FoTD: Silver and Plum

Hello, beauties! I pulled out some old products from collection and put together this look inspired by a tutorial that emilynoel83 did on her youtube channel some time back. It was great to use products I haven't touched in a long time. It's also sort of a different look for me as I usually stick with neutral colors, but I used some silver and purple and it was actually a nice day time look.

 

 

Eyes:
Primer-Wet n Wild Fergie Eyeshadow Primer
Base: NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk
Eyeshadow: Coastal Scents 88 Warm Palette and L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Smoldering Plum
Mascara-Benefit They're Real and Maybelline Lash Discovery

 

Face:
Primer-Pixie Flawless Primer
Foundation-Revlon Color Stay Whipped Foundation
Concealer-Benefit Erase Paste
Blush-Mac Well Dressed
Lips-Nars Lipgloss in Turkish Delight

 

Tools:
Eyelash Curler-Tarte
Sigma E-55 Shader
Sigma E-30 Pencil
Sigma E-70 Angled Shader
Sigma E-40 Tapered Blending
Sigma P-88 Precision Flat Angled
Sigma E-65 Small Angle

 Tools cont.:
Sigma F-84 Angled Kabuki
Sigma F-70 Concealer
Real Techniques Blush Brush

Let me know if you guys would like more FoTD posts! This was really fun :) Until next time, stay gorgeous!

Daily Tidbits:
1. Finally doing a Vlogmas video....after I started Vlogmas 7 days ago. Ooops!
2. Just watched this weeks Vampire Diaries. Oh My God!!
3. Starting to plan my Bells Beauty Awards for 2013. Can't believe its the end of the year already!

This Weeks Videos: November Favorites and How to Depot Mac Shadows

Hello beauties!! Here's this weeks videos! I'm glad I was able upload 2 this week :) Enjoy!

Monday: November Favorites

Wednesday: How to Depot Mac Shadows

 

 

Black Friday/Cyber Monday Deals and Sales!

Hello beauties and happy Thanksgiving!! I hope you all have a good holiday and spend some time with family and friends. I unfortunately have to work this Black Friday(3 am is when my shift starts!) so I'll be going to bed halfway through my holiday. But I want to pass along some great deals and steals for the big shopping day.

Beauty Deals:

Ulta- Ulta's deal's list can be found here. I feel like they're offerings are a bit better than Sephora's, offering a better range of products and deals. The bargain I really like and would likely buy if I weren't already stocked up is the Big Sexy Hair products for only $6.99, that's a whole $10 off!!! Other noteable deals are the Clarasonic Mia being only $99(Sephora jumped the gun on that one and offered it earlier in the week) and the $16 Urban Decay Palette. Also, Chi flat irons are super discounted.

Sephora- Sephora's "Dealtopia" can be found on the company's pinterest page. Lots of full sized or deluxe sample sets for only $10! I perused the list but nothing jumped out at me that I really wanted. Though I will say the Stila palettes are amazing deal!

Sigma Beauty- As a Sigma Affiliate, I'm privy to the deals they will be offering and it's my job to let you guys in the loop. If you live outside the States and have always wanted to order from Sigma but couldn't justify the shipping rates, now's your chance. Sigma will be offering FREE WORLD WIDE SHIPPING!! Yes, you read that right :) Doesn't matter where you live in the world, you can get Sigma brushes shipped for free!

Also, for Cyber Monday(Internet's version of Black Friday) select items on the Sigma site will be 20% off. As for what these items are, I'm not sure yet. I also have a discount code for 10% off your order which you can use on top of the free shipping or the 20% off. Use code NOV2013 at checkout!

Non-Beauty Deals:

American Eagle- If you didn't know, I work at American Eagle so I thought I'd do a little plugging :) Stores are opening at 8 pm Thanksgiving. For the first 10 hours, 8 PM to 6 AM, the whole store will be 50% off. After 6, the store goes back to 40% off. And from what my manager told me, you can also stack coupons , which isn't something we normally allow.

Bath and Body Works- BB&W is offering their usual tote full of goodies this year. All you need to do is spend $40 to get the tote for $20. It's full of a $100 worth of product. As of now, I'm not sure what the other deals are but I will edit this post when I find out.

Aeropostale- Aero is offering 60% off the whole store, which isn't much compared to the bulldog sale that happens 2-3 times a year. I'm not much of an Aero shopper anymore, but I do like them for their hoodies and sweatpants(I'm a sucker for sweatpants :) ) so now would be a good time to stock on the essentials.

