NOTD: Essie 'In the Cab-ana'

Today's nail of the day is Essie's 'In the Cab-ana' from the 2013 Resort collection.

2 coats, natural sunlight

Essie describes this color as a 'self-assured aqua azure.'  I don't really know how being self-assured relates to nail color, but I can agree with the aqua part! This color is somewhere between Tiffany blue and Essie's Tuquoise and Caicos.  I love how bright this color is! This color is a perfect shade for Summer.

The application of this nail polish was fantastic.  It only took 2 thin coats to achieve complete opacity, and even with out a top coat this color was so shiny! This color also lasts quite a while on my nails with out chipping--a definite plus!

Essie nail polishes can be purchased for $8 from drugstores, Ulta, and Target.

Would you rock this blue shade on your nails?
xxSJ

Review: NYX Lipstick in 'Blush'

I am a lipstick snob. There, I said it! But seriously, I am extremely picky about my lipstick.  I need the color to last because I HATE touching up and worrying about smearing, feathering, or color transfer.  I need the lipstick to taste good because curse the day I buy a product that ends up tasting or smelling like waxy, artificial nastiness (L'Oreal lipsticks I'm talkin to you!).  The lipstick better be moisturizing because I refuse to deal with my lips ending up dry and flaky by the end of the day. See? I told you... Lipstick Snob.
I love trying new products but am always worried I'll just be let down.  I went out on a limb at Ulta a while ago and decided to pick up a NYX lipstick.  NYX is an inexpensive brand so I figured hey, if it doesn't work it's not a huge loss.

NYX lipstick color 591A 'Blush'

I decided to go with this bright pink color because I didn't have anything like it in my collection.  Also when I swatched this color in the store, it showed up looking quite wearable and pretty rather than in your face pink.  

The packaging of this product is okay.  It comes in a black plastic tube that looks sleek but is very light.  It doesn't necessarily feel very luxurious like a YSL or Chanel lipstick, but you're certainly not paying for the packaging when you buy a $4 lipstick.  

The consistency of this lip product is extremely pigmented and creamy. I was so impressed and surprised! This color can either be washed over the lips for a barely there, balmy color, or you can put it on straight from the tube for full saturation and a color punch. Ka-pow! Also this lipstick has no scent which I love! 

As you can see, when I put a light wash of this color on my lips by dabbing the lipstick on, the color comes off as quite natural and yet covers up some of my freckles on my lips.  When I applied the lipstick full color, it looks very creamy and does NOT settle in to the fine lines of my lips. 

As for the wear time of this color, I get about 2 hours of wear before needing to reapply. That's not so long but it doesn't fade in an unflattering way.  It just kind of slowly fades evenly with out feathering or smearing onto your skin.  

I'm not thrilled about the short wear time with this lipstick but otherwise I think this was a great find and I'm excited to purchase more colors from this NYX line! For only $4 a tube (and NYX is often BOGO!), this lipstick is at a quality much higher than what you pay for.  

Wearing NYX lipstick in 'Blush'

I completely recommend this lipstick so grab it or any other NYX lipsticks when you see em!

xxSJ

Review: Maybelline Fit Me Concealer

My new makeup obsession as of late has been finding an amazing concealer.  Concealer is a product that I have yet to find my 'holy grail, this fixes everything, oh my god why haven't I found this product sooner,' product.  I know that there are a ton of great high-end concealers that will get the job done (the 'job' in my case is fixing some glaring under eye circles!), however before I make the splurge, I wanted to check out some drug store concealers first to see if I can find a good quality one for a fraction of the price. Enter Maybelline Fit Me Concealer:

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in #15 'Fair'

I've heard some pretty good reviews about this stuff so I decided to give it a shot.  The packaging is quite nice. The tube is a shiny plastic but doesn't necessarily feel cheap and the wand closes nice and tight in the tube.  The wand is very long so it seems like I'll be able to get every last use out of this product.  

I chose the color 'Fair' because it has more of a pink rather than yellow undertone to it compared to the lightest shade in this collection.  Yellow toned concealers typically don't blend well on my skin and the pink tones have a pleasing brightening effect. 

To apply this product, I put 3 dots on my under-eye area.  One dip into the tube was all I needed to do this:

Top: No concealer under eyes, Middle: 3 dots applied, Botton: Concealer blended in with finger

The consistency of this stuff is great.  Not overly thick so it looks cakey, but not so thin and fluid that I felt like I was just rubbing this over my face.  I used my finger to blend this in under my eyes because I think the warmth of my fingers helped blend this into my skin and pores. 

I really liked the finish this gave my under eye area. It definitely conceals my dark circles better than any other concealer I have used so far.  As for wear time, this stuff needs retouching after about 10 hours.  I wore this all day at work and it still looked great after I was done.  After winding down at home, though, my dark circles started peeking through.

Overall, I like this concealer quite a bit.  For the price ($7 at Walmart), I think it did a great job at concealing my under eye area.  I do want to try out some different brands and fiddle with high end products at department stores because I'm positive I can find an even better one, but for now, this concealer is great for getting the job done.

What are some of your favorite affordable concealers?

