Mabeth & Makeup

Sephora Super Shimmer Lip Gloss

2009-12-13T18:25:00.000-08:00

This is a product that no one can resist because it's FREE. This is the birthday gift that Sephora has been giving out recently to beauty insiders. It's free to sign up with Sephora's Beauty Insider program. You earn points with every purchase to get free samples and a free birthday gift like this one! My birthday was actually in March. I didn't go to Sephora at the time, so I got an email from them with a coupon that let me redeem my gift last month. The gifts change though, so it won't always be lipglosses.

POSITIVES:
- FREE. You can't get anymore affordable than that.
- Small squeeze tubes are easy to carry around.
- Has a sweet smell, almost like candy.
- Moisturizing and shiny.

CONS:
- Not very pigmented. The darkest shade does give lips a hint of color, but not what you see in the tube.

precious pink, rosy glow, bronzed beauty

precious pink

rosy glow

bronzed beauty

precious pink, rosy glow, bronzed beauty

HAUL: AMI Clubwear Boots

2009-12-09T18:20:00.000-08:00

AMICLUBWEAR: http://www.amiclubwear.com
30% OFF COUPON CODE: TWILIGHT30

* CLICK HERE FOR MY HAUL VIDEO *

BLACK SUEDE BOOTS

GREY SUEDE BOOTS

BROWN SUEDE BUCKLE BOOTS

NOTD: Wild Mink with Konad

2009-11-29T16:02:00.001-08:00

China Glaze in "Wild Mink." I know I've posted this before, but I think this is a better picture. This is probably my favorite nail polish. It's the one I use the most. I reach for this so much because application is so easy.

I was playing around with the Konad nail art kit. I used white for the design and added a shimmery pink top coat. The pinky nail design smeared! I'm still trying to get the hang of it, but it's really cool.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T16:50:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday. Eat lots of yummy food! & Instead of thinking about the things you want, take the time to appreciate what you already have.

I'm most thankful for the people in my life. They're much more valuable to me than material possessions and I would be nowhere without them. My family, my boyfriend, my best friends.

I'm also thankful for my followers! Especially those who leave comments. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

Outfit of the Day?

2009-10-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

I've been following a website called Chictopia for a while now. It's basically a website where people post pictures of their outfits. If you're interested in fashion I'd definitely check it out. It's really fun seeing what other people put together. I decided to make my own account. Maybe I'll start posting when I can take better pictures, haha.

http://www.chictopia.com/mabeth

Here's my outfit today though. Until now, the weather's been pretty warm staying in the 70's. Today was the first day of the season that the temperature was in the low 50's.

- white sweater (forever 21)
- green plaid jacket (forever 21)
- denim jeans (forever 21)
- white scarf (forever 21)
- black boots (union bay)

I guess it's obvious I love shopping at Forever 21 ><

Review: Batiste Original Dry Shampoo (picture heavy)

2009-11-19T23:29:00.000-08:00

BATISTE DRY SHAMPOO:

Batiste Original Dry Shampoo, with a refreshing fragrance, revitalizes greasy, dull and lifeless hair between washes. Instantly leaves your hair feeling clean, full of body, and smelling beautiful. Quick and convenient to use wherever you are.

Overall Rating: 5/5
Price: Around $6 at Sally Beauty Supply

This stuff is a life saver. It really soaks up the oil in my hair, leaving it feeling clean and refreshed. It saves me so much time in the morning. My hair (especially my bangs) gets greasy pretty quickly and I don't have to shampoo & straighten my hair every single day anymore. It has a sort of powdery scent, which isn't bad compared to other dry shampoos. Honestly, the expensive ones I've tried have such STRONG smells that I don't like at all. It's also much more affordable than other dry shampoos, and the bottle lasts me for almost a month. I like how it's in a spray can so I can carry it in my bag and use it if my hair starts getting oily throughout the day.

