First Makeup Tutorial EVER!! Valentine's Day Inspired Look!!

Hey everyone! Just dropping by to say I uploaded my first-ever makeup tutorial on my channel!! I got some new editing software, so this might be able to be a recurring thing now, which is amazing! I'll post it below, so if you haven't seen it, it would mean the world to me if you check it out, especially if you are a makeup lover like myself!! 

Happy Valentine's Day!! 

Benefit Cosmetics "Creaseless Cream Shadow" in RSVP

Hello everyone! I'm sorry this review is going up a little late; it's a new semester and still trying to figure out free time and etc xD

Either way, let's get started with this review, shall we? Today's review is about one of my current "bought-it, forgot-it" finds. It's the Benefit Cosmetics Cream Shadow in the shade RSVP. I bought this shadow a while ago when everyone was raving about these, and RSVP is the only shade I have from the line. I used to be really into cream eye shadows, but the craze for me has kind of gone on the back-burner for awhile. But recently, as I was looking for something to use when I got tired of using the same primer everyday for my eye shadow, I re-discovered this bad gal in the back of my eye shadow drawer. This shadow is a GREAT base for the Urban Decay Naked3 palette, and it's what I have been using underneath my powder shadows all week. Here's a close up of the eye shadow and a swatch!

 (RSVP Cream Eye Shadow) 

As you can see from the eye shadow pot alone, the product is a gorgeous rosey champagne color, making it really blendable underneath the Naked3 shadows. 

All in all, I really do think this product does what it says it does. It stays on all day, and as a base it really does seem to be "creaseless". Not to mention that the powder shadows stick to it very well as well! It's really creamy and spreads easily onto the lid. 

This product is sold at Sephora, Ulta, and on Benefit's website, and retails for $20. I think this price point is kind of steep for this product, seeing Maybelline has shadows fairly similar to this for less than half the price of this shadow. However, there are 10 shades in the line, so if you're really curious about this product, i'm sure there's a color you'll like. For me, I don't think I'm going to buy another of these shadows, only because some of them could be easily dupe-able, and for the fact I don't wear cream shadows as much as I used to. 

I hope this review helped you somehow. I've been wanting to do a "higher-end" review for a while and this is just something I have been loving at the moment. 

I hope you all are having a wonderful week...Tomorrow's Friday, so that's a plus! :D

-Katie

Rimmel "Stay Matte" Liquid Mousse Foundation

 Happy Monday everyone! I know it's been a while since I've posted anything on here, but I was home for the week and didn't get a chance to blog! But now i'm back with today's review, which is on the new Rimmel London "Stay Matte" Liquid Mousse Foundation! This seems to be either a love-it or hate-it kind of product. I was a bit skeptical of purchasing it, because I had heard a lot of not-so-great reviews on it, but I decided to go for it and pick it up. I got the shade "True Ivory", which based on the name, is not something I would usually think is the right shade for my skin. After opening it up and trying it, I found out that it actually matches my skin really well, which was surprising to me. 
The formula, just like the packaging states, is a "liquid mousse" texture. I feel it is a bit more on the "mousse-ey" side, rather than a liquid, but it is not so thick as to where it takes a lot of effort to blend in. Here are some swatches of it both right out of the tube, and then spread  bit over my hand. 

As you can see the coloring is pretty right on, once it's blended in a bit. To apply it, I use my "Real Techniques" Expert Face Brush, which has denser bristles and apply it in a circular, almost buffing motion. I will say that when first applied, the foundation looks a little bit cakey on the skin, but after applying blush, bronzer, etc. it's hardly if not at all noticeable. I have been wearing this foundation since I applied it at 9am, and it is now 4:30 pm. Here is my face makeup to show the wear. 

(Sorry for the creepy close-up! xD ) 

As you can see, the makeup is still holding strong! I haven't powdered since 9am, and it hasn't streaked or become patchy with time. 
Overall, I actually like this foundation. While my Covergirl 3-in-1 foundation still I think tops this one, I think this is a close second out of the several foundations I have tried. This retails at around $6 at Walgreens, and my Walgreens had a dollar off coupon right in the display. I think for a drugstore foundation, this one is pretty good and I recommend trying it out! 

Well that's it for today's review. I hope your Monday isn't too terrible! Leave a comment as to what you guys would like to see a review on next! 
Love ya! 
-Katie

Revlon Colorburst Lacquer and Matte Balm Stains!

 Today's review is on the Revlon Colorburst Lacquer and Matte Balms. I know I'm a little late hopping on the bandwagon, but I have been loving these lately! As pictured above, i own 3 of the lacquers and 1 of the matte balms. Retailing at $6.49 each (at Target), there is a variety of shades in both collections, ranging from nude shades to red, to violet. The lacquer shades I have are (from left to right) Ingenue, Demure and Whimsical, and the only Matte shade I have is called Sultry. Here are some swatches of the shades! 

 Ingenue is a brownish nude shade, almost a "Your Lips But Better" kind of shade. This shade gives a really nice gloss to your lips, while still making them look natural. Demure (My favorite shade) is a light, everyday classic pink shade. Again, being a lacquer shade, it adds a gloss to your lips and also is very wearable. Whimsical is my least worn shade, being a very bright glossy purple shade. And as for the matte shade, Sultry is a very beautiful matte plum shade. This shade has amazing staying power, and even after eating and drinking, after a few hours the stain of the color still remains on the lips. 

