My first Stila look and my weekend retrospective :-)

Sooo, I didn't do a Stila look over the weekend. Actually, I didn't wear any makeup whatsoever over the weekend. I didn't do my nails, I didn't get fancy and I didn't leave the house. Sound fun? I agree. What I did do was continue to recuperate from this nasty little upper respiratory infection I've had for almost 3 weeks now. Though I'm feeling a lot better, I'm still not 100%. I'm hoping that by the end of this week I'll be back to my old self :-)
I also did a lot of reading, planning and talking to my Sun (I hope something sank in). I also spent too much time worrying about my BFF. He spent  lot of time with me while I was sick doing a little care-taking so I was fearful that he would contract my virus. On Saturday (I think) he told me he felt the beginnings of something (cringe) and that really worried me. That's how it all started for me. I'm hoping and praying that he won't get bogged down the way I was...this virus is no joke. On to the next...




Despite not using my new Stila palette all weekend, I did glance at it lovingly a few times, lol. Because I was all hyped up about my Apothica purchases coming so quickly I did a little shopping so the Stila and the Sheseido would have some new company, lol. Here's what I bought...

More Sephora...

Though I wanted to try out Orgasm by Nars, I just wasn't ready to pay $26 for one blush. Instead, I got this Sephora blush in Bronze Sensation (a shimmery rosey bronze), Abricot Plaisir (a shimmering natural apricot) and Peche Tendre (a matte warm light pink). The names are soooo extra though, I mean really. How am I supposed to pronounce them, lol. Anyway, I'm thinking that I can probably use these blushes to recreate Nars Orgasm. If not, I still have 3 pretty blushes as opposed to 1. I hope the colors look good on me.

Next I bought this Sigma F15 Duo Fibre Face Brush. Since I bought those pretty new blushes I knew I would need a decent blush brush. I actually meant to get the F50 but I'm hoping this brush will be just as good. I already have the Sigma eye brush kit and a small contour brush and am quite pleased with their quality. These brushes were mos def a worthwhile investment.




Last but no least, I bought a lot of stuff from ELF. I won't post pictures because it would take too long so I'll just list what I bought....


7 Luscious Liquid Lipsticks (I love these!) in Pink Lemonade '06, Bark, Maple Sugar, Caramel Candy, Brownie Points, Cherry Tart and Ruby Slipper


Eyelash curler, brow comb/brush and 2 eyelash/brow wands


The blush/bronzer duo that's supposed to be a dupe of Nars Laguna/Orgasm

A blush/highlighter called Gotta Glow


The 100 eyeshadow palette


The ELF Studio Treat&Tame in Dark


2 Mineral Lipsticks in Bare Brown and Prime Plum


And an ELF Essentials Lipstick called Fantasy


I probably don't need all the ELF stuff but I wanted it...so I got it, lol. There's just something so addictive about makeup and makeup tools...it's like...you can never have enough, lol. What say you? At any rate, I can't wait until all my goodies show up so I can play :-)


And now for my FOTD featuring my first Stila look...

1-24-11 FOTD = Stila Pale Pink shadow from upper lash line to browbone, Stila Dusty Rose shadow blended from upper lash line to crease, Stila Aubergine on upper lash line, L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Mascara in Black on lashes, Sephora Flashy Liner in Flashy Ultra Brown smudge on waterline & lower lash line, Milani Blush in Sunset Beach on cheeks and Mabelline ColorSensational Lipstain in Bit of Brown topped with ELF Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Maple Sugar on lips.

That blush application looks really bad to me but oh well...still learning. During the process of creating this look I wasn't sure I could pull it off and I wasn't quite sure I liked it. It's one of the looks from the booklet that came with the palette. All of the models in the booklet are white so I wasn't quite sure how the look I chose (let alone any of the others) would translate on my brown skin. In the end, I thought it was okay. The shadows give great color payoff and were pretty easy to work with. I noticed that the darkest color I used (Aubergine) was very powdery. I guess that's just the case with some shadows whether they're high end or not. All in all, I did okay and the look grew on me as the day went on. 

Here's the look and shadows I used...

You can clearly see which colors I used: Pale Pink, Dusty Rose and Aubergine. I don't really agree with all the names though...they don't always fit the colors.

As an experiment I used Too Faced Shadow Insurance on my right eye and the ELF Mineral Primer on my left eye. I wanted to see if there was really a difference between how well these two primers worked. TFSI is $18 at Sephora ($17.80 at Apothica) and the ELF Mineral Primer is $3 on the ELF website. Here is a picture of the look at around 10 AM...

I'm pointing to the TFSI eye. See how bright and clownish that blush looks? It's actually a combo of Desert Rose by NYX and Sunset Beach by Milani.

And here it is at around 11 PM...

Side by side close up comparison...

So thought there's some color fade, neither eye has obvious creasing. The ELF eye shows a little more wear and the beginnings of some creasing, but not enough to be glaringly obvious. 


Things I like about the ELF Mineral Primer:


It's thicker, blends out easily, works just as well as more expensive primers, long lasting, no drastic creasing even after 12 hours of wear, no smell and not as greasy as some primers I've tried. 


Things I dislike about the ELF Mineral Primer:


The container is cumbersome and will present a problem when trying to get all the product out. Shadow color fades as time goes by.


Things I like about TFSI:


Prevents creasing, comes in different shades and packaging will allow for removal and use of all product.


Things I dislike about TFSI:


The price, greasy feeling, product separates in tube and comes out messy, takes a while to blend out, the smell and color fades.




The $3 primer wins in my book. That's all folks!