Currently Loving: Maybelline Super Stay 24 Hour Concealer

I've almost used up the entire tube of this, which is how you know that I love it.  I got this while frantically rummaging through CVS on the way to class in desperate need of concealer after my MAC Studio Finish had gone MIA.  Honestly, I think I grabbed it because it was cheap (about $7).  I picked up Ivory, which is between NW15 and NW20 in MAC shades, and it's literally an exact match for my skintone--woohoo!  It comes in a little plastic tube, and unscrews to reveal a doe-foot applicator.  It's about the size of a lipstick, maybe a little longer, but I've had it since maybe February and it's still going strong.

Shade range: The shade range, sadly, seems extremely limited.  It's probably only going to work for you if you are very pale, like me.  However, if you are very pale, you are in luck!  They have a few options on that end of the spectrum.

Formula/coverage: I love love love the formula of this.  A lot of concealers I've used tend to sit on top of skin and be tacky.  This one is almost like a watercolor--it sinks into skin immediately, dries down, isn't at all tacky, and feels just like skin.  I've been using it on my dark circles and acne, and the fact that it dries down so quickly makes it great for covering blemishes.  I also love it on dark circles because it is extremely pigmented and doesn't crease.  This stuff is so pigmented that I can use just a dot and cover up a horrible zit.  While it claims to last 24 hours (who is testing that?!), I can definitely get a whole day's wear out of this without needing to retouch.

Application: It comes with the doe-foot applicator, which is handy for applying to dark circles and dabbing on blemishes.  However, I usually try to dab it on my hand and then apply it with my fingers because I don't want to get bacteria in the tube.  The one qualm I have about application with this is that you have to blend quickly.  It sets very fast, and then it doesn't budge, which is nice, but can be bad if you're like me and get distracted in the middle of blending in your concealer.

Awkward Chic Rating: A.  I wish it had a wider shade range, but it is a great concealer with stellar coverage and lasting power for a crazy cheap price.  Pale friends, rejoice! 

Image via: Maybelline.com.

Currently Loving: Benefit Dallas + Real Techniques Blush Brush

Sooo life kicked my ass and basically thesis + finals + graduation + a week and a half in Istanbul (!!!) and here I am.  But I am officially doing nothing this summer pre-law school, so time to blog!

I picked up Benefit's Dallas at Sephora two weeks ago, and I have been using it every day since.  Let me contextualize this purchase--I am extremely pale.  Like burning after half an hour in the sun, mistaken for a ghost in photos with flash pale.  I use bronzer and blush, but I have a hard time finding colors that make me look alive without making me look like a clown.  Enter Dallas!  Sephora calls it a rosy bronze, which is exactly what it is.  It'll cost you $28, and comes in Benefit's typical cardboard box packaging that unfolds at the top with a mirror.  It also comes with a flat blush brush, but I was never going to use that, so I gave it away.  How hilarious is that rearing pony over the sunset?  So soapy--in typical Dallas fashion.

It's a mostly matte powder--it has just the smallest hint of silvery shimmer, but barely enough to notice (I didn't even see it until I swatched it), and is fairly sheer, but builds up nicely, like you can see in the swatch.  I apply it with my Real Techniques blush brush (more on that later) on the apples of my cheeks, on top of my cheekbones, and lightly on my chin, nose, and temples.  The combination of blush and bronzer makes for the perfect natural flush--when I tan, I always burn first, so straight up bronzer usually looks unnatural on me.  The hint of rosiness in this combo looks insanely natural, and because of that and the sheerness, this is basically impossible to overdo.  It is literally foolproof--hard to overapply, easy to blend, and looks great even on super pale people!  The lasting power is typical for powders on me--all day, with maybe one touch up around lunchtime if I go to the gym.

Awkward Chic rating: A+!  It's a huge box, so it'll last me forever (and $28 for a blush/bronzer combo isn't bad), it's crazy flattering and easy to use, it smells like roses, and it wears nicely!

