Friday, November 25, 2011

All I Want For Christmas...

Not mine, I think I got it off one of my friend's Facebook wall so I don't know where it's from
Image from Musings of a Muse
This palette new out for the holidays from Physician's Formula looks like a great drugstore version of the famous Urban Decay palette. Plus I am loving the black lace packaging! Snazzy huh?


Lipstick by Bite at ShopStyle

This set of 5 lipsticks from Bite Beauty and Sephora look awesome don't you think? Plus they're a great deal at only $25 for the entire kit. The set includes a nice variety of wearable shades too in my opinion- a soft plum, nude rose, dusty rose, soft pink and pearly nude.


Eye Shadow by Too Faced at ShopStyle

Next on my list is definitely Too Faced's Poison Orchid eyeshadow from their Exotic Color Intense Shadow Singles line. The swatches of this beauty don't do it justice, as it's a fantastic deep plum shade with iridescence and a violet sparkle. You can see The Beauty Spot's swatches of it here! From Lacquered Painted Polished here; and from Phyrra here! :D



Makeup by Smashbox at ShopStyle
Smashbox's Soft Lights Fusion in Intermix is the only bronzer I've ever used on my super fair skin that looks glowy and pretty instead of dirty. I had borrowed a friends and fell in love. Seems I've got expensive taste though


Eyes Brushes & Applicators by Sephora at ShopStyle

I'm on the lookout for a really thin/precise flat tipped liner brush that has synthetic bristles. I'm not sure exactly which one I want but something not too expensive, I just want it for tightlining.

A ton of specialty nail polishes from Ilarowe and Cult Nails:
Time Traveler, image from R3Daily Blog/Cult Nails
Clarivoyant over Time Traveller from R3Daily Blog/Cult Nails
Cult Nails- Clarivoyant, Time Traveller and a black glass nail file
Glitter Gal- Lizard Belly (Swatches at TemptaliaAll Lacquered UpCosmetic CupcakeOnce Bitten Blog)
Glitter Gal- Light as a Feather (Swatches at Once Bitten Blog, Nailed Up, Also Known As)
A England- Tristam (Swatch at Nailasaurus)
HITS- Dionisio (Swatches at More Nail Polish, Dizzy Nails)
HITS- Hera (Swatch at More Nail Polish)
HITS- Artemis (Swatch at More Nail Polish)
HITS- Demeter ( Swatch at More Nail Polish)
Ozotic- Multichrome 503, 504, and 505 (Swatched at More Nail Polish 503More Nail Polish 504More Nail Polish 505)
Ozotic- large holographic 603, 618 (Swatched at More Nail Polish


Funtasma Red Plaid Mary Jane Heels
Image from Wikipedia
A mini tripod is on my list this year! A heavy duty one that can hold up my digital SLR so I can take better photos for this blog. I want to be able to give you more macro shots but working the camera and holding it with one hand is almost impossible!
Image from Donna Andrews website
This is the newest book out in one of my favourite series by Donna Andrews. If you like light-hearted funny murder mysteries Donna Andrews' Murder With Peacocks (the first in the series) is one of my all time favourite books!
From Octopus Stew (at etsy) this is a really cute ornament/pendent called Booella. Isn't it adorable!? And she glows in the dark. Oh how I love Cephalopod jewelry.

I'm also on the look out for a hemp-like belt. What I want most for christmas though is my family's good health and happiness for the coming year. What about everyone else, what is on your wishlists?

Black Friday Madness!

There are tons of online deals going on this weekend and today especially! If you haven't already now would be a good time to buy holiday gifts! I was bad and bought myself some pretties already, but I've promised myself nothing else for myself until the new year! Anyways here are some of the best deals out there today (at least in my opinion!)

Cult Nails has a reduction on all in-stock polishes and the nail files are on sale too.
Sugarpill has 30% off everything today, and 20% off this weekend. Code: PINKWEEKEND
Venomous Cosmetics has 10% off everything and you receive a Venomous Cosmetics pen and a gift with purchase shadow in Thankful for free too. Code: THANKFUL
Darling Girl Cosmetics is 20% off everything (including the new Darling Deer Christmas collection!) You'll receive a refund via paypal :D
Clarisonic Mia packages are 20% off with the Code: CYBER20 at Clarisonic.com
Hi-Fi Cosmetics is 40% off everything, that's the highest discount of the year!
Geek Chic is 30% off (non-samples) and orders over $50 receive a limited edition or prototype item free (which is also the free shipping point) they just released a Dr. Who collection that looks lovely!