HOW I USE IT:

start off with shiny, but oily hair!

i brush my hair back a little bit first

spray the dry shampoo onto your hair

lift up strands of hair and spray into the roots

massage it in until the white color is gone

brush your hair again

BEFORE & AFTER PICTURES!
(click thumbnails for full size)

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

YAY CLEAN, NON-GREASY HAIR!

Halloween FOTD

2009-11-01T15:00:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a good halloween! I didn't buy a costume, so I just wore green and purple to match my eye makeup.

Inspiration: (an old halloween face chart from mac)

Show all

My Look:

Products Used:
- MAC Studio Finish Concealer
- Revlon Colorstay Foundation
- MAC Prep + Prime Powder
- Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer
- Hard Candy Blush in Honeymoon

- Urban Decay Primer Potion
- 88 Eyeshadow Palette
- Milani Eyetech Liquid Liner in Black
- MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack
- Maybelline Pulse Perfection Mascara
- Creme Lashes #13

- Rimmel Lipstick in Airy Fairy

99 Cents Only Haul - L'Oreal H.I.P.

2009-10-21T16:45:00.001-07:00

Once in a while, I find something good from the 99 cent only store that's usually sold at drugstores. I wasn't expecting to see anything interesting today since I haven't in a while... but there were a couple of L'Oreal HIP items! 7 items for $7.

Color Rich Cream Crayon - Unmistakable

Color Chrome Eyeliners - Green Flash (left) , Blue Spark (right)

(left to right) Unmistakable, Blue Spark, Green Flash

Jelly Balm - Savory

Jelly Balm - Luscious

Luscious (left), Savory (right)

Cream Shadow Paints - Nervy (top), Secretive (bottom)

Secretive (left) Nervy (right)

Hard Candy Haul & Mini Reviews, Sallys Update

2009-10-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

You might have heard that Hard Candy has been revamped and is now being sold for drugstore prices at Walmart. I was excited to see the beautiful new display!

Blush Crush Baked Blush in HONEYMOON: This looks gorgeous in the pan. A soft light pink with some tiny purple veining. I was expecting this to be similar to MAC's mineralize blushes, but this is much more similar to the mineralize skin finishes. There isn't much color payoff, but it gives a beautiful shimmer that's great for highlighting.

Kal-eye-descope Baked Eyeshadow Duo in ROCK N ROLL: Another gorgeous looking product. Very smooth and shimmery.

Balm Girls Moisturizing Lip Balm in JULIE: I'm not too sure if I like this one. With the word "tinted" I thought it would add some color to my lips, but it's extremely sheer. It almost looks like clear lipgloss on my lips. It also has that weird plastic/play-dough/crayon type smell. On the plus side, it's really moisturizing and glossy with a unique packaging.

Curl Up & Dye lash curling mascara in INK: I'm really disappointed in this one. I got sucked into buying it because of its promise to curl. I have stick straight lashes and I need a mascara that can hold a curl. This did the opposite. After using my lash curler and applying this, my lashes drooped down. The mascara felt very heavy and wet.

Overall, it seems like a nice brand. I'll probably be avoiding their mascaras, but I'm willing to try more Hard Candy products.

____________________________________________

On my previous post, I talked about my bad experience at Sallys. I wrote an email to their customer service explaining the incident. The company called me, but I wasn't able to answer because I was in school. They left a voicemail, apologizing for my experience. They also said that they would forward the incident to the district manager here and investigate the store or something.

RANT: Horrible Experience at Sallys

2009-10-06T21:14:00.000-07:00

Something happened today that made me really angry.

My boyfriend and I were going to Target, and I saw a Sally Beauty Supply that I had never been to before. I usually go to a different Sallys. I told him that I wanted to go in and look around, so we did. I'm the kind of person who can probably walk around a beauty store like Sallys or Sephora for hours. I never get tired of checking out the products. I'm also a very indecisive person, so I spend a lot of time thinking about whether I should buy things or not.

