My most extravagent makeup purchase: Dior Electric Lights quint

Is everyone as happy as me that it's Friday?? I hope so! I thought it would be fun to share my most expensive makeup purchase to date: my Dior quint in Electric Lights.

This is a fairly new purchase for me, and I knew I had to have it after seeing swatches on Temptalia.com. I thought the bright blues would be great for summer. There are five shades, and in my opinion, the standout is the one in the middle. It's a gorgeous deep blue purple color - pretty unique. My main complaint are the other four shades - when on, the lightest two look too similar, as do the medium two. There isn't much difference - it's almost like you're getting three colors instead of five. I hope that makes sense. The colors themselves are all super frosty, smooth, and pigmented. The palette comes with two dual ended sponge tip applicators, and there's a nice mirror on the inside. The price for this was $56, and I got mine from Sephora.

Overall, I wouldn't say that this will be my last Dior purchase, but it'll take some super gorgeous unique colors to pull me in.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

The Kat Von D Gypsy palette

Hey guys! Today I'm going to swatch and review the new Kat Von D Gypsy palette. This is a limited edition item, and is available at Sephora for $34 - not a bad price for eight colors.

The compact itself is really cute - I love the design on the front. It reminds me of an anime cartoon or comic. It's really sturdy and on the inside is a nice, big mirror. It also comes with two small brushes that I really can't find anything nice to say about.

Inside are eight colors. They are (from left to right):

Luficer: A matte black - nothing special
Stryker: basically this is Club shadow by MAC or Lounge by Urban Decay - a reddish brown with green duochrome. A really cool color if you don't have something similar already
Frankie: A really pretty, wearable plum color.
Hawkwind: This is a really cool color. In the pan, it looks white. Swatched, it's a frosty white with major green/gold iridescence. It's kinda like a really kicked up version of MAC's Vex. It's really unique.
Brass Knuckles: This one is a cream shadow - I have no idea why they decided to put it in this palette. It's a super frosty light gold/yellow color, and I bet that it would work as a shadow or base. It's really thick and sticky, so I'm thinking a thin layer would be the best way to go. The color is great, I'm just not feeling the formula.
Birdcage: This is a light, shimmery yellow/green color. It's really pretty.
Ego Sum: This is maybe my favorite color in the palette. It's a super frosty medium green with a subtle golden sheen. Love it!
Gunner: This is a dark green with a good amount of glitter - not too much, but it's definitely noticeable.

All of the descriptions and swatches follow in the order of the palette from left to right, and the pictures are all clickable so that you can see them better.

Overall, I really love this palette. I think it'll be great for summer, and you could get so many looks out of it. The shadows are soft and pigmented, and it's a great deal. It's definitely worth checking out!

Swatches for Makeup Geek

My Mother's day haul

Hey junkies! Today I want to share the goodies I picked up on Mother's day. The hubby knows that instead of trying to surprise me with a gift, he's better off taking me shopping so that I can pick up what I want. He's cool with that - he doesn't mind shopping, and it takes the guess work out of it. It's a win win.

It was a nice day, so we headed to the CCO (cosmetics company outlet). It's about 40 minutes away, so I've only been there once before. For those of you not familiar, the CCO's sell discounted high end makeup brands including MAC. It's a crapshoot - there could be lots, or not much at all. I'd say it was in between, here's what I picked up:

1. Delphic fluidline - fluidlines are gel eyeliners that you can also use as eyeshadow bases. This one is a medium teal with shimmer. Very pretty. I think it was permanent, but is now discontinued.

2. Pink Couture shadestick - I have been loving my shadesticks lately, and was excited to find this one. It's a shimmery pinkish mauve color - I think it would look great on it's own or under any pink or purple shadow.

3. Passionate shadow - This is part of the permanent collection, but I hadn't picked it up yet. It's a vibrant, matte hot pink - almost raspberry color.

4. Take A Hint tendertone - Tendertones are yummy scented lip balms. It's in a little pot, so you have to apply it with your finger, and they have SPF 12. They're not sticky, but they don't add much color either - just a nice glossy finish with subtle color. They feel great on your lips, and are perfect for summer. Take A Hint is a medium pink with silver shimmer.

