Current Favorites Part 4

It is that time again!  Favorites!  I love doing these posts because... They are my favorite products and I love gushing about them!  I want to spread the word by extending my loves down to you! Let's get right to it!

E.L.F. Eyelash Curler

This little baby only cost me $1 and it works better than any other lash curler I have ever owned.  I still currently own a MAC lash curler and it always disappoints me now that I have seen what the E.L.F. one can do!

Burberry Brit Sheer

OMG! I don't even have words to describe how heavenly this perfume is.  I have worn it over the last few days and I have gotten more compliments on it than anything else!  It is a beautiful scent!!!!!! 

Beauty Blender

The foundations that I rotate haven't changed but this has changed my foundation!  It makes the foundation I put on look like actual skin.  I love this.  I know that it is pricey for a sponge, and I myself was a skeptic at first.  I am a true believer in the Beauty Blender!

LUSH Bubblegum Lip Scrub

Wow! This is a yummy scrub.  It does its job and is lip smackin good!

Eyebrow razor gadget

I bought this little gadget in a set of 3 for very cheap!  I love it!  It is absolutely outstanding!  I didn't think I would get much use out of it but I think I use it every morning on a stray hair or two! 

NARS 'Best' 9944 palette

I am quite the neutral/taupe eyeshadow lover!  And this palette has just blended right into my everyday routine.  It is quite sneaky actually because I didn't realize this was a favorite until I was rummaging through my stuff and laid my hands on it.  I think I picked this palette up over half the days in the last month!  Wonderful stuff!  It is a Limeted Edition palette but all the shades are permanent!

Rock & Republic blending brush

So good I had to get 2!  I use one to blend my concealer under my eyes and the other for actual eyeshadow blending!  Works like a charm!  I love this blush because it does its job and does it well and also its sooo sleek and beautiful!

by Terry Touche Veloutee

Well well well... I never thought I would own anything from by Terry and this one wore me down!  Quite pricey but worth every cent.  I have worn it nearly every day since I bought it and as soon as I run out I will buy it again!  I am in Shade 3 and its a perfect match.  I want to thank the beautiful girl that did the research I needed for my shade! (you know who you are!!!) This is a beautiful concealer and highlighter in one.

Benefit Skinny Jeans

This is a gorgeous base.  I have been wearing it on its own and also under taupes and regular neutral shades.  It gives a regular old brown eyeshadow a lot of depth! This is a great product!

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY!  IT ENDS MAY 27, 2011 AT 11:59 PM EST! 

Hope you have a fabulous day!

Giveaway Time!!! CLOSED

Yes!  A giveaway of my very own!  I want to thank those of you that have been following me since I started this blog and also thank those of you that just started following!  Over time I have been purchasing extra products and also receiving a lot of 'gift with purchase' items.  The prize bag is a Estee Lauder cosmetics bag and it will be filled with full size items from various brands, such as Urban Decay, as well as nice sample size products, such as NARS!  I want to give back!  You lovely people deserve this fun little giveaway!

Rules:

1.  Must be a follower
2. If you are 17 or younger you must have your parents permission

3. Comment below with your email address so I can contact you if you win!

4. Can only enter in the comments once
5. If you have a blog you can get a second entry if you post about this giveaway.  Also link your blog post in the comments below so I know that you did so!  THANK YOU!

The giveaway will run for one month.  It will end on May 27 at 11:59 PM EST.  It is open internationally. 

Giveaway Alert: Raspberry Rouge

Click here to enter Rasperry Rouge's Giveaway!

BzzAgent Review: Cover Girl NatureLuxe

I recently received a package from BzzAgent containing the NatureLuxe campaign products.  I have been really interested in trying this line and was thrilled that this was one of the campaigns available to me.  I received the foundation in the shade 320- Aspen and the gloss balm in the shade 225-Anemone.  The color I got in the foundation actually matches me perfectly (and I am usually a NW/NC20 in MAC) and the gloss balm is a color that I am gravitating to more recently.  

