Author Archives: Emi

Hello there!

I rearranged all my freestyle palettes. These are my two favorites.

Hi everyone. Wow, it’s been a while – apparently, I needed a break. And it seems that it’s not just me; I’ve been reading a lot of posts from other bloggers who are kind of burned out and/or shifting what they are choosing to blog about.

My makeup-purchasing habits have changed significantly in the last few months of not-blogging. I have stopped buying makeup just because it’s new, and drastically cut down on my purchases overall. I’m trying to downsize my makeup stash, albeit not very successfully – I keep putting things in a box to give away or sell, then taking them out a week later.  I like this change. I don’t think I’ll ever be a makeup minimalist, but that’s okay – and there’s a lot of space between “minimalist” and “buy ALL the things!”.

I used up a whole bottle of foundation!

 

I am not really sure how often I’ll be blogging, or what I’ll be writing about. I do have some favorite items from the last few months that I hope to post about soon (but no promises).  In the meantime, here are a few recent(ish) pictures.

I’ve been using this Maybelline Color Tattoo eyeshadow in my brows recently. I really like it; it has just the right amount of pigment for my (fairly full) eyebrows, and despite being greenish, it somehow looks very natural.

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Deep Forest – left swatch is blended, right swatches are applied with an angled eyebrow brush.

I bought one item from the recent launch of Gucci Beauty – this is Tuscan Storm eyeshadow quad.

Tuscan Storm swatched, no primer.

I was SO EXCITED to see MUA Makeup Academy brand items at CVS, and very disappointed to learn that they’re a completely different line than the same-name UK brand, despite having the same logo. I believe CVS licensed the brand name from the original company.

How have you been lately?

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State of the Blog

Hi all! I haven’t been posting much lately, so I wanted to update you all as to what’s going on and what you can expect over the next few weeks.

There are a two things preventing me from posting more regularly at the moment. One is a that I’ve been quite busy at work, leaving me without much energy to blog. This is hopefully changing soon, so I’ll have more time to post!  Second – and more significant – is that my relationship to makeup is changing.  I no longer want to buy ALL THE NEW THINGS! – instead, I am more selective about what I buy and what I keep. This means that even when I have more time/energy to post, there will be a different balance of reviews vs. other types of posts.

Thank you for bearing with me, and in the meantime please follow me on if you want to see nails, mini-reviews, purchases, cats, and more!

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Milani Brow & Eye Highlighter Review, Swatches, Comparisons

Purchased – Affiliate Links

Earlier this year, Milani released three Brow & Eye highlighters, which have a variety of uses. Milani -->describes --> the shade I bought, 01 Matte Beige / High Glow as following:

Both sides can be used underneath the brow bone as a highlighter. Matte Beige can be used as an eyeshadow or eyeshadow base. High Glow can be used in the inner corners of the eyes to brighten.

I purchased this pencil primarily for the matte end, which appeared to be (and is!) a more yellow shade than the other nude pencils I own, which suits my skin color very well. First, here are both ends of the Milani pencil:

And here’s a comparison of the nude/beige liners and chubby pencils I own:

The MAC & NYX are very similar in color – and a bit too dark for me. The Rimmel is a little darker still.  The Jordana and Milani shadow pencils are similar in color – too pink for me – but note that they’re not dupes; they have very different textures. The Milani brow highlighter is definitely the best color for me – just a bit lighter than my skintone. It’s a great color to use as a browbone or inner eye corner highlighter; I’ve also used it as a reverse lipliner (blended well!) and on the inner rim of my eye (no irritation, but it doesn’t last very well there).

Overall, I’m pleased with the purchase – it’s a great color, but I do wish it lasted better on my waterline!

*I purchased the product(s) featured in this post. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

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Sinful Colors Summer 2014 Destination Colors

Purchased – No Affiliate Links

Ruby Mine // Orange Crush // Face the Facets
Bring it Sheer // From Sheer to Eternity // Sheer Genius

Good morning! Today I have super quick swatches of a rainbow of colors from the new Walgreens-exclusive (per Nouveau Cheap) shades from the Sinful Colors Summer 2014 Destination Color display. The red, orange, and yellow are textures, and the green, blue, and purple are sheer toppers (though the green and blue are too milky to work over darker colors, however). Continue reading →

Wet n Wild Fergie Summer 2014: Mixing Metals Eyeshadow Review & Swatches

Purchased – No Affiliate Links

Wet n Wild Fergie has released a few limited edition eyeshadow palettes and lipsticks for Summer 2014, and today I have the Centerstage Collection Photo Focus eyeshadow palette in Mixing Metals.  My previous experiences with the Wet n Wild Fergie eyeshadows have been less than stellar (one, two), but I guess third time is the charm, because this palette is great! Continue reading →

Wet n Wild Summer 2014 LE ColorIcon Bronzer/Blush Review & Swatches

Purchased – No Affiliate Links

Hold Me Close // Dusk Til Dawn // Everything Under the Sun

Wet n Wild has released a small collection for Summer 2014; it includes three limited edition ColorIcon bronzer/blushes which I’ll be reviewing today plus six nail polishes.  First, let’s take a look at the three limited edition bronzers compared to the three permanent bronzers. Continue reading →