Bella Liberté: Feb 17, 2011

Thursday, February 17, 2011

NYX Blushes - these literally made me blush!!

In my quest to find makeup products in convenient locations, rather than always having to go to a department store, I'm finding that there are some fairly decent products out there.

I purchased two of NYX's blushes: Terra Cotta and Desert Rose.

The Terra Cotta blush has a bit of a shimmer to it while the Desert Rose is definitely more of a matte finish. Be forewarned: both blushes are quite pigmented and go on fairly dark, so go light with the hand. Both blushes are very creamy and almost feel like a cream blush and are both very easy to blend. Terra Cotta is a shimmer and so it leaves a bit of a sheen on the cheek, but not sparkly.

While I didn't purchase some of the more bronze shades like Cocoa or Taupe, I would think either of these would make nice contour shades as well. One of the things I am finding with the NYX products is that they offer a large number of shades. These blushes come in 25 shades - a color for everyone!

What I didn't like: the blushes seemed to have a lot of fall out around the outer edges of the containers and I noticed some fallout on my counter after applying. I tried using a more expensive brush and found that there was less fall out while using my nicer brushes rather than my synthetic ones, so here is a tip!

Product Details:
$5.99 .2oz/6.4g

25 shades:
PB01 Mocha, PB02 Dusty Rose, PB03 Angel, B04 Silky Rose, PB05 Pinky, PB06 Peach, PB07 Natural, PBO8 cinnamon, PB9 Raisin, PB10 Sand, PB11 Taupe, PB12 Terra Cotta, PB13 Mauve, PB14 Spice, PB15 Stone, PB16 Chocolate Mouse, PB17 Desert Rose, PB18 Cocoa, PB19 Nutmeg, PB20 Cafe, PB21 Copper, PB22 Pecan, PB23 Espresso, PB24 Red, PB25 Pinched

Left: PB 12 Terra Cotta, Right: PB 17 Desert Rose

PB 17 Desert Rose

PB12 Terra Cotta

Left: PB17 Desert Rose, Right: PB12 Terra Cotta

Finger Paint's Palette of Petals Spring Collection Coming Soon!!!

If you love color, then you'll love Finger Paint's new Spring nail polish collection! (I love color, so this was an easy collection for me to love!) Each bright colored cream polish comes with a coordinating flower ring! I love this! I think it's really fun and fashionable. :) I'm loving the Dahlia My Number (Orange) and Carnation Creation (blue-green).

These fun shades will be available in March at a deal of a price of $4.99 each at Sally Beauty Stores.

Mac Viva Glam Gaga 2 Lipstick would work better as a Concealer...or a Base...

Despite the fact that Mac's Viva Glam Gaga 2 looks like concealer on my lips, I could imagine it would look nice on someone with fair skin. Mac's Viva Glam Gaga 2 is actually my favorite formula from Mac, the amplified cream formula! It's extremely pigmented and creamy. Some claim that is drying on the lips over time, but I haven never had a big problem with this on a personal level. I had to rate this lipstick high, because even though it needed some mixing to work on my lips, it is a nice lipstick overall. I would recommend it to anyone with fair skin or anyone who really likes a nude lip.

Also, the Mac Viva Glam Gaga 2 line includes a lip glass, which I did not purchase. It's also $14.50 and would compliment this lipstick really nicely. It's also a warm beige and has super fine shimmer. If you are interested in the lip gloss or lipstick, check out www.maccosmetics.com!

About Viva Glam Lipstick Line:
The Viva Glam line of lipsticks was developed by Mac to give back. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the Viva Glam line of lipsticks goes toward the Mac AIDS fund. This means when you buy this lipstick, concealer-like or not, your money is going toward a great cause!

How to Make Mac Viva Glam Gaga 2 Lipstick Wearable:
To make Mac Viva Glam Gaga 2 wearable on my lips, I first applied the Mac Viva Glam Gaga 2 Lipstick, then I applied Mac Half Red lip liner on the edge of my lips and blended the lip liner into my lips. Finally, I applied Mac Wonder Woman lip glass on my finger and gently smudged it into my lips to add some red to the lips (which when blended comes off pink). So, if you are my skin or darker (NC20) and you are hell bent on wearing this lipstick, then you could try my little trick for making it look more wearable. I hope these tips are helpful! Enjoy!

Mac Viva Glam Gaga 2 Promotional Picture

Mac Viva Glam Gaga 2

Mac Viva Glam Gaga 2

Mac Viva Glam Gaga 2 with Flash

Mac Viva Glam Gaga 2

Close up of Mac Viva Glam Gaga 2

Mac Viva Glam Gaga 2 with Mac Half Red Lip Liner and Mac Wonder Woman Lip Glass

Pretty Cheeks - Loving Tarte's 12-Hour Amazonian Clay Long-Wear Blush in Blissful!

Wow. When I saw these at Sephora, I'll admit...I was skeptical. I love Tarte's lip stains and cheek stains, but their eye shadows haven't convinced me yet that they know how to make amazing powder products. I was so wrong to ever doubt them!

