Hey everyone!
Sorry it has seemed like literally forever since my last blog post, life definitley took me by the horns. Nonetheless, I am coming on here to provide a faster way to follow my blogging experience. In the months that I was not on here, I took to social media platforms such as Instagram and Make up Social. Please follow me on instagram linked below to see faster updates and makeup related context. Until next time!!
https://www.instagram.com/caitlinpearl/
Earlier last month, I came across a local vegan and cruelty-free brand, Pin Up Cosmetics and was intrigued. This San Francisco artisan based brand provides natural products that can glam up anyone! Pin up Cosmetics is 100% vegan, cruelty-free and without parabens, synthetics and other harmful chemicals. Pin up Cosmetics is not only available online but as well as in health food stores, specific boutiques and salons. Products that I will be reviewing are the clear lip gloss, mineral veil, foundation in shade Gorgeous Gracie and Blushing Betty Desire blush.
Starting with the gloss, packaging wise it’s packaged as your typical squeeze tube clear lip gloss. Texture is very thin with a soft peppermint scent. Upon first use, I was enthralled that the gloss wasn’t overly stick. One thing I think everyone despises about gloss is when the wind comes and your hair gets stuck in it. Thankfully I didn’t have an issue with this gloss. I enjoy the scent and I do not believe it was added for plumping purposes like other glosses on the market.
The only other mineral veil that I’ve heard of is from Bare Minerals, so when I received this mineral setting powder, I was intrigued. This powder differentiates in the fact that it is both paraben and talc-free, a difference that many high end brands can’t differ from. This setting powder easily glides on the skin while blurring out any fine lines in my skin. I noticed while wearing this product that my skin looked smoother in texture and my make up did last longer throughout the day. Overall, good setting powder for even my driest of skin!
The foundation shade in which I received, Gorgeous Gracie came packaged with an adorable powder puff for application which is delightful. The shade is almost a perfect match for my skin which is surprising because I always felt my Irish heritage has made it somewhat difficult to pick shades. I would consider this foundation sheer-medium coverage, build able with a natural finish. This is great for my everyday routine or my relaxed makeup kind of look as well.
Last but certainly not least is the phenomenal blush. This is the product that I was the most excited about and still am. There aren’t as many loose blushes on the market as they have been in the past. Blushing Betty is a beautiful strawberry coral shade with a sheen. I appreciate that very little of this product goes a very long way. Longevity isn’t exquisite with this blush, but it definitely held up great on my dry skin. Beautiful shade that I can incorporate into any makeup look, this blush has become one of my go to’s! Overall, i’m very pleased at the high performance of this brand and the cleanliness as well. If you have not familiarized yourself with Pin Up Cosmetics, you’re not living!
Disclosure: I received the products marked with (c/o) for review consideration. I am not compensated for mentioning these products, this is my honest opinion.
Two weeks ago, I was notified that the amazing Desi Perkins was planning to host a meet and greet at the Balm boutique in San Francisco via Ipsy. With already being a fan of her, I knew that I had to attend especially since I already had the day off. My coworker and I decided to do a day trip, majority of makeup shopping via Kryloan and Sephora, but wanted to end up at the Balm for Desi. With already having a good selection of the Balm’s makeup, I had to sit and think what products I needed, or I should say wanted since I truly don’t need any more makeup. I ended up replenishing my favorite Mary Lou-manizer, which I had already hit pan on and a loose eye shadow that I had been eyeing for quite some time. It was so good getting to meet you and thanks for reading this short post!
Several weeks ago, I placed a long overdue order of some liquid lipsticks that I have heard the blogging world go on and on about. I finally caved in and purchased five shades to truly see what Pretty Zombie Cosmetics is all about. Pretty Zombie Cosmetics is a cruelty-free and vegan brand that sells super pigmented liquid lipsticks, yay! These liquid lipsticks are matte but are not transfer proof, smudge proof, kiss proof and especially are not stains. I picked up 5 of the current 7 shades they are offering. I chose to skip out on the pink (pink potion) and the black (black cat) because I own pink velvet and black velvet from Limecrime. Also pink potion was limited edition and they no longer carry that shade. Knowing that they are a different type of liquid lipstick, I couldn’t convince myself to gain two more similar if not exact colors to my collection.
