Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation: 6.0

Swatches & Review

A few months ago, Urban Decay came out with their new line of liquid foundation to fit in with their NAKED line. Although I have tried out many foundations, I never actually used much foundation before, so I decided to try their foundation line. I normally do not break out much, but this year was the worst year for my skin. I broke out so much that I have a lot of acne scars on my face, which has never happened to me when I was younger, so this foundation came at the perfect time for me.

Urban Decay describes this as a weightless, ultra definition liquid foundation

There is a wide variety of colors for this foundation. The numbers that end in .0 is for warmer skin tones and the numbers that end in .5 is for cooler skin tones.

When swatched & blended out on my hand, the skin looks a lot smoother.

My face is definitely not perfect. Since the beginning of 2012, I have had really bad acne and it is still continuing and I do not know why it is so bad. When I asked my doctor's they just said there has been a hormone change in my body that triggers the breakouts, but it's weird since it's just not stopping. On the left, you can see that there is redness and acne scars on my skin. On the right, you can see that this foundation balances my skin tone out evenly with no redness. Both of these pictures have been taken under the same lighting.

Overall, I really like this foundation. I have been using it for a few months now and this is definitely my choice of foundation. I only use one pump, which gives me a medium coverage, but you can add an extra pump for full coverage. It feels light on my skin and does not look cake-y at all (like how Bare Escentuals foundations make my skin look). Since it is now winter, I am thinking about picking up one in a lighter shade since 6.0 looking kind of dark on my skin for the weather. The only downside to this for me is the price. It is $38 for 30mL/1 oz of product. That is the same size as most drugstore foundations and 3 times the price.
This retails for $38 and is sold at UrbanDecay.com, Sephora (in-stores and online, Ulta (in-stores and online), & select Macy locations.

What do you think about Urban Decay's NAKED skin foundation? Have you tried it? What is your go-to foundation?

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Physicians Formula pH Matchmaker Powered Lip Gloss: Pink

Swatches & Review

About two months ago, I entered Physicians Formula giveaway on their Facebook page and was one of the first 1,000 to enter my information in at the time that they announced the "secret" word. Being the first 1,000, I was sent their pH Matchmaker Lip Gloss in Pink. According the Physicians Formula, this Lip Gloss is supposed to react to the light & your pH for your perfect lip color.

This lip gloss tube comes with a light up cap where the brush is, and there is a mirror on the bottom of the gloss tube. The light is pretty darn bright too, so it definitely comes in handy.

It has a brush applicator and this is with the light on.

Although the brush showed that the lip gloss was a bright pink, it applied onto my lips clear. After a few seconds, it starts to get pinker, and after a minute, it becomes a bright pink. This is pretty much a hot pink with shimmer in it.

I like that this lip gloss is not scented & is tasteless. They are super glossy and is not sticky, which I like. I think that it is exciting seeing the color change because I always like color-changing things, however, I do not feel like this really matches you with your skin-tone because on me, this was way too bright! I feel like it glides on clear, but the end result will be like how it looks like in the tube, so this is pretty cool just for the color changing. It reminds me of Revlon's Balm Stain in Sweetheart, but in gloss form. After the gloss wore off, it left a bright pink stain that lasted on me for about 5 hours.

Overall, I like this lip gloss because it is not sticky and has no scent, but the color does not suit me very well. This lip gloss retails for $9.99 and can be found at Ulta, CVS, & Physicians Formula.

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Urban Outfitters Pink Holo

Swatches & Review

When I first heard that Urban Outfitters came out with holos, I had to go find them. I went to the closet Urban Outfitters to me and found all three of the holographic nail polishes they had, which are Pink Holo, Green Holo, and Silver Holo. Unlike the rest of their nail polish line, these are $10 each and do not qualify for the 2 for $8 deal. However, I heard some people were able to get away with getting the deal. Since they were $10 each, I only got the Pink Holo.

When indoors, you can already see the holographic finish of these nail polishes.

It is even more amazing when you compare it from indoors and outdoors.

Look at all that holographic gooodness. I drool..

For my pinky, I used a regular clear base coat.
Ring and Pointer, I used Nfu-Oh's Aqua Base
For my middle finger, I used no base coat.

If you can see, the base coat does not matter for these, which is a total plus. Applying these were easy and only required two coats. You could use just a regular base coat and these will not drag, or get patchy, which I love! I used two thin coats so it dried quickly. Although this is called "pink holo," I find these to be more of a light pink-ish lavender color.

