Teena Marie - If I Were A Bell (live)

I still can't phathom the truth in this. I can hear any one of her songs and be transported back to a specific memory of something grand in my life. Prayers go out to Alia Rose in the wake of her mother's passing. There will never be another one as talented, charismatic, poised and gracious as Lady T.... REST IN PEACE.

Aromaleigh haul + swatches pt.1

OH DANG!!! My Aromaleigh vault order came in the mail today & I just about lost my damn mind when I got my hands on these beautiful pigments that I ordered LOL As most of you know by now, Aromaleigh has closed down shop, but before they did.... one helluva sale ensued!!! Now, I'd purchased samples from the company before, and LOVED them, but I'm more of a collector than a user... I'm trying to be better about it. So in all honesty, I've never bought a full sized pigment from ANY company regardless of how much I liked them because I didn't really know what to do with them, but they were selling their full sized pigments for $3.50 and $2.75 A PIECE!!!! WTF! I'd have to be a dummy to not get in there and do a little bit of damage.

Now, this is titled pt.1 for a reason, as I have another order with the company coming within the next few weeks containing pigments from their reg. line/collections... swatches and reviews to come ASAP. In this shipment, I got 8 pigments from the WONDERSTRUCK, SPELLS, & MYTHOS collections... and after receiving my order, I'm pretty pissed that I didn't order more and duplicates.

The colors I picked up were (in order of appearance on the pics):

1st pic:Pass the Tarts, Mimsy, Curious and Curiouser, ...but this is my dream, Curious Dream (all from the WONDERSTRUCK collection)

2nd pic: Selene (from the MYTHOS collection), Orchidious, Rictusempra (both from the SPELLS collection)

I absolutely fell in LOVE, LOVE I tell you, with Selene from the MYTHOS collection. I even rushed and did a quick EOTD using it on the lid & my Sleek Bohemian palette because I was so smitten. And BE KIND, I literally started practicing my eyeshadow/pigment application a few months ago... like I said, I was always more of a buyer/collector than a "user". 

Did any of you get a chance to grab up any Aromaleigh during their farewell sale?

Not Your Mother's Hair Care Review

I was in walmart not too long ago picking up some christmas decorations for the house and ended up in the hair aisle... like I always do... and stumbled upon a new brand of products called NYM (Not Your Mothers). Everything in the line retails for under $5 at Walmart, so it's certainly affordable... but is it actually any good? Hell to the yes... go grab you some lol

I picked up four of the 6 items that my local walmart had (passed on the thickening spray and the tease me hairspray... I don't need any thicker or teased hair LOL). I have not used the KINKY MOVES curl cream yet, so I'll have to review it separately when it stops raining and I can go back to my standard wash 'n wear curls... but here's the rest of the review for ya'll.

All of the items have a GREAT scent to them. I'm usually rather sensitive to scents, and while it's fairly strong, the raspberry smell did not bother me when I was using the products. And it made my hair smell great even after heat styling. I started out by applying the SMOOTH MOVES cream to just washed, damp hair and combing through before spraying my entire head with the BEAT THE HEAT protectant & blowing my hair dry. Neither product left any stickyness or waxy residue on my hair like alot of the blow dry lotions/creams do. I noticed that my hair got pretty darn straight in a shorter amount of time than usual (as my hair holds water something awful)... which was a plus! 

Next, I parted my hair into 4 sections and used my brazilian heat flat iron to straighten my hair, freshly applying more BEAT THE HEAT protectant spray as I went along. Again, NO sticky feeling or white residue on my hair... and for ONCE my hair smelled of raspberries and NOT hot hair (you know what I mean?). I ended up pin curling my hair for the night and  set it with the ALL EYES ON ME hairspray and wrapped it up for the night. When I woke up in the morning, I had beautiful, shiny, bouncy curls that still had a hint of raspberry smell to them LOL. 

I so LOVE this line and the products I've tried and will making them a staple in my haircare routine from now on. I know walmart tends to switch out lines pretty often (or at least my store does), so I will be going back and grabbing multiples before I can't find them anywhere else. I did a search for this line and came up with some ridiculous prices for these products, which were being sold in salons, so your local walmart is the best bargain for these amazing products.

Had you ever heard of the NOT YOUR MOTHERS hair care products before? If you've tried them, what do you think about them?

Buried Treasure: Palladio Herbal Eyeshadow + Sally Girl Blush

Don't you just love it when you find things you forgot you even had? Re-discovery is the best... especially when it comes to makeup lol. Well tonight, while searching through storage boxes for christmas ornaments, I came across a box that had these beautiful little gems inside!

