Collective Beauty Haul & Review - February, March, April, and May 2013

Hello!


This is going to be a collective haul and mini review of the items that I've bought the past few months. I will be breaking this into categories and giving my opinion on each item since I've been able to use these products.

Here is my beauty version:

 

Clockwise from the Top: Urban Decay All Lighter Setting Spray, MAC Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Superb, MAC 219 Brush, MAC 210 Brush, MAC Powder Blush in Pink Tea, MAC Extra Dimension Eye Shadow in Stolen Moment, MAC MSF Natural in Light Plus, and Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait.

                  

Left to Right: Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait, MAC MSF Natural in Light Plus, MAC Powder Blush in Pink Tea, MAC Extra Dimension Eye Shadow in Stolen Moment, and MAC Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Superb.

Left to Right: Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait, MAC MSF Natural in Light Plus, MAC Powder Blush in Pink Tea, MAC Extra Dimension Eye Shadow in Stolen Moment, and MAC Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Superb.



Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray ($29) - I've had my eye on this product for over a year and decided to purchase it finally when I had a 20% coupon for Ulta. I've put this product to the test since I've bought it and I was pleasantly surprised. I think that this is a good investment to extend the wear of your makeup. This definitely doesn't hold up if you work out with your makeup though. I've worn this to a wedding I was recently in and my makeup looked practically the same when I took it off at midnight compared to when I put it on twelve hours earlier. I haven't tested the claim of sixteen hour wear however since my makeup has never been on for that long.

Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait ($4 originally $8) - This is my second lip butter, however in a more natural color. I really like this product and the color is nice for everyday. I'm sure you've heard this before but it's a nice mix of a lipstick and a lip gloss - the color with the shine. This only wears a few hours on me before I need to reapply. I recommend buying these when they are on sale.

MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural in Light Plus ($30) - This is another product that I've had my eyes on for over a year. I decided that once I ran out of my Mac Blot Powder, then I would purchase this in my shade. I enjoy this as a powder to set my liquid foundation as well as a powder foundation alone to even out my skin complexion.

MAC Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Superb ($20.50 originally $30) - This was a product that I was interested in when it was first released, however it was a little out of my price range at the time. I found this at a local CCO. This is my first powder highlight and it is a beautiful color.

MAC Powder Blush in Pink Tea ($14.75 originally $20) - I passed this up when it was released in the Tres Cheek collection because I was already buying two blushes from that collection at the time. I found this at the CCO and thought that this would be a great neutral color to compliment any eye makeup look. This is a beautiful color to add a subtle flush to the cheeks.

MAC Extra Dimension Eye Shadow in Stolen Moment ($13.75 originally $19.50) - This is the first eye shadow that I've bought from MAC. I found this during the same trip to the CCO as the other products mentioned earlier. I think that this is a very versatile shade because I've used this on the entire lid and just in the crease with other colors. I've heard that this is similar to the shade Satin Taupe from Mac which is permanent if you can't find this specific shade at your local CCO.

Mac 219 Brush ($25) - I've wanted this brush for a while and I absolutely love it. I had to exchange it for another one after a few weeks of using it because the ferrule came loose even thought I never exposed it to water. I've deep cleaned the replacement, however, and I've had no problems. This is great for creating a cut crease as well as lining underneath the lash line without overdoing it.

Mac 210 Brush ($19) - Ever since I purchased the 211 brush I've never been truly happy with the way my blacktrack fluidline applied. I've since used the 211 for concealer application. This is the perfect brush for creating a thin line on the lashline and building it up. The handle of the brush is so tiny, I feel like I might break it!




The Container Store Clear Acrylic Cubes ($14.99 each) - I decided a few months ago that I wanted a new makeup storage. I've loved the look of the clear acrylic cubes to store makeup and decided to buy some when I visited a semi-local Container Store. I bought three and think that it is perfect for the amount of makeup that I have right now.

Sorry for the not so great picture quality. I forgot to photograph these the same day I photographed the rest of the products. It's been really rainy today.

 OPI Nail Polish in Tickle My France-y ($7) - I bought this nail polish on a whim a few months back, however I haven't used it yet. This is a neutral pink shade that will look great for a subtle color to your nails. I can't wait to try this. I will keep you updated!

 

This was another product that I had to take on a picture of on a rainy day.

That's all for my beauty haul & mini review. Check back for my jewelry & shoe version which will be up in the next couple of days!

 

 

XOXO

 

MAC COSMETICS - Shopping List

Hi everyone! I thought that I would share with you the items that I've had my eye on at MAC for a while. I'm going to the mall on Saturday so these items are what is on my shopping list!

