Archive for the ‘Swatches’ Category
A Discount N.Y.C. Cosmetics Haul
About three months ago (I believe) I picked up a bunch of makeup and tools from the N.Y.C. Cosmetics brand from Target’s clearance area and what rocked the most was that all of it was marked down cheap. So everything you see here in the pic below was priced between $.23 and $1.24.
I had never tried NYC makeup before so I thought I’d give it a try. I do have one NYC lipstick in a red color that I bought moons ago, but never cracked the packaging on it. Sad!
OK so I am not going to go through everything I got, but I will tell you about some of the things I have used and liked. A lot of these items I will not open and will put into some sort of giveaway in future.
I really like this product below and it’s called the Color Wheel Mosaic Face Powder and I got it in Pink Cheek Glow and that’s what it does exactly. This blush (that’s what I’m going to call it because it makes for a beautiful one) reminds me of a lighter version of MAC Dollymix. I like to reach for this blush a lot nowaday, but have been giving it a rest lately since I have a bunch of other blushes that I love to wear as well. I like to change up my cheek color everyday on the weekends. This blush blends well, has good color payback and doesn’t come out chalky at all. It’s beautiful! It cost me something like $1.24 and the regular price is around $3.50, I think.
And I really love this lipstick in Lilac Dream (414) which is not a lilac color at all. It is a light pink with red undertones that goes on with a satin finish. It’s not a bold color and I think it works just fine for everyday. I also like the loose and powder translucent powders a lot. I also use one of the tinted loose powders to use under my eyes to remove fall out when I do certain eyeshadow looks.
Swatches! Left to right is the blush, the gold color from that bronzer/highlight duo (which I really like) and the lipstick.
My First MakeupAlley.com Swap A+++
A couple of months ago I was on Makeupalley.com and I swapped one of my bnib (brand new in the box) highly sought after (yeah I could have sold it on Ebay but it’s JUST MAKEUP!!!!) MAC Mineralized Skinfinish (msf) in Stereo Rose…a sista was terrified because she had to ship out first and then pray she received her swap items at all…for a bnib MAC msf in Cheeky Bronze (I love it and like it better than Stereo Rose – ouchy – ha!) and a msf in Perfect Topping that was used 1x (used or swatched once). The swap was successful “whew”. I missed out on Cheeky Bronze when it came out a couple of years ago in some collection so I had to have it and since I cannot find another msf in Perfect Topping I was happy to get that too because it’s my FAVORITE MAC msf still to date. I use Perfect Topping Monday through Friday in my regular makeup for work routine every week and the dome is gone!!! I love it so I’m happy I have a back up now.
I also swapped my MAC blush in Well Dressed for a MAC blush in Dollymix. I was so happy to get rid of that horrible blush because that blush was just too light for me (I knew that, but thought…) and it did not show up on me, doy. It took a long time for me to get rid of it (I wanted a MAC blush for a MAC blush), but I did ending up getting rid of it and got a beautiful blush in return. I’m loving Dollymix. It’s a highly pigmented, medium dark pink with a lil shimmer in it which gives the cheeks some sheen – but not overly sheeny.
So, my overall first experiences with swapping on Makeup Alley was a success. For those skeptical about swapping at MUA expect to ship out first if you don’t have any or do not have a lot of swap tokens (good swap feedback) and swap with people who have high numbers of swap tokens and be sure to read their positive and negative feedback if they have any. I swapped with two women who frequent MUA and who have lots of positive tokens. Right now, I only have 2 tokens to my name and that’s better than having none because now I can trade with someone who doesn’t have any tokens and that person will now have to ship out to me first! And if I never get the swap items it’s cool because I will still have my items in hand…no worries!
Lastly, the whole “used make up thing” may sound disgusting (yeah it is), but I only swap for powder products that have been swatched or used two-three times at most, for bnib things since that’s what I mostly trade from my stash or for items that have been swatched a couple of times at most. I don’t do lip, loose creamy or liquid makeup products at all brand new or not. What I look for on MUA is non-loose powder/cream blushes and eyeshadows, msfs, pencils (because you can sharpen the used parts off), nail polishes and accessories.
My MUA username is blacKandi if you’re up for a trade!
Swatches! Dollymix, Cheeky Bronze and Perfect Topping
Zoya BOGO Sale Haul (Part 1)
I took advantage of Zoya’s offer that said that if you buy one polish ($8) from any of the new summer collections then you’d get the second one free so I bought polishes in all I think…I will have to break this haul up into three parts because there are three summer collections. Beautiful colors. I didn’t order all of the polishes because the ones I bought are the only ones I liked.
Here is my haul of five polishes and swatches from the Zoya Summertime collection…
Back Row (left to right): Areej, Sooki, Keko
Front Row (left to right): Breezi, Mira
Areej…
Sooki (I got this one because of the name ha! I have so many red nail polishes already)…
Keko…
Breezi (my favorite out of the bunch)…
Mira…
Where did I buy these products? Zoya.com
Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol. II
So, I got my shot at getting one of the palettes I’ve always wanted. I blogged about this not to long ago about how Urban Decay “found” some books hanging around the warehouse and wanted them gone so hurry! As soon as the email popped up in my inbox I was on their site ordering up. Here is my limited edition Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol. II from UrbanDecay.com. Price: $48.00
Forgive me. I had to take these pics with my Iphone because I still cannot find my camera’s battery.
