My Signature Scent

"Delicious" by Gale Hayman Beverly Hills

            I am a bit of a perfume addict. At the height of my craze I had almost 20 bottles of unique fragrances. Not that that was enough, mind you; I just didn’t have the money to purchase more. I even had this wonderful scent that my husband purchased for me while on deployment in the Middle East; it was from Dubai to be exact. If I could read Arabic, I would have found out the name of that fragrance and purchased a box full of it, but I digress.

            So to say that it is hard for me to pin down my “signature scent” is a bit of an understatement. I have so many favorites and I like them all for so many different reasons. But if I had to choose ONE, one fragrance that I can’t live without, one fragrance that I always have a bottle of, one fragrance that I would grab if the house were burning down and I could only get my hands on ONE, it would have to be Delicious by Gale Hayman Beverly Hills. There are several variations, Golden Delicious, Delicious Cotton Candy, Delicious Amber but it’s the original scent that is the highlight of my perfume collection.

        It was introduced to me in my teen years by a friend of my mother’s, she was the epitome of beauty to me and I wanted to be just like her, look like her, smell like her. When I saw the oblong bottle with the peach colored fragrance topped by a translucent cat lounging lazily on the top it was love at first sniff.

        The actual fragrance itself is feminine. It smells of jasmine and roses but it has a hint of sandalwood, so it’s not a true floral scent, it has a bit of a spicy undertone. Because it was introduced in 1993 it isn’t like the more modern scents in department stores today, it is reminiscent to me of the fragrances my mother and grandmother wore. This is definitely a “grown woman’s” perfume. I think it would be too much for a teenage girl. It is long lasting and it lingers on your clothes. I often am doing my laundry and will come across a shirt that has a trace of the scent still on it. I always get compliments when I wear it and I think it is definitely a dressier scent. It reminds me of Sunday morning church services and Ladies Luncheons.

But the best thing about the fragrance, in my opinion, is the price. It sells for $22.03 for a 3.4oz bottle on Amazon.com. Don’t let the meager amount fool you, this is no cheap smelling perfume. And because it’s such an old scent, it is a little known gem which is great for me because I like to smell distinct. I love fragrances that don’t have a large following.

So there it is, my signature scent. I hope this review was helpful and that you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. I also hoped it inspired you to take a trip down a road less travelled when it comes to your fragrance choices and experiment with some lesser known brands and scents. You might be pleasantly surprised at what you discover.

MissChievous Contest Entry

Ok, so one of my all time favorite YouTube gurus is MissChievous. She is so knowledgable and creative and I love watching her videos because she just talks about the makeup, no fluff. I like that. I also love that she hails from Germany, if I am not mistaken. It’s nice having someone in another country that has the same interest as you. Makes you feel more connected to the world.

Anyhoo, Julia from MissChievous has partnered up with Sigma Makeup to bring an AWESOME giveaway contest to her subscribers, which, of course, I am one of them. There are four ways to enter (how cool is that?) and she has listed them all in this video. You can enter via Twitter, Facebook, and I believe two ways on YouTube, by leaving a comment and by submitting a video response. For the video response you have to answer the question “What does makeup mean to you?” The great thing is you can enter all four ways, but there are different prizes for each method of entry which she lists in the video.

Here it is:

And here is my video response and my daughter Vivienne’s YouTube debut:

Of course I hope I win but the selection is random so it’s up to Lady Luck to make that happen and she is NEVER  kind to me, LOL! But I am going to be sending some positive vibes her way and hope she throws a sista a bone, na’mean? Good luck to all the entrants, it’s a great contest and thank you SO much Julia and Sigma! You guys ROCK!!!!!!

Pink and Purple Tutorial from a Ghost……..

Do you hear the crickets? I do! It has been over TWO WEEKS since my last post! I am such a slacker. I am going to have to re-work this blog thing. It’s not as easy to keep up with it as it is to do a video. Writing about EVERY product as well as posting a pic of each one is a challenge, just being honest so I think I am going to concentrate more on my YouTube channel and I will pop in here to talk about a specific product that I like or to talk about my videos or whatever suits my fancy. But I am not dead so don’t count me out!

Anyhoo, I just uploaded a tutorial to YT and it was a PAIN in the neck because it took FOUR tries to get it loaded! The first time the computer powered down in the middle of loading it, the next time my son closed the lap top lid and that stopped the video processing, the third time the Internet browser stopped working, and the fourth time was the charm! WHEW! Maybe there is something to this Friday the 13th stuff.

