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Sunday, October 10, 2010

Ouch!

Well...this happened today:
 

On top of that, my pinkie nail finally broke off on my other hand. Both index fingers broke in the past and are shorter, so now I have 3 nails on each hand and I'm looking pretty ridiculous. Time to cut em short, no point in holding on anymore :(

It's all for the best I suppose, since I need to start practicing piano now. Too bad, was hoping to be able to keep my talons until Halloween!

Speaking of Halloween (SOOOO EXCITED!!!), what is everyone thinking of being? Any good costume ideas? BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Giveaway Alert - BFTE Wizard of Oz-some Collection from Phyrra!

Hi!

Phyrra is giving away on her blog an entire BFTE Cosmetics collection - the Wizard of Oz-Some collection - which has 12 full sized mineral shadows. These colors are only available in this collection and not sold separately.

Check out her blog post for more details.  The contest ends next Tuesday, 10/12.

Good luck!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Update!

Hello Readers (new and old)!

Yesterday I tried to visit my blog and, to my surprise and horror, I got one of those "this page may not be safe" warnings. It said that I had information on my page from a different website that was hosting malware.  Turns out this site was another beauty blog which I had listed in my blog roll.  I'm not going to post the name of the site here in case it flags a warning again, but if you want to know what it is feel free to contact/email me.

After unfollowing this suspicious beauty blog and removing it from my blogroll I'm not getting this warning anymore.

So my page is safe again! I hope that didn't deter or scare anyone.

Thanks :)

Thursday, September 2, 2010

First Impressions: Wet n' Wild Color Icon Palettes

 

 I picked up these palettes (and a couple lipsticks) from Rite Aid today because they were BOGO, and after hearing a lot of positive things from bloggers I have to say that I was only halfway impressed. The matte shades (left column in each palette) were awesome, but the shimmery shades were mediocre. Actually, without a primer the shimmers were absolutely useless. I loaded up my brush with the shimmers and could barely get any color to show up when swatched. The mattes, on the other hand, were richly pigmented and smooth to apply.

 Sorry I don't have time to do a full on post with swatches of each color (need to study! 0_o), but just want to let you all know what I thought. When swatched over a base, the shimmers were fine (not outstanding), so I guess overall it's pretty good for the price (regularly $4.99 a palette). However, I think I'll end up returning these palettes and pick up some of their single, matte eyeshadows while they're on sale still. As I mentioned, I also picked up two lippies, but one of them (the color I actually liked) split right after I put it on!
BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop
In conclusion, I will probably be returning the palettes to get the single pan matte shadows, and either returning or exchanging the lipsticks as well :(

(sorry for the crappy photos, blogging from my phone again :P Anyway, back to studying!)

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Sample Makeup Jars and Contact Lens Cases!

Just a quick post from my phone!


So I've been getting some sample baggies of mineral eyeshadows recently, and I really didn't like working out of the bags. However, I don't have any special jars or containers or anything for storing these in and was looking around for stuff to keep them in.


Enter my contact lens cases! I have a bunch of these lying around, and have really found a new appreciation for these little guys! A couple of years ago I found that using them to bring along small amounts of lotion/hair gels/cleanser/etc in my carry on luggage was really handy for short term traveling. Now, I've sacrificed all of my contact lens cases for the purpose of storing makeup! I had to wash them all out and sanitize them, since some had questionable looking lotion products crusted inside :/


Anyways, here's a pic of my contact lens cases as sample makeup jars (the clear ones on the left are actual sample jars from BFTE Cosmetics - I'd love to buy some of these empty jars!)


Sample jars
EDIT: Sorry for those that have already seen this post before, but the picture turned out HUUUGE. Resized and fixed now :)



Does anyone else have any good DIY ideas for storing makeup?



Also, I will probably be on hiatus for at least a month. I'm taking my MCATs in September and really need to crack the whip on studying because I've been slacking for the past year or so....:(



This also means that I may blog more in order to avoid studying..but my goal is to stay focused and disciplined and maintain self control!



