Today's Look

What I used:

MAC Carbon eye shadow
MAC Reflects Transparent Teal pigment
MAC Next to Nothing eye shadow
Palladio eye liner
L'Oreal Carbon Black Mascara
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Refined.MAC Wonderstruck lipgloss

(September 27th)

Orly: Space Cadet

Normally I hate Orly. It makes my nails break, stain, crack, and peel. But when the Cosmic FX collection came out, I got really stoked. These polishes are infused with mineral, and glass particles to give them their unique shimmery, glittery, and duo-chromatic effect. I only purchased one, as they are mighty expensive (At Sally Beauty they retail for $8.99 a bottle!).


This is INCREDIBLY difficult to photograph. So I suggest checking them out in person if you're interested!

Space Cadet is a pinky purple polish with gold and blue-ish teal duo-chrome. Spilled oil comes to mind. It was love at first sight.

I absolutely hated how small the brush was for this polish, so I had a hard time making the coats even, especially on my larger fingernails. This is partly why I did three coats of it, to ensure even application.

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Anywho, these pictures are of three coats of nail polish on top of one coat of Nail Magic's Botanical Nail Strengthener, and two coats of Out the Door Top Coat. Whew, that was a lot of work.






You can better see the duo-chrome here

I wore this for a few days, and didn't experience chipping (Only when I was spraying some cleaner and my finger slipped), Just slight tip-wear.
Overall I love the way this polish looks on. I may purchase a couple more shades!

Today's Look

Here's what I used today:
Urban Decay Primer Potion
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil- Dark Brown
Jesses Girl eye shadow- Hi-Ho Silver
MAC eye shadow- Go
Bare Minerals eye shadow- Charleston
MAC eye shadow- Vanilla
MAC eye shadow- Next to Nothing
Andrea Eyelashes- # 305
L'oreal Carbon Black mascara
Palladio eyeliner
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish- Cheeky Bronze

Sorry I haven't posted in a while!
I'll be doing a nail polish review in the next day or so.
Let me know if a "Today's Look" series would be interesting to you all!!

Neutral Purple Smoky Eye Makeup Tutorial

China Glaze: Rich & Famous

China Glaze is my absolute favorite nail polish brand. Their formula is awesome, and application is usually easy. The best thing about their formula is that it has a built in nail hardener. I have fairly weak nails that crack and split easily, but since I've been using China Glaze my nails are in better condition.

I'm going to try to post pictures each time I paint my nails, as I have a fairly large collection of China Glaze polishes (I own other things too that I will of course post as well). :)


Rich & Famous, a lovely mid-toned creme pink. This color has no glitter or shimmer at all, so for you pink creme lovers, you may want to try this out!!

This is part of China Glaze's permanent selection.

The formula for this polish was a little runny compared to their other shades. besides this the color came out nice and even, not streaky or gooey.

Without flash

With flash

With flash, on a different background

With flash

My fingers are a bit messy, but who is perfect?

Overall, I love this shade. It's the perfect pink. That's why I purchased it ;)

Beauty Beginners

So, you don't have much in your stash, what do you do??

It can be a bit daunting watching tutorials and reading reviews. Especially when people are throwing names around like it's their business (However, sometimes it IS their business). But don't let that scare you!

Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

Watch Videos- Chances are, you're already doing this. But, watch them in a different way. Take away useful skills, tips, tricks, and ideas. You don't necessarily have to replicate exactly what the video is showing. You can replace any color that you don't have, with a color that you have readily available.

Go Shopping- I'd say about 90% of the time it's not what brand the makeup is, it's how well it's applied. Yes, there are a lot of brand snobs out there, but don't let them intimidate you into thinking that you need to rush out and buy the most expensive department store brand out there. I, personally have a wide variety of brands. A lot of times it's not what you pay, but for some things it's definitely worth it. Example: Foundation. Never skimp on that. If you need to pinch pennies, buy all drugstore brand shadows, mascaras, eyeliners lipsticks, etc, but your skin is something you will have your whole life, so treat it well with a good foundation. The second thing is skincare. This goes back to the whole, taking care of your skin thing. This however can become pricey, as every one's skin is different.

Experiment- Take a day when you're not planning to go anywhere, and play with the makeup you do own. I can't tell you how frequently I get asked, "How do you know what colors will look good together". The honest truth is, I don't. I put colors on, blend them, add more, and see what I have come up with. There are absolutely NO right or wrong color combinations. If you're too nervous to just apply the colors straight to your face, swatch them together on the back of your hand to see what they will look like. Come up with new ways to use products. Makeup is an art, and should be treated as such, so enjoy it!!

Be Confident- My second biggest tip to newbies. It's like anything else you do, if you're not confident, people can tell! Wear your makeup with the utmost confidence.

Be Open Minded- This is the biggest tip I have to dish out. You might admire certain colors, like bright blues, yellows, greens, ya know, the 'scary' stuff. Go outside of your comfort zone. You might end up adoring how it looks on you! You never know until you try.
Of course no one said you have to put them all together, or all over your lid. Use them as an eye liner, or a crease color with a light neutral shade on the lid.


With all of that aside, I have some recommendations!

1. You should own at least one brush. If you do a lot of work with eye shadows, then getting a brush for that is ideal. Or if you do a lot with your face, foundation, bronzer, blush, etc., then owning a brush for that type of application is a good investment.
If you're unsure about brushes here are a couple links to my brush overviews; http://impassionatevanity.blogspot.com/2010/08/weapons-of-mass-creation-part-one.html
http://impassionatevanity.blogspot.com/2010/08/weapons-of-mass-creation-part-two.html
2. Find a store with a good return policy. The last thing you want is to get stuck with a product that you totally hate. So do your research and see what companies will take returns on cosmetics. Many high end counters have good return policies.
3. Buy palettes. It's a good way to get a decent variety of colors. Some drugstore brands that offer reasonably priced palettes are: Maybelline, Covergirl, Wet 'n Wild, and L'oreal, just to name a few. These come in a few forms, quads, trios, duos etc. Some offer more colors, and some offer colors within the same shade as each other. A lot of time the quads and trios have instructions of where to put each specific color in the palette. Those are great for beginners, and as you become more comfortable with application you can mix colors from other palettes or switch up where you apply those colors.

I hope this helped, and if you have any questions, feel free to contact me! :)

Sunset Inspired Makeup Tutorial