Nail of the Day: Sinful Colors in Thimbleberry

hey guys! so I've been obsessed with Essie's new color Come Here! however I've been less than impressed with its formulation, its very tacky and thick and just very hard to work with. So I went on a mission to find a dupe to say the least. This is what I found! Sinful Colors Thimbleberry!

Thimbleberry is a watermelon/poppy red creme. Very similar to Come Here by Essie. Thimbleberry is ever so slightly more pinkish but its hardly noticeable. This formula was very easy to work with, the first coat was a little bit streaky but it reached full opacity by 2 coats. In the past I haven't been super excited about Sinful Colors formulas but this one may just change my mind.

So what do you guys think? I've never been a fan of reds for summer but I really like this. Do you guys have any favorite summer colors?

Nail of the Day: Sally Hansen XTreme Wear in Coral Reef

Hey guys! So the Xtreme Hardware line is one of my favorites as you know, so I was very happy to find that the had some new summer shades. This is one of them, Coral Reef!

How To: Make Your Nails Whiter

Hey guys! So this is a little tip I picked up from a magazine and I honestly cannot remember which one it is but anyway I gave it a go and it works!

I know the lighting is a little brighter in the after picture but I promise it works, if you look you can see the blue tinge around my cuticles is gone

E.L.F. Cream Eyeliner in Black, Teal Tease and Punk Purple

Recently there was a sale on E.L.F. products and I figured it would just be crazy to not take full advantage of that. I have been hearing tons of good things about these cream eyeliners so I decided to try em out. I bought black, teal tease and punk purple.

I apologize for the fact that I've already ruined their brand new never been used look but I had to try them 

The cream eyeliners come in cute little plastic square containers, they feel very high end. I don't really like the covers just because they are very hard for me to screw on straight, who knows maybe I'm just defective. Anyway for $3.00 you get .17 oz of product which may not sound like much but this stuff lasts and its great so for that price I definitely recommend checking these out. 

NEW Limited Edition Maybelline Color Tattoo in Blue Paradise Review and Swatches

So as you may know I have been searching for this color tattoo ever since I learned of its existence. Well I finally found it and it does not disappoint. Meet Blue Paradise!

Beauty.com Friends and Family Sale NOW!

Hey guys! Beauty.com/Drugstore.com is having its Friends and Family 20% off sale! Check it out HERE

NEW Limited Edition Maybelline Color Tattoo in Precious Pearl

We've all heard the raves about the new summer 2013 Maybelline Color Tattoo Collection, consisting of 8 new colors inspired by the shore, however I've only ever seen 6 of these 8 elusive colors. One night my friend and I just happened to be at Walmart and I cannot go to Walmart without going to the beauty section, I just can't, it's like a magnet. Anyway I checked the Summer display hoping to find another Seashore Frosts, and of course no Seashore Frosts, but what is this I see out of the corner of my eye?! A new color? Why yes! a new shimmery cream called Precious Pearl. Later I came to find out that there are in fact 8 new summer shades, however I have not seen Blue Paradise yet.

Consider yourself lucky if you can find these two oh so elusive colors that are additions to the 2013 summer line. I was bouncing off the walls once I found Precious Pearl.

Precious Pearl is a very sheer shimmery color that I would call a cream with pink undertones. Its a very neutral, cream bisque color. Whatever it is I think its gorgeous.

My Glam Bag: May 2013

Hey guys! so a couple months ago I cancelled my birchbox subscription because I was just not really happy with the samples I had been getting, so anyway, I cancelled it. I had been checking into all the different sample subscriptions, ya know GlossyBox, Makup Monthly, TestTube etc. and I stumbled across Ipsy Glam Bag. After doing some reading it seemed pretty standard, you get deluxe samples once a month, however the thing with Glam Bag is that its only $10 a month! So after doing some more reading and hearing Alison over at Amarixe (one of my all time favorite beauty bloggers, check her out here) say that she was very impressed with Glam Bag I knew I had to try it. The fact that it was started by beauty guru Michelle Phan is also a huge bonus because I just absolutely LOVE her.

No Makeup Monday

Today I thought I would share a little thing I've been doing for the past 2 years. No Makeup Monday. That's right, just as the name implies, on Monday I wear no makeup or minimal makeup. This all started because I am that poor unfortunate soul who always ends up with an 8 am Monday class and after a long weekend of fun I would rather be sleeping than worrying about eyeliner being symmetrical.

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream Review and Swatch

So with everyone raving about this I just had to try it out, I agree that its definitely more of a tinted moisturizer than a BB cream but on hot Texas days, thats all I really need, so I like it.

Nail of the Day: China Glaze Pool Party

Hey guys! So I picked this stuff up today and DANG it is bright! I can definitely say that between this color and the ever raved about Flip Flop Fantasy I will pretty much always have pink nails this summer. Anyway so Pool Party is what I would call an electric hot pink in the bottle, unfortunately the color is nothing like what it looks like in the bottle once its on your nails, I know, sad :( It's literally highlighter pink in the bottle, it dries to a little bit more of a siren red.

