Eye Makeup Staple Items

For this post, I thought I'd recommend some of my favorite eye makeup products!

Mascara

Yves Saint Laurent Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils

$28.50 at Sephora.com

This mascara is amazing! It extends and gives volume to every lash. It's scented though, and some people may not like the smell. 

For a more everyday natural look, my favorite is:

Clinique Naturally Glossy Mascara

 $14 at Sephora.com

Applies beautifully and really makes your lashes open up for a natural look.

Eyeshadow

Eyeshadow base color: MAC Naked Lunch

$14.50 at MAC

I often do not repurchase the same eyeshadow color multiple times because one eyeshadow tends to last me a long long time. But I've already repurchased Naked Lunch a couple times. It's the perfect shade as an all-over eyeshadow base.

MAC Idol Eyes

$14.50 at MAC

Idol Eyes is one of the best colors from MAC I've ever purchased. It's a glittery lavender color. You can apply just a little to add some sparkle for an everyday look or add a lot to spice up a nighttime look. 

Too Faced Socialite

$16 at Sephora.com

Described as a "pink copper" shade, this pink is the perfect color to wear everyday. It's not metallic, not too sparkly, not too bright, and not too dull. One of my most frequently used eyeshadows.

Other colors that I love are: 

- MAC Black Tied (sparkly black shadow)

- MAC Mancatcher (lilac color)

- MAC Paradisco (pink-coral with pearl)

- MAC Nighttrain (shimmery dark gray)

- Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy (pink champagne with lots of silver glitter)

- Victoria's Secret Mink (shimmery copper)

Eyeliner

MAC Fluidline

$15 at Sephora.com

One of the best eyeliners I've ever used. Only downside is you have to apply with a brush - less portable than regular liners.

Urban Decay Liquid Liner

 

$18 at Sephora.com

Amazing liquid liner, but the packaging is terrible. 

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil

 

$17 at Sephora.com

Softer than a regular eye pencil, yet not a liquid liner. Easy to apply and stays on all day long. 

e.l.f. Waterproof Eyeliner Pen

$1 at elfcosmetics.com

For $1, this eyeliner pen is awesome! My first time using an eyeliner pen and this worked great. It's very easy to apply, but can fade throughout a long day or when you're sweaty. 

Other eye products

Benefit Gilded Highlighter

$20

This can be used on your cheeks and lips, but I use it primarily for my eyes. It's a gorgeous tequila gold shade with some shimmer. I can't find it on the Sephora or Benefit websites anymore, so I think it's discontinued. But I know it's still in some Sephora and Ulta stores right now!

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

$17 at Sephora.com

There's a reason why everyone in the world loves this primer. But Too Faced Shadow Insurance is great too! I love them both.

That's it! These are all my eye makeup staple items (:

Alice in Wonderland

To prepare for Alice in Wonderland's premiere on March 5th, 2010, many companies have released promotional products for the movie! Here are some of my favorites:

Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows

$52 at Urban Decay - sold out online!

Alice in Wonderland Collection by OPI

$8.50 each

Disney Couture 14K Gold Bracelet with Flowers in Purple Leather  

$102 at 80spurple.com

Alice Gold Suits Bracelet  

$130 at 80spurple.com

Stella McCartney Alice in Wonderland Necklace and Bracelet

 

$425 (necklace), $395 (bracelet) - available in February

Sue Wong for Walt Disney Signature

 

$329 - $609 

Alice in Wonderland Dream Tee

 $22 at Hot Topic

Taryn Rose ankle boots

My mom bought me these Taryn Rose ankle boots while I was out of town last week.

Apparently Taryn Rose used to be an orthopedic surgeon and founded this shoe company in order to make comfortable shoes (and yes, these booties are super comfortable!). They use cushioning inside the shoes and use lightweight material and Italian leather for the outside. These particular booties are also handmade.

They retail for $595, on sale at TarynRose.com for $297.50 -- but my mom bought them for $99 at Nordstrom Rack. It's a great deal, but I'm still debating on whether or not I should keep them...

Cheeseburger

Finally... a fat-free cheeseburger!

Another creation made from polymer clay (:

New layout!

New layout featuring the girls of 2NE1! This may be a temporary layout, but we'll see (:

Tutorial: Double-chained ribbon necklace

I made this simple necklace recently. I've seen a lot of necklaces lately with this kind of weaving pattern, so I thought I'd try to make one myself.

It's super easy to make! Mine hits about right at the chest. If you want yours longer or shorter, just adjust the length of your ribbon and chains. Here are the tools you'll need:

- Ribbon - about 1 yard

- Thick silver chain - 24 inches long (I used Jewelry Essentials Chain)

- Thin silver chain - 24 inches long (I used Jewelry Essentials Chain)

- Chain nose pliers

The first thing to do is weave the ribbon in and out of your thick chain. Make sure to leave some extra ribbon at each end so you can tie the ends into a bow.

Once you weave the ribbon all the way through, tie a knot to the end of the thick chain. Repeat for the other end. Tie the remaining ribbon into a bow. Then take your thin chain and open the end loop with your pliers. Attach the chain onto the end of the thick chain and close the loop. Repeat for the other end.

Now you have a simple double chain necklace! You can add more chains onto the necklace if you'd like. I was going to add a string of pearls, but I ran out of pearls! So I wore this necklace with my pearl necklace and the combination looked sophisticated yet edgy.

Hope you guys enjoyed this tutorial!

p.s. - if you guys have any suggestions on what I should blog about in the future, please let me know!

Beauty Review: Shiseido vs. shu uemura

First, I'd like to say thank you to anyone out there reading and to people who have commented or followed my blog! It's awesome to get a great response after only a week of blogging. This will definitely motivate me to keep blogging as often as I can. If there's anything specific you guys want me to blog about, leave a comment!

I'm doing another beauty review, but this time it's a battle between eyelash curlers: Shiseido vs. shu uemura.

These two eyelash curlers are two of the most popular. I've seen many people wonder which one is better, so I decided to do a beauty review comparing the two.

Shiseido was my first eyelash curler that I bought back when I just started experimenting in makeup at 15 years old. Six years later, I felt like it was time to buy a new one, so a couple weeks ago I received my new shu uemura curler in the mail from Sephora!

Back when I was 15, I did the same debate between Shiseido vs. shu uemura. I chose Shiseido because I had used their skincare products with success, and thought their products might be just as great.

$19 at Sephora.com

It's $19 and comes with one replacement pad. When I first used this, I thought it had a nice comfortable grip and was easy to use. With one squeeze, my short Asian lashes curled decently well. The eyelash curler worked even better when I squeezed once on the lashes near my lid and once again in the middle of my lashes. I used this curler for 6 years and always loved it.

The shu uemura curler is also $19 and comes with one replacement pad.

 

$19 at Sephora.com

The first thing I noticed when I used this was that the grip is not as comfortable as the Shiseido. It just didn't feel that comfortable in my hands. If you get a chance to hold both, you might know what I'm talking about... or maybe it's just me =X 

But when I used it, I definitely fell in love. With one squeeze, my lashes curled perfectly. Just one quick squeeze and my short lashes are curled up nicely for mascara. 

In my opinion, the shu uemura works better than the Shiseido, although they are both very similar. But maybe the Shiseido has upgraded their curler since I last bought it 6 years ago! Either way, you won't be disappointed with either one. My preference is the shu uemura, but yours might be different!