zodiac makeup | aquarius

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2014 favorites | makeup part 3: eye makeup!

Of course eye makeup will have its own post... For me, it's the most fun part about makeup, even though I don't have the time to play around with it every day. Here's the list of eye makeup that I find myself using consistently!

november favorites

It's a little bit late for my November favorites, but at least it's not late December? I didn't do one last month because I didn't have many favorites I particularly liked throughout the month. For the ones that I did enjoy using, I started using them near the end of the month so there wasn't a lot of time for me to form an opinion on them other than "I like this!"

So without further ado, here are my favorites from November and a little bit of October!

Urban Decay Naked2 Basics is a palette I've been reaching for almost every time I do my eye makeup. I thought I really didn't need the original Naked Basics palette because I saw it as shelling out the extra money for the convenience of often-used shadows in a single palette, and of course I thought the same for Naked2 Basics. While it's kind of true, I also don't have anything quite like the shades in this one and I like that I'm getting a lot of use out of it. You can read the full review here.

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque, I love you. If you don't know already, I have terrrrible dark circles that just won't go away Of course getting a few days of good sleep helps, but even so it's still a tad noticeable. One of the associates at Sephora helped me pick out this concealer when I told her about my dark circles problem, and she said these are supposed to go underneath your concealer/foundation to cancel out the discoloration. It works like a charm, and my under-eye area looks even more rested compared to using only concealer.

Formula-wise, YSL Rouge Volupte Sensual Radiant Lipsticks are the best I've tried so far. I only have (had) two of them: Beige Ultimate and Peach Passion. I wouldn't say it's balmy, though it's definitely nourishing like a balm. It's super wearable even on bad lip days, how the heck did YSL manage to create something like that? I did end up returning Peach Passion, though. There wasn't anything different about the formula, but unfortunately I didn't find the color as flattering on me as they did on others. However, I do recommend the entire line if you're looking for a great lipstick.



And lastly, the very basics: a primer and a sunscreen. One of Laura Mercier's primers made it in my September favorites and it worked wonderfully, but it had a slight white cast to it with flash photography and that was a no-no when it came to taking pictures with my Instax camera if the flash fired. So I went for her (probably) original primer, which is just called... Foundation Primer. It's a water-based primer and it works a lot better than a silicone-based one. I found that silicone-based primers made my foundation and concealers patchy, while this one makes them look like a second skin!

The sunscreen I've been loving is Clinique Broad Spectrum SPF50 Sunscreen. Prior to this I've used Algenist Ultra Lightweight UV Defense Fluid SPF50 (a drying alcohol as the third ingredient - no thanks!) and Ole Henriksen Protect the Truth SPF50+ Sunscreen (pilled up horribly - think of it like rubbing dried glue off your hands). Clinique's sunscreen goes on very nicely, doesn't have any drying ingredients, doesn't create pillings, and is fragrance-free which is always great when it comes to skincare. Plus, it's inexpensive relative to the other two sunscreens mentioned before. I haven't taken any pictures with flash when I wore this, but hopefully the white cast (if any) won't be too noticeable.

What were some of your favorites this month? Leave me a link if you've written one, I'd love to see what you've been loving :)

review | naked2 basics palette

naked2 basics - purchased at sephora

I'm very late on the Urban Decay Basics palettes. When the first Naked Basics came out, everyone was all over that. Meanwhile, I convinced myself that I didn't need it - I felt like it was so hyped because it was convenient having all these super neutral shades in one palette. I don't remember what made me purchase the Naked2 Basics... Perhaps it was the VIB sale?

A closer look at the shadows. It's a very nicely sized palette - compact enough to make it easy for travel or chucking into the makeup bag, but has a decently sized mirror for touch ups. Do the lines around the pans drive anyone else nuts? It looks like it's made of cardboard or cardstock (which I did believe it was, before I actually checked it out in-store), though it's actually plastic. Of course it doesn't have anything to do with the overall quality of the palette, it's just a peeve of mine.

Obligatory swatches. Surprisingly they aren't as powdery as I expected them to be. Yes, they still are a tad powdery - though most of these are matte shades, so I feel like it's to be expected.

A rundown of the shadows with UD's descriptions and my comments, if any:

• skimp (pale nude satin) » The only semi-matte shade in the palette. I like this for highlighting my inner corner, though it's not my favorite.
• stark (nude-pink matte)
• frisk (warm gray matte) » I loooove this one as a transition shade!
• cover (muted red-brown matte)
• primal (muted brown matte) » One of my favorites for darkening any other shadows.
• undone (deep, smoky brown matte) » The chalkiest of the bunch. I get a little bit of fallout if I'm not careful. I still like this one a lot, it's nice for smoking out the bottom lashline or using it as a soft eyeliner.

