3 Looks 1 Palette Post #1: Urban Decay Naked 3

 

I'd like to start on my blog is a "3 Looks 1 Palette" series. I've seen a lot of these on YouTube and love them and figured I'd give them a try. I'll start with the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette $52.  In today's post, I have one all-matte look, a soft shimmery look, and a dark, edgy look perfect for New Year's Eve or a night out. 

Take a look!

YouTube Made Me Buy It Post #1: Cargo Vintage Escape Fall Eyeshadow Palette

 

I thought I'd start a series on the blog called 'YouTube Made Me Buy It" because I have bought so many great and not so great things based on the recommendations of my favorite beauty vloggers on YouTube. About a month ago, one of my favorite YouTubers, Tati from GlamLifeGuru, posted a review on the Cargo Cosmetics Vintage Escape Fall Eyeshadow Palette. She could not get enough of the colors and the quality of these shadows! I immediately fell in the love with the shades in the palette, so I asked for it for Christmas. I played with it today and love it so far. Check out my first impressions review below!

Got a Gift Card This Christmas? Here's What to Get

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas if you celebrate it! Our Christmas was really nice. We started it with homemade super-rich hot chocolate and Italian Panettone cake and then went over to my parents' house for presents and Christmas lunch. Everyone loved their presents :) I'll be sharing what my family got me in an upcoming Christmas Haul post.

Speaking of presents, did you get a Sephora or Ulta gift card this holiday season and have no idea what to get? Don't worry, I got you covered at three different price points. I also made an appearance this week on WBFF FOX45 Baltimore's morning show to discuss my picks. Check it out!

FOTD: Smoldering Dark Bronze Eyes

Today I found some pictures that I had sworn I had posted but I guess I never did, so here they are! I took these this past June, when I was nice and tan. This is a six month old FOTD, but it's worth sharing if I do say so myself. Most of the products I wore that day are especially made to be long-lasting, so it was supposed to be a "hot muggy nights" post, but of course all these would be great for a long night out in any weather. This dark bronzey eye look would be great for a night out or date night as it's sure to grab some attention.What I love about this look I created is that I didn't use liquid liner to let the shadows stand out more and to look more effortless.  I especially love the way I took the shadow down on the lower lashline to make the look extra smokey and worn-in, a la Kate Moss.

Naked3 First Impressions Review and a Dupe!

 

I was on the fence on getting the Urban Decay Naked3 palette, since I don't frequently use my Naked 1 and 2 palettes and I've been reading some mixed reviews, but i couldn't say no to the rose-toned neutrals (all new colors!) and my $20 off $50 VIP discount at Sephora. So I pulled the trigger and I'm so glad I did.

Take a closer look below and check out my 3 Looks 1 Palette post on the Naked 3!

The Perfect Oxblood Nail | L'Oréal Nail Color Riche 'Haute Couture Red' Review and Swatches

As you may know from my last nail post, I am obsessed with bordeaux/oxblood nails for fall and winter. Oxblood was huge last fall season but I think it's such a classic, vampy shade so I doubt it ever going out of style. It's moody, yet still wearable for work.

My 2013 Holiday Wishlist | The Makeup Items I'm Lusting for this Winter

My Holiday Wishlist by matteandcrimson

Products:
Lorac Pro Palette $42
NARS Isolde Eyeshadow Duo $34
NARS Portobello Eyeshadow Duo $34
The Body Shop Honey Bronzer 02 Fair Matte $19
Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation Pearl $52
Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup Ecru 1N2 $37
NARS Cruella Velvet Matte Lip Pencil $25

I actually went ahead and bought the NARS Portobello duo and The Body Shop Honey Bronzer on their respective websites during yesterday's Cyber Monday activities. I do have a VIB $20 off $50 coupon at Sephora (discount starts tomorrow), so I may pick up the Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder foundation before Christmas comes around!

FOTD: My Thanksgiving Makeup Look Featuring Makeup Geek

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! I thought I'd share the makeup I wore for yesterday's foodfest. I'd been eyeing Makeup Geek eyeshadows for quite a long time, as I kept on hearing great things from all the famous YouTubers and beauty bloggers. I was attracted to the shadows' ingredients (paraben and talc-free) and the fact that the pans are almost half the price ($5.99 vs. MAC's $10) and equal to or better than MAC shadows. So I went ahead and picked up 15 shadows and a Z Palette 4U Palette.

