CCO Haul!

I went to CCO (Cosmetics Company Outlet, also known as The Cosmetics Company Store) in Vacaville, CA last week, and here's my haul:

I missed out on the MAC smokey eye holiday palette last December, so I was thrilled to see it there. Even though I now have Satin Taupe (2nd row, 1st column) and I already had Carbon, I still wanted to get this palette because the other colors are pretty too. The names of the eye shadows from top to bottom (left to right) are: Scant (F), Gorgeous (M), Satin Taupe (F), Ambiance (V), Dark Devotion (M), and Carbon (M). I got it for $26.75 USD.


I also wanted to try Bobbi Brown blush, so I got this one in "Nectar" for $14.00.


I also bought MAC Lip Conditioner Stick with SPF 15. I wanted a lip conditioner to use under matte lipstick. I recently got MAC L/S in "Please Me" -- it's a really nice muted pink color, but it's matte and really dries my lips. Now I use this lip conditioner first, put the matte lipstick on top, and it works like a charm. :) I got this for $11.00. If you decide to buy this lip conditioner as well, make sure to check the expiration date on the box first (Yes! There's actually an expiration date!). Mine expires in February 2011.

The bright orange lipstick is called "Electro", and it was $10.00. I don't have a bright, bold orange yet in my collection, so I thought this was perfect (and I won't have a hard time figuring out which one is my "orange" lipstick due to the container haha).

I was also relieved to see that this CCO had the limited edition Mineralize Skinfinish with shimmer! I just hit the pan on the one I bought when these came out, and I was already getting worried about whether or not I could find another one. I used it everyday, and I love it! I've been using "Medium/Natural and Shimmer" for some time now, so I got another one of those. I decided to get one in "Light Medium/Natural and Shimmer" too for the winter. These were $18.75 each (compared to ~$27 that I paid a few months ago). If you live nearby a CCO and they have these in stock, I definitely recommend checking them out!

Bright Green and Purple Makeup Tutorial

I recorded a new video tutorial of this bright green and purple look. I used 5 samples (4 for my eyes and 1 for my cheek) from my Ultimate YouTube Kit from Mineral Magic Cosmetics (swatches of all my samples are here).

I also talked a little bit about Loew-Cornell brushes in the beginning of my video. If you have not heard of them already, they are good quality brushes that are a lot cheaper than MAC brushes. I wanted to make a video using these brushes in case anyone's been looking for a cheaper alternative. I used my three Loew-Cornell brushes that I bought from Michael's to apply and blend all of my eye shadows for this look.

FACE

Lacome Photogenic Lumessence in Bisque 1 (N)

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Medium/Natural

EYES

MAC Paint Pot in "Soft Ochre"

Mineral Magic Cosmetics in "Oscar" (green)

Mineral Magic Cosmetics in "Telly" (purple)

Mineral Magic Cosmetics in "Turquoise" (blue)

Mineral Magic Cosmetics in "Hi-lite Violet"

MAC Fluidline in "Blacktrack"

CHEEKS

Mineral Magic Cosmetics in "Pink Tourmaline"

LIPS

NYX "Narcissus"

:)

Estee Lauder Double Wear Swatches and EOTD

I've been looking for Estee Lauder Stay-in-Place ShadowCreme in "Sea Mist" and "Lilac Petals" for a couple months now. I usually see "Lilac Petals", but rarely "Sea Mist". I wanted to wait to buy them until I could get both at once. Last Saturday, I went shopping with my mom, sister, and my sister's bf who is a Navy officer. He took us to the commissary and exchange for the first time, and I found both of these colors there. I also bought them much cheaper there (and it was also tax free), so it came out to be $14.90 USD each (compared to $17.50 plus tax at other retail stores).


The reason why I've been searching for these colors is because I want to use them as primers. I don't have any MAC Paint Pots that are similar to these shades, so I wanted to give it a try. Estee Lauder is the parent company of MAC, so I figured these would work well. They really do stay in place, and the colors are gorgeous!

I'm wearing "Sea Mist" in this EOTD. I applied it to the lower lid, and then I put MAC E/S in "Aquadisiac" on top of it. I used MAC E/S in "Vanilla" as highlight, and I lined my upper lash line with Loreal HiP creme E/L in "Teal".

