What it is:
Creamy, metallic waterproof eye pencil.

What is does:
Each vivid shade glides on easily, so there’s less tugging on the delicate skin of the eye. Line your eyes with bold, shimmering metallic color that lasts through rain or shine.

Size: .04 oz
Price: $8.00 USD
Where to buy: Sephora

The flashy liner pencils are from Sephora’s in house brand. Sephora’s brand of makeup has really improved since they revamped the line not too long ago. These liners come in a reasonable amount of shades and are actually comparable to the Urban Decay 24/7 liners but at a drugstore price, $8! These are very soft and apply very smoothly. You won’t need to use a lighter or body heat to warm and soften these up.

Milani’s Liquifye Eye Pencil in Aqua on top and Sephora’s Flashy Waterproof pencil in Flashy Blue on the bottom.

You can see both do smudge slightly.

This is Sephora’s Mono Eyeshadow in Stephane. I love the unique bright colour but can’t stand the glitter fallout that comes with it. I bought the Sephora pencil specifically for use under teal shadows so I didn’t mind the smudging.

There’s Sephora’s Stephane without anything underneath and over the Sephora Flashy pencil.

When it comes to lashes, NARS knows that bigger is always better and the new Larger Than Life™ Mascaras do not disappoint.

Boasting formulas enriched with Vitamin E and Macadamia Nut Oil, these luxuriously rich, deep, black pigmented mascaras go on silky smooth with lavish effects. They dry quickly and beautifully, with no smudging or flaking. NARS Larger Than Life™ Mascaras will bring over-the-top drama to every lash.

Fragrance free, Ophthalmologist tested and safe for contact lens wearers.

Larger Than Life Lengthening Mascara
Dramatic length and separation in one high-performance formula.

* High-tech bristles on a conical brush allow for optimum lengthening capabilities and precise lash separation
* The unique design and spacing of the bristles ensure instant lengthening and superior separation.
* Nylon fibers hug lashes for extra length making them impossibly long, impossibly sexy.

Creates high definition lashes that are long and luxurious, sculpted and separated.

Size: 6 grams (.21 oz)
Price: $25 USD
Where to buy: Sephora, Nordstrom, Saks, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales

NARS has two mascaras, volumizing and lengthening, available only in black. They aren’t advertised as waterproof mascaras but they basically are. I gave the lengthening mascara a try and overall I’m pretty impressed. It doesn’t give extreme volume but it holds a curl very well and I don’t get that heavy, crusty, brittle feeling I get with most waterproof mascaras. Apparently the volumizing mascara also holds a curl well so I may try that one as well later on.

The applicator is plastic and also bends but isn’t as flexible and rubbery like the Maybelline define-a-lash.

Bare lashes

Curled lashes (Shu Uemura curler)

2 coats of mascara

After 6 hours of wear

So I know you’re wondering, which do I like more? The Shiseido lasting lift or the NARS lengthening? Well, I like the formula of the NARS one a lot better but I prefer the small brush of the Shiseido since it’s easier to apply on my small eyes. Overall though, I think I’m going to stick with NARS mascaras for now because they feel less damaging on my lashes.

What it is:
An ultra-pigmented, long-lasting waterproof cream.

What it does:
Aqua Cream combines the highest-quality pigments with mother of pearl particles to give immediate rich color payoff with a luminous finish in just one application. It’s long-lasting formulation will not crease or smudge under the most extreme conditions and its creamy and elastic texture allows for easy blending.

What else you need to know:
Available in shades ranging from soft neutrals to pure bright tones, you can find the perfect color for any purpose.
Shades #5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 are formulated for the Lips & Cheeks.
Shades #1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, and 22 are formulated for the Eyes & Cheeks.

Size: 0.21 oz
Price: $22 USD
Where to buy: Sephora (in US)

#22, #21

A while ago, I ordered these from Sephora.com when they first came out on the website. I was in love with the green and the teal shades I just couldn’t wait for them to arrive in stores. These can be used on the eyes, lips, cheeks, whatever your heart desires (just make note of the safety information listed above). I bought these to use on the eyes. Even though I’m not a fan of cream shadows, I felt the colours were unique enough for me to make an exception. Plus they are MUFE and I love MUFE… for the most part.

#21 is a gorgeous bright teal shade that leans towards turquoise blue. #22 is a rich emerald green similar to MAC’s emerald green pigment. Unfortunately, these don’t work too well as shadows. They dry VERY quickly and it’s difficult to achieve intensity without having some time to layer the product on. I think they’d work alright as bases as you can quickly apply a sheer layer on and it wouldn’t matter so much since you’d be layering something over it. These don’t work all too well if you’re expecting to use them as stand alone shadows.