MAC COSMETICS - Shopping List by ladyem2 featuring glitter eye makeup

 

1. Single Eyeshadow ($15 each). I've never owned a MAC eyeshadow and I want to get a everyday makeup look. The shades that I'm interested in are Nylon, Handwritten, and a "best friend" blending color.

2. Prep & Prime Lash ($16). I'm currently trying out a sample Lancôme version that I've been liking so far. I want to try out a few more versions before I buy a full size.

3. In Extreme Dimension Mascara ($20). I've already tried two different mascaras by MAC - Haute & Naughty and False Lash. I want to try out a few more and see which is my favorite.

4. 219 Pencil Brush ($25) & 209 Eye Liner Brush ($19). I've wanted the 219 for a while, but have never bought it. Since I've started using concealer, I've been using my 211 which I previously used (but didn't like) for my fluidline. The 209 looks like a good brush to use to apply a thin line of eyeliner.

5. Eye Kohl in Fascinating ($16). I've wanted to try a white or nude shaded eyeliner for my waterline. Black is usually too harsh for everyday.

6. Lash Curler ($20). My eyelash curler (Revlon) is getting old and not curling my lashes enough for my liking. I want a good one that isn't too expensive.

7. Mineralize Skinfinish Natural ($30). I've wanted this product since I first learned about MAC. I've never bought it though. I decided that once I finish up my Blot Powder that I'll buy this (which I'm really close to being done with).

8. Fix Plus ($21). Sometimes I notice that my face looks a bit too powdery (not cakey) for my liking. I've heard that this product is good for that.


Please let me know if you've used any of these items. I would love some input before I head to my local MAC counter.


XOXO

Laurel Mercer (The Lying Game) Hair Tutorial

Hey everyone. So for some reason I've decided to re-watch The Lying Game. I was watching one of the episodes from the second season (the revengers) and fell in love with Laurel's hair. If you are a fan of the show, its the episode where her band performs at chelsea creek. This is the concert where the girls try to get their parents back together, however they fight during her performance causing Laurel to run off.


After watching this episode, I knew I wanted to try the hairstyle she was sporting during the concert.

 

front view:

 

 close up:

back view:

This was a pretty easy and quick hairstyle. The first time I did this hairstyle (which is pictured so excuse any messyness), it took my almost 10 minutes. The second and most recent time I've done this hairstyle, it took my a little more than 5 minutes. I personally think that this is a great hairstyle for second day hair.


Here's how I did it:

Step 1: Section your hair however you prefer. I like my hair parted to the side compared to in the middle.

Step 2: Pick a side to braid. I prefer to start braiding the side that has more hair (and my fringe/bangs).

Step 3: Begin to braid the front portion of your hair. It's your choice if you decide to include your fringe/bangs or not. I decided to braid them since they are on the long side.

Step 4: As your braiding, add a section of hair to the piece that is closest to your part. Do not add a section to the piece of hair that is closest to your face. Continue this until right above your ear. Finish the braid as normal. I prefer to stop a few inches above my ends.

Step 5: Do the same thing to the other side.

Step 6: Bring the two braids together as if your creating a "hippy" braid. (If you secured the two braids with a hair tie, remove that now.) With the two braids, section it into three parts and braid as normal. Again, I prefer to stop a few inches above my ends. Secure with an elastic.

I hope this helped in case you loved that hairstyle and wanted to re-create it. I absolutely love this. I've done this to my hair twice this week so far.


Let me know what you think.

XOXO

january favorites

Hi everyone! I'm here again for my january favorites. I've decided that I'll be featuring my re-discovered items since a lot of my past favorite posts have featured repeated items -- like my beloved urban decay naked palettes.

january favorites by ladyem2 featuring revlon cosmetics



I usually wear my mac blush in plum foolery for the colder months, but I decided to switch it up and use my lovecloud blush from the tres cheek collection last year. I absolutely love this blush for a nice flush! It's a mix between a pink and a coral blush in my opinion.

Since I'm taking two clinicals (starting at 6:30 am!) this semester, I decided I need a quick makeup look for those days. Urban Decay's single eyeshadow in sell out is great for those days. It's a nice shimmery nude that is great for all over the lid up to the brow. It gives my eyes a brightening effect which makes it look like I got a little more sleep then I actually did. :)

Ever since I got my makeup done at mac, I've been using my 211 brush (which I originally used for gel liner) for my concealer. It's great for concealer because its not too big or too small. I actually prefer this as a concealer brush rather than a eyeliner brush. This was a bit too large for my gel eyeliner look I prefer (thin and winged out line).

