Summer Staple 1 - theBalm Staniac in Beauty Queen

Hello everyone!

I hope everyone is finally getting a well deserved cool off period.  Here in the Midwest, we were getting pummeled with heat and little to no rain.  This past week has been a godsend for the rain and break in heat.

Today I have for you a product that I often overlooked, but has become a staple this summer...theBalm's Staniac in Beauty Queen.  They describe this as a "hint of tint for cheeks and lips".  The tint comes in a tube with a wand and doe foot applicator.  You get 8.5g or 0.3 oz of gel tint.  Screw top ensures for a nice, tight seal on the bottle.

theBalm Staniac in Beauty Queen

The formula of this tint is a gel, which I found a bit interesting to work with at first.  For a tint/gel, this is actually forgiving as long as you don't wait an eternity.  Beauty Queen is a berry pink, very sheer, but extremely buildable.  I am not usually a fan of light stains...they never seem to work for me.  But Staniac did. On lips is actually very nice, though prepping is important.  On cheeks it is bright, sheer, and almost dewy if you do not powder over it.  

swatch - direct sun light

This is one pass of the wand, blended out.  A pinky, berry stain.  I like that this lasts through some serious summer temps and also through my sweat.  One of the biggest pluses about this tint is that it is not sticky.  Once rubbed into the skin, its smooth and dry and good to go!  I throw this on top of some tinted moisturizer, lightly powder my oily areas, wp mascara, lip conditioner and I am out the door :)

Summer staples that are fast, easy and always worth letting someone else know.  :D

Update 7/12/12

Hey there everyone!

Sorry for being so MIA...I have been in the process of moving to a new place for the past couple of weeks!!! And I am also working on a movie being filmed locally where I am the makeup artist!  Needless to say, this has been pushed to the back of my list, and I hate that.

What do other blogging and non-blogging ladies do when they need a little girl/makeup/spa/shopping time but just cannot seem to find the time?

Before the move, I purchased a new camera...Canon EOS Rebel T3.  Very happy and in love with it, I must admit.

I tried some practice shots and here they are...

Alleyway, walking mall, Kalamazoo MI

Walking mall, Kalamazoo MI

In no way am I a photographer...but am getting in practice to become a better one for my blog.  For you!

Beauty Blogazon Weekly Roundup

1. Pink Sparklz- New Trend: Matching your lips to your nails! VS Glossy Lip Tint -Boudoir Pink Swatch
2. Miss Merli In NYC- Featuring Brooklyn Designer Sam Branman and his mesh creations
3. Tolmu Rull Tells All- What to pack into your beauty bag for travelling? See, what frequent flyer Tolmu Rull packs!
4. Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom- Blurple is the perfect shade for summer, and Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom picks Cult Nails Tied Up as the best.
5. I Like My Polish Black Just Like My Metal- Penguins, nail polish, and bright pink! Oh my! Find out what all these three things have in common and how good they all look together.
6. Cosmetics Aficionado- See the Soho Beauty brushes popping up but not sure if you should buy? Check out my review of their Professional Crease Brush.
7. Holographic Hussy- Dollish Polish stunning Expecto Patronum in all its glory...
8. My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog- Laura from My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog share her Tart Deco Dots on Manic(ure) Monday!
9. Emily Hudspeth, Bringing the Beauty to You!- Trying out a new monthly beauty sample service. Emily shares her first month of Sample Society by the Beauty Bar.
10. Ishah x Beauty- How to DIY Ombre Hair at Home? Ishah x Beauty has you covered.
11. Beauty By Miss L- Miss L did a simple, but eye-catching mani with dots.
12. Sincerely Stephanie- Loving the colour blocking trend, but looking for a new take on it? Sincerely Stephanie shows you how to get the look dottified.
13. myCosmeticBag- Love black nail polish and gradient manicures? Sink your teeth into Anisha's 'Berry Vampiric' nail look.
14. Phyrra- Phyrra is a Superstar with the new Fyrinnae collection!
15. Beauty Apocalypse- Want a sophisticated eye? Beauty Apocalypse gives a review of Stila's "Ladies Who Lunch" collection.
16. Mani Curiously- Loving the NARS Thakoon Collection? Be sure to check out E's matte take on this stunning cyan blue polish!
17. DeyiMizu- Read about the fabulous all-in-one African Shea Butter!
18. Shades Of Beauty, Inc.- REVIEW: China Glaze Neons...Shimmer Highlights
19. Beauty Product Review- Read all about the Jouer samples that I just can't stop raving about
20. Midnight Manicures- Dazzle Dry, Vegan and Big 5-Free. Performs like a Gel, removes like a Polish.
21. Thepassengerelement- 100th beauty blog post ft Tarina Tarantino's Victorian Punk eyeshadow
22. Cosmetically Challenged- Which Glitter Hue is right for you? Cosmetically Challenged puts 5 brands head to head in the battle of the Purple and Blue Glitter Nail Polishes.
23. Nails Beautiqued- Summertime fun with Jessica Cosmetics "Gelato Maio" nailpolish collection lots of mouthwatering pastels
24. The Lacquerologist- Contrasting colors and finishes come together in this beautiful polka dot manicure from the Abstract Nail Art Challenge!

