N.Y.C. New York Color Expert Last Lip Color Swatches +Looks.....

Disclosure: All products were purchased by me.

Hey Everyone!!

I spotted N.Y.C. Expert Last Lip Color in a Rite-Aid display a couple of weeks ago. I believe these are  new product because they had "NEW" stickers on them.

 I picked five shades:

(in the photo above)

-Blue Rose

-Traffic Jam

-Berry Me

-Forever Fuschia

-Creamy Caramel

 I like how the tube is the same color as the lipstick. The cap is clear and fits very tightly unlike their duo lipstick caps.

 The name and number of the shade is on the bottom of the tube.

 Swatches in order:

-Forever Fuschia

-Creamy Caramel

-Blue Rose

-Berry Me

-Traffic Jam

 I wore one color a day to really test them out.

 Blue Rose. 

It's a iridescent fuschia with a bit of frost. Beware.

 Berry Me

A creamy, berry mauve shade.

 Creamy Caramel.

A creamy, warm nude.

 Forever Fuchsia 

A creamy cool, bright pink.

Traffic Jam

A bright slightly, orange-y red.

Consensus....

Let's talk...shall we?

These N.Y.C. Expert Last Lip Colors were disappointing. Out of five shades, I only like two, Creamy Caramel and Berry Me. Both perfect shades for my skin tone. Creamy Caramel has holy grail possibilities too! It's the perfect nude!

The other three, I had different problems with. Traffic Jam was too orange-y and too glossy for my taste. Forever Fuchsia was a spotty mess on lips, it literally sat in every crack and cranny on my lips. It didn't go on very smooth at all. The iridescence in Blue Rose took me out! lol! I don't like iridescent shades on my lips.

The overall texture of the lip colors is a cross between a shiny and a creamy finish depending what shade you get. It's definitely $2 worth of quality. Plus, the "longwearing, stays up to 6 hours" claim...none of colors held up even after eating or drinking within a 6 hr period. They don't even stain the lips.

It's going to be very tempting to load up on these shades because the packaging is cute and the colors are bright but beware because they vary in color and quality on what you may get.

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How To Make Your Eye Shadow "Pop"!

Hey Everyone!

One the main techniques in applying makeup that alluded me for years was how to make your eye shadow pop or look brighter or look bolder. With any color of shadow from neutrals to colors, these tips I learned over the years helped me create a more brighter, bigger, true to color eye shadow look!

#1 Prime You Lid with Eye Shadow Primer.

Eye shadow primers are created to allow your shadow to adhere to your eye lid and protect from creasing shadow. They also help the shadow stick better, helping the pigmentation build on the lid better. You apply a small amount on the lid then apply the shadow. There are sooo many great primers to choose from, depending on your budget. This is a step you never want to miss before you apply your shadow!

Source

#2 Prime your lid with a white, cream, or colored cream base.

Here's what I do: I apply my eye shadow primer then I apply a chunky beige cream eye shadow pencil on top and blend it out. If you watch any You Tube beauty gurus, you have probably seen this step. This technique is one of my favorites to make my shadow pop. It creates a neutral base for the color to adhere to and look brighter on.

Source

#3 Pack the shadow on with a stiff shadow brush.

This step helped me tremendously!! Take a small eye shadow brush, like the one above, press into the shadow, tap the brush lightly on the palette, then press the color in the base on my eye lid. I do this slowly and it creates more pigmentation on the lid with the eye shadow color. Just packing the color on top of its self helps the shadow look brighter!

Source

#4 Foiling the shadow with water, eye drops, a makeup setting spray or mixing medium.

The foiling technique is when you wet your eyeshadow brush, dip the brush into the shadow and it creates a brighter shadow. This is a great technique for loose shadows and doesn't create such a mess with the shadow when you do it. You can also take some shadow, wet it then dip the brush into it. When I discovered "foiling" I used eye drops as my wet substance. However, water, mixing medium, or  a makeup setting spray , such as MAC Fix +, are also really great substances used to foil shadow.

I hope that these tips help! How are you making you shadow pop?

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DIY Blotting Sheets....

Disclosure: All products were purchased by me.

