Florals, Buttons, and Bows!

Cherry blossoms are in bloom here in northern California and they've inspired me to come up with more floral jewelry designs.  I love the shabby chic, french country whimsy of florals painted on wood!

Orange Floral

Ditzy Floral

Pink Floral

I was so pleased with the way they turned out that I've been wearing a pair all day today! :D

Want to know how you can win a pair of your own?  Running On Happiness is hosting a Lovelina giveaway where you can win ANY piece of Lovelina Jewelry of your choice.  Click HERE for details on how to enter. :)

Maybelline Color Tattoo Review

Hey guys, remember these?

I finally got a chance to test and review all 3 colors.  Sorry it's taken me so long!  It's just that I had to test each color on different days so that I could give you the lowdown on product performance and longevity.  Anywho, I did just a simple color wash with each color and wore them for approximately 15+ hours.

Bold Gold:

Tenacious Teal:

Bad To The Bronze:

All colors were extremely lightweight, comfortable, and didn't fade or crease throughout duration of wear.  I like them because they're such a quick, easy way to do eye makeup, no brushes necessary...perfect if you're in a pinch!

I found that Bad To The Bronze is probably the most neutral, wearable, every day color.  Bold Gold is pretty, a little on the sheer side, but buildable, though not as opaque as the other colors.  Tenacious Teal gives a lot of effortless pop!

I'd like to get a few more...maybe Pomegranate Punk and Fierce & Tangy?  In any case I'm looking forward to incorporating the ones I already own into overall looks for future posts! :D

Hugs,
Cat

Ulta Mini Haul

I recently received a small order from Ulta with some Nyx and Covergirl goodies.  I haven't had a chance to try them, but just thought I'd share what I got.  Swatches and reviews to come soon!

NYX Stick Blush in Hibiscus and Pink Lotus.

NYX Xtreme Lip Cream in Dolly Girl and Spicy.

CoverGirl Blast Flipstick in Stunner:

Don't these colors and products look like so much fun!  I can't wait to try them out!  Stay posted to find out if they were worth it. :D

Hugs,
Cat

Lovelina Giveaway on Running On Happiness

Happy Valentine's Day!  Let's celebrate with a giveaway!  Actually, Katie from Running On Happiness will be hosting this giveaway from her blog. :D  Just visit her site for rules and how to enter.  The winner will receive ANY piece of Lovelina jewelry of their choice and is open internationally.  Here is some jewelry that she's featured:

Love Letters Necklace

Painted Wood Button Earrings

I've been corresponding with Katie via email, and let me tell you, not only does she look like a supermodel, she has a lovely personality as well.  She's super-sweet and genuine and it's been a real pleasure working with her to bring you guys this giveaway.  I'm really honored that she's agreed to host it!  So take advantage and enter to win your own Lovelina piece! :D

Here are some other Lovelina best-sellers:

Fancy Teapot Necklace

In A Heartbeat Locket Watch

Chubby Birdie and Branch Lariat

Love Gives You Wings

Antique Key Necklace

Happy entering and good luck!

Hugs,

Cat

Daring Valentine Look with Wet N Wild

So yesterday I posted a soft, demure look for Valentine's Day.  For those of you who are looking for a bolder look, I've decided to do a tutorial for a daring look as well.  In the tradition of keeping the looks as affordable as they're amazing, I used Wet N Wild cosmetics this time.  Here is what I came up with:

To start, I begin with a primed eye:

Next, I line my upper and lower lash lines thickly with black pencil eyeliner, forming a wing along my upper lash line.  It doesn't have to be perfect.

From my Wet N Wild Spoiled Brat eyeshadow trio, I'm going to use the black glittery shade to layer over my eyeliner for a soft, smoky effect:

Then, using the bright pink shadow from the Spoiled Brat trio, I'm going to apply a bold streak right above my winged line:

Add mascara and false lashes and I'm done!