All in all, these lipsticks are very nice quality. For me personally, I definitely recommend the more neutral shades, just because they are more wearable for every day. However, a brighter matte shade like Sultry is also a very wearable shade and i very beautiful as well! 

Have you tried these lipsticks? If you have, what is your favorite shade? Comment down below letting me know! 
I hope you all have a beautiful day and stay warm! <3 <3 <3 
-Katie

New Maybelline "Master Hi-Light" Hi-lighting Blushes

 Tonight's review is on these new blushes from Maybelline. These are the Master Hi-Light Hi-Lighting blushes. There are a total of 4 blush shades and 2 bronzer shades in this line. Each product also comes with a small brush and a mirror underneath the product tray. The shades I picked up are in Mauve (Left) and Nude (Right).

These blushes claim to highlight skin and softly contour the cheeks for an instantly defined glow. While I do not agree with the contouring qualities these blushes seem to claim, I do think they add a really nice shine/highlight to the cheeks. You also don't need to really swirl your brush in all of the product to pick up a lot of product. You really just need to lightly tap your brush into the blushes to pick up a good amount of product and to include all the shades throughout the mosaic pattern. 
Now let's look at the blushes individually! 

This is the "Mauve" blush. As you can see, it includes a variety of purple, maroon and tan shades within the mosaic. This is the main blush you have to be light-handed when applying, since a lot of product comes off in a light touch to the product. However, I do think this is a very pretty blush and I don't have any other blush like it in my collection.

This blush is the shade "Nude". Because of the shades in this mosaic, this is the most "Highlight-y" of the collection. I actually (at first look) thought this would be a great drugstore dupe for Benefit's Rockateur boxed blush, however swatched next to each other, that's not entirely the case. 

(Left=Maybelline, Right=Benefit)

As you can see, the Benefit blush is a bit more pink than the Maybelline blush, however they are pretty close if you were to want a drugstore alternative to Rockateur. 

Here are the Mauve and Nude blushes swatched side by side. 

(Left=Mauve, Right=Nude)

All in all, I think these are pretty good blushes for $8.99 a piece. I think they will last a relatively long time and with the highlighting qualities within these products, they add a really nice glow to the face. I definitely recommend checking out these blushes and maybe trying one out!

I hope this review was helpful in some way and I hope you all have a beautiful day! <3 <3 <3 

-Katie

New Youtube Video!! January Favorites 2014!

Just posted a new video to my youtube page, my favorites of January 2014! This month has been great! Taking only 1 class this month, so I can focus all my energy into that one class, and I also feel like I've done a lot on my youtube channel this month which is also amazing! 

Here's a list of all the products mentioned in this video, and where you can purchase them, in case you're interested in them for yourself: 

Skincare:

• "Up and Up" Brand Facial Moisturizer w/ Acne Treatment (Green cap): Target

Hair Care:

• "One and Only" Moroccan Oil Treatment Hair Oil:Sally's Beauty Supply
• "Suave For Kids" Twirlin' Swirlberry Detangler: Target

Fashion:

• Purple, pink and blue-ish long sleeved plaid shirt (Plus sized):Torrid

Makeup:

• "Rimmel London" BB cream in Light: Drugstores (I got mine at Walmart)
• "Flower Cosmetics 'Powder Trip'" Face Powder Foundation in PP3: Walmart
• "NYC" Bronzer in Sunny: Target
• "Benefit Cosmetics" Boi-ing concealer in Light 02: Sephora/Ulta
• "Benefit Cosmetics" Boxed Powder in Rocketeur: Sephora/Ulta
• "Maybelline" Eye Studio Eyeshadow quad in Autumn Dream: Drugstores (LIMITED EDITION)
• "Urban Decay" Naked 3 Eyeshadow Palette: Sephora/Ulta
• "Rimmel London" Eyeshadow pencil in Nude: Drugstores
• "Urban Decay" 24/7 Eyeshadow pencil in Hustle: Sephora/Ulta
• "Too Faced" Lip Injection Color Bomb lipstick in Never Enough Nude: Sephora/Ulta
• "Revlon" Colorburst Lacquer Balm in Demure: Drugstores
• "Wet n' Wild" lipstick in Breeze

Hope this helps you guys in finding any items you may have liked in the video. I hope you all have a beautiful day! <3 <3 <3 
-Katie 

Maybelline Eye-Studio "Autumn Dream"

Today's review is on the Maybelline Eye Studio Shadow quad in "Autumn Dream". This was a LIMITED EDITION quad, so I'm not sure if you can still get your hands on it, however I have seen it at some local Walgreen's stores alongside some other limited edition quads. These quads retail around $4.99 and this particular quad features a champagne-sparkle shade, a jewel tone purple, a jewel tone green and a navy. After using the quad at least 4 times since purchase, I can say that the colors together wear beautifully! The shades give you that dark smoky look from far away, but getting up close, you can actually see the colors and how they work together. Here are some swatches of the shades:

(Without Primer)

(With Primer) 

As you can see, without using a primer, the shadows can be a tad bit dry and powdery, but over the top of a primer they are stunning on the eyes! I definitely recommend picking up this quad if you are lucky enough to see it in the stores! 

(The finished look: I used the champagne color in the inner corner and as a brow highlight. Then went in with the green all over the lid. I applied the navy in the outer corner and worked it a bit into the crease, and then applied the purple in and above the crease.)