FOTD & tutorial: Emerald Eye

Hey guys...just another tutorial for you. This one is a dark green smokey eye. Great for a night out.

Here we go:

1. The first thing I did was prime my entire lid. I used TFSI. Then I put down a thin layer of base from lashline to just above the crease. I used the green colour from my Make Up For Ever flash palette.

2. Then I picked up this light, shimmery greenfrom my cheapie Claire's palette.

3. And applied it to the crease.


4. Then I picked up this dark green with a slight shimmer from my Auraline palette.

5. I applied this colour from lashline to crease and to the outer 2/3 of my lower lashline.

6. I used a fluffy blending brush to buff out the 2 greens to get rid of any harsh lines and lightly applied MAC's soft brown eyeshadow to the upper crease, just above the light green.

7. Next I lined the upper lashline with a black eyeliner. You don't have to be too neat with it, since you're just going to smudge it out.

8. Then I took MAC's carbon eyeshadow and buffed it into the black liner and outer corner using a pencil brush. I lined my lower lashline and waterline and smudged some carbon overtop of the liner, added a highlight colour, like MAC's brule eyeshadow, to the brow bone and inner eye area
and threw on a pair of false lashes.

And this is what it looked like:

For my blush I used Nars torried blush, MAC's trace gold blush as a highlight and on my lips NYX's mega shine lip gloss in smokey look.

Hope you guys liked it!

Giveaway winner...

Hey guys, so here is the winner for the Marcelle 1st Wrinkles Eye Contour Cream...it is....



















JOANNA!


CONGRATS! I used Random.org and was kinda surprised when the number 1 came up. It's never the first person who wins...but she did this time! Okay Joanna, you have until Wednesday midnight PST to get your mailing info to me (makeupbabble@gmail.com).

Thanks to everyone else for joining, I really enjoyed reading all your thoughtful comments about your skin issues.

My GIVEAWAY ends tonite...

Hey all, just wanted to remind you that my giveaway ends tonite...so if you live in Canada or the US and are in you 20's or older, click here to got more info. It's really easy, all you have to do is answer 1 question and you might win one of these:

It's a Marcelle Essentials 1st Wrinkles Eye Contour Cream. Good luck to everyone who enters!

Swatches: Make Up For Ever Flash Color Palette

Hey guys! So has anyone seen the new Lady Gaga vid Bad Romance? I saw it
earlier today and I watched it like 5 times in a row. I love her last 2 vids. So artistic. And I know a lot of people don't like her, but I have a bit of a girl crush on her. Okay, a big girl crush on her since the Paparazzi video and there's this one shot of her in all black in a turtleneck sweater...I LOVE her hair in that shot. Okay, enough gushing and onto the swatches.

So here's the Make Up For Ever flash colour palette:

And here are the swatches in the same order:

I don't have a review up for you guys yet, cuz I haven't had the chance to really play with them. But I will tell you that they are more like grease paints than cream shadows. I keep reading everywhere that they're not very good cream shadows and it's cuz they're not cream shadows. So if you guys are interested in them, it's probably a good thing to know!

Once I get the chance to really play with them I'll give you guys a review on it. It's a short one today, just wanted to quickly post this before dinner! Talk to you guys soon and hope everyone's having a great day.

makeup battle: Revlon Colorstay 12 Hour Eyeshadow Quad vs. Maybelline Expertwear Eyeshadow Quad

Hey guys, hope everyone's having a great day so far! First of all I just want to remind you guys of my giveaway, it ends on Thursday so if you live in Canada or the US click here to check out the details.

So I wanted to introduce a new regular post I'll be doing (as often as I can remember to do it) called Makeup Battle. It's where I take 2 similar makeup products and pin them up against each other to see how they compare. So for my first war paint battle, it'll be the Revlon Colorstay Eyeshadow Quad (Neutral Khakis) vs. Maybelline's Expertwear Eyeshadow Quad (mocha motion).

Here's the Revlon quad with swatches:

And the Maybelline Quad with swatches:


I remember trying the Maybelline one way back in the day before I really got into the palettes and palettes of MAC eyeshadows and other name brand eyeshadows and I remember liking it back then. I wanted to see if it was really as good as I remember or if maybe it was inexperience that made it seem good so I picked one up. I picked the Revlon up shortly after since I was getting asked to do more drugstore brand reviews and hauls.

Okay, so I'll start with pros and cons.

Revlon PROS:
-good quantity of quads to choose from
-applied smoothly
-colours complemented each other well
-had a diagram on the back of packaging describing how to apply the colours
-long lasting
-eyeshadows were easy to blend
-each shadow was distinctly different from the others...colours didn't blend together into one big colour because of this which was great
-pretty good pigmentation

Maybelline PROS:
-good quantity or quads and colours to choose from
-had labels on the eyeshadows to tell you where to place the shadow (one had lid, another crease...etc)
-swatched quite easily
-inexpensive for 4 eyeshadows

And now the cons...

