Eye Make-Up

Eye make-up of the day. My eyelashes look super long (put the latise commercial to shame!), but they're my natural lashes with mascara, I don't even have falsies on! All I have is the Revlon color stay mascara, about 2 coats. My shadow is from the physcian's formula glam eyes, in "green smokey eye" and the liner is from the physician formula gel liner for blue eyes (the black sparkles).

ShoeDazzle!

I ordered a pair of shoes from shoe dazzle. I have some pictures of the shoes, and then my general experience.

The only downside of ordering I'd say is that it took forever for my shoes to my house. And, then they were the wrong size so I had to send them back to exchange them, so I'm still waiting for the new ones to come in.

However, they offer really good service. If you do return the shoes for good, I believe they charge you about $5.00 for a restocking fee, but you don't need to pay for return shipping. Also, if you need to exchange the shoes, you don't have to pay anything, they give you a box and return shipping label. Then, the shoes come with a cloth bag for protection and a pink shoe box! :)

The shoe quality is pretty good, but not the greatest (I'd say better than clothing store shoes, like F21 of AE, but not as good as department store shoes (like ones you'd get at Macy's).

The only other warning I have, is once you order a pair of shoes, your account is set up to charge you $39 every month and you are supposed to pick out a pair of shoes every month. I didn't want to commit to this so after I ordered my shoes, I called ShoeDazzle and asked them to disable my account. You can always re-enable the account and order more shoes, but I didn't want to commit to spending $40 bucks a month every month for shoes.

Physician's Formula Gel Cream Liner

I love physician's formula products. They are drugstore priced, but they are beyond amazing, in my opinion. I love their foundations, tinted moisturizers, eyeshadows, etc. Besides nice packaging and good pigmentation, all of their face products also have a lot of spf in them, doesn't get better than that!

So, loving their products, I've wanted to try their gel cream liners for a while. I have a few other ones so I've been holding off (I will be doing a comparison), but I finally gave in. I got the hazel eyes one from their original line (the pink on the left) and the blue eyes one from their glam line (blue on the right). I swatched all of the colors, hazel below and blue above.

The hazel colors, from left to right, are black, pink, and taupe. And the blue ones are black, blue, and silver (all with shimmer in them). The colors are all beautiful and I was very happily surprised to see how easily and thickly they applied. The colors are very creamy and you barely need to dip the brush to get a strong pigmented line. The colors in the original line were especially easy to apply. The blue shimmer was the hardest to get a visible line, it's a little sheer, but it's such a pretty, shimmery color, that it equaled out. So, if you're looking for an inexpensive ($10.99) and good quality cream gel liner, I would go try this out; and, if you look around, you usually find good sales (like buy one get one 50% off!). And look out for my cream/gel liner comparison, coming soon! Stay beautiful dolls

Dry Shampoo

It's horrible for your hair to wash it every day. It dries it out, causes it to overcompensate by producing too much oil, breaks it, and you end up with damaged, frizzy, oily, dry hair. NOT the look we're going for.

I admit, I fell into washing my hair everyday because I didn't want to deal with oily/greasy looking hair. I've been very strict with washing my hair every other day though. When I jump into the shower, if I'm not washing my hair, I clip it up high so it doesn't get wet. You can even throw a shower cap over your clipped up hair to keep the steam from making it greasy looking.

On days I don't shampoo, if my hair looks like it needs a little bit of help, I use dry shampoo. I picked up this Tresemme one from Target for oily, straight hair. The directions say to shake vigorously, spray it in, wait 1-2 minutes, and brush it out.

Personally, I'm not pleased with this dry shampoo. I'm inserting a picture of my hair, post dry shampoo, below.

I'm not sure how evident it is in the picture, but the shampoo leaves my roots always looking a little bit gray-ish. I have dyed hair; my natural hair color is a dirty blonde. When I use the dry shampoo, it makes my light roots stand out in an unappealing way. The other downside of this dry shampoo, I find, is that it leaves very prominent white marks and I have to brush over where I sprayed for a couple of minutes before the whiteness dissapears. On the upside, my hair does look less oily after use-it gives my hair a shiny, healthy look rather than a greasy, unwashed look. So, overall, I'm not too impressed with this product and I will be purchasing and trying out a new one next time, but it's not completely pointless, and I will probably finish using up this product rather than throwing it out.

Face of the Day

This is the make-up I'm wearing today. I usually just play around with eyeshadow colors, but today I wanted to try something new and play around with eyeliner colors.

close-up of eyes

On top I have an aqua blue color pencil liner from Wet n' Wild. On bottom, for a tight line, I have an NYC duo in a medium purple shade. I also used some gel liner on the outside of my eye, over the blue, in the color egglant from Maybelline. On my waterline I have a black eye pencil from Maybelline.

close-up of lips

On my lips I have Mac's subculture for a lip liner and Mac's pink plaid for a lipstick. It's a matte color. I love matte lips, if you're looking for a little sparkle, Baby Doll from Bobbie Brown is the perfect sparkly gloss to layer over Pink Plaid.

