FacesOfTheWeek (kind of) #5 // Eye Aye!

Instead of my normal FacesOfTheWeek post, I did all eye looks that used most of the products from my travel makeup bag that you can read about here. Even though I didn't have a lot of products with me, I was able to create different looks almost every day. There were some others that I really loved, but the pictures either turned out badly or there wasn't natural sunlight anymore to show the proper colors. I only have yellow lights in my room at home and so everything looked way too warm. 

This week was also a "reset" week for my skin and so I didn't want to include full face shots. I mention it later on, but I did have a really bad breakout for the drier air and lack of skincare products. I ended up not using any skincare products except my cleansing oil to get makeup off so that I could "reset" my skin to start a new routine. 

Makeup Lust List #1

I'm on a low-buy right now until I can finish more products, but that doesn't mean I can't window shop! I've been looking up and researching new / interesting products that I can buy in a few months. I'm also going to make some other "Lust Lists" for skincare and fashion so that those who don't want to read about certain categories can just skip those posts. 

Let's get started on these makeup products! I'll be going clockwise starting from the upper left.

Sugarpill Heart Breaker Palette - These colors are completely out of my comfort zone, but I still want it so badly. I love mint greens and the lower right is exactly what I want. Each color is available by itself, but something about this palette is calling out to me. There was a Kat Von D palette that also had a mint green-ish color, but that was limited edition. It's currently sold out on the websites for Beautylish, Makeup Geek, and Sugarpill and so I'll be waiting very impatiently for it to come back. 

Makeup Geek Eyeshadow in Cosmopolitan - I'm in such a rose gold kick and I've been wanting this shadow since I've been into rose gold colors. I hear so many good things about Makeup Geek products and they're so reasonably priced. 

Lioele Dollish Cera-V CC Cream - I recently saw a review on this product through one of the related videos areas on a Youtube review I watched and I was instantly intrigued by this CC Cream. It adapts to the wearer's skin color, but I'm worried that it won't fit me. It seems to fit ElaineMokk's skin tone, but she's about 2 shades lighter than me. I'm almost out of my Makeup Forever HD Foundation and I want to get another base product. 

Givenchy Ombre Couture Cream Eyeshadow in Rose Dentelle - I saw Temptalia's review of this product and it looks amazing. I have the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette and this cream shadow looks great as a base for those eye shadows. Out of everything on this list, I'm probably going to buy this product first. 

What are some products you're lusting over?

It's always fun seeing what other people want, but it's so dangerous for me because I end up wanting them too!

Review and Swatches: LASplash Cosmetics Splashproof Sealer

Along with the Ciaté Paint Pot in Skinny Dip, I also got LASplash Cosmetics Splashproof Sealer in my Glossybox. I thought it was going to be gimmicky, but it's amazing with pigments and loose shadows. LASplash claims that it'll intensify colors for at least 12 hours of wear without smudges and smears. 

My Travel Makeup #2

I'm back home in the Bay Area for about 10 days before I start my summer classes and these are the makeup items I brought back! I tried really hard to narrow down my products, but I did bring more than I needed. I guess it's better for me to be more prepared though. (: I also wanted to bring some new products too so that I could really try them out. The amount of products I brought was for about a week, but I could easily use all of these for a month. I would have just added more foundation and I would be good.

I wish I brought a blending color for my eyeshadow looks. I didn't think about it when I was packing, but I ended up just using my finger or a clean brush to just blend out the edges. It was unnecessary to bring the NYX shadow for my eye brows and should've used that spot for Urban Decay's Eyeshadow in Naked. 

Most of the items (except for the NARS Blush Palette) fit inside the Sephora makeup bag I got earlier this year during their Chic Week sale. 

Makeup Look: Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland) Inspired

If you don't follow me on my tumblr, I mentioned that I entered a contest hosted by Geek Chic Cosmetics on their Facebook page. I chose to do a look based off of the Cheshire Cat from the animated version of Alice in Wonderland. I loved the purple-y tones and I tried to incorporate that into my look. I actually included a crazy amount of blush on my cheeks and blended up towards my forehead, but the color was washed out. I also added a lot of a metallic maroon shadow all over my brow bone and above my brow, but that was also washed out. 

The whole look isn't super wearable, but I do love how the eyes turned out. It's something that I would wear out, but without the light blue inner corner highlight. I would probably change it with a more neutral and matte highlight to balance the overall shimmery look. 

If you like this look, I would really appreciate it if you could click this link and vote for me. My entry is labeled "Hao, inspired by Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland). The contest ends on June 23, 2014.

And now I'll list the products and include the other pictures!

Battle of the Bronzers! ft. Benefit, MAC, The Body Shop, NYC, theBalm, Too Faced, NARS, and ELF

In one of my past blog posts, I mentioned that I started to build up quite a bronzer / contour collection. I recently bought one or two more and my friend also gave me another one. For some background information, I'm about a MAC NC35 / MUFE HD Foundation #127 / Missha M Perfect BB Cream #27. My skin is combo with an oily t-zone. All the bronzers stayed on my skin for about the same amount of time. 

