update!

im sorry for being away everyone! Just been extremely busy with school and what not.  I hope that everyone is having a great week, lol two more days til the weekend theres something to look forward too.  Anyways oh so currently testing a few products at the moment:
a) NYC Matte Bronzer in Sunny (swatch was in the post before this one): thoughts so far, I like it, not too much color for me so its just perfect to even everything out.  And its really great for easy contouring. It glides on very easily, I just use either a angled blush brush or a big fluffy brush, both methods have different outcomes but the finished product look very natural and effortless, the fact that its a drugstore item makes it even better! The Ulta that I went to had it in stock but I had heard rumors on the blogs that it was being discontinued and pulled from drugstores, I'm most likely repurchasing next time I go to CVS or a Duane Reade, its definitely worth the money.
b) NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils: honestly you guys, I've been using the matte white (milk) every day, even if its just for the tear duct, they are just so smooth! Little warning though, I'd be careful about using these in the waterline as they do transfer easily, so if you don't mind the smudgy look than go for it. Other than that really pleased.
c) Olay Complete All Day Moisture SPF 15 Lotion ($10.99 at most drugstores): So far not bad at all, after that Neutrogena disaster, I wanted to try something different, and this has been working well so far. It is a little bit thick for my skin but i don't mind it at all, more on it later.

Oh and I've been obsessed with this song since yesterday, so sweet: B.o.B Nothin' On You
check it out!
(these are just my personal opinions, im not being sponsored by a company or endorsing anything, music property of its respective owner.)

p.s. Katherine McPhee as a blonde is very cute, loving the makeup.

Ulta Buys :)

I was at Ulta yesterday, which is a beauty/salon store for those that didn't know, and i picked up a few needed things.  I wanna wait a few days before I do a full review on all of these products, just so I can test them out and give you guys my honest opinion on them.  So I picked up two NYX cosmetics jumbo eye pencils ($3.99-one in milk and the other in slate which is a dupe for MAC's Sharkskin), NYC cosmetics Smooth Skin Bronzing Face Powder in Sunny ($2.99), Redken Satinwear 02, and some refills of products I already had.  I was super excited for the NYX pencils though, I've heard so much about them and I'm just really excited to try them out and do a few looks with them.  The Satinwear is a blow out lotion, and its used to prep your hair before you blow dry it, it works amazing plus it smells great :)  The NYC matte bronzer is another product I was excited to try because a) its being discontinued! :( b)its matte, most bronzers are shimmery this one gives you the perfect amount of all over color or just enough for some natural contouring of the cheeks and nose.  I will definitely let you know how that one goes, but its only $3 and you cant go wrong with that price, so its worth trying out for sure.  The NYX pencils were buy one get one free, which is the promotion Ulta is running on all NYX products this week, so if your looking to try out any of there stuff, now would be a great time to do so.  Initial reaction to the pencils are that they are super creamy and make a wonderful color base! They can really amp up a color and deepen it for more dimension, but I'll do a separate review on those soon, so look out for that :)  Here are just some pictures of the bronzer&pencils and some swatches of the colors, milk is a matte white & slate is almost metallic navy blue.

fun reads,

bella

ps: classic beauty

(This is just my opinion, I am not trying to endorse any products here.)

super easy natural eye makeup remover! and review for wet n' wild mega eyes creme eye liner (MAC dupe)

