Review: Make Up Forever Aqua Eyes (2L)

I'm starting to love pencil sort of eye liners. I'm slowly but surely learning how to best apply them and without pulling my eyelides stiffly to the side. So today I have for you all another Make Up Forever Aqua Eyes in the color 2L. I know, I know; says a lot about the color, doesn't it? I was in the market for a really nice bronzey, brown because I heard brown is a really nice color to make blue eyes pop. Every brown I saw was kind of, meh and nothing to be excited for. I loved my Make Up Forever Aqua Eyes in 0L so much that I figured, why not take a look at some of theur browns and hazzah! I found it. I was debating between this and Bobbi Brown's Chocolate Shimmer gel eyeliner and all it came down to was wether I

wanted a gel liner or pencil liner.

2L is a milk chocolatey brown color with tiny gold, shimmery bits in it which I hope you guys can see in the swatch! The price of this lovely is $18 which I think is alright, but others might find a bit steep. The pigmentation of this liner is astounding. It's creamy and just deposits color like a dream. It's a lot creamier than the 0L black one which makes me grab for it more! It takes a bit to set, but maybe after 15 minutes it stays and doesn't budge all day long!

I'll be putting up a FOTD soon with this liner and MAC Arena eyeshadow so you guys can see how lovely they look paired together!

So what are your thoughts? Do you have any other Make Up Forever Aqua Eyes colors that you think are worth checking out? What name would you give this liner?!

❤ MAC Marilyn Monroe Collection Review ❤

[ WARNING: super long post/pictures ahead ]

Image Credit to: examiner.com

The amount of exclamation points I want to insert into this post right now is insane. So yesterday I was lucky enough to be invited to the unveiling of the MAC Marilyn Monroe (!!!) collection at the MAC in the Flatiron District! I was so excited because I saw a line at the door of other lovelies who were invited and it just got me really pumped; even knowing that it was about to be a chaotic mess! Shops in New York City are tiny, especially when you're trying to squish in 50 women (boozed on champagne that they were serving)! My invitation was for 7:30 and I went with my mom! Only, we got there super early and tried to see if we could get in (we did! haha). Walking inside was insane! They set up two collection displays on either ends of the shop but they were so TINY. There was also a big set up where they had a model dressed up like Marilyn Monroe and she was swaying and smiling the entire time. They had servers walking around with champagne, tiny hors d'oeuvre's, and little chocolate covered strawberries! When you walked in they handed you a paper and a pen so you could jot down everything you wanted then hand it to a make up artist and they'd get it for you in one go! My mom and I charged in like we were in battle, but for the first 10 minutes I was staring at other people's hands to see swatches, haha! It was insane, we were all crowded in front of this tiny display, grabbing and swatching. People were actually trying to put things on their faces which was hysterical because they were being shoved every which way. I had to use a pen to label which color was which because I swear to you that I swatched everything up my arm, haha! The packaging of all the products was actually a lot nicer than I thought it would be. A lot of people were saying how tacky it looked but it honestly didn't, save for maybe the beauty powder. 

So how about we move onto the things you guys really want to see, the products and the swatches! This is collectively what my mom and I bought (she paid for hers and I paid for mine). Allons-y!

Large Eye Shadows ($21.00)

I'm surprised that I came out with two eyeshadows. When I saw the promotional pictures the only color that really caught my eye was Preferred Blonde but that was the one I was most disappointed with. Both of these eyeshadows are Veluxe Pearl finishes. They both have lovely and smooth textures. The colors are both nicely pigmented with a gorgeous pearly finish. Showgirl is a gorgeous blue/grey color that when I swatched it I thought would be so pretty for smokey eyes. How to Marry is a brilliant white that could have looked chalky but is smooth which would make it great to wear on the whole eyelid or even just as highlights on the brow bone or inner corner. I can't wait to start using these and I'm super impressed with the quality!