Thanks for reading!
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Saturday, July 31, 2010

Sneak Peak: More BFTE Swatches!

A while back I won a contest and got some more mineral eyeshadows from Beauty From the Earth. (yay!) Here's a quick sneak peak of the colors I chose:


Swatched dry over primer
Also, I have a serious weakness for yellow/orange/green eyeshadows!

(blogging from my phone so apologies for the brevity and crappy watermark :P) BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Giveaway Alert - Flojo Flip-Flops at Lipgloss Break!

Hey guys, sorry I've been MIA for so long. I have soooo many things to post but no time to post them :(

Here's a quick post about a giveaway over at Lipgloss Break.  She's giving away a pair (one each, I believe) of Carrie wedges and Miranda flats:

The giveaway is open to US residents only, and will run until August 20th when she will randomly select a winner. For details and more information on how to win, click here.

I'm obsessed with flip flops so I've got my eye on these shoes :)

Monday, May 17, 2010

Tropical Bird inspired look using BFTE Cosmetics


This is a look I came up with using BFTE (Beauty from the Earth) Cosmetics.  I really wanted to use the Blue, Orange, and Yellow combination...and thought of doing a look like this that was inspired by tropical/paradise birds.  I've never used tape in the corner or done a "cut the crease" look before either, so this was fun and exciting to do.

Products used:
♥BFTE Multi-Use Minerals:
-Lemon
-Hangover (matte)
-Tangerine
-Blueberry
-Black
-Lace
-Very Vanilla (matte)
♥The white inner corner was from Sephora...I think it's called Alpine Snow or something.
♥ L'Oreal HIP Cream Liner (Black)



Here goes, my first ever "picture tutorial",  expect a lot of photos!
Foundation applied, nothing else. 


I will be applying this as an eyeshadow base (I love this stuff!). But first...


Apply tape from the outer corner of the eye to the end of your eyebrow (or where you would want for your eyebrows to end :) Sorry for the blurry picture!).  After putting on the tape, I then applied the eyeshadow base so that the base itself has a sharp edge as well. 


Apply Lemon to the inner third.


Apply Hangover to the middle of the lid.  I intended for this to be the "main" lid color. 


Apply Tangerine over Hangover, blending into Lemon.


Apply Blueberry to the outer V, almost up to the edge of the tape.


Blend Blueberry, bringing it over the crease and drawing it inwards toward the inner eye corner, but not all the way. Don't overblend the lines between the blue and the orange, as it will turn an ugly color!


Here's the tricky part.  I used an angled eyeliner brush to apply L'Oreal HIP cream liner (black) from the outer corner of the eye, draw up against the tape line, and then in towards the inner corner over the blue. Try to keep the bottom edge clean, but don't worry about the top of the line. 


Now, I apply BFTE's Black shadow and blend it over the black line I just drew.  Draw the shadow upwards, close to the line, but don't blend down into the other colors.  I also blended some Black into the outer corner into the Blueberry.


Now, notice that I had an empty spot at the inner corner next to the yellow under the black line.  Here, I applied the white shadow from Sephora (forget the name :P), and bring it back around the corner to the bottom lashline on the inner corner.  Here, I also reapplied some Blueberry to clean up the line and intensify the color.  I went back with the same brush and blended the black up more, which is why it has a bluish tint.


Now I apply the highlight.  Since I wanted to keep this to using as much BFTE products as possible, I worked with what I had.  Since the LA Splash base is like glue, I didn't want to immediately apply Lace because it would be too shimmery.  So, first I applied Very Vanilla (a matte color), blending it over the black and into the brow.  Then, I applied Lace over Very Vanilla right under the brow bone.  Blend blend blend!



Apply gel liner (the same that I used for the black cut crease line) along the entire upper lash line, winging out into the hard edge line of the black shadow.  I also applied Lemon, Tangerine, and Blueberry along the bottom lashline to mirror the top lid.


