Happy Halloween! Sugar Skull makeup

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because it allows me to dress up, even as an adult and give out candy to the little kids who come by. The past few years I have gotten into dressing up more and more and each year my choice of attire has gotten more and more creative.

Admittedly this year I wasn’t sure what I wanted to dress up as – if anything at all. I wasn’t feeling inspired and about 2 ½ weeks ago I was struck with inspiration, so before that inspiration had a chance to dwindle away, I picked up a few face paints at Walmart and some flowers at the dollar store.

I was inspired to paint my face in full Sugar Skull fashion while recycling a gothic black and lace dress I had picked up last year.  I did my makeup with a rather following the inspiration as it came.  I used white face paint, black face pain, colored wax pencils, face primer, translucent powder, black eye shadow and black eye liner.  I primed my face and when it dried I applied the white face paint. Before I got near my eyes I drew out the circles around my eyes and around my nose with eyeliner, then filled in the remainder of my face with the white paint. I then used a cheap makeup brush from the dollar store to blot on the translucent powder to keep the white paint from going anywhere.  I then used a foam tip applicator and began to pat the black face paint onto my nose and eyes.  After this I patted black eye shadow on top of the black face paint to set it in place. I then used the eyeliner and wax pencils to begin drawing on my face with whatever I felt inspired to draw – spider web, upside down heart, spirals, a flowery looking design, etc.

To tie it all together I cut up some fake flowers and tucked them into my air, holding them in place with a headband.  Overall I am quite pleased with how my makeup turned out.

Sadly, it started to rain a little while before trick-or-treating began … so we didn’t get nearly as many kids as we normally get. So that leaves one question: what do we do with all this candy?!

QUESTION:

Did you dress up for Halloween?

Nordstrom Mario Badescu Haul

I have been trying to complete my Mario Badescu acne skincare collection that was created for me from the skincare team at Mario Badescu. Initially I ordered four of the 8-9 items that were recommended for me. Initially I didn’t order everything because it was over $200 and I just wasn’t feeling that a number of months back.

I had been checking out sales on websites (Mario Badescu and Nordstrom) and was impatiently waiting. Since Ulta carries the line in-store I was frequenting the store near my favorite Trader Joe’s but unfortunately the line is always be pretty much picked over with only testers available. So, in stepped Nordstrom! They were having a “free gift with purchase” deal which was for a $60 (or $30 – I can’t remember) value collagen skincare kit. So … I jumped on board!  Plus with my Ebates account I was able to score 5% cash back just from ordering off the Nordstrom website, so it was a no brainer.

Here’s what I ordered:

• Acne Facial Cleanser
• Buffering Lotion
• Drying Cream

And these are the products that came in the collagen kit:

• Super Collagen Mask
• Peptide Renewal Serum
• Collagen Moisturizing SPF 15

QUESTION:

Have you tried anything from the Mario Badescu line?

SheSpeaks Lancome DreamTone

A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from SheSpeaks advising that I was selected to take part in a review of the Lancome DreamTone Ultimate Dark Spot Corrector.  I was rather excited because I had been looking at the L’Oreal Paris Youth Code Texture Perfector Serum for a few months.

The Lancome DreamTone is a serum designed to visibly correct dark spots, color imperfections and uneven skin tone. The serum is available to suit 3-skintones – fair, medium and dark with each serum helping to combat skin issues for those particular skin tones.  According to trials run 74% saw glowing skin immediately, within 7-days 70% noticed a more even skin tone, within 4-weeks 69% noticed the appearance of dark spots was reduced and within 8-weeks 78% saw color imperfections reduced.

I am excited to give this a try and see what results I obtain.  I do have acne scarring and dark spots on my face from the sun thanks to acne medication I have been taking.  I’ll be sure to follow-up with a thorough review in a number of weeks.

QUESTION:

Have you tried any dark spot corrector?

Klout Perk: EcoTools Brushes and False Lashes

I was awarded a pretty cool Klout perk a few weeks ago. I wasn’t sure what I was going to receive until I got my package delivered.  I have heard great things about EcoTools brushes and even their line of false lashes but I had never tried them out myself. From what I understand they have really fabulous brushes and I’m looking forward to adding these to my brush collection.  I haven’t ever used false lashes so I’m interested in seeing how these work. I had a pair of falsies in the past that had a huge band and were just … awful. So we’ll see how these EcoTools lashes are!

Here’s what I received:

• EcoTools Lash & Brow Duo
• EcoTools Full Eye Shadow
• EcoTools Naturally Beautiful Lash System in Naturally Lush and Wispy & Flared

Dollar Store Beauty Haul Part 2!

One of my local dollar stores had a bunch of cosmetics on sale that were from Rite Aid (most had Rite Aid price stickers on them). I was there the day they were initially putting all the products out, but since I had to be quick and take off to pick up my boyfriend since I was late to pick him up. I wanted to head back to the store that afternoon, but was busy with a bunch of things and since the store closes earlier than other stores; I decided to go back the following day. When I walked in and headed to the bins I noticed they were considerably empty in comparison to the day before. All the mascaras and eyeliners were gone, almost all the foundations and powders were gone.  Basically they had a few foundations, a ton of nail polish, a ton of lip glosses, some lipsticks and a few other beauty products here and there.

I admit I went a little grab crazy … but I mean for $1, why not buy stuff to try out?

Here are the products I was able to pick up:

• Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 320
• Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 325
• Maybelline DreamLumi Touch Highlighting Concealer in Beige
• NYC Big Bold Plumping Lip Gloss in Big is Beautiful
• Revlon Colorburst Lip Gloss in Atomic Pink
• L.A. Girl 3D Effects Hologram Nail Polish in Black Illusion
• Revlon Colorstay Nail Polish in Mocha
• Revlon Chroma Chameleon Nail Polish in Aquamarine
• Revlon Chroma Chameleon Nail Polish in Gold
• Revlon Chroma Chameleon Nail Polish in Tanzanite
• Revlon Chroma Chameleon Nail Polish in Topaz

Dollar Store Beauty Haul!

I went to a local Dollar Store yesterday and after browsing the aisles happened to notice a 3-tiered bin that is usually not in the corner. One of the guys that works there had a shopping cart filled with boxes and what immediately caught my attention was “MILANI” printed on the sides of the boxes. Milani … in the dollar store? That sent me into overdrive and I started poking through the display. There were Milani lip glosses, lipsticks, Revlon nail stickers, Sally Hansen gel nail polishes, Maybelline foundation and powder, highlighters, eyeliners, mascaras, etc.

I may have been the first person to start looking at the stuff because the top bin was piled high. It was a bit overwhelming because there was no where to put anything after looking through it but to pile it to one side and begin moving the pile back when done. If I had more time, I would’ve gone through it more thoroughly but since I was already running late on picking up my boyfriend I purchased what I got my hands on and left.

Here’s what I picked up on my first trip:

• NYC Big Bold Bronzing Powder in 602 Metripolitan
• Maybelline Dreamlumi touch Highlighting Concealer in Radiant
• Maybelline Dreamlumi touch Highlighting Concealer in Honey
• Revlon Chroma-Chamelon nail enamel in Amethyst
• Revlon Chroma-Chamelon nail enamel in Rose Gold
• Revlon Chroma-Chamelon nail enamel in Cobalt
• Revlon Chroma-Chamelon nail enamel in Pink Quartz

QUESTION:

Have you scored any unexpected buys as of late?