Showing posts with label makeup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label makeup. Show all posts

Glossier Phase 2 Review and Swatches

Wednesday, November 23, 2016


While Glossier's first launches focused on creating the perfect, dewy base, Phase 2 is all about the fun extras - lipsticks in 6 shades and the Boy Brow among them. Here are my thoughts on the range!


Stretch Concealer in Light *
This concealer is very emollient, buildable, and completely melts into the skin. The end result covers up skin concerns like dark circles, but still looks very natural and lost lasting!

Generation G Lipstick Cake and Jam *
The Generation G lipsticks are like nothing else in my collection - matte, sheer, but you can build up the color depending on your preference. I really love how comfortable this feels on the lip, and how it's a matte sheer formula - not to mention the shades are gorgeous! I love Cake for a natural peachy pink, and Jam for a more intense, beautiful popsicle stain shade.

Boy Brow in Blond *
The Boy Brow has quickly become a favorite - the ability to, essentially, brush on your brows makes it so, so easy - and looks polished and natural at the same time! The Boy Brow has become a fast and firm favorite that has found its way into my everyday makeup routine.


Glossier is having a 20% off sitewide sale beginning November 25 through the weekend - and I already have my eyes set on their highlighter, Haloscope!

Lancome Cushion Blush Subtil 021 Sorbet Rose Review & Swatches

Monday, October 17, 2016


The last time I was at Sephora, I found myself immediately drawn to the Lancome Cushion Blush Subtil. As somebody who has completely fallen for cushion products, I was intrigued by Lancome's version of a cushion blush and the second I swatched the shade 021 Sorbet Rose, I knew I had to have it!

Housed in the sleek black compact (complete with the iconic Lancome rose logo), you get a clear mirror, powder puff, and the actual blush itself enchased in a cushion, or "sponge". Unlike a lot of applicator tools that come with a product, I really enjoy applying the blush with the powder puff it comes with. The design also makes it much easier to touch up your blush if you are out and about - and as a beauty and fashion history nerd, I always think of flappers touching up their blush out in public in the 1920s when wearing makeup was still seen as scandalous, much less applying it outside for everybody to see (again... I'm a dork)!

Depending on how much pressure you apply to the cushion, the more product the puff picks up. Because of this, you have the option to wear the blush sheer or build up the pigmentation. This blush gave me a natural looking flush with a satin finish - no glitter, just a beautiful dewy sheen.

This was definitely a splurge for me, but the luxe packaging, cushion "technology", and beautiful dewy finish made this product worth it for me! If you are in the market for a high-end blush, I definitely recommend this!






You can see the blush in action in my September Favorites video, and it is available for purchase on Lancome's official website and Sephora.

On my face I'm wearing:
Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint in Light *, NYX Matte Liquid Liner, Tarte Tarteist Lash Mascara Paint *, CoverFX Custom Enhancer Drops in Celestial *, Lancome Cushion Blush, NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Buenos Aires

Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolor Swatches

Thursday, October 13, 2016


HD Intensity and HD Romance combined for an ombré effect

Revlon sent me a few of their Ultra HD Matte Lipcolors to play with for an Instagram campaign, and I loved them so much I wanted to share a post featuring swatches and a mini review here for my fellow obsessed-with-makeup-readers!

I received five of their matte lipcolors - I found they all applied a bit glossy, then settle down into a comfortably matte finish. The lipcolors have a pleasant, fruity sweet scent that dissipates over time as you wear on the lip, wear well for a few hours, and look good when you reapply. They all applied evenly and very pigmented with the exception of HD Infatuation, which took a few layers to fully build up the color (common for deeper hues)! These do transfer a bit, so I would recommend wearing with a lipliner!

Personally, I think my favorites are HD Intensity, a gorgeous fuchsia shade, and HD Romance - a beautiful, true blue based red.

I definitely plan on getting more of these - I have my eye on some of the peachy shades, my weakness!

Which color do you like the best?


HD Infatuation



Left to Right: HD Infatuation, HD Romance, HD Intensity, HD Crush, HD Forever

VIDEO: My Everyday Makeup Look

Thursday, April 28, 2016

After two years of figuring things out, I have *finally* relaunched my youtube channel (anybody else remember my Barbie tutorial - sadly in very low quality?! u__u) - and my first video detailing my Everyday Makeup Look is live!