Are these worth $10? YES YES YES! I purchased my Layla Holographic Finish nail polishes for about $12 and they are a pain to apply, not to mention, they are TINY! These Urban Outfitters nail polish are regular sized nail polishes are 0.5 oz and they apply so easily. The holographic finish on these are so strong that you can see if when you are indoors. If you love holographics, I definitely recommend these! I wish I bought another color, but I love this!

What do you think about Urban Outfitters Holographic nail polishes?

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Lorac Sweet Luxuries Palette

Swatches & Review

Lorac's Sweet Luxuries palette was part of Ulta's Black Friday promotion. Although it was listed on the AD as a "2-day" sale, it was also a doorbuster, which totally contradicts each other. I waited outside Ulta for about an hour and purchased this and Tarte's Balanced and Beautiful set. I do not think they should have listed Lorac as a 2-day sale since the store only had 10 in stock. I wanted Urban Decay's $9 deal with the All-Nighter and Primer, but the store did not even have it in stock, which was upsetting since I called in on Wednesday and they told me they had everything in stock. Anyway, the Sweet Luxuries palette has five neutral eyeshadows. Three of them has a matte finish and two has a metallic finish.

Each of these eyeshadow are 0.05oz, which is a full-sized Urban Decay eyeshadow.

These eyeshadows do not have names on them so I will go from left to right.
1) Matte Beige: this was chalky and required a few swipes to show up on my skin. It is very sheer so you should pat this on.
2) Metallic Light Bronze: This was pigmented and soft. Has a bit of fallout.
3) Matte Light Brown w/ Shimmer: This was softer and a bit more pigmented than the Matte Beige, but was still a bit chalky and it has fall out. It has a bit of shimmer in it, but is is not noticeable once swatched.
4) Metallic Bronze: This is warmer than the Light Bronze, and is pigmented like the Light Bronze.
5) Matte Dark Brown: This, like the other two matte shades are a bit chalky and has fallout, but it is the most pigmented matte shade of the other two.
All of these were swatched over Lorac's Behind the Scenes Primer

This is a nice small little palette to carry around, which is convenient, but if you have a bunch of neutrals, this probably is not a "must-have." I purchased this on impulse since I was second in line and there was only 10 and the person in front of me grabbed about 3. For the price of $12, this is not a bad palette. I wish the mattes were a bit more pigmented, but they are build-able in color, but overall, it was good for the price. I like how none of these are glittery because I do not like glittery shades. Now, I have even more neutrals in my collection since I just ordered the Nude'Tude and I have both of Urban Decay's NAKED palettes.

What do you think about neutrals? Do you have a lot of them? Did you get anything from Ulta for Black Friday? :)

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Sephora Beauty Insider Reward Card

Information:

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving & a very good day of shopping for deals! :)

Every year, Sephora sends out a "gift card" to their Beauty Insiders and VIB's. It normally comes the first Thursday of December, but since November is a long month this month, I hear that they are starting on November 29 this year.

This is how the card came in the e-mail for the past 3 years:

2011: $15 off $50 (Beauty Insiders)

2010: $15 off $40

2009: $15 off $35

I heard some of my friends already received their invitation from the mail (in the East Coast). So this year, the promotion will run from November 29 - December 10. Since it is coming via snail mail, it probably wont get to me until the day before it starts since I am in the West Coast. This year, the card is like last years, depending on your Sephora Status (BI or VIB) you will either receive a $15 off $50 if you are a Beauty Insider or $20 off $50 if you are a Very Important Beauty Insider. So get your wishlists ready!

What do you think you are going to buy? Are you going to take advantage of the Holiday Gift Card from Sephora? Any wishlist items? :)

If you are planning to purchase online, you can always go through Ebates* to get some percentage back from shopping at Sephora and other online retailers, such as Nordstrom and beauty.com. To access Ebates, you can click here*.
*This is a referral link.

& I still have two giveaways running! If you are interested here are the links:
OPI DS Original
Models Own Purple Blue.

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theBalm The Body Builder Mascara

Swatches & Review

In this review, I will also review two eyeliners:
Kat Von D's Tattoo Liner in Trooper
&Be a Bombshell's Eye Liner ins Onyx

I received theBalm's The Body Builder Mascara in my October Glam/ipsy Bag and I have been trying it out this week. Normally, I do not wear mascara because it does not hold my curl for me anyway so I feel like it is pointless, I was hoping for theBalm's mascara to hold up, but does it?

In the first photo, I am using theBalm's The Body Builder mascara and Kat Von D's Tattoo Liner in Trooper. I purchased the Draw the Line set from Sephora so I decided to try this one first. Kat Von D's Tattoo Liner is a pen liner. It is thin enough to draw a thin line, but I drew a thicker line on to make it look similar to Be a Bombshell's eye liner.

