Wet n Wild gives a great red for 99 cents!

What can you get for 99 cents these days?  Not much!  However, you can score a cheap, red thrill with Wet n' Wild's Silk Finish Lipstick in 514 Cherry Frost.

514 Cherry Frost

514 Cherry Frost

514 Cherry Frost

514 Cherry Frost

A lot of a beauty maven's quest is spent trying to find the perfect red lipstick.  I can't say that this one is absolutely perfect, but it's a magnificent find for 99 cents!

I think bargain beauty finds aren't worth ANY money if they don't deliver - you might as well toss your money down the toilet because you're NEVER going to reach for something terrible.

514 Cherry Frost

514 Cherry Frost

However, investing 99 cents in a great, pigmented red is the way to go.  This baby has staying power and I'm really digging the finish.  I think it does a really good job of making teeth whiter.


What's your drugstore indulgence?  Would you grab a lipstick for 99 cents or save up for something bigger/better?

XOXO

-K

P.S.

Feel free to email me at orangelipstickblog@gmail.com or tweet me at OrangeLipstickK

All items were purchased by Orange Lipstick for personal use and review purposes.

NYX eyeshadow base doesn't cut it

Do you use eyeshadow primer?  If you don't, you totally should.  A good eye primer will help eyeshadows be more vibrant and keep them in place all day without creasing.  A bad primer...won't do any of that!  

My HG eyeshadow primer is Urban Decay Primer Potion (UDPP), which is much loved in the makeup community.  I'll review UDPP eventually because I really am in love with it but today I want to show you a BAD primer.  

NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skin Tone (ESB03)

NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skin Tone (ESB03)

Don't get me wrong...many people adore NYX Eyeshadow Base.  My makeup-obsessed friend, Megan, really digs this stuff.  However, I find that it doesn't do ANYTHING to prevent creasing on my eyelids.

 NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skin Tone (ESB03)

 NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skin Tone (ESB03)

Also, although this may be "skin tone" for some people, it certainly isn't for me.  I find it makes my eye look unnatural.  

NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skin Tone (ESB03) (Swatched heavily)

All in all, this is a "skip" product.  I don't find myself reaching for it unless I'm absolutely OUT of my UDPP.  They also sell this product in White (ESB01) and White Pearl (ESB02).  I'd be interested to know if those are any better.

This product sells for $7 for 0.8 and you can buy it at Ulta or on NYX's website.  (You can find it on Amazon for $5.10!)

-K

P.S.

Feel free to email me at orangelipstickblog@gmail.com or tweet me at OrangeLipstickK

All items were purchased by Orange Lipstick for personal use and review purposes.

Tattoo your eyes with 24 hour color

Yay or nay on tattoos?  Personally, I couldn't ever get one because I'm TERRIFIED of needles!  Plus, I don't think I could ever commit to permanent body ink.

However, Maybelline promises a tattoo-like effect for 24 hours with their Eyestudio Color Tattoo 24 HR Cream Gel Shadow.  Now that I can get behind!

They currently have ten shades for sale (ranging from brights to neutrals) and I snapped up two:  Bad to the Bronze and Tough as Taupe.  

L - Bad to the Bronze

R - Tough as Taupe

 L - Bad to the Bronze

R - Tough as Taupe

 L - Bad to the Bronze

R - Tough as Taupe

 L - Bad to the Bronze

R - Tough as Taupe

Now, I have no idea why you would want to wear ANY eye makeup for 24 hours.  We all know you shouldn't sleep in your makeup (right?  RIGHT?!) so I personally don't know if these last 24 hours.

However, in my wear tests of 16 hours, these wore like steel.  No budging, no migrating, and most importantly, no creasing!  These are incredible and I highly recommend them!

 L - Bad to the Bronze

R - Tough as Taupe

L - Bad to the Bronze

R - Tough as Taupe

My favorite is Bad to the Bronze - I find that it goes well with all kinds of colors, especially deep olives and golds.  Tough as Taupe has been a little more difficult to match, but it does well as just a wash of color.  

If one layer of color isn't enough, try to make sure that the first layer is dry before you apply another layer.  Also, be sure to blend the edges quickly because these dry down and stay down!

I picked these up for around $7 a piece at Target but you can find them at any drugstore.  Keep your eyes open for sales - sometimes they have buy one, get one half off.  You can see more at Maybelline's website, HERE.

XOXO

-K

P.S.

Feel free to email me at orangelipstickblog@gmail.com or tweet me at OrangeLipstickK

All items were purchased by Orange Lipstick for personal use and review purposes.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Perfect Brow Pencil is a perfect fit!

Unfortunately, beauty isn't all sparkly eyeshadows and dramatic lipsticks.  Sometimes, it's about perfecting or enhancing our natural selves in a way that SHOULD be unnoticeable.  

