NYX butt "naked" and Laura Geller Gelato Swirl illuminator in Gilded Honey review

Hello Everyone,

I have many makeup products review coming up in the next few weeks leading up to Christmas. It will be a combination of luxury brands and drugstores. During this time of the year, makeup brands are coming out with their holiday palettes and sometimes it can be very difficult to decide on which one to get. This year, there are a lot of amazing ones out there that I am excited to review. If you are a makeup junkie like me, you can never have too many eye shadow palettes or lip products.

Let's start with the NYX butt "naked" collection. The name is just adorable.
The price is reasonable: $25 (I was able to get it at Ulta- http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod13311513 or at http://www.nyxcosmetics.com/butt-naked-eyes-makeup-palette/NYX_045.html)

The packaging is small and compact with a large mirror. Great to carry along with you when traveling.
Eye shadow size: 0.03 oz, Blush: 0.07oz, and illuminators: 0.14oz

This collection comes with 15 neutral matte and shimmery eye shadows, 4 blush, 3 illuminators. These eye shadows here are cool tones which I don't have a lot of because I like eye shadows that are mostly warm tones. If you are a cool tone lover, you may want to pick this up.

Most of the eye shadows here have great color payoff except for a few that you would need to pack on more for the color to show up. The blush on the other hand are very pigmented (two thumbs up) and the highlighters do not have any chunky glitters which is another plus. The blushes and highlights are what I like most about this palette.

 

The color here are gorgeous, especially the burnt orange/red. I have circled my favorite colors in red. Again, for the lighter colors you do need to build it up but the darker ones are great. Another thing to keep in mind, they do take a little bit longer to blend.  Although these eye shadows are not like the buttery ones from Urban Decay, Tarte, etc I think it is a good starter palette for everyday use. I would recommend to put a primer underneath the eye shadows so it can last longer.

 Here are some swatches for the eye shadows: this is the result with just one swatch. You can see that some of the lighter colors do not show up.

 Here are the swatches for the 4 blushes and 3 illuminators:

 

 

Overall rating: Best palette from NYX so far.

  

Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminator

Highlights and illuminators are very popular now. It definitely gives you a healthy glow, however, if you apply too much you can look like a disco ball.

I heard so many great things about Gilded Honey illuminator and it is always sold out at Ulta. Now it is back in stock and you can purchase it here: http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod12291867

Size: 0.16oz

 

This illuminator looks so natural on and a little goes a long way. It can be used as an eye shadow or a highlight. Gilded Honey works well for fair to medium skin tone. If you are deeper skin tone, I recommend the color Ballerina. The packaging is small (easy to carry in your purse) and it glides on smoothly with your finger... I do see why people rave about this. I like this highlight just as much as I like Champagne Pop by Becca.

 

 Here is the swatch: 

Overall rating:  Definitely try it out!!!

Until next time,

stay healthy, beautiful, and inspired.

<3 <3 <3

GlamGlow Review

Hello Everyone,

What is GlamGlow? Why would people pay $69 for a small jar of mud mask? I thought since Sephora is having the 20% discount for VIBs, this is a good opportunity for me to try this product. GlamGlow comes in four different types of treatment for your face and the one I purchased is for exfoliant. It claims to leave your skin soft, smooth, and radiant. I did feel a bit skeptical about the product but after reading some of the reviews, I felt better about the purchase even though it is pricey.

Why HELLO THERE, SEXY!

In this kit, it came with an extra bonus tube with a regular size jar (1.7 fl oz).

There is a patent pending for this product and is the WORLD's Best Mask Winner.  

The mud is gray with a strong tea scent. The scent reminds me of being at a spa getting facials or a massage. I love the scent, but I can see why some people may think it is too potent. The ingredients are active Green Tea Leaf, Volcanic Minerals, Ivy, Cucumber, Comfrey Herb, Lavender, and Chamomile Flower and Marigold Flower. Anything with tea leaf, cucumber, and lavender makes me feel relaxed.

With a cleanse face, I would apply a thin layer of this mud to my face. Be aware of small chunks of tea leaves mixed in the mud because it makes it harder to apply. In just a few seconds, there is this tingling feeling and within 10 minutes, the mud dries on your skin. 

Rinse the mud off in a circular motion to exfoliate your skin. My fiancé and I both can tell that our skin feels smoother and the pores look smaller right after we washed the mud off. Now, I understand why they use this in Hollywood to provide a camera-ready glowing skin. I would prefer to use this over any other face masks. Due to the high price point, I will use this sparingly only when my face needs a little TLC. I am not sure how it will be for people who have sensitive skin. I would recommend trying out some samples before making any big purchases.

Make sure to take advantage of the 20% discount at Sephora from 11/6-10.

