Butterflies, Peacocks and Multiple Shades of Blue Eyeshadow!

Hi ya’ll! I hope everyone is having a fun spring! In less than a month, I’ll be relaxing in Greece, celebrating and participating in my dear friends’ destination big, fat Greek wedding on the island of Chios, followed by an amazing cruise through the Greek Isles and ending in Rome! I’m SO EXCITED. In the meantime, let’s take a look at some fun summer makeup!

I noticed that Chanel and Dior’s summer makeup collections are both pulling colors from the same palette, even though they are each referencing different inspirations. Chanel’s summer 2013 collection is called  L’ÉTÉ PAPILLON DE CHANEL, drawing inspiration from the iridescent wings of butterflies.

from Google Image Search

from Google Image Search

Dior, on the other hand, took inspiration from Christian Dior’s early excursions into Latin America and his fascination with all things tropical and named their collection Birds of Paradise.

from Google Image Search

You can really see how similar these collections are! As you’ve probably noticed from my makeup tutorials, I really loves shades of teal, coral and bronze-y pink. As beautiful as I find these collections from Chanel and Dior, I KNEW I already had dupes for almost every shade, so instead I used these photos as inspiration to create my own look.

Butterflies and birds of paradise, oh my!

So fresh!

The completed look

Here are the eye products I used:

The eyeshadows are Urban Decay

On my face, I am wearing NARS Orgasm blush, bronzer (I don’t remember which one, maybe LORAC?) and Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait De Gloss in Imaginaire.

This is such a fun look, I love these colors. Blue, teal especially, is so flattering on any eye color. If it makes you nervous, start with a little eyeliner or a sheer wash of eyeshadow on your lid and work your way up. Wear makeup for yourself! And remember, if you don’t like it or you messed up, it washes right off.

Thanks for reading!

Urban Decay’s Naked Skin Foundation Review

Hi ya’ll! I’ve been crazy busy lately, working during the day and then working from home evenings and weekends, along with having a life on top of that!

Recently, I had a 20% off coupon for Ulta and I used it to buy a bottle of Urban Decay’s Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup.

From UrbanDecay.com

I love this stuff! At $39, it’s not the most affordable option in the makeup aisle, but the formula is amazing! I wouldn’t describe it as sheer or matte, it almost has a satin finish. It truly feels like naked skin – my skin, but better. And isn’t that the ultimate goal of foundation anyway?

I purchased the 3.5 shade, which is described as “light beige with slight pink undertone.” Naked Skin foundation comes in 18 different shades and I would suggest going in-store to test out what works best for you. I had received a sample card with four different shades from an online order, so that’s how I decided my best shade.

Here’s a side-by-side before and after:

No makeup on the left. Wearing only Naked Skin foundation on the right (blended with a foundation brush).

See the difference?! It evened out my tone, covered small blemishes, while letting my skin shine through. It doesn’t feel heavy, cakey, or greasy. It just has a nice feel to it, not quite matte but not dewey either. Urban Decay describes it as “demi-matte that feels invisible but looks professional retouched.” I used about a quarter-to-half of a pump for one side of my face. In addition to this, I would add under-eye concealer and a light dusting of face powder (I used Ulta brand for both of those).

This is definitely an awesome beauty buy that I highly recommend!

I’m Back with Summer Brights!

A big thank you to all my friends (online and in real life!) for sticking around. My family and I are doing well and the support we’ve received has been awesome.

So let’s get back to the fun stuff!

Color blocking from Target

Skirt, top, sweater, Target; Shoes, Guess (DSW markdown); clutch, Marc Jacobs; watch & bangles, Versona & Sam Moon

I got this whole outfit on the fly at Target in one trip! I found the pencil skirt first and I really gravitated to the bright yellow, it’s such a fun color. I knew I didn’t have anything to wear with it in my own closet, so I started looking around. I found the cardigan next and I thought the melon color complimented the yellow nicely. I love to color block! After that, I started to look for something neutral to wear underneath, in order to not be a neon nightmare. When I saw this top with the polka dots and ruffles, I knew it would be the perfect neutral and the details added a fun touch.

