Look of the Week: UD Alice in Wonderland Look #1: Alice

This look was taken right off the Urban Decay's Steal our Looks Page. It's Spring 2010's Alice look.


Full Face:


Eye Close Up:


Eyes:
Lid: Mad Hatter eyeshadow (Dark Brown)
Lower eye: Flipside eyeliner (bright Blue), Alice (Turquoise) eyeshadow, and Midnight Tea Party (light beige) eyeshadow.

How to do the eyes:

1. Using a plush shadow brush, blend Mad Hatter over your lids, extending slightly out of the corners of your eyes.
2. Line 3/4 of the lower rim of your eyes with Flipside Eyeliner. You want to start about 1/4 of the way out from the inner rim and work it out to the outer rim. Extend slightly out of the corners and have it meet just under the Mad Hatter that is on the upper lid.
3. Using an eyeliner brush, trace over the Flipside liner with Alice eyeshadow.
4. Using an eyeliner brush line the bottom inner and outer rim with Midnight Tea Party.
5. Brush your lashes with mascara. I used Benefit Bad Gal Plum instead of a black mascara to make the colors pop out more.

I finished the look with Too Faced Pink Leopard Bronzing powder on my cheeks and Jill Stuart Lip Lacquer in Red Fox.

This makes for a great party look..though yes I would wear this out as every day makeup lol.

Love and Hugs,
MC <3

Product Rave: Urban Decay's Alice in Wonderland's Book of Shadows

Every have your gut tell you to wait for something better? My gut did that to me in November when Urban Decay came out with their Book of Shadows II. I was so unimpressed with the Book of Shadows II, that opted to get Shadow Pony instead and wait for what would come from Urban Decay...

Then in January, I was doing my daily reading of Muse's Blog and feasted my eyes on her review of something..something I wanted bad. Something I already knew I had a lot of the shades of in my shadow collection..that something was Urban Decay's Alice in Wonderland's Book of Shadows! 16 of Urban Decay's best selling shadows renamed into the whimsical names you read in Alice in Wonderland...It was love at first sight. I love Alice in Wonderland, plan on seeing the Johnny Depp version when it comes out...I got excited...

But then I realized that I already own a good number of shadows that are in this set. What does a girl do in that case? Easy!!! I sold off some of my similar shades to a friend so I could justify purchasing this Book of Shadows.

Was it worth it?

YES!!!

The colors range from sparkly neutrals to bright vibrant purples and blue to smoky and sparkly grey and black. One complaint from some people is that there are too many glittery shades. I like glitter, so YAY MOAR FOR ME!!! ^_^

Seriously though, think about it: You do get a lot for $52. 16 high quality shadows that are univerally flattering, 2 high quality pencils (which are about an inch shorter than the standard 24/7 pencil), and a deluxe sample size Primer Potion. I've heard people complain about the price but consider buying ANY of these individually. As someone who has been buying high end cosmetics since she was 13 (and I'm 29 now), I can see the value that I recieved in this.

I'm very very happy with this. Here are some pics of my set:



I'll be posting several looks that can be created from this one set in the next couple weeks, so stay tuned. ^_^

Love and Hugs,
MC <3

Holy Crap! Longtime No Posts?!?!?!

So for anyone who is reading my blog, I apologize for the LONG DELAY in posting here. Real life caught up to me in a 20 fold and a lot has changed with my life since 9/11/08 (my last post). I forgot I even had a blog since I have been crazy busy until a friend of mine reminded me of this blog and suggested I restart it...

So I'm BACK!!! I may be changing the format of this blog slightly, but not by much. My first big review will be later this week when recieve the first product I want to talk about from Sephora.com. ^_^ I will also be adding some tips and techniques I picked up over the years on applying make up as well as some general babble about other crap.

So come back later this week for new stuff.

For now, you can entertain yourself with this picture of my cat, Fried Rice:

Love and Hugs,

MC

Bare Escentuals Rocker Eye Review and a "Rocker" Look...

Smokey eyes and 80's metal: Two things I love in life...

I'll admit it: I mainly bought the Bare Escentuals Tutorials Rocker Eye Set for the brush. Yes, I actually shelled out $38 for the brush that came with this set. That is not to say that I don't like the shadows..quite the contrary, I love them.

My massive beef with BE kits is what you get for the price. I think you should get full sized pots of shadow if you are paying $38 for an eye shadow set, not small little pots...but I digress...I love BE eye shadows..so I guess I can be forgiving...lol.

I do love many of the BE Tutorial sets. They usually come with great brushes. The Rocker eye has got to my favorite one to come out thus far because not only do you get the great Rock and Roll Brush (a duel ended brush..one end with a small, fat bristled smudger brush and the other a thick, almost caligraphy brush style eyeliner brush that is great for lining inner rims), you get 3 AMAZING shadow colors. Black Leather liner shadow (an intense blacker then black), 1980's Eyecolor (A really flattering metallic chrome grey that is very popular for fall looks this year), and Rock Star Eyecolor (Sparkly smokey grey). My beef again: They are not full size pots of eye color...and...they are only in this set, you can not buy these shades seperately.

