Maybelline The NUDES: Review & Swatches

Hi Ya'll! 
Hope everyone is having a great start to their week! It's beginning to feel like fall here in NYC, which I love for two reasons 1.) I don't feel/look like a sweaty monstrosity when I get to the subway in the morning 2.) Fall Sniffs, and by 'sniffs' I mean the glorious smell of my Pumpkin Pecan Waffles candle that is currently gracing my nose as I write this post. You should most definitely check it out next time you stop by Bath & Body Works.  Be warned....YOU WILL WANT WAFFLES.

Now that you have waffles on your mind, let's talk about makeup shall we?  Today I wanted to share my review on the new Maybelline The NUDES palette. 

Okay, let's dig in...sorry that's the waffle on my mind speaking. 

The palette has a range of 12 neutral colors that range from shimmer, matte, and satin finishes. I picked mine up at Target for $9.99. 

Pigment: 

While the shadows aren't as pigmented as those from the Urban Decay's Naked palettes, I was actually pleasantly surprised with a few of the colors. 

Top Row: Left to Right

Bottom Row: Left to Right

The Packaging:

I think the packaging is great, thin and compact. Compared to the Naked palettes again this is much easier to throw in your makeup bag or purse. 

Price: 

For 12 shadows at $9.99 you really can't go wrong. As I said, the color payoff isn't like that of an Urban Decay eyeshadow but for 10 bucks they're great! 

Favorite:

One of my absolute favorite things about this palette is that if you turn it over it shows you how to pair the shadows to create 13 different looks!!! GENIUS! This is great for makeup beginners and experts needing some inspiration. It even has an illustration showing you where to put the various shades on your lid, which is where I think most people get intimidated. 

My Tips: 

My advice would be to definitely use an eye primer or concealer on your lid so that the shadow has something to stick to. Also, these shadows have some fall out, (where the excess color falls onto your face after applying on your lid) I would suggest tapping a good amount of translucent loose powder under your eyes to catch the fall out. This way you can gently sweep it away without making too much of a raccoon eye mess on your face. 

Finally, Have Fun!

Overall, I think this palette is great for people beginning to experiment with eyeshadows who don't want to invest in an expensive palette at first. 

So what do you think, have you tried the Maybelline The NUDES palette yet? 

Let me know in the comments or on my Instagram (@Jezz222), I always love chat about makeup! 

hugs and pumpkin pecan waffle cravings, 

What's in my purse

Hi Love Bugs!
Hope you all are well and enjoying the lovely, warm weather.  I thought I would mix up the normal monthly favorites and show you what beauty products i've been carrying around in my purse recently. Enjoy!

1. No7 Perfect Light powder in Medium - This powder is perfect for touch ups and taking away shine. It's light and silky with just enough coverage for minor touch ups throughout the day - it also has a nice big mirror inside which is key for on the go!
2. Maybelline Color Elixir in Polished Petal (limited edition) - I've been wearing this a lot the past month, it's really natural color with a super shiny finish. The formula is thicker and feels more like a balm which personally I like because it feels like it's definitely going to stay put. The only caution I have is be careful when your lovely locks are blowing in the wind...because they will get stuck to your smackers! 
3. MAC Girl About Town lipstick (amplified) - It's always nice to have a fun lipstick in your purse just in case you need to spruce up an outfit for something after work. I wore this bright pink lip thrifting with my man last weekend and it was the perfect pop of color to my neutral colored outfit. 
4. Kai by gaye straza Perfume Oil - I got this mini perfume roller ball sample in my Fab Fit and Fun box and it smells amazing! It reminds me of the scents from Fresh, very subtle and this one has a bit of honeysuckle in it. Perfume samples are perfect for your purse, they're small and great for travel. 
5. MAC Lip Conditioner - You need this in your life!!! Okay, that was a bit dramatic but it keeps your lips feelings super soft and it's great by itself or layered on top of a lipstick to add a little shine. To top it all off it has a hint of vanilla like all of MAC lip products and if I'm going to put it on smack-a-roos then I want it to smell at lest somewhat pleasant. 
Here are the lip swatches...

