R&R Blush in My Mailbox!

The longest flight of my  life is behind me and I am back in my messy dorm room, there is some serious laundry to be done tonight! There was a lovely surprise waiting for me in my mailbox though. Speaking of Rock & Republic (which is still on Hautelook.com until tomorrow morning) I received my blush that I ordered ages ago!

The packaging alone is like a huge hockey puck! The compact is inside the massive thing and is equally impressive in hand. It is about the size of a beauty powder from MAC.

I ordered the color Immoral because that was the only one that was left online last time it was on hautelook.com 

This picture is not exaggerating the brightness of the blush. I thought it was going to be similar to bite of an apple blush from MAC venomous villains but this is more of a tomato orange/red while bite of an apple is coral pink/red. 

Here is a picture of how it looks blended out on the cheek. It is very very soft when used with a light hand. It can easily go clown-crazy if you are too heavy handed so watch out!

I wish that there were some more blushes on the event on hautelook.com but as I am giving up buying new makeup for lent (if you didn't already know) then I guess this is a little sign from god that I can stay strong and FOCUSED! haha Its like I am an addict and the grocery store stopped selling the good booze. 

Alrighty all... Gotta get back to school work and laundry... 

XOXO

Kelsey

Rock & Republic Beauty on HauteLook Today

Today is another extraordinary day for online shopping. Its raining here in LA and the sunshine really isn't coming out anytime soon. Today Rock & Republic is on HauteLook.com. I blogged about the matte nail top coat earlier this week and it is on sale again for $3.50 plus tons of other eye shadows, lip glosses, and powders. Unfortunately there are no blushes on this sale which is what I wanted to pick up but since I am giving up buying makeup for Lent, it must be a sign.

Happy Shopping!
Kelsey

Jemma Kidd Make-up Masterclass

 

I'm a sucker for a book store and my heart seriously broke when I found out Borders was going out of business. With everything being 30+% I had to stop in and see if there were any good reads on discount. And there was! I picked up this gem from Jemma Kidd. I can already tell I'm going to be using many tricks and tips from the pagers of this beauty bible.

So to start, here are what Jemma calls her ultimate top ten beauty tips:

1. Use a flesh-toned eyeliner on the inner rim of the eyes to make eyes appear wider and fresher and to neutralize any redness. Pale eyeliner inside the eye creates a more open-eyed effect, while dark eyeliner inside the eye creates a more elongated focus to the width of the eye.
2. Highlighter is a useful took for creating illusions. Dab a creamy highlighter underneath the arch of the brow to lift the brow and make the eyes look wider. Add a touch above the cupid's bow to make the lips appear fuller. You can also mix a little highlighter with your foundation to give a skin an all-over luminosity. 
3. Well groomed brows frame the face. keep them neat and tidy and define them with a brow pencil, working from arch outward and then on the inner part if needed. Go over the shape with a brow powder, which will soften the shape and make it last longer.
4. If you have dry skin, use a foundation and blush with a cream formula which will help to plump up the skin and make it look super-hydrated. For more mature skin, try makeup with invigorating ingredients such as a caffeine and ore light reflecting pigments to revitalize your look.
5. Opt for a yellow-based concealer, as it will help to camouflage red or purple tones in blimishes, and complement any skin tone.
6. If you have thin or sparse eyelashes, use an eyeliner to fill in any gaps between the lashes and lightly dust them with powder in between coats of mascara to add volume. If you are prone to smudging mascara on your eyelids, use a drop of foundations on a Q-tip to remove it.
7. As we mature, brown mascara and eyeliner is more flattering than black. Gel and liquid liners can look to harsh but a damp eyeshadow used as an eyeliner will flow better over fine lines.
8. Gently brush your lips with your toothbrush after you brush your teeth to exfoliate them and repare them for smooth lipstick application.
9. Use lip liner all over the lips, not just as an outline. This will give a better finish and will hold your lipstick for longer. If lipstick does wear off, you still have an all over color rather than just an outline.
10. If you're using cream blush or bronzer, apply it straight on top of liquid or cream foundation and blend it well. If you're using powder blush or bronzer, dust a fine layer of translucent powder over the foundation to set it. This gives a velvety finish and the perfect canvas for applying powder blush or bronzers. If you apply a powder formula directly onto foundation, it won't blend and will look streaky or patchy. 

Wow that was a heap of good tips. Some may be new to you while others are part of your daily routine. This book has inspired me to do a series of videos about the tricks I pick up in this book so keep an eye out for those!
XOXO
Kelsey

Spring Break in LA

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I'm in the middle of my spring break and I spent all yesterday riding on planes to get my self from DC to LA. I raked in some good frequent flier miles with this trip! Also... I forgot my camera in DC so I'm predicting a serious lull in posts until I return to DC on Tuesday. But I wanted to give you a heads up.

