Price: $8 * Buy At: Beauty Brands * Size: 0.14 oz / 4 g The KOCO by Beauty Brands Lipstick in Air Kiss is a light neutral mauve with a cream finish. The KOCO lipsticks come in a black rectangular package with the product color on the end. There is no writing on the entire tube other than the KOCO logo, so you just have to remember the name. Air Kiss has a thin and comfortable feel on the lips and feels quite moisturizing. The color of Air Kiss borders on a nude, but I don't find it to wash me out since it does have a pinky mauve tone to it. The lipstick is on the sheer side, but can be built up to medium coverage on the lips. Because of the sheer quality, Air Kiss will look different on everyone, depending on the natural color of their lips. The color is somewhat similar to the Nyx Summer Love Extra Creamy Lipstick, and they both have a semi sheer formula. XOX ♥
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How To | Step by StepAfter priming my lids with the Elf Eyelid Primer, as always, I applied a matte taupe (Tease in the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette) in the crease with a Sigma E25 brush. This step is not completely necessary, but, it will help the black shadow to blend out easier. This step took quite a bit of layering and blending, but I was pleased with the finial result so it was worth it. To create a sharp line and a cat eye look, I placed a piece of tape at the corner of both of my eyes. I used a small slightly fluffy eye shadow brush to build up the black shadow (Blackout from Urban Decay). I started off with only a little bit of black on the brush and patted it in the outer half of the crease and dragged it onto the outer lid. I gradually took more black shadow on the brush and packed it on to create a gradient. Once the color had been built up I removed the tape and went in with a Sigma E40 to blend out the black. To balance out the black on the lids, I smoked out the lower lash line as well. First I packed on the black shadow with a flat liner brush right below the waterline. I went in with a little bit of the black shadow on the Sigma E47 to smoke out the color. I went all out with the liner on this look since it's for New Year's Eve, but it definitely doesn't need the liner. I used the Revlon ColorStay Liquid Liner to line my eyes and added a small wing that follows the shape of the black eye shadow. In the waterline I used the L'Oreal Voluminous Smoldering Eyeliner. Falsies would also work great with this dramatic look, but I stuck with just mascara. I used the CK One Mascara and Maybelline Colossal Cat Eyes. I applied some Nyx Crystal Hip Crystal Liner right along the black liner, but you could keep the look all black if you wanted. I left some of the finished result pictures without the glitter if you are curious.
XOX ♥ Price: $2.99 * Buy At: Walgreens * Size: 0.3 oz The Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara is a black mascara with a long wand with natural bristles. The formula is sort of a midpoint between a dry mascara and a wet mascara, which is what I tend to like on my lashes. The mascara did a great job separating the lashes and I don't find that it is likely to clump. When built up, the Best Lash Extreme Mascara can add decent thickness as well as volume, but not a ton of length. My lashes aren't particularly stubborn, but I found this mascara to hold a curl pretty well and it didn't weight down my lashes at all. I used three coats on my top lashes and two coats on my bottom lashes in the pictures. XOX ♥
Price: $5 * Buy At: Ulta * Size: 8 mL / 0.27 fl oz The Nyx Butter Gloss in Praline is a dark rosy tan with a cream finish. The Butter Glosses come in a plastic tube that's color corresponds to the gloss's color. They have a typical doe foot applicator and an artificially sweet scent, although it dosen't really bother me. The formula is consistent with the other 19 Butter Glosses I have purchased; it has a medium thickness that provides moisture to the lips and is not sticky at all. I have never really been a fan of gloss since I dislike the way they feel on my lips, but the Butter Glosses are a definite exception. Praline is a color that would work on all kinds of skin tones. It's not too dark for people with light skin (like me) and it's not too light for people with a darker complexion either. XOX ♥
While this probably won't be your go to look for Christmas, I wanted to do a fun and festive red and green look. To make it more wearable, you could switch out the red crease for a brown. How To | Step by Step TutorialAfter applying the Elf Eyelid Primer to my lids and lower lashline, I used a red blush, the Jordana Blush Powder in Apple Cheeks, in the crease. To keep it from looking too intense, I gradually built up the color using a Sigma E40 brush. As a base for the eyelids, I applied the Sephora Jumbo Liner in Glitter White all over. I also used a bit of the Sephora Nano Liner in Pure White to serve as a base for the inner corner highlight. Once the lid base had set, I applied a metallic silver, Verve from the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette, all over with a Coastal Scents Shader Brush. I went back with the White Glitter base that I used on the lids and also applied it on the inner half of my lower lashline. For the green on the other side, I used Dragon Fly from the Sleek Ultra Mattes V1 Brights iDivine Palette on a flat liner brush. I used a lighter green, Cricket from the same palette, on a Sigma E47 to soften the darker green color. I also went over the white cream base on my inner corner with a bit of white shadow. Since I used color in the crease and on the lower lashline I wanted the liner to be pretty simple, so I just created a very thin line with the L'Oreal Voluminous Smoldering Eyeliner in black. In the waterline, I again used the Sephora Nano Liner in Pure White. I used two coats of the CK One mascara on my top and bottom lashes to finish off the look.
