Silent Treatment by Wet n Wild

Hello!

I'm showing you Silent Treatment by Wet n Wild today! I kept hearing lots of buzz about these new Color Icon shadows on blogs, and decided to try them out. Unfortunately, it took me awhile to find one that I wanted; most drugstores around me don't carry the full line of Wet n Wild products, and so I only had a few of these to choose from. I went to K-Mart on a whim the other day, though, and I saw Silent Treatment, a trio of colors that I actually wear! And for only $2.99, I couldn't resist.

The Color Icon trios come with three colors; one for the brow bone, one for the eyelid, and one for the contour. I don't know that I always agree with the suggested placement for these colors, but I think it's a nice idea for people just starting to experiment with more complicated makeup looks. Silent Treatment comes with a mauvey lavender eyelid shade, a pale peach brow bone shade, and a deep warm brown with copper shimmer for the crease.  These colors last all day on me with a primer or base, and they're very soft- almost to the point of being powdery.

In the following pictures, I'm wearing MUFE's Aqua Cream in 16 as a base, the eyelid shade on my lid into the crease, the crease shade in the crease and over to the corner of my eye smudged down to the lash line. I have the brow bone shade above the crease on the ocular bone, but I used UD's Sellout as a highlighter right underneath the brow bone and in the inner corner. I used UD's 24/7 liner in Rockstar on the upper and lower lashline with Buxom mascara.

Wet n Wild Silent Treatment

The back of the Color Icon packaging

Silent Treatment Color Icon trio

Here are the three shades from Silent Treatment swatched! 

Wearing Silent Treatment in an eye look; no flash. 

And here's Silent Treatment with flash

Rating: 8 out of 10 

I'm pretty happy with this! The packaging is pretty flimsy, and I expect it will break sooner or later, and the shadows are a tad on the powdery side, but these are very comparable to much pricier shadows; it's one of the best drugstore options, in my opinion. I'm not sure why they chose to match up the colors they way they have, but at $2.99 a pop, I don't mind only using 2 of the 3 colors, or mixing in a fourth shade to use as a highlighter. They also don't look as vibrant on the skin as they do in the palette, but I'll have to experiment with using these over different colored bases to try to maximize the colors. Have you guys tried these out? What are your favorite palettes? I'm a fan, and if I find more in colors I like, I'll definitely be picking these up! I'm not sure I like this formula as well as my favorite eyeshadow formulas, like Urban Decay, but these are unsurpassed for the price.

Naked: Cleopatra

Hey Dolls!

Today I'm posting a quick look I threw together before work/ school the other day. I was aching for summer to be here and wanted to do something that felt more "warm-weather" than usual, but also keep it low key enough to not feel like a freak at work and in class. So, as I so often do on rushed mornings when I'm getting ready for work, I turned to Urban Decay's Naked palette. I know I haven't reviewed it here yet, and I guess it's because I feel like so many other people have done a great job of it. I love it enough that someday I may feel the urge to devote an entire post to its virtues, but for now, suffice it to say that I have found it indispensable. And I never thought I'd fall in love with a palette of just "neutrals". Anyway, I digress. I used the Naked palette as a base for my eyes, and then started feeling the Liz Taylor Cleopatra thing. Here's what I used in this look.

Face: I used MUFE's primer in green to neutralize redness, Revlon's Photo Ready foundation, and Fresh's Face Luster pressed powder.

Eyes: MUFE Aqua Eyes in 16 as a base. From the Naked palette: Half Baked all over the lid, Smog in the outer 2/3 of the crease, Sin on the inner corner and blended onto the inner 1/3 of the lid, also used above the crease, Virgin under the brow bone. I used Lola Lola, a single eyeshadow by NARS in the outer crease to warm it up a little, and then used the Sephora Collection Doe Eyed felt tip eyeliner in black to do a cat eye on the upper lash line, tapering out to avoid lining the inner corner. I used Urban Decay's 24/7 liner in Electric on the outer 2/3 of the lower lashline, extending that out to mirror the cat eye, but leaving some space between. Then I used Urban Decay's 24/7 liner in Baked to line the inner corner, lining above the black liner on top, beneath Electric on the bottom, and then filling in between the two winged lines. I finished it off with a coat of Buxom Lash mascara in black to define, lengthen, and separate lashes, and a layer of DiorShow Black Out to volumize and darken lashes.

