Rawr! Leopard Print Eye!

I never really watch Youtube videos (I have a short attention span!), but I really like Michelle Phan! She's really funny along with being awesome at makeup! I thought it would fun to recreate her Sexy Leopard Print Eyes.

I used Urban Decay's Book of Shadows Volume 1, which I was sooo excited about and rarely use. I mistakenly used Midnight Cowboy, thinking "maybe this time it won't rain glitter on my face". It did. I don't understand why its always touted as their "best selling color". It's one of the worst shadows I've ever used. Does anyone else have this problem with it??

What I used:

-Urban Decay Baked- rich bronze

-Urban Decay Smog- deep coppery bronze

-Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy- pink champagne w/ lots of silver glitter – our best-seller! (lies!)

-Wet n Wild Creme Liner in Black

I sort of followed the tut. I used Midnight Cowboy all over lid to browbone (mistake), then brushed a small amount of Smog to combat the stained pink of my lids (more on that later). Then I took Baked with a small brush and patted it underneath my lid. For the spots, I used a lip brush and black cream liner. It looked way better in person, but was fun. From far away though, it just looks like random spots on my lid...This actually took less time than my normal makeup!

I think next time I'll do it closer to my browbone. I have an unhealthy obsession with leopard print. I've even got the Snuggie!

About the stained pink lids...that's from yesterday. This is the second time I've used a red color from the Aromaleigh Hi Fi Retro Matte collection and gotten stained lids! I used a primer so I'm not sure why. My skin is way white though, and sucks up color. Has anyone else had this problem?

Do you girls have any makeup that you were so excited to get and never use? Do you like Midnight Cowboy? (I can't be the only hater...I just don't get the hype!) Do you have any favorite Youtube-rs?

Beauty Blog Link Love

Here's this week's Beauty Blog Link Love. Go procrastinate and check out these great posts!

-theNotice is hosting a New Year's giveaway with lots of discontinued or hard-to-find items, and everyone has three chances to win!
-Priminition, an expose on primers - over at Jeweled Thumb
-A go-to neutral purple-beige look from Maggie at The Polka-Dotted Apple!
-Krasey Beauty warms it up for winter with a golden makeup look using Chanel's Spring 2010 collection
-This week at I Heart Cosmetics Sarah has been loving Mac's warm and cozy collection
-Vex in the City explains why Dr Hauschka Rose Day Cream is all she needs to beat her winter blues
-Amy over at Yoetke Beauty Blog is taking L'Oreal's 4-Week Lashboost Challenge!
-Arianne can't stop raving about her holy grail foundation (OMG!) on Glitter Geek
-Lisa Kate has some Sparkle Approved Mineral Makeup Companies to share with you!
-LiAnn asks what beauty products you tried that made you say "meh"
-Retrodiva wants to know what your signature fragrance is!
-Jellyminx Thinks swatches Sleek Eyeshadow palettes
-Hot Beauty Health share some sexy haircolor ideas to start the new year off fresh!
-Over at Lipglossiping this week, Charlotte contemplates life with triangle hair.
-This week at Get Lippie, Louise tries out a Scarlet Johanssen-style makeover.

Thats it for this week! Have fun reading!

Cheer Bear using Aromaleigh Hi Fi Mattes!

When one googles "Cheer Bear", some surprising images come up...

Well there's this one, which the guy apparently made himself (and I think is a bit awesome)...

And this one, which is OUT OF STOCK (who bought up all of these?)...

And this. Which creeps me out. A lot. Something about those eyes and smashed nose...I don't think I could sleep well knowing this guy was watching me. I feel like he's hungry...for my blood. (And only $21.99+18.99 S&H!)

What I used:
-Aromaleigh Hi Fi Retro Matte in Kookie- girly cool pink
-Aromaleigh Hi Fi Retro Matte in Real Gone- bright lemony yellow
-Aromaleigh Hi Fi Retro Matte in Cat's Pajamas- matte coral with warm orange tones
-Aromaleigh Hi Fi Retro Matte in Cranked- slightly muted coral red with slightest lustre
-Aromaleigh Les Papillons in Air & Light- A silvery white with highlights and sparks of every shade of the rainbow
-Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero
-Wet N Wild Creme liner in black
-Hi Fi Cosmetics Concentrated Gel Blush in Amore- bright coral with golden flecks
-Revlon lipstick in Silver City Pink

I'm worried about Creepy McCheerBear coming to get me, can you tell? XD

So I thought this would turn out more pink, but Kookie was going white on me and I had to improvise! Therefore, it's still kind of Cheer Bear-esque. I used Kookie in the inner vee, then Real Gone, Cat's Pajamas and finally Cranked, which I blended into the crease. I also used Air & Light to blend the crease a bit and highlight the browbone. I'm not sure why I paired the warm shimmery blush with cool toned lips...Next time I'd wear a different lipstick!

