Lipstick Spotlight: Lancome Graceful Rose

I didn't want a bright red, nor a dark burgundy....what I really wanted was a frosty magenta color, somehow bright but dark enough for fall :)

Lancome's Le Rouge Absolu in Graceful Rose is a cute pinkish-reddish color with hints of magenta and golden frost.

What is your favorite lip color for fall?

88 Palette Monday: 'Autumn Leaf'

Someway, somehow, I got inspired to do something a bit 'fallish'.....It must have been the cloudy and windy days I experienced over the weekend....considering that kind of weather is not bad, it's actually good.... because I can smell the autumn in the air!

Anywho, I grabbed any color that would remind me of autumn and I just slapped it on my eyes, this is what I came up with, I hope you all like it, please let me know if you do!

#1 on the inner half of eyelid

#2 outer half of eyelid

#3 cover #1 lightly

#2 on contour and outer smoky area of eyelid

#4 for depth, on contour and outer smoky area of eyelid

#5 only on outer V/smoky area of eyelid

blend very well......

I used MAC e/s Ricepaper as highlight

Line Stiletto as upper eyelid liner

Revlon colorstay eyeliner on lower waterline

Covergirl pro mascara

Save your letters and numbers on MAC brushes

Don't you hate it when the lettering disappears from your MAC brushes? I learned my lesson from my first 217. Never believing that lettering could quickly disappear from a prestigious brand such as MAC, I learned to adapt and do something about it.

By covering brush lettering with thin tape the letters are protected nicely and it lasts....this way has always worked for me. I'm not sure where I got the idea of laminating to protect certain lettering and writing, I must have been in high school when hair spray and Dooney purses were a must, haha

Very easy to do! I take my brush, I dry it and wipe it free of dust, lint or other particles. I use a very thin tape, I think the best to use is thin packing tape...I carefully place the tape on the lettering first and smooth it out on the black part of the handle, I only place the tape once on the lettering, I do not layer. Once I have only 1 layer on the brush handle I cut off the excess.

In Time

the tape may look like so....After a while the tape on my 182 (buffer brush) started to peel off a little, I used my 109 (above) as an example- I'm not quite ready to replace the tape on my 109 and I forgot to snap a pic of the 182 before I peeled off the old tape. In any event, I slowly removed the old tape, wiped the sticky residue without disturbing the lettering, and I carefully applied the new tape (below).

Update:

I forgot to mention that some people use clear nail polish to cover the lettering...I refuse to use this method because the polish has been known to chip off along with the lettering.

Lipstick Spotlight: Rimmel London Vintage Pink

I took my time at posting this weeks Lipstick Spotlight, please don't be mad at me!

This week the spotlight goes to Rimmel London lipstick (moisture renew) in Vintage Pink. A gorgeous Pink lavender shade without the shimmer or frost.

It's so funny because I longed to find this color....it was on my mind during times when I would go to the store.....I think it was because the color was an idea or vision of what I was looking for, and when I found it I'd noticed that some were swatched or messed up in the tube, eww....

But soon I began to search for an untouched one and found it....and my love began, haha

If you like love the Rimmel London lipsticks, which shade is your favorite? 

Ulta's Clearance rack

*sigh* If Urban Decay knew that the Naked Palette would be a big hit, why didn't they produce double the product!? Sorry just a small rant :)

At Ulta this past weekend I discovered a large clear bin filled with clearance makeup. I decided to look through it sans the Naked Palette :(    .....At least the trip to Ulta didn't go to waste, haha! I did find some nice lip colors and a few Bourgois shimmer eyeshadows, unfortunately most of them were already opened but oh well.

The lip colors I managed to scoop out were unopened and were probably the gems of the whole bunch. I got 2 Sally Hansen colors from the Carmindy line, Soft Orchid and Sunbeam for $2. The Soft Orchid is a creamy shiny color, it's very soft and leaves my lips hydrated throughout the day. Sunbeam has just a pinch of shimmer and is a close to sheer color. The other color in the shiny tube is one by Ulta called Desert Mauve ($1.50) this one I really like for fall and is almost matte, a finish that I drool for!

