a splurgy beauty haul

Recently I had a slight moment of weakness in the the mall and went a lil cray cray in Sephora and MAC... OKAY OKAY and Walgreens on the way home. But since I'm a glass-half-full kind of woman, I decided to turn it into a triumph and share my loot with all you lovely people!

In my defense, these are all products I've been lusting after and dying to try for a while. So I just threw caution(and some dollah dollah bills) to the wind and treated myself. Behold!

LINKS

 by Chaz Dean Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner // DevaCurl DevaTowel // Soap & Glory Smoothie Star Breakfast Scrub // Dior Rosy Glow Awakening Blush // Beauty Blender // MAC Orb //MAC Cork // MAC Quarry // MAC Sable // MAC Satin Taupe // L'oreal Voluminous Miss Manga Mascara (Black Brown) // Maybelline Tattoo Leather (Deep Forest) // Maybelline Color Tattoo Leather (Creamy Beige)

BTW: The MAC shadows in the palette that I already own are Woodwinked, Patina, Nylon, Club & Sumptuous Olive. 

I have tried all of my new purchases and have not a single bad thing to say about them. They all live up to their hype/ purpose and are quickly becoming my favorites of the moment. 

Let me know if you want me to do any reviews on these products, I'd be happy to oblige!

ttyl :)
madeleine

fall trend friday #1: a glowing fall face

hey now! just because you'll soon be trading in your sun hat for a knit beanie, doesn't mean your face has to look like it's preparing for hibernation too. Luckily the makeup trend gods are in agreement. Personally, I have never understood the overly muted and corpse-y makeup trends that seems to habitually crop up when the weather turns nipply. My pasty face will grow plenty pale and dull on it's own, thank you very much. so im thrilled to hear that we can still be glowing goddesses this coming season and leave the bronzer-shaming for another time!

This fall it's going to be all about dem copper lids, bold yet natural brows, bronze cheeks and toffee lips.  WOOPWOOP for looking alive!

Now for a teensy disclaimer: just because these trends are sitting next to each other in this post, does not mean they should be that way on your lovely visage. I would suggest choosing one to two (at most!) of these looks to rock at once and let the rest of your makeup be the slutty best friend to your leading lady in this hilarious, yet heartwarming RomCom we call your face.

copper lids

Metallic lids have a tendency to look potentially too strong and vegas-like. The trick here is that you want to achieve a softer look. Try making your own little eyeshadow cocktail, to create a slightly more muted and soft eye look. To do this I suggest mixing a deep reddish brown with a light peachy pink, sweeping it across your lid and blending that into the crease. That way you get the reddish brown tones one finds in copper, but the peachy pink mutes it out and makes it more daytime and wearable. smudge a little chocolate brown liner on your lower and upper lash line and you'll be golden. metaphorically.

'sable' from the Lorac Pro Palatte mixed with my Tarte blush in 'captivating' gives the perfect soft copper effect!

bold and natural brows

Statement brows have been in for like everrr and there is no indication of them going anytime soon. My brows are naturally on the fuller side, so color me happy (less tweezing!) What's different this time around is the previously coveted sharp angles are being traded in for a slightly softer, less overly defined look. go for a more natural and rounded brow shape, using a pencil. pencil allows you to make thinner, smaller strokes that look like hairs as opposed to drawing a block of color over your brows.  Personally I like using a tinted brow gel with fibers. It's less maintenance and it gives your brows that full, yet natural look.

I love Benefit's Gimme Brow in 'medium/deep' and the the Brow Wiz in 'brunette' by Anastasia. Together, they give you the most control and the most natural brow look.

bronze cheeks

Typically when I think of fall cheeks, berries and dusty roses appear in fluffy thought bubbles above my head, but not this season; it's going to be glowy cheeks in Fall 2014. soft contouring with a light brown powder paired with a natural, brown toned blush on your cheeks will give you that gorgeous, yet understated glow we've (I've) been wishing for, for fall.

