Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Long Time No Post!

Hello, all! I apologize for my long absence from this blog, as you may or may not have noticed. My reasons aren't sound, and aren't really super excusable, but I wanted to do a post just to update and give any readers an idea of what's been up.

I have about four posts in drafts for this blog, but all of them are incomplete, since I was waiting on pictures to finish them off. However, my camera broke after sand got into the viewfinder at the beach in August. I've been trying to figure out a way to take pictures without it for a while now, but there haven't been too many good options, since my iPhone's camera was damaged by moisture and my mom's camera's upload cord is MIA.

My last option is a camcorder, which I got for my birthday in may, but my only hindrance there is the lack of good editing software for videos (I really loved the idea of making gifs to use on my blog, but I lack the know-how and software for that) as well as the color balancing/staying true to color with the camera function on the camcorder.

Pre-August, however, I didn't really have much of an excuse for not posting. Mostly it was procrastination and making excuses, while also stressing about just graduating and looking for a job. I'm hoping to get the whole situation figured out soon and hopefully posting will get back to a semi-normal schedule!

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Essence Eyeliner Pen ❤ Review, Photos, and Swatches!

Everyone needs a good black liner in all its forms - from liquid to gel to pencil, it's a necessity. My favorite form of liner is a toss-up between pencil and liquid pen liners, with both of them having their downfalls. The main problem I run into with liquid pen liners is that they're either not black enough or they run out too quickly. My last liquid liner was Stila's Stay All Day Waterproof Eyeliner, and while I loved it, the tip dried out after a month or so.

I recently found my old Stila pen while cleaning out my old makeup bags, and I decided to try and look for a new one to try out the next time I was in ULTA. I had also been meaning to try out some of Essence's products, having heard about them from a few different websites, and since they're pretty cheap I was interested to see how the quality was. They had two different liquid pen liners - the Extra Long Lasting pen that I picked up and an Extra Fine Tip pen that was sold out.



Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Blast from the Past: MAC Viva Glam Gaga Lipglass ❤ Swatches and Review

I can count the amount of times that I've been inside a Cosmetic Company outlet store on one hand. I can count the amount of times I've been inside a Cosmetic Company outlet with money to actually buy something on one finger.

The one time that I speak of was the time I was so excited that I had no idea what to buy. It was about two or three years ago that I went, and I was enamored by the idea of MAC products. I saw they had a few Viva Glam Gaga products (If I had known what I know now, I would have gone for a lipstick as opposed to a lipglass, but oh well), and I decided on the lipglass. Why, I couldn't exactly tell you. I didn't wear lipgloss then, and I still don't wear it much now. But I chalk it up to my immaturity as a makeup affectionado and my excitement about being able to buy MAC.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Wet N' Wild's Lipstick in Cherry Bomb ❤ Review and Swatches!

Yet again, I've another Wet N' Wild Lipstick for you guys! It's hard to turn down that $1.99 price point, especially when I've enjoyed the formulation of these lipsticks so much so far (though it was a shame that Just Peachy wasn't my color.)

This time, I picked up Cherry Bomb, a color I had bought with Just Peachy, but ended up giving to one of my friends soon afterwards since she had really wanted the color.



Cherry Bomb is a dark purple/berry burgundy color that leans a little brown, but can be layered for different color intensities. The formula is very much like the other Wet N' Wild lipsticks, but I actually found it to be a bit more drying and uncomfortable for long-term wear.

Full review and swatches after the jump!

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Maybelline Color Show Nail Polish in Go Go Green! ❤ Review, Swatches

A while ago, I found myself looking through my polish collection and wanting a certain shade of green. I wanted something chartreuse, something Shrek-colored, or at least a color close to it. If you read my last post, you'll know that I found that polish in Maybelline's Color Show Nail Polish in Go Go Green. 

I've never tried a Maybelline polish, or anything from their Color Show range, so I was excited to try this polish on for size.


More pictures and full review after the jump!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

ULTA Haul! ❤

With the last of my Christmas giftcard and cashing in my reward points from ULTA, I placed an order from ULTA's website, and I'm super pumped it finally came in the mail!

I've been using a lot of the same eye shadows for a while now (palette-wise, anyway, since I don't have the money to invest in individual shadows), so I was so distraught when I fell in love with the LORAC Pro Palette, only to find that it was sold out pretty much everywhere.
I got lucky when I finally refreshed my ULTA shopping cart and it was in stock, along with using my points for a massive discount, along with the remnants of my Christmas gift card, meaning I only had to pay for shipping.

I also picked up a Maybelline Color Show nail polish in Go Go Green, and a Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush.

Pictures and more after the jump!

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eyeliner in Black ❤ Review and Photos!