Revlon CONS:
-no matte shades in this specific palette (they were all shimmery or had a sheen)
-gold shade (2nd one down) didn't really show up on me, I really had to pack this one on and I'm not sure if it's because it's close to my skintone because I have ones from MAC that are similar, but show up a lot better

Maybelline CONS:
-all the colours, especially the highlight colour were SO chalky and it did not apply smoothly
-the crease, outer corner and lid colours just blended into one big mess of a colour, it was hard to differentiate where I'd placed each specific colour
-did not last very long even with primer (tfsi) and a base underneath (MAC soft ochre pp)
-I kept having to reapply the colours after attempting to blend them out because even the lightest amount of blending seemed to take the colour right off...it swatched easily, but it didn't apply to the lid easily, I had to pack pack pack it on
-didn't blend very well, I still had a distinct line that I could not buff out

And now for application pictures and comparisons (click to enlarge):

Here's the Revlon...

And the Maybelline...

I wanted to do a look that wasn't too crazy...something you could sport in the office, you know?

So for this, I applied the colours the way they labelled on the eyeshadows. I really had to work to get the Maybelline one to show up. It literally took me 3X as long working with the Maybelline one in terms of application time versus the Revlon one. And except for the goldish colour in the Revlon palette, I worked pretty lightly with the Revlon eyeshadows, but I really had to dig my brushes into the Maybelline one. I swear I must've used up like 1/3 of the palette trying to work with the colours, trying to darken the outer corner and blend the crease colour without them looking like one colour was a nightmare and to be honest, I don't think I was very successful on that front at all. I thought the lid colour made my lid look discoloured...like when you wake up in the morning from a night of drinking and they're a bit on the reddish side? Or like you've been rubbing to get that waterproof liner off your lid? Yah, that's the only way I can describe that colour. I don't know if it was just this specific coloured palette that I didn't like the pigmentation on or if the others like that, too. Maybe it was because of the chalky mattes in this one?

For the Revlon look, I applied the lightest colour on the inner eye and brow bone, the gold colour on the lid, the olive green on the outer 1/2 of the lid and the darkest colour in the outer corner and in the crease. This palette, in my humble opinion, ended up looking a lot more polished and was much more pleasurable to work with. Looking back on it, maybe I shouldn't have been so light with the olive green, it's a nice colour. The colours blended nicely without blending into one hot mess which I don't think I ever realized was so important to me until now. Haha. The way the shadows applied were nice, and the best part about these eyeshadows? The longest amount of hours I got to test them for was starting at 7am and the colours stayed vibrant until I had to take eye makeup remover to it at 1am. I was so surprised. The rest of my face was pretty stank looking at that point, but the eyeshadow looked great. Haha.

VERDICT: And that winnah is........

Revlon Colorstay 12 Hour Eyeshadow Quad (but I don't think that was really a surprise at this point.)

For all I know, Maybelline has excellent eyeshadows and I can't speak for their whole eyeshadow line but I was not at all impressed with this particular palette which unfortunately means that I will not be likely to purchase this or any of their other eyeshadows just because of the experience I had with it...So maybe the reason I like it when I was younger WAS inexperience? But I was impressed with the Revlon one so I'll most likely be picking another one (or 2 or 3) of these when I get a chance.

Let me know if you've tried either of these quads (in any colour) and what your experinces were with them. I'd love to hear other reviews on them.

Hope you guys enjoyed this and hopefully I'll be able to do more soon! See ya.

FOTD: smokey grays

Hey all, so I wanted to try out this palette I got from Claire's. I don't have the 88 palette that everyone else in the world has except me...I don't know why I don't have it, but this palette is what I imagine it to be like, but smaller.

One colour that I NEVER use on myself is gray. I have a ton of different shades of silver, charcoal, flat gray...But for whatever reason I can't bring myself to wear this colour...okay, okay. I know exactly why I don't wear this colour. Two reasons actually. Because I think it sorta clashes with my skin tone, I just prefer gold tones more on myself and because I think whenever I wear grays I feel that I look like I belong in a porno or something. Not that I have anything against anyone in porn, they just have that specific makeup look.

Anyway, here's what I came up with using the column of eye shadows on the far right. I pretty much used a little of every single colour in that column. Anyway, here's me in porn face (that didn't come out how I meant it):

Can't remember what I used on the rest of my face if you're going to ask. I did this pic last week and totally forgot about it until the other day. Sorry!

Hope you like it.

This week's haul (late oct-early nov)

Hey guys! Ugh, so my migraines finally subsided, but now I'm sick!! Arg. So annoying. I feel like I have 2 oranges stuffed up my nostrils. I got it from my little girl who gave it to her little brother and I'm finding it tough to go through my everyday schedule with 2 sick kids who need extra care and attention while you yourself need extra attention. So I ordered a Monsters vs Aliens on the telly for my little girl to watch while the little man naps and I get to go on the computer for just a minute. First time I've sat down all day. Whew.

