RAINBOW! #MyPrideIsShowing

So, for some reason this morning when I woke up I decided that I wanted to do something outrageous and fun with my face! I have been contemplating the rainbow for awhile, but have put it off because I haven't been able to decide how to do it. Well, rather than map it out, I just kind of went with it and let my gut guide the look. I'd say for my first time doing it, it turned out really well. (: 


There are a TON of products used for this, so I won't do a product listing. I will say that the primary brands here are Urban Decay, Make Up For Ever, and Sugarpill though!

I had a ton of fun doing this look, and I'll probably keep doing it and perfecting it. The original look I wanted to do today was mermaid, but I'll do mermaid another day!

Disney Series: Belle

So, I started my Disney series like a week ago, starting with Belle from Beauty and the Beast! I wanted to kind of stick to the traditional Belle colors with yellows, golds and browns to represent her ball gown.

Products Used:

• MAC Old Gold loose pigment eyeshadow (inner lid and inner lower lash line)
• Urban Decay Snakebite eyeshadow (outer lid)
• Sugarpill Asylum loose pigment eyeshadow (outer lower lash line)
• Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes black eyeliner

It's a super easy look, and it's very light, but still obviously Belle. (: Also, the reason I went with red on most of the lower lash line is because of the rose.

'MERICA, FUCK YEAH.

So, in honor of Independence Day, I did a small look. (: Nothing super special, but I thought I'd share! My eyebrows are back to brown, as I colored my hair to a brown since the purple faded. :( This look included eyeshadows from the Tarte True Blood palette, and eyeliner from MAC's nautical line. I love blue liner. <3


Anyways, I hope you all are doing something super awesome for the Fourth of July, and if not, I hope you're at least going to blog your life away like I typically do. ;)

Tarte True Blood palette review!

I know I said a while ago that I was going to do a review of the Tarte True Blood palette, but I got a little busy these last couple of days! Below are some images of the palette and of a look I did using it. The look wasn't really inspired by anything but my love for greens, but it does remind me of something elvish or a Slytherin look. (: 


I do love this palette. I often forget how much I love it until I start using it again, though (I need to stop doing that). On top of 17 colors, the palette also includes a mascara, a primer, and an aqua liner (which I ADORE for bold black looks). And actually, this palette is what made me fall in love with Tarte's mascara! This palette is just so versatile and you can really do anything with it, from bold and daring to subtle and job interview-y. There's a color here for everyone! Prior to buying this palette, I never really thought twice about Tarte (good advertising, Tarte), but because of True Blood (again with the advertising), I was like "OMG I NEED THIS PALETTE LIKE NAO!" and it certainly did not disappoint. I'll be buying more Tarte products in the future-besides for the mascara that I love!

 

Products Used:

• Too Faced Flexible Coverage Concealer
• Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
• Almay Get Up And Grow mascara
• Kat Von D black pencil eyeliner
• Revlon Colorstay liquid eyeliner pen
• Tarte eyeshadow Moss (all over lid)
• Tarte eyeshadow Immortal (lower lash line)
• Tarte eyeshadow The True Death (inner corners)

So, the above photo shows the names of each of the colors. In the top left collage, you can see that I swatched only a few of them. I did this because those are the ones that I primarily use, and the image containing Moss, The True Death, and Immortal are the colors used to make the look in the first collage without a primer underneath! And below is a picture of the snazzy case. Seriously, the outside is enough to sell me on this product. ;)

EDIT: I took some better photos of the look I did using this palette. (:

Urban Decay: 15-Year Anniversary Palette!

This is probably going to be my favourite product to review simply because I use it ALL the time and it's my favourite palette! I cannot find a single flaw with this palette and I am so incredibly glad I bought it. For starters, there are 15 colors and the palette comes in this deep purple velvet box. The lid is a mirror with the "UD" logo in big bold purple. I'm telling you, the looks alone make this palette enticing to me.

 


Midnight Rodeo: I personally love this color. I mean as we all know, UD is known for the very high pigmented shadows, but this palette really steps that up. Midnight Rodeo is a pretty woodsy brown color with silver glitter in it. It wears well all day and works great for an all-over lid.