Not going to lie, some editing issues aside, I'm pretty proud of this video! Already working on more videos (in addition to some outfit posts), so stay tuned for that! <3

Oh, and pretty please with cream and sugar "Like" the video and subscribe to my channel if you can ;A;

MAKEUP: Marie Antoinette

Wednesday, October 28, 2015


When Lancome asked me to do a makeup look inspired by a modern day Marie Antoinette I jumped at the chance! Growing up, I obsessed over Isabella Rossellini’s Lancome ads and I have been equally smitten with the latest face of Lancome, the incomparable Lupita Nyong’o! Here is the makeup look I created - another excellent last minute Halloween costume idea!


Products Used:
Hypnôse Drama Waterproof Mascara *
Auda[City] in Paris Palette *
L'Absolu Rouge Définition Lipstick in Le Carmin *
Sourcils Gel Eyebrow Gel-Cream in Blonde *
Sourcils Gel Dual End Eyebrow Brush *
Blush Subtil in Rose Paradis *

MAKEUP: Roy Lichtenstein's Crying Girl

Monday, October 26, 2015


THE WHITEPEPPER DRESS *

Decided to do makeup inspired by this youtuber's amazing version of the infamous "crying girl" illustration by Roy Lichtenstein! The perfect last minute Halloween costume - all you need is makeup and clothing that looks like it would belong in a comic book!

Here is a set by step guide to know I did it if you are curious:
To start, apply your concealer and foundation as usual. Use eyeshadow primer on your eyelids and extend to under your eyes. To create the stark lines, I used NYX Matte Black Eyeliner. I like NYX’s eyeliner for it’s small brush which enables you to do very precise work. Steady your elbow on a firm, flat surface, and start drawing a line down your nose. Outline your jawline, and two curved lines - one by your nostril and one between your eyebrows - to make it look like you are in constant distress!

Do a cateye and apply false lashes. Using a thin white eyeliner pencil, line your waterline and extend the line a bit to make your eyes appear cartoony and larger, finish by outlining it with more black eyeliner. Then, start blocking out “tears” under your eyes. I used NYX’s Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk as a base/primer and to outline where I would be laying down the blue eyeshadow. After perfecting the shape of the tears with the white pencil, I carefully applied the blue shadow overtop the white. Again, outline the tears with your black eyeliner. Clean up around the tears with concealer (I used by favorite NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer) - to perfect any mistakes.

Next, I applied NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella - a dazzling, true red matte - and outlined the lips with the black eyeliner. For a finishing touch, adding a “highlight” to the lips with NYX’s white liquid liner.

Finally, I used the NYX’s Jumbo Pencil again in Milk to create the white dots on my face.

Do you have any fun plans for Halloween? I'd love to hear all about them!

Makeup: Crying Petals

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

LIP COLOR: NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Buenos Aires EYE SHADOW BASE: NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk EYESHADOW: Sugarpill's Tako *, Black Matte Eyeshadow (can't remember which!) EYELINER: NYX Liquid Black Eyeliner EYELASH GLUE: DUO Eyelash Adhesive

Just a little post sharing this self portrait I took a while ago inspired by one of my favorite ladies - Twiggy! I've been practicing a lot with cut creases - they are my favorite eyeshadow technique, and Twiggy was certainly the queen of the style in the 60s! I also glued fake flower petals on my cheeks using eyelash adhesive.

Since moving, everything has been pretty hectic and I've felt a bit upside down. I'm hoping to get my feet firmly back on the ground soon so I can take more self portraits like these and catch up with everything! It's not a nice feeling... ♡❀

Glossier Mega Greens & Moisturizing Moon Masks Review

Saturday, May 16, 2015


GLOSSIER MEGA GREENS GALAXY MASK *, GLOSSIER MOISTURIZING MOON MASK * VALFRE TANK *

Glossier’s highly anticipated first permanent addition to their phenomenal Phase 1 collection are a set of masks.

I am a huge fan of face masks (anybody remember this post?) and, once again, Glossier has hit it out of the park with these products! The Mega Greens mask left my skin feeling clean and fresh (without being dry!), whereas the Moon mask was so cooling, soothing and soft!

