Music Monday

If you haven't given these guys a listen- you really should. Their debut album comes out the 3rd of September in the US and I think they're going to be everywhere!

Rimmel Apocalips and Showoffs

I've been horrible about blogging, but to be fair- my keyboard was on the frits. I've had these little guys on my hands for a while now, but unfortunately I am just getting around to making a post about them. I had originally bought the Rimmel Apocalips online from ASOS when I saw basically ever beauty personality raving about them in the UK. These beauties are supposed to be the equivalent of a liquid lipstick and who doesn't want the pigmentation of a lipstick without feeling anything on your lips!

Right after I got the Apocalips in the post- the Show offs started to make their debut across the pond here in America. To be completely honest- I was super bummed with the name change! I was glad I bought the two that I did from ASOS because- let's be honest- Apocalips is such an awesome name for a product! After my stubbornness wore off and my curiosity got the best of me- I picked up two more of the Rimmel Show offs from Walgreens. I think that they are only available at Walgreens- but I could be wrong.

 
Left to right: 101 Celestial, 501 Stellar, 303 Apocaliptic, 400 Big Bang

Beauty Haul! NYX, Real Techniques, Milani

Whenever I am having a bad day, I find it necessary to go out and treat myself to some new makeup goodies. It definitely is difficult to do when you're on a college budget, but I had a visa giftcard that I got from my birthday and hadn't used yet.

I had been lusting after some Real Techniques brushes for a long time. I used my sister's powder brush from them and I knew I had to get it. It was so soft and fluffy!

I have recently been dealing with some roommate drama and I needed to get out of my house, so I headed to ulta with my giftcard in tow. When I got to ulta, I was so happy to see that the Real Techniques brushes were buy one, get one 50% off!

In total, I bought four brushes, two of which were half price. I bought their powder brush, blush brush, expert face brush, and finally the stippling brush. I have already used all of these brushes and I love them so much. Has anyone ever just laid there running a soft makeup brush on there face. No? Yeah me neither...

Since I bought a stippling brush, I had to buy a cream blush, right? Just trying to justify my purchases, come on help me out over here. Anyway, I don't have a large blush collection and I've been gravitating to oranges but I don't have any so alas, more of a reason to buy this blush! I've heard really good things about NYX cream blushes, so I found the bright orange and went with it. This blush is so extremely pigmented, it's kind of scary, but in a good way.

 I can't really justify this Milani purchase, except for the fact that I was on an orange high and needed another orange blush! This one is more of a coral-y color, hence the name Corallina. This is also a really pigmented blush, however it does have a lot of glitter-not shimmer-glitter, and I know that a lot of people don't like that in their blushes. But I like it so far.

Dupe Alert: MAC Gladiola, MAC Night Blooming, and Sleek Mystic Swatches and Review

I know that I recently did a blog post on MAC's Night Blooming being a very similar, almost dupe to MAC's Gladiola. Unfortunately, Night Blooming was a limited edition color, and it is no longer available. Alas, I have discovered a cheaper dupe! I've always wanted to try some products from Sleek because they are a "drugstore"/ lower end brand in the UK but they are still affordable and close in price to drugstore products here in the US! I live on a college, so when I come across a 6$ lipstick, I am an extremely happy camper.

Mystic is the name of the lipstick from Sleek and you can spot the swatch of it in the middle. As you can see, Mystic looks a tiny smidge darker than the other two, but it's really not that much of a different. On the lips the colors are all very similar and the slight color difference isn't noticeable. If anything, Mystic is closer to Gladiola on the lips because they are both matte lipsticks, whereas Night Blooming is a semi-matte. So far, I'm really enjoying the quality that Sleek is offering for the affordable price. I have noticed that wear time on Mystic isn't the highest, so you might have to reapply throughout the day/ night. 

Wildflower iPhone Cases!

 I recently took the plunge and bought my first wildflower phone cases after seeing them literally everywhere on instagram. I am absolutely in love!

Check them out here! and their instagram is @wildflowercases
My instagram is @neruall

I hope you are having a wonderful day, here are some lovely sunflowers to brighten up my gloomy weather!

My First Inglot Palette!

