Urban Decay Haul: Free Love and Psychedelic Sister!

Hello again.

I received an e-mail a week or so ago about Urban Decay having a sale. Whenever I hear that Urban Decay is having products on sale, I have to check it out. The sale items include eye shadows, eye shadow palettes, lipstick, lip gloss, etc. I only picked up two of their eye shadows, for $9,  in colors that I had been eyeing for a while. 

Free Love is described as a "peach shimmer"

Psychedelic Sister is described as a "bright purple" with shimmer. 

Both are gorgeous colors that I can't wait to try out more!
The sale at Urban Decay's website is still going on click here to check it out. 

With every purchase, Urban Decay included samples of their new Naked Skin Foundation. 

So excited to try this out! 

Did you purchase anything from this sale?

Don't forget to check out my YouTube page!

Smokey Blue FOTD

Hey guys!

So lately I have been being very bland and boring with my makeup due to lack of time and energy to make the effort to do it. I have been working a lot especially in the early morning and who likes doing their makeup at 5 a.m? haha But, one of the days that I worked later at Ulta, I decided to play around with my Urban Decay shadows and here is what I came up with. :)

Face

Too Faced Primed and Poreless Pure

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Foundation in Honey

Too Faced Chocolate Soliel Bronzer

Bare Minerals Ready Bronzer in "The Deep End" to contour 

Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in "Exposed"

Lorac Perfectly Lit in "Radiant" for highlight 

Lips 

NYX lipstick in "Circe" 

Brows

Makeup Forever Waterproof Eyebrow Corrector in No. 0

Eyes

Too Faced Eye Shadow Insurance 

Maybelline Color Tattoo in "Tenacious Teal" as base

Urban Decay e/s in "Haight" on lid

Urban Decay e/s in "Verve" on tear duct

Too Faced e/s in "Soul mates"  under eyebrow

Urban Decay e/s in "Naked" to blend

Loreal Infallible e/s in "Midnight Blue" in crease and lower lash line

Urban Decay e/s in "Blackout" to darken the crease and lower lash line

Maybelline The Falsies Mascara

Ardell 105 False Lashes  

And my Ulta attire, all black. 

Messy room

o_O

My 7 Essential Makeup Products for Summer

Summer is my absolute favorite time of the year and it is right around the corner. I love the sun and the high temperatures that make you want to do nothing but swim all day long. Although we are not quite out of Spring where I live, I know a lot of you who live in the south are already experiencing the summer-like weather. Here in Michigan, our summers get pretty hot, but also very humid. This high humidity is one of my makeup's worst enemies. So, certain makeup prodcuts must be worn differently in the summer compared to all year round. Also, summer is a time when your skin needs to be looking it's best with bronzing glow and bright fun colors!

Here are my 7 essential products for perfect makeup in the summer heat :)

Click on any of the bolded product names for the website with more info. 

#1 Primer

In order to make anything last, you need a good base. Foundation and eye shadow primer are musts for me in the summer as well as year round. My favorite eye shadow primer of all time is Too Faced Eye Shadow Insurance . Compared to all of the other eye shadow primers I have tried, this is the best, in my opinion. It goes on super silky and creamy. With this, your eye shadow, whether cream or powder, will not budge and crease at all. This is especially needed in the summer when your skin is warmer and sweating more than normal. My current favorite face  primer also happens to be from Too Faced. It is the Too Faced Primed and Poreless Pure which came out in Too Faced's summer 2012 collection. This primer is oil free and mattifying. These are two great qualities that you will want in a primer for the summer especially if your skin is sensitive or oily. My skin tends to get VERY oily in the summer and I need a mattifying primer to keep it under control and make my face makeup last.  

#2 Tinted Moisturizer 

During the summer time I like to wear the least amount of makeup on my face as possible in order to reduce breakouts. Tinted moisturizer is great for the summer. It contains a tint of color that will even out the skin without feeling heavy like a foundation. Most tinted moisturizers contain sunscreen which is much needed during the summer time. I can't stress how important it is to protect the skin on your face from the sun since the face is one of the most common areas for skin cancer.  I love the E.L.F Tinted Moisturizer because it contains an SPF of 20 and it is super cheap! The color match of this tinted moisturizer is great and it feels so good on!

