Glittery Holiday Looks

Happy Black Friday, everyone! I was too busy with Thanksgiving to post yesterday, but have been cozily shopping on my laptop all day today, leaving me plenty of time to catch up on my blog absence. 

Anyhoo, glitters are trending for the holiday season (are they ever not?) and I've been busy creating some sparkly looks that are party-perfect!

Champagne Kisses by Violet Voss

Holy Grail by Violet Voss

Violet Voss  makes incredibly intense pigments, but their specialty is unique glitters with massive amounts of sparkle! They also sell a glitter glue primer, perfect for making your glitters stick and last all day, all night. They're in the midst of their Black Friday sale so don't miss out!

Hugs,

Cat

*This post contains commercial samples provided by the manufacturer for the purpose of review.

Ten Three Labs

Hiya! Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween yesterday! Speaking of the spook-tacular, I want to introduce you all to a super-cool, new indie cosmetic collection called Ten Three Labs. (10/03 also happens to be my bday, woo woo!)

Cara, the owner, makes and packages the products herself. I love that about small, independent operations. So much care is put into the creation and presentation. It's also very satisfying knowing that I'm getting a domestically-made product!

First of all, I was thoroughly charmed by the package design. It conjures up imagery of some magical, gothic/victorian apothecary. In addition to cosmetics, included in my package were whimsical little extras, such as candy, flower seeds, and a novelty, fortune-telling fish. (I always wanted one of those) It's the little things and attention to detail which makes me develop an affinity for certain brands.

The shadows are richly pigmented in a variety of deep, earthy colors to brights to pastels. The full-sized jars will probably last me a lifetime, while the generous sample bags will probably last for many, many applications. You're getting so much product for such a great price, this is seriously a steal!

I haven't tried the balms yet, but they look and smell wonderful. I'm sure I won't be disappointed, but I'll update you all on my experience with them once I get a chance to try them.

Here is a look I did with some of the shadows. Products listed below.

I did a soft, romantic look using a combination of pink and grey...one of my all-time, favorite color combos.

Products used:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden
• Etude House black gel eyeliner
• Eyeko Making Eyes gel pencils in Dove Grey and Powder Pink
• Ten Three Labs shadows in Shelley's Big Eye and Antoinette
• Eyemimo Cosmetics eyelashes in GLM13

I love the way the pale pink looks on my lower lash line. I have small eyes and doing this creates a brightening, eye-opening effect!

Head on over to Ten Three Labs to check out Cara's wonderful, handmade beauty products! I highly recommend this brand.

Happy Saturday, all!

Hugs,

Cat

*This post contains commercial samples provided by the manufacturer for the purpose of review.

Disney's Sleeping Beauty-Inspired Lip Art

One of my girlfriends invited me to do a cool lip art collaboration with her. The theme was Heroes and Villains: Disney's Sleeping Beauty edition. She interpreted Maleficent while I attempted Princess Aurora.  Check out our finished product!

Original artwork by Paula Franco and Justin Turrentine

Didn't she do an amazing job?! To see more of Elle's work, check out her blog and Instagram! :)

More detail images of my Aurora lip art:

To create this look, I used LA Splash lipsticks in Romance, Vivacious and Greed, Feathered lip tar from OCC Makeup, and Urban Decay's liquid eyeliner in Eldorado. Then I embellished with nail art rhinestones for a sparkling, princess-y touch.

What do you think? Was I able to capture the essence of the Aurora in lip art? ^_^

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful weekend!

Hugs,
Cat

Saint Patrick's Day Eyeshadow Tutorial

Happy weekend everyone! Well, not for me. I'm killing myself trying to finish my final project in time for Monday morning. (sorry I've been complaining about this so much, but it's excruciating and I'm miserable…so I appreciate you guys bearing with me while I vent on a daily basis.) Anyhoo…here ya go! I was able to carve out a few minutes to whip this up. Nothing new or really innovative, but green is so darn pretty and I rarely wear it.

