NEW Maybelline Baby Lips Pink'ed Collection

Maybelline recently launched their Baby Lips Pink'ed collection for Spring 2014, and I'm obsessed! I grabbed four of the five Baby Lips that I found at Ulta. Maybelline Baby Lips are one of my favorite lip products because they're so easy to use, moisturizing, and perfectly pigmented. As a whole, these are not as pigmented as the Electro Lips that came out earlier, but the colors are beautiful and perfect for spring. 

Mad for Magenta is a light, sheer pink. It's the sheerest of the ones I picked up, but it did give a slight tint to my lips. 

Rose Rush is a rosy, warm pink. It had decent pigmentation and the color is beautiful. This may be my new favorite Baby Lips. 

Pop of Pink is cool-toned light pink. This is probably my least favorite color of the bunch but then again I don't like blue-based pinks on me. The pigmentation was nice though. 

Very Berry is a berry, magenta pink. This is also another favorite of mine. It's similar to Rose Rush but deeper. It also left a slight stain to my lips after it wore off. 

Overall, if you like the Maybelline Baby Lips, then you'll love these too. I highly recommend Very Berry and Rose Rush. Oh yeah, they smell like watermelon or some fruity yumminess too!   

Mad for Magenta, Very Berry, Rose Rush, Pop of Pink

Mad for Magenta, Rose Rush, Pop of Pink, Very Berry

Mad for Magenta

Rose Rush

Pop of Pink

Very Berry

FREE It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In at Ulta!!

I was at Ulta today and they had these It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In for FREE. It's a 4 oz. sample, which is the same size as the full-sized $20 product. Hopefully your Ulta still has these. Just be sure it's in the same packaging as the picture above. The paper sleeve also has a $5 off it's a 10 purchase.

Campus Movie Fest Makeup Breakdown

Hey guys! Long time no see! In this post, I'm going to break down the makeup I did for the Best Picture movie at Campus Movie Fest (CMF) at Emory University.  

Please go check out the movie here. It was awesome getting to work with so many beautiful actors and actresses. It made my job much easier. This was the first set that worked on, and it was definitely a great learning experience - filled with challenges but so much fun! Here's the inspiration for the looks and the products I used: 

For all the boys (except Edward), I used bareMinerals Multi-Tasking Face in Bisque to conceal any blemishes and redness. Then I used bareMinerals Original Foundation in Medium Bisque all over the face using a small powder brush to get a full coverage and topped it off with bareMinerals Mineral Veil to give a perfected look. For the Tin Man (pictured above) and the Prince, I very lightly dusted a red blush on the tops of the cheeks and nose using Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Natural Beauty. This gives a nice rosy, blushing effect that makes them look healthy. 

For Drunken Cupid, the face makeup was the same as all the other guys but I heavily applied on Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Natural Beauty the to give a flushed, drunken effect. On the eyes, I lined the upper and lower lash line with Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Zero then smudge it out using a pencil brush. In the shot seen in the picture, I misted water onto the actor's face to make it look like he was sweating.

For the Allie from the Notebook look, the hair was inspired by the Rachel McAdams look on the left and the makeup on the right. The lighting sort of washed away the beautiful lipstick and blush... but it looked great in person! For the face, the actress had on her own foundation and concealer prior to shooting, Dior Blush in Coreille Bagatelle and Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Natural Beauty. For the eyes, I kept it simple using the Urban Decay Naked 3. I placed 'Strange' on the brow bone, 'Limit' all over the lid, and lightly blended 'Factory' in the outer corner and lined the lower lash with it. For lashes, I applied Benefit They're Real Mascara. The lips were lined with MAC Lip Liner in Beet then topped off with Tom Ford Lip Color in Crimson Noir. To perfect the lips, I clean up the area around the lip using Kat Von D Tattoo Concealer in Light 18. During shooting, I had to touch up A LOT because of multiple takes for the kissing scene. The Kat Von D concealer was a lifesaver!

 The Renee Zellweger from Jerry Maguire look was very minimal and easy. For the face, I used the actress' foundation, Cover Girl Outlast, then powdered using Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder. The eyes did not have any eye shadow but I did conceal using Kat Von D Tattoo Concealer in Light 18. On the lashes, I applied Estee Lauder Sumptuous Mascara. For the eyebrows, I brushed on Anastasia Brow Powder. For the lips, I lightly patted on MAC Huggable Lip Color in Out for Passion.  

The Cinderella/Princess look was one of my favorites. It looked much prettier in person, but the lights sort of washed out the blush. For the face, I used Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation in B30, Kat Von D concealer to cover any blemishes and dark circles, and powdered with bareMinerals Mineral Veil. For the cheeks, I used Dior Blush in Coreille Bagatelle on the apples of the cheeks. For eyes, I used the Urban Decay Naked palette, placing 'Virgin' on the brow bone and 'Sin' all over the lid. I then did a winged liner on the upper lash line using the Milani Eye-Tech Extreme Liquid Liner in Black. For the lashes, I applied Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara then added three Ardell medium length individual lashes on the outer corner of each eye. For the brows, I applied Anastasia Brow Powder. For lips, I lined and filled it in using a Vincent Longo lipliner and topped it off with Too Faced La Creme lipstick in I Want Candy.  

