COVERGIRL Eye Enhancers 4-Kit Shadows in Pure Romance

This collection of great shades is handpicked by our makeup pros and designed to make your eye look go from day to night. They blend effortlessly to bring your eyes out beautifully, without overshadowing. Experiment using them together or as single shades.

• Matte, pearl, and sparkle shades
• Handpicked by our makeup pros to make your eye look go from day to night
• Blends easily without overshadowing 

   How To Apply: 

1. Dust the second-lightest shadow in your 4-Kit palette from your lash line to brow line.

2. Blend the second-darkest shade along the crease of your eyes. 

3. Run the darkest shade along your upper and lower lash lines. 

4. Blend and highlight the lid and brow bone with the lightest shade.

I bought this COVERGIRL quad at Wal-Mart a few weeks ago for about $4.84 since I'm trying to expand my eyeshadow collection without breaking the bank! Of all the different quads in the store, I thought Pure Romance would nice for spring since its filled with a nice pastel pink and a shimmery brown. When I wear this quad, I put the lightest pink all over the lid, the purple shade in the crease, the white as a highlight under the brow bone/the inner corner, and the dark shimmery brown as eyeliner on my lower lashline. I didn't really like the look I got from this shadows together, as the purple color looks a little bruise-y on the eye, and I'm not really into the whole "I just got decked look"! But I find that the colors work really well on their own. I love the shimmery white, it makes a great highlight and gives off a glow-y effect when you catch the light plus it really brightens up the inner corner.The other color I also get regular use out of is the brown. At first I thought it was going to have to much shimmer to be used as liner on my lower lashline, but the shimmer doesn't transfer very well and its become an everyday staple in my eye routine!

Pros: Can't beat the $4.84 price tag! These shadows are really soft and I haven't had any trouble blending them out. I always wear this quad with my Two Faced Shadow Insurance and haven't had a problem with getting them to last through the day (7-ish hours of wear in a sweaty school). You can tell from the swatches that there isn't much color payoff, but I love that since it makes it super hard to mess up!

Cons: Since these shadows are so soft, you have to be gentle when dipping a brush in otherwise you'll get a powder-y mess (made that mistake the first couple times I used this quad!). These shadows have pretty weak pigmentation, even the dark brown color requires a few swipes. The little plastic/foam applicator is useless, I wish drugstore makeup companies would pick up on the fact that people just throw those away and stop including them, it would make me feel less wasteful!

Overall: I think these would be great for someone who's just starting with eyeshadow, or even if you're a pro these are a cheap way to expand your collection!

OPI Nice Stems! Summer 2011 Collection

Stop and see the flowers with summer’s Nice Stems! by OPI, a limited edition collection featuring four new nail lacquers in stunning shades of pink. With whimsical names based on their floral inspirations, these vibrant, flirty colors range from pale, frosty pink to rich fuchsia.  Nice Stems! offers fingers and toes a perfectly pink shade for all of summer’s looks.

                  “These vibrant, feminine hues complement 60’s ladylike fashions, 70’s glam looks, and bold color-blocking, which are the season’s staples,” says Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director.  “The Nice Stems! collection also offers an interesting contrast and feminine accent to the punk and biker looks on the runways.”

                Nice Stems! by OPI shades include:

U.S./Canada Launch Date: June 2011
International Launch Date: June 2011

 $8.50 a piece

Play The Peonies; Come To Poppy; Be A Dahlia Won't You?; I Lilly Love You

  

• Play The Peonies "We’d put our money on this lovely soft-pink."
• Come To Poppy "Surrender to shine with this shimmering coral-pink."
• Be A Dahlia Won't You? "Give the gift of fabulous fuchsia—to yourself!"
•  I Lilly Love You "Fall head over heels with this light pink sparkle."

“Using different micas and glitters can give lacquer a 3-dimensional look,” adds Weiss-Fischmann.  “I Lily Love You is a glitter coat that can be layered over any of the other three shades to add a bright sparkle; or, it can be worn on its own for a subtle tint of pink with strands of glitter.”

The Nice Stems! Nail Lacquers by OPI contain no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde, and feature OPI’s exclusive ProWide^™ Brush for the ultimate in application. 

This limited edition Nice Stems! collection will be available beginning June 2011 at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA, for  $8.50 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each Nail Lacquer.

For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com. Follow OPI on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!

 So what do you guys think of this new OPI Collection? It's so small, I think they could've had a lot more fun with this and used all different types of flowers like daisies or azaleas, there's a lot of possibilities! But who knows, maybe they'll add more as we get into the summer months. So let me know which colors strike you fancy, I know I've got my eye on that shimmery pink, I Lilly Love You!

