beauty – Page 2 – Beyond the Swatch

Mac Selena!

September 30, 2016 No Comments

I wish I was in Corpus Cristi, Texas today! Specifically, at the American Bank Center for the Mac Selena Event! Early access to the Mac Selena line, live DJ’s, guest performers, and a special presentation from the Quintanilla family, are only some of the exciting things attendees are experiencing today! (Lucky duckies!)

To be honest, I didn’t know much about Selena and her legacy until I watched Jennifer Lopez portray her in the movie Selena when I was 9 years old. I watched this movie once and I was hooked. I was drawn to Selana’s confidence, her beauty, her talent (especially her dancing skills), and completely moved by the love from her family, her husband, and her fans. I remember buying the Selena soundtrack CD and listening to it non-stop with my mom and sister. Our family has our fair share of home videos of my sister and I dancing and singing to Selena’s songs. My admiration for her continued over the years. I read her husband Chris Perez’s book, To Selena, with Love as soon as it came out and loved how he spoke about her with such love and adoration even 20 years later. Just the other day “Como la Flor” came on the radio at a restaurant I couldn’t help but sing along and dancing in my seat a little bit. And now, I am thrilled that Mac is honoring her memory by launching the Mac Selena line!

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Picture Credit: Facebook MACSelena

The MAC Selena line launches in stores on October 6th! I stopped by a Mac store the other day to get some details about the launch and found out they are holding free classes on Saturday October 10th-Sunday October 12th where attendees will get to learn how to achieve one of Selena’s iconic looks! Best believe that I’ll be there! I’m not sure if all Mac Stores are holding an event like this or if department stores such as Nordstrom or Macy’s will either, so be sure to contact your local Mac Store to see if they will be offering these classes too!

This collection is only available for a limited time until November 17th! Which gives us about a month a half to get our hands on these products!!

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Picture Credit: Facebook MACSelena

Quick breakdown of the product line! Check them all out here.

Selena Eyeshadow- 5 shades ($17)
Selena Lip Stick- 3 shades ($18)
Powder Blush Duo- 2 Shades ($29)
Selena Liquid Eyeliner ($21)
Mascara ($18)
Selena Lipglass ($17)
Powder brush- 129 SH ($35)

Check out swatches of the products on Selena’s sister Suzette Quintanilla’s Instagram Account!

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Favorites, Product Review

Friday Favorite: Sephora Rouge Balm!

September 23, 2016 No Comments

Sephora Rouge Balm in Delicate Pink $12.50

Guys! It’s fall already! FALL. Where did the year go??

I live in California and it hasn’t quite hit me that it’s fall yet. It has been slightly colder these last couple days (and when I say cold, I mean “California cold” so like…70 degrees) but I heard that it’s going to be in the hundreds this weekend!

So before I completely transition into fall mode, I wanted to share one of my favorites from this past summer!!

Sephora Rouge Balm

I saw this baby from the corner of my eye while I was already at the check out counter at Sephora and yes, I was one of those customers who held up the line while I went to go grab one! #noregrets because I love this product!

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Quick facts about this product:

Comes in 8 shades- a mix of pinks, peaches, oranges and reds. The one I purchased was Delicate Pink. Check out the rest of the shades here.
SPF 20
Hydrating
Creamy, slightly thick texture (Sephora’s website describes it as a creamy gel texture)
Shiny finish
Has a subtle tint of color

Here’s a swatch of how this shade looked on my skin tone. I tested this shade out on different skin tones and did not see a significant difference or changes in the shade. This product is definitely meant to be a very subtle & light tint instead of a solid shade.

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Reasons I personally love this product:

Smells amazing- like strawberries! Kind of reminds me of pink Starbursts! I’m not sure how the other shades of this lipstick smell or tastes, but I can definitely vouch for Delicate Pink.
SPF 20!! I took this with me on my trip house boating for an entire week and it was nice to have lightly tinted and protected lips.
The packaging is adorable! The tube matches the shade of the lipstick.
Super creamy and hydrating! Instantly makes your lips feel soft.