If you're going to skip out on Black Friday and just shop online(which I don't blame you and I thank you for!) don't forget to use ebates so you can take advantage of more coupons and get cash back. I don't shop online without it!

What are some other Black Friday deals I missed? If you have any you'd like to contribute, please leave a comment below. Good luck and get some good deals. Till next time, stay gorgeous!

My Favorite Beauty Gurus!

Hello beauties!! Today I thought I'd do a different kind of post today and talk about my favorite beauty vloggers on youtube. I've been watching beauty videos for....wow has it really been 5 years?? I remember stumbling upon Allthatglitters21's pirate tutorial, wondering "What is this? Is she really showing you how to apply eyeshadow?" At first, I didn't think much of it, but then I started watching more and more. I slowly worked my way through her videos, and then moved on to watching her sister, juicystar07 and marathoned her videos as well. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was hooked on something that would later lead to me starting my own channel. I watched many a youtuber, some I ended up unsubbing to due to various reasons. Some of the first I watched don't even make videos anymore for which I am very sad. But here are some wonderful youtubers who I've discovered and love not only their tutorials or reviews, but they're all around personality.

1. emilynoel83

 



Fellow Midwest girl! No wonder I like her videos so much :) All joking aside, Emily from beauty broadcast is one of my favorite people to watch, mainly due to her quirky personality. She's very straight forward and honest in all her reviews. She may get sent products, but if she don't like it, she'll tell you straight up. Her reviews are always very concise and informative and her tutorials are breathtaking and creative. I also love that her husband does some videos with her, I look forward Ty Day Friday's on her beautybroadcastexpress channel. In many ways, she inspired me to start my own channel.

2. amarixe

I've been watching Allison, or amarixe, for a long time now. Her tutorials are simply stunning! And usually very short too ;) Her fashion sense though, is what I admire most. Her videos are always very genuine and heartfelt. And the other great thing is on her vlog channel she is always doing book reviews! As an avid reader, I really look forward to her book reviews so I can get ideas for new books to read.

3. missglamorazzi  

 

Ingrid, or missglamorazzi is probably one of the beauty guru's I've been watching the longest. Her "get ready with me" videos are my favorites to watch! Also, she uses a lot of drugstore products which I really like. However, she also has avlog channel that I simply love watching. She doesn't vlog on it much now, but in past years she did vlogmas which I looked forward to every day :)

4. eleventhgorgeous

This sister duo consists of Tracy and Stefanie. I love watching their videos cause they never take it too seriously. They're always joking around and acting crazy. Best of all, most of the products they talk about or use are from the drugstore!

5. andriamatillano

 

Andria's relatively new on the youtube scene, been making videos for 2 years now. But she's an absolute sweetheart!! And her videos are super cute! She does a lot of fashion videos and reviews and couple tutorials.

Latest Video: September Favorites! Urban Decay, Benefit, and More!

Hello there beauties! ITS FRIDAY!!! TGIF! I'm so happy its the weekend, I finally get some time off, two whole days.  Very excited! Anyway, I wanted to post my lastest video, which was my September Favorites, sharing with you my top products in September.

September was full of rediscoveries and new products! I rediscovered my love for the Urban Decay Naked palette as well as fell in love with multiple Benefit products I won through a contest with Benefit and Ipsy. I also found a new favorite foundation from L'Oreal.

 



Also, if you haven't yet, go enter my fall giveaway for a chance to win these awesome goodies! That's it for today, what products did you love this past month, let me know in a comment below. Thanks for reading! Stay gorgeous!

Daily Tidbits:
1. I'm so tired, I worked 26 hours this week. It may not seem like much, but in retail...its a lot!
2. I finally have a weekend off, 2 days off in a row! I'm going out of town to the community college I attended for the homecoming football game and to see all my friends. I'm also visiting my brother who is attending there now. Lot's of fun shall ensue!
3. I'm watching Finding Nemo now. "I'm gonna go touch the butt!"

Urban Decay Friends and Family Sale!

Hello beauties!! Today I bring you word of a great sale going on. Urban Decay's Friends and Family Sale is going on right now through October 12. All you need is promo code FFHOLIDAY13! What I think is very exciting is that is site wide, INCLUDING the much coveted Naked palettes. Also, if you haven't tried the new Revolution lipsticks yet, definitely pick a few up to try. You won't regret it :) Until next time, stay gorgeous!