Lipsticks ($16.50)

The lipsticks are the thing I always look to first when MAC comes out with collections. They're usually the best and the first things to get sold out. The lipsticks are probably the main reason I was super excited to be able to preview the collection before anyone got a chance to buy them all out! The first lipstick is Love Goddess. Holy hot macaroni, this color is spectacular! Love Goddess is a sort of subdued bright raspberry lip that is perfect, perfect I tell you! for this season! It's a color I can start wearing now, into the fall and even carry over to the winter! The finish of this lipstick is satin so it's got a nice sheen to it. The second lipstick was Pure Zen. My mom and I both got this lipstick so I would like to again say, Holy hot macaroni! I honestly just swatched it because I was already swatching everything. The millisecond the lipstick ran across my arm and my eyes registered it, I was in love. It's the nude I have been looking for. It's perfect. It's not too beige, and it's got a tinge of pink to it which is what I think makes it so great! Also, the fact that it's a cremesheen is just icing on the cake!

Dazzleglass ($21.50)

I love MAC's dazzleglasses. I love them because I love glittery disco balls of joy. I've never had one though because I didn't feel like spending $20 on picking just any color for the sake of having it. This collection came out with two dazzleglasses and Phiff! is the one I fell in love with. It's sheer but with little gold glitters in it and the tiniest tinge of pink. It doesn't make your lips look like to wet seals and it's not as sticky as I thought it would be! I also think it would look really pretty layered over any of the two lipsticks I got! I can't really find the words to describe why I like it so much. 

Blusher ($22.00)

My mom picked up this blush because when I saw it I thought it was too similar to colors I already have. Boy, am I ever glad she got it. Legendary is a really light coral color that has a Satin finish. As with all the products we seem to have picked up it's got that pink tinge and little gold, finely milled shimmers. It doesn't appear on the skin, just adds a subtle glow. I can see this blush getting unnoticed because the color isn't wham, bam, and in your face. I do think it'll be lovely for just accentuating your cheeks without making it look obvious that you're wearing blush!

Eyeliner ($15.00)

The last thing I picked up is nothing too exciting because it is part of the permanent range. Smolder is just your run of the mill black eye liner. The reason this makes me excited is because of how soft the liner is. When you run it across it doesn't pull the skin and delivers nice and opaque color in one go. It's also very blend able which would be absolutely perfect for a smokey eye of just smoked out liner! I think it was very appropriately added to this collection!

What's my verdict? I'm thoroughly impressed with this collection. It was perfectly tailored by theme with all the colors and packaging being nicely reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe herself. I particularly love this collection because it seems to be really tailored to fair skinned girls. If you have a darker skin tone I would recommend you skip the blushes and take a really good look at the lipsticks and eyeshadows because I think those would be lovely. I'm in love with the products I got it and more importantly, very happy with them! Kudos to MAC!

What are you thoughts? Are you guys excited for this collection to come out? I can't wait to see what you guys pick up! 

Review: M.A.C. Arena Eyeshadow

Oh hey guys! Long time no talk. A weekend and a day in the blogging world is like years! I've been in a blogging funk and playing Sims 3 for days and days. I haven't abandoned this baby! I have been given opportunities to have a life and so I took them. Doesn't it just suck when life gets in the way? Haha! So I'm here, in my college library, sick and early for my classes, watching YouTube videos and thought "Jess, you have the time, REVIEW YOUR MOST FAVORITE-EST SHADOW" So that is what I shall be doing following this line jump.

Okay, so you've probably visited your M.A.C. counter and swatched every shadow about a couple of dozens a time, each. You've probably swatched Arena as well but were to un-impressed with the swatch on your hand to think much about it. Boy, are you missing out! (Why do I always seem to sound like an info-mercial?!) My blue eyed/green eyed lovelies out there, you will love this! It's a really neutral orange-y beige shadow. It's subtle and perfect for an everyday look, a natural look, a highlight, and a quick make up look! I like to wear this by itself all over my lid and then up into the crease a tad (hooded lids, boo!) It does a brilliant job of making my blue eyes pop just a little more! It's orange enough to make the blue pop and beige enough to make it look natural. Paired with a brown liner and it's astounding how blue my eyes look! 