The woman working there asked me three times if I needed any help. Each time I said to her, "No thank you, I'm not looking for anything in particular. Just browsing." We were in the store for around 10-15 minutes when she comes up to me and says, "Look, if you don't need my help with anything I'm gonna have to ask you to leave. You've been walking around the store for a while, and it's suspicious of burglary."

At first I thought she was joking, but she wasn't. I couldn't believe that she was accusing my boyfriend and I of looking like thieves. I didn't do anything wrong or weird while walking around. I was just looking at the products like I usually do in any other store. Just because I wasn't in and out of the store in a minute makes me look like a thief? Not needing her assistance means I have intentions of stealing? I was SO angry. I put the product I was holding back on the shelf and told my boyfriend that we were leaving. I was planning on buying something, but I definitely changed my mind. I wasn't about the give that store my money.

Now that I think about it, I should have said something to her. I should have told her how rude she was. That it was wrong for her to accuse us of looking like thieves when we didn't do anything wrong. But at the time, I was so angry and shocked that all I wanted to do was leave and not deal with her. I have NEVER been accused of looking suspicious. I was so upset that I started crying afterwards in the car.

This happened at the Sally Beauty Supply on Maryland Parkway in Las Vegas. I definitely won't be going back there and I wouldn't recommend anyone else go either :(

Milani Haul & Swatches

2009-09-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

Milani is my favorite drugstore brand of makeup. CVS had their products at buy 1 get 1 50% off this week, so I couldn't resist picking up a few things! I got the Touch of Brown eyeshadow quad, Sunset City sunset duo, Enchantment nail polish, and Fairy Tale nail polish.

I thought the blush bronzer duo looked similar to Nars Laguna/Orgasm duo, so I took some comparison swatches. I also compared them to Milani's old luminous blush, which is often said to be an Orgasm dupe. The Sunset City blush is more golden than the Orgasm blush. But as you can see in the photos, they're still pretty similar.

The polishes are from a limited edition collection called, "Black Magic." It includes nail polishes that are all dark but have different colored glitters. I'm not a big fan of plain black nail polish, so I love the hint of glittery color in these. I'm thinking of picking up the other colors sometime!

eyeshadow quad: 01 touch of brown

top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right shades

sunset duo: 01 sunset city

bronzer & blush combined, bronzer only, blush only

nars laguna/orgasm on the left, milani sunset city on the right

nars orgasm, milani sunset city blush, milani luminous

nailpolishes in fairy tale, enchantment

close up of enchantment

close up of fairy tale

i'm wearing fairy tale right now. it's so pretty!
sorry about the sloppy application, i was excited to try it.
*click thumbnail for larger view*

I also put a new layout on my blog since I felt like the default ones weren't spacious enough. I like it, what do you guys think? I used to make layouts for xanga, myspace, etc but I was too lazy to make one for blogger. So, I found this lovely layout at http://designs.bloggerbuster.com.

New Video: Straightening Hair

2009-09-06T11:38:00.000-07:00

It's a miracle, I made a new YouTube video! I haven't recorded one in so long.

Here, I show how I straighten my hair.

Products Used:
- redken smooth down heat glide
- redken outshine 01
- ultra chi flat iron
- hair brush
- hair ties

NOTD: Orange Blossom

2009-09-19T15:32:00.001-07:00

Love My Nails - Orange Blossom

A bright peachy-pink shade with golden shimmer. It leans more towards peach, almost like a light coral. Really pretty color.

Application was okay, but not as nice as the Raspberry color I wore last week. This one felt kind of thin so it took 3 coats to make it look nice and opaque. Not bad for $1 though. I found this brand at Walmart.

Review: C&C Eye Makeup Remover + EOTD

2009-09-04T13:20:00.000-07:00

Clean & Clear Soothing Eye Makeup Remover [Oil-Free]
requested by Miss Josie. hope it helps!