What are you picking up from the sale??

Nail Polish Haul: OPI and Butter London

Hello beauties! I've done some damage at Ulta this past month(Damn you, 21 Days of Beauty!). I got some drugstore goodies that aren't really worth mentioning since they are repurchases. But I did go ham on the nail polish. Two days of deals featured Butter London for only $10 a bottle so I picked up 4. I also picked up some OPI since the deal was buy 2 bottles of polish get a free top or base coat. Here's what I got!

 

 

 The four Butter London's I got were(left to right) Blagger, Toff, Trout Pout, and Giddy Kipper. I thought they'd all be great for fall, except for Trout Pout which is a very bright, salmon color. Blagger is so pretty!!!

 

As for OPI, I repurchased I'm Really Not a Waitress, which is a very beautiful red that works for every occasion. I also decided to buy Peace & Love & OPI from the San Francisco collection. It's a stunning metallic that turns from green, to silver to purple depending on the lighting. It's my new favorite nail polish!!

 

From left to right we have, Blagger, Giddy Kpper(which is actually lighter and more purple than the camera is making it out to be) Trout Pout, Toff, I'm Really Not a Waitress and Peace & Love & OPI. All great fall colors :)

 

Have you purchased any new nail polishes lately? Let me know in a comment below! Thanks for ready. Stay gorgeous!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top 10 Fall Nail Picks 2013

Hello beauties!! I had some major technical difficulties last week and hadn't been able to upload a video in almost 2 weeks. Thankfully, my dad played around with my camera and was able to fix the problem I was having. Fingers crossed that it's a permanent fix :) It was requested that I do a video with my picks for fall nail polish, so I dug around in my collection and pulled out my ten favorite colors to wear for fall. Thanks for watching and stay gorgeous!

Polishes mentioned:
China Glaze Dress Me Up
OPI Chicago Champaign Toaste
Zoya Megan
OPI I Don't Give a Rotterdam
Revlon Naughty
OPI Peace, Love and OPI
OPI Suzi and the Seven Dusseldorfs
China Glaze Harvest Moon
China Glaze Stone Cold
OPI I'm Not Really a Waitress

Daily Tidbits:
1. Thankful to have a day off. Sad I'm using it to do some much needed laundry.
2. I'm very close to 200 subscribers on my youtube channel. I only need 9 to make it! youtube.com/bellsbeauty
3. 1 month and 5 days until my 23 birthday!! I'm excited but I'm starting to get to the point that I dread getting older.

Maybelline Color Tattoo Pure Pigments Reveiw & Swatches

Hello beauties! I bring this review from my sickbed. I've been sick and decided to crank out some blog posts while stuck in bed. This review has been a long time coming! I've had these pictures sitting on my memory card for over 2 months now, it's time to post them. The blogosphere was a buzz with these Maybelline Color Tattoo Pure Pigments a few months ago and I had happened upon them at Walmart at chance but I do know they are available at Target, Ulta, Walgreens, and other drugstores. They run $5-7 depending on where you buy them, which is an amazing price for the quality product your getting. Swatches of all four shadows will be at the end of the post.

 First up is Forest Fatal, which is a beautiful deep green color. I don't know what possessed me to buy a green shadow, it's not normally a color I go for but I'm so happy I did because it's simply stunning! It's got a lot of shimmer to it, as do almost all of the shadows, and its a great stand alone shadow for a simple look. I can also see using it for a colorful smokey eye.

 Breaking Bronze is a very dark, bronze color. I was very surprised at how intense and dark it was in the container but applied it's more golden bronze. It's another great stand alone shadow for a one shadow look but I also like to apply it over a Maybelline Color Tattoo cream shadow such as Bad to the Bronze and use some cooler, darker colors in the crease. This shade is very, very shimmery!

 



 

 

Buff and Tuff is a nice skin tone shade that's nice for highlighting or all over the lid. This is more of a satin finish with not as much shimmer as the rest.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                         

 

 

Last is my favorite and most used shade, Barely Brazen. It's almost exactly like the Color Tattoo cream shadow in Barely Beige. This is one of the most shimmery of the four I have. It's a very nice pearl color with just a hint of simony pink under tone. I love using this in my inner corner as a highlight. I have had a hard time using anything else, unless the look called for a matte highlight.



