Haul : CVS

I normally never go to CVS because the one near my house is kind of old and dingy and just not as nice as the Rite Aid near my house but I caved because I really wanted this product knew that CVS by my office had the product. I am talking about the Revlon Colorstay Nail Enamel that was released earlier this month. They are supposed to have a gel like consistency and last for 11 days or something like that and are chip resistant. I really tried to go to at least 3 Rite Aids before I just caved and went to CVS because I have a Rite Aid card and don't have a CVS so I know I wasn't going to get any points or additional discounts.

No I have to say I really didn't want to buy these at first because there are like $8.29? And like I previously mentioned in my first nail polish post. I am fortunate enough to live in an area where there are a few asian beauty stores that sell Essie which is my favorite brand for a lot less than drug stores. I think normaly drug stores sell Essie for $8 and I buy them for $4.50 at most $4.95 so for me to pay more than $8 for a Revlon polish was just kind of ridiculous in my mind.  But I caved because I saw a lot of youtubers and other bloggers saying good things about them. So I picked up three colors and a top coat since they market it as a necessity.

 

From Left to Right:

220 Rain Forest : is a rich forest green with micro green glitter

020 Pale Cashmere : is a very pale pink

130 Velvet Rope: is a dark red

010 Top Coat

So I have tried Velvet Rope and I do like the color, not sure yet about the 11 day wear with no chip or whatever but the color is nice, it does look like a gel finish. I however HATE the brush. It's like the Sally Hansen brushes where its kind of a fatter brush thats rounded at the tip but its not a clean round. Like I said Essie is my go to polish brand and I am very comfortable with their brushes so these Revlon Colorstay brushes are kind of difficult, you don't have as much control in my opinion.

I will probably write a full review with swatches of each of the three colors I have later on after trying all of them out and seeing how well they wear. 

Thanks for reading, please subscribe. 

- amy

Review : Black Eye Liner

So like I said in my last post this is my black liner review. I wear liner on a almost on a everyday basis, unless I am staying home in the weekend and not wearing makeup at all, I have liner on. I like a very heavy cat eye and prefer liquid liner to anything else. This review is just about all the black liners that I have and what I think about them in regards to pigmentation, how long it lasts, and so forth. So if you are in the market for a good black liner I hope this review can help you.

So for pencil liner I own several even though I don't use them much. From top to bottom here is the list:

L'Oreal Pencil Perfect in Ebony

Revlon Colorstay

MUFE Aqua Eyes

Smashbox Limitless Eye Liner

Milani Liquif'eye

I can easily say the best one I have tried so far in regards to staying power and pigmentation is the Milani. I don't every reach for the L'Oreal, Smashbox or Revlon however the Revlon is good because it comes with a small sharpener and decent better pigmentation than the L'Oreal for a drugstore comparison. MUFA Aqua Eyes does smudge on me and I feel like the pigmentation could be better so on the rare occasion that I'm in a rush and can't find the Milani in my makeup drawer I will reach for the MUFE. I don't think the MUFE is a good buy especially for the price. Go for the Milani if your looking for an affordable pigmented liner. Again I only really wear pencil on the waterline. If you are looking for a good black liner for your upper lash line that is not drugstore then I think MAC does really have some good ones. I never bought any just because I know I'm not going to use it so why spend the extra $ but I know several people that use MAC pencil liners and it looks good on them.

I only own one gel liner which is MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack. I have tried several others such as the L'Oreal Hip and the Maybelline one but those just didn't work. Too gunky and got in my contacts. I do like this liner. It goes on smooth and with primer it really doesn't budge for most of the day. However the only downfall is it does take time to put on. I just don't really have the time for this on a day to day basis. However I do like this on my lower lash line when I go for a really smoky look cause this can blend out quite nice. I think this costs around $14-17? For the price I do think its worth it if you only like gel. It will last you a long time so long as you seal the cap on tightly. Also if you are going to buy any gel liner from either drugstore or department I suggest you buy only ones that are in glass containers. This is simply for the fact that potted liners can dry out easily and I feel like glass pots with plastic tops seal better and plastic pots with plastic tops. 

