Beauties in Bloom

Hello!! Giveaway time!! I hit 100 followers a little over a week ago so as a thank you to all my supporters, both new and old, I've decided to hold my first giveaway! I've really enjoyed running this blog and I appreciate all of you SOO much for reading it!! I had a lot of fun choosing out the items, so I really hope you like them! They are either products I love to use, would like to try, or by brands that I really like! Some are full sized, some are sample sized, but I hope that the winner will enjoy them! I will probably throw in some other stuff that aren't in the picture as well! How to Enter: -You must be a follower of my blog (via google friend connect) -Leave a comment below on this post with your name and email (please comment only once!). -If you'd like a second entry, you can post on your blog about this giveaway! Just be sure to link your blog post in the comments below so I know about it! -You must be 18 years or older to enter (or have your pare...

Hello!! Sorry for the short absence, I haven't had much free time this past week because of end of the year stuff and i'm so happy and excited to say that I graduated from college last Thursday! Yay!! Back to makeup, here's the beautiful Nars Galapagos that I treated myself to last week. I am absolutely in love... Nars describes it as:  "bitter chocolate infused with gold" These pictures don't do the color justice at all! It's the most beautiful brown! You can sort of see the golden shimmer in the pictures, but it's even prettier in person. The color is a gorgeous warm brown with gold shimmer. The pigmentation is excellent. It is not as smooth as my nars mekong (which is ridiculously buttery), but it is still incredibly soft, easily blendable, and pigmented. One thing that I was initially worried about with Galapagos was if the gold shimmer would actually show up on the eyes. It definitely does if you apply it correctly: packing it on with a shader b...

I've been wanting to dedicate a post to TheBalm's Mary-Lou Manizer because i think it's really a beautiful product! I've had it for a little over 2 weeks and I can already say that it is one of my favorite products ever! Here's some pictures... Cute packaging! As you can see it's a beautiful golden-y beige champagne highlighter that you can use to highlight your cheeks, eyeshadow, brow bone, decolletage, etc.. Swatched on the left (one swipe!) and blended out on the right It is GORGEOUS! The pigmentation is amazing, you only need the tiniest bit to blend onto your cheek bones to give you a beautiful, natural looking, ethereal glow. There is no heavy glitter, it just has a subtle sheen to it and even though it's a powder product, the texture is so soft it's almost cream-like. It's just really important to blend it since it is so pigmented! Also, this stuff stayed on my cheeks all day! I really have nothing bad to say about it at all, I love it. The pa...

Hi everyone! I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to all my followers and visitors, you guys are seriously awesome. It may not be a lot to some people but I"m SO excited to have reached 100 followers! I really appreciate it, it means so much to me that people are actually interested in what I've been writing about! Blogging has been such a great experience so far and I've especially enjoyed reading your comments and getting to know my readers and other bloggers! As a thank you, make sure to keep your eyes peeled for a giveaway I'll be holding! Details to come later :)

Just a simple brown look to go with Mac Ever Hip! Really loving this lipstick at the moment! Nars Cairo all over lid, Mac Smut in outer V, Rock & Republic Diffused in crease, Mac Femme Fi to highlight a non-smiley pic so you can see the lipstick color :) Products... Face: Laura Mercier Foundation Primer Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Laura Mercier Translucent Powder Bobbi Brown Corrector Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer Nars Casino Benefit Coralista TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer Eyes: Mac Painterly Paint Pot NYX Yogurt jumbo pencil Nars Cairo Mac Smut, Femme Fi Rock & Republic Diffused Buxom eyeliner in suede (dark chocolate brown color! rediscovered it in my stash recently! Covergirl Lashblast Lips: Mac Ever Hip Thanks for looking!

