Makeup swatches

I want to apologize for the lack of swatches I have posted on my blog.  I will try to make more time to post swatches.  However, I recommend checking out swatches from Temptalia.  I always go there to check out swatches.  Temptalia swatches are clear and pretty accurate.  I also go to that blog to check out upcoming MAC collections if you're interested.  PS.  I'm not affiliated with Temptalia in any way, but I find it very useful and wanted to share, especially since my swatches are on the slow side.

YAYY! Got a new subscriber!! :)

Awww.. I'm so excited!! I have a new subscriber :) .  All this time I wondered if anyone was reading my blog, even though people could be reading it and not becoming a subscriber for their own personal reasons.  It took me a couple months to attempt to make an account so I could add blogs I liked, then I realized as long as I had a gmail account I could add them!  I usually just added them to my bookmarks.  

Anyways, just yayy! This motivates me more to stay on top of my blog!  I wondered how search engines worked when my blog would appear, if it would be among the first page or couple pages down.  Either way,  I hope in the future more people will stumble upon my blog and find the information useful!

Thank you for subscribing!!! 

MAC Springshine Blush Ombre

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS BLUSH!! DEFINITELY HG!!

This has been described as brown which in the pan and when swiped with a finger does look brown.  It seemed very unattractive to me and didn't catch my eye at all.  I pre-judged this and put it under my "not to get list" from MAC's new spring collection.  I went to MAC to pick up Ripe Peach blush ombre but they were sold out, in every MAC counter near me and all Nordstroms.  I was sad but determined to not leave empty handed!  I looked at Springshine and swiped it with my finger- "ehhh brown, kind of like a bronzer".  I asked the makeup artist if Springshine would look good on me and she said it would. She said she was wearing it and she liked it a lot.  I had her try it on me, she applied it mostly as a contour, and it seemed ok.  She told me to swirl my brush around the whole compact to grab the light and dark colors.  I ended up buying it.

After wearing this every day since I bought it a few days ago, I love it!  It is very pigmented and one swipe delivers a good amount onto my skin for a natural look.  Also, it blends easily.  I swipe my brush in one circular motion around the pan to grab both colors then I apply this as a contour.  Then, I swipe the lighter color once and apply it over my cheeks like blush.  The finished color I get is a light orange/peach on my cheeks and a light peach-brown where I contoured.  Just beautiful!  If you over looked this blush, I highly suggest checking it out!! This is a great blush and I can see this working for any skin tone!!! This is definitely HG material and if I could buy a back up I would!  (PS. none of the other MAC blushes seemed to work for me whenever the makeup artist applied them, they always oxidized on my skin; or either irritated my skin because they didn't apply true to color, rather it made my skin red or orange.  The only other MAC blush I have is Warm Soul, which works for me.)

Mascara Mascara Mascara

Looking for great eyelashes?? Well, the search continues for many of us, but here are my thoughts on the mascara I have used.

Cover Girl Lash Blast-  I have about 3-5 bottles laying around in my makeup drawer even though I stopped using it! haha.  Each bottle has been used but I haven't thrown them away.  Anyway,  I used this for a long time.  It lengthens, gives some volume, and is BLACK.  2 coats of this and curled lashes makes me not need to apply fake lashes! :)  FYI: Once it dried, my lashes were stiff (not a bad thing for me). My friends commented on my lashes every time I wore this. I got this after purchasing Dior's famous mascara (diorshow?).  I think Cover Girl's is very comparable and similar to Dior's.  I used my Dior only 2 times and didn't like the smell it had when applying- very strong ink like smell.  I recommend trying this.

Rimmel's Eye Magnifier - I used this when I was first starting with makeup and I loved it! It definitely made my eyes look bigger!  It defined and lengthened my lashes.  I stopped using this after awhile because I wanted to try other mascara.  I think this is great for daily use as it's not too dramatic.

Rimmel Sexy Curves Mascara - Some lengthening and defining.  This definitely gives a natural lift/curl to your lashes when applied before curling your lashes.  I loved using this every day as it gave a nice natural look.  