I'm really disappointed with this picture, it looks way more red than it truly  is

Besides the fact that the color is nothing like it looks like, this is a lot like Flip Flop Fantasy in texture and formula. Without a topcoat its kind of an almost chalky finish, and it can be really streaky if you don't have enough polish on the brush. I've worked with better but the color is amazingly bright and its definitely workable. I would highly recommend checking out the China Glaze Poolside collection, its full of fun brights for summer.

The Wish List: April 2013

So we all have them, those lists of beauty products that we are lusting over. Well here are my top 5 of the moment, I usually have tons and tons of products I'm going crazy for in the spring but for some reason this year I'm just not going as crazy as usually. These are official promo images as I don't actually have the items.

1.) Clarisonic Mia

Any girl who calls herself a makeup lover has heard about the clarisonic. I.MUST.HAVE.IT. End of story. It shall be mine.

NYX Stick Blush in Orchid Review and Swatch

I'm just starting to get into NYX products and so far I've been very satisfied, the price is right and the quality is stellar. As you may know I'm obsessed with cream blushes and so I thought I would give the NYX stick blush a try. I grabbed the color Orchid, because I really gravitate towards salmonly pink blushes with gold shimmer and this one was right up my alley.

These come in short little tubes and they twist up like a lipstick, extremely storage friendly, which I love since I live in the tiniest dorm room ever and storage space is nonexistent

Nail of the Day: Essie Bikini so Teeny

I'm obsessed with blue nailpolish lately. This one is no exception, its a gorgeous cornflower blue with a slight shimmer. Perfect for summer.

This took 4 coats

Revlon Photoready Cream Blush in Flushed and Coral Reef

I've recently crossed the line into the world of cream blushes, I was always a bit skeptical of cream blushes and then my friend convinced me to try out one of the maybelline mouse blushes and I've been hooked ever since. Anyway these are the two newest additions to my collection, and I will definitely be getting a lot of mileage out of them this summer.

Left: Flushed
Right: Coral Reef

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bold Gold Review and Swatches

I have slowly but surely been collecting the color tattoo line, and this one has been on the list and I finally grabbed it. This is a gorgeous bronzy/gold shimmer, it definitely looks more gold once applied and there's definitely a lot of sparkle to it.

Attention Everyone Drooling over Hunter Rainboots!!

Ok so if you're like me you're drooling over Hunter rainboots but die a little inside everytime you look at the price tag. So you can imagine my surprise when I walked into Target and there they were, the almost perfect dupe for hunter rainboots. Now obviously they're not the exact same, the colors aren't exact, they don't have the buckles and they definitely don't have the little hunter logo but when you're a college kid on a budget, you take what you can get.

Left: Target, Right: Hunter

So they're pretty darn close right?! obviously I bought myself a pair. They do have other colors including a coral, black, grey and a cobalt, you can check those out here. If you buy them online beware they run a little small so go up a sizeish.

So what are you waiting for?! Go buy em!

Nail of the Day: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Breezy Blue

I picked this up at Ulta the other day and ran right home and painted my nails. Fun fact about me I love love love blue nailpolish, not like crazy blues but a nice Tiffany blue or mint and I'm sold. As you guys may have figured out, I love the Xtreme wear line and I was super excited to find some new colors. Anyway so here is Breezy Blue

This took 4 coats and taken in natural lighting
(ignore the red on my middle finger, I have a puppy and he decided to chew on my finger)

SO I would describe Breezy Blue as a white based blue with a sheer iridescence. It looks like a creme in the bottle but low and behold I held my fingers up to admire my handiwork and sure enough there's a shimmer! (unfortunately no matter what I did I could not get it to show in the picture) Its super subtle and I love it. The formula on this one is not great, it took 4 coats to get this look, but thankfully it layers very well. Anyway despite the thinness of this formula I really like the color and its definitely gonna be a favorite this summer.

Nail of the Day: Essie Cute as a Button

I'm so glad that this is finally part of the permanent collection, its one of my favorite summertime colors, it's always either on my fingers or toes, its just perfect for warm weather. Anyway I picked this up a couple years ago and I was so happy to see that it was added to the permanent collection so I don't have to worry about it running out.

This looks a little more red based but its rather close

NEW Maybelline Summer 2013 Color Tattoos Review and Swatches

So I finally tracked these down, I only grabbed 3 but I had to start somewhere. I'm still trying to track down Lavish Lavender but these are the 3 that were at the top of my list.

Seashore Frost, Waves of White, Cool Crush

Sephora Disney Storybook Cinderella Palette Review and Swatches

Ok I'm a Disney freak so when I heard that Sephora and Disney were collaborating I died and went to heaven. This is the first "Volume" in the Disney Storybook collection and its gorgeous.

NYX Love in Florence: Ciao Bella Palette Review and Swatches

So I was perusing around Ulta because they're having a huge buy one get one 50% off sale and I just happened upon this gorgeous palette. I don't know if its the color combination but this is literally one of the prettiest things I have ever seen. NYX has released a collection called Love in Florence, there are 10 different palettes, you can check them out here. For this post though were gonna focus on my favorite of the 10, Ciao Bella.

