Haul: Mally Beauty + NYX Liners

Aloha everyone!

In the last few weeks I purchased a few pencil liners as I ran out of my purple and black liners. 

I don't really buy pencil liners as I am more of a liquid liner girl. The two pencil liners I had were from birthday freebies from Ulta or Sephora. 

I went to Ulta not knowing where to start. I was not sure which was good. The samples that I had were from Urban Decay which I loved but they were $22 each. NO THANK YOU!

I asked the beauty representative if there were any eyeliner sets that included a black and a fun color (hopefully purple). She led me to Mally Beauty where they had a trio set of eyeliners for $20, each individual piece costs $18. They were the Mally Beauty Evercolor Starlight Eyeliner Trio.

Colors left to right: Milk Chocolate, Sailor, Midnight

( photo credit : www.ulta.com )

The set didn't have any purple which is an essential for my lower lash line when I do wear eye liner there. I found my way to the NYX Section searching for a vibrant purple. I found the NYX Slide On Eye Pencil in Pretty Violet.

Colors in different lighting:

From top to bottom: NYX Pretty Violet, MB Sailor, MB Milk Chocolate, MB Midnight)

From top to bottom: NYX Pretty Violet, MB Sailor, MB Midnight, MB Milk Chocolate)

From top to bottom: NYX Pretty Violet, MB Sailor, MB Milk Chocolate, MB Midnight)

THE VERDICT:

As you can see, the blue doesn't look totally blue. It's more of a midnight blue almost black.  The purple is gorgeous, but the true stars are the black and brown, especially the brown. The lasting power of the Mally Beauty is amazing. It's practically water proof.

THE CONS:

I wish the blue really showed up as a blue as I am sure it would be a beautiful color. Also, the lasting power of the Mally Beauty liners is so strong that I need 2-3 little cotton pads to take it off. I typically take off my make up with just face wash in the shower, but this does not totally come off in the shower. I need to cleanse my eyes before or after the shower. 

Overall, I am happy with my purchase. Although it's annoying to take an extra step to remove the Mally Beauty liners, I do love the lasting power.

May you all have a wonderful holiday season and happy shopping!

xoxoxo

Winter 2014/2015 Favorites

I don't know if it has anything to do with global warming, but Los Angeles has not had a proper winter in the last few years. I am so very sad that I didn't get to maximize the use of boots, scarves and light peacoats this past winter.

We've had some chilly nights and maybe two weeks tops of real cold, wintery days. However, we did experience a good week of rain - so good that it knocked my power out the day before my 8:30am job interview. Other than that and the occasional sporadic rain, winter in LA was winter in LA.

Here are my favorites:

FACE

Rimmel Stay Matte Primer

This with the NYX setting spray (featured in my Fall Favorites 2014) is a match made in heaven!! It definitely keeps me as matte as possible during the warmer, sweat-worthy LA weather. After using this primer with the NYX setting spray, I found makeup to last longer! My bronzer and blush are still prominent on my cheeks by the end of the day.

Flat Top Kabuki by Beauty Junkees

I heard about this from Youtube's saaammage. She mentioned it in one of her videos and offered a discount code via Amazon. The brush ended up being $6 pre-tax, pre-shipping fees. I am so happy with this brush. It works just as well as Sigma's $18 flat top kabuki and 1/3 of the price. I've experienced no shedding in the last 3 months that I have had it. It blends smoothly, is dense and very soft at the same time. 

LIPS

Wet N Wild's Sugar Plum Fairy and NYX's Aria were both in my Fall 2014 favorites as well, but I could not help rocking it all Winter long too. I am going to miss these colors during Spring as I tend to gravitate towards my pinks.

Rimmel London Provocalips in Make Your Move

For those that like/love this lipstick, consider this to be the "Your Lips But Better" lip color and I must agree. It is long lasting which makes me gravitate towards this product. This product is not completely perfect and I'll talk more about that in an upcoming review.