It takes a bit of getting used to with this color because it does apply ever so sheerly. You'll need to use a brush that really picks up color. My preferred method is a large shader brush! A finger to hand swatch does this shadow no justice. I'll see if I can get a FOTD up using this shadow soon so you guys can get a better look! But I definetly reccomend that blue eyed beauties take a closer look at this shadow, you won't regret it! :)

No Buy Challenge | Weekly Wishlist #FAIL

 59/100: So close, yet so very far away from a goal of NO beauty shopping for 100 days. If you've been keeping up with my posts you'll see that the beginning was alright but the past few weeks have been not so great. Have you guys seen the haul post? Yeah, how can someone be in the middle of a No Buy Challenge with a haul post?! That ... just doesn't add up. Sad to say it, and a little disappointed in myself, but I am officially marking this challenge as a big, fat, super sized FAIL.

Don't get me wrong, this challenge was nice to have in the back of my mind when I was about to buy something I know I didn't need but that didn't stop me from my huge lusting over some products. I wanted this to help me stop buying things in general that I didn't need. I'm already getting excited to drop a dime on the M.A.C. Marilyn Monroe collection next week, so that's not good. I just came to realize that I can't just not buy anything. I mean it's not a bad thing that I was buying stuff that I needed, like a new mascara because all of mine had dried out. Helping the economy and all, right? My previous shopping habits weren't good either and this challenge sort of helped me see that. I see no point in going on with this challenge if I know I'm going to be buying things and just apologizing for them later. 

I hope you guys don't think any less of me for stopping and ultimately failing this challenge. I'm not going to go on a crazy shopping spree now, but I won't stop myself from browsing and (after some serious thought) getting some bits and bobs. 

I hope this doesn't discourage anyone from doing this challenge because it sort of does put your spending in perspective and I'd still love for you guys to share you No Buy Challenge posts with me! :)

Bath & Body Works Haul

Stop rubbing your eyes. Stop wiping your screen. Don't go off and get a new computer. You read it correctly, a haul. Ahaha, I'm sure half of you are enjoying this! I know if I was following a blogger who was doing a "No Buy Challenge" and ended up doing a haul post in the middle of it all I would laugh and laugh and then giggle. I really, for the life of me, could not resist. I tried really hard. SUPER hard. But there was no use. Bath & Body Works was having yet another 2 for $20 3-wick candle sale and this time I had a coupon for 20% off the entire purchase and my eye began to twitch. Even better was that the candles were basically each $10! I got my ever beloved Cinnamon Sugared Donut candle that I reviewed/raved about right over here. The next one I got was Pumpkin Caramel Latte. I bought it for my blogging buddy Melissa (who blogs on Melissa Knows Best, brilliant blog you guys should check her out! She's absolutely lovely :) ) and I knew that I had to have my greedy little mits on it soon. It's so sweet and caramel-y. It also helped that I had my first Pumpkin Spiced Latte from Starbucks and I could almost taste it through the candle! The last candle I bought is the least exciting but still exciting in a way. Eucalyptus Spearmint Stress Relieving candle. I got this candle because I had the little wall flower plug-in in this scent and it really did help to sort of clear my head as I had it wafting through my house during final exams (yikes!) The last three things I got were two Pocketbac's; one in Warm Apple Cider and the other in Candy Corn (a present for my sister as she is obsessed with Pocketbac's and Candy Corn) Good grief, does the Warm Apple Cider actually smell like WARM. APPLE. CIDER. I can't stop using it! I'll need another to keep me through the winter, haha! Last was this a-freakin-supercalifragilasticly-dorable Pocketbac holder. Stop. I can't take it's cute squirliness. It just screams autumn! Take a minute. Just stare at it and try not to fall in love.

I'm quite pleased with myself even though I've broken a big rule on my No Buy Challenge which was ultimately not to buy anything for 100 days. But c'mon, would you have been able to resist a sale like this and then 20% the entire purchase? Hmmm, perhaps you all have stronger will power than me!