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Pots&Pans and Electric Blue Review and Swatches

So with everybody raving about these I just had to check them out so I picked up theses two colors at a NYX BOGO 50% off sale. I grabbed Pots & Pans and Electric Blue

Nail of the Day: OPI Pompeii Purple

This is a nail polish I've been eyeing for awhile but never bought because it seemed so similar to Essie's Jam n Jelly. Well I finally bought it and I can tell you right now its going to be a summer staple.

3 coats.

NYX Blush in Pinched Review and Swatches

So there is talk about this being a dupe for Nars Orgasm?!?! Well unfortunately I can't testify to that because I don't have Nars Orgasm (I know I know, major beauty faux pas I guess). But I can tell you what I think about NYX Pinched :)

Nail of the Day: Sally Hansen Xtreme Hardware in Mint Sorbet

So today I'm showing one of my favorite colors for spring, Sally Hansen's Mint Sorbet. I'm kinda obsessed with Sally Hansen because I think the quality is great especially for the price.

So this color was really hard to photograph, its not quite as white toned as the top picture but not quite as dark as the photo below and it shows it a little more aqua than it truly is. This is 2 coats

Spring Top 5: Clothing & Accessories

Hey guys! So it seems spring has finally sprung (thank goodness) and with spring comes florals and pastels! yippee! Anyway so every season I try and come up with my top 5 list just as a way to kinda help limit my spending, after all I am just a broke college girl. So without further ado here are my top 5 things for this season!

#1. Tiffany Blue Hunter Rainboots

Please tell me I am not the only one drooling over these! the color! the sleekiness (is that a word?) These are just all around adorable and perfect for spring, on those days when everything is grey and dreary and wet you can step out in these candy colored babies and just let those grey feelings melt away.

Unfortunately this color isn't produced anymore (I know, sad day) so I've been trying to track these down on ebay. However they have other fabulous colors (lilac, yellow, cobalt) and you can find them Here . 


See the rest of the list below

Nail of the Day: Sally Hansen XTreme Wear in Pacific Blue

Hey guys so today I am sharing one of my all time favorite nail polish colors. This has been on my nails constantly since I got it.

This was taken in natural light. It took 3 coats to achieve this look.

Nail of the Day: Essie Turquoise and Caicos

This is from Essies Resort 2010 collection and I FINALLY got around to picking it up. Its described as a flirty and pretty tropical aqua and I would agree, I LOVE LOVE LOVE aqua and turquoise colors. Anyway as an Essie junkie I was somewhat disappointed in this color, its extremely sheer and somewhat streaky and took about 3 coats to get a nice opaque color. I did find that it wasn't really aqua but definitely more of a seafoam turquoise. Needless to say despite the sheerness its still a gorgeous color and I will definitely be wearing it alot this summer.

this picture was taken in natural lighting, it took 3 coats to get this look.


Stay Fabulous
xoxo.
Liz

A Little Saturday Pick Me Up

We all go to that place sometimes, that place inside our minds where nothing is going right, our clothes don't fit the way we want them to, we say the wrong things, our hair isn't cooperating and basically just nothing is working out. We go there and we just keep thinking about all the things going wrong and we lose sight more and more of all the things that are going right. My mom always tells me "Liz, you're not perfect and you're never going to be, so stop chasing perfection and start chasing happiness." Life gets complicated and messy but we need to remember that life isn't perfect but it is messy and its a beautiful mess :)

xoxo
Liz

Maybelline Baby Lips Moisturizing Lip Balm

Never again will I buy another lip balm. There's no point, I LOVE LOVE LOVE baby lips. I live in the north, so winter is a girls worst enemy, it wreaks total havoc on my skin and especially my lips, well BABY LIPS TO THE RESCUE!!!!!! I have tons of these all over the place, in my purse, in my car, in my vanity, they're all over the place I just love them so much. They're unbelievably hydrating, they don't feel sticky, they smell awesome! and they totally do their job. I used to use the vaseline lip balm but these have completely replaced that. They're smooth, relatively cheap, come in different colors if you want more of a tinted lip balm and they do serious work.

I highly recommend these, they are fantastic and everyone should own at least 5 of these. Ok maybe not 5 at least 2

update*
The Baby Lips that I have are....
Quenched- a standard clear lip balm
Twinkle- a light cotton candy/bubblegum/baby pink (the color doesn't really show on your lips)
Pink Punch - a bright barbie pink
Coral Crush - a tangerine coral color that looks GORGEOUS on the lips
Peach Kiss - a peachy/mocha color that gives a gorgeous flush of color

Stay Fabulous
xoxo.
Liz

Sweet Beginnings

We all know what it's like, the overwhelming feeling that hits you when you're standing in the drug store makeup aisle surrounded by thousands of products not even knowing where to start. Sometimes it's hard to sort through the creams, powders, minerals, kohl, pencils and mascaras, that's where I come in. I'm Liz and for years my friends have come to me to ask what I thought of something before they buy it because they know I've probably used it (in short they exploit my weakness for all things beauty and fashion.) Well I finally broke down and started a blog so everyone can know the drugstore (and some department store) A-listers and the duds (in my humble opinion anyway)