See what I came up with!

FOTD: An Apricot/Rust Autumn Look

I wanted to share a Face of the Day from this past weekend that I think turned out pretty well, using apricot and rust colors. I wanted to play with just one warm color that I could use just as a wash all over my lids. I also had this new Korres blush I picked up in a Hautelook haul that I was dying to try out. All the products I used for the look will be listed at the bottom of this post.

Take a look!

Review and Lip Swatches: Revlon Colorburst Matte Balms

A few weeks ago, I started hearing early reviews on the new Revlon Colorburst Matte and Lacquer Balms. I'm a big fan of chubby lip crayons, so of course I was looking forward to checking some out for myself (and for blog-research purposes, of course). 

After reading/hearing preliminary reviews on the blogosphere and YouTube, I decided to pull the trigger on the Matte Balms, as you know I prefer a matte finish on the lips. After loving these, I picked up one Lacquer Balm and have my eye on another one, so my Lacquer Balm review will come soon!

Here's what I think of the Revlon Colorburst Matte Balms...

Nails of the Day: Revlon Parfumerie Scented Nail Enamel 'Bordeaux'

The other day I went to my local Bed Bath & Beyond Store to pick up a couple kitchen items, and you know of course I swung by the makeup and skincare section. To my delight, I saw that Revlon has a new nail polish collection out called Parfumerie Scented Nail Enamel.

Click to read what I think!
 

Eyeshadow Review + Dupe Alert: Stila 'Kitten' and L'Oréal Paris Inflallible 'Blinged and Brilliant'

 

Stila's eyeshadow Kitten is one of the brand's best-selling products. It is a gorgeous shimmering nude peachy-pink. I've had my eye on this shadow for quite awhile now, especially since it's my friend Katy's go-to shadow and it looks gorgeous on her. When my birthday came around last month, I snapped it up!

L'Oréal Paris Infallible eyeshadow Blinged and Brilliant was part of the 2012 Diamonds Limited Edition collection. I remember picking this metallic champagne pink shadow last year and thinking to myself how it seemed like it'd be a great dupe to Kitten, and now I have both to compare.

See what I think about these two amazing shadows!

FOTD: Drugstore Smokey Blue Eyes

Last weekend, my friend Megan hosted an Oktoberfest party at her house, and since it was a nighttime party, I decided to take the opportunity to experiment with a relatively new purchase: L'Oréal Infallible eyeshadow in the shade Midnight Blue, a gorgeous blue/purple/black shade.

See how I got the look!

FOTD: It Cosmetics 'Hello Lashes' Mascara

Just wanted to share a Face of the Day from the other day where I tested out It Cosmetics Hello Lashes Mascara! The berry lips and soft warm browns on the eyes work wonderfully together, and I really liked the Estée Lauder Double Wear Light sample I had, but the shade Desert Beige is just a little too dark for me with my summer tan fading. 

Check out the products I used!

First Impressions, Mascara Edition | It Cosmetics 'Hello Lashes Clinically Proven 5-in-1 Mascara'

I recently received a deluxe sample of It Cosmetics Hello Lashes Clinically Proven 5-in-1 Mascara when I ordered the brand's Luxe High Performance Eyeshadow Palette (review on that coming soon).

See what my first impressions of this mascara are after the jump!

Lipstick Review and Swatches: Rimmel Moisture Renew Dazzling Duchess Collection

The other day I picked up three shades from Rimmel London's Dazzling Duchess Collection, which came out in early June. I had wanted to try the revamped formula of this line and was even more excited that the lipsticks now had SPF20.

See what I think of these lipsticks after the jump!

First Impression Reviews: e.l.f.'s Studio Lip Exfoliator and MAC Lip Erase in "Pale"

I've been looking at two lip prep products, e.l.f.'s Lip Exfoliator and MAC Lip Erase, for awhile now and I recently picked them up. I'm very excited to bring them into my daily makeup routine.

Here are my first impression reviews!

Review and Swatches Part Two: Rimmel Apocalips/Show Off Lip Lacquers

 

 Since I've been absolutely loving the Apocalips lip lacquers that I picked up from asos.com a few months ago (see original post), I decided to pick up some more now that they're more readily available in the US, where they're going by the name Show Off. 

