Haul: Dior, Urban Decay, Giorgio Armani, & Sleek

So over the past few weeks I've been buying things that have just been on my "need" list for a long time. I'm on the eternal search for the perfect foundation. One that makes me look flawless-- no powdery residue, perfect color match, makes me look fresh but not oily, glowing and not dry. I've also been looking for a great highlighter- both golden toned and icier toned. I've also been incredibly annoyed at how quickly my make-up seems to deteriorate. I don't know why, perhaps its because I live in a hot and humid climate, but my eye make-up gives up, creases, and fades by midday and I hate it.

Dior Beauty Pink Champagne Nude Shimmer, Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation (in #02), Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray, and Sleek's Highlight and Contour Kit in Fair.

The Sleek Highlight and Contour Kit is probably known more in Great Britain than in the United States as it's a drugstore brand based out of the UK. But I saw some really gorgeous reviews and tutorials that used it and I just knew I had to buy it. It was so reasonably priced I was impressed, and shipping was so cheap! It was only like $2.60 which, for an international order, is pretty ace! The whole thing ended up costing around $10. I love both products, they go on nicely (though the bronzer is pretty dark and definitely more of a summertime product for me) and I love how the highlighter makes my skin look. You can buy it here for $8.49 though it looks like they are out of stock right now. Yikes.

I put it on a bit of my nose and under my brow bone. I think it looks more glowing than shiny, don't you think? Sorry I don't look very photogenic today, I'm still not feeling so awesome. Constant headaches.

I'm absolutely obsessed with this product for no real reason. It's as good as sleek and was much more expensive. $44 expensive. My brother looked at me like I was crazy when I bought it but what can I say? I really appreciate good, solid packaging and a high quality product. The case is so sturdy and the mirror in it big and beautiful. The bottom is clear which is fun, I suppose, and gives way to the nude theme, though it makes me nervous for an inexplicable reason. It's more golden and goes so well with a nighttime or daytime look. I love how it highlights my face. You can buy it at Neiman Marcus (couldn't find it at Nordstrom's) here. I really do love it though. 

Let's talk really fast about my frustration and adoration with Armani's foundation. It was everything I was looking for in a foundation. Not too much coverage (at my age and with my skin right now I don't have much I need to cover ja feel) and gives me a kind of radiant and glowing look. CHECK. I was so happy when I finally got it in the mail. I was not so excited when I realized their lightest color was too yellow and too dark for me! What gives! Do people not realize that there are people of all color ranges out there?

Look at my neck vs. my face. YELLOW, ARMANI, YELLOW. I understand that Bobbi Brown for some reason popularized yellowish foundations, but I don't understand why everyone feels the need to do this. I... I have pinkish skin and yellowish products will just never work on me, I'm sorry. That being said, I'm holding on to this because I'm obsessed with how it makes my face look. And I'm hoping that in the summertime when my skin gets microscopically more dark, that this foundation will work. In the meantime... the search continues. *sigh* This foundation is amazing though... the colors are just for more common skin tones. It makes my skin feel like silk and I love that it's not matte (why is everyone producing only matte right now? stop it, people want all kinds of foundations). It was $60 at Nordstrom and yes, that is expensive, I know don't make me feel worse about it gosh.

The last product I have no photo of because it's completely transparent. I will do a review of it when I've gone out for a late night, but as for daytime use I'm OBSESSED with it. It's Urban Decay's All Nighter setting spray. Some people have been pretty sassy about it, but come on, it's not going to be perfect. No product is. But it makes my make-up last longer, has no weird aftermath or texture. It smells a little chemically while it sprays but it doesn't sting or hurt your eyes. It settles on, dries in about 30 seconds, and happily extends the life of my make-up a significant amount. I'm sold! I bought it at Nordstrom's Rack on sale! (go go goooo) but you can also get it at Sephora and Ulta and places like that. It's listed as $29 online, but it was like $13 at Nordstrom's Rack so I suggest going out and trying to find it cause I love it.

Valentine's Day Make-Up Idea #2 (Dinner Out)

OK, so the idea behind this look is that you are going to a nice restaurant (or maybe even just a restaurant!) and you want to look really pretty. Because you'll be eating food, drinking, and probably kissing, you'll want something that doesn't smudge. That's why I chose a long-lasting and non sticky lipstick. You can play around with the colors to suit your skin tone, but the general idea remains the same.

