Perfume collection

My perfume collection consists of a mix of body sprays and high and low-end perfumes. 

This is where and how I store my perfumes, on a stand thing, which I think is for office supplies, that I purchased from a thrift store of some sort (this sits on a bookshelf right next to my makeup table):

 

  (Ignore the random box of kleenexes on the right).

On the top row, from left to right (all from Bath & Body Works): Moonlight Magic perfume (which is discontinued, and I'm so sad because it was my favorite B&BW scent!), Secret Wonderland, Moonlight Magic, Summer Vanillas Coconut, and Forever Sunshine body sprays.

Middle row, left to right: Estee Lauder Sensuous Nude, Chanel Chance Eau Tendre (my all-time, favorite, holy grail perfume), and Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy perfumes.

Bottom row, left to right: Marc Jacobs Oh Lola!, Marc Jacobs Dot (doesn't he have the best packaging?), and Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy perfumes.

In the little pocket on the left side are two rollerball perfumes, one of Britney Spears Fantasy (honestly probably my second favorite perfume) and Bath & Body Works Sensual aromatherapy, a B&BW Midnight Pomegranate body butter, and a Snow Kissed Berry body cream, also from B&BW.   

All of the high-end perfumes (Estee Lauder, Chanel, and Marc Jacobs) I purchased from the duty free store in the airport (thanks to our employee discount!), and the Juicy Couture and Britney Spears perfumes I found at Ulta and T.J. Maxx, respectively. 

I love perfumes, they're one of my favorite parts about getting ready; when I think about what outfit and makeup I'm going to wear that day, picking out a scent to go with it is always part of the process. I always shine brighter when I know I smell good.

--Shine bright

Review: Lorac Unzipped palette

 This palette can be purchased at Ulta or Sephora for $40.00, and it includes a mini "Behind the Scenes" eyeshadow primer. 

 









The palette has 10 neutral eyeshadows, 4 matte and 6 shimmer.  Each shadow is approximately 1" square. 

 

 I have to say, I absolutely LOVE this palette.  The eyeshadows are SO pigmented, so soft, and the colors are gorgeous.  I did not see parabens listed in the ingredients, and I can wear every single one of these colors to work.  All of the colors start with cute "U" words:



Top row left to right: Undercover, Unbelievable, Unattainable, Unconditional, and Unbridled
Bottom row left to right: Undiscovered, Unreal, Uncensored, Unspoken, and Untamed



 

Undercover=matte ivory

Unbelievable=shimmer copper

Unattainable=shimmer medium brown

Unconditional=matte mauve

Unbridled=matte wine

Undiscovered=shimmer gold

Unreal=shimmer petal pink

Uncensored=shimmer coffee

Unspoken=matte red-brown

Untamed=shimmer deep plum





*note: almost all of those swatches were swatched once, with ONE swipe!  They're so pigmented!

I've used this palette every single day for work (and even sometimes on my days off) since I've gotten it; you can make endless combinations with it.

The Behind the Scenes eye primer performs well, and I would honestly say it's comparable to Urban Decay Primer Potion.  I've worn it during a full day of work and my eyeshadow looked perfect from start to finish. 

I HIGHLY recommend you get this palette; it's a great investment, especially if you wear a lot of neutrals.  You won't regret it! 

--Shine bright

What's in my travel/work essentials bag

This little bag is what I have with me on the plane while at work.  It has necessary things in it that are readily accessible when I need them; mostly lip products and a few other essentials. 

This bag I got on sale for $1.99 at Goodwill, it's a metallic taupey-gold color (is that even a color?):

This is what's in it:

 

Top to bottom:

• A watch is part of our "required items" for work, so I have an extra one in case something happens to my $6.00 Big Lots watch that I'm wearing.
• I have a pin for my apron that has a funny saying on it and my Skyteam pin.
• A small mirror for touch-ups, a stain remover towlette, some Altoids (gotta keep it fresh), and C.O. Bigelow's Rose Salve. 
• (In the middle) is a mini Lorac sample lipgloss called "Chuck" and a random lip balm in Frosted Blackberries (it's just clear, and the label rubbed off so I can't tell you what the brand name is!)
• exfoliage oil-sheets (very important for long days), and the lip products, left to right: Revlon Colorburst lipglosses in Papaya and Bellini, Revlon Super Lustrous lipgloss in Shine City, L'Oreal Colour Riche lipstick in Sunset Angora, L'Oreal Colour Riche Balm in Heavenly Berry, Revlon Super Lustorous lipsticks in Coralberry and Demure, and Maybelline Baby Lips in Peach Kiss.
• Next are a couple of pens, which are also a required item.
• On the bottom is my holy grail liquid eyeliner, which I keep in here in case my eyes water and my liquid cat-eyeliner gets all jacked up (which happens most often in the wintertime).