This Month's Drugstore Haul: Jordana liners, Wet n Wild Fergie Lipsticks and Rimmel and Revlon Lip Glosses

A couple weeks ago, I picked up some new items at the drugstore and wanted to share what I got!

Peachy Corals: A Face of the Day with Tarte's Aqualillies Palette

Here's the look I'm wearing today. I'm actually going to a pool party/low-key dinner, so this is wayy too much makeup for the occasion, but I felt like taking my time today. It's incredibly hot and humid out, so my makeup will most likely melt off my face as soon as I'm outside for more than 10 minutes, finishing spray or not. WOMP.

Review: Milani Red Vino Baked Blush

Long time no blog! I spent the entire month of July packing and unpacking as we moved apartments, so it was pretty hectic and I had no real time to settle down and write some posts. Plus, most of my makeup was packed away so I couldn't really play with it. The good news is that our new apartment is slightly bigger and we had enough room to buy me a little laptop desk to make it more comfortable to blog and work.

Even better, our bedroom is bigger so I've been able to move my makeup out of the bathroom finally and found an awesome Target bookcase to display all my stuff. Post on that coming soon!

I'm going to jump right into a review of Milani's baked blush Red Vino.

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A Little Riri Woo Review

 

Love her or hate her as a performer/person, you can't deny that Rihanna's makeup is flawless. When I heard that she was going to partner up with MAC on special collections this year, I was like #musthaveinmylife. The first release was Rihanna's version of Ruby Woo, Riri Woo, which came out for a limited time back in the spring. Unfortunately, it sold out like hotcakes and I wasn't able to grab it. But then I heard Riri Woo was coming back in June with the Riri Hearts MAC Summer collection, so I was determined to get one then.

Eye Makeup for Glasses Wearers

I wear my glasses a lot during the workweek, as the computer strains my eyes and dries my contacts out. But that doesn't mean I have to sacrifice the benefits of eye makeup! The problem with glasses is that they can create shadows around the eye area, especially the undereye area. With these products, I can still show off my eyes and look super awake all day. 

Super Quick DIY Makeup Wipes!

Earlier this week, as I was perusing Flipboard, I saw this amazing Beautylish "How to Make Your Own Makeup Wipes" tutorial and I knew I had to try it.

I was especially excited that the recipe called for coconut oil, since I have a big jar of TJs organic virgin coconut oil that I've been trying to experiment with. All I had to do was buy the Burt's Bees baby wash/shampoo (which is 98% natural) and I was set.

Making these wipes took less than 5 minutes!

The Balm/Hautelook Haul and Mini-Review

About a month ago, Hautelook had a sale for The Balm, and since those deals don't come by that often, I went ahead and snatched some items that had been on my list!

I picked up Betty-Lou Manizer, a gorgeous bronzer/highlighter/shadow, Hot Mama, a rose gold shadow/blush, and two Time Balm cream foundations: Light for a base, and Dark for contouring.

Review and Swatches: Rimmel Apocalips/Show Off Lip Lacquers

 

A little over a month ago, I heard all my favorite UK YouTubers rave about the new Rimmel Apocalips lip lacquers.  As Rimmel London products obviously get to the UK first, I scoured the internet and figured out that I didn't have to wait for their US arrival because Asos sold them! 

FOTD: Baby Pink Lips, Cheeks, and Lashes!

Products

Face: Kat Von D Lock-It Tattoo Foundation in Light 44, which is light with a beige undertone * 

I applied this with a damp Beauty Blender to not look overly made up

Cheeks: The Balm Down Boy, a baby pink blush *

Eyes: MAC Soft Brown and Texture (the lighter warm browns in the quad)

Mascara: Lancôme Hypnôse Star Mascara in 01 Noir Midnight *

Lips: Rimmel Lasting Finish Kate Moss Matte lipstick in 101 and Rimmel Stay Glossy Lipgloss in  Non-Stop Glamour (I think, the name came off with the plastic packaging, grr)

First Impression Review: Physicians Formula Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner + Serum

I've been wanting a new felt-tip eyeliner for awhile now, and I finally found a great one!

My New Orange-Red Lipstick Love: MAC's So Chaud

A couple of years ago, when the orange-red J.Crew lip was the thing, I decided to hunt down what color the makeup artists were using on the models. There's something so timeless, yet current about a matte orange-red. Plus, it's not too vampy so it's great for daytime. From my research online, it looked like the colors were a mix of NARS Heat Wave Semi Matte lipstick and NARS Red Square Matte Velvet lip pencil.