Good black eyeliner is my kryptonite. Ever since middle school, it's basically been the one staple in my makeup collection that I feel I have to be snooty about. For the longest time, my "makeup" was just black eyeliner, and so I went through a lot of trial and error in finding good ones. My eyeliner of choice was the Zero 24-7 pencil liner from Urban Decay for many years, and when Perversion (from the same line) came out, claiming to be the "blackest black," I knew I had to get it. Buuuut, like most good things, people snatched it up before I got the chance to buy it. Eventually I got my hands on a mini version, but it went by far too quickly.
So, when I heard about the Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal pencil liner being a dupe for Perversion at a quarter of the price, I began the hunt anew. Getting this eyeliner was like trying to find a needle in a haystack, if the hay was empty displays and red "sold out" text on websites. So when I spotted a Rimmel display at my local Wegman's (of ALL places!) I got super excited, snatched the last black one, and told my boyfriend that he couldn't possibly understand why I was so excited (he didn't understand, but you know.)



Click the "read more" link for the rest of the pictures, swatches, and review!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Wet N' Wild's Just Peachy / 903C ❤ Swatches, Review

This past week, Rite Aid hosted a 40% off sale of Wet and Wild and a few other brands. I figured this was as good a time as any to pick up a few more Wet and Wild lipsticks, since the first two I reviewed had become staples in my collection.

I actually picked up three - one I bought for a friend, and a second I ended up giving  to a friend after we went back and discovered I had taken the last of that exact shade, so that's why this review is only covering one lipstick. 

I'm going to tell you guys straight up - this color doesn't look very good on me. I bought it in hopes of trying to find a more nude-ish color for myself, but I should have paid more attention to the actual name of the lipstick.


Full review and more pictures after the jump!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

NOTW ❤ China Glaze's Japanese Koi (Neon)

IT'S GONE. FINALLY, I HAVE BEEN FREED.

For weeks, my nails of the week have been plagued by similar colors. I couldn't escape the beautiful green-blues, until finally something stopped me in my tracks: Valentine's Day. While I didn't post the nails that I did for VDay specifically, it finally forced me to choose a different color, and that has finally freed me.

This week, I found myself craving something bright and bold on my nails, after weeks of so many muted colors. Maybe I'm finally getting tired of winter, but I think it may be all of the spring and summer trends starting to appear, which of course means bright neon colors.

I wanted to go for a neon green, but I seem to be lacking one in my collection, which means I'll be on the hunt for one for the next few months. I settled instead of China Glaze's Japanese Koi, a bright, traffic cone orange that even my camera had trouble picking up.


This polish is not messing around. I don't usually wear any kind of yellow or orange since they tend to wash me out, but I make an exception for this color. It's literally so bright that it would wash pretty much anyone out, so I don't have to worry.



The only downside of this color is that it is somewhat sheer - after three coats, my nail line is still visible, which you can see in the non-flash pictures.


Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to capture this color in the sun, but take my word that the picture above doesn't do it justice, though it's not as blinding as the flash picture. 

Because this polish is on the sheerer side, the plus side is that each layer dries very quickly in between coats, so you could pile on more layers pretty easily. 

What do you have on your nails this week? Are you starting to miss the bright colors of spring and summer like I am, or are you content to stay with your winter favorites?

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Working with Red Eye Shadow ❤ A Valentine's Inspired Look

One of my first high-end eye shadows ever was MAC's Cranberry. I've long since lost it, but I remember always looking at it and wondering how I could use it (since it was actually given to me, I didn't pick it out.)

Red eye shadow is intimidating, and understandably so - red eyes aren't normally positive indicators, and red around your eyes isn't either. But red eye shadows do exist, so obviously, there's ways to wear them.

So, I took the opportunity to use red in a Valentine's-inspired look, pairing it with a red lip as well.


I'm happy with how it turned out, though I do want to invest in a new blending brush at some point, since one of mine has started to irritate my eyes in recent weeks. But I digress. 





Products Used:

Two Faced Shadow Insurance
NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Milk
Makeup Forever Eyeshadow in 
Coastal Scents Metal Mania Eyeshadow Palette (The shimmery cranberry color)
Urban Decay Darkhorse Eye Shadow
Urban Decay Blackout Eye Shadow
Urban Decay Virgin Eye Shadow
Mally Pencil Liner in 
Skiin Concealer in Light
Maybelline's the Falsies Flared

Benefit High Beam
Benefit Hoola Bronzer
MAC Russian Red Lipstick


Monday, February 11, 2013

Girl's Day In!

Ever since my  first post where I did my beyoooootiful friend Sharon's makeup, I've been wanting to have another go at someone's face. Luckily, I have two lovely friends who happened to be around and volunteered to be made-up, so I went for it. 

