Top 5 Summer Blushes

I get into these moods- I know I have mentioned it here on MBB before- where I am obsessed with outfits, lipsticks, brushes, fruit, home decor, candles, photography, whatever the obsession is for the week- I get into it. Like for reals. Lately I have been obsessed with blushes. Here are my top picks for this summer!

Milani

Corallina

I think the reason for my obsession has been my latest edition in my blush collection. This baby! Oh me gosh- this is just gorgeous! Baked blushes/bronzers are always pretty in the pan, but this is just on another level. When you swatch this it looks a little lighter and brighter of a shade of coral with tiny flex of shimmer. Once applied, it brings a beautiful color to the cheeks along with a highlighting quality because of the shimmer in it- you do not need a highlight when using this blush. This is not one of those blushes that you need to apply twice. The tiniest bit will make your cheeks pop- I gotta be careful with this one, it packs pigment! Not to mention the packaging looks like it should be on the right side of Ulta {are all Ulta's set up with the higher end products on the right side of the store?} but you can find it in CVS for under $10. If you have never tried any Milani baked blushes, I can honestly say you must!

Wet n Wild Color Icon

Heather Silk

This is another banger at the drugstore. One of those blushes that you cannot swirl your brush in over and over. Lightly tap the brush into the blush then tap off the excess- I repeat, tap off the excess! This baby is pigmented and it is only like 2 or 3 bucks! If your not into the shimmer, then this is the perfect blush for you. It is a matte medium pink. It is the darkest color of the bunch. This is an all year round blush for sure. Love this one.

Physician's Formula

Rose

The packaging is adorable. It even comes with a legit brush that I can actually use {I like to use it for contouring my nose because of the shape- it reminds me of a smaller version of the Nars Ita brush} If your new to makeup I think this is a great pick for you. It's not one of those blushes that is so pigmented that it's hard to use but it is surely buildable. Once applied it looks so beautiful on the cheeks. This is a blush that has some shimmer in it {not as much as Corallina}. This blush is magical- It has a highlighting quality without being crazy shimmery. It does have a little bit of shimmer in the pan but on the cheeks it doesn't look shimmery. It just looks brightening. On top of that it brings a nice pink flush to the cheeks. You will see in the swatch photo, it looks almost identical to Dollface. However, if you swatch more of that brighter pink color as opposed to the baby pink (which is how I usually wear it/how its swatched in the photo) you will get a different color. Thinking back I wished I would have swatched it that way. I need to start wearing more of the brighter color because it is so pretty on the back of my hand right now!

ELF Studio Blush

Pink Passion

I am in love with ELF's Studio Blushes. If I could have, I would have put them all in this blog post but because half of them have broken and have the pan showing, I decided it wouldn't be a very cute photo. So here is a review on the line. Anyways, this blush is the brightest of the bunch: a hot bubble gum pink. It is also a matte blush. It is also extremely chalky, which also makes it very pigmented. Tap off the excess, please! With all of these pros and cons, it is a great blush in my collection and it is well loved- I have been using it more than ever this summer. A great pick for any skin tone!

Tarte Amazonian Clay

Dollface
Another matte pink blush. It swatches just like PF's Rose but without the shimmer. It's hard to swatch! It isn't all that pigmented but again, I kinda like that quality in a blush because you can build it up without having to worry about looking like a clown. This one just does something for me. It is that blush that I go to when I don't know what else to wear.

This blog post goes along with The Summer Edit Pt II. I mentiond some of these in that video and also a couple more. The other one's I mention in the video are some of my favorites but they just do not photograph that well because they look used and worn down, to be frank. So check it out!




Thanx for reading!
<3
Erica

Summer Lippies: L'Oreal Color Riche

Walking around Wal Mart a few weeks back, I noticed these were on sale! I also seen these 50% off at CVS too. When something is on sale, I cannot resist. So I bought a couple. These came out last year when the Revlon Lip Butter and Maybelline Baby Lips craze was going on. This was L'Oreal's response to the lip tints. These were the only lip butter esq lip products I had yet to try. So I went for it!