So let me stop yammering, here is the video:

Face:

Benefit Porefessional Face Primer

Revlon Colorstay Foundation in “Mocha”

M.A.C. Concealer in “NW 55”

Makeup Forever HD powder

Eyes:

Nyx Eyeshadow Base in “Pearl”

M.A.C. Eyeshadows in “Sushi Flower” and Vibrant Grape

Nars Eyeshadow in “Daphne”

Milani Baked Eyeshadow in “Lily White”

Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in “Zero”

Anastasia Hollywood Mascara

Brows:

M.A.C. Retractractable Eyebrow Pencil in “Spiked”

Maybelline Clear Mascara

Cheeks:

La Femme Blush

Benefit Moonbeam Highlighter

Lips:

M.A.C. Lipstick in “Playtime”

Tarina Tarantino Lip Gloss in “Barette”

Brush Cleaning Day…..

It was that time again. When I needed to stop being lazy and really deep clean my brushes. I am such a procrastinator but, now that I do my makeup on camera, I need to be a little more dilligent about keeping them pristine since they are now subject to public scrutiny. I am not really going to tell you how I do it or post a video on it. It’s futile, I have no new info to offer. I am rather going to link to a video that is pretty much the method that I use.  I mean, cleaning your brushes is not rocket science, but it is nice to know how to best remove product from your brushes.

 Why clean your brushes? I am so glad you asked! You need to clean your brushes because, like any other beauty tool, they can develop bacteria which can lead to breakouts and all sorts of gnarly things. Secondly, think about your hair. When your hair is dirty and you can tell you have product build-up on your tresses, it just doesn’t perform like it would if it was clean. Most brushes are made of natural animal hair and the same rule applies. Plus it can taint the outcome of your makeup, especially in the case of shadow brushes, if you have colors left over from previous applications.

 Now the video that I am posting is for deep cleaning your blushes (like I did today) and you only have to do that about once a week. For everyday cleaning just a little bit of brush cleaner (I use MAC’s) on a paper towel does the trick beautifully.

Here is the link, It’s a video by Marlena from MakeupGeek (LOVE her!):

And here are a few photos of my brushes drying, you can see why I dread doing this, I have quite a few…….

Wait a minute Mr. Postman……

So guess what the man in the brown van brought me yesterday? My Urban Decay products I purchased on www.hautelook.com!

This is a site you can go to to get great deals on items like jewelry, skin care products, clothing, acessories, all kinds of things. You have to be signed up for it, it’s not like an average online store where you can just go to the website and shop for things but registering doesn’t cost anything and they send you periodical emails with that week’s sales. Items from a particular brand go on sale for a period of time and, once that period is over, you can’t purchase them again until they have another sale on that brand (I hope that makes sense). It’s a great website to score some RIDICULOUS deals on stuff like I did on my Urban Decay loot!

Here’s the box:

What do we have here:

My loot:

Eyeshadow in “Jones”: Suggested Retail $17, I paid $5!

Afterglow Blush in “Score”: Suggested Retail $17 to $24, I paid $5!

Pocket Rocket Lip Gloss in “Jesse”: Suggested Retail $19, I paid $6.50!

That’s a total savings of $36.50! And if you’re like me and spend quite a bit on makeup getting some for so cheap is heaven sent! So definitely go and check out that website. They don’t always have cosmetics on sale but when they do, they DO!

Check out my latest video for a review of the products themselves. I am going to make a separate blog post with swatches but, just so you can see it:

And, for a bit of randomness, the Pocket Rocket Lip Glosses have these images of guys that, when you tilt the tube a certain way, they become more, ahem, “scantily clad”. So the lip gloss I bought was called “Jesse”, I am assuming that this is Jesse…….

Clothes ON:

Clothes OFF:

Yeah……Jesse doesn’t really do it for me. He kind of looks like a bootleg Captain Jack Sparrow in his skivvies……but hey, his lip gloss is nice 🙂

Sephora Ad “Orange Lips” Tutorial

Here is a video of a tutorial I did based on a Sephora “Orange Lips” ad in the latest issue of InStyle magazine. I will also include a photo of the ad itself. In my March Must-Haves post I talked about some orange lip products that I got at Sephora and I thought that I need to do some kind of look with the lips so folks would know how to actually wear orange lips in real life. When I stumbled upon this ad I HAD to recreate it. They did a phenomenal job! Anyhoo, on with the show!