Real Techniques Blush Brush: Guys, I love Real Techniques brushes.  They're all synthetic, affordable, and great quality (plus I love the Pixiwoo sisters, so it's a win-win).  I have four now, AND I WANT MORE!  The blush brush is $8.99 at Ulta, and it is a steal.  Let me break it down--it's about 6 inches tall--the height of my palm--has a brushed pink metal barrel and a black plastic base that's wide at the bottom, so you can stand it up on its end, which is super convenient.  The brush head is extremely soft, but packed with bristles, so it's firm enough to pick up a good amount of product.  The rounded head means that the tip picks up product while the edges blend it out for a flawless application.  I can't even tell you guys how fluffy this brush is.  Sometimes I get distracted while putting on my makeup and just play with this brush.  I use it for contours, blush, bronzer, powder, everything!

Awkward Chic rating: A+.  It's hard to find cheap brushes of this quality.  I've paid three times as much for brushes that I like less.  Buy this!

Real Techniques Brushes + News

 I'm alive!  Long story short, I got into law school (UVA law class of 2016!) and then my senior thesis ate up my life.  But I've really missed blogging, and I'm going to try to be more regular about it (promise).  I've bought a ton of things in the last few months that I really really need to review, so I'm going to hop to it.

I've been thinking about getting some Real Techniques brushes for a long time now, and when I was home in LA over winter break I picked up these two at Ulta (I really wanted the Expert brush, but it was sold out!  Sadness).  Real Techniques brushes were created by Sam from Pixiwoo, which is a sister team of makeup artists from the UK.  They are FANTASTIC.  Go watch their whole channel right now.  I'm waiting.  You'll thank me later. 

Back to business!  The premise behind these brushes is that they're all affordable, but still high quality and high performance, and synthetic (yay!).  I got the stippling brush and the fine liner brush.

Real Techniques Stippling Brush, $9.99 at drugstore.com:  I wanted a brush that would apply/blend my foundation, concealer, highlighter, bronzer, and brush.  Yeah, I'm lazy/very demanding of my brushes.  I've had the MAC skunk brush (188) in the past, and while I liked it, I didn't love it.  I prefer synthetic bristles, and the bristles on the 188 are so long that it was hard to control where I was putting my product.  This brush, on the other hand, is fantastic.  It's the length of my hand, so not that huge, has a pretty pink metal body, and a flared plastic bottom so you can stand it up (so handy).  The brush itself is pretty short and squat, and the bristles are very soft, but also very packed, so the brush is still firm.  The general idea behind the duofibers is that the longer fibers pick up the product, and the shorter, firmer fibers blend the product into your skin--it's often call a skunk brush because it looks a lot like a skunk's tail.

To use this brush for foundation, I'll put a pump of foundation on the back of my hand, and then pick it up on the top of this brush and stipple it on my forehead, chin, both cheeks, and nose.  Then I'll buff the foundation into my skin using circular motions.  I've found that I can get a much more natural finish with this brush than I can using my fingers, and better coverage as well.  For blush, I'll tap this onto my creme blush (MAC Lilicent, sadly discontinued), then stipple it onto the apples of my cheeks and blend it out towards my temples.  I like my blush light and very blended, so having a bit of foundation left on the brush really helps keep application smooth and light-handed.  Then I do the same with my bronzer and highlighter.  I should buy another one of these brushes so I'm not using one to apply so many products, but...I'm lazy.  Also poor.  But mostly lazy.

I've had this brush for three months now, and it's honestly as good as new.  I wash it about once a week with a gentle shampoo, and then lay it upside down to dry, and it dries quickly and holds its shape perfectly.  I have literally no complaints here.  It's such a great brush, especially for the price.  I could see myself paying a lot more for this brush and still feeling happy with the price. 

Real Techniques Fine Liner Brush, $5.99 at drugstore.com: I am very pick with my eyeliner brushes.  I've had the same little angled brush from Sephora since maybe 10th grade, and I love it.  I've had a hankering recently for a fine liner brush, though, instead of an angled one, and since this one is so cheap, I picked it up too.  It's thin brush, about the length of an Urban Decay liner, with very thin bristles. 