I love liquid liner. I don't think pencil or gel would ever be able to give the same effect as liquid. Thats just my opinion and maybe I haven't tried as many good pencil or gels but I have been using liquid since high school and I don't really plan on changing that. In my last post I wrote that I like brush tip liners because I feel as though I can't get as thin, or clean of a line with felt. So for the majority of the last 8 years I have been using L'Oreal Lineur Intense brush tip liner and when they came out with the Carbon Black version I started using that. Recently I bought MAC Liquidlast liner to try out which is also a brush tip and it is waterproof whereas the L'Oreal isn't.  I have been using both for the past two weeks which is kind of way this post took so long because I really wanted to test this liner out. I have to say that I like both, but there are pros and cons to each.

Let me start off by talking about the L'Oreal, this liner is great if you have a steady hand and do not need waterproof. The only reason I think it could be better if is they came out with a waterproof version because towards the end of the day after maybe 12 hours of wear it can flake a little bit. This Carbon Black version is very pigmented, and dries down to a shiny black finish, almost patent leather looking. For the $7-9 dollars this cost at the drugstore this will always be my go to. The good thing for me with this not being waterproof is that because I have a heavy fold, sometimes if I'm not careful and patient while waiting for this to dry and blink or something it will transfer up onto my lid and it is quite easy to remove since its not waterproof. But regardless I would still love it if they came out with a waterproof version or just fixed the formula so it doesn't flake as much? Don't get me wrong its not like big chunks will flake off its more like the wing part and I think its partially cause I end up touching it a bit..and keep in mind I do wear this from 7:30AM to 7:30PM so for the price and the pigmentation and how long it lasts its pretty good.

For MAC Liquidlast, I did some reading on other peoples blogs and forums before I purchased it. It was one of few companies that had a brush tip not in a pen form, waterproof liner. But be warned this thing is pricy especially since you get very little product. If you go in store and see this bottle is very tiny and I believe I paid $17 + tax for this. First time using it I honestly though crap maybe I will return this, because since the formula is waterproof this is not as liquidy as the L'Oreal, it is like the middle ground between liquid and gel, so it can get gunky. I eventually warmed up to the product and let me just say when they say waterproof it really is waterproof. I usually wash my face with Philosophy Purity Cleanser at night to take off all my make up, even mascara and liner and this does not come off. You need a good eye make up remover for it. It dries down to a matte black finish, very good jet black pigmentation and stays all day. So the only downfall to this is its expensive for the amount of product you get, it can get gunky so you need to make sure you seal the top on tightly. You will probably have to buy another one before you finish the bottle because I honestly think by halfway through it will be to gunky to work with. Will I re-purchase this? Maybe because it gives me what the L'Oreal does not. Will this be my new favorite over the L'Oreal, no I don't think so. I think I will only use this for like nights out   and still use my L'Oreal when I go to work.

Below are swatches of all the liners mentioned in this post. 

From left to right:

MUFE Aqua Eyes

Revlon Colorstay

L'Oreal Pencil

Smashbox Limitless

Milani Liquif'eye

MAC Fluidline 

MAC Liquidlast

L'Oreal Lineur Intense

As you can see all the pencil liners I have are definitely not as pigmented as the liquid or gel liners. 

This picture is just after rubbing my finger through once. As you can see the L'Oreal Lineur Intense comes off very easily because it does try to this patent leathery feel, so if you rub your eyes a lot I would recommend that to you. Of all the pencils the L'Oreal pencil does come off the easiest as well. 

This final picture is with Neutrogena eye make up remover on a cotton pad and just wiping through on time. As you can see almost everything comes off which is should since that's what eye make up remover is supposed to do, but look at the MAC Liquidlast, it shows the most resistance, which is good and bad because yes I do want me liner to stay all day and not budge but when I come home, I don't want to spend 5 minutes just to remove my liner.  

Hope this was helpful and apologies for taking so long. 

Thanks for reading, please subscribe.

-amy

Pencil, Liquid, Gel? Eyeliner Overview

If you ever question what type of liner to use then I hope you find this overview helpful. I think eyeliner is the most important item of makeup to my daily routine. It ranks the same as foundation, which for me is priority since I have a blemishes and uneven skin tone. I do have double lid eyes but my eyes are not big by any means and my lids have a heavy fold so eyeliner really makes a difference by helping my eyes look bigger.  I have been wearing eyeliner since I was in junior high school, around maybe 8th grade and it was really a trial and error situation until I found the perfect liner in the perfect form. I currently have several different eyeliners and I really want to give my opinions and thoughts on what has worked and not worked for me.