The lip products in my bag might change depending on the season (I usually use darker colors for fall and winter, more berry and red shades), but the non-lip products always stay the same.  This is what I've been using all summer! 

--Shine bright

French beauty/"fashion" haul

So I just got back from Paris a couple of days ago (I had a few days off, and I can't sit around my apartment all day, right?) and while I was there I bought a few souvenirs.  The Bourjois products I'm going to show I know are available in the UK, but I'm not sure about the rest of Europe.  Bourjois is a French brand that is sold in drugstores like Monoprix (it's kind of like a French Wal-Mart).  I've never seen these products in the U.S. before, so I had to pick them up!  All prices shown are in Euros.

 

I got three Bourjois eyeshadows (one for a friend), a blush, and two nailpolishes.  All of the eyeshadows and blushes are paraben-free!  The packaging has a magnetic clasp-type of thing where you have to push the little button on the front to open it; some of them come with a little sponge-tip applicator or brush (blush), and all of them have a mirror in the lids. 

The first one is #54 (this one is for my friend so I'm not going to swatch it); it's a shimmery medium brown and it comes with a sponge-tip applicator.  Price: 10,99 €

#08 is an "intense extrait" eyeshadow, and it's a shimmery reddish-brown color.  10,99 €

#74 is a satin finish dark brown that comes with a sponge-tip applicator.  10,99 €

#36 is the blush, and it's called Vitamin Peach (isn't that the cutest name for a blush?!).  It's a sparkly coral-orange color that comes with a small brush.  12,50 €

The two Bourjois nailpolishes I picked up are colors #09 Lavande esquisse (it Google translates to "lavender sketch"...?).  This one is a 1 Seconde Gel silicone texture, with a "fan effect brush for neat nails".  It claims to give a salon finish in 1 second.  The bottle says "1 nail=1 stroke=1 sec."  I haven't used it yet, but the polish looks pretty thick and I hope it's opaque.  9,99 €

The other polish is #33 Tangerine fatal; So lacque! with vinyl.  The bottle says "Ultra shine and hold up to 7 days".  It seems a little more watery than the lavender polish. 
9,99 €

I haven't tried any of the makeup or nailpolishes yet so I can't tell you how they perform, but I can't wait to use them!

I don't know why I felt the need to go to a MAC store in France when we have them in the U.S, but I did.  I found one on Rue Rivoli, which is a famous shopping street, and I picked up this blush called Sunbasque.  It's a Sheertone Shimmer blush, and at first I was afraid that it was going to be too shimmery and too dark and make me look ruddy or dirty, but I was pleased to find out that it's none of the above.  It looks darker in the packaging, but it comes out as a nice peach color on my cheeks.  21,99 €

 

As far as "fashion" items go, I bought two scarves, two pairs of sunglasses, and a necklace.

 

You have to buy scarves when you go to France, all the fashionable French women wear scarves.  The teal skull scarf I picked up from a random tourist souvenir shop on the street for about 4 €; I love this color!  It's so vivid, and it just caught my eye right away.  I've seen celebrities wear this skull motif, and I wanted to try it too. 

 

The spearmint green scarf is an infinity scarf that I bought at a store in a mall near my hostel called Six.  I can't get enough of this color!  It's basically just a big piece of fabric sewn together, but it's so soft and because of the color, I just had to have it.  9,95 €

 

 

The necklace I bought at the same store as the spearmint scarf, Six, and I was just attracted to it and thought it would be good to wear alone or layered.  5,95 €

 

 

Not five minutes before I left my apartment for this trip, I legitimately stepped on and broke my sunglasses, so I had to buy some when I got to Paris.  The bottom pair I bought in a random store down in the metro for 10 €.  Check out the side detail!

The other ones I bought at a huge multi-floor store called Etam on Rue Rivoli for 12,95 €.  I thought they were so cute with the little bow on the corner, and I've wanted a pair of cat-eye sunglasses forever! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those are all of the makeup and fashion-related items I bought on my trip to Paris!  I feel so blessed to have this wonderful life where I get to do these kinds of things; I'm so thankful for these opportunities!  My life makes me Shine bright. 

 

What's in my travel (work) makeup bag

Since I basically travel for work, this is the bag I take with me that is also my work makeup.  Most of the makeup in here is neutral and is not what I would take with me when I travel for fun (which would actually be a much smaller makeup bag) or what I would wear on a day off.  Keep in mind that I don't use every single one of these products every day, but I like to have options (you can't wear the same makeup look every day for a four-day trip, right?).  Also notice that there are no lip products in here; I keep my lip products in a seperate little bag that I keep with me on the plane, unlike this bag which I leave in my suitcase (I'll do another post with what's in my mini lip-product bag).  I bought this bag at a resale shop for about $4 or 5.00:

Here's what it looks like when I open it:

In the top compartments I have Q-tips to clean up any boo-boos, a mascara wand from an old tube of mascara that I washed and use to comb my eyebrows, a Bare Escentuals "max coverage concealer brush" that I use to re-apply foundation after I clean up boo-boos, and two Sonia Kashuk blush brushes (don't ask me why I have two, one would be plenty). 