What are some of your favorite fall scents? Have you picked up any Bath & Body Works candles? Let me know! 

Review: TopShop Rio Rio Lipstick

"All the birds of a feather, do what we love most of all... lalala"

Have you guys seen the movie Rio? Yes, the one with the animated birds and they sing and frolic in Brazil during Carnival! Such a cute movie, especially when Jesse Eisenberg's birdie drinks the hot chocolate, haha! Why do I mention Rio? It's because I needed an awesome segway. Today I have for you all my first ever lipstick, my baby, my bright red-teeth whitening lipstick from TopShop called RioRio. It retails for $16 and technically my best friend bought it for me. I wanted the lipstick and she wanted an eye liner and they were both the same price. We couldn't justify buying it ourselves so we bought them as "gifts" for each other. Make sense? Yeah, I thought not.

Anywhosville, RioRio is a brilliant bright, in your face red. Not a professional with these colors so I'm not sure if it's blue based or yellow based, looks a little blue but who am I to know, yeah? I love wearing this color anytime of the year. It goes amazingly well with my porcelain complexion which is like a 10x plus in my book! The finish of this is matte and it's a really dandy matte as it doesn't stick too much to the lines on your lips. I would recommend exfoliating your lips before using this, but who has the time these days, right? It stills looks pretty darn brilliant even if you don't. The above lip swatch is without exfoliated lips. Pretty awesome outcome if I do say so myself! I love this color so much that I'm actually tooth smiling in the swatch. Couldn't help myself! I'd say this color is really similar to TopShop Infrared but Infrared is a touch more orange. I still want it though. And oh, before I forget; TopShop lipsticks all have this wondrous scent to them. I catch myself in class just sniffing the open lipstick. 

So what's my consensus? I love RioRio and I realize it shan't be everyone's cup of tea, but come on, have a little fun! It's such a gorgeous modern take on a classic red that you can't not have it in your collection! I'm pretty sure it's universally flattering, but maybe it's because I just want to spread the RioRio joy! 

What do you lovelies think? Too much? Too little? Haha! Or just perfectly brilliant and you need to buy it now!

No Buy Challenge | Weekly Wishlist #07

52/100: Woohoo! Already half way there! I can't believe 50 days went by that quickly, honestly. I have a feeling that by the end of this challenge I'm gonna lost it and just buy all the things. I feel like this challenge is a good reminder when I want to buy something I don't really need, but when it comes to something I really want I'm always inches away from cracking. Is anyone reading this and just waiting for me to lose my mind? Haha, I still want to buy so many things; Butter London polishes, M.A.C. eyeshadows, Sigma brushes, Real Techniques brushes, various clothes, LUSH bath products and ugh. I feel like I'm not buying it right now but I will when this is over. So a short list of the things I've been craving this week:

• M.A.C. Eyeshadow's in Naked Lunch, Patina, and Vanilla | I blame the lovely Tanya Burr. She always has these non-hyped M.A.C. shadows and whenever she uses them she makes me think "how are more people not talking about these?!" I feel she's the only beauty vlogger who consistently uploads amazing quality tutorials and I love watching her. Well, not really because she makes my wishlist grow longer and longer! Recently she used Patina and Vanilla in her fall tutorial and I want them so I can recreate it cause it looked so beautiful! You can check out her video here!

There's a lot more that I'm craving, there always is, but I put the products that I am inches from buying on my wishlist. As you can see, last week I sort of failed haha. It's strange, I haven't been shopping as much as I used to yet my credit card bill is a never ending scroll. It's ... odd. Oh well, hopefully I can make it another week without these shadows in my possession. I would love it, but then I would feel super guilty for failing at this challenge.

What's this 100 Day Challenge? Why am I doing it? Read about it here! Have you decided to partake in the challenge? Let me know how you're doing in the comments!