So lets start with Pencil :

Pencil liners are probably the easiest for a beginner to use, you don't have to worry as much about messing up with pencil and you can always sharpen the point. I feel like pencil liners are more suited to people who either have mono-lids or larger double eye lid people because pencil liner do not work for me. I always end up looking like a raccoon by the end of the day. I'm not sure if this is just due to the heavy fold in my lid or the fact that I have oily skin so the oily causes the pencil to smudge. I do own several pencil liners though just because I always feel like maybe I can find something that actually works for me, it never works out that way but I do use pencil on my waterline and my lower lashline when I'm going for a dramatic look. Here are some pictures of all the pencil liners I currently own.

Milani Liquif'Eye

I own 5 Milani Liquif'Eye liners which are super creamy and very well pigmented. For some reason the Olive green one I have is in different packaging and is a twist up instead of a pencil you need to sharpen, that olive green is also the least pigmented. The other colors I love and I use the black for my waterline and the others on my lower lashline for different looks. A lot of people compare these to the Urban Decay 24/7 liners but I don't own any of those simply because I can't justify spending the money on a single pencil liner when I know pencils don't work well on me.  These Milani ones cost around $7.00 which I don't mind spending because they are really good. 

Smashbox Limitless Eye Liner

So I got these last year around Christmas off of QVC. They are mini-sized and I can't really say much about them. They don't help me create a really pigmented line, but they are good for blending. The gold color I like for inner tear duct. 

Gel/Cream:

Gel/Cream liner has to be applied with a brush so it does take a bit more technique and a steady hand. Also here is the difference between Gel and Cream liners. Gel liner are water bases whereas some cream liners are not. I wear contacts almost everyday and have tried both gel and cream liners on my waterline and cream liners just do not work, they someone transfer on to my contacts and my vision gets all blurry. So for those of you who wear contacts I would stay away from putting a cream liner in your waterline.  If I use gel/cream liner on my upper lash line cream seems to smudge more often then gel.  I have used both the Maybelline and L'Oreal HIP cream liners and both of them were really horrible. They just seemed way to gunky and really hard to work with. The only potted liner I keep now is MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack. This works really well for me on bother my upper and lower lash lines. I do need a bit of primer for it to not smudge on my upper lash line but again I don't use it often on my upper lash line. I mainly use it on my lower or on my water line. I find that using gel liner takes probably the most time out of all the different formula of liners there are. I really don't reach for this on a day to day basis because I just don't have the time to sit in from of the mirror and work with it.

MAC Fluidline Blacktrack

Liquid:

I guess you guys can figure out by now that liquid liner is what I prefer to use. I have  been using liquid liner every since high school. Like I said I like a really heavy cat eye and I like to make sure my wing ends in a really fine tip and I like the liner to be super pigmented and black. I just love liquid liner and wouldn't know what to do without it. But liquid liner is definitely not for beginners. It really requires a steady hand and you can easily mess up and have to wipe everything off and start over. Even I have to do that sometimes and I can say confidently that I am well seasoned in using liquid liner. Now most liquid liner now a days have a felt tip applicator such as the Lancome Artliner and there is a Maybelline one that is pretty popular but I can't remember the name. I personally do not like felt tip liner at all. I feel like I can't get my wing to end in as sharp of a point with a felt tip applicator. I like a brush tip applicator for my liquid liner and it really does take a lot of precision and a very steady hand for brush tip. It's definitely harder to use than a felt tip but to me it makes a world of difference when I am applying eyeliner. I have mastered applying liquid eye liner with a brush tip and I have been using the same eyeliner to do so for almost 7 years now. I like the L'Oreal Lineur Intense brush tip liquid liner. Now there is currently two versions of this out, the regular one and then the carbon black version which is the one I currently use. I have several back ups of this. The carbon black is just more pigmented and I like it a lot. The only downside to this liner is that it is not waterproof and it does end up flaking on me a bit after a 12 hour day. So I have been on the lookout for another liquid liner that is brush tip. I find liquid liner is the quickest because the pigmentation is far better and for me it takes about two minutes to apply, but then again I have been doing this for basically everyday for the past 7 years. So again liquid takes a lot of practice and if your new to it then I think you should opt for the felt tip liners vs the brush tip that requires more control. 

