You Look Awfully Familiar

You know you have too much make up when you can go through your collection and find a bunch of dupes with in it...SHAME ON ME! And that is what this post is about, hopefully I can save someone out there some $$, and spare you from ending up with a handful of products that you already had!

It all started when I was re-organizing my lip products and I realized a couple of them where just like another.MAC cremesheen lipstick - Shy girl/ NYX round lipstick- Pumpkin pie
ShyGirl Vs pumpkin Pie: They are almost identical on the lips, if anything maybe the Mac one has a bit more pink in it that the NYX one, but besides that they are about the same.

MAC lipglass-Mimi(L.E. from Hello kitty collection)/NYX Megashine lipgloss-Perfect

Mimi Vs. Perfect: I LOVE Mimi and have been looking for a dupe for it forever, since it was limited edition. So when I realized that they were so similar you can just imagine how pleasantly surprised I was! Not only will I have this color that I adore forever and ever, but it is much cheaper than the MAC. I must say that Perfect is a bit more sheer than Mimi but since I wear them over a lipstick most of the time, it doesn't bother me much.

ELF mineral lipstick-Runway pink/ YSL Rouge Volupte-#1 Nude beige

Runway Pink Vs. Nude Beige: The YSL is my all time fave lipstick, about 2 months ago I purchased the ELF, I really liked it and wore it for a moth straight, but never gave much thought to the color. I just slathered it on daily and went on about my day. Well then while going through my lipsticks I realized they were fairly similar, but it wasn't 'till I swatched them side by side that I came to the conclusion that they were indeed the same color!!! Now the normal person would decide not to ever repurchase the super expensive one and just stick to the $5 one....well not me. See, one of the reasons I adore my Rouge volupte is because of the texture/consistency of it and the ELF just doesn't compare. Don't get me wrong, it's a great product, it's just that the YSL is THAT amazing, if you have ever tried a RVolupte you know exactly what I mean!

Swatched:
MAC Shy Girl/NYX Pumpkin Pie.... MAC Mimi/NYX Perfect... YSL Nude Beige/ELF RunwayPink

After this "discoveries", I decide to go through my entire make up stash and look for more dupes. And indeed more I found:


NARS Sheer Glow Vs. Neutrogena Healthy skin: Read my comparison 2 posts below. Although healthy skin broke me out, I'd recommend it to anyone who has tried a Neutrogena foundation in the past and hasn't reacted badly to it. Because it is just like the Nars and so much cheaper!

I have a Milani Shadow Wear Quad in Touch of Brown and two of the shades in it are very similar to another two of my MAC shadows. Sardun1 compared the darker shade in this quad (bottom right) to MAC Satin Taupe, but since I do not own it I cannot vouch for that.

MAC Retrospeck Vs. Milani Touch of Brown (top left color): if anything the Milani one is silkier, smoother and more pigmented than RetrospeckTop: Milani/Bottom: MAC Retrospeck

Milani Touch of Brown (bottom left) Vs. MAC Woodwinked: The Milani is a bit more sheer than than the MAC but a great cheaper alternative.

Top: MAC Wooodwinked/ Bottom: Milani

L'oreal Hip Pigment in Restless VS MAC Pigment in Vanilla: These are so similar that I forgot which one was which in the swatch picture below!

Sorry don't know!!

Milani LiquifEye liner in Black Vs. Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero: I used to think the UD liner was the best thing since sliced bread, until I met LiquifEye! It is a more intense black which I didn't think was possible and it lasts longer...oh yea and did I mention it's super cheap...'cause it is!!

Top:UD Zero/Bottom:Milani LiquifEye Black

The last one is one that I wasn't going t include since I don't own what it's a dupe for but, so many people have said that it is, and I love it. It is the ELF HD powder (from their studio line) and it is supposed be the same as the MUFE HD powder. Like I said, I don't own the latter, but my ELF does everything the MUFE one promises to do. It sets my foundation without looking heavy or cakey. If you have tried the MUFE one let me know what you think about it.

So that is it! If you all have any dupes you know about let me know!!
Love, Esme

ULTA Haul

Nothing exciting to share today, so I thought I'd show you guys some stuff I picked up from ULTA a couple days ago. I just discovered I have one near my job....that cannot be good!I got:
Benefit Powderfladge- light pink shimmery powder that is to be used under the eye area to brighten it up.
Stila convertible color in Petunia - a cream that can be used as either blush or on the lips . The color is a pretty bright pink with a bit of a coraly undertone. LOVE it!!!
Benefit Eye Bright- A light pink pencil that can be used in to highlight areas such as brow bone, inner corners of eyes, etc.
NYX Megashine lipgloss in Perfect- Light pink shade w/shimmer and tiny glitter in it.
NYX Megashine lipgloss in Smokey Look- Neutral peachy shade with slight shimmer in it.
NYX Round lipstick in Pumpkin Pie- Light peachy shade, a bit on the nude side but not overly nude.
NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Strawberry Milk- Pink shimmery shade. These can either be used as en eyeshadow base or as eyeshadow on their own.
NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow pencil in black Bean- Just matte black. I say matte as in no shimmer, but it is a bit glossy.