Review: Deborah Lippmann Across The Universe

// Across The Universe in different lightings \\

Holy hot goodness! Is probably what you are thinking when you see this polish! I bought it when I was naughty last week and got it before my wish list even went up. Oups. But can you blame?! Look at the gorgeous glitter and sparkle? Sorry for the like KABLOO of pictures but each one showed some hidden layer within the color so I thought it was in your best reading pleasure to add them all! I should probably state the name, haha! This Deborah Lippmann's Across The Universe glitter polish that retails for $18. I didn't even think twice. The price is insane, I know, but so is this polish! The base of this polish is a jelly-like navy color and it's jam packed with blue and green hexagonal glitters; along with oceanic blue micro glitters. In all these pictures I used three coats of polish along with a base and top coat. A lot of the time bloggers will penalize a polish for needing more than two coats. I used three because I wanted a really deeply opaque nail. With two coats the coverage was opaque as well but the third coat really makes it stand out and gets people to take notice! I have no complaints about formulation and as always the glitters in this polish, as with all Deborah Lippmann glitter polishes, work with you instead of against you! I'm adding this color to my collection of Mermaid/Sea themed nail polishes. Such a beauty to behold and ugh, the glass packaging just adds a cherry on top of this gorgeous sundae!

What do you lovelies think? Would you snag it or pass it?

M.A.C.'s New Shadow Palettes!

I just need to say one thing before I begin. Whenever I see some of you lovely UK bloggers put up posts that are called "Boots Haul" I'm always picturing I'm about to read a post on actual pairs of boots you've bought. I laugh at myself every time I do it and thought it needed to be shared, haha!

Anywho, on Saturday my mom and I spent the day in New Jersey browsing in the mall to see if we can find anything for the upcoming colder months! I knew there was a M.A.C. in the mall and desperately needed a palette to put my shadows in because as of now they're lying on top of the cover of a palette. I went in thinking I was going to get the standard palette that everyone in the beauty blog-o/vlog-o sphere has. To my surprise I was told they no longer sold those but they had a new palette. I heard talks about a new palette but never thought it would be brought out anytime soon.

I was excited to find out that you could easily pull out and insert the divider so you could decide how many shadows you wanted to fit in the palette. What I didn't like very much was that they now make you pay for the palette and the divider, separately. The palette is, I believe around $18 and the divider is $9. Rubbish. The pricing is ridiculous. I still can't believe I paid for it but hey, I was curious and needed the palette anyway so I bought it. Besides the awful pricing and being practically ripped off I have to say I really do like this palette. It comes with a clear lid so now you can see all the colors inside without having to go through each one and opening them like with the old ones. It feels much sturdier and I've heard people say they've dropped it and it holds the shadows in tact. Personally, I would not go out testing this theory but take their word and hope that if I one day drop it, nothing cracks! I almost went to throw a fit when I moved these shadows from my Z-Palette into this one because they would not stick! Turns out these M.A.C. geniuses have found a way to only allow their magnets/pans to stick. The Z-Palette metal stickers shan't work :/ It's also a tad thicker in width which I haven't decide if I like more or not yet. I think this palette looks really sleek, and a lot more professional than the older one. I'm not sure if the old ones are still available to purchase and I got conned into buying the new one now or that these have permanently replaced the old ones.

Here's a look at my ever growing M.A.C. Eyeshadow collection nicely snuggled in their new home. I actually love it a lot although M.A.C. needs to relax a bit and realize how much they're trying to make us pay for a bit of plastic carved into circular indents. I recommend it if you've got the cash to spare, want your M.A.C. shadows to be in a M.A.C. home and/or prefer everything nicely spaced and sorted! The last was a big reason for me! 

What are you thoughts?