I tried applying the aqua creams on my eyes and this is as far as I got before the cream dried on my lids. I wasn’t able to blend it out. If you layer on the cream, it will start to flake as you can see that happening on the outer corner of my eye. I tried using a brush and my fingers and it just didn’t work either way.

For eye bases, these would be alright, but alone, I wouldn’t recommend them. I adore Make Up For Ever products but I was dissapointed with these. Not worth the time, trouble, and money for me.

Top to bottom: Aromaleigh grass, TKB True Green, TKB Manganese Violet over primer, TKB Manganese Violet no primer.
Right: TKB Highlight Violet

I thought the TKB True Green was just like Aromaleigh’s grass but sadly it is not. I think grass looks more shimmery and better. Manganese Violet is super pigmented and for only $1.50, these are definitely worth the price.

New soft and brilliant Glitzy formula filled with super shiny polymers and the next generation of pearls to create the illusion of 3D depth for fuller, sexier, looking lips.

Available in spectacular 7 shades.

Price: $6.99 (sometimes on sale)
Size: 0.09 Fl. Oz/ 2.7 mL
Where to buy: CVS, Walgreens, milanicosmetics.com

I have a drugstore gem to share with you all! I got these for buy one get one 50% off at CVS. These are total MAC dazzleglass dupes! I wanted the blue one, Movie Star, since I missed out on MAC’s Cosmic Blue dazzleglass but couldn’t find it. I ended up getting Starshine (Like Venus dupe) and Designer Label (Bare Necessity dupe). I also noticed that Fashion Diva was a Funtabulous dupe and In Vogue was a Love Alert dupe. LOL I think Milani intentionally copied MAC’s dazzleglasses down to the shades. I don’t think it’s merely a coincidence…

I’ve heard about several people suggesting other brands like Sally Hansen but none of them are as close to dazzleglasses like these. On my lips, I honestly can’t tell the difference between the Milani 3D glosses and the dazzleglasses. They reflect light just the same. The texture of the Milani glosses aren’t as thick and sticky as MAC dazzleglasses either. If you are looking for an inexpensive dead on dupe to MAC dazzleglasses, definitely give these a try!

MAC Bare Necessity, Milani Designer Label, MAC Like Venus, Milani Starshine (Can you tell a difference?)

Gloss applicator

Designer Label, Starshine. It’s hard capturing glittery products in photos, this is the best I could do. You have to see these in person to really see their shine potential.

One major downside to these glosses though is that they are not wrapped/sealed so you have to be sure that you’re not getting a used or tested product. Sometimes it’s impossible to know for sure though…

Where to buy: Sugarpillshop.com
Price: $12 for pressed shadows, $12 for Chromalusts loose shadows
Size: 4 grams for pressed shadows, 5 grams for loose shadows

I’ve heard about Shrinkle and have been secret admirer ever since hearing about her on the internet since middle school so I was absolutely ecstatic and flattered when she graciously sent me a ton of Sugarpill products to use in my tutorials. Yeah, sorry to disappoint the neutral lovers out there, but you know what that means: lots of electric bold looks to come especially for the summer!

I had no doubt that Sugarpill was going to deliver because every review that I’ve read was positive with amazing swatches that accompany them. I would have purchased Sugarpill right when the site opened but what kept me from doing so was that I’m trying to save money and I had a lot of similar colours already so it was hard for me to justify.

I do believe that Sugarpill is superior in quality to a lot of other brands that I own so if I didn’t have those other similar colours, I would choose to get Sugarpill. What’s great about Sugarpill is the texture and pigmentation. They are suuuper pigmented and the texture is perfect. Not too soft where the eyeshadow becomes a crumbly landslide (I’m thinking about you Stila!) or too hard where you have to really dig in your brush and pile on layers of shadow to get bold intensity. One light swipe and POW! These are like powdered paint. These do stain the lids, specifically the pink and red shades, however my Ben Nye and Makeup For Ever shadows also stain my lids, so it’s just the nature of really bold eyeshadow.

My favorite eyeshadows are from Makeup For Ever because of the same reason I love Sugarpill, perfect texture and pigmentation. However, MUFE shadows are a whopping $19-$20 for 2.3 grams while Sugarpill pressed shadows are $12 for 4 grams. Even MAC shadows are $11 for 1.5 grams, less than half of Sugarpill in mass.