First off, I am obsessed with the packaging. It reminds me of YSL with the gold tube. They are just cute and I feel kinda fancy when I whip it out. I know that is so lame, but whatever. The packaging alone sold me, I'm just being honest! I'm not alone beauty bloggers, am I?

These are comparable to the Revlon's Lip Butter's. They have that same pigment type: they have a sheer wash of color and look slightly glossy on the lips. When you first apply it, it has a slick type of feeling to it. They feel thin and sheer. But they stand out among the Revlon Lip Butter's because of the way they wear down. The glossiness wear's away after awhile but the color is still there. They wear down {especially the brighter color} to what looks like a stain with almost no detection of being drying or patchy which is a great quality! It actually looks like your lips are just that color, no detection of any type of product on the lips, just color, if you can catch my drift.

Fuchsia Flirt

This is a bright fuchsia {name says it all}. The color fuchsia's nature is usually a bright cool toned pink. As you know, cooler (blue) tones in any lip product, make your teeth appear whiter. Always a plus! My favorite out of the pair, is this one. When you first apply it, you get a bright glossy fuchsia color. It isn't as bright as it looks in the tube but I don't think it's supposed to be. Nonetheless, it is still nice and bright on the lips. Like I said before, the brighter color wears down better to what looks like a stain. This one does so but in a way where it doesn't look as bright as it did when you first apply it. Either way, it is an easy lippie to wear the whole day and no matter what it looks like on the lips {bright or duller} it still looks nice.

Cotton Pink

This is a pretty pastel nude pink color once applied. Once it dries down, it loses it's pink tone and turns into more of a nude.  For that reason, it reminds me a lot of Revlon's Lip Butter in Creamsicle, which is a pastel nude. This one does make fine lines and chapped lips more apparent and it also can become a little more drying on the lips than Fuchsia Flirt for whatever reason. I find myself having to re-apply this color sooner than I do with Fuchsia Flirt too. I doesn't hold up as long as the brighter color does.

All and all, I really like these! I think that the brighter/darker colors are better. They seem to just wear down better and look better considering they are more pigmented. Since I liked Fuchsia Flirt so much, I went ahead and picked up a bright red called Cardinal Plume.

If you have yet to check out my Summer Edit: Lips and Tips Video {and Part II: Face and Body} I would definitely do so on my Youtube Channel! These lippies are featured as are a ton of other great summer lipsticks, lip glosses, and nail polishes.

What is your favorite summer lip product?

Here's more ideas for bright lipsticks for the summer!

thank you so much for reading!

till next time

Erica 

Bright Summer Lips: NYX Butter Glosses

When spring/summer rolls around, I am ready for bright color's. The past week in Ohio has been nothing but rain and storms. Le sigh. I went into Ulta with the intention of finding something bright. NYX was having BOGO 1/2 off {as usual} and I knew I already liked their Lip Butters so I decided on these two. They were the brightest of the bunch.

Since I have already reviewed these in two other colors here, I will just give you a quick run down. These Lip Butters are great. They have a doe foot applicator + They have both pigment and gloss. It truly feels like a buttery consistency. It isn't sticky in the slightest. They are comfortable to wear.

Cherry Cheese Cake

This one was the brightest orange of the bunch. I always like orange lipstick for the summer. I wondered why they chose "Cherry" as a part of the name- it is a bit misleading. I think of a cherry as red, don't you? I have decided if it isn't a red orange then it is a yellow orange. To me, this is a true orange. It reminded me a lot of Revlon's Siren {matte} and swatching them next to each other, I noticed it was a dupe as far as the color goes. If your looking for the perfect orange lip, they make an excellent pair.

Peaches and Cream

Another weird name. I had to look for the peachy tone in there and I suppose this would lean slightly coral but to me this is just a perfect bubblegum pink. I have talked about the ELF Essentials Lipstick in Flirtatious plenty of times {may or may not be my all time favorite lipstick} and after swatching them side by side, I realized they are an exact dupe as far as color goes. Another perfect pairing if your looking for a bright pink lip.

Here's the swatches on my wrist. Peaches and Cream is on top and Cherry Cheesecake is below that.

