I Purchased This Press Sample Gift
In an effort to encourage myself to develop some much needed time management skills (always a necessity for grad school and clinic next semester), I've been developing a positive reinforcement system for all the readings, assignments, and studying I need to do. For each completed task, I can either play a game or work on the blog and for the most part I've been on top of things so I ended up doing an EOTD today.
September is wonderfully light in comparison to the terribleness of October. So if you see me disappear, you'll know because I'm swamped down in journal article readings and paper writing (if anyone has any advice on writing 30 page papers, I need it!)
Products Used:
Milani Eyeshadow Primer
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Pure Gold
Urban Decay Half Baked
Maybelline Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black
Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow as a transition color
NYX Love in Rio Eyeshadow Set in No Tan Lines Allowed (the dark black shade)
Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Junkie
Anastasia Lash Genius
Anastasia Brow Wiz in Medium Ash (rediscovering this makes me feel terrible because I love it so much but it's expensive!!)
Using the Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Junkie really affirms the fact that I don't like using eyeshadow on the lower lashline anymore. I think I have just a lot of difficulty finding brushes that are simultaneously thin enough yet soft enough to apply eyeshadow in the shape to be whereas eyeliners are so much easier and look so much nicer with minimal effort. Is anyone else weird about using eyeshadows on the lower lashline or is that just me?
Disclaimer: I received the Anastasia Brow Wiz courtesy of the brand. I received the Lash Genius and NYX Love in Rio Eyeshadow as a gift from Generation Beauty
I Purchased This Press Sample
I feel like I gotta get back in the swing of working with darker colors but I still wanted to share this look if only for the duochrome. Bask in its glory. If this doesn't make you impatient for Sugarpill's Sparkle Baby Collection, nothing will.
Products Used:
Milani Eyeshadow Primer
Senna Cosmetics Haute Nudes Mystic Eyeshadow Palette: The two darkest colors in the crease
Sugarpill Kitten Parade Eyeshadow
Anastasia Brow Wiz in Medium Ash
Maybelline Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black
Cross your fingers that the collection will be released this month!
Disclaimer: I received the Senna Cosmetics Eyeshadow Palette and Anastasia Brow Wiz courtesy of their respective public relations.
I Purchased This Affiliate Link
This is part two of my lip tar swatching extravaganza. Today I'm swatching and reviewing the OCC Pro's Pick Lip Tar Set in v2.0. Compared to the v1.0 set, this set has a more varied range of colors and I think more suitable for those who like to mix their lip tars. I think it would be really cool if the sets came with like a little mixing palette so the consumer had a way to experiment with the colors; after all Iced (being a stark white shimmer) isn't a typical color you'd wear straight on the lips. The colors in the set include a mix of brights (Hoochie and Pretty boy), wearables (Kava Kava and Lydia), and an adjuster (Iced). Towards the end of the post, I'll show off the results of mixing Iced with Hoochie, Lydia, and Pretty Boy.
Where to Purchase: Sephora
(affiliate link)
Price: $49.00 for five full size lip tars and a full sized lip brush.(.33 oz in each lip tar). Valued at $108 as the lip tars are $18 each and the lip brush retails for $18.
Packaging: The lip tars and the lip brush are packaged in a clear bag with a zip closure. This bag is actually different from the bag you get in the v1.0 set. I personally think it's not as good because it's smaller and there are no dividers for your lip tars or the brush. It's also torn at the seam in one corner.
Do they test on animals?: Nope they don't and they never will. The lip tars are also vegan.
Wear Time: I can usually get about six to eight hours of wear (depending on the shades, the deeper reds wear better) but be wary of feathering.
Swatch time. As always, the pictures were taken in natural daylight with no flash.
Hoochie: "Vibrant magenta" I really wish my camera could have captured the neon quality of the lip tar better. The color in my swatch is correct but it's so much more neon/bright in person. I'm not sure I'd describe it as a magenta because I always associate magenta as being reddish pink, this is more of a neon medium purple. It's definitely not for the shy. For a purple, it's actually quite easy to apply and isn't streaky or watery.
Iced: "Pure white frost" Unless you're living in a winter wonderland, you probably won't be wearing this color on its own. I think this is perfect though for those people who want to lighten up a color and also add some depth. Since the shimmer in Iced is so fine, when you mixed with another lip tar Iced adds more of a frost quality to the lip tar than any real shimmer or sparkle.
Kava Kava: "Medium peach" This is quite the milky peach. I think you do have to be a bit careful because it can settle in the lip lines. This is still a beautiful color but some finesse is required. It does seem like the beige lip tars are a bit more finicky with application.
