Inglot haul!!

First of all sorry I've been MIA for a bit. As I mentioned last time, I went to Florida to work at Disney for a week, which was a lot of fun because my sister came along so I'd work and then meet up with her in the afternoons to play in the parks. So sorry for being a bit lazy and not posting, but I haven't been wearing much makeup.

So the other day I placed an order with Inglot! These are the first Inglot products I've ever used and I am so impressed with the stuff I bought. First, I want to point out the fact that shipping took NO time at all! I ordered early Tuesday morning, and it was at my doorstep Thursday afternoon! So, before I even opened the box I was already impressed with Inglot's efficiency. The products were very well packaged (as you can see in the picture to the left).

Inglot has this amazing system called the Freedom System, which allows you to create your own palettes in all shapes and sizes. You can choose from face powders, blushes, eyeshadows, lip colors, brow powders and waxes. 

The one complaint I have about Inglot is that none of their products have names. They are all numerical, and the website does not offer any information on their products. So unless you are actually in an Inglot store (which, given that there are only 5 stores in the US, isn't a likely possibility for me), you need to scour makeup blogs looking for swatches. It took me a couple days to finally decide what I wanted to get. But anyway, I bought 5 eyeshadows, a five pan palette, and a gel eyeliner. I also got samples of their Under Makeup Base and YSM Cream Foundation in shade 43. I haven't tried these yet, but I'll let you know what I think.

Oddly enough, I realized as I was checking out that I bought one of each of their eyeshadow formulas:

• Matte 352- Pale pink flesh tone color. It's a great dupe for MAC Blanc Type, but Blanc Type is more of a neutral beige. The texture is identical to the Matte 2 formula.
• Shine 46 - Peachy pink shimmer. The shine textures are meant to be a bit sheer, but the shimmer is very noticeable, so this would work perfectly as a highlight.
• DS (Double Sparkle) 465 - Medium toned neutral brown with gold glitter. Usually I'm not a fan of glitter in eyeshadows because it usually doesn't transfer well, but this shadow looks just as gorgeous on the eyes as they do in the pan.
• Pearl 434 - Dark purple-grey color. The texture of this reminds me of Frost eyeshadows by MAC. In fact, 434 looks like a darker version of Satin Taupe.
• AMC (Advanced Makeup Component) 64 - Very pigmented black with gold glitter. The texture of this is similar to the DS shadow. I was worried it would feel like MAC Beauty Marked, where none of the glitter actually transfers and you just have a glorified matte black. NOT the case with this! I can clearly see the gold glitter in this shadow.

The eyeshadows are all buttery smooth, very easy to work with, all the while retaining excellent pigmentation. I am absolutely AMAZED by Inglot! I'm a convert! As soon as I fill up my MAC 15 palette, I probably wont be purchasing many other shadows from them. The quality of these Inglot shadows are just as good or better, and at a fraction of the cost. What is brilliant about Inglot is the fact that they automatically give discounts on the Freedom System, so the more you buy, the less you pay per product (like Magic Your Way tickets, but that's just the Disney nerd in me talking. LOL!).

• Face Powders (.46 oz):
• 1 - $15
• 2-10 - $13
• Blushes (.25 oz):
• 1-3 - $11
• 4+ - $9
• Square Eyeshadows (.09 oz):
• 1-3 - $7/each
• 4-9 - $5/each
• 10+ - $4.50/each
• Circle Eyeshadows/Lip colors/Brow Powders/Concealers (size varies by product):
• 1-3 - $5/each
• 4+ - $4.50/each

These all fit snugly in the Freedom System 5 pan palette. This is a perfect travel size palette. They also sell them in 2, 3, 4, 10, 20, and now 40 pan palettes for eyeshadows, as well as 2 more palettes for face powder and blush. The palettes reduce in price by 50%-75% when you add any Freedom system colors in your cart.

Sorry the photo is blurry

Last, but not least, the Matte Collection AMC Eyeliner Gel is easily the best eyeliner I've ever used. It is super pigmented, very soft and glides on so easily. It's a waterproof formula so I didn't need to set it with powder. I also used it on the waterline, and it has not budged. It's amazing!! They have 20 colors available, so you can get this amazing liner in any color you want. They are $12/.19 oz, compared to $15/.1 oz for MAC Fluidline.