Overall, I like this palette a lot and I'm glad I decided to get it. I find myself using something from this almost every time I do my eye makeup. It's very true to name - it's got all your basics covered, from highlights to transition shades to shades you can use to darken or smoke out just about any color.

Do you own the Naked2 Basics palette? What are your thoughts?

peachy eyes and peachy lips

Slowburn is one of my favorite shades in the Urban Decay Electric palette - review on that will be coming up soon! Anyway, it's a bright neon orange in pan, but it comes off with a coral tone when swatched and I think it's super pretty - so of course it's the first one I want to use!

(Why are my eyebrow hairs so shiny?)

Can we just stop for a moment and admire my eyelashes? THEY NEVER TURN OUT THIS WAY AND I'M LOVING THEM but it's just too bad they probably won't be like this for a loooong while.

I forgot what I used for this eye look though, besides slowburn near the center of the lid and the Naked 2 Basics palette on some other parts. Heck I even forgot if I used foundation on this day - I need to start writing this stuff down, haha. The lipstick is YSL Peach Passion, though! :)

review | urban decay nail color in addiction

Hi! Today I'm reviewing Addiction, the second of the three Urban Decay polishes I bought from Nordstrom Rack. I would describe this one as a green-gold - packed with yellow-gren and evergreen shimmers that shift to a chromey gold. Wonderful selection of descriptive words here, but I probably don't know what I'm talking about.

Learning to do closeups is an art that I haven't mastered yet.



PROS:

• Like Vice, it was really easy to work with - great consistency, not too thick or too thin.
• At first I was on the fence about it, but I actually really like the color! It has a slight gold shift, but depending on the lighting it can look more greenish or more goldish. I think is pretty unique.

CONS:

• Even though I did two coats, three would be better for good measure. I can see some patchy areas if I hold my nails up to the light, though nobody really looks that closely anyway....

I actually like Addiction a lot more than I thought I would. I normally only use greens in nail art, but I can see myself wearing just this. It also reminds me a lot of Christmas tinsel decorations.

review | urban decay nail color in vice

As promised, here's one of the Urban Decay polishes I said I would review! Something good must be happening, because I'm actually doing what I said I would do. Anyway! This color is called Vice, and it's an eggplant purple with red and blue micro shimmers.

Under direct sunlight, where the micro shimmers are more apparent. Kind of ugly photo especially with my pilly sleeve, it's something I have to work on I guess. Or get a macro lens, which I'm seriously considering for posts like this. Of course I'm sure it'll come in handy for other photos too... but it's probably mostly for nail polish close ups.

PROS:

• It's sooooo pigmented and opaque, it's crazy. Seriously, this truly a one-coat polish.  I did two coats out of habit, but I left it at one coat on my ring finger. You can't even tell the difference!
• Super easy to work with - no gloopiness, but it's not super thin that you'd need more than one or two coats. It's a nice consistency, I hope it won't change too much as I continue to use it!
• The packaging, swoooon.

CONS:

• The color itself isn't anything too special and I feel like I could find a similar color elsewhere. I wouldn't buy it for the full price at $15, but it's not bad for $5 at Nordstrom Rack.
• There's a slight golden flecks in the bottle, but it's not noticeable on the nails - I think it would have been pretty if they were, but oh well.

Do you own this polish, or something similar? What are your thoughts?

urban decay nail color

zodiac / addiction / vice

Will be doing a review on these Urban Decay nail colors soon - but meanwhile, let's swoon at the packaging. Even if I ended up disliking these, they make for great decoration ;)

And now that I look at it I probably should have wiped off my grubby fingerprints, haha!

it could be a tutorial...

But it's not.

Yeah I dunno. Mostly playing around with Urban Decay's Ammo palette (one of my favorites!), Tarte's Rainforest After Dark palette, and my camera. Cause I tried but picture tutorials are a lot harder than they look so I ain't posting something that I will immediately regret. Maybe next time!

