Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick

Stila's Version of liquid lipstick is a bit different from the others I've reviewed as it dries down completely and is transfer resistant. This has a much thicker consistency than any other liquid lipstick I own, and is much more of a cream texture. It is completely matte in finish.

Sephora Luster Matte Long-Wear Lip Color

Sephora Luster Matte in Magenta

Out of all the liquid lipstick brands and formulas I've tried, Sephora Luster Matte Long-Wear Lip Color is my favorite. This is a long wearing satin finish lip cream that is thin in consistency and leaves a lasting stain. This is the most comfortable to wear also, as it doesn't dry completely down and leaves my lips feeling soft for the majority of the wear. Even when the product feels like it's gone after about 7 hours or so, the color left on your lips looks vibrant. 

Milani Lip Intense Liquid Color

Milani Lip Intense

Milani Lip Intense Liquid Color is a hybrid formula that goes on with the ease of a gloss and the more opaque color and coverage of a lipstick. The tube is oval in shape with a doe foot applicator that is a bit stiffer that your typical doe foot, although not in an uncomfortable way. It does a great job of distributing the product on the lips. Both colors I have are slightly scented, but different from each other. Red Extreme has a buttery scent, very similar to NYX Soft Matte Lip cream. Fiery Coral has a very similar scent to the Too Faced Melted collection, although much less pronounced. The texture in these two colors vary also, but only just. They are both thin in consistency, moist, non-sticky, and fully opaque. They vary, however, in the actual texture of the cream. Now, I'm probably the only person in the world who even notices this or cares for that matter, but Fiery Coral has a textured feel to it where Red Extreme is just a cream. When I say "textured" I mean that I can feel the particles inside the cream, which I am sure is just the pigment. This feeling is neither bothersome of irritating, it is just there.

Too Faced Melted

Too Faced Melted Liquid Lipstick

Too Faced Melted liquid lipstick is a beautiful thing. So many brands have come out with their version of liquid lipstick that I thought I would devote the next couple of posts to the ones I own. The varieties of liquid lipstick vary greatly between brands, from completely dry and transfer proof to still moist and staining that will transfer. Some will zap your lips into Sahara Desert territory, while others still leave your lips feeling moist. Too Faced has created a version that is somewhere in the middle. These beauties have fully opaque coverage and leave behind a nice stain from the bolder colors. These stay moist enough on lips, as in they don't dry down like paint on the wall, but they don't leave your lips feeling like you have balm on them either. The shade range has recently expanded, and I can't wait to try a few new shades. There is some type of scent to these that I can't exactly describe. Its not unpleasant at all, but I can smell it through the tube. I think it's some type of cherry scent. The applicator on these is different than other liquid lipsticks. They are housed in a squeeze tube with a fuzzy angled tip. The four smaller ones came together in a gift set at Christmas, while the larger one is full size. 

Neon French Manicure

Neon French Manicure

I have to admit that I am a nail biter. It's an unfortunate habit that is hard to break. The only way I can keep from chewing on my nails is to keep them painted. Time doesn't always allow for wet nail polish. To make the drying time bearable I have a wonderful product to share with you, but more on that in a minute. I also have to admit that I am not great at nail art. The extent of my painterly abilities isn't much. I have tried doing water marbling, but really you have to have other-worldly ability to pull that off. I like simple designs that are easy to pull off.

Revlon Perfumerie

Revlon Perfumerie

Revlon Perfumerie is an interesting take on nail polish. This is my first time trying scented nail polish, and I have to say my thoughts are varied. They come in an array of colors and finishes, and each color is named with its intended fragrance. The idea here is great! I love the idea of a pleasant smelling polish. While they are fragrant when dry, the typical nail lacquer scent is still quite strong up until they are completely dry. This might be an obvious situation to some, however I wish it was more predominantly written on the bottle so people know not to breathe it in while wet. I also think that some people might love a certain color and find that the scent isn't to their liking. The colors are fantastic. They apply well, and come in a bottle that resembles a little perfume decanter. At first, I thought the small handle might be troublesome to hold, however, it wasn't a problem. I actually really like the look of the bottles. The fragrances themselves are definitely what makes these polishes stand out from others at the store, and I think they are worth having a look at. All swatches are one coat.

Giveaway Ending Soon!

