Clinique Superbalanced Powder Makeup & Bonus

My friend and I had a pretty long and stressful work week so we decided we were going shopping on Friday. I think we both knew we were going to be spending quite a bit but then again, didn't mind too much because we wanted to spoil ourselves. She got a little postcard from Clinique advertising their bonus gift they were giving away at Macy's with any purchase at their counter over $21.50. At first I was set on not getting any makeup from there because I didn't necessarily need anything. We ended up getting our face color matched for their Superbalanced Powder Makeup. I budged and ended up buying it haha. So below is the Clinique bonus. I can't believe all of the stuff that was part of the gift. I think its retail value is about $67! There were two choices and I chose the one below because of the eyeshadow colors.

The cosmetic bag is so cute. I love the spring design on it. It also came with a smaller bag and you could definitely fit mascara, lip balm, and lipstick in it.

So as part of of the bonus you get the following:

2 bags,

High Lengths Mascara

Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion

Even Better Skin Tone Correcting Moisturizer SPF 20

Raspberry Glace lipstick

and Color Surge Eyeshadow Duo in Strawberry Fudge.

I'm not really sure if I'm going to use the moisturizers because I got really bad reactions with their skincare line a long time ago and promised myself I would never try it again. My face just ended up stinging real bad and turned red all over.

[Shade 03 Natural]

This uses the same technology as the Smashbox powder where it shaves off a certain amount of powder. This gives you fresh powder for every application which I think is so clever. It says on the directions that one click should be enough for one face application, but I don't even do one entire click! I do such a tiny amount because a little goes a long way. I used it this morning only using a tiny amount and it seriously gave me full coverage. I'm not used to full coverage because I don't really need it. I only use foundation/powder for evening out my skin tone. This also claims to control oil, but I'm not too sure about that yet since I have only used this twice. I will try it out for a couple of weeks and get back to this issue.

[eyeshadow duo in Stawberry Fudge, no specific shade name so i'll refer to them as pink and brown]

[swatches from top to bottom: Raspberry Glace lipstick, pink e/s, brown e/s]

The lipstick is a great berry color and it's perfect for the spring season! The e/s colors are really pretty and soft. The pink shade reminds me of NARS Orgasm blush in the case but it is a peachy gold-pink color and the brown color is just a soft brown that is perfect as a crease color or alone.

Bang for Your Buck: Sally Girl Eyeshadows

I usually prefer MAC or Urban Decay eyeshadows because they are the best I have tried. They are creamy and super pigmented, but quite expensive. I have pretty much stopped buying drugstore brand eyeshadows because I felt like I was wasting money not getting the color payoff that I wanted. I do love buying drugstore brands for other makeup items though!

Anyway I happened to watch a Youtube video on some eyeshadows from Sally Beauty Supply. I was really surprised by the pigmentation and the most surprising thing was the price. Get ready ladies, 99 cents. I was quite hesitant at first but I thought, why not try it? It's only 99 cents. Plus, they got some good reviews on MakeupAlley. So off to Sally Beauty Supply I went. And I came home with these cuties.....

[single eyeshadow]

[I connected the 3 e/s that I bought to make a trio]

[left to right: Champagne, Cinnamon, Brick]

[interlocking grids to connect the eyeshadows]

[pretty good pigmentation for 99 cents huh?]

I really like the idea of the interlocking grids so I could connect the eyeshadows. I am going to keep them connected because they are pretty small and I like the color combination. Each eyeshadow pan is 1.1 grams. For reference, a MAC eyeshadow pan is 1.6 grams. The value of these Sally girl eyeshadows are absolutely amazing. There were a ton of colors at the store and I believe a few formulas as well. The three I got are frosts. I don't know if all the formulas will have the same color payoff as the frosts though. Mattes are a definite hit or miss, but for the unbeatable price, there's some room for experimenting. Go check out your local Sally Beauty Supply Store for this bang for your buck.

My Favorite Products

CLEANSER: Murad's Energizing Pomegranate Cleanser

I feel like this cleanser really gets the makeup, oil, and dirt off my face. The bottle says it helps tightens pores and while my pores have not disappeared(which would be awesome!), I personally feel like it has reduced the size of my pores. In addition, it smells lovely and I love that its a foam cleanser! Great for removing eye makeup without any stinging!