Products/Instructions:

1. prime eyelid with UDPP in Eden
2. apply NXY Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk to the lid and blend out with finger
3. create a flick on the outer corner of eye as a containment guide with MBA Cosmetics black gel eyeliner
4. apply Sugarpill Acidberry to the inner corner of eyelid
5. apply Sugarpill Midori to center of eyelid
6. apply UD Libertine to outer corner, using the flick to guide the wing shape
7. define upper and lower lash lines with MBA Cosmetics black gel eyeliner
8. accent bottom liner with Sugarpill Midori

Finish by curling lashes, applying Maybelline Full N Soft Waterproof mascara, and adding Ardell Edgy eyelashes in #403.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of the weekend! <3

Hugs,

Cat

Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire

Good afternoon, everyone! I am so excited to present a collaborative makeup project I've been working on with 3 other amazingly creative, international artists. We deified the four elements and interpreted them in our own, unique ways using makeup as our primary medium.

To view the complete photo set with detailed images of each look, CLICK HERE.

Ms. Saskia, the Earth deity on the top left corner has a delightful blog called Pretty Trivialities. I highly recommend you check her out, she does comprehensive product reviews and gives a lot of in-depth insight on beauty and other fun stuff. She also has a very engaging Instagram account.

Ms. Josephine, the Water deity on the upper right, is a consummate artist in many mediums…I've seen that she's amazing in makeup and photography, as well as digital work. She's a pure artist who simply enjoys art for art's sake, therefore you won't find her with a blog or Instagram…though she should really start one of the three so that her admirers, myself included, can stalk more of her creative work! She did start a YouTube, so, hopefully, more cool stuff to come from her!

Ms. Ayannah, the Wind deity on the lower left, flawlessly carries every look she creates. Not sure at the moment if she has a blog or YouTube yet, but you can see more of her work on her Instagram account. If she isn't already, she can definitely pass as a high fashion model and makeup artist, but I have a feeling that this is just a fun hobby for her, as it is for the rest of us. :)

Anyhoo, here are additional, detailed images of my interpretation of FIRE:

This was such a fun shoot and collaboration! It was a lot of work, but totally worth it. I'm really happy to have met and bonded with these ladies and look forward to doing more creative work like this in the future! :)

Hugs,

Cat

EOTD: Teal Ombre Cat Eye

OH EM GEE, you guys! I am so stoked! So, I've been lurking the makeup blogging/vlogging/Instagram circuit again since I've been more active on StyleByCat, and I've been so inspired by these super-amazing looks that have been popping up. Artists are sooooooooo creative and talented these days, each one out-doing the next in terms of insanely gorgeous looks! Honestly, I can't even keep up anymore, lol!

Anyhoo, there's this ombre cat eye that I've been seeing a lot of them doing, so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm really rusty with the creative stuff since it doesn't really fit my lifestyle anymore. (I've gone practical. Practical = BORING) Y'all know I love my blue/greens, so I decided to try a teal version. Turned out pretty good!

This was a super-duper fun look to do. I admit, it requires a steady hand and it looked kind of awful when I started it, but with some refining, it turned out pretty awesome!

Here is the eye makeup product list:

• UD Primer Potion in Eden
• Maybelline Lasting Drama gel eyeliner
• UD eyeshadow in Blackout
• Maybelline Color Tattoo in Edgy Emerald
• Coastal Scents Original 88 palette (3 teal shades of varying values)
• Maybelline Full N Soft Waterproof mascara
• Ardell #120 eyelashes

Yay! On the downside, it doesn't look as impressive with my eyes open. DARN YOU, HOODED MONOLIDS!!! Which means I either have to walk around with my eyes closed, which I wouldn't recommend, or half-open, which simply looks dumb. Lol. Oh well. People can appreciate my makeup when I blink. Haha!

Woo hoo!

Darn, looks like I overdid my eyeliner! XD

Hope you guys enjoyed reading this post as much as I loved writing it. Happy Hump Day, everyone!

Hugs,

Cat

Scarlet Nerdy

Heeeeeeeeeeeeey!  It's back to school for me...  It's just the first week and I've already got my hands full!  I've got a few cool posts coming up, but in the meantime, I thought I'd share my FOTD.  It rained today so I figured I'd liven things up by throwing in some bright, fire-engine red!

That would be Wet N Wild's Mega Last Matte Lipstick in 910D.  I decided to offset my bold lippy by wearing my decidedly hipster-esque geeky glasses by Derek Cardigan from Coastal.  I was thrilled to get some nice compliments at school today. ^_^

Hope everyone's having a lovely week so far!  Happy hump day and goodnight! :D

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

Flirty Pink

A few weeks ago, as a birthday gift, I received a goodie bag from Christal Clear Cosmetics.  Included was one of Christal's signature 5 shadow palettes in Flirty Pink.  Seeing as it was a rather dreary, rainy day today, I thought I'd liven it up by adding some bright pink to my lids.