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Downside:

This product is labeled as a lipstick but I would personally categorize it as a tinted chap stick. Which means that at $12.50 a tube, this is little on the pricier side. I’m used to spending about $4.00 for 3 Blistex chap sticks and having those last me for a couple months (or until I lose them all).
Although the formula is super creamy, the texture and consistency may be too slippery to add another lipstick on top of it. I would not use this chap stick as a base layer for other lip colors or products. I personally feel like it’s a stand alone product if you want a light layer of color on your lips.

What other people are saying about this product:

Overall, the comment section on the Sephora regarding this product is pretty positive! Here are some of the things people are listing as the positives of this product: hydrating, casual tint, SPF protection, comfortable to wear, smooth texture and easy to apply.
I did notice a lot of comments mentioning that this product isn’t long wearing and that their lips ended up drying out after a couple hours. Because this lip balm is so creamy, it tends to wipe off easily. The formula is similar to the texture of Vaseline. If your lips are incredibly dry, cracking or sun burnt, chap sticks such as Blistex, Burt’s Bees or Carmex would be a much better option to help with the pain and heal your lips. This product makes your lips feel soft and hydrated, but the formula does not seem strong enough to heal damaged or cracked lips.

Now I want to hear from you!

Have you tried this product? What do you think? Send me pics of your swatches!

What are some of your favorite lip balms or chap sticks?

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Ipsy, Lists, Product Review

September Ipsy Glam Bag!

September 21, 2016 2 Comments

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I wanted to share with you my first impressions of the products I received from my Ipsy September Glam Bag!

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Theme for this month’s Glam Bag: Glamazon… Too glam to give a damn. Adorable! Ipsy is encouraging us to be “through with lazy beauty” and to “put away your sweatpants, let down your ponytail and get glammed up just for the hell of it”.

I’m writing this as I’m wearing my comfiest sweatpants and messiest ponytail- ha. ironic. But yes! I agree, getting glammed up just cuz can be fun!! The bag is super cute. I like the gold tones and metallic colors!

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1) Coastal Scents Limited Edition Elite Medium Shadow Brush

I LOVE when I receive brushes in my Ipsy bag! I’ve heard positive things about Coastal Scents brushes, so I’m excited to add this to my brush collection. Extra bonus that Ipsters get 30% off on any individual brush set! The bristles are soft and tapered and the handle is made of bamboo. Overall feels like a good quality brush!

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2) Living Proof Perfect Hair Day 5 in 1 Styling Treatment (4 oz for $27, 2 oz for $15)

Confession: I know very little about hair products, which is why I enjoy receiving hair products from Ipsy! Gives me a chance to try products without spending too much money or over committing to a brand/product if I end up not liking it. Hair products intimidate me a little, but the instructions for this product is pretty self explanatory: Apply to damp hair. Blow dry. Ok, I think I can handle that!

This product is said to deliver 5 benefits that will result in a perfect hair day- “smoothness, volume, conditioning, strength and polish”. Plus it smells really good, another plus!

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3) TreStique Highlight Stick

Yay a highlighter!! This product looked like a bright, sparkly, white shade when swatched I swatched it on my wrist. I expected the shade to have more of a gold/beige tone based on the packaging and how the product looked in the tube. The product is very pigmented and is easy to blend. I’m looking forward to trying this product as both a highlighter on my cheekbones and as an eye shadow as well! The full size version of this highlight stick retails for $34.00 on their website.

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4) Naked Advanced Aloe Cream

The packaging on this product didn’t give a recommendation on what this cream should be used for or provide any directions for its use. I sampled a small drop of this lotion on my hand and this is what I found! It has a very subtle scent… sort of like vanilla or shea butter. Not sure if it’s supposed to have a scent or if it’s just my imagination. The formula is thick and feels a slightly frothy. A small drop made my skin look smoother and shinier, but didn’t necessarily make my skin feel hydrated or soft. A single pack of Naked Advanced Skin Cream retails for $60.00. Check out their website for more products!

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5) Too Faced Lip Injection Extreme

Not gonna lie, Lip Injection Extreme sounds a little intense! I was excited to see a product from Too Faced in my glam bag because I love this brand. This product is said to have long-term effects so a first impression of this product wouldn’t do it justice. But a few of the first things I did notice about this product were that it received excellent results from a consumer study (as shown on the packaging), the consistency is thick and gel like, and it smells like cherries. I have yet to try a lip plumper so I’m looking forward to trying this product and seeing if it works!