Well, I went out and bought Red Square and immediately fell.in.love. It's matte yet not too drying, in pencil form so a breeze to apply, and so daytime appropriate. NARS describes it as a "bright orange red." Looking through my collection, it looked like my cheapie Wet n Wild Megalast lipstick in 970 Purty Persimmon was pretty similar. If you look really closely, Purty Persimmon leans just a little more orange. 

Heat Wave had been next on my shopping list, but when I started looking more closely at the ingredients for NARS lipsticks, I noticed that they contained parabens. Ugh! I realized after knowing that, I especially couldn't justify spending $26 on a lipstick. Which means I probably won't repurchase Red Square when I run out. This thought was devastating me. I was legit upset.

Try This, Not That: Makeup Wipes

I've recently tried out two new makeup wipes and I wanted to share my thoughts. Time for a... Makeup Wipe Smackdown!

First Look: Tarte's Aqualillies Waterproof Eye & Cheek Palette

I'd been eyeing Tarte's Summer 2013 limited-edition Aqualillies Waterproof Eye & Cheek Palette for awhile now and was seriously thinking of picking it up before it was gone. 

Saturday morning, my friends wanted to pop into Sephora after our brunch, so I knew that I could not resist any longer.

Sephora + Me = Damage

My friend Megan needed a blush and bronzer so I convinced her to pick this up as well (enabler much??) As soon as I got home, I slapped some of this stuff on my face and I'm in LOVE!

Check it out...

"First Look" Review: Kat Von D Ladybird True Romance Eyeshadow Palette

Kat Von D Ladybird True Romance eyeshadow palette ($36 for 8 .05 oz eyeshadows)

L to R: Für Elise, Vespertine, Renholdër, Siouxsie-sioux, 

Unrequited, Harlow, Wölf, and Cleopatra 

A couple weeks ago, I was on Sephora site's "What's New" section perusing like I do and I spotted this puppy, the Kat Von D Ladybird True Romance eyeshadow palette. The colors looked great, and upon further investigation I realized that not only was this palette all matte (SCORE!), but that this (like many of Kat Von D's products) was also paraben-free.

Since my blog name is matte+crimson, you better believe I snapped this up.

Try This, Not That: A Paraben-Free Contour Option for Light Skin

 "NYX Taupe blush [right], meet your replacement, Milani powder in Deep Amber [left]"

Hey hey! I have a new paraben-free product I've discovered: Milani's The Multitasker powder in 09 Deep Amber. It's now serving as a replacement to my favorite contour powder, NYX's blush in Taupe.

Maybelline Vivids 'Pop of Cherry' Review (And How I Wear It)

 Pop of Cherry is part of the Maybelline ColorSensational Vivids Limited Edition Spring 2013 collection. On me, it doesn't look as blueish red as it does for G. from Nouveau Cheap. 

It looks a bit more coral-y in my pictures and in real life. 

Because of their creamy texture and color saturation, I definitely think this and the other Vivids I have will be much loved by me this summer :)

Real Techniques Limited Edition Duo-Fiber Brushes: A 'First Look' Review!

O look what just came in the mail! 

When I heard Samantha Chapman of Pixiwoo and Real Techniques brushes was coming out with a limited edition set of duo-fiber brushes, I freaked out and knew I had to have them. I already have a couple duo-fiber brushes (a little Crown Brush one, a Rite Aid Renewal stippling brush, and the Real Techniques stippling brush).

Not that many people had blogged about them already, but I was able to see a few pictures that convinced me that these were different from all the other brushes I owned. I went and ordered them on Ulta.com, since I wasn't sure if my local Ulta had them in stock and I couldn't take the risk...Oh boy, I sound crazy.

Revlon Baby Stick Review, aka Makeup Fail Alert

Since this blog is new, I thought I'd start out the first few posts as a roundup of my favorite products and not focus on the negative. BUT this one product I'm about to share is so new and SO BAD, that I have to let everyone know! Here we go...

Parabens in Foundations

Bye Bye, Paraben-filled Foundations!

April 2015 Update: This post has been updated with new purchases.