Swatching lipsticks/glosses never give a true color of what it would look like on the lips. These lip glosses look a little but deeper- more bold - on the lips.

I love this time of year. I am so excited for the summer- and bold bright colors!

What are your favorite Bright lip colors?

What about your Favorite NYX Butter Gloss shades?

thanx for reading!

{xx}

Erica

April Ipsy Review and A Blog Make Over!!!

Hi! As you can probably tell, I re-did my blog! Yay! I haven't changed it up since early last year, which is a shame. It got to the point where I didn't even want to post anything on it- as you can probably tell again! So yeah I'm pretty excited about it. There are a few finishing touches {like centering my sidebar. I had a code for it awhile back and then one day, the code stopped working for some reason}. So what do you think?! I love it.

Ok, now for the Ipsy review. I literally love the Glam Bag. You get 5 beauty products for only $10 which is a steal. I realize my blog has been taken over by Ipsy things lately. I blog about what I love and Ipsy is just the best.

Urban Decay 
24/7 Velvet Glide On Pencil // Black Velvet

This month, the Urban Decay eye liner alone is worth more than the bag. It has been some time since I have worn black in the inner rim of my eye. I used to all the time then I got comfortable with brown eye liner up top, nude liner on the bottom, and the usual black liquid liner on the lash line. Today, I used this liner in my inner rim and on the upper lash line. I didn't want to over do it, so I used a matte light brown in the crease and a matte creamy white all over the lid (both shadows from the Stila Dancing With The Stars palette) and it looks really simple but also polished and finished. This liner is a velvet finish, which reminds me of a matte finish but once applied, I can't tell any sort of difference of the finish of this and any other black liner I have. The wear is pretty good- you have a few seconds to play with it- weather you want to smudge it or what but once it sets, it pretty much stays. I did have some product collecting underneath my bottom lash line by the middle of the day but it was nothing I couldn't wipe away. Other then that, it is nice and black and easy to use.

Cailyn
Tinted Lip Balm // Apple Pink

I have gotten a Cailyn product in my Ipsy bag before. I would have liked it if it was in a different color but they make pretty good quality stuff. The format is a pot of product, with a lid and attached to the lid is a nice lip brush. I found the lip brush is extremely nice for lining your lips with the product before hand. I ended up filling in the rest of my lips with it too but that can be a little time consuming considering the size of the brush. The product itself is more or less a lipstick in a pot. The consistency is thin and is pigmented even at that. it didn't take much to get pigment and it didn't dry out my lips either. It's neither hydrating nor drying so even though it is labeled as a lip balm, I wouldn't consider it one. I think of a balm as hydrating. The color is a peachy nude. This color would be perfect for a medium skin tone- it looks a little dark (not too dark) on me, but also like nothing I have. Side note: The name Apple Pink is so cute.

edit:
me wearing Apple Pink. It actually looks better than I thought it did.

City Color
Mousse Eyeshadow // White Gold

at first glance, I thought this was a fine micro shimmer powder. Once I touched it, I realized it was mousse. The consistency is weird! Not like other mousse's I have tried in the past- this one is wet and it has that silicone feeling to it like a primer would. Really strange! As you can see in the swatch, it is a very pretty duo chrome shimmer. I have yet to wear it and honestly, I am a little frightened to wear it. Every time I do the swatch-and-rub test I get shimmer everywhere! It doesn't dry down to anything. I think it tries to be a cream-to-powder but it fails. Maybe I am applying too much? All I know is that I need to double up on the primer and use a very thin layer when I finally use this. I will probably just pop this on the center of the lid- anywhere else may just be too messy and unforgiving. But the color is so pretty! 

St. Tropez
Gradual Tan Anti-Ageing // Multi Action Face

This is apparently gradual face tanner with anti-aging properties. I used it once and I am a little intimidated by it. I don't necessarily want my face tanner than my body. I use bronzer and that is usually enough for me. So yah know this isn't something that I would repurchase or recommend. If it was a gradual body tanner it would be a different story. 