Here is the ad:

And here is my take:

Link to the tutorial video:

Product List:

Face:

Revlon ColorStay Foundation in “Mocha”

MAC Select Sheer Pressed Powder in “NW55”

MAC Fix+ Spray

Eyes:

Urban Decay Prep and Prime Potion

Urban Decay “Naked” Palette: “Buck” (lid and crease). “Naked” (brow bone) & “Sin” (inner corner)

Nyx Eyeliner in “Sapphire”

MAC Eyeshadow in “Contrast”

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Pencil in “Zero”

L’Oreal Bare Naturale Mascara in “Black”

MAC Retractable Brow Pencil in “Spiked”

Cheeks:

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in “Tipsy”

Nars Illuminator in “Orgasm”

Lips: (The STARS of the show!)

Sephora Lip Rouge in R06 “It Girl”

Sephora Lip Gloss in “Shimmery Orange Juice”

M.A.C. “Quite Cute” Collection Review

What up, folks? I’m back with a review of the newest M.A.C. collection, “Quite Cute”. I was really excited for this to come out after I saw Leesha from Xsparkage’s video, especially the “Candy Yum Yum” lipstick so when I got the email that it had released I BEGGED and PLEADED with my husband to let me get some products ASAP so I could get an early review in. He said yes and I hauled butt to the M.A.C. store in my local mall to check it out. Here are the promotional photos and a photo I took in the store:

And here is my YouTube video:

As you can see the collection is very bright, and bubbly and, well, cute! I love vibrant and funky, cutesty, girlie things so this was right up my alley.

The collection includes:

Zoom Lash Mascara: “Zoomblack”

False Lashes #7

Penultimate Liquid Eyeliner: “Rapidblack”

Cutie Eyeshadow Quad: “Moshi Moshi” (pale white, green gold frost), “Goody Goody Gum Drop” (very pastel pink), “Boy Crazy” (pale lavender with a silver frost), “Azuki Bean” (ashy gray/purple frost)

Nail Laquer: “Mischievous Mint” (opaque mint green-LOVED it), “Little Girl Type” (opaque light lavender-also cute), “Ice Cream Cake” (opaque Barbie pink-bought it)

Lip pencil: “Naked Liner” (light peach), “In Synch” (carnation pink), “Boldly Bare” (light pink/brown)

Quite Cute Mineralize Blush: “Miss Behave” (light beige with a pearly mint green heart), “Giggly” (light pink with a pearly plum heart), “Sakura” (lavender with a pearly magenta heart)

Plushglass: “Bubble Tea” (creamy pale nude). “Fashion Fanatic” (creamy pale pink), “Girl ❤ Boy” (bright light blue pink), “I ❤ You” (creamy midtone purple)

Lipstick: “Playing Koi” (creamy white peach pink, satin), “Quite Cute” (creamy bright whitened lavender), “Saint Germain” (clean pastel pink), “Candy Yum Yum” (matte neon pink-bought this, VERY popular), “Playtime” (creamy intense violet-bought this) 

Whew, what a rundown! Here are some photos of swatches that I took in the store. I couldn’t get every item because I was on a time crunch and some of the artists’ were using them but I got most:

Lipstick: (top to bottom) "Playing Koi", "Quite Cute" & "Candy Yum Yum"

Lipliner: (top to bottom) "Boldly Bare", "Naked Liner" & "In Sync"

Eyeshadow: (clockwise from top left) "Moshi Moshi", "Goody Goody Gum Drop", "Boycrazy", & "Azuki Bean"

Mineralize Blush: (left to right) "Miss Behave", "Giggly" & "Sakura"

Plushglass: (left to right) "Fashion Fanatic", "I ❤ you" & "Bubble Tea"

Nail Lacquer: "Quite Cute" (left) and "Mischievous Mint" (right)

OKAY! So what do I think and what did I get? I liked the marketing and the concept but the actual products themselves were kind of blah, hate to say it. The shadows were not very pigmented or original and, being african-american and of a darker skintone, were way too pastel for me. Pastel colors have a tendency to make me look ashen so I steer away from them. As for the Plushglass’ they were all too light for me and didn’t have much color as you can see from the swatch on my hand. The two on the right almost look exactly the same on me. I really liked the blushes and specifically wanted “Sakura”, the lavender one, but it was just too frosty for me. I am sure it would be gorgeous on a more fairer skintoned person but I don’t fit in that category. The BEST products in the line are the lipsticks and nail polishes. I wanted all of the nail colors, they were so opaque and the colors were so pretty, my two faves being “Mishchievous Mint” and “Ice Cream Cake” (which I bought). As for the lipsticks there were three that I loved even though I only got two. I am FOR SURE going back for “Playing Koi”, it was such a nice color and had a pretty finish.