Ok, do the brows, waterline/tightline (I used NYC waterproof eyeliner in black), and mascara (I layered L'Oreal Voluminous, Maybelline Lash Stiletto, and L'Oreal Voluminous again). 

More Pics!



That's it! This was kind of rushed, sorry.  I've never done a makeup tutorial before, and this type of look is new to me.  But I wanted to get this done ASAP! 

As for the products, I LOVE BFTE's multi-use mineral eyeshadows.  They are sooo easy to work with and the colors are pigmented and beautiful.  My only quibble is with Black...which has been problematic for me in application (if you see my review in the last post you'll understand what I mean). 

As always, thank you for reading!  I welcome any of your feedback, criticism, or suggestions (especially since this was a new type of look and post for me).

Thanks!


Sunday, April 25, 2010

Beauty From the Earth (BFTE) Cosmetics - Swatches, Photos, and Full Review!

EDIT #2: OH MY GOD MY BLOGGER IS BROKEN!!!!! WHERE ARE ALL MY PICTURES??? Even my header picture is gone!!!!! *cries*  I don't even know what to do anymore, I'm going to bed. I will leave this post up..and fix the pictures later hopefully :(Nevermind, fixed!!! ^_^


♥EDIT: Apparently through all of my back and forth editing/formatting, I've broken many of the links to my pictures. You won't be able to click to enlarge all of them, but if you right click and copy the image url and open it in another window you should still be able to see the enlarged photo. Sorry! :( I'll try to fix this later if I have time..but going in and editing the HTML right now is going to make me pull my hair out!

Ok, as a follow up to the sneak peak from last week, FINALLY here is the full - IN DEPTH (I'm serious) -review for my Beauty From the Earth (BFTE) Cosmetics products! This was kind of a big project for me (I think I spent way too much time on) because I wanted to try and do a proper review.  Even though I've had this blog for about a year now, I'm still relatively new to doing "makeup" posts and not nail polish posts, so I wanted to get it right from the beginning.  If you guys have any feedback or criticism I would welcome it.  I already know a really bad habit of mine is to ramble on..and on...and on....so this will probably be a long one!  It will be everything that I want to know about a product when researching them online :)

To recap, I will be reviewing the following products from BFTE:
♥ Mineral Foundation - Warm Honey
♥ Mineral Veil - Tawny
♥ Mineral Blush - Georgia Peach
♥ Multi-Use Minerals - Addicted, Hangover, Tangerine, Lemon, Envy, Grassy, Blueberry, Grape, Big Ego, Lace, Whisper, Very Vanilla, and Black.

The foundation, mineral veil, and blush (bottom row) were all full sized.  The top 12 jars are all multi-use minerals and are in small, sample jars.  I will post a few packaging photos at the end, for kicks. 


First, some group pictures taken outside on a beautiful, sunny day:
(Unless otherwise noted, all swatches were dry and over an eyeshadow base. I used LA Splash - Splash Proof Sealer.  To see what the pigments look like swatched dry and directly on skin, check out my previous post here.  BTW I ♥LOVE♥ the LA Splash eyeshadow sealer/base, it works wonders and is SOOOO cheap at only $6.99!!! When I have time I plan to do a review on it because it is awesome! ).
Top Row: Lace,  Whisper, Very Vanilla
Second Row: Blueberry, Grape, Big Ego
Third Row: Lemon, Envy, Grassy
Fourth Row: Addicted, Tangerine, Hangover

Left: Black, Right: Whisper (over dark base)

Top: Georgia Peach
Bottom: Warm Honey, Tawny

Now for the color by color review and lots of pictures! Italicized descriptions are quoted from BFTE's website.  My comments were made independently of their description so I may be repeating or conflicting with BFTE's descriptions  :)

♥ Addicted ♥
"Warm red base with cool red shimmer, making this the perfectly balanced ruby red. Looks metallic applied wet, and this is fabulous for the lips" - BFTE

Addicted is a metallic, darker red with an almost bronze/brick cast to it. It is fairly well pigmented, but I would use this wet or over a base. I've heard of people using this on lips (mix it with a gloss, etc.).  Definitely not as bright as the picture on their website, though.