L'Oreal Lineur Intense Carbon Black

So this is my eyeliner overview. If you really want to find the perfect liner it really takes a lot of trial and error. I would say go to the drugstore and pick out one of each and just test them and play with it. Once you find a formula that works well then you can explore it even more. If you think black is too intense for your everyday wear then opt for brown, most liners will always come in black and brown. 

I will be following this post with a specific Black Liner review on all the black liners I have tried and which ones I feel are the most pigmented and worth purchasing. 

Thanks for reading. Please subscribe.

- amy 

Quick Update

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. We finally got some snow this weekend in NYC and at first it was really pretty but now its all slush and dirty looking. Anyways I just wanted to do a quick update. I have not been keeping up with blogging for a while but that's all about to change. I finally have some time tomorrow and I am planning to take a whole bunch of pictures and type of several posts. I have some drugstore stuff and some skincare that I want to review so please stay tuned!

thanks for reading. please subscribe.

- amy

What's On My Nails : NYE

Okay so I know this is really delayed but I really just haven't had time to update. I hope everyone had a great NYE and that the new year is going great. I really didn't do much on NYE and I intended on wearing this great H&M dress I got for like $20 which was such a steal but then ended up in jeans a shimmery top and a blazer. And just my luck I don't have any pictures. I do however have pictures of what nail polish I was wearing which was Essie Forever Young and a red multi-glitter top coat from Sephora by OPI Be-Clause I Said So.  It doesn't look as sparkly in picture than in person but I really like the combination and got lots of compliments when I wore it. The only downside to it is of course removing the glitter polish.

I will be trying my best to update throughout the week. I was able to pick some items up at Rite Aid this past weekend and really looking forward to sharing my thoughts. And I also am putting together a full eye-liner review so stay tuned!

Thanks for reading. Please subscribe.

- amy 

Haul: Rite Aid

Hi everyone! I want to wish everyone an early Happy New Years and for those who are going out and partying please be safe.

So let me get to this Rite Aid haul. I frequent my local Rite Aid a lot and for those of you who don't know what Rite Aid is , its a drugstore chain like CVS/Walgreens. Last time I had mentioned in my Revlon Colorstay Eye Shadow review that I went to Rite Aid looking for the L'Oreal infallible eye shadows that had finally made its way to the US unfortunately during that trip it was not in store yet. Today I had to run some errands when I woke up and pick up a prescription there so I before I went to the pharmacy counter I went to look around the make-up aisle and what did I find.....

L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadows!!

The display was on the lower level of a shelf and I guess they either just put it out or no one really noticed it because all colors were available. 12 colors total and two of each are displayed with the infallible eyeliner next to it. So of course I had to buy some. I spend a while crouched down to figure out which ones I wanted since the color choice is quite limited. I believe all of these have a slight sheen or shimmer minus two shades that looked matte. But anyways I ended up picking more neutral colors not going for the blue/grey/plum shades. I ended up getting 4 of these and it cost me $7.15 each. Below are pictures and swatches. 

333 Golden Sage

999 Eternal Black

997 Eternal Sunshine

888 Iced Latte

333 Golden Sage

999 Eternal Black

997 Eternal Sunshine

888 Iced Latte

Iced Latte, Eternal Sunshine, Eternal Black, Golden Sage

I know everyone has been comparing these to Armani Eyes to Kill but since I don't own any I wouldn't be able to do a comparison. My first thoughts are that these are kind of a cross between your standard pressed shadow and a creamshadow. You'd either be able to apply with fingers or a brush and these are heavily pigmented and super smooth. So far I am really liking it. I might try to use one or two of these tonight for my NYE look. Golden Sage is a medium green that has a gold sheen to it. Eternal Black might actually end of being one of my favorites because in the pan you just think oh its black with silver glitter and it would most likely have a lot of fall out but once swatched I was really amazed because has this amazing depth to it and it just shines like graphite or black sand paper? Eternal Sunshine doesn't really have glitter in it but its a really pretty yellow gold. Ice Latte in the pan looks like a nice champaign color but it does come off a little more white based on my swatch, it'll be a good color for inner tear duct. I am really impressed with these and think $7.15 isn't a bad price at all. I might consider going to Nordstrom to pick up a Armani Eyes to Kill to do a comparison but not sure yet since those are a lot pricier. As for the getting the other colors, I'm not really sure about that yet either just because I want to get ones that I know I will se frequently and I feel like the 4 I got are good enough for now. 

