Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow! Foundation – all 9 shades

Happy Friday, Beauties!

Well, my Benefit House Party got postponed due to illness (it’s the dreaded spring cold season!), so I wont be posting about til next month. I do, however, have all 9 shades of the new Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow! Brightening Makeup Foundation.

From the Benefit Website:

hello flawless oxygen wow!

brightening makeup, oil-free SPF 25 PA+++

$34.00

• broad-spectrum SPF 25 PA+++ protection**
• oil-free formula
• natural finish
• hydrating benefits
• light-diffusing properties
• available in 9 shades

**What does PA+++ mean? SPF stands for the protection grade of the UVB filter. PA stands for the protection grade of the UVA filter. The highest standard of sun protection rating is the three-star PA rating. Our foundation has three stars, which translates to the highest protection.

INGREDIENTS

Manicure Monday: Sinful Colors Nail Junkie – Mermaid nails!

Beauties. I am absolutely in love with Sinful Colors Nail Junkie.

It’s a blue based multi-coloured glitter, and I have been having fun layering it over a bunch of different colours. To see it layered over a dusty green, check out my St Patrick’s Day nails!

This is such an easy glitter to apply, it goes on smoothly and evenly without dragging or leaving bare spots.

Here it is layered over a bright matte blue from Color Zone. I'm liking the matte look for glitters lately.

The gorgeous colours seem to light up and glow from within.It reminds me of mermaids’ tails and the sunlight reflecting off aquamarine water. The glitter lays flat on the nail and gives a pretty smooth finish, but I’d still wear topcoat to completely smooth it out.

Sinful Colors nail polish retails for around $1.99 and I always see lots of the shades on sale for .99c. EXTREME money saver for a gorgeous glitter. I got this one at Rite Aid.

Have you tried any Sinful Colors nail polish? It’s actually one of my favourite brands!

Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes eye contour kit

Morning Beauties :)

Today I have the Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes eye contouring kit. I don’t really have any step by step kits like this, but I have seen them before. I always wondered if it’ll actually turn out the way the kit shows when I do it… That remains to be seen.

The Big Beautiful Eyes eye contour kit comes with a concealer, base shadow, contouring shadow, liner shadow, a double sided contour and lining eyeshadow brush and a mini concealer brush.

L-R: Boi-ing Concealer 02, Base Shadow, Contour Shadow, Liner Shadow

L: Boi-ing Concealer 02, R: Base Shadow, a sheer, shimmery light nude pink

L: Contour Shadow, a shimmery taupe, almost rose, R: Liner Shadow, a matte dark brown

Boi-ing concealer felt quite rich and creamy and blended nicely on my skin. It’s not as full coverage as their other concealer, Erase Paste, but it definitely does a nice job of brightening up my under eye circles. I feel that it’s less likely to settle into lines or dry out as well.

The eyeshadows are all very soft and I had a little bit of fallout, but nothing drastic. They are pretty sheer, but build up to a soft opacity. As they aren’t super pigmented, these shades would be better for those who like soft neutral colours. I would recommend using a good primer under these so they wont budge throughout the day. After I swatched them on my arm, they easily wiped off, so a primer is needed.

This kit would be great for a natural look, for younger girls that are just getting into makeup or even for a bridal look.

It also comes with pretty detailed instructions on how to apply the shadows.

Have you tried any eyeshadow kits like these? I’m looking forward to trying it out.
Look out for my FOTD at the end of the week :)

Benefit Benetint – rose tinted lip & cheek stain.

Hello Beauties :)

Here is the second installment of my Benefit week series~ I’m getting really excited about my upcoming Benefit House Party!

Today I have the popular Benetint, a gorgeous rose lip and cheek stain. I’ve heard so many good things about this lip & cheek stain, so I was very happy that my friends and I get to try it out :)

Benetint comes in a nail polish–like bottle, with a brush applicator. It’s quite easy and convenient at home, but it might be a little messy trying to apply it while you’re out and about. As it’s a stain, you don’t need to reapply it too often though. Such a timesaver! I don’t usually reapply blush throughout the day, so I like a good long lasting cheek stain.

The texture is quite runny and easily spreadable on the skin. Just be careful it doesn’t drip! It smells faintly of roses but has a slightly bitter taste, so I don’t recommend licking your lips if you use this as a lip stain.
I dipped the brush in and swatched over my skin twice.

Without flash:

With flash:

This stain gives a buildable flush of colour, so you can be as subtle or dramatic as you like. You have to smooth it out and rub it onto your cheeks/lips in a timely manner, because it dries quickly, and once it dries it will not budge. I noticed a bit of darker staining around the edges of the swatch, so you have to make sure you blend it really well to get rid of any harsher lines.

The tint didn’t come off with rubbing, but I washed it with warm water and it faded. It didn’t completely disappear, however.

I really like the fresh, rosy colour this tint gives. Lip & cheek stains are great for when you want a sheer wash of colour that will last all day. It’s very versatile and I can see myself wearing it through the different seasons. It can be applied lightly for a natural look, or more heavily for full colour.

Have you tried Benetint or any other lip/cheek stains?

Benefit Hervana Blush - Benefit Cosmetics Week!

Hello Beauties!

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you’ll know that I’m having a Benefit Cosmetics House Party this weekend! In the lead up to the House Party (which I will be documenting for the blog) I’m going to showcase some of the different products we’ll be trying out.