Packaging wise is very similar to every day liquid lipsticks. These liquid lipsticks contain seven grams of product, which is a good amount if you ask me! Typical liquid lipsticks carry 0.20 oz to 0.26 oz which comes out to a little over six grams. Labeling is found on the top of the applicator with the name of the shade in black and a clear background of adhesive. I wish the product was printed on the tip instead, but that’s just personal preference.
Pigmentation is a whole other ball game with this product. This product comes with a doe foot wand that is saturated in the product. When applying, you immediately have enough to cover your larger lip, for me its my bottom. I then find myself dipping in once again to get more product for the top lip. I do recommend using a lip liner with these so that they don’t feather/bleed outside the lip lines. Some of the color apply more evenly then others I have noticed. I feel sometimes Zombettie doesn’t apply as evenly as I would like and I find myself going over it 2-3 times to get more opacity and to deepen the color. This isn’t me complaining, it’s just that I prefer a deeper red then what one coat will give instantly.
Colorful liquid lipsticks are my jam. These liquid lipsticks are beautifully pigmented, long wear and matte finish. My obsession currently is Purple Poison pictured above. I think the reason that I love this color in particular is because I don’t have anything in collection similar to it. In comparison, Potion #9, the image above Purple potion is more of a true lilac. With having a blue undertone, this gorgeous pastel lilac truly delivers. I throughly enjoy that I don’t have to do a million layers to get opacity to my lips with Purple potion.
This color is a true purple yet on the camera it reads as more of a purple with a blue undertone. 3 witches would have to be another one of my favorites from the shades I purchased. 3 witches is definitely the darkest purple in the collection. This was a go to product in fall time for my purple shade. I feel this shade is very complimentary to multiple skin tones and it really can do no wrong.
Have you tried OCC Pool boy? Well meet the liquid lipstick version, Blue Moon! I was very intrigued by this shade and love to wear this as a pop of color on the lips. Super great pairing with a smoked out blue lash line and this lip to complement. Some clients may be intimated by this shade but I think it’s super fun. Overall I thoroughly enjoy these liquid lipsticks for multiple reasons. Vegan, cruelty-free, full coverage, matte, no fragrance, full coverage, long wear and the shade range. If you haven’t taken a moment to check this brand out, I highly suggest you do!
The craze of 2014 was definitely highlighting. Yes, I admit I became victim of it too. Whether it’s a matte highlight or a shimmering glow, highlighting is what 2014 brought to everyone’s immediate attention. With the rave of doing matte highlights, such as concealer, there was also a huge portion of clients looking for that soft or dominant glow on the high planes of their face. That’s where pressed and loose shimmering highlighters come into play. Becca Cosmetics, an Australian brand, is one of the leading high end cosmetic brands with raved about products, especially highlighters. Their called shimmering skin perfectors and they come in a range of shades suitable for all clients no matter their complexion. In my eyes, Becca Cosmetics is one of the leading queens in highlighters, or at least currently.
During the holiday’s last year, I decided to splurge on several highlighters from this brand to really see what the hype is about this brand. Their pressed shimmer skin perfectors run for $38 which isn’t bad considering the amazing product that’s in the compact. I picked up their top seller Opal (above image) Rose gold and their limited edition Champagne gold. I skipped out on Moonstone which is another popular shade for the reason that it’s pretty light. Opal is very comparable to MAC’s whisper of guilt limited edition highlight if you’re familiar. According to Becca, Opal is described as a golden opal pearl.
Who doesn’t love Rose gold? Becca describes Rose gold as a softened gold with rose tones infused into it. This highlighter is definitely a must have if you like a bronzey glow yet softer than a bronzer. Sometimes a golden glow to the skin is great but I feel that this highlighter just goes the extra mile. I love wearing this on my cheek bones on rather than on other areas on the skin to highlight. I prefer contouring and pushing this highlighter a little on top and above to create an amazing cheek look! Definitely worth checking out if you haven’t see this baby!
Who doesn’t love limited edition products? This Champagne gold beauty was limited edition during holiday of 2014 and when I saw it, I knew I had to have it. I’ll admit I am a sucker for limited edition products, I mean look at the gorgeous imprint on the highlighter! Limited edition to me means they know how amazing it is so you can only get your hands on it for a limited time! This beautiful highlighter is a lot darker in comparison to the other highlighters that I have mentioned. The great thing about this product is that I have to barely tap my brush in this product to get the desired pay off that i’m looking for. This highlighter is definitely not targeted for my specific skin tone therefore for all my followers who are a little deeper than me, try to find this!