Such a Tease

So Seductive // Lashes

I've said it before and I will say it again- I am not one for fake lashes! I wear them for events and that is about it. My cousins wedding is coming up so I am going to try them out then. Ill post a photo of my FOTD on my Instagram! {@MeetMissJackson}

here's the swatches:

Thank you for viewing!
<3
Erica

Favorite Drugstore Matte Bronzers

Most of my bronzer collection is shimmery- mostly higher end bronzer's as well. Those are great for all over the face, and they do just fine for contouring but won't look as flattering as a matte bronzer. I always heard of contouring with a normal face powder a few shades darker than your skin tone {which is a great idea} but I found a couple bronzers that are even better and depending on sales, are most likely even cheaper.

The brush that I use almost every single day for contouring is Sigma's Large Angled Contour Brush F40. I bought it a couple years ago and it is still going strong! I really like to use Real Techniques Contour Brush which is much a much smaller dome shaped brush. It get's right into the hollows of your cheeks so well but I try to reserve that brush for highlighter only for cross contamination pigmentation reasons.

NYC Color Wheel Mosaic

All Over Bronze Glow

I have heard about this bronzer over and over again and never pulled the trigger until my bff bought it. It is only a few bucks and is worth every penny. This is the only thing I own from NYC. I usually pass them up for some reason but I want to try some more of their products. If this bronzer is a testament to their other products, NYC could be one of the best brands at the drugstore. The texture of it is kind of hard to the touch {which made it hard to swatch} but it goes on so lightly and looks so subtle while still contouring because of that. There is no need to worry about being heavy handed with it.

Revlon Photo Ready

Bronzed and Chic

This bronzer feels more velvety to the touch. In comparison to NYC it is a little bit more softer, which makes it more pigmented. It is also a little deeper than NYC's bronzer- just a touch.  Either of these bronzers will work well for fair skin tones but this one will work better than NYC for a medium skin tone- the lightest color out of the four colors is deeper than the lightest color in NYC's {clearly}.  This one is also easier to use for skin tones ranging in color because it is easy to choose your color. As you can see, you have 4 choices and can dip your brush in all of the quadrants, half of them, or just one color. The quadrants are just big enough to fit any angled contour brush into. I tend to swirl each color and that is how I got the color you see in the swatch.

Something that these bronzers have in common is the pigment. These aren't like blushes I have used in the past or an eyeshadow that is so pigmented that even if you touch it, you will get one heavy swatch. The swatches you see here are heavy handed swatches. I really wanted to show you each color and how they are different. However, I don't think this is a deal breaker in the world of matte bronzers. When I use my angled contour brush with these bronzers, they apply just fine and look like a natural contour. You can see a difference on the face. If they were more pigmented, it would be harder to get a subtle difference. So when you use a face powder or an eyeshadow to contour, it doesn't look as natural in my opinion. Each of these bronzers have that same medium brown color with a slight orange background  which makes it a bit more forgiving on the face. Cooler, deeper, bronzers seem to look muddy on my skin. I have fair, cool toned skin.

I hauled Revlon's bronzed and Chic in this video along with a ton of other drugstore makeup! Check it out-

till next time,

Erica

January Ipsy Review

Hello again!

 Just when I thought I wanted to switch from Ipsy to Birchbox, I changed my mind for the time being. Ipsy is great but I miss the idea of more higher end products that Birchbox offers, along with the amount of higher end skin care you can try. I also miss spending my Birchbox points on things on the site. I got some pretty good stuff for free from the site I bought with my points a while back. Maybe I'll switch next month.

This month's Ipsy was really good. I have been using almost everything on a daily basis from this months bag. Today I filmed some b-roll of my new Ipsy items for an upcoming tutorial I am going to film {it will be my first makeup tutorial!}. So soon you will get a chance to see everything in action. For now, let's talk about everything.

Mica Beauty

Tinted Lip Balm #6 Fiesta

I have received a loose eye shadow from Mica Beauty before in a previous Ipsy bag and it is still one of my favorite shadows to use. This tinted lip balm is also really great. I absolutely love the color! It's a cool toned mauve pink and I most likely would have never bought for my own self. That is the beauty of subscription boxes. It's a great way to branch out and surprise yourself. I am fair skinned and this comes off as a much deeper color and it works great for these colder months. I have been loving deeper toned lip colors lately. Aside from the color, the formula is very thin but extremely pigmented - not really lip balmy. A little goes a long way. Because of it's thin consistency, I tend to go over board and apply too much which it can accentuate the lines and cracks in my lips. The down side is the packaging.  I can't bring it with me and apply it just anywhere. I apply it with my fingers and because of that, it can get a little messy. It will last on my lips for a couple hours but will eventually fade away. 