I wore the foundation today for around 5 hours and I have to say that it looked the same as it did as when I first put it on as it did when I took it off.  It has a medium coverage.  And it looked really nice..... for the first five minutes.  Unfortunately I do not like it.  It settled into all of my pores and emphasized all of the problems in my skin.  I prefer foundations that have a soft focus effect so this foundation is not for me.

I have been wearing the gloss balm everyday for the last 3 days.  It is a beautiful orange toned red.  It is sheer but build-able.  I ADORE this.  I love it so much I am going to go to the drugstore immediately to look at the other shades.  

Bonus picture:

My husband and I told my son that if he learned how to ride his bike without training wheels we would buy him a motorcyle.  Well, he wanted us to take off his training wheels immediately and within 5 minutes he was riding the bike.  His new motorcycle is behind him in this picture!  

Hope you enjoyed this post!  Feel free to leave suggestions for future posts in the comments.

Collective Haul

Recently I have have come across some very good deals in the makeup world.  Needless to say that I am going to be taking it easy for a while.  

First up is a swap with a friend in the UK.  I forgot to add pictures in of the lipstick but it is Revlon Pink in the Afternoon.  Very lovely shade! 

Next up was a custom purchase someone did for me.  You can't purchase Lancome Erika F in the United States, but I was lucky enough to find a very sweet lady to purchase it for me.  She also threw in some extras! 

Shu from eBay!

Swatches of the Shu, Erika F and Milani.

Urban Decay order from Hautelook.  I have been wanting the Summer of Love palette for a while and also to try their Afterglow blushes.  The Cocoa body powder tastes so good!  I have always been curious about how good these really tasted but I never could bring myself to "test" in a store... that gives me the creeps!

I have been wanting to try some Pixi stuff.  I always see this line while I am in Target but it NEVER catches my eye enough to trigger me to purchase anything.  Well I stumbled across a code for pixibeauty.com for 60% off.  Needless to say I got carried away!  *shrugs* 

Hope you enjoyed!  Let me know if you would like me to do any specific looks using these products!

Lancome Erika F vs L'Oreal Dazzling Khaki

I finally got my hands on the infamous Erika F eyeshadow from Lancome and I wanted to do some comparison shots with L'Oreal Dazzling Khaki.  

As many of you know I am completely obsessed with taupes and these two shades have been talked about quite a bit.  I live in the US and neither of these eyeshadows are available here.  Luckily through the magic of the internet I have been able to acquire them and do these swatches for those of you who, like me, were wondering how close they really are.

First off, in the pan they look completely similar.  There is hardly any difference at first glance.

Swatch test.  

The first difference I noticed was the texture.  When I swatched them I noticed that the L'Oreal shadow is quite a bit harder and silky feeling while the Lancome was softer and more creamy.  

What stood out when I swiped my fingers on my arm was that the Lancome transfered amazingly well.  I had to go over the L'Oreal shade 3 times to build it up to what is pictured below.

All in all I would say that they shades are shockingly similar. 

Which do I prefer?

Lancome Erika F!  It is superior in texture and payoff and is slightly more complex.  It also has the higher price tag but so worth it.  

Metallic Brown EOTD

Face:
Origins Brighter by Nature
Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation
by Terry Touche Veloutee
R&R pressed powder
NARS Luster
NARS Laguna

EYES:
Laura Mercier Eye Basics in Wheat
Benefit Birthday Suit creaseless cream shadow
Shu Uemura ME 850
Chanel safari
MAC Femme Fi
LORAC beige
Bobbi Brown graphite Shimmer Ink
Maybelline the Falsies mascara

Lips:
MAC Viva Glam Gaga 2 lipgloss

Birchbox: April 2011

My Birchbox came in the mail today and I love it!  These little samples aren't small.  They are deluxe or better samples and they are customized to you.  When you sign up at Birchbox they encourage you to fill out a beauty profile on yourself.  From your answers on that questionnaire they decide what products you will enjoy.  Here is what my Birchbox for April included:

Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel

LIV GRN Earth Eau de Parfum

Weleda Wild Rose Smoothing Facial Lotion

Zoya Nail Polish in Caitlin

EXTRA: Bloomin Seep Paper & Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Repair Eye Cream

Thanks for reading!

