Favorites: Cream Eyeshadow

As you guys may or may not already know I'm a huge fan of cream eyeshadow. They're great for a quick wash of color on the lid or applying on the go since you don't need a brush to apply them. You can also use a darker color for the outer corners as well or as a base for your eyeshadow. What I look for in a cream eyeshadow is one that is creamy and easy to apply without too much tugging on the lids, pigmented, so it doesn't require too much layering and long-lasting without creasing. I also have fairly oily lids.

First up are the Essence Stay All Day Long Lasting Eyeshadow. I've been using these for the past 2 weeks now and I find the formula to be pretty similar to the Maybelline Color Tattoos. They're creamy and pigmented and last about 8-9 hours on me, without primer, before it starts to look a bit creased and faded. It usually isn't a problem since I carry my cream eyeshadow with me. The best thing about these is the price, they're only 3 dollars for 5.5g of product. These are available at Ulta in the U.S., now I only wish they carried the whole range of colors since they're all beautfiul.

The Maybelline Color Tattoos ($6-7 for 4g of product) have been raved about ever since they've come out to drugstores. Like the Essence cream eyeshadows, they're also creamy and pigmented, lasts 8-9 hours on me, without any primer. I find Bad to the Bronze is similar to Essence Coppy Right in color, Coppy Right is slightly lighter and warmer though. I think Maybelline should come out with more wearable colors as I'm not a very big fan of brights.

My first ever cream eyeshadaw is the MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study that I got 4 and a half years ago and is still creamy. These are the most expensive of the bunch at $17.50 for 5g of product, but they're worth every penny. Of the three, MAC's Paint Pots have the widest range of colors. These are also creamy and pigmented and last about 7-8 hours on me, without primer.

With a good eyeshadow primer I'm sure all of these will last even longer than they already do. I'd also like to add that I've also tried the NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencils, which are okay I find that they do crease on me so I have to use a primer and set with shadow and I just don't always have time to do that in the morning. 

Yet Another Ulta Haul

Hello everyone! Sorry for the lack of posts over the past week, it's just that school has started up again but expect a few posts this weekend. 

Nothing makes me more excited than affordable, high quality products, so be expecting reviews on most I have gotten, if not all of them. After this I will *attempt* to put myself on a no-spend, but I'm not making any promises.  

From what I know Essence is a brand available at German drugstores, whose products are extremely affordable. Price wise they're about the same as Wet N' Wild or NYC. As you guys may already know I love a good cream eyeshadow and these are great. The Essence Stay All Day Long Lasting Eyeshadow are $2.99 each, making them one of the cheapest I own. They're very creamy and pigmented. On Ulta's website they only have these 3 colors available unfortunately, cause all of the colors are lovely and I would buy them all up. Cream eyeshadow overview coming up soon.

The Essence Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner is a felt tip liquid eyeliner. Priced at an affordable $2.79, I'm excited to try this cause I've heard nothing but good things. Liquid eyeliner overview coming up.

Also got the Essence Eyebrow Designer in 02 Brown ($1.49). Haven't given this a try yet so I have no thoughts on it so far but it looks like a good match for my dyed brown hair.

Even though I love my Imju Fiberwig mascara I always like trying out new products to see how they compare and with Essence's affordable prices it doesn't hurt your wallet too bad. From left to right, Maximum Definition Volume Mascara ($3.99), Multi Action False Lashes Mascara ($3.49), Get BIG! Lashes Volume Boost Mascara ($2.99), I Love Extreme Volume Mascara ($3.99), All Eyes On Me Mascara ($1.99)

The Essence Stay With Me Longlasting Lipgloss ($2.29) are lipglosses that have a sweet candy scent. I actually really like these lipglosses and I'm a lipstick person. They're not very sticky and provide a decent amount of color. You can't beat the price either. Review coming soon.

