Author: Carina

Lit from Within: L’Oreal Lucent Magique Liquid Foundation Review

Published by

I’ve said it before: I’m not really a foundation type of girl. Or so I thought. There just really comes a point when you get tired of trying several variants of one thing only to be disappointed. Repeatedly. Funnily enough, I have been wowed by several “face base” products as of late. My first re-foray* into foundations and bases was through the most excellent Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Liquid Foundation (Review here). BHFOWLF (ridic initialism, I know) is a great light foundation with SPF, which is why I wanted to start wearing foundation again in the first place. I now realize that I could have just gone with face sunscreen, but it’s too late now. Anyway, I like using it a lot, though I do rotate it with a BB Cream from either The Body Shop or Snoe Beauty. For days when you feel like covering your face up a little more, though, try the L’Oreal Lucent Magique Liquid Foundation. I’ll go ahead and post the claims on the box: “Lucent Magique Light-Infusing Foundation …

NARS: Spring Gifting 2013 And God Created the Woman Set

Published by

My first makeup brand love was NARS. After reading through countless blogs and reviews, the first items I bought for myself on intentional trips to the makeup counter were an eyeshadow trio (Ramatuelle), a lipstick from their sheer range (Vendanges), and of course, the ever-famous blush in Orgasm. All are still favorites, so I’m patting myself on the back for those awesome purchases. Fast forward to today, and I’ve flirted with a lot of new products. This blog doesn’t get a lot of NARS love just because I got them prior to starting this blog. From time to time, though, I will get an itch that only NARS can scratch, and a particular instance of this was when the Spring 2013 palettes came out. Introducing the And God Created the Woman Set! I got suckered in because of the awesome name, but I got it because it’s a beautiful neutral palette with such a great value (you’ll see why). The Spring Gifting Collection (?) for 2013 has two palettes, if I’m not mistaken. The other …

MAC Archie’s Girls Review & Swatches: Boyfriend Stealer & Veronica’s Blush

Published by

I have here two items from one of the latest MAC Collection, Archie’s Girls. Though I pretty much wanted to get everything, I controlled myself and reassessed my life choices made the executive decision to just get only a few items. Which is a pretty great feat for me, because let’s face it—if there’s any sort of Beauty Bandwagon, I’d probably jump on it. Technically, I only have one item (a pearlmatte powder), since I got the Ronnie lipstick for my sister, who loves dark plummy shades. I do have my eye on a Betty lipstick (Betty Bright), but I can’t seem to get a hold of it. I’m not sure if these are officially out on MAC counters now, but it should be any day now, as the press launch coincidentally happened yesterday. OKAY, up first is the lipstick. We have Boyfriend Stealer, which is the darkest of the six shades that came out. It’s a cremesheen lipstick, which is basically a MAC range that is “ultra sheer and uber moist, it features flat …

Drinking the Kool-Aid: A(nother) Review on the Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Palette

Published by

I know the world doesn’t need another post on the Urban Decay Naked Palette, but holy shit you guys, this is one of the best beauty products I’ve ever owned. If I’m not mistaken, this palette was released some time in mid-2010 and has achieved crazy cult status since then. I mean, I can see why. It’s a bunch of neutrals that go freakishly well together… but as with many-a-fawned-over things, this is so much more than that. With the Naked Palette, you get 12 shades: Virgin — pale shimmery beige-y nude. I thought it looked a bit 90s-browbone highlight in the pan, but it actually goes on very well and more subtly. Personified, this beige shadow would be Emma Watson. Sin — frosty pink champagne. This is a gorgeous wash of color on the lid for everyday. Naked — matte beige brown. Oh, another beige. Fancy that. Naked‘s beigeness is akin to The Carrie Diaries. It’s nothing special, but it gets the job done. Sidecar — shimmery medium bronze/brown with a little pink thrown …

TUTORIAL: Rose-Gold Eyes

Published by

Made another tutorial for this look! Used drugstore eyeshadow, so I’m sure it will be easier to recreate. If you like the video, please put a thumbs up. Let me know if you have any other requests for looks or videos because I quite like doing them, even if I look like I’m being forced at gunpoint to talk to y’all. 🙂 Products used: Snoe Beauty Let it B with WasaB (BB Cream) in Perfect Beige The Body Shop Brow and Liner Kit (02) L’Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Amber Rush Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Palette in Comfort Zone K-Palette 24H Real Lasting Liquid Eyeliner Tarte Amazonian Clay Matte & Waterproof Bronzer in Park Avenue Princess Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Natural Beauty Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar in Lydia Hope this helps! Enjoy and thanks for watching. 🙂

Drugstore Finds: NYX Powder Blush Collection

Published by

I’ve never been a blush fiend. I never got it to show up on my face the way I envisioned a certain color to. However, I’d been bitten by a blush bug quite recently and I’ve acquired quite the spectrum. If you’re a bit hesitant to build your blush collection (since some are so pricey), you could start with NYX! Here is my NYX Powder Blush Collection, so far. I have the ff. shades: Bourgeois Pig Desert Rose Cocoa Raisin Taupe I have my reasons for picking up each shade. Bourgeois Pig, just because it felt so defiantly un-me that I had to try it. I got Desert Rose because I’m a sucker for rose in general and it seemed like a nice, wearable and safe option. The last three, Cocoa, Raisin, and Taupe, I wanted to try contouring with. I know. Crazy, right? Here are some swatches on my hand: In terms of pigmentation, the pinks have the power. Cocoa was a bit too red to contour with. I didn’t expect Raisin to be …

Depotting My Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer

Published by

Or, who ever thought this genie bottle packaging is any good for anything, ever? The Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer was my first eye primer. It’s been with me for about a year, and I love using it. If I can get the product out, anyway. It’s shaped like a vase, and the applicator is a doe-foot sponge (like a lipgloss’) and I just can’t be bothered to contort the wand through the opening and maybe scrape a thin layer of product. If I’m lucky. Often, I’m not so I use my Benefit Lemon Aid or NARS Pro-Prime Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base (whew!). Anyway, I read this post by Neon Rock Rose eons ago and decided to do it myself. Once I found a glass pot to put the product in, I set right out to work. That and a really, really sharp blade is literally all you need. You just cut it across like so, but be very, very careful. Cutting stuff’s usually not a problem for me. I do a lot of that …