Loving it: Sephora Colorista

Seriously, it was about time. Why didn’t Sephora think to do this earlier?

I’m blabbing about the new “Colorista” summer color palette from Sephora. Honestly, if you only want to buy one item of makeup this summer that’s going to see you through everyday, work, weekend, fun and/or special events, THIS is it!

Forty (40!) eyeshadows, both matte and shimmery, that cover the most wearable neutrals to some pretty colorful brights, to downright smoky colors…

If that wasn’t enough, it also comes with five cream liners, form your basic black and brown to a beautiful bright seafoam that I have been drooling over since I first got this palette in my grubby little hands.

But wait, there’s more! Six face colors (four blushes and two bronzers) in different finishes AND no less than fifteen lipglosses in every color under the sun.

  

   

Sephora has been releasing this palettes every now and then for as long as I can remember… the first ones were not that great in my opinion: the pigmentation was lacking, they were chalky and powdery, and let’s not talk about that awful synthetic smell that slapped you in the face as soon as you opened the cover. A waste of cash.

But I am a sucker for palettes, so I’ve kept an eye on them year after year and I have to say that every season they got better and better, and the two most recent ones were very close to great… This one takes the cake. Mostly because:

1- the quality of the shadows is so good. No, i’m not saying that these are the best eyeshadows on the market. Let’s be honest, they are not Chanel… nor do they cost as much. But they are pretty darn good enough for my equal-opportunity-eyeshadow-loving taste: they apply evenly, not too much fall out and they are soooo pigmented! I’ve swatched a few random ones on my arm to show you. I barely touched my finger to the eyeshadow and wiped it on my arm. The colors are intense and opaque, and I, for one, am impressed

2- have I mentioned that the whole palette is only $28? Yep, you read it right: $28. (Or, the equivalent of a pack of gum and a bottle of water at the Sconset Market!)

3- their clever packaging: this is no regular palette where the individual shadows are glued to the bottom and you have to cart the whole thing around with you. These shadows come in individual metal pans that stick to the palette because it’s magnetized. Oh yeah, magnetized! Which means, using the enclosed “tool” (ok, it’s just a pointy stick) you can lift each color you want to use and transfer it to the enclosed mini-palette and just put it in your purse, ready to reapply wherever you are! The mini-palette has a mirror and holds 6 round pans (maybe 4 shadows, a liner and a lip gloss?) and two face colors (blush and bronzer). There you have it, your whole face in a compact smaller than your wallet. And you can pop them out and get different colors for the following day! You just can’t beat that!

By far, the best buy of the season. :)

You can get it HERE.

Bigger pictures are HERE

Look: Radiant

So Stila has these little “Road to Radiance” palettes: 4 eye shadows and a convertible cheek/lip color, all cuddled up in an adorable package with a mirror, ready to go on the road with you.

The best part? They are only $10. Yep, that’s right, $10. A huge bargain, if you ask me, considering that each of their individual eye shadows costs $18 and the convertible colors are $25. You just can’t pass these up!

This one is named “across the U.S.A.” The colors are pinks and plums, admittedly not very vibrant, but perfect for a radiant and soft every day kind of look. Pair them up with a somewhat deeper lip color and voila! you look put together in less time that it takes your morning coffee to brew…

     Click HERE to see more…

Looks: Togetherness

Face: BE Matte Foundation in Fairly Light

Cheeks: MAC Pink Swoon blush

Eyes: MAC Togetherness eyeshadow trio, Kat von D Autograph liquid eyeliner in Puro Amor, Cover Girl Lash Blast mascara in Black.

Lips: NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Sex Machine, BE 100% Natural Lip Gloss in Seven Layer Cake (Yum!)

See more pics HERE!!!

       

CAUTION: SHARP EDGES
-Click on the photo to view more-

CAUTION: SHARP EDGES

-Click on the photo to view more-

Looks: Dark Lust

This is a great smoky eye: dark charcoal on the lid, accented with the darkest glittery plum on the outer corner and lower lash line. Get some liquid liner going, some falsies, pair the whole thing up with a very pale lip, and voila! you are ready to go, and it only took literally two minutes…

You can see the rest of the pics HERE

Face: BE Matte foundation in Fairly Light

Cheeks: NARS blush in Sin

Eyes: WetnWild palette in Lust, Stila Kajal eyeliner in Onyx on the waterline, L’Oreal Lineur Intense liquid liner in Carbon Black, Ardell false lashes

Lips: NARS lipgloss in Striptease

Look: naughty and nice

As promised, here is the first look I did with my super-duper WetnWild Lust palette; it’s kind of light, appropriate for day or evening, if you are tame…

You can see the rest of the pics HERE.

Here is what I used:

Face: Bare Escentuals Matte Foundation in Fairly Light

Cheeks: Bare Escentuals blush in Posh

Eyes: WetnWild palette in Lust, Paula Dorf eyeliner in Baby Eyes on waterline, liquid liner L’Oreal Lineur Intense in Carbon Black on top lash line, Cover Girl Lash Blast in Black.

Lips: Bare Escentuals Buxom gloss in Strawberry Shortcake and Smashbox lipgloss in Prep on top.

A second look using the darker shades in the same palette is in the works!

Tumbs Up: Wet’n’Wild eyeshadow palettes

LUST.

No, that’s the name of this palette. Lust, by no other than WetnWild.

$4.95 at Dan’s Pharmacy. I kid you not.

I wouldn’t call myself a makeup or beauty snob. You could say that I don’t discriminate against any product because of its origin. But still, I know by experience that certain things (read: eyeshadows) should not be bought at your local pharmacy, ever.

Or so I thought, up until the exact moment I opened this little unassuming palette, while cursing under my breath at my total inability to stay away from pretty colors. Had I not learnt my lesson? Had I not spent enough money through the years trying to make drugstore eyeshadows work to feed a small third world country for a year, only to find out, AGAIN, that the colors don’t show up, that they are gritty or muddy or cracked or impossible to work with? Why, oh why, do I keep doing this to myself?

Read More

Look: Danger Kitty

Feeling kittenish for some reason.

What? Kittenish is not really a word, you say? Of course it is, i just used it in a sentence! ;p)

Anyhow, on a day like today when I’m just a little bored and I have just a little extra time what I like to do is play with my makeup. (Surprise, surprise, I know!)

I like to experiment with different products and shades and I come up with crazy color combinations, or wearable ones, depending on the mood. I usually practice a look on one eye and a different one on the other, and that’s why you’ll see photographs of only half of my face (you are welcome).

And don’t worry, I don’t actually leave the house looking like that, although I have answered the door and received a few horrified stares from the unsuspecting visitors… (my baby cries if she sees me like this, I guess she can’t figure out which side of my face is “mami”?)

So, i thought a little cat eye was in order! It’s still summer, so I kept the colors bright and sunshiny… to see the rest of the pics go HERE

Bridal Beauty: Mirka & Pete’s Wedding

Mirka is a Slovak beauty with perfect skin and beautiful brown eyes. For her wedding, a very Nantucket-casual affair on the beach with just a handful of family and friends, she requested a natural look, she wanted to look “like herself”.

Read More

Tutorial: Classic smoky eye

Few looks are so dramatic and attention-getting as the smoky eye. It’s everyone’s favorite! It’s sultry, sensual, sexy, it looks good on everyone and -bonus!- it’s not hard to do. Trust me.

Just follow these simple steps and you’ll be sporting this look to your next event, a special night out or that first date. Heck, you’ll look so hot you’ll even be wearing it to the grocery store!

Read More