I will do a full review on these four once I wear them and also post a look with it. 

So other than the L'Oreal shadows I also picked up two new nail polishes by Sinful Colors which I believe it just a drugstore brand? I said before I am not into bright color nail polish but for some reason I really wanted a hot pink and and orange polish. I was going to try to get some other Revlon glitter polishes but didn't see any I liked and I stumbled upon the Sinful Colors display . These were really inexpensive $1.99 each. I picked up Big Daddy which is a bright neon orange and Boom Boom which is a hot neon pink.

These polishes are opaque in two coats and I really like how they have that gel finish look? I'm not sure  if you guys know what I'm talking about but o wellz. I just did a test paint to show how it looks but I won't be keeping them on. I will probably do a review on these once I wear them for a while and see whether or not they chip really easily and stuff. 

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Happy New Years!!!! I will post what I am wearing tonight (outfit,makeup,nails) in 2012 :D

-amy

What's On My Nails

So besides being a total make-up & skin care junkie I am also a big fan of nail polish. Most of the time I do my own and have gotten pretty good at it, to the point where my co-worker sometimes jokes that I should open up my own nail salon and she would invest in it lol.

Now I don't have a crazy nail polish collection like a lot of other beauty bloggers do just because even though I paint my nails I am not overly obsessed with the newest collections and do not feel the need to purchase really expensive nail polish. Most of the nail polishes I own are Essie, which I'm sure if you are the type of girl that likes to go to salons to get them done you are aware of the brand. And I have to say Essie is hands down my favorite polish. I know a lot of people complain the brush is too thin but I really like it like that. I have a few OPI/Sephora by OPI polishes and then random drug store ones in between. I would have to say I have around 20+ bottles of nail polishes currently. And even though I would love to try polishes by Butter London, Deborah Lippmann, Chanel, Dior etc. I really don't have the budget for that and even if I did I really can't justify spending so much on nail polish. I would spend that kind of money on make up but on nail polish, no. That's just my personal take on it and it's not a dig at anyone who does buy polishes that are higher end. Hey if you can can afford it, more power to you. Also I am fortunate enough to have local Asian beauty supply stores in my area and where Wal-Mart/CVS/Rite-Aid sell Essie for $8.00 the Asian beauty supply stores sell them for $4.50-$5.50 so I never pay full price for Essie polishes. 

My taste in nail polish is very simple. I like pale pinks, nudes, reds, dark colors and once in a while a random bright. I don't really venture into crazy colors like bright blues, greens, neons, hot pinks etc. I usually tend to either have a french manicure which I do myself or a dark maroon on my nails. In the summer I like to spice it up with a bright red or coral but thats about it. I mean do have a few other random colors that I bought in the heat of the moment but I don't reach for those often. 

So for my current nail look, I have really been into glitter polishes lately and no I don't own the Deborah Lippmann ones but I do have a few from Sephora by OPI which I got during the F&F sale and also one Revlon on that just came out. I think this combination I have on my nails is really festive for New Years and still wearable on a daily basis depending on how strict your office it. I can get away with it at mine. 

So I took these pictures at night with bad lighting in my room so please forgive me. What I have on my nails in 3 different polishes.  I started with my Essie Millionails  nail strengthener as a base (not pictures) and then I put on two coats of Essie Cabi-O-Lait which is the very light opaque milky pink. The picture below was taken without flash and I know you can't see the color quite clear but this is a really pretty milky pink that can be worn alone and I wouldn't suggest it for a french manicure because it has a bit too much white in it for a french. So after two coats of Cabi-O-Lait, I put on one coat of Revlon Sparkling which is part of the new polish collection that just came out from Revlon. This polish looks a lot like the Deborah Lippmann one which name I can remember but since I don't own any Deborah Lippmann polishes I can't compare. It's just a medium pink multi-glitter polish in a clear base. After a coat of that I then put on a coat of Sephora by OPI Flurry Up which is a silver multi-glitter polish that I got during the F&F sale.

 Essie: Cabi-O-Lai

Revlon: 261 Sparkling

 Sephora by OPI:  Flurry Up

 

And thats basically it for what I have on my nails. Hopefully this lasts until New Years eve since I have a really bad habit of picking at my polish but if anything I will probably just redo it before going out. I really like this combination just because its subtle with a bit of girly flare. 

Thanks for reading. Please subscribe. 

- amy