Lately I've been reading a lot of articles about the terrible effects of parabens in beauty products. Parabens have been used for decades as very effective preservatives in moisturizers, cosmetics, sunscreens, and deodorants, but in recent years, scientific studies have shown that parabens are absorbed into the skin and contribute to abnormal estrogen levels. So I went through all my foundations (most are drugstore) and checked the ingredients, either by looking on the back label or with some expert googling. Pro tip: Drugstore.com and Paula's Choice Beautypedia list most makeup products' ingredients.

One important thing to note is the order in which ingredients are listed. Most of these foundations list either Methylparaben, Butylparaben or other parabens towards the end of the ingredient list, which means there's very little percentage of those ingredients, compared with the things listed at the beginning of the list. Still, I thought this list would be useful.

The Best Eye Makeup for Blue Eyes: Warm Browns!

I recently picked up a few MAC eyeshadows that had been on my list for awhile: Satin Taupe, Soft Brown, Swiss Chocolate, and Texture. I started playing around with them as well as my new NYX Nude Matte shadow in Dancing the Tides, and put together a great set of colors to make my blue eyes pop!

This eye look would look great with any eye color, but the warm browns really complement blue eyes especially.

Easy Sparkly Brown Smokey Eyes with the Sleek Au Naturel Palette

I ordered a couple things from Sleek MakeUP (which is an awesome, affordable UK brand if you didn't know) and finally received my package in the mail today. What's the first thing I did? Play around with the makeup, of course! I have a super quick brown sparkly smokey eye look. 

Review: Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

 

Long time no blog — but I'm back!

I've been reading so many good things about Rimmel London's Wake Me Up foundation from British beauty gurus, yet Rimmel doesn't sell this particular product in the U.S. so I hadn't been able to try it. Lo and behold, Asos sells a bunch of Rimmel products that aren't sold here! Of course I had to get it. The only bad thing is that on Asos, it is definitely a lot more expensive than Rimmel products usually are (this cost me $15.24). I just received this in the mail, and tried it for the first time today.

Flower Beauty: Kiss Stick Velvet and High-Shine Lip Color Review

A few weeks ago, I heard that Drew Barrymore was launching a Walmart-exclusive beauty line. After serving as the face and Creative Director of Cover Girl for years, she and design and manufacturing firm Maesa Group partnered up to create color makeup products that were packaged and formulated like luxury brands, but with a drugstore price.

This past week, I was searching online for reviews to see what makeup gurus were saying. There have been a couple reviews so far on YouTube and on some blogs.  From what I gathered, early reviewers are loving the BB Cream, the lipsticks, the lip glosses, the loose powder, the liquid eyeliner and the nail polishes the most. As I live really far away from a Walmart, I was really just looking at buying online, but as I continued stalking Walmart.com's Flower Beauty Page, tons of things I wanted to get were starting to go out of stock. That got me nervous I wasn't going to have anything to try out and review, so today, I made the drive in the snow to Walmart to pick up some Flower Beauty makeup!

I have bought (and will review): 1 stick foundation, 2 lipsticks, 1 lip gloss, 3 nail polishes, 1 liquid eyeliner, 1 mascara, and 1 cream eyeshadow. I will break up my first impression reviews into chunks!

For the first review, here are the lipsticks!

L: Flower Kiss Stick Velvet Lip Color in Petal Kiss ($6.98)

& 

R: Flower Kiss Stick High-Shine Lipstick in Petunia Petals ($6.98)

My Makeup Collection in 6 Seconds

Late last week, Twitter launched Vine, an app and social network currently available for iOS devices. Think of using Vine like Twitter, just in video form. You have 6 seconds to play with.

Here's Twitter's blog post about Vine. Lots of early adopters are creating stop-motion mini works of art! Check out my first Vine post, my Makeup Collection in 6 Seconds :)

Makeup for Sick Days!

What a winter, huh? This flu season has been the worst in years, and this past week the arctic chill over the East Coast did not make things any better. I thought I had escaped unscathed until I woke up Friday morning with terrible cold symptoms. It got worse throughout the day and into Friday night, so I had to cancel my plans to join my boyfriend and his friends on a ski day trip Saturday. Yesterday, while my friends were having fun skiing, I cranked up the humidifier, turned on Bravo, and tried to get better. 

Usually when I'm sick at home, I don't have a lick of makeup on (what's the point?), but when I had to step out to Whole Foods for some lunch, I decided I would try to look the best I could. 

Here's are my top products for glowing, healthy-looking skin for even on your worst days.