Rimmel Extra Super Lash -  I found this mascara to be very similar to Rimmel Sexy Curves such that it lifted my lashes. This was more lengthening and made my lashes look fuller.  I used this without curling my lashes for a natural look.  It opened my eyes since it lifted my lashes.  Only negative thing I have to say is I felt the mascara didn't last at least 3 months.  It seemed to dry out and smudge after 1-2 months.  I definitely recommend trying this, especially since it's pretty cheap!  I think at Target it was $2.50 .  

L'Oreal Voluminous in carbon black - Very lengthening and thickening mascara!  However, it can get clumpy at times, so have a lash comp handy to brush out the clumps.  I prefer to use this when I really want my lashes to stand out as it's more dramatic.  I received comments that my lashes look like I'm wearing fake eyelashes.  This is very black and delivers a lot of product to your lashes.  Right now, this is my HG!  Give it a try!

Max Factor 2000 Calorie - At first, I hated this mascara.  It didn't seem to live up to its claims.  However,  this is my go to mascara when I choose to wear mascara in the day!  It barely gives my lashes volume or length, but it does a great job at defining my lashes.  I have to say that I hate the packaging.  It's a fat tube with a smooth surface which makes it very uncomfortable to hold the mascara wand and can be slippery.  I dropped the wand twice on my carpet already! :(  Besides all the negative sides to it, the best part is that I don't have to worry about it smudging!  I can wear this for over 8 hours and be guaranteed no smudges!  Therefore, I don't have to worry about checking a mirror every time or wiping underneath my eyes.  Out of all the mascara I have reviewed here, this lasted the longest on my lashes without smudging!  This alone won my heart over for it to be HG!  Unfortunately, it is now discontinued :( .  

These are all the mascaras I have tried.  I purchased these with my own money and am not affiliated with the companies or being paid to endorse these.

Besides these mascaras, I have a some on my list to try that many ladies have been raving about.  These include: 

- Maybelline Full & Soft

- Maybelline XXL <>

- Rimmel (the one in the pink bottle)

- L'Oreal (tubing mascara, the one with a primer)

I don't think I will ever buy again a high end mascara because I found that these drugstore mascaras do a great job!  They are more affordable and deliver very comparable results to high end mascara.  

L'Oreal colour juice lipgloss vs MAC lipglass

I find that L'oreal colour juice lipgloss is very comparable to MAC lipglass.  If you don't want to shell out $14 + tax for MAC lipglass, then save your money and buy L'Oreal's lipgloss!  Regular price of L'Oreal lipgloss is around $7-8, but if you get them on sale they can be as low as $1.75!!  I bought mines from CVS and they were 75% off!  

Both these lipglosses deliver SHINE!  They give you a wet, pouty lip look.  Also, they both smell good! MAC's smells like vanilla and L'oreal's is fruity.  Also, they both seem to have the same texture on the lips, sticky.  I find sticky to be a good thing because I feel they last longer this way.  

Lastly,  both these lipglosses can have shimmer and glitter flecks in them.  When the lipgloss wears off your lip may have some glitter on it.  Is this bad or good?  Can be annoying, but it just means you have to reapply the gloss so the glitter is less noticeable! haha :P  Once the gloss is on, the glitter is barely noticeable.  It's definitely not a glitter bombshell!  

I highly recommend trying these L'Oreal colour juice lipglosses!! I use the one in Caramel & Berry Burst with all my lipsticks!  Some of their glosses barely tint your lips, which makes them great because then you can wear it with all your lipsticks!  All you need is one tube and your set!  And with a low price, you won't have to worry about overusing your lipgloss!  I know with my MAC lipglass I try to save it for special occasions because I feel it runs out quick! 

Favorite liner/lipstick/gloss combinations

Recently,  I got addicted to lipstick and wanted to find my perfect nude lip, but it didn't stop there.  Also, I wanted to find a MAC lipstick that I loved or could call HG!  After hours and hours of seeing what other youtube gurus used, blogs, and makeupalley,  I found that it was best to try out the lipsticks yourself!  Trying them on your own lips may give a different effect compared to someone else's lips because everyone has a different lip pigmentation.  Therefore, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS TRY BEFORE YOU BUY! This way you can avoid any fails.  Unfortunately, drugstore products you have to buy first, I suggest purchasing at drugstores that have a beauty guarantee; this way you can return the item(s), so keep your receipts!  Stores with beauty guarantee include Rite Aid, Walgreens? ( not sure), and CVS.  You can double check this guarantee and any details on it from their website.  Anyways, let's get to my lippies! :)

These are in no particular order, I like them equally the same.  Will post pics later, but if you really want to see them, comment and I'll post asap.

