Cheap Thrills: Wet n' Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Collections

I admit, I have never been partial to drugstore eye shadows. Now I know that some people are infuriated when they see someone use a high end eye shadow and think that it's okay to call them every bad word known to man at them to make themselves feel better. Honestly, I find that slightly unnecessary as its not as if the person using the makeup is using the other person’s money. Let’s face it though; people these days are rather difficult. For all of you difficult and/or people wanting some good makeup at an amazing price, I have come to the rescue with the Wet n' Wild Color Icon Eye shadows! Wet n' wild hasn’t always had a good reputation for being a good makeup brand, but within the last year and a half or so, they have really picked up their game. These particular eye shadow palettes come with eight colors, and although they aren’t perfect, they’re much better than some of the other drugstore eye shadows I’ve seen on the market today.

This product comes in three different shades: Petal Pusher, Comfort Zone, and Blue Had Me At Hello. About as catchy as names can get... ;)

     The first palette is Petal Pushers, which is obviously the purple palette, unless you're color blind and can't tell. This palette contains a lot of softer colors, and isn't quite as shimmery as the others. It contains both cool and warm toned purple, so you can customize your eye shadow based on what colors suit you the best. I find purples in general to be less pigmented than other colors, and I have no idea why. These colors have good pigmentation, but are very soft shades. If you find that super shimmery or frosty colors make your eyes look a tad scaly, you might wanna check this one out.

All the pretty swatches for Petal Pushers-yay!

Oh yes, it's the beautiful Comfort Zone palette. This one in particular I found very hard to get my hands on, because most people in general aim towards neutrals when it comes to makeup. This sadly has all shimmery colors, and I would really like to see more mattes in these palettes, because all in all the quality is quite good. This palette includes four brown toned shades and four green toned shades.

                                             Here are all the lovely swatches in case you couldn't tell.

       Here is the last palette of the bunch, which is Blue Had Me At Hello. Do not be afraid of purchasing this palette, because believe it or not, it doesn't bite. I like to call this palette the feisty palette, because wearing bright colors always makes you a little more hyper and annoying, just ask my mom.... If you like to make crazy or just plain horrifying makeup looks late at night when no one is awake (which I obviously don't do, duh) then this palette is going to be your sole mate. The shimmery black is disappointing as it doesn't come off very well in swatches or on your eye, but I have learned that finding the perfect black drugstore eyeshadow is nearly impossible. Other than the dud in this palette, this palette is full of shimmery prettiness with the exception of one matte black shade which wasn't anything to write home about.

                                             Here lie the last set of swatches-aren't they pretty?!


     All in all, I find that these eye shadows are very good for the price of $5.99, but they do have a few imperfections. They are very pigmented, with the exception of a few shades, and some tend to be quite powdery and you might experience a bit of fallout with the application of these, so make sure to get as much access eyeshadow off of the brush as you can unless you want to rock the dreaded raccoon eyes. My brother even rocked a few shades from the Blue Had Me At Hello palette the other night when my friend and I applied it all over his cute little face (which he was not happy about by the way). Speaking of his face, it is not nearly as crusty as it used to be, but before I go off on another tangent about crusty faces and such, I will leave you all to live your lives without me. *shudders at the thought* I hope you all are doing well and have a wonderful day.
                                                              xoxo-Olivia the Makeup Pig

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The Perfect Summer Blushes

If you've ever gone makeup shopping with me, you would know that I have a slight obsession with blushes. And when I say slight, I mean BIG. I know a lot of people don't wear blush because they think that they will end up looking like a clown, but if you think about it, your cheeks take up way more space on your face then your eyes, so why wouldn't you enhance them? If you still don't agree with me, I'll give you some less "garish" options to help you on your journey into the wonderful world of blush. I give you the cream blush. Cream blushes are great for summer, as they don't cake up and sweat off your face. If you live in an area that's humid like I do, these will be your savior once the dog days of summer roll around. Along with staying put in the summer heat, they look more natural than a powder blush because they have a dewy finish that seems to become a part of your skin once you blend it in. I will be showing you some options you have (or rather what I have) and giving you my opinions on them. I'll try not to bore you with a paragraph for each product, but if you would like a separate review please leave a request in the comments. Enjoy! :)

I give you the stila convertible colors. These can be worn on the lips and cheeks but I tend to wear them mainly on my cheeks because... well, actually, I don't know why. They come in a variety of shades for different shades for different skin tones and are extremely creamy and pigmented. If you want your cheeks to be the center of attention, I would go for these.

