Haul: Cherry Culture

Hey dolls,

So a couple of days before I placed an order with Elf Cosmetics, I placed an order at Cherry Culture to get my hand son some NYX and Milani products. Still building my kit, and these are the products I purchased for that purpose, as well as for an upcoming fashion show I have to do makeup for with the theme or a bronzy look. To purchase these products and other products go to www.cherryculture.com. 

NYX LIPSTICKS 

(Round Lipstick and Diamond Sparkle Lipstick)

The lip swatches below are of the NYX Round Lipstick. I love love love pinky taupey nude colors. So I decided to add these to the collection. I haven't used any of these yet, but will in upcoming weeks! 

These retail for $2.50 at Cherry Culture. 

 The lip swatches below are of the NYX Diamond Sparkle Lipstick. They are a little similar in color to the round lipsticks pictured above, but the finish of these are more of a frost and sparkly. 

These retail for $5.50 at Cherry Culture.

NYX MATTE BRONZER

(in Deep Tan)

I was very excited about these new matte bronzers that NYX offers. The offer the following shades: Light, Deep, Medium, Dark Tan, and Deep Tan. I chose the Deep Tan shade for contouring purposes on clients with fair and medium skin complexions. I would like to add Deep to my collection too! 

These retail for $9.00 on Cherry Culture and NYX.com

NYX BLUSH 

(Copper and Pecan)

This is my second time buying a NYX blush. The first one I ever bought was one of their cream blushes. This time around, since its spring/summertime I decided to go with more of a bronzy/glow blush. Also I wanted to be able to contour with these blushes too. So I went with Pecan and Copper. I did swatch these and I love it!!! Can't wait to actually wear them. 

I really want to eventually purchase their Terra Cotta blush too!

These retail for $6.00 each at Cherry Culture. 

NYX RETRACTABLE EYEBROW PENCILS

(in Dark Brown and Medium Brown)

 I purchased these two because I needed eyebrow pencils to use on my clients and for an upcoming fashion show I have. On my own eyebrows I use Elf eyebrow stencil (high arch), Benefit Cosmetics Brows-A-Go-Go Brow Kit, and a Wet n Wild Eyebrow pencil in Dark Brown. I've swatched these and love how easy they glide on. Very easy to work with. I wanted the Brown shade too, but they were out of stock.

These retail for $4.50 on Cherry Culture. 

NYX JUMBO EYE PENCIL 

(in Milk)

 

NYX has a wide variety of jumbo eye pencils. I've only used Milk. This is my second purchase of the jumbo eye pencil in milk. I use it for both a base for bright colors and on the water line as an eyeliner. For more colors visit Cherry Culture. This retails for $3.50.

MILANI TANTASTIC FACE & BODY BRONZER

(in Fantastic Gold)

I love love love this bronzer. I've swatched it and used it on my self and its the perfect gold to highlight the cheeks. The packaging is very similar to Lorac's Tantalizer Bronzer. Can't wait to use this product this weekend on my clients! This retails for $7.99. 

Stay tuned for a complete review on these products in the upcoming weeks.

For more NYX and Milani products go to:

www.cherryculture.com

 

 

Haul: Elf Cosmetics

Hey dolls,

So about four days ago I placed a order with Elf Cosmetics, so I could add these items to my kit. I had a little bit of spare money, and you can always get good deals when shopping at Elf. So I spent about $25. At the time they were having a FREE Shipping Over $25 promo, so I decided to take advantage of this promo since majority of the time they have promos for Free Shipping Over $40. 

The items below are the items I purchased. I haven't had a chance to swatch or use any of these products since they arrived earlier today. Once I get a chance to use these (which should be within the next week) I will do a review. 

EYE SHADOW

 

 I chose these two eye shadows because I'm crazy about gold...and it looks great on any skin complexion. I also needed another blending/crease color so I decided to go with the chestnut matte eyeshadow. 

Both retail for $3.00.

CONCEALER

I already own the Medium and Dark Concealer Quad from Coastal Scents, but wanted to try out Elf''s concealer, just to have options and varieties. Each palette comes with four concealer shades, and a little brush as well. The size of the palette is very cute and compact; good size to have! 

