Review & Swatches: Makeup Forever HD Foundation in #127 Dark Sand

Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover Foundation in #127 (Dark Sand) is for medium skin with yellow undertones. MUFE claims that the finish will look perfect not only in person, but also on camera. It has medium coverage, but it can be built up to be full coverage.

FacesOfTheWeek #4

These three looks are from about 2 weeks ago. I got new makeup during some Sephora sales and since I dyed my hair black, I wanted to change up my makeup. Because my natural hair color is a brown/light brown, I thought my coloring was just too brown. Don't get me wrong, I love my natural hair color and wearing neutral brown colors, but it just seemed like too much. 

Hao Are You?

I went to Christmas in The Park with my parents during Thanksgiving Break.

Hello! So far, my blog has mostly consisted of beauty related things and my face. (I also have a baking blog that I try to update as much as possible.) I want to change it up a bit to include tidbits of my life to show what I've been up to. By doing this, I also hope to create a discussion with the people who read this blog. If you didn't know, my name is pronounced like "How" and I thought it'd be soooo punny to have that as the title. (:

What have you been up to?

I just finished my finals! I am beyond excited for the next three weeks. I've been so swamped with final projects and exams. I just declared a second major and so I'm going to get even busier now. 

What are you looking forward to?

I'm so excited for some home cooked meals and to see my family and friends again. I go to a school in Southern California and my hometown is 6 hours away. SoCal is so much warmer than where I'm from and so I'm not looking forward to that. It does give me an excuse to buy more cute sweaters though.

What products have you been loving?
I just bought the NARS x Guy Bourdin One Night Stand Blush Palette and I am in love. I was intimidated by the bright pink color, but it looks great if I just put a tiny bit on my cheeks. I was thinking about reviewing it, but it seems too late now. Some of the colors are permanent so I might just review those as if it was a standalone blush.

I am also loving my NYX Ultra Pearl Mania Pigment in Mink Pearl. It is a beautiful rose gold (but more gold) color that is perfect for the holiday season. Rose Gold has been one of my favorite colors lately and this isn't too pink.

& How are you guys?

Review & Swatches: CoverGirl Flamed Out Shadow Pot in #340 Blazing Purple

CoverGirl Flamed Out Shadow Pot in #340 Blazing Purple contains 2 g. / .07 oz. of product and it retails for about $3-4. Blazing Purple is a glittery lavender color with a slight light blue duochrome. CoverGirl claims that their Shadow Pots are vivid with a glittery and sparkly effect.

Lip Trend: (Horizontal) Ombre Lips

There are different kinds of ombre lips, but this is the version that I like doing the best. It makes the lips look more plump and pouty. This post is a demonstration of how I do it and I just used the colors in my collection. Feel free to use any 2-3 lipsticks in your collection. 

Dark colors aren't always everyday friendly, but I still like to wear them. Doing lip ombres like this allow me to wear dark colors, but they aren't as dramatic. 

For the lightest color, I made sure to use a kind of glossy color because the shine helps with the illusion of fuller lips. Lip gloss could even be added to the very center of the lips to draw in even more light.

FacesOfTheWeek #3

#3! Sorry that I'm not being consistent with these posts. I got busy for awhile with school and personal life. My makeup has been quite boring too, but I bought some new makeup products that I wanted to play with! 

Review & Swatches: Jouer Powder Eyeshadow in Chocolat

Jouer Powder Eyeshadow in Chocolat is described as a "shimmering bronzed brown" but it has some gold in it. It contains 0.077 ounces / 2.2 grams of product and retails for $20. This product can be used dry or wet and when it is wet, the color is darker and more brown and fits the name "Chocolat" more. 

Review & Swatches: NARS Blush/Bronzer Duo in Orgasm and Laguna (Mini size)

The NARS Blush/Bronzer Duo in Orgasm and Laguna comes in two sizes. I will be reviewing the mini size. Each powder contains 0.08 ounces / 2.5 grams. Orgasm is a pinky coral blush with a very fine golden shimmer and Laguna is brown with gold shimmer. 

I've always heard about these two shades, but I could never bring myself to buy either the full size or the duo palette because of the price. I wanted to find possible dupes before buying these powders, but I finally got them. I believe the mini size came out about a year or two ago and so I decided to get it since it was also cheaper. After using it for the past couple of days, I can see why these shades are so famous.

FacesOfTheWeek #2

I'm posting this almost a week late. Sorry :D I also missed a lot of days because my skin has been breaking out and so I've been having a makeup break. 