Zoya Giveaway 

This giveaway is for two bottles of Zoya nail polish in the colors Alma and Tilda. To enter, all you need to do is leave a beauty related comment here on my blog. You can enter again on my Instagram. I will be picking a winner through a random generator online. The winner will be chosen on Wednesday January 28th. Good Luck!

Maybelline Color Show Brocade and Veils

Maybelline Color Show Brocade and Veils 

Here are a few nail polishes that I'm quite excited to tell you about. The thing that gets me most excited about in terms of nail polish finishes is glitter! I love glitter. We all know that wearing loose glitter is amazing, but you always seem to find glitter everywhere. Just when you think you have gotten every last sparkly particle, you find a shiny lurking somewhere. But fear not. Wearing glitter is your friend when applied in polish. All that glistening goodness dried to a perfect light catching shine without the loose mess.

Milani Baked Eyeshadow Collection Part 2

Milani Baked Eyeshadow Collection Part 2

The second part of my Milani Baked Eyeshadow collection has a couple of fun colors in it. These baked shadows can be used wet or dry depending on whether you want a more sheer wash or color or a bolder look. To get bold color, wet brush slightly and use eyeshadow. The colors with more sparkle to them are prone to more fall-out. Using a damp eyeliner brush will create a bold statement look to line your eyes with. These shadows come with a dual ended applicator, with one side being a sponge tip and the other being a brush. I just toss these out as I find they aren't of much use. All swatches are applied dry over UD Primer Potion. 

Milani Baked Eyeshadow Collection Part 1

Milani Baked Eyeshadow Collection Part 1

I thought I would do a round-up of my Milani Baked Eyeshadow collection. These eyeshadows can be used wet or dry. Using them dry will give a more sheer wash of color for the most part, although a few of them have good color payoff. Using them wet will yield a greater color payoff, and work well as eyeliner. Some colors are metallic satin, while others have a metallic, frosty finish with sparkle. Take care with the frosty colors as they are prone to more fallout. All colors have been swatched dry over UD Primer Potion. More after the jump. 

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

We all need to moisturize our cuticles, but sometimes it can be such a pain. I must admit that until recently I have been lacking in my cuticle care. The main reason is that I hate to have oil just sitting on my hands. I have good intentions to sit back and let the oil do its work, but sadly I forget that I have it on and 5 minutes later I end up with it on my chair, or my clothes. You know the drill. But then I found this little gem calling to me like a Siren's song calls to sailors, and before I knew it I had this in my cart. I'm so glad I picked it up. The idea that I can condition my cuticles without getting oil on everything just appeals to me. It is housed in a cute little tin about the size of a silver dollar. It has a fresh lemon zest smell, not at all chemically. It has a dense texture, kind of similar to chapstick. I have been using this quite a bit, and it really has improved the overall appearance of my cuticles. This is now my go-to cuticle treatment of choice.

Revlon Ultra HD Lip Lacquer

Revlon Ultra HD Lip Lacquer

Revlon recently released a collection of lipgloss called Revlon Ultra HD Lip Lacquer.  I have picked up HD Tourmaline as well as HD Pink Ruby to swatch and review.

Revlon Ultra HD Lip Lacquer

These glosses are very pigmented, they are not for someone who is looking for a sheer wash of color. These little beauties are for the person who really wants a punch of color and isn't afraid to show it. The top of the applicator has a large clear jewel adhered to it, a nice touch. 

e.l.f. Studio High Definition Powder

e.l.f. Studio High Definition Powder in Sheer

e.l.f. Studio HD Powder in Sheer is a white powder that goes on completely translucent. There are several things to like about this powder, and a few cons that we will get to in a minute. The pros: this powder is a great powder to set your foundation and concealer, as well as keep oil at bay. It has an unbelievably smooth and silky texture that goes on flawlessly. I love that it is translucent, so if you've had a hard time finding a powder to match your skin tone, give Sheer a try. The cons: the packaging and price point. The packaging is more bulky than it needs to be. I would have preferred the package to just be round, and cut out the excess empty area from the corners that just doesn't need to be there. The price, while $6 is reasonable for a setting powder, it's a bit more than an e.l.f. product should be in my opinion. You are getting 0.28 oz for $6, while Dermablend translucent setting powder is $26 for 1 oz. I know that $6 is a lot easier to spend on powder than $26, however it doesn't make a lot of sense to me to market a brand like e.l.f. as being a more budget friendly and yet charge almost the same amount per ounce as a higher end brand does. That being said, I think this powder does a great job and is every bit as good as some higher end brands.

