Weekly Swaps

I think every week I'm going to do updates on swaps I do on Makeupalley. This week I did one swap. I swapped my Sedu Revolution Shortie Styler for several things!

Reason I swapped the flat iron: It was too small to use on my hair. It was a mini styler. It is good for short hair and bangs, but I have neither. I have longish hair, and my bangs are as long as my hair, so it was just wasting space! I have the 1 inch Sedu Revolution, and it works much better for me, although I would like to have the 1.5 inch.

What I got in return:
1. An E.L.F Cream Blush in the color "Flirt".
2. 2 Wet 'n Wild Matte lipsticks. One in "Just Peachy" and the other in "Mauve outta here"
3. 2 Revlon Super Lustrous Lip glosses in the color "Lilac Pastelle"
4. 2 Victoria's Secret body sprays. One in "Luscious Kisses" and the other in "Secret Charm"
5. Wet 'n Wild Color Icon palette in "We're Blasting Off"
6. E.L.F Cool Bronzer


Overall I'm very pleased with the swap. I actually already had the 2 Wet 'n Wild lipsticks, but I really like them, so I have backups if they run out.  I had to repress the eyelid shadow in the "We're Blasting off" palette because it was completely shattered, but everything turned out okay! I'm wearing the palette today, and it looks gorgeous! There may be some reviews on these products to come soon. Tomorrow I will probably do a weekly haul and first impressions blog, because I purchased a few items this week that I want to blab about.  I will also probably do a Christmas Haul, because I never got a chance to talk about what I got.

If you want to set up a swap with me on makeup alley Click Here to view my profile!

My Favorite Foundations

I've tried a lot of foundations in my 25 years of life, and I've disliked a lot of them. These are the ones that I am gaga over. I always recommend these foundations to people, because they are amazing! For reference purposes: I am a very pale Mac NW 15 with normal to dry  sensitive-ish skin.

Revlon ColorStay is my go to foundation. I use the Normal/Dry skin formulation, and I use the color Buff. It covers amazingly well, and when I want a full coverage look that appears very natural I always reach for it. It covers so well that I usually don't need concealer with it, and if I do, this foundation basically doubles as a concealer. It can be layered and layered and still look natural if applied correctly. I personally apply it with a flat top synthetic brush (Sonia Kashuk's flat top synthetic, or the E.L.F Powder brush). If I'm in a hurry I apply it with my fingers. It lasts all day, which I love because reapplying foundation is sort of a pain in the ass, because you have to reapply everything else also. The only downside about this foundation in my opinion is that it is sort of hard to remove, but with a little bit of effort, it WILL come off. 

Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation is very luxurious. I use the color "rose ivory".  This  foundation  is the only foundation that perfectly matches my skin tone. I can skip blending this into my neck and it still looks perfect. It is VERY full coverage. I tend to save this foundation for special occasions, mostly because it is expensive and also because I don't need that much full coverage in everyday life. It works alright for my dry skin, but I feel the need to exfoliate first, because it can highlight any dry skin patches I may have. The best thing about this foundation is that just a teeny tiny little bit will give full coverage to your whole face. It blends out beautifully. I like to apply it with my fingers, just because I feel like I get the most natural looking appearance that way. When I apply with a brush, it seems too cakey to me.

The NYX HD Foundation is relatively new, but I am in love with it. I use the lightest shade in 01 Nude. It photographs very well. When I first bought it I was afraid it would be similar to Revlon PhotoReady, which I absolutely hated, because it made me sparkle like Edward Cullen on a sunny day. It's not like PhotoReady at all (thank goodness). It has a lovely texture and provides a medium to full coverage. I use this on days when I know I may be photographed, or on days when I'm having a relatively good skin day, and I don't need Revlon Colorstay coverage. Some people compare it to Makeup Forever 

HD foundation. I have no idea if it is actually comparable, because I can only afford one too expensive foundation at a time! It also surprised me in lasting power. I get a good 8 hour wear out of it without touch ups. I think most people would really like this foundation, except their color selection is ultra shitty. People who may be lighter than me, will not have a match, and people who have dark skin are screwed. Hopefully NYX will come out with more colors so more people can experience the glory. I apply this with a stippling brush, or a flat topped synthetic brush. I also apply with my fingers if I'm in a hurry. 

Honorable Mention! Skin 79 Super BB Cream. I use this on days that require tinted moisturizers, especially in the summer. It is lovely. 