The waitress' look was inspired by Jennifer Lawrence's character from Silverlinings Playbook. Like JLaw, our actress also won best actress at CMF. Yay! For the face, I used Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation in B30, concealed with Kat Von D Tattoo concealer, and powdered with bareMinerals Mineral Veil. For the cheeks, I again used Dior Blush in Coreille Bagatelle. For eyes, I first smudged in Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Zero all over the lid then used the Too Faced Few of My Favorite Things palette placing 'Cream Colored Ponies' on the brow bone, 'Blue Satin Sashes' all over the lid, then patted on top of that 'Party Time'. I then lined the lower lash line with 'Zero' and slightly smudged it. On the lashes, I applied Estee Lauder Double Wear Mascara. For lips, I used Estee Lauder Pure Color Lipstick in Rose Tea.      

For Bella's look, I went for a simple look. For the face, I used Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation and bareMinerals Mineral Veil. For cheeks, I applied Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in Exposed and lightly contoured the face using Nars Laguna bronzer. For eyes, I used 'Strange' from the UD Naked 3 palette, from UD Naked, 'Naked' all over the lid, 'Buck' in the crease and lower lash line, and 'Darkhorse' in the outer corner and lower lash line. For lashes, I used Estee Lauder Sumptuous Mascara. On the lips, I applied MAC Huggable Lipstick in Out for Passion. 

Finally, my pièce de résistance - Edward Cullen!! This was the most challenging look but it turned out perfectly. For the skin, I first applied Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Cream Foundation in B40 in the hollows of the cheeks for contour then applied Illamasqua Skin Base in 2  anywhere where skin was showing using a beautyblender sponge. For brows, I heavily filled them in using the Anastasia Brow Powder. For lips, I patted on Benefit Benetint to give a blood-drenched look to the lips. For the hair, I had to use brown colored hair spray to change his hair color since the actor had dark blonde hair. To get that messy hair look, I took Crew Pomade to sculpt the hair to the desired shape and sprayed the final shape in place with tigi Bed Head Masterpiece Hair Spray. 

Sorry this post was soooo long. I hope you found it helpful if you plan on recreating similar looks. Have an awesome day! Good luck!


Love, 
Coleen

Zoya Pixie Dust Nail Polish in Tomoko

Zoya's Pixie Dust Nail Polish in Tomoko is described as a "romantic champagne silver." The Zoya Pixie Dust formula has a sand-like texture, similar to the OPI Liquid Sands polishes. It has a matte but very sparkly finish and does not require a top coat. Applying a top coat would make it glossy, if that's the look you are going for. This polish is probably the equivalent of applying top coat then dunking your nails into fine glitter. 

It's total awesome!! I love everything about the Zoya Pixie Dust polishes. They are so pretty and interesting on the nails. The color Tomoko is one of the more wearable and chic colors in the collection. The Pixie Dust polishes are probably some of the easiest polishes to apply since you don't have to worry about streaking, uneveness, or even a top coat. If you mess up, it is super easy to fix because the product easily builds up on itself. The wear on this is also nice. One downside is that it is a glittery polish, so it's very difficult to get off. Overall, I highly recommend this nail polish, especially if you are looking for something different but not totally out there. 

Good luck!

Many hugs, 
Coleen <3

 

Marc Jacobs Marvelous Mousse Transformative Foundation

Marc Jacobs Marvelous Mousse Transformative Foundation is the newest foundation from the Marc Jacobs Cosmetics line. It is touted as "rich and creamy, full-coverage, transformative mousse foundation." It contains lots of hydrating and nourishing ingredients, such as coconut water, amino acids, ginseng, and vitamins, as well as Marc Jacobs' exclusive "Melt-On" technology, which allows the product to go on smoothly then dry down to a full coverage powder finish. 

At first glance, this seems like a miracle product: a creamy but lightweight, good-for-you foundation that is full coverage AND you don't need powder? Yes it's possible... sort of. While the product is labeled as a mousse, it's more of a lightweight cream. It has a slight gel-like texture. The many emollient ingredients allow the foundation to glide on the skin effortlessly. As for the full coverage claim, it depends on how you apply it. When I applied with my fingers, it gave a light-medium coverage. When applied with a brush (Sigma Sigmax F82 Foundation Brush), it gave a medium coverage but I could build it up to a full coverage. I haven't tried with a dry sponge yet, but from past experiences with cream foundations, this method tends to give a more full coverage. 

Pros: The great thing about this foundation is that you can build it up without it looking cakey. Even after 3 layers using a brush, it still looked natural. That's the amazing this about this product: it looks so natural!! In the before and after picture below, I literally had trouble figuring out if I had taken an after picture because it didn't look like I had foundation on! 