#3 Bronzer

Bronzer acts as double duty for me. First, since I dust it all over my entire face, it helps to mattify my face and help make my foundation or tinted moisturizer last longer. Second, it gives my face a beautiful deep, brown tan. I really like to use matte deep brown bronzers since I use them all over my face as well as to contour. If you don't want to use a bronzer all over the face, but rather on your cheeks for a subtle glow, you would be able to get away with using a bronzer containing shimmer or a sparkle. My all time holy grail bronzer is Too Faced Chocolate Soliel (I didn't realize how much I like Too Faced ha!). Very similar to Chocolate Soliel is Benefit's Hoola Bronzer.  A less expensive alternative to these two is NYC Bronzing Face Powder. 

 #4 Lip Stain

I don't know if anyone else feels the same that I do, but I HATE the feeling of lipstick in hot weather. If it's super hot and humid, lipstick on my lips just makes me feel EW. An alternative to wearing lipstick while still having color on the lips is a lip stain. You are doing exactly as it says, staining the lips. Most lip stains come in the marker form so they are very easy to apply. One of my favorites is Revlon's Just Bitten Lipstain + Balm  in Passion. The Revlon Lipstains include the lipstsain on one end as well as a lip balm on the opposite end to help moisturize the lips after applying the stain. Lipstains literally last for hours. Since you are staining the lips, the color is pretty permanent when you put it on. Some of the color will wear off at the end of the day and the rest can be taken off with makeup remover. 

#5 Waterproof Mascara 

Waterproof mascara is a no brainer. Usually I do not use waterproof mascara since it is very hard for me to get off, but in the summer I feel like I need it, especially if I will be outside at the lake or pool. I wouldn't consider the Covergirl Lash Blast my favorite, but this is the only waterproof mascara that I own at the moment. 

#6 Long-Wearing Eye Shadow and Eye Liner (In bright colors!)

Not only do I love cream shadows  and eye liners for the summer, but I love them in bright colors! Cream shadows, to me, are just easy. I apply them with my finger all over my lid, blend them a little in my crease, and I am good to go! I know that I have gone on and on about the Maybelline Color Tattoo Eye Shadows , but these will be great for the summer. Especially on top of eye shadow primer, the color, vibrancy, and texture of these will last all day long. One of my favorite eye looks to wear in the summer is a bronze or gold color on my lid paired with a bright color eye liner on my lower lash line for a pop of color. The Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils  are great for this. These, like the color tattoos, are very long wearing and once you let them set, they will last all day. I wish I could buy these in every color!

Urban Decay 2/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Radium on the lower lash line..

#7 Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray 

To finish it off any type of makeup look, some type of long wearing makeup setting spray is key, specifically Urban Decay's All Nighter. I used this product all last summer and I do not know how my makeup would have lasted without it. This product sets makeup so the face will look less powdery and more natural. It also acts to keep skin matte. This claims to help makeup last for 16 hours and it does live up to it's claim. I would not go a day without using this product, especially in the summer. 

Swatches of All Products Seen Above

What are your favorite makeup products for summer?

Painted Purple EOTD

Hi! 

I hope everyone is doing great today! I know I do not share a whole lot about my personal life on my blog but I am going to start to because I feel that I have gotten to know other bloggers well and some of you may want to get to know me a littler better also. I love this blogging community so much and all of you are so encouraging and positive.

 I want to share with you ladies some really good things that have happened to me lately. The first thing is that I just got a job working for Ulta! I showed my brother my blog one day and he asked me, "Dani, Why don't you get a job working with makeup?". So I thought that it wouldn't hurt anything by just applying to Ulta. And, the next day, the manager called me for an interview! I am working as a cashier but I already love it. Everyone is so nice there and it is great to be able to work around the different brands of makeup and be able to help others discover this makeup.

