Review: M.A.C. Nicki Minaj Lipstick

"Starships were meant to fly ...

Hands up and touch the sky ...

Can't stop 'cause we're so high ...

Let's do this one more time!"

Alright, I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't the biggest Nicki Minaj fan when this lipstick came out. Heck, I don't think I cared for or against her to be honest. She's growing on me. What I can is that I am a sucker for the Viva Glam lipstick packaging! When I saw this bright color inside I just died and went to bright lip colored heaven! Viva Glam Nicki Minaj is a yellow based bright pink color. It's out for te year and all proceeds ($14.50) go to the M.A.C. Aids Fund.

This lipstick is a Satin finish and I'm not that familiar with what a satin finish entails. It had a bit of sheen, not so much gloss, to it which I liked it. It was a little difficult to apply this lipstick. It seems to accentuate the lines and dry spots on your lips. The color is absolutely gorgeous when you wear it on what I call a "perfectly-smooth-lip" day and the pigmenttaion is opaque. The only thing I would say is that this formula leans toward the drier side. 

The lipstick wore on me about two hours before it started to fade. I am a lip biter and lick my lips a lot for some reason and unintentionally so regardless of the lipstick wear, I always seem to need reapplication. On someone without these odd tendencies I'd give about 3 - 4 hours before it started to fade. 

Viva Glam Nicki Minaj is what I like to call the bright Barbie pink lipstick. I really do feel like a Barbie doll whenever I wear it out. It'll be perfect for the summer time wether you're going out with friends, on a date, or just to the beach. I, personally, would even wear it out (if I had somewhere to go that is). 

I'm on the look out for more Barbie pinks! If you guys have any that you've seen be sure to let me know! Also, let me know if how you like this lipstick or if you're thinking about picking it up soon!

xo

Birchbox May 2012: Gossip Girl

It's finally arrived! My first (and the Gossip Girl) Birchbox!

 When my mom told me it came in the mail I literally ran towards my door, snatched up the box, and ran to my room to tear it open! You can't really see in this shot (surprisngly!) but there's a HUGE gash on the box. I couldn't wait to open because 1.) it was my first ever Birchbox and 2.) I did some digging around (accidentally, on purpose) and sort of knew what my be in some of the boxes and was hoping one of my favorites would be mine! 

Above is what was inside my box. I was so excited that I hadn't bothered to read the little card that was on top of the tissue paper. I was SO thrilled to see the Stila Waterproof Eyeliner in Curacao! I've been getting into colored liners so this was just amazing! Then I saw mini Color-Club nail polish in Disco Nap (two things I would never have thought to put together). I've always wanted a mini polish, I just think they're so cute and the fact that it was gold was cherry on top! I've been dying to find a metallic gold that was just purely that and no other gizmos inside. This was perfect and I can't wait to try it out!

The next things I got, I'll be honest, I was not to thrilled about and kind of smacked me out my sample high. I got three Kerastase hair product samples. The two packets (which I thought were the same sample) are a shampoo and conditioner for fine and luscious hair. My hair may be luscious but it certainly is not fine. And I also got a serum of some sort for dry ends which I actually got sort of excited to try because fine hair I don't have, but dry ends I certainly do!

After the excitement died down I went to read the card and discovered that I was actually missing a sample! The one that I was hoping wholeheartedly to get! It was the Dr. Jart BB Cream! I was kicking myself because it said on my note card that I was supposed to receive it and it was no where to be found! I didn't want to have a problem with my first box, but I feel sort of initiated now. I e-mailed customer service and hopefully they get back to me soon and send me off my sample!

All in all, this was really exciting and I'm happy with my box, regardless of the BB Cream not being there (even though I REALLY wanted it!). Unfortunately, I don't think I will continue with my subscription. These days $10 may not seem like much but I feel like I could put that towards beauty products I know I'll like.

xo

Late Night Thoughts

This isn't going to be any sort of review as it's 1:39 am here in New York and I can't create any more logical sentences after writing my 8 page paper all in one go. Now I'm sitting here wondering if the previous sentence was a run on ...