Not to mention the show stopping packaging - their lids have beautiful, fully illustrated logos that tell you which one your picking up without having to read a label.

Two big thumbs up from me! Have you ever tried Glossier's products?




Glossier Phase 1 Review

Tuesday, December 2, 2014


WEARING: Glossier Phase 1 + mascara, powder on T-zone; dress by Hello Harriet

When I first heard whispers of famed beauty blog Into the Gloss' newest project, Glossier, I was eagerly awaited their launch of "foolproof skincare as makeup" - and it did not disappoint! The website alone, with closeups of smiling, beautiful models up against stark blue and pink backgrounds and with emoji-like stickers sprinkled everywhere, filled me with excitement. I was actually just about to place my order when I was offered the chance to review their first four products - bundled together called Phase 1!

First of all, I HAVE to mention the adorable packaging! They come in bubblegum pink and white tubes and bottles, and a sheet of the cutest stickers so you can personalize the tubes yourself! I took forever trying to decide where to put each sticker, they are just so darn cute! As for the products, here are my thoughts!

Soothing Face Mist - a refreshing and reinvigorating face mist that smells of roses. It made my face feel super soft and I personally love the scent - but unfortunately some of my friends are allergic to flowers, so I wish it was a bit more mild smelling!
Priming Moisturizer - a non greasy, lovely moisturizer that prepares your face for the rest of your makeup and helped my makeup last longer.
Balm Dotcom - a truly wonderful do all, thick balm that is formulated to lock in moisture - whether it be on your lips, cuticles, or even your elbows...! I'm really impressed by this as a lip balm - it really does the job (just in time for the cold weather), and has earned a permanent place in my bag.
Perfecting Skin Tint - This is a light weight "skin-tint" that blurs imperfections while evening out your skin tone. It's thin texture makes you completely forget you are wearing anything, and I was able to layer this product a couple times under my eyes for a little bit more coverage - and it didn't settle into the lines around my eyes or look cakey. That said, if you have some extreme dark circles, you will probably want to use some concealer with this product! When I used it, my skin looked amazingly dewy, but since I have a pretty oily forehead I powder my t-zone so it didn't read as oily instead of dewy. I was a little disappointed there was only three shades available - hopefully they will expand the line to be more inclusive!


Usually, I am guilty of ignoring basics like moisturizer in favor of oohing and ahhing over twinkling, high ticket makeup pieces like vibrant lipsticks and eyeshadows - but these products make caring for and applying makeup to my face pretty fun - and their tagline "skincare as makeup" is perfect! Overall, I'm completely smitten with this brand, and if they hit it out of the park with these four products, it makes me incredibly excited for what they have planned for Phase 2...!

Glossier is available to purchase together or separately on their website, and they are currently running a Christmas promotion!

While I was gifted these products to review, it did not impact my thoughts on the line.

FOTD: Strawberry Fields Forever

Monday, May 5, 2014

Just a little face of the day I whipped up for Powder Doom, the makeup blog I run! A very simple, retro inspired look that is comprised of drugstore products exclusively.

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream
What I wear when I’m too lazy to put on foundation, this bb cream is dewy without looking oily and has an SPF 30!

Revlon Matte Lipstick in Really Red
Here I’m wearing Really Red, a gorgeous strawberry red, and paired it with Maybelline Color Elixir Lip Color in Signature Scarlet for a glossy finish. I’m kind of obsessed with the lip elixirs and just might be taking advantage of the sale to get more… *cough*

NYX Liquid Black Liner
NYX ‘Milk’ Jumbo Pencil

What's on your face today? n__n

Introducing Powder Doom

Monday, April 14, 2014

In case you haven't noticed me blabbing about it literally everywhere else, Arabelle recently handed over the reigns to me as editor-in-chief of Powder Doom, a makeup blog she created with her friend Chi-Chi.

I have been toying around with creating a beauty blog for months, so Arabelle's offer was an absolute godsend - as I was already a huge fan of Powder Doom (having illustrated their sidebar portraits last year!) and their mission of bringing makeup tips to everybody. So many beauty blogs feel very samey to me, so I wanted to offer a blog with multiple perspectives and one that feels very community driven with guest posts and submissions from readers.