There are a ton more Le Gothique has an amazing list of sales as does Phyrra. Plus ebates has double cashback on many stores today in addition to the discounts so don't forget about them!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the US and happy shopping everyone!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Getting Started~ A Post for people just beginning to be interested in cosmetics

Hehe, random start picture because I felt like it. 
This post is for people who want to start wearing make-up but don't really have a clue where to start. I came up with the idea for this post as I've had multiple friends ask me for help on what to buy and what colours to wear etc. when it comes to make-up. So this post is a selection of items that I've recommended to friends and why. There is also some tips on simple application and looks that everyone can do.

First, before anything else, I recommend getting a good tinted moisturizer or foundation that is comfortable, with decent coverage and has an SPF rating. Evening out your skintone does wonders making a person look put together. One of my major issues is acne, so I'm always on the look out for a foundation that doesn't break me out. This problem is harder as I'm also highly sensitive to silicones so my choices are limited. However, many other bloggers have recommended Revlon's Colorstay foundation as a full coverage non-comedogenic foundation. Finding your foundation takes patience, so I recommend getting samples and trying it over the span of a couple days.
Eye Shadow by Wet n Wild at ShopStyle























When looking at the vast amounts, colours, shades, textures and brands of eyeshadows available try to stick with the basics. I recommend buying a palette of shades that are cheap. I recommend Wet n' Wild, as it is in the lowest of the drugstore prices but still has really good quality eyeshadow, better than many higher priced brands. A palette is a great way to start as you can try a variety of colours and looks and truly see what types you like. You'll know by what colours you end up using the most. Try to choose a palette that has either a wide variety of colours or neutral shades like browns and greys (such as the above one). Brown and grey can be paired with pretty much anything else, and though many other people say they can't live without their black eyeshadow, I personally find it much too harsh most of the time. I very rarely use my black eyeshadows.

 Many times the effect that people are trying to create with eyeshadow is larger eyes. For a natural everyday look, big eyes is a great easy and pretty option. The best way to do this is by bringing light to the eye. Using light colours and shimmery shades will bounce the light around your socket making it look larger. I find that on a lazy day some undereye concealer a light shimmery peach shade and some mascara makes me look awake and pretty without a bunch of work. By placing a shimmer on the tear duct of your eye and a nude colour along your waterline (the rim between your bottom eyelashes and your eyeball) I can go from insomniac to bright-eyed and bushy tailed.

The simplest eye looks are usually done with two colours that are a few shades apart from one another. Take for example a matte skin-shade and a slightly darker brown. I spread the skin colour all over my lid and up to my browbone and blend in so it looks natural. Then taking the darker shade I lightly blend it in the outer part of my crease. Or if you want to use a shimmery shade you can put it all over the lid (not to the browbone, just the lid) and place a slightly darker shade again in the crease. This way you can easily get a nice neutral defined eye without much work.

Eye Shadow by M·A·C at ShopStyle

My secret weapon is duochrome eyeshadows. With duochromes (eyeshadows that have one base colour and reflect a different colour depending on how the light hits it) it always looks like you've done waaaay more work than you actually have. This pretty much means you can skip the crease defining step. I love Mac Vex for this. It's a very light cool grey that subtly reflects pink. Because it's light and not super shimmery it's perfect for all over the lid and on the tear duct to bring light to the eye. Sometimes I even sweep it up to the browbone as a highlight/redness neutralizer in one.

Makeup by Revlon at ShopStyle

As for lips, lipgloss is much easier to wear than lipstick or lipstain. For one they are mostly more moisturizing, but they also tend to be easier to apply as you don't need to be as precise. A sheer light pink, peach or clear gloss is something that can work with any look you've got and is something you can put on anywhere, just dab in the centre of your lips and smoosh around until you feel they're evenly coated. The gloss will provide a bit of colour and make your lips look bigger as it will reflect light, especially around the centre of your mouth which is always the part that is emphasized when trying to make lips look larger than they are. For drugstore I recommend Revlon Super Lustrous glosses as they smell nice, have decent pigmentation, feel nice and last a decent amount of time.

As for blush barely there is what you're aiming for. I personally love New York Color's Blushable Cream Stick blushes as they only require a dab to your cheek then are easily blended out to a very natural looking flush. They also start creamy but very quickly turn to powder once blended which means they don't feel greasy on (score!). I like the shades Plaza Pink and Big Apple Blush personally. One tip for applying blush is to make sure you aren't too close to your nose. Most people (me included) have red discolouration around your nose area (even with concealer) and if the blush is too close it looks like you've continued the blush along and around your nose. Instead use about a fingers width between your nose and where you start your blush and sweep upwards. There is a bunch of different ways and shapes to apply blush on your face with so experiment and see which way you prefer.