UPDATE ON GLASS BEACH: I mentioned in my last post that I was going to see Glass Beach near Mendocino, CA, and I did. However, it didn't turn out the way I expected. I guess there has been so many visitors there since the 70s that the glass rocks have greatly diminished. :(

Here's a picture of it now (you can still see a few glass rocks here and there):


And here's how it looked like back then:


I wish I could have taken a picture like that!

Hope you all had a great long weekend!

Black and Purple Makeup Look

I ended up returning my MAC refill pan E/S in "Sketch", because it turns out Sketch has red pigment in it, which irritates my skin. :| So I got 3 other colors to replace it (lol -- I need to work on one for one exchanges). Now I have refill pans in "Brule", "Shadowy Lady", and "Black Tied". I am wearing two of those three for this look.


I wore this with a plain purple tank top from Old Navy, flowy black capri pants from Forever 21, and a black scarf from Myers Department Store in Australia.


EYES
MAC Paint Pot in "Soft Ochre" (all over lid)
MAC E/S in "Brule" (highlight)
Milani E/S in "Shock" (crease and middle lower lash line)
MAC E/S in "Black Tied" (entire lower lid and outer lower lash line)
(optional) lilac concealer on the inner lower lash line/tear duct to brighten the eyes
MAC Fluidline in "Blacktrack"

CHEEKS
MAC Beauty Powder Blush in "Stark Naked"
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Medium/Natural and Shimmer (shimmer just above apples, powder on T zone -- forehead, nose, and chin)

LIPS
MAC L/S in "Lavender Whip"

I'm off to Mendocino, CA for the long weekend. I know they have a bunch of trees and beaches there, but I'm not sure if they have internet haha If any of you are planning to go there, make sure to stop by Glass Beach -- it's a place where good ole Mother Nature corrected a man-made mistake. The beach used to be a public dump, but it was later closed in the late 60s when people realized what they were doing to the beach. Now it has been reclaimed, and all the glass that was once thrown out is now colorful rocks that sparkle in the sun. I'll take a picture when I get there, and I'll share it with you all soon!

Brown and Hot Pink Makeup Look

I used MAC E/S in "Soft Brown" for the first time today, and I really like it. It's the color on the center of my eyelids. It's matte and easy to blend.


I was already done putting my eyeshadow on when I decided to use my MAC L/S in "Snow Orchid" again. I ended up adding a hot pink e/s from my Coastal Scents 88 Palette to my outer lower lash lines to match the lipstick.


EYES
MAC Paint Pot in "Soft Ochre" (entire lid)
MAC E/S in "Retrospeck" (inner corner, tear duct, and inner lower lash line)
MAC E/S in "Soft Brown" (center lid)
MAC E/S in "Glamour Check!" (outer V and outer half of crease)
hot pink e/s from Coastal Scents 88 Piece Makeup Palette (7th row, 7th column; outer lower lash line)

CHEEKS
MAC Sheertone Shimmer Blush in "Dollymix" (on apples)

LIPS
MAC L/S in "Snow Orchid"

Hooray for Friday and long weekends! Hope you all get to relax and soak in some sun! :)

MAC "Rose is a Rose" E/S Quad Swatches

I went to Nordstrom last night, and I bought this MAC E/S quad. The quad is called "Rose is a Rose", and it's part of the "Rose Romance" collection that launched last month. The original release date was May 1st, but it didn't actually come out until last week. It's $36.00 USD, and it is only available at Nordstrom.


I made swatches, in case you're wondering how the colors look with and without primer. The swatches on the top do not have any base, and the swatches on the bottom are with MAC Cream Colour Base in "Luna".

• Solar White (Frost) - golden white color with lots of shimmer (repromote)
  
• Seeds of Love (Frost) - coral/pale orange color similar to Paradisco, but easier to blend!
  
• Petal Worship (Lustre) - light pinkish lilac color similar to Stars 'N Rockets
  
• Contrast (Velvet) - navy blue with purple color (permanent)

So you can think of it as paying $9 for each color in the quad. Pro refill pans are about $11 each (plus you'd have to buy a palette), so this quad is a cheaper alternative if you want colors like these as part of your makeup stash. :)

EOTD using MAC Flip E/S

Hi everyone! I'm back! I finished my 5th and last final today, but I haven't had much sleep lately since I've been studying a lot. I wanted to write a post as soon as I got home from my final, so here it is! This one's just going to be an EOTD (Eye Of The Day).

