Happy Anniversary!

Here's to one year of love and laughter.  Being married is so much fun! :D

Photo by Tec Petaja

Double Product Review: Wet N Wild Mega Liner and Color Icon Blusher

I was at CVS the other day when I noticed that they had an entirely new display of Wet N Wild products.  Being immensely attracted to bright colors, I went in for a look.  I ended up taking these guys home with me that night:

I apologize for the grainy quality of these images, I practically took these in the dark.

I got the Wet N Wild Mega Liner Liquid Eyeliner in Turquoise and Wet N Wild Color Icon Blusher in Heather Silk.  Both were an absolute steal at $2.99 each!

The first thing I noticed was the packaging of the eyeliner.  For me, it's the ideal configuration: long handle, fine brush tip.  I feel that this design allows for the most precise application.  As for the blush, I really like the large surface area, perfect for picking up an even amount on my brush.  It is also a pretty shade of bright pink with a hint of warmth, which is just what I've been looking for.

But it's time to put these products to the test.  What kind of quality would I get for the price?  I started with the eyeliner.  Let me just start by saying that on Wet N Wild's product development team, turquoise must be another word for GREEN.  While it's a lovely, bright shade of jade green, there's no hint of blue in this eyeliner.  Even so, it's still a pretty, wearable shade.  I wore it using a "double eyeliner" technique.  I did this by drawing a winged line with black eyeliner, and then stacking the "turquoise" eyeliner on top of the black line.

The color is richly pigmented and the application was smooth and precise.  After 8 hours of wear there was a little smudging, but not noticeably so.  All in all, I'd say that you get more than what you pay for with this eyeliner.

I think I was most pleasantly surprised with the blush.  In general, I've always had good experiences with Wet N Wild liquid liners.  However, I've had less luck with blush.  Unless I pay an arm and a leg for it, most cheap-o drugstore blushes have little pigmentation.  After throwing away two nearly-new drugstore blushes in the last week, I had little faith that Heather Silk would work out. (also a misnomer, by the way.  heather and silk elude to a pale pink, this shade is quite bold)  I needed only a touch of it on my blush brush to bring a healthy flush to my cheeks.

Looking pretty good on the cheap!  I'd say these products are a win/win! :D

A Bow-rific Afternoon

Yesterday was one of the rare weekdays that my husband and I had the day off together.  We decided to celebrate by having a romantic, waterfront dinner at one of San Francisco's most famous oyster bars, The Hog Island Oyster Company.

Since the weather was sunny and warm (for a change) it was the perfect opportunity to show off my Bow of Beauty wide-brimmed hat from Ruche that I've been dying to wear!  I felt so chic on the promenade with my charming chapeau. :D

Daisy the doggie wants to be a part of the shoot too! LOL!

Bow of Beauty hat by Ruche

Billowing Embroidery Top also by Ruche

Zelda Jean Legging by Express

Handbag by Kate Spade

Message D'Amour Necklace by Lovelina

Nothing beats a great pair of pumps.  These nude velveteen hidden-platform pumps are by a cheap-o company called Qupid.  They cost about $30, but look like a million bucks.  Nude pumps are a must-have for any girl's wardrobe and not only are these pretty, but they're also comfy for the heel height!

Oxford Comma

I got my first pair of oxford heels in from Ruche the other day and couldn't wait to wear them!  Well, the sun came out today and it was just warm enough to wear a skirt so I could show them off.

Ankle socks: Urban Outfitters

Of course, being the northern bay area, it was still a little chilly so I had to layer a cardigan over my lacy tank and argyle skirt.

Purse: Ruche
Tank and Cardigan: Hollister
Skirt: Yes Style

I finished off the look with Tweet Lovebirds on a Rose Branch necklace.  Isn't it adorable?

Wore my fun outfit to a late lunch today with the fam bam. :D  Hope everyone else is having a happy Sunday as well.

Hugs,
Cat

Juicy Couture Beach Bum Aviator Sunglasses

Wow!  The sun actually came out for a second today, so I decided to rock my Beach Bum aviator sunglasses by Juicy Couture.  The color is called "New Saddle".  I don't know what kind of hoity toity BS that is, but they're basically bronze metal frames with bubblegum pink plastic temples.

The sun may be out, but, at 65 degrees out, I'm still wearing a scarf. 

I experimented with eyeliners to see if I could come up with something interesting.  I used black eyeliner to create the wing.  I traced the black liner with teal liner and then I traced THAT with teal glitter liner.  Then I lined the bottom lid with black pencil liner and layered shimmery teal/gold mineral shadow over that.

It doesn't appear too different from what I've been doing lately, but I guess the black creates kind of a dark, mysterious effect.

Here are the products I used:

Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden

Maybelline EyeStudio Gel Liner in Black

Sephora Doe-Eyed Liner in Blue

Sephora Glitter Eyeliner in Teal

HIP ColorChrome Eyeliner in Black Shock

Bad Bitch Mineral Eyeshadow in Belacqua

Maybelline Full N Soft Waterproof Mascara in Very Black

Well, I guess I'm going to run out and enjoy what little of the sun there's left.  Happy Saturday!!!