Cheeks: I used NARS' blush in Exhibit A, avoiding the top of my cheekbone, and then used Urban Decay's Urbanglow in Wicked to highlight along the top of my cheekbone and up to my temples.

Lips: I patted Bite Luminous Cream Lipstick in Apricot onto my lips directly out of the tube and then blotted it with a tissue to give it a matte, stained look.

Et voila!

Here it is, with more pictures than you probably want and/or need:

No flash...!

And with flash!

So there you  have it! I've been digging orange-reds, lately. I did my nails to match, too:

And my sweater was that color. Hah!

At any rate, I like to think that this is what Elizabeth Taylor's version of Cleopatra would have done for a "daytime casual" makeup look ;)

MAC Lipstick in Riveting Rose

Hi Guys!

I'm throwing this review up here before you can no longer get Riveting Rose, a lipstick in MAC's frost formula that was promoted with MAC's Jeanius collection, but was still available with the rest of the lipsticks the last time I checked MAC's website. If you have the chance to get your hands on it, I'd take it- it's a gorgeous color, very unique, but still versatile since it's just another take on plum/berry. There's this sort of deep royal  purple tilt in it; not quite duochrome, but something approaching that iridescent effect, and it's definitely got some shimmer going through it. It should run you $14.50 for .1 ounces of product, and is packaged just like all of MAC's other colors, in their signature black bullet case. It has the faint synthetic vanilla scent that all MAC lipsticks have, although I didn't find it to be particularly strong with this color. I have to say, I think I like MAC's frost formula much more than some of the other ones they put out; it seems to stay put on my lips better than some of the glossier textures, but I don't find it drying.

p.s., I forgot to take my glasses off for these pictures since I was only putting stuff on my lips. Sorry!

MAC lipstick; Riveting Rose

The bottom of the case

The bullet twisted up; Riveting Rose!

Wearing MAC's Riveting Rose on my lips , no flash

Riveting Rose, no flash

MAC's Riveting Rose on my lips, flash

MAC's Riveting Rose lipstick, flash

I include this one even though it's blurry since you catch some of the sparkle in this shot; enlarge it! 

Finally, a swatch of Riveting Rose on the left

Rating: 7 out of 10 

I looove the color of this lipstick! Sure, it's not a perfect formula; I'm not a fan of the scent, and it feels a bit heavy on the lips, but there's nothing wrong with it, per se. I certainly like this frost finish more than some of the other MAC finishes I've tried; it's not necessarily moisturizing, but it doesn't dry out my lips and it stays put for 4 or 5 hours on me, which is on the long side of average. This was supposed to be a limited edition shade as far as I know, but it's being shown as still available with the rest of the regular, permanent lipsticks... So that's curious. Anyway, if it's a must-have for you, make sure you get it sooner rather than later, just in case!

New Poll: What types of posts do you want to see?

Hey guys!

I posted a new poll; while the last couple have been fun, this one is a little more serious. What kinds of posts do you want to see more of here? I've been focusing on in-depth reviews of products with lots of pictures, showing it on my face, etc... Do you guys want to see more of those? Would you rather I just throw up a bunch of swatches, but not show you everything on my face or go into great detail about the products (quantity over quality, basically!)? Do you want to see more nail polish swatches, or more skin care/ body care products reviewed? Let me know in the poll! You can choose more than one answer, and the poll will be open until the 30th of this month (April). If you have specific requests that aren't included in the poll, please tell me in comments here! I can't promise I'll be able to fulfill all requests, but I'll try my best, and it's always helpful to get new ideas and inspiration.

- Sari

Hard Candy Glamoflauge Heavy Duty Concealer

Hey guys!

