Time to SPLURG for Spring

So my 18th birthday is approaching fast and I decided it was time for me to give a birthday gift to myself. So can you guess what I bought. . . that's right I bought makeup. I was scrolling through the MAC website and I picked up a few items. However a few items at MAC costs a pretty penny, but hey I'm worth a splurge. So if you have been feeling down, why not splurge on some fancy cosmetics. New cosmetics makes everyone happy. So in order to help you make some bad decisions for your wallet like me, here is a list of items I deem splurge worthy.

 Face

Looking to spend too much money on some face powders well look no further Hour Glass makes amazingly luxurious powders. The Ambient Lighting Powders come in six different shades for all of your highlighting and skin needs. You can use these powders all of the face for some natural radiance or in concentrated areas for a little bit more glow. You can naturally sparkle by picking up these powders for 45 buckaroos at select Sephora locations and on their website. 

Spring is approaching, though in Brooklyn it seems like eons away, March and April is coming no matter how much snow and ice is on the ground. Why not brighten your outlook on the stormy weather by putting some flower inspired makeup on your pores. MACS Mineralize Skin Finish in Perfect Topping from their new Fantasy of Flowers collection will make everything seem a little bit more sunny. Just sweep on your cheeks and instantly feel like daisies. Well, it might not make everything feel daisies but at least you will look as fresh as daisies. You can pick up this powder for 30 ducks at your local MAC counter or on the website (like I did).


Has your complexion looking a little bit dull or spotty well then it is time to treat yourself to some amazonian clay goodness. Buff on a little bit of Tarte's Amazonian Clay Airbrush loose foundation. This powder gives you medium coverage with a claim of 12 hour wear, that feels light and natural on the skin. The product comes in 11 shades, so hopefully everyone can find their perfect match. You can get our airbrushed look for 36 dollars at Sephora.


Tired of eye makeup and foundation but, you just want to get that flushed glow, then its time for endless cream blush choices. The Balms new cream blush palette will perk up your cheeks, and the packaging is so cute; apples and shirtless guys. Six colors for $32, well thats seems more like a deal than a splurge. You can get The Balm products and their How 'Bout Them Apples palette on their website thebalm.com


Not looking for a whole blush palette, more of a singles gal, well then go pick up Clinque's new spring collection of flower inspired blushes. The Cheek pop blushes give you beautiful spring inspired colors without being to harsh or gaudy. This is an effortless blush that doesn't need precise application. Throw this little flower in your purse and don't worry about streaks or that clown look that bright blush can give. These retail of 21 dollars at Sephora.com.


In the winter I tend to sleep constantly, but if you aren't an all day cat nap kind of girl then you might need something to cover those under eye circles. Conceal your dark circles using a creamy peachy under eye concealer from Pixi. Never looked tired ever again, if you can't get a good nights sleep, well then fake it. You can get Pixi products at Target but it is always on offer on Hautelook.com. So go get this little miracle makeup pot for 12 dollars. *** most affordable product!

Eyes 

Tired of your run of the mill black or brown gel liner, then go and get yourself a champagne colored gel to brighten up your eyes after long cold winter nights. Go splurge on MAC's Fluidline in Chilled, which is white gold color. Put this on your lower or top lash line for subtle sparkle and definition. Or, put it in your inner corner to brighten up any eye look. You can get Chilled at any MAC counter or on their website for 16 smack-a-roos.

Not a fan of gel liner? Thats fine, brushes can be annoying and difficult to use. That's why felt tip liners are the lazy girls best friend, no sharpening and easy application. Stilla's Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Liner is the liner challenged best friend. With a super fine tip you can build up your intensity slowly without having a steady hand. Another plus, if you get tired of black these bad boys come in a variety of bold and bright colors (15). Go get this at Sephora or on offer at Hautelook.com for $20.

Lips

Want to spice your lip life? Get bold long lasting color from Lime Crimes Velvetines. These are lip-stains that dry matte and last forever. They come in a variety of bold and unique colors. Pick up Suedberry for a bright wearable red with pink undertones. This color will brighten up your face and pretty much looks good on every complexion. Afraid of wearing bold reds, then this is a great color to ease you in. Get this tube at limecrime.com for 20 bucks.


