Milani Baked Blush Rose D'oro

Not too long ago Milani has brought their new baked collection to life. Rose D'oro is only one of the 9 baked blushes. For some reason, no matter which Walgreens, CVS or Target I go to I am only able to find 5 of the colors. However, they are all available on Milani's website. My favorite one of the ones I could see in person was Rose D'oro. Why? Well...because I am a coral addict.

 The blushes come in this gold packaging with a clear top that way you can actually see what the color looks like. I would say the color can easily be predicted just by looking at the packaging, I think it's pretty accurate. There are two parts to the packaging; top part obviously has the blush and lifting the top reveals another compartment with a little round mirror that has the brush in it. I think the mirror is a nice touch! I personally carry whatever blush I am wearing that way along with me throughout the day because you never know when you may need a touch-up :D I don't really use the brush but again it's convenient to have it there, not taking any extra space in my make-up bag, in case I do need to touch up my blush.

Rose D'oro is a subtly shimmery coral with gold veins on it. This blush is insanely pigmented and can easily be built up. I personally like to wear it more intense because I want the color to show thoroughly. When swatched, you can see the flecks tiny gold glitter in the blush but once applied it leaves a non-overwhelming sheen on your face.

 Here are some of my other blushes in similar shades which I thought would be comparable to Rose D'oro

L-R: Rose D'oro, Coralista, Dainty, Stereo Rose

With Flash

As a result of this comparison, MAC MSF in Stereo Rose is the closest to it of the 3 which is not even that close. Benefit Coralista is lighter and has more pink in it. MAC Mineralize blush in Dainty has just a hint of coral, much less shimmer and is also much lighter than both Rose D'oro and Coralista. Stereo Rose has more of a satiny finish and is also lighter than Rose D'oro. When all four are compared side by side, I feel like Rose D'oro is actually more of a orange/light copper shade. 

I really think that this was a great purchase, at this point Rose D'oro holds the "my favorite drugstore blush" title. I don't think I ever purchased a drugstore blush that feels comparable to a higher end blush. This much pigmentation from a blush that retails for $7.99 (which will most likely go on sale or bogo at one point) is amazing! I love that there are a total of 9 shades in their baked blush collection which means there is a color for everyone! I hope I will be able to find all of the colors somewhere soon.

What do you think of Milani's baked blushes? Have you bought any of the colors?

Bits & Pieces

Just sharing with you guys bits and pieces of goods I collected in the last few weeks.

First up, we have this Sonia Kashuk eye make-up remover...I have been using my H2O & olive oil mixture as my eye makeup remover for a long time. Since I have just run out of my mixture, I thought I would try an actual product just for the sake of trying something new. I have no clue how it will perform as this is my first time using a non-makeup Sonia Kashuk product. (I do love her eye shadows though!) Hopefully it'll be a great alternative to that of Neutrogena because I simply despise the oily residue it leaves on my eyes.

I had been wanting to get a Clarisonic cleansing system for a long time! I just recently caved and picked it up. I haven't been using it long enough to tell you how I am liking it so far but I will do a separate and more detailed review on it when the time comes.

 I was in dire need of new brushes for bronzer and MSF application. I was previously using a really old (in fact so old using it to this day should be illegal!) The Body Shop brush for applying my MSF and a not-so-old-but-not-that-great-and-now-a-little-too-scratchy-for-my-face Avon brush for bronzer. Simply put, these new brushes were a total need and not a want at all. Besides my little elf concealer brush, this will be my first time using a "real" elf brush.

The complexion brush feels soooo soft, I love it! I feel like this is just made better than the bronzing brush (perhaps because it's from the "Studio" line?) and it will not shed, or at least not as much as the bronzing one. Bronzing brush is soft too but not as much the complexion brush and right now I feel like it'll shed so much that it won't have any hairs left. We'll see!

I actually vowed that I will be staying away from Bella Bamba because...I mean another pink blush, really?! But I just couldn't help it. It's just very pretty and girly, smells like flowers and/or candy, I love the new and improved box with its little mirror inside.

Nothing big here, just my 123958th container of my favorite facial scrub. After I run out of my last tube, I always say to myself that I want to try a new scrub and I just always find myself going back for more of this green tea scrub, I don't know what it is! It seems to work for me, I love the smell, the feeling on my face afterward.