I bought these when my SO and I went to camarillo awhile back and had only swatched two of the shadows. First, they blend soooooooo well, and are so freaking creamy!!!! They're comparable in texture to the MAC matte2... possibly even better. The colors I picked up were Matte Brown, Navy Blue and Black Onyx. After finding and playing with these beauties again, I can surely say I will be heading to my local sally's to pick up a few more shades for my ever-growing collection. I can't recall the exact price, but I'm pretty sure that they were only a few dollars a piece. And the blush by Sally girl is called FLUSHED... and it is such a beautiful coral-pink, one of those good on anyone colors. I also had a Sally Girl eyeshadow quad in GUM DROPS.... but the color payoff wasn't any good IMO so I decided not to even post it (if you want swatches of that palette anyway let me know & I'll post them.

My hidden treasures: Palladio Herbal Shadows

L-R: Matte Brown, Navy Blue, Black Onyx, Flushed

For the quality, amount of product and payoff you get, you can't beat the $$$ of the PALLADIO Herbal Shadows (which are $3 per shadow... I googled it LOL). If you haven't tried them, go out and grab a couple, you deserve a few stocking stuffers of your own LOL And if you have been lucky enough to own any of these babies... were you as in love with them as I am?

My DECEMBER Birchbox

I received my 2nd Birchbox shipment a few days ago and I have to say I really LOVE this one. Excuse the pics, as I didn't get the time to edit them. Included in this month's order was:

1. BLOW- Bow up volumizing spray

2. JOUER- Luminizing Moisture Tint (I LOVE IT!!!!)

3. SERGE LUTENS- L'Eau

4. STILA- Lip Glaze in Kitten

I really like the color of Kitten, but this is the 1st time I've tried Stila's lip glaze... and I am not a fan. It was really thick and sticky, and left my lips pretty dry when I wiped it off... and it left tissue stuck to my mouth, so I had to end up using olive oil to get the sticky off. But, the item that I just flat out fell helplessly in love with is the Luminizing Moisture Tint from Jouer. The color I received was Deep Bronze (which was a shade too dark... but I made it work). This is probably the best tinted moisturizer I have ever used. It actually has pretty good coverage for a moisturizer and made for a GREAT base under my Jane Iredale mineral foundation. I would definitely reccommend this product. The Jouer site offers this product in a full size AND a travel size tube for $38-$20.... which is a bit high, but it is soooooooo worth it.

As for the Serge Lutens perfume, I liked it... can't say I would buy it, but I would love to get it as a gift LOL I mean damn.... $105 for 100ml... we're still in a recession!

Have you guys tried Birchbox yet?

Thank the LORD for giveaways!!!

MzFashionCloset GIVEAWAY!!!!

YEA BUDDY!!! This has got to be one of the greatest giveways in the history of giveaways... a pair of POUR LA VICTOIRE shoes of YOUR choosing!!! You can't see my happy dance right now... but TRUST I am soooooooooooo doing it LOL Pour la Victoire has to be one of my FAVORITE brands out there... their quality & attention to detail is part of what makes them a force in the shoe game. To enter and view all details, go check out MzFashionCloset and while you're there... take a long look around at all the fabulousness that is her! And me... I'm about to send a prayer up that I win this contest ;-)

Sugarpill... taking over the world! Review w/PICS

I recently placed my 1st order with Amy at Sugarpill after seeing a few great reviews about the brand. First off, there is soooooo much detail and thought put into the brand, imaging and product quality!!! The box itself was stamped in the lower lefthand corner with the sugarpill cat logo (so cute). The actual products were carefully wrapped in bright pink tissue paper, which follows the basic packaging color scheme. Both the actual product AND the box it comes in are decorated gorgeously. I picked up a 4 shadow palette (mirrored) as well as 2 single shadows... and let me tell you... I was PLEASANTLY surprised to see how HUGE the shadows are. They are bigger than a MAC shadow... about the size of a MUFE single shadow (if not a tad larger). Color intensity is great! What you see is what you get. The eyeshadows apply very even and creamy, not at all chalky and would blend well. A neat feature of the palette is the product names and colors are printed on the back so there is no confusion AND it has a magnetic closure so you don't have to worry about it popping open or damaging the shadows trying to get it open. The clasp on the single shadows closes tightly and was very easy to open and close, and has a cute little "tattoo" detail on the clear flip lid. 

Overall, I LOVE Sugarpill!!!! Prices are great, cheaper than MAC and MUFE ($12 for shadows, $34 for palettes), yet you get more product... and the color payoff is AMAZING, as you can see in the pictures below (swatches were done dry WITHOUT primer or base). Have you tried Sugarpill yet? Tell me what you think about their products.

Eyeshadow/Palette Boxes(front)

Palette shadows: Love+, Flamepoint, Poisen 

Plum & Buttercupcake

Single Shadows: Midori & Tako

Back of single shadows

Back of actual palette

Palette & Shadows (back view)

Palette & Shadows (front view)

Swatches!!!! No primer/base

HIDDEN TREASURE PRIZE!!!!