The next thing that happened is something that I have been working towards for a long time. As most of you may not know, I am a full time student in my 3rd year of college. I have been a pre-nursing major during this time because at my college, you must be accepted into the nursing program in order to continue on to get a bachelor's degree. This nursing program at my school is highly competitive and they only accept those with very high G.P.A's. I applied to be accepted into this program last semester, but was turned away. I have been working so hard to raise my grades so I would stand a better chance of getting in the program. I applied to get in again this semester and I just received my letter of acceptance!! I am so excited to finally be making my way to my career.

  I wanted to share this with everyone to tell you that if you truly want something in life and put in the hard work to get it, you will achieve it. 

On to the makeup!

I finally picked up the "Painted Purple" Maybelline Color Tattoo and was itching to use it. Purple is seriously my favorite bright color to wear as eye shadow. It is so pretty and really brings out the eyes. You cannot really tell from the pictures (I'm sorry my camera sucks) but I blended a dark navy blue on the outter corner. I also placed a pink/purple shimmer eye shadow in the inner corner of my eye. I absolutely love these colors together! 

I wore this look to my first day of orientation at Ulta. 

Face

E.L.F Tinted Moisturizer 

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Foundation in Honey

Too Faced Chocolate Soliel Bronzer 
Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in Exposed

Milani Minerals Makeup in Natural Tan to contour 
Lorac Perfectly Lit in Radiant for highlight 

Brows

Ulta Brow Style kit

Eyes

Too Faced Eye Shadow Insurance 

Maybelline Color Tattoo in "Painted Purple" as a base

Urban Decay e/s in Flash on top of Painted Purple

Urban Decay e/s in Grifter on inner corner of eye 

Urban Decay e/s in Naked to blend

Urban Decay e/s in Rockstar in crease

Loreal Infallible e/s in Midnight Blue on outter corner
Urban Decay e/s in Virgin as highlight under brow

Loreal Voluminous Mascara 

Lips

MAC Velvet Teddy l/s

For those of you that have requested certain posts, I will be getting to those very soon! I promise. :)

Where I Have Been and A Tribute to my Mom.

I am not sure if many of you have noticed, but I have been absent from my blog for the past couple of weeks or more. It is not because I have given up on my blog and posts at all, but it is due to events that were happening in my life at that time. The past couple of months, my mother, whom I live with, has been in and out of the hospital. On her last hospital visit this past week she passed away. She was one of the closest people  to me and my inspiration. Here is her story and some of her favorite makeup products...

Debbie Vaughn

May 14, 1954 - February 29, 2012

I have always been close with my mom, closer with her than any of my other family members. She is the one who passed on her love of all things makeup, hair, fashion, and shopping to me. 

About 5 years ago, my mom was diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. This is a lung condition that turns the normal lung tissue into scar tissue, hardening it, with no known cause. This condition made it so my mom was barley able to breath and needed to be on high doses of oxygen in order to walk the shortest distances. There is no known cure for this disease besides a lung transplant. And, in September of 2008 my mom was able to receive a life saving double lung transplant. It was like she was born again. She began doing things and going places that she would have never been able to do or go before. 

Prior to this, my mom had never worn any makeup besides some mascara and maybe some lipstick. After her lung transplant is when she really got into makeup. She started going to Ulta and Sephora and bringing back brands like Urban Decay (one of her favorites), Too Faced, and Smashbox. It was her doing all of this that really inspired me to start wearing and experimenting more with makeup. We loved going on trips to Ulta and trying on all of the makeup together. Not only did she love makeup but she loved anything with sparkles or very dramatic dark colors. 

I want to share with you some of her favorite items of makeup. 

Here is a picture of some makeup products that she used often. 

Like I said she was a BIG fan of Urban Decay, especially their eye shadows and the Naked Palette. She also  really loved the Kat Von D line of makeup. I think she liked how dark and dramatic her eye shadows are! 

