My Favorite Bright Blushes

Continuing in the bright blush theme for the past week (see my post on applying bright blushes here) today I am showing you all of my (not so many) bright blushes. Blushes and lipsticks are my favorite makeup products but though I have fewer blushes overall I tend to love each of them more than I do my lipsticks or the poor, forgotten eyeshadows.

I only own five BRIGHT blushes (and one of them technically isn't even a blush). I swore I had more until it came time to dig through my stash for this post. Obviously pink pinks are overrepresented out of these five. I really need some red or bright coral blushes!

 

Clockwise, top left: R&R All Nighter, Illamasqua Tweak, NYX Hot Pink, Prestige Love, ELF Pink Passion

 Blush Breakdowns (Favorite to least favorite):

• Rock and Republic All Nighter -- This is a strong red-orange with warm golden shimmer. When applied sheerly it becomes a warm orangey glow. R&R blush formulas are by far my favorite among high end blushes and this one lives up to the standard. It blends beautifully, never feels powdery, and lasts all day (or night!). It is the biggest tragedy that these are discontinued! 
• Illamasqua Tweak -- See my review of this shade here. This is a matte warm watermelon pink that blends sooo smoothly for a matte and becomes a beautiful flush once applied.
• NYX Hot Pink cream blush -- This is a bright, hot, cool-toned pink in a cream formula. I don't like cream blushes because I find them a hassle to apply but these are great for an affordable cream blush at an affordable price. You have to be really careful though because literally the tiniest amount is enough!
• Prestige Love eyeshadow -- So this is techinically an eyeshadow that may be discontinued (?). I use it as a blush though and if you have any favorite pink/coral eyeshadows you can use them for blush as well! This is a bright fuschia pink with a slightly blue duochrome which thankfully doesn't really show up when worn as a blush.
• ELF Pink Passion studio blush -- This pale, cool-pink blush is just okay. While it is pigmented, it applies very chalky and powdery compared to refined mattes like Illamasqua, TheBalm, or NARS. In my opinion there are better blushes out there in the drugstore but some people (including me) just couldn't resist the $3 price tag. 

These are one-swipe swatches in natural/direct sunlight and indirect lighting. 

L-R: R&R All Nighter, Illamasqua Tweak, NYX Hot Pink, Prestige Love, ELF Pink Passion

 Click past the jump to see more swatches!

Tips for Wearing Bright Blush Without Looking Like a Clown

So... it's that moment when you fell for that practically neon orange blush and you just brought it home and have no idea how to wear it. We've all been there: one swipe on the cheek and you look like you just time-traveled from the 80's or are getting ready to runaway with the circus. Frustrated, you either have to start your makeup all over again or apply another layer of foundation to cover the offending blush.

 

I absolutely love bright and high-impact blushes, but there definitely was a learning curve to avoiding the above scenario (though sometimes I still end up being a little too heavy handed). Once I figured out how to apply them though, it was just head-over-heels love from there! Today when I was looking through my blush stash though I realized.... I need MORE bright blushes!! Feel free to give me any recs you have!

Tips for Applying Bright Blush: 

• The most important tip  to applying these beauties is to use a stippling brush. Stippling brushes are usually identified by their "skunk"-iness -- they have both white and black bristles. The black bristles are shorter and more dense, with the longer white bristles spread throughout. This means that you are able to pick up less product than a traditional brush but because the white bristles are still spread out, you're able to apply the blush over a larger area. Stippling brushes make it WAY easier to apply blush more subtly.

Sonia Kashuk "Highlighting" Brush (stippling/skunk)

See how the white bristles are spread out less densely?

Illamasqua Tweak Blush Review and Swatches

Illamasqua Tweak is one of my new favorite blushes! It is a bright reddish watermelon pink (or is it? I can never describe colors >.<") that is SO pigmented that I barely dab a stippling brush into the blush with the lightest touch and still have to tap off excess on a tissue. Applied very sparingly it blends with my skin to create a beautiful pink flush.

The formula of Illamasqua blushes is phenomenal and is definitely my favorite along with the sadly discontinued Rock and Republic blushes. This is matte but unlike some mattes (like NARS) I find that this blends really easily into my skin without clumping together where I have dry flakes. It just blends so well with little effort, just the help of my Sonia Kashuk stippling brush.