I brought together some of my very favorite bloggers to be regular contributors (take a look at our staff page!) and encourage people to submit, submit, submit! So far, two weeks and ten posts in, I am incredibly happy and proud of the result and very excited!

See the posts so far here and if you want to be featured on Powder Doom, please send your pitches to hellomermaidens@gmail.com. We are looking for beauty/hair DIYs/how-to's/tutorials, reviews, "Get The Look: (insert celebrity/runway makeup here)", "Makeup of the Day" (which would just be a selfie and a list of what products you are wearing), and we are also looking for Beyonce themed posts for our upcoming Beyonce Week special!

Olypsticks: The Lipstick Olympics

Saturday, February 22, 2014

With the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics coming to a close this Sunday, I thought it would be fun to put my lipstick collection to the test and determine my favorite lipsticks in several categories - and the Olypsticks was born!

Obviously, this is limited to my own collection of lipstick and is not all encompassing. Please please tell me your favorite lipsticks for each category too (OR YOU COULD DO YOUR OWN OLYPSTICKS POST ^O^)! <3

Prettiest Tube:
Gold: Tom Ford, Paradiso // The rectangular tube's striking white and gold design screams luxe and elegance.
Silver: MAC, RiRi Woo // MAC's limid edition collections are always among my favorites for their original packaging, and this rose gold design for the RiRi <3's MAC collection is practically perfect!
Bronze: Revlon Lip Butters, Wild Watermelon // I'm smitten with the pretty quilt patterned case that houses the matching lip color inside!

Best Matte:
Gold: MAC, RiRi Woo/Ruby Woo // While this matte lipstick *does* have a very dry formula, this is without a doubt my favorite red for it's gorgeous color and staying power.
Silver: Wet n Wild, Cherry Picking
Bronze: Revlon, Wine Not // Revlon's matte line is unfortunately no longer in production, but keep your eye out for Wine Not, Really Red, and Strawberry Suede on ebay, Amazon, and in drugstores that still stock older products because their formula is amazing - vibrant, completely matte, and not too drying!
Honorable Mention: NYX

Most Pigmented:
Gold: Urban Decay, Jilted // Hyper pigmented and available in a large array of colors, Urban Decay's new line of lipsticks are stunners.
Silver: Wet n Wild, 24 Carrot Gold // If you've been following me for a while, you will know Wet n Wild's line of lipsticks are some of my very favorites (ever) - they out perform some of the "high end" lipsticks I own in terms of pigmentation and longevity and are only $2 a pop!
Bronze: MAC, Ruby Woo // One of the most talked about reds on the market, this lipstick would look good on just about anybody.

Best Value:
Gold: Wet n Wild, Red Velvet // Again, I can't stop seeing praises for these lipsticks - ONLY TWO DOLLARS.
Silver: Revlon, Lover's Coral // Revlon never fails me; with a pretty selection of colors, smooth formula, and with good color pay-off - these lipsticks are a steal at $6 (and are always going on sale)!
Bronze: NYX, Chloe // NYX has quickly become one of my very favorite makeup brands - their round lipsticks are only $4 a pop and with a huge variety of colors, you're bound to find one you'll love!

Most Moisturizing:
Gold: Revlon's Lip Butters, Sweet Tart // After hearing rave after rave about them, I thought there was no way Revlon's lip butters would live up to the hype - they did. Ranging for sheer to more vibrant colors, each one I've tried is incredibly moisturizing and comfortable on the lips - I have three and I can't help but want a million more!
Silver: Too Faced, Juicy Melons // This lipstick just glides on my lips, keeps them hydrated, and still provides good color pay-off - truly impressive.
Bronze: Urban Decay, F-Bomb // The moisturizing formula and high pigmentation of this lipstick makes it a star in my book! Only downside? This lipstick definitely needs a lipliner to keep from feathering!

Best Scent:
Gold: MAC, Rebel // MAC's infamous sweet, vanilla scent is an obvious answer, but it's truly my favorite!
Silver: Too Faced, Juicy Melons // I was immediately struck by the original fragrance this lipstick has - it reminds me of chocolate oranges (I'm not sure why?)!
Bronze: Tom Ford, Paradiso // Along the same lines as MAC's signature scent, this lipstick has a very sweet smell that is absolutely beautiful!

I'll be back next week with a sugary sweet outfit, until then…! <3

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