In the second photo, I am using theBalm's mascara and Be a Bombshell's Eye Liner in Onyx. Like Kat Von D's Liner, this is also a pen liner. The tip of this eyeliner was thick, so it was hard for me to draw a very thin line so I made it thick.

Both of the eyeliners look similar in color, so no one can even tell that I am wearing two different eyeliners. Comparing both of them, I definitely like Kat Von D's more because it is thin so I would be able to draw a thinner liner than Be a Bombshell. However, both of them last a very long time, which is good. You will need makeup remover to remove both of these eyeliners.

For theBalm's Mascara, I love that it is not clumpy, it makes my eye lashes look a lot darker. Does it hold up my curl? Not really. I was hoping it would hold up my eye lashes, but it does not. I am not disappointed because I have the hardest time with mascaras holding my eyelashes up, so it was expected. The mascara held up my curl for a good ten minutes until it started to go back to being stick straight. The mascara itself does stay on the lashes for a good amount of time & I have not seen any flaking from it, which is also a good thing. Sadly, it is just not for me.

What do you think about these products? Can you tell a difference between the eyeliners? How do you feel about mascaras? Any recommendations for me? :)

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Urban Decay Lip Love Lip Therapy: Stung

Swatches & Review

Urban Decay's Lip Love Lip Therapy is supposed to be a moisturizing lip tint. From the tube, Stung looks like it will be a dark berry shade, but it is definitely not as dark when it is applied to the lips.

When you first squeeze the lip tint out of the tube, it is a gorgeous berry color, but when it is sheered out, the color is not as noticeable.

With the first layer blended out, the tint is not really noticeable. It looks like a clear gloss on my lips, but it builds up a bit with two layers. When applying the third layer, it seems like it would be darker, but after blending it out, it just becomes a tiny bit darker.

Overall, I thought this was okay. I purchased Stung because I thought the tint would be a bit darker like how it is in the tube, but it is not. It is supposed to smell like honey, but it smells more of a floral scent to me and I do not really like the scent, but it tastes a bit sweet on the lips, which I do not mind. This is supposed to make your lips feel softer, but I felt like this was a bit drying after it starts to fade off, and it does not last too long. However, it is not sticky, it feels slippery on the lips like Benefit's Ultra Plush Glosses do. I do not recommend using more than two layers on the lips like how I tried on a third layer because it feels heavy on the lips and the scent is very strong with three layers, but I tested it out to see how the tint looks. This would be nice if the tint was a bit darker and the scent was less strong. This is currently on sale on UrbanDecay.com for $4. If it was not on sale I would not have purchased this, but I think this would work as a gloss to layer on top of lipstick shades.

What do you think about Urban Decay's Lip Love Lip Therapy? Have you tried it?

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bareMinerals: Moxie - Cool As Ice Lip Gloss Set

Swatches & Review

When I first saw this set, I decided against it because I really wanted Buxom's Time to Shine since I collect Buxom yearly. After purchasing the Time to Shine, I ended up purchasing this set as well since I have not tried bareMineral's Moxie line yet. I love Buxom so I decided to give these a try. Moxie's Cool as Ice set is part of bareMinerals Holiday collection. There is Cool as Ice, and Hot to Trot (which I am still deciding on purchasing).

This lip gloss set contains six lip glosses. Five of the six shades are shimmery and one of them has a creamy finish.

Dare Devil: Shimmery Blackberry
Gutsy: Fuchsia Berry - Slightly Shimmery
Hot Ticket: Shimmery Hot Pink
Fashionably Late: Shimmery Opal
Socialite: Shimmery Pink
Rebel: Creamy Mauve/Neutral Pink

From this set, it seems like only Dare Devil and Rebel are part of their permanent lip gloss line.

Overall, I like this set. Lately, I have been buying a lot of lip products and I think Moxie is going to be one of my favorites like Buxom is. It has a slight scent, which reminds me of Cherry Cola and it has a slight tingling effect. If you do not like Buxom because of the tingling and the strong peppermint taste and feeling, Moxie is definitely a lot less tingly than Buxom lip glosses. It also does not feel very strong on the lips like Buxom's tend to feel on the lips, which may be good for some people who do not like bareMineral's Buxom line. They sheer out a bit when it is on the lips, but the colors from these lip glosses are build-able to the shade you would want it to be. It is not too sticky when it is on the lips, but after it dries out, it starts feeling sticky, which is one of the only downside to these.
This set retails for $25 for 6 lip glosses where each contain 0.07oz of product, which is a little less than half of a full-size Moxie. The size of these are the same as the Buxom Time to Shine Lip Glosses, but the Buxom is $4 more, so if you are debating between those two, I would choose the Moxie & the Moxie is more pigmented on the lips than Buxom. If you have not tried Moxie's these will be a good starting kit. You can purchase the Cool as Ice set from Sephora, Bare Escentuals, Ulta & Nordstrom and if you are interested in the Hot to Trot set, which has more warm toned glosses, you can purchase those at Bare Escentuals, Ulta & Nordstrom (I wish Sephora had them!).