5. High Top lipstick - This was released with Fafi (That was before my addiction began, so I'm always happy to pick up something that I missed out on). It's a very unique color - purple with blue shimmer and sparkles. But because it's a glaze, it's super sheer. It looks scary in the tube, but is actually very wearable.

6. Sweet William blush creme - I've really enjoyed experimenting with cream and gel blushes lately. I had heard about this color on youtube, but MAC has since discontinued it. I'm glad I found it at the CCO, cause it's so pretty! It's a creamy rosy pink color with a small amount of pearl to it. I think I'll be all over this when it's 100 degrees out.

7. Female richmetal highlighter - To be honest, I had never heard of this product and had no idea what it was. I just loved the color - so I asked the saleswoman what it was. She told me that you could use it as a shadow base, an actual shadow, or a cheek/face highlighter. It originally came out in the Colour Forms collection. Female is a frosty pale pink color - very opalescent. The texture is weird - it feels like a powder, but applies like a cream. I'm not sure how I'll end up using it, but it'll be fun to play around with.

8. Colour Forms warm eye palette - This came out last summer in the Nordstroms exclusive collection. It includes:
Chillproof (frost) - frosty white
Tancentric (veluxe pearl) - frosty beige pink
Rolled Gold (lustre) - shimmering golden olive
Rustic (veluxe pearl) - frosted copper red
Fertile (satin) - dark blackened brown
There is also a mini 213, as there is in most of the palettes. All of the colors are very pretty and wearable, and you could create so many looks out of these five colors.

That's my haul from the CCO, but then I went to Macy's. From MAC I got a foundation pump - I'm almost at the bottom, and it's a pain to get out. I also stopped at Clinique and picked up the new shimmering stripes blush in Cabana Pink. It's gorgeous! There's four stripes of coordinating pink/rose/bronze shades that you can use separately as shadows or swirl together for blush. It didn't photograph well, but trust me - it's definitely worth checking out.

If you add all that to a delicious brunch, beautiful tulips, and plenty of time with the family, you've got a perfect weekend. Big kudos to my man and kids. :)

Organizing the Stash: brushes

Happy Monday junkies!! I hope you all had a great weekend, and a nice Mother's day.

Today I'm going to do another organization and storage post. This one will focus on brushes. Again, I have a cheap, easy idea for you. It might not win any awards in the looks department, but it works.

I store my brushes in two pencil holders - one for eye brushes and one for face brushes. You can find these at any office supply store, Wal Mart, or Target. They will most likely range from $3-$6 each. I got mine at Office Max, and they're square which I like - I like that you can butt them up against each other nicely. The ones I picked are also divided into four sections so you can further organize the brushes.

This system works great for me - hopefully it gives you another idea on how to keep organized.

I'm working on another haul post - the hubby took me shopping for Mothers Day, and I want to share with you guys what I found at the CCO (cosmetics company outlet). I should have it up sometime tomorrow. See you then!!

Super duper exciting news!

I was just on MAC's website (maccosmetics.com) and noticed that they are now selling the pro palette refills online, along with the actual palettes! Previously you could only get these items at a free standing MAC store. This not only saves you money (refill pans are $11 compared to shadows in pots that are $14.50), but in my opinion, it's a much better way to store and organize your MAC shadows. No more depotting for me! The price of the 15 palette is $12 and the empty quad is $3.50.

There are also blush palettes ($12) that hold 6 blush pans ($15). If you guys have any questions, let me know!

My new baby: The 2009 MAC cool eyes trip palette

Since I've only been "into" MAC for less than a year, I have a mental list of older colors that I want to get my hands on. These are colors that I have seen on other blogs/websites, or colors that everyone seems to love. Included on this mental list were Springtime Skipper (from the Barbie collection) and Waternymph (I believe from the Lure collection). Imagine my excitement when I found out that these two colors were going to be in one of the 2009 trip palettes!