I've been favoring thicker liquid liner lately. I think it just looks so nice and it also defines my eyes. I fell in love with some products again after this week. I forgot how much I loved Rimmel London's Show Off Lip Laquer in Aurora. It really brightened up my face and fit well with the nice weather. 

Review & Swatches: L'oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in 333 Golden Sage

L'oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in 333 Golden Sage contains 3.5 grams / 0.12 oz. of product and is a metallic and shimmery khaki color with a very slight yellow in it. This product is a pressed pigment that can be applied wet or dry. 

Review & Swatches: The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder in 04 Deep Matte

I've seen some bloggers talking about The Body Shop's Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder and I decided to try it out. The shade I chose was 04 Deep Matte and it is the darkest shade out of the four shades available. This product retails for $19 and its claims include giving the skin a bronze matte finish. 

Review & Swatches: Rimmel London Scandaleyes Thick & Thin Eyeliner in 001 Black

Rimmel London Scandaleyes Thick & Thin Eyeliner in Black contains 0.0367 fl. oz. / 1.1 mL. The tip is a chiseled felt tip applicator (Rimmel London calls it a 3D applicator) that can create thick or thin lines depending on how you use it. Based on the description on Asos.com, this product is supposed to be smudge and waterproof. 

FacesOfTheWeek #1

I wanted to start weekly posts about some makeup looks I've done in certain weeks. I just started a new quarter on the 26th of September and so I'll be posting less than usually. This way, I'll have at least 1 post each week. I do like keeping my makeup pretty simple on most days, but I thought it'll be fun (or maybe just for me) to document them and to show what products I've been trying out / loving. I'm still seeing what format I like the best, so please don't mind the different formats for now!

Review & Swatches: Revlon Grow Luscious Waterproof Mascara in Blackest Black

Revlon GrowLuscious Waterproof Mascara & Lash Enhancer in Blackest Black claims to improve the length of lashes right from the first use and strengthen the lashes too. It contains 0.38 fl. oz / 11.2 mL of product. The retail price will vary according to the area you are in. Mascaras depend greatly on the person and their lashes, but I still wanted to write this review in case other people had stubborn and straight lashes like mine. 

Review: Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Miracle Dry Oil

Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Miracle Dry Oil can be used for the hair, body, and face and is recommended for both dry hair and skin. It contains 5 fl. oz and the retail price varies depending on the place it is bought from. I bought mine for about $6. Dry oils are supposed to moisturize the skin and hair but without the oily residue. I was interested in The Body Shop's Beautifying Oil, but I decided to use some drugstore version before I got The Body Shop's version. 

Review & Swatches: bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in Rebel

bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in Rebel originally contains 0.15 oz of product and retails for $18, but I will be reviewing a sample of it I had gotten from one of my friends. Other than the size, everything else should be the same. Rebel is a sheer pink mauve color with no shimmer. On the Sephora.com, they claim that this lipgloss will achieve "fuller-looking, pillowy lips and lasting color." BareEscentuals.com also states that this lipgloss will give "nonstop glistening shine."

Review & Swatches: EM Cosmetics Lip Gallery Creamy Color Classic Lipstick in Cuddle Up Pink

EM Cosmetic's Lip Gallery Cream Color Classic Lipstick in Cuddle Up Pink contains 3.5 grams / 0.123 ounce of product and retails for $16.50. It is a neutral pink and has a cream/creme formula. The claims include being a sheer but build-able formula that has a high shine. 

Review & Swatches: EM Cosmetics Waterliner Intense Color Eye Liner in Ro's Gold

EM Cosmetic's Waterliner Intense Color Eye Liner in Ro's Gold contains 0.28 grams / 0.01 ounces of product and retails for $20. The color is a beautiful rose gold with very fine micro-shimmers. EM claims that this eye liner won't budge or smudge and this liner definitely lived up to that claim. 

Review & Swatches: EM Cosmetics The Life Palette // Love Life Palette Deluxe Samples (Warm Fuzzies)

I got these deluxe samples in my order and it's from the Love Life Palette. These colors are labeled as part of the "Warm Fuzzies" part of the palette. I was just going to include these swatches and review in either the review of the Lip Gallery Cream Color Classic Lipstick in Cuddle Up Pink or Waterliner Intense Color Eye Liner in Ro's Gold, but there's a current deal this weekend involving deluxe samples like the ones in this post for $10. I believe this deal started on the 6th of September. The second half of this deal is $10 back into another purchase after October 1st. The deal is only for this weekend and so I wanted to post this before the deal was over. 

