While attempting to come up with a makeup look using my L’oreal Project Runway Palette in Audacious Amazon’s Gaze, I literally found myself staring at the palette over and over again, drawing no creativity at all. My final creation was very spontaneous, and I decided to take the colors and create an 80′s-inspired eye look that is colorful but still wearable. This is a great look for the weekend, or even for Halloween if you plan on doing an 80′s themed costume. I was happy that the shades in the palette were buildable, meaning they didn’t come onto your eye so richly pigmented that you feel like you can’t wear this look out anywhere. I wore this eye look out on the weekend while shopping, and it added that colorful, fun pop to my eyes without overwhelming them. To see how I achieved this look, read more…

It seems like every single year Gucci Westman, makeup artist and creative director for Revlon, has come out with a smash-hit limited edition makeup collection for Revlon. The Expressionists Collection is truly a beautiful collection, and when I stumbled across the display at CVS last night, I was tempted to grab one of everything. The nail polish from the collection is glittery and glamorous, the eyeshadow is shimmery and chic, and the lip colors are perfect for fall and winter. Violet Frenzy is one of the lipsticks from this collection, and I originally picked it up because the color intimidated me in the packaging. You will almost never find me grabbing for dark, vampy lipstick shades, but I decided to be brave and give it a chance. You’ll be surprised to learn that this lipstick is nowhere near as scary as it looks in the tube, and it applies a gorgeous berry-purple shade to your lips. To see photographs and swatches, read more…

Maybelline’s “Scene on the Runway” Collection is limited edition for Fall 2011, and includes this lipstick, Must Have Mauve. It’s a beautiful milky mauve-purple shade, and I was curious to see how it looked outside of the tube and on my lips. I really love mauve and purple-toned shades for the colder months because not only are they super on-trend right now, but they can make your teeth look whiter and your smile look brighter. To see photographs and swatches, read more…

I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t been the biggest fan of Sephora by OPI recently. I have found their recent color collections and additions to be somewhat typical and boring with an occasional shade here and there that has caught my attention. What’s Your Poison? was one of those shades that stood out at me because it contained beautiful metallic silver glitter in a bright fuchsia-red base. I know, fuchsia-red? Is that even a color? I thought this would be red, but when I look at it, it looks fuchsia to me…and then it looks red again. I guess we’ll leave it up to the beholder. To see photographs and swatches, as well as what I thought of the formula, read more…

MAC Cosmetics recently released a new range of lip colors called Mattene Lipstick which offer a semi-matte finish and claim to be completely non-drying and non-flaking. I absolutely love matte and semi-matte lipstick but I tend to shy away from them because they end up drying out my lips, flaking off, or settling into lines. I was pretty impressed with how nice this lipstick felt when I applied it, and it had great staying power. To see photographs and swatches of the gorgeous berry shade Deliciously Forbidden, read more…

Jesse’s Girl recently released a few new eyeshadow palettes, including this baked eyeshadow palette with nine marbled shades. These palettes are major beauty bargains because they are so inexpensive and put down big-time color. I spotted mine at my local Rite Aid, and within a week, they were all sold out of them! I love that this palette is a no-frills type of design, as well. Recently, we’ve seen makeup palettes pull out all the bells and whistles in terms of packaging and add-in’s, but at the end of the day, those typically drive up the price of a makeup palette, and end up emptying our wallet. I buy a makeup palette for, well, the makeup! Jesse’s Girl does a fantastic job at keeping the palette clean, simple, and lightweight, in both our hands, and our bank account! To see photographs and swatches, read more…

I am always searching for that perfect pink lipstick. You know, the one that isn’t too light it looks almost nude or beige, or too bright that it can only be worn with certain eye makeup. I have finally found one that fits my needs perfectly, and falls right in between my two necessary shade desires. Persian Melon by Revlon Moon Drops Creme Lipstick is the most gorgeous Barbie-doll pink. It manages to be just pink enough to actually show up on your lips and give you that wash of doll-like color, but it also doesn’t look too bright or crazy that you need to tone down the rest of your makeup in order to pull it off. To see photographs and swatches, read more…

I previously photographed and swatched the new Maybelline limited edition EyeStudio palettes, showing the gorgeous pigmentation they put down. I already showed my makeup look using “Green With Fashion,” and I was excited to do a look using “Strut It Suede,” because I get a lot of requests for a neutral, wearable eye makeup look. What I love about this the most is that this is my “everyday” eye makeup look. I typically gravitate towards this neutral, toned-down smokey look using beige and browns, and I always swipe flesh-toned eyeliner onto my bottom water-line to wake my eyes up. To see how to get this look, and plenty more photographs, read more…

This lipstick is one of four brand new limited edition Rouge Dior Lipsticks from Dior’s “Blue Tie Collection.” I previously reviewed and swatched Pisanelle Pink here, which is more of a nude-beige shade. Tourbillon Pink is a gorgeous rosy-mauve pink shade that will be universally flattering on every single skin tone. I really fell in love with the lipsticks from this collection because they are all muted versions of best-selling lipstick shades such as nude-beige, rose, and mauve. To see photographs and swatches, read more…

I was adamantly searching for the Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers Collection when I stumbled across a huge display from L’oreal that was all limited edition. There were four separate “compartments” to the display, where each had a specific makeup look and corresponding eye palettes, blush, and lipstick to go along with it. The one that attracted me the most was the Project Runway Eyeshadow Quad in Audacious Amazon’s Gaze, mostly because the shades were so bright yet they also reminded me a lot of fall. I wasn’t sure how the quality would be, since two of the four eyeshadows are matte, but I decided to go ahead and give it a chance anyway because I can see myself creating a colorful yet autumn-inspired makeup look with the palette. To see photographs and swatches, read more…