Overall my opinion of the Becca shimmering skin perfectors is A+. I love the soft buttery texture, the ease of application and the instant gratification that they all deliver. The shade range Becca offers to their clientele is great, and I only hope they expand in the future. For application, I recommend taking a nice fluffy brush to lightly apply this all over the face. Good brushes to use with this these products are the Sigma F35 tapered highlight brush or the Sephora Pro collection #65 fanbrush .
I have now finally fully completed my current collection of Melt Cosmetics lipsticks. Developed by Lora Arellano and Dana Bomar, both amazing MAC Cosmetics Pro artist’s piled together to create this amazing company. As you may have seen in a previous post, I have already done prior shopping with Melt Cosmetics and gained eight beautiful shades of theirs. For fall/winter of 2014, they released their limited edition shade named Dark Room, which I will get to in a moment. Since I was planning to make a purchase of their limited edition shade, it occurred to me that I was so close to having the complete collection of all shades at the current moment, so why not pick up the others? Well yes, that is what ended up happening to me.
Now you’re probably wondering, what is Dark Room? Dark Room is the name of the limited edition that Lora and Dana created in honor of Lora’s signature lip with her beau, now husband Solgr. Dark Room is a beautiful shade that is described as a deep beet color, composed of red and purple undertones. It is a gorgeous shade for fall and should always be paired with a nice lip liner in the similar color wheel. This limited edition shade is found in beautiful cool toned gray and black packaging unlike the black and purple standard packaging.
With picking up two of the limited edition shade, I knew that I might as well finish the collection since i’m so close. The next colors that I picked up were Belladonna 2, Summer and Bane. Belladonna 2 is described as a classic red with a pink undertone. Summer is a gorgeous soft creamsicle orange shade. Bane is a deep jet black shade. Images of the shades are below.
Now that their lipstick collection is in my hands, I have to wait patiently for the eye shadows stacks to release. For the company, I’ve been truly in love with all of their products. The quality of their products is amazing and if you have not tried, I highly recommend you check them out! Also be on the lookout for releases coming soon from them!
This sponsored opportunity came about from Brand Backer to review a makeup collection that does have a connection to my life. Even though I am not personally a fan, it is make up and I want to put forth an honest review. The group, One Direction is launching their very first make up collection. Their collection is set to hit selected stores is United States, at Macy’s on August 11th, and at other retailers such as Stage Stores, Dillards, Beauty Brands and Lord and Taylor on August 25th. The collection is composed of a total of three different sets, “Take me home”, “Midnight Memories” and “Up all night”. Once again this is sposored content however this is my honest review of the products, enjoy!
Each makeup set is composed of multiple components such as a eye shadow palette, jumbo eye pencil, mascara, lipstick, lip gloss, nail polish and stencils. I was lucky enough to receive the Up all night collection. The packaging of this product truly embodies the group with their loud music and addictive personalities. You can tell that they spent the time to look at their targeted audience and make sure to create their collection according to what they want. I think color scheme wise, these collections are a great representation of the band. Each packaging comes in a metal tin case with plastic enclosure to keep products safe inside. When opening the tin, on the left hand side is a small look book detailing three ways to create different looks with the products in the collection.
Above is all the goodies you get within this limited edition tin. I enjoy the fact that this collection is very well rounded and it is not small. Sometimes when brands or individuals come out with makeup, they start smaller rather than larger. However One Direction has a completely different view, they want to give their clients everything when they debut! I feel that I will get usage out of everything except the stencils. I don’t find myself using them on myself but potentially in an upcoming art project. I am totally digging how the lip gloss is UV glow gloss, can’t wait to try that out! It’s good they chose a pink lipstick, a color that every client could wear. I enjoy the simplicity with the mascara, typical wand, nice wet formula, we’ll see how well it performs in the long run. I will have to say I am the most excited about the nail polish, such a gorgeous color and great pay off in one swipe! I am very impressed with the jumbo pencil, the pigmentation and creaminess was a complete shocker, in a good way. With already having blue eyes, it will be somewhat of a challenge to pull off this eye shadow palette but I am intrigued knowing the quality of pigmentation that these products contain.
