Sparkle City!

Face:
Kat Von D Rehab Priming Elixir
Koh Gen Do Aqua PK-0
Illamasqua Concealer 115 (spots)
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1 (under eye)
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder <3

Cheeks:
Guerlain Terracotta Light Blondes 01
Illamasqua Naked Rose <3
Nars New Order

Eyes:
Nars eye primer
Lancome really old LE black kohl pencil (as liner and to map out crease)
Too Faced Smoky palette (Smokin Hot everywhere you see black, Firefly to blend out top edge of crease black, and In a Flash on the inner corner)
Lorac Baked Matte Satin e/s Chic (brow bone)
Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy (lid)
Sinful Colors Sparkle City loose glitter (lid)
Stila Stay All Day black liner pen
GA ETK black waterproof liner pencil (waterline)
Tarte Taupe brow pencil
Fiberwig D.J.V. Beautenizer Volume Lash
Givenchy Phenomeneyes waterproof mascara (lowers)

Lips:
Lipstick Queen Saint Pink

Happy New Year!

Before...and After

So, you have probably guessed that I'm not wearing any makeup in this first picture.  All I have on my skin is Jurlique's balancing oil (which smells absolutely divine, by the way), and I had just previously used the GlamGlow mask, which is really super nice - and intense.  Enough of that and onto some makeup!!

Here I am with everything makeup on my face.  Ta da!  The eye colors were a little funky together, but I think it all pulled together nicely in the end.

I wish you could see more of the mega shimmery sparkliness going on here.  The Shu shadows I used are very sparkly, but you can just barely tell here.  I suppose the overkill glitter of the Urban Decay liner more than makes up for that.  :)

Face:
Smashbox Photofinish More Than Primer Dark Spot Correcting
Stila Stay All Day Foundation with concealer in Bare
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1 (under eye)
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder

Cheeks:
Givenchy Bucolic Poppy
Nars Hungry Heart

Eyes:
Nars eye primer
Tarte chubby eye pencil in Gold (lid and lowers)
Tarte chubby eye pencil in Champagne (inner corner and inner lowers)
Tarte skinny eye pencil in Black (upper lash line)
Makeup Geek e/s Burlesque (crease)
Lorac Chic e/s (brow bone)
Shu Smoky Velvet palette (sparkly gold - center of lid)
Shu Prestigious Bordeaux palette (shimmery copper above crease and outer lowers)
Stila Stay All Day black liner pen (tight line)
UD Baked glitter liner (uppers, over the black)
Tarte Taupe brow pencil
Laura Mercier Faux Lash mascara

Lips:
MAC Dare to Wear Lipglass Wind Me Up


Thanks for stopping by and feel free to let me know if you have any questions!

Mullet Makes it Better

Well, don't I look bronzy or something?!  My friend at work asked me what I was wearing because she said, "You look tan.  You look good!"  It's just mineral powder because I was in a hurry!  I also have to laugh at the white glow around my hairline - which is decidedly from the Yes! to Blueberries SPF 30 moisturizer that has tons of zinc and/or titanium in it and looks like white paste going on.  It's nearly impossible to blend away and has obviously left it's mark on me.  It's not my favorite moisturizer by far and I think I'll be better to save it for days with higher humidity.

The latest Armani Lip Maestro is Ecstasy 504, which has nearly freaked out my camera.  It's a bold and almost neon fuchsia.  A colleague thought it looked sort of red, as well, but I'm going with fuchsia.  This one is true love!!  The formula and wear were fanfrickintastic!  It's odd, but the feel and wear of this one is much nicer than that of Dark Velvet 201.  Further experimentation is warranted.

I used my Bare Minerals The Star Treatment eyeshadow palette for this look, as well as various Urban Decay eyeliners.  Go Mullet, go, go, go Mullet!  That's the green glitter.

I tried a slightly different eyeshadow shape than normal.  I was not feeling well when I did my makeup, so I'm not sure what inspired that exactly - accident is the most likely cause.  What do you think?  Is it good on me?  I think I like it.

Face:
Armani Face Fabric primer
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1 (under eye)
Illamasqua Concealer 115 (spots)
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder (under eye)
Amazing Cosmetics Velvet Mineral Pressed Powder Ultra Light
Guerlain Meteorites du Dragon

Cheeks:
Guerlain Terracotta Light Blondes 01
Illamasqua Naked Rose
Nars Hungry Heart (pink side) - I wish you could actually see this twinkling under bright light!

