Friday, March 9, 2012

Review: KKCenterHK False Lashes!

KKCenterHK False Lashes

I'm a huge fan of false lashes. Maybe a year ago or so, I was wearing false eye lashes every single day. Some of you might think I'm nuts, but once you get started with falsies, it becomes an addiction (not a bad one of course!) I'd never wear a full-strip, because that's just too much for every day, but I'd snip those babies in half and wear them on the outer corners of my eyes, and they'd blend in perfectly with my other lashes.

They'd give the effect of larger, elongated eyes that looked uber girly. Just a little bit of liner and lipgloss and I was out the door!

Needless to say, purchasing eyelashes every other day was becoming way too pricey. Especially since I noticed a small price increase at my local drugstore on Ardell/Andrea lashes. It took about a week or two to get use to the way I look without lashes. For a whole week it seemed like something was missing from my face! Now I usually only wear lashes when I'm going out, and I want to look my extra best, which is much easier on my wallet.

If you're an avid reader of fashion and beauty blogs, you may have heard of KKCenterHK. I've seen reviews for their eyelashes featured on several of my favorite beauty blogs (MakeupbyLacy & HollywoodHeels to name a couple).

KKCenterHK is a company based out of Hong Kong that sells false lashes, makeup, wigs, nail products and accessories. It's a very popular site to purchase false lashes from because you can buy a large quantity at a low price.

I picked out two different styles: ES A562 and ES A601. So far, I've worn both styles and really like them. The bands are thin and very flexible, so they adapt well to the shape of your eyes and they feel comfortable after several hours of wear. Both sets retail for $16 for ten pairs, so it ends up being $1.60 a pair.

Left: Style #ES A562, Right: Style #ES A601

Here I am wearing ES A601.

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Thursday, March 8, 2012

MAC Lickable Lipstick Review, Photos and Swatches!

mac lickable lipstick

 MAC Lickable Lipstick

MAC Lickable Lipstick ($15) is the newest pink that has been added to my collection. It's described on the MAC website as a bright, clean blue-pink. It's comparable to MAC's ever popular Girl About Town (described as a bright, blue fuschia), but it's a little less purple, so many reviews mention it's more wearable than Girl About Town. I thought it'd be similar to my recent fav - MAC Insanely It Sheen Supreme, but Lickable is more blue-toned, and Insanely It has a stronger rosy-red tone.

Lickable is a Cremesheen, so the formula is creamy, with good color payoff. It's semi-opaque, but can be built with a few more swipes for full opacity.

My obsession with bright pinks aren't quite over yet. Despite looking bright and intimidating in the tube, bright pinks lighten up quite nicely when mixed with lesser-intense, muted pinks. I pretty much mix MAC Creme Cup and Wet n Wild Think Pink with everything, and it always creates a more wearable pink that is sill vibrant.

MAC Lickable Lipstick

mac lickable lipstick review

mac lickable lipstick swatch

I really like it and I think I'll be wearing it often. It's a very wearable bright pink that's not too in-your-face.

Do you own MAC Lickable or any similar shades?

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Essence Get Big! Lashes Volume Boost Mascara Review

 Essence Get Big! Volume Boost Volume Mascara


Essence Get Big! Volume Boost Volume Mascara is one of Essence's newest mascaras. It claims to provide "density and abundance with every application" that won't clump or feel heavy on your lashes. The large brush design is said to reach even the tiniest lashes.


I've tried a couple of Essence's mascaras in the past - Lash Mania Mascara (meh) and their Multi-Action Mascara, which I actually think is pretty good.

They are very inexpensive - I don't think any of them cost over $4. So it's not a big investment if you wanna test out a few of them, or if you're just plain pressed for cash and don't feel like spending a lot on a mascara.

One thing I'm not crazy about is that the mascaras aren't sealed - I'm not sure if it's how they are sold everywhere, but at ULTA, none of them are sealed, and I'm sure people are opening them all day long, thus drying them out. Regardless, for a couple of bucks, I'm willing to give them a try.

I was drawn to the Get Big! Lashes Mascara because of the big honkin' tube and large, fluffy brush. For whatever reason, I'm drawn to trying out mascaras with huge wands even though they are typically ridiculously inconvenient to apply.

  Essence Get Big! Volume Boost Volume Mascara (wearing three coats)

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I won a giveaway and I'm so psyched!

 
It's very rare that I enter a giveaway - and by rare I mean very rare. Almost never. The only giveaways I'll typically enter on occasion are the ones sponsored by Temptalia and Makeup and Beauty Blog.

For some reason I decided to try my luck and enter The Best Thing in Beauty's recent giveaway for an adorable Bobbi Brown Mini Shimmer Brick in the shade Sandstone.

I've been a long time subscriber of The Best Things in Beauty (I believe ever since I started my blog in '09 - she started a month before me!) and if you haven't stopped by her blog yet, I really urge you to. She's known as "Charleston Girl" and she is sure to keep you drooling over the newest high-end makeup collections and her lovely sunlit swatches. She is one fabulous woman with wonderful taste and a passion for beauty. What are you waiting for!? Go read! (click here)

Anyway, I really couldn't believe I won, and here comes my package in the mail yesterday morning!

Of course as generous and sweet as her, she added in a couple awesome extras. I'm so thankful and can't wait to try everything out!

Believe it or not, as big of a makeup fanatic as I am, I've never tried a Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick. I've always been curious, but since I own so several MAC MSF's that are on the shimmery side, I passed up ever purchasing any. I'm definitely not afraid of shimmer, glitter or frosty cheek products. There are some people that want nothing to do with anything that shines, but I love a matte blush just as much as I love a shimmer.

Sandstone (limited edition shade) contains five stripes of pure, glowy goodness. There is a lovely champagne ivory, golden tan, bronzed brown, copper brown and chocolate brown. All stripes are of course frosty and pigmented.

What's really great about Shimmer Bricks is that you can use the colors individually (on eyes or cheeks) or you can swirl them all together for a beautiful golden, tan glow. 

Bobbi Brown Sandstone Shimmer Brick

Bobbi Brown Sandstone Shimmer Brick

If you're wondering about the compact, it's actually metal - and yes, heavy! The compact has a very high-end look and feel. I'm sure you could even use it for a little paper weight.. haha! It has a magnet closure, which frankly, I'm quite obsessed with. This little compact was a Bobbi Brown exclusive back in 2009, so I'm sure they are very hard to find now.

Bobbi Brown Sandstone swirled together.

I'd like to thank Charleston Girl again for this awesome prize, and I can't wait to put it to use!

Have any of you tried Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks? Have any favorites?