The shades I have are petunia, camellia, and orchid. Petunia is a bright peachy pink that will brighten up any skin tone. This shade looks good year round, and is a shade that most people tend to be attracted to because it is so darn pretty. Camellia is a warm toned tan shade, and no, despite what you might think, it is not ugly! I actually use this one quite a bit. In fact, I just so happened to hit pan on it today, which is very rare thing to see coming from me, especially when it comes to blushes! Lastly, I have the shade orchid. Now this is not I shade I would typically wear, especially for summer. But when fall and winter roll around, it gives you the kind of color that makes you look as if you've been playing in the snow all day. For dark skin tones this is the perfect color, and with minimal blending it can look perfectly natural. However, this was a limited edition shade, but if you do some searching on the web I'm sure it'll pop up somewhere.

     Next, I have the NYC blushable cream sticks in Plaza Pink and Big Apple Blush. Yes, the names are pretty lame but the product is actually really, really, really, good. Not only do these cost only a few dollars, but they come with alot of product (8 grams to be exact) and are very pigmented. These may not be as creamy as the stila convertible colors, but I honestly don't care, because these blushes blend very easily and glide on very nicely. Plus, if these were super creamy, they would break right off their sticks and you would be left with a huge mess to clean up. We all know how fun cleaning up makeup is....

Here lay the swatches of the pwetty blushes. For some reason my camera was being a meaniehead (a very mature thing to say, I am aware) and didn't want them to show up as pretty as they are in person. So all in all, if you want a nice cream blush on a budget, get these. Or else.... 

     Next in my cream blush line up were these two beauties. The blush on the right is the revlon cream blush in Rosy Glow. This is a very creamy blush (never would've guessed, considering that's what it's supposed to be) and is nicely pigmented. When I say nicely, I mean it's not really sheer and it's not so pigmented that some people might have trouble blending it. The same goes for the next blush, which is the maybelline dream mousse in peach satin. It is another color that is perfect for beginners, because it is a very natural and flattering color and doesn't require a lot of blending.

Again, the camera didn't do these two any justice, so I'm beginning to think it has something against drugstore brands. If you can't make it out from the picture, the revlon blush which is on the right is a soft rosy color and the maybelline blush is a light peachy pink with shimmer.

     Lastly, we have the nars cream blush in penny lane and the mac cremeblend blush in something special. The Nars is a very light peach color, and has a very different texture than most cream blushes. It's not quite as creamy, but isn't hard to blend or dry in any way. I really like this blush, although it is very light. I would gladly try out different colors. The MAC blush is a bit of a brighter peach, but still is on the lighter side. This has a nice creamy formula, and seems to be pretty standard as far as cream blushes are concerned. The pigmentation and blendability are very good, and this is a very natural looking blush for me.

The swatches for these two are looking a little brown, but it gives you a good idea of how different the colors actually are. Penny lane is on the left and something special is on the right.

I hope you found this post helpful and interesting, considering I spent about two hours in total taking pictures, writing, getting my writing deleted, and writing some more. I am very sorry that a majority of my descriptions for colors were "peachy pink", but I guess that's just the way the cookie crumbles. Speaking of cookies, my mom is making a marble cake right as we speak, or in this case, type. So... I guess I will leave you now to stare at the blushes and lust over them, as well as the cake that I am getting ready to eat. I hope you all are doing well and have a wonderful day.

xoxo- Olivia the Makeup Pig

Cheap Thrill: Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner in Eastend Snob

Some people might call me silly for writing a review on a lipliner when it just so happens to be the first one I have ever owned, but I beg to differ. I think I have enough knowledge in this noggin of mine to tell you if a product is good or not. And yes, this is my first lip liner ever *hangs head in shame*, but I really have just never had the interest. When I think of lip liner, I think of the lady in my town who would always show up at the pool with the ugliest plum lip liner imaginable tracing her lips, and a nude gloss to top it all off. DISGUSTING. I give you the Rimmel lip liner in Eastend Snob. This is a pretty rose color that I think is perfectly suitable for the daytime, or the pool....