Here are some swatches of the four pigments. Left to right, Breaking Bronze, Buff and Tuff, Barely Brazen and Forest Fatal.  All the shadows are very buttery, pigmented, and as you can see, very shimmery. If you like matte shadows, I suggest staying away from these pigments. If you want to intensify them further, spritz a little Mac Fix Plus or even just some water on a eyeshadow brush and apply for a foiled effect.

 

All in all, I love these pigments. I think I have all the colors I want from this line, but there are some really pretty blues and purples as well. You can find these at most drugstores for $5-7, but can usually find Maybelline on BOGO. Let me know if you have any questions :) Stay gorgeous!



Deal Alert! Mac Pro Palettes and Free Shipping!

Hello beautiful! I was catching up on some of my favorite blogs when I saw Neuvocheap's blog post about Mac Cosmetics lowering the price of their pro palettes and offering free shipping. You can read her blog post here. On her original post, it says you need a code to get free shipping and that it was only available until 8/8 but I placed an order this morning and I didn't need a code and it was still free shipping without a minimum purchase. Here's a rundown of what I ordered.
Pro Palette Large/Single-$8 this is they're large eyeshadow pro palette. I'm not sure of the original price but I do remember them being somewhat pricey. They're large/duo palette is also only $8. The duo and quad  palette prices are $5 and $8.

Pro Palette Eyeshadow 15x Insert-This, lovely readers is only $2!!! It is currently sold out and on backorder but I honestly don't mind waiting the 2 weeks quoted to me because it was so cheap. They also have the blush insert for $2 as well.

I also ordered an eyeshadow as well. The pro pan eyeshadow's also decreased in prices as they were originally $12 and are now $10. I decided on Satin Taupe since I didn't have it and everyone raves about it. This will be my 3rd Mac Shadow and I'm very excited to get it.

So will you be taking advantage of the shipping and ordering anything? What are some of your favorite Mac products? Thanks for reading! Until next time, stay gorgeous!

NoTD: CoverGirl's Pina Colada

Hi beauties! Can you believe tomorrow is August 1st?? Where did summer go?! Today, in celebration of the dog days of summer, I bring you a very bright nail of the day post. This is Covergirl's Pina Colada. It's part of the nailtini line. It's a very tiny, cute bottle. I wish nail polish would just be sold in this size bottle, perhaps then I'd actually use up a bottle.

 

 

I picked this up at Target a few months ago but haven't gotten around to doing a post on it. I thought it would be a lot more pastel, as the bottle made it seem, but its actually a very bright neon yellow. I'm not a hundred percent sold on the color, I just don't think it looks good on me. On someone with a better tan, I think it would look great. As for formulation, it leaves much to be desired. It was very streaky, even with 3 coats which I used. It also chipped within a few hours. And I used a top coat!! If I had to say one positive thing about this polish, is that it was extremely shiny even before I put on the top coat.

I did get a lot of compliments while wearing this polish, so I guess people like it on my nails more than I do. I've only tried 2 other of Covergirl's nail line but I'm overall not impressed. What do you think of the Covergirl polishes? Until next time, stay gorgeous!

 

Daily tidbits:

1. I just found out my housing assignment at college and found out I'm in an off campus townhouse(which is still considered college housing) and its completely unfurnished. Expect lots of organizational and décor posts coming your way!

2. We are getting crazy busy at work because back to school season is in full swing.

3. Along that note, tax free weekend in Iowa is this weekend. Guess who's going shopping?? This girl right here!

 

Sigma Beauty 20% Off Sale!

Hi beauties!! Just wanted to give you a heads up about the Sigma Beauty flash sale.  Their entire website is 20% off. You can get a set of brushes, or the spa glove, or some of their awesome makeup palettes. The only thing is, to access the sale you need a special affiliate code.  But your in luck, because I can provide you with just that! I'm including a video explaining the sale and with a few recommendation's of some of my favorite Sigma products. 

 

 

If you've been dying to try some of Sigma's brushes but have been putting it off, now's the time to buy.  Oh maybe I should give you the code now! My code is SBAP20 and you can enter it at checkout! So what are you gonna get? Let me know in a comment and I will see you all in my next post! Stay gorgeous! 

Review: Milani's Baked Blush in Dolce Pink

 Hello beauties! Can you believe how hot it's been?  It's sweltering here in Iowa. Can't wait for it to cool down this weekend! Anyway, I have a new favorite blush from the drugstore that I wanted to share with you.  This is Milani's Dolce Pink and it is a beautiful coral.