Eyes Brushes & Applicators at Walgreens at ShopStyle

Lastly, though in my opinion most importantly is make-up brushes. You don't need a bunch but I truly prefer to use brushes for eyeshadow at the least as it makes blending and applying colour precisely to the crease much easier. Ecotools is my favourite budget friendly make-up brush brand and the little brush kits are a great buy for eyeshadow brushes. They're super soft and made from a type of plastic so they resist bacteria production and are cruelty-free.

So after all that, what do I recommend to start with?

  • eyeshadow palette with a variety of shades
  • foundation or tinted moisturizer
  • eyeshadow brushes
  • cream blush
  • mascara
  • lipgloss
If you have any questions (like always!) or comments about how helpful/useless this was please let me know. I want to know if posts like these are beneficial to you at all. Have a good friday, TGIF!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Darling Girl Darling Deer Christmas 2011

I just recently tried out Darling Girl Cosmetics for the first time about a month ago with their adorable Darling Ghoul Halloween collection, and their Christmas collection Darling Deer is dragging me in despite my no-buy too! This collection is super cute, and exactly what I envision Christmas to be, yet it is really really unique at the same time! These are the preview pictures Susan of Darling Girl cosmetics has posted and I'm sure you all will be as blown away as I am!




Aren't they all awesome!? I'm totally loving White Christmas, Vixen, Rudolph, Holly Jolly, Dancer, Cupid, Cookies For Claus, Comet and Blitzen. If I had to choose just one it would be Comet, look how complex it is! 
Which ones are you interested in? Excited for Christmas/ Holiday of Choice?

Saturday, November 12, 2011

A Mudslide of Brown, Gold, and Nude Eyeshadows

Arm 1
It's been quite a while since I've done one of my swatch-a-thon eyeshadow colour posts so being bored out of my mind this weekend I decided to do one of my most requested colour schemes the browns, golds and nudes. I've got three whole armfuls! Enjoy.
T-B: Revlon Matte 001 Vintage Lace, Wet n' Wild Color Icon Single Brulee, Fyrinnae French Vanilla Shake (Disc') 
T-B: Fyrinnae French Vanilla Shake (Disc'),  Too Faced Heaven,  Kat Von D Confessional,  Mac Dalliance (Disc')
T-B: Kat Von D Confessional, Mac Dalliance (Disc'), Mac Nanogold, Mac Stacked Pigment Gold (Disc'), Fyrinnae Polar Bear
T-B: Mac Nanogold, Mac Stacked Gold Pigment, Fyrinnae Polar Bear, Venomous Cosmetics Last Unicorn, Urban Decay Nylon
Arm 2
T-B: The Body Needs Pixie Dust, Morgana Cryptoria Mordred, Fyrinnae Atomic Afterglow, Fyrinnae Fire Opal, Fyrinnae Damn Palladins, Nyx Taupe, Too Faced Teddy Bear
T-B: Fyrinnae Atomic Afterglow, Fyrinnae Fire Opal, Fyrinnae Damn Palladins, Nyx Taupe, Too Faced Teddy Bear, Stila Eden, Urban Decay YDK
T-B: Nyx Taupe, Too Faced Teddy Bear, Stila Eden, Urban Decay YDK, Urban Decay Twice Baked, Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, Urban Decay Half Baked
Arm 3
T-B: Mac Spectacle of Yourself (disc'), Too Faced Push-Up, Too Faced Honeymoon, Too Faced Ever After, Wet N' Wild Bronze Goddess palette Top Left, WnW BG palette Middle Left
T-B: Too Faced Honeymoon, Too Faced Ever After, WnW BG palette Top Left, WnW BGP Middle Left, WnW BGP Bottom Left, WnW BGP Top Right
T-B: WnW BGP Bottom Left, WnW BGP Top Right, WnW BGP Middle Right, WnW BGP Bottom Right, Urban Decay Sellout, Urban Decay Mushroom
*Whew!* That's a ton more browns, nudes and golds than I thought I owned! My favourites are Urban Decay Mushroom, Sellout, Twice Baked, all the Fyrinnae shades, VC Last Unicorn, Too Faced Ever After and Too Faced Heaven, Mac Spectacle of Yourself, Stila Eden, MC Mordred, and Wet n' Wild Brulee.
Which ones are you digging the most? Any browns, nudes or golds you think are awesome that I don't have?