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MVP of my Glam Bag this month: This was a toughie because realistically I liked everything I received this month! But I have to award the MVP to (drumroll please)… Too Faced Lip Injection! I’ve been a big fan of Too Faced Products for a while now and I’m super intrigued about this product! The packaging states that this product delivers instant results, makes your lips feel moisturized and makes your lips look fuller and more plump! All bold statements! I’m excited to put this product to the test (future post possibly??)

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And there ya go! 5 more beauty products to add to my collection!

What did you receive in your Ipsy Glam Bag this month??
What was your favorite item you received? Your least favorite?

Have you tried any of these products that I discussed in this post? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear!!

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Personal, Product Review, Swatch Comparison, Swatch with me

ColourPop Ultra Satin Lip in Alyssa!

September 18, 2016 No Comments

Colour Pop Ultra Satin Lip in shade Alyssa

For this week’s Sunday Swatches, I’m giving you a little combo platter: a product review of a favorite makeup product, plus a personal story, AND a swatch comparison!

This shade is part of Kathleen Light’s most recent collaboration with ColourPop. This is one of my favorite cosmetic brands working with one of my favorite makeup gurus!

The biggest reason I wanted this shade was because we’re name twinsies! Alyssa!

One of my best friends came to visit me a couple weekends ago with her little family (including my adorable baby nephew!) It only felt right to wait for her to swatch this lip color because her name is Alyssa as well! Yup, we are two best friends both named Alyssa. If we had a dollar for every time a bartender checked both of our ID’s and said “hey both of your names are Alyssa??” we’d have…a lot of dollars. 😉

Product Review:
The product feels like a light and wet formula when you first apply it, with a little bit of shine. After about 2-3 minutes, the formula starts to dry out and becomes a flat matte shade. Like most matte liquid lipsticks, the formula feels a little dry on your lips, but I found that this lipstick wasn’t overly drying and didn’t made your lips feel tight. So that’s a definite plus for me personally. This product is super pigmented, so you only need to apply a thin layer, which makes it feel light on your lips, although a little dry. I have tried using a base layer of chap stick with no tint which makes the formula feel a little more moisturizing but unfortunately, this makes the lip color much easier to smudge and wipe off. The website recommends using Lippie Primer ($5.00) as a base.

Swatch Comparison: 2 different skin tones!

Here are swatches of the product that my best friend and I took at our favorite Wine Bar in San Francisco on both of our skin tones! This shade is described on ColourPop’s website as a “neutral dusty pink”. I found that this shade was slightly darker in person than the picture on the website.

When swatched on our wrists, the shade looked slightly different on our skin tones. The shade looked like a lighter, neutral pink on the lighter skin tone, and a slightly darker mauve shade on the tanner skin tone.

Alyssa D (my bff) on the left, and Alyssa P on the right (me!)

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Swatch Comparison: Swatched on wrist vs on the lips & indoor lighting vs outdoor lighting!

The shade looked different after applying it on my lips than it did when swatched on my wrist. When I applied this shade on my lips, the shade looks more of a nude with a hint of light pink under indoor lighting, and more of a mauvey, dusty light pink in natural light.

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Overall Impression:

Overall, I love this shade! This does go to show that the true shade of a makeup product can change from how it looks on the website, in the package, swatched on your wrist, applied on your lips, under different light sources, and on different skin tones. I highly recommend ColourPop’s Ultra Satin lipsticks!! Good quality, amazing range of shades, and for only $6!

Check out more Ultra Satin lip colors here.

Check out more from Kathleen Lights Collection here.

Now I want to hear from you!

Have your tried ColourPop’s Ultra Satin Lip Colors? Which one is your favorite?

Send me swatches of you wearing Alyssa! I’d love to see!

Do you wear chap stick as a base when using liquid lipstick?

Bonus story!

Fun fact- my bff featured in this article and I are both named after Alyssa Milano! A few years ago on a magical day in Los Angeles, we both got to meet the one and only Alyssa Milano and tell her that we are a couple of best friends both named Alyssa because of her!! This will always be one of the biggest highlights of my life. 🙂

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Blogging, Personal

Make time to do what you love…

September 12, 2016 2 Comments

Hi everyone!

There are many reasons why I haven’t had time to write articles as often as I want to, some of the main reasons being the following:

1) Working full time

2) Spending a LOT of time with family! (the best reason to be distracted so no shame with this one!)

