Urban Decay Makeup Special

Aloha, ladies!

For those of you who like highly pigmented and brightly colored eyeshadows check out the current special going on at Urban Decay Makeup! They are offering $1 shipping for ALL ORDERS! There is no code required at the checkout.

If you don't have a Sephora or Ulta store nearby, this would be a great time to check out their products, and get them shipped to you on the cheap!

Enjoy!

Facial Cleansers/Makeup Removers

Aloha, Beauties!

Sorry for the temporary hiatus, but life got in the way. Anyways, today I will hit you with a review of a couple of facial cleansers/makeup removers I have tried. Forgive me for the placement of the product pictures. My work computer doesn't want to cooperate with my formatting.

First up is Urban Decay's Clean & Sober Oil-Free Makeup Remover. I've been swearing by this for about 3 months now. It is a soothing, lavender-scented makeup remover that gently wipes your face clean. I use it with those cotton makeup pads. My skin is super oily and super sensitive, but I've had no issues with this product. It can be used on your eyes as well, but I have another favorite for that. I still go behind it with a gentle face wash just to make sure I don't leave any makeup behind to cause me to get a huge pimple the next day.

My favorite eye makeup remover is Bliss Lid & Lash Wash. It is unscented, but removes even the toughest waterproof eyeliners and mascaras with a simple swipe of the wash on a cotton pad. Great stuff! They sell this in a 4.2 oz bottle. I just wish they had a larger size bottle for people who can't go without eye makeup like myself.

For facial cleansers, I've tried the Nude Cleansing Facial Wash in a deluxe sample size. It's a weird color gel. I guess they've added no artificial coloring or anything. According to the website it contains organic aloe vera, cleansing yucca, and antioxidant moringa extract. This cleanses pretty well. But it will cost you. About $34 for a 6.8 oz bottle. I like to spoil myself, but that is a bit steep for a cleanser. If you can afford it, it works nicely. If not, look for other organic cleansers at a much cheaper price.

The final facial cleanser that I recently tried is Philosophy Purity Made Simple. Unless you are a die hard Philosophy product fan (they make great perfumes!), this cleanser is not any different from any others in my opinion. It contains sage, chamomile, and carrot. It didn't irritate my skin. But it also didn't send me over the moon with excitement over the product performance. Make your own judgments on this one.

Well beauties, have a wonderful, joy-filled day!!!

Makeover Madness!

Aloha, beauties!

Sorry about the lapse in posts lately. Thanks to some new furniture I recently bought, the makeup purchases have slown down to an insignificant trickle of mostly facial and brush cleansers.

However, in my boredom, and quest for a new hairstyle, I discovered TAAZ. It is a website that allows you to makeover yourself. I went on there with a picture of my hair pulled back, and chose a new hairstyle, and different colors of makeup. I happened to have foundation and eyeshadow on my picture, but its probably best to upload a photo of yourself sans makeup.

The site also gets exact measurements of your facial features. You can also try on any color under the sun for eyes, lips, cheeks, hair, and even foundation! I made a picture of myself with it and dang near ran to my beautician.

When I got to my beautician I said, "Make my hair look like this." And she was like, "OK, but who is that in the picture?" Me, honey, me! Two things made me look like a movie star with the virtual makeover picture: 1. My layered and feathered long hairstyle, and 2. red lipstick. Yes, honey, because I don't wear red lipstick! And my hair is long and all one length.

So might I suggest you take a look at the TAAZ website for makeup ideas. You will be glad you did.

PS--send holiday greetings to your friends and family via internet by visiting Sephora's Mistletoe Makeover. This concept is too cute. You need to have Flash installed. Mine looks like this.

Smooches!

Hard Candy Cosmetics Sale

Aloha, kuuipos (means sweethearts)!

Just wanted to give you the heads up that from November 18-25 Hard Candy Cosmetics are having a deep discount sale.  How deep?  Why 75% off EVERYTHING deep!  Yep!  Go check it out at this link.

Ciao!

Random Makeup Tips

Aloha!

I just wanted to share with you a few tips I've learned in my few short months of makeup wear. I still don't know everything about makeup, but I'd like to!

1. To find the perfect nude shade for your lips, turn your hand palm side up, and match the color to the tips of your fingers. No way you can go wrong then.

2. Eyeshadow lovers, before putting any of your "face" on, put a base cream on your eyes first (I recommend Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion). Then apply your eyeshadow. I was told to do it this way since I use a lot of highly pigmented, shimmery and glittery eyeshadows, and end up with half of it on my cheeks. This allows for quick cleanup, and a perfect "face" every time.

