Dinner Date w/ Husband--Full Face MU...Quick!

This evening my husband and I had the opportunity to have dinner alone, just the two of us (on a Monday!). So cool. Oh yes, the kids are staying with their grandparents this week --even cooler! It wasn't going to be anything fancy, just couple time, you know, to talk silly things (every time we get to do this, we have this pact not to talk about the kids or house stuff). I wanted to look pretty and sexy for him, this is what I came up with (excuse the hair, I just washed it =D ):

(Click on each pic to enlarge)

And the lips:

The brushes I used:

I did it in less than 15 minutes! I'm so proud of myself, LOL!!!

Here's a list of what I used (--all that?!?):

Face
*Rimmel Fix&Perfect Foundation Primer in 001 --...just because...
*Neutrogena 3-in-1 concealer -- this stuff is great, my fave concealer so far! I used a foundation brush by Image Essentials
*Maybelline Mineral Power Liquid Foundation in Natural Beige -- applied with my fingers and buffed with Sephora Brush #50(kabuki brush)
*MAC Loose Blot Powder in Medium Dark -- I used Coastal Scent Paddle Brush
*MAC Powder Blush in Ambering Rose -- MAC 129 and buffed with Sephora Brush #44
*Laura Mercier Loose Powder in Stardust -- I used MAC 187 to apply it as a highlighter on the cheek planes
*L'oreal Translucide Loose Powder in 956-Translucent -- applied with Sephora Buffer Brush #44 (bronzer brush)

Eyes
*MAC Prep+Prime for eyes -- with me fingers of course
*MAC Gleam E/S -- applied with the 227 all over the eye lid and brow bone
*MAC Falling Star E/S -- MAC 222 all over the crease and outer V
*MAC Sketch E/S -- with MAC 217 on outer V
*MAC Sketch E/S -- as eyeliner on both lash lines. I used MAC 219.
*L'oreal HIP Eyeliner in Black -- on both waterlines
*MAC Prep+Prime for eyes
*Maybelline Full&Soft Mascara in Black
*Revlon Brow Fantasy Brow Pencil in Dark Brown -- I used MAC 204 brow brush to blend the color

--MAC Brush 224 was used to blend all the colors--

Lips
*Carmex Lip Balm
*Revlon ColorStay Lipstick in 320 Dreamy Dusk
*Milani Crystal Lip Gloss in Summer Baby

See why I am so proud of me? I used all those products! Hope you liked it.


Vivan, Rían y Amen!
(Live, Love & Laugh!)

Review: MAC Sonic Chic - Nuance & Pleasantry

I recently gave in and bought two mineralize blushes from the Sonic Chic Collection: Nuance and Pleasantry. Gorgeous colors both of them.

I am curious about mineral makeup (MMU). My first experience with MMU was terrible, but I know now not all of them are equal. So I decided to start again by buying just mineralize blush.

Product Name: MAC Sonic Chic Collection Mineralize Blush
Shades: Nuance and Pleasantry
Price: $21.00 USD each
Description: The mineralize blushes are "baked minerals refined into a powder formula to provide exceptionally sheer and lightweight application. Colour builds lightly, layer after layer, without heavy coverage. Veils and enhances the cheekbones with a luminous, pearlized shimmer" (as stated in the MAC Website). Nuance is described as "mid tone peach with gold pearl", while Pleasantry is an "intense mid tone blue pink with gold pearl".

When I first saw swatches from Pleasantry, I knew I wanted it right away, simply because I needed a "blue pink" blush and it looked cute! I was a bit afraid of buying Nuance, since I had Eversun and for some reason they looked similar in some swatches. I'm glad I was wrong (thanks to Lala-Dominichulinda in YouTube for the swatches!), it is amazing.

This blush goes on very lightly and shimmery and, as the description says, you can build the color layer after layer. I am absolutely IN LOVE with both colors. I only got Pleasantry and Nuance because I felt the other colors where variations of them, except Love Joy or Merrily.