To kick off my Benefit Cosmetics week, I have Benefit Hervana Blush.

From Benefit Cosmetics:

Achieve the ultimate state of bliss with hervana! Swirl & sweep on this good karma face powder for an enlightened  flush. Four complementary shades leave cheeks with an orchid blossom blush and a soft satin finish.
$28

The cute little case opens to reveal a soft white mini blush brush and a small mirror. This is perfect to take on the go, as you have everything you need for touch ups in one. The brush is very nice, it gives an even sweep of colour.

You can see little sparkles in the blush, but it’s not shimmery on the skin. It’s not very pigmented and builds up slightly, blending out to a sheer wash of colour and giving a soft pink glow to cheeks. It’s very lovely, dewy and springlike. I attempted to swatch each colour individually, but they were just much too sheer.

It definitely gives more of a natural flush, this is swatched three or four times on my arm. I think it’s perfect for people who prefer a light hint of colour, but might not be ideal for those with darker skintones.

Have you tried any of the Benefit blushes?

Keep an eye out for more Benefit Cosmetics this week!

St Patrick’s Day nails & makeup. Green is the word.

Happy Friday Beauties!

It’s St Patrick’s Day tomorrow, so I thought I’d try something green with my nails and makeup. So here is my St Patrick’s Day mani and FOTD.

Sorry for my dry hands :(
I used Sinful Colors Open Seas as a base (supposedly it's a dupe for OPI Mermaid Tears), Sinful Colors Nail Junkie on my index finger and attempted a four leaf clover on my ring finger with Diamond Cosmetics Don’t Teal My Heart (which I won from Jeanie at Midnite Manicures!). I think it turned out pretty cute, even if my clover isn’t the best. I also used a new topcoat, which I will be posting about soon :)

FOTD!

I hardly ever wear green eyeshadow and couldn’t find a mint green, so I used my Milani COLOR BRILLIANCE eye pencil.

Face:

• Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream #31
• elf Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder
• elf Studio Concealer Pencil & Brush

Eyes:

• elf Studio Eyebrow Treat & Tame in Medium
• Milani COLOR BRILLIANCE Eye Pencil in Green
• Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Shadow Pencil in Narc
• Dolly Wink Long Mascara

Lips:

• Maybelline Baby Lips in Pink Punch

Do you have any plans for St Patrick’s Day? We are heading down to visit family in San Diego :) I might look for a mint shadow to wear and do the same look, but with mint so it matches my nails!

New Haircut & Style by Tiffany at Beauty Heaven

Hey Beauties :D

I've been needing to cut my hair for a while now. I'm trying to grow it out and it was still somewhat asymmetrical, so I went and got it cut by Tiffany at Beauty Heaven in Irvine, CA.

Beauty Blogazon Roundup February 18-24

Here are some great beauty articles by the lovely ladies of The Beauty Blogazons.





Glitter.Gloss.Garbage- Women Of Color And Red Lips- Yes We  Can And Here’s A Guide

Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom- The one with Fail Art Thursday - my Chalkboard Nails contest entry

Beauty and Fashion Tech- Choosing The Best Curling Iron

Polish Insomniac- Deborah Lippmann Sweet Dreams - Swatches and Review

Girl Gloss- How To Apply False Eyelashes

My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog- BECCA Pressed Shimmer Powder in Gypsy

BlushingNoir- Dior 834 ROSE PORCELAINE 5-Couleurs Couture Colour Eyeshadow Palette Swatches, Review, and EOTD – New Look Spring 2012

The Beauty Delicacy- 3 Iconic Looks You Need To Try

Beauty Mamas- Manicure Monday: Pink & Gold, Stripes & Glitter

BeautyByLeRenda- Revlon Photoready Airbrush Foundation

Beauty Thesis- Five Faves: January 2012

Stephanie Louise- All Things Beautiful- Become Beauty Giveaway! Enter Now




Keep an eye out for my post on my new hair, coming early tomorrow ;)

Make it Wearable: How to tone down rockin' red lips.

Happy International Women's Day, Beauties!!

Red is the colour of the day, so many of you will be wearing a red lip, like this Velvet Glimmer look!

Personally I love red lipstick, but it can be a little intimidating for some people who are used to a more neutral look. I'm going to show you an easy way to tone down red lipstick so it's more wearable.

It's really simple:

1.  Apply red lipstick. (I used my Eyeko Liptastik Glossy Lip Pen in Lip Lovin')
2.  Blot with a tissue.
3.  Apply a clear lip gloss over the top.
4.  Enjoy having soft, glossy red lips!

Are you wearing red lipstick/gloss/balm today?

Best free kawaii 'purikura' Photo Apps for Android

I'm big on purikura and photo apps. I love to decorate my pictures 'purikura' style with ridiculously cute (kawaii) stuff and post them online so everyone else can see how ridiculous I am.

I have been using a few different apps and I thought I'd share my favourites with you! These are Android apps (iPhone users can't have all the fun!) so they may not be available to all of you. I know some of them have an iPhone app as well though :D

This is a pretty detailed post, read on if you prefer to know the specifics on each app... otherwise you can just look at the pretty pictures. And please feel free to laugh at my awkward faces :D

NOTE: These are the free apps that I consider, in my opinion, the best.

Photowonder