: )

Royal Langnickel Brush

What I love about craft stores is that you can pretty much find anything to feed your craving for creating something crafty. From necklace beads to printed material, your imagination is your art. One other great thing about these stores is the many paint brushes you can utilize as makeup brushes. Turn a small precise art brush into an eyeliner brush or use the soft paddle brush to apply concealer...

Now, there aren't many brushes in the store for the face, those bigger kind are way to harsh for the delicate skin. Every now and then I check in the craft store for new brushes. The greatest thing about the 'art' brushes is that most of them retail for just a few dollars. Take my own brushes for example, I own about 5 different Loew-Cornell brushes each of them I purchased for no more than $4 each. A great deal is always something I treasure!

Royal Langnickel and Loew Cornell are high ups in my favorite brand category. The brushes are soft, the handles are not super gigantic and they have a variety you can pick and choose from. Royal or Royal Langnickel creates art brushes as well as makeup brushes, on the other hand Loew Cornell is just for

As for my small haulage this Saturday, I planned on looking at Autumn decor at my local Michaels, my eyes soon shifted to the brush section, haha I ended up buying a new brush! It's funny I can find myself looking for beauty product potential in any store :) The find? My new favorite brow brush, the Royal Soft Grip sg160 1/4 slanted brush. 

The bristles as well as the ferrules are great quality. The soft grip adds a feature that makes holding the brush more comfortable, good idea Royal :)

They do have a website if you are interested in taking a gander at it, I put the link on the bottom of this post.....Why did I let myself see the other half of the website? the Makeup Brushes half! geeze! Here are some pictures of some makeup brush sets they have, I feel a wishlist coming up :)

http://www.royalbrush.com/intro/

Avon MAX Moisture: Night Cream

Avon products can sometimes get alot of bad rep. I'm not fond of many things from them but some things are worth the try. A few months ago I purchased the Solutions pm Max Moisture night cream and have been loving it ever since. While I do think that $12 for this 1.7 oz container is a little too much, especially for Avon, sometimes they do provide sales in their books which comes out to be a great deal. For example, they recently had a sale of all the solutions products BOGO, mix and match....I ended up buying another MAX Moisture and the matching eye cream...sweet :)

Sure my Clinique DD lotion is a must have for me, I still love to alternate lotions and creams according to my mood. The sweet and fresh but soft and muted smell of the Avon cream is comforting. It keeps my skin soft and moisturizes very well. Never clogging pores or stinging....just pure luxury.

If you like/love Avon, what is your favorite product by them?

On another note, isn't Lady Gaga like the queen of everything lately? Her recent victor at the VMA's concluding to take home 8 awards sent me smiling in my sleep.....And her gorgeous photo shoots and magazine covers, she is exploding popularity like we never imagined :)

She's great, no wonder so many people love her!

...:::my recent addition of Gaga memorabilia....now how can I get my hands on her VOGUE meat bikini cover! : /

Favorite face lotion: Clinique Dramatically Different lotion

Some lotions are just meant to be :) I take this lotion as an example. What I love about it is that it’s so comforting and it keeps my skin hydrated and soft. I’m usually not one to go and buy higher end face lotions, one from CVS is fine by me, but this one is so different.

I used to put on this lotion all the time about 5 yrs ago. It was actually a sample that I had with a GWP set. I loved it, I used it all up and kept putting off buying it again. When I had the choice to choose between the DD Gel or the DD Lotion I opted for the latter since I felt I needed more concentrated moisturization.

I’ve always loved keeping my face hydrated, the reason for it, I don’t want nor need premature lines and wrinkles (another reason why we all need sunscreen!) All you dry skin gals out there, please take note…..it’s worse for you, because you’re usually the first one before all of us oily’s and combo’s to get lines and wrinkles.

So all you gals out there that skip the lotion part of your daily face routine please don't! Moisturizing your face is important! At least I think so!

What is your favorite face lotion? Do you have dry, oily or combo skin?

