Am I In Love With Nars "New Lover"?

I have a confession to make...       I love freebies and extras that come my way, because rarely does that ever happen, so when it does I treasure them. Well, I had placed an on-line order with Sephora a little while ago and I was able to cash in some of my points for a kit that they were offering. Now, I took my time deciding if I really wanted to do this and if it was even worth it. Well, I can tell you that after a (not so) long debate within my head, I selected the kit I wanted full of samples and, boy I tell you, I have no regrets!

Let me take a moment to explain to you why...

In this kit where many great things, but what I had really wanted to get my hands on was the Nars Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in the shade "New Lover". I had heard for awhile before that it was the best shade and everybody and their grandmother loved it. I just had to see for myself if it really was worth the hype.

First off, let's talk packaging. I will confess that I am not a person suckered in by packaging, nor do I really care about it like I know some do. All that matters to me is the product, BUT.... this pencil presents itself in the sleekest possible manner! It is hard to explain, but the pencil has a rubber-like feel to it even though I am sure it is not rubber. Because of that, it is easy to grip securely. And we know that is a major concern for everybody (haha)!

This retails for $24.00 and there is 0.09 oz of product in the full sized pencil. The one in the picture above is a sample size of 0.08 oz, which is not bad, in my opinion. These pencils come in nine shades total, ranging from neutrals to gorgeous berry shades. 

Going onto narscosmetics.com I was able to find out what they claim this product will do for you:

"...enriched with Vitamin E plus a blend of moisture-rich hyaluronic spheres that make lips appear fuller.

*Ulta smooth, buttery feel on lips
*Contains Vitamin E, hyaluronic spheres and phytosterol esters- ingredients known to moisturize, increase hydration and improve barrier function"

Who will argue when I say that the color is beautiful? I mean, just look at it!

It has a very glossy rich appearance

pretty pink with golden flecks

SMILE

Now, while it is pretty, I do have one complaint about this product. It looks dark and deep, but when swatched and applied on the lips it comes off more light than I expected. Was I slightly disappointed about that? Only a little, because it is still a dazzling neutral color that is extremely wearable for all skin tones. I don't know if you can see, but there are slight flecks of gold incorporated in the color! What is not to love about that?!?!

Because it is a jumbo lip pencil it makes for easy application. Just line your lips and fill them in! The formula of this product is so smooth, it glides onto your lips like butter, which is exactly what they claim it should feel like, so they are right on with that! It is a soft pencil, but not so soft that you are going to use up a ton of product with one application. I used mine quite a few times before I even had to sharpen it. 

Speaking of sharpen, and maybe this is just minor to most people, but I would love it even more if you could twist the top to get the product out like the Clinique Chubby Pencil or even the Revlon Lipstains. After all, drugstore products can do that, why not uber-expensive brands like this? 

As far as the wear time of this product, I say that it wears pretty well. Is it a longlasting product? I don't believe so. While it does moisturize and it made my lips feel smooth, there is a slight tackiness to this product. Not stickiness, but tackiness that I think makes this product last for quite a few hours and than it feels weightless on your lips. 

Nars does have a great Artist Tip: They say to use this as a base for any other lip product to make your lip color wear longer. Because of the tacky feel of this pencil, I can believe that claim and might give it a try for myself!

Overall, I love this product, because not only is it luxurious in looks, but in the feel of the product, too. I just might try a deeper and darker color for more of the color pay-off that I like! 

Oh, and this is the first Nars product I have ever tried, and not because I never wanted to, but because of their price tags. But, Nars hit it right on with their Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil, I may just have to try a lipstick or two!

Long Time No Blog...

I have a confession to make...    I am pretty sure that it has been almost a year since I last made a post on this blog. I must tell you that life got in the way and I had to take a break for a little bit which turned into a long while....

But, the awesome news, is that now I am back and ready after a long overdue absence. I am committed to posting regularly here, because my love of makeup never once flickered nor died. Since I have been gone I have tried a lot of new makeup, so I believe that there will be some catching up to do!

Bear with me, faithful followers and pray I'm not rusty!!!