To complete the overall look, I'm going to brush some Wet N Wild blush in Heather Silk to my cheeks:

And apply WnW Silk Finish Lipstick in 511B for an ultra-bright lip:

Slip on a little black dress and I think I'd be ready to knock my husband's socks off for Valentine's Day!

It's a really fun look if you're an in-the-moment kind of girl who doesn't take herself too seriously.  I nearly went out like this today, but had to remove the lipstick because it was a little much at 11am.  Haha!  Hope you all enjoyed the tutorial!

Hugs,
Cat

Demure Valentine Look with ELF

Uh oh!  It appears I've been absent for awhile.  Sorry about the disappearance, I can't really seem to recall what I've been doing between my last post and now.  Alien abduction?  Hehe.  Anyways, since V Day is coming up soon, I just thought I'd throw out a tutorial.  YAWN!  I know, how original is that, right?  I'm sure every makeup blogger has generated at least a couple of these in the last week.  I don't know if I really have anything unique to add to the pot, but I can at least tell you that what I'm about to show you is pretty easy.  This is what I came up with:

I know I've been splurging on high-end makeup brands like Urban Decay as well as pricier drugstore brands like Maybelline.  My ELF palette has been neglected, so I've decided to give it a little more attention today. (though I DO use my elf brushes, blush, and gloss on a daily basis)  I'll show you how I used soft pinks to create a natural, romantic look.

Starting with my eyes, I'm going to use three colors from my ELF Endless Eyes palette:

I chose soft, shimmery tones of pink, latte, and chocolate.

I begin by priming my eyelids:

Next, I apply the shimmery pink to the inner half of my eyelid:

Then I apply the shimmery chocolate to the lower outer corner of my upper eyelid:

The shimmery latte shade goes above the chocolate color on the upper corner of my upper eyelid:

To soften the edges, I blend the colors toward the brow bone with a brush:

Using a brown eyeliner pencil, I line my lower lash line:

Then I layer the shimmery chocolate shadow over the brown eyeliner:

I apply black cream eyeliner to my top and bottom lash lines:

And I curl lashes and apply mascara to finish:

To complete my entire look, I brush ELF Studio Blush in Fuchsia Fusion to my cheeks:

And apply ELF Essential Liquid Lipstick in Perfect Pink to my lips:

And there you have it!  Fresh and pretty Valentine's Day makeup without looking like you tried too hard.  It's a relatively wearable look anywhere, heck, I just went to work like this and got a ton of compliments on the eye shadow. :D

Hope some of you found this helpful and have fun experimenting with your Valentine's Day looks, even if you don't really care for Valentine's Day.  Honestly, any holiday, real or made-up, is a good excuse to try something different and new!

Hugs,
Cat

Missing Makeup Experiment 4: No Lips

Hi hi hi!  I'm super-happy today because I finished my midterms for this round and the weather was so unseasonably sunny and warm today that I didn't have to wear my usual coat and scarf!  So, to cap off the day, I thought I'd post the final experiment in my Missing Makeup series.  Lips?  No lips?  What difference does it make?  Let's check it out:

I wanted to point out that I made the mistake of wearing bright shadow for this set of pics which is a little distracting.  Oops!  See if you can ignore that.  Lol.  But yes, I do believe there is a difference between that way I look with lip color versus the way I look without.  I think I look more natural and down-to earth (minus the bright blue shadow) without lip color.  Applying lip color, however, gives my lips a fuller, more symmetrical shape with prominent definition.  So can I leave the house sporting bare lips?  Sure! (Though I have to at least be wearing some SPF balm, bare lips are one thing, dry lips are gross!)  If I want to add a little more glam to my look, however, having a prettily-colored lip is the way to go.  Which do I prefer?  I like it both ways!  Like eye makeup, I feel that going out with or without lip color depends on my mood.  :D

Well, that was fun!  Hope you all enjoyed my little experiment.  I certainly did and learned a lot about myself in the process.  Have a great night!

Hugs,
Cat