Looxi Beauty First Impressions

Does anyone else sit on google images for HOURS at night when you can’t sleep? Ok, maybe I am just the only weird one but I fight insomnia pretty bad so there are a lot of nights where I am just searching google images for different makeup related items. This is how Looxi Beauty waltzed into my life, I was up late searching google images for face highlighters and stumbled across their site. I decided to order 2 highlighters and 2 eye shadows just to try them and go from there. Their shipping is a little slow so you will have to be a little patient when you order. From what I understand they make each order as the orders are placed so they don’t keep a lot of pre stocked inventory which is why it takes a little longer than a normal online store. It was about 14 days after ordering when the order actually appeared in my mailbox. Alright, let’s get down to the actual products.
They do come just in the pan with a little envelope protecting it much like the Makeup Geek pans. They did have them all in a cute little organza bag (not shown) which was a nice touch.

The 2 top bigger pans are the highlighters in (L to R) Ever After and Goddess followed by the eyeshadow pans on the bottom (again L to R) in Nirvana and Lucky.

Let’s talk about the swatches. As you can see Ever After is much cooler than Goddess and has a slight pink and purple duochrome. I wore this tonight though and the duochrome is not obnoxious, it just looks like a cool toned highlight when applied with a lighter hand. You do have to be careful with both of these because they are really pigmented and it is easy to go overboard. I compared Ever After to the Dior Glowing Garden Pink Glow highlighter that I love so much and this isn’t near as pink but has more of a purple shift than the Dior. I also compared Goddess to Nars Tribulation because I thought maybe they were dupes but they aren’t. They are similar but Goddess has more of a duochrome appearance and the Nars isn’t nearly as intense on the skin. Both of these are beautiful, smooth, and very pigmented. Thumbs up on the highlighters for sure. Both shadows are pretty smooth although they are slightly drier than the highlighters. They swatched beautifully and I immediately popped a little bit of lucky over top of the shadow I already had on my lid. It went on without skipping or fallout so I think both of these will be winners too. I didn’t have time to really compare the shades to other things in my collection but if any of you are interested in seeing some comparisons I can certainly do that.

L-R Ever After, Goddess, Nirvana, Lucky

Overall I was pretty impressed! I did buy all 4 of the items mentioned with my own money and wouldn’t hesitate to order some more things from Looxi. It seems like a great Indie brand to me. Have you tried anything from the brand, if so is there anything that you feel like are must haves that I should pick up?

A Return to Blogging Featuring My Favorite Lazy Day Makeup Products

Can you believe it, I am actually back to the world of blogging! The extreme blogging hiatus was caused by a few things. First of all, I just couldn't keep up to posting as much as I would have liked so I just stopped all together. Secondly, there was a huge period of time where I really was just a little jaded by the beauty industry as a whole and wanted to take a step back. And then of course, we had a big move and our engagement which I could not be more thrilled about. Planning a wedding is stressful enough but I thought I might as well add blogging to that mix ;)

As I sat down to my vanity this morning to do what I like to call "the lazy day makeup" I thought some of you may be interested in seeing what products I use on days when I don't really have anywhere to go but I want to feel human. I happened to be working today (for those of you who don't know, I work from home) but I will be meeting a friend in a little while for my lunch break to take a little hike on some trails near my house. I don't need my makeup to last 12 hours, just a little something on my face to even out my complexion and make me feel halfway presentable. Below is a list of the products!

Complexion:
-The IT Cosmetics CC Cream in fair is my go to on days where I may need some sun protection or I just don't want to wear a heavy foundation. It has great coverage plus a physical sunscreen of 50SPF! Wearing this CC cream also allows me to skip moisturizer for the day which saves a little time too!

-Maybelline makes some of the best drugstore concealers on the market. I am a HUGE fan of their Age Rewind Concealer collection and slap the color fair on under my eyes all the time. It is a no brainer product for me that is opaque, blends well, and doesn't make my under eyes look like the Sahara desert.

-The Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder is also one of my staple under eye products. I take a sponge and just lightly give a good coat of powder over the concealer to really help it set and continue to brighten up under my eyes a little.

