Mint Chocolate Chip~an FOTD

Hey internet!  So funny story, I was bored with the same, neutral way I've been doing my makeup, so I turned to Reddit to get me out of my rut.  I got a lot of inspiration from the ladies over there, therefore inspiration+being bored on a Saturday afternoon=what I like to call Mint Chocolate Chip.  And here it is:

Just a heads up, this post is going to be picture heavy.  This is the Instagram version of this look.  In other words, I put a little filter on it.  Here are some other angles with a little less filter.  I only like taking FOTD pictures in natural lighting, and it happened to be 5 P.M. when I did this, so lets use our creativity and imagine that there is better lighting that actually exists, okay? Great! Let's do this.

What's in my MAC pallette?!?

What's up, Internet?  I know it's been a hot minute.  My excuse is: first week of classes.  I think that sums it up enough.  Now that I have a long weekend, I'm going to give your eyes what I promised (actually I it was a hint, but whatevs) back in my first post:  a look into my MAC palette.  These kind of "What's in my __" blog posts and YouTube videos are some of my favorite to view because I like to see swatches and pictures of things...and well, I'm a nosy person.  OK, let's do this

Bascially, the way I organize my MAC shadows is bottom-to-top, most worn to wear when I'm feelin' risky.  There's a tiny bit more to it, which I will explain later, but that's basically the mentality.  Picture time!

So let's start out with the first (bottom) row.  I house all of my lighter, highlighter-y, base-type shades.  I reach for these a lot because I'm a fan of the light, shimmery shades.  They're my favorite.  So I'm going to show swatches, shade descriptions, and share my faves of the bunch. I would say most used, but those will be pretty obvious from the pictures.

First Impression: Maybelline Lash Sensational

Hey internet!  So yesterday I tried out two new and exciting products from the drugstore.  I have plans to continue playing with one of them, but for the other, I thought I would do my first ever first impression on.  That product (as you could tell by my clever title) is Maybelline's newest mascara, the Lash Sensational.  I'm a huge mascara fan and love Maybelline, so when this released I was beyond excited to give this one a shot.  Enough with the small talk, let's get down to business with the basics.

Maybelline Lash Sensational in Blackest Black

First of all, isn't the packaging beautiful?  I'm not usually one to gush over packaging but I love how pretty and polished the black looks up against the light metallic pink.  I picked this up at Target where it retails for $6.99.  However, I snagged a coupon from the Sunday paper (I think it was in RedPlum) for $3 off this specific mascara, so I ended up paying $3.99- talk about a good deal!  Now let's take a closer look at the brush on this~

This brush curves outward on the bottom with longer bristles while the top side curves inward with shorter bristles.  Both sides fan out toward the handle and taper toward the tip of the brush. The shape of this brush is very similar to Loreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara.  The formula is pretty wet, but slightly thinner than the Loreal.  Also, the tube does a much better job at cleaning off the brush than the Butterfly, which helps with clumping and allows for more steady building. Now for the demo, here is my left eye with my naked lashes (curled).  I included a picture of my eye open to show the length of the lashes, and then closed to show volume.

Naturally, I have decently long lashes that aren't super thick, but aren't sparse either. As you can see, they are a light, dirty blonde color.  Usually mascara alone isn't enough to darken them at the roots, but that isn't a concern of mine.  My lashes tend to work better with semi-wet, but not super thin formulas.  Maybelline The Falsies and Covergirl Clump Crusher are good examples of the kind of formula I'm trying to describe.

Soft and Gentle vs. Blush Gems

Hey internet!  I recently saw a swatch of THE cult classic Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle by MAC on Pinterest.  This wasn't just any swatch, but it was a double swatch comparing it to an e.l.f. alternative known as the Baked Highlighter in Blush Gems. This sparked my interest in conducting further investigation.  So that I did.

I'm an avid Skinfinish collector.  I have ten, nine of which are limited edition shades.  I admit, I have a problem and a weakness for their shimmery gorgeousness. I've been looking into acquiring for a while, but I'm all about cheaper alternatives- if I can find something that looks the same and works just as well or even better, I'll get it and be excited about it.  This is a great example of that, and since I can't contain my excitement anymore, lets get started!

e.l.f. Baked Highlighter in Blush Gems

Blush Gems, Swatched

My Hypothetical New Year's Eve Makeup

Happy New Year, internet! I don't know about the rest of the world, but I had a pretty crazy year and I'm really looking forward to this next one.  2015...It's going to take me until probably April to start consistently writing /15 on everything I have to date.  I hope I'm not the only one...

Anyways, I know It probably would have made more sense to put this up yesterday, but better late than never right?  So basically what made me decide to do this was an e.l.f. Instagram contest.  This contest entailed posting a picture of your NYE (New Year's Eve) look.  To be totally honest, I spent NYE on my couch, in a robe with minimal makeup.  This is where the "hypothetical" in the title gets its name, because I probably would have worn something like this if I partook in more exciting activities last night.  Here's what I came up with:

The "Hypothetical Look"