(Also, unrelated but I thought it was interesting how in the jar the pigment just sticks to itself and not to the plastic.)


♥ Tangerine ♥
"Brilliant juicy  medium orange with golden shimmer" - BFTE

Tangerine is a shimmery orange with very fine sparkles. In the swatch it looks a bit bronzy, but it's just orange (more on the yellow side).  It's not a super bright orange. I wouldn't say that it is sheer, because it's well pigmented, but just not very brightly if that makes sense. Almost has a frosty/metallic quality to it, but not quite.


♥ Hangover♥
"Smooth Matte Orange yellow" - BFTE

Hangover is a matte, bright orange. I expected this color to look terrible on me but after applying some on my eyes it looked surprisingly pretty! On my computer it's showing up a bit more brown and muted than in person, which is much brighter and with a yellower/oranger tone.  Super pigmented, applies very smoothly. I seriously ♥ this color!


♥ Lemon ♥
"Bright Clean Shimmery Yellow; Not too cool, not too warm Perfectly balanced yellow. Almost metallic applied wet" - BFTE

Lemon is a shimmery, true yellow. Has a metallic quality similar to Addicted and maybe Tangerine.  I think this color can be quite versatile, and with the shimmer you can probably also use it as a gold.  I really liked this color, but I wish that BFTE also had a true yellow color similar to this that was less shimmery or even matte. All of their matte yellows are more in the "mustard" or "pale yellow" family.


♥ Envy ♥
"Yellow green with gold reflects." - BFTE

Envy is a light yellow-green.  It is very shimmery with a noticeable sparkle.  This was the "chunkiest" looking shadow I had in the sense that it had that flecky/sparkly look (but the texture is still smooth, not gritty). 

This color was not as bright as I was anticipating.  I think I was expecting something more like Lavish, but it is still very pretty.  However, while doing the Rainbow Eye look it was hard to get the green tone to show up and I had to pack it on a bit because it wasn't very bright. 


♥ Grassy ♥
(No BFTE description)

Grassy is a beautiful matte, medium mossy green.  It can be fairly bright depending on how you use it.  Like Hangover, this applies smoothly and is very nicely pigmented even when used dry.


♥ Blueberry ♥
"A very vibrant blue with medium sheen." - BFTE

Bright, shimmery blue.  I wouldn't call it an "electric blue", it's not that bright, but it is still a very bright, medium toned blue.  Well pigmented.


♥ Grape ♥
"Shimmering medium purple with pink undertones." - BFTE

Grape is a bright, straightforward purple shimmer with a violet undertone.  Applied dry, this was a little bit sheer and needed to be packed on a bit, but when applied over a base of any kind the color was true and vibrant.


♥ Big Ego ♥
(No BFTE description)

Big Ego is the sultry, darker sister of Grape.  These pictures show the difference between the two purples pretty well, but under certain lightings the pigments sometimes looked very similar when in the jars.  Once applied, however, the difference is pretty drastic especially if applied dry.  I would say that Big Ego has a much darker, almost redder undertone.  When applied wet or over a base, it actually becomes harder to tell the difference between the two because they both have a rich purple tone.  Also, Big Ego leaves a dark "stain" after wiping away (not really a stain, but you can tell there were dark base pigments in it) while Grape wipes away pretty cleanly.

Here are some more pictures comparing Big Ego and Grape:

L: No Flash, R: Flash (swatched completely dry on skin)



♥ Whisper ♥
"Sheer creamy beige with a violet duo chrome  Apply dry for a more subtle color or wet for a bolder look." - BFTE

Whisper...everyone talks about this color! There is so much hype surrounding Whisper that I had very high expectations and was actually less impressed as a result. Don't get me wrong, it is a beautiful color, but once applied it has a very strong blue/violet duochrome sheen that I find difficult to incorporate into a neutral, everyday look.  

