Happy National Lipstick Day!

I posted this picture on Instagram (Follow me @BeautyFreckled) of some of my favorite lipsticks right now...so here they are:

Mac Matte -- Russian Red
Mac Creemsheen -- Brave Red
Urban Decay Revolution -- F-Bomb
Revlon Super Lustrous Creme-- Wine with Everything
Mary Kay -- Red
Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter -- Wild Watermelon
Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter -- Pink Truffle

Wet n Wild Haul (Rite Aid)

All Wet n Wild products are 40% off at Rite Aid this week so I popped in to pick up some things that I keep hearing about.  I have been wondering how many really live up to their hype!

The Haul:
Wet n Wild MegaEyes Crème Eyeliner - Black
Wet n Wild MegaLast Lip Color - Sugar Plum Fairy
Wet n Wild MegaShimmer Shimmer Dust - White Lotus (262A)
Wet n Wild Color Icon - Walking on Eggshells (380B)
Wet n Wild Color Icon - Tunnel Vision (392A)

MegaEyes Crème Eyeliner - This is always raved about by beauty bloggers and gurus on YouTube so I had to pick it up so I could try it.  I have the e.l.f. gel liner so I am curious to do a comparison review on these two.  The brush it comes with is way too short for my liking but I will try it out with a longer handled brush.

Sugar Plum Fairy - Supposed to be a dupe for Mac Rebel.  I need more bright lipsticks and this is really pretty for any season!

MegaShimmer Shimmer Dust - I had someone at Sephora put the Tarina Tarantino Sparklicity over a smoky eye look (with a Dior palette) and I loved it.  It's a great way to add shimmer to a matte shadow or just make the look pop more.  I didn't love the Makeup Forever Glitter because it was too chunky, so I wanted to try this out to see if it's similar to the Sparklicity.

Color Icon Walking on Eggshells - Another dupe!  This one is compared to the Naked Palette (Virgin, Sidecar, Sin) and Mac's Nylon, Mulch, Naked Lunch (or Shroom, Cork, Naked Lunch)

Color Icon Tunnel Vision - Thought I would pick up one other palette I hadn't heard anything about and see how the pigmented they were.  It also had an extra $1 off coupon on it...couldn't hurt, right?  This actually has similar colors to the Dior 5-Colour Designer Palette in Smokey Design the Sephora associate used on my eyes with the Tarina Tarantino Sparklicity over it so I am going to do a dupe look for that with the Shimmer Dust and this together to replicate it.

 

 

Rite Aid has the whole Wet n Wild line 40% off for the rest of the week so check them out and stock up while you can!

Sephora + Pantone Color IQ

I wanted to go into a bit more detail about the Sephora + Pantone Color IQ system after my Sephora Haul post...

The Color IQ system premiered in select Sephora stores and is now available Sephora-wide, so check them out at your local Sephora!

Purpose:  to make finding your perfect match easier.

How it Works: A Sephora associate takes pictures in three different places on your face (I believe mine were forehead, cheek, chin) with a little device that looks like a light meter.  Your Color IQ number is pulled up on an iPad along with foundation matches.  The Color IQ number and matches are emailed right to you for future reference. 

I originally got matched in late 2013 when I went to pick up my free birthday gift, so my skin was definitely in winter mode!  My number match was 2Y06.

That day I wanted to get the Makeup Forever HD foundation so I had the associate test match the shade that the Color IQ suggested - 118 Flesh.  Being that it was winter, 117 Marble ended up looking slightly better on me.  Since I am in my summer skin now, I tested 118 Flesh and 120 Soft Sand in the store the other day and both looked good (120 is yellow undertone like 117.  I am a neutral undertone but leaning towards yellow so that might be why 117 looked good.).

MUFE HD in 117

All in all, I would definitely recommend getting a Color IQ match!  You can save your results to your Sephora account so you don't forget.  You can also go here to do a reverse foundation search to see what numbers are matches to foundations you're already wearing.  I added 2Y06 as well as 3Y03 which is the skin IQ match for MUFE HD 117.  Color IQ gives you a better starting point than you would normally have going in and testing a bunch of random foundations. 