 

 I saw a lot of negative reviews about how thin and long the bristles were when I got this, and I have to say, I was a little scared to use it.  The first few times I used it to apply my gel liner, it was a mess.  This brush definitely takes some getting used to.  HOWEVER, once you get used to applying liner with it, I think it's actually pretty great, especially for getting a thin line across the upper lashes (much much better than my angled brush).  I also have an easier time doing my cat eye flick with this, although it was pretty hard for me at first.  I think it would be a little easier to deal with if the brushes were a bit shorter, but overall it's still a pretty solid liner brush.

In terms of upkeep, I wipe this down with makeup remover every night (lazy lazy Megan) and wash it thoroughly...occassionally?  It's still in tip top shape.

Awkward Chic rating: A+.  I love these brushes.  They're so cheap but they perform so well.  I just want to buy more Real Techniques brushes (like literally all of them).  If you take one thing away from this review, it's that you should really buy the stippling brush!  

Images via drugstore.com.

L'Oreal Visible Lift Serum Absolute Advanced Age-Reversing Foundation

I bought this foundation in August, and I've almost used up a bottle, so it's probably time for me to review it (jokes, what is my life).  This foundation has probably the longest name of any foundation I've ever used--Visible Lift Serum Absolute Advanced Age-Reversing Foundation.  The idea is that this foundation has Vitamin C and Retinol in it, so it's supposed to have skincare-esque properties.  I picked up the Classic Ivory shade at CVS for about $14--it's currently $15.79 at drugstore.com.

It comes in a one ounce glass pump bottle with a plastic cap.  My bottle is gross and dirty, but I really like the overall packaging.  The bottle is nice and weighty, and it has a very clean feel to it.

Classic Ivory on me is almost identical to NARS Sheer Glow's Mont Blanc, and it's right between MAC's NW15 and NW20.  It's a perfect color match for me.  This foundation comes in a surprising range of pale shades, although it doesn't have as great of range in the darker shades.  And it doesn't oxidize on me throughout the day!  On the left is a pump of foundation so you can see the texture, on the right I've blended it out across the top of my hand.

Formula: This foundation is a thick liquid or a thin cream, depending on your perspective.  It almost feels a bit whipped.  It blends into my skin very easily, with no streaks, and has a natural finish that skews a bit matte.  I don't usually go for anything remotely matte, but since I have oily skin, the matte aspect of this foundation works really well for me.  I don't think it would be great if you had very dry skin, as I find this emphasizes any dry spots that I have.  It almost may not be very good for extremely oily skin--I think it's perfect for normal or combination skin types.  Also, I've used this for almost a semester, and it hasn't broken me out AT ALL.  I'm pretty paranoid about breakouts, and I was afraid of both the retinol in this foundation and how much coverage it has, but it's actually made my skin a little nicer!

Application: I love that this has a pump! I use two pumps on my entire face, and I apply it with my fingers to really work it into my skin.  I find that it dries down pretty quickly, and then it doesn't budge.

Coverage: I find that this is medium-heavy coverage.  Two pumps on me covers basically everything, but doesn't look heavy or unnatural.

Wear time: I can put this on in the morning (over my Korres primer), run around, go to the gym, get caught in an unexpected rain storm (story of my life) and 15 hours later, it still looks great!  I think this has even better wear time my beloved NARS Sheer Glow.  

Awkward Chic rating: A.  It's great for my skin color and my skin type, lasts forever, and covers all manners of sins.  I wish it was a little cheaper and had a wider range of colors, but I have trouble finding flaws with it.  I will absolutely repurchase.

Review: Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow

Confession--I bought these like three months ago, and have totally forgotten to review them.  I generally have little faith in drugstore cream eyeshadows, but Tanya Burr (Pixi2woo, she's adorable, please watch her YouTube channel) endorsed these in one of her videos, and they were on sale at CVS, so I picked up two.  I got Bad to the Bronze (25) and Pomegranate Punk (30)--click to enlarge the photos.