Anyhoo..the brush. It is my new favorite brush for eyes. It blends the colors so beautifly into the crease. To me, this kit with brush and the amount of eye shadows you recieved should have been about $32, but I am going to quit complaning about the price and amount of shadow you recieve because really, you get a really great end result. (See below) XD

To compliment the look ironically, I just had the front of my hair colored fuschia because I was feeling adventurous and wanted to do something crazy colored to my hair one last time before I hit 30 in 2 years lol. My lovely friend Alice dubbed my hair "Rock Star Hair"..so why not go all out and do a Rock Star Face of the Week? XD



Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Lid: BE 1980's eye color
Crease: BE Rockstar eye color
Liner: BE Black Leather liner shadow
Mascara: Too Faced Pin Point Lash Injection (My next mascara review coming up)



Lips:
Bare Escentuals 100% Natural Lip Color Lipstick in Rose Crepe (a Sephora exclusive)

And just to show that I can actually smile instead of pout:



(I look like a massive dork smiling, this is why I prefer pout pictures lol)

Anyhoo, lemme know what you think..I am going to go listen to some Alice Cooper circa 1986. ^_^

<3>

MAC Cult of Cherry Review and hey, long time no post...

Wow...I am so sorry for the loooooong delay in posts here. August has been crazy with Otakon, a min-vacation, and some other crazy odds and ends...but I am back and should be posting once-bi-weekly again. YAY!!!

Anyhoo....at least I come back with a RAVE review for MAC's first line for Autumn 2008. Cult of Cherry:





Cult of Cherry is a collection of deep burgundy, gorgeous browns, a really scary shade of lime green, and cherry reds which wet my lips as soon as I saw the promos for it. Nothing says fall like deep shades of brown and red.

Shades of Lust:
My former inner goth child and 16 year old self fell immediately in love with the Mattene lipsticks in Kirsh (blackened cranberry) and Bing (Blackened Eggplant). I did return Bing because it was a bit too purple on me, but I ADORE Kirsh. I already own Russian Red lipstick, so I opted out of purchasing it.

Jampacked (sheer grape) lipglass looks great on it's own or over any of the really dark shades of lip colors that are available in this collection. I also picked up Cult of Cherry (Clean red) lipglass. It is a really flattering shade of red that when placed over Russian Red, makes a very sexy red lip. I like to wear CoC alone for glossy, cherry stained lips.

I only bought one of the eye quads. Spiced Chocolate is the most beautiful shades of brown, burgundy, cream, and rust I have ever seen. The other 2 quads available had shades I already own or, scared me (I am looking at the green shade in the Tempting Quad here)

Anyhoo, on to the Face of the Week:

I was inspired by the Cherry Blossom look from the CoC faces MAC had on the site. I recreated the eye look seen there.




Eyes: MAC Spiced Chocolate Eye Quad

Highlight: Nanogold
Lid and lower eye: Sweet Chestnut
Contour: Spiced Chocolate




Cheeks: MAC Mineralize Blush in Gleeful

Lips: MAC Mattene Lipstick in Kirsh
MAC Lipglass in Jampacked

So..did you haul any MAC Cult of Cherry

Tell me what you think.

<3
~MC

Long time..no update..well it may be longer.

I apologize for neglecting to post. I am currently at what I call my "crunch time" in preparation for Otakon 2008. It's next week and I have a ton of work I have to do before I head out of town for 6 days. Blllarrrrg....work. I was also down with a nasty summer flu that had me out of commission for 2 days. I'm a lot better now, so yay!!!

I am going to write some quickie reviews and lustings in my spare time since there are many new collections for this fall I am drooling over lol.

Take care loves and see you on the Flip Side. ^_^

~MC<3

What Greedy Hands Want: Smashbox Fall 2008: Wicked Lovely Collection

Oh me, oh my...when I saw this in my new Ulta mailer, I immediately started to make my mental list of what to try and get for Smashbox's up coming fall collection. The creme liner trio with the loose shimmer and the brown lipgloss are screaming to me.

It's a perfect summer day here in New England and I spent at the beach..and here I am planning my fall make up run lol. XD

For tomorrow, I have a review of MAC's Electro Flash mineral eyeshadows and MAC's Sonic Chic mineral blushers along with a face of the week. ^_^

So are you drooling for Smashbox?

~MC <3

MC's Quest forTHE Perfect Mascara: Dior Diorshow Black Out Mascara

So out with the Cargo Texas Lash that was a waste of money and 3 months of use, in comes Dior Diorshow Black Out Mascara.