Still working through this backlog of pictures... I've been reluctant to post some from one batch because it was right before I got my hair cut, and my bangs look absolutely wretched. However, in the name of sharing beauty finds, I'm moving beyond that to bring you these reviews. Today I'm showing you Hard Candy's Glamoflauge Heavy Duty Concealer. I'd read a few reviews from other bloggers raving about this concealer, and seeing as how I've had fairly good luck with Hard Candy products, and haven't found a great concealer yet (despite having tried many!), I figured I'd give this a go. After looking at a few Walmarts for a few weeks, I finally found it in stock in my shade- Light 312- and have been using this ever since. It's a creamy concealer in a squeeze tube, and comes with a concealer pencil that is supposed to be used to help cover tattoos. I'm just using it for imperfections on my face, and the pencil has been relatively useless for that, so I haven't been using it. At $6 for a .71 ounce tube, I don't feel cheated that I'm not using the pencil. Surprisingly enough, I like this more than other concealers I'd been switching around between, which were Kat Von D's Tattoo Concealer, MUFE HD Concealer, and Bobbi Brown's concealer. Those all "cracked" under my eye (I'd get little fine lines after a few hours) to some degree, or had difficult to use packaging. I won't get into it now, since that's for a separate review, but suffice it to say that Hard Candy's Glamoflauge performed above my expectations. I figured it might have the same issues as the more expensive products, but at least it would be cheaper. Instead, I found something significantly cheaper that actually works better! Hard Candy is a line available exclusively through Walmart, and they are cruelty free.

You can use this on top of or underneath foundation, and then set everything with powder, although I've found it looks most natural underneath foundation; sometimes if I use it on top, it gets a little makeup-y looking. I use it under my eyes, across my nose (I get a lot of redness there!) and then on any blemishes I may have. I let it dry down for thirty seconds or a minute, and then gently blend foundation on top of it, set with powder, and it stays all day with no patchiness, wear, or cracking.

Hard Candy's Glamoflauge!

The claims; enlarge to read the back of the package

Glamoflauge and the little pencil

The pencil is on the left; the Glamoflauge concealer is blended out on the top right, and is freshly squeezed on the bottom right, to give you an idea of consistency.

I am wearing Glamoflauge in Light in the following pictures under my eyes, on my nose, and to cover up some blemishes on my chin; it's on top of foundation, but under powder in these photographs.

Using Glamoflauge concealer, with flash

Wearing Glamoflauge concealer, no flash.

Rating: 9 out of 10

I'm thrilled to have found this product! It works better than concealers I've tried from other drugstore brands, and even better than concealers that are five times its price! That being said, I'm always on the lookout for something that looks just like skin; this is close, but not so close that I won't be keeping my eyes open for the next best thing. That being said, I feel like I may be using this for a long time to come; it's a heavy-duty, very pigmented concealer that doesn't get patchy or crack halfway through the day, which is a problem I have with a lot of other concealers. Plus, the color is a very close match, although I wish they had a wider range of colors, since I realize I'm just lucky that one of their 3 colors worked for me. The scent is a little funky- it's not perfumed, I think it's just the way the chemicals smell- but once it's on my face, I can't smell it. If you're able to get your hands on this, give it a try and see what you think; it seems like I'm not the only one who's been pleasantly surprised by this product, and I came in a skeptic, but now, after a few weeks of wear, consider me a convert!

Trader Joe's Enrich Face Lotion

Hello!

Sorry to bombard everyone with so many posts; I'm trying to get through backlogged photos before I forget about them, and before I get too busy with school again this week! Also, I bought way too much stuff from Sephora with the 15% discount; I kind of used it as an excuse to get everything I anticipated needing for summer so that I WILL NOT BUY ANYTHING MAKEUP RELATED for awhile. There. It's typed out, that means someone is holding me accountable; I have more than enough to keep me occupied for months. I filled in some conspicuous gaps in my makeup collection, and I'm excited about doing a few "summer" looks. I put air quotes around that since I'm not into pastels or most brights; I bought a coral lip gloss, an orange based red lipstick, a bright teal eyeliner, a pale pink sheer lipstick, and a muted bright fuchsia blush (among other things...). That sounds like summer to me! But I digress, on to the review.

As we go into the summer months and I spend more time outdoors, I am realizing it will soon be time to retire my winter moisturizer; it only has an SPF 15, which isn't enough when I'm spending more time outdoors. But since I love it so much, and I know a lot of people aren't as paranoid about sunblock as I am, I felt like it was worth a review, especially since I'm already on my 3rd bottle, and I rarely repurchase skincare; I always look for something better. However, right now, I feel like I've found a routine that works for my skin to keep it moisturized and clear; my skin is really dry, but I get the occasional breakout, and it can get irritated and ruddy fairly easily. I don't know about you guys, but I love me some Trader Joe's! I know it's not conveniently located to everybody, even within the US, but it's my primary grocery store; they have really fun, interesting things, and the prices for normal foods are cheaper than big chains. Recently, I've started trying out some of their body care, since I know people rave about the shampoo and conditioner (which I have not tried). At any rate, their facial moisturizer is only $4 for 4 ounces, is cruelty free, PABA free, paraben free (as far as I can tell... if anyone with more experience reading ingredients lists than I can tell me if I'm wrong, please do in the comments), includes vitamins A and E, has an SPF 15 (with part chemical-boo!- but also part physical-yay!- sunblock), and it doesn't irritate my skin. It has a relatively thick lotion consistency without being as rich as a cream, and it soaks into my skin quickly; the scent is mild and fresh, and I hardly notice it. I've used Olay, L'Oreal, and Aveeno face lotions in the past, and I like this better than any of the others I've tried. On it's own, it's moisturizing enough during average weather, but during the dry months, I use a little bit of body oil (NARS- only body oil that doesn't break my face out!) underneath it for an extra boost. This also claims to be cruely free, although I have no way to check up on this.