Bite Beauty has just about the cleverest name for a lipstick company, and these products pack a punch in very bite sized tubes. Your getting your moneys worth with these lipsticks, they are pigmented and smooth. Bite Beauty's Luminous Creme Lipsticks come in a million shades, 25 shades to be exact. You can get reds, nudes and berries for 24 well spent dollars at Sephora. Just be careful you don't feel like biting anyone well wearing them (even love bites).

Fragrance 

It's always nice to smell good, so why not smell like sultry floral amazingness. I have had a mini Viktor & Rolf Flower Bomb perfume and I am obsessed. I was given the miniature bottle as a gift and I use it very sparingly. The fragrance has notes of sambac jasmine, centifolia rose, cattleya orchid, ballerina freesia, and patchouli. You can get the 1 oz bottle for 80 big ones at Sephora and other fragrance retailers. Honestly you spray this and you feel like your in a field filled with fairies and elves.


So that is my splurge list, go out and splurge or just stock the Sephora website like I do if you don't have the funds. Remember splurging on nice products should be saved for a rainy day when you feel sad, because new cosmetics makes everyone feel better. 

Let's Be Honest About Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation

So I needed a new sheer foundation (that wasn't a BB cream) and I decided to pick this up at the drugstore. This is a liquid foundation that is supposed to look like your wearing no making but, it still evens out your complexion while also giving you broad spectrum sunscreen protection.

Packaging
The product is in a glass bottle with a twist off cap, that clicks nicely into place. You have to pour out the product from a pretty long nozzle/bottle top ( I don't know what you would call it). Because this product doesn't have a pump, it is difficult to pour the right amount of foundation. Not a huge fan of the packaging, but it isn't too bulky or heavy for a glass bottle, which is nice. The bottle contains 1fl or 30 ml of foundation.

Formula
This is a LIQUID foundation. It is super runny and almost feels like skin colored water, with a strong scent of sunscreen. Some people love the smell of sunscreen but, I am not one of those people. The scent is really strong and I wish it wasn't. I don't really understand why its smells like sunscreen because it only has an SPF of 20. That really isn't that high, my moisturizer has an SPF of 30 and doesn't smell like that strong. This is a sheer foundation (like it is advertised) it isn't really build-able so this is a no makeup kind of day product. The foundation isn't very blend-able, I will be using my Real Techniques expert face brush and it will take forever to get rid of the streaks. Use clean fingers to apply this product. Because it is very liquidly, if you use to much it just goes everywhere and just sits on top of your face in streaks.

Finish/Lasting Power
This foundation once it sets gives you a semi-matt finish, but you MUST set it with a powder if you want it to last longer than a few hours. It is a sheer foundation so I didn't expect have great staying powder, but this just slides/melts off my skin in seconds (I have dry to combo skin).

Shade Range
There are 16 shades in total, ranging from very pale to kind of dark. Most drugstore foundations don't come in dark skin colors, which is so stupid. If you have a medium or light skin tone, you should be able to find a good match, but darker skin tones probably not. This is a sheer foundation so if the color is a little bit lighter, it might not really be noticeable on the skin. My shade is 120 Vanilla, which is the second palest color in the collection; it is an ivory with yellow undertones.


Overall I would not repurchase this foundation or recommend it. I will use it all up because I bought it but then I will tossing it out and never looking back. If you want a light/sheer foundation use a tinted moisturizer or a BB cream. This foundation retails for different prices depending on where you are and it should be around the $8-10 mark. I would rate this product a 2 out of 5 stars :-(

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer Review

A new Sephora has fairly recently opened up in Brooklyn near my house, right next to where I get off the train to go home. As you could imagine this is a major problem for me. I pop in just to look around, and I always leave having spent money that I don't really have. I was going through the NARS rack and I had the urge to try a complexion product from the line. I picked up the NARS Creamy Radiant Concealer.

Based off the title I assumed that this concealer would be creamy, rich and moisturizing enough to use under my eyes and on my spots. I also hoped that the radiant part wouldn't be too sparkly, so I could put it on blemishes if I really needed to. I have been using this concealer under my eyes, around my nose, around my mouth, my chin, and in-between my eyebrows (blended up onto my forehead). This concealer does a really good job of brightening up my face and neutralizing my redness.

Packaging 

As always NARS has classy packaging, it is a glass tube with a matte (NARS texture) cap. You twist off the cap and you have a wand applicator with a doe foot. Really not much to say, good and classic packaging.