Makeup Look: Vintage Throwback ft. OCC Liptar in Vintage (Pencil Form)

Because it's summer, I've been more low maintenance about my makeup but I wanted to play with some new products I bought. Blogger, Mai, from Portrait of Mai started to make lip pencil versions of the OCC lip tars. I had a lip tar before and we did not get along. With the pencil version, most of the issues I had were gone. I think it also helped that I got a darker color. 

I bought my lip pencil from her through Reddit and Paypal, but she has set up her own online store called The Lipstick Garden. I am not being sponsored or anything like that but I do love that she is making pencil versions and wanted to tell others too. 

In this look, I used my new Missha M Perfect BB Cream that I reviewed recently, ELF Brow Kit, and OCC Lip Tar (Lip Pencil version) in Vintage.

Review & Swatches: Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF 42 PA+++ No. 27/Honey Beige

Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF 42 PA+++ in No. 27 (Honey Beige) is one of my recent purchases. Like some of my past purchases, I bought this off of someone from Reddit. The one I have originally contained 50 mL of product and it retails for about $30 on the Missha US Website.  This BB Cream will fit those with a medium light complexion color with yellow undertones. Missha claims that this BB Cream will lighten and whiten the skin and prevent skin aging. Unlike some other brands that offer bb creams, Missha has 5 color choices for their M Perfect Cover BB Cream. 

Review & Swatches: Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips in Sweet Tartan

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips retails for about $6 - $9 depending on where you buy it. I bought a Target Beauty Box a few months ago and this design, Sweet Tartan, was the one included in my box. Each box contains 16 strips of nail polish strips varying in different widths/sizes, a nail file, an orange stick, and directions on how to use the strips. 

My Favorite Highlighters!!

 Before // After

Before // After

I've recently been loving highlighters and just highlighting my face. Even since I've gotten NARS Albatross (bought from someone on reddit), I have been experimenting with different ways to highlight my face. 

I am home for the summer and so I could only take my favorites home with me. I do miss the rest of my collection. :(

Keep on reading to see my favorite products right now!

Review & Swatches: Rimmel London Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Lipstick in 09

Rimmel London Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Lipstick in 09 is a raspberry color with a satin finish. This product contains 0.14 oz / 4 grams of product and depending on the place, it can start from $3.50.

Review & Swatches: Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor in Coral Crush

Maybelline ColorSensational Lipcolor in Coral Crush is an incredibly bright pinky coral lipstick and it has a cream formula. 

Review & Swatches: Julep Nail Polish in Hoch

Julep Nail Polish in Hoch is a forest green color and it contains 8 ml / 0.27 fl. oz of product. It has a thick, but not gloopy, cream formula. It retails for $14, but it will cost less if you're a "Julep Maven" on their website. 

Review: Revlon Nearly Naked in Medium Beige VS. Urban Decay Naked Skin in 6.0

Both of these foundations are often compared together. This post is my comparison of both foundations. I already made separate posts, but I tried to not include too many comparisons in the reviews. I will make categories to compare packaging, color, finish, etc.

For this post, I am going to refer to Urban Decay's Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Foundation (review here) as UD and Revon's Nearly Naked Foundation as R.

Review & Swatches: Urban Decay's Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Foundation in 6.0

Urban Decay's Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Foundation contains 1 fl. oz. of product and it retails for $39. My color is 6.0 and it matches me pretty well. It claims to "blur imperfections" with light diffusing peptides. It has a demi matte finish and looks very natural.

Review & Swatches: YSL Rouge Volupte Shine in 5 Fuchsia in Excess

(Yves Saint Laurent) YSL Rouge Volupte Shine in 5 Fuchsia in Excess contains 0.15 oz of product and retails for $34. Sephora describes this color as a "luminous bright pink." It definitely fuchsia to me. I can't wear a lot of pinks but because of the purple-y fuchsia tones in it, I find it quite flattering on me. 

Review & Swatches: Stila's Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in Black

Stila's Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in Black contains 0.016 oz of product and retails for $20. It has a felt tip applicator that is very thin. The packaging is very light and sleek, like a pen.

Review & Swatches: MAC Select Sheer/Pressed Powder in NC 35

MAC Select Sheer/Pressed Powder contains 12 grams / 0.42 ounces of product and my color is NC35. It currently retails for $24 and it comes with a suede finish sponge. It is a very sheer and light powder. On MAC's website, it claims to let the "skin's natural vitality and freshness glow through" and says the skin will look flawless. After months of using this powder, I believe those claims. 

EOTD - July 25, 2013 // Warm & Bronzed

I've recently been using liquid eyeliner again. I got Stila's Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner during the big 50% off sale and I've been testing it out. I've forgotten how much I loved doing winged eyeliner. I have hooded lids and uneven eyes and so winged eyeliner doesn't always look good on my eyes. 