Here's what I'm wearing:

MAC Paint Pot in "Soft Ochre" (entire lid)
MAC E/S in "Femme Fi" (highlight)
MAC E/S in "Flip" (lower lid)
MAC E/S in "Mulch" (outer V and crease)
MAC E/S in "Goldmine" (apply a little on the center lid to blend Mulch and Flip)
MAC Fluidline in "Blacktrack"

MAC Flip E/S is limited edition, so if you want to pick one up, you should get it while you still can!

MAC Haul from Bloomingdale's

Here are some items I bought while shopping in Bloomindale's in San Francisco, CA last weekend. I already posted a picture of me wearing Sea & Sky (which I love, love, love!), and I used "Flip" E/S for the first time today. I took pictures, and I'll include it in my next post.

The other E/S is called "Soft Brown". It's a matte eye shadow that I actually haven't seen as a tester in all the MAC stores I've been to. When I was in Bloomindale's, I was immediately drawn to this color. I haven't had a chance to use this yet (and it's been a week since I've had it!), but I'll definitely play with it as soon as I'm done with finals. This is one of those colors that would look great with any eye shadow, and it can be used to transition colors.

I need to exchange the lipstick though, because the container is broken! :( It's so hard to rotate it, and the bottom of the lipstick is a bit smashed. Maybe this time I'll go to Bloomingdale's in Palo Alto to exchange it, so that I can also stop by the new Nordstrom Rack in East Palo Alto :)

Inspired Look: Dior Catwalk 2008

Hi! This is just a quick post, because I need to get back to studying for finals. :\


I attempted to recreate the Dior catwalk makeup trend from 2008, and this is how it turned out (sorry for the picture quality; I had to take it with my cell phone):


I wouldn't wear this out, but some girls have told me they would definitely wear it to go clubbing. lol I really like the false lashes on the bottom though, because it helps open up the eyes. Maybe I'll come up with something that's a little more wearable using similar techniques. :)

Hope you're all doing great!

Sea and Sky Makeup Look

This is the look I came up with on Mother's Day. I went to Bloomingdale's in SF on Saturday and picked up MAC Mineralize Duo in "Sea and Sky", which I've wanted to buy for a while but haven't seen in the stores since it came out. These mineralize duos are really pigmented!


EYES
Too Faced Shadow Insurance (entire lid and under lower lash line)
MAC Paint Pot in "Delft" (lower lid)
MAC Mineralize Duo in "Sea and Sky" (light blue color on lower lid and inner half of lower lash line; dark blue color on the outer V, crease, and outer half of lower lash line)
MAC E/S in "Electric Eel" (apply where dark blue and light blue meet and blend!)
MAC E/S in "Vanilla" (highlight)
MAC Fluidline in "Blacktrack" (eyeliner on upper lash line)

CHEEKS
MAC Mineralize Blush Duo in "Love Thing" (take an angled blush brush and dab a small amount of the lower pink shade and mix with a lot of the top highlighter color -- then apply to apples of cheeks)

LIPS
MAC L/S in "St. Germain"


This is the outfit I'm wearing. I got it at Forever 21 in SF on Saturday as well. It was $29 USD.

I have finals starting Friday and lasting until the end of next week. This means I probably won't get to post as much as I would like until I'm done with exams. However, I'm planning to make new videos and continue to update my blog regularly once I'm done. If you'd like, enter your e-mail address in the box on the right to sign up for automatic e-mail notifications of my blog updates. :)

My Gift for My Mom

This is what I got my mom for Mother's Day -- makeup of course! I bought these items about 2 weeks ago, but I didn't want to blog about this until after I gave my mom her gift (in case she might've read this before Mother's Day, which is very likely haha).

She hasn't tried MAC Dazzleglass yet, so I figured I would get her one in "Get Rich Quick". It's a warm yellow brown color. Her favorite color is purple, so I bought MAC Mineralize E/S Duo in "Odd Couple" because it has a really pretty purple in it. I also got the last Prep + Prime Line Filler in stock at my local MAC *phew*. I've been talking to my mom about this line filler for a while, so I really wanted to get it for her.