Formula/Pigmentation

This is a medium coverage concealer, it definitely gets rid of my redness (not on a blemish) and hides my dark spots. The consistency of the concealer is super creamy, rich and just so smooth. It looks amazing on the face, blends with little to no effort. Because this is a creamy concealer is does crease under the eyes/melts so use a setting powder for long lasting staying power.

If you are looking for a good high end concealer I would recommend getting this one, if you are willing to pay a little bit more for your makeup. Honestly, when I run out I won't go and purchase another just because of the price. I will go back to my favorite drugstore concealer. If I have a little extra money to splurge I will go and get this again, just not right away. I purchased this at Sephora for $29 dollars. This product comes in a ton of shades, so if you have darker skin you could find a good match (though I wish it had more). The shade I got was Light 2 Vanilla.

I got some nasty fingernails sorry

Hope this was helpful!
xoxoxo Emma

Let's Be Honest About Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 Foundation

So this is my matching post with my Revlon Color Stay blog post that I did a few weeks ago. If you want to check that out here is the link. While that post was a bash/hate it this is a favorite. I love the Covergirl Outlast foundation, it is my holy grail, amaze-balls foundation. The foundation claims to be a primer, concealer and a foundation all in one, hence the name 3 in 1. I was a little skeptical of a foundation with so many claims, but this one really does do it all . It has great coverage, you could just dot it on your problem areas, like around your nose, under eyes, and mouth and it will blend in like a concealer (and will last all day). You can blend it in all over your face and get flawless coverage, with out that super heavy feeling. If you have super oily skin you might want to set it with a blotting powder (or if you have a really long day) but otherwise you can't leave it on its own.  In the summer when my skin was sweaty and oily this lasted, and made my skin look so nice. I was having some really bad skin issues this summer and this totally helped me cover my blemishes and even out my skin tone. 

I no longer have my bottle, need to get a new one

The Break Down

Packaging 

The packaging for this foundation is so awesome. It is a glass bottle with a pump! Yes that it right, this foundation has a pump. The pump makes this product have no mess and allows you get to get the right amount of product. But, be careful the product comes out fast, so start with a little and then add more to the back of your hand as you go along. Worst comes to worst you have extra to really blend out on your neck and collar bone (very important for the summer months when you show a little more skin).  Also the bottle is clear so you can see how much you have left in the bottle. The only thing that I didn't like was that when you get down to the bottom it is hard to get the last bits of the product out. I had to use the straw attached on the pump, to sort of scoop out foundation, but that was only for the last couple of uses. If you really wanted to you could transfer the rest into another container, to really get every last drop out. The bottle contains 1fl of 30 ml. 

Formula

The formula is great, the consistency is a happy medium between a gel and a liquid. It is thick and doesn't slide right off your hand or face during application. This truly does cover everything but is build-able and can give lighter coverage if you apply with a beauty blender or if you dilute it with your moisturizer. I use it as my concealer then I use more as my foundation. It has an SPF of 20 so BONUS JONAS. It gives a matt to semi-matt finish depending on what type of skin you have. If you want that totally matt look, set it with a translucent powder. 

Shade Range

Like most drugstore foundations it doesn't have the most extensive shade range. It covers light, medium and a few medium to dark skins tones. If you have really dark skin then I doubt you will be able to find a nice match. The darkest color in soft sable is a milk chocolate color, so all of your dark coco girls I'm sorry but this isn't the foundation for you. Overall there are 14 shades in the collection, I personally am 810 in classic Ivory (ivory with yellow undertones). 

You can pick up this amazing product at drugstores, Target, and Walmart etc. The price varies depending on where you are but it is around the $10 mark. Overall I would give this product 5 stars! 

Coastal Scents 12 Pan Customizable Palette (magnetic!)

So I have a Z palette but I needed more space, so I deiced to go and buy a costal scents 12 pan palette to store my eyeshadows. I also purchased a few more hot pots!

Haul. . . I Bought Some Makeup Again

Guess who did  a little shopping? I did! Yes that is right I bought more makeup. Some eyeshadows and some complexion stuff and new brush. I bought some Costal Scents shadows and I caved, yep thats right I brought Urban Decays Naked 3. I also bought two new Revlon products, one new to me and one new release.

Costal Scents eyeshadows!!!!!

Kodiak

• deep olive green shadow with golden undertones. So pigmented, rich and smooth. 

Mai Tai

• golden lilac taupe shade. SO pretty and nice and complements my brown eyes. 

Nude

• Champaign with satin finish with pink undertones. 