Rimmel London Provocalips in Play With Fire

This is not my most favorite shade of red, but I love that it's red lipstick that will not get all over the place. I've heard great things about Sephora's Cream Lip Stain in 01/Always Red and can't wait to eventually try it.

NAILS

Zoya - Juno

I got this on clearance at ULTA for $4.50. What a steal! I love it and wore this soooo many times February and March. It's a beautiful purple with flecks of shimmer. Gorgeous :)

SHOES

Rampage Jaycer Booties

I got these online on Macys.com during the Black Friday sale last November. I have always wanted to own combat boots but thought they weren't for me. My new life goals are to just do what I want, dress how I want, without thinking too much about what people are to used to seeing me wear or what they would think. I got these bad boys on sale for $19.99. I can't remember the original price (I think it was $50. It is currently on Overstock for $54.99. I initially got brown in a size 7.5. They were way too big. I went to the store to exchange them and ended up getting a 7 in taupe. I love it! I wish it was chillier so I can still wear them. It is now flip flop weather in Los Angeles. 

PLACE 

Planet Fitness

I have been getting my workout on! I used to think this gym was a joke because it was $10/month. Boy was I wrong! It is legit! AND IT'S SO PURPLE INSIDE! It's amazing. I still have my 24 Hours Fitness membership which is set to expire in May. I am just totally digging this gym. The equipment is female friendly and amateur friendly. The staff are so nice and they are always (ALWAYS!) cleaning. It never smells. It's never dirty. I am so happy PF moved into town.

PERSON

Ben

We celebrated our three years in February. He's my best friend, my prince, and my boo boo bear. LOL. Just being in his company makes me happy. He also got his black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in March. Way to go! He gave me a little shout out in his speech that made me melt into a pile of mush <3

I am really excited to see what Spring has in store for me :)

What were your go to products this past winter?

What do you look forward to in Spring?

<3<3<3

Fall 2014 Favorites

This past Fall have been the season for me to fall more in love with makeup. I tried a few products that have got me head over heels over this season's makeup trends, both old and new!

Maybelline Vollum'Express: The Rocket Mascara

I know, I know. This mascara is old news, but it is new news to me! For the past how many years, I've been loyal to Maybelline's Volum'Express: Falsies. This year, I started branching out and trying new mascaras. I decided to give this a try this Fall and I am so happy that I did. I mean, look at my lashes! :) I own false lashes to make my lashes look that way :) Next up on my "To Try" list is Maybelline's Lash Sensational Mascara. Has anyone tried it?

NYX Matte Setting Spray

I LOVE THIS!!!!! I am currently using my second bottle. I actually think this works even better than the Urban Decay All-Nighter Setting Spray. That's a big claim especially since I love the UD spray. The NYX setting spray just really made my makeup last all day. If my blush and bronzer are still on by the end of the day, that's how I know the setting spray has worked. The UD is longlasting, but by the time I get home from work, my blush and bronzer have lightened to little to nothing. With NYX, I look nearly the same as I had left the house :)

Best way to use it: Put your moisturizer on, set, primer, set, setting spray, set, apply makeup.

I have heard the L'Oreal Infallible Pro-Spray & Set Makeup Extender Makeup Spray was a great drugstore setting spray.  I do want to try it but it's more costly. 

NYX - 2.3 fl oz at $7.99 - $8.99

L'Oreal - 3.4 fl oz at $13.99 - $16.99

Urban Decay - 4 fl oz at $30.00

Urban Decay - 1 fl oz at $14

Even though L'Oreal has more product in it, it's still pricier per fl oz.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel

(Picture from Target website)

There are mixed reviews about this nail polish, but aren't there always? You cannot buy the polish without the top coat. TRUST. For me, the polish wore off just like any other polish would within a few days. The top coat works magic for me. It made my polish last for a week. Together, it does look and feel like you have gel nails on. It's shiny and sturdy. I love it! It's $9.99 each so definitely wait for drugstore promos such as BOGO 50% off. I am currently (and anxiously) awaiting the next BOGO sale from Ulta. Hurry, Ulta, hurry!!

