Halloween Nail Art Designs

Lately I've been posting my nail art on my tumblr page, but I figured it couldn't hurt to post some here. I did an entire nail wheel of Halloween designs and I'm pretty happy with it:

I also did these sugar skull designs on my own nails recently:

Let me know what you think! I love getting creative with nail art during the holidays. I don't go to parties or anything like that, so this is my way of getting festive. Oh, and if you are planning on using these images on your blog, please link back to my blog, thanks.

Lana Del Rey Ride Inspired Makeup

SO I recently saw the new Lana Del Ray Ride video, and I could not stop watching it! I've always been a big fan of hers, but this video blew me away. I just had to re-create the makeup, which was actually pretty simple. She didn't go for her usual winged liner and red-orange lips. The vibe of the video was about being free and not being held down, so I don't think heavy makeup would have worked for that. Of course she still has on big lashes, but overall it was a pretty simple look. Here is my interpretation:

I left the eyes pretty bare with just a bit of shading to accentuate the eye contours, and a smudgy gray on the lower lash line. I also used large lashes. The cheeks have a touch of a peachy pink blush and a teeny bit of a contour, as well as nude lips. It's not 100% like Lana but it's what I felt inspired to do. Here are some screen grabs from her video for reference:

Video Tutorial:

Tarte Airbrush Maracuja Blush Review

These blushes as far as I know are only available on the Tarte Website. I'm not sure why oit's not on Sephora, but maybe it'll pop up on there soon.

Here is what Tarte says:
A first of its kind! This creamy, long-wearing blush fuses the ease and blendability of a cream blush with the soft-focus and long-wear finish of a blush that has been airbrushed on the skin. The airsprun formula melts into skin, delivering a powerful dose of skinvigorating™ maracuja oil, and then dries down to a feather-light, long-wear flush with a subtle dewy finish. Awaken your complexion with a pop of maracuja-infused color on the cheeks and treat your skin to the repairing and hydrating properties of maracuja for a brighter and smoother complexion.

Both of these blushes have shimmer and tiny glitters to it. However, the shimmers aren't intense when you apply to the cheeks, they look nice! The texture of the blushes is much like Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blushes. They definitely have a bouncy feel to them. It's a cream-powder hybrid, kind of hard to explain unless you feel them yourself. The pigmentation is fabulous, not like the bouncy blushes at all. You can layer on for a brighter cheek, or use one layer for a soft pigmentation. I find fingers work best with this product, you can use a brush but I really feel fingers work better.

These definitely don't last as long as their amazonian clay blushes, so you might want to bring it with you during the day to touch up. After you apply it it feels satiny, not particularly dewy or matte. I really like them. $25 at Tarte.com

bareMinerals READY Eyeshadow 8.0 The September Issue Review

I'm in love! Let's have a lookie :)

I cannot describe how buttery and smooth these shadows are! I love how compact this palette is, and how it has a mix of neutrals and bright colors. The metallic teal color is my favorite. A bit pricey at $40 a pop, but I think worth it. All the shades are pigmented, the pink color does show up a bit more gold looking on the lids than pink though.

Stila in the Know Eye Shadow Palette Review

Okay here we go...

I took the swatches in two different lightnings to you could see them in natural and artificial light.

If you couldn't tell, these are completely matte shades. They are extremely buttery and easy to use. I love using these shades everyday. I had no pigmentation issues personally. Some shades are more opaque than others, but I like that for when I use certain shades to blend out the crease or add a bit of smokiness. The black is very richly pigmented!

I forgot to swatch the pencil, but it's a matte gray color, its very nice! This palette is really a must but for me. It's so hard to find richly pigmented matte shades that are easy to work with.

Here's a look I did with the palette:

Buxom Color Choreography™ Eyeshadow Review (Burlesque, Hip Hop, & Belly Dance)

I love colorful eye shadows, and it's a shame that the bigger makeup companies are more invested in selling neutrals. Ah in any case these eye shadows are great and I can't wait to review them!

Burlesque:

Hip Hop:

Belly Dance:

Let's start with Burlesque. I love pink eye shadows, they are actually my favorite color eye shadow and my skin tone can handle pinks. The satin hot pink in this palette is bright and opaque and I would use it to fade out the crease. The color in the middle is a matte gray that isn't super opaque but I think they did that on purpose. There is also a matte black with tiny silver glitters that I am really fond of as well. This palette is A+ in my opinion.

Hip Hop has a great mix of colors. A super bright gold, a matte navy with sparkles, shimmery gray, brown, and a matte baby blue. The outside colors are super vibrant, while the middle baby blue color is soft. Great for those who are just starting out using color.

Belly Dance is truly spectacular. The bronze color in this palette is so vibrant, it's my favorite shadow out of all the palettes. The purples are lovely and they go well with my brown eyes. The middle color in this palette is actually fairly pigmented, while the light lilac in the bottom left is soft and subtle. Another great palette.

Overall I quite like these palettes and I think you will too :) The only downfall I can see is that there aren't any nude brow bone highlights, but it's something I can deal with.

$36 @ Sephora