HG lipliner: Revlon ColorStay lipliner in Natural (I wouldn't use this to define my lips, rather I use it to mute the color of my lips by filling them in with this liner.  It also helps lipstick stay on longer.  I can see this lipliner used underneath any lipstick color because it mainly mutes the color of your lip and I don't see it changing the color of your lipstick.)

Most used lipglosses at the moment: L'oreal Colour Juice lip gloss in Caramel, MAC love nectar lipglass 

For Nude lips

•  Revlon ColorStay lipliner in Natural, L'Oreal Fairest Nude lipstick, NYX Mega Shine lip gloss in Frosted Beige = very Pale nude (good for medium - dark skin tone) 
•  Revlon ColorStay lipliner in Natural, L'Oreal Fairest Nude lipstick, BonneBell liplites in Cappuccino = muted pale pink with slight brown/gray undertone
• Revlon ColorStay lipliner in Natural, MAC Hug Me lipstick, L'Oreal Colour Juice  lip gloss in  Bubble Gum = basically color of Hug Me lipstick, muted pink with slight brown undertone
• Revlon ColorStay lipliner in Natural, NYX Thalia lipstick, NYX Mega Shine lip gloss in Sweet heart = pale pink
• Kohl's FLIRT Honey Bun lipstick, FLIRT super shiny lipgloss in Nectar Fizz = sheer, glossy lip; great for summer or when the sun's out; not really nude color

For Pink lips

• Revlon ColorStay lipliner in Blush, NYX Tea Rose, NYX Mega Shine lip gloss in Beige
  

For Red lips

•  use any red liner (I don't have one at the moment), MAC Viva Glam VI lipstick, MAC Viva Glam VI lipgloss = red lipstick
  
• Rimmel 1000 kisses lipliner in Cherry, NYX Black Cherry lipstick = dark red lipstick, looks like a black cherry almost

Other lippies I like

• MAC Underplay (amplified) = peach/light tan with yellow undertones; gives a somewhat "golden yellow lip"
• MAC Jubilee (lustre) = muted beige-peach
  
• MAC love nectar lustreglass = gives a wet, pouty lip look and can give a tint of warm (dark) peach
• MAC Touch, NYX Mega Shine lip gloss in Natural = muted brown
  
• MAC Lovin' it lipstick = makes your face pop and look a bit "made up", brown/red in color; if you are tired of red lips then this is a good alternative
• L'oreal Colour Juice lip gloss in Berry Burst = used to add a tint of pink, has minimal glitter (read below)
• L'oreal Colour Juice lip gloss in Caramel = used to add a tint of tan/brown, has minimal glitter in it but not barely noticeable once applied to lips, however once it dries on your lips there will be glitter flecks on them- but this is the case also with MAC lipglasses
  

What I store my makeup in

Initially, I used this fold out organizer from 'the Container Store'.  I would recommend this for beginners because it has brush holders and 2 zipper pouches which you can store your makeup in.  I no longer store my everyday makeup in this organizer, but I do use this whenever I travel.  

Cost: ~$20 (However, I saw they sell similar products like this at Walmart and Target with a lower price tag!)

As my makeup collection increased,  the above organizer did not hold everything I needed.  I started to use random boxes as shown below to hold my makeup.  The left box is from Hickory Farms when my family received a gift such that this box contained crackers and a sausage.  The box to the right is the shipping box I received when I ordered a product from MAC.  (Please note I kept more makeup products in these boxes than show, but I already transferred my makeup to my next storage organizer.  For this picture, I just placed a few makeup products in the boxes for show.)

My new makeup storage organizer is as shown.  These 2 cases came together and were from Estee Lauder.  I found these in my mom's closet. :)   I think she must have received it as a free gift when she made a purchase.  I put 2 small containers inside to hold certain makeup products and separate them.  The smaller case has brush holder loops that are great to hold some of your brushes!  It also has space to add other makeup in this smaller case.