Thanks for your loyal and understanding support!

Now, let's venture on into the dazzling world of beauty and makeup!

Revlon's ColorStay Ultimate Liquid Lipstick

I have a confession to make...    I love Revlon lip products and when I saw that a few of the shades of their liquid lipsticks where on clearance a few weeks ago, I just had to pick one up to see if it was going to be worth me loving enough to pay full price for.


So, I got this in the color "Platinum Petal", a rosy-pink color that looks very beautiful. I am here to let you know what my first impressions of this lippie is.


I like the doe-foot applicator that it comes with, it makes applying the product very easy.

Doe-foot applicator for easy application

Pretty rosy-pink satin color

To be honest, there is a slightly weird smell to this product that I cannot describe. But, I think that most all long-wearing lip products have that certain smell, so it must be a faint chemical-ish (but not really, if that makes sense) smell. But once it is dry on your lips you will not smell a thing!


This is what Revlon claims this product will do for you:

" *Food-proof lip color with a built-in ultra conditioning coat
   *One-step application. No topcoat required for comfortable wear
   *Stays comfortable and wears beautifully
   *Does not feather or fade; no touch-ups required, even after meals "
   

So, I decided to test this theory out and put it through the rigors!


I applied this at 9:00 in the morning, right before I began my workout routine. But, before I applied this I made sure to exfoliate my lips to get rid of any dead skin so that the lipstick would dry nicely once applied. 


Than I applied this once on my lips;  according to directions, one layer is all you need for full coverage. While I waited for it to dry I smiled so that the product would not settle into the lines on my lips and cause them to sand out (a tip I learned on YouTube). 


After waiting two minutes after applying the lipstick, it was dry and I thought that I would do a simple test and kiss a piece of paper to see if there would be any transfer. And, yes there was, as you can clearly see a pink outline of my lips! So, wait longer than two minutes for it it be completely dried, which in my opinion, is too long!

First Application

As I went about my day, eating, drinking, working out, etc...I did not notice any transfer at all! I was pleasantly amazed by that. But, what I did notice was that my lips definitely felt dry and uncomfortable, just like the majority of long-wearing lip products I have tried out. I had to fight the urge to put some chapstick on, just so I could stay true to this products claims that you do not need a top coat since it is supposed to me moisturizing!


 I wore the lipstick until I got ready to wash my face for bed that night, which was around 8:00 p.m. I noticed that the lipstick did fade in color a little bit, and looked very dry on my lips. Despite the dry feeling/appearance, the color didn't look that bad, even after minimal fading!

After all day wear

The down side is that it does look dry and it is irritating to wear products that dry out the lips. I must say, that I will not be re-purchasing this product because of that fact and because it brings out the lines in my lips more than I care.


Long-wearing lipsticks are easy to come by, but a good one is hard to find!

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Creamliners!

I have a confession to make...    not too long ago, I ditched my love of pencil eyeliners. Now, don't get me wrong, I still like them and I still use them for the lower lash line and sometimes when I am in a hurry to slap on some makeup and get out the door, I will use pencil liners. But, for that pretty and precise line for the lid, my go-to choice is gel or cream eyeliners. 


To me, they are much smoother and they give more definition, and for the days when you want some extra glamour, they will deliver on that, too!


I came across the Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Gel Creamliner (WOW is that a mouthful!) and it was on sale for $4.82 and I had always been curious about them and heard good reviews on them. So, I figured, why not test it out? For a few bucks I got three colors, two of which I did not have in gel form.

I purchased this in the shade for blue eyes,
even though my eyes are brown!

I know it is cool that the pots stack one on top of the other and it probably does save on room, but what I dislike is that the lids do not fit back on properly. Gel liners are known for drying out quickly and so it is important to screw the lid back on tightly. There is only a tiny amount of product in each pot, less than you expect from the big packaging, but if these dry quick, at least you had used up most of the product by then, hopefully...But, these do come apart and you can travel with just the color you need and not have to worry about taking the whole stack with you.