Like most Tarte Products, the Tarte 12-Hour Amazonian Clay Long-Wear Blushes are awesome for your skin. They are made from natural clay, which claims to have 12-hour lasting power. My experience wasn't 12-hour lasting power, but more around six-to-seven hours of wear. (which I think is pretty good considering it's the middle of winter where I am and scarves and hats are requires and frequently rubbing up against my cheeks when it comes to bundling.) I'd imagine in the winter or even spring, this blush would hold up really nicely on the skin!

Tarte also claims that their new blushes work great for oily skin because the clay in the product reduces the amount of oil buildup on the skin. I don't have oily skin, so I can't really comment on this. I would be interested if any of our readers with oily skin noticed a difference!

It's also important to note that Tarte's products are paraben free, sulfate free, contain no synthetic fragrances, petrochemicals, phtalates, GMOs or Triclosan. (Yeah, you'd probably need a dermatologist to tell you what all that stuff is! But it can't be good stuff!) On the topic of skin, this blush also includes ingredients that help your skin like, Vitamin A, C, and E! Wooo! I love when products are kind to my sensitive skin! (And by the way, no problems for me and I do have sensitive skin prone to allergic reactions!)

Overall, I really love this blush. It hasn't replaced my love for Nars Blushes, but it has made me consider picking up a few more of these Tarte ones. I love products that are nice to my skin and help it, not hurt it. There is something extremely rewarding about being kind to my skin. Let me know if you have any other questions! Again, I highly recommend this blush!

Tarte's 12-Hour Long-Wear Amazonian Clay Blush in Blissful

Tarte's 12-Hour Long-Wear Amazonian Clay Blush in Blissful

Tarte's 12-Hour Long-Wear Amazonian Clay Blush in Blissful

Tarte's 12-Hour Long-Wear Amazonian Clay Blush in Blissful - With Flash

Tarte's 12-Hour Long-Wear Amazonian Clay Blush in Blissful - On Cheeks with Flash

Nail of the Day - Zoya's Lilith

Who makes a good brand of nail polish? I'd say Zoya. My first experience with Zoya nail polishes was with Zoya Kelly (yeah, not that long ago!). I was first introduced to the brand by a friend, but I never purchased any of the polishes until Zoya sponsored their 3-Free Polish Facebook Promotion (If their Facebook page reached 20,000 "Likes" they gave away 3-Free Nail Polishes in January 2011!) I have fallen head over heels for Zoya's polishes since. They are extremely easy to apply, look beautiful on the nails, and have some amazing stay-on-power (with the exclusion of the matte formula - which is to be expected!).

I have been wearing Zoya's Lilith for about three days and I have yet to see any chipping, wear or tear. My polish looks almost exactly like it did when I applied it! Ok, I am sure you guys are thinking - three days? That's nothing! Well, I am one of those people who is very rough on my hands: I live in a very cold climate (which causes very dry skin and nails), I spend a lot of time trying to peel tape off of things --- hahaha, I am a chronic nail filer - I don't know what my deal is, and I probably subject my hands to some form of bad chemical each day, whether it be acetone or cleaning products. So, I think this polish has held up pretty good. Unfortunately, I cannot chronicle it's amazing stay-on-power because I have yet another polish to try on. But so far, I think its' done quite well.

To apply this polish I used Seche Base as a base coat, two coats of Zoya Lilith and Seche Vite as a top coat. Please let me know how your experiences with Zoya has been. Is it everything I think it is?

Zoya Lilith - 2 Coats with Flash

Zoya Lilith - 2 Coats with Flash

Zoya Lilith - 2 Coats without Flash

Mac Future Face for Spring 2011

MAC is releasing it's 2011 Spring collection, Future Face!

It includes a fairly large collection of various shades of foundations, powders and "my personal favorite," tinted moisturizers. I just love being able to quickly smear on a tinted moisturizer and leave the house feeling confident!

The collection launches TODAY, February 17th in the US and Canada and sometimes in March for our International counterparts!

The collection will include:

Studio Fix Fluid (SPF 15) Foundation which will include some newer shades to its current selection of shades. Price: $26.50 US and $32.00 CDN

Studio Moisture Tint (SPF 15)

Price: $29.50 US and $38.00 CDN

Studio Careblend/Pressed

Price: $23.00 US and $27.50 CDN

Make Up Brushes

190 Foundation Brush ($32 US and $38.50 CDN)
150 Powder Brush ($42.00 US and $50.50 CDN)

A Combination of Greens, Purples and Pinks Makeup Tutorial

The point of this look was to use palettes already in my collection or yours with the Mac Wonder Woman Valiant Palette to create a really nice pretty look. I used the Too Faced Romantic Eye Palette and the Laura Mercier Silk Road Palette in combination with the Mac Valiant Palette to create this look. Feel free to substitute your own colors in place of the colors I used. I hope this is helpful!

Enjoy!