FOTD: Copper Tangerine

Another relatively old-ish Face of the Day! You'll notice a couple of new-ish products in here that I haven't reviewed or swatched on the blog yet. I'm wearing a new shade of a Revlon Lip Butter on my lips, Tutti-Frutti, and I love it. This is my new favorite lip product; so easy to wear, and the formula just works for me. The second new product is Physician's Formula Youthful Wear Foundation. I've been hearing rave reviews for it, and  when I saw it on The Peach in this post, I had to have it. It makes her skin look like velvet, right? Well, not so much for me... I've got dry skin and it seems to emphasize that. But if I mix it with a little bit of face cream, it looks beautiful, although that does compromise the wear-time. I'll have to keep experimenting; perhaps if I mix it with primer, or even a couple of drops of Jojoba oil? Eh, we'll see. Once I have it all figured out, I'll get back to you guys with a review.

I am going to ask you guys to ignore a couple of things in the following pictures. Ignore the eyelash on my nose, and ignore the fact that my eyebrows are way past due for some cleaning up here. Ugh. I've been doing the "casual look" lately, and I haven't been as on top of grooming my brows as I normally am.

The look:

And here's what I used:

Face: Almay Primer, Physician's Formula Youthful Wear Foundation (mixed with a bit of face cream), NYC loose powder, NYX blush in Red, Flirt blush in Heartthrob

Eyes: MUFE Aqua Cream in #15, Urban Decay 24/7 pencil eyeliner in Underground, L'Oreal Infallible eyshadow in Amber Rush, Prestige eyebrow pencil, Anastacia brow gel, Prestige My Biggest Lashes mascara

Lips: Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti-Frutti

Here are some more pictures:

Cheeks!

Eye

Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti 

So there you have it! Another simple look... I haven't been interested in spending very much time on my makeup lately, but I'm actually really digging the simple looks. Sometimes I get caught up in adding more and more and more to try to get a more polished and refined look, but it's very easy to forget that a lot of the time, letting some natural beauty shine through is a good thing! Now, I'm not saying I will never do anything dramatic ever again... But I'm embracing not wanting to do dramatic looks, and not worrying that if I don't spend much time on my makeup, that I'll look "halfway done." Although I admit, my eyebrows could use a little more work! :P

NOTD: Happy Hunger Games

I went and saw The Hunger Games yesterday, and of course I had to do a Hunger Games themed manicure using my China Glaze Capitol Colors polishes. 

I did a base of Foie Gras and stamped a fishnet pattern in Harvest Moon on top. I thought the fishnet pattern in the glowing orange was a bit evocative of the electric fences that surround the Districts. 

I'll leave the editorializing elsewhere, but I have read the first two books. I thought they had strengths and weaknesses, but I'll admit I think the writing tightened up considerably in the second book, and that had been my main complaint with the first. They took me 4.5 hours each to read, and that was in the middle of the night when I wasn't at my peak AND I'm a slow reader; I don't know that I would have invested much more time than that into them, but I was excited for the movie. And the movie was fun! Not awesome, but really enjoyable, and I am looking forward to the next one. Despite any misgivings I may have about the plot or the execution (lol, no pun intended...), I love seeing a self-sufficient, intelligent, and capable heroine who is the star of the show in Young Adult fiction.  

Foie Gras and Harvest Moon

Foie Gras with Harvest Moon stamped on it

Foie Gras stamped with Harvest Moon

Sorry about the tip wear and the kind of jagged edge on the bottom; I've had this manicure for a few days now and it's on its way out! 

Ulta Seashell (eyeshadow) & Exposed (blush)

As promised, I have swatches and a mini-review of Ulta eyeshadow in Seashell and blush in Exposed, featured in yesterday's Five Minutes With a Bombshell post. 

These were BOGO free, so I ended up paying $7 for both of them, although they normally retail for $7 each. I think I might go back while the sale is still running and pick up a couple more; I have a $3.50 off a $10 purchase, and a $5 credit from my Ulta rewards points. Not too shabby! Both compacts are the same size and design, with a black plastic base and clear plastic top, which is very nice since you can see the shade through the lid. These are also a vast improvement over the packaging for the older Ulta eyeshadows I own, which had silver painted plastic containers.They each have .08 ounces of product in them. The pigmentation on these was very good, and the product feels smooth and creamy. 

Seashell (the eyeshadow) is a pink with a golden sheen to it. I have been looking high and low for a shade like this. I have a really old Trailer Trash palette by Too Faced with the most flattering golden pink in it, and I haven't been able to find a dupe for it in years of keeping my eyes peeled. This is very close; the Too Faced shade is lighter, but the effect is very similar, and I'm sure I could layer this over a pearly white or white/gold duochrome to get the same effect on the eye, even if they look slightly different when swatched. 

Exposed (the blush) is a vaguely glowy/iridescent pale peachy pink. The finish is just a teensy bit glowy, so it's not going to look glittery or frosty on; just a little more "soft-focus" than a matte. It looks like it has just a touch of a neutral taupe or tan in it, which makes it look very natural on the cheek, rather than a bright pop of color. I have to say, it is surprisingly gorgeous on the skin. It applies sheer, but can be built up to a more noticeable color. You're not going to be able to get this SUPER bright, because it's just not that kind of a shade. It's perfect for a subtle flush you cannot screw up, and I think it would be flattering on a lot of skin tones; on pale skin, it's a warm flush, on medium skin tones it would probably add just a subtle glow, and I bet it would be lovely on darker skin as a highlight. Can you tell I'm kind of over the moon about this color? I want everyone to have it! 

Ulta blush in Exposed

Exposed

Ulta Eyeshadow in Seashell

Seashell

I swatched over my veins so you can get an idea about what kind of opacity you can get these built up to.