Incognito 

• deep black with a satin finish and very very slight sparkle and really not noticeable on the lids. 

Naked 3 palette

• I will do all the swatches and review on a later time! 

Revlon Nearly Naked Fondation 

• very sheer coverage foundation with broad spectrum SPF 20. Very liquidly and smells heavily of sunscreen. Blends in really easily and feel like nothing. Has a semi matte finish. It doesn't feel moisturizing but does feel drying. I bought the shade in 120 Vanilla. This isn't the newest product for Revlon I think it came out two summers ago, but isn't that old. 

Revlon Photoready Skinlights 

• This is a product that Revlon has re-released so it isn't really new. I got the color in 100 Bare Light which is pale skin color that is very basically just a pink champagne color. It blends in the skin to be a subtle glow on the face but definitely can be built up to look not so good. It has very light glitter in it. It is has very liquidly texture but sets without looking too liquidly or smudgy on the face. I mix it with my foundation, my moisturizer, or I just apply is straight to my cheek bones. 

NARS Creamy Radiant Concealer

• I had seen so many good reviews of this, and I am almost out of my Physicians Formula Rx concealer, so I figured well I guess I need a new one. I got it in the shade light 2 Vanilla, it is so creamy and wonderful, I can't even really tell you. 

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touche

• nice and creamy I really like it. Has pretty good coverage for a highlighting concealer. 

Guerlain le 2 De Guerlain Mascara 

• double ended mascara, one side for top lash and a mini brush for the bottom. It is a wet mascara and super black. 

Elizabeth Arden Green Tea Scent Spray

• This is just a super fresh clean sent, not too strong just enough punch to it. Very light and airy good for up coming spring days (in the distant future). 

Tools

Original Beauty Blender

• I own a cheaper knock of beauty blender from target which I love and I figured what if the real thing is even better. So I bought it and it seems good, but I need to play around with it more. But it is really soft (for a sponge) and feels nice on my face. 

Costal Scents 12 pan magnetic palette

• My Z palette was full and I need something to put my new eyeshadows in. This palette is amazing, and I love it so much. So sturdy and affordable.  

Coastal Scents Br-C-N49 or the fluffy angled face brush 

• I am soooooooooo glad that I bought this brush. It is soft and dense and amazing. It places and blends in bronze like a champ. A few bristles have fallen out but only during washing. Will never use another brush ever again. 

Rite Aid Renewal Duo Fiber Blending Brush

• Saw this in Rite Aide and it just looked promising. It is a classic mid-sized duo fiber synthetic blending brush. I washed it and only a few bristles fell out, but since using a few times there hasn't been any more fall out. It blends out foundation well and it gives a nice sheer blush application. The bristles are really soft and have a nice thickness so it isn't too flimsy on the skin. 

I will be doing reviews of each product separately so look forward to that!

Lets Be Honest About Revlon ColorStay.

So I am going to do a different blogpost where I just kind of bash a product. I know, I know, negitivity is bad. But, I just have to get this out there.

I DON'T LOVE REVLON COLORSTAY FOUNDATION


I don't like wearing it, I don't think it lasts that long, it just ain't anything special. I'm sorry, I know that I sound crazy but I just don't get the hype. People love this is foundation it is their holy grail, but it just isn't mine.


Let me break it down for you.


Texture:
It is so liquidly. It just spills out of the jar and then it just drips everywhere. I'm not a fan of a liquid that it feels heavy on the skin and clings to the skin like a mask.


Packaging:
The bottle is so annoying. You have to pour it out of this tall spout and so you never know how much your gonna get. Also you have no idea how much you have left in the bottle.


Coverage:
This might go with texture but it takes forever to blend in and it looks like fake skin. It covers in a way that it creates a mask on the skin. It just looks fake, like hey I'm wearing foundation look at me.

Staying Power.
I don't have overly oily skin and I set my foundation with powder but when I go to take off my makeup at the end of the day, no foundation is there. It just breaks down on my face and disappears.

I do like full coverage foundation, my Covergirl Outlast is my holy grail. I could use it everyday and it can go sheer, medium or full depending how to apply it. Also it has a pump so a win win! I have done half my face with Colorstay and then the other have with Outlast and Outlast wins every time. So I'm sorry I just don't get the hype around Colorstay. However I did just run out of my Outlast and I put my Colorstay in the bottle so it is easier to use.

What do you guys think. It Revlon Colorstay you crack or do you have something else that you like better? Comment below.