So here’s what I bought and photos of swatches:

Lipsticks: “Playtime” and “Candy Yum Yum”

"Candy Yum Yum"

"Playtime"

Mineralize Blush in “Giggly”

Blush on the left, little heart color on the right (love that shade)

Nail Lacquer in “Ice Cream Cake”:

Well, that’s my two cents. Definitely grab those lipsticks to be “in” with this season’s BOLD LIPS trend and the polishes are TDF. Let me know what you plan on or have gotten from this collection if there is anyone out there, LOL! And now for a bit of randomness, I saw the most GORGEOUS rainbow on the way home from the mall after I went shopping. I absolutely love rainbow anything and had to take a photo, budding photographer that I am, haha!

Bargain Basement II

Hey folks and fellow makeup aficionados, it’s ya girl ‘Vita back with a new edition of “The Bargain Basement” where I highlight and review cosmetic purchases made at discount places like Big Lots and the Dollar Store. In this edition I will be reviewing some E.L.F. lip products and a Chapstick lip balm that I picked up on a recent trip to BigLots.

I originally went to BigLots to check out a Wet and Wild 6 pack of shadows that they had for $5. A friend of mine had purchased it and told me to go check it out. When I saw the shadows they didn’t really speak to me. There was no shadow in it that really made me want to spend the five dollars to buy it. For someone who doesn’t have a lot of eyeshadow, however, it’s a great deal.

What I did end up getting was three E.L.F. lip glosses, an E.L.F. liquid lipstick and a Chapstick lip balm that came in a pot. Each product had a whopping $1 price tag! Can’t beat that with a stick! Here’s a link to my YouTube video as well as photos of each product:

E.L.F. Lip Gloss: (from top to bottom) “Goddess”, “Watermelon”, “Pink Kiss”

Swatched on my hand: (left to right) “Goddess”, “Watermelon” & “Pink Kiss”

And on my lips: (top to bottom) “Goddess”, “Watermelon” & “Pink Kiss”

"Goddess"

"Watermelon"

"Pink Kiss"

 

So what is my take on these glosses? They were ok but not great. They had a very strong smell, sort of like strawberries and they weren’t sticky but they were thick and kind of frosty. Too frosty for me. I think my favorite one was Watermelon. These seem to me like what you would keep in your purse to just brighten up your lips during the day but not what you would use with your regular makeup application.

Overall Opinion: OK

Would I buy again: Maybe if I could find some other colors

Value: You can’t beat a dollar!

E.L.F. Luscious Liquid Lipstick in “Maple Sugar”: 

Swatched on my hand:

On my lips:

I liked this. It gave my lips a nude sheen and I am all about nude glossy loveliness. I think the only drawback to this was it had a kind of minty smell that I didn’t really like. It smelled like cheap gloss. But I can live with that and I am sure it fades after a while.

Overall Opinion: A nice product

Would I buy it again: For a dollar? Yes. More than that, maybe not….. there’s just too many better products out there.

Value: At a dollar it can’t be beat

Chapstick Ultra Smooth Rejuvenate Lip Balm:

This was probably the best purchase. It has a very smooth texture and makes my lips feel velvety soft without feeling greasy.It also has a slight cooling effect. I wouldn’t use it alone, it’s not hydrating enough for me but as a pre-moisturizer before I apply my lipstick or gloss, it’s perfect. I find that the regular Chapstick is too greasy to use under my lip makeup. I really liked this lip balm.

Overall Opinion: Great Product.

Would I Buy It Again: Yes

Value: Very good price

Well that’s it for this edition of The Bargain Basement. Let me know if you pick any of these up and Love/Hate them and as always STAY FABULOUS and STAY TUNED!!!!!!!! 🙂

Flirt Cosmetics “Flirtatious” Palette Tutorial and Review

I went to the San Ysidro Las Americas Outlet shopping Center last week and stopped at The Cosmetics Company Outlet to see if they had anything worth getting excited about. They did! I purchased two items: A Flirt Cosmetics “Flirtatious” Palette and a M.A.C. “Solar Riche” Bronzing Powder.

