Maybelline Review: Lots of Lashes & Baby Lips

I came home one day to find a package with these babies in it and I was so excited! To start off i'll let everyone know that I am a part of BzzAgent.com which is a social marketing company. It is completely free to sign up for, but before I start butchering the facts i'll just let you guys check out their website on your own :)

The campaign I am a part of is:
MAYBELLINE BABY LIPS & LOTS OF LASHES

Photo from Maybelline website
L-R: Cherry Me, Grape Vine, Peppermint, Peach Kiss, Quenched, Pink Punch

I'm going to be starting off with the Lip product because it was my favorite product from the kit sent to me. "Baby Lips" product is Maybelline's newest lip balm which I have to say I absolutely love. I don't know if I have mentioned it before but I really dislike to wear product on my lips.. it just feels cakey and unnatural if that makes sense. What's great about the products is the ingredients such as Shea butter to moisturize, Vitamin Complex to restore, and Centella for a line-free look. There are six different choices of lip balms..2 clear and 4 tinted. I decided to try "Peach Kiss" and I love how moisturized it makes my lips feel while giving them the slightest bit of peach shimmer. My friends chose the rest and they have all concluded that this is a great product to try, especially if you're a bit shy with lipsticks. The tinted lip balm is an easy way of starting to add color to your lips.

Pros	Cons
·         Really does moisturize your lips!	·         The product is only a “slight” hint of color so  it may not show up as much as wanted, especially if you have darker lips
·         Great price: $3.99
·         Long-lasting
·         Super cute packaging!

L: bare chapped lips
R: Wearing "Peach Kiss"

Eyes

Maybelline's newest mascara is really just an upgrade from the "Great Lash" product. The packaging is still the classic pink tube with green cap, the only difference is the "Lots of Lashes" heart added on the tube. (Cute btw!) Pretty much everyone I know has at least tried Great Lash, so it was interesting to see how they liked the new wand that was added to the mascara. The old wand left a lot of clumps in my lashes but the new heart-shaped elastomer brush doesn't if you apply the right amount. The formula for the original Great Lash was always mediocre, and that hasn't changed with Lots of Lashes.

Pros	Cons
·         Angled brush makes it easy to reach  all lashes	·         Mediocre formula ·         Begins to flake after a while
·         Great price: $6.40
·         Clump free (up to 2 coats)
·         Easy to wash off

Once I applied 3 coats I got spider lashes.. yikes!

If you want to check out Maybelline New York's Facebook page you can do so here.

Dia de Los Muertos

Hola people! I know this post is late but for those of you who don't know this past week was Dia de los Muertos (Nov.1-2). This is a Mexican holiday which translates to "Day of the Dead" in English. I know many people may view this as weird because it is essentially a celebration that honors those who have passed away, but trust me it's not weird! :) What a lot of people tend to do is set up altars with the deceased's picture and anything they loved place around it. My family doesn't typically do this but they did go to the cemetery to visit our loved ones... and from what I hear it was PACKED to the point that people couldn't even drive out.  Anyways here's a picture of a sugar skull makeup look I did on myself.

ignore the weird expression! i was making sure i didn't smile :)

For inspiration I checked out a bunch of pictures I found on google and a few youtube videos which can be seen here and here. 

A Hint of Pink

This past week has been so stressful; i have an impromptu speech in class tomorrow and I'm not good at improvising! The dress attire is business type so I decided to take my Halloween nails off and go for something a bit more neutral and classy. Luckily I picked up this nail polish today from Old Navy while shopping for a shirt.

Tip Toe Nail Polish; color: "Ballerina"; $3.50
Note: The writing on the polish says Tip Toe, I just accidentally took a picture of the French side. ha

I usually have a problem with nail polishes that are this light but for some reason I really like how this looks. It is much more pink in person and the color just looks so delicate and feminine. The only downside is that it applies a bit opaque so you have to do about 2-3 coats before getting the actual color. I definitely need to go back and pick up some more colors, especially because they are so affordable. 

Halloween Nails- Spider Webs and Bats

So I haven't been blogging for a while, I've been really busy with school, sports, and a new baby in the house! I'm going to try getting back to posting more often so here's a quick explanation on my black and white Halloween nails.

1. The first thing I did was start off with a top coat. Next I painted my ring fingers white and the rest black. 

Sinful Colors- Basecoat,  Love & Beauty- Black #10222A, NYC-French White Tip #134

2. Next I used my nail stamping tool from Konad and image plate from Bundle Monster to stamp spiderwebs on all of my nails. I added an extra bat on my ring fingers.

Bundle Monster- Image plate BM13, Konad- Nail stamping tool+scraper

3.End with your favorite top coat and you're done! Simple as that. 

***I also did my little cousin's nails.. she wanted candy corn fingers! :)

Painting little nails is so much harder than my own.. there's never enough room!

Bargain Shopping time!