MAC Lipstick in Girl About Town

Revlon Scented Nail Polish in Cotton Candy

Hiya folks!  Remember the pretty, lavender-hued nail polish I got from Revlon a few months ago called Gumdrop?  Yeah, the one that smelled as tasty as it looked?  Well, I bought a couple more of those polishes from CVS because there was a sale.  My current flavor is Cotton Candy. (this link will take you to Ulta where you can buy 2 and get one free!)  In general, cotton candy is one of my most beloved scents in the entire world.  I have a certain nostalgia for cotton candy and it just smells downright yummy!

Anywho, it's a pale, pearly pink that's sweetly scented.  Not as accurate as I'd like it to be, but fragrantly sugary all the same.  I would recommend applying 2-3 coats and to be patient because it takes a little while to dry.  I usually find the time to do self mani/pedis when I'm Netflix-ing. :D

Makeup Tutorial: Simple, High Impact Teal Glitter

I totally forgot about my Sephora Doe Eyed felt eyeliner!  It's such a bright shade of teal.  I thought, wouldn't it look great as a base for the teal Sephora Glitter eyeliner that I recently got?  I suddenly had a great idea for a simple, high-impact look using only 2 color products. (plus primer)

As always, I start with a primed eye using UDDP in Eden.

Next, I draw a moderately winged line on my upper lid with the felt eyeliner pen.

Then I accent the liner by tracing glitter liner along the top.

I add mascara for a finished touch and I'm done!

4 steps total for a knockout look.  Seriously folks, this takes less than 3 minutes and because the color is so intense, you really need very little additional makeup to finish your face.  I would recommend a touch of blush and some nude gloss or just balm.  This is the ultimate lazy-glam look!

Oh, and don't feel limited to teal because it's my favorite color.  This would look AWESOME in purple, green, silver, gold, or even fuchsia!  Play around and have fun with it.

Hugs,
Cat

Fuchsia Redux

Remember when I said I'd try to wear MAC's Girl About Town more often?  Well, since I've had it, I've worn it out in public about 3 times (including yesterday).  That's not as often as I'd like.  To tell you the truth, I LOVE the way it looks on me, but I feel highly uncomfortable wearing it during the day.  For some reason, I don't mind wearing glittery teal and hot pink eye shadow to work and to school, but get a little shy when I'm wearing bright lipstick.  Weird, right?

Well, I've decided that I'm sick of being uncomfortable about it and I'll wear it until I desensitize myself from the feeling.  Work or school, daytime or night, I think I'm going to challenge myself to wear it every day for the rest of this week.  I wore it today.  Sure, I did get some looks here and there, but really, no one made a big deal about it.  So far, so good! :D

Here's a "moody" (and obviously manipulated) photo of me wearing Girl About Town for the second time in a row.

Taken mid-blowdry.  My, the bangs are getting long!  That's why my eyes are narrowed, actually.  They were pokey.

Neon Monday

So I woke up this morning and the weather was downright POOPY!  It was cold, overcast, and on my way driving to my Bar Method class it actually started raining!  I think temperatures are in the 60's today.  Honestly, it's hard to believe that I live in California sometimes.

Nice view, yucky weather.

It made me so mad that I decided to cancel it out by doing outrageously bright makeup for the day.  I don't care if I looked like a crazy woman.  My fluorescent eyes and lip really perked up my mood!

Eye Makeup:

1. Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden
2. Covergirl  Eye Enhancers eyeshadow in Chartreuse
3. HIP Color Chrome eyeliner in Black Shock
4. Urband Decay Loose Pigment in Goddess
5. L'Oreal Lineur Intense liquid eyeliner in Black
6. Maybelline Full N Soft Waterproof mascara in Black

Lips:

1. Smashbox lip liner in Smashing Muse
2. MAC lipstick in Girl About Town

Rare sighting: me bright and happy on a cold, rainy day

Tutorial: Clean Purple Shadow with Tape

I was fooling around on the web when I found some inspirations for a clean shadow look utilizing scotch tape.  It looked like so much fun that I decided to try it this morning.  This is a first for me, so forgive me if it doesn't look the greatest, but have fun following along anyway. :D

I start with a primed eye:

Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden

Then I'm going to grab a piece of invisible tape and place it along the outer corner of my upper lid, following the natural angle of my bottom lid line.  I'm using the translucent, matte tape which is less sticky, therefore less permanent, making it easier to remove later.

Scotch brand Invisible Tape

I'm going for a purple theme, so I'm just going to use 3 shades from my old Urban Decay palette for simplicity's sake.

Asphyxia, Last Call, and Grind

I apply Asphyxia, a medium-bright lilac with moderate shimmer, to my entire lid.

 Next, I'm going to add Last Call, a shimmery, deep purple-wine shade, to the outer corner.  The outermost corner will be where the color is darkest and will fade approaching the center of the lid.

 I carefully remove the tape by peeling it upwards.  See the nice clean line?  It adds a lot of drama while utilizing just a little color.

Using Grind, a pale pink shimmer with chunky silver glitter, I'm going to highlight the arch of my brow.

Oops, some glitter chunks caught on my lashes.

Then I'm going to line my top lid with black liner, lining the bottom lid halfway with black on the outer corner and halfway with silver on the inner corner.

HIP Color Chrome eyeliner in Black Shock and Silver Lightning

I'm going to layer some Grind over the silver liner on the inner bottom corner.

Then I'm going to layer black shadow over the black eyeliner, making sure to smudge for a soft, smokey look.  No winged liner necessary for once, the clean shadow line adds enough drama.

Add mascara and I'm done!

Not bad for my first time.  It's soft, but striking.  I'd love to experiment with darker and bolder colors for sure!