Rose D'oro is only one of the 9 colors in Milani's baked blush/bronzer range. It's gorgeous and looks like it will be perfect for achieving a sun-kissed look.

Topless and Barefoot is part of Essie's new Spring collection called "A French Affair". I had just received my quarterly Ulta certificate and chose to get a free nail polish with it. I was originally planning to get a nail polish from OPI's Texas collection but absolutely nothing grabbed my attention, at all! So I decided to go with Topless & Barefoot. It's a pastel nude in creme finish.

 Since receiving a Bath & Body Works mailer the other day, I had been dying to try out their new scent Carried Away. Finally yesterday I had the chance to check it out! I tested it on my hand and walked around int the store a good 15 minutes sniffing...everything! The scent was still there, going pretty strong. I decided to buy it because I just loved its sweet, flirty, summery scent. I came home an hour later, washed hands with soap, the scent still lingered on. On my skin, its staying power is just amazing. Quick glance on the back of the tube; ... "a whimsical blend of lush raspberries, white jasmine and whipped vanilla inspired by the way love sweeps you off your feet". Oh yeah, it's definitely comparable to love tee heee!

 I just ran out of my beloved Neutrogena hand cream and when I saw these on a shelf at my local Walgreens I knew I had to try it! I love EOS lip balms so I thought I'll probably and hopefully love their hand creams as well. First impression...it smells delish (if you like the cucumber scent that is), very moisturizing, creamy texture.

What have you all been hauling lately? Did you buy any of these products?

October Favorites

Happy November everyone!

I love November because it's filled with some of my favorite events such as my hubby's birthday and Thanksgiving! :) Now on to my October favorites...

MAC Texture

Texture is very versatile because you can use it in many different ways/looks. It's great as an all over the lid color with a darker crease (such as MAC Print) and as crease color with more neutral lid (like MAC's Grain, Femme-Fi etc) or you can also use it as part of a smokey look with Print/Carbon all over lid and Texture on crease. I am using it more as a crease color with neutral eye though.

Milani Liquif'eye Eyeliner in Brown

As you may already know, I am in love with these eyeliners. They are amazing in every aspect! But because I'm just not doing much black eyeliner these days, I have been using my brown one and love it just as much as the black one! You can read my review about Milani Liquif'eye Eyeliner in Black by clicking here.

MAC Shy Girl

Shy Girl is one of my favorite everyday lipsticks. It's a coral-y beige color in Cremesheen finish which I just love! With Cremesheen formula, you really don't need a lipgloss over your lipstick. It goes with pretty much almost all my looks I'm wearing these days so I've been using it quite a bit!

Clockwise - Texture, Shy Girl, Milani Brown Eyeliner, Brow Duality Matte Side

Anastasia Brow Duality Highlighter & Clear Brow Gel

I am putting these two together because I always use them in conjunction. I try to keep my brows as groomed as possible at all times. I never really used to use brow gel or highlight during the day and would keep them limited to special occasions for some reason. But for the past month or so, I've been using these two products everyday. I love that the Brow Gel keeps my eyebrows in place as I have crazy, untamed brows. I also really love that this gel doesn't flake once dried as I did have bad experiences with other brow gels in past. I am not really using the shimmer side of the highlighter unless for nighttime looks. Matte side is great for everyday use and does a great job highlighting right under the brow. I use a bit of it above my brows too. That way they look super clean and defined.

Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub

This is the newest product in this post but it's quickly become one of my favorites. With the weather getting cooler, my lips are starting to become drier and more chapped. Thanks to this amazing lip scrub by Lush that I don't have to embarrass myself in public walking around with cracked lips. It does a very good job removing the dead skin from my lips and leaves them super smooth and moisturized. That way I can wear any kind of lipstick I want, no more fear of matte lipsticks yippee!

Narciso Rodriguez For Her

I've had For Her for a while and used it for a while. Then it got old and was put in the back burner. This perfume reminds me a bit of fall/winter/holidays as it has that spiciness to it so now that we're in that season bracket I am back to using it again! I can definitely pick up musk, woods and amber in it. It's not one of those light perfumes that vanishes 15 minutes after you spray it at all. In fact, I would say it's pretty heavy, it's almost in the same category as Calvin Klein's Euphoria (which I heart).Very sensual, seductive and sexy!

What were your favorite products in October?

Neon or Not?

Hey ladies!