3)Getting wrapped up in reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (almost finished)! I feel like I haven’t read a book for pleasure in a very, very long time!

4)Shamelessly binge-watching Orange is the New Black with my boyfriend, Chris. Yes we’re super late to the party and just started this series a few weeks ago! We’re on Season 3 now- woo hoo!

5)Normal adulting and trying to get through my late 20’s crisis.I feel like I haven’t even gotten over my mid-20’s crisis and then BAM, my late 20s snuck up on me!

Ok ok… some of those reasons are definitely more valid than others. But a friend of mine at work told me something that really resonated with me:

If you love and care about something, you’ll find time for it.

And he is absolutely right. I love this blog, I love writing, I love make up, and I NEED to make the commitment to write more! If I had it my way, I’d be writing and swatching makeup all day. But of course, that dream can’t come true at the moment.

So in order to fix this, I’ve developed a writing plan/calendar for my posts! 🙂

Sunday Swatches– On Sundays I’ll be posting swatches and swatch comparisons! This will include “Swatch with Me” articles where I’ll swatch make up with friends, family members, bloggers, and other makeup enthusiasts. I’ll also continue to post swatch comparisons of make up on different skin tones, under different light sources, etc!

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Friday Features and Friday Favorites- Friday posts will be focused featuring a brand, makeup artist, blogger, Instagram or Yoube account focused on diversity and also sharing industry news! I’ll also be sharing some of my newest or oldest makeup favorites!

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Wednesdays- (I have yet to come up with an alliteration for Wednesday, so for now, it’s simply “Wednesdays” 😉

On Wednesdays, I’ll write quick personal posts to help everyone get to know the voice behind the blog and give myself a chance to get to know all of you better as well! This will include fun facts, stories about my makeup/blogging journey, random blurbs, etc!

Any other posts such as product reviews, lists, or any other topics I come up with or any that you suggest or request for me to write about, will be mixed in throughout the week!

I’m super excited to get started and stick with this blogging calendar! I may tweak the calendar after trying it out for a little bit, but in the meantime, thank you very much for being here and reading my posts! That means the world to me!

Before I end this post, I wanted to take a moment to reflect and remember all of the lives that were tragically lost on September 11th 2001. It’s been 15 years and we will never forget….

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Image credit here

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Lists, Product Review, Swatch Comparison, Swatch with me

3 Universally Flattering Drugstore Lipstick Colors!

September 9, 2016 No Comments

I think any makeup lover like myself has gone through this exact situation or something incredibly similar: you see a GORGEOUS makeup shade on someone else but then when you try it on yourself, you quickly realize the shade looks completely different! For the last few months I’ve been researching and collecting a list of make up shades that are said to be universally flattering on every skin tone. This past week I had a little swatch party with two of my friends to test 3 drug store lipsticks to see how they looked on each of our different skin tones! (Thank you Angela and Tie for swatching with me!)

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1) Revlon Color Stay Ultimate Suede in Muse ($9.99)

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How the shade looks in the package: Hot, bright pink!

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Overall impression: The swatches of this shade looked completely different on all 3 skin tones! The shade was bright wine purple with a hot pink undertone when applied on the lighter skin tone. On a tan skin tone, this shade looked more purple/fuchsia. The shade looked the most like it does in the package when swatched on a darker skin tone-bright pink! All these shades were different, but all beautiful! Definitely recommend this lipstick. It’s creamy, pigmented and the color is buildable. Click here to see pictures of this lip color applied on women of different skin tones on Revlon’s website!

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2)Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor in Red Revival ($7.49)

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How the shade looks in the package: Deep, true red.

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Overall impression: This lipstick is extremely pigmented and took on different variations of deep red on all of our skin tones. The shade was a bright red on the lightest skin tone compared to the darker skin tones. The shade takes on a more maroon shade when applied on the darker skin tones. Overall, I was very impressed with this lipstick! Definitely a high quality drug store product.

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3) L’Oréal Infallible 8 Hour Pro Gloss in Sangria ($9.99)

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How the shade looks in the package: Orangey-brown with hint of mauvey red with glitter

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Overall impression: There is a huge difference between how this shade looks in the tube as it does swatched. The shade looks more orangey-brown with a red/mauve undertone in the tube, and it surprisingly transformed to a pink/mauve shade when swatched. Overall, this shade is lightly pigmented and applies on very sheer. The shade would serve more as a tint for your lips instead of a solid color. This lipgloss comes with a soft bristled, triangle shaped brush.

