Make Up For Ever #5 Nip Slip HD Blush Review, Photos and Swatches!

Make Up For Ever #5 Nip Slip HD Blush

Make Up For Ever #5 Nip Slip HD Blush ($26) is a matte, neutral mid-tone pink. Because it has a good balance of cool and warm tones, #5 is a flattering pink on most skin tones. It has a little bit of vibrancy to the color, but it's also not too "barbie doll". It warms up quite nicely on my warm, medium skin tone.

If you aren't familiar with Make Up For Ever HD Blushes; they are a lightweight, yet dense cream that is dispensed in a pump tube. The formula is intensely pigmented, and a little goes a long way.

My favorite application method is using a duo-fiber stippling brush. I usually pump a small amount of product on a clean surface (I sometimes use the lid of one of my freshly sanitized mirrored compacts) and dip the brush in the product with light tapping motions to evenly coat the ends of the bristles. Then, stipple it on my cheeks, and blend upward until blended. You kind of have to work with it quickly, as it does dry pretty fast.

The formula might take a little getting use to at first, but after using it a few times, it should be a breeze.

#5 Nip Slip

Nars Lokoum Cream Blush Review, Photos and Swatches!

Nars Lokoum Cream Blush

Nars Lokoum Cream Blush ($28) is described as a warm, rose coral with shimmer. Depending on your skintone, it may show up differently  —  on my skin, the color shows up as a warm, copper-coral. Somewhat similar to MAC Gingerly or Coppertone. Although it looks raspberry toned in the pan, it doesn't read the same on my cheeks, which could be due to the warm yellow tones in my skin.

Nars Cream blush has a soft, velvety texture and blends to a powdery finish. I'm happy to finally say that I own a cream blush from Nars, considering I've loved their powder blushes for a long time and own several shades. For those who find cream blush intimidating, Nars is a nice place to start as the formula isn't thick, sticky/tacky, or greasy. It's very easy to work with and the color can be built up easily. The fingers can be used, but with a shade as pigmented as Lokoum, I find that a stippling brush works best. MAC #131 brush is my favorite brush for most cream blushes, but it's sadly only a limited edition brush. Any duo-fiber brush should work just as well.

Considering this shade in particular contains shimmer, I was hoping for it to make my cheeks somewhat dewy/glowy (like Becca Frangipani Cream Blush  —  my fav!) but I didn't really get enough of the glow I wanted. This may not bother many, as most of us try to avoid anything remotely shimmery.

MAC Moth Brown Eyeshadow Review, Photos, Swatches!

MAC Moth Brown Eyeshadow

MAC Moth Brown Eyeshdow ($15) is a beautiful metallic charcoal-taupe with a tinge of purple. Moth Brown was re-released in the MAC By Request Collection as it was a highly popular choice among voters. If you were hoping for a brown, you might be disappointed because Moth Brown most definitely isn't brown. From the looks of it, it looks similar to the ever-popular MAC Satin Taupe, but when swatched, Satin Taupe is much warmer and has more brown tones, whereas MAC Moth Brown is cool toned with more gray tones.

It's a really pretty shade and shines differently in all angles. It's a shade that will work well with all eye colors and skin tones and is subtle enough to be worn all over the lid for daily wear or amped up for a night time smokey eye.

The consistency is very smooth like a typical MAC Frost finish eyeshadow, easy to blend and has opaque pigmentation.

A must-have? It's definitely nice to have especially if you gravitate towards taupe shades, but don't kick yourself if you missed out on it.

Do you own Moth Brown? Do you think it lives up to the hype? 

Shabby Apple $50 Gift Card Giveaway!

Shabby Apple $50 Gift Card Giveaway!

It's that time again, beauties! Shabby Apple is sponsoring another giveaway on my blog. If you've been a reader of mine for a while, you may of remembered a couple Shabby Apple giveaways in the past.

Shabby Apple is a website catered to providing feminine, flirty and sophisticated styles of clothing, appropriate for the office, special occasions, holidays and nights out! When I think of Shabby Apple, I automatically think of their beautiful dresses - what I personally like about the dresses is that each of the styles are very tasteful and daytime appropriate, which can actually sometimes be difficult to find in trendy stores geared at my age range (lots of clubbing attire). Although they probably have the biggest selection of dresses, they also stock shirts, skirts, swimwear (I love their bathing suits), shoes accessories and more!

The winner of this giveaway will receive a $50 gift card that can be used on anything on the Shabby Apple website.

Rules to Enter:

• "Like" Shabby Apple's Facebook Page. (click here to be re-directed)
• Leave a comment on my blog, stating which dress or item on the Shabby Apple website is your favorite! It's as simple as that.

Terms & Conditions: 

• This giveaway will run for one week, and he deadline to enter will be on Sunday, August 19, 2012 at 11:59 PM (CST). The winner will be chosen at random using random.org. 
• You must complete both forms of entry (like on facebook and comment here) to qualify.
• Open to residents of the US only. 
• You must permission from a parent or guardian to enter if you are under the age of 18 in most states (with the exception of Alabama and Nebraska, 19; Mississippi, 21).

Shabby Apple will also be providing my readers with a discount code that can be used on anything on the Shabby Apple website. Pleased stay tuned for the code!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!