P

left: MAC lip conditioner    middle: Maybelline Polished Petal    Right: MAC Girl About Town

Have a fabulous day! Tell me are some of your favorites you keep in your purse? 


hugs and soft smack-a-roos, 

Limited Edition Maybelline NY Fashion Week Collection

Hi Cutie Pa-tooties! 
Sorry I have been a little MIA, my beautiful cousin got married last weekend (hooray and I did her makeup) and then my boyfriend was visiting me this weekend so October has been a little crazy. Also, graduation is quickly approaching - for those of you who don't know I will be graduating from college in December and I'm pretty excited.   Hope your life has been just as wonderfully busy or even relaxing! 
 Today's post is coming a tad late but better lat than never I say, I picked up a few  products from Maybelline's Limited Edition Collection for New York Fashion week and I have really been loving them so I wanted to share some swatches and opinions.

The Art of Concealing

Hi Beautifuls!
Hope everyone had a nice weekend!  I got to hangout with one of my best girlfriends and sneak some much needed relaxation in. As always, the weekend went by too fast and Monday is here again and I'm ready to start a fresh new week. 
Today's post idea came to me while I while I was talking to my Aunt last weekend as we were preparing for my beautiful cousin's bridal shower. Dark circles somehow came up in our conversation...probably because we all had lovely matching ones - keep in mind we also all have fair skin so our friendly circles show up like raccoon eyes in the night! Anyways, I brought up that she needed to get a yellow/peachy concealer for under her eyes because the yellow/peachy color would counter act the blue-ish/purple tones under the eyes. I told her to think of it just like the color wheel - a lesson on color I learned in my painting class. 

Green Concealer/Primer:
Ever wondered what that tube of green concealer was doing at the drugstore? If you look across the color wheel you will see that Red's compliment is green - so in order to help cover up red you want to put green on top. If you want to cover up your redder than rudolph's nose on christmas blemish (which I often do) just dab some green concealer on it, blend it out and then layer it with foundation or concealer that matches your skin! 
*Maybelline and NYX both have affordable green colored concealers.  It doesn't need to be expensive, you just want that green color to cover up the red! 

Yellow/Peachy Concealer:
Like you read above, the yellow/peachy toned concealers are to cover up the blues and purples in your under eye circles. Blues compliment is orange and Purple's is yellow so settling somewhere in between with peach or just yellow works perfectly! 
*Bobbi Brown calls these concealer colors in her collection 'correctors' and they are nice and creamy. NYX has great, affordable concealers in lavender, yellow, orange, and green. 

Purple Concealer/Primer: 
Lavender concealers or primers are usually used to brighten up sallow or dull looking skin. So if your complexion is looking just a bit 'blah' and needing to be brightened up a bit lavender colors are for you. 
*Almay and Stila make really neat primers that have these swirls of correcting colors in them so that it's an all in one product! Smashbox also makes the biggest variety of primers i've ever seen and has one for each of these correcting issues. I actually just purchased their new blemish healing primer and am really enjoying it so far. 
Hope this answered any questions you may have had about concealing, my painting class just reminded me once again why it's called makeup artistry. It's an art!
Have a fabulous Monday :)  hugs and 'coon' eyes, 

Maybelline Fit Me Shine-Free Foundation: Review

Happy Monday Everyone! 
I know it's the usual dreaded day of the week but... let's try to stay positive and be thankful we are alive and kickin'! 

WHOO HOO! Let's kick Monday's ass!

Today's post is a review on Maybelline's new Fit Me Shine-Free stick foundation

 (I know it's a mouthful) 

Maybelline Fit Me Shine-Free Foundation in shade 130 Buff Beige

Coverage: Light to buildable Medium

What Maybelline Says: 

WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT

Get flawless, shine-free skin instantly and on-the-go for tailor-made mattifying coverage. The anti-shine core has ultra-lightweight powders built in to the stick foundation to instantly dissolve excess oil. Available in 12 oil-free shades.