Vaseline as eye primer

Ever since recovering ideas that I once read on Nessa's blog a few yrs ago I quickly handled one of her ideas on how she considered using Vaseline as a moisturizer for her eyelids. As soon as I read that I had to try it out for myself, only to soon love the idea so I went with it....I've discovered not only is Vaseline a great Moisturizer for the eye but it is also a great eye primer to make shadows pop with color!

1st. Apply lightly is key :) Smooth it on and wait for it to dry a bit. Then you can apply your color....

Here are examples of usage:

 

on the left I applied a dark blue shadow from my Balm palette with an eyeshadow brush by ELF minus the Vaseline. On the right I applied the Vaseline then the same dark blue shadow.

I can get away with wearing the Vaseline primer for just a few hours since it doesn't really prevent creasing....

Which is your favorite eye primer?

88 Palette Monday: Blueberry Sky

I'm not sure what convinced me to play around with blues today...but I'm glad I did. Here is today's look which reminded me alot of blueberries and mint, nevertheless the gradient sort of reminded me of the sky. So please enjoy my rendition of Blueberry Sky :)

I used plenty of colors but it was rather easy to complete

Not much blending is necessary since most of the shadows were frosted. I used MAC's Vanilla as a highlight....

#1 on inner corner of lid

#2 right next to it covering 2 thirds of the lid

#3 on the rest of the lid

#4 on outer V and contour area but not all the way

#5 and 6 mixed together put on outer V for depth

I mixed #3 , 4 , and 6 for the lower lashline, smudged out softly

Revlon Colorstay on the lower waterline

Covergirl Mascara

I hope you all enjoy!

Luuux Website: I'm now on Luuux!

After hearing about the new Luuux website and debating whether or not I really want need to create an account to earn and spend points (on beauty stuff, Hmm yeah!) I decided to create my own account. It's seems like fun anywho, who knows what I'll be able to buy in the next few months!

Check it out if you're interested, read all about how it works...If you are a member please add me! And if you happen to fall into the hype and create yourself an account I would love to be your friend so please add me! (I think you even earn points for adding friends...gah-lee what has the world come to! lol)

To find me click the link www.luuux.com/members/erica-laliamora

I suppose this is the only good way of getting a hold of me because for some weird reason I'm unsearchable? Could it be that my account is new? Hmmm, not sure :)

Have a great weekend girls!

Lipstick Spotlight: Jane Moreberry Shortcake!

Jane lipstick is a rare find, especially since the line was discontinued across many of our favorite drugstores. Here is the only Jane lipstick I own and may I add quite a lovely shade :)

Moreberry Shortcake is a perfect unusual violet-pink shade. In the tube it looks straight up 'purple' but on the lips it is a nice shade of violet and magenta.

While I've only worn this color a few times I have noticed Jane lipsticks aren't the best quality as they seem to be a tad on the waxy side but nevertheless the color is unique!

88 Palette Monday: Purple Mystery

Midnightish, a deep mystery of purple....its a color that seems to make sense for the upcoming season :)

Easy to do, I used both the shimmer and the original matte palette for this look....

As always I used my own highlight since the ones in the palettes aren't that great

pat on 1. all over the lid

I used the MAC 217 and applied 2. but with the 217 damp- all over the contour area and on the outer eyelid or outer 'v'

I used 3. only on the crease and outer V

blend, blend, blend.....

1. on the inner tear duct

2. on the lower lashline

Line stiletto on upper lashline, and Loreal Voluminous mascara.....

For highlight I used the lightest white color from the Traditional palette by LA Colors

Physicians Formula Makeup Challenge #1

Physicians Formula is hosting a Makeup Challenge on their website....Your challenge: Make your eyes Pop! with color....

"Create your own makeup video and you could win $5000!"

How cool is that? I wanted to view the entries for the contest, so today I browsed around but so far there are not that many entries, but the one that stood out to me the most was a video made by user name eyeslovePF (her screenshot above). Check out her video and vote for her!

Along with the money you could have a chance to win other fab prizes! So for all you gals out there that like the Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips eyeshadows or if you just want to enter to win some stuff you might wanna get more info about this challenge!

http://www.physiciansformula.com/