Elizabeth Mott

Smooth Shadow Creamy Eye Pencil

Penny

This is another brand that I only of from Ipsy. This is a really pretty shimmery copper eye liner and I have been applying it underneath my bottom lash line and in my inner corner as well as on my upper lash line right above darker eye liner to brighten and accentuate my eyes. It seems to brighten or bring attention really well used this way. I can see myself also using this right on the balls of my lids to brighten that way too, like you would an eye shadow. It doesn't do very well at all in the water line. No pigment will really transfer. It isn't the best, most pigmented, most long wearing eye liner I have ever tried. Also not the worst. Then again, I am not even sure if it is supposed to be used as an eye liner. The name and format do not match each other.

Healthy Sexy Hair

Leave in Conditioner

I am not big on leave in conditioner- with one exception from Paul Mitchell . I am, however, partial to anything that can restore health to my otherwise over processed blonde hair.  Since I use so many products, it's important to me that my hair doesn't feel like I do or filmy. This doesn't leave any kind of film and I was really surprised at how much I loved this. It acts as a moisturizer {or conditioner} and really made my hair soft. Now I don't feel so bad about using up PM Forever Blonde Dramatic Repair - this can replace it. I read that this also has a mild protein in it and protein is really good for over processed hair. It has a very spa type of scent to it. It almost reminds me of the Aveda products. This stuff is really great. 

Absolute

Make-Up Cleansing Tissues

My absolute favorite eye makeup remover is from Avon. But to be honest, I never use a face makeup remover. I usually just wash my face or will use a toner to take off my makeup. These were really nice for taking off my whole face at the end of the day. They are really soft too. I really like using them. I think I need to buy some makeup wipes for the days when I am too lazy to wash my face.

3 in 1 

Revolution

I was excited to see this in my bag because I have been missing trying skin care from Birchbox. This is a toner, serum, and moisturizer. I am not really sure how that is supposed to work. I can understand the serum and moisturizer part. As for the toner.....? I wouldn't say this product is anything like a toner. It does have the consistency of a serum and moisturizer mixed. It feels a little oily on my skin and that isn't necessarily a bad thing but is much better to be used at night to repair your skin because of that. Adding foundation on top this may not work so well. As far as a serum goes, you pretty much have to keep on using it to see any changes but I have no clue what this is supposed to be a serum of or for. It didn't come with any explanation. I will keep using it and review it once it's gone but for now, it's not doing anything bad or good. Except for leaving an oily residue. But it doesn't break me out. It's nothing special. Maybe if you have extremely dry skin it might be good for you but I am not standing by that statement. It's just a thought.

here's the swatches of the tinted lip balm and the eye pencil.

thank you for reading!

xoxo

Erica

Stila Dancing With the Stars Kit Review

While shopping for Christmas presents, I knew I really wanted to buy the Lorac Pro Palette. Well, Ulta was out of it and wasn't getting it back for weeks. Thinking I wasn't even going to buy anything, I stumbled upon this kit. I love kits. This kit couldn't have been more perfect for me. It was only $15! Chump change, compared to this kit.

Dancing With the Stars Eye and Cheek Palette

The big show. This little palette comes with 7 shadows {3 mattes and 4 shimmers} and one blush. The blush {Perfect 10} is a matte peachy brown blush with chunks of glitter in it. I think it makes a great all in one blush and contour powder because of that. Once applied, the glitter either isn't noticeable.