The brush is a nice brush and does it job nicely. The bristles are soft and flexible so using this to line the lash line is brilliant. Plus, it fits in your hand easily since it is not big, nor is it too small.

Brown

The brown shade is beautiful looking with flecks of gold in the product. Alas, when worn on my lash line, this brown is not as pigmented as it is when it is swatched. It comes off as a very light copper brown and the golden flecks are lost on my own lids. But, when you want that natural look with no harsh and heavy line, this would be nice. I just expected more of a precise and darker brown.

Black

This black is very pigmented and has flecks of dark blue glitter in it. Do not worry, because the glitter is not chunky nor is it noticeable; it is only noticeable if focusing straight on at it as it is very subtle, since this is a shimmer liner. From looking at the picture above, you would not be able to tell that this has blue flecks in it. Only when you dip your brush inside will you be surprised. This will give a clean and cut line and is easily winged out with definition. 

Blue

This blue is gorgeous! It is a very dark blue, I would almost say it is a navy/purple with blue shimmer running through it. Just like the black liner, this one is easy and precise when applying, it will not disappoint you! The shimmer on this one, at least to my eyes, is not noticeable unless stared at for some weird reason (really, who out there stares at our eyeliner?). But, I love this!


This is what Physicians Formula claims about this product:

" *Three custom shades provide a glamorous look to define and enhance your eye color.
   * Unique gel cream formula glides on effortlessly and smoothly while providing the definition of a liquid eyeliner.
   * Long wearing, water-resistant and smudge-resistant formula provides 24-Hour definition.
   * Includes Pro-Eyeliner Brush for effortless and precise application.
   * Stackable eyeliner pots can be pulled apart for individual use on-the-go. "

The application of these products is extremely smooth and soft. For the brown liner, I think that it is a little too soft as the product skips and does not give a pigmented fluid line. So, it takes two applications or so to get the color neat on the lids. 


When they claim that these liners are long wearing, water-resistant and smudge-resistant, they are right on! I wore these on my lids with nothing else, no primer, no shadow, nothing, and they did not move at all nor did they transfer. These are amazing for all day wear because you will not have to worry about it moving.

From Left To Right: Brown, Blue and Black

A Few Minutes After I Swatched, I Tried Smudging!

You can see from the swatches above just how smudge proof they are. The black did move slightly, but when worn, do not fear, this will stay where you apply it. 


I highly recommend that you purchase these liners because they are easy to travel with and as you go about your day, you will not worry about your liner smearing or running down your face, depending on your activities!


Pretty Confessions of the positive are always fun to confess!

Maybelline ColorStay Tattoo Review

I have a confession to make...    and it centers around the new Maybelline Eye Studio 24 Hr Cream Gel Shadows that came out early last month. Apparently they are like MAC's Paint Pots, but even better. I have two Paint Pots, "Painterly" and "Indian Wood".  I have never fallen in love with them because they crease like crazy on my oily eyelids, alone and when used as a base. So, when I heard that Maybelline came out with an even better version, I thought that for $6.00 it is worth a try.


I purchased this in the color, "Tough As Taupe", at Shopco for $5.99. The color is such a gorgeous matte dark grey color, extremely unique in cream shadow.

This dried relitively quickly when I swatched it on my hand and once it dried, it did not budge, so that was a pleasant surprise for me! 


Maybelline says that this product was created using an ink technology (must be how they get such vibrant pigmented colors!) that creates 24HR wear shadow for intense long lasting color saturation. It is a cream formula that does not crease and keeps its vibrant color and will not fade. It is safe for sensitive eyes and contact lens.


So, I decided to give this a whirl and test this theory out for myself. 


I applied Tough As Taupe to my lids using a shadow brush. I used no eyeshadow primer, so this was going to be the real test, to see how creaseproof this was going to be on me.

10:30 a.m.

10:30 a.m.

I noticed that this does apply smoothly and quickly dried to my lids, but still was able to blend the edges out. It felt nice and light on my lids and was happy with the results of application. 


Through out the day I would check in the mirror and was pleased that there was no creasing. I would even touch my lid to see if my oils where breaking though and the product was still holding fast and dry.