Long time no post, I'm ready to get back into the swing of things! Here's a look from last night! Decided to do a smokey green look to go with my current favorite (and most recently bought!) blush Illamasqua lover! Mac Humid on lid, Rock and Republic Envy on outer lid, Urban Decay Oil Slick to deepen outer v, Mac Wedge to blend crease, Mac Nylon to highlight Products... Face: Laura Mercier Foundation Primer Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer and Mineral Foundation Laura Mercier Translucent Powder Bobbi Brown Corrector Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer (As you can see I'm a huge fan of Laura Mercier face products! I love them!) Nars Laguna Illamasqua Lover Blush TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer Eyes: Mac Painterly Paint Pot Mac Humid, Wedge, Nylon Rock and Republic Envy Urban Decay Oil Slick Anastasia Brow Powder in Brunette Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner in black ink Covergirl Lashblast Lips: Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Soft Nude Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss in Sunset Peach (...

I'm guessing the hype has passed since this palette is almost a year old now, but I figured I'd dedicate a swatch post to it since it's such a wonderful palette and I use it SOOO much!! I took these pictures when I first got it so I'm a bit tanner in the swatch photos, but I hope they're helpful. My palette came with a mini urban decay primer potion and the double ended 24/7 eyeliner. I really like the eyeliner. I don't use the UDPP since it doesn't help with creasing on my lids (i trust my mac paint pots for that job!). click on the photos to enlarge! Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal I am definitely a neutral eyeshadow kind of gal, so these shadows are right up my alley. They all have a gorgeous buttery texture and blend like a dream, I just LOVE urban decay eyeshadows. If you don't love shimmery shadows this might not be the palette for you since there's really only two matte col...

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I'm just finishing up my last week of undergrad so I've been really busy! Here's a simple neutral look I did today using Mac Jardin Aires pigment. I need to figure out how to take clearer, better pictures because the camera didn't capture the loveliness of this pigment! I tried taking some eye pictures the last few days and didn't even bother posting them because they didn't come out well. Any advice?! Mac Jardin Aires on lid, Mac Sable in Crease, Mac Swiss Chocolate in Outer-V, Mac Brule as Highlight Products: Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer and Mineral Powder Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Bobbi Brown Corrector Nars Laguna Rock and Republic Bedroom Blush Mac Jardin Aires (a tiny bit on cheeks to highlight!) Anastasia Brow Powder Laura Mercier Translucent Powder Eyes: Mac Painterly Paint Pot Mac Jardin Aires, Sable, Swiss Chocolate, Brule, (and a tiny bit of wedge to blend the crease) Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in black ink...

Here's some products I've been loving the past month! - Real Techniques Blush Brush : This is one of the brushes from Samantha Chapman's brush collection sold at Ulta (she's one half of the Pixiwoo sisters on youtube!). It may be a bit big for some people, but for me this brush applies both sheer and pigmented blushes flawlessly! The shape is just perfect for defining my cheekbones smoothly without creating a terrible stripe of blush. And the best part? It's VERY affordable! - Rock and Republic Blending Blush : I've been using this brush to blend out colors in the crease and it does the job perfectly. It's a bit too fluffy for precise blending, but it does a wonderful job blending the crease with a bit of Mac Wedge at the tip! - Mac Hush Cream Colour Base : I've been using this to give a glow on the tops of my cheekbones. It's a very pretty pearl with a touch of peachy/pink. - Nars Mekong : Ever since I got this eyeshadow I've been using it nearl...

Today I went by the mall near me and of COURSE i had to walk by the makeup counters...I was pleasantly surprised that one of the Mac makeup artists told me they had one Mac Ever Hip lipstick left in stock (from the recent "Fashion Flower" collection, see temptalia for more info!). Online it seems like makeup lovers have been freaking out over the repromotion of this lipstick, so I would have been crazy to pass up something so wonderful, right? Nothing else had really caught my eye but this lipstick so I went ahead and got it. This is my second mac lipstick ever and after trying it on I am SO glad i purchased this! It's the perfect color for spring and summer! On to the pics... Ever hip is an extremely gorgeous creamy pinky-coral. I think it pulls a little bit more pink on me, which makes it more wearable on my skin tone. It's also a Cremesheen formula. To be perfectly honest, the only other lipstick from Mac I have is "Fanfare" which is also a Cremesheen fo...