I'm starting school in a few weeks and although I'd like to buy some new clothes and shoes I don't really have the money to go on an extravagant shopping spree. Solution? Become a bargain shopper! I rarely buy things at their original price- I admit i can be very stingy with my money so I'm always on the lookout for clearance or sale items. Here's what I came out with.


1. Nike Free TR Fit
Original Price:$85, My Price after shopping around: ~$70
Still a bit pricey but I deserve at least one splurge item.

Color: Black/White-Volt

2. Mossimo Supply Co.- Wauna Braided Flat Sandals

Price: $14.99 at Target. I paid original price for these and I do not regret it at all. Not only are they really inexpensive, but I've gotten so many compliments with these sandals - I guess because they're not your average sandal- the braided leather gives it a bit of a twist (no pun intended!)

Color: Brown

3. Mossimo Supply Co.- Kaden Tall Buckle Boots

Yes, another pair of Mossimo shoes... what can I say, i love Target. Anyways this was the best deal out of everything i got. 

Original price: $34.99, My Price: $12.24

These boots were on clearance on Target's website.. check them out before they're gone if you'd like to grab yourself a pair.

Color: Black

4. Dream Out Loud Denim Jacket

I don't think this Denim Jacket from Selena Gomez' Kmart line is available anymore so I'm glad I bought it when I did (got it on sale). The size i got was an extra-small, but it has a loose fit so it fits me pretty well without being tight. I love the rolled up sleeves as well as the cropped cut.

Original Price: $30's, My Price: $17

Color: Blue Denim (white was also available)

5. Tan Pants

These pants are by the brand Iris Basic and I bought them at Ross. I usually have a hard time finding pants from Ross that fit me well so i was glad to find these. 

Original Price: 29.99 (as you can see on the tag), My Price: 14.99

Tan Skinny Pants with a Stretchy fit <3

6. Hollister Co. Skinny Jeans

It took me a while to find a brand of jeans that I really loved, but i finally found that with Hollister Co.'s Jeans. The fit on me is amazing compared to other jeans, the only downfall is that they can get a bit pricey. That's why I was excited to find out that ALL jeans were 50% off for a limited time due to the brands redesigned fit on jeans. 

Original Price: $49.50, My Price: $24.75

Skinny fit in a dark wash

7. Striped Tee

The last item I got was another item from Ross. It's a simple black and white striped T-shirt by Ambiance Apparel. I really like baggy shirts and I know by looking at the first picture the shape may be unflattering but I love the way it hangs once you put it on. 

Original price: $18.00

My price: $5.99

Not too bad? Just ignore the wrinkles!

Mini Beauty Haul

I recently bought a few drugstore items that i haven't had time to share with you guys. I bought 5 items from ELF's studio collection, lipsticks, a lip gloss, and a nail polish. The best part is that ALL items were under $6.


LIPS
I bought Elf lipstick in the colors Classy and Seductive and a Loreal lipstick in the color Fairest Nude. I love these colors because they aren't too dramatic. The last lip product I bought was one that i had been searching FOREVER for- it is Hard Candy's Glossaholic lip gloss in the color Fairy. I finally found it at Walmart (they were ALWAYS out of stock in this color) and its such a pretty sheer gloss. 

Classy, Seductive, Fairest Nude, Fairy

Blush/Bronzer
I bought a super bright pink blush from ELF as well as a blush and bronzer duo. The Duo is said to be a dupe for Nars "Orgasm/Laguna" Duo which retails for $40. I only paid $3 for my elf duo..what a steal!

Elf blush in the color "Pink Passion"- SUPER pigmented!

 "Blushed and Bronzed"- the blush is very natural looking but i need to go extremely light when applying bronzer because it is very pigmented and a bit dark for me

EYELINER

This cream eyeliner has pretty much replaced my ELF liquid liner. As you can see in the picture I swatched it on my hand. The right swatch is to show that is lasts long and is waterproof (after trying to rub it off all it did was smudge a bit)

Elf Studio Cream EyeLiner- color:Black

CONCEALER

This is the one item purchased that I was really disappointed with. I wanted to cover up the veins under my eyes and heard that a salmon colored concealer would do the trick. Rather than spending a ton of money on one item i thought I would save and get four concealers in one palette. The only problem was that the colors didn't conceal much (for me at least).

Color: "Neutralize and Conceal"

Brush

Once again I was on a budget so i wasn't able to buy an expensive stippling brush and decided to try out this on by Elf. It isn't the best quality for Liquid products because it isn't very dense but it works really well on powder products. I use it for powder foundation and when i want to lightly apply blush or bronzer.

Nails

Last is a random nail polish i picked up while at Walmart. Don't know what I'm going to do with this one yet but I'll figure something out.