Upclose of Gutsy, Hot Ticket, Fashionably Late & Socialite.
If you click it, you will see the shimmer in the lip glosses a lot better.

What do you think about Moxies? Do you already love the Buxom lip glosses?

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Want: Urban Decay 30-Shade Eyeshadow Vault

*droooool

In the past, Urban Decay's eyeshadow vaults were only available with their giveaways. Today, I noticed that they have listed their 30-pan eyeshadow vault on Sephora.

Image from Sephora.com

If this came out a week ago, I probably would have purchased this with my VIB 20% off. I really really want this, but I really do not need it considering I already have all the colors from all the palettes that I have collected from them. However, this is a really good deal for those who do not own a lot of Urban Decay, or for those who just want it (like me because it is so pretty & I would love this on my desk). It has all their newer formula of eyeshadows, which retail for $18 each.

Image from Sephora.com

The retail price of this is a bit steep at $270, but it is a good value considering it has 30 eyeshadows bringing each shadow to $9 each, which is 50% off each eyeshadow if you were to get them individually.
The eyeshadows included are:
Cobra
Oil Slick
Loaded
Peace
Psychedelic Sister
Gravity
Gunmetal
Blackout
Mildew
Evidence
Rockstar
AC/DC
Midnight Rodeo
Mushroom
Baked
Flash
Last Call
Woodstock
Midnight Cowboy
Verve
Smog
Stray Dog
Snatch
Fishnet
Virgin
Maui Wowie
Secret Service
Chopper
Freelove
Bordello

From what I know now, it seems that this set is exclusive to Sephora.com.

What do you think about this Vault Set? Are you thinking of buying it?

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Essence Renesmee Red Blush

Swatches & Review

Renesmee Red Blush is part of Essence's collaboration with Twilight's Breaking Dawn Part 2. The collection consists of one blush, one shimmering powder, four loose pigment eyeshadows, two liquid glitter liner, one lipstick, one lip-gloss, and four nail polishes.

Out of everything from the collection, I wanted the Renesmee Red Blush the most. I was actually surprised that I was able to find it because I was never able to find the blush from Essence's Legends of the Sky collection.

Renesmee Red is a matte red blush. It looks scary in the pan, but the swatch of it is not too bad.

It swatches out into a lovely light red-orange shade. It is pigmented and it was quite easy to blend out for me. It is best to use a light-hand because you can easily over-do this shade, especially since it is a red, but it is gorgeous!

For $2.99, I recommend this blush. I purchased mine at Ulta, which is not my absolute favorite place to shop at. When I went to purchase the blush, there were three more left (out of the four on display) and all of them of them seemed like they were swatched, so I ended up going to another Ulta a few more miles away to get one that was just "lightly" swatched. It is quite annoying because these are not sealed, which is my only complaint. This is not the most original color, but for the price and quality you get with it, it is definitely worth picking up if you are interested in it :)

Are you thinking about picking this up? & Are you going to watch Breaking Dawn part 2? :D

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Sephora - Izak Satin Kiss Twin Lipstick: Mademoiselle

Swatches & Review

Sephora's Izak line is designed by French artisit, Izak Zenou. This lipstick comes with two shades in one tube, which is pretty cool since it is like a push-pop. There are three shades and the one I chose was Mademoiselle. Mademoiselle contains two lipsticks that are two different shades of red.

The color on the left is a darker red, and the color on the right is a brighter red.

On the top, I have the darker shade on. It is a gorgeous oxblood red shade, which is perfect for the fall season!
On the bottom, I have the lighter shade, which is like a tomato red. It is bright, but definitely wearable. I can use the lighter shade for the Holiday season for a "pop" on the lips and even when spring comes around!

The formula on these were really good, which is a nice surprise considering the Cinderella lipsticks I purchased, which is also from the Sephora Collection was a huge let-down. These apply so smooth and creamy, even smoother than my MAC lipsticks! It is also a good deal considering these are two full-sized lipsticks in one tube and is currently $11! These were one of the lipsticks that I did not find drying and they have a slight chocolate scent, which I do not mind.