Swatches:

Stila CC Petunia, NYX Pumpkin pie l/s, NYX perfect l/g, NYX Smokey look l/g, NYX Straw milk, NYX Black B, Eye bright, powderfladge

Today fiancee and I are taking our engagement pictures, so I made an appointment at my MAC counter to get my makeup done...I will post picture of that later on the week.

Have a fabulous day!

No "Healthy Skin" For Me!

So as I mentioned in my previous post, I've been lemming NARS Sheer Glow foundation, which YT gurus have been raving about. I tried to hold myself back from buying it because I couldn't justify paying $42 for a foundation, when I have so many in my stash that are nowhere near being finished. So when I saw Sardun1's video review for Neutrogena Healthy Skin liquid foundation claiming is was just like, if not even better that the NARS one for a fraction of the price of course, I no longer had an excuse not to go buy a new foundation. I got it in the color 100 Natural Tan. It was a tad bit too dark for me but I figured I'd be getting darker in the next few months anyway so it'd be ok. As for the foundation itself: I LOVED IT at first, how easily it applied, how natural it looked, while still covering good, it lasted pretty decently too...BUUUUTTT...then it broke me out :( Which I really was not expecting. A-because I don't have acne prone skin, I very seldom break out, and B-because it's a product marketed as one that is supposed to better your skin. After all, it is Neutrogena, which is known for its skin-friendly cosmetics and such. Needless to say I was devastated, I finally found a foundation I absolutely loved and it broke my heart! I tried to go back to the products I was using before and nothing felt good enough. So I decided to mend my own broken heart and go buy myself the next best thing: NARS Sheer Glow! For once in a long time my dear fiancee actually approved of a cosmetic purchase of mine because he noticed the break outs! I got mine in the color Barcelona and so far I love it and it has not done anything bad to my skin. I have only been using it for a couple days so I will review it more in detail later. I still wish Healthy Skin would have worked for me because the price was so much better than the Sheer Glow, but oh well...life goes on right...am I being dramatic or what????

By the way, I did order Sunlove, it is just taking forever to ship, but I always heard their shipping was slow, so can't say I wasn't warned. I'll let you all know when it comes in.

That is all for now, have a good night (or day)!!!

Getting Warm Out There! &Mineralize Update

Yes, Spring is here and I feel it. Here in Houston the weather has been awesome for the past few days and I'm ready to get my tan on! Up until just last summer I was still using tanning beds, but after an acquaintance of mine had a close encounter with skin cancer I took a step back, thought about what I was doing to myself and decided to start being nice to my skin. Therefor this will be my first summer tanning artificially... since I had depended on the sun and/or beds to get color for so long, I am clueless as far as self tanners go. I decided to start experimenting with some so that by the time summer rolls around I can be set. Here is what I've got so far:

A few weeks ago I purchased L'oreal ProPerfect Salon Airbrush Self-Tanning Mist from their Sublime Bronze line. I tried it for the first time last night and although it wasn't horrible, I wasn't impressed with it either. It gave me a slight color but definitely not enough I didn't notice any steaks but then again, I didn't notice much at all! It claims not to have a "self-tan" smell which I thought was a lie, it wasn't too overpowering but it was there for sure. It also claims to dry quickly, which it surely true, it actually dries TOO fast, which caused my hands to end up orange!!(I will spare you those pictures). So not enough color on my body, yet too much on my hands was my result, needless to say will keep searching for a self tanner to sweep me off my feet. Excuse the bad phone picture!

Next I plan to try the Sunlove Airbrush tanning system, I have heard good reviews about it. Now if I can just get my hands on it...I tried ordering it online just a few minutes ago and there seems to be something wrong with their website because it wouldn't let me purchase so I got annoyed and decided to try again tomorrow. I will let you know if I end up buying.

On the subject of tanning, something somewhat related is the Solei Tan De Chanel, which I had been eyeing for a while and just recently decided to make the $48 investment in. The product is supposed to be a "bronzing makeup base", but I plan to try as a bronzer by its self first. I haven't used it yet and I will review it when I do. I am excited to try it since I have seen many YouTube gurus rave about it.

Lastly, I wanted to update on MAC's mineralize foundation I talked about on my last post. I didn't love it :( I will keep using occasionally until the product runs out, but will definitely not repurchase. It felt somewhat heavy on my face, the staying power was okay, but it made me look oily a few hours after application. I might save this for colder/dryer days, because I know it will be a disaster in Houston's humid summer time. I don't hate it, and I think it would be a fabulous foundation for someone with dry skin, I just know I can find something better for my type of skin. I really, want to try NARS Sheer Glow foundation, but will hold off on buying it for a little while.

That is it for now...I am off to bed, good night all. I will leave you with some fab tanning inspitation: Mrs. Beckham...some think she over-does it, I however love her tan most of the time

Nobody does it better than the VS ladies!