Have you ever been in that weird daze where you're tired but you can't fall asleep? That's me right now and how do I spend my time? Online shopping. Or browsing at least. 

I'm going to the city tomorrow and sort of want to stop by LUSH because I seriously haven't in the longest time! Except for my little impromptu dash into the Atlantic City shop. I want to pick up all two of their Mother's Day bubble bar wands and maybe a Twilight bath bomb. I have officially run out of bubble bathing products and their by far my favorite. Have any of you ever gone into a LUSH before? How addictive is it?

I'm thinking of reviewing the bubble wands and comparing it to the Magic Wand bubble bar that came out during the Holiday season. 

I also sort of want to stop by the M.A.C. Pro Store and see if they have any Show Orchid in stock. It's a beautiful fuchsia lipstick that would take a pretty ballsy person to wear, but I need it for my collection! Have you ever just needed a color to have in your collection? I went in the PRO store last week and they didn't have any. It was so strange going into the Pro store. I felt like I totally did not belong in there and the workers all knew it. It's SO intimidating, but I'll call tomorrow and see if it's in stock. Fingers crossed!

It seems that I can never have enough lipsticks. I have a lipstick holder that fits 24 lipsticks and it's already more than 2/3 full. I still want more! Hahaha, all of them are bright lipsticks that sort of fit an 'occasion' so I've been thinking of getting M.A.C. Chatterbox or Angel. Have any thoughts on which?

Haha, so I see from rereading this that my late night, term paper fried thoughts consist of a shopping list. No wonder my wallet's always empty! Well I'll leave it at that, as to not make the shopping list any longer. Have a goodnight!

Recreating A Look

Every time I see a picture on the web and the model's make up is done brilliantly I always wonder how I can go about recreating it. I am as amateur as amateur gets with make-up. Figuring out colors is one hurdle, the next one is trying to figure out what order all of it goes in! 

I saw this picture on a tumblr dashboard (I couldn't find out who the photo belongs to so if it is yours please let me know! I want to give proper credit). I had just bought the MakeUp Forever Aqua Eyes 5 eyeliner and needed to procrastinate from studying for finals so I decided to take on my first recreation!

That's what I came up with. The colors are a lot brighter in the original picture and I couldn't seem to get my black eyeshadow as dark as the models! I'm pretty pleased with the eyeliner (color and application) although the model's eyeliner makes mine look as dull as a cloudy sky! The make up looks a lot better in the photo than in person if I'm going to be honest. If I closed my eye, it was just all over the place!

Regardless, I did have trying to recreate a look. I think it's good practice for when I apply my own make up. It really helps me see what colors would look great together in a make up application! Let me know what you guys think! :)

Quick Update!

I have a birthday haul post and a few reviews coming soon but I just needed to get this out there! If you don't already own Sigma brushes, get some! They seriously do the work for you. I'm doing my make-up right now and I can't get over how beautifully it's picking up the color and blending everything! So amazing and just wanted to update for you guys ;)

Review: Benefit's Hervana

It's actually so appropriate that this blush is packaged with clouds and an angel's halo; it truly is a gods send blush! Hervana is absolutely brilliant and excuse me while I try to put into words just how amazing it is!

Benefit's Hervana blush. I'm not sure if it was marketed this way or I just heard it somewhere on YouTube or read on someone's blog but what I heard was "The blush for pale people..." Not even the BEST or it's GREAT for ... just THE best. And oh my ... whoever said that had probably never spoken truer words. It's a fantastic, natural pink-peach. It effortlessly blends into the skin and looks beautiful wether it's sheered out or not. Hervana has been my go to blush since the day I bought it! It makes me look fresh and well rested which is something I don't normally hear about a blush! A good dupe for this blush is MACs Well Dressed although I think that one has a little more pink to it! 

The swatch above to the left is a layered swatch of all the colors swirled and then the one on the right is the blush blended out with the brush it comes with! This really is a fabulous blush for pale people! It's light so I don't know how it would appear on darker skin tones but this blush is a dream so I would definitely recommend it!