I got part of my Rock & Republic order on Monday. They did not send the blush which I was most excited about but it was back ordered so it should be coming soon. I brought the face powder with me so I will be testing it out and then reporting back with a full review.

One thing I did get to test out before I left was the Essie for Rock & Republic Clearly Matte Top Coat. This thing is so cool. It is just a clear top coat but it makes whatever color you have on look matte. Its a pretty unique effect. I would describe it almost as if you were looking at  a color through a frosted window.

This is a pic I pulled from Google but it shows the effect nicely

I got mine on hautelook but you can purchase it for $5.99 by clicking here http://compare.ebay.com/like/260744270003?ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&rvr_id=218362106089&crlp=1_263602_304662&UA=%3F*F%3F&GUID=bf9b7e2c12e0a47a43d1d9f1febee5eb&itemid=260744270003&ff4=263602_304662

I tried to find it on the R&R website but they were only selling it with a T-Shirt for $48. At any rate... its a product to check out if you can get your hands on it.

I will post more if I can find the time this week! 

XOXO
Kelsey

Clearly Matte on Ebay

Inglot: Now Online!

I've raved about Inglot before and I finally am posting pictures of the palette I purchased back in February (on Valentines day!) One thing I love about Inglot is the Freedom System which is basically where you get to choose your own colors in a palette. The one pictured here was $50 and includes 10 shadows 

For a size comparison, this is the palette next to a full sized primer potion. 

These shadows are stunningly pigmented and come in a huge verity of colors and finishes. I love that they have matte shadows that have a glitter. Many companies will make metallic or shimmery colors but Inglot's are unique. I went with a mix of bold matte and smokey glitter shades. 

and now you can order Inglot online! The color swatches are not that great so search around the internet to see if there are better swatches by bloggers. I know xsparkage.com has some great ones. Here is the link to order online

http://www.inglotusa.com/

The prices for the freedom palettes are a little bit more expensive online than if you go to the store but the nice thing is you can buy they shadow alone so if you have a z palette or an old Inglot palette to refill, you can do that and it ends up being less expensive than buying the new palette even at the discounted price I payed. The shadows get less expensive the more you buy. I hope you get a chance to try them out before they raise the prices in May so check out the website and stop by the store in Times Square! 

XOXO 

Kelsey

Hautelook.com

If you are not already a member, you really need to be!

I am in love with this website. Basically they have designer brands of everything from beauty and fashion, to hotels and furniture at deep discounts. How it works is every morning at 8:00 AM PST a slew of new sales start and you have to do a mad rush to get all the most sought after goodies from various brands. I have purchased many cosmetics and clothing off hautelook and I highly recommend joining... and its free!

My personal invitation link is: http://www.hautelook.com/invite/KKreamer729

If you join using my link above I get $10 when you make your first purchase so I would really appreciate it if you decide to join, you do so with my link. Some of my favorite brands that I've purchased off Hautelook are:

• Urban Decay
• Lorac
• American Apparel 
• Pixi & Pop Beauty
• Stream Cosmetics (my airbrush!)

To Sublet or Not to Sublet.... Really, There's NO Question!

So I know this isn't really a beauty post but it is related to my journey into the industry. As you know, I will be interning this summer in New York City and for the past week, all I can think about is... where the heck am I going to stay!? Many of my friends have lived in dorms in the past, especially Long Island University, however, being vegan, I'm hesitant to stay anywhere where I won't have a kitchen to cook my meals. Not to mention, if I was not into beauty I would going to culinary school. Back in Wisconsin I worked at a bakery for 4 years and a grocery store for 2.5 years. I even competed in food marketing competitions. Lets just say I'm into food.

Moving on... I really want to find an apartment to sublet that is fully furnished and I can just roll my clothes and toothbrush in and be set. I've already decided to stay with two girls from Howard but let me tell you, its hard to find a nice place... I take that back ANY PLACE... for under $800 a month. Luckily, I have found a few places in Harlem and even one gem on the Upper West Side! Now I'm just waiting to hear back from the owner.

I'm worried a little bit about renting from Craigslist... but that seems to be where the best deals are. I just keep thinking what if they steal the deposit and there is not an apartment at all! Not to mention this place is really nice and for the price that it is going for, I'm worried it might be too good to be true. Lets hope not!

I applied to stay at the Fashion Institute of Technology dorms but let me tell you... They are expensive! Can you believe that it averages out to being $325 a week! The nice thing is that they are in prime location to L'Oreal. NYU dorms don't come much cheeper at $265.