hello lovely readers, i know its been a few days and I've just been busy with school and work and valentines day<3 haha but yeah so im back! And i've got a few amazing tips and tricks for you all.  I was watching the flawless Michelle Phan on You Tube (heres the link to her channel) and she made this video about a natural eye makeup remover so ofcourse i was intrigued, i love my high end stuff but im a sucker for organic.  Her tip was to use EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL not the regular kind ladies, EVOO, as Rachel Ray would say.  But she was right, I tried it out on the product I'm going to review next but seriously it works! It works better than my makeup remover actually lol so I'm super pleased with it.  Yay for natural fixes! But anyways after the gym, I stopped by Rite Aid yesterday, and let me tell you they have Jesse's Girl Cosmetics there! I never knew that, but i had seen it in a few of my fave guru's videos so I was pleased to find it in my local drugstore.   But anyways they were having a 40% off sale on Wet N' Wild Cosmetics, which as you all know, I'm all for using cheap alternatives if they are of good (or better) quality than their high end counterparts.  I picked up the Wet N' Wild Mega Eyes Creme Eye Liner in black for $2.80 (with tax), what a great price!  So i went home took it out of the packaging (its cruelty free btw, no animal testing), and immediately tried it out.  And boy was I impressed with this stuff, now I've used MAC's Fluidline in Blacktrack before i and i have to say that this is MUCH better.  I hate to say that but its true.  It's also way better than L'Oreal HiP Color Truth Cream Eyeliner in black, which retails for like $12 or something like that, the one i bought was dry, hard, and the brush was horrible.  But this eyeliner I'm in LOVE with.  It's very creamy, dries opaque and to a true matte finish, plus the brush actually works.  I prefer to use my own brushes but this one is not bad at all.  This liner stays put too, seriously it will not come off unless you use eye make up remover or the extra virgin olive oil I mentioned previously, but anyways Wet N' Wild creme eyeliner gets two thumbs up from me, I think I'll be using it today :)  (Thats just my opinion, I am not trying to endorse any products here!) 

lol obviously i love it so far, hence the usage :)

and heres what the liner looks like after 6 hours of work:

pretty amazing stuff :)

fun reads,

bella

ps: kim's vegas magazine look, its old i know but beautiful none the less.

Blizzard Blue Crayola Crayon Inspired Look-for the kid in all of us

As you all already knew from my last post, it was snowing out so i wanted to do an ice princess sort of look, but that didn't really work out.  So instead i was looking through a box of 72 color Crayola crayons and blizzard blue caught my eye.  Its a really pretty light blue and it got me thinking I should do a look based off of it, plus the blizzard going on outside, it all just fit.

Products Used: CS 88 matte palette, FLIRT! cosmetics eyeshadow brush, a tissue, Smashbox PhotoFoundation Primer in Light, Clinique eyeshadow (I can't remember the name but its a champagne colored eyeshadow with some shimmer, so if you have anything like that it'll work just fine.), Smashbox DNA Lash Mascara in Jet Black, Kohl based eyeliner, FLIRT! Cosmetics Eyeliner Brush, CS Sparkle Blue Mica Pigment, CS Shadow brush, CS crease brush, any cream highlight with shimmer i used High Beam by Benefit Cosmetics.

*I really think this look would've looked better if I had used a primer like Urban Decay Primer Potion, which I'm thinking I'm going to have to get if I want lighter colors to really show up.  Just my thoughts on the matter. But it is a really pretty dusty, shadow look.

1.  Apply a base, and the lightest color in the CS 88 palette all over the lid, followed by the lightest shade of blue in the palette all over the lid.  Also beware of fall out, there will be a ton of it, but don't worry you can just clean that up later on.  Also apply a shade of blue a tone darker than the one all over the lid to the outer "V" and blend, take a darker color than that one and blend it into the crease using window wiper motions.

2. Apply the shimmery highlight to your brow bone for added drama, then take your eyeliner brush and your cream or gel liner and apply it to the top lash line, using short strokes, after you've made those just use the brush and connect them so you get a smooth line, a matte black liner will work great for this.  Apply it to the bottom lash line/water line as well, connect any lines you have.  Don't make a large wing at the end, just a smaller one, hugging close to the lash line will look great.

3.  Very carefully take the glitter pigment, and get it onto your eyeliner brush.  Apply it right onto the black liner you just put on, making sure to be super careful and precise.  Next take the champagne colored shadow and apply with a small pencil brush under the black liner on your bottom lashes.  This will just brighten up your face a little.  Apply a highlight to the tear duct and your almost done! Next take the Smashbox Mascara, or any other mascara you like that provides dark color pay off and drama and apply it to your lashes (top and bottom) for a va va voom look.

Thats all there is to it! Your crayon inspired look is finished! Enjoy it :)

fun reads,

bella

ps: Brigitte Bardot-flawless classic.

all images property of their respective owners,

these are just my opinions, im not being sponsored or endorsing anything.

Nothing to do with beauty or fashion but......