Tag: Most Worn of Summer 2012

Boo! The summer is coming to a close. Eh, I'm not to saddened by this. This summer I haven't seen the beach or a pool, just my office, tons of food, and my ever expanding thighs. WAHOO #Summer2012. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bitter and I def. enjoyed the time off from papers and professors. Amber from the blog Beauty Guide 101 did this tag on her blog and asked if I could do it as well so here we go! :)

Most Worn Nail Polish

Wet N' Wild Wild Shine // Essie Turquoise & Caicos

 Most Worn Hair Product

John Frieda Frizz-Ease Hair Serum

Most Worn Bag

American Eagle Cross Body (No longer sold)

Most Worn Shoes

Michael Kors Flats

Most Worn Accessories

Pandora Bracelet // Henri Bendel Bow Earrings // Celtic Ring from Holiday Shop

Most Worn Clothing Item

Hollister Colored Shorts

Most Worn Foundation

Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation (B20)

Most Worn Blush and/or Bronzer

NARS Laguna Bronzer

Most Worn Lip Product

EOS Lip Balm Strawberry Sorbet

Most Worn Mascara

Maybelline Illegal Length Mascara

Most Worn Eyeshadow

M.A.C. Eyeshadow Arena

I tag all you lovelies to do it! Say good-bye to summer, and hello to fall!

No Buy Challenge | Weekly Wishlist #06

 46/100: I'm a little late on this, sorry! Life seems to be getting in the way and I haven't had my "blog book" with me for two weeks and that really screwed me up because all my ideas were about 10 miles away from me. Now it's back and I shall be blogging up a storm! So hooray almost at the middle of this challenge and I'm absolutely rubbish at it! I'm only 24 hours late and I've managed to get one of the things on my list. Although, let's give me some credit, Fashion's Night Out ended up being the day Jessica didn't spend any money, at all! Not even for food! *clap *clap So what have I been craving this week?

• Deborah Lippmann's Across The Universe Nail Polish | *hides in shame I made the wishlist yesterday and didn't have this polish and was seriously lusting over it. Now I'm sitting here typing this post with a freshly manicured Across The Universe mani. It's such a pretty color and the glitters are so gorgeous and I promise to share it's amazingness when my nails don't look like absolute poo. Does it make it any better that my mom was the one who technically bought this for me? I was going to, but she swiped her card before I could get mine out... oups.
• M.A.C. Cosmetics Creme Cup Lipstick | I've been wanting this lipstick for a really long time now! Maybe since March? Surprised I haven't caved and bought it yet! I wanted to get it on FNO but M.A.C. was a tizzy mess and Bloomingdales closed before I could even get through the front door!
• TopShop Mini Roller Hat | This hat looks absolutely adorable sitting atop my head. I want it very, very badly but TopShop ridiculously priced this at $50 and even with my student discount, I still can't manage to fork over the pretty pennies for this ):

I haven't been very good with this challenge, but at least my wishlists seem to be growing smaller and smaller! To date what have I bought? Make Up Forever eyeliner ($18), Deborah Lippmann polish ($18), and the new M.A.C. Palette to hold my shadows ($23). Oh lord, someone just take my blasted credit card away from ... 

#FNOnyc [photos]

Bonsoir lovely mermaids! As you may or may not have known, yesterday fashionistas around the world gathered for the holiday known as Fashions's Night Out. This was the first year I was ever excited to go and actually made a plan to get my friends together and go. It was nothing like I was expecting! The crowds were insane, and I'm talking about insane for New Yorkers! It was ridiculously hot too. Eck, talk about a fashion faux pas! I had brought my camera but couldn't take any pictures as there were so many people. I even got punched in the arm and gut when two girls ran past us for bloody mary (they no doubt had stolen something ...) You'll all be happy to know that I did not buy anything ... at all! Not because of my amazing strong will though! Everything had closed by 10. Are you joking? I was not expecting everything to close so relatively early. I managed to only get to TopShop, Brandy Melville, Chipotle and a Starbucks. It was nutty. So I thought I'd share some pics my friends managed to snap on my camera or theirs. No OOTN, I'm afraid :/ Only what you can see from the picture below! If you think it's something you guys want to know, I'll snap some pictures of the articles of clothing and put 'em in a post as inspiration, if you'd like! 

How did you lovelies celebrate Fashion's Night Out? Was your city as nuts as mine sounded?! Hope you guys had a better experience! I just enjoyed the company of my pals :)