My collection includes -

Benefit Hoola

MAC Sculpting Powder in Sculpt

The Body Shop Honey Bronzing Powder in 04 Deep Matte (review here)

NYC Sunny Bronzer

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Medium/Deep Matte Bronzer

theBalm Bahama Mama Bronzing Powder 

NARS Bronzing Powder in Laguna

ELF Contouring Blush & Bronzer in St. Lucia

Manicure Monday: OPI Nail Polish in Blue My Mind & Nails Inc. Nail Polish in Queensgate Gardens Floral

When I bought Sephora's Formula X Cherry Blossom Nail Polish, I also got one of Nails Inc. version in Queensgate Gardens. I really love florals right now and so this was up my alley.

The metallic blue base color that I used was Blue My Mind by OPI and it's my favorite blue polish. It goes on so smoothly and I only need 2 coats. It's also super shiny without a top coat. It's always lasted about a week on my nails with only minor tip wear. 

Queensgate Gardens contains matte pale pink flowers that look exactly like the Sephora version. Instead of matte pink glitters, Queensgate Gardens has light blue bar and circular glitters. I really didn't need both considering how similar the flowers are, but I love this one too since it goes so well with my blue polishes. The glitters were hard to take off and I did find one or two of them falling off during the week. I didn't push them into the base color enough and so they didn't follow the curve of my nail. 

Nails Inc. has 4 colors in this floral collection and they are all beautiful. I really recommend picking one or two up since they'll add a really nice touch to your manicure. 

What are on your nails this week?

Hao Are You? #4 // Let The Fun Begin!

What have you been up to?

I finished my finals and so summer has started for me! Kind of. I'm taking summer classes and I'm going to have long days for four days a week. Fortunately, applying and interviewing for multiple jobs paid off and I'll be starting work on the 30th. I'm pretty excited about it and hopefully it'll help me decide what I want to do in the future. 

I recently dyed my hair again, but I put it on all of my hair. I only had one box and didn't want to buy anymore and so there's a slight gradient from super pigmented purple to brown. The bleached parts also took in the dye more and so the bottom parts are a brighter purple. I really do love it and I'm probably going to continue dying it like this. Like in my hair dye post, I added more conditioner to the dye as I went lower. 

What are you looking forward to?

I have one week of summer and I'll be going out as much as I can to make the most of it. I'm also going to spend more time with my family since I probably won't see them again for awhile. I'm kind of sad that I'll be so busy this summer, but I'd rather be productive than completely bored. I can also catch up on some shows! Orange Is The New Black just came back and I'm so excited. I watched some episodes during my study breaks. I like the first season more, but the second season is good too. 

How have you been?

Review & Swatches: Jouer Powder Eyeshadow in Buttercream

Jouer Powder Eyeshadow in Buttercream is described as a "pearly french vanilla." I bought this recently to use with my other Jouer Eyeshadow (review and packaging info here). I wanted to get a flattering highlight color that could be used on my face and eyes. Instead of a pearly french vanilla, I would say that it's a shimmery cream color.

My "No-makeup" Makeup Look!

I've been going on some interviews lately to try to find a summer job and this is the look I've been wearing. The interviews have been pretty laid back and so I've been going for a polished, but minimal look. I mainly focused on my complexion and only slightly defined the eyes. 

Review: Lancome Cils Booster XL Super Enhancing Mascara Base vs. Dior Diorshow Maximizer Lash Plumping Serum

I've already written two full and seperate reviews for Lancome's Cils Booster XL Super Enhancing Mascara base here and for Dior's Diorshow Maximizer Lash Plumping Serum here, but I wanted to write up another post to compare them. I slightly touched on the comparison in the Dior post, but I wanted to be more comprehensive. 

Review & Swatches: L'oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Amber Rush

L'oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Amber Rush is a metallic rose gold pressed pigment and is part of the permanent collection. There is 3.5 g / 0.12 oz. of product and it's so pigmented that it'll last forever. The packaging is plastic and comes with a "stomper" that helps repress the pigment.

Manicure Monday: Zoya PixieDust Nail Polish in Godiva

Zoya PixieDust Nail Polish in Godiva is a beautiful textured cream polish that looks like dust or sugar on the nails. The color is so classy and fits with every outfit. It is matte, but you can add a top coat on to lessen the textured effect and to make it shinier. I find that the longevity of the polish is about the same even without a top coat. There is some minor tip wear around 4-5 days, but still look so nice. 

Since it is a lighter shade, it took me more layers to make it opaque. I'm really picky about how opaque the polish is and so I put on 3 coats. You can probably get away with 2 though. I also have Chyna and that only takes 2 coats to be fully opaque.

Surprisingly, it doesn't take me forever to remove this polish. I still need to put in a lot of effort, but it's not as bad as some glitter and textured polishes. I have one of the OPI Sand Polishes and it totally wrecked my nails. 

What are you wearing on your nails this week?