Rating: 8 out of 10

I've been very pleased with this face moisturizer, and the price is great! I'd gladly play double for the product, but I'm glad I don't have to; in fact, I've paid more than double for competing products, and haven't been as happy. The only thing I wish is that this were a tad thicker (so I could use it in the winter without anything under it!) and that it had all physical barrier as sunblock, and no chemical sunblock. For those of you who don't know about the physical barrier vs. chemical issue, chemical blockers are possible carcinogens, and aside from that, they can irritate sensitive skin. My dermatologist was really opposed to them and told me that with my sensitive skin, I should be avoiding them, and I trust her! However, it's really hard to find sunblocks with just physical barriers (like minerals that don't allow UV rays to touch your skin), when you do they're pricey, and they leave an awful white cast. I feel like this is a good compromise; unlike a lot of moisturizers with SPF, it only relies partially on a chemical barrier (and only one kind; a lot of sunblocks have 2 or 3!), but doesn't have so much zinc oxide to leave a white cast or result in an inflated price tag. If you're near a Trader Joe's and looking for a really great, inexpensive daily moisturizer, definitely check this out! It's a great product,  and you don't have to pay for branding and advertising.

Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in 16

Hi All!

Have you guys tried the Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams yet? I have, and I love them. I have three now, which I will be reviewing separately, since I use them all differently. Today, I'll be showing you 16, which is described as "pink beige" on Sephora's website. I mostly agree with this description; if left to my own devices, I'd call it a pink-champagne color. It's very shimmery, almost to the point of being metallic. The formula for all of the Aqua Creams are like a cross between most cream shadows (dense) and a mousse product, but leaning toward the dense side. Cream is strictly accurate, but it's a little on the fluffier side. These are waterproof, smudge proof, and crease proof; they STAY PUT. Until you take them off. And even then, I have to scrub at it a little. In fact I use 16 as a base a lot of the time on days that I'm too pressed for time to do a separate base and then build shadows up on top of it; I throw this on my eye, add a darker color in the crease or on the lid, and then put something lighter on as a highlighter. The only downside to using this as a base is that it is difficult to blend on top of, although shadows stick to it and do not crease. Unfortunately, it's a bit too dark to work as a highlighter on me, but on anyone with tan or dark skin tones, it would probably work beautifully in that capacity. This can also be used on cheeks; once again, too dark to be a highlighter, and too shimmery for me to want it to be the primary cheek color, but sometimes I rub a little on the apple of my cheeks to add some shimmer and intensity to whatever else I'm wearing. These are $22 for .21 ounces of product, and in the U.S., #16 is only considered safe for use on eyes and cheeks. Some of the colors are eye and cheek safe, some are lip and cheek safe, but none are both lip and eye safe, according to Sephora, in the U.S. So, I don't know much about why the FDA says things aren't safe for different areas, but I suspect if you really wanted to use one of these somewhere you're not supposed to, you could do some research, since I am pretty sure (don't quote me! I think I read this somewhere, but on hearsay) that these are all able to be used anywhere in several other countries, according to their regulatory laws. Or something. I doubt it would kill you to use these where they don't belonv, but it might irritate you, so I'm not recommending it!

Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream

Aqua Cream in 16

Make Up Forever Aqua Cream, Shade 16

Swatched heavily on the left, blended out on the left

 In the following pictures, I have Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in 16 blended out on my cheeks on top of blush, and opaque on my lid (with a Urban Decay's Sellout as a highlighter in the inner corners and under the brow bone). Just for reference, I use my fingers to apply this product.

Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in 16 on face and cheeks 

Aqua Cream in 16 on my lids

16 on my cheeks and eyes, with flash

16 on my eyes; you can see the sheen of it blended out on my cheeks here, too! 

Rating: 9 out of 10 

Love this product! I only wish the packaging were a little better; it's hard to get my fingers down to product level, and the plastic feels a little cheap. Oh well. The product itself rocks; it stays on forever, it is opaque with a surprisingly small amount of product, and is fairly easy to work with; just make sure you blend out quickly, as it dries almost immediately. These are really versatile products, and the range of colors is impressive. I've had this color for about nine months now, and it's not dried out at all. If you've not used these, go check them out! There's a wide range of colors, and this is a really versatile one.

NP Set Lipstick in Havana

So, I've had my eye on the "high end" cosmetics brands available at Target that they brought in a few years ago for awhile. However, I've been apprehensive to buy cosmetics at department store prices from Target; first off, the packaging always looks jacked, like kids have been tearing it apart. Second, I always wonder how the quality is going to stack up. But, I'd tested Havana awhile ago and I really liked it, and so when I was at Target last week, I picked it up on a whim; I'd been looking for a pale nude-pink for awhile and hadn't had too much luck finding something that wasn't too dark or too brown, so I went for it! 

Am I glad I did? Sure. Will I be snatching up more NP Set lipsticks? Probably not. NP Set is a mid-priced range of products from Australian makeup artist Napoleon Perdis. His regular line is sold in boutiques (I can't go into the one closest to me, it's too cute and makes me want to buy everything) and at Ulta stores. NP Set is a more affordable alternative that is geared towards offering fashion-forward looks for the time-pressed woman. Not sure why these cosmetics are specifically for people who are time pressed- because you can pick them up while you're at Target?- since the products seem standard. At any rate, they are meant to be nourishing (for instance, these lipsticks have shea butter and avocado oil) and they are a 98% paraben free range. The lipsticks are completely paraben free. If you want more information on this line, you can find their website here: http://www.npsetcosmetics.com/. 

Havana is a slightly iridescent pink nude cream. The iridescence is really subtle, but makes the color look glowier and fresher than a lot of nude creams. This also significantly cools down my natural lip color without looking unnatural. The lipsticks feel a little bit greasy on, and fade after a couple of hours, but I do think they moisturize a little bit while they're on. They retail for $15 for a fairly generous .14 ounces of product. These are certainly more expensive than drug store lipsticks, but not quite up to NARS, Urban Decay pricing. 

Lots of pictures! 

The box! 

Requisite cheeky caption!

The ingredients, for those of you with sensitivities! 

NP Set Lipstick; the tube is fairly standard, just white plastic.

NP Set Lipstick in Havana; I like that the color is in the cap. 

Here's NP Set's Havana twisted up. A nice rosey nude pink. 

And a swatch of NP Set's Havana on my wrist...

Here's NP Set's Havana on my lips; it looks significantly cooler on me than it did in the tube or even on a swatch. No Flash.

Close up of NP Set's Havana on my lips, no flash. See what I mean about it being *almost* iridescent? It's gorgeous in person.

NP Set Havana, flash

Havana, flash

Rating: 6 out of 10

I'm not disappointed by this product, but I'm certainly not impressed, either. While I love the color, and it certainly fills a niche in my stash, I'm not blown away by the formula. It's fine, but it doesn't last very long, and while it doesn't feel bad going on, the slightly oily slick feeling isn't my favorite lipstick texture. I'm probably being overly sensitive to this, since greasy lipsticks are a pet peeve of mine (along with tight ones!). However, it's not drying, there is no scent or taste, and it's paraben free. I don't think this is my new go-to formula, but I would purchase another really unique color from this line if I stumbled upon it. I like the formula more than a lot of drugstore lipsticks, but significantly less than a lot of $24 dollar lipsticks, so I guess the price tag is reflective of the formula. But I wonder if I wouldn't rather just spend less and get something a little more annoying but save my ten bucks, or just go ahead and splurge on a lipstick that stays put for a longer time and has a better texture. I think if you are a fan of this color, the lipstick is worth a try; I am thrilled with the color, and it seems to go with a lot of "casual" looks that I just want to tie together with a lip color. I'm looking forward to trying other products from this line, even if I wasn't blown away by the lipstick. I have my eye on some of their bath products, the citrus one smells amazing!