Tweak is definitely a unique color in my stash and I'm so happy I have it now. I will definitely be trying more Illamasqua blushes next time there's a sale. :) These are currently $24, and exclusively at Sephora (in the US).

Warm lighting: Blended, Swiped once, Built up

Cooler lighting

See how well it swatched? The one swipe swatch is nearly as opaque as the built up swatch. I also blended a teeny tiny bit of the remaining blush on my fingertips on the left so you can see how the color looks blended. Of course if you have a cooler skintone the color will become cooler on you.

 

The color in the pan is STUNNING! It looks different from in my swatch because it becomes warmer on my skintone.

Here it is applied with a Sonia Kashuk stippling brush.

Have you tried Tweak before? What are your favorite Illamasqua blushes?

Rainbow EOTD: Urban Decay Bright Greens

Today's color of the day is green! I almost never wear green eyeshadow even though it's my favorite color, and if I do it's a wimpy almost-neutral like olive so I decided to go all out with a bright green. The colors didn't show up very well on camera, it was even brighter in real life. 

I experimented with the eyeshadow shape to create a sort of reverse cut crease. I packed the matte bright green (UD Chronic) onto my lid, barely blending the edges at all, and then I swept the shimmery lighter blue-green (UD Green Goddess, see swatches below) into the crease. I purposefully didn't blend them together because I wanted there to be a contrast between the two. Overall I thought this was a pretty interesting and successful eyeshadow shape so I'll definitely be trying it in the future! :)

Here you can see the clear distinction between the matte and shimmery shades

Click past the jump to see more photos and swatches of the eyeshadows I used! 

Rainbow EOTDs: NYX Purples

Part two of my rainbow eye looks is PURPLE!! I love the look of purples on brown eyes and I find that it is probably one of the easiest bright colors to wear on the eye. For some reason though I wear purple even less than I wear greens or blues.

In this look I went for a deep blue-purple. The star of the show is NYX Purple eyeshadow (from the trio) which is a stunning purple with a beautiful blue duochrome. I applied it in traditional asian-eyelid fashion, below the "crease," to create a pop of color. This way of wearing brights really makes them more wearable and practical in my experience than pulling the color higher up in the crease.

 

Click past the jump to see more photos, swatches, and products I used!

Rainbow EOTDs: Red

This week I wanted to branch out from my usual neutral eye makeup looks into bright colors. I have so many color eyeshadows but I almost never use them as I prefer the ease of applying a bright lipstick over bright eyeshadow.

Today I decided to start with the first color of the rainbow, red. Now red is notoriously difficult to use as an eyeshadow because it tends to make you look sick. I have never worn true red eyeshadow so this is my first attempt! I'm not convinced it was a success though.... :/

Excuse the super cool-toned lighting because of the cloudy weather. I am not this pale and blue in real life!

 

Click past the jump to see more photos of the look and the eyeshadow I used!

FOTD: Nutty Taupes

Taupes are a beautiful hybrid of grey and brown. Many makeup lovers are weak at any sign of taupe. I love taupes but rarely use them because I find it hard to pair blushes and lipsticks with them without it clashing on my warm, yellow-based skintone. 

I tried giving my favorite taupes another try today. Wet n Wild Nutty is a beautiful shimmery warmed taupe that is a wonderful shade for all over the lid. I usually like to wear it by itself for an everyday sort of look but decided to go all out with taupe today and so I added MAC Copperplate to the outer 1/3 of my lid and in the crease. Copperplate is Matte2 and is one of my favorite matte eyeshadows. It is a medium-dark taupe that is cooler than nutty. Both shades are wonderfully pigmented and apply really smoothly. 

Clockwise top left: WnW Nutty, MAC Copperplate, Revlon Vintage Lace

Click past the jump to see what other products I used and more pics! :)

Forgotten Gem: Milani Intermix Baked e/s

The "forgotten gem" series will showcase products that I've owned for a while but I have recently rediscovered and now love. Today I'll review Milani Baked Eyeshadow in Intermix.

(Warning: I am horrible at describing colors so I'll give it a shot and let the photos do the rest of the talking) The individual vein colors are shimmery cream white, medium bronze, and dark brown. The veining is much more beautiful than in the pic above, where for some reason I decided to smoosh the product and mess up the veining T_T.

They combine to create this beautiful warm, slightly taupey brown with gold/champagne colored shimmer. It is such an easy all-over the lid shade, though if you want to darken the crease I'd go with a matte shade to avoid becoming too shimmery.

Swatched in one layer dry/wet, in indirect natural light

Now I do not understand AT ALL what the point of baked powder products are. I know it is produced in a different way but I don't really understand what the point is. I do know that baked formulas tend to be more powdery than regular ones, which is a quality I usually don't like.

The baked formula makes for a powdery texture like most baked products but I find that it has less fallout than other products I've tried. It applies really smoothly and evenly and blends really well. The shimmer does tend to be blended away easily, which could be a good or a bad thing. Applied wet, the shimmer intensifies and forms more of a sheen.

Swatched in one layer dry/wet in direct light to show the sparkles

This lasts a good while on me over primer and works really well over Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy and similar products.

Overall I think these Milani baked eyeshadows are really great quality for the drugstore price (and compared to higher end baked products as well). They are made in Italy, just like MAC mineralize products are.

Have you tried these Milani Baked eyeshadows before? What are some of your favorite makeup rediscoveries recently?

Makeup Inspiration: 2012 Golden Globes

I'm not hugely into celebrities (even though I live in LA and probably could be spotting them at premieres and such if I really wanted to) but I can't resist awards show season. I think the Golden Globes are a horribly organized awards show in terms of the award categories (some of the "comedies/musicals" are anything but), but it's pretty much second to the Oscars in terms of glamour so here are my favorite makeup looks from the Golden Globes tonight.

My favorite looks are Angelina Jolie and Diana Agron's. Diana Agron is almost always my favorite on the red carpet and she looked just as stunning as always. I absolutely loved all the red lippies on the red carpet. I hope this trend continues! I mean even nude-lippie-lover Angelina went red!

I cannot resist a statement lip and I am suprised that Angelina Jolie, who usually goes for bold eyes with a nude lip, went with this beautiful red lipstick!

Being Chinese lover of a strong red lipstick, I absolutely love Diana Agron's makeup and Chinese paper cutout art inspired dress. Or at least the concept of it anyways.

Freida Pinto is always SO BEAUTIFUL!! Her makeup is always impeccable. I love the necklace and the color of the dress but the dress itself is not very flattering on her :(

I have no idea who Stacy Keibler is (George Clooney's date??) but her makeup is so classic and her dress is my favorite out of everyone at the Golden Globes.

I just love Salma Hayek. Sooo beautiful!

I LOVE how beautiful the cool toned makeup looks on Emma Stone!

She is always so cute at awards shows! Her eyes and hair are beautiful! Wish the lippie was a little less brown though.

Who were your favorite celebrities on the red carpet today? Who are your favorite celebrity makeup inspirations?

Skincare and Makeup for Sick Days

So it's the start of the quarter which of course means I have once again come down with a bad cold. When the tissues start overflowing in my trashcan and I just want to crawl in bed and watch Netflix all day, here are some of the things I do to make myself feel look healthier.

Vaseline, generic Cetaphil, Nivea Creme, and Kose Softymo Deep Cleansing Oil

 Skincare:
I'm a keep-it-simple person when it comes to skincare (we're talking single-ingredient products like jojoba oil). When I'm sick and my skin is really dehydrated and is raw from blowing my nose, I love using good old Vaseline (or generic petroleum jelly). I take a dab of it and warm it up between my fingers then apply a thin layer wherever my skin is feeling dry. Vaseline doesn't clog my pores or break me out either, unlike other thick and creamy moisturizers. Nivea creme is also a good alternative if you don't like petroleum jelly.

Because my skin is already so dried out I try to use a more gentle face wash once a day, like Cetaphil or an oil cleanser.  I definitely stay away from any exfoliators or other harsh cleansers.

My hands also get really dry from washing my hands dozens of times a day so I love to keep a small bottle of lotion with me.

Makeup: 

MUFE F&B, NYX Natural cream blush, BB corrector, Revlon Rosy Nude, CG Lashexact WP

My skin looks more flat when I'm sick so I like applying a light coverage foundation and a good undereye concealer to brighten up my eyes and make me look more awake and refreshed.

A touch of natural pink cream blush and highlighter also adds a healthy glow, but don't go overboard otherwise you'll end up looking more sick!

I keep eye makeup simple because my eyes get watery and itchy when I'm sneezing so I just stick to a waterproof mascara and some waterproof gel/creme liner. If my eyes are less irritated I'll apply a soft wash of eyeshadow to brighten my eyes, especially in the inner corners. I make sure to define my brows to give more structure to my face and draw attention towards my eyes instead of my inflamed nose.

Applying a warm rosy MLBB lipstick also helps add color to my face and make me look healthier.

I hope these tips help, and to anyone who's sick --  I hope you feel better soon! :) In the meantime I'll be faking it with makeup, obsessively using my neti pot, and using enough tissues to stimulate the logging industry.

What are your tips for looking/getting healthier when you're sick?

My Top 5 "Winter" Lippies

Following up on my tips to rocking bright lips post here I wanted to show you some of my favorite winter lip products. Of course what do I really know about the mythical season known as winter? *looks outside window to see 75 degree sunny weather* I'm currently sweating in a tshirt and jeans in LA. But who cares if it looks like it's time to go to the beach, I'm going to be proudly wearing my winter lippies!

So anyways from what I hear, "winter" lip colors traditionally include darker shades such as berries, plums, and reds. Now this sounds excellent to me because I cannot resist a bright/in-your-face lipstick. Most of my favorite winter lipsticks can be worn year round though.

Here are swatches of my favorites. Obviously because I am ridiculously obsessed with red lipstick I just had to include three.

Revlon Fire l/g, MAC Russian Red, Chanel Dragon, Revlon Raspberry Bite, WnW Sugar Plum Fairy

1. Revlon Colorburst Fire lipgloss 
I rarely wear lipglosses but this is a SUPER pigmented bright red gloss that verges into liquid lipstick territory. The pigmentation on this is similar to the Illamasqua intense lipglosses. In one swipe it is full impact red. The lip swatch looks rather odd because of the shininess. 

Revlon ColorBurst Fire lipgloss

Click past the jump to see pics of me wearing the rest of the lipsticks!

Tips for Rocking Bright Lips

I love wearing bright lips but I know most people are deathly afraid of bright lipsticks, so I wanted to give my tips for pulling off bold lips. There definitely was a learning curve for me but honestly I think everyone is able to wear bright lips, they just have to find the right shades and balance the rest of their makeup.

First, I had to get used to actually seeing myself wearing bright lips. If you have never really worn bright lips before it takes some getting used to so try wearing it around the house. Then try wearing it out, you'll be surprised by all of the compliments you get on it!

That leads to the number one key to rocking bright lipstick -- CONFIDENCE! And don't forget to smile :)

Now for some makeup tips to balancing red or bright lips (for beginners):

• Keep the rest of your look simple, but you'll need a full face to balance the lips
• Even, natural skin is really important -- use foundation to even out your skin and undereye concealer helps brighten up your face
•  Fill in your brows. It is SO essential to define the rest of your face to balance the strong lips. 
• Use a very natural/neutral blush. I LOVE Tarte Exposed for this, I also like a soft pink like Rock & Republic Call Me, and you could even use just bronzer to be extra safe (bronzer looks really good with red lipstick)
• Soft highlighting on tops of cheekbones, down the nose, and in the center of the forehead will make you glow. Don't go overboard though!
• Keep eye makeup simple -- I stick to a sheer wash of eyeshadow, black winged liner, and mascara
  
  

Continue reading to see more photos and the products I used!

MAC Lipstick Formula Comparison, Review, and Swatches

  I wanted to compare different MAC lipstick formulas for you to see the differences in finish, texture, and opacity. I own all the regular formulas except frost (which I hate hate HATE in lipsticks). Though individual shades in each formula may have slightly different qualities, I find that most within each formula are nearly the same.

 

MAC lipstick formulas and my thoughts on each:

• Amplified creme: These are full opacity with a creme finish that tends to dry to a semi-matte finish. Most of these shades are rich and BRIGHT. They last about 5 hours on me and don't dry out my lips. These are MACs best formula. 
• My favorites: Vegas Volt and Impassioned.
• Other popular shades: Girl About Town, Up the Amp, Morange, Blankety (not as bright as the rest)

• Cremesheen: These are medium pigmented with a creamy finish. They can be built up to full opacity. These last about 4 hours on me and don't dry out my lips.
• My favorite: Ever Hip (Limited edition)
• Other popular shades: Creme Cup, Shy Girl, Creme d'Nude

• Glaze: There are only a couple of these and I only own Hue, which seems to be different than the rest. Hue is sheer and though it's supposed to be glossy I find it has a creme finish. It lasts 3 hours and doesn't dry out my lips. Don't like this formula.

• Lustre: These are sheer but can be built up to medium pigmentation. They have a glossy finish. They last about 3-4 hours on me and sadly tend to dry out my lips a bit. I love the finish and the shades though which is why I own so many of these.
• My favorites: See Sheer, Hug Me, Viva Glam Cyndi (LE)
• Other popular shades: Freckletone

• Matte: These are full opacity and matte. More than half of these are reds :) They last about 5-7 hours on me depending on the color. I don't find them too drying for a matte formula, though some are more drying than others. 
• My favorite: Russian Red
• Other popular shades: Ruby Woo, Lady Danger

• Satin: These are full pigmented and only a bit creamier than the Mattes. They start off semi-matte but tend to dry matte. When they dry they also dry out my lips. They last 4-6 hours depending on the shade. Along with glaze, these are my least favorite formula overall, though some shades perform better than others. 
• Other popular shades: Snob, Myth, Rebel

In the swatch pics below I swatched each shade in one layer so you can clearly see how sheer/opaque each formula is.Though I have multiple lipsticks in some formulas, I chose representative shades to give you a general idea of each.

Indirect lighting, 1 coat  L-F: Vegas Volt (Amplified), Ever Hip (Cremesheen), Hue (Glaze), See Sheer (Lustre), Russian Red (Matte), Brave New Bronze (Satin)

Direct sunlight to show the sheen

Overall, I don't think MAC's lipstick formulas are the best. As a whole they are one of the more drying formulas out there. I think people tend to own so many MAC lipsticks mainly because of the relatively affordable price point and the HUGE shade range. 

What are your favorite and least favorite MAC lipstick formulas?

FOTD Inspired by Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's

After watching and looking at pictures of Holly Golightly's makeup in Breakfast at Tiffany's, I knew I wanted to attempt to recreate the look. Obviously I have features extremely different from Audrey Hepburn (most importantly, my eyes do not have such a large crease) so it looks quite different on me than on her. If you haven't seen my post already, click here to view screenshots of her amazing makeup!

I think the key components of her makeup look are:

• Thick, slightly unruly brows
• A light taupe eyeshadow all over the lid
• Long, luscious, and fluttery lashes
• A thin, slightly smudge line of winged eyeliner
• Soft pink blush
• and of course the perfect pale peachy pink lipstick

 

 My version:

 

Click past the jump to view more photos and see what products I used!

Makeup Inspiration: Breakfast at Tiffany's

I FINALLY got around to watching Breakfast at Tiffany's last night and I can't believe I kept putting it off. The makeup is impeccable and the costuming was stunning. Obviously seeing as how this and Mad Men are probably my favorite makeup inspirations, I  am obsessed with 60's glamor.

Holly Golightly's smudged winged liner, doe eyed lashes, perfect peachy pink lipstick, and slightly untamed brows just combine to create THE classic effortlessly chic makeup look.

Click past the jump to see more photos!

How to Create a Day-to-Night Look

When I'm going out and don't feel like completely reapplying my makeup, I add a few strategic extras to the makeup I already have on to kick it up a few notches. Depending on just how dramatic I want to go, I can easily vary how strongly I apply the makeup.

If you haven't seen it already, I posted the "daytime" version of this look here.