3. Okay, find the perfect foundation and powder. (I know, DUH!) The reason I say this, is because as a black woman, I never thought I could match my skin tone PERFECTLY until I went to the Precriptives counter in Macy's on a whim. Prescriptives Custom Blend makeup made a perfect foundation for me (which actually was a few shades lighter than my skin). Then my powder was made and matched to my exact skin tone.

All this is done right before your eyes, as the consultant mixes the formulas and the add-ins. (Think of it like a Jamba Juice or a Smoothie King, but for makeup.) What effect does all that give? No lines along the edges of your face, and the most naturally flawless look you can find. And your face feels free, like there's no makeup on at all. This also allows for a more natural look when taking pictures. That way you won't look like you're wearing "Pancake #13".

That's all for today, but I hope life is at least as beautiful FOR you, as you are!

Brush Care

BEAUTY 

WANNABE 

Aloha!

Well after all that eyeshadow review, I had to clean my brushes.  I’ve tried soap and water (with limited results), and the Sephora Brand Purifying Brush Shampoo.  

After many tries, my newest friend is the Bare Escentuals Well Cared For Brush Conditioning Shampoo.  I just put a little drop in my hand, wet the brush under the faucet, and rub the brush in the shampoo in my palm.  Depending on how dirty your brushes are will determine how many times you would have to repeat the process for each brush.  

This shampoo is a great deal too as a little bit goes a long way.  My brushes are like new again!  Try it!

Love and peace!  

Palette Mania

BEAUTY

WANNABE

Aloha!

Well I’m back with another installment. I was on a quest to get the perfect travel makeup kit. The quest finally came to an end however. Though I still haven’t gotten my hands on the Too Faced Mini Quickie Chronicles set from Sephora, I do have quite a good start for my travels. So I may put that wish on the back burner for a while.

I would love to be able to haul my complete collection of Urban Decay and MAC eyeshadows along with me on every excursion off the island. But it’s just not practical. Also, I’m still a tomboy so I can be a little rough on things. So to lose my entire eyeshadow collection to some accident or due to an airline mistake would devastate me. So I decided to invest in a few eyeshadow palettes to try to be glamorous both on the road, and when I’m at home. It’s a work in progress.....Maybe I missed my calling as a makeup artist. Hmm.....

Anyways. The first up in my newest additions is my Too Faced Glamour 2 Go Eye Shadow, Lip Gloss & Blush Pocket Palette. It’s cute and holds a lot to be so small. Pretty good deal at $19.50 for the Beauty on a budget.

Cute aint it? (Yes I’m originally from the South--Georgia if you must know.) Ok, so here’s what I think of this Too Faced palette. While it’s cute and all, the colors were a bit mute for me. I like my eyeshadows bright and often dark. However, everyone has different tastes. If you’re looking for something suitable for work, or you are just more low-key with your makeup, this should fit into your makeup kit quite nicely.

The first shot is of me with the eyeshadows, blush, and the darkest colored gloss from the collection. I like it. The eyeshadows I am wearing are the peachy-mauve and brown on the right eye (your left), and the green and slate blue on my left eye (your right). Blends okay, and a great deal for the money.

The next palette I chose is the Sugar Cosmetics Round the Clock Punch Out palette.

I used the yellow and green on my right eye. The yellow looked kinda goldish on me. I used the bright blue and black on my left eye. I like the brightness of these colors and they blend alright. But the black--no likey. It goes on washed out and kind of fades into the background like a nerd at a school dance.

The Sugar Cosmetics Round the Clock Day Job palette is a little better than the other one. You have to pile it on to get the color payoff you see in the container. But it’s understated enough for work. But I’m a rule breaker--who cares what they want! LOL! Here’s what the palette looks like...

I would consider these Sugar palettes to be the upscale, luxury version of Wet’n’Wild cosmetics.

I had a surprise in store for me when I bought the Kat von D palettes. I was so skeptical about the color payoff that I didn’t purchase them for quite a while. There are 3 eyeshadow palettes in this line, and you can only get them at Sephora. There’s the True Romance Eyeshadow Palette-Metal Orchestra, the True Romance Eyeshadow Palette-Beethoven, and the True Romance Eyeshadow Palette-Ludwig. I didn’t get the Ludwig palette. It’s a bunch of neutral colors. I try not to be too neutral too often when it comes to my eyes.

Here’s a pic of the other two palettes though...

The one with the blues and grays is from the Metal Orchestra palette. And the second one is from the Beethoven palette.

The Metal Orchestra palette has a silver cream eyeshadow. That was my first experience with a cream eyeshadow. The blue on my other eye (same pic) ended up more on my cheek than on my eye. I guess I have to use more UDPP next time.

