Blog Sale! MAC, Smashbox, EL, UD, NYX, Revlon, and more!

• Minimum $5 purchase before shipping 
• Paypal only, USD. If I don't receive payment within 24 hours after the invoice is sent the item will be relisted.
• U.S. shipping only! I ship from San Francisco within 2-3 days of payment
• Shipping is $3.00 for the first item and then $0.50 for each additional item ($5.50 max total), delivery confirmation included. I may reuse packaging materials, let me know if this is a problem.
• All sales are final
• All items from a a pet free (sadly), smoke free home
• If you're interested in purchasing an item, please email me at vvs9992003@gmail.com with "Blog Sale" in the subject line and include your paypal email address. 

 (Clockwise top left)
$18 Estee Lauder "Peach Nuance" Blush (95%) SOLD
$5 Korres Botanically Coated "44 Orange" Blush (95%, loose pan, with box) SOLD
$5 Smashbox Blush/Soft Lights Duo "AM/PM" (95%)
$4 Smashbox "Smashing Gleam" Reflectors Highlighter (BNIB)

(Clockwise top left)
$2 NYX "Stone" Blush (80%)
$1 NYX "Expresso" Blush (80%, chipped corner)
$1 ELF Studio "Peachy Keen" Blush (95%)
$2 NYX "Glow" Cream Blush (95%)
$4 Physicians Formula Healthy Wear SPF 50 Bronzer "Tan" (95%)

$8 MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural "Medium Plus" (50%?) SOLD
$4 Revlon PhotoReady "005 Natural Beige" Foundation (used 1x)

(Clockwise top left)
$2 Urban Decay "Protest" Loose Pigment (BNIB)
$1 Urban Decay "Protest" Loose Pigment (used 1x)
$2 Clinique Colour Surge Eyeshadow Quad mini (BN, 0.08oz total)
$4 Smashbox "Day-to-Date" Eyeshadow Trio (used 1x, 0.1oz) 
$2 Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara "Black" mini (BN, 0.14oz vs 0.28oz full size)
$1 Prestige "Iguana" Eyeshadow (95%)

$10 MAC "Sweetie" Lipstick (90%)
$9 MAC "Cosmo" Lipstick (85%)

$2 NYX Soft Matte Lip Creme "Antwerp" (95%)
$4 Clinique Chubby Stick "Super Strawberry" mini (used 1x, 0.04 oz vs full size 0.10oz)
$1 NYX "African Queen" Mega Shine Lipgloss (used 1x) SOLD

$0.50 NYX "Doll" Round Lipstick (70%)
$0.50 NYX "Fig" (75%)
$0.50NYX "Tea Rose" (65%)
$1 NYX "Louisiana" (85%)
$3 Revlon "Cha Cha Cherry" Superlustrous Lipstick (85%)

ALL NAIL POLISHES SOLD
$1 Gelous Advanced Nail Gel Coat (70%)
$1 Milani "Rad Purple" (swatched 1x)
$1 Milani "Pink Rocks!" (swatched 1x)
$1 Milani "Fresh Teal" (swatched 1x)

WnW "Through the Grapevine" (2x) - for free, let me know if you want it
$1 NYX Girls "Fire Amber" (1x)
$1 NYX Girls "Purple Noir" (BN)
$1 NYX "Asphalt" (swatched 1x)
(OR $5 for all 8 nail polishes!) 


Thank you so much for looking! And so sorry I abandoned my blog, I just got so busy that I completely forgot about it! Thank you to everyone who read it and followed! :)

Inspiration: 2012 Academy Awards & The Artist

As a diehard movie lover, there is no better night of the year than Oscar night. I love the dresses, the makeup, the lame jokes, and most of all, the movies.

I am obsessed with old classic movies so of course I fell hard for the Artist this year. It combined old 1920's Hollywood glamour and black and white film with a beautiful story looking at the film industry from the inside. And of course director Michel Hazanavicius said it was partly inspired by Hitchcock, and there is no director I love better than Hitchcock. The costuming and makeup were spectacular! It definitely deserved the five Oscars it won.

Berenice Bejo was stunning as Peppy Miller in the Artist

Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo in the Artist

Click past the jump to see my favorite red carpet looks including Penelope Cruz, Jessica Chastain, and Angelina Jolie! 

Holy Grail Alert: Glycerin as a Moisturizer

Hey everyone! Sorry I've been MIA for the past 2 weeks, I've been extremely busy with school and moving. I wanted to finally post about my new Holy Grail (HG), pure Glycerin! In this post I’ll describe what I use it for, how I use it, and the amazing results I’ve had!  

What is it?: Glycerin is almost always the main moisturizing ingredient in moisturizer. It works by absorbing water from the air or the surface of your skin into your skin. By using pure glycerin, you are just bypassing all the other unnecessary ingredients present in Since it is made of only one ingredient, you don't have to worry about oil/parabens/fragrance/etc.

It says dilute with 2 parts water but that would be WAYYY too sticky!

