FOTD: Black Radiance 8-pan palette in Downtown Browns

Happy Monday, lovelies! I don't typically wear purple-y shades, but I woke up with a little extra pep in my step this morning and decided to use the lovely Black Radiance 8-pan palette in Downtown Browns. The colors are more on the purple side than brown, but are equally as gorgeous! I also busted out some products I don't use much, like my Almay liquid liner in Brown Topaz and Loreal Colour Juice gloss in 500 Watermelon Crush.

Face: Revlon Colorstay foundation in 150 Buff, Hard Candy Glamoflauge heavy duty concealer in Light and Maybelline Age Rewind Eraser in Brightener.

Cheeks: ELF blush in Fushia Fusion and Wet-n-Wild highlight in Reserve Your Cabana.

Eyes: Black Radiance 8-pan palette in Downtown Browns (left side), Almay liquid liner in Brown Topaz, Covergirl Professional Super Thick Lash mascara in Very Black and Loreal Volumnous Carbon Black mascara over the CG one.

Lips: Loreal Colour Juice lip gloss in 500 Watermelon Crush. 

Julie G Nail Polishes: Fairytale, Julie's Fave, Gelato in Venice and Birthday Suit

About a week or two ago I mentioned in my Rite Aid haul that I picked up a few of the Julie G nail polishes for BOGO half off. This was the first time trying these polishes and I must say, I am impressed. The colors are so beautiful and the color pay off is great, too. As you can tell, I am so over this drab cold weather, so I opted for spring time colors. The colors I choose are Julie's Fave, Fairytale, Gelato in Venice and Birthday Suit. The nail polishes are $3.99 at Rite Aid or can be purchased from Jessie's Girl Cosmetics. 

The Nail Polishes...

Julie's Fave.

A coral color that can look a bit more orange in the right light.

Fairytale.

White based lilac. 

Birthday Suit. 

A neutral pale pink with peachy tones.

Gelato in Venice. 

A true mint.

Dupes or Similar Colors?

Index and ring are Julie G's Fairytale. Middle and pinky are Sally Hanson's Lacey Lilac. These colors are not dupes by any means. They are in the same color family, but the Sally Hanson one (the darker of the two) is a true lilac and the Julie G one is more of a white based lilac. Please forgive the sloppy painted nails. I was in a hurry, as you can tell. #NoJudging 

Index and ring finger are Julie G's Gelato in Venice. Middle and pinky are Sally Hanson's Mint Sorbet. These look exactly the same on the nail. I love a great mint polish and as you can tell, I am in need of a new one because I have worn the Sally Hanson one to death. I will say though, I prefer the formula of the Sally Hanson one over the Julie G one because it last longer and doesn't chip as easily.

♥

Daily Dose of Pretty...

• Troy did the Harlem Shake last week. In the beginning of the video, I am in the white jacket sitting with the girl in the green shirt. 
• My Spring Break is in 9 days...but who's counting?! Lol
• I have been up since 5 am and may crash soon!

What Julie G nail polishes would you recommend?

First Impressions: Black Radiance Downtown Browns and Full Effect Mascara

I saw this little jewel in Wal-Mart today and picked it up because I saw Emily Noel (from Beauty Broadcast) talk about it on her blog. 

Downtown Browns

I had seen the palette in CVS a long time ago, but passed on it because I wasn't sure about the quality. If you're a fan of the Wet-n-Wild eyeshadows like I am, then you'll love these! I love that the shades are neutral, but some are plumy-neutral. The brand claims that there are "8 ultra-pigmented shades in matte, pearl, metallic and shimmer." Although I do love the colors, there are no matte shades in this palette. I was thinking the third shade on the right (the purpley-plum shade) would be the matte one, but I find it to be a satin finish.                   

Maybe you can get a better idea of how they capture the light with both pictures.

Ride Side...

Without Flash.

*Note: I know the last two shades look matte in the picture, but they are a satin.*

With Flash.

Left Side...

Without Flash.

With Flash.

*Seriously, how gorgeous are these shades?!*

Full Effect Mascara

I've never tried any of Black Radiance's products before, but I am very curious to try this mascara. The claim is that it "instantly volumizes and defines lashes" and that it's "infused with Shea Butter and Argan Oil." I have really high hopes for this mascara because we all know how wonderful Shea butter and argan oil are. The brush has long spikes on it so hopefully it will work to really separate the lashes. 

♥

Daily Dose of Pretty...

• It's been a hell of a weekend! I have three tests and a paper due this week, so I was super busy with school. Come on, May!
• I went to Ulta today and bought two of the Stay With Me lip glosses by Essence. I got Kiss Kiss Kiss (the red) and Pretty Witty (the hot pink). Look for a review soon!
• I had a wonderful chat with my grandma today! Can't wait to go home and spend time with family!

What do you think of the Black Radiance palettes? What would you recommend from the line?

Review: Milani Purple Gleam & Sale Alert

Just a heads up, CVS is having a clearance sale...50-75% select items! I saw the sale on Nouveau Cheap's blog. The link will be below. You might want to scan the sale items before you check out because some of the sale items on the list were not on sale at my CVS.

I ended up buying four Milani nail polishes, the Revlon Colorstay concealer in light and a backup of my favorite light, Wet-n-Wild's single shadow in Brulee. I got all this for $9.06 with $22.93 in savings.

Whenever I got home I decided to try Milani's One Coat Glitter in Purple Gleam. I have been obsessed with purples lately, literally cannot get enough!

The polish...

One Coat. 

I really wanted to put this polish to the test since it's called one coat. On my index and ring finger I'm only wearing one coat of the glitter polish. On my middle and pinky finger I'm wearing Wet-n-Wild's Disturbia (a deep purple) as a base and one coat of Purple Gleam, Honestly, one coat of Purple Gleam alone doesn't cut it for me. I do, however, like the purple base with the glitter over it. Hopefully it will be easier to get off because there isn't as much glitter on that nail. 

Two Coats.

I have two coats on all the nails and I think they all look the same. In the future, I will use the Disturbia as a base and only one coat of the glitter polish because I don't think it makes that big of a difference and I don't have an extra layer of glitter to get off. 

Overall Thoughts...

I think this is a beautiful true purple glitter polish. Obviously the one coat claim isn't entirely true, but with either a base coat or two glitter coats, it's just perfect. I do reccommend this polish to anyone wanting to try it. It's gorgeous on the nails...and it's only $1.25 at CVS right now!

Glitter is tough to remove so use the foil method to remove this (or other glitter) polishes.

Daily Dose of Pretty...

• I am overly excited about my wonderful deals from CVS!
• Ross' Christmas present came in today and the nail polish I ordered for myself came in too. What a pleasant surprise since it came a few days early! 
• I had a study session with a friend from class and I feel a little bit better about our final tomorrow. We met at Starbucks and I had the Gingerbread Latte (which is delicious), but since I don't drink things with caffeine, I'm a bit jittery. Lol

Click here to see the CVS clearance list on Nouveau Cheap's blog.


Which Milani polishes do you like?! (: