More Lip Art With OCC Lip Tars

Hey guys! Sorry I've been slacking on updates. I've been pretty sick, to be honest. I got over the bug from a couple weeks ago, but have this terrible, nagging cough that has been leaving me absolutely exhausted. Plus, the new school term has begun, so I find I have a shortness of time in addition to health. :/

Anyhoo, just wanted to share some neat lip looks I've come up with using my new OCC Lip Tar Primary Pack. :D I think I've definitely moved out of the realm of wearable into the purely artistic category. Fun to do and photograph, and a little sad to wipe away once I'm about to step out of the house.

This one is based on brilliantly hued tulips:

And this one is based off one of my favorite characters from one of my favorite films:

Thanks for reading, y'all. Until next time! :D

Hugs,
Cat

Rose Gold Smokey Eye Video Tutorial

Good evening! Actually, it's pretty darn late. BUT, I wanted to do a last minute post before I hit the hay. Remember this rose gold, smokey eye look I did several days ago?

Well, I received so much good feedback and so many requests for a tutorial that I decided to film one. Check it out:

So, the lighting is a tad darker than I would have liked, but it was really dreary and overcast when I filmed it and I use natural light for my videos. With my *extremely* limited technical knowledge of filmmaking, that was the best I could do. 

The technique is completely intact, however, which is the important part. Hope you guys find it helpful in recreating the look!

Hugs,

Cat

Sigma F80 Flat Kabuki Brush

Word has it that Sigma's F80 Flat Kabuki Brush is possibly one of the absolute best brushes for flawless foundation application.  I have heard nothing but praise for this legendary brush!  Funny story...I actually got this brush at least a year ago...and then I lost it!  I didn't even get a chance to remove it from its packaging.  It was sad.  But hey...good news!  I was unpacking a few straggling boxes from my move this past summer and guess what I found?!

You have no idea how freakin' excited I was to find this brush!  The F80 is a really gorgeous piece of work.  Created to buff liquid and cream foundations onto the face, its synthetic bristles are extremely soft, densely packed, and is very professional in looks and the way it handles.  You'd think that this brush would be far more expensive than it is, however you can get yours from Sigma for only $18!

Seeing as how I recently received Urban Decay's Naked Skin foundation, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to test out the Sigma F80.

Ooooooh...sooooo soft!

Per suggestion from another beauty blogger, I dotted foundation on my face using my fingertips FIRST before buffing it in using the F80.  This being that F80's bristles are so dense, it tends to pick up too much product if one were to use it like a paintbrush.  (ie. directly dipping it into the product)

GASP!  So gorgeous!  I was completely floored by how perfect my complexion looked after using the F80!  I've tried so many other modes of application: stipple brushes, flat foundation brushes, sponges, etc.  No other method I've used has performed as well as this one.   Coverage was soft, even, and absolutely flawless!  What's more, not a single bristle was shed during application...something I seldom experience when using new brushes.  Totally exceeded my expectations!

Needless to say, I am beyond happy with this brush!  I was THIS close to purchasing Urban Decay's Good Karma Optical Blurring brush for my foundation routine, but I find this to be absolutely unnecessary at this point.

Anyways, to complete today's look, I did a natural, soft smoke with my new Urban Decay Naked palette using Half Baked, Darkhorse, Creep, and Virgin:

No lashes today!

And I finished with a happy pink lip using Revlon's Lip Butter in Sweet Tart:

Overall look:

That's MAC Powder Blush in Mocha on my cheeks, btw.

I'd say I'm pretty pleased with my FOTD!  Hope everyone enjoys a safe and happy new year!  Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Hugs,
Cat

Lipstick and Lashes

 So another product that I'm excited about is a lovely little lippy by Make Up For Ever.  You probably noticed that, among my Xmas gifts, I was given a tube of Rouge Artist Intense #34, described as a "satin light raspberry".

In my opinion, #34 is the perfect "pop-of-color" shade for the cooler season.  Why?  Because it's vibrant without being neon.  Really, there's no wrong way to wear makeup.  I firmly stand by the notion that there are no hard, fast rules to how a girl wants to apply her cosmetics.  Personally, however, I find my preference for loud lipsticks is a little more prominent during Spring/Summer.

#34 glides on smoothly and evenly without feeling at all dry or chalky.  I thought that it was a fairly flattering shade with my complexion and it wore pretty well for a few hours, which included eating and drinking.  I didn't reapply, rather, just smoothed some gloss over it when I felt it was beginning to fade, which revived the color.

Color upon initial application straight from the tube, no lip liner.

Since I was going for a slightly more dramatic look today, I thought I'd pair some lashes with my winter-bright lips.  Though I do love my cheap-o dollar lashes from Daiso, lately, I've been craving higher-quality lashes that are meticulously made of human hair as opposed to glittery plastic ones.  I like the more "natural" look, but I mostly enjoy the fact that they're so comfortable and virtually weightless!  I swung by my local drugstore and picked up a pair of these:

 

Initially, I was searching for a pair of Ardell Wispies.  But apparently they were out of stock at CVS, so I settled on 122's instead.  This is the first time I've ever encountered them.  They're actually very natural-looking, in that the band is invisible, they're a little more sparse, and the lashes have been shaped and knotted in a way that's a bit more ragged and haphazard...more like lashes that we're born with as opposed to the perfectly symmetrical and evenly gradated eyelashes that I commonly find at the store.

I think that the 122's are also shorter than the Wispies, which makes more sense for my personal eye shape.  Let's face it, I'm not one of those rare Asian women that was born with large, doll-eyes and long, lush, curly lashes.  While these are still a little far-fetched, they're a bit more believable on me than the typical false lash.  Here, you can see how they make my small, short-lashed eyes look a little more glam without being over-the-top:

Eyeshadow = Urban Decay Naked Palette

 I love how flexible they are as well as being so light that I couldn't feel them at all!

Overall look:

Loving my new lips and lashes!  Hope you enjoyed today's post.  Thanks for reading and have a good night! :)

Hugs,

Cat

Featured on Miss Lipgloss!

Imagine my surprise when I groggily grabbed my phone this morning to check email and noticed a sudden surge of subscribers and traffic on Style By Cat.  Holy heck, how did that happen?!  So I read through some of my new comments and learned that I had been featured by a very, very prominent beauty blogger from Holland named Cynthia who has a blog called Miss Lipgloss:

Yep, that's me!  How cool is that?  I'm always so surprised and grateful when I get featured by amazing bloggers. :D  It gives me such a great opportunity to meet new readers from all over the world which makes me super-happy!

Anyways, I really wish I were literate in Dutch, but I guess I could get the gist of what her post is about. I don't know much about Cynthia except that she's a gorgeous, very accomplished beauty blogger with an uber-professional site which makes mine look pretty ghetto by comparison, lol.  Check her out if you're not already subscribed to her!

Soooooooooooooo if you're reading this, thanks Cynthia!  You're awesome! :D

XOXO,

Cat