EOTD: Keeping it Green

I'm still in love with my new 30 eyeshadow palette, so here's a look I did using the 1st and 2nd row greens (left side of both), the matte gray, black, both browns, the tan (end of 2nd row/right side), the yellow (right side), and the shimmery gold (1st row/4th column). The mascara is MAC False Lashes Waterproof, the black liner is my trusty L'Oreal HIP cream liner, the purple on the bottom lashline is the lilac shadow from the purples in the top row, and I have NYX Milk pencil in the waterline. The more I use this palette, the more I'm digging it.  

I also have been using some new brushes, full review on them coming soon.

Don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY for your chance to win the 30 Eyehadow Palette here! And I hope you all have a happy Father's Day weekend everyone!!!

-Miss Brina

MAC Hayley Williams- Sounds like Noise: Review/ Comparison

Hey fellow beauty junkies! I hope all has been going well with everyone. I've been on a bit of a makeup hiatus lately, but I recently picked up a new lippie from the Hayley Williams collabo with MAC and I have to say that I am impressed. Sounds like Noise is described as a "bright, true orange matte," but I can't say I wholeheartedly agree with that. SLN has more of a satin finish, and seems like more of a brighter, yellow-based, slightly more saturated pastel orange in my opinion, instead of a true/bright orange orange. I was a bit disappointed because based on the description, I thought I'd be getting a nice, matte orange... something bright and true like the orange in the AT&T logo... but this softer orange is beautiful in it's own right. I read on a few forums that it was similar to Milani Sweet Nectar (which I own), so I was kind of hesitant to make the purchase, but curiosity got the best of me and I dropped the $16.20 (after taxes) and picked this lippie up. And honestly, it isn't anything like Sweet Nectar, so I have no clue why anyone would compare the two as if they could be dupes. Sweet Nectar has a shinier finish, and is altogether deeper and more of a red-orange. Personally, I feel like Sounds like Noise isn't like any other color MAC has, and I hope they eventually decide to make it permanent, because it's a great everyday swipe and go lipstick. And I love that it's non-drying on my lips. I don't own anything like it, and since I've been wearing it daily, I think I'll have to get a backup while I still can.

I'll update in a few days with a lip swatch, but until then, here's a few swatches of Sounds like Noise next to Milani's Sweet Nectar for your enjoyment and comparison.

 (Sounds like Noise in natural daylight)

(L-R: Milani Sweet Nectar & Sounds like Noise in daylight)

(L-R: Sweet Nectar & Sounds like Noise... this pic gives the most accurate color for SLN)

(Sweet Nectar & Sounds like Noise outdoors)

(Milani Sweet Nectar & MAC Sounds like Noise outdoors/shade)

(Sweet Nectar & Sounds like Noise outdoors in direct sunlight)

(outdoors in partial sun)

All pictures (with the exception of the 1st three) were taken outdoors and in various lights WITHOUT flash.

What do you guys think of Sounds like Noise?

-Miss Brina

Smoke & Diamonds: FOTD

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!

Well hello there! It's been awhile since I've posted, and since my goal is to give this little ol' blog of mine much more tlc/post more frequently than I did last year.... you get a FOTD!!! This is a look I wore  going out with the family for Papa Bear's birthday. It was a great night out and you all get to see a few new products that I've been trying out over the last few weeks that I'm absolutely loving! My camera wasn't picking up the true color of Smoke & Diamonds, but it is such a pretty silvery, smoked gray that looks AWESOME in a smokey eye look for all eye colors!

Products Used:

Ruby Kisses 3D Face Creator (review/swatches coming)

Ben Nye Banana Powder

NYX Stay Matte Not Flat Powder

La Femme Blush- Russet & Sienna

MAC Smoke & Diamonds eyeshadow

Wet N Wild Vanity palette

Physicians Formula Creme Liner- Black

Sumita Intense Eye Liner- Black

Covergirl Great Lash Lots of Lashes Mascara

Wet N Wild Lipstick- Stoplight Red

Rimmel Lipstick- Bordeaux

Has anyone else tried the Ruby Kisses 3D Face Creator? It's been my go to foundation for the last 2.5 weeks :)

Have the most amazing of Valentine's Days everyone!

-Miss Brina

EOTD: Yellow and Brown POP

Hey everyone! It was a cool, yet sunny day here in SoCal so I decided to do a fun look to match my mood and this great weather. Hope you all enjoy!

Products Used:

MAC eyeshadows- Chrome Yellow, Goldenrod, Ricepaper

Laura Geller Baked shadow duo- Biscotti

Sleek Ultra Mattes V2 Palette- Black and Brown shades

Stila Stay All Day Liner- Black

Napoleoon Perdis eye pencil- White

NYX Jumbo Pencil- Milk

Aromaleigh Pigment- Curious and Curiouser

MAC lipstick- Violetta

MAC Zoomlash Mascara- Black

Brushes by E.L.F, Sonia Kashuk, Illamasqua, Coastal Scents 

What are your favorite eyeshadow combos to wear on wonderfully sunny days?

-Miss Brina

MAC Party Parrot- and it's accidental DUPE!!!

Let me start this off by saying... I FINALLY GOT MY PAWS ON PARTY PARROT!!!! (ya'll should see me doing my happy dance lol) I've been wanting this lipstick since it came out with the Iris Apfel collection early last year, so when it came out again with the Strength collection I was all set and ready to get my hands on it... but NO... a bunch of greedy heffas beat me to it LOL I almost cried when  it was sold out AGAIN before I could grab one, so after calling several stores and coming up short, I went the ebay route. And to be honest, I actually lucked up and got mine for just a few dollars more than I would have paid in the store (yay eBAY).