What I use it for: I mainly use it for my face but I'll sometimes also use it for my body, though the application method gets a little messier that way. It also serves as a foundation primer and eyeshadow primer (like Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy) because it dries down to a slightly tacky finish which helps my makeup adhere better and last longer. Like Pixie Epoxy, this tackiness helps prevent fallout and makes the glitter and shimmer stay truer when applied.

How I apply it:
1. For my face, I put a drop or two in my palm (one for daytime and two for nighttime) 

One drop

A little more than 2!

2. Then I add about 10 times as much water. I never really measure the water out, I just approximate by filling the cupped area of my palm with water. Using at least a 1:10 ratio of glycerin to water helps prevent the glycerin from drying to too sticky on your face.

3. Then I use the index finger of my other hand to pat the water to mix the glycerin and water together. I gently rub my hands together and pat the glycerin all over my face. Your face will be wet and slightly dripping, which is good because you want the glycerin to absorb all that moisture into your skin. 

4. A few minutes later when the water has dried I take another teaspoon or so of just water (no glycerin) in my hands and pat that all over my face again so that my skin can be extra hydrated. Once the water is absorbed you’ll notice that your skin is nice and plump with moisture.

If I’m using it as a body moisturizer I use the same ratio but just redo these steps enough times to cover the rest of my body.

Other Uses: Many of you may use MAC Fix+ and similar sprays, but glycerin can also be used to make a homemade dupe of Fix+! I don’t really have any interest in using it but I know many people who use glycerin this way. Recipes for this can be found here

Results: I used to use jojoba oil as my facial moisturizer, but that wasn’t quite moisturizing enough for my normal to dry skin. I had dry, flaky patches of skin in my T-zone (so counterintuitive right?) that wouldn’t really go away even when I used Vaseline in those areas. I’ve used glycerin for a month now and never once have I had dry patches since I started! No more foundation clinging to flakes! It literally gives my skin a beautiful glow because my skin is sooo hydrated and healthy!

My skin is extremely smooth and never dry or oily. Glycerin has not clogged my pores or caused me to break out, which only usually happens when I use traditional moisturizers (not single ingredient products like oils or glycerin). It does not irritate my skin at all and because there’s no fragrance or other mysterious ingredients, I have no worries that it is poisoning me or anything. I find that it also serves as a face primer because it helps my foundation, blush, highlighter, and eyeshadow adhere better and be more true to color on my face. 

Overall, I am impressed with how simple, easy, and effective glycerin is. I would definitely recommend you give this a try. Of course your mileage may vary as with all skin products.

Where to buy it: Glycerin is available at every drugstore for around $5 in one of the health care aisles. Make sure you buy 100% pure glycerin USP. It is always totally clear and usually comes in a bottle like this one. It lasts FOREVER because you only need a few drops a day.

 Have you ever tried glycerin? Will you give it a try?

My Favorite Pink Lipsticks and Glosses

In honor of valentine's day, here are my favorite pink lip products -- including natural and bright pinks. Yesterday I wore MAC Impassioned, the brightest pink I own, and today I wore NYX Tea Rose a softer pink that is still a step up from MLBB.

The lighting is rather bad in the first set and last set of swatches because it was really cloudy yesterday when I was taking the pictures. I tried to adjust the color to make it as accurate as possible.

NYX Tea Rose, NYX Fig, Revlon Pink in the Afternoon, MAC Sweetie, MAC Hue lipsticks

NYX Tea Rose, NYX Fig, Revlon Pink in the Afternoon, MAC Sweetie, MAC Hue lipsticks

Tea Rose is an opaque rosy pink. Fig is nearly the same as Tea Rose but a bit brighter and slightly more coral. Pink in the Afternoon is one of my favorite pinks, a nice neutral pink great for everyday wear. Sweetie is a pinky plum with silvery shimmer/glitter that gives it a slightly frosty finish. Hue is a sheer milky pale pink.

Now onto the in-your-face brights!! :D

Click past the jump to see bright pinks, lip glosses, and me wearing Impassioned!

Quick Taupe Smokey Eye

I needed to do a smokey eye in a hurry so I applied all the eyeshadow in this look with my fingers! I've realized that I am actually better at apply non-matte eyeshadows with my fingers than with a brush. For me, it makes blending so much easier and everything apply much more quickly. Plus no brushes to wash!! (speaking of which... need to wash my brushes asap!)

Here I used my favorite taupes, WnW Nutty and MAC Satin Taupe (which may or may not actually be a taupe?). I kept my skin simple and dewy (thanks to glycerin and some highlighter!) with a natural lip. I haven't layered lipstick and lipgloss in MONTHS and forgot how nice it looks.

My creases were being weird/normal! The one that is usually a semi-monolid creased today which made wearing and applying a darker eye look much easier. Normally, my lids are mismatching which makes darker eyeshadows harder to pull off without looking like a crazy person. My eyes will sometimes crease weirdly to match. No idea why it did that today, might've been the liner I was using?

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