Bad to the Bronze is honestly more of a warm, metallic taupe for me than an actual bronze--it's very similar to MUFE's Aqua Cream in 15 (Taupe), which I also own, albeit a slightly warmer and more shimmery taupe.  Pomegranate Punk is such a fantastic color. It's a rusty cranberry metallic with some silvery shimmer shot through it.  It's a little like MAC's Vainglorious eyeshadow and Cranberry eyeshadows had a baby.  I'm one of those strange people who really loves brownish-red eyeshadow, which is admittedly a little strange and hard to pull of at times.  However, I think Pomegranate Punk looks fantastic on the lid and on the lower lashline when anchored with a black line.  It feels a little glam/rock and roll, and can transition nicely from day to night.  Bad to the Bronze is just a pretty neutral that I like to swipe across the lid on days where I don't want to do a lot of work in terms of eyeshadow.  I can just use that and some liner and call it a day, or I can use it as the base of a brown smokey eye.

Application: the shadow feels very firm in the pot, but goes on like butter.  I use my finger to apply, and two or three swipes across the product is enough to cover my entire lid.  I'll blend it out a bit with my finger, and then use a blending brush to smooth out the edges and the crease.  I find that this applies very smoothly, with no patchiness at all, and you have a good minute or two to put everything out before it sets entirely.  The application reminds me of the MUFE Aqua Creams--those have slightly more slip, whereas these are a little more tacky, but it's very similar.

Wear time: I usually put this on around 9AM, and take it off at around 12AM, so I'm wearing it for about 15 hours.  Part of the name of this shadow is 24hr, which implies that it lasts 24 hours.  I don't think it does.  When I get to 15 hours, it's still clearly on my lids, and the color hasn't faded a ton, but it does start to crease and fade just a tad.  I think at 20 hours it would be on its last legs.  I always wear this with primer (MAC's Paint Pot in Painterly), so I can't speak to how it wears without primer.  But who needs to wear eyeshadow for 20 hours?!

Packaging: It comes in a thick glass pot with a black plastic screw-on lid.  The labeling information comes on a sticker, which is a little blah, but I think the swankiness of the glass pot makes up for it.  You get .14oz of product, and in about 3 months I've used up about 1/4 of shadow.  So far they haven't shown any signs of drying out, so I think you could get a lot of use out of these.

Awkward Chic rating: A-.  I wish these lasted a tiny bit longer, but the lasting power is definitely comparable with the much more expensive MUFE Aqua Creams.  The pigmentation and application are great, and these are only $6.99 at drugstore.com.  I think I want to pick up Bold Gold and Tough as Taupe too.

Review: Clinique Black Honey Almost Lipstick

So in my last post I mentioned that I've been dealing with the LSAT and applying to law school and hopefully I'd be done with all of that soon--jokes!  Long/boring story short, I have a stomach condition, it likes to act up randomly to terrorize me, and it was horrible on the day of the LSAT.  As in, I couldn't eat anything and almost threw up on the way to the test horrible.  But I took it anyways, because I had studied literally SO MUCH and I'm crazy stubborn, and basically that was a mistake and I'm taking it again on December 1! Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyy (all of the sarcasm in the world).

 I thought I'd try to get back to blogging regardless, because I kind of miss it (and because I just finished midterms and now I have nothing to be neurotic about in my free time).  I have so much stuff to review!  Here's one of my new favorite things, Clinique's Black Honey Almost Lipstick.

 The casing is very long and skinny--it almost looks like it's going to be a lip gloss.  It's a simple brushed steel on the bottom and shiny steel on the top.  Not ugly, but very plain.  The lipstick twists up, and you can see immediately that it looks insanely dark.  One of my housemates thought I was putting on black lipstick--side note, my nail polish is not black!  It's a super vibrant and dark purple from Zoya that's called Pinta, and it's just lovely, and my pictures aren't doing it justice.

Back to the lipstick!  It doesn't really have a smell, aside from the faintest hint of that typical 'lipstick smell.'  It's extremely sheer, as you can see in that swatch.  I swatched heavily, probably about 8 times, and that's how sheer it is.  Which is actually a good thing, because it gives your lips the prettiest berry flush without looking like you just drank a gallon of grape juice.  It looks really natural on, with just the smallest hint of vampiness.  The formula feels lovely on your lips, almost like a lip balm, and it has a nice amount of shine.  It terms of lasting power, it's called Almost Lipstick for a reason--the lasting power isn't amazing.  This is basically a lip balm and lipstick hybrid, so I'd say it lasts about two hours on me before I feel the need to reapply.  However, it wears off evenly, leaving behind no stain, and doesn't leave my lips feeling chapped.