Eyes:
Nars eye primer
BareMinerals The Star Treatment eyeshadow palette (three colors used - I can find out names if you need or want me to)
Stila Stay All Day black pen liner (tight line)
Urban Decay e/l pencil Mildew
Urban Decay glitter e/l Mullet!
Urban Decay e/l pencil Baked
Korres Volcanic mascara
Tarte Taupe brow pencil

Lips:
Armani Lip Maestro Ecstasy 504 <3

Thanks for stopping by!

Gold Glitter Brows

I tried gold glitter brows with my Urban Decay Baked glitter eyeliner.  It was a huge hassle to paint it on using the tiny brush that it comes with.  I know I could remove the stopper, but I'm always reluctant to, for some unknown reason (I'm probably loathe to encrust a brush of mine with glitter gel).

The glitter looks chunky-not-so-lovely in these super close up pictures.  In the other pictures you can't really even tell it's there!  Perhaps a fail.  No harm done, though.  Can I just say how stunningly gorgeous L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Gold Imperial is?!  That's the gold over my entire lid, that you see more on the inner half.  I absolutely love it.

I really like the Tarte "Emerald" skinny pencil liner, too, that I used on the lower lash line.  I wish I had smudged some shadow into it, though, to intensify and solidify the color.

Face:
Nars pore refining primer
Koh Gen Do Aqua PK-0
Illamasqua Concealer 115
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder
MUFE Super Matte Loose 12

Cheeks:
Guerlain Terracotta Light Blondes 01
Hello Kitty Head of the Class black & white palette peachy blush

Eyes:
Nars eye primer
L'Oreal Infallible e/s Gold Imperial (all over)
Vincent Longo Pearl X e/s Etherea (crease and outer corner)
Lorac Baked Matte Satin e/s Posh (brow bone)
Stila Stay All Day black pen liner (tight line)
Stila Smudge Stick e/l Lionfish (smudged into uppers)
Tarte Skinny SmolderEYES e/l Emerald (smudged into lowers)
UD Baked e/l pencil (waterline)
Tarte Taupe brow pencil
UD Baked glitter e/l (brows)
Dior New Look black mascara
Givenchy Phenomeneyes waterproof mascara (lowers)

Lips:
Armani Lip Maestro 300 Flesh

Thanks for stopping by!  :)

Hurry Up!

This was yesterday's face that I did in a rush.  Somehow I lost track of time in the morning and didn't leave myself enough time to do what I normally like to do.  This took me about 20 minutes, I believe.  As I say that, I feel like it's ridiculous and should have been completed much, much quicker!

All self-criticism aside, I do like how it turned out.  And you can see I'm only using minimal gold sparkle on the eyes here.  That leaves room for more extreme gold sparklage to be had today!

Face:
Koh Gen Do Aqua PK-0
Illamasqua Concealer 115
BareMinerals A Stroke of Light Luminous 1
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder
Guerlain Meteorites Perles du Dragon

Cheeks:
Givenchy Bucolic Poppy

Eyes:
Nars primer
Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Amethyst
Urban Decay Virgin e/s
Stila Stay All Day black pen liner (tight line)
Urban Decay Baked e/l pencil
Urban Decay Baked glitter liner
Tarte taupe brow pencil
Lancome Hypnose Doll Lashes
Givenchy Phenomeneyes waterproof

Lips:
Nars Scarlet Empress lipstick

Look how short my list is!  It's almost...reasonable!  :)  I just want to point out that Koh Gen Do Aqua foundation is so superb that I know I can slap it on in a hurry and not even worry about primer.  It wears that well.  I saw some minor breakdown after it had been on about 9 or 10 hours.  Also, randomly, I love how it smells.

I had a bit of creasing on my occasionally creasy left eye, which leaves me to wonder, what on earth went wrong?  I was hoping that with the Nars eye primer that would never happen again.  Oh well.  I guess I can't have it all.  I'm thinking maybe I didn't blend out the Caviar Stick enough - like, maybe it was too thick?

Thanks for stopping by!  Feel free to drop me a line about anything.

Holidaze

I'm stuck in a string of gold sparkle eye looks because that is what I'm currently expected to wear to work.  I hope you don't mind.  It feels constricting, despite my love for gold eyes.  I guess I'm a rebel.  If you are wondering, I work for a famous makeup store that shall remain nameless here.

