EOS Alice in Wonderland Lip Balms

You should be aware of my love for eos lip balms. Imagine then, my joy, when that love got mixed with my love for Disney, in this adorable Alice in Wonderland-themed lip balm gift set (with the Mickey Mouse logo embossed on each sphere.)

They deliver the same delicate moisture that all eos balms give and come in three new exciting flavors:

Watermelon Wonderland: If you’re a fan of watermelon bubblegum, then you’ll love the juicy smell of this lip balm.

Sweet Vanilla Nonsense: Rich and creamy sweet sugared vanilla, but not at all overpowering! This one gives me a bit of a sweet tooth.

Blueberry Potion: It’s a little bit artificial blueberry, but very pleasant nonetheless.

Sadly, this little kit has become rare in-stores (but not so rare online.) Don’t hesitate to make it a part of your collection, if you have a chance!

Final Verdict: Love it!

Ingredients:  Olive Fruit Oil*, Beeswax*, Coconut Oil*, Jojoba Seed Oil*, Natural Flavor, Shea Butter*, Stevia Rebaudiana Leaf/Stem Extract*, Sunflower Seed Oil*, Tocopherol, Blueberry Fruit Extract *, Limonene, Linalool. Olive Fruit Oil*, Beeswax*, Coconut Oil*, Jojoba Seed Oil*, Natural Flavor, Shea Butter*, Stevia Rebaudiana Leaf/Stem Extract*, Sunflower Seed Oil*, Tocopherol, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract*. Olive Fruit Oil*, Beeswax*, Coconut Oil*, Jojoba Seed Oil*, Natural Flavor, Shea Butter*, Stevia Rebaudiana Leaf/Stem Extract*, Sunflower Seed Oil*, Tocopherol, Watermelon Seed Extract *, Limonene, Linalool. 

Tips and Tricks: Put Your Best Face Forward with Shading and Contouring

We’ve all had those moments when we wished that Photoshop was available in a little jar. And while most of our problems can usually be fixed with a good foundation and a little concealer, sometimes these tools are just not enough.

Luckily, with little more than a couple of face brushes and some skin tone complimentary tones, you can help reduce bloat, sharpen angles, and brighten and highlight your best areas. Prep by applying your foundation, as I don’t recommend this tutorial over bare skin.

Tools:

A couple of face/blush brushes, with at least one being angled. Don’t bother with kabuki or large powder brushes, though.

A light (highlight) tone and a dark (shadow) tone in colors that compliment your skin. The shadow tone should actually be more of a taupe/gray, than a brown, since that’s a shadow’s natural color. While there are actually contouring kits that will have both shades for you, matte pressed powder eye shadows will work just fine. 

You’ll also want a matte bronzer. 

Step 1: Nose

Use your shadow tone to deepen the sides of your nose, giving it a slimmer appearance. Use downward strokes from the bridge and lightly (lightly, you don’t want to apply too much color and put rings around them!) circle your nostrils.

Take your finger and dab the highlight tone down the bridge.

Step 2: Cheekbones

Use a blush brush to sweep the shadow tone in the hollows of your cheeks. You can find these by sucking your cheeks in and feeling for the area under the bone. 

Use the highlighter on the apples of your cheeks, with an angled brush, and sweep the color up. 

Step 3: Jaw line

Use your matte bronzer and, again, lightly sweep the color around the edge, giving yourself a more delicate jaw. Careful not to give yourself fake 5 o'clock shadow!

Step 4: Forehead

I goofed and forgot to photograph this part, but using the bronzer on your temples and swiping some highlighter in the middle, you can contour the sides of your forehead, making it slimmer and daintier looking.

You’re done!

Enjoy. 

Throwback Thrillers: Diorific Long-Wearing True Color Lipstick in Lady

Finding the perfect shade of red lipstick can be hard, especially if you want one that is fun and attention-grabbing for nighttime, but is still appropriate for day. If you can get your hands on this gorgeous lipstick from Dior, then this problem might very well be solved. 

It has a lovely, creamy texture and the shade is one that will translate to most skin tones. It’s vibrant and exotic, while still being tame enough to be taken seriously at work. 

It may be a little hard to track down, but trust me, it’ll be worth it. My only complaint is the plastic packaging, which felt a little bit cheap. 

Enjoy!

Korres Lip Butter

These luxurious little lip butters from a Greek company are sure to satisfy any balm fetishist’s wishes. The formula is really thick and moisturizing, without feeling heavy or sticky. They come in several flavors, and all but Guava are lightly tinted, giving your lips a subtle hint of color when you don’t want to use heavy lipstick. My only complaint is that they don’t smell too much like their namesakes. It’s more as if they share the same unique fruity/sweet base, with a dash of some other fruit (which may or may not be the one they’re named after.)