I think I'm going to try and use my resources to see if family knows anyone that would rent out a room or something for the cheep. You know what would be great low key... If I could live in one of those really fancy houses and be a house sitter. They might actually pay me to do it too! If only they had a website searching for those type of people but I'm sure thats the type of "you have to know someone" opportunity.

This just in... I officially heard back from the recruiter telling me she received my signed faxed offer letter! Yay! its in and so am I!

XOXO
Kelsey

Importance of lipliner....

I have to admit. Rarely will I apply lipliner unless it is for the perfect crisp edge. And honestly, I promise you most of the time you won't need it. There are a few times however, where you need to use a liner or risk bleeding and ironically, it happens most with dark colors such as RED! 

Red Lipstick Without Liner

This picture was taken about 2/2.5 hours after I applied it in the morning. There was no eating or drinking involved, just sitting in class and look what happened. Obviously different formulas will be more prone to bleeding than others. This happens to be a color from Maybelline NY E190 Royal Red. To be honest, this color didn't look great on me anyway so I'm not terribly upset but its still a bummer... You can always use these colors as accents or with a lipliner to avoid the bleeding. I have used it a couple time just in the center of the lip on friends in the center with a dark red (most of the time dark deed by MAC) as the main color. 

I don't have a favorite lipliner to talk about here but I have seen some pretty great ones at the drugstore from REVLON. I had an amazing one but I lost it way back to go with my Certainly Red by Revlon (my all time favorite red!)

Smooches! 

XOXO

Kelsey

Lipstick (and Nail polish) of the day: L'oreal Endless 800 In the Buff

I promise you I have been keeping up with the lipstick a day challenge but I feel like not everyone wants to read about it everyday. Or at least I wouldn't want to so I try to mix up the posts about it. Today I am wearing L'Oreal Endless (in honor of my internship offer) in 800 In the Buff. 

Oh no! its backwards!

I love this color so much because it is the perfect nude. Its also pretty darn cheep. The only downside is I believe they are discontinuing it! Over winter break I went to Walgreens and stocked up because they were on sale for $2.50 or something ridiculous like that. The only downside is that it has a really heavy "lipstick" smell and taste. If you can get past that, its an excellent product. 

I don't know if you can see it well in this picture but I'm wearing my hair extensions today haha. I feel like Pocahontas with my long straight hair and feathers. 

This picture also has a really nice shot of my nail polish which I am also in love with. I'm wearing Essie's Tea and Crumpets. Its a peachy pearl nude color that looks soft and feminine as do most of Essie's colors. I'm so excited that they are a L'Oreal brand and I may get the opportunity to work with them (I don't know what brand I will be working with this summer yet but they are a possibility as Essie is a consumer brand)

Well I need to get back to this assignment I didn't do last night...

XOXO

Kelsey!

Goodies for a Good Friend

Anna

What have you done with a friend lately? On Thursday my friend from back home came to visit me at school. She is doing a domestic exchange/internship program this semester in DC working at one of the Smithsonian art museums. This girl is truly the personification of class. 

I think we were both in our own slices of heaven that night because we went through my entire makeup collection and I let her take home a makeup bag full of treasures. Anna headed back to Butler University this weekend for some sort of formal and she wanted a fresh new collection of makeup to play with while she was getting all dolled up for the party (I think its a formal dance of sorts...).

Here is what she ended up taking with her:

All of Anna's goodies

(Clockwise from Top) Lash Glue, EcoTools travel brushes, Urban Decay Primer Potion, Sephora Brand moss eye liner, Two faced lip injection extreme, 

(Top to Bottom) Sephora Glamorous Lipstick in G03, Viva La Juicy Perfume roll on, MAC Vegas Volt Lipstick, Lorac lipstick 

 Anna is extremely fare and I was surprised at how stunning the orange lipsticks I blogged about last week looked on her. She also looked lovely in red after it was all blotted off and just the stain remained.

Lancome Palette

 My favorite color in this palette is Filigree, the middle color on the right. Its a BEAUTIFUL soft gold and you can't really tell from the picture but it is the perfect highlight color. In fact, Filigree was my first luxury brand purchase from my mom back when I was maybe 11. We went to the counter together and the sales lady helped me to pick out a color that was so soft and pretty that it wouldn't over power an 11 year old. I still have the very last crumbs of that first filigree so I'm very glad to get a replacement in this palette... but I digress...

Urban Decay Smoke Out Palette & Gold Eyeliner 

Sometimes I feel like I have so much make up that I don't get enough days in the year to use it all thats why I have no problem lending it out (to the delight of many of my girl friends!). Hope you enjoy your stash Anna!

XOXO 

Kelsey