FOR BEST RESULTS

Apply to your face and blend evenly with your fingertips.

Skin Type: For oily skin, it has a Anti-Shine Core that is supposed to help prevent excess oil throughout the day. 

My Overall Thoughts: 

Overall, I enjoyed this foundation. I think the coverage leans more towards light and sheer and it doesn't build easily as other foundation. It's great for summer because the anti-shine core help keep excess oil away through the day! I do think it actually worked too, usually by mid day my t-zone will be pretty oily and I noticed that my forehead and chin area had less than usual when I wore this. I don't think i'm too impressed with the wear of the actual foundation as far as coverage goes. I could see some of my blemishes peeking out mid day.

This foundation would be great for people who don't need a lot of coverage and just want to even out their skin tone. Also, obviously people who have oily skin or T-zones and want to use something to prevent excess shine. 

The color matched me perfectly for summer and they have 12 shades total! I'm still not a huge fan of the stick foundation and applying it straight to my face from the tube. However, this is great for people on the go or those of you who don't like a lot of fuss when it comes to makeup. You grab it, put it on your face and blend it in with your fingers...fuss free! 

I tried a couple different ways of blending and did find that fingers or a sponge were the best ways to applying it since it's not liquid it can be harder to spread around your face so the warmth of your fingers help during the blending process. 

Have you tried this foundation, what did you think? Do you like stick foundation or other formulas better? Leave comments below, I love reading them!

Have a fabulous Monday lovelies! 

Hope this review helped :) 

hugs and oil free t-zones,

My Roommates Favorites: Part 2

Hi Pretties!

Hope everyone is having a lovely day so far! I'm unfortunately suffering from some nasty allergy symptoms today because everything is pretty and blooming but at least it's nice outside. I had a wonderful birthday and got some awesome gifts that I will share soon, then had dinner with my family and boyfriend at Brio's (I had a delicious steak nom nom nom).

Todays post is the second part of my Roommates Favorites little mini series and I will be sharing Liz' favorites - she has been my roommate since freshman year and is a wonderful friend for dealing with all my crazy since then! She also has recently started her own blog sharing her journey into the duh duh duh...."Real World" - so follow her fun journey as she graduates from college in just a few weeks and moves to New York for her big girl job! Enjoy! 

Here's the link http://becomingareallifeperson.blogspot.com/

March 2013 Favorites

Happy Hump Day!

Though it's already April 10th (my goodness senior year is flying by - enter sad face) I still wanted to share my March Favorites with you all! I have a lot of random favorites last month but some rediscovered ones that I forgot I loved. Just to warn you there is quite a lot of products this month but I hope you enjoy seeing what i've been using lately. 

March Favorites

1. Dove Clear Tone Deodorant - I got a sample of this a while back and I had ran out of my normal deodorant, Secret Clinical Strength in Fresh Powder, so I thought I would try this out. Turns out I love  love love it! It really did help keep razor irritation to a minimum and 'stank' (stank just sounds so much smellier huh?) during the day either! Which is always a good thing, I will definitely be trying a full size one of these because I used it all up! 

2. Boots Expert Anti-Blemish Scrub - I know they say sometimes not to irritate your acne skin with a scrub, but since mine breakouts usually come in spots it really doesn't irritate my skin. I really like using a scrub every other day just because I feel like it helps my skin get extra clean and gets deep into the pores. This scrub is pretty gentle because it is for acne prone skin and has willow bark to calm your skin. love it! 

3. Tanda ZAP - I saw this in Sephora last month, and at the time I had a monster mountain of a zit on my chin and thought why not try to zap it away and try this out. The lady at Sephora said that she has heard great things about it and of course I looked up reviews like I always do. I have to say that I really think it works and helps speed up the process of healing and reduced the size of my pimple overnight. 

4. Maybelline Lash Discovery Mascara - I saw this product being used by the beauty blogger Emily at  Beauty Broadcast and thought I would pick it up too. It's amazing because I like to use mascara with big brushes and always make a mess out of my bottom lashes if i'm in a hurry. This mascara has a tiny brush that is perfect for your bottom lashes - and a cheaper alternative to Clinique's bottom lash mascara. 