The packaging is super cute, really girly, but edgy at the same time. LOVE! It totally encompasses Shrinkle’s style. The website is also nicely designed in that it has style but is tastefully arranged as an online store should be. Shrinkle made time to perfect her site since I remember seeing a coming soon image on the site for a while before she decided to finally launch it. Sorry, web design is kind of a big deal for me, I’m just so tired of seeing small business out there using pagebuilder to design their websites! You gotsta spend money to make money! Ahem, moving on…

The pressed shadows for the most part are matte. Some shades have a slight hint of shimmer but are only noticeable if you look really really close. I wish there are more colours available but for now, most of the colours available are your basic primary and secondary colours. Here are the swatches, all dry without a base. I also added similar colours I had in a circle below the Sugarpill swatch.

Bulletproof vs NARS Night Breed: NARS Night Breed has silver shimmer, but it’s the closest shade I have because I don’t own a super matte black
Poison Plum vs Makeup For Ever #92: Makeup For Ever is more blue based, Sugarpill more pink/red based.
Dollipop vs Makeup For Ever #26: Makeup For Ever is more sheer than Sugarpill and Sugarpill has a better texture.
Flamepoint vs MAC Orange: Sugarpill slightly more red orange.
Love + vs Ben Nye Cherry Red: Ben Nye has frosty sheen and is less pigmented. Love + is the most true intense red eyeshadow shade I have ever seen. I can’t believe you can use this on the eyelids!

Midori
Buttercupcake
Tako
Afterparty vs Ben Nye Cosmic Blue: Afterparty is the least matte and has a shimmery sheen and is similar to Ben Nye Cosmic Blue but the texture of Sugarpill is better.

Magpie, Lumi, Junebug, Hysteric, Goldilux, Starling (bottom)

Decora, Asylum, Absinthe, Royal Sugar, Tiara (bottom)

Among my favorites were Goldilux, Decora, and Royal Sugar. The colour I was most excited about was Royal Sugar because almost every review I read that featured it, the reviewer loved it. It’s a unique colour that you can’t find at Sephora or the makeup counters. Makeup For Ever has a shade similar in pressed shadow form but it’s matte and the texture is horrible. Worst MUFE shadow I’ve ever bought and I had to return it to Sephora.

Goldilux was an unexpected favorite because that shade has intense shimmer and has the most glitter out of all the chromalusts. It’s like pirate’s gold and would be gorgeous for a winter holiday look.

Decora was also an unexpected favorite. It’s a pink spiked with pretty green glitter. It reminds me of a pink that Daisy (from Daisy of Love) wore in interviews on her show that I really loved.

I just know that Sugarpill will be sold at a mass retailer like Sephora eventually. The line is too awesome to not be available nationwide. If you follow me, you’d know that my favorite brushes are made of synthetic fibers. Hmm… maybe Sugarpill should consider making quality and cute looking vegan brushes!? Oh, and for you vegans out there, Sugarpill was considerate enough to label on the site which products are vegan.

RETURN POLICY: Another really impressive thing about Sugarpill is the very lenient return policy. Most indie makeup companies out there have a strict no return policy on their cosmetics but Shrinkle is so confident that you’ll love Sugarpill, she accepts returns and issues full refunds!

Only our oil-free formula can hold highly concentrated pigments in a clear gel base.

* So color is more intense and lines resist wear for 24 hours.
* Smudge-proof and Water-proof.
* The most intense line for lasting drama.

Where to buy: CVS, Walmart, Target, Rite Aid, etc.
Price: ~ $9.99 (often on sale for 40% off, BOGO)
Size: 3 g

I purchased this at 40% off in the shade Charcoal. I was expecting a matte grey colour but it’s actually shimmery. I was alright with that though. This comes with a brush and it’s actually not bad at all. Decent handle length, shape, and quality. It wasn’t a brush that I’d throw away unlike most other products that come with brushes. I liked the texture and pigmentation of the product. It wasn’t too dry to too wet and one swipe left the right amount of colour. I was actually really impressed with it and planning on replacing my current gel liners with Maybelline when I run out until…

I ran my finger over the swatch and it smudged instantly. I had the liner on my hand for a good 5 minutes too. So much for being smudgeproof. Back to the store you go.

I received several of these nails from a PR company a while ago and decided to try one out now. I was sent several styles and my favorite is actually Minx, but I wanted to try another design for my first try.

I used the design Sequins and included are:
A small buffer/emery board thing
Glue
24 Artificial Nails in 12 different sizes

The thing is, I got 27 nails in my package instead of 24 which is good I guess… but there were not 12 sizes. I only had sizes 0-9, that’s 10 not 12. The smallest size they had, 9, did not fit my pinkies so I tried filing the nails smaller. You are supposed to apply the glue all over the natural nail and on the fake nail to avoid bubbles.