Products used -

• Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Bronze Have More Fun (review here) all over the lid
• Inglot Freedom System AMC Eyeshadow in #52 (review here) in the outer crease
• Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Broken under the brow
• Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Black
• Maybelline Lash Stiletto Voluptuous Waterproof Mascara in Very Black (review here)
• Lancome Cils Booster XL Super Enhancing Mascara Base (review here)

Makeup Look: Naked Nights ft. Urban Decay's Naked Palette & Revlon's Black Cherry

I was playing around with my makeup recently and I realized that I haven't used half the shades in my Naked Palette. I then created this look and created a more vampy look. I know it's summer and everyone is reaching for bright colors, but I love fall colors. I had a lot of fun and went all out, including using blush, highlighter, and bronzer. I usually never have this much makeup on but it made me feel quite fancy.

Keep on reading to see what products I used!

Review & Swatches: Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation in Medium Beige

I've been testing Revlon's Nearly Naked Foundation in 180 Medium Beige for the past few months. I finally got around to writing a review. This foundation has light to medium coverage and has a natural satin finish. It evens out the skin color while still letting the skin breathe. 

First Lash Experience!! ft. Duo Lash Glue (Brush On Striplash Adhesive Version) + Ardell Demure Lashes

The only time I've tried false lashes was for prom, but they were individual lashes that I took off right away. No matter how I put them on, they looked incredibly unnatural and weird to me. My lashes were shorter than the short individual lashes by Ardell and I couldn't figure out how to configure the lashes. I decided to give false lashes another chance.

I wanted really natural lashes, and I've read that Ardell's Demure Lashes were one of the more natural ones. I also bought Duo Lash Glue in the tube to try out since I heard that the tube version gives more control on distributing the glue. 

Review & Swatches: Avon Glimmersticks in Plum Wine, Striking Emerald, Emerald and Dark Brown (Brow Definer)

A few years ago, my friend gave me the Avon Glimmersticks in Emerald. When she gave it to me, I didn't really wear that much color. I recently found it and I realized that I quite liked it. I then decided to buy more because it was a 3 for $9 with free shipping. I couldn't skip out on the deal and decided to get three more!

The Glimmersticks that I have now are Emerald, Striking Emerald (Glimmersticks Chromes), and Plum Wine (Waterproof). I also got a Glimmersticks Brow Definer in Dark Brown. All of them have the same retractable packaging and contain 0.28 grams of product. 

Review & Swatches: Dior Addict Lipstick in 643 Diablotine

The Dior Addict Lipstick in 643 Diablotine is described as a "sheer muted poppy red" by Sephora's website and contains 0.12 oz. of product. It is a sheer coral red lipstick with a healthy sheen on me. Because it is sheer, the color will look different on everybody.

Review & Swatches: Shiseido Lacquer Rouge in RD607 Nocturne

Shiseido's Lacquer Rouge in RD607 (Nocturne) is described as an "intense dark red" on the Sephora website. It is a dark red, but it's not intense. There are some berry undertones in this color. There are also very very fine purple-y shimmers, but it's not overpowering. This product is a liquid lipstick and it is extremely opaque. 

Makeup Look: Snow White

I recently entered another contest on Reddit and it was Disney themed. I was going to do Mulan, but there were already a few other Mulan looks. I chose to do Snow White instead! I do not have fair skin or luscious black locks, and so I decided to fake it! 

It was quite fun doing this look. I even a bit of freckles. Snow White is quite young and so I thought it added a nice touch. Blush on the apples of my cheeks looks odd and so I used it to contour my cheek bones instead. 

I mostly used theBalm's Nude 'Tude palette for this look. 

Click "Read More" to see more pictures and a list of the products I used!

Review & Swatches: Butter London's Nail Polish in Knackered

*My friend left her nail polishes with me for the summer and she let me use/test them out for my blog. She loves and collects nail polishes and so I was very grateful when she told me that I could use them.

Butter London's Knackered Nail Polish is described as a "sheer, twinkling oyster shade flecked with micro glitter particles" by the Butter London website. I think it's more of a trichrome, but the description is pretty accurate! I believe that this color is pretty unique and I can't think of any possible dupes.

Makeup Look: Hye Tran's PhuNuCali Cover Look

My parents gets a bunch of Vietnamese magazines and this one recently caught my eye. It's very summery and fun to wear. The pop of teal on the eyes and the fuchsia lips looked so pretty to me. This look is simple to do too.