NYX Liquid Crystal Liner Swatches!

L-R:  Crystal Gold, Crystal Jade, Crystal Hip,
Crystal Pink, Crystal Pewter, Crystal Aqua

During the fabulous 40% off sale on NYX products Ulta had a few weeks ago I snatched up some of their Liquid Crystal Liners.  I'm a big fan of glitter liners because you can get the za za zoo of glitter without the mess of glitter fallout.  I haven't used these yet but I figured I'd throw some swatches your way.  If they turn out to be a lot better (or worse) than I figured they be, I'll let you know :)

Swatches L-R:  Crystal Pink, Crystal Pewter, Crystal Hip, Crystal Jade,
Crystal Gold, Crystal Aqua

Even though it's the least pigmented of the pack, I'm excited to see how Crystal Hip turns out.  I feel like it's going to give the eyes a subtle bit of electric...we shall see!  Crystal Pewter is a unique one too.  It's got a mixture of pink, lavendar, and blue glitters!

Bloodshot Eye Makeup

So I finally figured out a way to use that red shade in the Sleek Me, Myself, & Eye palette.  I've been staring at it since I got it, so excited to try it yet unsure about how to go about wearing it.  Then I took a cue from Marilyn Monroe.  She used to take a red lip liner and draw an almost undetectable small red dot in her very inner corner to make her eyes appear whiter.  So I thought, maybe I could use the red shadow as an inner corner highlight?  For some reason the combo of the red shadow and purple liner reminds me of superhero comic books.  Don't know why, it just does.  This is also the first look I've done with as strong a brow as pictured here, and I think I like it!  I've been doing my brows similarly ever since.  List of products used after the jump!

Claw Candy: Essence Polish in Lime Up!

Essence Lime Up! (sorry for the slight blur going on)

Just wanted to put up a quick photo of the new Essence polish I got in Lime Up!.  While it is indeed a lime shade, I detected an undertone of a mustard-y yellow.  Expect a lot of these polishes by Essence coming up here on Amber Likes Beauty for the next few weeks, I bought quite a few of them.

Sleek Oh So Special Palette Review! (Sorry for the delay!)

I've had this palette for a while, as evidenced by its presence on my March favorites & Cherry Blossom FOTD, and had meant to review this right after the Me, Myself & Eye Palette.  But, long story short, the palette I received had a wrong shade included so I've been waiting for Sleek to send me a new so I could represent the palette here as accurately as possible.  So finally I can share the Oh So Special Palette with you, a product that I've been using nearly every day since I got it!

Butter LONDON at Sephora! Am I the last to know this?

I'm pretty sure everyone knew this but me as there are already reviews up on the page, but while digging through Sephora today I noticed Butter LONDON listed in the brand list.  Sure enough Sephora then listed the polishes available for purchases.  It's always a bit more convenient for me to shop at Sephora than Ulta, so this is great for me, although I'm not planning on grabbing them any time soon as I just had a few giant nail polish hauls.  Just a heads up for those of you who are the lasts ones to know everything like me :)


If you interested, you can click here to go to the brand's page on Sephora!

Things that Make My Eyes Roll: US BB Cream Craze

Source

I liked it better when it was called a tinted moisturizer....because that's what BB Creams in the U.S. are, right?

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick Swatches: Now that's more like it!

You may recall a few weeks ago when I proclaimed my displeasure with Rimmel's Moisture Renew Lipsticks.  In my haste of trying to return those to the store I forgot to share the swatches I had of Rimmel's Lasting Finish Lipsticks.  It's a shame because I actually really like these a great deal more than the Moisture Renews.  I got 2 shades:  Airy Fairy & Kate Moss 08.  Check out the swatches after the jump!

Check Me Out on Instagram & Tumblr!

Just a heads up, over the last week or 2 I've been playing around with Instagram and Tumblr and now have accounts for both!  While the world of beauty will no doubt be a large part of both, they will also be more focused on my everyday life in general.  So expect a lot of pics of my dogs like the one above lol.  So if you're interested go check me out!


Instagram @ AMBERJOY9388
Tumblr:  Of Lace and Leather @ amberjoy93.tumblr.com


I'm not sure if I'll choose to narrow down my tumblr in the future to have one focus or not, but for now, in addition to random life tidbits and interesting stuff I find on the internet, I know I'll be posting all beauty hauls and books & movies reviews over there.  So, if that's your thing, Of Lace and Leather is for you!

Benefit Stay Don't Stray is a Treat for my Undereyes!

Last week I received my Sephora Chic Week Haul and besides the awesome Sephora + Pantone Eyeliner Set I also received the Benefit Pretty Committee Set (you can see the whole set over on my brand-spanking new tumblr, Of Lace and Leather, here).  If you're looking to get the best value for your money, the Pretty Committe Set is the way to go.  One item included is a full size Benefit Stay Don't Stray Primer.  This primer has always peaked my interest because it boasts that it not only keeps your shadow on through the day but also does the same for your concealer too.  Check it out after the jump!