I wanted to spruce up the blog a bit, i don't know, it was seeming a bit blah.  I sorta tried to make a new header I don't know how well that went, but I think it looks alright for now, seeing as I am NO graphics/computer design expert. I like it, it adds that little personal touch, right? haha so yes that was my little accomplishment of the day, btw it is SNOWY at home. Out of nowhere too, but hey it looks beautiful and it sort of is inspiring me to do a ice princess, snow inspired look, hmm..? Okay so i just had to let everyone know about that.  Keep an eye out for it.

fun reads,

bella

ps: I'm loving this look from YSL beauty, totally gorgeous.

images property of their respective owners.

Fashion Find!

My mom was out shopping and she picked up a lot of shoes lol she like came home with bags, its her little thing, but she got me the cutest casual shoes ever! Well maybe not ever but they are really adorable and would be amazing with jeans and just a toned down outfit.  Plus they are ultra comfy! She got these shoes called Women's Casual Fringe Moccasin from Land's End in Sears Department Stores for.........$11.99! That's such a great price considering how cute they are, so if you have a sears close by check it out! They are on sale though so the supply might be limited, but i think these would be great for transitioning from winter to spring or any thing like that.  She got them for me in black but i just looked on the website and they have a variety of colors, they look great in plum (Red Grape) or brown (Saddle).  Check them out, what a fun find :)

thats what they look like in saddle,

you can find them in any sears store with a Land's End Department

or online: here

fun reads,

bella

p.s. i do love a well styled outfit, you go lea michele! :)

(im not trying to endorse any products, this is just my opinion. images property of their respective owners)

Green+Gold Going Out Look

So if you need a look for a special occasion or something i think this would be perfect.  I got the inspiration for this look from one that julieg713 did on her YouTube Channel and I thought it was gorgeous! This is just my take on it, I hope you guys like it:
Products Used: CS 88 matte eyeshadow palette, CS 24 Karat Gold Mica pigment, CS synthetic shadow brush, Nars custard/ginger concealer duo, Smashbox photofinish primer light, Maybeline Lash Stiletto in Brown/Black, Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eyeliner in Black, Rimmel eye liner pencil in brown, CS italian badger round crease brush, FLIRT! cosmetics eyeshadow brush, Clinique Pair of Shades eyeshadow in Golden Lynx.

1. Start off with a clean palette, prime your eyes as you wish.  I just used my concealer mixed with a little bit of the Smashbox Primer which works pretty well for me.  Then apply the Clinique shadow in Golden Lynx or any color that is very similar to your skin tone all over the lid up to the brow bone.

2. Using the CS palette take the golden shimmery color and apply it to the inner corner of your eye up to about mid way on the lid, don't go to far up like you did with the first shade. Just pack on that really bright gold color onto that portion of your eye, next take a mid tone green and apply it to the outer corner blending in as you go in.  I know its gonna look like an explosion of color but the finished look is really pretty.

3.  Using a bright orange, take a tiny amount of color and take it from the top of the green to the brow bone, and blend it right in.  Take a lighter shade of green than the first and blend that in right in between the dark green and the gold, taking it up a little higher towards the brow bone. Blend as you go along.

4.  Apply a small amount of the gold mica on the middle of the lid to transition between the gold and the green, just be careful because it gets everywhere! After you let that set, take a shade lighter than your skin tone and apply it as a highlight right under your eyebrows, it'll give them a great little pop.  Apply your liquid liner, flicking it out a little higher than usual for added height and drama and also apply your mascara, wiggling the brush at the base for a darker product deposit, do the bottom lashes as well.  

5. Take the same green you were using on the top and apply it with a pencil brush to your bottom lashes about mid way starting from the outer v, then using the same gold you used on the top take it from your inner v to meet that green on your bottom lash line.  I used brown liner on my waterline to keep the look from becoming to dark, but i think black would look great as well. And just dust off the excess gold flecks or any product that got below your eyes and voila your done! A perfect look for any special occasion. 

fun reads,

bella

p.s.: i think kim k looks gorgeous here.

Valentines Day Look: CS 88 Palette

I was so excited to get it that I just had to do a look with it, so this is my version of a valentines day look using the coastal scents 88 matte palette and ultra shimmer mica pigment.

