oh hello blogging world

I told you I couldn't stay away for too long, I'd miss it too much.  So anyways Im back! (for now at least) lol. Recently a good friend (and reader) of mine asked me about a dilemma that many women are puzzled with.  And trust me, its one that every one has dealt with at some point or another, and that is.....how to make your EYELINER stay put! First things first, it depends on what you are using, gel, liquid, and creme eyeliner are all fairly long lasting and it is their intended purpose to stay put on those lids!  But I'm talking about the waterline, what do you use there? Its an area where products have a higher tendency to run and melt, so I've decided that I'm going to go on a little eyeliner adventure and try out a few new pencil eyeliners to find which is best for long wearing waterline wear (redundant lol.)  A tip I do have though, regardless of whatever liner you have is that anything with a creme, soft kohl, that type of tendency will last oodles longer if set with powder.  So if you take a TINY amount of translucent or whatever powder you prefer and gently put it under NOT ON TOP OF where you put the eyeliner, it should stay put.  But anyways, I need to find a few more eyeliners to test out, I'm thinking three different ones should suffice.  So I'll definitely keep you guys up to date with that project. In other news I can finally say that I truly recommend the NYC Matte Bronzer in SUNNNY, I'm in love with this product.  To get the best application, in my opinion, take a dome shaped or a smaller blush brush, and start from where your cheekbones meet your hairline.  Then dab the product into the hollows of your cheeks right under where your cheekbones are, don't just brush it on, pat it in, it makes a huge difference, then if you want just add a bit more anywhere the sunlight would naturally hit you.  But this method does give you really flawless cheekbones and its a great contour. I love this bronzer! If anyone wants to know more about it, let me know :) Oh okay so in other news, I was at my local TJ Maxx the other day, and for those of you who are not familiar with that store, its a store which sells a variety of inexpensive designer labels for less (way less!)  And i found the most amazing shoes, for only $10, they are gorgeous and neutral and will complement so many looks, its great to find such deals when you least expect them.  The shoes are Seychelles which is a pretty expensive brand, and they went from somewhere in the $75-80 range down to $10.  Seriously guys, when you go to store like TJ Maxx or Marshalls, the most important thing to do is to look, and have a little patience, you never know what gems you'll find.  On a last and very exciting note,  I was just given the Urban Decay Hall of Fame Set ($20) by the most amazing person ever, thank you best friend! and lemme tell you guys, I AM IN LOVE (so far.)  The set comes with five of the company's most beloved products, and on the Urban Decay website its being sold for $20 (it was originally $29 i believe.)  Honestly, this set could have been worth way more, seeing as the XL Primer Potion it comes with retails for $23 by itself.  Now everything that the beauty world has hyped up about the Urban Decay Primer Potion, is pretty much accurate.  It is one of the best eyeshadow primers I've every used.  And it makes your shadows last for hours!  Okay so more on the Urban Decay Set in a later post, my fingers are aching from typing so much haha.  Thank you so much for reading everyone! :)

fun reads,

bella

ps: kim's my fave, by far.

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)

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. 

Sorry i've been away! benefit beauty to go cosmetics set review :)

Hey guys, i've been really busy lately with a bunch of stuff in my personal life so this has gone to the wayside a little but i am back! lol i just want to thank anyone that still regularly checks this page, its greatly appreciated.  So the next item i wanna rave about is the Benefit Beauty To Go Bestsellers ($10 @ Sephora_limited time).  I actually really like this little set, and for the record it is VERY small, so please do not be shocked when you see it in person.  It's sitting in my bag right now and I've found that it does get use.  Personal favorite in whole set is the That Gal Brightening Primer ($28), this is the stuff i use when I'm feeling extremely lazy, and don't want/have the time to do my usual face routine.  I just put this on in conjunction with the Some Kinda Gorgeous ($28) and I am good to go.  My reason for liking the primer is that even though it is an alright primer it does brighten, so if the skin is feeling a bit lack luster just dab some of this on.  The foundation (some kinda gorgeous) is nice and very creamy but not full coverage, if you like sheer build-able coverage, I would recommend it.  Another item in the set is High Beam ($24) which is nicknamed supermodel in a model, i like it but i don't love it.  It is a lovely highlight, packed with shimmer, great for going out (in my opinion.) The glow is really lovely though, when it catches the lighting.  The final product included is Pose-Tint ($24), a cheek and lip stain.  I find this one to be subpar, it's a nice color, but the stain doesn't last very long at all.  It does give a very nice youthful glow though, so if your going for a very natural look this baby pink stain on the cheek might be nice.  Considering how many products you get to try out for such a cheap price, makes this kit worth it.  Another thing, you get .25 oz of the primer and the actual size only comes with .37, so you could get the full size primer amount plus a little more, if you bought two of these and still have $8 left over.  Overall i think that this set is great for travel and just for regular touchup, the packaging is adorable, and most women are guaranteed to like at least one of the products.  If you wanna try out this brand without the steep prices, this would be the way to go. (images property of their respective owners.)

fun reads,

bella

p.s. kim k is really very pretty ;)