Review: Maybelline Expert Wear Eyeshadow Quad in 'Velvet Crush'

Today's review is an eyeshadow quad I picked up from the drugstore.  I've been in the mood for purple eyes lately and before I splurge on some expensive Dior or MAC purple hues, I wanted to check out the drugstore to see if I could find a pretty purple elsewhere for less money.  I also wanted to see if I liked the look of purple on my eyes!

The palette I picked out is the Maybelline Expert Wear eyeshadow quad in 'Velvet Crush:'

Let's start with the packaging first: The quad is made of a super light black plastic with a clear lid.  The packaging is quite flimsy and I know that the clear tops tend to pop off.  The four eyeshadow colors are arranged so you get most of the white 'base' color, but I wish I got more of the lid color. That is usually the color I use the most in my makeup looks. The container also comes with two sponge-tip applicators which are good for if you really want to pack on the color.  I don't recommend reusing these guys though because they can hold onto bacteria!

The Base color (top left) is a pretty eggshell color with a hint of lilac to it.  It has a small amount of shimmer in it.  The Lid color (top right) is a light purple lilac color.  In the pan it looks similar to MAC's  Beautiful Iris.  That's the color I was most excited about in the palette! The crease color (middle right) is a taupey purple, and the Liner color (bottom) is a dark purple with a navy hue to it.  The colors are all fairly shimmery in the pan (apart from the base color).

Here are the colors swatched on my arm.  The lightest base color was quite smooth and creamy to the touch which I really enjoyed, however the three other colors were quite chalky and rough.  They required me to press my finger down into the product and into my arm quite a bit to get a good swatch and as you can see, the dark color is a bit chalky still.

This is the eyelook I managed to pull together with the palette.  I put the base in my inner corner and under my brow and spread the lid color all over my eyelid.  Then I used a mix of the crease color with the liner to fill in my crease. I finished the look off with some black liner and mascara.

The colors in this quad were a bit hard to work with.  The lid color took some building up to show a true purple and then the crease color did not show up on my eye a different color than the lid color which is why I chose to mix it with the darker liner color.  I liked the look I achieved in the end, however it definitely took some effort to get there.

I think the fact that this is part of the 'perfect pastels' line means that maybe the color payoff of this eyeshadow is not meant to be as strong.  I think I will use these eyeshadows again for a purple look, however, I do not think it will be too hard for me to find a better set of purple shadows, even from the drugstore.  This quad will quickly be replaced when I do.

This quad cost $5 from the makeup section of Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and I would say to skip it and go with a different set of purple shadows if that's what you're looking for!

xxSJ

Review: Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in 'Perversion'

I recently picked up a new eyeliner and I decided to go with the seemingly universally loved Urban Decay 24/7 liner in the color 'Perversion.' This color is so well-liked by many because of its matte blacker than black finish. And ya...this guy is pretty black!

All liners come in their own little boxes so you know they haven't been tested or tampered with yet. You don't want to buy a liner that a whole bunch of people have already stuck in their eyes!!! Yuck. Infection, anyone? No thanks.

The liner is a matte black pencil with a black top (the only one of Urban Decay's liners to have a black rather than silver cap).  This liner is super creamy upon application and it glides on the skin.  It is so soft which is a good thing because it means the color pay off doesn't require a lot of rubbing or tugging on your sensitive eye area. However, the color being so soft means you have to sharpen this pencil quite frequently as the pencil wears down rather quickly. 

Here is the color swatched on my hand in comparison with Urban Decay's other black liner, Zero.  As you can see, there really is such a thing as 'blacker than black!'  While Zero is undeniably black, Perversion has a little extra pigment in it causing it to come off as completely matte.  

Here are my eyes with the Perversion lining them so you can see how dark this liner shows up. 

This liner costs $19 which is pretty steep for a simple black liner.  However, the fact that it is truly blacker than black and also has 24/7 staying power makes it worth the splurge in my opinion.  My eye area always smudges by the end of the day because of humidity, oil on my skin, or whatever I might go through through out the day, but this eyeliner stays put! That along with the softness when applying it to my delicate waterline make this eyeliner an A+ purchase.

What color of Urban Decay's eyeliners are your favorite?

xxSJ

NOTD: Essie's First Timer

Today's nail of the day is a pretty vibrant green from Essie's 2013 Resort Collection:

2 coats, natural light

The color is 'First Timer' and it is a cool-toned green color.  This color is not quite pistachio but not quite mint making it a unique color in this collection! I think this color can really only be worn in the Spring and Summer since it is so vibrant but it definitely will get you noticed! In fact, I wore it on date the other night and received a compliment from the guy I was with :) The boy's got good taste!

This polish took two coats to reach full opacity and it was a good formulation from Essie. It was rather thick but that just added to the creamy finish of this color.  

Essie polishes are $8 for 0.5 oz of product and can be purchased from Target, drug stores, and Ulta beauty stores.  Sometimes you can find colors on Amazon for a bit of a discount as well! This polish is a bit hard to find because it was one of the more unique colors in the collection released this Summer. Soooooooooo if you see this polish you should definitely snag it while you can!

xxSJ