The other day, I ventured in to my first ever inglot counter. There is not a free-standing store near me, so I drove to the closest counter because I have been dying to check out some inglot eyeshadows. The counter that I went to was decent in size and there was a fairly large range of eyeshadows.

Going in to the store, I had the idea that I wanted a completely matte and neutral palette. As you can see, I did not stick to my original plan. All of there eyeshadows are so pretty and have great pigmentation that it is hard to narrow it down. The great thing about the non matte eyeshadows is that they do not have fallout and your eyes don't look like a glitter bomb. I feel as if the two shine shadows that I bought, have a more of a sheen of shimmer than full on glitter and I love that so much.

46 shine is one of my absolute favorites and I have been wearing it every single day. The best way that I can describe it, is that it looks like a pearl when you move it around in the light and thus it looks so pretty when you apply it on your eyes. I love to use this as an all over lid color and even a brow bone highlight.

24 shine has the same kind of really pretty sheen and I got this to add a pop of color, either on my lower last line or in my inner corner, and I have been loving it!

I bought 341 matte to use as a blending color and to help pull the whole eye look together.

342 matte is what I use to help deepen my outer crease and add more of a dimension.

409 pearl is another gorgeous color that I have been using everyday. I use this mainly on my lower lash line as an eyeliner and then I also put it in my outer crease (v shaped) to help deepen it when I want a darker look.

The swatches are extremely crappy, I know but I think that you have to go in person to see them anyway. As much as I love these eyeshadows, I don't think that I will be doing any online purchases because it's tricky to see how exactly each eyeshadow looks and if you go in to swatch them, you can find some truly gorgeous shades. Overall, I am very happy with my purchase, it was well worth it, I think with the five eyeshadows and palette, it came out to around 40$ which is awesome for the size and quality.

What do you think about inglot eyeshadows?

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer Review and Swatches

I want to start off my saying that I absolutely love this concealer and I have not used any other concealers since purchasing this little guy. I went a little lighter than I thought my skin actually was, but I was happily surprised that this matched my skin very well, while still highlighting my undereye area. 

I was previously using Benefit's Boi-ing concealer, but I felt that it wasn't really cutting it for me in the coverage area. I also felt that I couldn't use it on my spots or any area on my skin that had dry patches to cling to the makeup. 

Below I have included a comparison as to what my face looks like with absolutely nothing on it:

And then, I have a picture of what my face looks like with only the Fit Me concealer on it. Holy Moly can you see a difference or what? I feel like my undereye bags look so much better than when I don't have any on. Also, in the first picture, I have a few spots and red areas on my nose that in the second picture are completely covered up.

♡

Again, I have two before and after pictures. The top picture is of my face with nothing on it and the next picture is my face with just the Fit Me concealer on. As you can see, I have a few left over acne scarring that is annoying and can be very tricky to coverup. If I put any coverage on that area, it dries up and flakes very easily and luckily enough, this concealer doesn't do that!

What I really love about this concealer is that it is very lightweight and it doesn"t feel heavy at all which is why I believe that it doesn't dry my skin out. It is a light-medium coverage concealer, however it is very buildable and easy to work with and I feel that it can be built up to be medium-heavy coverage.

Most days for class, I'll be in a hurry in the mornings or to be quite honest, I don't want to do a full face of foundation; So I'll apply this concealer like I have in the above images and set it with some powder, add some eye makeup and I'm ready to go.

This is definitely worth the price and when I run out, I will be running to the store to stock up!

Current Face Products: Maybelline Fit Me Review

I don't normally wear a lot of face makeup, however I had been on the lookout for a foundation that I could wear when I wanted a little more coverage. It was a tricky task because I have sensitive skin and there aren't a lot of foundations out there that don't make me breakout or make my skin even drier. I tried these products on a whim and they have all become my new favorites.

 

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 130 Buff Beige : $7.99

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 15: $6.99

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in  001 Translucent: $5.99

The only way that I can get any foundation to not look cake-y on me, it to use a makeup sponge. Everyone raves about the beauty blender but it's an item that I didn't feel like splurging on. I bought an exact dupe on ebay for under $2 and I feel that it works wonders.

