Collective Haul: Ulta, Colour Pop, Sephora

Holiday 2014 Makeup Tutorial | GLAMberry

Happy Sunday loves. A new video went up on my channel last night!

All  products used are mentioned in the description box of the video.

Would love and truly appreciated it if you subscribed <3

First Impressions: EX1 Invisiwear Liquid Foundation

Hey everyone! I tried a new foundation for the first time, the EX1 Invisiwear Liquid Foundation. See my first impressions in my video below :)

GRWM: Pumpkin Spice

Hey everyone - I know it's been a while but I uploaded my first ever YouTube video. It would mean the world to me if you liked and subscribed <3 

August 2014 Favorites

Hey everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the weekend. Today I am sharing with you my August Favorites. I don't know about anyone else but I am so ready for Fall! I'm not the biggest fan of summer because I get super cranky in the heat but give me my blankets and a cup of hot chocolate and I am a happy camper! A lot of these products are rediscovered products since I have been on a low buy for some time but these are still really great products to try out if you haven't already!

On my nails this month I have ben loving Zoya's Lola.I've worn this a few times this month and it's a really pretty bright cool toned pink with blue/purple duochrome shimmer. Perfect for summer!

On my cheeks I have been wearing a rediscovered product a ton and that is TheBalm's Hot Mama Blush. It's a peach pink with gold shimmer. This blush is so so shimmery!!! but not in a chunky way. I had this on and I caught a glipse of myself in the mirror and literally had to think back to recall if I had put highlighter on my cheekbones because there was such a strong presence of the gold shimmer on my cheek. I would even say skip the highlighter when you use this blush. If you like peachy pinks I definitely recommend this one especially over Nars Orgasm just because i think it's a smoother application and less expensive!

 

My highlight fav. of the month is Benefit's Watt's Up. I'm just jumping on the bandwagon with this one and only becuase I received a sample of it but I do really enjoy this as a highlight - it's a cream to powder champagne highlight. I have a post about it here.

For my hair I have been loving using this styling wand by Remmington (I use the 1/2" to 1") I'll start by saying that this isn't even mine but my sisters! 

It has 3 levels of heat - I always use the highest level. I tried this one day after I got home from work on a Friday and didn't feel like washing my hair and it worked SO well on my 3rd day hair! the only negative about this is that for me, it ONLY works on my really dirty hair. I find the curls created with the wand hold up better than when I use my straightener to make waves - idk if that has anything to do with the product itself or not. I love using the wand a lot better than a curling iron or a straightener becuase I can keep the ends of my hair straight - I just really like that look and I can accomplish it really easily with the wand - I definitely want to try one with a thicker barrell - I know the NuMe wand is big right now on YouTube and they are giving tons of beauty channels codes for our use.

 

I have been loving a couple of lip products this month.  Love Love Love the Rimmel Show Off Liquid Lip Lacquer  in Celestial. Color payoff is amazing and it feels really comfortable on the lips! I got about 2-3 hours wear out of this. o\One down side is that it does leave your lips feeling a bit dry so I have been using a soft lips balm underneath this product.

 

The other lipstick i have been enjoying is the Revlon Pink About It Matte Lipstick– So I contemplating selling this in a blog sale but decided to give it one more go and ended up really liking it. Unfortunately, I jut looked it up online and saw that it's been discontinued! Pink About it Is a medium bright pink shade. On some it may even look a bit coral and pull more pink with orange undertone. The formula is not too drying for a matte finish - probably the most comfortable matte I own to wear.

My favorite skin care product this month is an AHA which is a collection of compounds such as glycolic acid, lactic acid, citric acid, etc. The AHA I have been using is a drugstore brand called Alpha Hydrox with 10% Glycolic AHA. I use this as an exfoliant, instead of a harsh scrub and it has made my skin so much smoother and very soft. 

Top to Bottom: Hot Mama, Celestial, Pink About It

What products have you been loving this month!?