Giveaway Time

Giveaway 

To celebrate my new blog, I'm giving away two bottles of Zoya polish in the colors Alma and Tilda. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment about any beauty product you are loving lately. All future giveaways will be drawn a week from the current wednesday, so I will be picking a winner on 1-28-15 at noon. I will also be running this giveaway on Instagram, so head on over for an extra entry! I welcome anyone to my page. Guys and dolls are most welcome!

Good luck and stay beautiful!

Zoya Nail Polish Haul

My Zoya Nail Polish Haul

I have a small Zoya haul to review. I chose these colors because I absolutely love blues, greens, and oranges. With Spring on the horizon and Summer to follow, these will add fun little pops of color. From left to right we have Alma, Tilda, Ling, Staasi, and Jesy. The finishes of Alma, Staasi, and Jesy are iridescent glitter jellies, while Tilda and Ling have a cream finish. While jelly polishes can be layered to give a fairly opaque finish, my personal preference for this type of finish is to apply two coats so that I have enough color to show off the polish while there is a bit of translucency still there. All three of these glitter jelly polishes are thin in texture and apply smoothly. The cream finishes are a little bit thicker in texture, but still easy to work with. 

NYX Slim Lip Pencil

NYX Slim Lip Pencil in Rose and Espresso

Let us talk about the necessity of a good lipliner for a minute. The need for a good lipliner is huge. You can line your lips and fill them in for a full matte effect. You can line with a darker liner than the lipstick you are using for an ombre effect. But most importantly, this little pencil is tasked with creating a border for lip products that are prone to feathering. Lipsticks that migrate outside the lip line can be bothersome, especially with dark and bold colors. My favorite brand of lipliner is NYX. (Pronounced like Nicks, not N.Y.X.) While I love MAC, I find it hard to justify spending $16 on a lipliner that is of the same quality as I get from these. NYX lipliners come in a variety of colors, so there should be something for everyone. The texture is spot on. It is creamy enough to apply smoothly without tugging, and holds my lip products in place. 

L'oréal Pro-Matte Founadtion

L'oréal Pro-Matte Foundation in 101 Classic Ivory and 102 Shell Beige

The foundation on the left is number 101 Classic Ivory which is the lightest shade in the range. The right is 102 Shell Beige, the second lightest shade. A few bits about my skin first. I am a MAC NW15, with rosacea. While my skin is pretty light, the redness can be difficult to cover especially since I don't like adding multiple layers of foundation in order to achieve full coverage. I also have very oily skin, and even with a primer I have problems keeping my foundation looking fresh beyond a few hours. I have found that as I'm getting older that the cheap Covergirl foundation that I always wore no longer stays in place or gives me coverage. I have tried various formulas and brands in my quest for a HG foundation. I'm looking for mostly full coverage foundation that doesn't feel heavy or caked on, I need it to be matte and last for as long as possible, and I need a color match which is very hard to find from drugstore brands. When I found out that L'oréal had a new Infallible Pro-Matte foundation coming, I could have swore I heard the "Hallelujah" chorus playing in the distance. I mean, this foundation claims "demi-matte, air-light, oil-free, and lasts 24 hours". What is not to love here? So I bought the two lightest shades available, hoping that one of them would be light enough. The one thing I will say is that the shade range is limited. There is not much selection and none for our darker friends, which I'm hoping they expand to include all skin tones. The shade 101 is a bit too light for me, and the shade 102 is almost a perfect match. Being that it is winter, Im mixing them in equal parts for a perfect match. 

e.l.f. HD Blush

e.l.f. HD Blush Collection

Let me share my feelings about e.l.f., I have never really been a mass consumer of this brand. The products I've tried have been very hit and miss. The lure here is, of course, the price point. You see an eye catching shade in one product or another and you say to yourself, "hey, it's only a buck or two" right? Right. However, I've had some real misses from this brand that, even for one dollar, had to be returned. I'm looking at you, e.l.f. nail polish. But once in a while you try a product and it's so great that you go back out to get the rest of the collection! A couple of days ago I decided to pick up one of these cream blushes in Superstar, and everything about it was grandiose. Even though these initially look small, they have quite a large amount of product inside. They are housed in a pump style plastic jar. At first, you will have to pump it two or three times to get the product flowing. Be careful with how much you pump out, as one full pump is way too much product even for both cheeks. The texture is very mousse-like. I have applied it with a Beauty Blender as well as a small stippling brush.   Both methods work great. This stuff is pigmented! Wow! A little really will go a long way here. They wear for 8 hrs without any fading. I love that e.l.f. thought about different skin tones. There is something here for everyone. 