NYX Matte Lipstick in Aria

Vampy is definitely back this Fall. I've never felt bold enough to wear a more vampy lip, but 2014 was my year to unleash the styles I wanted to be no matter how timid I felt. I always stayed safe with natural styles because it was expected of me, but heck! This year, I learned to just be me. Aria is definitely a gorgeous color, both in photos and in person.  It has fuchsia/magenta tones embedded in it so it makes it easier to transition to a vampy look if that's not what you're used to. The color is just so beautiful! I wish I could wear this every single day :)

Wet N Wild Megalast Lip Color in Sugar Plum Fairy

Another vampy look! I know this is similar to NYX's Aria, but this color is darker and less pink. The more you layer, the more plum the color becomes. So beautiful!! 

I cannot wait to see what I fall in love with this Winter :)

What were your Fall faves?

<3<3<3

Crazy for Lippies Part 1: NYX

This past Fall, I jumped on the NYX train. Now I understand why everyone loves this drug store product: pigmentation, lasting power, the finish... and all at a reasonably affordable price! Need I say more?

In this post, I'll focus on NYX. I know there are plenty of swatch videos and posts about these lipsticks, but ya know, the more the merrier!

Let's get to it!

(Cannes, Copenhagen, Natural, Aria)

Soft Matte Lip Cream

Cannes:

In pictures, it looks like a natural pink lip color. In real life, it has a coral hint to it. I don't look great in corals so it's a little weird when I first put it on, but I've gotten used to it and have grown to love the color. I

With this color, I put on 2 coats. 

Copenhagen:

This is definitely one of the most coveted colors of Fall 2014. It was sold out online on Ulta when Ulta had a BOGO 50% off sale on NYX. I do love this color. It can be as light or as dark as you may want it to be. I went to a baby shower in September and applied way too much that it looked nearly black. Yeaahhh, never doing that again. I definitely cannot rock a black lip. I just looked weird.

I usually put on 2 - 3 coats. The top left is usually the result I like to go for. The other three are 1 - 2 coats I believe. 

Soft Matte Lip Cream VERDICT:
As much as I love the color and finish on these babies, I do not think I will be repurchasing. Well, let's be real, I probably will if there was a good sale.

In all honesty, the lip creams were really really drying for me. After about 30 minute of first applying, I would feel my lips getting dry and stiff. It felt as though I was wearing a face mask on my lips which hardened. Within an hour, the insides on the top and bottom would start to peel and look crackly as if it were a mask on my lips. I did apply a lip balm on top, but that would only work for so long.  It's a shame because I do love the finish and the colors.

Matte Lipstick

Natural:

'Natural' isn't so natural. It's a there's-something-on-your-lips pink. Definitely not natural. On me, it's like a vibrant pinky mauve. I do love the color it gets as it wears off. The lasting power is what I love. It is work-friendly so this will definitely be a repeated purchase.

Aria:

I love love love this color. It sold out online during Ulta's BOGO 50% on NYX sale. My friend picked it up for me at an Ulta by her work. It was the last one. After seeing it on my lips, she went on the hunt for it as well. It's my perfect Fall color.

Just like Copenhagen, you can control how dark you want it. It's similar to Wet N Wild's Sugar Plum Fairy, but Aria has more of a fuchsia color embedded in the pigments. The more you layer, the darker and more purple it becomes. I absolutely love this color. I was so tempted to stock up on this color just to have. I am proud of myself though for my surprisingly self-control :)

Aria also has a staining power...a super staining power!

The top, with super poor lighting (hey, it was late late night time!). is how my lips looked after removing them. The bottom is how my lips looked the next morning. Kinda gross, but kinda cool.  

Matte Lipstick VERDICT:

I am totally going to buy again from this lipstick line. I love it!!!

<3<3<3