Favorite Champagne Eyeshadows

My favorite color - out of any color - of eyeshadow is absolutely champagne. It is the perfect lighter color all over the lid, in my opinion. I have hooded eyes so I need all the help I can get with bringing the lid part of my eye out. Even you don't have hooded lids, you have to love champagne shadows. Any skin tone/color can wear champagne.

I picked out 3 of my favorite champagne eye shadows that are all that and a bag of chips! (wtf...i should delete that last sentence. But I obviously didn't) 2 are creams and 1 is powder.

 Stila Eyeshadow in Kitten

This is the best eyeshadow color in the world. I don't just mean the best champagne eyeshadow. It is the best eyeshadow. If you haven't tried Kitten, you really need to. Once you do, I know you will feel the need to always have it in your collection. Kitten is silky to the touch, has incredible pigment which in turn gives incredible color pay off. Even when I have a much deeper, more vibrant eyeshadow color anywhere else in my eye look, Kitten always gives it a run for its money. Not that you have 2 bold eye colors competing, giving your eye look a tacky feel. That is why I love it. It has vibrancy with also being neutral (am I making sense? lol). It really highlights the eye nicely because of that. If you have hooded lids like me and wear this on the lid, it brings them out beautifully. Even though I never thought I would have a holy grail eye shadow, this one is making the page.

Jouer Cream Shadow in Feather

This formula has a really silky feel to the touch and it leaves an extremely thin layer of product to where it is applied without compromising the color payoff. This is a good point if you have oily eye lids as you know the more layers you add, the more likely your eyeshadow is to crease. Feather would work beautifully as a face highlight because of that and also because it blends like a dream. Even though I wear this as a base under other similar eyeshadow colors (Kitten!), I dont recommend it without a primer as it will crease like crazy. Even though it is thin, there usually is no getting around it without a primer. I apply it with my fingers and it works like a dream.

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Beige

If you haven't heard about the Color Tattoos I have one question: where have you been? Unlike its higher end counterpart, Barely Beige (or any other Color Tattoo) will work wonderfully as a base for another eyeshadow on top to make it pop more, and as a primer. I haven't had any problems with it creasing as long as im not globbing it on. It has more of a creamy feel than a silky feel, and the formula is more thicker than Feather. On top of using it as a primer and a base, it works well on it's own. A life saver when I am in a hurry and want to kill lots of birds with one stone.

Both Maybelline's Barely Beige and Jouer's Feather are almost the same when it comes to color. You will see in the swatch how they differ. If you have been wanting Feather but have Barely Beige, save your money! If you can't find Barely Beige any longer, look to Jouer for Feather. They have them on the Birchbox website (where I got mine!) and if you rack up your points you can get it for free.

 Top: Maybelline Barely Beige. Bottom: Jouer's Feather.

when you see the swatches, please know that there is a reflection and both cream shadows reflect light like crazy, so in some lights they look as is and in others they look the same.

to see a swatch of Stila's Kitten

A quick overview of some of my favorite champagne eyeshadows that will double and triple as face highlights, primers, & bases.

short. sweet. to the point.

whats your favorite champagne eyeshadow? Would love more recommendations!

whats your favorite color of eyeshadow?

New Maybelline Stuff

Lately, I have been liking a lot of Maybelline products. They were having their BOGO sale at Ulta a couple weeks back for Maybelline and since I have already looked in 4 other stores for the new limited edition Maybelline Color Tattoos and had no luck finding them, I figured Ulta just might have some.

Luckily, I was correct! Just when I asked if they had it in the back, a lady came out with a fresh, untouched display of the Scene on the Runway collection Maybelline is offering for a limited time. There is plenty more I would love to have from the collection (an eyeshadow palette, and that russet something or other lipstick!), but the display was strictly Color Tattoos. Thankfully, my hunt for the Barely Beige Color Tattoo was over.