 As you can see from this swatch, it's very shimmering and has some noticeable glitter. If your not a shimmer or glitter person, this isn't going to be the blush for you. This blush does go on a little sheer but it's very buildable. I use the Real Techniques Blush Brush to apply this. I don't feel the need to use an additional highlight with this blush because it is so shimmery.  The one thing I do like about this blush is that it lasts so long! It will get me through a long shift at work and still look as though I just applied it.
Milani's blushes run around $7-8 and are available at Kmart, select CVS, Walgreen's and Targets. I, however, order them cherryculture.com where they are available for much cheaper.
Have you tried any of these baked blushes? What color should I try next?

 

Quiz: What Brush Should I Be Using For Blush?

Hi beauties! Today I just wanted to quick share this blush brush quiz I saw in an email from Sigma. If your like me and are a blush junkie, this quiz might be really helpful in picking out the correct brush to use with cream or powder blushes. Take the quiz and find out what is the best brush for you!

 

 

Of these brushes, I totally recommend the F40 Large Angled Contour. I use it for everything; blush, countouring, highlighting.  I own 3 of these!!

I hope this little quiz was fun for you! Let me know what brush it said was perfect for you and if you have any questions on any of the brushes feel free to ask! Till next time, stay gorgeous :)

Cleaning Out My Makeup, Project Pan Update!!

Hello, beauties!! A few months ago, I showed you what makeup I was trying to use up and here I am again with an update. I used up most of the products I put aside in a makeup bag(see post Spring Cleaning My Makeup?? Project Pan???) so I went through my stash and picked out some more products I wanted to attempt to use and possibly use up. I decided to put a full face of makeup in here for the days I really don't want to do much with my makeup, either due to it being to hot or just pure laziness.

 For a foundation, I decided I wanted to use my Covergirl BB Cream. I'm almost out of this and just want it out of my collection. I like it, but compared to other bb creams out there, its just not that great.  It offers ok coverage but does nothing for dark marks or acne scaring. It's more of a tinted moisturizer.

 This is by far one of my favorite face primers.  It's only a sample size that I received in a Target beauty bag.  Pixie's Flawless and Poreless. This I should be done with in the next few days. I will most likely be making a trip to repurchase once I go through some other face primers I have.

 I don't know if they've reformulated Urban Decay's Primer Potion or if its just the new packaging but I like this primer so much more now. I feel like I get better coverage to cover my pigmented eyelids with this than I did in the old packaging. I'm almost out of this and will probably be done by the end of the month. Will I repurchase? I don't know. I have several other primers I to go through and found a cheap drugstore alternative.

This is the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Pressed Powder. I simply love this powder! I don't want to use this up but I always need to use this in conjunction with the Covergirl BB Cream to add more coverage and set the bb cream.

Oh my Covergirl Shimmering Sands Trio....so loved!! As you can see by the huge chuck of pan in the center shadow, I tend to use this a lot.

I've been doing something unusual for me and using bronzer. Normally I only do this when I'm sick and therefore even paler than normal.  But lately I've been enjoying taking this Rimmel Bronzer(so old that I can't even read the packaging anymore) with a large powder brush and sweeping it all over my face.  And this bronzer is very old(I'm sad to say I think almost 2 years) and I want to use it up.

One of my favorite blushes of all time. This is NYX's Mocha. I got into a blush rut and haven't used this in ages so I wanted to give it some love. I'm trying to change out the blush in this bag at least once or twice a month so I can use all my blushes. When did I start to collect so many blushes??



Lastly, for a lip product, I decided to throw in this NYC Applelicious I received in an Influenster box recently. I don't remember the name of this but its a great little tinted lip balm. It's very moisturizing and smells amazing! It doesn't offer much in the way of color but I do like this when I just want a little something on my lips. Of course, I change up my lip color every day so I don't stick with just this.    

 

Ok, those are all the products in my current bag of products to use up. If you want to see when I do use them up, subscribe to my beauty channel, http://www.youtube.com/user/bellsbeauty where I do empties videos. Thanks for reading! Have a good weekend!!                                                                                                                                                                      

Latest Video: June Favorites Drugstore and High End

Hello gorgeous! I uploaded my June favorites this week, have you seen it yet? I feature both high end and drugstore in this one as well as some fashion favorites which is really different for me. Heads up on some upcoming blog posts, I have a review coming one of my new favorite blushes as well as some swatches of the new Maybelline pigments that I got my hands on today. They are breathtaking!! Ok, sorry for the quick blog post.  Thanks for reading :)

Tag: Would You Rather Makeup Edition

I saw this tag floating around on the blogsphere and thought I'd give it a go. I generally have a tough time playing would you rather because I have hard time making decisions. Let's see how this goes.