Merry Christmas! XOX ♥ Price: $6 * Buy At: Nyx's Website * Size: 0.16 oz / 4.5 g The Nyx Macaron Lippie in Violet is a medium cool toned purple with a cream finish. The Macaron Lippies come in a black tube with a clear middle that allows you to see the color inside. Violet has a thin but creamy formula that is very comfortable and pretty moisturizing on the lips. It has very good color payoff, and as you can see in the swatches and on my lips, it applies very evenly and opaque. Violet has good lasting power and for some reason, it left my lips stained pink, not purple. Since this lipstick is a straight up purple, it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I prefer purples as a statement lip over vampy colors and even bright pinks and I find that they are more flattering on my cool skin tone. XOX ♥
Price: $12 * Buy At: Sephora * Size: 0.085 fl oz The Sephora High Precision Long Lasting Eyeliner in Black is a matte black liquid liner with a brush tip. The High Precision Eyeliner comes in a classic liquid liner cone package and has a brush tip that comes to a point. The tip of the applicator is quite thin, which makes a precise application quite simple. This liner is Sharpie-black with only one swipe and is completely opaque. This liner could quite possibly be the blackest liner I've ever used! Unlike other liquid liners by Sephora, this one is not water resistant at all, so I wouldn't really suggest this liner to people that have trouble with liquid liner smudging on them. My skin tends to be on the dry side, so I don't have a problem with this liner lasting. If it doesn't get wet, this liner will last all day and look amazing. XOX ♥
Price: $38 * Buy At: Ulta * Size: 0.54 oz The IT Cosmetics My Sculpted Face Palette contains two powder highlights (one is matte and the other has shimmer) and four matte powder contour shades. The palette is made of a sturdy cardboard and has two mirrors on the inside, one is regular and the other is magnifying. I'm not a huge fan of how this palette looks, to me the graphic on the front and the back looks quite outdated. I would have preferred a more simple look, like what is seen in the rest of the IT Cosmetics line. The packaging also features two mirrors, one regular and one magnified. But, it's not about the packaging, it's on the inside that counts. All of the powders have a very smooth and soft texture and are pretty easy to blend out. I do like that the palette has a range of colors, but I don't find myself using the white or the dark brown very often. I thought I would use the white all the time as a matte highlight, but it's so sheer that it barely shows up. The three lighter contour shades give me a nice contoured right at application, but for some reason I find that the color doesn't last on my skin nearly as long as I would have thought. My contour is gone way before my blush, no matter what foundation is under it or if I set it with a setting spray. I found that some reviews on the Ulta website found the same thing to be true. I still think that this palette is a pretty good deal and is great for anyone interested in starting to get into highlight and contour. XOX ♥
Price: $3.50 * Buy At: Ulta * Size: 1 g / 0.04 oz The Nyx Slim Lip Pencil in Dolly Pink is a bright cool toned pink pencil lip liner with a matte finish. The Nyx Slim Lip Pencils are the classic sharpenable lip liner pencils that allow you to always have a nice pointed tip for a perfect application. Each Slim Lip Pencil has a colored end that corresponds to the liner's color, making it easy to find the color you're looking for. Dolly Pink has a dry consistency that allows you to get a very precise application, while not applying patchy or uneven. Its texture also is what prevents the color from bleeding or feathering around the lips. Due to the rather dry feeling of Dolly Pink, I would apply a balm, gloss or lipstick over top of the lip liner to give the lips some moisture. Dolly Pink works as a base for most pink lip colors and can add some color to nude lip colors as well. XOX ♥
I really like how this look turned out; it does have a pop of color, but it still looks fairly neutral and wearable, especially for the colder months. Since I have yet to use it for a blog post, I used the IT Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Palette (see the review HERE) for the majority of my eye shadows. How To | Step by Step Tutorial I began this look by prepping my lids with the Elf Eyelid Primer, as usual. I applied the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Pomegranate Punk all over my lids with my finger. For a transition shade in my crease I used Warmth, a light peachy tan on a fluffy Sigma E40 brush. To further deepen the crease, I used All Heart, a neutral mauve with a Sigma E25 brush. I went over both shadows with a clean Sigma E40 to blend them together. Since the IT Cosmetics palette is all matte, I used the Nyx Love in Rio Shadow Trio in En Fuego for the shimmery lid color. I used the shimmery pomegranate color on the outer half of my lid with a Coastal Scents shader brush, and the light shimmery lilac on the inner half to brighten the lids a bit. I also highlighted the inner corners of my eyes with a Coastal Scents detail brush and Inglot #318, a matte white. To balance out the top and bottom of my eyes, I applied the dark grey from the same Nyx trio on a flat liner brush right up against the lower lashline. I blended it out with a bit of the pomegranate shadow on a Coastal Scents pencil brush. To further blend it out, I took the Warmth shadow I used in my crease on a Sigma E47 on the lashline. I know it looks a bit intense now, but the lower lashline won't look as dark when my bottom lashes have mascara on. In the waterline I went with a white liner, the Sephora Nano Liner in Pure White, to keep the eyes from looking closed off. I also applied a thin line of the Revlon ColorStay Liquid Liner in black on my top lashline and set it with Noir from the IT Cosmetics palette. As always, to complete the look, I applied mascara to my top and bottom lashes using the CK One Mascara.
XOX ♥ |
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