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In conclusion!: There is an endless amount of different skin tones in the world- every single one of them beautiful! It’s amazing to think about how a make up shade can completely transform when applied on different skin tones. Overall, I think that sometimes it’s good to have some guidance on what shades look flattering on your skin tone, but overall- there shouldn’t be any rules on what shades you should wear! If you try on a shade that makes you feel confident, beautiful, and HAPPY, that’s all that matters.

Now I want to hear from you! :

Have you tried any of these shades? Send me your swatches!

Are there any shades that you believe are universally flattering?

What are your favorite shades to wear?

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Product Review

Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick Review!

August 26, 2016 1 Comment

Happy Friday, everyone!! I’m excited to review this product for you today!

Here are my thoughts on Hourglass Cosmetics Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick (wow that was a mouthful)!

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One of the biggest reasons I was enticed by this product was the impressive range of shades that are available (26 total!). I’ve been seeing more and more cosmetic companies expanding their range of foundation and concealer shades to accommodate more skin tones and I’m LOVING it. Kudos to Hourglass Cosmetics for embracing the diversity of their customers! Check out all of the shades here.

Here are swatches of the lightest shade (Blanc), medium shade (Golden), and darkest shade (Espresso). At first swatch, this foundation felt super creamy and was impressively pigmented!

(Outside in natural light)

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First Impression

I have to admit, it was intimidating finding the right shade for myself because there were so many to choose from. One thing I like the most about the shades is that they take into consideration not just skintone but also undertone. For example, shade Ivory is described as “light medium, with a cool undertone” and shade Nude is a “light medium, with a neutral undertone”.

After receiving some advice from a Sephora beauty expert, I chose the shade Golden Tan (medium beige, warm undertone) which blended perfectly with my neck after we swatched it on my chin.

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The product comes in shiny a triangle shaped tube and this is how much product you get (about 2-2.5 inches).

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Application

You can use the Vanish Foundation Blush ($46) which is a soft bristled, tapered brush, about the size of a half dollar, or a damp beauty blender to apply this product.

Overall, this foundation was super easy to apply and I found that a little bit of product goes a long way!

I drew 2 lines across both my cheeks, one across my forehead, one down the bridge of my nose, and little dot on top of my lips, and a small line on my chin. And then blended this all out with a damp beauty blender.

My first impression after applying this on my face was a positive one! This foundation felt light, sheer, and really did seem to “vanish” as it blended in with my natural skintone. A lot of bloggers have mentioned that this foundation made their skin look airbrushed and flawless.

Lasting Impression

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This product is said to be a long wearing and waterproof foundation, lasting 12 hours. I’ve been using this foundation for about a week now and have been testing out it’s durability througout a mellow day (mostly indoors around the office and lounging at home), and it’s durability throughout a more hectic day (5 hours outdoors in the hot sun and the rest indoors).

Overall, the staying power of this foundation is impressive! The foundation unfortunately did start to fade on the oilier parts of my face (such as my nose) after about 5 hours. But any part of my face that I set with powder stayed pretty well throughout the day and upheld it’s seamless, satin finish.

However (yes unfortunately there is a “however”), I felt like the satin finish of the foundation made my skintone look flat and almost dry. I typically like a more of a dewy, hydrating look for all over my face.

I also found that this foundation was not buildable. It started to get a little cakey after I tried applying 2-3 more layers. I personally believe this would be best used as 1 sheer layer.

Conclusions

Pros

Range of 26 shades
Considers undertone
Easy to blend
Little product goes a long way
Seamless, airbrushed look
Lasts throughout the day when set with powder

Cons

A little pricey at $46
Not a lot of product
Not buildable
Product doesn’t last on oily parts of your face
Velvety finish can make your skin look flat

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Would I buy it again?

Overall, the seamless look that you can achieve when using this product is really impressive, but I still prefer using liquid foundation over stick foundation. I personally think that this product would be great for contouring instead of applying it on your entire face. I would love to eventually buy a darker shade and use it to contour!