-Start with a clean palette, a lot of people like to use Urban Decay Primer Potion or Too Faced Shadow Insurance, but i just used used my concealer.

-Apply the a light pink all over the lid with a shadow brush, really pack it on the brush so you get a good color payoff.

-Add a matte dark brown to the outer corner of your eyes, making a "V" shape, then add a shimmery brown to the crease with a crease brush.

-apply liquid or gel liner anyway you like, i used Revlon's Color Stay Liquid Liner in the darkest color, and then lightly tap some of the ultra shimmer mica onto the lid for a little bit of extra sparkle.  Add a cream or gel liner to the bottom waterline of you eye, along with the shimmery brown used in the crease over the slightly smudged liner. 

and

-add a bit more pink if you think your losing color and then apply mascara liberally, i used my all time favorite Clinique's Lash Doubling Mascara in Black.

final look :)

hope you guys enjoyed it.

fun reads, 

bella

p.s: heres a little eye candy from GQ ;)

Photo by Andrew Thomas

Coastal Scents: 88 matte palette, brush, and mica pigment review!

I am so excited about this post! Im not going to go into detail about everything in this one, just general first impressions, I'm going to have to try out the product for a little bit before my detailed review. But let me just start off my saying, kudos coastal scents! You guys are amazing! I feel like such a dork but I just got my package yesterday, it was quick (i think it took 3 days to come after I ordered it, and you could track your shipment on fedEx if you had any inquiries as to where it was). But yes I was so pumped to see this stuff, after seeing it as the staple for almost every YouTube makeup guru, i just had to try it.  I know some people may already know about this stuff and it's just kind of annoying to hear it again but for those that don't, I think it's important that they know what they are missing out on or what to know about. I ordered fourteen items, I know, it's a lot. And Im super pleased with how everything was packaged so lovely, and wrapped to perfection, and so well taken care of on it's journey from FL.   Okay so let's start:
1. Coastal Scents 88 Matte Eye Shadow Palette: (retails for $18.95 i got it for $15 during a promotion last week) a makeup artists dream, i'd suppose.  Now this is a really great palette, and you get so much product for the money!  It comes with 88 eyeshadows (a little smaller than dime sized) ranging from pale highlight colors to darker colors for more intense looks.  I had heard a lot about the pigmentation of these shadows and i have to say I'm impressed. I've used a lot of eyeshadow in my day and the only thing that really compares to these are MAC and urban decay shadows.  They have a matte or satin finish, and some of them contain the tiniest bit of shimmer which is really lovely.  I just can't get over the color selection, I think I'm gonna have to do a valentines day look with these for sure :) But yes highly recommend them. So i took a few pictures, and swatched a couple of shadows (without an eyeshadow base, imagine how pigmented they'd look with one on.)

ignore my grubby little fingerprints

im not the biggest fan of the cheesy logo but i don't mind it when the product is so great

CS 88 with the plastic cover on

aren't they gorgeous! 

ignoring my camera's weird shading of my skin tone lol

the green shade is the sixth one down in the third row

the red is ninth row seventh one down

the black is the last one down there in the corner of the last row

the purple is the last one down in the sixth row

the white is the first one in the first row

and the blue is fifth row seventh down

2. Pink Kabuki Brush ($4.99) was just my inner child wanting to have a pink brush but surprisingly i love it. It is super soft and turns out that it is real animal hair that was just dyed pink, making it an actual worthy purchase, it is super soft, and did not shed ONE hair after being washed, seriously.  The side is a teeny bit tapered and i dont know if that was just my brush or how they all are but i like that little effect.  It is perfect for putting on loose powders and even blush, which i used it for yesterday.  The overall look was very pretty, another winner for coastal scents.  Just one little thing though, the brush handle is a bit small, its not unbearably so but its just a little bit on the small size for the handle. 