In the jar it looks like a harmless, shimmery beige.  You can barely tell that there are violet particles in it, but when you put it on - man! the violet shimmer just pops out!  (When applied strictly dry, the violet shimmer is much less noticeable.)  I think this color changing ability is what gets everyone so excited.

Here is Whisper applied over a dark, charcoal cream-stick base to emphasize the duochrome effect:


♥ Lace ♥
"Golden ivory" - BFTE

The swatch shown here really does not do Lace justice at all.  It is a pale, ivory color with a beautiful golden shimmer in it, but you can't really see the gold particles in this picture.  Just trust me, it's very pretty. Can be used as a highlight, inner corner color, or accent color on the lids.


♥ Very Vanilla ♥
(No description)

Very Vanilla is a matte, vanilla/cream color as the name suggests. I know people use this as a highlight. It can also be used as a lid color if you're going for that awake, bright-eyed look. It's a bit too light for me personally to use strictly as a neutral eyeshadow. I don't have a whole lot to say about this color, but it's a good, neutral shadow that can be used in a lot of different ways. Well pigmented.


♥ Black ♥
"Matte Black, Soft in both texture and color. Applied wet it is a true deep black. Great for adding to other colors to make a colorful smoky eye."

Upon first glance, this looks just to be your standard matte, black pigment.  If you look very closely, however, you will see that there is actually a very subtle shimmer.  Black actually gave me a bit of trouble when applying.  If you see my "sneak peak" post from last week where I did dry swatches directly on the skin, you will notice that when applied dry Black is actually very sheer and not well pigmented.  Even when I tried to pack it on it was still very sheer...:/  I felt like it was not "grabbing" onto my skin (unlike Hangover and Grassy which grabbed on quite well). This is not what I would expect from a "black" pigment.  Applied wet or over a base, however, it shows up pretty nicely.  I wouldn't say this is the darkest black you can get, but it's black enough. 

(This was a free sample baggie I received. It's my understanding that when BFTE packs your orders, they usually throw in a free sample baggie because they are such lovely people.  Thanks, BFTE ladies! ♥♥♥ )


♥ Warm Honey ♥ (foundation)
"Warm Honey is great for medium complexions with very yellow undertones. It works very well on Latin, Indian, Southeast Asian, and similar skin tones."

Choosing foundation online is always problematic for me.  I am Asian and have medium toned skin; there weren't too many color choices in this range so I picked Warm Honey. Based on the description, I actually expected it to be too dark for me, but when swatched on my arm it showed up a bit too light and yellow-toned for me.  Applied on my face, it is still too yellow but also, strangely enough, a bit dark.  After blending it in and applying the mineral veil, it looked ok.  In terms of coverage, this foundation was pretty good but not *full* heavy coverage. Just your standard mineral foundation I guess. 

I realize that people all have different skin tones and types, so the foundation review is a bit more subjective. 


♥ Tawny ♥ (mineral veil)
"Tawny Mineral Veil is used as a finishing powder over your foundation to add a slight touch of warmth to your complexion.For those who like a very sheer coverage it can also be worn instead of foundation.Our mineral veil aids in oil absorption and provide you with that smooth, matte, finished look."

(Sinced I swatched everything over an eyeshadow base, the foundation, mineral veil and blush all look a bit weird since you wouldn't normally use an eyeshadow base for face makeup. That's why this swatch looks so funny.)  

This is a warm, beige color that blends in very well with my skin.  It's quite sheer, but can be used alone for light coverage.  You might not be able to tell, but there is a faint shimmery sheen in the powder, but it doesn't really show up once you apply it on your face.  Since it is so sheer, I'm sure this will accommodate most skin tones in the lighter medium to darker medium range. 