 

1. Would you rather lose all of your mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks, and lip glosses or lose all of your palettes and eyeshadows?

Hmm, this is a tough one. I think I would cry, literally cry if I lost my eyeshadows, especially my Urban Decay Naked Palette. So I think I'd rather lose all my mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks, and lipglosses. They're all drugstore and easily replaced.

2. Would you rather chop off all your hair or never be able to cut it again?

After having my hair chopped off, I can easily say never being able to cut it off. Short hair just doesn't work for me!

3. Would you rather have a coral cheek or a pink cheek?

I love my pink blushes, but judging from my blush collection I have an addiction to coral cheek colors. In fact, I just bought a new blush from Tarte that's a beautiful coral. My first high end blush, I'm very excited :)

4. If you had $1,000 to spend, would you rather buy clothes or makeup?

Oh that's a toughy. I love shopping for clothes....I love shopping for makeup....Can just spend half on each????

5. Would you rather apply lipstick as eyeliner or eyeliner as lipstick?

I'd have to say I'd rather apply the eyeliner as a lipstick. I'd be afraid to put anything that's been near my mouth on my eyes.

6. Would you rather only shop at MAC or Sephora?

I haven't tried enough from MAC to shop there exclusively and at Sephora, you have a variety of lots different products and skincare from lots of different brands. You'd be hardpressed to not find something that doesn't work.

7. Would you rather only use one eyeshadow color or one lip color for the rest of your life?

I like to change up my lipcolor so much but I can honestly say I usually use the same eyeshadow colors every day. I'm in a rut that I don't intend on breaking.

8. Would you rather wear winter clothes in the summer or summer clothes in the winter?

Summer clothes in winter for sure, something I already do. I get hot very easily and its often I'll be longing around the house in my running shorts in the dead of winter.

9. Would you rather have dark nails or bright nails all year round?

Bright, fun colors all year round. I have lots of dark colors but I hardly reach for them. I like my nails to match my personality and mood.

10. Would you rather give up your favorite lip product or your favorite eye product?

This should be phrased, "Do you want to give up your Urban Decay Naked Palett or your Revlon Berry Smoothie Lip Butter?" I don't want to give up either!

11. Would you rather only be able to wear your hair in a ponytail or a messy bun?

A messy bun. I feel like my hair is this style most of the time, especially in the summer. I just don't want to mess with it most of the time.

12. Would you rather never be able to paint your nails again or never use lip gloss?

I would gladly give up lip gloss if I could keep my nails polished.

13. Would you rather shave your eyebrows and have none at all or Sharpie them in everyday?

Oh god...Just the thought of me without eyebrows or using a sharpie to put them on....I look hideous!!

14. Would you rather live without makeup or nail polish?

Nail polish, I need my makeup!!!

New July Discount Code for Sigma Brushes

Hi beauties!! I have the July discount code for Sigma brushes this month. Use RNL2013 at  checkout for 10% off your entire order. This is a great time to mention that Sigma is making the brushes from the Performance Eyes Kit/?Click=224226  for individual sale! The brushes in this kit are smaller and are great for getting precise application of shadows and liner.

I actually just placed an order with Sigma yesterday and ordered some goodies that I've been dying to try. I ordered a set of brushes I've been really curious about, the Synthetic Essential Kit/?Click=224226 which have synthetic hairs and are supposedly really good for applying cream and liquid products.

 

 

I also ordered the new brush cleaning glove/?Click=224226 that was released a few months ago. It seems kind of gimmicky but after seeing Emily from http://www.beautybroadcast.net/ use it to clean her brushes I thought I'd give it a try I'm hoping that it will get my foundation and concealer brushes cleaner than I can get washing them without a glove or anything.

I will definitely let you guys know what I think about the products I ordered in the mean time I want to know what are some of your favorite products from Sigma? Till next time, stay beautiful :)

FTC: I'm an affiliate of Sigma but this is not a sponsored blog post. Also small disclaimer, pictures are from the Sigma site.