Overall, what are my thoughts? Well it’s about time that a boy brand came out with a makeup line! I’m so used to guy bands not even considering make up collections, or just head over to make a fragrance. I enjoy the fact that their line is versatile with three different versions in this collection. The quality of pigmentation in this collection was shocking in a very good way. No matter the formulation of powder, cream, gloss or mascara, all of which perform well swatching and when being applied to the face. I think this is a great starting place from them and they can grow tremendously from this. For more on this brand, make sure to check out all social media following these hashtags for more insight, #makeupby1D, #thelookscollection, #markwins. You can also find out more updates from One Direction via their Facebook page, http://http://www.facebook.com/MakeupbyOneDirection .
Disclosure: I received the products marked with (c/o) for review consideration. I am not compensated for mentioning these products, this is my honest opinion.
Makeup Geek finally released her well anticipated blushes. With taking over 2 years to develop, she released a total of 13 blushes, four shimmers and nine matte’s. I heard about these blushes from Marlena directly at several make up conventions as well as beauty blogging events such as Ifabbo. With pure excitement, I knew that I had to order them immediately. These are blushes that I could not wait to get at a discounted price (IMATS). Also if you know me, it’s hard to buy products at full price when you can get them at a discounted price at a later point in time.
Since these blushes are amazing, I could not wait to get my hands on these so I knew I had to place an online order. You know how that goes, I not only got the blushes I had been eyeing, but I also got an eye shadow and two pigments. I ended up purchasing five of the 13 blushes, all of which are more on the pink and peach side. I personalized my selection due to these blushes belonging in my personal collection. The shades that I picked up are Bliss, Smitten, Romance, Head over heels and Hanky Panky (not in that order in the image above.) Each of the blushes came in her cute packaging with the name of the blush being visible on the back. I specifically purchased the pan blushes instead of the compact blushes because I wanted to place these in my Z-Palette.
The blush above is Romance and it’s no reason this blush is a top seller. Visually you are probably thinking Orgasm from Nars right? Yeah this blush is similar to Nars, but on crack! I would say this blush is a gorgeous soft rose with a golden sheen to it. On the cheeks is just amazing!
Next is Hanky Panky! This name gets me every time. Hanky Panky is described as a medium rose pink and it is just that. This is one of her matte blushes. The pigmentation is amazing, just a little touch of this blush goes a very long way.
Bliss is a beautiful light peachy coral. I had my eyes on this shade for a while because I think this will be my go to for summer time. This soft matte blush will be my main go-to blush for now until summers over. I’m excited about using this color so that I can stray away from my typical pink blushes which are my go to blush shades.
Smitten is another new colored blush for my collection. Smitten is a soft apricot shade. I can see myself using this shade lightly when doing an intense smokey eye or bold lip. If I were to load this up on my blush brush I still feel that I can wear that as well. This color excites me and I can’t wait to use more of it!
The last blush that I picked up is called Head over Heels. This blush is described is a soft bubblegum pink with a soft sheen. I was really intrigued by this shade because it was another blush that had a sheen but was super chunky. I love soften sheen’s in blushes rather than larger grades of shimmer/glitter in blushes.
Overall I am very pleased with my last purchase with Make up Geek Cosmetics. The blushes are getting more and more amazing every time that I use them. I find myself reaching to these blushes over my current ones in rotation within my vanity. I have nothing but great thoughts about these blushes. It’s going to be hard to resist getting the other shades to complete the collection. They’re definitely a cosmetic product worth looking at!
June 8th was the second stop on Iluvsarahii’s first make up seminar titled Face2Face. I was lucky to gain this day off in advance so that I could attend this make up seminar. If you are not familiar, Iluvsarahii is a make up artist whose only social media platform is Instagram. On Instagram, she has over 322K followers and her images and videos are flawless. Even though I think she should have more platforms, this busy MUA is taking time off her main job of beating faces to teaching a classroom full of ladies her techniques. She thoroughly demonstrated dewy skin, lashes, winged liner, day looks, smokey looks and order of application.
The picture above truly doesn’t do justice but her application was stunning. As a make up artist myself, I knew and understood every step that she took during application. The only comment that I had is that she did not prep either of her clients with eye cream, instead one with Photo Finish from Smashbox and the other with facial moisturizer. With that being said, I do wonder the wear time for the under eye on each of her clients. I understand how important and essential eye cream is so that’s why I was shocked.
I would have to say that a big portion of this class that I enjoyed was highlighting and contouring. Because she used cream products rather than powder, I got to truly see first hand how beautiful it looked. Seeing how harsh it was and then blended to softness in minutes was truly inspiring. I usually contour and highlight with powders but now I am going to take a second look for cream products. Cream also will truly help my drier skin with longevity as well. Looks like I gotta get new products in my current rotation or find products that I enjoy using on myself and on clients.
