Decorated Jars

I feel like I am always saving glass jars, either from candles or food items, to re purpose them as something. This one has been sitting on my craft table for about a month just waiting to get a make over. It is a salad dressing glass jar with plastic lid. The lid was originally dark blue.

 

 

I only needed a few things to make this jar super cute.White Paint, (I used Martha Stewart "Wedding Cake") Ribbon Tape (around $3 from Michael's), hot glue gun and sequins in varying sizes.

 

 

I painted the lid white. Then glued blue sequins in a random pattern. I wrapped the ribbon tape around the middle of the glass. To cover the seam, I glued a large clear sequin to the ribbon.

 

 

It hardly took any time at all, and I really like how it turned out. I decided to keep my cotton balls in the jar on the bathroom sink. But it could be used for anything.

 

 

Avon ExtraLasting Eye Liner

 

$8.00 from Avon

 

 

This is my absolute favorite beauty item of the moment. I first tried this liner out in November while in Mexico for my brother's wedding. I couldn't believe that I wore a make up item I had never tried out before to such an important occasion. But my sister Holly said that it was awesome, and didn't budge all day. So I tried it, and fell in love. Sorry some of the photos are blurry, but I had a hard time with the metallic packaging.

 

 

 

This liquid liner doesn't look like it would be anything amazing. We have all seen this type of packaging and felt tip, but the formula is so GOOD. It is very wet, but I don't have the problem of my liner transferring on to my crease before it dries. It can do this, but just don't open your eyes really big immediately following application. Application is a dream, I have never been able to line my eyes so quickly and with such precision. I always reach for gel liner when I want a really specific line, but this out performs any brush I have used for creating perfect tails to my liner. As for staying power goes? I'd say a solid 24 hours. Yes I have fallen asleep with my make up on (I was in Vegas and I got back to the room at 4 a.m. don't judge me!) and in the morning, the liner was still perfect. But the great thing is that it is easy to remove with eye make up remover. It actually comes off in chunks, rather than dissolving (reminds me of Loreal Beauty Tubes mascara).

 

 

This eye liner is the best liquid liner I have ever tried. It's easy to apply, lasts all day and night, and can be removed easily. It feels like a steal at $8, I would happily pay twice that, but I'm glad I don't have to. It you keep up with Avon catalogs, you might catch it on sale. If you do, buy two.

 

 

Fun Glitter in Las Vegas!

I just got back from vacation! I spent a few days in Las Vegas with some friends, then spent a few days at my parents' house in California. But I'm back to the rain in Washington. While in Vegas, I was all about glitter! I wore glitter on my eyelids on multiple days and in multiple colors. I have always been afraid of wearing glitter, but I think I have figured out a super easy way to do it. Here I used a Urban Decay Harmony (Naked 3) shadow all over my lid with MAC Brun in the crease. Then I took a gold glitter liquid liner from E.L.F. all over the lid. Before it dried, I patted on pink glitter (from the MAC holiday collection, but any pink glitter will do). Slapped on some liquid liner and false lashes and I was good to go! It took hardly any time at all, but it was flashy!

The black dots on my lid are duo lash glue, I removed them after I took the photo.

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My sister Holly, me and my boyfriend Adam by the slots.

Naked 3 Palette from Urban Decay

 

Not that you haven't already seen a million reviews on this palette already, I thought I'd share a few thoughts...

 

 

First of all, I own Naked 1 and Naked Basics, and I have never been in love with either of them. I probably would have preferred Naked 2 to either of the ones I own, but I skipped that one because I didn't want to waste anymore money on Urban Decay. So it was quite a surprise when I found myself practically drooling over the initial images floating about the internet of the Naked 3. So I was quite happy when I got it for Christmas. I have only had it for a few days, but I am already forming strong opinions about this palette. So let's jump in! 

  

 

 First of all, the packaging is adorable. I love the way it feels in my hands. Naked 1 palette had the magnetic closure because it was easier to use the mirror, but Naked 3 feels more expensive and luxurious in the hand. This one doesn't lay flat when it's open, but I think that over time it probably will. Naked 3 comes with 12 eye shadows. Three are matte, and the rest are either glitter or shimmer.