As I mentioned in the video, I have been really wanting to try some of Makeup Geek's matte eye shadows. The matte shadows in this palette look extremely similar to a few of them. The 3 mattes are Sway {a deep brown with purple/red undertones} Action {a light creamy color} and Ovation {a warm toned brown}. If Ovation had some glitter in it, it would be the exact same color as Perfect 10 {the blush}

As for the shimmery colors, there is Take a Bow which is very similar to Kitten only a few shades darker. It's a pretty champagne color. Rise and Fall is very similar to Sway. They look different in the pan but honestly there isn't much of a difference. Sway {matte} is more pigmented than Rise and Fall {shimmer} when swatched. Other than that and with the exception of a little bit of purple glitter in Rise and Fall, they look almost identical when swatched. Glam, a gorgeous antique coppery brown shimmer and is the most pigmented of the bunch. Pirouette is a pretty shimmery red brown with glitter.

here's some swatches. I contemplated re-doing these swatches because this photo doesn't do any of the shadows justice but just remember that these are swatched once over with my finger- no primer underneath. Glam is the most pigmented and the rest are pretty much tied. Action has as much pigment as the rest but looks invisible only because it is very close to the color of my skin. They don't have as much pigment when swatched as, let's say, Kitten. But when your applying them to your eye, they work out great.

 Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick
Fiery
This really sealed the deal for me. When I got my Be A Bombshell Hot Damn Lip Crayon {a bright red}  in my Ipsy Bag, that was all I wore for weeks. This red is much more deep and vampy. It leans a little to the cool side. I would have never been able to tell if it didn't make my teeth look white. If a red lipstick makes your teeth appear whiter, you know there has to be a blue tone to it even if you can't really tell. A little goes a long way and I have trouble keeping it inside the lines, as you can see. If I use just a little bit right in the center, then blend it out with my fingers using no lip liner it seems to work even better. But without a lip liner, it tends to get a little blotchy. So yeah its a lose lose situation. I personally do not mind re-applying or wiping it off in the middle of the day because I really love the color. Looking at these photos, im not sure it looks as great as I thought it did, heh.

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner
 Lion Fish

For years, up until last summer all I ever wore in my water line was black eye liner. Since I went blonde, I have started going towards brown eye liners. This eye liner is a medium brown with red shimmer making it appear a brick red brown color in some lights. When you apply it, it makes no difference and just looks brown. If anything, the shimmer maybe adds some depth. I already knew I loved Stila's Smudge Stick eye liner's. I like to line the outer bottom corner with it (using a nude liner in the waterline) and using this also in the upper inner rim. It has great pigment and stays put. I don't have to worry about it running down my face. The water-proof claim is true to that extent. I have yet to jump in the pool with it so I don't know if its that water-proof.

Stay All Day 10 -in -1
HD Illuminating Beauty Balm

As for this little thing, I can't really say i've tried it. Im really not into BB creams and would prefer a matte finish as opposed to an illuminating finish. I think im going to give it to some one that would actually use it. Sorry bout that. ( :

It has been I think years since I've done a FOTD. I thought this would a perfect opportunity because I wear these things on my face daily since I bought them {with the exception of the BB cream}. So here I blended Action all over the lid up to the brow bone. Ovation in the crease. Take a Bow on my lid. Sway in the outer corner and Sway blended with Glam in the outer 3rd of the lid as well as on the outer third of the bottom lash line. I used Lion Fish {eye liner} on the outer half of the bottom lash line underneath the eyeshadow and as well as in my upper inner rim. Stila Liquid Lipstick in Fiery on the lips over top Mary Kay's Lip Liner in Raspberry.

These has been truly my favorite makeup items for the past couple of weeks. It was only $15 at Ulta for everything {that is a steal} and if they have some left, you gotta try it out! If you love neutral shadows and matte shadows, this is perfect. The liquid lipstick, eye liner, and BB cream are all extra's. The palette alone is worth the $15. The smartest $15 I have spent in months when it comes to beauty items. Make sure to check out the video because not only am I talking about this kit, I also talk about a few things I bought at the CVS beauty clearance too!

until next time,
xoxo
Erica

Pop Beauty Lip Crayons: A Love Story

 A true tale of love, lost. Then found again.

Once upon a time in July, I got an Ipsy bag. In that bag was a Pop Beauty Lip Crayon in Rose Romance.

That lip crayon made it as far as my August Favorites.

Then this girl went on this Vacation.