Also picked up the EOS lip balm set ($5.99) that comes with the passion fruit and strawberry sorbet ones. Like everyone else in the world, I love everything about these lip balms, from their scents to their shapes. And how could I not resist in getting them in these cute, limited edition, pastel colored packaging? Although I've seen the pink one sold seperately so maybe it's just the purple passion fruit one that is limited edition?

I've promised myself that I would try and take better care of my skin from now on so I got the Formula 10.0.6 So Totally Clean Deep Pore Cleanser ($5.99) in the original formula. It's not actually a cleanser but a toner. I havn't tried it yet but I've heard good things. Will share my thoughts once I've given it a good try. 

From the same brand I got the Deep Down Detox Ultra-Cleansing Mud Mask and the Pores Be Pure Skin-Clarifying Mud Mask (both $5.99). I love trying facial masks, they're a good pick me up when I feel like my skin is looking a bit dull. Everything from this brand is affordable and I absoulutely love the packaging of these products, it's simple, clean and eye-catching.

Along with the 2 other masks, I got these two from the Freeman Brand. They have a lot of choices to choose from for all different skin types and are all priced at a affordable $3.99. Most of the ones I was interested in were sold out already but I still managed to pick up the Cucumber Peel-Off Mask and the Avocado & Oatmeal Clay Mask. 

I will admit that I am a very nice person to my hair. I don't always condition it and sometimes I don't use a heat protectant. I have long waist length hair with fairly damaged ends. I bought the One 'N Only Argan Oil Treatment in an attempt to not completely destroy my hair. I didn't want to spend the ridiculous $50 price tag on other brands, so I got this one for $11.99. I've heard many good things about this product as well, will review once I've used it for a while. 

If you have any questions, please leave it in the comment section and I'll make sure to get to them as soon as I can. Goodbye everyone! 

A Few Drugstore Goodies

Hello everyone, hope all is well. I woke up Sunday morning and realized I had completely run out of facial cleanser and was running dangerously low on moisturizer. (Living in walking distance of a Walgreens is not beneficial to my wallet.) I picked up the Simple Moisturizing Facial Wash, priced at $7.99, I thought I would try it since it claims to be the UK's best selling skincare line.  I also picked up the Garnier Nutritioniste Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel Cream, I really love this moisturizer, I'm on my fourth jar.

Along with the skincare products I thought I would also get some Maybelline products since they were buy one, get one 50% off.

I got the Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner Pen in Black (costs around $7-8). I've used it yesterday and this morning and I really like it so far, it's incredibly black. My only complaint is that the tip it a bit too flexible. Will be doing a review soon.

I also got the Maybelline Master Shape Eyebrow Pencil in Soft Brown (costs around $7-8). On one end it the eyebrow color and on the other end is the brow brush. The bristles on the brush is shorter than your average brow brush, but I find that it works better. Review also coming soon.

I also picked up the Maybelline Baby Lips lip balm (around $4-5) in the color Cherry Me which gives a sheer cherry (obviously) color on the lips. It's nice and smooth, moisturizing and light on the lips, everything I look for in a lip balm. I'm not sure if each lip balm has an individual scent or not, but this one smells *ah-mazing*  like cherry fruit punch. The spf 20 is also a plus.

As you may or may not know already, I'm a sucker for cream eyeshadows. I planned on getting the Color Tattoo eyeshadows (around $6-7) a lot earlier but in my Walgreens they were hidden away at the very top shelf of the Maybelline section that me and my 5'2 frame could not see or reach. The only color I really wanted the most was Bad to the Bronze, but seeing as how amazing they are I might pick up a few more in the future. They're creamy, pigmented, affordable and last amazingly without primer.

Goodbye everyone, I hope your having/had a lovely day!

Goodbye My Allowance, It Was Nice Knowing You

Hello everyone! I popped into MAC today with my empties in hand, but of course me being me I didn't leave with just the lipsticks that I was planning to Back2MAC for. I also picked up 2 paint pots that have been on my wishlist for almost a year now.