 

 

Naked 3 comes with a double sided brush. I really like it. One end is a fluffy shader brush, it works good to deposit color on the lid or in the crease. The other side is a flat eye shadow brush, only useful for packing color on the lid. The flat brush is the same as the brush that came with Naked 1.

 

Fluffy Shader                                     Flat Shadow                              Flat Shadow(side)

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I'll start with the left half of the palette. These six shadows are on the lighter side.

 

Strange - Matte off white with pink undertones. Good for under the brow.

Dust - pink champagne, chunky, powdery mess.

Burnout- Pale Pink Taupe. Very little color pay off, I really had to dig at it to get a swatch.

Limit - Matte pale pink. Very nice crease color for a natural eye look.

Buzz - Pale Pink Bronze. Gorgeous. Reminds me of Sidecar from Naked 1, but its pink.

Trick - Pink Copper, messy and flaky. Chunks of product fell all over my cheeks.

 

 

 

The first six shades of this palette are a bit of a flop. Limit and Buzz are great, but the other four are hard to work with. Strange is a bad choice for this palette, and should have been replaced with a  shade more like Virgin from Naked 1. Dust and Trick are so MESSY, which is really too bad because they are beautiful colors.

 

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Now with the right half of the palette.
 

Nooner - matte light brown with purple undertones. Very nice for the crease or subtle blending.

Liar - A rose tone shimmery taupe. It reminds me of Toasted from Naked 1, but more purple.

Factory - Bronze with pink shimmer. Very nice to use and versatile. Similar to Hustle from Naked 1.

Mugshot - Shimmery Taupe with pink shimmer. Easy to dupe, but beautiful.

Darkside - Chocolate brown, with a bit of shimmer. I love this color.

Blackheart - Matte black with large fuschia glitter.

 

 

 These six are much darker, and were far easier to swatch. I will get a lot of use out of everything on the right side, except for maybe Blackheart. The glitter is a really odd choice for a neautrals palette. Mugshot and Darkside are my favorite shades from this half.  

 

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Here is a swatch of all the colors all next to each other. I feel like a lot of the shades here are too similar. There was definitely more contrast in Naked 1. So I wouldn't recommend this palette for someone who has a limited stock of eye shadows already. I just think this palette would serve better as an accompaniment to other more colorful shadows.
 

 

 Other than Burnout, Dust and Trick, all of the shadows apply smoothly, are well pigmented and last for a very long time. I mentioned it above that Dust and Trick and chunky, glittery messes. and Burnout is really hard to get color pay off. I also want to mention that right of the bat, I like Naked 3 better then I like Naked 1. Naked 1 grew on me over time, so I'm hoping that I fall more in love with Naked 3 the longer I have it.

 

The Balm Instain Blush in Toile

Wow, what an unusual shade of blush. Toile is definitely a unique color. The Balm website describes it as strawberry, but I think it's more like an orange/fruit punch color. This being an Instain blush, you get long lasting full impact color pay off. But since this is such a bright color, it's just got too much going on. This might be why I find this color to be really hard to wear. It doesn't quite go with any make up looks that I usually sport.

 

 

But to give it a fair trial, I paired it with a simple black cat eye and a mauve lip gloss the first time I wore it for a full day. It looked nice, but it's still not my favorite color. I think it will look better on me in the summer with a bit of a tan. In the winter though, I just don't see myself reaching for this that often. I also think it clashes with my red hair really badly.

 

If you are a lover of coral and orange blushes, then you might really like this shade. As with other Instain blushes, it is not matte, rather it has a nice sheen to it. But for this color to work for me, I feel like it needs to have more of a shimmer to it. I applied highlighter above this blush, and didn't like it. But the highlighter on top of Toile looked pretty. But I own other blushes in this color family that I find to be more flattering on my skin.

