FOTD: The Graduate

Last night was a big night for me.  I finally graduated from nursing school! 

It was a lot of hard work and studying (and much more to come if I decide to continue on...I think I will...but I'm going to take some time off first).  It's hard to believe that it's over. 

I wore a dark purple dress and black heels.  I didn't do anything new or exciting to my hair...just wore it in it's usual style.  I wanted to wear makeup that would be suitable for work or a semi-formal occasion.  Although, I couldn't resist a pop of purple to make things a little more fun.  This is what I came up with:

 Eyes
Concrete Minerals Electric Eye Primer
Wet n' Wild Vanity Palette
(I used the lightest shimmery color on the lid, the darkest shimmery color in the crease, and the matte dark brown to deepen the crease.  I used the lightest matte shade to blend out the highlight area)
Fyrinnae Sequined Master (Lower lash line)
My Pretty Zombie Bride (Inner corners and highlight)
Physician's Formula Eye Booster Eyeliner
Maybelline Define-a-line eyeliner soft black (water line)

 Full face pic in the car...I was running late

Lips were Wet n' Wild something...I can't remember at the moment.

I took a few days off from work to celebrate.  However...my celebrating is probably going to only consist of lazing about the house and catching up on some reading :-)

Review: Concrete Minerals Electric Eye Primer

I received Concrete Minerals Electric Eye Primer as a gift when I won a contest on their Facebook page.  I would have taken my own picture of my actual product when I received it....but Mathias likes to sneak into my room and make a stinking mess out of play with my makeup.  The first time I went to use it, I opened the tin to find the primer has been all chopped up inside.  It looked like beige cottage cheese.  I was still able to use it, the product was just unappealing to look at now thanks to my five year old (lucky for him that he's adorable and I love him!)

I swiped this picture from Concrete Minerals website.  I'm hoping she doesn't mind as I'm full of nice things to say.

First off, I have to say that I am not a primer expert.  My knowledge of primer is basically a) you NEED to use one if you want your eyeshadow to last  and  b) you NEED to use one if you want your eyeshadow to last :)  Prior to trying this product, the only two products I'd tried were UDPP and Monistat Anti-Chafing gel (which I use as a face primer and tried on my eyes a time or two).

I LOVE Electric Eye Primer.  It does everything that it's supposed to.  Colors stay vibrant and true...they don't fade on me...and I rarely experience creasing (and when I do...I'm sure it's my fault somehow). 

I can even apply my makeup, go to work and go to sleep (I love my job!).  If I stay relatively still in the night and don't mash my face into the pillow, I can wake up in the morning and look just as good as when I arrived the night before.  (I know, I know....I'm supposed to wash it all off before bed.  Sometimes I'm just lazy!)

Some people might take issue with it not being in a squeeze tube.  It wasn't a problem for me.  I like the way the product is packaged and I don't mind scooping out what I need with a clean brush each time.

I honestly don't have anything negative to say about it.  I've had a great experience with it so far and I plan on buying a new tin of it soon.
.
Concrete Minerals Electric Eye Primer costs $11.00 and can be purchased here.

LOTD: Selena Gomez inspired

I've really been kinda smitten with the video for Selena Gomez's "I Love You Like a Love Song"....not because I like the song....but because I'm in love with the purple eye makeup she rocks in the beginning of the video.

So, I thought I'd try my hand at it. 

I used:
Concrete Mineral's Electric Eye Primer and NYX Jep in Milk 120 Palette Random Medium Purple (lid)
Sugarpill Poison Plum (crease) and Bulletproof (outer V)
Revlon Vintage Lace (highlight)
Concrete Mineral's White Rabbit (inner corners and inner third of lashline)
Milani Liquif-eye eyeliner, black

L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Mascara


**Selena has something fairly glittery and sparkly on the inner part of her lashline.  When I want sparkly on that part of my eye, I usually grab Sassy Mineral's Merlin's Ball.  I tried this with Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Transformation Potion.  What I got was a very opaque, metallic silver...which is good to know if I ever need that color...but not quite what I wanted.  Instead, I overlapped White Rabbit both wet and dry...it was sparkly-er than my original plan but not quite right either...and of course none of that cool sparkle/pink shift that this shadow has showed up on the camera :(

Note to self...pick up some glitter liners when I have money again.

