Testing out Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation!

I got a hold of a couple sample packets of Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua a couple of weeks ago and finally decided to try it out today. When I asked for a sample, I expected they were going to pour some product directly from their counter tester bottle, but they actually had sample packets of each shade. I was a little disappointed because the packets are so small, I figured I'd need both to cover my face. With the little bottles they fill up from the testers, they can typically last me a week - sometimes more if I'm lucky.

Anyway, the Sales Associate matched me to B30 Beige Sable. My shade in the regular Vitalumiere is 40 Beige. Right away, I noticed that B30 looked a little light, but when it was applied to an area of my face, it was undetectable. I'd say it's a good MAC NC30 color match.

I've read several reviews for Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua, and the majority of the reviews stated that this particular foundation looks best when applied with the fingers. I tend to use more product when I use my fingers, and considering I only had a couple of small packets, I wasn't about to waste any product. I first moisturized my face with a little DDF Oil-Free Moisturizing Dew and then I applied the foundation like I normally would any foundation. I squeezed out a small amount and placed a dot on each cheek, nose, chin and forehead. Then, with my Sigma F80 brush, I lightly buffed it in my skin with small circular motions. I then placed a tiny bit more product on my cheeks to build the coverage and again, buffed it in with my brush.

The consistency is a bit different than any foundation I think I've tried. I figured because it's water based, it would be really thin and watery. It's incredibly light and has an airy, whipped texture. Once applied to the face, you can really tell it water based because it has that slight cooling sensation of water. The color seemed to oxidize slightly after a few minutes, but it didn't oxidize too dark, orange, etc. The color is perfect. I was a little surprised by the coverage. It evened out my skintone beautifully and even covered my blemishes pretty good. It's a light coverage and can be layered easily to medium coverage. The finish is a lovely illuminating satin. I'm wearing it right now and it still looks great after almost 7 hours, with the exception that my chin and nose has become a little shiny.

Really loving it so far - and I'm pretty confident that I'll be purchasing it for my summer foundation! I'll have a FULL review to come later!

FACE: DDF Ultra-lite Oil Free Moisturizing Dew

Hard Candy Glamoflauge Concealer in Light & Medium (mixed 50/50) applied under my eyes

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in B30 applied with my Sigma F80 Brush

Chanel Bronze Universel/Soleil Tan De Chanel Bronzer applied with my Coastal Scents Tapered Duo Fiber Brush

BROWS:

MAC Espresso Eyeshadow

ELF Eyebrow Treat and Tame in Medium

EYES:

Urban Decay Naked Palette ("Naked" and "Buck" blended in my crease and smoked outward, darkened my outer V with "Smog") 

Nars Coconut Grove Eyeshadow lined my upper and lower lashline

Wet n Wild Silent Treatment Trio applied the pink browbone shade to my lid

Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy Eyeshadow applied on my lid over the Wet n Wild shadow, and my inner corners

MAC Blackline Pearlglide Eyeliner on my waterline 

Covergirl Lash Perfection Mascara

Revlon Beyond Natural #91169 False Eyelashes snipped in half

LIPS:

MAKE UP FOREVER Aqua Lipliner in #4C

OCC Lip Tars - Divine and Hush mixed 50/50

Sally Hansen Lip Inflation Extreme Lipgloss (clear)

Hope you all have a wonderful night! And, if you haven't already, please check out my giveaway HERE!

NOTD: Essence Colour & Go Nail Polish in Mellow Yellow!

Three (3) coats of Essence Mellow Yellow & One coat of Seche Vite Top Coat.

Three (3) coats of Essence Mellow Yellow & One coat of Seche Vite Top Coat.

Essence Colour & Go Nail Polish in Mellow Yellow is a cream formula pale yellow. It's a perfect summer statement color that will add a bright pop of color to any outfit.

I've always liked yellow nail polishes, but every time I end up purchasing yellow, I'm never satisfied with it. One thing I've learned about yellow polishes is that the more pastel they are, the better they look on my skintone. This particular polish is almost in between pastel yellow and yellow. I was hoping it would be a little more white toned, but I like it.

The formula of this polish was streak city with the first coat, but evened out by the second. With the second coat, 95% of the streaks were gone, but I opted for three coats for full opacity. 

I'll probably wear this polish only once more before summer is over, so it's not really a bad investment for 99 cents!

The lovely Lisa Eldridge sporting yellow nails in her Quick Pick-Me-Up video

Essence can be found at ULTA stores or online at ULTA.com.

Dior Amber Diamond Shimmer Star Review with Photos & Swatches!