MakeupGeek Store First Impressions

Hey everyone! I am really excited about today's post - I received a MakeUpGeek order a couple of weeks ago and was just able to get some swatch shots in the sunlight. I ordered 6 eyeshadows and one of the only blushes that wasn't out of stock.

In the order that they appear in the photos below, I got: Peach Smoothie, Creme Brulee, Gold Digger, Chickadee, Moondust and Cocoa Bear. The blush I purchased was Smitten which is what I have on in the photo below (I am also wearing Cocoa Bear in the outer V). I also purchased a large black Z Palette from the MakeUpGeek Store. 

From my swatching, right off the bat, I can say that the shadows are really pigmented. The matte shadows are a little on the chalky side but are still really blendable and smooth to apply - just make sure you tap off your brush to avoid fallout. It is obvious she tried really hard to give us affordable dupes to many of MACs eyeshadows and  honestly, in my opinion, she succeeded! I think that the color pay off is actually better than MAC.

I have already done a couple of looks with the matte eyeshadows and found that they lasted all day with my usual eyeshadow base (Mac Paint Pot). I can't attest to the more satin but as soon as I play with them I will share my looks and report back! From what I can tell from swatching them, they are buttery smooth.

Descriptions:

Peach Smoothie: A warm matte peachy beige.

Creme Brulee: A soft sand matte shade with a hint of peach undertones.

Gold Digger: A warm metallic yellow gold.

Chickadee: Matte rusty orange.

Moondust; Metallic grey taupe.

Cocoa Bear: A matte medium deep brown with red undertones. 

You really can't beat the price of these shadows. They are $5.99 for the eyeshadow pans which is unbelievable given the high quality feel.

Eyeshadow Ingredients List here 

Onto the blush - Smitten is a gorgeous matte apricot shade. It reminded me a lot of Illamasqua's Lover blush which shattered on me last year (R.I.P. Lover). It's a lighter blush but really brightens up the cheeks nicely. As the product is blended into the skin the color transforms into a beautiful natural flush. Smitten was very long wearing on me. I applied it yesterday morning around 7:30AM and it lasted well through the work day. 

Peach Smoothie, Creme Brulee 

Gold Digger, Chickadee

Moondust, Cocoa Bear

Peach Smoothie, Creme Brulee, Gold Digger, Moonstruck, Cocoa Bear

Chicadee, Smitten Blush

Do you own any MakeUpGeek Products? Let me know your favorites in the comments!

BeneFit Watt's Up Highlight

Recently, I have been enjoying shopping my stash to avoid spending money on unnecessary purchases. This summer I have been really focused on using products that shape, sculpt, and highlight certain points of my face. A product I discovered that has been a well loved highlighter within the blogging community is BeneFit's Watt's Up. I received this sample last year as part of my Birthday Present from Sephora and am wondering why I waited so long to use it!

BeneFit's Watt's Up is a cream to powder champagne highlighter that adds a gorgeous light golden iridescence to the skin. It truly leaves the most gorgeous glowing effect to any high point of your face. 

I like to apply this with my fingers and blend out so I have control over how much procduct is distributed. The full size product does come with a sponge on the other end for blending purposes. I not only like to apply this on the high points of my cheeks and down the center of my nose but I also really love the look of Watt's up on the inner corners of my eyes and brow bones to draw attention to my eyes and brighten them!

Products I'm Lemming

Hello everyone! Today I am going to share with you my imaginary (for now) shopping carts! 

Even when I am on a budget I love to sit on Sephora.com or Ulta.com, or any online retailer and create a dream shopping cart. 

Because I have been out of the blogging loop for so long, it's really helped me stay away from over purchasing - but alas, as I return, I just want to buy EVERYTHING. 

I'll start with my MakeUpGeek cart, which I am actually going to order today! I have been wearing the same MAC eyeshadows for months now and it's pretty much been the bare minimum. I loaded my cart up with a few new eyeshadows to try and one if her MUG's blushes (so many are OOS)! I also threw in some red cheery lashes because they are only $2.50. If there are any items that you have fallen in lvr with from MUG, please let me know in the comments!! 