Both retail for $3.00.

 BRONZER

 I have fallen in love with bronzers. Both matte and shimmery. Especially now that the weather is hot, and would be great to achieve a healthy glow with this product. I only own bronzers from my job (at Icing) and NYC. I so figured why not try Elf???

This retails for $2.00.

Elf was out of stock on one of the matte bronzers I really wanted so I decided to see what Sun Kissed was like. I didn't actually review swatches of this product until earlier today...but based off the swatches I saw, I am happy with my purchase. Another bronzer I wanted to try for contouring purchases was the Bronzer with a Brush in Bronzed. I haven't seen swatches of this one, but I can't wait to try it out on myself and clients. 

This retails for $1.00.

BRUSHES

It's always good to have different and plenty of blush brushes and eye shadow brushes handy, so I decided to purchase Elf's Studio Blush Brush and Elf's Essential Eye Shadow Brush. I've owned the Elf eye shadow brush before, but wanted to give it another try. I like to have a variety of eye shadows of different density and size. The Blush Brush retails for $3.00. And the Eye Shadow Brush retails for $1.00.

OTHER ELF PRODUCTS...

I love pinky taupe colors, and I thought this was a pretty color. Something light with a touch of color for the summer time. I've used this today before I went to work and I like it...its gets a little sticky when it wearing, but other than that its okay. I'll probably just wear this over a similar color lipstick. 

This retails for $3.00. 

I love this mascara. It's my second time purchasing this and I get great use out of. I wear it everyday, but decided to add another one to my kit to use on my clients...especially in an up coming fashion event. 

It retails for $3.00 and is well worth it! 

For more Elf Cosmetics go to:

www.eyeslipsface.com

Stay tuned for the review...

Brush Review: Coastal Scents

Hey dolls,

A couple of weeks ago I made at purchase at Coastal Scents because I was in need of more blending brushes, so I decided to go with the ones pictured below. Let me just say I absolutely love these brushes! I have used them every day for the past week or so. These brushes really get color into your crease and blend very easily! Can't wait to use them on my clients!

Left to Right:
1. Classic Blender Crease Synthetic
2. Classic Blender Crease Natural
3. Classic Blender Synthetic

Destiny Blender

New Foundation Routine

Hey dolls,

So I've been experimenting with a lot of drug store foundations to find which one works best for skin. I choose to use drug store foundations because they are affordable and easy to replace when my supply gets low. But I do like other liquid foundations from MAC and NARS. I like to use those brands when I really want to get dolled up and go out.

But as far as drugstore foundations I have used CoverGirl Clean, Black Radiance, FIT Foundation by Maybelline New York, and Revlon Color Stay.

By far my favorite is REVLON COLOR STAY. I purchased the shade in Caramel. When I use it with Black Radiance's face primer and my other Black Radiance liquid foundation (it has a little bit of red undertones to it) it gives me the perfect matte complexion, oil free! And to set all of this I use Black Opal's Deluxe Finishing Powder. I absolutely love how my face looks. And I can go all day at work without my face looking oily...which I love, because I hate when my face gets oily.So if you are into using drugstore foundations I recommend you try Revlon's Color Stay. Its worth it! I purchased mine at CVS and paid $12, but I think you can get it cheaper at Wal-Mart for $10.

Websites:
www.blackradiancebeauty.com
www.blackopalbeauty.com
www.revlon.com

Haul: Maybelline New York & Black Radiance

Hey dolls!

So today while I was a Wal-Mart I was browsing their makeup section and I've been wanting to get the new Maybelline New York 24 hr Color Tattoo Eye Shadow. So to my luck they had them....I've been searching for this for like the past week at several drugstores in my area, and had no luck finding them. I even found them on Ulta.com but all the ones I wanted were sold out :(...so I was happy to see that the new Wal-Mart Supercenter in my area had them! And I was even more surprised that they were only $5.24! I've read reviews and watched videos on this product and the prices everyone quoted ranged from $6-$7.