Midnight 15: Again, love this color. I don't typically wear a lot of browns by themselves anymore because I love the big bold stuff, but for a professional look like a job interview or some other "dress to impress" setting, this color is a perfect sheer, complimenting color just about anywhere you wear it. I wouldn't recommend lower lash line though because it's so light and shiny.


Vanilla: Can I just say besides "Foxy" in the Naked2 palette I basically use this color every day?! This color is the PERFECT brow bone highlighter. It has that glimmer effect to it, but it's light and blends out the brighter colors like Deep End and Junk Show extremely well.


Flow: Flow reminds me a lot of Scratch to be honest, and it isn't my favourite color, but the same concept goes for Flow as for Midnight 15. It's just a very classy color that gives your eyes the extra umph. It's subtle, but brilliant.


Chase: Chase is almost a golden bronzed brown to me. Again, as with the other browns, it wears very well and looks amazing on both blue and brown eyes. Haven't tried green, but I bet this color is versatile enough to look good on all eye colors.


Tainted: Tainted to me is a perfect color. It looks good on anyone, whether you like the drastic looks or the subtle, barely there looks. Tainted is a carnation pink with gold shimmer to it. On the eyes, it's almost iridescent, but it's a very complimenting color to brown and hazel eyes when paired with, for example, UD's Eldorado gold eyeliner. (: I wear this one frequently with Eldorado and Junkshow.


Junkshow: This is the best pink eyeshadow I've ever come across. It's not like some MAC shadows I've used where it doesn't blend, or it looks better on your finger after you've tried to swatch it too many times but to no avail. This color is flawless.


Omen: K, because I'm a purple freak, I'm about to go off on this color. I am a self-proclaimed purple eyeshadow hoarder, thus meaning the majority reason I bought this palette was for Omen. This color is beyond words to me. UD really outdid themselves with this color, in my humble opinion. It's a very neon purple that's shiny and just makes your eyes really POP! I wear this color ALL the time. It's drastic, vivid and makes a scene. <3


Evidence: Maybe it's just me, but finding a really good/durable dark blue eyeshadow is not an easy task. I tried MAC and looked at others, but no blue has ever compared to Evidence. The blue pigment is strong and noticeable all day and it doesn't wear like a matte black like most other ones I've tried. It's smooth, definitely blue, and very dramatic.


Deep End: As much as I love my purples, I also love my teals and bright blues (Peace is my favourite blue). Deep End really follows the pattern for these center column colors and their dramatic wear. In fact, this color is almost SO bright and vibrant that I don't often wear it by itself. Less is more in this case because it's so bright and fun to look at.


Deeper: Deeper reminds me of a graham cracker. Totally weird, but it has always reminded me of a cinnamon graham cracker, or burnt toast. For a deep and mysterious brown look, this color is perfect.


M.I.A.: M.I.A. is a very dark brown. If I use this color, I usually use it on the lower lash line, SPARINGLY, because a little goes a long ways.


Ace: In my head, Ace compares to Mushroom and Gunmetal in the fact that it's that silvery color we all love to have. Like if Gunmetal and Mushroom had a love child, it would be Ace. By itself, Ace is kind of a boring color (at least for me!), but paired with Junkshow or Deep End, this color is a great complimentary tone to have in your look.


Blackout: Blackout is just your typical matte black, only it's not typical. This color is atypical because where most blacks do not blend or move once brush meets face, this black blends and shapes so well. Words of caution though, the fallout can be dastardly, as it doesn't like to come off once it's on! Consider yourself warned. (:


Half Truth: So this purple...is wonderful. I have yet to use a color as unique as this one. It's like a combination of Ace and Omen because it has that purple, but it's also very silver. This color is great for a club look in my opinion. It's a little on the dark side, but you could really rock this color if you were going for like a grungy club life look for a night with the girls. Just pair it with some black liner and some glitter liner over the black to add some flare. (:

I hope this review is somewhat helpful to some of you! As I said, this palette is my favourite because of all the variety in it. You can pair all these colors with each other and use them for many, many different looks. I use Omen to fill in my eyebrows sometimes because of my purple hair. (: Sorry the photo quality on my swatches is so weird, but hopefully you can get an idea for what the colors look like WITHOUT a primer. :D

Stay tuned later today or tomorrow for my shortened review of the Tarte True Blood palette!