♥ Georgia Peach ♥ (blush)
"Peach Coral shimmer"

Normally, I've always been opposed to wearing blush thinking it made my face look too red, but man oh man Georgia Peach has sure changed my mind!!  I've basically been wearing this blush every day since I got it, and I love the way it looks!  It gives my face a very natural flush.  

It's a pretty peachy-coral pink that I believe would flatter most skin tones.  There is a faint golden(?) shimmer in it that isn't sparkly at all on the face. It is not super pigmented, but not sheer either.  (In the swatch it looks a bit pinker than it actually is.)


♥ In Summary:


Overall, I was very impressed with the multi-use minerals by BFTE.  (My previous experience with powder type eyeshadows are the Jesse's Girl eyedusts, and I used to be impressed by them but they have terrible staying power when used alone and it is absolutely necessary to use a base.)  As a whole, the BFTE minerals are all well pigmented and do not necessarily need a base. There were only a couple of exceptions, namely Black. The other pigment that was a bit more sheer was Grape, but even that was sufficiently well pigmented.

This picture shows the range in coverage of the BFTE minerals when applied dry, directly on the skin (no base):
Grape, Big Ego, Black, Hangover, Grassy

As you can see and as I mentioned earlier, Black is very sheer when used alone. Big Ego is much better pigmented, and I thought Hangover and Grassy were simply amazing.  I don't personally own many matte eyeshadows and was eager to try these, and they are now very precious to me!

Another thing that really impressed with was the HUUUUUGGGE range of colors that BFTE offers in their multi-use minerals.  The website boasts over 250 shades, and they are constantly adding more! This makes it very difficult for me when I am trying to choose just 1 or 2 colors!

You will also notice that I say quite often that a color is "not bright enough".  Please understand that my expectations in my mind are basically neon colors ;)

As for the facial makeup, other than the color issues with Warm Honey I don't really have anything bad to say. The foundation had sufficient coverage, the mineral veil was very nice (blends in perfectly), and I love love LOVE Georgia Peach blush. It's converted me from a non-blush user to a blush-wearer :)

♥ Packaging:
(I used a U.S. quarter in some of the pictures to give you an idea of how big the jars are).

Full sized Foundation and Mineral Veil jars both come in the same package - 30 gram sifter jars with 10 grams of product. (Product shown is Warm Honey if you are curious)

Full sized blushes come in a 10 gram sifter jar with 2 grams of product. (Product shown is Georgia Peach)

Multi-use Mineral samples come in a 3 gram jar and contain 0.5 grams of sample. (Product shown is Big Ego).

Interestingly, most of the pigment samples came in small, clear plastic jars, but Lace and Hangover came in a different jar with black lids:
(Products shown are Hangover and Addicted)

For more information, I strongly suggest visiting BFTE's website.  Also, I've won many products from BFTE through their Twitter giveaways, so you should definitely follow them on Twitter or Facebook to stay updated if you want to win some products to try out!

I've only known about BFTE for a few months, but during that time period I've definitely grown to really like this company.  The owner, Crystal, is also a very sweet lady and is pretty active on Twitter. As I've said in previous posts, they have great customer service and my orders have always arrived very quickly (usually around 3 days).

I'll try to use BFTE products to do another look sometime as well. I'm just so busy with school, work, and preparing for my MCAT's right now that finding time to do all of this is really difficult.  This post was seriously strenuous to work on and drained a lot of my time that I should have definitely spent studying!  It has turned into a monster of a post and I'm not sure that most readers will even look through the whole thing. :(


It was probably not necessarily for me to make this so terribly long, but I wanted to make this as helpful as possible for people that want to buy BFTE products! Plus, once you get me started it's hard for me to stop.  Like I said...I like to ramble a lot...


OK OMG I'M FINALLY DONE WITH THIS POST!!! I seriously need to go on a blogging-hiatus now, but knowing me I'll probably be unable to control myself and come back to post more :/ Blogger is a time vampire!

Until next time :)  Thank you for reading!