bronze eyeshadow

Loreal Deep Mocha e/s for brows

MAC e/s Submarine

MAC e/s Ricepaper

ULTA e/s Galaxy

UD 24/7 eye pencil Zero

Almay Intense i-color Midnight Black

Loreal Bare Naturale mascara Blackest Black

Lips:

MAC Pink Plaid lipstick

MAC in Lillyland FOTD inspired/Use what you Have

Inspired by the eyeshadow Pearlmatte of the MAC in Lillyland collection.

I hope you all like it! This is also going to be the first entry of a series of looks: Use what you Have....


For this look I used colors I had at home that were similar to the MAC in Lillyland pearlmatte e/s.


Sorry about the weird stray eyebrows, I didn't notice until AFTER I uploaded the pics :)
-
Face:
MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC40
William Tuttle translucent powder
Prescriptives camo concealer
MAC blotting powder Med.
MAC MSF Refined
MAC blush Peachtwist


Eyes:
UDPP
Urban Decay Deluxe in Graffiti
Ulta e/s Pink Couture
Sallygirl e/s Snow
MAC e/s Ricepaper
MAC e/s Vanilla
Almay Intense i-color Midnight Black
Urban Decay 24/7 pencil Zero
MAC eyekohl Minted
Maybelline Line Stiletto Black
Lancome Cils Design mascara

Lips:

NYX lipliner Mauve

Carmex

MAC lipglass Fleur De Light

AboutFace is being discontinued

For all the gals that have ever tried TSS pigments and love the colors, please note that AboutFace is being discontinued!

My experience with TSS started a little over a year ago, I ordered many samples and full-size jars in the past year or so and although in my opinion some colors are a little difficult to work with there are other colors that I simply love. I'm a little disappointed that she is discontinuing her line.

To order the pigments (they have been marked down to $2.50) go to theshespace.com

Mini MAC...Dior haul

Hi all!

Don't know how this happened but my Project 10 pan...

Super fail. haha

I bought new makeup...yes, I need help! lol

Anyways let me show you what I got this past weekend:

I've been meaning to go to Saks to get another DiorAddict lipstick

because I Loooove these, so I went and picked up Champagne Blush which is

a nude pink with gold reflects in it.

I wanted to get a few things by MAC before they were Gone!

The very popular shadestick in Nurture

and

the MAC in Lillyland Pearlmatte eyeshadows...

I really like the MSF's from the Warm and Cozy collection so I'm

thinking about going back to get one of them. I'll have to decide there whether they

are dupable with other MSF's...And I'm not sure

if I need the Warm and Cozy shadestick yet, it depends whether

the color is dupable with a paintpot, I'll have to wait and see if

more reviews come out on that one. The Shadestick in Cuddle looks really nice

so I'm going to go back for that.

The strobe cream is something I've been wanting to try

and so far it's good, very moisturizing :)

Here's swatches of the Pearlmatte...

And the swatch of Nurture (very gorgeous and unique!)

to the right of that is the swatch of the DiorAddict lippie...

Have a great week everyone!

Simple Taupe with Turquoise Eyes-FOTD

I love this time of year! The cold weather, firecrackers, food, fun, music. Not only is New Year's Eve fun to spend time with family but it is also my Wedding Anniversary! This past New Year's Eve was my 8th wedding anniversary. I knew I had to get all dolled up for this occasion and I wanted to do a fun look but not anything too crazy. Here is what I came up with, I hope you like it!

Face:
Revlon Colorstay foundation Natural Tan
Prescriptives Camoflage concealer Medium
William Tuttle Face powder
MAC So Ceylon MSF
Maybelline mineral power blush True Peach

Eyes:
For eyebrows Deep Mocha by Loreal
Mocha Latte quad by Avon-light color as highlight
UDPP
MAC e/s Copperplate
MAC paintpot Rollikin'
MAC pigment Mutiny
Sephora eye + body glitter Silver
Lancome Cils Design PRO mascara Black
Santee eyepencil Charcoal
UD 24/7 eyepencil Zero

Lips:
Santee lipliner Firebrick
MAC lipstick Eden Rocks
mixed with a little bit of
MAC Bombshell

Dollar Store, CVS, Nail Polish haul!