Try the NYX blush in 'terra cotta'. It'll give your cheeks that gorgeous subtle glow.

toffee lips

Neutral lips are in this upcoming season, but that doesn't necessarily mean a brown-toned lip. For darker complexions, brown-toned neutral lips are stunning, but for paler skin tones go for a rosy-beige, soft pink or pale apricot. Or make your own color and add a little concealer to an existing fall lip color to nude it out a bit. For the medium skinned gals, go for a more caramel lip. Just keep it light and fresh looking, add a gloss with no sparkle or glitter to liven them up.

Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in 'honey' with Kiko gloss '110' over top

Kate by Rimmel lipstick in '08' with a few very light dabs of Maybelline's Fit Me concealer in '10 Light' to nude it out

I dont know about you guys, but i'm pretty pumped about sporting these new lively makeup trends in the coming months.
let's let the leaves be dead, not our faces.

What are your thoughts on these upcoming beauty trends, yay or nay?

ttyl :)
madeleine

my (hypothetical) PLL makeup essentials

So if you have two x chromosomes, cable and/or Internet, then odds are you probably love Pretty Little Liars as much as I do. I mean what’s not to love? It has a group of cool stylish girls, even cuter boys and murder-driven suspense, all the ingredients necessary to make for a tween-induced TV coma! So with the new season having recently kicked off, it got me to thinking… if I were running around the Philadelphia area in search of my dead friend’s killer, all the while trying to maintain a flawless face of makeup, what products would I choose? So I got to digging around my makeup collection and found the perfect PLL-appropriate makeup essentials.

For the base, I wanted to use products that would be invulnerable to A-triggered anxiety sweats, boy related tears or often both so I chose Benefit’s 15 Hour Primer. It’s in stick form, goes on fast and easy and doesn’t leave your skin feeling slippery.

For foundation I chose Benefit’s Oxygen Wow because its light and water-based but has medium to full coverage, that way it will let my skin breathe from the moment I sneak out of Ezra’s cabin in the AM to when I’m getting stranded in the dark woods with my friends that night.

Next I went with the Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle EyeRoller to bright up my under eyes, and to also highlight the high points of my face. It has a caffeine gel, lemon essence and light coverage that when applied with a cold rollerball it energizes and stimulates your skin, giving you a bright and youthful appearance.

 For a setting powder I went with Rimmel Stay Matte to keep everything in place and reduce shine throughout the day because nothing pisses off an anonymous stalker/killer like a shiny T-zone.

To contour I used my Nars Laguna bronzer for no other reason than it’s just awesome and magnificent. It’s matte and has the perfect brown tone that doesn’t leave you looking muddy, orange, or shimmery.

For a long-lasting pinky tint on my cheeks I chose Benefit’sPosie Tint. It gives me a natural and sheer flush that wont look like overkill if I’ve been running from a stranger cloaked in black. You could even use it on your lips if you wanted!

If I were a pretty little liar I would want my eye makeup to have crazy good staying power, depending on what dangerous and eerie shenanigans I could get into. So I went with Maybelline New York Eye Studio Color 24 Hr Tattoos in ‘Barely Branded’ for the inner half of my lid and ‘Bad to the Bronze” for the outer half, crease and lower lash line. 

For my brows I went with my Anastasia Brow Wiz in soft brown. It gives me the perfectly shaped brows without it looking to overdone or drawn on and the spooly allows me to brush them into place as well as blend out the pencil. 

To keep with the staying power of the eye shadow I used Tarte’s Waterproof CashmereLiner in a dark brown for my upper lash line and topped off the eye look with Benefit’s They’re Real Mascara. This look will for sure make my eyes pop when I flash a worried frown.

To finish up, I chose my YSL Glossy Stain in color #7, which is a tame yet beautiful light coral pink. This will stay on my lips all day long anyways, but using a more natural pink shade as opposed to a bright red, I can sip all the coffee I want with Em and not worry about my lip color looking weird.

Then I just set it all in place with Urban Decay’s Chill Setting Spray and got a bonus calming and cooling spritz (because god knows I’d need it!).

So that’s it, my whole face of makeup if were a badass, pretty little liar (can you feel my desperation? lol). Hope you liked it and let me know in the comments what you include in your PLL makeup essentials!

:) ttyl,

madeleine