Barely Beige is the only lighter color in the limited edition Color Tattoo's and I have a thing for champagne eye shadows. I already own Tough as Taupe from the permanent collection and they are both great without an eye shadow primer. Barely Beige can be swiped all over the lid, leaving Tough as Taupe in the crease and I can be done- no primer needed! Barely Beige is both creamy & pigmented even more so than Tough as Taupe. However, I have had Tough as Taupe for some time now and has more than likely dried out a little bit and since I don't know how Barely Beige will hold up over time, I can't give a fair comparison of the two in that regard. I have really been loving my Barely Beige Color Tattoo. I would say if you have been eying it, to grab it asap as it is limited edition and I am not certain about your town, but in my town it was hard to find! Swatches and comparison to come on this baby!

Since I could get something half off with my first Maybelline purchase, I already knew I wanted to try the Dream Bouncy Blush. I decided on Fresh Pink. I have heard mixed things about it. My bfff loves them. Some bloggers hate them. I happen to really like it! In my opinion it goes on with just enough pigment: not too much and not too little. It leaves a tint on the skin like a liquid tint would. Its also is nice and creamy and I find that I can build it up if need be. I have just been applying it with just my finger, dabbing and blending and that seems to work fine. It's pretty much fool-proof. Although the whole "bouncy" thing doesn't quite fit. It's doesn't bounce back up after you've tampered with it. It just has a permanent dent in it. I really don't mind that. Luckily I took my picture before I used it!

here's a swatch of the Dream Bouncy Blush in Fresh Pink, blended:

Have you gotten anything good from Maybelline lately?

thank you for reading!
xoxo
Erica

Smashbox Try It Kit

Hey guys! I hope your having a great day - Sept. is almost over and that means November will be here soon, and that means Black Friday will be directly after that! My favorite holiday(s) are coming up Thanksgiving, Christmas, & New Years! But my absolute fav is Christmas. I went to DG yesterday and there was so much X-mas stuff already! Yay! I am def. getting ahead of myself. Lets go on to my Smashbox stuff:

Smashbox Try It Kit $19

I have wanted this forever, it has been on my wishlist for some time now and I was so exited to try it out. For $19 I dont think you can get any better than this. Even tho they are all mini's, I think it is worth it.

Face Primer: This has a silky texture, just like L'Oreal's Magic Perfecting Base even tho this is a gel. however, I think this might work better to fill in pores and all that. Like I mentioned before, with the L'Oreal primer, I dont think I was using enough of it - so I am using a little more with this stuff. I only have so much of it but I def. think I can get my money's worth out of it.

Eye Primer: I have tried a few so far: Mark's, Elf's & Jesse's Girl and I must say, this is the best one. I think it can double as a second concealer for the lid because it is pretty pigmented- although if you have redness, I think a concealor on the lid before the primer would do you better. ("do you better"?- where's your mind Erica?!) The consistency of this stuff is different than anything else I have tried. It isn't oily (like mark.) or silky like Jesse's Girl. It is the exact opposite of the way the Jesse's Girl one feels. Much more dense, I guess would be a good description. I went to an 8 hr work day and my eye makeup was still there by the end of it, so the primer did it's job too- that's a plus.

Eye Liner: I am not sure if this is kohl, but it does look like one anyway. Either way, I personally have used better ones. Mark has a really good kohl liner that will last longer and is much more pigmented than this one is. I just feel like it takes so many strokes on my water line to even show. Lining my lid I didn't seem to have a problem tho. Fair warning, it does run off of where I lined & onto the side of my eye. You can never have too many back-ups tho, right? I sell Mark if you wanna check the liner out! or anything else for that matter!

Mascara: I like my mascara's to lengthen and this one creates more volume than it does lengthen. However, it is a really nice mascara because it has a thicker consistency and it hasn't ran down my face yet. It is a really good mascara, but I guess this just depends on what you look for in a mascara. If your looking for a good volumizing mascara, then you have come to the right place.