Overall, I like them, but (yes there's one...) I don't think I will buy other shades (I was really interested in Love Joy). Why? Well, one really need a buffer brush to apply them (Duh! -- MMU newbie here, LOL). I have to use my Sephora #44 Bronzer Brush (excellent one, funny --I've rarely use it to apply bronzer O__O). If I use other brush, like the 129, it gets kinda messy, the product will not adhere well and it will fade away really fast. I guess that's part of all the "mineral makeup" thing, but I don't like it. I do buff loose powder under my liquid foundation, but just that. Also, this blush make my skin itchy -- though it doesn't bother me much, but I'm not gonna spend another $21 on products that makes my face itch.

So my biggest issue with this product is that all that buffing adds more minutes to my face routine and I don't want that in the mornings! I guess if I knew more about MMU I probably wouldn't have bought them...oh hell, who am I kidding? But yeah, maybe I would have looked for similar shades in the regular blushes.

I'm sure those of you that are into MMU find that this is a really good blush. Again, the trick is to use a buffer brush to blend the color (perhaps like the new MAC 181).

So, my rating would be...

Rating: 4/5 (what can I say, when well applied, these blushes looks amazing!)

Pics:

**Click on them to see bigger pics**

Pleasantry (left) and Nuance:


Nuance (left) and Pleasantry, fluorescent lighting, no flash:


Pleasantry, fluorescent lighting, no flash:


Nuance, fluorescent lighting, no flash:


Nuance, fluorescent lighting, with flash:


Pleasantry, fluorescent lighting, with flash:



Some swatches on my NC 40 skin (not so good, still learning how to do them):
All photos were taken under fluorescent lighting, no flash

Pleasantry and Nuance:


Nuance (left) and Eversun:


Fluorescent lighting, with flash:

Comparison with other shades, fluorescent lighting, with flash:

Hope you find this review helpful. Later!



Vivan, Rían y Amen!
(Live, Love and Laugh!)

LOOK: Hot & Steamy

I recently posted this look on the Temptalia Forum (love it, excellent community, you should join!)

Steamy Eyeshadow is one of my favorite eyeshadows from MAC Cosmetics and it goes perfect with Club e/s.

You can see in the list below, I use a mix of high end and low end (ds) products. I use what works for me (and my budget ^__^ ).

Hope you like it. Any questions, just let me know!

Products used:

Face:
MAC Prep+Prime SPF50
Revlon Colorstay Foundation in Toast -- I mixed both the normal/combo and dry skin formulas.
L'oreal Translucide Loose Powder in Translucent
Neutrogena 3 in 1 Concealer in Medium
Laura Mercier Stardust Loose Powder (as Highlighter)

Cheeks:
MAC Powder Blush in Ambering Rose

Eyes:
UDPP
Revlon Illuminance Cream Shadow in 720-Moonlit Jewels (I used the green cream shade as a base)
MAC E/S in: Steamy, Shimmermoss, Club, Swish (crease) and Shroom
MAC Fluidline in Blactrack
MAC Mascara X in Black X
Revlon Brow Fantasy in Dark Brown

Lips:
MAC Prep+Prime for lips
MAC Lipstick in Party Mate
MAC Dazzleglass in Spanking Rich

**All photos where taken under fluorescent lighting and with flash.
**Click on the pics for bigger versions.

Always the rocker...yeah!

Until next time!


Vivan, Rían y Amen!
(Live, Love & Laugh!)

Lip Brushes-- Sacha Cosmetics -- Good & Cheap!

Since my last post was about Tendertones, I wanted to mention the lip brush I used to applied them.

Just last year I realized (it was about time, ey!) that you need good makeup tools to achieve a great "look". I always look around for good brushes. I've been able to collect and use those fave MAC Brushes. One day I'll post about that -- just for the fun of it, of course there are already many blogs and websites where you can read about them and watch pics. At the present, I continue to buy MAC, but also other HE and/or DS and I really don't care as long they provide a good performance. I've had a few good surprises.