 I used a bunch of products on this one and had a lot of fun with it. I tried using colors I don't normally use and different techniques and I really enjoyed it!
I need to get a new foundation but until I can afford it, I've been using BB cream from MAC in Extra Fair. Before applying anything, I used a sampler I had gotten from Christmas called Juno Transformative Lipid Serum. It directs to use morning and night for a nice glow. While its not the best "glow enhancing" formula I've seen out there, I did like how it made my skin feel. Very very velvety. Though it kind of smells like herbs, which is odd.
Base
Juno Transformative Lipid Serum
MAC BB Creme in Extra Fair
Laura Mercier Undercover Pot (under eye bags)
Eyebrows
Omega + Embark by MAC
Eyes
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer (gave it a second chance!)
MAC Fig. 1 (all over base)
Urban Decay Toasted (Over Fig 1 and up blended further out)
Laura Mercier Cafe au Lait (in the crease, blended well)
Urban Decay Sin & MAC Vanilla (near tearduct)
MAC embark (used with flat brush on top and bottom waterline)
MAC Satin Taupe (lightly put under eye to subtly increase drama)
Urban Decay Sidecar (over eyeshadows, inner part of eye)
YSL Faux Cils Shocking Mascara (can't stop using it! two layers)
Cheeks/ Face
Laura Mercier Apricot Blossom (blush, in Color Wardrobe from 2010. Similar to Spiced Cider)
NARS South Beach bronzer
NARS Pandora (white part, as an illuminator and brow bone)
Laura Mercier translucent setting powder 
Lips
Laura Mercier lip liner in Baby Lips
Clinique Chubby Stick in Curvy Candy

If you want the lipstick to last longer, you can always put any kind of setting powder lightly over it and it will endure a lot more. Links to the products soon!

Naked Palette Scientific Method

So today I got both shipments in (yay!) and I was able to try out both products. The first was a lipstick by Cover Girl, which i tried out and will have to review tomorrow because... well you'll see.
I also received the original Naked palette. I know, I'm so 2010 or whatever, but I was really excited to try it out because I've seen and heard so many good things. So, here's the breakdown through the scientific method.
1. Formulate a question: Will this palette, priced at $50, be of high enough quality to accept into my collection of make-up products?
2. Hypothesis: The product will own up to its popularity
3. Prediction: Due to excessive popularity, I believe this product will indeed be of very high quality, a good price, and a beautiful addition to my collection.
4. Test:

5. Results: I'm very excited about this palette and had high hopes for it. I ordered it off of Amazon here*, and it shipped to me in two days. The box is velvet, and it came with an eyeshadow brush (albeit a rather basic one) and some eyeshadow primer that really didn't do anything for me. It was of a very milky texture and appeared white but blended in with no pigmentation at all. 
I looked at lots of reviews on the product, the best of which I found here (no seriously though, she's very in depth about it). Basically, the way it showed up on everyone's skin made it look very pigmented. So I got really excited about that. The swatches on my arm were after 3 or 4 layers with a standard make-up brush. I kept thinking, "wow, this can't be normal." Everyone kept mentioning how strong the pigmentation was and here I couldn't get anything to show up! Spoiler alert: you need to apply these shadows with a good primer. It made a huge difference for me. I applied one shadow on the back of my hand with and without primer as a reference: 

Straight up though, I applied both with the same applicator and pressure twice and that's the difference. So to reiderate: primer is essential to get pigmentation.
With primer, these are my new favorite things. I know I will use them all the time. I'm not sure how suitable the box is for travel (though I guess you can just bring that and no other eyeshadows and call it a day!) because it's made of velvet and will probably get dirty really fast but I mean, who cares when your face looks awesome, right? So, my findings are that it is as awesome as everyone says it is, as long as you have the right tools. 

On my face: Laura Mercier Eye Basics (found on her site here)
Naked Palette eye color in Sin
Underneath Sin I had a layer of MAC's Naked Lunch (found on their site here)
Laura Mercier blush in Opera, which has been discontinued. There is a similar blush called Tender Mauve (found here)
Rimmel's Kate Moss Matte Lipstick in #103 (found here*)
Chanel's Reverie Illuminating Face Powder (from their Holiday 2012 collection)

* by links means that if you buy a product from that link, I get a small compensation from the company. It doesn't sway my choice to use certain links, as I hope you can tell from the abundance of other links I provide.