Who's YOUR favorite Care Bear? Do you remember them? I used to have all the VHSs!

Two Looks Using Urban Decay Crash Liner

Crash is a formally exclusive 24/7 liner shade to the Stereophonic 24/7 set. It's now available in full size as one of Urban Decay's four new liner shades for Spring! It's a "deep plum w/ teeny silver glitter". Check out swatches from the set here.

I been giving major love to the rest of the Stereophonic set, especially Underground (which I think is totally underrated and gorgeous). I decided to test out Crash today since I really haven't tried it out yet!

What I used:
-The She Space Side Stepped- woodsy plum berry
-The She Space Crushed Metal- smoky grey shimmer with layers of pink and copper
-The She Space Leo Collection in Sunflowers & Sugar- a tiny bit buttery gold infused with serious blue, lavender and pink iridescent shimmer
-Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Crash- deep plum w/ teeny silver glitter
-Urban Decay Afterglow blush in Quickie- bright pink with shimmer
-Revlon matte lipstick in Pink Pout

Side Stepped on lid. A teensy bit of Crushed Metal in the crease. Sunflowers & Sugar as highlight.

Crash borders on being black. It's really dark. I used a purple based color to bring out the purple tones in it. You can even see the itty bitty glitter bits!

What I used:
-Hi Fi Holiday 09 Adeste Fideles- super-shimmery gold with a cool green interference
-Hi Fi Holiday 09 Let It Snow- super sparkly white
-Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Crash- deep plum w/ teeny silver glitter
-Physician's Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Blush in Rosy Glow
-Gosh Velvet Touch lipstick in Darling- nude

Here I used Adeste Fideles from lashline to crease, which by the way, if you don't have, you need. It's so pretty and unusual. Then I used Let it Snow as a highlight and also patted a bit on top of Darling to make it up not so corpse-y!

So I like Crash. I don't think its a "must-have" and that there are better 24/7 liners to get first. It doesn't go on as smooth as a solid color, like Zero (black) or Electric (blue). I've noticed the ones with glitter are a bit bumpy and weird and I need to go over em twice to get an even color.

Have you tried Crash or any of the new Spring colors yet? What's your favorite 24/7 color? (Mines Underground or Zero, but black is so boring!)

A Piece of Me In...January 2010 + Happy 101 Tag!

This month, I like...breaded green beans (yummmm), watching Buffy obsessively with my husband, going on interviews, purple shadow (makes my eyes look all green!), painting my nails with mega glitter!

This month, I do not like...my eyes, as in I need new glasses since they have gotten worse, but I can't afford em! So I've been dealing with mega migraines lately!

This month, I want you to know...if I get the higher paying job, I'm TOTALLY doing a giveaway to thank you all! Otherwise, I'll still be broke XD

This month, I've planned...to get more organized with my time. School, work, blogging, reading. All things must be done in moderation and just not what I want to do!

This month, I want to say to someone special...Lurve you!

Also, I'm not sure if you know this but I SUCK at doing tags! I'm trying to be more organized (see? see?) and instead of just saving the picture (which guarantees I won't remember who gave it to me!) I'm saving the link so I will be able to do them now! Anyhoo, Lizzard from Product Junkie (who's my bitch, I love her! Go follow!) tagged me for the Happy 101 tag! Rules are pretty simple, this has been floating around the blog world for a little while now....Just put down 10 things that make you happy and tag ten blogs!