You can also use a hydrating liquid serum or primer like Ren Instant Firming Beauty Shot to mix with the product to change it’s consistency to feel more like a liquid foundation.

Now I want to hear from you!

Have you tried this foundation? What do you think?

Do you prefer liquid foundation or stick foundation? Why?

Are there any other foundations or concealers that you’ve seen have impressive range of shades?

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Blogging, Lists

Top 7 things you need to take pictures for your Makeup Blog and Instagram!

August 22, 2016 1 Comment

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend!!

Where will you find me on a typical Saturday or Sunday morning?? Sitting on the sidewalk & grass area outside my apartment in my PJ’s, with a bag full of makeup, ready to spend the next couple hours under the gorgeous California morning sunshine, swatching makeup and taking pictures for my blog and Instagram! 😉

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This post is for anyone who is interested in starting a beauty blog or Instagram account! Keep reading below for a list of the top 7 items I use to take flatlays and pictures of swatches!

1) Simple Background

I’ve researched all the different backgrounds that bloggers use for their pictures & flatlays and they all have one common piece of advice: keep it simple!

I’ve tried a few different backgrounds and I found that a plain white foamboard works really well when taking pictures in natural light, which is my preferred choice of light to take pictures in! The board I use is Elmer’s White Foamboard from Michael’s.

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Other backgrounds I’ve used for flatlays include bedsheets, rugs or fabric with interesting textures (I use small swatches of fabric from the craft store), scrapbook paper, decorative boxes, or anything in nature such as grass, flowers, trees etc!

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2) Camera of choice

I’m currently using an LG G4 phone for my camera and I LOVE the quality of phots I get. I tried using a point & shoot camera to take pictures of swatches but I personally found that the camera on my phone most accurately captures the way shade of makeup looks and it makes it easy for me to upload directly on IG or my blog. I suggest trying out different cameras to see what your favorite one to use and what works best for your blog and purpose 🙂

3) Tape!

It’s amazing how good ol’ Scotch tape makes such a big difference when taking pictures of makeup swatches on your arm/hand! There are a lot of times that I spontaneously swatch makeup on my arm and in these cases, I won’t take the time to use tape to frame the swatches. But, I find that using tape when swatching makeup makes the edges much cleaner and helps space the swatches evenly on your arm. See the difference below between swatches done freehand and swatches done using tape.

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(makeup swatches done freehand)

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(using tape to frame the makeup swatches)

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4) Makeup Wipes.

Makeup wipes are a must-have to clean in between swatching different makeup products and can also be used to clean your products so that they’re photo ready. I typically use Target’s Up&Up make up wipes to erase makeup swatches on my arm. These wipes work well, smell great, and are super affordable at 50 wipes for $3.59! I save my Neutrogena makeup remover wipes to use on my face or for harder to remove makeup swatches. Other good items to have around for cleaning your makeup/swatches are paper towels, water, and hand sanitizer!

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5) Notebook

One big piece of advice: take notes to keep track of what pictures you’re taking! It can be really difficult to distinguish the brand and shade of the makeup you took pictures of unless you take note of it. The notebook also comes in handy to take down your thoughts on how the color looks, consistency, texture, your first impression of the product, and anything else that may be hard to remember after the fact.

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6) Props

I like to keep my pictures very minimal and simple but a few props are always good to have at hand. Some of my favorite props I recommend are: flowers (both real or fake), jewelry, ceramic bowls or plates, anything from the scrapbook section in a craftstore, and any little trinkets you have.

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Be sure to use all the beautiful and natural items you find outside! Flowers, trees, lakes, mountains, beaches, the sky, etc all make amazing backgrounds!

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7) Makeup!

And last but not least, makeup!! Old makeup, new makeup, anything you have! Just grab a handful from your stash and go swatch crazy! 🙂

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Someday I hope to have a beautiful makeup room to take pictures of my makeup and swatches, but for now, I love my little spot on the sidewalk outside my apartment. 🙂

Now I want to hear from you!

What are your favorite items to use when taking pictures for your blog?

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Lists, Shopping

Ulta Window Shopping!

July 28, 2016 No Comments

Hi lovelies!!!

I went to Ulta the other day with a gift card that’s been burning a hole in my wallet for a few months now! As as per usual, I went a little crazypants with the swatches but for the first time that I can remember, I left with absolutely no new makeup purchases. Unheard of!