One of them was the Sacha Cosmetics B9 Oval Lip Brush. Here is the description:
Price -- Around $5.00 at Walmart. I can't remember well, I've had it for quite some time now.
Measurements -- About 6.625 in. long (almost 17 cm) including the bristles, 1/4 in. (0.635 cm) wide.
Material -- Bristles are orange and made of synthetic material. Handle made of wood, natural color.

Pros: I have to tell you, this is my fave lip brush. It applies lip products really great and evenly. It is similar to the MAC 194 Concealer Brush (yep, I've used it on my lips, to stiff for concealer). I haven't tried the MAC lip brushes because I think I don't really need to. This one works wonderfully. Then again, this may not work in smaller lips.

Cons: Rather large to keep it in your purse. Also, I have only found this brush at Walmart -- they have a good selection of Sacha brushes.

So when I travel, I still use the lip brush made by Bettina, but I don't really like it, I think I really will get the MAC one. The Bettina Lip Brush has a nice handle and cap, but it is messy. The bristles are terrible. It was the first travel lip brush I got a long time ago and for some reason I have not changed it . I am posting photos of it, so you can see the difference.
Here are some pictures of course.

**Click on them to see bigger HQ versions**

Sacha Cosmetics Lip Brush:




Close detail:




Size comparison. A USD Quarter = almost 1 in.


Bettina Lip Brush:






Sorry Bettina, you're to "hairy" for my taste. That's all I'm gonna say. LOL.

So there you go with a good cheap brush. Any questions let me know. Later!


Vivan, Rían y Amen!
(Live, Love & Laugh!)

First Swatches Ever! MAC Cosmetics Tendertones

Yays! My first swatches ever. This is fun. I think I took too many pics LOL! I'm still working with the watermarks/my own seal on them, so bear with me.

Yeah, I know, there are many swatches there for the MAC Tendertones, but I wanted to post these anyway. I did them because I wanted to see how they looked on my lips under different lighting. Glad I did.

I only bought two Tendertones (TT): Hot N Saucy and Deep Sigh. I got those two because I thought they were the ones who would really show up in my brown-beige-pink-ish lips. I was right!

MY OPINION: Overall, I LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!! They have a pretty decent staying power and my lips are really grateful for them. The texture and the smell are H-E-A-V-E-N! A big plus is that they have a Solar Protection Factor (SPF) of 12. They cost $14.50 for 0.2 US fl oz. Some may think this is too much $$ for a lip balm, but believe me, what you get is excellent quality. So if you have the cash, go ahead, try one. Oh, remember, they are lips balms, so they are not highly pigmented...yeah, I have read comments of people complaining about that (??).

So here are the pics. For the sake of comparison, I'm adding photos of my bare lips.

**CLICK ON ALL THE PHOTOS TO SEE LARGER HQ VERSION OF THEM**

BARE LIPS
Fluorescent bathroom light, no flash:


Natural light, no flash:



TENDERTONES
The litle TT cute white box:


Deep Sigh TT


Fluorescent bathroom light, NO flash:


Fluorescent bathroom light, NO flash:


Natural light, no flash:


Fluorescent light, no flash:


Fluorescent Light, No Flash:


Natural light, no flash:


Hot N Saucy TT
Fluorescent bathroom light, NO flash:


Natural light, no flash:


Natural light, no flash:


Fluorescent bathroom light, NO flash:


Fluorescent bathroom light, NO flash:


Natural light, no flash:


Natural light, no flash:


Natural light, no flash:



Personally, I like Hot N Saucy more, I think it gives my lips a more healthy look. =)

I hope these swatches help. Tendertones are available at MAC Stores, MAC Counters and MAC Cosmetics Official Website (although not all the shades are available).

'Til next time :)


Vivan, Rían y Amen!
(Live, Love and Laugh!)