Sorry this review was so long! I am just so excited about these products and I will most definitely be purchasing from them again! If you are interested in any of these products, I highly suggest you check them out. They have webstores for the US as well as Australia, and jump at ay chance to visit one of their stores. If you've used any Inglot products, leave a comment letting me know what you think and what your favorites are.

Sephora/MAC Haul!!!

I have a really exciting haul for you today! Some of these things have been on my wishlist for a really long time so I'm soo happy to cross those off now. Yesterday I went to Sephora and picked up a couple things, and then when I got home I recieved a MAC box so I knew this was going to be fun.

I'll start with Sephora: I went in there with the sole intention of picking up the Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden, because I've been having issues with my Painterly Paint Pot. I find lately that it's been really unreliable. One day my eyeshadow will last all day (like 8-10 hours) and then the next it will be creasing after 4. VERY frustrating. I have oily eyelids (yeah, what kind of crap is that. Oily eyelids. Pff) so I have tried powdering my lids before applying the Paint Pot, and that helps to some extent, but I heard that UDPP was good for oilier lids and the fact that it's a matte skin tone color really appeals to me, because it will even out my lids while preparing for eyeshadow (the color is a little darker on my skin tone, but I'm not worried) I also wanted to get it while they were still in their new squeeze tube packaging. Here's what Urban Decay has to say about it:

All the benefits of our #1 product in a nude matte shade. Apply this weightless primer before your shadow (or alone to even out skin tone!) for ridiculously long wear, more vibrant color, and absolutely NO creasing! Out new squeeze tube hold 10% MORE Potion 

Left: Copacabana, UDPP Sin, and UDPP Eden

So once I had that in my hand, I started browsing a little bit, and I made my way to the Nars section. Nars is very dangerous for me. The colors are all gorgeous and I love the texture of their shadows and blushes. Unfortunately, they are not the most affordable products. But I had had my eye on the new Illuminators they released earlier this year. I wasn't interested in either Orgasm or Laguna (Orgasm is too brown looking and cream bronzers scare me), but I tested out Super Orgasm, and while I loved the color (it's a pinky peach with gold glitter. The color is more similar to the Orgasm powder blush rather than the Super Orgasm, which is odd) I found that the glitter was a bit too much for me. Then I swatched Copacabana, which I knew I was going to fall in love with. It's a light pink toned white with a very fine glitter. It's absolutely STUNNING! It is not overpowering at ALL! The tiniest bit will give you a gorgeous sheen, but you can still build it for a more opaque color. If you're unsure about the glitter, you may want to try it before you buy it. Nars says you can use these all over your face or as a highlighter, over or under makeup, and it may be mixed with your foundation for an all over glowy look. Use it on your face, neck, shoulders, or decollete. 

The girls at Sephora also gave me a couple samples. So I got a sample of UDPP in Sin, which is a warm brown, a Clarins Ecran Multi-Protection Moisturizer with SPF 40, and Boscia Oil-Free Daily Hydration with SPF 15. The girl that checked me out was a friend of mine and my sister's and knew we were going to Florida next week, so she made sure I had a lot of sunscreen. What a sweetheart! It's good that she did because I bought the Cetaphil moisturizer a few weeks ago, and I think it's been breaking me out. I thought it might be a hormonal thing, but I started seeing a few blemishes on my forehead, and that doesn't happen. Not cool, man, not cool. 

So, like I said before, not long after I got home, I got a MAC order I had placed earlier this week. I don't know if they have changed their shipping policy, but the last couple orders I have placed, I wont get a tracking number until the day it's supposed to get there, which is odd. But I only placed my order on May 4th, and I got it on May 6th! I don't know if they rushed the shipping without charging me for it or what, but I'm a fan. ANYWAY I've had the same stuff in my shopping cart for a really long time, and these were things I wanted to have while I was in Florida so I went ahead and order them. First I got a 15-Pan Palette, which I have been needing. It's just so sleek and pretty, so I'm really excited to have that. While I was at it I bought Twinks (Veluxe Pearl) and Smut (Velvet). Twinks is a plummy bronze and Smut is a dark grey plum color. When swatched, it's very similar in color to Showstopper (Matte), but I like the texture a lot better. I find Showstopper kind of difficult to work with. 