Moving along...First, I just want to remind all you guys who live in Canada or the US to join my giveaway. Just click here to see more info.

So let me be perfectly honest with you all for a minute. I always feel a little funny about posting hauls. It makes me feel like a bit of a show off which is not at all why I post them. I just want to show you guys some swatches if I can and then I leave it up you all to ask any questions you might have about any of the products. When I did my little giveaway a bit ago I asked you all what you wanted to see more of and I got a lot of people asking me for more hauls which completely caught me off guard cuz I really didn't think anyone cared about them. Anyways, enough rambling, you asked for them and now I'm giving it to you, just wanted to let you know that I do them ;)

So I went to Claire's for the first time since I grew boobs. I was looking for some halloween costume stuff for my little girl...we were unsure what she was going to be at the time (she was a massive bacon if you all are wondering, her little brother was an egg. Sunnyside up, of course.) And I came across some makeup they had. I wasn't going to get anything but then I saw this:











It's a face and body paint palette. I thought it would be fun to play with. I was wrong. It was crap. None of the colours show up. And I noticed some colours that I knew weren't eye safe (specifically the red tone ones) and I wanted to check up which ones had that specific ingredient (dc red 28), so I emailed their customer service and was told that it "should" all be okay. Um...really? Whatever.





Moving along, I was about to pay for this useless palette when the cashier told me that I could pick a second item for 50% off, so I thought why not and got this:

I'm glad I got it cuz I think I would have been really sad if I'd left Claire's with just one crappy palette, but I'm pretty happy with the pigmentation of these eyeshadows. I think I could do with a few more matte shadows though.

Here's a few swatches of some of these eyeshadows.


I was also out of MAC makeup wipes, so I picked up a package them and also grabbed a blush (style), a paint pot (painterly) and a 224 brush. You know when you go to pick up one specific item and something catches your eye, so you walk over to it and then you notice something else that's next to it and it all snowballs from there? Yah, that happends to me every time I buy makeup. The 224 brush is to the right of the picture, but you can't really see it cuz it's black and the table is dark brown...sorry brain fart when I was taking the pic apparantly.

LOVE the brush. I had one before, but I lost it and it was a LE one...it was all gold. I like this plain brush better cuz the brush head on it seems thinner than the LE one and the handle is longer and thinner so it's much easier to use and there isn't a stupid heavy charm that swings from the bottom of it which used to be so annoying. So I'm almost glad I lost it...although I'm not glad about the almost $50 loss.

Then a few days later I really started wanting a new concealer since the concealer I've been using has begun looking cakey and dry on me, which I think is due to my skin changing from the colder weather. I'd heard Lise Watier was coming out with a new portfolio concealer in for darker skin tones so I grabbed one of these puppies.

I really like it. I use the orange colour (on the left) for around my eye area and then go over it with my foundation and it does wonders. I use the darker colours to contour. When I got it, I was the lightest yellow colour (top right). I don't know how it happened, but my skin has really lightened in less than a week. **sigh** I think it's all the rainy weather that's stolen my colour. It happens to me often so I'm not surprised AT ALL.

But I really like the concealer itself. I know a lot of people find it too stiff and too dry for them, but that's what I look for in a concealer because I'm looking to do some serious covering up. Because I use it more on my face to cover hyperpigmentation, I prefer a stiffer texture because I find the staying power to be a lot better when it's that way. It'd be really good for covering blemishes, as well. Plus, this concealer has such amazing pigmentation so it will last me quite a while. I like using my fingers to apply it cuz it warms up the product. Works great with my La Mer transluscent powder to set it. Definitely not for those looking for light-medium coverage though!

It comes with directions on how to use the palette to contour and correct.

...And I liked it so much, I picked up the lighter version of the portfolio a few days later to match me better. I wish you could mix and match the colours to get your own personalized palette. But that's okay, this way, I get to mix the between the 2 palettes to get my skintone. I'd get the orange that I like so much for correcting my dark undereye circles, one of the darker colours to contour and the 2 darker skintone colours in the lighter palette for covering discolouration on my face, and lavender to highlight on the brow bone, cheekbones and jawline. Oh well, between these 2 palettes I'm covered (literally)!

Here are the 2 palettes side-by-side for comparison.

I also picked this up with the concealer...It's a Maybelline Color Sensational.

It's called Pink Me Up. I'll be doing a bunch of swatches soon, so look out for that one if you want to see this lippie.

Then on Friday I grabbed this guy. Lovely isn't he?

I've got an upcoming post that shows swatches on this puppy and I'll post it soon.

I almost got a 50% discount on it cuz the cashier wasn't paying attention but then just as she was about to swipe my debit card she realized what she'd done and changed it. Damn!
And today I grabbed this. I'll be doing a review on it soon. The colour is Neutral Khaki.

Okay, that's it. Hope you guys enjoyed it. My wallet isn't...but I'm having fun playing with the colours. Talk to you guys soon!