 

 

*All of the Instain blushes I have tried are over the top pigmented. The swatch on my finger above is basically just a tap on the powder. Because of this, they are a little hard to apply at first. It's best to use a large brush and lightly tap as much surface area of the brush on the powder and then start blending that onto your cheek. Blending is your friend because it is really easy to go overboard with these. But when applied just right, you will have perfect blush ALL DAY LONG! I don't think these actually stain your skin, because they come off easily without leaving any residue behind. If you like really natural looking blush, I don't think these are your cup of tea, because even when applied with a light hand, there is just so much color on your face. I love these, but wouldn't use them with a really bold eye look because it would just be too much in your face competing for attention. (I copied and pasted this from a previous post on Instain blushes.)

The Balm Instain Blush in Pinstripe

I bought this blush online, and it was really hard to tell how dark it was going to be based on the photos. So when I opened it up for the first time, I almost didn't even swatch it. But if you read my review of Cabana Boy, you'll know I felt the same way about that one, and now I love it! So I gave it a try. Pinstripe is a deep brownish plum shade. I love plum blushes and I love brown blushes, so I should love this, and I do :)

 

 

I actually find it to be one of the easiest blushes to wear from the Instain line. Because of the depth of color for this shade, it's almost impossible to look clownish. But since this is an Instain Blush, you have to apply it with a light hand. The light sheen to the blush is beautiful and helps this shade to blend in better to the cheek bones. I like this blush with a cool tone highlighter.

 

 

 

I found that this blush goes with almost any shade of lipstick. I've started thinking of it as a neutral blush, isn't that crazy. But it's because it suits my skin tone so well. I really need to stop being so afraid of dark blushes.

 

 

 

 

 

 When swatching and photographing The Balm blushes, I noticed that Pinstripe and Cabana Boy are really similar. They are close enough that you probably don't need to own both. So just decide if you want long lasting (Cabana Boy) or super long lasting ( Pinstripe).  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*All of the Instain blushes I have tried are over the top pigmented. The swatch on my finger above is basically just a tap on the powder. Because of this, they are a little hard to apply at first. It's best to use a large brush and lightly tap as much surface area of the brush on the powder and then start blending that onto your cheek. Blending is your friend because it is really easy to go overboard with these. But when applied just right, you will have perfect blush ALL DAY LONG! I don't think these actually stain your skin, because they come off easily without leaving any residue behind. If you like really natural looking blush, I don't think these are your cup of tea, because even when applied with a light hand, there is just so much color on your face. I love these, but wouldn't use them with a really bold eye look because it would just be too much in your face competing for attention. (I copied and pasted this from a previous post on Instain blushes.)

 

The Balm Instain blush in Argyle

The Instain line of blushes from The Balm are supposed to be long wearing and act as a powder stain on the cheeks. I find their regular blushes to be quite long wearing already, so it's funny that they came out with blushes that even surpass those in terms of lasting power. Argyle is described on the website as a petal pink. This is one of those colors, that anyone can pull off, but probably looks best on people with pale skin and warm undertones. 

 

 

I purchased this blush online, but if I had been in a store to swatch, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have bought it because I own so many blushes that look like this. There is nothing unique about this shade, and there are a lot of dupes out there for this color. However, there are not a lot of dupes out there for this type of product. The color payoff is INSANE. So if you don't have any blushes in this color, and you like long lasting blush, then this is the one for you.

 

 

All of the Instain blushes I have tried are over the top pigmented. The swatch on my finger below is basically just a tap on the powder. Because of this, they are a little hard to apply at first. It's best to use a large brush and lightly tap as much surface area of the brush on the powder and then start blending that onto your cheek. Blending is your friend because it is really easy to go overboard with these. But when applied just right, you will have perfect blush ALL DAY LONG! I don't think these actually stain your skin, because they come off easily without leaving any residue behind. If you like really natural looking blush, I don't think these are your cup of tea, because even when applied with a light hand, there is just so much color on your face. I love these, but wouldn't use them with a really bold eye look because it would just be too much in your face competing for attention.