Overall Rating: 9/10
Would I Repurchase: Yes

POSITIVES:
- Affordable: prices vary depending on where you buy it, usually around $6
- Easy to find: most drugstores/grocery stores that sell clean & clear have it
- Doesn't irritate my eyes, even when I'm wearing contacts
- Doesn't leave an oily residue or dry skin
- Removes eye makeup quickly and easily

NEGATIVES:
- Some people might prefer a smaller opening.
- I got too much in my eye while I was wearing my contacts & my vision got a bit blurry for a minute. No pain or irritation, just blurriness.

Overall: I'm very pleased with this product. It removes my makeup quickly and easily without any irritation. At first I was hesitant to buy it because I'm loyal to the Neutrogena Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover. This one works just as well and is cheaper by around $2.

information on the back of the bottle

list of ingredients

it says it's oil free, but it has 2 parts..

shake it up before using it.

the opening of the bottle

apply some to a cotton pad

before: udpp, cork, mulch, typographic, & shroom e/s,
maybelline pulse perfection mascara, prestige black waterproof eyeliner

after: makeup is all gone!

the cotton pad with makeup. looks gross, haha.

q-tip that took off my waterproof mascara

Collective Haul

2009-09-03T20:17:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't been blogging very much lately. I started college last week, so I've been a bit busy. My boyfriend and I took some pictures at school during our break with my webcam. It's pretty obvious I haven't been getting much sleep. I look so tired! Look at those eye bags haha.

I decided to try some nails polishes from "Love My Nails" because they're only $1 each. I really like them so far. I would buy some more colors. I found them at Walmart.

(L-R) Raspberry, Orange Blossom, True Lilac, Star Bright

Star Bright. Looked nice in the bottle but doesn't apply well.

This is the one I'm wearing now, Raspberry. I loveee this.
It's a dark red, but in certain lighting it looks slightly pink.

Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Deeeeep.

Clean & Clear Soothing Eye Makeup Remover.

Caress Evenly Gorgeous Body Wash.

Olay Regenerist Microdermabrasion & Peel Kit.

Batiste Original Dry Shampoo

Necklace from Forever 21. Looks cute with solid tops. $6

Small heart says "And now these three remain:
faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."

Black Sandals by Dexter from Payless. $20

Brown gladiator sandals by American Eagle.
Payless was having a BOGO 1/2 off sale. This was
on sale for $14, so it came out to around $7. This is about
as crazy as I'd get when it comes to gladiators.

If you'd like me to do a review on any of these products, feel free to ask :)

Update & Haul

2009-08-02T18:01:00.000-07:00

Hello lovely bloggers! I feel like I haven't updated in forever.

I went back home for a few days to New Jersey. I'm a jersey girl! :) I lived there for almost 16 years, so I grew up there. I don't live there anymore, but my sisters still do so I have to go back every few months to see them.

my niece is adorable!

my bff. isn't she pretty? :D

We also took a road trip to Boston for a few days. Boston has soo much seafood!

"BOSTON CHOWDA"

this was for my parents O_O

shrimps & scallops. i thought they'd be bigger :\

super duck tours!

the bus drives on land AND water! pretty awesome.

Then I went back homeeee. My boyfriend and I went to play blacklight indoor mini golf. It was pretty cool! Fun fun.

i look so pro in my polo, haha. just kidding.

I went to the "Fantastic Indoor Swap Meet" here in Vegas because my mom needed bamboo or something.

There was this one booth selling fake MAC! Be careful where you buy your high end makeup because there are a lot of fakes out there.

Anyway, another booth at the swap meet had a bunch of beauty stuff for $1. Mostly dollar store makeup and brands like LA Colors. I did find a few cool things though. Artdeco nail art polishes. I see people use these in nail tutorials. They were $1 each.

red glitter, rose, and baby pink

The booth was also selling a bunch of lashes. They only had 2 different types of Red Cherry lashes. The other pair was HUGE, so I just got these bottom lashes. They had a lot of lashes from a brand called "Creme." Never heard of it, so I just got one. They were $1 each also.

creme #13 lashes, red cherry #33 lashes

As I was leaving, I saw another booth selling a larger variety of Red Cherry lashes at 3 for $5. Under $2 each is still cheap! I didn't have time to look at them because my parents wanted to leave already. Maybe I'll go back one day and get some more if I like it. I always hear rave reviews about them.