This is a close up of the Too Faced Glamour To Go palette. This is great for keeping in your purse to touch up your eye shadow and lipstick throughout the day. I saw my mom eyeing this at Ulta the last time we went shopping together, but it was out of stock. So I made sure to pick this one up as well to include in my gift.

On Sunday, my parents picked up my little sister from her dorm and then they came over to my neck of the woods. We ate at this Korean BBQ restaurant called Palace BBQ Buffet, and then we watched Star Trek afterward. If you haven't seen this movie yet, you should watch it! It was awesome -- a lot of action, a little bit of romance, and also some comedy. You don't have to be a "trekkie" or even know anything about Star Trek to enjoy it. :)

Mother's Day was a lot of fun, and I hope you all had a great time too!

Pink and Yellow Makeup Look

This is the makeup look I came up with for my little trip to the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco, CA. It was another sunny day today, and I wanted to use bright colors, similar to the colors of a pink cherry blossom.


I also used my new MAC L/S in "Snow Orchid" to match my hot pink outer V eye shadow color.

EYES
MAC Paint Pot in "Soft Ochre" (entire lid)
MAC E/S in "Bright Sunshine" (inner lid and inner lower lash line)
MAC E/S in "Swish" (center lid)
Coastal Scents 88 Piece Makeup Palette hot pink E/S -- 7th column, 7th row (outer V and outer lower lash line)
MAC Fluidline in "Blacktrack" (upper lash line)
Lancome Oscillating Mascara

CHEEKS
MAC Mineralize Blush Duo in "Love Thing" (take an angled blush brush and dab a small amount of the lower pink shade and mix with a lot of the top highlighter color -- then apply to apples of cheeks)

LIPS
MAC L/S in "Snow Orchid"

Happy Mother's Day to all those moms out there! (Love you, Ma!)

Brown Script Makeup Look

This is my first look using MAC E/S in "Brown Script". It's a matte2 pro color, and I got a refill pan of it the other day. It's a terracotta color that I was drawn to when I was looking through all the eye shadows at the store -- now to think of it, I blame my boyfriend for this because he's been into buying clay pots lately for our plants and this shade looks exactly like the color of the clay pots (LOL). Anyway, here's how it turned out.

I was going to call this post "Brown and Pink Makeup Look", because I did use a pink color on my eyes. However, it turned out more peachy/orange, so I ended up using peachy blush and lipstick.


EYES
Too Faced Shadow Insurance (all over lid)
MAC Paint Pot in "Fresco Rose" (lower lid)
MAC E/S in "Expensive Pink" (lower lid on top of paint pot)
MAC E/S in "Brown Script" (crease and outer V)
MAC E/S in "Ricepaper" (highlight)
MAC E/S in "Handwritten" (e/l -- use MAC 266 or any small angled brush to apply)
MAC Mineralize E/S Duo in "Heat Element" (just a little of the gold color on the inner lower lash line)

CHEEKS

MAC Powder Blush in "Harmony" (contour)

MAC Sheertone Blush in "Peaches" (apples of cheeks)

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Medium/Natural and Shimmer (shimmer just above apples, powder on T zone -- forehead, nose, and chin)

LIPS
MAC L/S in "Jist"

Mineral Magic Cosmetics Swatches

I had the opportunity to try 27 samples from Mineral Magic Cosmetics. These samples along with 2 really nice brushes (a double-ended brush for eyes and a powder buffer) are part of the Ultimate YouTube Kit that I received in the mail last week (thanks Kellie!).

Here are the swatches (click images to enlarge)!

I will experiment with some of the pinks on my cheeks. They are gorgeous!


These hi-lite colors look white in the container, but when you apply it on your skin, you can see the actual colors.


These colors are very pigmented! Telly is a good dupe for MUFE #92 E/S.

