To the point - Review: Nars Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base

Oh the many gasps at my wandering away from the Urban Decay Primer Potion. Insert understanding nod here.

Okay, now that we have that out of the way.... hehe. I must tell you - the first day I used the Nars primer, I received 3 compliments at work that night on my eye makeup. No really, it's not every day I do a poor job of blending (ha, ya right). Blending has always been my biggest makeup hurdle. I always thought that the more practice I got, the better blended my shadow would become. However, from this discovery of a new eyeshadow base, I have found myself sickened by the UDPP.

"Why?" you may ask. Well, as an unskilled makeup lover who blends horrendously, I've discovered that using the Nars primer makes it a lot easier for me to blend my eyeshadow. And, you see, this was actually the reason why I never repurchased a full size UDPP. My intention was to use up all the mini's I acquired through Urban Decay palettes or samples and then try a new primer.

And I have found holy grail material here. Truly, Christine (Temptalia) has the right idea for using this primer. She was actually my inspiration to get this as I trust her judgement for primers (considering how many eye looks she does and pulls off gorgeously).

My favorite thing about this primer is that once on, my eyelid feels like silk. It glides on effortlessly - unlike UDPP that started drying up halfway through the bottle. I even started using the Michael Todd eyeshadow base with the UDPP to help it spread more easily on my eyelid.

To some it may not be a review without a picture of my makeup as evidence - but I have yet to find the best way to take a picture of my own eye with my camera. *sad shrug* All in all, I'm very satisfied with the Nars eyeshadow base. And I have a feeling I'll enjoy the packaging a lot more than the UDPP, but that's a given ^_^

Review: EOS Lip Balm

It was December when I was browsing through the blogs I regularly check daily (or more, haha) that I came across this Painted Ladies post on the EOS lip balms. They had just recently started a series reviewing a lip balm every day. When I read through this post, I was immediately drawn in by the fact that it was organic and it was definitely a cute, interesting shape. Not only that, but Miss Taryn described it as a light moisture level leaving lips feeling smooth and soft. Also, the fact that it was available locally in Walgreens was the selling point to me!

You see, I am a chapstick and lip balm addict. Well, by that I mean that if I was stranded on a deserted island and I could only bring one item, it would be chapstick/lip balm. All my friends can tell you that I do not go anywhere without a chapstick or lipbalm readily available.

I had been using Burt's Bees chapstick for years. Just before they started the lip balm series, I started noticing that whenever I would apply Burt's Bees, my lips would start to burn. And when it would wear off, they would burn even more. I had heard rumors through the grapevine that if you regularly use chapstick, your lips get used to that product and it could have reactions if you stop using it. I thought that someone just made it up, but now I realized I needed to go on a hunt for a new lip balm/chapstick since Burt's Bees wasn't cutting it anymore!

I know I am not the first do to a review on the EOS lip balms. But I will say that I am so grateful that I follow Painted Ladies because they started the lip balm series right when I needed it!

At my local Walgreens I found only two of the EOS flavors - Honeysuckle Honeydew and Summerfruit. I can tell you right now that I have alternated buying these. I have probably gone through about 10 of the EOS "eggs" ;)

They are amazingly moisturizing and are perfect for what I had been looking for. I love the egg shape, but I have found it an issue when I want to go somewhere and only bring my lip balm, because it does not exactly fit comfortably in my pocket. A small thing I have noticed is that when I get halfway through using one, it seems that small little pieces of something (hard pieces of skin? dirt?) collect on the surface of the balm. So that when I go to reapply my balm, if I don't wipe off the top layer with a tissue, it will deposit whatever little rough pieces are on top onto my lips. However, those things aside, it is a fabulous product :) I absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a new balm to try.

I appreciate you stopping by to read my review :) Please do let me know what you think whether or not you've tried it :)

Review: Jazzed Lipstick by MAC

When I heard and read up on the MAC In The Groove Collection that released, I did find a very consistent theme -- almost everyone was raving about the Jazzed lipstick. For some reason, though, I was afraid to even consider buying it because I thought it would look horrendous on my skintone. I am NC15 - pretty pale - and I guess I just assumed it would work more for medium/dark skintones.

How wrong was I!? Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous! My husband and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary last month. We enjoyed some sushi and then went to the nearest mall (which is in Virginia) to do a little shopping. We of course ended up at the MAC counter where I have serious trouble controlling myself (which is why I'm glad he's there to say "no").

One of the MA's asked if I needed help finding something and I gushed about how I wanted to try the Jazzed lipstick but was afraid it wouldn't look good with my skintone. She quickly and sweetly said I should try it on and oh my, I loved it! It is my first creamsheen, but I do think it is lovely. I do think it is just a touch patchy when I apply it, but heck - I do not care! :)

Here's some pics (sorry for the poor quality lip swatch)...

(taken indoors late at night)

(taken indoors late at night)

(taken indoors late at night)

(taken indoors in direct sunlight)

I hope you enjoyed my first makeup review and thank you for stopping in to read it :)