1. The three hot men I live with...Rob, Piggles & Gus!
2. Reading lots of good series lately (I'm a bit obsessed with the Hollows by Kim Harrison right now!)
3. Ranch dressing (I eat it with everything...is that bad?)
4. My brother's dog Fiona. She has one eye and is 3 pounds, which therefore means she is just as cute as a guinea pig!
5. Flowered sequins (I've been putting them on everything!)
6. The smell of cookies baking!
7. Dyeing my hair
8. Blogging about nothing XD
9. Going through the Cute Overload archives
10. Throwing snowballs at my husband when he's not looking XD

And, as for the blogs I tag (being lazy and hopefully fair by picking the first 10 people who commented on my last post, but they are all meh girls so they deserve it!):
1. Janet from My Naked Face
2. Amy Naree
3. LiAnn from SparkleCrack Central
4. Aubrey from BreakDancingMoogle (Are you the same person as Painted Moogle? Have been wondering!!)
5. Bicky from Tastes like Glitterr
6. Krista from Krista's Fascinations
7. Heather from Eyeconic
8. Michelle from Ramblings of Purple M
9. Rae from theNotice
10. Evil Angel from Black Nail Polish and Lip Gloss

Lemme know if you did and/or do this tag! Everyone makes me smile though (blogging is my happy time!) so feel free to do it if you weren't on the list!!

Painted Roses, Flying Scotsmen & Fancy Lads, Oh my!

First, I wanna say Happy Freakin' Birthday to my girl Bicky!!! Have fun and don't go too wild, k? <3

cutie pic found here!

I was at first attempting to do a look for a contest based around your birthmonth. June is actaully a fairly boring month and our stone is pearl (which is lovely, but not too colorful) and our flower is the rose. Anyways, this didn't turn out good enough to enter since I was in a bit of a hurry and I needed to run errands.

Poor roses. I never like them cause it just means my husband did something REALLY wrong ;) (But isn't this pic gorgeous? I love orange roses!!)

What I used:

-Fyrinnae Pub Collection in The Flying Scotsman- deep coppery-peachy-dusty-rose
-Fyrinnae Pub Collection in Fancy Lads- Vivid warm pink with a green sparkle highlight
-Fyrinnae Mad Tea Party Collection in Painted Roses- Sparkly, glimmering deep coral...leans towards orange, but the pink hue shows up better when the light hits it.
-Fyrinnae Anaconda- matte, deep dark green (no lip)
-Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero- black
-ELF Studio Blush in Blushing Rose- orangey burnt rose
-MeMeMe Beat the Blues highlighter in Moonbeam
-Fyrinnae lip lustre in Lickable- soft, shimmery beige peach, semi sheer

The Flying Scotsman patted in rose petal shape on upper lid. Painted Roses patted in inner corner. Fancy Lads patted in middle of lid and around edges of "petal". Zero liner on bottom outer corner. Anaconda patted on over liner and into "thorn" shape on outer corner.

Ugh, for some reason I can never get the colors to photograph accurately when I use Fyrinnae! I think its cause they are so pretty XD

Well I hope you enjoyed this look! I've got my final interview at the medical bill collectors tomorrow and an interview at a bookstore cafe on Friday. I'm a bit torn, as I'd much rather work at the cafe, but its less money. So now I'm in the position where, do I take the fun job and keep struggling or the not-so-fun job and perhaps put off school even longer? Le sigh. Stress!

Bella il Fiore "Bella's Powder Room" Makeup Boudoir Review & Swatches

Holy long title!

I was lucky enough to win the Bella il Fiore palette from one of my favorite bloggettes, the Recessionista from Nouveau Cheap! The contest was sponsored by Beauty Ticket, where you can find Bella's Powder Room Makeup Boudoir (from now on known as BPR) for a sweet $16.99.

First, this came direct from Beauty Ticket, where I've been wanting to order from for awhile. If you didn't know, BT is THE place to get discounted high end cosmetics like Smashbox, Too Faced, YSL, Bourjois (which I can't find anywhere near me anymore!), and lots others. The box came FAST and was packed tight with adorable pink stuffing to make sure the palette didn't bounce around too much. I was happily surprised at how nice it was packed in!

The BPR itself is about 5x4x4 inches. Not exactly something to throw in your purse on a daily occasion, but perfect for traveling. It has a nice sized mirror on the top and it actually stays open (which is a huge plus for me *cough* UD BoS *cough*. It has three layers: lips, blush, then shadow. The "drawers" for the blushes and shadows come out.

On the top are the lipglosses. Now, you probably know I'm generally not a fan of lipgloss and these are no exception. It's nothing personal against Bella, it's seriously me. The glosses are sheer for the most part and a bit on the sticky side.

Comes with (left column to right column):

-Sheer baby pink

-Sheer raspberry purple pink

-Sheer red pink

-Rose with gold shimmer

-Bronze with red shimmer

-Sheer burgandy purple with purple shimmer

The second layer contains 2 "drawers" of blush. Seriously, I would pay $17 for these alone. They are gorgeous! I piled em on for the swatches, but they go on beautifully! Soft and pigmented, with the perfect amount of sheen and some kickass colors.