I picked this two shades out today (below), based off swatches I had saw on loveblendnbeauty.com. I plan on getting a few more, but wanted to try these out first. For what I've read and saw all the gurus pretty much said that this product doesn't smudge, it's easy to blend and will actually stay on for 24 hours. GREAT DEAL!

The complete collection has 9 colors:

I've swatched this one my hand and I can't wait to try them on my eyes!

Also while I was in the Maybelline New York section I picked up the Fit Me Foundation with SPF18. I've been buying different drugstore foundations this week, to give them a try and to see which one works best for me and my skin type. I've heard mixed reviews on this product, but I wanted to make my own personal opinion. According to the website, this product contains no waxes or oils and its lightweight and gives a natural coverage. For the best results it says to apply smoothly and evenly to your face and blend with your fingertips. I AM SHADE 350 CARAMEL. I tried it on my hand and I love how it blends. While in the store I tried shade 350 (CARAMEL) and shade 355 (Coconut). I think I would get the best results if I combined the two, but I went with shade 350 because 355 had more red tones in it, and my skin has more yellow tones in it. I will do an update post about my experience with this product in the near future!

There are 18 shades in this collection.

BLACK RADIANCE
At stopped in Walgreens last night and picked my a foundation I figure I'd give a try. It was under $5. And its by Black Radiance. I chose to go with the shade in Rum Spice. The color matched perfect, although it is a tad darker then the Fit Me Foundation by Maybelline and the Cover Girl Clean Foundation I currently use. It blends very well and gives me a very even complexion. I think I will use this as a back up for when I just want to through on any foundation and go! LOL.

Haul: Coastal Scents, E.l.f. Cosmetics and Black Opal

Hey dolls!

So I have big fashion show coming up mid April that I will be doing makeup for, so I decided to purchase these items to help build my kit more, so that I am very prepared!!! I purchased items from Coastal Scents, E.l.f., and Black Opal. I received free shipping on all three orders. I spent a total of $150 on this entire haul. Enjoy!

BLACK OPAL

1. FOUNDATION STICKS
I have used these before while assisting another makeup artist, but haven't purchased them until now. These items were the most important product missing from my kit, and I just had to buy them. I love how blendable they are, and they are very easy to work with. I bought 4 shades and spent a total of $38 for all four (They are $9.50 each). Can't wait to use these on clients.

COASTAL SCENTS

1. HOT POTS

I absolutely love Coastal Scents hot pots...there are the same size as MAC's eyeshadow pans and a lot of these colors are dupes for some of MAC's eyeshadows. Each hot pot was $1.99. And if you bought 12 hot pots you got a free 12-pan empty palette. I thought that was a great deal, since I need a palette to put all these new shades in. I ended up purchasing 24 hot pots, so I received 2 12-pan empty palettes. But you can also purchase a 12-pan empty palette for $5.95 on there website. (*they also carry a 4-pan empty palette for $3.95*).

2. CAMO QUAD in Dark


In my last purchase from Coastal Scents I purchased the Medium Camo Concealer Quad, so this time around I decided to purchase the Dark, since I know I will be working with a lot of Darker skin tones. Like I stated in my last haul post, I love these Camo Quads...I more so use these for highlighting the brow bone area. They retail for $7.95 each.

3. SHADOW WORX PRIMER in MATTE


Currently I use and own the following eye shadow primers: NYX eyes shadow base in White, Sally Hansen eye shadow base, MAC's paint pot in Groundwork, and Urban Decay's eye shadow primer in Sin. I decided to add the Coastal Scents Shadow Worx primer in Matte to my collection since its comparable to Urban Decay's original eye primer. My collection of eye shadows are mostly shimmer shades, so I purchased this matte primer so that I can turn some of my shimmer eye looks into matte eye looks. Can't wait to test it out! This retails for $9.95.




E.L.F. Cosmetics

1. PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP ARTIST BELTI was in great need for one of these, and I finally got it! And I can't wait to use it! This will work so much better for me when working on clients instead of having to pull all my brushes out of a case or pouch. This product retails for $15.00.