I'm rather fond of the original Dior Show mascara. It's a nice, rich black that does a wonderful job lengthening, giving lots of volume that I crave, and wears incredibly well. There is a slight difference between Black Out and regular Dior show: There is a lot of kohl added into Black Out that makes lashes even darker and richer, and more extreme then the original.

So can I tell the difference between "rich black" and "extreme black"?

To be perfectly honest, the Black Out mascara does seem slightly darker, but the formula is basically the same as the original Diorshow. Admittedly, as much as I like Diorshow, I do find Bourjois Volume Glamour Ultra Black Mascara to be a better alternative when I don't want to shell out $24 for a mascara. Unfortunatly, it looks like Bourjois is going the way of the Dodo at Sephora and that makes me sad. :(

The Verdict on DiorShow Black Out: It's pretty damn good. A nice rich black mascara that hardly clumps, gives you sexy thick lashes, and wears amazingly well through the day. Just get the waterproof version if you decide to wear it in the water. I made the mistake of wearing this on a day I was at the beach and it did come off in the water. ^_^;;

Got a mascara recommendation I should try next? Let me know what I should try!!! XD

~MC<3

MC'S Face of the Week: MAC Neo Sci Fi and MAC Solar Field

Life has been a world wind of beach, work, and preparing for Otakon, so I apologize for the lack of articles. Rest assure though, I have a few that I will be pumping out in the next week. ^_^

This Face of the Week came from a comment I left on the lovely Muse's blog combining colors from MAC's Neo Sci fi collection and MAC's Solar Field Solar Bits Pigments collection. I already mentioned that I am a sucker for a good smoky eye and this is currently my favorite smoky eye to rock for the summer. It's not to heavy and yes, I do wear this during the day into the night. MAC's Black Ore Solar Bits have a gorgeous golden sheen in it which makes this very wearable in the daytime.

Anyhoo..on to the pictures. ^_^



Close up on my eye.



Full face. Excuse me for looking tired and blah. It is hot as hell where I'm at and I was "glowing" (sweating) lol. My hair is also pulled back because it's hot out. :(

Colors and Products used:

Eyes
Highlight: MAC Solarbits in Scatterays
Contour, partial lid, and lower liner: MAC Solarbits in Black Ore
Inner Corner: MAC Neo Sci Fi eyeshadow in Expensive Pink (I order everyone reading this to go out and get that eyeshadow color NOW!!! It is by far the most versatile eyeshadow color you will ever own.)
Mascara: Dior Diorshow Blackout Mascara (review will follow for my quest for the perfect mascara)

Cheeks:
Pout Cheek to Cheek Cream Color in Coral Nymph and Bronze Siren (Sadly, Pout does not make cosmetics anymore. :()

Lips:
MAC Cremestick Lipliner in Beurre
MAC Neo Sci Fi Lipstick in Sci Fi Delity
MAC Neo Sci Fi Lipglass in Soft and Slow

And because I am such a show off, here is my new haircut/style for the rest of summer:



Well? Tell me what you think.

Do you have your MAC on?

Thumbs up?

Thumbs down?

^_^

~MC <3

MC's Quest for THE Perfect Mascara: Cargo Texas Lash Mascara

My name is MC, and I have a horrible addiction to mascara. O_O

Ever since Maybelline discontinued the 2 best mascaras ever made (Illegal Lengths and Lash by Lash), I have tried almost EVERY mascara known to man from drugstores to department stores to Sephora to Ebay in search of what I lost in mascara love. I try a new one (or 3) every 3 months...so I will be doing a series of mascara reviews entitled "MC'S Quest for THE Perfect Mascara" in my on going mission to finally settle down and find something I will use again.

I shall review the one of the current mascaras I am using: Cargo Texas Lash.

Cargo Texas Lash is yet another entry in the world of "tubular"mascara. You know, the kind of mascara that forms tubes around your lashes and comes off easily with a little pressure and some make up remover? It claims to be smudge proof, flake proof, and non runny...

MC's verdict: Epic. Fail. I TRIED to like it, but Cargo Texas Lash is no Blinc Kiss Me Mascara. Texas Lash was extremely clumpy and dried far too quickly. I couldn't even get a lash comb through my lashes to get out the clumps!!! The slightest touch to the eye and the mascara flaked off, leaving little black flakes in it's wake. It does live up to it's word about not being runny or smudging....because it feels like you are applying TAR to your lashes.

If you want to go the Tubular mascara route, stick with Blinc. While it doesn't give me the OMG lash volume I like, it is a wonderful mascara that goes on smooth, wears well, and comes off when you WANT it to come off.

And by all means, if you have any suggestions on mascara, I am all ears....well, just as long as you don't suggest Maybelline Great Lash Mascara lol. ^_^

~MC <3