     Let the awkward up close and personal lip swatches begin. The first picture is just my naked lips. I would appreciate it greatly if you don't stare at them creepily for too long.

     Next, we have my lips with just the lip liner on. I prefer to fill my whole lips in rather than tracing them, as it makes whatever color you use adhere to your kisser with ease. Eastend snob glides over my lips pretty well, although I wouldn't recommend wearing it alone, as it would dry out your lips.This product is much more rosey toned than my natural lips, but I find it still looks natural. I chose three pink toned lip  products to show you how it looks with different shades of pink- a light, medium, and bright/dark.

                                           Eastend Snob with Hue lipstick by MAC

                            Eastend snob with the covergirl lip perfection lipstick in darling

                              Last but not least, Nars lipstick in Schiap. Please excuse the fact that I was extremely washed out in this picture.

                                     
    Lastly, here are my lips after testing out all of those lip products for you. Not in the best of shape, eh?                                

         I hope you all found these awkwardly close up pictures helpful, and please take note that no lips were harmed in the making of this post. I hope you consider picking up this wonderful product, as it only cost me a few pieces of bubble gum! I hope you all are doing well and have a wonderful day.

                                                                                 -xoxo, Olivia the Makeup Pig

June 2011 Favorites

     Curse you horrible internet connection!!! Uhhh, sorry about that, but the connection at my house it soooo messed up and is really beginning to erk me. So, if I actually am able to post this before the end of July, consider yourself lucky. Now with all of that out of the way, I have come to delight you all today with my June favorites. All of these products I have used way too much during the month of June, and some are the same from last month because I'm just boring like that. But obviously if I use them way too much they must be good right? Right. So let the madness begin...
    
     The first thing I have been loving is the Urban Decay Naked palette. I know, I know, this was in my favorites last month,but I have been doing a specific look for most of the month. That look includes sin on the inner third of the lid and crease, naked on the rest of my lid, sidecar in the crease, and virgin as a highlight. I love this because it's not too dark or too light. It packs the perfect amount of punch, but doesn't look awful at the end of the day.

     Now I love all of my tarte amazonian clay blushes equally, because I literally haven't used any other blushes this whole month. But... I have really been loving the shade exposed because of its wonderful neutralness and that it seemingly has the ability to look smokin' with any look I choose to wear.

     For a highlight, I can't keep my greedy little fingers off of albatross by nars. It is by far the best highlight I have EVER used, and I will without a doubt bore you month after month by putting this in my favorites. *twiddles fingers menacingly*

     And yes, I chose Nars laguna bronzer to be in my favorites, but if I love it so much why wouldn't I spread the joy and happiness that this bronzer has given me. It still gives me the bronzed glow that I want without making me look like an oompa loompa. Sounds like a winner to me.

     Yves Saint Laurent has the most luxurious lipsticks known to man. The packaging, the pigmentation, and the creaminess is just about enough to make me want to buy them all. This shade is 26 tender peach. I still have yet to even think about wearing a different lipstick.

 Here are all the swatches listed in the order swatched on my arm: Urban decay sin, naked, sidecar, and virgin. Tarte exposed blush, nars laguna bronzer, nars albatross, and ysl 26 tender peach.

   Another thing I have been loving is my eos lipbalm in lemon drop. Just a cute little ball of lemony goodness that keeps my lips nice and smooth.

     I have been really into reading all of my makeup books this month. I love seeing different techniques and styles of makeup, and I find that I learn something new whenever I flip the page. I don't have any ones I have been bowing down to more than others this month, but if you have any questions about any of them, my little zebra friend will be happy to answer them for you.

I hope you all have a safe and fun july, and make sure you slather on that sunscreen- they don't call this time of year the dog days of summer for nothing! I hope you all are doing well, and have a wonderful day.

-xoxo, Olivia the Makeup Pig