Latest Video: Updated Nail Polish Collection

 

Hi everyone. I'm posting this randomly at 11 at night, so I hope you are up for some light reading before bed. Because I was at a loss as to what video to film, I decided it was time to do an updated nail polish collection.  I have posted a nail polish collection video in over a year so it was long over do.  If you see any polishes you'd like a post on that I have not already done one on, please let me know, I'd be happy to do a review on it :) Have a good weekend everyone.

Daily Tidbits:
1. I've done a lot of shopping at American Eagle lately, making good use of my discount. Would you like to see a blog haul with some pics on how I style the pieces?
2. I'm currently in love with a new trio I picked up from Wet n Wild in the Silent Treatment. Tutorial coming!
3. I am recovering from pink eye and had to purge some of my makeup products.  The silver lining in this, I finally picked up the Tarte Eyelash Curler with sample of Lights, Camera Lashes. I've been fighting the urge to buy this but seeing as I needed to replace my eyelash curler I bit the bullet. Review will come when its safe for me to use eye makeup again :)

Tutorial: How to Paint Your Nails

Hey beauties! I was doing my nails one day and my younger sister came up and started watching, asking why I was doing certain parts of my routine.  And then it occurred to me.  Some girls don't really know how to do their nails.  I remember watching my grandma do her nails as a child, absolutely mystified as she painted her tips deep red. So I thought I'd put together a short how-to on my nail care routine.

 



What you need:
-Nail Polish Remover
-Cotton Balls
-Q-Tips
-Four-Way Nail Buffer(You can get these cheaply at any drugstore near the nail care. I got mine at -Sally's Beauty Supply)
-Nail Clippers
-Nail Polish(I'm using Zoya's Gie Gie)
-Base and Top Coat(I'm not using any because I ran out and haven't gone to buy anymore yet)

 

Step 1:
Soak a cotton ball in the nail polish remore and sweep it vertically across your nail.  If your trying to remove glitter polish, it can be a bit tricky. If that's the case, leave the cotton ball sit and soak on your nail. I'll have a tutorial on a simple way I like to remove glitter polish coming up.

 Step 2.
Before moving on, go wash your hands to remove the acetone, its not good for your nails or hands.  Next, grab your nail clippers and trim your nails to your desired length. I like to keep mine really short so they don't break when I'm at work.

 

Step 3.
Next, take your nail buffer. I don't typically use the file side, I don't like to file my nails, I feel like its not good for them.  But if you want to file them and even out the sides, go right ahead. I move straight to the flat color side that allows me to buff out any lines and ridges on my nails, which I have a lot of.

Step 4.
I then move onto the white side, which gets rid of any scratches.

 

Step 5.
Finally, I buff using the gray shiny side which polishes the nail and makes them very shiny.

 

Step 6.
Now to the hard part, putting on the polish.  If you have a base coat handy, put two coats on before the nail color and let them dry fully.  Then take your preferred nail color and slowly start painting your nails.  A few tips for you. 1. Start in the center of your nail and work your way out to the sides.  This way, you get a nice even coat. And always go vertically, following the grain. 2. If your hands are a little shaky, rest your pinky on something steady, like a book. This helps especially when your using your less dominate hand. Once done, let the first coat dry.

 

 Step 7.
If you need to, start applying your second coat.  Some polishes are opaque enough that you don't need to do this. But I like to use two coats regardless to ensure an even job and to let the manicure last a long time.  Let that coat dry and then apply one to two coats of a top coat. I recommend Out the Door top coat, I think you can get it at Sally's). It's very shiny and last a long time.

Step 8.
Once your nails are dry, take a Q-Tip and soak an end of it in the nail polish remover.  If your anything like me and are a bit clumsy, you'll have some nail polish on the tips around the nail.  I like to use this technique to fix any clumsy moments. It allows me to clean up the edges without accidently messing up the paint job.

 

 

And with that, you have beautifully polished finger nails. I hope you enjoyed this step by step tutorial. Do you have any tips for a good at home nail manicure? Leave them in a comment below! Thanks for reading :)

Review: Revlon Baby Stick in Tahitian

Hi beauties! I'm here with another product review but sadly this review is more of a rant. I usually try not to post bad reviews cause I don't want to cause bad press for brands, but I feel like this product was so cute that it sucked me in, but didn't deliver. Let me start of by saying, I love Revlon products. Normally, Revlon delivers in terms of great products.  I saw these baby sticks and thought "Oh, these are cute and will probably be a good dupe for the Nars Multiples." Nope...