What I add to turn a day look into a night look:

• Eyeshadow: Apply a medium-dark shade all over my lid, then use a black or near-black shade close to the lashline (if you don't have Asian lids apply the medium-dark shade in the crease and the black shade in the outer v)
• Eyeliner: Using black gel liner, draw a thicker line and add a more dramatic wing
• Lashes: Apply 2 coats of mascara, or add false lashes if I want extra drama
• Brows: Fill in your brows to make them stronger to balance the stronger eye makeup
• Blush: Apply blush more heavily and, if I feel like it, contour my cheeks
• Lips: Either use a nude shade to balance the heavier eye makeup or use a brighter shade to brighten up my face (here I kept the lip the same)

Products I added:
Face: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural powder (to give my skin a semi-matte finish), Tarte Exposed blush (applied more heavily)
Eyes: Wet n Wild Comfort Zone eyeshadow palette (used the 3rd shade all over my lid, used the 7th shade in the outer 3rd of my lid along the lashline), Clinique gel liner in black (thicker line), CoverGirl Lashexact waterproof mascara

Do you like to start over or add to your existing look when you're creating a nighttime makeup look?

How to Create an Everyday Makeup Look

We all have that easy makeup look we find ourselves going back to day after day. While the components to our looks might vary, here's what I find essential for my everyday Face of the Day (FOTD).

What type of products do I use for my day-to-day looks?

•  Sheer foundation evens out my skintone and provides a base for my other makeup
• Undereye concealer is essential to brighten up my dark undereye circles
• Blush gives me that extra glow 
• A sheer wash of eyeshadow similar to my lid color brightens up my eyes
• Eyeliner, curled lashes, and mascara give my small eyes some extra definition
• "My Lip But Better" lipstick finishes off the look and pulls everything together

I use pretty much the same "formula" everyday but just alter the specific products.

This has been my everyday go-to FOTD using the products I brought with me on my month long trip. Today's is a warm, pink/coral version. You might be thinking, "coral in the winter??" Not to worry it's a balmy 70 degrees here in California!

Products I used:
Face: Make Up For Ever Face & Body foundation, Revlon Age Defying concealer, Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in Exposed

Eyes: Urban Decay Primer Potion, Wet n Wild Comfort Zone eyeshadow palette (top 2 shades on the left), Clinique gel liner in black, CoverGirl Lashexact waterproof mascara

Lips: MAC See Sheer lipstick

If you're enjoying these posts don't forget to subscribe to my blog! Coming up next will be a post on how to create a day-to-night look! :)


What is your everyday makeup look?

What's in my travel makeup bag?

Or rather, bags. I've been away from my makeup stash for a month and this is what I brought with me. Amazingly, I've discovered that I can survive on less, but lets be real, I can't wait to be reunited with all my makeup pretties on Saturday!

My Harajuku Lovers and LeSportsac makeup bags

 I like the Harajuku lovers bag more because the opening is much larger and allows me to find things much more easily.

Clockwise, top left: Tarte Exposed, MAC MSFN, Milani Luminoso, MUFE Face & Body, Revlon Age Defying Concealer

These are some of my favorite face products, including MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural (which I use as a natural foundation), MUFE Face & Body foundation, Revlon Age Defying Concealer (in two shades which I mix to match my skintone), Tarte Exposed Amazonian Clay blush (my current favorite everyday blush, I can't stop using this!! My old favorite Rock & Republic Call Me is probably crying as I type this), and Milani Luminoso baked blush.
 

For eye products I brought my favorite Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Palette, a freestyle palette I made containing WnW Vanity, Night Elf, Silent Treatment, and Walking on Eggshells palettes, WnW creme liner (which I use for my brows), Clinique gel liner, UDPP, Revlon Colorstay liquid liner, and CG Lashexact waterproof mascara.

Now that I think about it I didn't really need to bring my homemade WnW eyeshadow palette, Comfort Zone was more than enough.

L-R: WnW Stoplight Red, MAC Jubilee, MAC See Sheer, MAC VG Cyndi, Chanel Dragon, Chanel Mademoiselle, Revlon Coral, Revlon Raspberry Bite, and Revlon Nude Lustre lipgloss.

And of course, where I always go overboard, lipsticks!!

The only ones I didn't use were the two Revlon lipsticks so I'd say I brought just enough lippies. I love the holidays because they're such a great excuse for wearing red lipstick ;) So many pretties!!

Revlon Nude Lustre, MAC Jubilee, Chanel Mademoiselle, MAC See Sheer, MAC VG Cyndi, Revlon Coral, WnW Stoplight Red, Chanel Dragon, Revlon Raspberry lipstick swatches

Thanks for looking!

Did I go overboard? What makeup do you bring when you travel?

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