I also got a blush in Harmony (Matte). It's a medium neutral brown color. It looks like it would be a perfect contour color for fair to medium skin tones. 

So if you made it through all of that, kudos to you! I know I can ramble a bit. But I'm really excited to use all this stuff, and I'm even more excited that I got it all at the same time so I can show you all!

I'll end with a picture of my new palette! I went ahead and depotted my Burmese Beauty quad. Another order or two and it will be full :)

Top: Blanc Type, Skintone 2, Satin Taupe, Twinks, Showstopper
Middle: Trax, Beauty Marked
Bottom: Prized, Burmese Beauty, Smut

Challenge Day 19/20

What is your favorite concealer?

I've been using the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer and Highlighter duo and I've really been loving it. It gives really nice coverage but doesn't cake onto my skin like some of the concealers in a jar that I have been using. I had used the NYX jar concealers and they were alright but they felt too heavy on my skin. I like this one because it's nice and lightweight, and the highlighter is actually lighter than my skin tone so it adds brightness and dimension to my face without looking shimmery or unnatural.

What is your favorite eyeshadow primer?

I really like using the MAC Painterly Paint Pot as an eyeshadow primer. I understand that it's not intended to be a primer, but I use it for that purpose anyway. I have the Urban Decay Primer Potion sample in Greed, and while I do like it, I don't think it does a better job than the Paint Pot. I have oily eyelids, so no matter what primer I use, I have to first put some powder over my lids (I use my MSF for that) and I find that the oil doesn't break through as quickly. When I do that, I can make my eye makeup last for about 12 hours or so.

Liebster Award! / Challenge Days 07 and 08

The lovely V from Carpe Diem has given me the Liebster award!! I just want to say to her thank you soo soo much again!!

The idea behind the Liebster award is to recognize bloggers with fewer than 300 followers and deserve some recognition. The bloggers I am nominating are :

1. Laura, of Pink Swoon
2. Whitney Laura
3. Beth, of Beauty Marked

All three of these ladies are lovely, and I highly recommend you go check out their blogs!

So I was naughty yesterday, because I completely forgot to do my daily challenge post, so I will do both yesterday's and today's now. It actually works out well because the topics are related to one another.

What is your favorite eyeshadow color?

MAC Burmese Beauty!!! It's beautiful!! It came out with the Fabulous Felines collection last fall in an eyeshadow quad (named Burmese Beauty) and as soon as I saw the swatches for it I fell in love. It can be redddish-brown if used lightly or a beautiful bright teal when packed on the lid. It is a dupe for Club eyeshadow, which I do not own, but it is still a stunning shadow and I love wearing it.

What is your favorite daytime look?

I actually use my Burmese Beauty quad to make my favorite daytime look. I use the shadow Burmese Beauty all over the lid to really show off the duo-chrome. I use the gold shade Skintone 2 in the inner corner, Showstopper in the outer corner, and Prized on the brow bone. If I want to go from day to night, I deepen the outer corner with Bulletproof by Sugarpill and then layer more Burmese Beauty over top of it. When layered over the black, the teal really shines through.

I will take a photo of me wearing this look when I can find my memory card.

Haul: Urban Decay

I got my first Urban Decay item ever this morning! I ordered this from their website and it came in the mail today. They have recently come out with 3 palettes to showcase different styles and personalities, and this their new Dangerous Palette (the other 2 are their Fun and Feminine palettes). Each palette costs $34, and I actually thinks its a really great deal.

This is how Urban Decay describes this product:

"We like to describe everything we do as "feminine, dangerous, and fun"... but you appear to be rooted on the wild side. These six intense, bewitching shadows help your inner "Femme Nikita" come out kicking. Feed your dangerous desires with Greed, our gilded eyeshadow primer and a naughty purple eye pencil."