Dior Amber Diamond Shimmer Star

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: A light-filled pressed powder enriched with Jeweled Microdust™. These five micro-shimmering tones set off sparks of brilliance, highlighting your complexion. The ultra-fine, super-blendable formula virtually fuses with your skin for a sheer, radiant luminosity. (SEPHORA)

Dior Diorskin Shimmer Star is available in two shades: Amber Diamond and Rose Diamond. They are both highlighting shades, but because Rose Diamond contains pink tones, it can also be considered a blush.

Amber Diamond contains five stripes of warm frosty shades: An ivory with golden-yellow frost, champagne, tan, bronze and golden peach. When all of the shades are swirled together, it creates a beautiful warm, champagne/tan glow.

I tried comparing it to other highlighters of mine, but it's actually very different than anything I own. The only thing I could compare is the first strip of color is almost identical to Nars Albatross or MAC Vanilla Pigment. From the looks of it, it may be comparable to Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips or Bobbi Brown Shimmerbrick, but from swatches I've seen, Amber Diamond seems a little less frosty & subtle. To be honest, at first I figured this highlighter was overrated. To me, it didn't look like anything special I should go run out and buy - but after trying it, I see what all of the hype is about. It is frosty - but when applied to the cheeks, it's so subtle and it almost becomes one with your skin. It's easy to blend and gives the prettiest glow that's not overpowering. (No disco ball, here!)

Yesterday my Mom had asked me what I have on my cheeks that's so glowy, so I handed her the highlighter to test out herself and she loved it. Right after, we went grocery shopping and this woman stopped us in the middle of the aisle and was like "Is this your daughter!?" Caught completely off guard, we nodded and smiled politely, and she was like "No wonder! She has your glowing skin!" She actually went on for a couple minutes and mentioned how nice it must be to go to Wal-mart and get complimented. As we walked off, I mentioned to my Mom that it must be the Dior. It was kinda funny.

Covergirl Lash Perfection Volumizing Mascara Review!

Covergirl Lash Perfection Volumizing Mascara

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: 
Volumizing mascara that individually wraps each lash for perfectly plumped lashes that resist clumping. Up to 3x the volume vs. bare lashes.

FEATURES:

• Innovative brush surrounds each lash with our amazing conditioning formula so each lash is individualized and volumized
• Hypoallergenic
• Removes easily with soap and water
• Ophthalmology tested 

Lash Perfection is one of Covergirl's newest mascaras. Covergirl Lash Blast has been my favorite mascara for the past couple of years, and there have only been a small handful of mascaras I've tested out during that time. Why? Because every other mascara I use ends up under my eyes in a couple of hours - I've pretty much stopped trying out new mascaras unless they claim to be smudgeproof/transfer resistant. Considering I've had pretty good luck with Covergirl Mascara's, I decided to try out Lash Perfection as I was in desperate need of a new tube of mascara and Lash Blast wasn't on sale ($9?! No thanks.)

First off, the wand is pretty similar to the Covergirl Lash Blast, Lash Blast Length and Volume Exact mascaras as the wand is rubber/plastic, as opposed to the standard wire/fiber wand. It's thinner than the Last Blast wand and a little fatter than the Lash Blast Length wand. Everyone has their own preference to the type of wands they like, and I have always really liked large, fluffy wands. I'm not really sure why, considering they are more likely to create a mess, but I've always found that they build volume better.Well, after two years of using Lash Blast, I'm getting really sick of that large wand. This wand works really well at coating the lashes and getting the smallest lashes in the inner and outer corners. Once applied, it's really easy to build volume with continued swiping of the lashes. This mascara doesn't claim to "lengthen", but I did find that it slightly lengthened my lashes. When the mascara dries, it dries slightly crispy - this is a good and bad thing. It's good because if you have thin, sparse lashes, it will hold a curl much better than a mascara that dries soft. It can be a bad thing because it's not very pleasant combing through crispy lashes. I do think this mascara holds a curl better than most mascaras I've tried. It actually keeps my lashes fairly curled all day without having to curl them myself with a curler. Throughout the day it doesn't flake, smudge or transfer. Lastly, it's simple to remove with baby oil and a cotton ball.

*Based on reviews, some have compared this to the recently discontinued MaxFactor Lash Perfection Mascara. So if you loved that one, this may be worth a try. (Makeupalley)

PROS: Slightly lengthens, Builds volume well, Minimal to no clumping, Separates well, Doesn't smudge, flake or transfer. Can look natural or a little more dramatic based on how much you apply. The price is great. It's a couple of dollars cheaper than Lash Blast ($5.99 at Target).

CONS: Makes the lashes a little crispy - which can be a good or bad thing based on individual preference.

PACKAGING: I think the packaging is nice. It comes in a sleek, charcoal tube and has a pretty good brush.

OVERALL: Overall, I think this is a great mascara and I will definitely re-purchase!