So, Clinique's Black Honey--does it live up to the hype?  I say yes!  I bought it because I was feeling super '90s nostalgic, and I've worn it almost every day since, and lipstick SCARES ME.  I'm not an easy sell in that realm.  Plus, it's only $15 at sephora.com, so if you want to dip your toe in the pool of vampy lipsticks, it's a good way to ease into the look without spending a ton of money.  Awkward Chic rating: A.

PS: If you like Pride and Prejudice (aka if you're breathing), you should watch this modern adaptation web series.  It has murdered my productivity.

Rimmel Foundation Failures

I've been on a drugstore foundation buying spree.  I love my NARS Sheer Glow and Revlon Colorstay to death, but I wanted to branch out.  And I am so sorry that I did.  This is going to be a short review, because both these foundations were so bad that I only wore them once.

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation, $7.29 at ulta.com, Rimmel Clean Finish Foundation, $4.99 at ulta.com: I got both of these in Warm Ivory.  I like the packaging.  The squeeze tube on the 25 Hour foundation is easy to use, and the packaging for clean finish feels very fresh.  Both foundations smell straight up like chemicals, big, nasty chemicals.  Clean Finish dried semi-matte on me, whereas 25 Hour was slightly dewier.  25 Hour is full coverage, Clean Finish is medium coverage.  Both foundations went on nicely, blended easily, and seemed promisingly.  AND THEN:

Cue three hours later.  I tried 25 Hour first, went to look in the first, and screamed.  My face was orange.  Dirty, bright orange, dripping with oil, and completely splotchy.  I looked like a practical joke.  Not only that, but I had started to break out.  I wrote 25 Hour off as a fluke, and tried Clean Finish the next day.  The exact same thing happened.  More pimples, more orangey-hued oxidizing, more oil.  

In short, these are horrible.  Do not buy them.  Both oxidized horribly on me, and while I am pale, so it does look conspicuous, they seem to oxidize on darker skin tones as well.  Plus they both broke me out and seemed to break down in the presence of any oil on my face.  

Awkward Chic rating: F.  Stick to Revlon Colorstay if you're looking for a new drugstore foundation, or try one of the new L'Oreal anti-aging ones instead, but run, RUN away from these foundations.


Images via ulta.com, realbeauty.com.

Review: Benefit Watt's Up!

I'm a huge fan of highlighters--they're great for making it look like you have cheekbones.  I've used powder and cream highlighters, ranging from MAC MSFs to highlighter cremes.  However, this newest one is my current favorite.  I picked up Benefit's Watt's Up on my last trip to Sephora, and I've been using it everyday since.

Benefit Watt's Up!  $30 at sephora.com: How cute is that packaging?!  The box has a sweet, retro vibe, and is cute enough to actually keep and not toss out.  The product itself comes in a shiny, metallic lilac plastic tube with the product twisting up on one end and a foam blending sponge on the other.  A string of retro-style outdoor lights run around the tube, adding to the packaging's charm.  Overall, I really like the presentation of Watt's Up.  It's modern with it's clean lines but retro in its styling.  Plus, I like that they include a blender, even if I'll never use it--I hate attached brushes.  How do you wash them?!

Here's a medium heavy swatch out of direct sunlight and then in sunlight.  See how the product barely appears in the shade but then pops once in the light?  That's what you want from a highlight, it just looks like your skin is shining.  Watt's Up is highly pigmented, with one or two swipes on the finger covering everything you need.  It's has a solid cream texture, and feels like butter.  The rosy-champagne hue is extremely flattering, and the very fine shimmer keeps it from looking like you have a disco ball on your face.  It blends easily, layers nicely, and is all around very easy to work with.  I just swipe it across my finger twice, dab it on top of my cheekbones and brow bone, and blend it with my finger, and that's it.