Top: Haight, Mildew, Virgin, Rockstar Eyeliner
Bottom: Oil Slick, Rockstar, Gunmetal, Greed Primer Potion

As you can see it came really nicely packaged. Each of these palettes come with 6 eyeshadows (which are a tiny bit smaller than their regular shadows, but nothing major), a miniature Primer Potion, and a mini 24/7 Glide-On Eyeliner Pencil. This palette comes with Haight, which a gorgeous teal color, Mildew, a dirty green with brownish undertones and gold sparkle, Virgin, a shimmery beige (this one is from the Naked Palette), Oil Slick, a black with silver glitter, Rockstar, a deep eggplant shade, and finally Gunmetal, a dark grey with silver glitter. All of these shadows are incredibly smooth in texture and very pigmented. The palette also comes with Greed Primer Potion, which is a neutral shimmery gold color, and an eyeliner in Rockstar, which is again an eggplant purple shade.

I'm really happy with all the colors in this palette. I'm actually pleasantly surprised with how much I like Mildew, since normally I am not a big fan of greens, but I think the brown undtertones make it a bit more wearable. I don't know, maybe my eyes are seeing things. I'm also really excited to try out the primer and the eyeliner. While I like my MAC Painterly Paint Pot, it is not a primer, per se, and I can only get a couple of hours worth of wear before it creases. I tried Too Faced Shadow Insurance a long time ago in a sample size, but I don't remember if it worked well for me or not, and I never repurchased, so it's about time I give Urban Decay's primer a try. And I've heard these eye liners are awesome for the waterline.

L to R: Haight, Mildew, Virgin, Oil Slick, Rockstar, and Gunmetal

I'm going to be making looks with this soon, when I feel up to wearing makeup. I'm feeling kinda crummy today.

REVIEW: MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation

Here is my review of the MAC Studio Sculpt foundation. It is retailed at $29.50 and available at MAC stores, some department store counters, as well as online at maccosmetics.com. I've had this foundation for a little over a week now, so I think its about time to give my initial review of this product.

I can definitely say it is my favorite foundation I have ever used. Keep in mind that I haven't tried that many. There maybe 4-5 that actually come to mind. But this is definitely my favorite so far.

First: the color. I purchased the shade NW15, and as you may have read in my haul post when I first got this product, I ordered it online, which means I had to guess which color would suit me. I am usually the lightest pink toned shade in foundation lines, so that is what I picked out. When I initially swatched it on my hand, I was a little worried that it would be a tad too orange for me. But once I applied it onto my face, it matched really well.

I really like the packaging for this foundation. I like how the squeeze tube helps prevent waste (little side-note: you do get more product than regular foundations. It's 40ml instead of 30ml. Just saying). As for application, I have been applying  a VERY small amount of the foundation with my Sigma Sigmax F82 brush (the round-top foundation brush) and I really like the finish that gives me, as well as the fact that a little goes a long way. I find that it doesn't take too much work to blend into my skin, as long as I use a dense brush. Then I build up the coverage a bit by dabbing it on  areas that need concealing (this foundation has pretty much replaced my normal concealer). The product claims to be a medium buildable to high coverage, and I quite agree. The finish looks really natural. It's not too dewy, not to matte. I set it with my MAC MSF Natural. To see it on my skin, check out my latest FOTD post.

Left: Unblended swatch; Right: blended it;

On me, this foundation will last about 6-8 hours. I've not had an issue with it oxidizing on my skin, which is good. I seldom have to touch it up or blot. The only time that I had to was a day where I forgot to apply my primer so the oil broke through the foundation a little quicker than normal. I am testing it out with a setting spray to see if that lengthens the wear-time of this foundation.

I had read reviews from people who claimed that this foundation broke them out. I have combination skin, and I do have issues with acne, nothing too severe but the problem is still there. So after a week of testing this foundation, and knowing what is normal for me in terms of breakouts, I don't think this product has had any affect on my skin.

So that is my in depth review of the MAC Studio Sculpt foundation in NW15. I am loving this foundation so far however if I experience any catastrophic changes due to this foundation I will let you all know immediately. I hope that this is helpful for anyone looking for a new foundation and are thinking of trying this one out. Also, if you have tried this product out, leave a comment and let me know what you think :)

REVIEW: MAC Eyeshadows

I'm going to do a little review on my MAC shadows. I've only been buying from MAC for about 5 months,  but I've been really impressed with their products. I'm not an expert on their products, by any means, but I have formed opinions about them.