All of the sudden, Rose Romance was gone!

How could it be?

I lost the damn lip crayon. And that lip crayon is $10. I don't buy lipsticks for that much. Well, I take that back. I try not to. But ever since I lost Rose Romance, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

What's a girl to do? Hop on the Ulta.com of course! I realize Ulta is having a sale that is you spend $25 on Pop Beauty you get a free lip crayon in.......{drum roll please} Rose Romance!

So I ended up getting 5 full sized Lip Crayons for $25 and a back up of my beloved Rose Romance- for free!

Now that you've heard that love story, let's get on with the review.

These Lip Crayons are really nice. Even though they look like a crayon/pencil, you don't need to sharpen them. The colors of the actual tubes can be deceiving. I will get into that later. They are all creamy and mostly moisturizing. I would call them a moisturizing lipstick. They have a slight mint scent but do not taste like anything. Some look like a stain. Others look like a lip stick. And some seem to accentuate the cracks on my lips. Maybe I applied too much?

Apricot Adore:

Last week I wore this to work and it seemed to make the lines in my lips more noticeable. They actually felt a little dry after a while. It was an isolated incident and if im being fair, my lips were chapped as I had a cold. On other days I have used this, I haven't had that problem. The tube looks like a tomato red. On the lips, it's a nice peachy pink color. It has a brightening aspect to it. Looking in the mirror, it didn't look so streaky. In the photo, it's another story. So it has some flaws, apparently. This is my second favorite color, regardless.

Coral Crush:

This one has power. It is really pretty bright coral and right up my alley. This would have been awesome for this past summer. This is one of them that seems to have a staining quality. After the lip crayon wore off, the color was still there. Wait. This one might be my favorite.

Rose Romance:

You guys already know how I feel about this one. This is a nice nude color that can look like a nude pink but I call it a nude. This one is the creamiest one. It goes on the smoothest and feels the nicest, for whatever reason.

Petal Passion:

If I went into Ulta blindly, never to have experienced Rose Romance, I would have thought this was the perfect color for me. I love nude pinks. But this one guys, is the worst. Think of it as a clear lipstick. I think of this one as a clear chap stick. It's nothing special, really. Maybe it would be good for using over a more drying lip crayon {or lip products in general} but I wouldn't buy this one solo or anything. Unless any of this appeals to you, of course. I have no clue why they decided to put the word "passion" in the name. There is no passion. There is just blandness. And sorrow. And death. 

Fuchsia Flirt:

I thought this would be the brightest color in the box, but turns out it's not. This one reminds me of Apricot Adore, but this one is a little more pink- a medium pink.

Barely Bitten:

this one is a little bit of a darker nude than Rose Romance. And Rose Romance has more pink to it. If your looking for a brown nude, you have found it. I never would have bought anything in this shade for my lips but it turns out that I like it a lot on my lips.

I really would recommend this little kit to anyone that wears lipstick, really. I think we tend to stick to what we think is right for our taste and skin tone as far as makeup goes. Considering you get to try 6 different shades with this kit, you really get to see what you should be wearing as opposed to what you like. I have said time and time again Rose Romance and I have a thing. Looking at the photos, I think I look way cuter with a couple of the other colors. Rose Romance doesn't really up the ante on my face as much as, say, Coral Crush. 

I almost forgot to add these swatches! This will give you even more insight. I do like lip swatches but I also love seeing them swatched on hands/arms just to compare them side to side.

 

So yeah, the love story I guess isn't a love story ending in girl meets lip crayon (hm?). I ended up loving every crayon in the box. Well, most of the crayons.

One thing I learned with these particular lip crayons is that you should never apply too much or else you will surely accentuate the wrinkles and lines on your lips.

What are your favorite lip crayons?

 Any beauty products in general that your bizarrely in love with?

xoxo
Erica

A Sculpted Face {feat Wet n' Wild}

You all know how much I love both Wet n Wild lipsticks and eye shadows. Both of which are greatly pigmented for the cheap price. learn more about those by clicking the links. Today I want to talk about some Wet n Wild face products. I have never gave Wet n Wild's face products a second look- until now. I have really been into face makeup lately. It's fun to try out different techniques with different products and brushes. The three face products I have here have been in my beauty bag box ever since I bought them weeks ago. And they are also some of the cheapest face products I have in my collection

Here I have a highlighter, a bronzer, and a blush.