One of those areas is eyebrows.  Eyebrows don't usually get noticed unless they're really messed up.  Too bushy or too sparse can look just WRONG.  Of course, we should note that my favorite celebrity eyebrows belong to Stephen Colbert!  *swoon*

(Photo taken from The Colbert Report's official Facebook page) 

That's why brow powders and brow pencils should be an integral part of any beauty maven's arsenal.  I recently snapped up the Anastasia Beverly Hills Perfect Brow Pencil that was mentioned in THIS post.  

(Click to see larger images)

I chose Strawburn to match my newly-acquired red hair.  The pencil is 0.1 oz for $22 and I imagine this is going to last me a full year.  You don't use much brow pencil each day so you get a lot of bang for your buck.  

Sure, you could grab a cheaper eyeliner and use that, but unfortunately my color is difficult to match.  Trust me, I scoured the Internet looking for dupes and there just weren't any for Strawburn.

This pencil blends easily and looks very natural on me.  I have sparse brows due to over-plucking (sorry, beauty gods!) and this helps fill in the patchy places.  Don't go too heavy right at first - the trick is to build and make it look natural.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Perfect Brow Pencil on left eyebrow; natural brow on right

I use the spoolie on the end of the pencil to brush brows up.  Then, I drag the spoolie in the direction of the hair growth to brush the eyebrow hair down.  Then, I fill in my brows with the pencil starting at the top part of the arch in your brow.  Don't start at the very center - it can cause you to look REALLY off-balance.  If you have unruly brows, you can set them with gel.  My brows are pretty tame, so I can do without that step.

Natural brow

Anastasia Beverly Hills Perfect Brow Pencil

Do you need this?  It depends.  If you have a hard-to-match hair you might want to see if Anastasia has a match for you.  Plus, none of these pencils are too terribly dark, which helps prevent you from going overboard.  You may get away with a cheap-o drugstore pencil but it might look unnatural.  Plus, although $22 might seem steep, you'll be using this forever!

You can purchase HERE or in Sephora stores.

XOXO

-K

P.S.

Feel free to email me at orangelipstickblog@gmail.com or tweet me at OrangeLipstickK

All items were purchased by Orange Lipstick for personal use and review purposes.

Pink glitter NOTD

Today I have a super quick Nail of the Day (NOTD) for y'all!  Friday is Casual Friday and that means getting to rock exciting nails, too!

(I make no apologies for my raggedy cuticles.  I'm a beauty beginner and cuticle health is something I haven't quite mastered "a metaphysical dilemma I haven't conquered yet."  Get over it!)

I started with one coat of my current favorite base coat, Orly Bonder.  

(Photo taken from Orly's website)

Then I did one coat of OPI Kiss Me on My Tulips from the Holland collection.  (I went absolutely GA-GA for that collection, by the way.  I resisted and only picked up two polishes, which have since become HG products for me.)

OPI Kiss Me on My Tulips

I then used one coat of Wet 'n Wild Wild Shine Nail Color in Sparked.  It's a fairly densely packed pink and silver glitter in a clear base.  (I'd say it's about 95% pink and 5% silver.)

 Wet 'n Wild Wild Shine Nail Color in Sparked

L - Wet 'n Wild Wild Shine Nail Color in Sparked

R - OPI Kiss Me on My Tulips

I topped it all off with one coat of Orly In a Snap topcoat.  I think it's a sparkly, happy, and very girly combo!

How do you feel about glitter polish?  Love it?  Hate the texture?  

XOXO

-K

P.S.

Feel free to email me at orangelipstickblog@gmail.com or tweet me at OrangeLipstickK

All items were purchased by Orange Lipstick for personal use and review purposes.

Kat Von D was made for me

I must confess that a very odd part of me caused me to avoid the Kat Von D makeup display at Sephora.  “How can she possibly be attracted to Jesse James?  That girl must have NO sense at all!” I thought.  Somehow, this translated in my mind to, “I refuse to buy Kat Von D products!”  

Of course, the Ludwig Eye Palette called my name, especially since my friend, Erika, strongly recommended it.  However, I managed to stay away until a friendly visiting makeup artist at Sephora told me about the ridiculous staying power of the new Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick ($19 for 0.18 fl oz).  

Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick in Lolita

She said, “I was looking for a sheer, bright pink to wear on vacation.  I thought *this* would do it, but it’s ridiculously opaque!”  She then proceeded to point to a swatch on her arm of the Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick in Jeffree.  She wasn’t kidding!  It was bright!  Then she added, “Oh, and that’s been on my arm for eight hours already, by the way.”

Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick in Jeffree

I was hooked and I had to have one.  According to Sephora’s website, “The liquid formula goes on wet for smooth, precise application and then dries to a matte, velvety finish. Once applied, there's no need to worry about smudging or migrating.”  They couldn’t be more right!  This product glides on totally effortlessly and the doe-foot applicator allows for precision application.  Give it about 30-45 seconds and the colors dries down to a seriously velvet-looking matte.  It is AMAZING.

Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick in Berlin

I picked up a tube of Berlin which I LOVE.  Sephora describes it as a “warm rose” which I can definitely agree with.  My swatches make it look awfully red on the lip but it really isn’t – it’s definitely a warm pinky-rose.

Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick in Berlin

 Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick in Berlin

Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick in Berlin (different lighting)

Oh, and the product wears like a magnet.  The reason I hated lipstick for many years was because I felt like it disappeared after an hour.  However, this stuff is the real deal:  Check out this cell phone picture that I took after five hours of wear, 60 oz of drink, a sandwich, and a cup of yogurt.  Ummm…amazing!

Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick in Berlin (after five hours of wear)

I tried on Bow & Arrow, which was absolutely terrible on me.  The Sephora employee I was working with even asked, “Who can pull off that color?  I mean…what skin tone do you need to make that look right?”  (I should add that I’m super pale and she is very dark-complexioned so neither of those skin tones work, apparently!)

Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick in Bow & Arrow

However, I do have my eye on Jeffree (“bright coral pink”), Backstage Bambi (“vivid hot pink”), and Outlaw (“brick red”).  I want them ALL.  

 Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick in Backstage Bambi

Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick in Outlaw

Do you need this product?  YES.  Go buy one NOW.  Remember that matte lipsticks can be a little drying and this one is no exception so you may want to apply some balm beforehand.  Also, if you're not crazy about the matte look you can swipe some clear gloss over this.  However, that will compromise the wear time by quite a bit.

Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick in Berlin with clear gloss over it

You can nab one HERE or in Sephora stores.


(All product photos taken from Sephora's website.)

XOXO

-K

P.S.

Feel free to email me at orangelipstickblog@gmail.com or tweet me at OrangeLipstickK

All items were purchased by Orange Lipstick for personal use and review purposes.

Mad about mattes

Recently I was talking to my dear friend, E, about the beauty of mattes.  I recently purchased a matte lipgloss (review forthcoming) and I’ve been particularly taken with how it looks on me.  E told me that she’s “rapidly swinging into a matte phase” and is “having trouble finding a good matte palette.”  Well, I couldn’t let the poor girl suffer without some good mattes in her life!

My first and most favorite recommendation would be the two mattes from the original Urban Decay Naked Palette.  They’re Buck and Naked and I LOVE them for creating a matte, natural eye.  It’s a simple eye look that allows you to wear bright lips or cheeks.  Me likey.  (Of course, this doesn’t solve her palette problem, but I thought I’d suggest two mattes I love!)  Click HERE to buy ($18 each for 0.05 oz).

 Urban Decay Buck

Urban Decay Naked

(Photos taken from Urban Decay’s website)

A palette with a good mix of matte neutrals and colors is The Balm’s Meet Matt(e) Eye Palette.  I really love the cute theme – The Balm always has such adorable stuff!  You can buy it at The Balm’s website for $34 dollars for 0.33 oz.  Also, you should check out Temptalia for her great review and swatches.

(Photo taken from The Balm’s website)

Another option is always Inglot.  I haven’t bought any of their shadows but I hear nothing but raves for them.  Plus, they have a gajillion matte options in all different colors of the rainbow.  (I mean, c’mon, they have a matte red!  If you can’t find the matte color you want from Inglot, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t exist!)  If you use their Freedom System, you can add in all the colors you want to create a custom palette!  Woo-hoo!  You can purchase from their website HERE.  Shadows range from $4.50 to $7.00 each for 0.09 oz

Inglot #366

(Photo taken from Inglot’s website)

A palette that I think is adorable is the Stila In the Know Eye Shadow Palette.  It’s $39 and comes with 10 matte shadows and one Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner!  That’s a pretty great value!  I really love the colors.  You can nab it HERE.

(Photo taken from Sephora.com)

Another option if you can’t find a matte is to build your own little stash from NYX.  They have 21 mattes to choose from and I’ve heard nothing but good stuff about them.  I’m particularly drawn to Covet and Haywire.  You can always choose to de-pot these and put them in a palette, if that’s your game.  Plus, they’re only $5 each so go crazy HERE!  

NYX Covet

(Photo taken from NYX’s website)

I hope this helps in everyone’s search for some good mattes!  I think matte so often equals neutral, which is why I’m drawn to the Inglot products.  I keep creating palettes on their website and then deleting from my cart because I’m SO indecisive.

How do you feel about mattes?  Love ‘em, leave ‘em?  What are your favorite mattes?

XOXO

-K

Feel free to email me at orangelipstickblog@gmail.com or tweet me at OrangeLipstickK