The downsides: I'm not sure this would work on darker skin tones--it could end up looking ashy if over-applied.  The lasting power is also meh--I put it on this morning, went for a vigorous workout, and it was barely hanging on by the time I got home.  Given that it's so pigmented and you get so much product, that doesn't concern me very much, but be aware that this won't last you all day.


Awkward Chic rating: A-.  The packaging and application are great, the hue is gorgeous, but the lasting power is less than exceptional.  However, it's still a good value for the money, and I'll likely repurchase if I ever run out.

Dove Nourishing Oil Care Detangler

I've been itching to try Moroccanoil for a longgggg time.  I know it's so over-hyped, but I have dry hair, and anything that promises to fix that catches my attention.  It's pretty expensive though, and I haven't been able to justify buying it yet.  So when I saw that Dove had come out with a detangler spray with argan oil in it, I had to buy it.  Unfortunately it was harder to find than I expected!  I finally found it at Target, on sale, no less, and had to take it home with me.

The Dove Nourishing Oil Care Detangler is $5.69 at drugstore.com: You get just over 6 oz of product, which is pretty solid.  You can see that the product separates in the bottle, with a lighter fluid on top, and you shake it to apply it.  It sprays on lightly and very evenly, which I really like. 

Smell: I don't love how this smells.  I think it's the sweet almond oil in this, because it smells like marzipan.  I hate marzipan.  Luckily the smell fades, but I cringe a bit when I apply it.


Packaging: Like I said, the application process is very easy because the spritzer works really nicely.  I like the bottle--it's simple, but clean.


How it feels: I really like that this has oil in it, but doesn't feel oily when I apply it.  It really feels like my hair absorbs it right up, no matter how much I spritz on it.

What it actually does: I use this to detangle my hair and to give my dry ends some moisture.  It's really great at detangling.  My hair gets gnarly after I shower, and this prevents me from growing dreadlocks, which is always nice.  In terms of moisture, I've only been using it for a few days, but I can say that it does help give my hair more moisture.  My hair feels softer and healthier when I use this.  However, it's certainly not a miracle product.  The amount of argan oil in this is admittedly pretty small, so my hopes weren't sky high.


Awkward Chic rating: B+.  It's a good detangler and moisturizer that applies easily and is pretty darn affordable.  But the argan oil it totes is pretty far down the ingredients list, and I don't think it's a life-changing product by any means.

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

I have wanted an Urban Decay Naked palette for SO LONG.  They are so pretty, and have so many sparkly eye shadows, and are such a good value.  I finally caved and bought myself one for my upcoming birthday (hehe).  I picked up Naked 2 instead of the original because Naked had at least two shades I would never use (Creep and Gunmetal skew way too blue for me) and the overall shades were a little warm and a little similar to colors I already owned.  Also, the packaging on Naked 2 is prettier, in my humble opinion.


Anyways, this is the Naked 2 palette, which is $50 at Sephora.  It comes in this plastic tray that holds the palette and the lip gloss.  The palette itself is a warm grey metal, with Naked 2 embossed on the lid.  It opens up to reveal 12 eyeshadows, a good-sized mirror, and a double-ended brush.  I really like the packaging.  It feels modern and sleek, but still luxurious, and very study--I have no worries about this palette breaking at all, and I tend to break things.

Lip Junkie gloss in Naked: The lip gloss is itty-bitty, and has a squeeze applicator.  The color is a pinky-brown with frosty shimmer, and a minty vanilla flavor.  It's a nicely packaged little gloss, but I'm honestly never going to use it.  I don't like sticky glosses, the color is a little blah, and I hate frosty shimmer in my lip glosses.  I wish it had been replaced with a Primer Potion sample instead, although I'm sure the color and the formula of the gloss will really work for some people.