*All photos were taken from Amazon.com*

Now for a list of foundations that I loathe:

• All Mac foundations: For some reason they make my face itch. 
• Revlon PhotoReady: It makes me sparkle, and it cakes up on my dry skin and acne very badly.
• Cover Girl Natureluxe silk foundation: I couldn't get past the smell (ew) and it irritated my skin a bit.

Back Alley Deals

I just noticed the Wet n Wild Ice Baby Collection at Walgreen's a few days ago. They were almost completely sold out of most shades, but they had one of the purple ones left in the shade "back alley deals".

It's a beautiful purple glitter color, with bigger flakes of magenta glitter. I think it could probably be layered a few times and have pretty good coverage. I used an L.A. Colors nail polish, that I got at the dollar store as a base coat. There is no color listed, but it is sort of  grape color.

I used 2 coats of the unknown L.A. Colors polish, and then used one coat of Back Alley Deals, and I absolutely LOVED the result. I'm probably going to wear this every day until I run out of the polish. 

I just love it. Now I want to collect all of the polishes in the Ice Baby Collection, because I like this one sooo much. I'm really lemming after the shades "Diamond in the Rough" and "Cost is no Issue". They are also beautiful shades. I'm going to have to look around everywhere for them, or find them on Makeupalley since they are limited edition. 

This polish also wears very well. Usually my nail polish chips off within 12 hours, even if I use a base coat and a top coat, and even if they guarantee it will last 7 days. This has worn on me for 4 days and it just started chipping! That is the longest I've EVER worn a polish without it chipping. I guess it's because of the heavy glitter. I do want it to chip off though, because it seems like it would be a pain in the ass to remove with my non-acetone remover. 

December 2011 Birchbox!

This was my 11th Birchbox!

My December Birchbox included the following:

• Benefit The POREfessional
• Harvey Prince Yogini fragrance
• Jouer Moisturizing Lip Gloss in Birchbox Pink
• Olie Bilogique 004 Huile Moderne
• ShowStoppers Designer Fashion Tape
• EBOOST Orange Natural Energy Booster

First Impressions:

The Porefessional has a great texture, and feels fabulous on the face, i'm not sure if it actually camouflages my pores, but it did help my makeup stay on a bit longer, so that is always good. I probably wouldn't repurchase, because I'm in love with Hard Candy's Sheer Envy Primer, which I get a similar effect from and it is much cheaper than the $29 price tag on the porefessional. 

Yogini is an okay scent. I can definitely smell sandalwood, which I occasionally enjoy. I sprayed it on my arm about 5 hours ago, and I can still smell the scent on my arm. I'm not sure if I would repurchase this, because I didn't fall in love with in at first smell. I will definitely use the whole sample and see if it's something I can see myself wearing long term.

The Jouer lip gloss had a good texture. It wasn't sticky at all. It is a hot pink color that is supposed to look similar that the pink boxes that Birchbox ships in, and I'd say they did a pretty good job of matching the color. I really really do like the color, but it goes on sheer as crap. I'm used to super pigmented lip glosses I suppose. I would probably repurchase just because of the texture. I'd like to have it in another color perhaps.

Here is a swatch of Birchbox Pink on my hand.The picture shows 2 layers of the lip gloss:

Here is a photo of the gloss on my lips. This is about 4-5 layers:

The rest of the products I haven't actually tried yet. I'll probably try to mix the Olie Biologique essential oils into my foundation, since my skin has been very dry lately. I will let you know how that turns out. I will probably give the EBOOST energy booster packet to my boyfriend, because he likes energy boosting things. I have no idea what I'll do with the designer fashion tape, but I'll be sure to let you know if I use it.

Overall I would say I liked this month's Birchbox. I liked it quite a bit more than last months box. I was especially pleased to get the Porefessional primer, because I had been wanting to try it.

If you've never heard of Birchbox, visit their site at www.birchbox.com . You get 4-5 high end samples for $10 a month. It has been a very valuable investment for me. If you want to join Click here for my referral link. It will get me some referral points, and it will get you your first Birchbox!

The Obligatory First Post

My name is Crystal, I'm 25 and I wanted to start a beauty blog as a hobby, because my life is incredibly boring, especially when I am on a college break. I am not a beauty professional. I'm not the best at applying make up. I'm definitely not the best at applying nail polish, but I'm sure a lot of people could relate. I spend a good deal of my time focusing on makeup, and other beauty related things. Any time I have extra money I will for sure spend every penny of it on something beauty related. On this blog I will review things, do hauls and show various make up looks that will probably need a lot of constructive criticism. I may even do a blog sale every now and then. I hope I eventually can gain some followers, so that I can have friends with similar interests. Stay tuned for some sort of beauty related non sense to come soon!