The bottom compartment is where I keep all of the actual makeup:

In the white bin I keep blushes, a few eyeshadows, some smaller brushes, and other eye products:



Left to right: Chanel eyelash curler, Revlon Photoready concealer, small brush to dust powder on top of concealer, Covergirl Lashblast Volume mascara, random brush to sweep away fall-outs, Urban Decay Primer Potion, L'Oreal Lineur Intense Carbon Black liquid eyeliner, InColor Fabuliner liquid eyeliner in Black (my all-time, holy grail liquid eyeliner; this is the only eyeliner I use to make wings), Revlon Makup Eraser Pen (which I'm pretty sure is dried up, but I could make it work in a pinch), InColor Fabuliner in Brown, and tweezers. 

The blushes and random eyeshadows in the white bin:

Top row left to right: (All Covergirl Cheekers blushes) in True Plum, Rock 'n Rose, Pretty Peach (my favorite!) and Brick Rose.
Middle row left to right: Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso, MAC Mineralize Blush in Warm Soul, Chanel Ombre Essentielle (French for eyeshadow single) in Sillage, and NARS eyeshadow duo in Kalahari.
Bottom row left to right: Philosophy eyeshadow duo in heaven/earth-01 (which I got from Big Lots!) and Revlon Luxurious Color satin eyeshadow in Nude Slip (I just realized that the glare in the photo prevents you from seeing the actual color of the eyeshadow-oops!  Sorry!).

The eyeshadows, etc. in the rest of the compartment:

Top row left to right: Covergirl Eye Enhancers eyeshadow trio in Shimmering Sands, Maybelline Expertwear eyeshadow duo in Indian Summer, and an ELF single eyeshadow in Saddle.
Middle row left to right: MAC eyeshadows in All That Glitters, Woodwinked, and Naked Lunch, and an Ulta eyeshadow in Twilight.
Bottom row left to right: The Body Shop eyeshadows in #32, #07, and #30 (I hate that they don't have names!), my giant Maybelline Shine Free loose powder in Medium-02 that I use to set my foundation, and the kabuki brush I use to apply it that I got from Rite Aid.



This is the other stuff I keep in my makeup bag:

Left to right: a random eyeshadow brush from Big Lots, two eyeshadow brushes from Target, my Japonesque Dual Sided brush #110 that I use to apply my foundation, and my dual-sided mirror that I've probably had since junior high. 

These are some other makeup-related items that I just keep in my suitcase, mostly because they won't fit in my makeup bag:

Left to right: Nivea Eye Make-up Remover that I use on the Q-tips to clean up boo-boos, my Revlon Colorstay Whipped foundation, and the Argan Oil that I use as a moisturizer. 

Sorry this was such a long post, but those are the makeup items that I keep in my bag for work/travel! 

--Shine bright

Stuff I Like

So, if you haven't already noticed, I'm pretty bad at monthly favorites.  This is going to be a bunch of products I've really enjoyed over the past couple of months but never found the time to put into their respective monthly posts.  Stuff I like:

1.  Revlon Colorburst lipglosses in Bellini and Papaya- I love these Revlon lipglosses to begin with, but the colors they came out with for spring/summer are phenom-bomb (yes, I made that word up).  I'm obsessed with this Papaya color for summer; make-up, clothes, jewelry, I must have everything in this color!  This color is particularly flattering for my skin tone; I wear it to work all the time and always get questions and compliments on it.  The Bellini color looks better (on me, anyway) if I put it over a lipstick; it adds just the right amount of shine and is good for lightening up a dark lipstick.  Worn alone, it can tend to wash me out.  I don't own NARS' Turkish Delight lipgloss, but they look similar to me. 

Top: Bellini  Bottom: Papaya

2.  Zebra kabuki brush- I found this brush at T.J. Maxx for around $6.00 (I forgot what the brand was, sorry!)  I was looking for a different foundation brush other than the duo-fibre I had been using to apply my B.B. cream, which left it looking streaky and shedded like CRAZY.  I got this brush because it's super dense and leaves my B.B. cream looking seamless and finished, rather than streaky and....unfinished.  The denseness of it blends the foundation flawlessly and it's much less work to apply.  Plus it's zebra-print, my favorite!  I dot the B.B. cream all over my face, then use the zebra brush to stipple it everywhere, then use circular motions to blend it all in.  It doesn't shed and is super-soft.  The only bad thing about it is that it takes FOREVER to dry after being washed.  Otherwise it's perfect! 