Sydney, my friend pictured below, has gigantic eyes. I mean really. Just look at the size of them.



Needless to say, I was a bit intimidated. But, I ventured on, determined to do a good job. She had on her Revlon BB cream and some concealer to start.

I generally use Sydney as my bright-color muse, since I normally go for such neutral looks on myself. She's no stranger to color, especially with her own makeup, so it seemed like a good fit. I used a mix of NYX, Urban Decay, and Sephora on her eyes, running into a bit of a rut when I tried to use a purple shade that refused to be anything but muddy and uncooperative on her. Apparently this is an issue she's run into herself, but I managed to make it work, adding a bit of a bright pink from Urban Decay into the mix and creating a super-obnoxious peacock-esque look.

Love & Beauty by Forever 21's Seafoam Nail Polish ❤ Swatches, Pictures, and Review!

You will groan at me. I'll be honest - I'm groaning at myself.

I seem to be stuck in a nail polish color rut. I sort of got myself out of it for a week or so, but now I've fallen back into it. The deep, dark pitfall of dusty green-blue colors.

I know. My past two NOTW's have been two entirely different shades of green-blue colors, but nevertheless: I present to you a brand-spankin'-new green-blue color, appropriately named Seafoam. Seafoam is a dusty, muted teal. Its coloring almost reminds me of denim in certain lighting  but in more yellow-y lighting, it definitely comes off a bit greener. If I had to succinctly summarize it, it would be: dusty teal-grey. From a distance, it almost does look entirely grey.


This is another Love & Beauty nail polish from Forever 21, because I seem to be unable to resist them as I move through the checkout line, their cute little glass bottles twinkling at me from the corner of my eye, seeming to call out to me, saying, Valerie, look at us! It's not like you have a million other nail polishes at home! I need to escape this place! Look, I'm a creme finish! You LOVE creme finishes!








And so, here we are. I'm glad that they at least have a good wear time and color payoff, otherwise I would be a lot more annoyed about buying them as frequently as I do (plus their $2.80 price tag isn't terribly offensive either.) Seafoam was a tiny bit on the sheer side, but it's definitely buildable. I used OPI's Natural Nail Base Coat, three coats of Seafoam, and two layers of Seche Vite.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

OCC Lip Tars in Anime, Black Dahlia, and Lydia ❤ Swatches, Reviews and Photos!

For the longest time, OCC Lip Tars were like a distant, far-off love. I enviously stared at swatches on websites, watched videos of people wearing and using them, and sighed, resigning myself to the fact that they would one day be mine.

One day came much sooner than I was expecting when I got two Lip Tars as Christmas presents! I was ecstatic then, but when I realized that Sephora sold Lip Tars online as well I got a third one in the shade I had drooled over the most, Black Dahlia.

(Just a warning - this post is very picture-heavy!)

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Makeup Forever Aqua Rogue in #9/Burgundy ❤ Full Review with Swatches!

As you may know, I love lipsticks. However, it seems like lipsticks don't love me nearly as much as I love them, as I've yet to come across one that will stay on for their advertised amount of time. Unless the color is one that stains my lips (and even lip stains themselves don't do much for me), it's likely that I have to reapply my color after an hour or two.

So when I saw ICallItAmbrosia's video about the Makeup Forever Aqua Rogue liquid lipsticks and their insane staying power. I figured that if it worked that well for her, I should definitely look into them. So, I went into Sephora and swatched one on my hand to try it out. When I got home about 8 hours later, the stain was still there on my hand, so I put one into my Sephora order online. I was ecstatic! Finally, a lip product that would actually stay on my lips and I wouldn't have to re-apply.

Pictures and full review after the jump!


Monday, January 21, 2013

Face of the Day! ❤ 1/21/13

I woke up super early today and ended up browsing Reddit, which I don't do very often, and looking at /r/MakeupAddiction. All the before and afters inspired me to do one, which I posted here!

These are the same pictures I linked there, minus the "before" picture just cause I didn't feel like having my naked face on here juuuuust yet.




This one's just because I can never take serious facial pictures for long.


If you're interested in any of the products I used, I listed them over on the post I linked above, or comment below if you're too lazy to go read it.

Nails of the Week! ❤ 1/21/13

I really don't know much about the Kardashians, nor do I really want to know  much about them. I pick my nail polishes strictly by color, and nothing else. When the Hunger Games nail polish collection came out, I looked through the colors, went "Meh," and didn't buy any. I love the Hunger Games, but the nail polish collection was lacking, in my opinion.