Lipgloss: Obviously sheer, but it has some sparkle to it. I think it gives a very light touch of pigment, so if you wore it by itself, it would look natural. It smells delicious, real brown sugary sweet like.

Overall: I really love the eye primer & the face primer. Eye Liner isnt the best & the mascara is a good one, but it depends on what your looking for. Lipgloss is good too. I think it was worth the $19 to try it out. I think they could have got away with just doing 4 products, so trying all 5 for under $20 is a great opportunity.

Ill give this 4 out of 5 stars and that is only because I am not highly impressed with the liner. It's not the worst, but I like my liner to stay in place and when I am applying liner into my water line, it would be nice to see it.  The liner isn't something I will re-purchase.

swatches (obviously)

My Mark Store

have a great day!!!!

Hit Pan & Empties

L'Oreal Magic Perfecting Base- As my very first face primer, I thought it was pretty good, but I do hope there are better one's out there than this. The formula has a whipped cream consistency & has a really silky feel to it. Once this stuff is applied, it dosen't feel too heavy or make my face feel even more oily (than it can get)- it feels really light weight and nice. With that said, I just don't think it gives my face an even texture or fills in large pores. It is kind of expensive for such a small tub ($14 for .5 oz) and because of that, I was only using a dime sized amount and I don't feel like it was doing a great job filling in my pores. Perhaps I wasn't using enough...? If I wasnt using enough, then I think you should be getting more for your money. Other people LOVE this primer, so maybe that was the problem. With or without this stuff, my face make-up stays on for the same amount of time.

Rice Face Wash from Bath & Body Works- I bought this face wash like 7 years ago. It was recommended to me at the store because I do have acne prone skin. When I first bought it, I didn't like it. The reason for that was because I would tend to get it in my eyes and it fucking burned!!! I was using Proactiv in conjunction w/ this back then, just an Fyi. I just used it up recently because it was my "back-up" face wash. I can't really say that it helped with my acne and it was a bit expensive at around $20. Does it clean my face? yes. However, I think you can find something just as good, that is much cheaper, that if you do get in your eyes, it's not a big deal....unlike Rice. No Dice.

Ouidad Styling Spritz- I bought the whole package about 2 years ago. It came with the shampoo, gel, the spritz & also a how-to book with some clips to use when your styling. I do have wavy hair which I can curl just by scrunching & blow-drying , so im always on the hunt for different products that help natural curls. With that said- I loved this spritz! I always used this along with Suave Mousse (which I love) the first day. This stuff, first of all, will hold my curl and make them more defined along with adding some volume. It dosen't make my hair sticky either. On the second day, I would just spray some of this in my hair and blow dry upside down while scrunching and it made my hair look just as fabulous as the day before- in fact, I think I liked day 2 better!  If you like the "wet" look, I wouldn't recommend this to you, because that isnt what it does. I personally dont like it, so this stuff is perfection.

Avon's Clearskin Blackhead Eliminating Daily Astringent- I really like this toner because whatever makeup or dirt I did miss when I washed my face, this stuff takes it off and makes my skin really clean which is exactly why I buy a toner. I know that some toner's can be drying and I dont think this one is, but again I have oily skin. If you have dry skin, you may wanna check into it. Also, this stuff does burn (which can be a sign of drying) if you have an infected pimple or anything like that which I kind of like because I feel like it's killing bacteria and cleaning deeper. If your sensitive to that burning sensation I cant say I recommend it.  

what's on the bottle?

Cashmere Lotion- I am in love with stuff. The small size (which is the hand cream) was $10- that's expensive. With that said, I am buying this again once I have the money, but this time im gunna go with the butter that comes in the tub. I think this is the only lotion I am willing to shell out a lot of money for, because I love the scent. It smells buttery & creamy. The scent will linger on your skin for half the day too. Next time your at B&BW, take a whiff of this! And oh yeah, it moisturizes too, that's def. a plus!

p.s.- this picture of the Cashmere Hand Cream was actually taken when I first got it- I took a pic of it but it didnt come out very good! sorry guys!