Making Faces by Kevyn Aucoin

2009-07-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

In my last haul, I showed the book "Making Faces" by Kevyn Aucoin. My-My asked me to picture some pages, so here they are! Hope they give you a better idea of what the book is like. You can find it in stores like Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc. It costs $21.99. You can look through the book at the book store before buying it to see if you really want it or not.

Click on the pictures for a larger view.
Sorry they're not that clear, my camera wasn't cooperating.

picture shows where to contour & highlight

shows lip shapes & lip product application

before & after pictures with instructions

instructions on how to get certain looks

Review: Maybelline Pulse Perfection Mascara

2009-07-06T18:35:00.000-07:00

Maybelline Pulse Perfection Waterproof Mascara

Official Website Information:

It’s our first vibrating mascara. Transforms your lashes to perfection.

Patent-pending elastomer brush vibrates 7,000 times per stroke
Provides clump-free definition, intense color, and shine
Waterproof; also available in washable formula
Builds lash volume, length, and adds curl
Buildable formula
Ideal for All Skin Types
Contact lens safe

Overall Rating: 5/5
Would I Repurchase: Yes

POSITIVES:
- Nice, sleek packaging
- Applies dark and black
- Adds a lot of length and volume
- Holds a curl and doesn't make my lashes droop down
- No clumping, even with more than 1 coat
- Waterproof, so it stays on all day
- More affordable than other vibrating mascaras (ie: Lancome, Estee Lauder)

NEGATIVES:
- You have to keep your finger pressed down on the button for it to vibrate

OVERALL:
I was pleasantly surprised with this mascara. I wasn't sure if the whole "vibrating mascara" would actually work well and I wasn't willing to spend so much on the ones from Lancome and Estee Lauder. I'm more of a drugstore mascara girl since you have to toss them every 3 months anyway. I don't really have any major complaints. This mascara is one of my new favorites. It adds really nice length and volume. Most importantly, it holds a curl which is important for my stick straight lashes. I think the vibrating does make a little bit of a difference. I feel like the bristles grip my lashes better. I'd definitely recommend this mascara. The shade I'm using is "Very Black"

maybelline pulse perfection tube

close up of the button on the handle

close up of the wand

my bare, uncurled lashes

after curling & adding mascara

Haul

2009-07-03T23:31:00.001-07:00

Haul time! AKA happy time for beauty addicts.

Last month my family got Wii Fit. I played almost everyday for a month, which is a MIRACLE because I usually hate exercising and NEVER do it. Raymond said he was proud of me, and he surprised me with a book... MAKING FACES by Kevyn Aucoin! I'm so excited to have it!

I wanted to return that Shiseido cleanser I bought. It wasn't a bad product, but it just wasn't right for my skin and I paid $21 for it. So I went to Sephora to exchange it for the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder. I've been looking for a nice matte bronzer that would add a glow without containing any particles of shimmer or glitter and this one is PERFECT. It smells like chocolate too!

I wasn't planning on going to MAC but Raymond's mom wanted a new lipstick, so we stopped by the MAC store to pick something out for her. We ended up getting "Modesty," a nice medium pink shade. Hopefully she likes it, I've heard good things about it. I got "Hug Me," which I heard is a great natural looking nude lip. The second I put it on, I fell in love with the color. It's so pretty. It's like MLBB. (my lips but better!) I can see myself wearing it everyday.

Hope everyone had a good day! Mine was great. Not because of my haul but because I got to spend time with Raymond. My parents are pretty strict so we only hang out once a week. Sometimes twice if I'm lucky, ha. It's better than nothing :)

Long Time No FOTD!