It's so damn cute though, right? This product claims to be a cream blush that you can also use on your lips.  I thought it would be a great multi-use product, I'm always looking for stuff that will cut down on steps in my daily routine.  Revlon's website says that this blush stick will "give you the perfect flush of color and soft, dewy finish with a non-sticky feel". There's only one problem....this product has no color payoff!!

Can you see any color on my hand? I kept applying this over and over but couldn't get any color payoff.  I thought at first that it was just because I picked up such a light color but I looked up swatches of the brightest pink shade that Revlon has and other bloggers had the same result as I did.  Also, don't attempt to apply it to your lips, it feels very heavy and has a very, very bad taste :(

Alright, rant over. This will definitely be making an appearance in my next "Products I Regret Buying" video.  Save yourself the money and disappointment and pass when you see this cute product at the drugstore.

Heads Up: Lorac on Hautelook!

Hi beauties! I want to give all my savvy shoppers a heads up that Lorac is going to be on Hautelook today at 10 am Central time. If you don't know what Hautelook is, it's a flash sale site that offers name brands for a fraction of the price.  They often have flash sales of TheBalm, Stila, Tarte, Laura Geller and more.  They usually have some good stuff from Lorac so be sure to check it out. Also, be sure to get there when the sale opens because stuff sells out quickly. Happy shopping :)

Sally Hanson Pacific Blue Dupe!

Finally a dupe for the Sally Hanson Extreme Wear color in Pacific Blue. I haven't been able to find that shade anywhere and it looks like amarixe found a dupe. Visit her blog to learn more! amarixe: beauty and lifestyle blog: Nail of the Day: Maybelline Pacific Blues:

New Revlon Lip Butters: Swatches and Review!!

Hi everyone!! Last month, I picked up two of the four new Revlon Lip Butter shades that were released in the new spring collection. I didn't like the other two in the collection, so I didn't purchase them.  I really love the two I picked up though!!

Wild Watermelon is on top and Sorbet is on bottom.

First is Wild Watermelon.

Wild Watermelon is a pretty sheer pinky, orange, red color.  In the tube, it looks true to its name, like the center of a watermelon but it applies very sheer.  It's definitely buildable and I feel like the more wearable color of the two.  It's definitely my favorite of the two as well.

Next is Sorbet.

 



 

This is a really bad picture and I apologize, I took it in a hurry.  Sorbet is a repromoted color that originally came out when the lip butters were first released and Revlon decided to bring it back.  It's a very bright, hot pink color.  Due to the lighting, it appears darker on my lips in the picture but its much lighter and brighter.  I like to layer this with darker glosses to tone the brightness down.

I hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for reading!! More post to come.

Daily nuggets:
1. I've only been out of school for 6 days and I'm already counting down the days until I move back to school. 98 days to go...
2. I'm currently helping my youngest sister with her homework. I'm her new live in tutor.  I guess it pays to have an education major in the family, huh Dad?
3. I have an interview on Friday at Rue21 and am turning in applications to Aeropostile and American Eagle.  Imagine the discount, and my boyfriend thinks I already have to many clothes...
If all else fails I'm welcome back at Bath and Body Works for the summer.
4. I've also got a babysitting gig lined up for the summer. Making bank!!

Tarte is on Hautelook!!!

Hey beauties! I meant to post about this yesterday when the even started, but it was crazy busy! But better late then never. Tarte is on hautelook until tomorrow(Friday the 26th) at 10 Central time.  If you've been dying to try some Tarte products, or simply looking to stock up on some things you should definitely check out the event.

Might I suggest:
http://www.hautelook.com/product/9167640

One of the Maracuja lipgloss sets.  These lipglosses are very pigmented and opaque and are simply amazing!

and also:
http://www.hautelook.com/product/9167628

This is an Amazonian clay(Tarte uses this in several products) bronzer in Hotel Heiress. This is one of their most popular products.  It usually retails for $29 but is on hautelook for only $10! That's more than half off!!

Are you planning to get anything from this event on Hautelook? I totally want to order some stuff, but seeing as I'm on a project pan(for more info on my project pan check out this post!) I will try to restrain myself and not buy anything. But I wanted to let you guys know about all these awesome deals! Until next time, thanks for reading!!