I decided to wear this product for twelve hours and see how it would hold up. Here is what my eyes looked like at the end of the experiment:

10:30 p.m.

10:30 p.m.

As you can see, there was some fading and some obvious creasing; so for my extremely oily lids, it did not last for twelve hours completely. Yet, I normally do not wear makeup for twelve hours so for a "normal" day, this product would last about seven or eight hours on my lids with no dramatic creasing and fading. 


Mac Paint Pots are no good on my lids because they crease within three-four hours, no matter how little I apply. The Color Tattoos last much longer, so overall, I am satisfied with this product!


What is great is that the Color Tattoos come in vibrant colors as well as a few more muted colors and they are very affordable! I would definitely purchase this again and use it on its own as a sweep of color on my lids. 


Drugstore products are amazing me more and more each day! long lasting tattoos for our eyes? What will they come up with next? Whatever it is, I cannot wait!

A Pretty Collective Haul

I have a confession to make...    I went out last weekend and spent some money when I swore I did not need anything and was going to rein myself in from giving into the hype of all the great new beauty products on the market right now. But, I had a moment of weakness...


Thankfully, I only came back with a small collection of beauty things, because, believe me there was a lot more out there that I wanted to get my hands on. So, let's start with what I purchased!

Just a small haul!

First of all I ended up in Target for something totally unrelated to beauty (we were buying my hubby new shirts!) and I just had to make my way over to the beauty department. Thankfully I did because they had a ton of clearance stickers on a bunch of beauty bands.


I first picked up two lip products from Revlon, my favorite drugstore lippies! I decided to try for the first time their ColorStay Ultimate Liquid Lipstick in the color, "Platinum Petal", which is a pretty rosy pink color. I purchased this for $4.48 and it is normal $8.99. Yea!


Revlon claims that this is a one-step lipstick that is food-proof and will last up to 24 hours. In a future blog post I am going to show you guys the results that I come up with when testing that theory! So, stay tuned for pictures and details soon!


Next, I picked up another Revlon Colorburst lipgloss in the color, "Gold Dust". It is a beautiful muted peachy color with tones of gold sparkling through it. This is an amazing color!

Revlon Colorburst lipgloss

"Gold Dust"

And I only got it for around $4.00. I took the clearance sticker off, so I cannot tell you the exact numbers. But, this normally retails for $6.49. I am not attracted to this color but for the price I thought I would try it out and I am happy I did!


Next I purchased a lipgloss from Maybelline, a brand that I do not gravitate towards. But, I saw that they had a few lip glosses on clearance so I decided to try one and see how I liked it. It is from their ColorSensational line and the color is called, "Cranberry Cocktail." It is a very wearable red that can be sheered out or built up.

Maybelline ColorSensational in "Cranberry Cocktail".

"Cranberry Cocktail"

It has a nice feel on the lips and isn't sticky, so this product will have to be reapplied regularly. It has an extremely subtle fruity scent to it that reminds me of fruity gum. But, it is barely noticeable and goes away quickly. Overall, this is a nice gloss, not as opaque as you would think.


Than I took a look at what Physicians Formula had on clearance and, low and behold, they had their Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Gel Cream Eyeliners. Even though I have brown eyes, I got the package made for blue eyes because I thought that the colors looked a lot more fun. 


It comes with a blue, brown and black+blue shimmer liners that are very pretty. I am not going to go into much detail about them because I have a review on them coming up, so don't miss out on that one either!

Physicians Formula Gel Cream Eyeliners for Blue Eyes

This normally retails for $9.64 and I was able to get this on clearance for $4.82. What a steal!


Than later I found myself at Shopco and I saw the Maybelline Color Tattoo's there for about $6.00. I was debating weather or not to buy these, but I heard so much good things about them that I had to try out just one for now. If I like this one enough than I will definitely buy more.

"Tough As Taupe"

I bought this in the color, "Tough As Taupe" and am really liking the dark grey color. I am testing the longevity and the wear of this produce today so very soon you will see what my opinions of this are. 