Case of the Sads :( iVi Scents Going Out of Busines :(

I'm deeply sorry to report that iVi Scents is going out of business :(  I haven't featured the brand on this blog yet as I had made my purchases quite a while before the blog started, but let me tell you....I freaking loved the stuff, especially the sugar scrub!  For those of you not familiar with the brand, iVi Scents featured incredibly moisturizing bath and body products with delicious scents like Milk & Honey, Hawaiian Cake (my personal favorite, smelled like pineapple upside down cake), and Birthday Cake.  But aside from the scrumptious smells, the best thing about the products was that they were free of gunk like parabens or cruelty for example.   iVi Scents owner, Aarin, was super sweet too and had a standard of customer service that is hard to find with any company, big or small.  I know that she will find success in anything she does in the future <3


For now, I'll be severely rationing my Hawaiian Cake body butter.  It's going to be a bad day when I'm out of that stuff.


And if you're interested in grabbing up some of the products, hustle on over to the iVi Scents website.  The products are still up for sale but will probably be going out of stock soon!

E.L.F. Studio Eyebrow Lifter & Filler: Buried Treasure

When I first tried the e.l.f. Studio Eyebrow Lifter & Filler I wasn't too impressed.  Part of the reason was that at the time I wasn't too into my brows.  I've always had very sparse brows that I never even bothered with until recently.  But then one day, about a year later, I found myself in need of a nude liner for my waterline and found this the only thing that would do in my collection.  It was fantastic, so I decided to give the other end another try and I got the hang of it, and I've been using it daily ever since.  Find out the great, and not so great things about this product after the jump!

NYX Mega Shine Lip Glosses: A Love Affair Part 2

Continuing on to Part 2 of my NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss review, today I'm giving swatches of the rest of my collection and a final review at the end.  And if you haven't already, check out Part 1 here!

I NEED THIS!!! Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Dream

I have never found myself so in love with a nail polish shade before as I am with Deborah Lippmann's Mermaid's Dream.  I caught a glimpse of this over at Vampy Varnish (click here for swatches) and it was love at first site.  It's a gorgeous seafoam green (which is slowly but surely becoming my favorite color) jam packed with glittery goodness.  The catch?  It's $18.  Is it worth it?  With it's unique nature, I think yes.  Can I afford it?  Sadly no.  Grad school is promising to put me in never ending poverty.  Will I be scrounging my house for loose change to pay for it?   Hells yeah!


You can snag this at NeimanMarcus.com (they have a free shipping code at the moment), Nordstrom.com (also promising free shipping), and Zappos.com (yep, you guessed it - they have free shipping too <3)  So at least if you decide to splurge you don't have to factor in shipping :)

NYX Mega Shine Lip Glosses: A Love Affair Part 1

There aren't too many products I would consider to be my all-time favorite, so much so that I don't foresee a chance in the future that I it may not be my favorite any longer.  In fact, there is only one such product for me:  NYX Mega Shine Lip Glosses.  I'm very picky when it comes to glosses.  They can't be sticky at all and I want some color payoff.  NYX has that covered and then some and they're super affordable!  I have 11 of these wonders so I'm going to split this into 2 parts, with the formal review given in the second.  The first part will be the more nude/non-pinky shades.  Continue for swatches!

Claw Candy: WnW Spoiled + LA Girl Glitter Addict

Today's Claw Candy features Spoiled by Wet N Wild in Show Me Some Skin and L.A. Girl's Glitter Addict in Nostalgic.  I wasn't too keen on WnW's Mega Last Salon nail polish so I was a bit weary about Spoiled but I think I like it.  It was opaque in 2 coats and the formula was sans the goopiness I experience with Mega Last.


I'm normally sporting brighter, bolder colors on my nails than Show Me Some Skin, which is a beige with an almost terracotta base.  Despite it being a nice color I did find myself a bit bored so I slapped on glitter topcoat in nostalgic, which is a teal chunky glitter with a clear base, to spice it up a bit.


WnW Spoiled polishes are CVS store exclusive for $2 and L.A. Girl Glitter Addicts can be found at Rite Aid and lagirlusa.com for $4.

Sephora + Pantone Universe Color of the Year Eyeliner Set Review: I sure hope Sephora does this collection every year!

While doing my Sephora Chic Week 15% off Haul I wanted so badly to get the Sephora + Pantone University Color of the Year Collector's Edition, but at $68 I couldn't negotiate it into my budget.  So I decided to pick one thing from the collection that I really wanted and didn't already have something similar already, and that's where this Eyeliner Set comes in with it's pretty orange liner. I'll just this before getting to my review:  Sephora and Pantone make a fairytale couple <3

Do your nails grow out curvy and/or downward? So do mine! Here's how I fix it!