I look so tired so I am heading to bed.

Until next time,

stay beautiful, healthy, and inspired.

<3 <3 <3

Urban Decay Vice 3 and Marc Jacob Perfection Powder

Hello Everyone!!!!

Wow, wow, wow.. I missed blogging so much. I hope everyone had a great and safe Halloween. Well Fall is here and I am super excited about all the candles that have at Bath and Body Works. Girls, you know what I am talking about =)
I am trying to burn up Frosted Cupcake, so I can light my favorite scent for Fall- Leaves and Warm Caramel Cider. The scent of these candles makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside and I just never want to leave the house.

Alright let's talk about makeup. Urban Decay came out with the Vice3 palette which consist of both matte and shimmer finishes for $60. It contains twenty new, limited edition shades. I am huge fan of Urban Decay because most of their eyeshadows feel buttery and soft. This palette is a hit or miss for some of the colors. The matte finishes were great (some are a bit powdery, but for most part they are on point), but for the shimmer shades, there were some that have fall outs due to too much glitter. Even though a lot of people think that Vice 3 is the worst of the three, I still like some of the colors in this palette.

The packaging is not my favorite because it attracts a lot of finger prints as you can see from the picture below....

It comes with a bag to fit your palette.

Here are the colors inside the palette:

My favorite shades are:

All in all, I don't regret buying it because I love these dark colors for Fall. It is definitely a fun palette to own if you don't have anything like this already.

Another product I want to talk about is the Marc Jacob Perfection Powder.

I normally use BB creams or liquid foundations and on top I like to apply the powder to give it a more matte finish. The powder is so fine when you apply it to your face that it doesn't look cakey nor does it make your face look white. Remember, this is mostly to set your makeup not to absorb the oil on your face. It is an expensive splurge, but for me, I like then sheer coverage.

The packaging is very pretty and sleek. I also like the sponge and the big mirror in the compact.

If you like the matte finish look, I would say give this a try, you may like it. 

Until next time, 

stay beautiful, healthy, and inspired.

<3 <3 <3

City Cosmetic- City Lip Plumper Review

Hello Everyone,

Who wants large luscious lips? Girls, we all know there are so many lip plumpers that claim it will enhance your lips, but does it work all day? I just found a lip plumper that works for 4-6 hours and if you use it continuously, it will provide more long term results. Not only will it plump up your lips, it also stimulates natural collagen production with continued used to reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Good Housekeeping also claim this as the most effective lip plumper on the market.

City Lip will make your lips fuller within 5-10 minutes without pain or any tingling sensation. I apply this at night before I go to bed so in the morning my lips are soft and plump. There are seven different colors plus a clear one for those who wants to wear lipsticks on top. If you choose to wear a lipstick on top of the lip gloss, I would wait five minutes before applying. Right now by using the code CITYLOVE, you can get 30% off. The color lip glosses are $40 and the clear one is $35 so it is better to get it with a discount. (FYI- I am not affiliated nor do I sell this product. I just want to give my reviews and information about it)

If you want to be adventurous, give this product a try.

Here are my lips before:

After 2 days:

I am not saying you lips will look like Angelina Jolies', but it will plump your lips by 3mm.

Until next time,

stay healthy, beautiful, and inspired.

<3 <3 <3

My Updated Makeup Essentials

Hello My Fellow Makeup Lovers!

I miss the life of being a Makeup Artist.... I remember carrying my makeup kit everywhere, rushing to photo shoots, meeting new people, and attending fashion shows. I am not even sure how I even did all of that as a hobby.... but it was fun while it lasted.

It feels like years since I last touched my makeup kit. Heck, I hardly even put on makeup anymore and if I do, I keep it to a minimal. Just playing with my makeup recently brought back a lot of memories.

Here are some of my favorite products and the products that I used to create the look I have below:
Laneige White Star Essence- face moisturizer (plus I use a light SPF underneath the moisturizer)
Spackle by Laura Geller- Tinted under make-up primer (As you can tell, I have used up a lot)

Neutrogena Makeup Remover

Maybelline Fit Me foundation (May cause breakout for some people)

Maybelline eyeshadow quad in Modern Metallic

NYC- Sunny bronzer

Maybelline Age Rewind concealer 

L'Oreal True Match setting powder

Victoria's Secret Sheer Blush Creme

Urban Decay Flushed

Rimmel eyebrow pencil in #2 shade
Ardell brow sculpting gel

Buxom in the shade Swinger

Maybelline Master Drama in Midnight Master (to create the wing)

Before picture without makeup:

After: 

Most people ask me how do I keep my skin looking so healthy.... drink lots of water and wear SPF!!!

Until next time,

stay healthy, beautiful, and inspired.

Have a great night!

<3 <3 <3