Tarina Tarantino Eye Dream Hypershadow in Victorian Punk (100th post)

Welcome to my 100th blog post!!!

I just want to thank everyone who reads this blog.  I go day in, day out, thinking that no one notices my little corner of the internet.  It has taken quite a bit of time to get here.  Some days it was easier than others to produce a post, others I was churning them out like butter!  I may not be the wittiest, prettiest, richest or have the best photos in the world, but this is my passion...always has been, always will be.  My dream is to continue to do this for as long as I can.  Thank you once again.

Now, on the the pretties!!!

I present to you Tarina Tarantino's Eye Dream Hypershadow in Victorian Punk! 

TT hypershadow - packaging

Can we just pause for a second and say "holy ****, what cute packaging!" for a second?  Shown here is Tarina Tarantino's Eye Dream Hypershadow in Victorian Punk.  I had purchased this shadow at Sephora when they were still carrying this particular line of shadows.  Yes, unfortunately this is discontinued, but still deserves its just due.  The shadow itself is 2.5g, a decent little shadow that comes in a plastic, click, clam shell compact.  The plastic itself is very much like the shadow, shimmery awesomeness.  The compact is mirrored and closes tightly.

TT Victorian Punk - open shot - direct sunlight

Yes.  I know, I am drooling too.  Just looking inside gets me to want to do loop-de-loops.  The formulation of these shadows is to die for.  They are soft, easily blendable, but because of the level of shimmer, have a minute amount of fallout.  This is a mid-range purple heavy with gold, microfine shimmer.  Alone or over bases, this looks amazing, and plays well.  I have yet to use this dry (what is my problem? :p)

TT Victorian Punk swatch - direct sunlight

My favorite aspect of this lovely shadow is that it layers very well.  Now, I like to layer this A LOT!    Using this shadow for a wash does not work for me, but your mileage may vary.  Though the amount of shimmer may look intimidating, its micro-fine texture makes this one very wearable shadow.  I have worn this in looks to work even!  For dupes, I have seen that some say Revlon's Violet Starlet is close.  But from what I have seen, Victorian Punk is much more deep and rich in color.

This shadow caused me to look deeper into Tarina Tarantino's line which is actually very nice.  I have since purchased a few items that you can still find now.  I am looking forward to blogging about those in the future!

If anyone knows of any dupes for this shadow, please let me know :)

Once again, thank you for helping get to 100 posts and here is to the next 100!  Cheers!

LORAC multidimensional shadow in 3D-licious / Swatch (UD Lounge DUPE)

The purpose of this particular post was to let you know about LORAC's eyeshadow in 3D-Licious, one of a few that came out for their Multidimensional shadow range.  From what I remember, this was a kit that had 3 shadows and a lovely clutch, a palette, and there may have been another kit in there.  This came out a while ago, and I was lucky enough to purchase my shadows from Ulta.

