Author: Carina

Victorian Disco FOTD: Dashing Doctor, Spacey Wacey and Mollywobbles

The sheer amount of indie samples I have amassed is kind of really scary. Actually more ridiculous, but let’s go with scary. I’ve decided to actively use up some of the samples. My eye base is MAC Paint Pot in Painterly with a sheer, sheer layer of the Oslo Cosmetics Eye Bond Primer Wand over it. For this look, I used some of my Victorian Disco shadows! I’ve got Dashing Doctor on the lids with Spacey Wacey on the outer corners, and a rather pretty coral called Mollywobbles on the lower lash line. Standard black liquid liner on my upper lash line. Quite unsure of what my blush color is here (pretty sure it might be Illamasqua’s Cream Blusher in Dixie?) but the lip is MAC’s Rebel, which is a new discovery/revelation for me. And that’s that! I’ve been trying to wear more colors on my eyes lately, and I think I’m enjoying it quite a bit. Follow me: Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram • YouTube • Facebook

20 Days of Lipstick: Week 4 Recap

And the last week of 20 Days of Lipstick is late and ends on a Tuesday. Mostly because I didn’t want to extend it for another week (i.e. prolong the recap and post next Sunday), just because I ran out of days for lipstick-wearing. Anyway, ahem. DAY FIFTEEN feat. Le Métier de Beauté Hydra-Crème Lipstick in Signature I got this in the first Le Métier de Beauté Beauty Vault VIP box, when they had yet to launch the Hydra-Crème line, and I would never have picked this for myself. Mostly because I don’t believe that reds look all that good on me. I’m glad I got this, though, because I think it might be my favorite “real” red (in case Guerlain’s Orgueil is too purple to count for all y’all. The formula is fantastic, too, if anyone was wondering. Especially for a matte lipstick! I forgot how much I loved this one, to be honest.

Stashed & Forgotten: MAC Powder Blush in Ambering Rose

Here’s another “forgotten” item from my days of overpurchasing. (Oops.) It’s a MAC Sheertone Shimmer Powder Blush in Ambering Rose, described by MAC as a “muted rose.” I myself find it to be a bit more of a golden terracotta/brick-ish color. It’s warmer and more orange-leaning than what I consider to be a rose—not exactly a color I’d immediately spring for—but it looked like a cooler rose shade online.

Sample Stash Sunday feat. Benefit: BDJ Box 7 Day Challenge

I’m not sure for how long these monthly BDJ Box challenges run, but there was so much stuff to sample from the Benefit exclusive box by BDJ last month that I felt I should try and do it, so I could try everything out, at least! Here’s a diary I began some time in June. The products were used, collectively, for seven days. I tried to get a rotation going, but I missed using all my other makeup, too. 🙂 The eye cream was a mainstay, though, but I’ll put it out there right now—it wasn’t my favorite of the bunch! DAY ONE And on the first day, I used the It’s Potent! Eye Cream, and I saw that it was good. Intended for “brighter, younger-looking eyes,” It’s Potent! fades dark circles and helps smooth fine lines. I noticed that it has a more emollient texture than my current eye cream (Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream), but it also sinks in much faster and isn’t sticky. I’ll try to use this under makeup/concealer during this …

Mask Appeal: A Selection of Sheet Masks from Leaders InSolution*

I am a sheet mask nut. I love them so much. But of course, not all sheet masks were created equally. My favorites so far are the ones by The Beauty Buffet (available at Watson’s, sometimes on sale!) and Dermal (a bit pricier, but so good). I was really excited to see sheet masks in my BNTGirls Box this month. Leaders InSolution Sheet Masks* are known to be some of the best on the market. From the masks I received, two were “Premium Care,” these first two aren’t part of that range and come in a narrower packet. The first one I tried was the Collagen Lifting Skin Renewal Mask. It’s for skin firming and skin elasticity; this mask “helps recover younger-looking skin with revitalizing skin by supplying plenty of moisture.” This is what the mask looks like: And what the mask looks like on the face:

Lazy Girl Makeup: Quickly

A look for all y’all who need to get out of the door quickly! Here’s the look, with my old hair, still: It’s pretty basic and safe-ish, but passably put-together if I may say so myself. I don’t tend to fuss too much with base/complexion products when I’m in a hurry, but on a real bad skin day, I will pick up a concealer and target problem spots and areas. Here’s a video in which I talk a bit more about the products and show you how I use them: Products Mentioned: — NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer (Ginger) — Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder (shown: Luminous Light) — K-Palette Real Lasting Eyebrow 24H (02) — MAC Paint Pot (shown: Constructivist) — MAC Eye Kohl (shown: Prunella. Teddy) — Illamasqua Cream Blusher (shown: Dixie) — BECCA Beach Tints (shown: Raspberry) — Addiction by Ayako Cheek Sticks (shown: Revenge) — NARS Pure Matte Lipstick (Montego Bay) What are your go-tos for a quick makeup look? 🙂 Follow me: Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram • YouTube • Facebook

June Monthly Favorites & July Beauty Goals

Aside from my Beauty Dare (20 Days of Lipstick), June was a pretty lazy makeup month, partly because I was more antisocial than usual. Here are a few of the beauty bits I enjoyed a lot the past month, though. I kept switching it up in the eye makeup department, but a quad that I went back to a lot is THREE’s Star Guitar. I also practically used a MAC Paint Pot called Groundwork on my lids as a primer when I became too dark to use Painterly. I’m still loving my NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. I have the shade Ginger and was convinced that I maybe should have gotten Custard instead but that turned out to be too light for me. For my quick face base, I was using the Le Métier de Beauté Peau Vierge Anti-Aging Pressed Powder in Shade 2 a lot last month, though towards the end, I began using my liquid foundations and bases more. My go-to cheek has definitely been the Illamasqua Cream Blusher in Dixie. I used to …