My inspiration

Today is the very few remaining hours of my vacation.  I'm back to work in 3 hours and back to school by the end of the week.  It's been fun, but I think I'm ready to get back into regular routine again.

I hope everyone has been enjoying their summer so far...thanks for stopping by :)

Hauling Queen (and a simple LOTD)

I did a little shopping recently.  We'll call it retail therapy...since I've been dealing with some stuff in my life and needed a boost.  I probably shouldn't have spent the money...and my one credit card is probably huddled over in the corner crying...but this is the absolute last stuff I'm buying for a really long time (barring necessities).  Despite my bad judgement...I love what I bought and I'm really happy with most of my purchases :)

WHAT I BOUGHT.....

**Awesome, super-cool Hello Kitty tote bag from Loungefly
**Milani Lip Flash in:  Hot Flash, Lip Flash, Flashy, and In a Flash (I also pictured Starflash...but I already owned that one...I'm a goof!)

**Milani Lip glosses in:  Starshine and Stylish
**Milani Baked Powder Blush in:  Luminoso
**Urban Decay Ink for Eyes in:  Pyrotechnics
**Urban Decay  Pocket Rocket Lip Gloss in: Julio
**Urban Decay Eyeshadow Transformation Potion

Lip Stuffs Swatches:

 (Top Row:  In a Flash, Lip Flash, Hot Flash, Flashy, Starflash.  Bottom Row:  Starshine, Stylish, Julio)

I also placed an order from Epically Epic Soap Company.  But that's soap.  Soap is a necessity.  And I NEEDED pretty smelling soap!!

I bought....

 GRANOLA BAR and...

 LEMON POPPYSEED CAKE

All right....I also bought Yellow Cake scented Roll-on perfume and Mimosa flavored lip balm.  But I still insist that THIS was a necessity order! :-P

I've been fairly uninspired lately with my makeup.  I've been sticking to looks that are comfortable and familiar...looks I've posted before...so that's why I haven't really posted anything new in a while.  I was dying to play with the Urban Decay Transformation Potion though (purchased for $5 on HauteLook) so I did this neutral eye with bright eyeliner look.

 (I swear this looked waayyy better in real life!!)

So...have you guys made any fun purchases lately?  I'd love links to your haul posts!! :)

LOTD: Venomous and Immature :)

I did this look a while ago.It's been sitting on my phone for what seems like forever but school and work have been kicking my butt big time!  It's my recreation of this tutorial.  I was really happy with the way this turned out.  The day that I did this, I went out for lunch and the waitress stopped and talked to me for a good chunk of time--complimenting me, asking how I did it, what I used etc. 

I used:

Concrete Minerals Electric Eye Primer

120 Palette (darkest bright pink--above the crease)

Sugarpill Poison Plum (crease)

Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy (lid)

Concrete Minerals Juvenile (lid)

Sugarpill Tako (highlight)

Milani Liquif-eye eyeliner

Maybelline Falsies Mascara

I'm working on a May favorites post.  Hopefully, I'll get it up in the next few days :)

Also, a few years ago...I belonged to a blogging community.  We made weekly posts on a topic that was given to us the week before.  It's been resurrected by some former members and I'm very excited to be a part of it again.  I've started a second blog for that purpose.  I haven't written anything yet but I have the blog up and running.  If anyone is interested in reading a non-makeup blog....you can go check it out right here!

A "Pretty" good week :)

Just doing a quick catch up on a few looks that I've done lately but haven't had a chance to post.  Usually, I do make up once or twice a week (usually when I'm going out for the day or for school on Friday night) but this past week, I've set a little time aside during my day to play around.  Even though I really had no where to go and nothing in particular to do, I've been having a lot of fun doing it anyway.

This first one was inspired by this tutorial.  I really like trying to copy my favorite looks from other people, using the products I own.  I like the challenge :)  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right???

I used:
120 Palette the darkest bright pink

Sugarpill Poison Plum

Wet n' Wild Blue Had Me at Hello--the navy-ish blue on the right hand side

NYX JEP Milk

 The next one I didn't really "copy" anyone exactly.  But I was inspired by MUG's Flower Challenge.  I thought of pansies and came up with this.