If you follow me on Twitter, you may know about this...I went to my tanning salon a while ago and as soon as I walked in, the first thing that caught my eye was the nail polish the girl at the counter was wearing. It was not pink, not red, not orange. I don't even know what to call that color, maybe a mix of the three? All I knew was it was so pretty and I wanted to make it part of my ever-growing nail polish collection. So I right away asked the girl what brand/color it was. Her response was "Ahh it's one of those cheapo brands, I think it's Milani or something". I don't discriminate when it comes to nail polish, I love many cheap-er brands' nail polishes! She said she didn't know the name, but that it was one of those neon ones. So I swung by Target and scoured the Milani rack however I didn't see anything that looked quite like hers. I ended up getting these two instead.

I love Neon colored nail polishes, I am actually drawn to anything that's neon. What can I do, I am an 80s child :)

My thoughts...

First of all, it's kind of hard to tell the true colors of these nail polishes just by looking at the bottles as the bottles are already colored themselves. So what you see isn't necessarily the color in the bottle. This was the case with Awesome Orange. I am very disappointed by Awesome Orange, this color doesn't even look neon to me! It is orange and it is bright but not neon in my book. A total different color comes to my mind when I hear "neon orange". As you can see from my pictures, 1 coat of this color won't do much (1 coat is so lame!) and neither will two coats. Formula of this color is also very runny compared to Pink Hottie which is much more consistent. It goes on quite streaky and I hated that. Even after 2 coats and top coat, it looks like my nails were painted by a 4 year old. It just looks really messy even though I paid extra attention.

1 coat, 2 coats, + Top Coat

Pink Hottie on the other hand is more accurate. Application was smooth for the most part but I did experience some streaking, definitely much less than I did with Awesome Orange. With only 1 coat, white tips of my nails are visible but it's not as bad as the orange one. With 2 coats, whites are invisible. I actually enjoyed this color, it looks pretty with a top coat. Reminds me a bit of China Glaze's Shocking Pink, which I love!

1 coat, 2 coats, + Top Coat

 I don't think I would repurchase these nail polishes. In stead of getting two of these, I would rather get one nail polish from OPI which never disappoints. These Milani polishes are $4.99 at Target in case you'd like to know.

Urban Decay 24/7 vs. Milani Liquif'eye

Hey everyone!

Finally a drugstore eyeliner with high-end brand quality! I'm getting close to finishing my Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Zero so I had been on the lookout for my next eyeliner since I knew for a long time now that I won't be repurchasing Zero. I know a lot of people rave about Zero being the best eyeliner they ever used yadda yadda...To me, it's just an eyeliner. There are more things I don't like about it than I do. I hate that it's way too creamy that it doesn't feel like an eyeliner, it does budge, it doesn't stay put (It ended up on my crease more times than I can count!) I have to sharpen it way too many times that I believe I actually wasted half of the product, not to mention it is $17.00.

UD on top, Milani on bottom. Looking at my swatches, Zero does not even look black, it looks more like navy! 

What I think about Liquif'eye...

It's a true jet black eyeliner and it's marketed as a metallic eyeliner. I am not so sure about that because mine does not look metallic at all unless I hold it right under direct sunlight then I can see some super tiny pieces of glitter. I have mentioned a few times before that I use a black eyeliner every single day, so to me having a good black eyeliner is very crucial. It has a velvety texture and applies smoothly. It really does dry after application, that way it doesn't even have a chance of collecting in the corners of your eyes or bleeding under your lower lid, which Zero is good at doing. I think Liquif'eye has an exceptional quality and formula because it does stay put until you take it off. In fact I've noticed that it doesn't even come off that easy, which of course can be a downside for some. For me it's not because when it comes to make-up there is nothing I hate more than having raccoon eyes. So I'd really rather work a bit to take it off than have it end up all over my lids. I think this eyeliner is exactly how waterproof eyeliner should be! There is not much to say about packaging, it's matte black and has a clear cap. I actually like matte packaging more than shiny ones. Another thing I love about Liquif'eye is that it is paraben-free. I always get so happy when I discover paraben-free drugstore cosmetics! This eyeliner is only $5.49 which I think is a STEAL for the results it gives! There are a total of five colors, the other four are silver, gold, aqua and brown which I'll more than likely pick up as well. Hopefully they'll roll out more colors, I'd like to see some purples, blues and greens!