Once you open the palette, you can see that the mirror is actually large enough to apply your eyeshadow with!  So that's exciting (usually those tiny mirrors in eyeshadow palettes are just ridiculous).  You have the 12 shadows, arranged kind of from light to dark, although not consistently, and the Good Karma brush below the shadows.  I really like this brush.  I've been using it with the shadows every day.  It has a flat applicator side and a skinny, but fluffy, blending brush on the other.  The bristles are synthetic (yay), and work really nicely.  It applies shadow neatly and blends it flawlessly.  I'm so glad this brush comes with the palette, because it really does make it travel appropriate.  If you don't need primer, you could just bring that little palette with you and be done with all your eye makeup needs.

From left to right: Blackout, Busted, YDK, Verve, Pistol, Suspect, Snake Bite, Teas, Chopper, Bootycall, Half Baked, Foxy.  I swatched all of these dry--you could get more pigment if you applied them wet, but I found that they all applied very nicely dry and without a lot of effort.  The only issues I had were with Tease and Pistol, which I had trouble getting to show up on my arm, although I haven't had trouble getting them to show up on my eye.

Left to right: Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, Snake Bite: Foxy is a matte, creamy bisque.  It's hard to see on the far left there because it's such a light color, but it is very pigmented.  It's similar to MAC's Brule, and makes a nice lid shade or highlighter shade if you don't like sparkle in your highlighters.  Half Baked (also in Naked 1) is a shimmering golden bronze.  It's very metallic and applies like butter.  I don't love that it's in both palettes, because that makes it harder to justify buying Naked 1!  Bootycall is a lightly shimmery nude champagne that also makes a great highlighter or lid shade--it's a pink, shimmery version of Foxy.  Chopper is a shimmery copper with silver microglitter.  It's a very similar shade to MUFE's Aqua Cream #12 (which I also own) with the inclusion of silver shimmer.  I like that mixed metallics idea.  It applies, again, like butter, with a small amount of fallout.  Tease is a medium, warm matte brown that reminds me of a slightly warmer, darker version of MAC's Wedge.  It is slightly less pigmented than other shadows in the palette, not to the point where it's hard to use, but the contrast is pretty noticeable when 10 other shadows are much more pigmented.  Snake Bite is a bronzey-brown with a metallic base.  It looks much prettier in real life than on my arm, and it's actually one of my favorite colors in the palette.  It's just such a flattering, easy to work with color.  I've been using it on my lashline and crease for smokey definition that creates shape but isn't too dark.

Left to right: Blackout, Busted, YDK, Verve, Pistol, Suspect: Blackout is a matte black, plain and simple.  It's not exciting, but it is very nicely pigmented, especially compared to other matte blacks I've tried, like MAC's Carbon.  I like that it's in this palette because it's not something I'd buy on its own, but it's such a good color to own, especially for smokey eyes!  Busted is a shimmering deep brown, slightly darker and cooler than Snake Bite.  I like that this palette gives you two different brown options for contouring and smokey eyes.  YDK is another one of my favorite colors.  It's a cool bronze metallic shade, with a bit of a rose gold feel.  It looks like a million bucks on your lids, and it's just such an interesting color that really pops.  Verve is a brownish grey with a lot of metallic shimmer.  I don't usually go for grey eye shadows, but this one pulls warm on me, which makes it much more flattering and easy to wear.  Pistol is a shimmery, deeper, more grey grey-brown (say that 10 times fast) that was really hard to swatch on my arm.  It's not the kind of color I'll wear all the time, but it is nice to have a solid, neutral grey in the palette.  Lastly, Suspect is a golden beige with a metallic, shimmery finish.  It's another one of my favorites because it's such an interesting neutral that would be flattering on a wide range of skin tones.

In terms of lasting power, I've been wearing these with a primer (MAC's Painterly) in the 80-90 degree humid Boston heat, and getting about 10 hours of wear before I get significant fading and creasing.  Given that this heat and humidity is not normal, I'd say the wear time on these shadows, especially in a cooler climate, is pretty darn good.


Awkward Chic rating: A+!  This is such a good value for the money.  $50 for a mini gloss, a good quality brush, and 12 sizeable shadows is fantastic.  I know I'm going to wear at least 10 of these shades all the time, and this is so convenient for traveling.  I'd definitely buy this for a friend--it's a great buy for a makeup addict or a makeup newbie.

My Perfect Face Routine (Drugstore and High-end!)