#1 Guava- Smells so much like coconut (not that this is a bad thing!) that you wouldn’t know it’s guava unless you read the jar. Very sweet and nice, though. It doesn’t give any color, just adds some shimmer and moisture to dry lips. 

#2 Jasmine- This smells very sweet, without a particular fragrance. It’s a very, VERY subtle sheer pink.

#3 Mango- I can certainly pick out the mango in this one! The color is a fun, sheer orange!

#4 Pomegranate- If there’s actual pomegranate in this, it’s lost on me. All I smell is the fruitiness, albeit lightly. The shade is a really pretty sheer intense pink, though.

#5 Quince- A more intense fruity base. A lovely magenta shade. (My favorite!)

#6 Plum- Fruity with something like… grape and prune? It’s a lot better than it sounds, and gives a deep reddish purple tint that would look very nice on darker skins.

#7 Wild Rose- Fruity with a hint of rose. A hint of deep red, very pretty.

Final Verdict: Love it!

Ingredients:

Polybutene, Trimethylolpropane Triisostearate, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Polyethylene, Hydroxystearic Acid, Stearalkonium Hectorite, Propylene Carbonate, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Sucrose Tetrastearate Triacetate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Tocopherol, Flavor (Aroma), Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Wax, Punica Granatum Extract, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter Extract. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide, Red 7 Lake, Red 6, Iron Oxides.

Cotton Candy Lids

Missed the county fair last time it was in town? I did. No corn dogs, no cute petting zoo, no roller coasters, no tilt-a-whirl, and no beautiful, pastel toned cotton candy. While there’s not much I can do about it until next year, I am cheering myself up with this lovely little cotton candy inspired eye tutorial. I decided to use a sparkly theme for this, but you can choose matte tones if you’re fonder of those. To join me, you’ll need:

Eye lid primer (Nars Smudge Proof Eye shadow base)

Turquoise Eye Shadow (L’Oreal Bright Shadow Duos in Showy, lighter shade)

Magenta Eye Shadow (L’Oreal Bright Shadow Duos in Reckless, lighter shade)

Light pink Eye Shadow (NYX Trio Eye Shadow in Cherry/Cool Blue/Hot Pink)

Baby blue Eye Shadow (Ditto)

Indigo Eye Shadow (Instant Beauty Loose Powder in Screaming Purple)

Black gel liner (Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Liner in Blackest Black)

Lavender pencil liner (YSL Pencil liner in Purple Silk)

Black pencil liner (YSL Waterproof pencil liner in Velvet Black)

White Eye Shadow (Estee Lauder eye shadow in Tranquil Moon)

For the tools, you’ll want either sponge-tip applicators or whichever brush is more comfortable for you to apply an even wash of color. You’ll also want a couple of angled brushes. Don’t forget to include your favorite mascara (YSL Singulier Waterproof in Vibrant Black!) 

Step 1-

Totally optional, but I love how purples and lavenders look with green eyes, so I threw my contacts on!

Step 2-

Prime your lids only! You’ll want the most vibrant color here.

Step 3-

Apply turquoise eye shadow to the inner half of your eye. Try to make it even and don’t be afraid to deposit a lot of color. You want this to be bold. It’s okay if the color fades a little bit towards the middle, though.

Step 4-

Fill in the other half of your lid with the magenta eye shadow. If the eye shadow base is too dry at this point, consider adding a little more. Otherwise, work through Steps 3 and 4 quickly! My suggestion is to prime and paint one eye at a time.

Step 5-

With your brush, lightly blend the line where the two colors meet. It should turn a lovely shade of purple. You’ll want to create a gradient effect.

Step 6-

Dab some of the light pink shadow along the area you painted magenta, in the crease. Make sure the two colors blend.

Step 7-

Do the same with the inner corner of the crease and the baby blue shadow. The final effect is to have the darker shades fading into the lighter ones.

Step 8-

  Line your bottom lids using the indigo shadow. If you’re using loose powder like me, you might want to add a little primer to avoid fall out. If not, just make sure to keep a steady hand and dab off excess product before you bring it to your eye.

Step 9-

Liner your top lids with black gel liner. Be careful to keep the liner relatively thin.

Step 10-

Extend the black liner outwards, in a cat-eye shape.

Step 11-

Use your lavender eyeliner to draw in a connection between the black liner and the indigo shadow. The soft texture of the pencil should allow you to create a gradient effect between the two colors.

Step 12-

Add a small dab of white shadow in the inner corners of your eyes and sweep it over your brow bone, above the pink and baby blue. This will bring the look together.

Step 13-

Wrap things up with a sweep of black pencil liner on your water line and mascara.

Enjoy!