I tried my thumb first, glue all over my nail, then a little bit of glue on the fake nail. Apply them together, press for 5 seconds, aaaanddd… uh oh! a huge ass bubble! Okay, let’s try this again with the index finger with more glue this time. Glue all over my nail, glue all over fake nail, press together for .. ahhh! Oh shit! Two of my fingers are stuck together and there are no bubbles but there’s glue all over the nail!

So I take a break, take 20 minutes for the acetone to detach my glued fingers, then remove the two messed up nail applications. To remove these, soak the nails in acetone until they dissolve, which takes about 20 minutes.

OKAY! Let’s try this again! Since I already wasted two nails, I was missing one that fit to complete both of my hands so I filed a larger one to make it fit. I was able to apply 5 nails without getting my fingers stuck again but I still got some bubbles on some, one wasn’t applied straight, and they were just overall ugly! You apply too little glue and you get bubbles, you apply too much and you get glue all over. You mess up on a couple nails then you either wasted the entire kit or you can file down some other sizes to make them fit. These are really difficult not to mention aggravating to apply. My concern is if you don’t seal the nails and have holes and bubbles, water can get through and you can get some kind of stinky gross infection.

I had to take another 40 minutes to remove the nails because they did not look good at all. I would not recommend these nails to anyone. They are a lot more trouble than they are worth. I wasted nearly 2 hours of my time with these. I didn’t even get past the application stage to try them out to see if they lasted. I’ve read a few reviews from other people saying that some of their nails popped right off while putting on a seat belt or something like that. If you want to get your nails done I say spend the extra 20-30 dollars and get them professionally done. The Revlon nails are only supposed to last a week before you are recommended to remove them and a good nail job will last about 3 weeks so in the end you’re paying about the same price for something that actually looks better and a lot less frustrating to deal with.

Acetone is very strong and soaking your fingers in it is also very damaging to the skin and nails. Avoid it if you can!

I’ve been slacking on my skincare routine and it shows! I decided to stop being lazy and exfoliating my face every 2 weeks and start exfoliating 3 days a week. I figured I’d get some new products to spice things up. I was looking at several brands and I decided to finally give Lush a try. The sales rep who helped me was super nice and gave me a bunch of samples to try out, some that I didn’t even ask for. After walking around for a while I decided to just go back and just buy some stuff since I’m not near a Lush.

I got a tub of the Ocean Salt Cleanser and Dark Angels Cleanser. I tried the Ocean Salt Cleanser in the store on my hands and it felt so nice! There’s salt to exfoliate and after you wash it off, an unexpected, very thin, non-greasy, soft, and moisturizing film is left behind on the skin. I’ve read reviews about it smelling “nice” but it depends if you like that err… organic smell. The Dark Angels Cleanser is for oily skin and my skin has gradually become dry over time so I plan on only using this as a spot treatment on my nose and forehead for probably once a week.

The Lush rep also gave me a sample of the Mask of Magnaminty, a chunk of Fresh Farmacy, and some body creams which I don’t care for. She said that the Mask of Magnaminty would be moisturizing but my face felt dryer after it. I didn’t like the minty feeling either. The Fresh Farmacy though felt really nice. She said it was great for sensitive skin and I find it to be very soft, moisturizing, and gentle on the skin without being greasy. What I hated about it though is that it’s a bar! I’m so used to using liquid products so having to break off the right amount each time is something I’m not used to. I want to purchase Fresh Farmacy next time though because I really liked it.

Overall, Lush has impressed me with some of their products so I’m going to check out their other face products next time. I think I’m going to try out one of their toners.

I’m kind of put off with the way Lush is made though A kitchen? Well I guess if it’s good enough for food…

Price: $24
Where to buy: Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, Sephora, Saks, Neiman Marcus, narscosmetics.com

Personally, I find myself not liking lipgloss anymore. I find that the liplosses I have from MAC give too much of “glass” like look which is what some people want, but I find the finish to be too much for my style. I still use the lipglosses I have, mostly for videos only, but I am no longer purchasing them anymore. However, my exceptions are NARS lipglosses and MAC dazzleglasses. MAC dazzleglasses because I am a glitter addict and NARS lipglosses because they do not feel sticky and give a modest shine, not the intense glass look. I see NARS as the “mature” lipgloss. NARS lipglosses are great if you are in a professional environment or are just tired of insanely shiny lips like I am.