Comes with (left column to right column):

-semi-matte dark rose blush with very very slight gold shimmer

-coral with silver shimmer

-pinky peach with gold shimmer

-light bronzer with heavy gold shimmer

The last drawer has the nine shadows, double ended lip brush and shadow brush. The shadows are relatively sheer and you really need a nice sticky base for them. I used ELF eye primer for the swatches.

 Comes with (top row to bottom row above, left column to right column below):

-soft cool pink with silver shimmer

-warm ivory with silver shimmer

-grey with green iridescence and gold shimmer

-deep purple burgandy with red shimmer

-black with silver glitter

-pale lavender with silver shimmer

-warm bronze with silver glitter

-matte ivory

-deep brown with gold & silver shimmer

As long as the shadows are used with a primer (can't stress that enough), these are pretty badass. I especially like the grey/green, burgandy and browns! You can also change these up by wearing them sheer, over a colored base (like NYX pencils or Indelible Cream Shadow) or on top of a black gel liner.

Overall, I totally love BPM!! I would pay it for the blushes alone, but the shadows are great as well. While I don't exactly like the glosses, that's more of my own personal preference than anything. If you are looking for some new cute blushes, or a nice travel palette, you should try out Bella's Powder Room!

Have you tried out this goodie yet? Or anything from Bella il Fiore? I have to say, I'm pretty impressed and totally want to try more!

Disclaimer: While I recieved this for free, it was sent to me as a gift and I am not affiliated with Beauty Ticket or Bella il Fiore.

Detrivore Greens, Grays & Blacks Review & Swatchies!

With all the pretty new collections coming out from some of my favorite companies, I have been putting off reviewing a lot of new brands. While I've already posted about my love of Detrivore primer, I haven't really tried out the shadows yet. I purchased the set of the first 50 shadows and a free primer (with free shipping) from Etsy a few months ago. I'll be doing the swatches and reviewing over the next week or so, since there are so many colors!

These swatches are done using ELF studio primer. If you click on the to enlarge, you can see where the primer is (usually the "shiny" strip!), and what the color looks like without primer on the sides. The color descriptions leave something to be desired, but I added more if needed.

Lets start out with the Black, White & Greys, shall we?

White Chapel- white glitter

Shroud- very sparkly silver glitter (very sheer)

Switchblade- sparkly grey, not silver

Cremains- dark silver glitter

Smog- pale blue gray mixture (definitely not pale!)

Beetle- black glitter
I really, really like these shades. I definitely don't have enough shades of grey in my kit and I love how pretty these are, especially Smog. It takes on a decidedly blue tone with a plush base and low shimmer. Great color for redheads or green/blue eyes!

Dr. West- bright yellow green, very shimmery and sparkly

Gangrene- soft pastel green, shimmery (slightly chalky)

Ectoplasma- bright green (lighter then TKB Apple Pop)

Mildew- teal
Abnormal- dark yellowish green shadow (has a distinct grey/black base...not much yellow in here)

Fungus- olive green (grey/grey base)
Amazon- bright deep emerald green (black base)

Putrid- dark green (black base, slightly brighter shimmer than Amazon)

I don't exactly think that one needs Abnormal, Fungus, Amazon & Putrid. The colors are really similar. Without a primer, the green iridescence doesn't show up and they are sort of dull grey shades. Amazon does have a distinct black base and I think it mades a great liner. Mildew is by far my favorite of the green shades. It looks good whether or not there is a primer underneath.

The texture of the shadows is very dry...think The She Space or Aromaleigh. I had to be very careful with the darker shades, since they did tend to stain on me. This may be because of my super pale skin, but I thought it was good to note. A good, sticky primer is a MUST with these.

While Detrivore has a LOT of colors to choose from, they are a bit basic. They aren't super layered but sometimes one wants a more simple look. You get a TON of product in the samples and its definitely a good idea to sample a bunch of colors! I've noticed that the newer colors are a bit more complex and I can't wait to try those as well!

My order arrived very quickly, which doesn't surprise me as Detrivore is located only 2 hours away! It was packaged very nicely and securely in a bubble mailer.

Overall, I think Detrivore is a company to watch. They are definitely on my Sparkle Approved List and I can't wait to see what new colors they come up with! Detrivore (supposedly, I haven't tracked this) comes out with new colors every Friday.

Watch out for more swatches over the next few days!

Have you tried Detrivore? Any favorites?