Urban Decay: The Feminine Palette!

I know it's a couple days late and I apologize for that, but as promised here is the review for UD's The Feminine Palette!

I think this is a cute little palette, honestly. I bought it at the first Ulta I ever went to while I was in Florida last spring break because it has all of my favourite colors in it (and it came with a purple eyeliner, but I have it stowed away with the rest of my eyeliner), and they were colors I didn't have already!

 

So, as you can see it's a cute little thing! It's small and compact so you can stick it in your purse and take it on the go with you for a touch-up and it has a diverse color range. You can just about combine all of these colors with each other to come up with a great look that'll match just about anything. 

Stray Dog: I personally think Stray Dog is a great brown. It wears well and it's a smooth shadow. Plus it matches my eyes really well.

SWF: I use SWF as a brow bone highlighter a lot because it's so sheer. It has a nice pink tint to it and some glitter in it and it just goes great with all these colors. It also works great as a highlighter in the inner corner if you're trying to open up your eyes a little bit.

Midnight Cowboy: I'll be completely honest, I don't really use this color. It's not because it isn't a great color, but it's just too nude for me. It has kind of an orange-ish glow to it and has silver glitter so it's pretty, it's just not my favourite UD color!

Aquarius: As you've seen this week I ADORE this color. It's a very icy blue and it doesn't fade throughout the day (something I noticed blues tend to do). It also works as a great inner corner highlighter, but it's great all over the lid too. I just love this color!

Darkhorse: Darkhorse is a great brown to me. It's dark and the pigment is CRAZY! I use this a lot for the lower lash line when I do looks with brown to keep the look kind of sultry and mysterious. A little does go a long way though; you can blend it out to make it lighter.

Ecstasy: I'm a self-proclaimed purple eyeshadow junkie. I have a ton of purple! This purple is a unique one to me because at first glance it looks just like Flash and I'm like "why do I need another one that looks just like flash?" Except don't be fooled! It has its similarities, but it doesn't have that flourescent undertone to it like Flash does. Ecstasy is just a very sheer purple that wears light around the eyes and is a tiny bit darker than Flash. I find it goes really well with SWF and Stray Dog.

Anyways, that's The Feminine Palette! It's really the only small, compact palette I have because it has everything in it that I wear, really. And you can use the little slot for the eyeliner for a small brush or something. (:

Stay tuned for my next review of the Urban Decay 15-Year Anniversary Palette!

It's the age of Aquarius!...except not. It's still stupid Gemini season.

AND I HATE GEMINI SEASON BECAUSE SCORPIOS + GEMINIS DON'T MIX.
Ahem. 
But I DO love Urban Decay's Aquarius from the Feminine Palette! I think eventually I'm going to do a whole review on this palette. Possibly tomorrow. Hmm....on second thought, tomorrow I'll review not only the Feminine Palette but also the 15-Year Anniversary Palette because I use that palette almost more than the Naked2.
Anyways, I re-did the look that I posted and talked vaguely about yesterday-the one that looks kind of like cotton candy-because that picture not only made me look cross-eyed, but didn't do the look proper justice. I'm pretty proud of this look-mainly because it was so randomly done and turned out so eloquent-but also because it really accents my personality and would make most anyone's eyes really pop. I would LOVE to do this look on blue eyes, or even green. It's just really fun and it basically goes with every outfit I could possibly come up with in my wardrobe. (:


Products Used:

• Too Faced Flexible Coverage Concealer
• Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
• Urban Decay Aquarius (inner lid and inner lower lash line)
• Urban Decay Junkshow (outer lower lash line)
• Urban Decay Omen (all over lid)
• Make Up For Ever Forest Green Aqua Eyes eyeliner (top and bottom)
• Make Up For Ever Aqua Liner in Lagoon Green (this color makes the eyeliner sparkly and more sea green)
• Almay Get Up And Grow mascara

 

Random makeup look of the day!