Covergirl Lip Lava

Lip Lava in Look Its Lava

Covergirl Lip Lava is not for the faint of heart. This lip gloss is bold and fully opaque in one pass. While somewhat thick, this is just slightly sticky but not at all uncomfortable. I only bought the one color, but I am very interested in trying others. The color is a statement piece for sure. I did no justice in my photo, but I attempted to capture just how complex and multi-faceted this lipgloss is. It has a definite duo-chrome finish with an insane amount of micro shimmer. The best way I can describe this color would be as an outrageous hot fuchsia with violet micro shimmer and a high metallic shine. The applicator is a brush rather than the typical doe foot, and works nicely for lining as well as filling in the lips. This gloss retails for $5.99. Im not sure of the size. Would I repurchase? Yes.

Reviewing My Sephora Haul

Soap & Glory  All The Right Smoothes

This set was a limited release for the holiday season. It came with three mini containers of body cream in the flavors The Righteous Butter, Butter Yourself, and Sugar Crush. Each scent is a slightly different texture, which I like very much. The Righteous Butter is a unique scent that is hard to describe. At first it has a very floral scent, although not rose, but there is something else lingering. Im not sure what other notes are imbedded, perhaps some amber and grapefruit? I love the texture of this cream, and it is very feminine smelling which is nice. Butter Yourself has a very fruity scent and the cream is thick, ideal for dry skin. The fruitiness of this is different than any other fragrance I own. It boasts of Frozen Yuzu, Orange oil, Green Fig, and Jungle Pomelo. This one is very playful, and sweet. Sugar Crush is lighter in texture. If I had to pick just one, this would be it. The fragrance is Lime and Sugar, but screams 7-UP! It has a touch of whimsy to me, as well as being deeply moisturizing. Each container weighs 1.69 fl. oz. I got this set on sale for $12. Would I repurchase? Maybe, but I would rather just get a full size Sugar Crush instead.

Sephora Haul

    

I will be updating a review of these products tonight. But for now, a teaser picture of the contents. Over all, I am very pleased with everything so far. 

Evening Skin Cleanse and Hydrate

 Taking off makeup at the end of the day is such a task and not many of us really enjoy this particular part of our face routine. The easier, the better. Right? I prefer to remove my makeup without soap, and my favorite method is MAC Cleanse Off Oil in Tranquil. However, I like to try new things and am happy to report a new product that is getting great reviews across the web. The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter is a unique product. It is housed in a twist top tin, filled inside with what looks like a solid substance that, at first glance, resembles Crisco. It scoops out easily and is quite soft. I take out a small scoop the size of a blueberry, rub between my palms which melts the product and rub all over my face. When I feel like everything is emulsified, I rinse my face in warm water. Everything rinses clean away and Im left with soft, clean skin. There is no greasy feeling to my face. This Cleansing Butter is ever so slightly scented, so sensitive users should be ok with it. It is also very reasonably priced at $15 for 2.7 oz. Repurchase? Most Definitely.

Makeup Prep Routine

My daily morning makeup preparation usually involves these five things, although depending on my skin, can vary. In the morning after I cleanse my face I always use toner. Im still searching for a Holy Grail toner, and until I find it I will be going through various brands. At the moment Im using The Body Shop Tea Tree Toner. I like it, but the scent and tingle from the tea tree oil might be over powering to sensitive users. It retails for $12.00 for 8.4 oz of product. Repurchase? Yes.

Welcome

                Welcome to my page A Week From Wednesday. I adore makeup. I love changing my look and no color is off limits to me. My favorite color of lipstick is jewel-toned green. I look forward to reviewing beauty products and sharing my thoughts on anything current in the cosmetic world.