Seashell on the left, Exposed on the right

And this picture shows the glowi-ness better:

Seashell on the bottom, Exposed on the top

Finally, some comparison swatches. I always find these helpful since monitors display color differently; if you have any of the other shades, you might get an idea of where on the peach-pink scale these colors fall:

Left to Right: Urban Decay Snatch, Too Faced Trailer Trash shadow, Seashell, Exposed, Coralista 

Summary: I am really happy with both of these products! The colors are incredibly flattering and wearable, and the quality seems top notch. I had no problem with these staying put over eyeshadow primer (for the eyeshadow) and foundation. (for the blush). These can definitely compete with higher-end formulas, and frankly I'm surprised that Ulta's line of cosmetics hasn't gotten more buzz, at least based on my experiences with these. You'll notice I use another older Ulta eyeshadow in Sandstone in some of my looks; it's another favorite color with a great formula. Overall, I've had really good experiences with their products. Have I just gotten lucky? Or have you guys had the same experience? Let me know if you guys have any tips on things to check out or avoid! 

LOTD: Five minutes with a Bombshell

Hey Guys!

I have another quick look to show you! I had two new Ulta products, an eyeshadow and a blush, that I picked up while they were having a BOGO special that I knew I wanted to use, and I threw the rest of this quick look together around that. Guess what lip product I used...? That's right, MAC Bombshell! I love this pink, and both the blush and eyeshadow were shades of pink with a gold sheen, so of course I had to use Bombshell with it. I ended up with a streamlined monochromatic look with a slightly retro vibe.

Here is what I used:

 Face: Almay Primer, Rimmel 25 Hour Foundation, NYC Loose Powder, Ulta Blush in Exposed, NYX blush in Red (on apples of cheeks).

Eyes: Urban Decay Primer Potion, Ulta eyeshadow in Seashell (on lid into crease), L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Amber Rush (in outer crease), Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Corrupt (outer 1/3 of lower lash line), Sephora Doe Eyed felt tip eyeliner in Black (on upper lashline), Prestige Brow Pencil, Anastasia Brow Gel in Caramel, Stila Major Lash mascara, Prestige My Biggest Lashes mascara; NOT PICTURED, Revlon eyeshadow in Vintage Lace (blended from crease to eyebrow).

Lips: Labello balm in Rose, MAC lipstick in Bombshell

The finished look! 

Cheeks!

Closed eye!

Open Eye! 

The Lip! 

I love how this turned out! I think the golden pinks really brighten up my complexion, and it was sooo fast and easy. Both the blush and the eyeshadow are great; I have a post with swatches and a mini-review that I'm planning on posting VERY shortly, so keep your eyes peeled for that. I might even get it up tonight, if I'm feeling ambitious! (read: if I am scared I will forget what the products in the comparison swatches are) I can definitely see sprucing this up for a few different looks this summer; with peacock blue eyeliner when I want a pop of color, with a darker crease color and more sculpted cheek to dress it up, etc...

What do you guys think of monochromatic looks like this? I don't tend to do them very often (using the same color on lips, cheeks, and eyes), but with a shade this pale, I think it works and is a really easy way to pull a look together when you only have a few minutes to spare.

MAC Sheen Supreme Lipstick in Blossom Culture

I was out and about last week and ended up bringing home MAC's Sheen Supreme Lipstick in Blossom Culture, which was released with the recent Too Supreme collection of lip products. On Mac's website, it is described as a glossy lipstick with a frost finish. Blossom culture is a pink-coral shade; kind of like NARS's Niagara, but less pink, more peach. It has medium coverage; it's not totally sheer, but this is definitely not an opaque lip color. My one major complaint is that this settles into my lip lines; I swear, I don't have crazy deep lip lines, and I absolutely hate when lip colors do this. I'm going to try wearing it over a layer of lip balm to see if that fixes the problem, since I love this color.

This isn't my first Sheen Supreme lipstick; I like the feeling of the formula quite a bit. It is a little bit plush, like a kind of thick, glossy balm. These retail for $14.50, and this shade seems to still be available on MAC's website. They have the traditional MAC vanilla lipstick scent; not my favorite (it's a bit plastic/synthetic smelling, to my nose) but it's not something I notice after it's been on my lip for awhile.

Sheen Supreme Lipstick

Blossom Culture

Blossom Culture in the tube; it leans just a bit peachier on my lips

Swatch of MAC Sheen Supreme Lipstick, Blossom Culture

Please forgive my foundation in these pictures; I was test-running a new foundation that did not agree with my dry skin, and ended up looking pretty awful. Ignore the nose area especially :(

Wearing Blossom Culture

 You can enlarge this if you'd like to see how badly it settled into my lip lines. It's not as noticeable as with some milky shades, for instance, but it's not great. I think if you had wrinkles around your lips, it would definitely bleed into those, so keep this in mind if you're considering this shade or formula. You may have to use a lip liner with it if this is a concern of yours.

Blossom Culture Sheen Supreme Lipstick

Summary: I am really torn when it comes to this lipstick! I have been avoiding wearing it because of the lip-line issue; Looking at the photos, I realize it's not as bad as I think it is, and I doubt anyone would notice unless they were really invading my personal space, but I shouldn't be avoiding wearing a brand new lipstick! The color is such a wonderful peachy-pink-coral shade for spring, though; I have been so surprised that I don't already have half a dozen lip colors in this shade (NARS Niagara is the only lip color in this family that I have, and it's a good deal pinker). I wouldn't recommend this unless you are in love with the color and don't care about it settling into lip-lines. That being said, I'm sure I'll still end up reaching for this pretty frequently through the spring and summer because of the gorgeous color.