The second pic is the light and dark purple, while the third pic was initially gray and yellow. Let’s just say this light colored yellow was a NO NO on me, and I went over it with gray and blue. No need to embarrass myself further online. You can already see my unibrow growing back in. :P

Word of caution for the Kat von D and the Sugar Cosmetics palettes. DO NOT DROP THEM OR BANG THEM AGAINST ANYTHING, even in your purse, if you can help it. Trust me. I learned the hard way with the Punch Out palette. Let’s just say, that’s the second time I bought that particular palette. I still have the other crumbled mess too.

And for the finale.....the Smashbox Smokeout palette. Oh yeah! Loves it! A perfect find for the smoky eye newbies like myself. I know it's been out a while. I'm late on this one.

The second pic is me wearing the green, and the smoky, glittery green. The third pic is me wearing the gray, and the smoky, glittery gray. I know they look similar side by side, but I think they would pop more depending on what you’re wearing and the light. I probably should have gone over the corners with a little black, but hey it’s 3:30 in the morning here and I’m getting tired.

So here’s my take on the newest haul. I will definitely be taking the Kat von D and the Smashbox palettes with me on vacation. The Too Faced palette will be with me when I tool around town or am somewhere where I’m real worried about my colors staying perfect. The Sugar palettes will travel too, but they will be in the checked baggage and wrapped with bubble wrap rather than in my carry-on backpack with the others. Also, you KNOW my Urban Decay Book of Shadows palette will be in my carry-on, with the Tarte The Vanity Limited Edition palette also bubbled wrapped in my luggage.

If you’ve tried any palettes that are noteworthy, either positively or negatively, drop me a line! I’d love to hear from you.

Kiss kiss!

Yes, We Can!

Congratulations to Mr. Barack Obama and his beautiful family on being elected the first publicly recognized president of color in United States history! He and his family represent all of us (all races). Let's hope he brings change we can believe in. And many thanks for giving the young people and young children hope that they can be whatever they dream of being in life.

I'm especially proud for my father. He experienced much racism in his life. He was alive and endured many things during the civil rights movement. He was in the first intergrated unit in the United States Air Force, and trained many men who would later owe their career successes to him. I love my Dad, and am so happy he gets to enjoy this moment with me. He's still very spry! I love that man! I enjoy every day having him in my life (and my mom too, of course).

Congratulations, Mr. Obama! And congratulations to the American people for ushering in a new era!

Small Makeup Palette Haul

BEAUTY WANNABE 

Aloha, Darlings!

Well I just went to Sephora again the other day, and I've managed to get my hands on two new palettes. The Urban Decay Book of Shadows Palette, and the Tarte The Vanity Limited Edition Palette.

As soon as the Urban Decay palette was released to the public, I HAD TO HAVE IT! I swear by Urban Decay eyeshadows, so they didn't even need any selling points to get me. I love brightly colored eyeshadows like blues, purples, and even grays, and blacks. I love wearing a smoky eye as well. I guess it's become my signature look. The Urban Decay palette is going to be great for my upcoming travels, as well as for switching my look up when I go to work. I keep them folks guessing there.

The Urban Decay Book of Shadows Palette introduces six new shades: Mayhem, Sidecar, Gridlock, Scandal, Absinthe, and Protest. It even introduced me to the already established color Shattered (which is now frequently in my rotation). The palette is a little bigger than the size of a CD case, give or take an inch or two.

Let me tell you how serious I am about the quality and pigmentation of these eyeshadows. They have now introduced the Eyeshadow Vault to hold the coin shaped eyeshadows on the Sephora website. I had already bought and filled 3 of them from the Urban Decay website. The Urban Decay site has a deal going, and I opted in on it a couple times. Now Sephora is offering a similar deal. These Eyeshadow Vaults can also hold other similarly shaped eyeshadows. Super cute. Don't say I didn't tell you! If you're looking for color that looks the same on your eye as it does in the package, then Urban Decay products are for you!

I can't really comment personally on the Tarte eyeshadow quality as I haven't used the new palette yet. I've just been staring at it thinking, "Cool!" I know it's sad. Don't laugh! But I can assure you that it will also be in my travel rotation, even though neither palette fits into my new mini travel train case.

The Tarte palette has 16 eyeshadows, 16 lip glosses (which I have tried and are excellent by the way), 4 blushes, 1 powder, and 1 bronzer. The kit also includes the Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara, 1 eyeshadow brush, and 1 eyeliner brush. Good value! Beautiful colors! The size of the palette is surprising however. I watched it online, and was on the fence about purchasing it for a while. The palette looks really small online relatively. But nope, if you unfold the palette out completely it is about the size of a computer keyboard. The eyeshadows and the glosses are about 1 inch square each! So I was pretty happy with my purchase when I saw it.