My head went spinning with all the new makeup possibilities….Should I buy a bunch drugstore products, or splurge on 1-2 higher end items?? Ooo I like this lipstick, no Alyssa you don’t need more lipstick. But I always need more lipstick. I think I have this shade already, wait do I? Ok I have this narrowed down to 15 different choices. Should I restock on my faves or try something new?? Would I ever wear turquoise eyeliner? You never know. Ok I have this narrowed down to 10 different choices…

In the end, my indecisiveness got the best of me and I left empty handed with my arm covered in a collage of swatches of different makeup that I liked, loved, or didn’t care for!

See the damage below 😉

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Here’s a list of the top 10 brands/products that caught my eye during my little trip to Ulta!
This a mix of new and old products/brands, makeup that was featured in the store, and anything else that caught my attention!

Benefit Magically Transforming Brow Collection
There were a couple of end caps and displays featuring these products. The packaging is very interesting….almost intimidating! Looked like a mix of badass weaponry and scary equipment you find at the dentists office. The product line includes brow gel, eyebrow conditioning powder, 2 types of eyebrow pencils, and eyebrow cream all ranging from $24-$28. This is said to make shaping and filling in your brows super easy and “goof proof”!
Lorac Pro Palette 3, $44
I have the Lorac Pro Palette 1 and I love everything about it! The quality is fantastic, the shades are gorgeous, and the color payout is amazing. Hence, I’ve been anxiously wanting to try the new Lorac Pro Palettes, both the #2 and #3!
The Lorac Pro Palette 3 comes with 16 different colors. A majority of them are neutral/nude shades. I was most intrigued about the shades in the bottom row of the palette, specifically Amethyst, Dark Mocha and Truffle.
*Just an FYI that these palettes are also sold at Kohl’s!
Urban Decay Vice
This display is definitely an attention grabber. I dare you to walk by it without stopping and marveling at it’s beauty. It beckons you to want to try all of the different colors, even the ones that are out of your normal make up preferences! I’ve seen a lot of beauty bloggers swatch and rave about this product, and I can see why! The lipsticks are super pigmented and you can trust that the color you see in the tube, is exactly the shade you’re gonna get! Not to mention that there are sooo many shades to try:
Vice Lipstick- 39 shades
Comfort Matte- 21 shades
Metallized- 13 shades
Sheer- 16 shades
Sheer Shimmer- 5 colors
Mega Matte- 6 colors
Too Faced Chocolate Collection
This collection totally won me over because I’m a sucker for cute and creative packaging. So you can imagine how giddy I was over this collection. Look how adorable!! The eyeshadow palettes come with 16 shades (mix of matte and shimmer).
Ulta Brand Eyehadow Palettes $19.99
I’m not sure why I’ve never come across these palettes before! I wasn’t sure what to expect when I swatched these and let me tell you, I was definitely pleasantly surprised with the quality! When I swatched these shades on my arm, they were pigmented, shimmery, and easy to blend! There were 5 palettes available with different combinations of shades: Prismatic, Miss Fabulous, Metals, Rose Gold and Gilded Gold.
NYX Vivid Brights Electro Liner and Liquid Liner
This line was featured on a main endcap display in the drug store section of the store. So many fun and bright colors! Makes me want to break out of my normal black eyeliner routine and try a look completely out of my comfort zone! The liquid liner comes in 9 different shades from green, to purple, to blue to brown! How fun!
Soap and Glory Brand
The last time I saw this brand, it was a lotion brand with adorable pink packaging and witty product names like Hand food and Orangeasm! I was incredibly intrigued and enticed to try this new makeup brand! The packaging is girly and adorable. I wasn’t able to find the cosmetics products on Ulta’s website but check out these products on Soap & Glory’s website! Their lipsticks, cheek sticks and powders are what caught my attention the most!
Honest Beauty
I was excited to try this makeup line because I previously associated the Honest Brand with their baby product line. Hats off to the beautiful Jessica Alba for expanding her brand! I did a quick swatch of some of the products and there were a couple hits and a couple misses! The lip crayons (comes in 12 different shades) were SUPER pigmented. The cream foundation was super hard to spread when I swatched it on my arm, which makes me think that spreading the foundation all over my face would be even more difficult. The eyeshadows were pigmented and the shades were pretty!
Buxom Customizable Palettes
I love the idea of being able to customize an eyeshadow palette. Especially when I typically only use a few different shades in the palettes I own now. You can customize a palette with 6 different shades for $40! There are 40 different shades to choose from.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance PaletteI’ve seen so many bloggers rave about this palette so this was one of the first products I sought out on my Ulta trip. I’ve been huge fan of deep burgundy eyeshadow shades lately and this palette is chalk full of so many that I want to try! The shades that I swatched and love the most were Venetian Red and Lover Letter. This palette will definitely be MINE on my next trip no ifs ands or buts about it. I need this in my collection!

