em michelle phan: day life palette: weekend brunch

hi all! here's our second installment of my swatches and impressions of the em michelle phan's day life palette: the weekend brunch quadrant. (to see the original haul post, click here. to see the first installment, click here.) ~Lindsay-chan ^.~

 

eyeshadows 6 to 1, blush, lips 2 & 1 (corresponding names are below); shadows are swatched over milani eye primer

impressions:
eyes:

1. nibble -- this is actually a really pretty blue/purple toned black; works great as a liner color and stays pretty well
2. french toast -- this definitely doesn't remind me of french toast...but it's a super pretty smoky plum type shade with an almost reddish duochrome to it; works great as a liner color and stays pretty well
3. ballet flats -- this is such a pretty pinky copper (rose gold?) shade..i can has it in a larger size?!
4. peach gelato -- it's such a pretty orange-cream type color. on my eyes, it's almost like a correcting/base type shade and i actually like that aspect of it
5. girlie -- it's a really pretty pinky-peach shell type color
6. crème -- this is similar to french kiss from the day dreaming quadrant, it's actually like a chalky-pastel white. i applied it with my finger, but it took quite a few swipes to actually get on there good

lips:

1. parisian nude -- this is very similar to one more from the day dreaming quadrant. it's got a pretty shimmer to it but it goes on sheer. the gloss has a slight peachy tint to it..but it's almost negligible.
2. roses -- this is a really pretty shade of gloss, almost a mlbb type shade..on the red side.

cheeks: pinched -- this looks so close to my skintone, it's ok. even if i pack it on, it's not really all that noticeable...unless you're in my face. then you can tell the texture is different and it's shimmery.

 

i think i'd like going out and about with this one, maybe with a little bronzer since the blush is near my skintone. and the upper liner is a tad weak, but not too bad. i actually like this quadrant a lot more than i thought i would.

other products used for fotd:

• eyes
• milani eye primer
• loreal butterfly mascara
• rimmel london eyeliner in nude
• face
• smashbox photofinish foundation primer
• maybelline fit me stick foundataion in 120
• covergirl 3-in-1 foundation in 825 (as concealer)
• theBalm sexy mama
• lips
• eos lip balm in vanilla
• brushes:
• mua E3, F6
• elf kabuki brush, eyeshadow c-brush
• random angled eye brush

em michelle phan: day life palette: day dreaming

hi all! here's the first installment of my swatches and impressions of the em michelle phan's day life palette: the day dreaming quadrant. (to see the original haul post, click here. for the day dreaming sampler post, click here.)

instead of doing one whole swatch-fest post of the entire palette, i decided to make a post about each quadrant individually. so for this post and the next three installments (when i can get to them, school and work come first unfortunately), i'll have a face of the day photo with a recreation of the look on the card that was included with the palette, swatches of the pans in that quadrant, and my initial impressions of the quadrant. ~Lindsay-chan ^.~

 

eyeshadows 6 to 1, blush, lips 2 & 1 (corresponding names are below); shadows are swatched over milani eye primer

impressions:
eyes:

1. onyx dreams -- i'm not so sure about this one. it's not quite as dark as it seems in the pan. i think that as a "liner" color it needs some help when applied, like a fixative or a wet brush to make it darker. but if you apply it dry, it looks gray and just kinda fades away..
2. storm kiss -- this also isn't all that great of a liner color. again, if some sort of fixing agent was used, i think it would go on a stick on a lot better. i prefer this in the outer v to darken that corner
3. fantasy -- i really like this as a center of the eye to outer corner color it's such a pretty duochrome purple/gold
4. silver lining -- i really like this color as a base it's a pretty blue/purple/silver type duochrome that's prefect for softer looks
5. light violet -- this is a pretty shell pinky-purple kind of color, i really like it. i think it's a great highlight-type color and the pigmentation is pretty decent.
6. french kiss -- i applied this to my eye with my finger, but it's ok. it's a pretty chalky pink kind of color but it's not very pigmented. i had to swipe it quite a few times to get it quite right.

lips:

1. one more -- it's a really pretty clear glitter gloss. the glitter flecks are reddish and it's nice how it reflects off the lips. from afar, it'll probably look like just a clear gloss though, which is lame. feels nice and balmy; not sticky at all.
2. misty mauve -- it takes a few swipes of the finger and a few dips to get complete coverage, but overall not too bad. i love this color. i like that it's a my lips but slightly pinker shade. not too emollient but ok. but i think if this had a different formula, i'd love it more. (i'm too lazy to use and clean a lip brush). (click for comparison to the misty mauve lipstick)

cheeks: day dreaming -- this is a really pretty pink blush, it's a nice light/sheer wash of color that looks relatively natural

fotd: i didn't particularly like how muted this "look" looked on me, so i added some liner to the top and bottom lashes. i also added some bronzer, highlight, and the misty mauve lipstick.

