wearing R&R blush in all-nighter

well hello, here is a picture of me wearing the rock and republic blush in all-nighter:


as i mentioned in my review yesterday, it shows up more coral on the skin rather than the orange showed in the pan. also note that the shimmers are not very noticeable (no discoball face here!)

not the best picture, but hopefully you get the idea of what it looks like on the cheeks :)

review: rock & republic contrived pressed blushes

i recently bought three rock & republic blushes. i heard there was a 50% cosmetics sale on the rock&republic website when you use the code ROCKCOSMETICS at the checkout, so i took this as a chance to try out their blushes since i heard the quality is that of nars (my fave). the blushes normally retail for $40, so i got each of these for roughly $20. i decided on three blushes: foreplay, all-nighter, and x-rated.

foreplay

foreplay is definitely a neutral blush. i would describe it as a nude peach with brown tones. usually subtle colors like this requires many layers of application in order for it to show up on my skin, but with this i dont have to use nearly as much as i thought.

comparing R&R foreplay (right) to mac's melba (left)

in the pan, melba has more peach to it than foreplay. you can see how foreplay has more brown/tan tones to it compared to melba.


here i swatched (from left to right) mac's lilicent, mac's melba, and R&R foreplay. again, the brown/tan tones in foreplay are more apparent when swatched to the more peachy pink tones of lilicent and melba.

all-nighter

all nighter is a deep orange with slight pink tones and dusted with tiny gold flecks. but when worn on the skin, the pink tones come out so it looks a bit like coral. when i first saw this, it reminded me of cargo's laguna.

comparing R&R all-nighter (left) and cargo laguna (right)

as you can see, the color is extremely similar in the pan besides the obvious fact that all-nighter has the gold shimmers. if you looked really closely, you can see that all-nighter has more of a pink/red tone compared to laguna.


when swatched, the differences in the blushes show up better. you can see how all-nighter(right) has more pink tones to it that almost makes it coral whereas laguna (left) is defintely more orange.

x-rated

x-rated probably is my favorite out of the three i got. it is a deep pink/fuschia color that is matte. it is gorgeous on, giving an appearance of a nice healthy flush. the application process i use for nars desire also applies to x-rated, where i only have to tap my brush lightly into the pan to get enough product.


comparing nars desire(left) to R&R x-rated(right). the color is not similar at all since desire is more of a hot pink and x-rated is a dark pink.


desire(left) x-rated(right) the differences in the two are even more apparent when swatched.

overall i am very satisfied with these blushes. they are exactly as i expected in quality, where they are super pigmented, long lasting and the packaging is so luxurious. you get quite a lot of product too, much more than mac and nars, even more than cargo as well. for the $20 each i paid, i think it is well worth the price for the quality. i wish more colors were available or else i would have gotten more!

do any of you own and R&R blushes?

FOTD & NOTD: pinky neutral & revlon peach petal

aha im keeping up with this whole blog thing :P i am currently in the process of looking at new cameras so my youtube will be on hiatus until i can get a new camera that records in HD. as for blogging...i can continue on with because the picture quality isnt too terrible :P

here is another FOTD i wore yesterday. this is a look i often do. it is very neutral and matches any outfit i throw together.


excuse the mascara blob in the picture :)

i also went to walgreens with my mom because she wanted a new nail polish and it turned out they were having a BOGO 50% off sale on revlon so she had me pick out a color too. i randomly chose revlon's peach petal off the rack since we didnt spend much time there:



this nail polish surprised me. i was expecting a sheer mess or a light pink that looked tacky and im pleasantly surprised to say that this is neither. this polish did require three coats however, because it streaks a bit. but for the 2.70 that was paid for this i didnt mind working to make the formula work on my nails. the resulting color is very nice. its a milky baby pink with peach tones to it. my mom loves the color on me. my older sister saw my nails and exclaimed it was the light pink shes been looking for all along haha.


my NOTD and FOTD

here is what i used for makeup(as usual, mostly mac products unless otherwise mentioned):

face:
small amts of revlon colorstay foundation all over
warm soul bronzer all over
well dressed blush
CCB in hush on cheekbones and bridge of nose

eyes:
painterly PP
naked lunch all over lid
embark in crease
shroom as highlight
brun in outer v
UD 24/7 liner in zero
stila kajal liner in onyx on waterline/tightline
MUF smokey lash mascara

nothing on the lips

i wore some foundation today for the first time in what seems like forever (really its been years...since i was in high school!) i usually dont like the feeling of foundation because i like my skin to breathe but yesterday after i showered my skin became a blotchy mess. i needed something to even out my skin.

i hope you all are enjoying your wkd!

FOTD: dusty neutral

this is something i threw together today on my lids. i was wearing a navy shirt so i decided to add a little dark blue to my routine neutral boring brown look.


the dark blue prussian shadow ends up looking like a smokey grey when blended out which makes this look wearable.


products used (mostly mac unless otherwise mentioned):

face:
mocha blush
warm soul mineralized blush as bronzer
hush CCB on cheekbones and bridge of nose

eyes:
painterly pp
brule as all over wash
prussian in crease
mulch in outer v
honey lust on center of the lid
urban decay 24/7 liner in zero
makeup forever smokey lash

lips:
hue lipstick...thin layer
estee lauder pure gloss in impulsive coral

im trying to show some love to those shadows i rarely reach for...prussian and honey lust. i dont use prussian much because it doesnt come off as the blue it shows in the pan. as i mentioned earlier...it always smokes out into a grey. as for honey lust...the texture is harder to work with compared to other mac shadows. it has minor fallout and has low color payoff, although it is sparkly which is why i chose to use it in the center of my lid.