Now I want to hear from you!

Have you tried any of these products/brands? What do you think??

What were your last purchases at Ulta? Share your hauls! 🙂

Do you want me to swatch/review any of the products above?

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Product Review, Swatch Comparison

Contour Kit Swatch Comparison! Drugstore vs Highend

July 3, 2016 2 Comments

Hello everyone! Happy 4th of July weekend!! 🙂

I am EXTREMELY excited about the swatch comparison that I’ll be sharing with you all today! Not only do I get to share with you an AMAZING drugstore product that I recently discovered, but I’m also doing a swatch comparison of this drug store product vs a high end luxury product!

Let me present to you these amazing Wet n Wild MegaGlo Contour Palettes that I found at Target for $4.99 each!!

Dulce de Leche (left) and Caramel Toffee (right)

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My overall thoughts on this product!

The formula feels super creamy and velvety to the touch which makes it easy to apply and blend
Impressive pigmentation and color pay out
The bigger sized pans make it easy to pick up the product with a brush
Buildable color
Overall an impressingly high quality product for $4.99!

Swatch breakdown of the 2 contour kits!

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Caramel Toffee (top picture), Dulce De Leche (bottom picture)

The color payout and pigmentation of both kits are very impressive! I recommend Caramel Toffee for tan/darker skintones like myself (I’m shade NC42 in Mac foundation) and Dulce De Leche will work beautifully for lighter skintones and complextions! 🙂

The highlight shade in Caramel Toffee is a yellow banana color and works great for setting my under eye concealer and blends well with the golden undertones of my complextion. The highlighting shade in Dulce de Leche is a light off-white shade which would work great as a setting powder for lighter skintones!

I was pleasantly surprised and impresssed with both of the contour shades in Caramel Toffee and Dulce de Leche. The shade in Caramel Toffee was pigmented enough to use as a contour shade on my tan skin! A lot of contour shades or bronzers are so similar to my natural skin tone that I can’t use them for contouring but this shade is absolutely perfect.

The contour shade in Dulce de Leche is nice lighter cool-toned tan shade. I could use this as a light bronzer on my skintone but this would work best as a contour on lighter skintones. These colors are buildable and easy to blend. I apply as many layers as I want depending on how intense I want to contour that day.

Overall, Caramel Toffee worked the best with my skintone! I LOVE the shades that come in this palette! I’ve been using this duo for the past few weeks ever since I bought it and it has easily become a staple in my makeup collection. I’ll definitely replenish this kit when I run out!

Now it’s time to compare these shades with my first contour kit that I ever bought!!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit ($40.00) vs. Wet n Wild MegaGlo Contour kit ($4.99 each)

Here are swatches of the bronze contouring shades from the Anastasia Palette vs the contouring shades of the Wet n Wild palettes!

The swatches of both kits were very similar in both color and pigmentation! Look at that! They’re like color twinsies. The top shades in these pictures are my favorites in both kits. This is a tie for me! All the shades in both palettes work really well with my skintone and the quality is excellent in both.

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Swatches of the highlighting shades in the Anastasia Contour Kit and the Wet N Wild MegaGlo Contour kits!

As you can see from the swatches below, the bottom 2 shades of the highlighting kit in the Anastasia palette show up extremely lightly on my skin. The bottom one is nearly invisible! I have to blend both colors in order to make these shades work with my skintone to set my under eye concealer. I personally feel that the hightlighting shades in the MegaGlo palettes have a significantly better color pay out on my skintone than the Anastasia shades.

I bought my Anastasia palette when there was only 1 kit available. Now there are 2 new kits for medium-dark skintones! I’m looking forward to trying these in the future!

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