MOISTURIZER: Zakia's Argan Oil

I use this stuff every morning after I wash my face. It's done wonderful things for my skin. Like I said in previous posts, using oil to moisturize scared me at first because I thought I would end up looking like an oil slick by the end of the day, but it has been the complete opposite. This oil has made me less oily throughout the months and my skin could not be happier. I want to try and use it on my hair next! My hair tends to get pretty dry at the ends, so I may start applying this on my damp hair.

TINTED MOISTURIZER: Neutrogena's Healthy Skin Enhancer Tinted Moisturizer

I needed something that offered a little bit of coverage and some SPF and what can I say, this "makeup" is a blessing. It contains SPF 20 and retinol which are great for the skin. I guess why I love this so much is because it makes my skin glow without me having to cake on makeup. It also prevents my skin from getting too oily throughout the day. I hope they don't discontinue it!

BLUSH: Flirt! in Pink Tutu

I won this blush from Makeupforlife. I thought it was a bit too sparkly when I opened it the first time but I use this about 4 times a week. It works with my complexion so well and gives a great flush to my cheeks. I have read from other blogs, that this is a NARS Orgasm dupe. I don't intend to buy NARS because I feel its a bit overpriced, but if you could save a bit, I would suggest trying Flirt's version. FYI: Flirt is pretty much a dupe for MAC because they are owned by MACs owner, Estee Lauder.

[This picture puts the shade to shame. Its actually looks more like a dark plum in person]

LIPSTICK: MAC Amorous

A perfect shade in my opinion! It's hard to explain but its a lovely mauve color. I like to wear it alone or wear it with my favorite lip gloss, Revlon's Life a Peach. MAC lipsticks are my favorite because they have that great light flavor of vanilla, offer a great range of colors and finishes, and long-lasting.

Now, to you guys....What are some of your all time favorite products? Leave me a comment and let me know :)

Shoe Craze

I was never that into heels because I never really had to wear them. 23 years of going to school, the last thing I wanted to think about was wearing heels. I mean walking around trying to get to classes that were too far away from one another in heels? The simple thing was to wear a good pair of Vans or flip flops and everything was dandy.

Now that I actually have a job and have to wear work attire, pumps come in super handy. For one thing, it helps to have that height advantage to avoid getting work pants hemmed. Plus, pumps look good with slacks and a good pencil skirt. I'm not obsessed with shoes but I do like to have a few good pairs to choose from. Lately, my black peep toe pump has been painful to wear because the toe area is a bit tight and I've been getting blisters. So I have been searching for its replacement and its been tough. The mall hasn't been offering what I want so I turned to online shopping.

I found a pair of dark gray suede Bandolino pumps on Zappos.com and couldn't resist. I have been getting some overtime hours this week so I figured, why the heck not! I've been wanting to get some gray pumps instead of the basic black because it's still neutral enough to wear with any color. I'm so excited to get these in the mail, but hopefully they fit! Some reviewers stated that they tend to run a bit big and recommended getting them a 1/2 size smaller. They better fit because the size I ordered was the smallest size they sell. Crossing my fingers!

This whole shoe thing may just end up becoming an obsession. Too many cute shoes but I have to watch how I spend my money.

UPDATE:

I wore them for the first time today at work and I can not believe how comfortable they were! It's love! They are about 4 inches high but the platform totally helps! Did I mention they were really cute? I want this shoe in so many colors!

Face of the Day

Sorry for the lack of updates. I know it's been weeks. I wanted to share my face of the day. This is actually the makeup I wore into the office today. It's pretty neutral but I wanted a pop of green so I decided to wear a nice olive green eyeliner. I like to sneak in a pop of color once in awhile so my makeup isn't so boring. It's really easy to add a pop of color when you have a neutral eye because then you can always line your eye with a dark blue, teal, purple, or green. Just have fun and experiment. This look is pretty quick and probably only took 7-10 minutes.

Products used:

FACE

-Neutrogena Healthy Skin Enhancer Tinted Moisturizer in Neutral to Tan 40 (I love this!)

-Everyday Minerals Start to Finish Bronzer

EYES

-Urban Decay Primer Potion

-Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Toasted

-Sephora Waterproof eyeliner in Olive

-Nivea Volume Impact Mascara (from Germany)

LIPS

-Carmex

-Revlon Lipgloss in Life's A Peach