5. Aquage Silkening Oil Treatment - This is the product I am currently trying out in place of my Kenra Blow-Dry Spray and am really enjoying it. I just put it on after I have towel dried and brushed my hair and I think it makes styling my hair easier with less frizz! 

6. Victoria's Secret Fabulous Perfume - Lovely light summer fragrance, I really encourage you to try it out next time you are in a VS store. I've literally been wearing it everyday since I got it and have gotten lots of compliments on it. Nice to know when you smell good! 

7. Smashbox Brow Tech in Brunette - This is a rediscovered product because i've been using my beloved Anastasia brow pencil for a while now and for some reason wanted to try powder again. I really like the soft look powder gives on the brows, it can be easier to over draw them with a pencil and the powder can look a bit more natural. 

8. Burt's Bee's Cuticle Cream - This stuff is INSANE, I put it on my cuticles at night and in after just a few nights of using it, my cuticles look way better and not as dry as they were. They have really never looked so good haha It also has a lovely lemon smell to it and doesn't leave your hands feeling all greasy like some cuticle creams can.

9. Concealer from Japan - I apologize for not knowing the name and brand of this concealer but that's all it says on the front and everything else is in Japanese. My best friend from Japan sent this to me (so I will ask her) and I couldn't believe it when she told me it was a drugstore concealer. It does WORK on any spots that you need to cover! Example: my roommate ran into a tree (yea yea I know, the branch was hanging low and she wasn't paying attention, she's gonna punch me for telling this by the way. Anyways I gave her this concealer and she covered that bad boy up under her eye like the Shrubbery had never attacked her in the first place.) 

10. MAC Fix + - I got the mini travel bottle to try it out before I bought a large bottle and i've been using it as a makeup setting spray and really like it. It feels refreshing and leaves a natural finish to your foundation. Definitely will purchase a larger bottle. 

Hang in there, last but not least...

11. Neutrogena Healthy Skin Foundation in Nude - Another rediscovery from last summer, I forgot how beautiful this foundation is on the skin. It gives a light to medium buildable coverage and makes it looks like you're not even wearing makeup. It does have a slight dewy finish so if you have super oily skin this might not be for you, or just try using a matte powder to set it. 

Well that's all I have for now - I will be posting a tag soon and my Roommates Favorites Part II later this week. Oh and my birthday is coming up on Monday, so I am getting excited for that - I think my family might come up to school and take me to dinner. I love holidays and birthdays when my family gets together! 

What products did you love in March? Have you tried any of the products I mentioned, what did you think of them? Look forward to reading your answers in the comments!

Also, let me know if you have any request or suggestions of future posts you would like to see! 

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Thanks for Reading 

hugs & pretty cuticles, Jess 

February Favorites!

Hi pretty Readers! 

Today i'm going to share some of my February favorites, these are things that I either used a lot over the month or even maybe discovered and began to love during February! Enjoy! 

Say hello to my little February Favorites!

Spring Time Lips!

Hello There! 

Today's post will just be a little review on some lip products i've picked up in the past month or so and I thought I would share some swatches and what I think about them. So here they are! 

Maybelline Color Whisper in Petal Rebel & Lust for Blush

top: Lust for Blush bottom: Petal Rebel

October Favorites!

HAPPY TURKEY MONTH! 

hee hee 

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween! 

I can't believe it's already November and that Thanksgiving is in just a few weeks!

I love Thanksgiving and getting together with my family that I don't always get to see. I also love the FOOD, my dad is an amazing cook and I can't wait to Aunt Kim's sweet potatoes.(which is basically a dessert) She always makes extra because I love them so much! 

What's your favorite part of Thanksgiving?

 Here are some of my favorite products of November! 