Lydia: "Darkroom plum" I think this would be the perfect stepping stone color for someone who wants to get into wearing purple lip colors. Lydia is like a dusky berry pink with a slight plummy quality to it. It's not quite a pink but not quite a purple.
Pretty Boy: "Super-rich fuchsia" If this isn't a perfect barbie pink, I don't know what is. Pretty Boy is a bright and bold pink that needs no real description, it speaks for itself.
To show off the mixing properties of Iced, here are some combinations I did by mixing it each with Hoochie, Lydia, and Pretty Boy. You can see that they're not overly shimmery but just have this slight frosty quality to them without looking dated.
If you're into both bright and wearable colors and like to mix your colors, this set is perfect for you!
Disclaimer: I purchased this set myself. All opinions are my own. The link marked as an affiliate link gives me a commission based off your use of the link when making your purchase. The commission helps support me and the blog but feel free to use a nonaffiliate link!
I Purchased This Affiliate Link
In an effort to continue my latest endeavor of turning lip tars into lipstick pencils, I bought both the OCC Pro's Picks Lip Tar Sets in v1.0 and 2.0 (all due to Sephora gift cards I hoarded from my birthday) and today I'm going to swatch and review v1.0 set and I'll swatch and review the v2.0 set in another post!
The lip tars in this set are Grandma, Melange, Ophelia, Stalker, and Vintage. Out of the three Pro Picks Lip Tar Sets, I'd say that this v1.0 set has the most "wearable" set of shades with a range from the very pink Ophelia to the darker deceptively intimidating Vintage (which is just a deeper berry red as opposed to be a super dark burgundy)
Where to Purchase: Sephora (affiliate link),
Price: $49.00 for five full size lip tars and a full sized lip brush.(.33 oz in each lip tar). Valued at $108 as the lip tars are $18 each and the lip brush retails for $18.
Packaging: The lip tars and the lip brush are packaged in a clear bag with a zip closure.
Do they test on animals?: Nope they don't and they never will. The lip tars are also vegan.
Wear Time: I usually get about six to eight hours of wear (depending on the shades, the deeper reds wear better) but be wary of feathering. There's one exception that I cover later on.
Anyway, swatch time! I'm trying to experiment with how I present my swatch photos and a bunch of you said seeing a picture of my face wearing the color would be really helpful so I hope you like the collage presentation.
The swatch photos were taken in natural daylight with no flash and the lip tars applied with the accompanying brush.
Grandma: "Clean, classic coral" This is a beautiful bright and springy orange with a dash of pink. It's a universal color that would fabulous on both lighter and darker skin tone. There's enough pigment in the lip tar so it doesn't look overly milky on the lips and it wears beautifully.
Melange: "Terracotta neutral" Melange is quite an toned down orange beige, a little milky in composition. This is a color that looks very intimidating in the tube but is actually quite wearable on the lips. I really thought I'd hate this color but I like it, I think it's a very autumnal color (and I'm craving fall weather after the heat right now!!)
Ophelia: "Petal pink flush" Uh yeah, this is a pale bubblegum pink that's not very flattering on my skintone by itself. This would probably work better on paler skin tones or mixed in with another color to tone it down but it is a difficult of a color to apply evenly on the lips as it can show off brushstrokes if you're not careful. Wear time is poor compared to as the rest of the colors because it starts getting patchy on the lips so the "good" wear time is compromised and I personally can't wear this for more than a few minutes because of how uneven it starts looking on the lips. This is a better mixer than a color on its own.
Stalker: "Pin-Up blue based red" The most universally flattering shade in the bunch. It's utterly beautiful and wonderously pigmented. I don't own NSFW so I'm not entirely sure of the difference between that and Stalker but if you're looking for a true blue based red, this is it. (Stains terribly FYI). I'm so in love.
Vintage: "Deep true burgundy" Vintage is a step up in sophistication from Stalker. It's not a bold red but an alluring deep berry red. When you first put it on your lips it looks quite brown but when evened out, the red in the shade comes out. I'm actually a little surprised at how much I like the color, I thought it'd be a little too dark but it's wonderful if you're steering yourself away from the bright and bold reds.
If you're looking for a set of lip tars with colors that range from the palest pink to a deeper red, this set is for you! You're getting a 55% discount buying the lip tars in a set as opposed to buying them individually.
Disclaimer: I purchased this set myself. All opinions are my own. The link marked as an affiliate link gives me a commission based off your use of the link when making a purchase. The commission made helps support myself and the blog however feel free to use a nonaffiliate link.