NYC In A New York Color Minute: "Sidewalkers"

Demi Lovato-Skyscraper Music Video Makeup

Not too long ago Demi Lovato made her comeback with the song "Skyscraper." I immediately loved it, and praise Demi for singing such an inspirational song. When the video came out I loved the simplicity of it as well as her makeup so I decided to recreate the look myself. This is what I came up with:

1. EYES: 

The first step was getting some gold and coppery tones on the eyes. I first applied ELF's creme eyeshadow in the color "Butter Pecan" - the Lighter color I wore on the inner half of my lid, and the darker on the outer half. I then did the same with the powdered eyeshadow of "Butter Pecan". Last i added a highlight on my brow bone and NYX's Loose Pearl Eye Shadow in the color "Nude" on the inner corner of my eyes to make them pop.

As you can see ELF's creme eye shadow (shown on the left for the first 2 pictures) are much more pigmented than the powder eye shadow. The NYX shadow is VERY pigmented.

I used a brown eyeliner on my top lid so the look would be more natural looking, as well as Loreal's  Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara - (My favorite right now!)

This mascara isn't waterproof (what I usually buy) but i think it is what has been giving me more natural looking lashes.

Finished eyes

2. Cheeks:

Used Elf's All over Color Stick in the color "Golden Peach" and swiped on my cheeks then topped it with Forever 21's Love and Beauty Blush in the coral color

3. Lips:

For the lips all I used was the same products as above... Really! I didn't have any coral-red lipstick so i just used my All Over Cover Stick and dabbed some coral powder over that.

4. Hair:

Quickly, Messily, and Loosely curl your hair to get that "unkempt/disheveled" look.

voila!

4th of July- Nails + Event

Yesterday was a great Independence Day for my family and I. The day started off with the family playing baseball down the street from my house. Of course my team won, and after that we all got ready for a BBQ at my uncles house. Before I left I decided to quickly do my nails somewhat like the American flag.

1. The first step was to paint all my nails a flat red, except my ring fingers which i painted a metallic blue.

2. Next I added white stripes across the red nails; these came out a bit crooked since i was just using a nail polish with a fine tip.

3. Last I used bundle monsters BM21 image plate with the stars on my ring fingers. Just add a top coat & clean up any mistakes and you're done!

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Family BBQ. That's me behind the two little girls and next to the woman in the red shirt.

me and my bf watching the fireworks

Mint Nails

Mint nail polish has been really in this spring/summer so I decided to buy myself a bottle and try it out for myself.
The nail polish i bought was Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear in the color "Mint Sorbet" from Rite-aid for about $3.

I didn't really like the color on my nails by itself so i decided to add white polka dots the next day. Kept the look simple, yet cute.

The nail polish was nice and thick so I only needed one coat and it lasted me a while without chipping. That's always a plus.

Spring Romance

It's Spring time and i decided to use a new lavender nail polish I bought that would be perfect for the season. To top off the look I added a simple daisy print over it. Let me know if you like it!

  To get the Look:

1. Start with your favorite base coat and then paint your nails your favorite lavender nail polish. I used NYC's "Lincoln Square Lavender"

2. Next, using Bundle Monsters BM16 image plate, dab some white polish over the daisy print and scrape off the excess nail polish with your Konad scraper. 

Daisy print is in the upper right corner of the plate

3. Roll the Konad stamp over the image to transfer it onto your nail.

4. Repeat this for every nail, add a top coat, and you're done!

Rainbow Zebra

So its the week before finals and what do i choose to do? My nails! (I'm such a procrastinator so i'll probably be doing all of my studying last minute). Anyways, For my nails I used 4 different nail polishes to create a rainbow/fadeout effect and used a zebra print stencil over them. I smeared a few of my nails because i'm too impatient to wait!

1. I used 5 different colors below, starting with the blue at the cuticle and moving my way down to yellow at the tip.

Nicole by OPI "loyalty to royal-ty", Finger Paints "Aren't you glad-iolous?", Revlon "Fuchsia Fever", L'Oreal Parish "Mango-Get-em", Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "Mellow Yellow"

2. Using Bundle Monsters BM16 image plate, dip some black nail polish over the desired print (Zebra print on lower left corner). Then use your Konad scraper to wipe off the excess nail polish from the plate. Quickly roll the Konad stamper over the image and then roll the image onto your nail. Top your nails with your preference of top coat and you're done.

Polka Dot Rhinestone

May 22, 2011

Okay, so i did my nails a long time ago but never had anywhere to post them! So here's a look at how they came out and what products i used.

1. So I started off with making a horizontal line across half of my nail with the color "Pop of Poppy" from OPI's Nicole line. (I got this on clearance from Target for $1.76! original price $7)

2. Next I added silver rhinestones across the nails with Kiss' "Maximum Speed Nail Glue."

I picked up the rhinestones with a nail dotting tool for better precision of placement on the nails.

(Both the nail dotting tool and the rhinestone wheel where purchased from Ebay for $1 each. The glue I bought at Walgreens for $2.49)

3. Last i dotted the pink of my nails with a white nail polish. I used Kiss' "Nail Artist Paint & Stencil Kit" which costs about $7 at Walgreens. When you're done just add your favorite top coat and you're done!

(I lost the silver cap to the white so thats the reason it looks all nasty!)

***Hope you enjoyed the look and try it out for yourself! <3