One of her favorite lip combos that she wore every single day was Victoria's Secret Limelight lipstick paired with Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush lip gloss in Grapefruit Blast. She loved both of these lip products because of the massive amount of sparkles in them. haha

 Back in November, my mom caught a bad case of Bronchitis and after about a week she seemed to have gotten over it. In late December, she noticed that her breathing was becoming more labored and that certain activities were making her more out of breath than previous. She had to go to the hospital and they said that her body had started to reject her lungs. The doctors tried multiple procedures and drugs, but her breathing never improved. She finally passed away from her chronic rejection on February 29th. 

I had never expected this to happen and it seemed like her health declined so quickly. She was invincible to me. 

Although her physical being is gone now, I feel and know that she will always be with me watching over me. It almost gives me a sense of calm that she will be able to protect and watch over me far better than she has ever been able to since she is in Heaven and on God's team now. :)

Even though her internet and computer usage was almost completely non-existent, she understood and appreciated what I was doing with this blog that I started up. I know she would have loved to be featured on my blog and share with you guys her favorite makeup products. 

As for now I will be back to blogging and have started working on a few posts. The next couple of months are going to be hard though because I will be having to go through all of my mom's things as well as looking for a new apartment. I have missed all of my fellow bloggers and can't wait to get back into contact with all of you! 

Yep. Another Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette Review.

Yes. After much restocking of the Naked 2 Palette by Urban Decay's website, I finally was able to order the palette. I am so glad that I did. Being the neutral loving girl that I am, the first Naked Palette is one of my most used eye shadow palettes that I own. I am sure that I will get as much or more use out of this second palette.

The palette contains a total of 12 Urban Decay eye shadows.The Urban Decay website says that this palette contains 5 exclusive new shades. I am not sure exactly which ones are "exclusively new" because all of them seem to be new to me with the exception of 3 shades.  One of these shades, "Half Baked", is also in the first Naked Palette. I know that the shade "Chopper" is a permanent eye shadow. This color has been featured in other palettes. The color "YDK" is also a permanent shadow. All of the eye shadows contain the expected Urban Decay eye shadow quality: creamy and great color payoff. The exception to this would be the colors "Foxy" and "Tease". These two colors are matte and are a little bit on the chalky side. I love that with this palette they went for more neutral and taupe colors rather than warmer colors. Great for those cool skin toned girls out there. :)

The packaging of this palette is pretty different than the first. The actual palette is in a hard tin-ish case that snaps shut. When you open the palette, on the top lid part, there is a full length mirror that takes up the entire inner lid. 

The extras that come with this palette include a double ended eye shadow brush and a mini lip gloss. I love that they included the double ended brush. One side is for packing color onto the lid. The other side is for blending. This will be very convenient to have if you're planning on taking the palette with you to do your makeup on the go. The Lip Junkie lip gloss in the shade "Naked" is awesome. It claims to "cool and plump" the lips and contains a minty taste. It feels so good on the lips and it's not too minty.

The price of this palette is $50. This is a phenomenal value given that one Urban Decay eye shadow alone costs $17. 

You can do the math.

 I have been using this palette ever since I got it in the mail. I would have to say that my favorite colors are "YDK" and "Pistol". When I was deciding if I wanted to purchase this palette, I was wondering if I needed this palette if I already own the first one. Yes, there are a lot of similar colors. I would say if you love neutral eye shadows and you did get a lot of use out of the first Naked Palette than you might want to consider purchasing this. If you're not a big fan of neutrals or you already own a lot of neutral eye shadows, than I would say skip it. 

If you're still not sure about whether you should purchase this palette or have any questions about it, be sure to leave me a comment. :)

And now for some pics..

Love the name "Booty Call" hahaha Oh Urban Decay.

Double Ended Brush

Lip Junkie Lip Gloss

One of the looks that I did. 

"YDK" on the lid

"Tease" in the crease

"Busted" in the outter V area

"Booty Call" as highlight