Hey everyone! It may not be much but it's good enough for me. I did not get any lippies because my lippie stash is over-populated, haha. I am going to do an updated makeup collection pretty soon for those that wanted me to, I'm just getting organized the way I want it but I'll post it as soon as I can!

Last weekend I got a VS little purse I use as a makeup bag for my purse!!

Speaking of makeup bags, I'm starting to look for more smaller items that I can take along in my little makeup bag such as mini-sized mascaras, eyeliners, glosses, etc...and I found this...

Cutest eyeshadow palette ever :)

About the size of half a credit card , awww! Here it is as it compares to the size of a single eyeshadow by NARS

And it comes with 6 colors, all are really nice and really pigmented + velvet soft...

I'm keeping this in my purse makeup bag :)

I like the website Zappos.com and decided to see what makeup stuff they had and found Global Goddess eyeshadows. I actually had tried 2 colors but I returned one of the colors (Kajol) because it looked too much like MAC Beautymarked which I already have but I did keep Makabari....

These shadows are wonderful, a little on the expensive side but to me is worth it since they are very pigmented and they last, no creasing and the colors they offer are amazing.

Makabari is a Rich-browned reddish rust with pinkish or rose undertones, no frost or shimmer, velvet or satin finish not matte...simply fabulous. I'll have to do a look using this color pretty soon.

CVS treats

What a treat! I only saw a few things I liked, but nearly alot of stuff was 75% off. These I got for $1.45 each...

And they had a buy one and get the second for 50% off on Maybelline so I decided to try the Mineral Power liquid (Medium 2.5) and Instant age Rewind cream (Sandy Beige) both are good-I especially like the Mineral Power foundie.

Revlon came out with these new Satin Luxurious finish eyeshadows I thought were unique so to start off I picked up Peacock Lustre and love it! I will have to go back and collect the rest maybe if they have a sale pretty soon.

Also got Dollar Store treats :) Eyeshadow palettes by LA Colors...

Nail polish kick

I collect nail polish so once in a while if I see a color that is unique or is something I don't have yet I'll get it, but it does depend on the brand since not all brands of nail polish are all that great. I love China Glaze, OPI, NYC, Sinful Colors just to name a few. Anyways here is what I accumalated in the past few days...

The Sinful Colors polish in Social Ladder is the most unique color I've ever seen. It is this pink to nude beige creme base and tiny pink and gold pearlized particles floating around in it.

A few weeks back ELF had it's holiday 50% off studio items so I grabbed the brush holder after seeing recommendations. I love it! I can't express how great it is, the compartments are just the right size. I'm not a person that likes my stuff all over the place (lippies mixed with eyeshadows mixed with blushes in a drawer...the horror). I like to be very plain and simple when organizing so this is perfect for me. I placed all my face brushes on the first compartment, next was all eye brushes and in the last one I put in every single eye or lip pencil or any sort of makeup pencils that I own. I don't like to see my pencils lying down in a drawer as it is harder to see and choose a color that I'm looking for so this is great.

Collective Haul

Ida from youtube's Htownpnai had shown a few Icing Baked shadows in one of her haul vids and after seeing I knew I had to check them out.

I don't know if they have any more colors but I bought 4 of them and tested them and they are really great! Comparable to the MAC mineralized shadows, the Icing Baked shadows have 2 colors swirled together such as the blue which is swirled with a gun powder gray. Baked shadows tend to have a soft, super pigmented texture and that is what I found in these. Unfortunately they don't have names or numbers on each. The packaging is so similar to that of the MAC mineralized ones...

As always, let me know if you have questions or if you want swatches!