I grouped these colors together, because they are great for summer bronze and tropical looks. Isn't that "Bird" color just amazing?!? It's so vibrant! (It made me think of Big Bird from Sesame Street haha)

I do recommend using an eyeshadow base/primer (as I do with pretty much all makeup anyway) as it will help reduce fallout. I used MAC Luna Creme Colour Base underneath all of these swatches. I will be playing with these samples for a while, so you'll probably see these show up in upcoming FOTDs. :)

From my experience so far, these Mineral Magic Cosmetics makeup are buildable and easy to blend too. I do end up with some fallout, but that tends to happen when I use loose pigments and mineral makeup in general. A good trick is to apply loose powder on your cheeks before you apply your eyeshadow -- this way the fallout will just sit on top of that powder and not set on your skin. Then you can just brush away the powder along with the fallout when you're done.

If you want to buy the YouTube kit as well, make sure to enter "youtube" in Notes To Seller at checkout to get free extras! The samples I have include all of Mineral Magic Cosmetics' new products as well as some unlisted colors to date. If there is any color here that you want specifically that you do not see on their website, email Kellie at MineralMagicCosmetics@hotmail.com.

Have a great Friday!

Quick FOTD: Purple and Blue Look

This is my quick take on the MAC Rose Romance collection photograph (I didn't want to do it exactly, but I used similar looking colors) :P

EYES
MAC Paint Pot in "Soft Ochre"
MAC Pigment Colour Powder in "Mutiny" (on inner lid)
MAC Pigment Colour Powder in "Viz-A-Violet" (on center lid)
MUFE E/S in #92 (outer V)

CHEEKS
MAC Beauty Powder Blush in "Stark Naked"

LIPS
MAC L/S in "Bubbles"

P.S. Happy Anniversary to my parents! (And Happy Cinco de Mayo too haha)

Smokey Gray and White Makeup Look

I used my MAC Knight Divine e/s for the first time with this look. I think it's the perfect shade for the outer V of any smokey gray look. It's really easy to work with and blend with other colors.
Because I have a lot of color on my eyes, I used a very sheer, pale color on my lips. This helps keep the focus on the eyes.
EYES
Too Faced Shadow Insurance (all over lid and under lower lashline)
Coastal Scents Gel Liner in "White" (as base on inner corner)
MAC E/S in "Gesso" (matte white color on inner corner)
MAC E/S in "Electra" (light silver color on the center lid -- blend towards Gesso; also apply on inner lower lashline)
MAC E/S in "Knight Divine" (outer V and contour -- blend towards Electra; also apply on outer lower lashline towards Electra)
MAC Fluidline in "Blacktrack" (on upper lashline)

CHEEKS
MAC Mineralize Blush Duo in "Love Thing" (take an angled blush brush and dab a small amount of the lower pink shade and mix with a lot of the top highlighter color -- then apply to apples of cheeks)

LIPS
MAC L/S in "Bubbles"

Bright Green and Purple Makeup Look

Hi everyone! Hope you're all having a great weekend so far. As for me, I'm stuck in my apartment all weekend working on my last coding project of the semester (I'm a Computer Science major). I took a break to play with makeup (of course!), and I came up with this green and purple look. I used 3 of 27 (yes! 27!) of the Mineral Magic Cosmetics samples that I received in the mail a couple days ago (thanks Kellie!). I'm going to write a separate post with all of the samples and swatches next week.

The 3 samples I used for this look are "Oscar" (bright green), "Hi-lite Green" (it looks white in the pot but it has a pretty light green to it when you put it on), and "Telly" (bright purple). These are included in the Ultimate YouTuber Kit available on the Mineral Magic Cosmetics site here: http://www.mineralmagiccosmetics.com/storefront/ (enter the word "youtube" in Notes To Seller at checkout to get a bunch of extra samples!).

EYES

MAC Paint Pot in "Soft Ochre" (all over lid)

Mineral Magic Cosmetics Makeup in "Hi-lite Green" (as highlight)

Mineral Magic Cosmetics Makeup in "Oscar" (lower lid)

Mineral Magic Costmetics Makeup in "Telly" (lower lashline)

Loreal HiP creme E/L in "Teal" (upper lashline)

Lancome Oscillating Mascara

CHEEKS

MAC Powder Blush in "Harmony" (contour)

MAC Sheertone Shimmer Blush in "Dollymix" (on apples of cheeks and blend just above "Harmony")

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in "Petticoat" (to add some shimmer to upper part of apples)

LIPS

Lancome L/S in "The New Pink"