My natural nails on a good day actually, they're usually much worse

When I was a kid I had awesome nails that my young age wouldn't allow me to fully appreciate.  They grew like weeds and never broke.  Unfortunately, good things never last and by the time I was in middle school, while they still grew fast, they began to grow out weird.  When the tips get to a certain point they start to bend down towards my fingertips instead of growing straight out.  My mom says they're doing the wave lol.  To this day I still don't know what causes this but it's so frustrating, and I have tried EVERYTHING to fix it to no avail.  Although I can't get to the root of the problem, I have found a way to straighten and maintain them short term!  So if you're struggling with the same problem, hopefully this will help :)

Revlon Colorstay Nail Polish Review! They're Pretty Awesome :)

Rarely do I give formal reviews for nail polishes.  If I use a color that particularly catches my eye or has a unique effect I'll include it in my Claw Candy series, as I've already done with Revlon Colorstay in Spanish Moss, but I don't normally dedicate more than a paragraph to it.  Well today, I think Revlon's new Colorstay line of nail polishes does warrant it's own review post.  It really is a phenomenal polish that sets itself apart from other drugstore nail enamels.  However, it also presents a unique problem that, although the awesome formula overshadows this, I still feel it's well worth mentioning.  Find out more info and swatches after the jump!

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer - Note the word "Highlight"

A few weeks ago I became obsessed with getting YSL's Touche Eclait, but seeing the price in print turned me off the idea quickly.  Luckily it seems many drugstore brands are dropping similar products to YSL so I can at least pretend :)  One of these brands are Maybelline with their Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer, said to illuminate and hide imperfections, as per the packaging.  And at $5.99, most of us average janes and joes and afford to try it.  Find out if it lives up to it's claims after the jump!

Neutral Flare Look

Figuring out how to rock color on my lids while still keeping my look on the neutral day-friendly side is like deciding to wear sexy lingerie under your business suit to work:  a friendly compromise between your practical needs and party side.  Thus is the objective for what I'm calling a Neutral Flare look.  From far away it looks pretty safe and neutral, but up close you see the slight pop of navy blue on the water line and a double-winged top liner.  Full list of products after the jump!

Isn't this a pleasant surprise? Revlon Luxurious Color Eyeshadow Singles Review

As you may have read, I wasn't too keen on Revlon's new Colorstay quads (review here).  They just weren't pigmented enough for my taste.  But while I was testing the quad, 2 of Revlon's Luxurious Color Single Eyeshadows were quietly waiting for some attention at the bottom of my shadow drawer.  I had bought them during CVS's beauty clearance sale last year and didn't have high hopes for them, especially after my experience with both the old and new quads.  Lucky for me though, I recently decided to give them a chance and was very delighted with both of them.  More info and swatches after the jump!

Doesn't this look TO DIE FOR? Milani Illuminating Powder Review

So I finally got it!  Ever since I first laid eyes on Milani's Illuminating Powder I've been obsessed with getting it (I first mentioned the product here). It looked so darn precious, I couldn't resist!  But once I got past the cutesy packaging, the awesome train derailed for a second when I stopped to consider the product's claims of being a bronzer, illuminator, and blush all at once  Those are some big pants to have yourself fill, and I find that most products that claim to be "all-in-one" don't deliver as promised.  Find out if Milani's Illuminating Powder in Hermosa Rose came through for me after the jump!

Some of my Favorite Brushes for Highlighting!

One thing I've noticed throughout my adventures into makeup is that you're hard pressed to find a brush with the primary purpose of highlighting.  Think about it, there are shadow brushes, blush brushes, foundation brushes, even contour brushes, but how many highlighting brushes can you think of? Off the top of my head, I can only think of 1 or 2.  Of course some brushes have highlighting in their descriptions but it's usually just an afterthought, being shadowed by a larger use like blush or foundation.  In my personal collection I use a number of different brushes for my highlighting needs, none of which were originally intended or bought primarily for highlighting, but get the job done superbly!

The Best and the Rest: March 2012

It's that time again!  Here are my March 2012 faves, and not-so-faves!

Claw Candy: Revlon Colorstay Nail Polish in Spanish Moss

I originally wasn't interested in Revlon's new Colorstay Nail Polish, but then I saw some beautiful swatches of the shade in Spanish Moss and knew I had to get at least that one.  I don't have any other shade like it, and to be honest I don't think if someone said to me, "You know what you need?  A mossy green nail polish!", I would believe them.  But to actually see it on the nails is a whole different experience.  


Spanish Moss is a mossy, almost muted army green color.  It has a creme finish, which is my favorite.  Formula-wise, this is...interesting.  I'll probably get into that more when I do a formal review on this product, (I have another shade, Buttercup, that I want to try out first), but I'll just say it's unlike any other polish I've ever tried.  In general terms though, this particular shade is almost completely opaque with the first coat, dry time is average, and I've been wearing it for about 4 days now and it hasn't chipped yet :)  More to come after I've tested the other shade, but for now you can view the product features and shades at Revlon.com.