I used:
Concrete Minerals UnitySugarpill Poison PlumSugarpill Buttercupcake

Sugarpill Tako

 This one, below, is my favorite of the past week.  Most likely because I really love blues.  April is Autism Awareness Month and, just like last year (holy guacamole...my little blog is a year old!!!! Where did the time go???) I did a blue look to celebrate.  For those of you who may not know, my 8 year old son, Ian-Thayer (we call him Bear), is on the Autism Spectrum.  My close up shots came out pretty crappy but I do have a couple full face pics that I thought were pretty decent!

This one was pretty simple and I used Fyrinnae FuturisticGlamrock and Sugarpill Afterparty, Lips are Urban Decay lip gloss in Naked:

That's it for this time.  Hope everyone has a really great weekend!

Solidly Sweet

Just thought I'd share two recent LOTDs.

 

First, I wanted to retry my Valentine's Day Look.  I knew I could do it better.  I think it still needs practice but it did come out better this time.

I used:

Sugarpill's Taco

Sugarpill's Poison Plum

Wet n' Wild Liquid EyelinerMilani Liquif-eye Eyeliner

 Next, I was inspired by Petrilude's Green Winged Neon Machine Tutorial .  I really liked how this came out and it's something that I will probably wear again.

I used:

NYX JEP in Horseradish

Concrete Minerals' JuvenileSugarpill's Afterparty

E.L.F. Liquid EyelinerMilani Liquif-eye eyeliner 

That's it for this time.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day

I know it's a day late and all but better late than never right?

I didn't originally have plans for Valentine's Day and I was just planning on creating a look inspired by the day but not necessarily for me to wear out.  I wanted something soft and girly that didn't have pink involved as I can't really pull off pinks.

This is what I came up with first:

Concrete Minerals White Rabbit (Lid)
Concrete Minerals Unity  (Crease and lower lash line)

 I was trying out a new liquid liner and the wand was really too long for my comfort.  I'm not overly happy with how the liner came out but I like the look overall.  I think I'll probably try it again and it will come out better.

 My sister and I decided to go out together for Valentine's Day.  She is currently without a sweetheart and me....well.....I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing at the moment :)  I hardly ever hang out with her without our kids and I was really excited about getting out of the house. 

We went out for sushi and then hit the mall for coffee and a shopping trip to Sephora.  A most awesome time was had by both of us!

For my night out I decided to try out my Wet n' Wild I'm Feeling Retro Palette.  I thought it came out really nice.  I got a few compliments on it too which always makes me feel good!

Full V-Day look with Fyrinnae Visual Kei on the lips

My sister informed me that she only likes eye shadows that come with instructions on which one to put on which part of your eye....I told her these little palettes are perfect for that because it's written right on the shadow and I haven't used one yet that I didn't like how the look came out.  Plus, my Rite Aid currently has them on sale for $1.99 (I saw them in the mall for a dollar more).

Of all the new Wet n' Wild products that I've purchased lately, I'm feeling retro is one of my favorites!

How did you guys celebrate Valentine's Day this year?

The most beautiful word in the world is....

FREE!

Oh all right....maybe there are more beautiful words....but I was pretty psyched when I found out that I had won Concrete Minerals' 500 fan Facebook contest.  

 

I've been on a very low-buy lately (which, for me, means that I don't make purchases from my favorite places...because I know I'd spend way too much...so I feed my addiction by occasionally heading to the drug store for an item or two).  I have this huge list of things I want (don't we all!) but none of it is happening anytime soon and I was thrilled to know that I'd be getting new makeup!!!

I won four eyeshadows (of my choice) and a tin of their electric eye primer.  I had just run out of primer too....so I was extra excited since UDPP is not in my budget right now :)

 Everything came wrapped in bright pink tissue and included an information card and a note from the owner.