I wasn't familiar with the trip collections until recently. It is an annual collection that is only available in duty free shops in certain airports. I knew I wouldn't be at an airport any time soon, so I figured I'd try to pick it up on Ebay or allcosmeticswholesale.com. Then I found a seller on makeupgeek.com who was willing to pick up anything you wanted, and ship it to you. I was so stoked - I ordered it from her immediately.
Let me say that I freaking love this thing. It's pure gorgeousness. Included are 5 colors. From left to right they are:

Prismique (lustre)
Springtime Skipper (veluxe pearl)
Waternymph (frost)
Knight Divine (veluxe pearl)
Flashtrack (veluxe pearl)

Prismique is a typical lustre - not great color payoff, and a gritty texture. Pretty good fall out too. Knight Divine is from the permanent collection. I already have this, but it's a wonderful color that everyone should have in their collection - I didn't mind having two of them. Flashtrack was in the permanent line, but was discontinued. It's a dark navy - very pretty, but I have others like it. So I basically got the palette for the two colors I wanted, and I'm totally okay with that. I'm so happy to finally have them in my collection, and I can't wait to play around with them.

My MAC Rose Romance haul part 3: lip products

Hey guys! Here's the third and final part of my Rose Romance review, and today I'll be covering the lip products. There were a total of 9 lippies that came out with the collection - 3 lipsticks, 3 lipglosses, and 3 see thru lip colors.

The glosses: I got Virgin Kiss and Steal My Heart. I already had Magnetique from the Little Darlings holiday collection, so that's why it's smaller than the other two. Overall, the glosses are very pretty, but in my opinion, nothing different than what we've seen before. Virgin Kiss is a sheer pale pink with lots of silver glitter. It's not very pigmented, but the extra glitter is what makes it a little different from similar colors. It's comparable to Cherry Blossom from Cult Of Cherry, or Sugartrance from Fafi. It's very pretty, but I already have so many sheer pale pink glosses. If you're just starting your lippie collection, it's a great buy. Same goes for Steal My Heart - it's a color we've seen before (Wonderstruck lustreglass) but the excess amount of glitter sets it apart slightly. It's a sheer bright pink, and is actually more pigmented than I thought it would be. On my lips, it's pretty bright. Lastly is the most unique color, Magnetique. It's a deep berry color with shimmer, but no glitter. It's very pigmented, and while I love the color, it can be a bit much on someone as pale as me.

The lipsticks: I'm going to go against popular opinion here, and say that I don't really care for the lipsticks. I ended up getting A Rose Romance and Way To Love. The third one is Odyssey, and it is part of the permanent collection. It's a dark frosty plum color, and while it's pretty, I don't wear plum lipsticks very often. (On a side note, if you want a gorgeous plum lipstick, try Plum Dandy. It's beautiful) Don't get me wrong, the lipsticks are pretty - they're just nothing that I don't have already. Again, if you're looking to expand your collection they'd be perfect. A Rose Romance is cool medium pink with gold pearl, and Way To Love is a light nude pink. I was the most disappointed in Way To Love - on my hand I loved it - it looked like the kind of color that I always reach for. On my lips was another story - it was so sheer that it didn't really show up. Again, most people seem to absolutely love these lipsticks - this is just my opinion.

The See Thru lip colors: For those of you who are unfamiliar with these, they're basically lip stains. MAC has released these once or twice before, but I never got one. This time I felt the urge to try them out. I got Loving Touch (a sheer pearly light pink) and Tender Tryst (a sheer pearly plum). I passed on Secret Crush (a translucent red berry). As the descriptions imply, Loving Touch and Tender Tryst have a pearl like finish to them, while Secret Crush is just a flat color. I have to say that I don't care for these at all, but it's not do to the colors, I just realized that I'm not a fan of lip stains. They have a thin watery consistency, and they seem to need a few layers to build up the color. I don't like how they feel on my lips - I much prefer lipstick. I just don't see myself reaching for them. The nice thing about these though is that you can layer different glosses over them to get different effects (my friend Sara loves Virgin Kiss over Tender Tryst). I'm just not feeling this product - I feel like it's just to much hassle for mediocre results.