1.  It's a 10 for Blondes

At first I didn't think I liked this version as much as the It's a 10 with Keratin but the more I used it the more I loved it. I really actually think that it has kept my color nice and not turning brassy like it tends to do. I do think that it might have a little less of the conditioning and de-tangling 'power' but I just spritz a tiny bit more instead and seems to work great. I would definitely recommend trying this out if you have blonde hair to see what you think!

I bought mine from Ulta like always cause they have the most amazing customer rewards system!

Ulta is also having 20% any one item THIS WEEK ONLY! 
or FREE shipping over $25 order online with code HOLIDAY2012
( all information is on the main page of the website)

September Favorites!

Happy October!

I love fall weather and the smell of fall candles, my favorite is leaves from Bath and Body Works! The name gets me every time, because I think of crunchy fall leaves and then the scent and they just don't go together. I think my roomates and I are planning on carving pumpkins, eating tons of carmel apples and maybe some haunted houses? :O

Anyways here are some of my favorite products from the month of September! 

1. Revlon PhotoReady Airbrush Mousse Foundation

Right out of the bottle

After swiping my finger over it 

At first mousse foundation sounded kind of weird to me so when this first came out I didn't not want to try it. However, after my friend let me try some of her mousse makeup from a different brand I thought I would give this a go. It's light to medium coverage and because it's Revlon's PhotoReady collection it does have very fine light diffusing shimmers in it, it doesn't seem noticeable or bother me. The only this about this is that you have to be careful to push the button down carefully or else you will get enough foundation for five faces! A little goes a long way. I like this for when I want more coverage on the weekends or i'm going out!

2. Bare Minerals Original foundation 

I used to use bare minerals when I was in high school but then ventured out to try different brands. I just recently picked this up at Ulta because my face has been breaking out and I wanted something that covered and would be gentle on my skin. They have added a variety of shades since I use to use it and i'm really glad I picked this up because it covers AMAZING and perfect for everyday  when you're in a hurry to dust some on.

3. Anastasia Brow Wiz Eyebrow Pencil

Retractable Pencil on left and spool on right  

 Brow Wiz in Medium Ash

Filling in your brows can make a HUGE difference!!! You don't have to draw them on like tiny lines, but just coloring in parts that the hair is sparse and defining them can really frame your face and complete a look. I love this pencil because it goes on very natural and with just a light touch you get the  perfect amount of color. The picture makes this look a lot more red than it really is, in person it's more ash. I did find that this might be a little too dark for parts of my brow so I might look into picking up on shade lighter. Oh, and don't forget the spooly on the end is awesome to blend everything out at the end!

4. Benefit Boiing Industrial Strength Concealer 

Like I said i've been breaking out and this has been my go to concealer to cover up blemishes this past month. It really covers and stays put! 

5. MAC Eyeshadow (Tempting) and NARS Eyeshadow (Cyprus)

Right: MAC Tempting Left: NARS Cyprus

Tempting is a gorgeous red bronze color with a lustre finish. I've been using this all over the lid for the start to a pretty bronze smoky eye. Cyprus is a light beige/gold color with shimmer, it's really pretty all over the lid and in the inner corner of the eye.

6. Vaseline Lip Therapy and Maybelline Baby Lips Balm

I've been using the Vaseline Lip Therapy more at night before bed because it's a lot thicker and you have to apply it with your finger out of the cute little tub. I actually JUST got the Baby Lips the other day at CVS because all my roommates have it and love it, but I thought I would add it in here because i'm already obsessed with it and carry it everywhere. (I think it smells like fruit pebbles!?)

7. Make Up Forever Smoky Lash Mascara 

This is my second tube of this mascara. I originally bought it with a gift card to Sephora from my amazing girlfriends for my birthday! I always wanted to try it but couldn't see spending that much on mascara. Well I ran out and went ahead and splurged this summer, it's just perfect because it does everything it says it does VOLUME, LENGTH, and CURL!!! I've found mascara that volumizes  and lengthens but never holds curl as well as this! 

Hope you Enjoyed seeing some of my favorite things from September! 

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think about them or do you want to try them?

Thanks for Reading! 

Jess 

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