Overall, a lot of information in this class was reassurance for myself. I found myself answering the questions she proposed and explaining why she chose those shades over others. This is all thanks to having my background in makeup and being an make up artist myself. My attendance at this seminar was fun and well worth the commute to San Jose. Her tour was sponsored by so many amazing brands such as, Dose of Colors, Tarte, Beauty Blender, Ardell Lashes, Flutter lashes, Morphe Brushes and Vera Mona. The gratis bag at the end of the seminar was worth over $130, so it was well worth going! I gained her all time favorite products and well as learned how to use them since she demonstrated each one on her clients. Some of these products I’ve already owned and are familiar with whereas there are some that I am glad are being added to my collection. Thank you so much Iluvsarahii for having this make up seminar and it was a pleasure meeting you!!
With the hot weather recently, you can almost say that summer is here? With that being said, how do you change your make up regimen? What products do you rotate out of current use so that it’s suited for summer time? I’m going to introduce some of my summer essentials, products that I feel I cannot live without in the summer time. Summer time essential make up is all about simplicity. While you use less product in the summer time, products shift in order to bring out different physical features on each individual. For me, I love glowy skin, neutral and smokey eyes and soft cheeks are my essentials in summer.
What’s the first thing you have to do in summer time? Well that’s simple, stay cool. Sigma Cosmetics released this amazing set, the extended wear eye liner kit in cool which is one of my essentials in summer time. This set comes with three creamy, pigmented, long wear pencils and an amazing pencil brush. This kit comes with the shades Focus, Electrify and Flirt. Focus is described as a beautiful duo chrome green brown. Electrify is described as a shimmery royal purple. Flirt is described as a shimmery vivid turquioise. This set comes with one of my favorite brushes, their pencil brush, the E30. The reason that I love this set for summer time is that you can truly create any look with these amazing liners. The wide spectrum of shades and finishes in this small set allows any artist to create any desired look. The brush is an amazing add on in this kit because it can easily take your liner to a smokey look. If you’re not familiar with Sigma Cosmetics or this set, you should be!
Who doesn’t love to be a golden goddess in summertime? Too faced cosmetics released Sweethearts perfect flush, this amazing blush that truly gives the skin the most amazing glow. This dual colored blush is a beautiful combination of gold and rose pink. This is one of my first individual blushes from Too Faced and I have not been let down at all. The packaging is to adorable, I legit almost died when I first laid eyes on it. I love using my blush brush in both colors, or I sometimes concentrate my brush in one color to get an intensified version. This gold and pink combinations is suitable for any skin tone and anytime really! This will be a true essential in summer time!
Who doesn’t want to be called a hot mama? Introducing another of my essential blushes in summer time, Hot Mama from the Balm Cosmetics. Similar to the Too Faced blush, Hot Mama is a gorgeous blush that is highly pigmented, portable and desirable by many. This peachy pink hued blush gives your cheek just the right amount of color with a pop of a soft shimmer to illuminate your cheeks. One of the reasons this blush is amazing is because of the packaging, on the cover of the blush is a sexy pin up woman clearly displaying a hot mama. But whats better truly is inside of the packaging. This blush is an essential in my makeup bag for summertime!
While I’ve shown you make up products so far, it’s always good to take into consideration the base canvas that you are working with. With already having dry skin, this is my essential product! For summer time, everyone is going to be looking for radiance, glow, illuminating products in both skincare and makeup. Let me please introduce you to my current essential daily moisturizer from Fresh Cosmetics, the Lotus Youth Preserve Radiance Lotion. This is a lightweight moisturizer that delivers 24 hours of radiant moisture to the skin while packing in the Lotus youth preserve which protects the skin from signs of aging caused from free radicals.
With all the pools, oceans and sun time, your skin can feel very dehydrated. My summer time essential would have to be the GlamGlow thirstymud hydrating treatment. Glam Glow is most known for the original treatment in the black container which also has an exfoliant in it. This is the hydrating treatment which not only hydrates and replenishes skins moisture, but it also calms the skin by giving short, medium and long term results. This product is not only subject to face but also neck and decollete area as well. With already having dry skin, I know that this treatment will not be necessary at least twice a week.
So now that you know my essential summer must haves, what are yours? I would love to hear what are you’re must have’s in summer time. Thanks so much for reading, and talk to you all soon!!
Caitlin Pearl 