COVERGIRL Clean Limited Edition Compacts

On the year that marks the Brand’s 50th anniversary, COVERGIRL Clean introduces limited edition Clean pressed powder compacts, available in African-inspired prints. Through COVERGIRL’s partnership with Children’s Safe Drinking Water, each limited edition Clean compact purchased provides a week’s worth of clean drinking water for a child in Africa, for a donation of up to $50,000.
COVERGIRL Limited Edition Clean Compact is available now at Food and Drug retailers until supplies last, and available at WalMart starting in June 2011.

Photo by Nouveau Cheap

Photo by Nouveau Cheap

What do you think of these new compacts, better than the original packaging?

MAC Magically Cool Liquid Powder Summer 2011 Collection

In the height of the summer swelter, who doesn’t crave, to suddenly feel, look and be cooler – shine, oil and heat – all gone! you’ve longed for it. And now it’s captured! Mac Magically Cool Liquid Powder. An alchemical fusion that charms water droplets into a loose powder while remaining over 50 percent H2O. The feather light silky powder goes on with the refreshing impact of an ocean mist.
What’s more, this magical melange contains just enough optical blurring via it’s light diffusing pigments to render the skins surface into line softened. natural luminosity. A cool-to-be-cool way to set, and enhance, the look of foundation. For the bare-faced, there’s the reward of natural radiance. During it’s earlier limited edition launch, it was hailed by cognoscenti wanting to stay covertly cool and perfectly collected. This time round it’s here to stay. How magical is that?

U.S./Canada Launch Date: May 5, 2011
International Launch Date: May 2011

All Items Are Permanent

Magically Cool Liquid Powder:

$29.50

• Truth and Light Sheer shimmer that reflects silver and pink
• Honey Rose Sheer rosy beige with multi-dimensional shimmer
• Cajun Sheer bronze shimmer that reflects gold

Brushes:

• 187 Duo Fibre $42.00

Will this be one of your summer essential products?

MAC And Sephora Haul

MAC:

Studio Finish Concealer SPF 35 in NW20

I asked the woman at the MAC counter to recommend a concealer that would be really thick and do a good job at covering up blemishes/my discoloration. She told me about the Studio Finish Concealer SPF 35, tried out a few colors, and told me NW20 would suite my skin the best. I wasn't expecting anything spectacular since the makeup artists never put on enough product when trying things on in the store because they don't want to risk it looking cake-y, but I was amazed to see that all of the little blemishes and discoloration were completely GONE! I've always struggled with finding concealers that will cover up the unsightly dark blue marks on my face from picking at my acne (such a bad habit!) because most makeup artists have told me there's no way to completely cover it up. But I find that if I put a few layers of the Studio Finish Concealer SPF 35 on, it's like liquid skin; this is my first ever holy grail makeup item!

Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation in N5

 My mom actually bought this foundation a while ago, and her skin has looked so good ever since! So when I went to MAC, I knew this foundation was a perfect fit for me, especially since I have oily skin and powder is pretty much the only thing I can wear! So I asked the makeup artist (who was such a sweetheart by the way, none of that you-look-young-so-I'm-going-to-be-snotty crap!) to match me to a color, and she said I could either wear NW25 or N5. I was surprised because I thought I would have been NW20 like my concealer? But I guess not! My mom's color is actually NW25, so I opted against that because I think she's way darker than me (plus it would probably come across orange-y on my skin!). I should've asked the makeup artist to

try out N5 on my skin before I bought it, but luckily it's my absolute perfect match, so she has a good eye! So far, I'm absolutely loving this powder!

  Lipstick in Creme d'Nude

I knew when I went to MAC that I really wanted to get a nude lipstick, but I just wasn't sure which one would work for me! The makeup artist tried out a bunch and we both came to the conclusion that Creme d'Nude looks the best since it has peach undertones so I wouldn't get the "concealer lips" look (which I honestly want to try just putting concealer on my lips for a look!). I had previously looked at this color online, and it didn't really appeal to me since you can tell from the picture above, it looks too pink and dark to actually be a nude (lesson learned that you really need to look at things up close and personal!). This color has become one of my go-to lip products for the Spring and I'm so glad I picked it up!

Sephora:
Two Faced Shadow Insurance

Two Faced Shadow Insurance has been on my list for such a long time! I kept debating between this and the Urban Decay Primer Potion, but the whole "depotting" aspect to the Primer Potion really put me off, so I decided on Shadow Insurance! At first I really didn't think it kept my shadows on any longer than they would without a primer, but I found that I need more than just a little speck due to my oily skin! Now I really love this eye primer, and I'm glad I picked this over Urban Decay!

Be on the lookout for reviews on all these products!