Hey Everyone!!

I saw this really interesting "DIY". DIY blotting papers that are just roller end wraps. Roller End wraps are very thin sheets of papers put on rollers to set hair and preserve roller sets.

I went right into one of my hair  product supply drawers and pull out this 500 sheet box of end wraps, took one out and blotted my face....

It worked PERFECTLY!!! Soaked up all the oil on my nose and cheeks, which are my greasiest areas after a couple of hours.

What a great, cheap, very inexpensive way to use end wraps as blotting papers! I think I bought this box of 500 for $1.29. I used to love Clean & Clear's blotting sheets, but you don't get very many. I also love Boscia blotting sheets, but those girls are pricey for blotting papers. You can just got to Sally's Beauty Supply or your local Beauty Supply Store and pick up a box....

My suggestion on carrying these in your purse or makeup bag is to put a couple in a "snack" ziploc bag. Snack ziploc bags are really small but the sheets will fit nice and compact.


So are you going to use end wraps or roller papers as blotting sheets? Let me know!

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Review: Black Radiance True Complexion BB Cream SPF 15 in Cafe'......

Disclosure: All products were purchased by me.

Hey Everyone!

I finally spotted and picked up the new Black Radiance BB Cream. I love BB Creams and as soon as figured how to wear them on my oily skin. I have a post on that....here's the LINK, if you want some help wearing them too,especially with oily skin!

I choose Cafe' as my shade, which was the lightest shade. I didn't realize that until I Googled the product. Now, feel some type of way. I'm sure the sistas of a lighter brown persuasion are going to be left out.

Cafe' swatched on my hand.

 #1 Bare Face.

 #2 Face with eye makeup done and Tarte BB Primer in Tan.

 #3 Add Black Radiance BB Cream in Cafe.

#4 Set with powder, blush and contour.

Consensus....

I really like Black Radiance BB Cream! Here's why:

-Cafe was a great match of a color. I tried Cafe with and without the primer a couple of times and it still looked good. The coverage is light to medium. But with my Tarte BB Primer, I saw more of full coverage and the Tarte BB Primer brightened me up.

-The texture is creamy with a bit whipped-ness about it. So when I squeezed it out, I got just enough product. Sometimes with BB Creams and they have more of a lotion-y consistency, you got too much product coming out.

-The price point is decent at $5.99 and it had a $1 coupon attached to it.

The only thing that I would say is a minus for me is that you only get 1.0 fl oz of the product. It's a small tube with a small amount of product.

Plus...Black Radiance can be really hard to locate in some areas. I found my BB Cream at a Rite-Aid. Some other ladies are spotting it at Walgreens. None of the Walgreens in my area sell BR. Some ladies don't even see Black Radiance, Iman, Black Opal, Kiss or any of the independent women of color lines in their area. So, you might have to hunt for this product even though it is permanent to their line.

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L.A. Colors 30 Colors Eyeshadow Palette in Back To Basics........

Disclosure: All products were purchased by me.

Hey Everybody!

Yeah, I'm pretty palette crazy as of late. lol! I got this L.A. Colors 30 Eyeshadow Palette in Back To Basics from a Rite Aid display for $4.99. There is another palette in this collection as well but it has more bright colors.

 30 shadows, all shimmers. Some of the more glittery ones have a overlay of shimmer and glitter than it goes back to a shimmers or a more of satin texture.

 The shadow is very soft in texture too, so fallout is to be expected. A good base helps that out a little bit.

 I played with the the purples, lavenders, silvers and blacks for this look.

Consensus....

This palette is visually gorgeous with all the beautiful neutrals and pops of color. But, there is a problem. The shadows are so soft that they can over blended really easily and then your eye look looks muddled. I found this to be true of the darker shadows: the black, the burgandy, the wine, and the browns are pigmented but the too much blending and they disappear. Not even too much blending but just blending and next thing you know the color is gone out of your crease. But let's be real, at $4.99, this is what you get in quality. My suggestion if you pick this up is to mix and match it with other palettes for a complete look and not use the whole palette for a whole eye look. Plus base your lid really good, as well.

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