Left: Burmese Beauty Quad; Right: Showstopper, Skintone 2,
Burmese Beauty, and Prized

First MAC product I ever bought, and by far my favorite, is the Burmese Beauty Quad from the Fabulous Felines collection. These shadow are super blendable and compliment one another beautifully. The colors are more suitable for fall/winter, but I can see myself using this year round. I can make a lovely bright gold look with this, but my favorite way to wear it is the red brown/teal shade called Burmese Beauty (the most unique shade I have ever seen, as well as my favorite eyeshadow of all time. I am a total sucker for duochrome) on the lid, Skintone 2 (the neutral gold, and my favorite gold ever) in the inner corner, Showstopper (dark plummy brown shade) in the outer crease, and Prized (highlight shade, which matches my skintone really well, and just gives a nice sheen) on my brow bone.

Left: Custom 4 Shadow Quad; Right: Satin Taupe, Trax,
Beauty Marked, Blanc Type 

The other shadows I have I bought as a custom palette. I bought the shades Blanc Type, Satin Taupe, Trax, and Beauty Marked. Blanc Type is soooooo super smooth in texture and blends effortlessly. I use that either all over the lid for a matte neutral look, or on the brow tone for a subtle highlight. It's pretty much the highlight shade of my dreams. It doesn't show up in the swatch picture that well because it is so closet to my skintone. Satin Taupe, which of course has a bit of a cult following, is a frosty silvery brown shade (though in the swatch  it looks warmer. It's the lighting). It also is incredibly smooth and great for on the lid or in the crease. Trax is a really interesting shade, and the swatch doesn't quite do it justice. Its a medium plum shadow with gold glitter. It's gorgeous but I don't use it as much as I'd like.

Beauty Marked is as intriguing as it is temperamental. In the pan, it's stunning, and it catches my eye every time I see it. But when you swatch it (normally, at least) it comes off as a black with maybe three specks of red/purple glitter, and when you try to use in on the lid, the glitter kind of falls off. You either have to apply it wet or over a dark base to get it to show up. But as you can hopefully see in the swatch, I was able to swatch in a way that shows off how gorgeous it can be. You're going to think I'm crazy, but I just ever so lightly scratched the shadow with my finger nail (just to kick up enough shadow to use in swatch) so it becomes sort of loose. I've not tried using this technique on the lid, so I'll make an update on that when I do. Unfortunately, this is about the fullest to it's potential that I have been able to get it.

So, that is what I think about the shadows I own. Overall I really do love these shades, and am planning on purchasing more in the future.

Haul 02.08.11

I placed an order through MAC last week and it got here this morning. I had been putting off buying these items for a white but I finally gave in.

I picked up Studio Sculpt in NW15 and Pinch O' Peach blush.

Now, I had promised myself that I was not going to buy a MAC foundation until I had finished the ones I already had. I had been using Revlon Photoready foundation for almost a year and I really really don't  like it. I kind of knew I wouldn't like it from the first time I tried it, because when I put it on my face, though it covered alright, there was just too much glitter everywhere. I just never got around to returning it, so I was determined to use it up. I have about 1/4 of that bottle left, but I just really don't think I want to finish it.

So I caved and bought Studio Sculpt. The reasons I picked this over Studio Fix Fluid or any of their other full coverage foundations was 1.) I wanted it to be something that wasn't very dupable (like SFF is to Revlon Colorstay), and 2.) from what I've heard, SFF has a tendency to turn orangey, and on my extremely pale skin that would look awful.

I've only used it once but for a first impression, I'm really happy with it. I love the finish, there's no damn GLITTER, and is photographs beautifully! I'll do a more in depth review after about a week to see if my skin reacts to it. But the color matches me perfectly, which I was a little nervous about, since I did buy it online. It's weird, though, because on the back of my hand it looks about half a shade too dark, but it matches my face really well. I don't know.

Pinch O' Peach is a beautiful and flattering as it is decieving. They named it Pinch O' PEACH, but there is not even a hint of peach in this blush. It is straight pink. It's a sheertone color, so it just gives a lovely flush to the cheeks that is nearly impossible to overdue. In the picture to the left, I did a heavy swatch  and a sheered out swatch to show what it would look like on the skin. If you'd like to see what it looks like on my cheeks, take a look at my FOTD post below :)

I think that about covers everything for now <3