Another pro is it's ability to balance the skin's moisture levels. If you have dry skin, this will be perfect since it does contain lots of hydrating ingredients. If you have oily skin, like I do, it does a good job at not adding additional oil. Since the product dries down to a powdery finish, you don't have to apply powder. I still do because I have very oily skin, but even so, my face doesn't look cakey or unnatural. 

Cons: This foundation is pretty expensive at $55 for 0.63 oz. of product. Granted it's a cream foundation, so you'll need less product than a liquid foundation, but still... The packaging is also not very hygienic: the product is exposed to the world (full of bacteria and icky things) once you open the jar. You're sticking your fingers, brushes, or sponges into the product and wiping it on your face, so who knows what might be sitting on the foundation. If you have sensitive or acne-prone skin, you might want to be cautious using this. Maybe try taking some product out with a spatula instead of using it directly from the jar. 

Also, if you have very oily skin, you will still have to powder and blot at the end of the day, and will look a tad greasy. However, it does not slip off my skin like many other foundation have on me. 

Overall, I LOVE the Marc Jacobs Marvelous Mousse Transformative Foundation!! It's versatile for all skin types and skin tones (it comes in 11 different colors). The finish is natural and actually looks like skin. It's easy to apply and glides across the skin like butter. There is very little that I can complain about the product other than it's price tag. But then again, my holy grail foundation, the Hourglass Immaculate Foundation, is a comparable price; however the Marc Jacobs Foundation fixes all the issues that I have with the Hourglass one. In all, I highly highly recommend this foundation!! 

It is available exclusively at Sephora. 

If you'd like to see me apply it, check out my video here.  

Good luck!

Many hugs, 
Coleen <3

Before foundation

With Foundation

Dior Blush in Corail Bagatelle

New for Dior's 2014 Spring Collection, the DiorBlush in Corail Bagatelle ($43) is a limited edition matte coral-pink blush. The spring collection is named the Trianon Collection; Trianon being a chateau near the Palace of Versailles. Think Marie Antoinette during her heydays. Overall the collection has lots of pastels and pretty pinks. Corail Bagetelle was the only item that really caught my eye. The blush is beautifully packaged in the luxe black Dior packaging and velvet pouch. The bow imprinting on the blush itself is a cute touch too. The formulation was also very nice and easy to work with. It's not powdery or overly pigmented, which is nice because you can gradually build up the color without feeling like you've gone overboard. 

Overall, I love this product and will get much use out of it this spring. I think it would look great on many different skin tones. If you're a lover and collector of Dior makeup, this gorgeous blush is worth a try (it's limited edition so get it while you can)!


Good luck!
Many hugs, 
Coleen 

Too Faced La Creme in Jelly Bean

Too Faced La Creme in Jelly Bean ($22) is a "raspberry red" lipstick. On my lips, it is more of a fuchsia pink. Jelly Bean is a new color for spring from the La Creme line and is my favorite of the four new colors. It does a great job at brightening up my face. The color is bright and bold but still very wearable. The La Creme lipsticks are among one of my most favorite formulas - they are creamy, well-pigmented, and moisturizing. This color was long-lasting compared to some of the other La Creme lipsticks that I have. Once worn off, Jelly Bean left a berry pink stain on my lips. 

Overall, I love this lipstick!! I definitely recommend this color. If this color doesn't suite your taste, the La Creme line has a nice range of options to choose from. 

bareMinerals READY Eye Shadow 4.0 - True Romantic

BareMinerals READY Eye Shadow 4.0 in True Romantic ($30) is the eyeshadow quad in bareMineral's new Spring 2014 collection, True Romantic Trend collection. The quad includes the colors: Love It (shimmery pearl white), Woo is Me (shimmery champagne pink), Louder (warm-tone gold), Head Over Heels (dark taupe or greyish purple).

All the eyeshadows have an amazing buttery texture, but not all of them applied on as pleasantly. Woo is Me is my least favorite of the palette because it had a very patchy application. When swatched and applied on my eyes, the eyeshadow didn't go on smoothly, and there was some glittery fallout. Head Over Heels was also a bit difficult to work with since it didn't blend easily. However, Head Over Heels was very well pigmented. Love It and Louder were awesome in every way possible. 

The packaging is a gorgeous rose-gold plastic and very compact. The only negative is that it's very difficult to open. 

Overall, I think this is a beautiful palette inside and out. If I could create a quad, these would be the colors I would choose. I wish the color Woo is Me was better, but the eyeshadows in general were nice to apply. If you're looking for a compacted, effortless all-in-one eyeshadow quad, I would recommend this. 

Good luck!!

Many hugs, 
Coleen 

Love It

Woo is Me

Louder

Head Over Heels

 

Woo is Me (inner half), Louder (outer half), Head Over Heels (outer corner and crease), Love It (brow highlight)