3.  MAC mineralize blush in Warm Soul- this is my first MAC blush and I'm pretty pleased with it.  It's a good neutral blush with flecks of gold.  I know it's a cult favorite, but I didn't like NARS' Orgasm blush because of the sketchy gold shimmer it left on my face; this MAC blush leaves no visible shimmer (I actually returned my Orgasm blush!  Gasp!).  It blends into my skin well and is almost a peachy/pinky-enough brown that I can get away with wearing it with neutral eye looks for work, although it also looks good with colorful eye looks as well. 

4.  L'Oreal Color Riche lipstick in #176 Sunset Angora- this is another favorite coraly-pink lipstick of mine.  Straight-up pink lipsticks don't look good on me (or I haven't found one that does yet....), but lipsticks like this one that also have coral in them look phenom-bomb on me.  It's a cream color (no shimmers) and is smooth and creamy and stays moisturizing for longer than most lipsticks.  The color is not very long-lasting, so you do have to re-apply throughout the day.  But the color is worth it!  You can find this in drugstores for around $7-8.00. 

5.  Sally Hansen Salon Manicure nailpolish in Barely Bluebell- this is another color I'm obsessed with for summer.  This is a beautiful, cream-finish robin's egg/turquoise blue polish.  Unfortunately I can't wear this color to work, but I painted my nails with it during my week of vacation and I loved the way it looked.  It was very long-wearing and never chipped or even barely wore off on my nail tips.  I will definitely be purchasing more of these Salon Manicure nailpolishes (but next time in colors I can actually wear to work!).  I got this on sale from Target; I think they're usually around $5-6.00.

I'm probably going to think of 10 more things I wanted to add to this list after I publish it, but those are all of the ones I can think of for now!  Enjoy! 

--Shine bright

Review: Revlon Colorstay Whipped Creme Makeup

Usually I'm terrified of full-on foundations; shade-matching, blending techniques, does it match, does it not, I bought the wrong shade and can't return it now it's useless, etc.  That's why I've always stuck to tinted moisturizers or B.B. creams; two or three different shades to choose from, slap it on, rub it in and you're done.  However, I wanted to give this foundation a try after I saw rave reviews of it on Youtube and for some reason it looked pretty easy to apply.  It is a mousse makeup and claims to wear up to 24 hours (I wouldn't recommend leaving your make-up on that long....), and its "bouncy, whipped formula feels ultra light and silky smooth".  Here are some pros and cons:

Pros: This is a drugstore foundation, although I bought mine at Ulta for $13.99 (it was my birthday, ok?).  It's probably a few dollars cheaper at Wal-Mart and Target, etc.  There are 12 shades (not a whole lot, but I was able to find one that matched my skin tone and when blended, looks natural).  It is talc and paraben-free!  It blends nicely into my skin and doesn't feel heavy or cakey; I would say it has a semi-matte finish, and my skin actually stays semi-matte almost all day (with a setting powder), unlike any other foundation/tinted moisturizer I've ever tried.  I like to wear this foundation to work because I actually don't look like a shiny, hot mess when I get to my hotel room at night.  When you swipe the foundation with your finger out of the container, it does have a cool, mousse-y feel, almost like pudding.  (Is that weird?)  It says it is buildable to full coverage; when I put one layer on it's definitely medium coverage, but you can still see my actual skin, so it still looks natural.  Kind of like my skin but better.  It comes with 0.8 fluid ounces, which is not a whole lot (most liquid foundations contain 1.0 fluid ounces), but if you only use a little bit each time (which I recommend) it should still last for quite a while.      

Cons: I like the way this foundation looks on my skin, however, I hate the way it feels on my skin; kind of tacky, not quite sticky.  I try not to touch my face as much as possible though, so unless I deliberately touch my face I don't notice it.  It's also difficult to wash off at night; it totally kills any soap suds on your wash cloth or hands when you're washing your face; I have to wash my face twice when I use this.  It does only come in 12 shades, and the range of darker shades is limited.  As I said, the one I have (240 Natural Beige) doesn't match me exactly, but when I blend it in it looks fine.  The packaging could use some work.  It looks nice, but it's basically a big pot that you have to dip your finger or your brush into every time you go to use it, so it's not the most sanitary thing ever.  The container is also HEAVY.  The packaging is glass with a plastic lid, and it could seriously be used as a weapon.  I would not look forward to traveling with this; it might put your suitcase over the baggage weight limit.  It looks nice, but isn't exactly practical.  One of the biggest no-no's for me, is it doesn't have SPF.  My two big deciding factors in buying face products and face makeup are they have to be paraben-free and preferably with SPF.  This product has one but not the other, so I made an exception. 

Conclusion: I like this makeup because it's paraben-free and keeps my face semi-matte throughout the day, and I like the shade I chose, however I hate that it doesn't have SPF.  Would I buy this product again?  Yes, I'll just have to be careful about my sun exposure.        

--Shine bright