-My girlfriend Trisha over at aglitterylife.com (she also has an awesome youtube channel under the AGlitteryLife name), RAVED about the RCMA No Color Powder until I couldn't take it anymore and had to try it. You get a huge container for around $10 and it really is an amazing setting powder. I love it, and have used it everyday for about a month now.

-On days where I want just a tad bit more coverage I will also use the MAC Mineralized Skinfinish Natural in Light over the RCMA powder but lately my skin has been cooperating so I haven't needed that extra boost.

Color Products:
-For you fair girls that love a good contour powder you MUST check out the Pumpkin & Poppy Oak Bark powder that can be found on etsy. It is the perfect cool toned powder that can be subtly applied for lazy days or really built up for a strong contour on days where you want that chiseled look. Even round faces like mine can be perfected with a little of this magical powder.

-I can sometimes skip the bronzer on lazy days but on days where I do want a little color I typically reach for the Hourglass Luminous Light Bronzer. This stuff is potent on fair skin so be careful when you first dip your brush in it! It is not included in the picture because I skipped it today.

-It is no secret that I am a total blush junkie. It is probably my favorite makeup product ever and I tend to go a little overboard most days. Thanks to a sweet friend that gifted the Catrice Illuminating Blush in "I Am Nuts About You" I can go blush crazy even on lazy days without looking like a clown. If you haven't tried this blush out I highly suggest it and for the $5.99 you just can't beat it!

I skip highlighter on my lazy days but you could certainly add it in if you wanted to!

Eyes:
-The Giorgio Armani Eye Tints stole my heart last year and I still haven't been able to put them down. They are pricey but if you can manage to grab them at the Sephora 20% off sale it takes a little of the sting out of it. My go to shade is Cold Copper but Rose Ashes is really beautiful too! Just an easy all over wash of color on the lid that is blendable and almost makes your lids appear smoother. Who doesn't want that?!

-Lorac recently launched a new limited edition palette at Ulta called the Nude Necessities palette. It is a fair/light girls dream for an everyday neutral eye and a palette that I just keep reaching for. It has 6 matte shadows and 6 shimmer colors and truly everything you need for an everyday eye is included.

-In some previous blog posts you can read about my love for the IT Cosmetics YBBB Skinny pencil and the Tightline mascara. Both of which are absolute staples in my lazy day (actually my ANY day) makeup routine.

Writing all of those things out makes me realize how many items that actually is but I can do a complete face with all of those products in about 5 minutes.

What are you favorite lazy day makeup products? Do you have any blog posts that you would like to see in the future or any products that you would like me to review? Leave a comment letting me know, I look forward to hearing from you!

Laura Mercier Fall/Winter 2013 Artists Palette for Eyes

Well, hello beautiful little addition to my makeup collection! In case you are a makeup lover like me you already know that Laura Mercier has released a new Artist’s Palette for Eyes this fall/winter. For those of you asking “hey wait, didn’t Sephora carry an Artist’s Palette last year?” the answer is YES, but this one is different (and prettier in my opinion). While I love the one from last year (there is a side by side picture below) the new release seems much more wearable for my skin tone.

The palette from last years release is on the left and this years is on the right

Laura Mercier does a FANTASTIC job with shadows, especially mattes. I have never experienced such consistently soft, creamy, and blendable matte shades in any other line of cosmetics that I have tried even better than high end lines like Chanel, Guerlain, Dior, etc.

Here is a closer look at the shades


Color names from left to right on arm: Sparkling Dew, Guava, African Violet (this years version of this shade is MUCH creamier and better than last years!), Plum Smoke, KIR Royal, Violet Ink, Vanilla Nuts, Primrose, Fresco, Bamboo, Truffle, Espresso Bean

When comparing last years version of the palette to this years you will notice that overall there are a few more lighter shades in this years palette which I really love, plus the Fresco and Truffle shades are amazing crease and blending shades! I cannot wait to bring this on vacation to go back home next week for some easy yet pretty eye looks. The packaging is sturdy, pretty and it has a really awesome big mirror inside which is certainly a nice little detail.

You can pick this beautiful palette up at any Sephora store that sells the Laura Mercier line or online at Sephora.com for $48.