2. BLUSH


I purchased two more of E.l.f. blushes. I already own four other ones (Mellow Mauve, Berry Merry, Candid Coral and Blushing Rose)...so I decided to add Peachy Keen, Fushia Fusion & Tickled Pink to my collection as well. I have already used the previous four I bought and love how they just bring my cheeks to life. And they only retail for $3! Good deal!

3. EYEBROW STENCIL KIT


I was always interested in how these things work. I draw and fill in my own eyebrow with wax, powder, and pencil now, but I can't wait to try out these stencils to see if I get different results. The pack comes with four stencils and retails for only $1!

4. CREAM EYE SHADOWS
(Top to Bottom: Bronzed & Natural Glow)

I wasn't really impressed with E.l.f.'s Duo Cream Eye shadow (I own the one in Butter Pecan), but I wanted to try their single cream eyeshadows to see if there would be any difference. I purchased shadows in Bronzed and Natural Glow. Can't wait to try these out. They retail for $3 each.

*REVIEWS WILL BE COMING SOON*

WEBSITES:
www.coastalscents.com
www.eyeslipsface.com
www.blackopalbeauty.com

Sneak Peak: Wet n Wild's Eye Shadow Trio in Silent Treatment

EYESHADOW TRIO:

SILENT TREATMENT

Thoughts at First Glance:

So I was browsing through a blog by one of my favorite youtube makeup gurus, LoveBlendBeauty, and came across a post she had about Wet n Wild's Silent Treatment Trio Palette. She had created a look and I loved it! I mostly fell in love with the eyelid color which is a nice taupe color. So I decided to go to my local CVS to see if they carried it...it surely they did! So I bought one..for $2.99!!!! AWESOME!!! Lol.

I swatched the colors on my way to work and love it! In a few I'm actually going to go create a look with this palette and see what happens!!!

E.l.f. Cosmetic Haul & Review

Hey dolls!

So also before Christmas I placed an order with E.l.f. Cosmetics. I received free shipping because my order was over $25 (that was the promotion they were offering at the time). I wanted to continue to build my professional makeup kit, so here is what I purchased...Enjoy!!!

BLUSHES
(left to right: Blushing Rose, Berry Merry, Mellow Mauve & Candid Coral)

I absolutely adore these blushes, and plan on buying more!!! They are so pigmented. I purchased these particular blushes first because I felt that they would work best and compliment any skin tone. They are $3.00 each, which is not bad for the quality and pigmentation you get. I have worn three out of the four (excluding Candid Coral) blushes and can't wait to buy more!

SUPER GLOSSY LIP SHINE
(left to right: Mauve Luxe & Iced Latte)Love these glosses! They were $1 each and are pigmented and smooth. I also own Candlelight, a nice nude, champagne shimmery gloss, but that gloss was out of stock of the website, so I couldn't get a picture for it :(...but for $1 I say these glosses are worth it!

FEATHER PROOF MOISTURIZING LIP LINER
(left to right: Spice & Mauve)I got these two lip pencils, because I thought it would compliment the lip glosses I purchased from E.l.f. and also the lip quads I purchased from Coastal Scents. I haven't used these yet, but when I swatched them on my hand they were smooth, creamy and pigmented! And they were only $1.

CREAM EYELINER IN BLACKThis is my second time purchasing an E.l.f. Cream Liner in Black. This time I purchased one for my kit. I love this stuff! It glides on very smooth and doesn't smudge. Right now I'm in love wit this product as well as Wet n Wild's cream eyeliner. This product was $3 (PERFECT!!!).

SPF 45 SUNSCREEN UVA/UVB PROTECTIONBefore purchasing this setting powder, I was using Cover Girl's Translucent powder...I decided to purchase E.l.f. powder for my kit. I've used it everyday I've put on makeup and I like how it sets my makeup. I think I prefer E.l.f.'s setting powder to my Cover Girl. This was $6.

SINGLE EYESHADOW IN SADDLEI'm not quite sure how I feel about this product just yet...I've swatched it on my hand and its a very pretty color and pigmented. But when I put it on my eye the quality just isn't the same. It could be the primer I use. On a daily basis I use MAC's Paint Pot in Groundwork which shows up like a neutral taupe on my lid. I probably should use my NYX eyeshadow base in white so that I can get more color payoff. But for $3 I would say its worth the buy.