What do you think about red lipsticks? What is your favorite lip shade?

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Haul

So many makeup!

These were most of the packages that came in for me this week. Last week was the VIB sale and my boyfriend purchased a lot of items for me in stores! (most of them are on instagram) & these are the items that I have purchased for myself

From the Sephora VIB Sale, I ordered Draw the Line, bareMineral's Moxie Cool as ice set, Sephora for Izak twin lipstick, and Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetic's Pro's Pick Lip Tar set.
In another order, I ordered lip products from Urban Decay
My ipsy bag came
Today, I went to Nordstrom Rack and purchased Urban Decay's Deluxe Shadow box. It was about $19! Which is a deal since it retails for $38 and I have heard incredible things about their deluxe eyeshadows. I wonder if they're discontinuing some of their older palettes since I have seen the Skull Shadow Box and the Wallpaper Box at Nordstrom Rack's as well. If you're interested in the Deluxe Shadow Box, you should check your local Nordstrom Rack!

Have you hauled anything this week? I love packages! :)

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Disney Cinderella Moonlit Kiss Lipstick Set

Swatches & Review

When the Disney collaboration with Cinderella came out, I was super excited for it because Cinderella is one of my favorite princess movies (okay, almost all of them are). Out of the items that were released, the set I wanted to most was the Moonlit Kiss lipstick set. The Moonlit Kiss set comes with four lipsticks with each being 0.13 oz, which is pretty much the standard for full-sized lipsticks.

The packaging of these lipsticks have etch marks of leaf designs housed in a velvet case. It is very light considering it is plastic.

Left to Right: Lady Tremaine, Pumpkin, Who is She?, and My Moment

Lady Tremaine: Berry Pumpkin: Light Peach Who is She?: Rosy Mauve My Moment: Champagne Glitter

Indoor

Outdoor: All of these look glossy when it is outdoor.

If you can tell by my swatches, these apply very patchy. Just swatching them on my arm, they were tugging my skin so when I applied it to my lips, they were tugging a bit as well. I absolutely hated the smell of these! These lipsticks smelled like the old lipsticks that my aunt used to have. It has that fake plastic-y smell and I hate it. Although the packaging is pretty, the cap does not stay closed on the lipsticks. When I tested them out by putting it in my purse for a day, the cap for the lipstick came off and when I tried to drop it from 3-feet above carpet, the cap fell off it super easily. I usually never have that problem with other lipsticks. Since it is plastic, the tube scratches very easily as well.

Overall, I was quite disappointed with this collection. Normally, I do not mind Sephora brand items. I own a few Sephora lipsticks and some are the smoothest lipsticks that I have ever applied, but these were terrible with a bad scent! Yes, it is a good value considering you get four full-sized lipsticks for about $6.25 each. They tug, are patchy, and does not last on my lips through a meal! Almost all (besides Lady Tremaine) wipes off completely without any stain. I was excited for this set, but it was definitely a let down. I don't know if I should keep this, or return this since three of the four shades are too light for my anyway. If you do not mind it applying somewhat sheer with some tugging and the scent, then this may be a good purchase, but with everything that I did not like from this set, I definitely do not recommend this.

What do you think about this set? Do you have it? Have you purchased anything else from the Disney Cinderella collection?

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China Glaze Whirled Away

Swatches & Review

The second color from China Glaze's Cirque du Soleil collection that I purchased is Whirled Away. Whirled Away consists of black and white glitter in a clear base.

Pointer: Clear/Whirled Away alone
Middle: OPI Come to Poppy
Ring: Stranger Tides
Pinky: Zoya Creamy
All of these were taken with one coat of Whirled Away.

One coat of Whirled Away on the left and two coats on the right.
As you can see, a majority of the glitter that are on my nails are the black glitters, both small glitters and bar glitters. With two coats, there's still a lot more black and very few of the white glitters. The white glitters are bigger than the black ones in size.

Both of the images above are with two coats of Whirled Away.
If you look at my middle finger, the glitter looks like eyes!! lol.

Overall, this was okay. I think it was a hassle to get the white glitter because it seems like there is definitly more black glitter in the bottle. Most of the time, I had to dab on the white glitter. I wish the white glitter was easier to apply and I wish there was white bar glitter as well. I feel like the white glitter is very big so if it is not in the middle of the nail, the white glitter is just hanging off the side of the nail because it does not fold down and it stays straight. It is pretty annoying since I keep feeling the white glitter on the side of my nails because it is just sticking out.

What do you think of Whirled Away? & what colors are you thinking about getting from this collection? :)

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