Since I haven't started a series yet, I've just been playing around with some of the shadows I love but haven't used in awhile. Today I'm rocking Urban Decay's Aquarius all over the lid and Graffiti underneath! Simple, but electrifying. I typically use Graffiti once a week or so, but Aquarius is one that I seldom use. I'm not sure why because it's the color that made me buy the Feminine Palette, but I'm done neglecting it nonetheless! Oh, and the reason for the purple eyebrows is because my hair is purple.(:

And while I'm at it, this is the look I did yesterday using Aquarius in the inner corners. It's kind of fairy-like and very pink. The lid is Urban Decay's Omen and the pink on the outer lower lash line is UD's Junkshow. I swear I'm not cross-eyed in this photo either, by the way. Smart phone reverse camera makes it hard to center a photo so I'm looking off in a weird direction. xD Even though the quality of this photo does NOT do this look justice, I'm very proud of this look. Blending Omen and Aquarius was a little risky to me because Omen is so iridescent and purple-y and Aquarius is very ice-looking, but it worked out really well actually.

FINALS ARE OVER!....FINALLY!

SO! If it wasn't obvious enough by my lack of posting, I was busy getting finals done and making sure I passed my classes once more before summer! Now that summer is here and class is no more for a few months, I can start posting and doing some of the looks I've been meaning to do. (:

Looks to do:

• Han Solo
• Princess Leia 
• DC Villain series (i.e., The Penguin, Joker, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, etc.)
• Zodiac series
• Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time temple series (I'm kind of dying of excitement over this one)
• I'm also going to play around with some very simply, yet very elegant, wedding looks!

I did complete my Avengers series while absent from my blog. I mean sure, the Avengers are great, but...what about Loki, the god of mischief? ;)

5.6.12; The Avengers Series! Thor

5.5.12; The Avengers Series! The Hulk

Products Used:

• Too Faced Flexible Coverage Concealer
• Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
• Kat Von D Puro Amor eyeliner (lash line and top liner)
• Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eye Pen (wings)
• Sugarpill Absinthe (inner lid)
• Sugarpill Weekender eyeshadow (outer lid)
• MAC Dark Soul glitter eyeshadow (lash line)
• Hard Candy violet mascara
• Urban Decay Verve eyeshadow (highlight)

So I don't know a whole lot about The Hulk (yet), but I do know that his primary colors happen to be my favorite two eyeshadow colors! So I wanted to have a little fun with it, but stay simple. Bruce Banner is portrayed in The Avengers as being very shy and very ashamed of who he is, so I didn't want to go too over the top like I did with Iron Man.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's look: Thor

             

5.4.12; The Avengers Series! Iron Man

Products Used:

• Too Faced Flexible Coverage Concealer in Vanilla
• Urban Decay Shadow Primer Potion
• Revlon Colorstay eyeliner (my base liner)
• Kat Von D Puro Amor eyeliner (top liner and wings)
• Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eye Pen (wings)
• Sugarpill Buttercupcake eyeshadow (inner lid)
• Urban Decay Eldorado eyeliner (sparkly yellow; inner lid)
• tokidoki Romeo (outer lid)
• Sugarpill Asylum (sparkly red; outer lid)
• Urban Decay Blackout eyeshadow (lashline)
• MAC Dark Soul glitter (lashline sparkles)
• MAC Blackened Red glitter (outer lid sparkles)
• Urban Decay Verve eyeshadow (highlight)
• Hard Candy Ginormous Lash Mascara

I definitely decided to go bold for this look, especially after having 

finally seen The Avengers at midnight last night. I developed a new-

found respected for Iron Man through this movie and wanted to go

bold, but not over the top. I also wanted to maintain some of that

smoky mystique and over the top attitude that reflects Tony Stark's 

personality since he's so big-headed and comical. The look is fairly

simple, but I think it works! All I feel I'm missing is some bright blue

contacts for repulsor eyes. ;) And I just really wanted to put a picture of Robert Downey Jr. in here....(: 

And by the way, if you haven't seen The Avengers yet, I seriously recommend you do so! It was well worth it and I will be seeing it again soon!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's look: The Hulk

5.3.12; The Avengers Series! Captain America

This is my attire for the premiere tonight! YAY!

So this is my look for Captain America! I'm starting the series a little later than I would like due to my schedule, but for opening night at midnight this is the look I'll be rocking. (: I wanted to do something subtle, but also something that pops because Captain America's demeanor is kind of shy, but also very bold and vibrant when he's put to action. This is the final result (though I have been wearing it most of the day, so it might look a tad faded). Also, Captain America is my favourite Avenger, so I really needed to do him some justice!