the weekend is approaching...i hope you all have fun plans :)

NOTD: essie tart deco

this is my current nail polish, essie's tart deco. it looks a bit different on my nails than the bottle (in the bottle it is a nice pinky salmon color...on my hands it turns slightly from pinky to orangey) which is always irritating, however i think my topcoat may be the culprit to this color change. next time i paint my nails with this polish i will make sure that is the reason....

what are you wearing on your nails now?

collective haul..a jumble of things

i've been a good girl as promised and i havent spent TOO much since the last time i did a haul. with that being said i DO have a few items i'd like to share that i've purchased over last month in a half or so. enjoy :)

i got a couple things from mac; one thing from a collection and one from the permanent line. i didn't get much from the in the groove collection at mac since i only wanted two things: jazzed lipstick and stereo rose MSF. at the time the collection came out i was on vacation so i wasnt able to get stereo rose in time. however i did get the jazzed lipstick:

mac lipstick in jazzed

jazzed is a light orange based coral. i would say the color is flattering for most skin tones. the finish is creamsheen.

on my lips:


i also got the cream color base in hush

i would describe hush as a pinky nude shimmer. it is very flattering. i use it as a highlight for my cheekbones and nose. i find it has the properties of being a "skin perfecter" since everytime i use it, my skin looks luminous and healthy.

swatches:

it does have high frost to the formula...


but when blended out it just comes off as a pretty sheen.

estee lauder pure color gloss in impulsive coral

this gloss was actually given to me by my friend hieu. he works for estee lauder and absolutely adores the brand. i only own a few products by estee lauder, but mostly because hieu has given them to me haha. but i very much love this product. it is super comfortable on the lips, the color is sheer yet noticeable, and the smell is nice. after using this gloss it makes me want to check out more colors in this line since they just came out with an improved formula.

revlon super lustrous gloss from left to right: coral reef and pink pop

these glosses are great. they are very pigmented for drugstore gloss, have a creamy appearance in color, last a decent amount of time, and feel comfortable on the lips. they arent drying and have no offensive odor. pink pop is a bubblegum pink and coral reef is a orange based coral. i really like both colors and have used both.

swatches from left to right: EL impulsive coral, revlon pink pop, revlon coral reef

the estee lauder gloss is a shimmer formula but on the lips it is very subtle. both the revlon glosses have a cream finish. you can see that the impulsive coral gloss has more pink tones to it compared to coral reef.

here is impulsive coral on my lips by itself:


HIP professional chrome color liner in silver and gold

i bought these for about $2 each, they were on sale. i figured i would use them as highlights in the inner corner, or even under the lower lashline. i have only used the gold and it is actually a really great product. it applies super smoothly and pigmented. the formula is creamy.

swatches

the gold liner is a yellow based gold. the silver is more of a white silver.

i also picked up a few nail polishes that were on sale at my local store. here is what i got:

OPI hot n spicy

i have worn this polish once and it disappointed me just a little bit. this is also a coral color (i think ive been over indulging myself with corals) with strong orange tones. on my fingernails it comes off as just orange which isnt what i wanted. however i think this color would be flattering on my toes so i am not completely disappointed.

essie lilacism and tart deco

of the two i have only worn tart deco (it is what i am wearing at the moment). the formula was a bit thick but workable. the color is nice...i wish it were a bit more pink rather than creamsicle orange but it still flatters my hands. i would describe tart deco as a light salmon color and lilacism as a pure lilac color with no pink tones and more blue tones.

out the door topcoat

i got this topcoat at sally's and i plan on comparing its performance to seche vite. that will be an upcoming post for sure.

that is all of my haul. if you have any questions about anything, dont hesitate to ask :)

review: revlon matte lipstick

EDIT: I DID AN UPDATED POST ON MY COLLECTION HERE.

the revlon matte lipstick line contains ten shades all together, of which i only own 4 of the lighter shades: nude attitude, pink pout, mauve it over, and really red. the lipsticks are pigmented enough with an obviously matte finish. since these are matte finishes, they are drying to the lips. however, they apply smoothly and feel comfortable on the lips. it doesnt have an offensive odor. i sometimes leave the matte finish and other times i add gloss over the color, especially with nude attitude. of the colors i own my favorites are pink pout and nude attitude. i would repurchase these because they perform satisfactory to me.

SWATCHES

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: really red, nude attitude, pink pout, mauve it over

REALLY RED

really red is a cherry red color. this was actually the first of the mattes i bought on a whim a long time ago because i was looking for the perfect red lipstick (still searching). i dont like this color on me as it is not dark enough for my taste. i plan to use it up as a cream blush.
**UPDATE: I recently did a post with a Really Red and changed my thoughts about it. Check it out HERE.

NUDE ATTITUDE

nude attitude is a yellow based nude. i frequently use nude attitude to blank out my lips to make another color stand out on my lips. this is probably the most worn color for me out of the four since it is so versatile. i dont prefer wearing this alone though, it is too yellow for my liking.

PINK POUT

pink pout is a bright cool pink. although i say bright, it isnt so bright where it isnt wearable. i really enjoy this lipstick. i actually lost my first one i had a bit ago and repurchased it because i liked the color that much.

MAUVE IT OVER

mauve it over is exactly as the name says, a mauvy color with brown tones to it. this color is almost the exact same color as my lips...just a smidge darker i would say.

what do you think of the matte line? do you prefer glossy or matte?