Oh and uh I really like how my freckles turned out in the first picture. Whenever I do foundation I like putting on just the sheerest layer so it'll even out my skin without covering up my freckles or beauty marks. Also you can see ALL THE BUMPS AND FINE LINES (and peach fuzz, and those eyebrow hairs that I broke while trying to pluck) on my skin with this camera. Good stuff here.

haul | sephora vib sale

My purchases from Sephora's sale, because I have no self control. May I also add that my sister and I bought nearly the same things? The only things she didn't get are the Bobbi Brown brush, NARS eyeshadow primer, and the First Aid Beauty exfoliator. We concluded that it's because she's going back to Ohio in a few weeks and we can't have the luxury of abusing using each other's makeup and skincare for a long time.

bobbi brown | blush brush

I don't know how to justify spending $50 on a brush. Sorry, yo.

nars | smudge proof eyeshadow base

I've been using Urban Decay's Primer Potion up until this point. I've been noticing that it tends to get a little cakey and not blend as well. It's not just the current one I have, but the ones I've used in the (semi recent) past too. Lots of people rave about this one, so I'm hoping it'll exceed my expectations.

tarte | amazonian clay 12 hour blush in exposed

I've heard tons of good things about Tarte, and I've always wanted to try their blushes. I remember Coco featuring Exposed in a post, and it's been on my wishlist ever since.

dolce & gabbana | the blush luminous cheek colour in tan 22

Aka 'why did I spend $45 on a blush??' (blame Claire).

first aid beauty | ultra repair face moisturizer

My sister has a bottle of this and I really liked it, so I bought one of my own. Now that warmer weather is approaching, I don't want to be using a heavy moisturizer in the daytime. This one is perfect!

urban decay | chill makeup setting spray

This isn't a new product to me - I've raved about setting sprays a ton and I always recommend them to people that can't seem to get their makeup to last without touching up. My favorite brands are Motives and Urban Decay, so I get either one depending on which is more convenient for me at the moment.

first aid beauty | facial radiance polish

Got this as a 100 point perk in a deluxe sample, mostly because I'm looking for a gentle exfoliator to bring with me when I go to Canada.

urban decay | naked 3

I'll admit that I totally lusted over this just because everyone else was talking about this. It quickly lost my interest afterward - I was mostly thinking "it's pinky toned, so it might make me look sick." It wasn't even initially going to be a purchase, but once I saw it in store I knew I had to have it even without swatching. It's a beautiful palette, and I don't regret it at all!

Did you guys get anything from the sale? Let me know in the comments!

Until next post,

Becky 

some favorites + i'm back!

First off - so, so, so sorry about the unexpected, unannounced hiatus. I don't have an explanation - I just haven't really been feeling it lately. I've also been avoiding this blog and blog-related emails like the plague, so I apologize for that as well. Anyway, onto the post - I thought it might be appropriate to introduce some products I've been liking a lot during my time away from here n____n

fresh | sugar lychee rollerball

Finally, a perfume that I can say I truly love and look forward to putting on every day. There are some others that I like, but I can't say it's something I would want to use every day. It's a nice, light, and fresh scent - quite sweet, a little floral, a little spicy when the top notes start wearing off. I won't bother going on any further with describing the scent since I'm not the best at that - you'll just have to give it a spritz (or in this case, a roll) when you get the chance.

nars | radiant creamy concealer in honey

My favorite concealer by far. I'm skeptical of all concealers in general, but I remember Rikki mentioning it in one of her posts. It doesn't look cakey, powdery, or find its way into fine lines like most concealers I've tried. It's also really easy to work with and doesn't catch onto dry patches, which is a huge plus for me. Honey in particular is great for masking stubborn under eye circles.

skincraft organics | fresh cut deodorant

I hated using deodorant in the past because the store-bought ones always leave a waxy film that's difficult to get off in the shower. Yes, I'm aware I give off a terrible stench when I sweat (everyone does!). No, I'm not putting deodorant on. Since this little gem came into my life, I've been looking forward to putting deodorant on every day. Which sounds silly, because deodorant is one of the least glamorous things out there. I love that it's made from natural, organic ingredients that don't do harm to your body. It doesn't smell like jasmine and ylang ylang like the description says, but it's still a pleasant scent. You will still sweat - and that's a good thing, because that's what your body was made to do - but offending body odors will be kept at bay.

urban decay | grindhouse sharpener

At first glance, I totally wasn't going to shell out $10 for a freakin' pencil sharpener. I decided to give it a try anyway when I needed an extra bump for free shipping and couldn't find anything else with a small price range. It has a smaller sharpener for eyeliners, and a bigger one for shadow sticks. Blows. Me. Away. Never before have I sharpened a pencil with such ease, sharpness, and precision - ok I'll stop. Did I mention that it doesn't break the tip off either? But seriously, it's worth the hype and price.

korres | lip butter in jasmine

One of the best lip care products I've tried. I dislike that it comes in a pot that you have to dip your finger in, because it's more prone to getting little pieces of dust in the lip balm and that just drives me nuts. That, and it's not exactly sanitary to be dipping a (possibly) dirty finger into which is why I only use it when I can wash my hands (aka home). Other than that, it's a nice and basic little product that keeps my lips moisturized and happy! Also, this smells nothing like jasmine. It's still a nice scent, though.

Until next post (and I promise it won't be 2 months later),

Becky