But I fell in love with this color from the Kardashian Kolor collection from Nicole by OPI, called "Khloe had a Little Lam-Lam." I couldn't begin to tell you who Khloe is or what a Lam-Lam is, but I can tell you that this darkest teal-green color is to die for.

More after the jump!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Valerie Cooks! ❤ Beefless Guinness Irish Stew (Vegan/Vegetarian)

Being a mixed-breed girl, I've always had a difficult time identifying with certain countries as my "own." But I remember the first time I took a sip of Guinness and never felt more Irish in my life. In terms of my heritage, the largest portion of my inheritance (so to speak) is Irish. So I basically took that and ran with it.

Going vegetarian never really affected my relationship with food, and so when I got the urge to make an Irish Guinness Stew, I made a goddamn Irish Beefless Guinness Stew. I used a few pointers from three different recipes, but as I do with most of my cooking, I mostly improvised. And damn if this stew didn't turn out delicious.

The recipe and ingredients are after the jump!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Practice Makes Perfect, Right?

One of my favorite things about makeup is seeing how different looks work with different eye shapes and skin tones. Some of my friends enjoy doing their own makeup, but many of them stick to a routine that they know works, or just don't wear makeup at all. The latter of these two (when they do wear makeup) usually ask me to do it for them. It's always hard when I ask what they want and they respond with "Whatever you think looks best," but the creative freedom is also exciting. Pretty much all of my friends have different eye shapes, so eye makeup is always a bit of a challenge that I'm only too happy to accept. 

ANYWAYS, what I'm trying to talk about is that I did my best friend's makeup the other day, and so I thought I'd share!
(I know, I should work on my transitioning.)

Thursday, January 10, 2013

CVS Winter Beauty Clearance! (aka YESSS DISCOUNTS!)

I love sales. I love clearance sales especially, because it's even more discounts and savings and I mean, who wouldn't love spending less money?! The fact that I'm also a broke college kid helps with my appreciation of sales as well.
I was a bit tardy to the party with hearing about the CVS winter beauty clearance sale, which happens twice a year when they need to boot out old products to make room for new ones. Of course, this means saying goodbye to some products that become discontinued, but it also means those products are majorly discounted!

Now, this clearance sale started in the beginning of December(ish), and it's about a third of the way through January, so a lot of the products in my CVS weren't obviously marked as being discounted or on clearance, but having the handy guide from Nouveau Cheap pulled up on my iPhone was my ticket to finding the deals (an honorable mention also goes to the in-store price checker, which I abused thoroughly.) Some of the products that Nouveau Cheap had listed as being on clearance weren't discounted anymore, but I only had my own lateness to blame for that one. All of the Milani products that were listed were still on clearance, as well as the majority of the ColorStay line from Revlon, and the Nicole by OPI Kardashian nail polishes were all still marked down. I could take the time to note what was still marked down and what wasn't, but frankly that would take a great deal of time, and it may differ from CVS to CVS.

On to the goods!


Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Nails of the Week!

So, like pretty much all other girls, I love Forever 21. One of my favorite things about the store is surprisingly not their clothes, but their cheap nail polish. The brand they carry, which is normally labeled as "love & beauty," sometimes with an added on "By Forever 21," is actually a quite long-lasting, well-formulated polish brand (for the most part - I've had a few misses amongst their polishes, but far more polishes that I've adored, which keeps me coming back for them.)

Anyway, the last time I was in Forever 21, I heard a girl telling her friend that she thought this polish was an ugly color. After she put the bottle down, I (being the nosy person that I am) checked out the bottle and fell in love with the color. It's labeled on the back of the bottle as "Avocado," but that's not the right name or color of this polish at all.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Eye of the Day! ❤ 1/8/2013

My first Eye of the Day post ever! These will (hopefully) normally be Face of the Day posts, but my lips have been super dried out and uncooperative as of late, so I decided to just show my eye makeup for now.


Wet n' Wild's Wine Room and Cherry Picking Lipsticks ❤ Swatches, Comparisons and Review!

So a few days ago, I picked up two wet n' wild lipsticks for the first time since I was in elementary school. From what I remembered, they were quite bad quality bad then, but since I've gotten into makeup, I've heard so many positive reviews that I knew I had to try them out. 

The lipsticks I picked up were 906D Wine Room and 965 Cherry Picking. In terms of packaging, these lipsticks were a bit of a pain to open - you really have to twist and pull to get the clear plastic top off, and you're almost guaranteed to accidentally scrape some of the lipstick onto the top when you finally do wrench it off. The lipsticks also seem to be a bit loose inside of their casing - I can hear mine bumping against the sides of its case when I shake or move it, though it doesn't seem too loose that it'll fall out, thankfully.

But, let's move on to the most important part - the color and quality.