I thought I'd do a round-up of all my face makeup--primer, BB cream, and foundation.  These are all products that I use either everyday or very often.  I like them all, none of them irritate my skin or break me out, and I'd buy them all again, so I really recommend them all.  For the record, I'm very pale with warm undertones, with acne-prone combination skin.  Oh, and there's a pretty nail polish at the end.


Primer: Korres Quercetin & Oak Age-reversing Primer, BB Cream: Garnier Fructis BB Cream:
A friend of mine gave me this primer.  It comes in a 1 ounce, flexible tube, smells like grapefruit, and goes on feeling like a light moisturizer.  I use a pea sized amount for my entire face in-between moisturizing and BB cream. It's chockful of anti-oxidants and other things that are supposed to be good for your skin, and it has no silicone!  Yay!  Silicone primers break me out like there's no tomorrow.  I've been using it every day.  I put my foundation on around 10AM, go to the gym, and bop around all day, and I've noticed that this definitely keeps my foundation lasting longer.  It still fades off my blemishes by the end of the day, but in terms of overall lasting power and keeping redness at bay, I get about 3 hours more wear from using this primer.  That makes me very happy!  I think this tube is going to last me a long time, but I think I'd buy myself one when I used it up.  After my primer I use a BB cream.  I know that sounds silly since I also use a foundation, but I've noticed that with a lighter foundation, like Colorstay, the BB cream helps give me just a little extra coverage and a slightly nicer finish.  I grabbed the Garnier Fructis BB cream because, well it was cheap.  I have the light-medium shade.  It's a pretty thick, moisturizer-esque consistency, with a yummy citrus-floral smell and SPF 15!  Yay SPF!  I love it for that reason alone.  Light-medium is definitely dark on me.  I couldn't wear this as my only coverage (both because it's too dark and it's too sheer), but it has a really pretty finish on the skin, and it's going to last me a long time, so I think it's a winner.

Drugstore Foundation: Revlon Colorstay Foundation in Buff Chamois 150, Nars Sheer Glow in Montblanc:
Sheer Glow I've reviewed before, and I still love it.  However, it's still $42 a bottle.  So that's difficult.  I picked up Revlon's Colorstay foundation as a day-to-day alternative to save some money.  Colorstay is about $12 at CVS and comes in a nice range of shades if you're pale, not so nice if you aren't.  It has a pretty, natural finish, layers nicely (I need 2-3 layers for good coverage), applies easily with my fingers, and lasts almost all day.  It's pretty liquidy and has a certain chemical smell, but I have no major qualms with it.  Long story short, Sheer Glow is definitely a nicer foundation, but Colorstay is a pretty good buy.  In terms of shade comparisons, Montblanc is slightly pinker and deeper than Buff Chamois, which is lighter and more neutral-toned.  Either one is a good match if you're NW15-20, but Buff Chamois is actually a better color for me.   Colorstay has a more natural, slightly matte finish than Sheer Glow, which has a very dewy finish.  They're both pretty negligible in terms of SPF.  Sheer Glow is a medium coverage foundation on me, and Colorstay is light-medium.  They both last for the same amount of time on me, and both work equally well with my combination skin (not making me too oily or dry and not breaking me out).  I wouldn't say that Colorstay is a dupe for Sheer Glow, but it's a viable alternative, especially if you want to save some money.

I know the Korres primer and Nars Sheer Glow are on the expensive side.  They are lovely, and if you can swing them, I recommend them.  However, the BB Cream does act as a decent primer and the Colorstay is a nice foundation, so they're good drugstore alternatives if you're like me and on a student budget.

OPI polish in Call Me Gwen-ever: Please excuse the horrible picture.  Call Me Gwen-never is a really lovely, muted orange-coral.  It's an opaque cream, covers in 2 coats, and lasts a full week on me with Poshe topcoat.  I've been wearing it for weeks--it looks equally good on fingers and toes, and I think it would be flattering on a wide range of skin tones and hues.  I got bored and did two stripes of Chanel Graphite with some tape.  Yay attempted nail art!

Images via: sephora.com, amazon.com, drugstore.com.