LORAC 3D-licious eyeshadow

This little pot is 1.7g of awesome duo-chrome.  The duo-chrome flash is green, brown and red.  The formulation of this shadow is to die for.  I have always been a fan of LORAC shadows as they tend to be very soft, very buttery and a dream to blend.  The quality extends to all of the shadow formulations...from the matte, to the shimmery, to the satin.  

shadow description

open shadow pan (brown.green.red flash)

open shadow pan (direct sunlight)

This shadow is a combination of a few colors on me.  Keep in mind that I only use a few bases with it.  For true to pan color, I use either LORAC's Behind the Scenes primer or Too Faced Shadow Insurance.  For colored  bases, I use a NYX JEP in a dark color, or MUFE's Flash color Palette in a dark color as well.  My favorites have been dark brown, dark green or black.  This is a shadow I tend to use all over the eye, as once blended, it looks different from certain angles.  


I like to put on my base, pack the shadow onto my lid, and blend the color up into and above my crease.  The lid itself retains all of the duo-chrome gorgeousness, while on me, the shadow falls into a reddish brown gradient in the crease.  

Swatch: LORAC 3D-licious (natural, direct sunlight)

If you are saying to yourself "Have I not seen this color before on this girl's blog, and was it not Urban Decay's Lounge?"  Then yes, you are correct.  I find this to be an exact dupe of UD's Lounge eyeshadow.  To view an eye look with it, please go HERE.  


Here is a side by side of the shadows...

LORAC's 3D-licious vs. UD Lounge shadow

Lounge has a bit more of a reddish undertone on  me than 3D-licious...but boy aren't they pretty?  I am in the process of getting 3 other very close dupes of this color.  Stay tuned :)


What are everyone's favorite duo-chromes?

Stash Discovery - Prescriptives Lip Polish in ARDOR

Prescriptives Lip Polish in Ardor 14

TA-DA!!!  Why I waited to so long to use this I have no idea!  This is one exceptional little pot of goodness.  One thing you will learn about me is that I am all about a bright lip.  Reds especially.  Most of my lip products are red, red toned...you get the idea.  I had purchased this at beautyticket.com a few years back when they were selling makeup (when did they go all skincare on us?).

This gloss is enclosed in a plastic, screw top style jar.  The jar itself is frosted plastic and the top is clear so you can see the product.  I believe this was already out of stores when I scored it on beautyticket.  Here is this lovely gloss for your enjoyment!

This pot is filled with a slightly thick, slightly sticky, gorgeously sheer gloss.  It has a nice cling to the lips and the stick helps it last throughout its wear time.  My favorite way of wearing this is over any matte red lipstick or red lipstain.  Once this wears away, it leaves behind a semi shiny, light red stain.  I consider this to be a true red.  I really do wish I would have gotten more of these when I could find them, but alas...I did not.  The pot itself has lasted quite awhile without the product changing or going rancid.

Blended swatch of Ardor

Thanks for looking everyone :)

Stila Illuminating Finishing Powder in Bronze - swatch

The sun was completely gracious this weekend and decided to let me take some great swatch pictures!  I was excited as I do not have good lighting at all in my apartment.

With summer just around the corner, I decided to show you Stila's Illuminating Finishing Powder (IFP) in Bronze...

Stila IFP in Bronze

This is one BIG pot of Bronze!  Now, I am not an aficionado when it comes to bronzers.  I do not wear them at all, but that's more out of not knowing how to use them.

I would not necessarily use this as a bronzer as it is quite quite shimmery.  In the pan it looks like it may lend a sheen to things, but once on the skin, you can see how shimmery it really is.

heavy swatch - lt / blended swatch - rt

This color strikes me as more "rose gold" than bronze, especially when blended.  You do need a light hand with this.  The first few times I used it I had to become accustomed to how pigmented this product really is.  Running a brush across the pan can make the product "flake" a bit...does not look like you are picking up a ton of product.  Once on the skin it blends nicely.  Just one more product that I need to learn to use properly and give some well deserved love to :)

Thanks for stopping by!