Reserve Your Cabana
Color Icon Bronzer
The Highlight:

It is marketed as a bronzer, but I don't think I have ever seen anyone that could possibly use this as a bronzer. It's a nice warm {but very light} color. If Stila's Kitten eye shadow was transformed into a highlight, I think this would be it. When applied to my cheek bones, it looks like it has a satin finish: not shimmery but also not matte. I love both kinds of highlights but because this one is somewhere in the middle, makes it unique to anything I have seen at the drugstore- anything I have at least. I honestly can apply this with a flat top kabuki brush {tapping off the excess of course} and still great a finish and look out of it. Yeah. Crazy right? It's not because it isn't pigmented. It just works somehow. Blending it out is a cinch. I just use that same kabuki brush. This is my favorite highlight to date.

Bikini Contest
Color Icon Bronzer
The Bronzer:

This is a red based bronze color and I honestly think that red-based bronzer's can look a little more natural for people with red/pink under tones. Every year before I tan I tend to burn since my skin is pink rather than olive. That's why these kinds of bronzer's work really well for me. This also has a slight sheen and I think would qualify as a satin finish. I personally like it for contouring my face. I use Sigma's F40 Large Angled Contour brush to do so, but any angled blush brush will work for contouring.

Heather Silk
Color Icon
The Blush:

Unlike it's bronzer counterpart's, Heather Silk is a matte blush. This is a really pretty bright pink that can almost look a little intimidating in the pan. This blush is surely going to give you color. I slightly tap my brush in. Then tap of the excess, then lightly apply to the apples of my cheeks. Then I will wipe off the rest of the blush on the brush and blend it out upwards near my temple. It is so rich and pigmented. This blush will probably last me a life time. If your looking for a great mid tone pink blush that packs pigment, I think you have found it! Also the brush that this came with is a thin angled face brush. It has been perfect for contouring my nose with using Bikini Contest.

Here's some swatches:

Here's everything applied to my face:

 Side Note:
Before I end this blog, I wanted to update you all on the status of Mind Body Beauty. I obviously haven't been writing here as often as I used to. Before I started doing videos, I had my full time job and my blog. Now that I have been making videos so much, it is hard for me to juggle all 3 things (blog, Youtube channel, and my job). I just wanted to let you all know that my blogging time is less apparent and I would rather make videos it seems. Sie la Vie. So, yeah! Let me know what you think. Expect around 4 blog post's a month. Maybe more, maybe less. This doesn't mean this is the end of Mind Body Beauty. No way, Jose! More like a new beginning. A lot of my videos are and will be going hand in hand with this blog, so I am upgrading. Lately I have been feeling really bad about not posting to MBB as much as I used to. So this little paragraph makes me feel better that I don't have to bust out 3-4 blog post's every week. If I had all the time in the world, I totally would! I'm going down to being committed to 1 blog post a week, like I mentioned. Now I dont have to feel as bad now that I made it official. If you miss me too much I have an Instagram and Twitter account both @MeetMissJackson. Obviously you can find me on my Youtube channel. Any video I ever do that has to do with anything I talk about here on the blog, I will post here. Feel free to subscribe to my channel if you want my video's in real time, but please still follow MBB because I can make my video's a little more interactive around here. Plus, I am still  going to do normal blog post's with photos and words too. Things that have nothing to do with videos. I would hate if this place became just another place to promote my channel. Youknowwhatimean? It works for some people but for me, I feel like I have serious roots on this blog and I would feel like I am selling it down the river or something weird. That doesn't go for everyone! Just how I feel about my content, my channel, and my blog. Hopefully one day MBB can just be a place where I post no videos and it's all photo and word content. But until I get my channel off of the ground, this is how it will be. Long winded, unedited, talking-from-the-heart explanation. This is gunna be fun! Let me know what you think about it! Thank you kindly for all of your support!

thank you so much for reading!
xoxo
Erica