I guess what it boils down to for me, is that my collection of lip products has gotten so large that I feel like I didn't need any of these - lesson (hopefully) learned.

Thanks so much for stopping by - I really appreciate it. I hope you all have a great weekend - mine will be filled with baseball, movies, and family time. See ya next week junkies!!

A great sale: NYX

I just wanted to give you guys a heads up on a great sale - NYX cosmetics is offering you 50% off your entire order! And it lasts for two weeks, giving us plenty of time to stock up. NYX is a super affordable alternative to MAC and other high end brands. I own some of their single shadows, blushes, lashes, and jumbo eye pencils (these make great bases). Plus they have what seems like a million colors - something for everyone. I've also heard good things about their round lipsticks and lipglosses, but I can't verify that, as I've never tried them. With the 50% discount, their single shadows come out to $2.50, their regular powder blushes $3.00, and their jumbo pencils and round lipsticks are gonna run you $1.75. It's a win win for everyone - happy shopping!

FOTD: A soft Rose Romance look

Hey guys! I know I promised a review of the Rose Romance lip products - I am in the middle of writing it, and I promise it will be next! In the meantime, I thought I'd post a look I did the other day with many of the Rose Romance goodies. I know the pictures aren't great, but hopefully you get the general idea. It turned out nice - just a soft, simple look that could be worn for any occasion. I used:

Fresco Rose paintpot on lid with the 242 brush

Et tu Boquet over that with the 239

Of Summer blended in the crease with the 217

Shadowy Lady in the outer corner and blended slightly in the crease with the 217, then under lower lashes with the Sephora smudge brush

Mylar to high light with the 227

Macro Violet fluidline

Bare Essentuals buxom lash

Just A Pinch gel blush with the 109

Blush of Youth beauty powder over that with the 129

A Rose Romance lipstick

My MAC Rose Romance haul part 2: eye products

Hey there guys! Today I'll be reviewing the eye products that came out with MAC's Rose Romance collection. To see my overall thoughts on the collection, please refer to part one (face products).

There were 7 eye products that came out in this collection - 5 shadows and 2 pigments. Let's start with the pigments.

Circa Plum - This was a repromoted item, which came out with the Colour Forms collection last year. I didn't pick it up then, so I did this time. It's a frosty lavender plum color with an almost grey undertone to it. It's very subtle and could be worn day or night depending on what you pair it with. It's a great color that anyone could wear. Personally, I love plummy shades so I was all over this.

Mutiny - This was also a repromoted item, and it originally came out with the Naughty Nauticals collection. Again, I didn't have it so I picked it up this time. It's a gorgeous shimmery sky blue color - a little intimidating, but I can't wait to play around with it. It's definitely an eye catching color and is a very unique shade. I think it'll be great to wear in the summer.

Of the 5 shadows that are in the collection, 3 are new and 2 are in the permanent line: Creme de Violet and Shadowy Lady. I won't focus on those - I'll cover them when I go over my permanent shadow collection. But basically Shadowy Lady is a matte blackened plum color and Creme de Violet is bright violet with lots of gold shimmer. I got all three new shadows and have had the chance to wear them all.

Silverthorn (veluxe pearl)- In my opinion, this is the must have shadow of the collection. But I might be biased because I love silvers and veluxe pearls. This is a very unique color - MAC describes it as a mid tone grey with silver pearl, but I also see hints of green and gold to it. It is smooth and pigmented, and looks great over greenstroke paint pot. I wore it the other day on the lid with Deep Truth in the crease - I was very happy with it. When I put it in my palette of greys and silvers, there's definitely nothing else like it. This junkie loves it!

Of Summer (satin) - This is probably my least favorite shadow of the three, simply because the color payoff isn't great. I also feel that satins can be a little on the chalky side - but again, that's my opinion. It's a very pale lavender color with no shimmer or glitter. I wore it in the crease today with Et Tu Boquet on the lid, and while it didn't add much color, it blended the other colors out nicely. It's not a must have, but I don't regret getting it.