DUO EYESHADOW CREAM IN BUTTER PECANI have yet to use this product but I'm not really to sure how I feel about it either. I purchased this product based off of a haul video I watched on youtube. It was extremely pretty. And I wanted to try out other makeup brands cream eyeshadow. So far I've used Benefit Cosmetics cream eyeshadow and I love it!!! So I thought I'd give this one a try. When swatched on my hand the colors don't even show up! Maybe I should try it with a base and a brush...maybe the results will be different! I HOPE! But it was only $1, so I can't complain too much! Lol

BLENDING EYE BRUSHI love a good blending brush! It just completes an eye look so well. So far my favorite blending brushes is this E.l.f. brush and Coastal Scents blending brush. I prefer to use the Coastal Scents blending brush to blend neutral colors into my crease area, and the E.l.f. blending brush I prefer to use in the outer corner of my crease to define the crease area a little more. This brush is $1 and very worth it!

LENGTHENING AND VOLUMIZING MASCARA
I love this mascara. It goes on great! The consistency is nice and I can really see the difference in how it lengthens and volumizies my lashes! I also purchased this for my kit.
Retail Price: $3.00


Hope you enjoyed this haul/review.
For my E.l.f. products go to:
www.eyeslipsface.com

Coastal Scents Haul & Review

Hey dolls,

So a little before Christmas I made placed an order with Coastal Scents. I got free shipping because Coastal Scents offers free shipping with orders over $50.

I was extremely pleased with my order. The package came about a week after I placed my order. I purchased these items so that I could build my freelance makeup kit more. I haven't used all of these products yet, but for the ones I have tried in the last couple of weeks, I will provide a review.

So here goes...hope you enjoy!

COASTAL SCENTS

1. 22 Piece Brush SetI absolutely love this brush set. About a year or two ago I purchased Coastal Scents 13 piece brush set, and compared to the 22 piece brush set, the 22 piece is much better quality and of course quantity! I haven't used all of the brushes in this set, but the ones I have used are PERFECT! Especially the foundation buffer brush! Its my new favorite. I don't need a lot of product and it applies flawlessly to my skin. I think this is a must-have for beginner MUA's. It comes with a combination of eye, lip, eyebrow, and face brushes. Glad I made this purchase. Retailed at $34.95.

2. Lip Quads
(In Sun Kissed & Juicy Pink)This is my first time buying lip palettes. Coastal Scents offers a total of 4 lip quads. I chose to purchase the Sun Kissed and Juicy Pink quads because they offered shades that I would use the most on myself as well as clients. They are very pigmented, but tend to look dry if a clear (or another color) gloss isn't applied on top. I can't wait to use these palettes on my clients!
Retailed at $6.95 ea.

3. Go Palette: LondonCoastal Scents offers 7 Go Palettes that are mini size palettes each with 12 shades inspired by the country the palette represents. Each palette represents a city in the world, that include: London, Paris, Moscow, Bejing, Sydney, Nuuk, and Cairo. I chose to purchase the London palette because of the purple and teal shades. Before purchasing I looked at you tube videos of swatches from each palette. I have yet to use this palette, but I have personally swatched each color and they are all pigmented well and I can't wait to use it!
Retailed at $8.95.

4. Pro-Blending FluffThis is my second time purchasing this brush, so I own two. One for my personal use and the other for my kit. I love it! I use it daily. Its my go to brush when I am blending a neutral shade (or any other color) into my crease. This is a must-have!

5. Camo-Quads
(in Medium)



Coastal Scents offer 3 different Camo-Quads that feature four shades of concealer depending on skin tone...they come in light, medium and dark. I purchased the medium quad, but plan on purchasing the dark quad as well. Each quad comes with a white concealer, which I believe is for mixing purposes to get the perfect shade. I have used this product on me and love it. I only use it to highlight the brow bone and above the brow. I have not used it yet as a under eye concealer. But for the brow bone, it works great and blends evenly! Love it! Can't wait to use it on clients!
Retailed at $7.95.


For my Coastal Scents products go to:
www.coastalscents.com