Gossip Girl Birchbox

Beauty boxes seem to be popping up everywhere nowadays. For good reason too, I'm guessing! You pay $10 a month to get samples of beauty products that you'd probably never think to try unless it came packaged this way! Birchbox is one of the more popular ones, or at least the one you hear talked about the most through the beauty community. I've always been skeptical about signing up because you'd hear wishy washy things about the quality of the things that came in your box. Birchbox seems to be picking things up though and I've heard only positive things!

I've been torn with getting a subscription just because I sort of spent a fortune at IMATS and was wondering if $10 was really worth spending. Today I got an e-mail from Birchbox announcing their May Birchbox which is going to be Gossip Girl themed. I remember hearing how much of a success the Teen Vogue Birchbox was and knew that if I were ever going to try out a box would have to be now! I've been really into Gossip Girl as of late (it's on Netflix instant and I cannot stop watching it!) so this box almost seems like a sign that it's time to subscribe to a beauty box! 

I'm not sure if the one I'll be getting will be the Gossip Girl box though because my signing up was sort of strange. I e-mailed the customer service team and will hopefully hear back from them soon! Regardless I'm really looking forward to receiving my first Birchbox!

Are any of you guys subscribed to a beauty box? Which ones are you faves? Are you looking forward to this Gossip Girl box as much as I am? :)

Review: Sephora Collection Mermaid to Order

Have any of you ever bought a product because you were so in love with the name? Regardless of if you were ever going to use it or not? Well this polish was one of those for me. The name of this Sephora by O.P.I. nail lacquer is Mermaid to Order. I love anything to do with mermaids so I was sold on this before even seeing the swatch. Although the name does do it a lot of justice.

with flash

Mermaid to Order is a gorgeous metallic, predominantly blue, based teal. In the bottle there's almost a duo chrome of green to it that reminds you of the sea right before night falls. The consistency is like most of the O.P.I. nail lacquers that I have tried which is really good. Two coats will get it to a nice opaque and shimmering color. It really does look like scales of a mermaids tail!

without flash

The only thing that I can see being of an issue for some is that this nail polish does streak. But this color is truly beautiful for the summertime and looks especially amazing in the sunlight!

Review: NARS Mediterranee

NARS eyeshadow duos are notorious for either being a total hit or a total miss. My take on this is that you've got to LOVE both colors or it's going to seem like it has fallen short. I have blue eyes and I know that what compliments blue is orange. Since oranges and corals are in, I've been dying to find an brilliant orange that I'd want to wear forever. Originally I had planned on looking at MAC Rule or MAC Orange but the orange in this duo caught my eye before I even got the chance to look at the former. 

I had only swatched the Orange when I knew I had to have it. The NARS duos retail for $34 dollars which isn't a steal, but it's not a total bust. The NARS Mediterranee duo comes with a very light, almost  peachy, shimmering orange and then a true, albeit slightly on the deeper side, orange. The color pay off of the lighter shade is slightly sheer, while the orange shade swatches like a charm. I can honestly tell you guys that I was about to buy this duo (the $34) without even looking at the other shade. But these two colors can be paired so well together and with other colors that I'm glad I gave it a glance ;) The few times I've used the duo together I put the lighter shade on 3/4 of the lid and then the orange shade on the outer V and a little in the crease. It's subtle and effortless. It's a very fresh, summery look that I think would look great on anyone. These colors really blend well and I think this is one of those knock out duos that NARS has created.

If you've got baby blues or are just loving the orange/coral trend, I'd highly recommend you give this duo a try!

Retail Therapy: NYC IMATS 2012

Walking into IMATS, for any beauty enthusiast (professionals and amateurs alike), is like walking into a candy store. All of the various companies set up so nicely ready for you to 'ooh' and 'ahh' at their latest and greatest. They pull you in with colors set out so you can go forth and play. I was no exception to this clever trap.

I'd like to think that I picked up a nice amount of things at IMATS; nothing more than what I came there to get. But I can assure you all that next year my wallet with loathe me.