Holy Smoke FOTD

I have recently been diagnosed with Bell's Palsy and have been on steroids.  The steroids are causing my face to swell/bloat.  Please look past the major puffiness!

FACE:

Origins VitaZing

MUFE MV+

by Terry Touche Veloutee

MAC Melba

NARS Laguna

EYES:

Laura Mercier Eye Basics in Wheat

Guerlain Holy Smoke

Chanel Safari

MAC Smut

WnW Brulee

WnW Comfort Zone - lightest shimmer color for inner corner highlight

Bobbi Brown Chocolate Shimmer Ink 

Maybelline Falsies mascara

LIPS:

Neutrogena Naturals Lip Balm

Poll

I decided to let u guys pick what you want to see from me once a week. This poll is pretty general, but I'm still getting a feel for what you like. Please vote!!!!  The poll is under the 'About Me' section.

Swatch off!

Got carried away while looking for colors that go together and dupes of one another.  I decided to photograph and post! <3

Both of these pictures contains the same shades... just different backgrounds.  I did it that way so you could hopefully catch the complexity of each shade. 

1. Fyrinnae Snow Leopard

2. L'Oreal Dazzling Khaki

3. MAC Smut

4. MAC Mauvement (pigment)

5. Barry M Oyster Grey Dazzle Dust

6. Chanel Taupe Grise

7. Chanel Safari

8. MAC Sable

9. Barry M Mushroom Dazzle Dust

10. MAC Sweet Sienna (pigment)

11. Rock & Republic Tempting

12. Rock & Republic Diffused

L'Oreal Dazzling Khaki

L'Oreal Dazzling Khaki Chrome Shine is a color that I was informed was a dupe to Lancome Erika F.  I have been on the hunt for Erika F and was getting no luck acquiring it so I decided to hunt down this little gem.  Erika F isn't available in the US and neither is the L'Oreal look alike.  I was able to actually purchase Dazzling Khaki on eBay from a lovely eBayer from Ireland.  

As soon as I opened up the package I was O_O !!!!  It is stunning....  The shimmer is gorgeous and the way the lights hit it make the colors dance.  

As you can imagine, I was very impatient to try it on!  I had so many ideas that I didn't know what to do... so I took all my ideas and mixed them into one look! LOL 

FACE: 

Origins Brighter By Nature

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in B30 Beige - Sable

By Terry Touche Veloutee

MAC Prep n Prime translucent powder

PF Happy Booster in Natural

EYES:

LM EB Wheat

Benefit Skinny Jeans

L'Oreal Dazzling Khaki

TF Romantic palette - Honeymoon & Ever After

MAC Smut

UD Naked

LORAC Beige

MAC Blacktrack f/l

Maybelline Falsies mascara

LIPS:

Revlon Peach Petal

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!

Enigma FOTD

FACE:

BECCA Line and Pore Correcter

Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation applied with Beautyblender

By Terry Touche Voloutee

R&R Pressed Powder

EYES:

UDPP

MAC Painterly Paint Pot

BECCA Enigma Palette

LORAC Beige

Bobbi Brown Graphite Shimmer Ink

MAC Blacktrack

Tarte Lights Camera Lashes

LIPS:

BECCA Beach Tint

Revlon Peach Petal gloss

Dermstore Haul

BECCA Beach Tint in Watermelon

BECCA Enigma palette

BECCA Line and Pore Correcter

Beautyblender x2 with cleanser

Dermstore extras:

Degree Body Splash

Replenix Eye Cream

CCO Haul

What I picked up!!!

Origins Calm To Your Senses: Room Spray

Origins Brighter By Nature (old packaging)

Estee Lauder: Evelyn Lauder Lip Design

MAC Smut

MAC Heritage Rouge (not swatched--for a friend)

MAC Mauvement

Bobbi Brown Gel Liner duo with brush

MAC Viva Glam VI Special Edition