MAC Party Parrot

With Flash

 Without Flash

Anyways, upon opening it, my heart kind of dropped a little. I didn't really have anything similar to Party Parrot in my collection, so when it sold out again I happened to stumble upon Rimmel's KATE lippies in shade 06. I thought it looked kind of simliar to Party Parrot, but that "what if" was still in the back of my mind, which is why I tracked that bad boy down and paid above retail for it. But enough of my rambling. While not spot on, the Rimmel lipstick is pretty darn close to Party Parrot, just slightly deeper with a satin-ish finish. So in actuality, if you own shade 06, you can blot the shine away with a kleenex and pretty much pass on Party Parrot and save some $$$$.

Check out the pictures and let me know what you think.

 Comparison Swatches

L-R: Covergirl Fiarytale, MAC Party Parrot, Rimmel Kate 06

Covergirl Fiarytale, MAC Party Parrot, Rimmel Kate 06 (natural light-overcast)

Covergirl Fiarytale, MAC Party Parrot, Rimmel Kate 06 (inside with flash)

After seeing the swatches, what do you all think? Is the Rimmel lipstick a pretty decent dupe for Party Parrot?

Anyone else grab something from the Strength collection?

-Miss Brina

Labor Day EOTD

Hey Party People! I know it's late, but here's a simple look I did for a Labor Day picnic last weekend. My maxi dress was pretty busy, so I wanted to keep the eye look fairly neutral. Please excuse the tired eyes and picture quality, I took them at the end of the day with my phone when we got home LOL Hope you enjoy!

 

Products Used:

Inglot #90 AMC Gel Liner (top lashline & eyebrows)

Bobbi Brown concealer (prime lid)

NYX Jumbo pencil- Milk (shadow base)

Laura Geller Baked shadow duo- Biscotti & Toast

CS 88 Warm Palette- random taupe color (deepen crease), random cream color (hi-light)

Sleek contour Palette

Milani Baked blush- Illuminoso

Clinique lipstick- A Brand New Grape

Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24H foundation

MAC Zoomlash mascara

LOTD: MAC Korean Candy

Korean Candy is Spring to me! This is my 1st sheen supreme lipstick from MAC and I absolutely love how moisturizing, vibrant and opaque it is right from the tube. I've had it for a few months now, and it's ALWAYS in my bag since it pretty much goes with anything. It applies evenly and swatches a nice, intense coral, and can be sheered out a bit, as can be seen in the picture below.  Hope you all had a great weekend!

MAC Sheen Supreme Lipstick- Korean Candy

-Miss Brina

FOTN: Smokey & Bright

Hey guys! I wanted to post my look for movie night with the family. I went for an easy smokey look and decided at the last minute to rock Viva Glam Nicki... still trying to see how I feel about this one LOL Have a great weekend!!!

Products Used:

Inglot AMC Cream Foundation

Yaby Concealer

Milani Rose D'Oro blush

Ben Nye Mojave Luxury Powder

Inglot Gel Liner #90

Almay I-intese (Brown Eyes)- Crease shade: Dark Brown

WetNWild Vanity Palette- Matte Caramel & Cream shades

MAC Viva Glam Nicki lipstick

-Miss Brina

MAC Viva Glam: Nicki Minaj

 

I wasn't one of the many who hopped all over the Pink Friday lipstick that MAC brought out awhile back. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for snatching up the LE items... I just refuse to buy something KNOWING I am not going to use it. And I WAS NOT going to wear that bad boy. Fact is, it would've looked HORRIBLE on me. Could I have freaked it with some liner and gloss and made it work? YEP. But I really didn't feel like spending $15 on a lipstick that I'd have to do some major altering to in order to NOT look ridiculous.

When I got the email with the Viva Glam ad for this lipstick, I immediately thought... here we go again. But I skipped my gut feeling and did a little research anyway to see if this one would be wearable for me. What I found were some comparisons to Pink Friday and a handful of swatches that looked promising; though in the end I had to make an executive decision since there weren't many swatches on darker skin for reference. So, I gave in and bought it since I figured it was for a great cause regardless of how things panned out.

I've had it a few days and have tried it various ways, and I can say that on my skintone, I find it barely wearable out the tube. It does compliment warmer tones better than Pink Friday, but if it had not been Viva Glam... I would be $15 richer for sure. The consistency is a little drier that I expected (I'm a creamsheen woman), but it's certainly full coverage in one swipe, and not drying to the lips. The staying power is great, so be sure to throw a balm on underneath that bad boy to cut down the risk of staining (I woke up the next morning with pink tinted lips even after removing my makeup for the night).

Overall, I think this would look better on fairer skin, or really deep hued beauties, but certainly can be for anyone with a bit of tweaking. My favorite combo thus far is Viva Glam Nicki with Iman Tan liner and Buxom Monica gloss.

What do you guys think about the new Viva Glam Nicki? And... enjoy the swatches!

 ( Excuse the bare face... lipstick not as pale as it appears here )

 Straight from the tube (more True to Color here)

 Viva Glam Nicki with Iman TAN liner (toned it down)

Viva Glam Nicki with Iman TAN liner and Buxom MONICA gloss (My FAV combo)

-Miss Brina