I have put my foundation comparisons below in case that will help anyone as well!
Happy Foundation Hunting!

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My Foundation Shade Comparisons:
MAC -- NC 20-25
Makeup Forever HD -- 117-118
Kat Von D Lock-It Tattoo Foundation -- Light 48
Kat Von D Lock-It Powder Foundation -- Medium 52
Urban Decay Naked -- 3.0
Bare Minerals -- Medium Beige
Revlon Colorstay Combo/Oily -- Medium Beige 240
Revlon Colorstay Whipped -- Medium Beige 250
Neutrogena Healthy Skin -- Nude
Neutrogena Mineral Sheers -- Nude 40
Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse -- Nude (Light 4)
Maybelline Dream Smooth -- Nude Beige 180
L'Oreal Magic Nude -- Natural Buff 318
L'Oreal True Match -- N3

Sephora Haul

I have had about five different items in my online Sephora basket at any given time over the past few weeks.  There are many products I want to try recently...it was a tough call as to what I should get first!

I ended up popping into a Sephora brick-and-mortar store near me the other night and picked up the Kat Von D Lock-It Powder Foundation (Medium 54), Urban Decay's Eyeshadow in Mushroom, and the smaller Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil.

Kat Von D Lock-It Powder: I have the liquid version of the Lock-It foundation and have been loving it lately so wanted to try the powder for summer.  Plus I can use a light dusting of it to set the liquid.  I realized when I got it home it was one shade darker than I wanted (I couldn't remember what my Sephora + Pantone Color IQ suggested - more on the Color IQ in the next post).

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Mushroom:  I wanted a lighter but still slightly smoky color for summer.  Love the new packaging - my old UD shadows have the plasticy cases - this one is an upgrade!  UD eyeshadows are highly pigmented and have good color payout for the money.

Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's Oil: My previous hairstylist (before I moved) used to put this in my hair after my blow out to make it extra smooth and tame the flyaways.  It smells amazing and makes my hair look so sleek and shiny.  I have been meaning to buy it for a while now!  So glad I did!  I used it today in 80-something degree heat and humidity and my hair still looks silky smooth.

I am really excited to try the foundation and eyeshadow...reviews soon!

Products I Debated Buying:
-Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Pistol or S&M
-Urban Decay Naked Foundation (Shade 3.0)

Any thoughts on the Naked Foundation?

Bed Bath & Beyond Haul & Deals

I recently picked up a few items with coupons and sales that I have been wanting to try for a while...here's a look at my mini-haul...I'll be reviewing and talking more in depth about these products in a post soon!

Bed Bath & Beyond
L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Eternal Sunshine
L'Oreal Infallible Gel Eyeliner Lacquer Liner in Blackest Black
L'Oreal Voluminous Smoldering Eyeliner in Black
L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Waterproof Mascara in Blackest Black

L'Oreal Eyeshadow in Eternal Sunshine: Kim Kardashian wore this shade during her recent wedding to Kanye West.  I've tried this color out already and it's oh-so-gorgeous for summer.  I also want to pick up the Naked Foundation by Urban Decay and do a dupe look using the products she used since she wore that foundation with this look as well as the Naked Flushed.

L'Oreal Gel Eyeliner: This supposedly stays on for 24 hours and gets amazing reviews as does the Butterfly mascara (which is new).  I am almost positive after only trying this quickly twice that this is HG for me and just as good as the Stila gel liner.  It comes with the small liner brush shown.

L'Oreal Smoldering Eyeliner: The Smoldering Eyeliner has been out for a while, but I love smudgey eyeliner and anything kajal inspired so I had to pick this one up.  Only tried it once, quickly, but this is a pencil liner that feels like a combination of gel and kohl.  The consistency reminds me of the Rimmel Scandal Eyes but in a pointy form that you wouldn't expect to be so fluid because it's in pencil form.

 

Side Note:  If you don't shop at Bed Bath & Beyond for beauty items...you should be!  They are often cheaper than drugstores and you can use both coupons from the Sunday paper and their own 20% off coupons.  Score!  Not all stores have the Harmon (the beauty section) inside so check which stores near you have it.  If you live in the NJ/NY/CT area Harmon is even a separate store.