NYC IMATS Haul

Naked pigments

IMATS

1. NYX Cosmetics
• 4 single panned eyeshadows (Light Green, Lanikai, Hot Pink, and Lagoon Sparkle)
• Cream blush in Glow
• Powder blush in Terra Cotta
• Aqua Shimmer eye liner
• Roll on Shimmer Green
2. Kandy Cosmetics
• Liquid Sugar
• 3 eye glitters (Chiclet, Tiny Tart, and Peach Fizz)
3. Naked Cosmetics
• Tropical pigment stack

This entire haul set me back about $100 which is CAH-RAZY considering I was ready to spend about $300. The prices were insanely low and I know, knowing that, I will go insane next time. I'll be sure to review and swatch them as I begin to use them! 

Retail Therapy: Sephora & M.A.C.

In celebration before the day of IMATS my friend Julia and I decided to break in our wallets and shop around the city. What we should have probably been doing is breaking in our shoes. I still can't feel my feet. We went to Sephora and M.A.C. to get things we thought would be essential and something we couldn't get at IMATS. Here's what I walked away with.

Sephora

• Benefit Watt's Up
• Benefit Hervana
• Nars Eyeshadow Duo (Mediterranee)
• Sephora Collection Eyelash Curler (Aquamarine)

M.A.C.

• 4 Eyeshadows in: Arena, Sumptuous Olive, Satin Taupe, and Cranberry
• M.A.C. Wipes (30 pack)
• Studio Finish SPF 35 Concealer (NW15)

NYC IMATS 2012

I heard about IMATS through my best internet bud Julia. We both like to obsess over very similar things and one day she asked if I knew what IMATS was. All I could think was that it was some sort of brush company, but soon discover the majesty of what IMATS truly is.

IMATS: International Make-up Artistry Trade Show

Although I’m sure many of you already know, it’s a convention for those who want to appreciate the artistry of make-up and also drop a dime on some great discounted finds on some favorite make-up brands. 

Julia and I went together and it was the most magical day of my life. Almost as magical as Disney, but there were no characters walking around. Just well dressed people with absolutely brilliant make-up. We got there pretty early, around 9:15 am, and it was slightly packed. Trying to get a swatch of any NYX blushes was a trek in itself. There was so much to ogle at and so much to swatch! My arm is still stained from the various cream blushes and eyeliners I had played around with. 

INGLOT was just the craziest booth that I had seen that day. Okay, I’m a little biased because I did have to wait an hour and 15 minutes to get jumbled service and ended up walking away with nothing. I’m happy to report that the show did redeem itself. The Naked Cosmetics booth was amazing. The pigments are seriously to DIE for! I can see why xsparkage adores them and owns every stack! 

Things started to pick up (and by that I mean the lines) around noon when all the youtube beauty gurus had arrived and everyone was flocking to meet them. Julia and I were excited to know they were there (she screamed “I LOVE YOU” to Fleur and then ran away, hahaha!) but we were just SO exhausted that our energy level completely crashed and we left after having just glanced at every booth. 

We walked away with pretty decent hauls and I’ll be sure to post here what I got as well as swatch and review them as well! Don’t know too many people with my skin tone who swatch, so if you’re severely pale, welcome! I think you’re going to like it here!

All in all, I would say that IMATS, as my first ever IMATS, was a success. I didn’t overspend and I didn’t feel like I walked away without getting everything I would want. I also came away with a lot of tips for next time to make it more enjoyable and not as strenuous!

If anyone went hope you had a great time! Can’t wait till next year ;)

I am not a make up artist by any means.

Bon soir! I am Jessica. Notorious YouTube beauty guru watcher and a frequent make-up swatcher. My fascination with the world of make-up grows more and more each day as I discover new products, new colors, new textures, and new ways of being artistic every day. 

The name says it all: Faux Guru. Literally translating into “fake” guru. I’d like to take that and have it mean “not a guru” because I’m not. I’m an 18 (soon to be 19) year old girl with a growing interest in the world of make-up and its artistry. 

Swatches, reviews, and some of my favorite beauty finds are sure to come. Care to join?