I'm  a big fan of the MAC paint pots ever since I bought my first one almost 4 and a half years ago and it's still going strong. These pots of creamy goodness (:P) are great for just applying a quick wash of color to the lids or as a base for your eyeshadow. People with oily lids may want to apply a primer underneath to prevent creasing. I think these 2 colors will look great during the summer as well. Rubenesque is a peachy-pink with a golden duo-chrome and Indianwood is a golden-orangey bronze. Paint pots are $17.50 each, and I realized that the price has gone up a dollar from when I first bought one. :/

The original reason for me going into MAC was to exchange my empties that I have been saving for a few lipsticks. I now realize that the three lipsticks I got are all very similar to each other but I love all of them none the less. I have a slight obsession with anything and everything coral or peach colored, I can't help it. I don't hear many people talking about ravishing or crosswires, I think it's cause they look a bit boring in the tube, but I think they're gorgeous. I also think these shades will be great for spring and summer. MAC lipsticks are normally $14.50 each.

• Ravish is a beautiful peachy coral color. It is a cremesheen formula which is my favorite formula that MAC has to offer. 
• Crosswires is more of muted cherry red coral. It is also a cremesheen formula.
• Vegas Volt is a pretty popular coral from MAC, it's more of a true coral compared to the other two. It is a amplified formula, which is my second favorite formula.

Hope you guys have enjoyed this post. If you have any post requests for me please say so in the comments and I'll make sure to make note of it. Until next time, goodbye everyone!

Makeup Regrets

You know those products that you buy cause you think they'll be life changing and completely amazing. Well this post is dedicated to those products that are not.

1. NYC Bronzing Face Powder is bargainus at $3 but it lacks any pigmentation to achieve any sort of bronzed look. Many people adore this bronzer but I had to keep swirling my brush inside the product and applying it to my face, expecting some sort of result.

2. MAC Bronzing Powder in Golden is another bronzer that lacks pigmentation. For the price that it is you would expect some sort of result as well, it did give me one, but not the result I was expecting. It left a ton of golden glitter on my face, that's right GLITTER, not shimmer but glitter. I got swooped up in the limited edition packaging craze and ordered this online, I guess I kind of deserve it.

3. MAC Feline Kohl Power is supposed to be the best black eyeliner that MAC has to offer. Yes, it is creamy and yes, it is extremely black. It just doesn't stay put no matter what you do. Within an hour or two I have proper panda eyes. Sorry but I just don't see the hype.

4 & 5. L'oreal The One Sweep Sculpting Blush Duo in Nectar (4) and Poppy (5) is another product that lacks any pigmentation. AT ALL. Poppy sort of shows up on your finger (after rubbing your finger on it like a maniac) but is extremely chalky and nectar is just nothing. Why do companies bring out such fail products?! 

6. Revlon Colorstay is a much loved product in the beauty community. I will admit there was a time where I loved this as well but not so much anymore. While it is a decent foundation, it isn't the best foundation. Shade range could be better, gets cakey easily, dries way too quickly and the smell is horrific.

7. Revlon Colorstay 12 Hour Eye Shadow in Berry Bloom was bought in that stage when I first started collecting makeup. That stage where you have to buy everything you see, just cause you "have to." They're pretty nice eye shadows with decent pigmentation, but purple is just *not* my color. The claim that it lasts 12 hours is just ridiculous as well.

8. Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Pink Please is such a beautiful color. Unfortunately when purchasing it, I didn't realize that it had gone bad and smells horrible, like burnt plastic. As I've mentioned in another post, please check these lipsticks before purchasing, other than that I adore this range of lipsticks.  

Some of these products are about 3-4 years old and some are more recent. I have a whole box of makeup I don't use/don't like so expect more regret posts in the future, mainly drugstore products, nothing too fancy. Until next time, good bye everyone!