Products Used:

• Too Faced: Flexible Coverage Concealer in Vanilla
• Urban Decay: Shadow Primer Potion
• Revlon Colorstay eyeliner (base liner)
• Kat Von D Puro Amor eyeliner (top liner)
• Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eye Pen (wings)
• Buxom Husky (inner lid)
• Buxom Pug (outer lid)
• tokidoki Romeo (lash line)
• Sugarpill Asylum (lash line glitter)
• And I also used a couple MAC glitters to intensify the red and darken the silver! As if you could intensify Sugarpill or tokidoki anymore...
• Hard Candy  Ginormous Lash Mascara

Stay tuned for tomorrow's look: Iron Man

Hard Candy Ginormous Volumizing Mascara product review!

So, when I bought this product I was skeptical, and was mainly just out to try something new. I have blonde eyelashes that are hardly even noticeable unless I wear mascara, so naturally I've tried just about every mascara you can find! The mascara I was using before was a Tarte mascara that came with the limited edition Tarte True Blood palette (which I will review later!), and I immediately loved that mascara enough to buy a full tube...until I bought this stuff!

This product is actually available at Walmart for $7. I was hesitant at first, but I'd heard good things about the brand, so I decided to give it a try, and I am in love! The mascara is light and creamy, but it doesn't wear on real thick or heavy like some mascaras. It also doesn't clump up on your lashes, which is a huge bonus in my book. This particular mascara has a lengthening serum in it, but whether or not it works I couldn't tell you since my lashes are almost invisible without it! It does give lashes length and volume and gives them a deep black look.

My only criticism of this mascara is that some of the bristles can be a little wily and have a mind of their own, so be sure to pay attention so a random bristle doesn't attack your eyes after you've already perfected your look. Once it gets on your skin, good luck getting it off without makeup remover!

And on that note, I leave you with about an 8 out of 10 for this product! It's lengthening, thickening, but also lightweight and the brush is a perfect length! I would recommend giving this product a try!

Make Up For Ever: Aqua Eyes eyeliner review!

What better way to introduce yourself than by just jumping right in! So today's look is inspired by my love of Make Up For Ever's new Aqua Eyes eyeliner.
This particular one is called Forest Green, but it (obviously) wears a little more blue than it does green. Anyway, I was introduced to this product on Wednesday by one of my favourite Sephora employees. I noticed the new line and I decided to give MUFE black Aqua Eyes liner a try as opposed to the brand of black liner I've been using for over a year, and my Sephora acquaintance recommended me Forest Green as well. So, of course me trusting him, bought it and I LOVE every bit of this color! I will definitely be buying more colors. It wears all day, is waterproof, doesn't smudge or fade and is super light around my eyes! And in comparison to the cost of the other eyeliners I use, it's the same price! $18 for one of these babies! (:


Products used for this look:

• Too Faced: Flexible Coverage Concealer in Vanilla
• Urban Decay: Shadow Primer Potion
• Make Up For Ever: Forest Green Aqua Eyes eyeliner (top and bottom and wings)
• MAC eyeshadow: Moon's Reflection (all over lid)
• Urban Decay: Eldorado gold eyeliner (inner and outer lash line)
• Sugarpill: Buttercupcake yellow eyeshadow (over Eldorado for a brighter yellow)
• Hard Candy: Ginormous Lash Mascara in black (I will review this product later!)

EDIT:

Here is another photo of a different version of the same look, using the same products! I've quite enjoyed playing with these colors!

And below, I've posted an image of the MUFE Aqua Eyes liner in Forest Green. 

4.27.12; Introduction!

O hai! I guess I'll be all formal and whatever and introduce myself. I'm Kenzie and I'm a little hipster college student in a small town! I'm primarily going to use this blog to post some of my favourite makeup looks, other beauty products/reviews and maybe some of my freelance photography. This is my aesthetics blog, of course. :3 I'm not a professional, nor do I really claim to actually be all that good honestly. I just like makeup and all things fashion!
Also, I do try to take all my own photos of the products, but occasionally I'll need to get a better image offline. However, I will only ever use photos of my own looks and my own swatches, unless a link and permission from another reviewer is given to me to use theirs!