 

other products used for fotd:

• eyes
• milani eye primer
• cover girl clump crusher mascara
• cailyn gel eyeliner in iron
• rimmel london eyeliner in nude
• urban decay eyeliner in stray dog (discontinued, mushroom is similar)
• face
• too faced primed and poreless, original
• wet n wild cover all foundation in fair/light
• revlon photoready concealer in light
• theBalm sexy mama
• too faced chocolate soleil in chocolate
• nars satellite of love
• lips
• eos lip balm in vanilla
• em michelle phan lipstick in misty mauve
• brushes:
• real techniques expert face, powder, blush, buffing brushes
• elf small tapered brush
• mua E3
• sigma E05, E55, E65

October 2013 ipsy bag!

  

hi guys! guess what finally decided to show up? my october IPSY BAG*! (theme: the art of beauty). pretty bummed that i got my email in week two of shipping. so, sorry that this post is late, but..not my fault. ~Lin-chan ^.~

ranking the past seven months, from today's standpoint:

1. april
2. september
3. october
4. august
5. june
6. may
7. july

here's my impressions

1. zoya nail polish in neve (.5oz--full size, ret. $8) -- ugh! i love this color. so excited that they gave me a blue one, but i have so many blue polishes! ^_^
• likelihood to repurchase: yes, different colors though
• update: see notd post here.
2. sexy hair blow dry volumizing gel (1.7oz--mini, ret. $16.95 for 8.5oz [$3.39]) -- i really could do without all these hair products. it took me forever to use up the argan oil thing from april's bag, i haven't even touched the hair spray from july yet, and now a blow-dry gel. meh. the consistency is more like aloe vera rather than hair gel. it smells like hairspray to me, with a teeny tiny hint of fruitiness.
• likelihood to repurchase: no
• update: i tried it once and it wasn't for me. i just don't like using hair gel anymore, i don't like that weird sticky feel while i'm blow drying it. i think i'll give it away.
3. bella terra cosmetics mineral shimmers in emotion (2g--deluxe size, ret. $14.99 for 2.5g [$11.99]) -- such a pretty purple color in the pot, but when it's picked up by a brush, it's very sheer almost red-pinkish. if you pick up a clump of it and gently spread it on, it's gorgeous, but if you spread it out too much it sheers out. (thus, i didn't take a swatch photo of this one for you guys). as far as my ipsymatch, i think this one was the better bet than the blue one.
• likelihood to repurchase: maybe
4. coastal scents medium shadow brush (full size, ret. $2.49) -- seems like a pretty nice shadow brush. not as stiff as i like them, but it'll definitely be put to use. very soft.
• likelihood to repurchase: maybe
5. la fresh oil free face cleansing wipes in refreshing scent (10 wipes--⅓ size, ret. $9.99 for 30 wipes [$3.33]) -- smells citrusy. la fresh wipes are pretty expensive, i think i'll stick with my simple wipes.
• likelihood to repurchase: no
• update: product has been finished. it wasn't that great at removing makeup.
6. white ipsy bag with red text -- i really like this bag, but i don't like how it's white and can get dirty easily....
7. card with company info/discount codes
1. zoya.com: buy 2 nail polishes, get 1 free & free remove+, code: IPSYZ3 (exp. 11/10/13)
2. ulta.com: $5 off $25 purchase of sexy hair products, code: 105339 (exp. 11/15/13)
3. bellaterracosmetics.com: 50% off & free shipping, code: ipsy (exp. 11/15/13)
4. coastalscents.com: 25% off purchase, code: cs25 (exp. 11/7/13 4PM EST)
5. lafreshgroup.com: 30% off purchase, code: ipsylove30 (exp. 11/15/13)
6. olehenrikson.com: 20% off & free shipping, code: loveipsy (exp. 11/15/13) 
7. h2oplus.com: 25% off purchase; code: ipsy13 (exp. 11/15/13)
8. ofracosmetics.com: 30% off purchase, code: ipsy30 (exp. 11/14/13)
9. starlooks.com: 20% off $35 purchase, code: ipsy (exp. 11/15/13)

approximate product value: ~$29.20

 

*Affiliate Link.

notd: opi more than a glimmer & pink-ing of you

hi guys!! i got nail mail! last week, i ordered opi's pink of hearts 2013 duo, (which has more than a glimmer and pink-ing of you, as well as some rhinestone and pink ribbon stickers) from ulta for about $16. more than a glimmer is a matte glitter polish in a sheer pink base. pinking of you is a pastel medium pink, needs about 3 coats to be fully opaque. ~Lin-chan ^.~

3 coats of pink-ing of you on solid nails, 2 coats with one coat more than a glimmer on glittered nails.

also used: orly bonder, cnd weekly topcoat, essence nail art dry drops, nails inc. matte topcoat

left: thumb is glossy & ring is matte; right: ring is glossy

notd: essie for the twill of it

i totally forgot to include this on my september hauls post. it was sitting in my bathroom waiting to be used...and i forgot about it! anyway, here's what it looks like! such a pretty duo-chrome, taupe-gray with purple/green shimmer. also used: orly bonder, cnd weekly topcoat, essence art dry drops. ~L-c ^.~