Pink Kabuki-freshly washed. :)

3+4. Italian Badger Round Crease Brush ($2.89) and the Synthetic Shadow Brush ($2.95)  I am truly impressed with the quality of these CS brushes.  They are so good!  A lot of them are on par with the MAC brushes, and honestly for the price, whats not to love! So i picked up the crease brush because of the italian badger hairs and it is great!  The bristles are compact and dense, and it is very very soft.  I used this one for a look on a friend yesterday and it was awesome at getting the right amount of color into the crease. The synthetic shadow brush is good for a variety of reasons. It is versatile, because it is synthetic this brush can be used with products of different textures, it would be perfect for liquids like concealer application and wet eyeshadow.  Its also great used with regular or cream shadows, it did a really good job packing on the color and just a very smooth application.  I think these brushes are so great and such high quality, they don't look as cheap as they are either.  The wood paneled finish on the Italian Badger line is elegant and the Synthetic Shadow Brush definitely looks professional and polished.  If your looking for some high quality MAC dupes, try a few of these out.

 

close up- on the left the Synthetic Shadow Brush and next to it the Italian Badger Round Crease Brush

sans flash

with flash! (side note: i'm still wearing OPI's domestic goddess nail polish and it has JUST started to chip and i didn't use any base or top coat so it definitely would go a long with that on as well, OPI=good stuff)

all three brushes:

5+6. CS Mica Pigments (Sample Size[tsp]: $1.00) and 10 Gram Jars ($0.59) I really wanted to try out the MAC pigments but haven't had a chance to stop by the store yet, so i thought these would be a good alternative, and so far i think i did the right thing.  These pigments are so super concentrated and the color selection is phenomenal.  I chose five colors and got the sample sizes for a dollar each (steal!) and trust me it's a lot of product, your not gonna run out of it anytime soon.  I also got the jars just to store them in a way that was easier for me to use, and I have to say I really like these jars too, they're just easy and simple.  One side note for the pigments: be careful and read the description.  Make sure the colors you pick up are approved for eye use! Thats important! You don't want to damage or injure your eyes in anyway so just read before you buy.  CS is really good about writing all this information down on the descriptions.  So anyways these are so SUPER pigmented. I bought them because I got the matte shadow palette and on the days i want a bit more oomph and sparkle, I could just dust on a pigment color.  I think it was a pretty good idea.  You will need a base for these most of the time and they apply beautifully! I didn't do swatches yet but I will do a more indepth review later on when i've used them a bit more.  But overall impression: LOVE.  I got them in 24 Karat Gold, Antique Silver, Metallic Pearl Honey, Sparkle Blue, and Ultimate Shimmer.  Coastal Scents also sent a free sample of a Flamingo Pink Pigment Glitter which i have yet to try but will let you guys know how it goes.

I'm loving the colors, and the jars came in very handy!

a little side note though: the 10 gram jars wont hold all the product for some of them, I still have the little packets they came in which still have a little powder left in them but its all good. :)

That was my intial impression on all the CS stuff i got, I'll try to do a more detailed one soon! (i'm not endorsing these products or being sponsored by coastalscents.com this is just my opinion/images property of their respective owners.)

fun reads,

bella

ps: Jonathan Rhys Meyers - sexy. 

Quick Update: Favorite Things January 10'

I meant to do this two days ago lol but life got in the way, so here are my favorite things of January:

• Benefit Beauty to Go Bestsellers: I did a review about this one, and i LOVE it, it sits in my bag and is just plain handy and comes in use so often.  Great Buy :)
• Makeup Gurus on Youtube: a little hard to stop watching once you turn them on, loving the fantastic sister duo of Elle and Blair (juicystar007 and allthatglitters21) they have some great advice on there.
• Shakespeare: ahh Hamlet. time consuming but worthwhile.
• Sephora by O.P.I. nail polish in Domestic Goddess. seriously gorgeous purple. Its not dark, not light, just right for my varying moods. Im actually wearing it right now :)
• Organizing-beyond useful, annoying but so worth it. I love knowing where everything is in my room!
• Being young..only happens once :)

BTW, just ordered a whole bunch of stuff from Coastal Scents and I cant wait to review it.  There brushes are becoming quite loved by the youtube world and are supposedly very good dupes for their MAC counterparts so we'll see how that works out.  

 

Domestic Goddess by Sephora for OPI

fun reads,

bella

ps: loving the sass on beyonce ;)