Let's discuss Fashionflower... and other stuff

I completely cheated myself out of Ever Hip lipstick. I'm kicking myself hard. Actually, I had every opportunity to get it when I was shopping online but I forgot. And then it sold out.... my counter sold out too. Boo!

I've really just been picking and choosing things here and there from MAC collections. I haven't seen anything particularly eye-catching lately (except for Ever Hip... don't remind me). I did, however, pick up Alpha Girl beauty powder (from Heatherette '08). I love beauty powders... and blush... and anything cheek related.

The packaging is your basic black MAC compact but the product itself imprinted with a very pretty floral pattern. I would describe it as being a subtle coral that leans more pink. I love these kinds of shades for Spring / Summer. Alpha Girl isn't heavily pigmented. I get some decent color payoff on my skin but I'm an NW20. If your skin tone is very deep or dark, you may have a bit of a hard time with this one. Overall, I'm very pleased with it. Edit: I forgot to mention that it's not frosty or shimmery. I add a little By Candlelight MSF to my cheekbones because I like to get my glow on!

MAC Venomous Villains: Briar Rose Beauty Powder

I bought Briar Rose a few days ago, so of course I was dying to blog about it! First of all, this beauty powder is from the Maleficent sub-collection and you can pick one of these up for $25 USD. I was lucky to get mine, so if you see it and you like it, grab it before it's gone!

Briar Rose is a medium blue-based pink. Just the kind of color I love for fall. I think this pairs really nicely with I Like It Like That from In the Groove. They're soul mates, I reckon! However, this color reminds me a lot of Summer Rose beauty powder only this is more pigmented and a little darker. Seriously, use a light hand with this, pale ladies!

Briar Rose

Summer Rose

Swatch:

Recommendation: 

I'm happy to have Briar Rose in my collection of beauty powders and blushes. It's soft, but quite pigmented and it's fabulous for fall. If you love Disney and you like this color, go for it! I can't say for sure how I think this would look on those with warm tones, but I believe you can make it work!

By the way...

I just wanted to say how proud I am to have reached over 50 followers! I didn't expect this in the least. I started this blog for complete and utter funsies. I never went out of my way to advertise it, but you've found it! I'm very grateful and I'd like to give you my sincere thanks. Hey, if I can reach 100, I'd love to have a giveaway! Tell me in the comments what you think would be a good giveaway!

July Favorites

This past month has flown by so quickly! My daughter celebrated her FIRST birthday on the 20th of July and I'm happy but so sad at the same time. My little girl is growing up so fast!

My little monster<3

Anyway, I definitely have a few favorites that I've been using almost everyday in July...

NARS Primer

This has been a favorite of mine since I got it in May. I've been through so many primers and when I got this, I didn't even think I'd like it -- but I love it. I feel like this deserves a review.

Lazy Day Lipstick (Lustre)

Lazy  Day is from the 'To The Beach' collection. It's a milky-cool pink. On it's own, I don't care for it because it makes me look sort of sickly. If I line with Subculture first, it warms up the color a bit, making it very pretty and wearable. Lining with Subculture has the same effect when I use VG Gaga, too.

MAC Subculture Lip Liner

As of now, it's my favorite liner EVER!

Tare Cheek Stain: Flower Child

I went on a cheek stain craze this past winter. I'm over the phase, but I still love Flower Child for my lips. It's a golden rosy-pink. The beauty with cheek stains is that they have the ability to give you an overall natural glow and a light flush -- that 'just pinched' look. I have five of them, and this is my favorite. Though the taste is quite repulsive, I don't let it offend me. Also, the consistency of this stain differs from the others -- probably because this one has shimmer to it. This was limited edition and it's discontinued, but there's still a wide variety to choose from at Sephora. Tarte's cheek stains retail for $30 USD (keep in mind that you get a lot of product).

A few swatches...

Flower Child

By the way, I like these a lot for summer -- for those days when all you need is some tinted moisturizer and concealer.

MAC Summer Rose Beauty Powder

I bought this from the Liberty of London collection. For a beauty powder, it's quite pigmented. I can't say this would show up well on darker skin tones, but as a pasty princess, this works well as a blush. 

                                                                  

Fresh Sugar Rosé Tinted Lip Treatment SPF 15

I've had this for a while. I probably got it from Sephora during the winter. It went in the drawer and didn't come out until a few weeks ago. It has a nice sugary scent and a taste to match. The tint is sheer, but yet it has a nice color payoff. My only complaint is the hefty price tag. While I love this now and will continue to use it, I'm not sure I'd repurchase it again. $22.50 USD is a lot of money for a tinted lip conditioner!

As you can see, the month of July was all about lips for me!

P.S.: My skin has gotten so dry! NOT a sexy look! If anyone knows of good products for SUPER dry skin, do tell! For now, I'll see how this drinking water thing works out. Thanks =)

MAC Haul -- Part I

This is a big haul, but only because I'm showing things that I've bought starting on Mother's Day. In May, I got sick TWICE and then my boyfriend and I started moving in to our new house. We're still getting settled, but it hasn't allowed me the time to give this blog some proper TLC. Did I mention that I have a running 11 month old, too?!

Okay, so let's get started... shall we??

Blush of Youth beauty powder, from A Rose Romance. This is limited edition; I ordered this from an online CCO. I love this beauty powder. It's not super pigmented, so I recommend this to fair skin tones. For summer, I like to use Ladyblush (blushcreme) and I layer this on top to hold it in place. I'm NW20, for reference =)

MAC Blushcreme in Ladyblush.

Eyeshadows in Orb (left, Satin) & Mystery (right, Satin)

Eyeshadow in Paradisco (Frost)
I think this would pair very nicely with Coral Crepe (Paint Pot from Pret-A-Papier LE)

Lipstick in Jubilee. This and Hug Me are my perfect nudes; I could never pull off a color like Myth! Sorry for the lousy picture, my daughter slobbered all over my memory card before I could upload the picture from BEFORE I used it.

Viva Glam Cyndi (Lustre). Thank you Cyndi! I've never had the confidence to wear red. That is, until now! This is my perfect red. I see raspberry and perhaps a hint of coral in this lipstick. It's simply beautiful and it wears for while. I even like the subtle stain it leaves on my lips. I couldn't think of a dupe for this. It's incomparable and limited edition. They're still selling these until February or March of 2011 and as always, all proceeds of the Viva Glam lipsticks go directly to the MAC AIDS Fund.

Viva Glam Gaga is a blue-pink lipstick (Lustre) that also supports the MAC AIDS Fund. I la-love this lipstick almost as much as I love Gaga herself. Being completely honest here, it doesn't look even half as amazing on me as it does on her. It is a little hard to wear (this is actually more wearable version of Pink Nouveau (Satin), a color worn by Gaga in her early days), but if you pair it with a black smoky eye, it can add some serious glam to your look. And, even though it's not my best color, I feel so confident whenever I wear it so it deserves its rightful place in my collection!

Paint Pot, Groundwork. This paint pot was a repromote in the Pret-A-Papier collection. No worries, it's permanent. I'm not going into detail about this one though because I'd like to dedicate a whole post to my paint pot collection =)

Blush, Peachykeen (Sheertone Shimmer). What can I say? Peachykeen has my heart. Again, I won't go into detail on blushes either because I'm already writing a post about my favorite MAC blushes.

Blush, Pinch Me. Look sort of familiar?

So, that's all I uploaded for now. I have a few more goodies that I'll save for a part deux.