It's bronzey and gold really because Urban Decay Baked eyeshadow has so much orange color to it.  Or copper?  Should I say copper?  Honestly, sometimes I get confused when the colors are bordering on one other.  Metallic!  That's safe to say.  :)

Please pardon my messy, pulled back hair.  I was rushing around, as I often do.

Face:
Smashbox Photo Finish More than Primer
Smashbox under eye primer
Stila Tinted Moisturizer Fair
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1
Illamasqua Concealer 115
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder
Laura Geller Balance & Brighten Porcelain

Cheeks:
Guerlain Terracotta Light Blondes 01
Nars Illuminator Super Orgasm
Nars Orgasm powder blush
Dior Amber Diamond

Eyes:
Nars primer
Urban Decay Baked e/s (lid)
Urban Decay Half Baked e/s (crease)
Urban Decay Smog e/s (outer corner of lid)
Stila Bare e/s (brow bone)
Tarte SmolderEYES Brown e/l
Stila Stay All Day black pen liner (tight line)
Urban Decay Baked glitter liner (lid) - not showing well in pics, but gleamed nicely IRL
Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy glitter liner (center of lid near lash line)
Lancome Hypnose Doll Lashes
Givenchy Phenomeneyes waterproof (lowers)
Tarte taupe brow pencil

Lips:
Make Up For Ever Aqua Rouge 8

I like the LG powder, but I think it's reading too pink in my pictures.  I should probably save it only for obviously too yellow foundations, to pink them up.

The MUFE Aqua Rouge lipstick has a very odd texture.  It's sticky, tacky, almost gummy.  Then it becomes dry and still sticky somehow.  I didn't use the gloss component, though, until later on in the day, and that definitely provided more comfort during wear.  I will say that despite it feeling uncomfortable and bunched up, it always looked perfect when I checked in the mirror, expecting disaster.  What are your thoughts on it, if you've tried it?  I love long wearing lip colors, but I do want them to be more comfortable and have less of a noticeable feeling on my lips.

Also, what do you think of Nars Orgasm blush on me?  I like it.  I've just never been wow-ed by it.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Stay tuned for more gold and glittery looks to come.   :)

Dragonfruit with Glitter

This will be a shorter post as I didn't get hardly any decent pictures of myself this go around.  Some days are like that.  It was a simple look, anyway, so I don't need to go on and on about it!  What I like most here is the tinted moisturizer (Amore Pacific), the lip color, and the purple glitter, of course!

Face:
Amore Pacific Moisture Bound Tinted Treatment Moisturizer 102 Fair
Bare Minerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1 (under eye)
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder

Cheeks:
Guerlain Terracotta Light Blondes 01
Addiction Revenge
Dior Amber Diamond

Eyes:
Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer
RBR Alabaster Starling (inner corner)
RBR Angelic Cockatiels (all over)
Makeup Geek Shimma Shimma (brow bone)
Stila Stay All Day black pen e/l (tightline)
Urban Decay Rockstar e/l pencil
Urban Decay glitter liner Metalhead
Fiberwig D.J.V. Beautenizer Volume Lash
Clinique Bottom Lash
Tarte Taupe brow pencil

Lips:
Becca Beach Tint Dragonfruit
NYX Glam Lipgloss Aqua Luxe Paint the Town

Okay.  So I don't like how Angelic Cockatiels looks out of control frosty in a bad way up to nearly my brow bone!  Good grief.  I can only say that I thought it looked better in person - but, ya know, that may or may not be true.  In any case, I hope you'll forgive me for that lapse in judgment.

The Amore Pacific tinted moisturizer is so dreamy, I simply must rave!  It goes on like silky smooth buttery face perfection (do you really want butter on your face - no, you do not - bad analogy).  It lasts all day, as well, which is an absolute must for me.  I even bothered to get hot and sweaty at work, so that was a great test for wear.  The coverage is a very nice light with a radiant but not overly dewy finish (if that makes sense).  It has the typical Amore Pacific scent going on, but fades away pretty quickly.  It also has a hefty price tag!  Oh boy.  For now, I'm enjoying a sample.  I definitely recommend that you get a sample if you can.  It is worth the trouble.

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to comment if you have anything to say - even, "Lauren, never ever wear that frosty eyeshadow that high up again!"  :)