2009-07-01T13:43:00.000-07:00

on the phone, those are just my earphones :)

Long time no look, huh? Temptalia posted a look today using Make Up For Ever. I LOVED the colors she used and got inspired to play with some makeup. I haven't worn eyeshadow in weeks, so I'm a little rusty.

My skin's been acting up like crazy. I've been going to the doctor but nothing is working yet. So I did some retouching on the full face photos. I usually edit all of my pictures on photoshop to adjust the lighting, contrast, clearness, etc. I never alter the actual makeup, just zap away those pesky pimples :(

FACE:
- Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion
- MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC30
- MAC Studio Finish Concealer NC30
- MAC Emote Blush
- MAC Blushbaby Blush

EYES:
- Urban Decay Primer Potion
- Urban Decay Eyeshadow: Honey
- MAC Eyeshadows: Playful, Cranberry, Fertile, Shroom
- Milani Eyeshadow Quad: Copper Fiesta
- MAC Blacktrack Fluidline
- Maybelline Pulse Perfection Mascara
- Urban Decay 24/7 Liner: Zero

LIPS:
- MAC Bare Slimshine

MAC F&F Haul

2009-06-24T13:55:00.000-07:00

Today I woke up to find a beautiful black box for me in the mail! This is the first time I've ordered from MAC online, just because of the sale. I usually have no reason to order online. Where I live, there are a few counters, a freestanding store, a pro store, and a CCO.

blurred out my address

wow everything is black. that's so.. mac.

my little haul. it's only 4 things, but the total was already $70 :\

- 217 brush
- 109 brush
- prep + prime transparent finishing powder (in real life, the lid doesn't look glittery. weird.)
- shroom eyeshadow pan

Anyone have any input about these items?
Let me know what you got from the sale! :D

Maybelline Pulse Perfection

2009-06-20T00:39:00.000-07:00

Here are my lashes with Maybelline's Pulse Perfection Mascara in Waterproof.

IT HOLDS A CURL FOR MY STICK STRAIGHT LASHES.

Will write a review for it sometime this week!

Sephora & MAC Haul

2009-06-19T17:23:00.001-07:00

I ran out of my cleanser and wanted to try something new. I've never used anything from Shiseido before, so I picked up the Pureness Foaming Cleansing Fluid. Has anyone had good experiences with Shiseido skincare?

I was using Cetaphil moisturizing lotion on my face but wasn't liking how it made me feel oily within an hour. So I also got a small tube of Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion to try out.

When I opened my bag I found a sample of the Fresh Sugar Acai Body Scrub. I didn't ask for any samples, so that was a pleasant surprise.

When I got my 187 a little while back, the handle felt a tiny bit loose. I didn't think it was that big of a deal because it wasn't too noticeable. The more I used the brush, the looser the handle was getting. It got to the point where the ferrule was moving a bit when I wiggled the handle. This brush was almost $50, so I didn't want to take any chances of it completely breaking. It's been less than 30 days since purchase, so I went to the MAC store with the receipt. I didn't have any problems exchanging it. This new one is nice and firm, yay!

MAC: SUMO BIG SAVINGS

2009-06-16T14:29:00.000-07:00

MAC COSMETICS

25% OFF ONLINE PURCHASES

For 3 days only: June 16-18

Offer Code: SUMO

Bronzer Swatches

2009-06-11T16:08:00.000-07:00

Now that summer is here, bronzers are really popular to give you that sunkissed look. I've been wearing reaching for my bronzers a lot lately, so I figured I'd post swatches of the ones I have. These bronzers are really nice and I'd recommend them all depending on your taste. If you'd like me to do a review on any of them, feel free to ask.

(the first one should be mac bronzer in "bronze," not "bronzed." typo!)

I'm also looking for a bronzer that's glowy, but has absolutely no particles of glitter/shimmer. I was looking at the Smashbox one, but it's kind of pricey. I was thinking of getting a mineralize skinfinish natural in a darker shade. Has anyone tried that? Any recs?