A Hairspray You've Got to Try & New Foundation

I have been reading about Elnett hairspray (by L'oreal) in magazines such as Allure for years now. According to the beauty world is a must have for stylists all over the globe, but up until a year or so ago it was only available in Europe. So of course it made women in America that couldn't get their hands on it want it that much more. I was at Target just a couple weeks ago and stumbled upon it. I deliberated for a while, feeling like $14.99 was a bit too much to pay for hairspray (but 40 bucks on a lipstick is totally acceptable of course), I decided it was worth a try. And I must say it is everything I hoped it would be. It sprays out a "micro-mist" that goes on clean, holds well without leaving hair looking stiff, does not leave that nasty white residue...I can go on and on about how awesome it is, but I will stop here. Only thing I wasn't crazy about was the smell, it's a bit unpleasant in my opinion. I think I read somewhere that there is now a unscented version. However, I didn't see it where I bought mine. So if you see it somewhere please let me know. I definitely think that if you are willing to shell out $15 on hairspray, give Elnett a shot, you will not be disappointed!

On to other lovely products...I purchased a couple days ago MAC's new Mineralize SPF15 foundation. I bought it in NC 35 (I'm NC 42 in Studio Fix powder) and the color suits me well. Although I can't write a full review on it quite yet b/c I'm still trying it out, so far I'm liking it. It's a med to full coverage, cream formula that gives nice glowy skin. This foundation would definitely work better for those with dry to normal skin. Oily skinned people might find the "dewy" finish of this product to make their skin look greasy. I will update as I keep experimenting with it. Anyone else try this product? Or any other MAC foundations? How do you like them?

Top 10 HG Products

Hello all,
so it took me forever and a day to choose a topic for my first blog post, finally I decided to do my top 10 makeup products. These are my 10 HG(holly grail) cannot-live-without products.
1. MAC Studio fix powder (NC42)- This is an everyday product for me. I love the coverage and versatility of it. It can be layered over liquid or cream foundation to set it and achieve full coverage. It can also be worn alone for more of a sheer look (I do dust it on over concealer when I'm in a hurry). I apply it with a kabuki blush.

2. MAC Studio finish concealer (NW25)- Great coverage, creamy consistency, and wide shade range to match most skin tones. Concealer is one product I cannot leave the house without EVER!
3. NARS Bronzer in Laguna- This is actually a little tricky because I alternate between Laguna and Casino throughout the seasons depending on my tan. For those of you who aren't familiar with NARS bronzers, Casino is basically the darker version of the very popular Laguna. They are both slightly shimmery but still go on very "natural" looking(by natural I mean they don't wind up looking orange or "muddy")4. NARS Blush in Deep Throat- I love, love, love NARS blushes, the pigmentation on these is amazing. This one is my favorite color, it's a shimmery, peachy-pink that in my opinion could look well on most skin tones. This shade is often compared to Orgasm (funny names huh?) by the same brand. I own them both and although I do agree they are very similar, I prefer DT (hence why it made this list over O).
5. MAC Mineralize Skinfinsh in Refined- Sadly this is a limited edition product from the sugarsweet collection. Mine is broken and I cannot get my hands on another one. It's mainly a champagne shimmery color, with coral, peach and some pink veining through it. I apply it on my cheekbones, nose bridge, inner eye corners, brow bones, and anywhere else I want to highlight. It gives my skin subtle glow, that doesn't make me look like a disco ball.
6. Diorshow Waterproof Mascara- I have been using this mascara since I can remember, I have tried many drugstore types in an attempt to find a cheaper alternative to it, but no luck yet. i love that it holds a curl well and gives me a lot of volume without clumping my lashes. The only con to it is that the brush is a little too big and it always end up getting on my lids during application.
7. MAC Eyeshadow in Handwritten-Nothing too exciting here, just a matte brown shadow. I wear it almost everyday as either eyeliner, eyeshadow,or both.
8. MAC Fluidline Eyeliner in Blacktrack- Now I don't wear black eyeliner on daily basis, but when I do this is my go to. Gel liners in general take some practice to apply, but once you have it down it can be the most wonderful product ever. It stays put all day and the color you see is the color you get.9. NARS lipgloss in Turkish Delight- Oh how I love this gloss. It is a perfect(for me at least)pale pink shade. It has no shimmer what so ever. I love it alone or over most of my nude or pink lipsticks.


YSL Rouge Volpte in #1(Nude Beige)- I have to preface by saying that lipstick is my all time favorite beauty product, so you can just imagine how hard it was to narrow it down for this post. So on to the one I chose, the color is more of light pink than than "nude beige". The formulation of the lipstick is amazing, it goes on so creamy and smooth, and it's very true to the color you see on the tube. I has a scent that I personally love, I think it's mango-ey or some sort of yummy fruit.
Those are the products at the top of my list...what are yours? Do you own any of the ones I mentioned? Oh and I'm still on the lookout for a drugstore mascara that is similar to Dior's, if any of you have suggestions!