Classy Lady

Sometimes the best outfits come from the most plain or old pieces sitting lonely and untouched in the back of your closet...

I don't even remember where I got this skirt from, that's how long ago I've had it. I paired it with a plain black fitted tee, which I tucked into the skirt, and then black flats (every girl needs a pair of black flats!).

I kept the make-up really simple and classy. I wore fake lashes with black eyeliner and mascara, and then a very basic nude pink lip (pink plaid by mac) and besides a touch of blush, that's all! It looked so put together and classy, and with my hair pinned back in a low ponytail, it made a perfect work classy outfit.

For outside, I threw on my short suede beige coat from Gap and my cashmere scarf from NY which matched the skirt. All these pieces were relatively inexpensive, but together, it had a very burberry, luxe feel.


As an afterthought, here's a different way I've styled this skirt.

E.L.F. Cosmetics- affordable find or cheap trash?

I've purchased a couple of elf products here and there. The product I have most of would be eyeshadows, which I can do in a separate review for the sake of keeping this one relatively short. Here are a few products I was curious to test out and what I thought of them:

The Eyebrow Kit. This product came with a tiny double sided brush, an angled liner brush on one end, and a small flat shadow brush on the other. The brow kit also comes with two steps, the left is a brow gel which is supposed to be applied in strokes with the liner brush to fill in eyebrows where they appear sparse, and the right is a brow finishing power, to be applied with the flat shadow brush to finish off and give your eyebrows a complete and neat look. Both products were pigmented and of good quality; my eyebrows came out quite nicely. The one down side of this kit, however, is that it comes in only one color. I have very dark eyebrows, almost black, so this color happened to work perfectly for me; but someone with lighter eyebrows would probably not be happy with the outcome.

 The Blush. I got this in the color "tickled pink." They had some prettier colors, but they had actual glitter in them, and I didn't think that would be in the least flattering. I tried to swatch the color on my wrist; it's a very faint, wispy, pink, but you can see it. On the cheeks, it comes off as a faint, innocent, pinch of pink glow. It's really pretty and it applies well. It lasted all day and I didn't get any irritation from it (my skin gets easily irritated with products that have chemicals/dyes, etc).

The Brow Gel. I was looking to try their brow gel, and they only sell a duo with a brow gel on one side and a clear mascara on the other. I didn't try the clear mascara because I had fake lashes on, though it says you can apply the mascara over your own mascara or on its own. I feel like it will be good on days I want to wear no make-up but I want my lashes to stand out a little bit more. The brow gel was fantastic. I have very bushy eyebrows that I have to work hard to keep tame. The gel kept them in place all day, and it didn't feel like there was gel or other product in them, which was an unexpected plus!

The Finishing Mist. I was really excited to try this setting mist because I have dry skin and mists are really hydrating and refreshing for when your face needs a pick me up. I've tried the bare minerals finishing mists several times, and a bobbie brown mist. Compared to those products, this one is really the quality of its price. The bottle doesn't mist so much as spray, so a lot of product comes out onto your face, and you have to go in and blot away the excess. The smell isn't as refreshing as I'd hoped it would be, but it isn't bad. Otherwise, the product did help keep my skin looking a bit more hydrated and it helped keep my make-up in place, so it isn't a waste of money, it just isn't as good as some of the higher end products on the market.

The Lip Products. I did a separate review on the lipstick in a previous post. The color is very pigmented and it is relatively true to packaging color. The lipstick doesn't smell like anything. The color wears off quickly however, and you have to keep reapplying, which is sort of a hastle. I'm not in love with it, and I wouldn't buy anymore lipsticks. I was most excited about the lip gloss (look at that gorgeous color!). It came as the biggest disappointment, as a result, when I opened it to find the brush of the gloss sprawled out and misshapen. The gloss is super pretty and sits really nicely on the lips, especially over the lipstick (which helps the lipstick stay on longer too), but I was very sad to see that the brush was destroyed, and therefore, would probably not try out any more glosses from elf that have brushes at the end of the wand.

Dry Skin Fix

I have eczema (dry, flaky, sensitive skin) and I've struggled with it all of my life. It prominently affects my face, leaving it dry, red, and raw, to the point where I can't apply make-up and I have to reapply my daily moisturizer 10-12 times a day-not fun.

For those of you who have equally dry skin or are just looking for a skin pick me-up during cold, dry winter months, I've got just the thing :). There are two tricks I've learned. One is a daily treatment and one is a moisture mask.