False Lashes

False or Fake Lashes are the newest item in my beauty repertoire.  I had seen a bunch of beauty tutorials on YouTube that had lashes as part of the look and never really thought about using them myself until I was in a wedding recently and wanted my eye look to stand out in photos.

I naturally have pretty decent length (tough problem to have, right?).  In fact, I never even wore mascara until I was in college, because I thought I didn't need it.  Little did I realize your lashes tend to get a little bit lost if you're wearing a full eye look.  Which is the same reason to wear falsies!

The first set I bought were the Eylure Naturalites in Super Full (100).  These lashes are just that...SUPER Full.  These came in a kit that came with an eyelash placer tool and a small tube of lash glue.

The second set of lashes I picked up are the Ardell Naturals 109.  These ones are much lighter and more natural for everyday or to beef up your lashes for an event.  I wore them for a wedding (the same wedding I used the Gel Envy for in this post) and they really made my eyes stand out more for photography.  I had the makeup artist apply them for me since she did my eye makeup, then I tried them myself at home later.

Here's a quick rundown of how I apply them:
1. Measure lashes against your own. Trim as necessary.
2. Apply thin layer of glue on lash band.  Let it get tacky for about 10-15 seconds.
3. Using tweezers, place the lashes as close to your natural lashes as possible, lining up the end of the band to the end of your lashes as a guide.
4. Adjust outer corner, then inner corner, using tweezers.
5. Repeat for other eye.

TIPS:
*Line your eyes at least on the top before placing the lashes.  This hides the lash band.  I used gel liner.
*Use tweezers to place them on and lift/line up the corners.

DIY Gel Nails & Revlon Colorstay Gel Review

Who doesn't love a good gel manicure?  That feeling that you know you can get the next week (maybe more if you stretch it) out of your manicure, can bang into things (because it dries right away), and has a hard set finish is such a relief, especially for a clutz like me.  However, who has time to go to the nail salon all the time?  Not me!

I tried a "gel mani hack" on Pinterest (ah, the Pinterest vortex...) a while back.  The topcoat they suggested was the Sally Hansen No Chip Acrylic Top Coat.  This was probably the worst topcoat I have ever tried.  I think a cheap clear coat would've been better.  I was really surprised because usually I am a huge fan of Sally Hansen products.  This one just seemed to crack and crackle all over within 24 hours,

For a while after I was using the Sally Hansen Double Duty Base & Top Coat.  This stuff is great, plus it's a two-for-one!  I apply one coat on clean, dry nails as a base coat; apply 2 coats of whatever polish I am in the mood for; then one coat of this as a top coat.  I recently used it over the 4th of July and my polish was hardly chipped after four days (more on that look below).

On a recent trip to Target (hmm...another vortex), another gel product caught my eye.  A bunch of Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy products had been marked down so I grabbed the Gel Envy Top Coat.  Again using the Double Duty as a base coat, I applied two coats of an Essie polish, and used the Gel Envy to seal things in.  It was amazing!  My nails lasted at least five days, which for me is a record for nails I did myself.  And I didn't even have to find time to go to the salon.

Left: Double Duty      Right: Gel Envy

I was so thrilled with the Gel Envy top coat I used it for a wedding I was in over Essie's Sugar Daddy (three layers of the color).  I did my nails two days before the wedding and they lasted the whole wedding weekend, plus!  Longwearing color you can do at home for half the price?  That's my kind of deal!

$18 Gel Mani (at home!): $5 Double Duty Base Coat + $8 Essie Polish + $5 Gel Envy Top Coat

Essie in 'Sugar Daddy'

4th of July Polish: I picked up the Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy in 'Wild Card' which is almost an exact dupe for Essie's Butler Please.  I wore 'Wild Card' on eight of my fingers with OPI 'Alpine Snow' and 'I'm Not Really A Waitress' on my ring fingers.  I haven't tried the Gel Color with the Gel Topcoat yet, but I only see good things for this line!  Check 'em out and let me know what you think!

4th of July Nail Colors

-BeautyFreckled