An EXTRA big thank you to Ms. Tina over at TheFancyFace for her Hidden Treasure pt.1 game.... that I won!!!!! 

I received my package from Tina in the mail a few days ago & have swatched my beautiful prizes from MAC's Venomous Villains collection: "De-Vil" eyeshadow and "Violetta" lipstick. De-Vil is a gorgeous rust color that appeared rather shimmery/metallic when swatched... can't  wait to use it! And Violetta is a down right BEAUTIFUL violet shade of lipstick that applies creamy and highly pigmented... I've never really worn a purple-ish lip before, but this is so cute that I'm certainly going to find a reason to rock the hell out of this lipstick LOL

Thanks for stopping by & Hope you enjoyed the swatches!

-Miss Brina

Stila & Urban Decay Mascara Review

I've got a favorite mascara... it's magical. Not only does it make my lashes longer, fuller, darker and curlier... it also makes me an all around happier person when I'm wearing it LOL Am I reviewing that mascara? Sadly, no... but I did get the chance to test out two new mascaras, as it never hurts to have a backup (or even find a new #1)

The 1st mascara I tried was Urban Decays Skyscraper . Let me just say that the packaging was absolutely ADORABLE!!! Honestly, that's why I wanted it. The brush is nothing new or original, but helps to comb out and separate your lashes abit. As for the formula itself, I didn't notice any clumping or flaking, and it was very light on my lashes and left them flexible (although lashes started "grouping" together after additional coats). 

 

Two coats of UD Skyscraper

I also tried Stila's Lash Visor (which is a steal at $12.50). The brush, while large, is nothing to write home about... but this mascara is pretty great. It gave me soft, nicely separated lashes, added a bit of length while holding my natural curl, but was lacking in the pigment department. If you're looking for a nice and defined natural looking lash, Lash Visor is definitely for you. Out of the 2 mascaras, this one comes out ahead in my book. 

 

One coat of Stila Lash Visor

Both mascaras are nice in their own right, but I won't be ditching my all time favorite Kevyn Aucoin mascara just get. Hope this was helpful!

NYX 10 Color Palette Review & Swatches

I own more makeup than I could ever use in a lifetime. Do I use a quarter of it? No. Do I have a place for all of it? No. Will any of that stop me from acquiring more? Of course not. Hell, I just ordered some Lorac lippies on Hautelook this morning... but that's a whole different post. Today, to my absolute pleasure, I recieved my NYX 10 Color palette in Champagne & Caviar AND 3 single shadows in HIGH LITE, BROWN, and MOROCCO.

First off, I LOVE this palette!!! The shadows are sooooo soft & apply creamy. I've heard NYX shadows were pretty nice, but I just never got into the brand, so I was a bit surprised at the quality for the price. As its name suggests, the palette contains 10 coordinating matte and shimmer shadows that can be used to create amazing day, night or smokey looks. I definitely believe this is a palette everyone needs to have in their stash... it contains all the staple shades as far as I am concerned & would work well on ANY skintone. I'm still learning how to create eye looks, but I'll be posting a look using this palette just as soon as my baby lets me... newborns run the show!!! ;-)

The single shadows are just as soft and creamy as the shades in the palette, but I did find that I had to do a bit more building to get the pigmentation you see on the swatches. I really like Brown, it's a great matte shade for blending on deeper skintones. High Light is a nice, warm beige color that would look great as a brow highlight or inner eye brightener. And my FAV so far has to be Morocco, which is this beautiful jewel toned blue... it appears to have some purple shimmer in its undertone... I LOVE it so much.... it brings out the green in my eyes like you wouldn't believe!!!! 

Hope you enjoyed yourselves & the swatches!

*ALL swatches done with NYX jumbo pencil in Milk as base.*

NYX Round Lipstick: Review & Swatches

During the 3rd trimester of my pregnancy, I became suddenly obssessed with lipstick. I've always been a pretty faithful lipgloss girl, but for some reason I found myself wanting to buy lipstick everywhere I went. Now that I have had my daughter and am pretty much homebound until she has her first shots later this month, I've re-discovered the joys of online shopping... and cherryculture.com! After hearing some pretty great things about the Nyx lippies, I decided to give them a second chance (I'd purchased Frappaccino before at Ulta and it was dry, plus the color didn't suit me). SO glad I did, because I am seriously in love with them. I bought 8 shades (all but one fairly neutral), and am pleasantly surprised by how pigmented and creamy they are. They also apply pretty darn even, and at $2.25 each, I will definitely be trying more shades in the very near future. Check out the swatches below.

     

  DOLL

                            

HERADES

TAUPE

URANUS

MARS

STONE

ECHO

                            

CREAMY BEIGE

So far, I am really loving Uranus and Herades. I've also recently purchased Hermes, which I will swatch and add later. Have you tried any of the NYX Round lipsticks? What's your opinion of these?