Et tu, Boquet? (frost) - I know a lot of people weren't feeling this color, but I actually really like it. It's a light frosty pink with a slight gold duochrome to it. I wore it over Fresco Rose paint pot today, and I really like how it turned out. The texture of this one is a little chunky, but it didn't bother me when I used it. I really think it's a unique color and worth checking out to form your own opinion.

My must haves? Mutiny and Silverthorn. I feel that these are gorgeous, unique colors that you probably can't find dupes for. I apologize that the swatches aren't the best - it was a really cloudy day. Please click on the pics to see them better - are you sick of me saying that? If you have any questions or want me to compare something, let me know!! The lippies will be next - see you then!

An update to today's earlier post

Hey again guys! I wanted to post an update - I used the gel blush today and wanted to let you know my thoughts on it. Overall, I really like it - it gave me a nice rosy cheeks look. On one side, I applied it with the MAC 188 and on the other I used the MAC 109. They both worked nicely, but if I had to pick, I'd go with the 109. I also found that I needed more product than the MUA led me to believe. Don't get me wrong - you don't have to use much, but I did dip my brush in a couple times. I put a little Blush of Youth beauty powder on top - it seemed to soften it a little, and probably helped set it. I also used it on my lips - not a huge fan of that. Like I thought, it did give them a nice pinky red stained look, but I don't care for the feeling of it on my lips. Just a personal preference I guess. All in all, this is a great product and I hope MAC puts out a few new colors. Hope that helps guys!! Next I'll go over the eye products from this collection. See you then!

My MAC Rose Romance haul part 1: Face products

Hey junkies! If you're a MAC addict like me, I'm sure you know about the Rose Romance collection that was just released. I think it was hit or miss for most people, but for me it was a dead center hit. The colors in the collection are very soft and light - very feminine colors if that makes any sense. I'm super duper pale, so the products were almost made for someone like me. But that's not to say that those of you with darker complexions couldn't rock a lot of these colors.

There were so many different items released with this collection - lippies, shadows, beauty powders, even a brand new product - a gel blush. I ended up with a lot, so I decided to break down my haul into three parts: face, eyes, and lips. Today's post will focus on the face - here's what I got:

Just a pinch gel blush - This was a brand new item for MAC. It's a gel formula that can be used on the cheeks or lips, and it comes in a little pot like their paint pots or tender tones. I haven't used it yet - I'm planning on wearing it today - but the MUA at MAC told me that a little goes a long way. He suggested applying it by dipping the 188 brush (I've also heard you can use the 109 or your fingers), getting a little on the tips, and then almost dabbing the excess off and working it into the bristles. Then start at the apples of your cheeks and blend. Depending on how much you use/blend it out, you can get just a light flush of color or a more dramatic rosy cheek. I think this will be a great product to use in the summer. I've heard that it looks great with a little Blush of Youth beauty powder on top. The MUA also told me that there's about 70 years of use in that little jar because you need such little product for each application. On your lips it gives an almost stained effect, and I imagine that it's super moisturizing.

Blush of Youth beauty powder - The beauty powders in this collection have a gorgeous embossed rose in the powder itself - and it's pretty deep into the powder, so it should stay like that for awhile. Blush of Youth is the lightest of the two - it's a warm dusty pink color with subtle gold pearl. I was able to use it as a light blush, but even on my pale self, I had to pack it on. It might be better as a high lighter or an all over face brightener. It's not matte, but it's not glittery or shimmery either. I think glowy would be the best way to describe it - it gives a healthy sheen to your skin. It's definitely buildable depending on what effect you want.

Summer Rose beauty powder - This one is the most popular of the two, simply because it's darker and therefore more people can work with it. It's a cool violet pink - violet shades are so "in" right now. I had no problem using this as a blush, and it has the same glowy finish. It's super pretty - definitely one of my favs in the whole collection.

Please click on the pics to see them better, and if you have any questions let me know!! Thanks for stopping by!!