Onto Sephora....oh Sephora. I stopped in the 2 level Sephora on 34th St. in NY before I caught my train home and when I tell you I could have bought everything, I mean everything! I only included the *basic* essentials in this shopping cart but there is so much more I would purchase. Some of the basics like the Bronzer and Laura Mercier powder are items that I need but want to venture out and try other brands. I have been craving the Chocolate Soleil for months now. 

When I buckle down and take the plunge on these orders I will most definitely share my opinions and thought with all of you! 

Tell me in the comments section below what's on your wish list! Also, if you could feed or kill any of my lemmings, please feel free to go for it. 

Lancome Rouge In Love: Corail In Love 322

Happy Friday Eve! I took a couple of days off of work for my birthday, which was yesterday, to hang out around the house and hit up the beach. 

My birthday dinner was very low key with my mother, sister and boyfriend at a cute little restaurant at a marina nearby. My lipstick of choice for the evening was this gorgeous Lancome Rouge In Love lipstick in the shade Corail in Love #322. I think I got this lipstick during the Sephora Friends and Family sale last year. I saw a swatch of it on Instagram and immediately added it to my cart.

This is my only Rouge in Love shade but it's one of those staple, everyday pinky coral shades. The Rouge in Love lipsticks are meant to provide a balm like consistency that wears for hours. 

The Rouge in Love lipstick glides on super smooth and provides a glossy finish to start. One coat gave me a nice tint and then became more opaque when I applied a second layer.  I found that after a couple of hours wear, the glossiness wore off and I was left with more of a stain. When the sheen wore off I also felt my lips become very dry.

In the photo below I applied Corail in Love over a neutral NYX lip liner. As you can see it still settled in the lines of my lips. 

Overall, the Rouge in Love line offers a great selection of colors and a formula that will satisfy some. For me personally, its not my most favorite formula but I do enjoy the effects of it for the first couple of hours if wear. My main concern, being the dryness, is easily fixd by applying another coat and achieving that glossy, moisturizing sheen again. 

Do you own any of the Lancôme Rouge in Love lipsticks? Are there any shades in the range that you want to try? 

Pink-Peach Ombre Nails

Hello lovelies! Today I am sharing a different take on an 'ombré' mani. I created this type of manicure a while back using different greens which you can see here: http://nicnacksnails.blogspot.com/2011/08/green-striped-mani.html?m=0

This time I brightened it up why using China Glazes Peachy Keen as the base. Then staring at the right side if my nails I applied a strip of Revlon's Passionate Pink followed by a strip of Sally Hansen's Coral Reef. 

I love this kind of manicure for when you want something fun to look at but you don't have much time for nail art. 

One recommendation I would suggest if you attempt to recreate this look is to use easy to work with, thinner polishes. These formulas were on the thicker side and if I had to go back a touch up I had to work with the polish so it didn't become a globby mess, if that's even a word. 

Thanks for stopping by!!

Don't forget to comment and follow :)

Back At It - Requests

::peers out from computer screen:: I have been gone from this community for way to long and I think it's about time I become active again! The last time I made a post was way back in November. I was working part time in retail while I was in between jobs and I had so much more free time than I do now. I began a position in NY around the beginning of December. The commute takes about 1.5 hours out of my day so by the time I get home I have missed out on all the good sunlight for natural light photos. 

I have also began the search for a home to purchase so you can imagine I am doing my best to cut back on spending, even on beauty related items :( 

I have  revived my Twitter and Instagram accounts though and have posted on both of those outlets frequently in the past couple of weeks so please follow be on there if you do not already!

I definitely want to get back into blogging, even with my limit stash growth! I have already drafted a couple of posts - I just need to photograph the products before publishing them. I would love to hear from you guys, who, by the way, are amazing for even sticking around - I truly thank you for that!

Feel free to reach out to any of my accounts and leave comments and requests listing post you would like to see from me.

Hope you guys are having an amazing summer!