 The four shadows and the primer

 This is what the primer looks like before use.  Unfortunately Mathias got into my makeup and mushed it up with the handle of a shader brush...Now, it looks like cottage cheese :(

The four shades I picked out were Unity (a medium purple), Zealot  (I bright teal-y shade...I am unable to resist that color!), Ruse (it's orange but more subdued than...say...Napalm...but like teals and blues...oranges are like crack to me!). and White Rabbit (Addy picked this one out because I couldn't decide...it's a shimmery white)

No matter how hard I try, I suck at swatches.  So, I sprinkled a little bit in the caps to show you guys what they look like.  Not as good as a swatch, I know, but I think it'll do the trick :)

 UNITY

 WHITE RABBIT

 ZEALOT

RUSE

Of course, I had to play with my new toys immediately (I am such a child!).  I've done two looks so far but that will be a different post.  I just want to say a big THANK YOU to Concrete Minerals for having the contest and sending everything to me so quickly.  A package in the mail ALWAYS brings a smile to my face!

Concrete Minerals Giveaway

Concrete Minerals is having their 500 Fan Contest!  They are giving away four full size mineral eyeshadows (of the winner's choice) AND their electric eye primer.  I've never used their primer, but I've read some really good review of it lately and if I wasn't so financially challenged, I would definitely pick it up and give it a shot :)  I have, however, used their eyeshadows.  I have a bunch of them--thanks to a really great sale they had a while ago on their Etsy Page.  I didn't like every color that I bought, but that was personal preference.....every color you see online and think is super-cool doesn't always translate well into your own daily make-up life.  The colors that I did like (really, I LOVE them!!!), I use quite often. 

They are very pigmented, they last a long time and they don't crush my wallet.

Three very important things, right?

They even featured my NYE look on their facebook page....how cool is THAT??!!  Maybe not a big deal to some, but it made me feel good! (Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!!)

My favorite Concrete Minerals eyeshadows are:  Napalm, Bang-Up Blue, Juvenile, Swamped, and Temptress.  But I do intend to buy more in the future and I'm sure I'll be adding more favorite colors to that list :)

To enter the giveaway:  click here

And just for the hell of it....some of the looks that I've done over the course of my little blog using Concrete Minerals

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

New Year's Eve

I didn't do anything super-fun for NYE.  We had a quiet night in with the kids.  We made some snacks and played xbox and board games.  I fell asleep at 9pm and the kids woke me at 11:55 so I could see the ball drop.  Afterward, I promptly went to bed as I had to be to work at 7am.

But I didn't want to miss out on all the NYE makeup fun...so I threw this together just to be festive.  I like how it turned out.  The checkout girl, at my local supermarket, thought so too...she gave me some nice compliments as she was ringing up my stuff :) 

This was the first time I've ever applied my crease color first but I don't think it's going to be the last!

I used......

 Monistat Anti-Chafing Gel as Primer (for face AND eyes as recommended here)
Concrete Minerals Bang Up Blue120 Palette darkest purple and white (highlight)
LA Colors liquid eyeliner

Maybelline Define-a-Line eyeliner

Although, I've been using Monistat as a cheap primer alternative for my face for quite some time...it honestly never occurred to me to use it as an eye primer until I read Blix's review.  It really does a good job!  You have to use it VERY sparingly though (or at least I had to).  The first time I attempted my look, my shadows wouldn't stick and were pilling up while I was attempting to blend.  But if you only use the tiniest of amounts, it yields some pretty great and cheap results!

I hope everyone had a happy and safe New Year's celebration and that you've all had a good start off to 2011!

Once a week...I get pretty :)

While I was off hiding (well...mostly sleeping), I did manage to compile a few different looks.  I didn't do much makeup (I probably did full makeup maybe once a week) but here's some of the EOTDs that I did do

120 Palette (light/speckled purple, dark purple, black), LA Colors liquid eyeliner

 I've done this one before...but I think I did it better this time.  Practice makes perfect!

NYX JEP (Black Bean), Concrete Minerals (Temptress), 120 Palette (Bright Yellow), Maybelline Define-a-Line eyeliner

I used a crappy primer with this one.  I was experimenting and I failed miserably.  I liked how it came out at first, but as the day progressed...yeah...not so much :)

120 Palette (speckled black/gray, black), maybelline define-a-line eyeliner

I've owned Sassy Minerals' Crown Jewels for a really long time and for whatever reason, I never got around to trying it out.  The camera doesn't do this color justice.  It's a gorgeous dirty brown with blue sparkles.  This look is just that one eyeshadow applied over Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy and blended out.

That's it for now :)