I just did a simple pink gradient, using the brightest pink as my base color and then adding dimension by applying black to the outer corners.  I finished with winged liner and mascara, as I almost always do. :)

Looking forward to enjoying the weekend, though I am tackling a big project for one of my classes.  It is the weekend before Halloween though, so that ought to be fun!  Looking forward to posting pictures of pumpkins and things! :D

Hugs,
Cat

FOTD: Yellow & Blue

Hey all, just playing around with my new UD stuff as well as some old stuff.  Here's today's face!

I realized, for as long as I've had my Coastal Scents Original 88 palette, I've never actually touched the bright yellow that's included in it.  So I thought I'd pair it with UD's Minx:

Drat my stupid bathroom lighting!  It looks so much more vibrant in person.  Wish you guys could see it! :(

So it's Coastal Scents yellow and  UD Minx on the eyes with black eyeliner and my fav Maybelline Full N Soft Waterproof mascara.  I have ELF Studio Blush in Tickled Pink on my cheeks and UD's Pocket Rocket gloss in Dustin on my lips.  Lol, "Dustin on my lips..." sounds so wrong! (my new lip glosses crack my hubby up!)

Last day of my summer vacay!  School starts tomorrow...waaaaaaaaaaah!  Oh well, brings me THAT much closer to getting my degree. :)  Happy Tuesday!

Hugs,
Cat

Latest UD Haul, Swatches, and Review

Okie dokie!  I got a chance to try out my new UD stash yesterday I've got pictures and reviews!  Here's my latest UD face:

So, let's talk eyeshadow, specifically Minx:

Minx looks slightly intimidating pressed in its little container, but the color applies as a shimmery pale blue with the slightest hint of green, packed with sparkly silver glitter.  I know that we all LOVE a good dose of heavy pigmentation, but in this case, I found the more subtle look to be very feminine and romantic.  Reminds me of Cinderella.  There a bit of fallout from the glitter, but I feel that a small amount of sparkle on my cheeks makes me a little more glamorous...like a fairy princess! :D  Loved it so much that I wore it two days in a row!  Since Minx is so gorgeous, I simply chose to do a monochromatic color wash on the top and bottom lids accentuated with black liner as not to upstage it with any additional hues.

Next up, Pocket Rocket glosses:

Dustin

Max

Rashad

You all know that I love a fun, bright lip!  But for a smoldering, sexy look, I love pairing smokey eyes with a high nude lip, which is why I chose to go with these more subdued gloss shades this time around.

All shades are translucent/sheer.  Dustin is a brownish nude with glitter particles.  It's the deepest of the three shades and shows up more dominantly than the other two on my lips.  Max is more of a true nude with the barest hint of shimmer.  I felt like I was applying a glossy concealer to my lips when I tried it on, but really, I love it so much.  I think it would look amazing with a super-smokey eye!  Rashad is a creamy, neutral, medium pink that is just so flirty and girly.  I love them all and can totally see myself going through a pale-lip phase for the next several weeks!

And finally, De Slick:

It's a super-fine oil-control mist that has a light, but not unpleasant, fragrance and literally feels like nothing on your face!  Spray it on before makeup application to control oil at the pore level, and then after makeup to set and seal.  I was most excited about this product because my oily complexion requires several powder touch ups throughout the day to hide my shiny spots.  Here are comparison photos of me in fresh makeup and then 12 hours later with the help of De Slick:

It's a little hard to tell because the "before" image was taken in the morning with a combination of natural and artificial light.  The "after" image was taken late at night with only artificial light, so the colors are slightly off.  Also, it looks like after 12 hours of wear, my eyeliner has run a little and my gloss (Rashad) has all but worn off! Lol.  But anyways, back to De Slick.  Though wouldn't say that it's a miracle oil control product, I am going to admit that, so far, it's the best oil control product I've tried.  I had to blot once, with tissue, to get rid of the shinies.  But, to be fair, it was after an intense cardio session and Bar Method workout.  I've only gotten a chance to try it for 2 days, however, so  I'll see about updating with my final consensus.

Well, that's that for now!  Hope everyone enjoyed a lovely weekend.  I think it's the last of warm weekends for a very long time here in sunny California!  Goodnight!

Hugs,
Cat