I'm currently working on a complete review for the liquid foundation and liquid concealer. I would like to wear it a couple more times so that I have a better idea as to how it wears and its coverage. 

Sneak Peak: I'm really liking it so far.

OOTD: Rumours

 Just wanted to share a quick outfit of the day!

My awesome shirt is from H&M $25

 I snatched up these burgundy cords from American Eagle the other day for $10!

I couldn't pass on these super cool studded flats from target. Can't have too many black shoes right? At least these have spikes.

Hope you enjoyed this short little post and my outfit :)

MAC Night Blooming Review, Swatches, and Dupe?!

I haven't really been too interested in MAC releases lately because over the summer they had new collections every couple of weeks and I found that a little overwhelming. I saw Rachel (icallitambrosia) wearing this lipstick in a couple videos and every time that I saw it, I liked it more and more. I went on a hunt for this lipstick because it was sold out everywhere!

 One thing that I noticed when I opened up the tube is that it looks very similar to my favorite MAC lipstick Gladiola.

Upon swatching, you can see how similar these colors are outside of the tube. They are so similar that I would say Night Blooming is a 98% dupe for Gladiola. The only difference is that Night Blooming is a semi-matte and Gladiola is a matte, which gives them a slightly different look but nothing too major.

Night Blooming is a really comfortable lipstick--it doesn't feel like you are wearing anything on your lips which I love and it last for a long time 6+ hours. I really love everything about the color and texture and I feel like it could work on many different skintones. If you are able to find this in stores, I think you should snatch it up or you'll regret it.

NEW DUPE FOR THIS COLOR!

♡ Lauren

Favorite Beauty Products of 2012

2012 was the year that I discovered some of my favorite beauty products. I became more involved in makeup and really started experimenting with different brands, high end and drugstore.

I'm going to start off with eye products. This area is where I have really found what works for me and what I like. I would say that all of these eye products are "holy grail" because I use most of them every day that I wear makeup.

Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara: This mascara is so amazing on many different levels. It's available at CVS for under $5 (I can't remember the exact price but it's around $3-$4). Not only is it affordable--it's a great product and gives high end mascaras a run for their money. My lashes look amazing when I wear this mascara--it lengthens and volumizes! One thing I will say is that this mascara is a wetter formula, so if you don't like that then you won't like this mascara. I personally, don't like wet mascaras but I just wipe the brush in the tube to take off any excess product so that way I can build up.

Covergirl Nature Luxe Mousse Mascara: This was something that I just purchased because it was on sale and I like cheap mascara. I really love this mascara because it gives you a natural look. You can still build it up but for the most part it's really natural and not heavy at all.

Jordana FabuLiner Liquid Eyeliner: Another item that I discovered from the drugstore. I'm really picky when it comes to liquid eyeliners and for the longest time the only thing I would use was the Kat Von D Tattoo liner. I still love that so much, but it's expensive and I wanted something that I could use everyday and it wouldn't break the bank. This eyeliner is a felt tip but it's so wonderful that it doesn't matter! I don't remember how much it was but it was $2-$3. It's opaque and long-lasting and by far the best liquid eyeliner that I have tried from the drugstore.

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in the color Lionfish: I discovered this eyeliner in my birchbox! I use this eyeliner when I'm doing a more natural look or when I don't really want to put on a full face of makeup but I don't want to leave the house without anything on. I'll throw this on with some mascara and be good to go. This product lasts for such a long time and it's so creamy--I don't like eyeliners that aren't creamy. 

YBF Automatic Eyebrow Pencil in Universal Taupe: I don't know what to say about this product other than--how have I lived all of these years without you. This is the first product that I have ever used to fill in my eyebrows and it's the only product I will ever use. Despite being a pencil, it gives you a really natural look and makes your eyebrows look amazing. I was a little skeptical of the universal color because those don't normally work for me but this definitely does. I know that YBF sells this on their website but other than that you can buy this product at HSN and it comes with two for the price that one is on the YBF website.

Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner in R.S.V.P.: An impulse buy that turned into a staple product. This is something that I use as a base or as an eyeshadow look; Sometimes I even use it on it's own when I'm running some errands but I don't want my eyes to be completely naked. I really love this color, I feel like it's similar to the shade of my eyelids but when an extra shimmer. 

Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo in the shade Bad to the Bronze: I feel as if everyone is including this in their yearly favorites, so I'll keep it brief. I love this as an eyeshadow or a base and it last for as long as I need it to.

 

 Urban Decay Naked Palette: I feel as if this choice is self-explanatory. I love this palette for everyday use and for travel. I have some great neutral eye looks that I used on a daily basis.

Rimmel London Traffic Stopping Shadow in Over the Limit: I saw Tanya Burr use this in a tutorial and I had to have it. It isn't available in the states but I found it on the ASOS US website and purchased it immediately. (ASOS carries some uk specific brands and they always offer free shipping on any purchase). I know it's another neutral palette, but I really like the colors and I think it's a good product.

Finally moving on from eye products (I didn't realize I had that many) to face products!

 

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle: This is a great product and my favorite highlighter. I like that it's shimmer-y not glitter-y. I don't feel like a glitterball when I put this on, but I do feel like I have a nice highlight. I love that this is versatile and I can even use it as an eyeshadow if I want!

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer in 02: I really like this concealer because it isn't super heavy but it has nice coverage and it is buildable. It didn't break out or dry out my sensitive skin so that's a win win. 

 

 Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Flush: I had seen these blushes raved about everywhere and I finally gave in and bought one. They are a little more on the expensive side but they are so worth it. I bought this berry pink color and I just feel that it works really well on my skin. It's super pigmented and it lasts for as long as I wear it. In the pan, it looks as if it has some glitter but when you apply it on your face, it appears matte.

Rimmel London Lasting Finish Blush in Santa Rose: Another amazing drugstore find for under $5. This blush is more of a nature flush so I'll use this when I'm wearing a bold lip or if I'm just doing a natural makeup look. I don't have anything else to say about it because it's such a nice product for a decent price and there's not much more to it!

  

Moving on from face products to lip products.

 

Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Balm: I am someone that constantly has to be wearing lip balm and I'm very picky about my balms because I don't want to experiement with something that is going to end up drying out my lips. I saw essiebutton raving about this product and of course I had to buy it. I LOVE everything about this lip balm. I'm not a citrus smell lover but this product smells gloriously citrus-y. I use this at night because it is on the heavier side; I wake up in the morning with perfectly moisturized lips and I don't have lip balm all over my face. This balm has a couple beads? that blend out when you rub this into your lips. This is definitely a "holy grail" product for me and I hope they never discontinue it (like my beloved Bourjois Baume de Nuit lip balm).

 Saving the best for last-- LIPSTICKS!

In 2012, I became more comfortable in wearing bold lipsticks. At first, I thought that I couldn't pull them off and that I looked stupid, but now I don't care because I like lipstick and I like to wear lipstick. 

Tarte Glamazon Pure Performance Lipstick in Wild and Playful: I'm not going to talk about these too much just because I already did a blog post on them. These were a new discovery and I only really used them in the later part of the year but they are so amazing that I had to include them. Creamy, moisturizing, and pigmented--not really much more you could ask for in a lipstick.

MAC Lipstick in Rebel and Gladiola: I love MAC lipsticks and I own many a MAC lipstick so I shouldn't be surprised that I'm including two in my yearly favorites.  

Rebel however, is a color that I only discovered in 2012. I had seen many people rave about it and I was wanting a darker lipstick for the fall, so I picked up this little guy.

Gladiola is definitely one of my all time favorite lipsticks. I love it because it's a pink lipstick but it's not a bubblegum or stripper pink color that many MAC lipsticks are. It's a pink that has a slight purple tint to it and it's a color that works well with my skin tone.

 I love MAC lipsticks because they have decent quality, pigmentation, lasting power, and color range. The only thing is that some of these lipsticks can be drying, so I have to make sure that my lips are nicely moisturized. 

I had a nice amount of favorites but I don't think that I went too overboard. I can't wait to see what amazing products will be released from the drugstore and high end!

Hope everyone has a great new year!

♡ Lauren