I've had rimmel london's lipstick in dreamy for a while. It's a nice formula (moisture renew) and color for any look. It's a slightly shimmery (without over doing it) pink-nude shade. I've been loving this for school since I don't want to wear anything crazy on my lips in class!

Revlon colorburst lip glosses are probably my current favorite lip gloss to wear. I own more, but my favorites this past month to wear have been peony, sunset peach, and crystal lilac. These are a bit more spring, however it's a way to kind of hurry up the nice weather! :)


What are some things you've been loving or re-discovered this january? I'd love to know. Maybe I will pick them up in february!


XOXO

january haul (makeup edition)

Here is another edition of my january haul. I clearly spent too much money this month! This is my makeup version of my haul. I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think if you own these items. I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions.

new to my collection (makeup edition) by ladyem2 featuring lancôme

1.)I went to my local mac counter to get another tube of my nw 15 studio sculpt foundation. The makeup artist that was working suggested another foundation and concealer. The only concealer I've tried were drug store - one liquid and one mineral. I never liked either of them so I decided to skip concealer in general from then on. I would just apply another layer of foundation to build up the coverage to what I like. The makeup artist tried this on me and I loved it. It's a bit drying at times on my blemishes, however with moisturizer it's not too bad. So far I like it. I'm in the shade nw 15 for this concealer.

2.) At the same time that I bought the mac concealer, the makeup arist also suggested a different foundation. As mentioned before, I was using the studio sculpt foundation in nw 15. When I first bought it I was slightly tanner (in summer) so it worked fine. However, I've lost some tan in my face so it would look like foundation rather than skin. I love this foundation so much more than the studio sculpt. The matchmaster in 1.0 is definitely my shade right now that I'm so pale. My face doesn't usually tan so this should work for a few months. It's very light-weight, however it has a strange smell when you put it on. You can't smell it throughout the day though, which is good.

3.) I wanted to try the too faced perfect eyes waterproof eyeliner since I heard rachel whitehurst on youtube rave about it. I was browsing the sephora website buying other stuff when I needed to add one more small item to get free shipping. I saw this mascara-eyeliner set for only $10 and had to try it out. I haven't tried the mascara yet (which is lash injection at $21 full size), because I like to only have one mascara open at a time. I will let you know how I like it when I try it out! I have tried the eyeliner (which is normally $18 for a full size). I like it so far. It will usually stay on for a few hours for me. However, my eyes water a lot so it doesn't last all day on me. I got my eyebrows threaded yesterday and the eyeliner didn't survive. I'm not sure if I would buy this at full price.

4.) I've wanted to try out lancome products for a while now. I've heard about these products from youtubers like rachel whitehurst and carly cristman. The mascara (hypnose star $28) and the eyeliner (art liner $30) are both full size! This also came with deluxe samples of their eye makeup remover (bi-facil full size $28) and mascara base (cils booster xl full size $24). I got all of this for $34 (or $4 more than the liner). So far I've only tried the eyeliner and the makeup remover, which are both really nice! The makeup remover is so unbelievably gentle! I've never used one that doesn't require some tugging at my eye. I may buy the full bottle when this is empty. The eyeliner is really nice, however I haven't decided yet if I would buy another to replace this one. It would probably have to depend on how long a full size one lasts me. This is my first high-end liquid eyeliner pen. I've used drugstore versions in the past and they were a waste of money in my opinion.

5.) I'm not sure who inspired me to want to try korres lip butters, but this seemed like a great way to try them out. I got three full size lip butters(normally $12 each) and three full dize lip butter glazes (normally $14 each). If I had bought all this seperately I would have spent $78 rather than the $39 I spent online at sephora. I wanted to try the lip butters because I've heard that they are really moisturizing for the lips and smell amazing. They are both of those things, however they didn't leave my lips moisturized for as long as I had hoped. I have really dry and chapstick-addicted lips. I'm hoping to find a solution to both of those problems, however korres is not it. These are really nice though. I would recommend these as a nice lip balm. These are subtle enough for anyone who likes colored lips (like coral and red) but can't pull that off. In case you were wondering what flavors I have, lip butters -- guava, pomegranate, quince and lip butter glazes -- jasmine, raspberry, wild rose.

Let me know what you think of these items if you already own them and use them. I would love to know, especially on the products I haven't opened and tried yet. What makeup products did you buy this month?