Mark. Keep it Going Long Wear Liner & Shadow in Entourage- The one I have has a matte black side and a silvery/white side with a bit of sparkle. The black I used all the time, as a cream liner, and I absolutely loved it! It didn't dry out until just recently and I bought it in January. Now on to the white side....It was absolutely drying from the first day. It didn't go on smooth like the black side- it just kinda clumped up- no matter if I used my fingers, a brush, or whatever. I think the reason for that has something to do with the sparkles inside- it just didn't work out for me. I since then bought the Wet -n- Wild cream liner for $4 in black- so I got the one color I wanted- a matte black. The Mark. one runs up to $10 and half of it dries out quickly. I do think they are comparable- WnW and mark.'s black side I mean. Both creamy and nice.

Almay Dial Up Mascara & Liner- This was a 2fur- I got both in one pack. The liner was okay. I dont think there was anything special about it- just a standard black liner. I prefer a kohl liner (Loreal Kohl Liner is great!) as it is much more creamy and dosen't tug at my eyes like some liners can....*cough* As for the mascara, again, it was pretty standard. Nothing special about it. The whole dial up thing just controls how much mascara actually gets on the brush so it's a bit gimmicky. I dont think it held the curl on my lashes like I expect out of any mascara. I like a mascara that defines, separates, & elongates. This stuff just put a bunch of the product on my lashes and they weren't looking "full"...just clumpy. I recommend Mark.'s Scanda-Lash if your looking for the same things out of your mascara.

OK So there's all my empties- What have you guys used up recently? let me know in the comments below! Have a great and thank you so much for stopping by!

Jesse's Girl Eye Shadow Primer

Hey guys, I have been wanting to do a review on this for a really long time! So here it goes

Jeese's Girl Website: "Your eyes, like an artist's canvas, require a primer for best results from your vibrant color palette. Jesse's Girl Eye Shadow Primer provides a silky, crease proof base for smoother application and long lasting color."$5.99

*the color I used for the Primer swatches is Luvstruck by Mark.

                                            

First Thought: when I first picked this up, I honestly didn't like it! I liked my Mark. one a lot better. The mark. one just seemed to have a more concealer like consistency and plus it acts as a concealor. This review isnt about the mark. primer tho which I could possibly do one in the future but I really don't use it as much as this one.

 Consistency: it feels like they took it and blended the formula to make it whipped or something.It is really light & airy formula. it blends into your lid well, not heavy what so ever.  

Color: It is a really pale nude color on the packaging, but I think that any skin color could use this stuff. The color you see in the package isn't the color it comes off on your skin. It basically just clear on the lid/skin.

  

Application: I just dab it all over my eye lid with the doe-foot applicator, and then I blend it into my lid with my finger.-but here's the trick with this stuff- make sure the primer is evenly applied or the color of your shadow will stick (and almost come out darker) on your lid where the primer is more heavily applied.

What do I think: I mean it really does everything that a primer is supposed to do. My makeup does not crease at all through out the day. Having said that, my makeup stays on throughout the day. When I do take off my makeup at night tho, it seems as if the shadow I put on at the beginning of the day is nonexistent on my lid by then. So it would be nice if it had more lasting power but like I said, it stays on through pretty much the whole day- but not quite. For $5.99, I think its a good product. I have had it for around a year now, so a little goes a long way. 

• Ok now, idk if this is going to be a good thing or a bad thing for anybody else but the formula distorts the color -in a good way- I think personally. As you can see, on the pink swatches I did (above and below), It adds another dimension to the color. It makes the color a bit more shiner & deeper.

• With the 2 swatches I tested I noticed also the swatch with the primer underneath does stick around much longer than the   one w/out the primer underneath.

Left swatch w/out primer

*please note* I swatched them twice because my camera died! This last pic and the other swatch pics are different pictures, to let you know. 

whats your favorite shadow primer?