Since my last post, I got my hair highlighted and got three inches taken off the length. I love it! I enjoy having my hair lighter, I used to be totally blonde for almost four years until I went brunette January 2012.

Thanks for reading!

In Memoriam

My dad has been battling mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer of the lining of the lung caused by asbestos exposure, for the last two years. He passed away early on Sunday morning. I am devastated and heart-broken to lose him but relieved that he is no longer suffering.

So I will be taking a small break from blogging, but I will be back soon

Col. William J. McQueen MD
Oct. 30, 1948 – Mar. 24, 2013

His full obituary is after the jump.

Teal Eyeliner & Fuchsia Lipstick

I love bright lips for spring and summer! It’s such a fun and breezy look and can work for day or evening. Here is a look I did using Urban Decay’s Naked Basics matte palette, NYX Glam Liner Aqua Luxe in Lagoon, NYX Studio Liquid Liner in Extreme Black, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero & Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids in Vivid Rose.

The neutral, matte eye makeup makes it easy to swap out different colors of eyeliners or you could just do black liquid liner with your favorite red lippy for a classic bombshell look. I like adding a little black liner right against the lash line (on top of the colored liner) just to give my eyes a bit more definition and I think it also helps the color to pop.

Using the UD Naked Basics: W.O.S. from brow bone to crease, Venus under brow bone

Naked 2, from lash line blended into crease

Faint, outer corner blended into crease

NYX Glam Liner Aqua Luxe in Lagoon

NYX Studio Liquid Liner in Extreme Black, on lash line, over Lagoon

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero, smudged into lower lash line

Finished look

Finished look (closed)

Hot pink lipstick finishes the look! Perfect for spring and summer!

I had some cute pictures of me smiling with teeth, but unfortunately I had a bad case of lipstick-teeth that I didn’t realize until after I loaded the pictures on my computer and washed my makeup off! But I think ya’ll get the idea

Have a great weekend!

Prabal Gurung for Target for a NEON Spring!

Neon was a trend that started last spring/summer and it is definitely back again! In Target’s new designer capsule collection, Prabal Gurung has taken the neon trend and ran with it. The bright colors and floral digital prints mixed with black and white create such a fun and feminine collection for spring, and it’s even more perfect for Fiesta!

So bright!

Shirt, skirt, shoes, Prabal Gurung for Target; necklace & bracelet, JCPenney (old); lipstick, Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids in Pink Pop

I’m so excited to wear this outfit! Neon has quickly become my new favorite color

Lastly, I hope ya’ll like the new page design! I was never totally in love with the last design and this was a new design WordPress.com had come out with recently. I think it fits my style more.

Hope ya’ll have a great week!

This is not a sponsored post, I just really liked this line and wanted to share it!

Urban Decay’s Oz The Great and Powerful “Glinda” Palette

I really love when my favorite beauty companies collaborate with new movie releases, it usually results in some pretty cool products that really fit in perfectly with the vibe of the film. Urban Decay partnered with Disney to come out with two palettes matching the witches featured in the new movie Oz the Great and Powerful.

The Glinda palette

I picked up the Glinda palette a little over a month ago from Ulta. I really liked the colors, especially the deep purple shade and the metallic gold and silver duo pan. For more in-depth review of the colors, check out Temptalia or Makeup & Beauty Blog, they both have lots of pictures and swatches.

The purple shadow really sold me, it’s just gorgeous!

These palettes use UD’s new eyeshadow formula, which is incredibly soft and buttery with a minimum of fall-out. Even though UD was already a leader in their field of amazing eyeshadows, the new formula really puts them over the top. It’s just so luxuriously soft and pigmented!

Here’s the eye look I came up with:

So magical!

Brow bone to crease: Aura (blue-toned side); inner corner: Illusion; center of lid to crease: South; outer corner blended into crease: Tornardo; eyeliner: Rockstar

Eyes open!

This is a really fun palette with some amazing colors! Also the movie opens today, so I thought this would be a great time to show off this look.

This is not a sponsored post, I just really love this product and wanted to share it!

Have a great weekend, ya’ll!