That is all I have to show for this little haul of mine, but I feel that there is so much to talk about when it comes to these products, so check back in the next day or two to find out what I think about these as I wear them and test them out! 


Until the next Pretty Confession, take care!

Beauty Confession Time!

Okay, I have a confession to make...    here is the opportunity for you to get to know me a little bit more and find out what my take is on the Beauty Tag that has been going around YouTube for awhile now. There are different versions of this tag, I believe, but here is one I found from Juicystar07 on YouTube.

So, without further ado, here we go!

1. Would you rather go out with messy hair and nice makeup, or nice hair and no makeup?

Well, let me say that while I adore makeup, I would much rather go out in public with nice hair and no makeup on. I say this because I think that if you have nice polished hair you can pull your whole look together. I am confidant, even with some of my skin imperfections, to forego wearing any makeup. Messy hair and nice makeup kind of negates the effort involved in creating a pretty makeup look.


2. Would you rather shave your eyebrows or have your eyelashes fall out?

This is an extremely difficult question...Hmm...I am against shaving my eyebrows, my mother did it when she was younger and they never grew back (I think it was a trend back in her day...). I would have to say that I would rather my eyelashes fall out. There is always false eyelashes that I could wear instead and thanks to modern cosmetics, there is now serum for eyelashes to grow! So, easy fix, if you will.

3.Would you rather be forced to shop at MAC or only Spehora for the rest of your life?

Easy for me! I like MAC but it is not my all time favorite brand. Sephora has several different brands that I love way more than MAC. Sephora has the variety that I like and I could live there, if it was legal...

4. Would you rather wear the lipgloss/lipliner look or an 80's perm?

Neither? Is that an option? I had the 80's perm back when I was eleven years old and it wasn't in the 80's, it was the 1990's...Let's just say that for a whole year I was depressed as I waited for it to grow out. Never again would I do that to myself. So, I will gladly rock the lipgloss with the lipliner look!

5.Would you rather leave the house with an obvious foundation line or overdone blush?

Definitely not the foundation line, I hate those! I would have to say I would rather look like a clown and have overdone blush. I love blush and I think overdone blush could look better than an obvious foundation line. Get color matched people!

6. Would you rather wear MC Hammer pants in public or biker shorts in public?

Biker shorts please! I never liked those parachute pants, even when it was popular back when I was a little girl. I would rather go for the "sporty" look with super tight shiny shorts. I'm sure not everyone would be pleased to see me wearing those, but I would definitely not be comfortable in fluorescent balloon pants!

7.Would you rather have a bad orangey spray tan or really weird tan lines that can't be covered up?

This is a no brainer for me. I despite it when I see girls who look orange. It makes them look almost like they have a dirty face and it is waaaayyyy to obvious that they tried too hard to get some color (the wrong shade!) on their body. I would rather have weird tan lines because at least it would be a natural shade from the sun and not from body spray! YUCK!

8. Would you rather have a bad haircut or bad hair color?

I have had both in my lifetime and both seemed just as equally worse when they both happened. A bad haircut can take awhile to grow out and brutal to live with. I would rather have bad hair color because that can be fixed faster than a bad haircut can.

9. Would you rather have YouTube or Twitter taken away forever?

Not hesitation here because I am not into Twitter at all, just a personal opinion. I don't have a account and I do not follow anybody because I do not need to know what someone is doing or thinking at every moment of their life...I would be lost without YouTube since I believe that is a great way to connect with an audience and I love watching videos. I do that almost every single day...

10. Would you rather give up using makeup brushes or mascara?

I think mascara is essential for a great look because it opens up a person's eyes and just brightens up their whole look. So, I definitely need mascara in my life! I could easily learn, through trial and error, how to use my fingers to apply makeup. Foundation...eyeshadow...blush...highlighter...bronzer...I'd much rather give up makeup brushes!


So, those are my opinions on the ten Would You Rather Beauty Questions. Those are always fun to do and fun to see/hear/read what others have to say! 


So, tell me, what would YOU rather do?