First I’ll talk about the Bronzing powder. It has come out in two different collections, once in the Solar Field Collection and again in the Style Warrior Collection. In each collection the compact it came in was different, here is a photo of the one I picked up:

And open:

I am in love with this color as a blush for me. On a fairer skinned person it is a great bronzer but for me it adds such a peachy warmth to my cheeks, it just makes them glow. It takes a little working up to get the color to show but it’s worth it. Here is a swatch of it on my hand:

Now for the Eyeshadow Palette. I always go straight to the M.A.C. section when I hit up the CCO but since I am blogging about makeup now I need to be open to other brands as well so I did something a little different and actually looked around the store at the other brands they carry! I’m SO glad I did, too, because I found this little gem of a palette for only $10.

Now what won me over is the second shadow from the left. Mind you they all are lovely shades but the second shade is called “Glamorazzi” and it looks EXACTLY like “Trax” from M.A.C. I even took it to the M.A.C. counter and compared them side by side and you could NOT tell the difference between the two. I used to own Trax but I left my M.A.C. 15 shade palette in a hotel room in LA, discovered it too late to retrieve it, and just hadn’t gotten around to replacing that shadow. It’s such a gorgeous color and I am VERY happy to have an identical comparison plus three other pretty shades at less than the price of one M.A.C. shadow. Here it is open:

and on my arm:

They are such pretty, well-pigmented shades and the texture is great. The first shade is called “Peach Champagne”. It is reminiscent of MAC’s “Shroom” but it’s a little warmer. The second shade is “Glamourazzi”. The third shade is “Bronze Splash” and it is almost identical to MAC’s “Amber Lights”, it’s a very pretty dark gold color, not quite bronze in my opinion. The last shadow is “Goody Goody” and, to be honest, I couldn’t find a MAC shade I would compare it with.

Anyhoo, on with the tutorial. Here is the look I came up with and a full product list will be located underneath the photos and video. Hope you like. You can also purchase the palette here at Kohl’s.com.

Here’s the video to the tutorial:

Face:

Revlon Colorstay Foundation in “Mocha”

Makeup Forever HD Translucent Powder

MAC Fix+ Setting Spray

Eyes:

Urban Decay Prep and Prime Potion

MAC “Constructivist” Paint Pot

Flirt Palette: Peach Champagne (Highlight), Glamourazzi (Upper Crease), Bronze Splash (Lid), Goody Goody (Crease)

MAC “Lucky Tom” Palette: Lucky Tom (Outer Corner)

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Pencil in “Zero”

Maybelline One by One Volum’ Express Mascara in Black

MAC #35 Lashes and Duo Eyelash Adhesive

MAC Retractable Eyebrow Pencil in “Spiked”

Cheeks:

MAC “Solar Riche” Bronzing Powder

Lips:

Milani HD Advanced Lip Color in “Premier Plum” #118

Tarina Tarantino Lip Gloss in “Semiprecious”

March Must-Haves

Hey, y’all! I just wanted to do a follow-up blog post (with photos of swatches) to my YouTube video highlighting my absolute FAVE products for the month of March.

Here is a link to the video:

And here are the swatches:

Sephora Rouge Creme Lipstick R06 “It Girl” and Sephora Ultrashine Lipgloss “Shimmery Orange Juice”

Before Lip Color:

After Lipstick and Gloss:

Swatch:

Revlon Colorstay Foundation in “Mocha”:

Love this stuff! I bought it because I was running out of my M.A.C. Studio Sculpt Foundation and I haven’t even replaced it because I love this foundation so much!

Here is a photo of me fresh faced (YIKES!):

And after applying the Revlon foundation:

*I set this with Makeup Forever HD translucent powder since it is colorless and won’t interfere with the color of the foundation.

I was going to put the pictures for the Urban Decay Naked Palette Swatches here but I have a separate post showcasing just that palette so it seems more appropriate to put the photos in that one since previously I had no photo swatches. You can view that here.

I also have a swatch of the “Midnight Affair” polish on a polish review post located here.

Can’t really swatch the fix plus, LOL! Anyhoo, these were the products I loved for the month of March. I hope you liked it and let me know if you have used or are using any of these and you love them too. I have a few more reviews coming up soon and also a tutorial and a new edition of “The Bargain Basement”. Stick around and stay FABULOUS!!!!!!