The first ritual, I do mornings and nights when my skin needs a little extra moisture. I take vitamin E oil in liquid form (I use Nature's Bounty, but any vitamin E oil will do; they sell them at Vitamin World and in pharmacies). It's always a good idea to take vitamin E supplements daily in pill form, but the liquid oil is equally good for keep skin looking glowy and maintaining its elasticity. After I wash my face, I get a little bit of oil on my fingers and dab it on any dry spots or patches I can see on my face. I let it sit for about 5 or so minutes, and then dab off any excess my skin hasn't soaked up, and then apply my regular moisturizer. This allows dry spots to soak in extra moisture and vitamins without leaving the whole face greasy (perfect grounds for break-outs, yikes!).

The second treatment is one I do once a week or when my skin is really in need of a pick-me-up. After a hot shower (so my pours are all open), I pat my face dry, and then apply nivea cream to my face. However, I apply a very thick layer of cream so that it looks like a white face mask. You should leave the face mask on for 5-15 minutes, depending on how dry your skin is (if you have very dry skin, leave on until your skin has soaked in a surplus of the cream; if you have skin prone to breaking out however, only leave the mask on for 5 minutes). Your face should soak in enough of the mask so you start to see your skin underneath, but you should still be able to see a thin white layer everywhere. Then, take a tissue or washcloth and gently wipe off all excess cream. When you've wiped off your mask, take your daily moisturizer and apply as you  normally would. Your skin will feel soft and look hydrated and healthy!

Enjoy dolls, treat yourselves and stay beautiful.

Colored Pants

A huge trend right now is colored pants. Having trouble wearing them? There's nothing to be nervous about, they're so much fun! I put together a classy/French inspired outfit of red pants, a blue and white striped shirt, a white belt, and black flats.

If you're nervous about wearing colored pants, pair them with plain tee's (like one in black or white), or very classic and muted pieces (like the shirt I'm wearing) as well as plain colored shoes. You can't go wrong by treating the pants as your statement piece and keep everything else subtle.

Good luck dolls, stay beautiful.

Lipstick Comparison

I got a few different brands of lipsticks to do a quality comparison. From left to right, they are elf (posh), wet n' wild (552A), rimmel (berry queen), covergirl natureluxe (peony), and mac (syrup). I did not purchase reds from every brand because some of the above were colors I really wanted; I could still do a good quality comparison of the brands though, even with the slightly different colors.

The worst lipstick of the bunch was the wet n' wild. It was on an equal price level as the elf lipstick. Although the colors of both of the lipsticks are rich (as seen by the picture), the quality was evidently equal to the $1.00 they were worth. The color wears off very quickly and leaves lips dry and flaky as well as patchy in color. These lipsticks are good for quick wear, if you need to take pictures or are willing to reapply often; they do NOT work as long wear unfortunately.

The rimmel lipstick is a better quality. The color, as you can see, is a bit richer. The lipstick is more moisturizing and doesn't leave lips as dry (I have pretty dry skin and lips, so moisture is very important to me). The color is also beautiful and very complimentary to a light skin tone. The packaging is also cute, in a rich purple with the rimmel crown on the top of the cap =]. The downsize, unfortunately, is that I still have to reapply this lipstick often. If I wear it for a few hours, I get that ring of color on the inside of my lips and a pale, washed-out red stain on my lips. Maybe my lips just eat lipstick quickly; but with plenty of lip balm and a touch-up every couple of hours, this lipstick is great!

The covergirl lipstick definitely held up where the previous ones lacked. The color of this lipstick is definitely lighter/less potent than the rest, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The color is a great subtle red that is perfect for daytime wear. Whenever I want to wear a brighter/red lip to class, I always reach for this one. Besides its subtle sexiness, these covergirl lipsticks have a lot of moisturizing balm in them. I would compare them to the revlon lip butters-lots of balm and a touch of color!

Lastly, the mac lipstick (saving the best for last!). This was the most expensive lipstick of the bunch, but well worth its price. This color is a lustre, so it applies with a slight sheeny glow. You might be able to see above, but this color had the most shine of all of them when applied. Because the color wasn't a red, you can even apply it without lipliner. I asked the girl at the mac counter for a muted form of a red lip, and she pointed me to the color syrup. The color held the longest. I had to reapply this one the least amount of times during the day, and I also did not have any color residue or ugly inner lip rings of color after applying this.

Stay beautiful.

Intro

Hello dolls, my name is Dani (fashionable dazzle). I'm a girl who has a passion for make-up, beauty, and fashion. I love spending all day looking to piece together the perfect outfit with new and old pieces, designer and thrifty pieces, fashionable and classic pieces. When I put together the perfect outfit, I love to share it with others and see what others have put together; I always look at others' styles and ideas for inspiration. I enjoy watching other gurus online for make-up and fashion ideas. I like playing around with make-up and experiment often with it in my free time. I'm creating this blog to share tips, hints, ideas, finds, secrets, and advice I discover through my ventures and to read others' finds here and elsewhere online. Stay beautiful.