I have a pretty decent amount of makeup at home. Now I'm building my travel kit, so I can stay beautiful on the road as well. Next up on my purchase list is the Too Faced Quickie Chronicles Mini Collection available at Sephora only. 

I sat on the fence for WAAAYYYY too long on this one, cuz now it's sold out in stores AND online! And I couldn't even find it on Ebay! I read a lot of reviews, and everyone is giving it five stars. I gotta at least touch one to be happy. LOL! Just joking, but I do have to get my hands on it.

BTW, I'm sneaking and updating this blog at work!  Shhhhhh!!!

See you soon, darlings! Smooches!

Mascara

BEAUTY WANNABE 

Aloha!

I know it’s been a few days since I posted, but I was working at the job.  I love my job!  But anyway, today I want to explore my “lash stash” (sorry for jacking that term, Sephora).  

My personal favorite up until recently was Cargo Blu-Ray Mascara.  It’s from their line of HD makeup.  Why do I need HD makeup?  This is life, you never know when your 15 minutes of fame or our cameo will happen!  Here is a shot of my naked eyelashes and my former favorite.  Yes, I know my eyebrows are busted and I look washed out.  But heck, I’m home today, with “Aunt Flo”  and my not-so-favorite cousin “CRAMPS”.  LOL!  So I get a pass!  

Don’t worry, the comb (yes, that’s why I like it) doesn’t apply any clumps. It’s actually a nice, clean defined look. See below.

It’s still in my repertoire, it’s just not number one anymore. It’s more like number two or three. But, then again, I have a flair for the dramatic when it comes to my eyes. Another CARGO favorite was the CARGO Better-than-Waterproof Mascara. It made my eyes look like this:

I like it. But I still was looking for more bang! So I went to Sephora and bought The Lash Stash for $35. You get ten trial-sized mascaras picked from their best-sellers.

I was so pleasantly surprised when I gave in and bought it! One of each of the following is included:

0.12 oz Smashbox Bionic Mascara

0.10 oz Sephora Atomic Volume Mascara

0.11 oz Vincent Longo The Curl Mascara

0.10 Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara

0.13 oz Too Faced Lash Injection Pin Point Mascara

0.10oz Make Up For Ever Smoky Lash Mascara

0.32 oz Urban Decay Big Fatty Mascara

0.13 oz DuWop Lash Venom Mascara

0.13 oz Korres Deep Colour Mascara

0.17 oz Cargo Texas Lash Mascara

I have a new favorite as a result of trying all of these. And the winner (for me) for that “pow” I like on my eyes is........(drum roll)....Make Up For Ever Smoky Lash! It made my eye look like this:

Imagine the look with your eyes done up in a smoky blue or black eyeshadow look and then having eyelashes with the “Smoky Lash” mascara! Bring a stick when you leave the house to beat the fellas off with!

I will show the results of the rest close to the order listed above.

Smashbox Bionic Mascara lashes:

I like the dramatic coloring of this one.

Sephora Atomic Volume mascara lashes:

Good volume for any makeup look.

Vincent Longo The Curl mascara lashes:

Not a favorite of mine, but not bad either.

Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara lashes:

Hey!!!! Who stretched out my eyelashes? Why Tarte did!

Too Faced Lash Injection Pinpoint mascara lashes:

This one is particularly great for getting those lower lashes, even though I didn’t use it on my lower lashes in the above pic. This Too Faced mascara is definitely a close second in my favorites to the Make Up Forever Smoky Lash.

Urban Decay Big Fatty mascara lashes:

I have the Urban Decay Big Fatty mascara in several colors. I like to switch it up sometimes.

Du Wop Lash Venom mascara lashes:

This one is okay. I’m neutral about it.

Korres Deep Color mascara lashes:

The Korres mascara has Provitamin B5 and Rice Bran in it. Great for you health nuts out there! I was impressed by it actually, as I don’t know much about the brand. Nice bit of drama there.

CARGO Texas Lash mascara lashes:

Mind you, beauties, I did not apply any mascara to my lower lashes on any of these shots.

I love having “The Lash Stash” in my makeup kit. I like change, so there seems to be a mascara for every mood or personality.

So if you’re out there searching for that perfect mascara to fit your personality or needs, might I suggest The Lash Stash from Sephora? Try it, I promise you will find several mascaras that you like.

Mahalos for viewing my beginner blog! Cheek kisses!