XOXO

january haul (jewelry and accessories edition)

Hi again! Since I've purchased quite a few items this past month, I decided to break it up into sections. I posted my workout edition here if you'd like to take a look at that. This is my jewelry and accessories edition! I hope you like the things I bought because I did. :)

new year, new stuff (jewelry and accessories edition) by ladyem2 featuring fur hats


1.) I've been loving fur hats ever since I bought my first one a few weeks ago at charming charlies. I found a beret version for $15 while I was out to eat at a local outdoor mall. I stopped in  charming charlies afterward and found this to keep my ears warm! While I was looking at gabriel brothers, I noticed that they had winter accessories on sale. I found another fur hat (not as crazy as the one pictured) for less than $5. You can see what else I bought at gabriel brothers in my january haul (workout edition) which is linked at the top of this blog post. That was the first time I've ever been to gabriel brothers. If I hadn't found those winter accessories for really cheap, I wouldn't have payed for anything there. Not really my favorite store.

2.) While I was at the mall with a friend, we decided to take a look at express since they were having a sale going on. I found an infinity scarf in this beautiful silver sparkly color for only $7. It was marked down twice -- $35 to $15 and then $15 to $7. I usually don't buy anything from express because of the high prices, but there sales are really nice sometimes.

3.)  I've wanted pearl earrings for over a year now. I decided that before I quit my job due to my hectic school schedule that I would use my discount to finally get my pearl earrings. (BTW -- I'm in nursing school and I used to work at jared the gallery of jewelry).  These pink-toned medium-sized pearls are from mikimoto which were originally $130, however I got them for $64. Best purchase I've made in a long time.

4. While at the mall today, my mom and I were looking for a birthday present for my cousin who is ten. We stopped at icing to find a bracelet we thought about getting her for christmas. Our store seemed to be going out of business so everything was 75% off. I found two really cute newsboy type hats while we were there for under $10. These were normally $18 each! I bought one in a beige/tan type color with leather details on the side. The other one is a gray/black color that has a flower on the side. These are more for spring so it will probably be awhile before I wear them.

5. I also found a pack of two flower wrap type headbands while we were at icings. I couldn't find an exact picture, but I might post a picture of me wearing them at a later time. These are more spring-related as well. One is all white and the other is all black. Both headbands were only a few dollars.



So now that you know some of the things that I bought this month, what things of mine are you loving? What did you buy? Send me a picture! I'd love to see your january haul.


XOXO

january haul (workout edition)

Hi everyone! Here is part of my january haul -- the workout edition! I've decided that now is the time for me to get in shape and be healthy! New year, new start right? Here are a collage of items that I've purchased to help me complete my goals.

new year, new goals, new life... (workout edition) by ladyem2 featuring nike

1.) Nike is probably my favorite shoe brand, maybe workout brand in general. I decided that it was time for me to get some new tennis shoes since my old ones are getting worn out. Plus they are a size-in-a-half too small! Ouch! They definitely aren't comfortable for walking long distance. The pair pictured above is the exact pair that I bought for only $69. I love the bright colors. These I bought at the store the shoe department. I'm not sure if that store is just local or nation-wide. I originally found a pair I liked at finish line, however they were around $150. I didn't even bother trying them on since I knew I wasn't going to be willing to pay that price tag. They were mint green nikes in case you were wondering.

2.) In order to get into walking (and hopefully running in the future), I need to keep myself occupied with fun music. I decided (after watching Pretty Little Liars) that I wanted an ipod that could clip to my clothes. Spencer had this version of the ipod shuffle in orange, however I loved this green-teal color. My version is actually skinner than hers. Mine doesn't have the extra space on the left. I got this at the apple store for $49. Walmart has these for $45, however I didn't want to order it online since I didn't know what color I wanted.

3.) I wanted to get a few things to keep my head warm while I was walking outside in this cold winter weather. I stopped at gabriel brothers for somthing else and found that they were having a huge sale on winter excessories. I got two headwraps like that northface one pictured in black and red. I also got another wrap similar in green without the velcro. I also stopped at pottery barn for somthing else and they had hats and gloves in the front of the store. I found a hat similar to the one pictured (without the tassels) and matching gloves. All of that was under $10!

4. I originally was looking at places like tj maxx and marshalls for clothes to layer when I'm outside. I didn't find anything that I liked enough to spend that much. Instead I went to my local goodwill and found a few long sleeves shirts and zip-up jackets that totaled under $15.


I think if you take the time to look, you can find great and affordable stuff to help in your new goals for the new year. My new year goal (or resolution) is to get active and be healthy. What's yours?



XOXO