Thursday, April 19, 2012

Review: Dotting Tool

Since I'm pretty much hopeless at doing my nails, I thought I'd try out the dotting tool from BornPrettyStore.com. I haven't come up with any breathtaking designs yet (haha), but let me show you what I did so far.


I used the dotting tool to make a snowflake design on my nail in a previous post in which I did some nail art using rhinestones. I've tried to do coloured tips with them too & even though it works to do nail tips, it takes too long to get a proper & even line & the tips aren't as smooth.


The cute dotting tools that I was sent for review came in a pack of 5. They are double ended with different sized heads/tip. The tools are easy to work with & the size of the dot will not only depend on which sized head you choose, but also on how much pressure you apply while using the tool. After using it once, I was cleaning the head off with a cotton ball that had some nailpolish remover on it & the whole silver part came off. It happened once again on another head, so I think they need to use stronger glue.

Even though these tools can be handy, they're only worth the $4.74 if you like coming up with creative nail designs or are planning on doing nail designs with a lot of dots. If you'd like to try these dotting tools, click here more information & you can use the code SAIMESEK31 to receive 10% off your order.

Do you do nail designs with a lot of dots? Is this a tool that you would find useful?
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Friday, April 13, 2012

Glamourizing Browns With Colour

When I started to do my eye makeup today, I knew I wanted to use brown eyeshadows. I started off by applying a lighter brown eyeshadow to the middle of the eyelid & then moved on to applying a darker brown shade on the inner & outer thirds of the lid & above the crease. I could've just left it there & it would have been a fairly simple look, but I decided to glamourize the look by adding colour. The pink goes well with the browns & the blue brought the look to life.

The look would be incomplete without bold, dark eyebrows & thick eyeliner. & of course, false eyelashes added to the whole glam factor as well.


In the picture below, the sun was shining through the window, which made me frown & look like I'm angry. I thought I'd include the picture since you can kind of see how the eye makeup would look on someone with hooded eyes. You have to remember that your eye shape might be different than mine so try to figure out what works best for you!


Products Used:

  • Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Original [lid till under the brow + tear duct area + lower lashline]
  • NYX Cosmetics' Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk [lid till under the brow + tear duct area + lower lashline]
  • BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CS01 [middle third of lid]
  • BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CM02 [inner & outer thirds of lid + crease]
  • BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in MM17 [outer third of lid + outer V + crease]
  • BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in WM08 [inner half of browbone]
  • BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in WM20 [outer half of browbone]
  • Sleek's Paraguaya iDivine Palette - Parfait [under the brow + inner corner]
  • Annabelle Cosmetics' Smudgeliner in Electric Sapphire [waterline]
  • BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CS18 [winged out on lower lashline + on top of eyeliner in the waterline]
  • BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CM20 [lower lashline - very close to the lashes + used to fill in the brows]
  • Maybelline Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner in Black [upper lashline]
  • L'Oreal Voluminous mascara in Carbon Black [upper & lower lashes]
  • False Eyelashes


Which colours would you use to glamourize your browns?
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Thursday, April 12, 2012

Review: BH Cosmetics Eye Brushes

I've been trying out 3 eye brushes by BH Cosmetics since the beginning of the year and I feel like I've used them enough to be comfortable to review them.

I wasn't sure if I'd like these brushes since I haven't heard much about them & also because they're priced pretty low, which made me wonder about the quality. I'll be reviewing each brush individually, but in general, I experienced very minimal shedding and I've washed these brushes 4 times already. I like that the handles don't have a shiny finish, however, I wish the handles had the names of the respective brushes on them. Also, it would be nice if the bristles were a bit softer.

The comparison pic shows a pencil & MAC 217 brush so you can tell how long the handles are & how big the bristles are.

Regular price: $3.95
"Equipped with impossibly soft, fluffy bristles, this elegant brush seamlessly blends your most glamorous color choices for eyes, cheeks, and brow bones. The ultimate effect? Exquisite" - BH Cosmetics

This brush is my favourite out of the 3. It works best when I'm blending colour on my browbone or above the crease. I've used this brush to apply & blend eyeshadow as a highlight on my cheekbones & on the bridge of my nose as well. Another great use for it is to set my under eye concealer & the concealer around my nose with powder. Even though this brush is multi-purpose, I've grabbed it the most on days when I'm in a rush & just want to add a dark brown eyeshadow to my crease for a bit of definition.
If you're not using a brush guard, its bristles splay a bit after a few uses, but that's the case with most fluffy blending brushes till you wash the brush & reshape it. This brush has only shed 1-2 bristles in the past few months.

BH Cosmetics Smudge Brush
Regular price: $6.95
"Smoldering beauties need just the right amount of glamorous eye shadow smudge. That's why we're so excited about our new smudge brush!" - BH Cosmetics

This is my least used out of the 3, but it happens to be the most dense. It works best to pack on the colour in the crease since it's a small dome shape. I've used it in the tearduct area, but I've found it a bit big for my liking. Personally this brush works well for me when I'm trying to pack on the colour in concentrated areas, but I like to blend the colour out with another brush. The main reason why I don't blend with this brush is because it's bristles aren't as soft since it's a smudge brush & not a blending brush. I mainly use it to pack colour because I prefer smaller brushes when smudging on the lower lashline. I don't smudge the eyeliner on my upper lashline, so I can't say how well this brush would work for that.
This brush hasn't shed at all.

BH Cosmetics Angled Shadow Brush
Regular price: $3.95
"Here's a new angle on beauty: now you can apply your favorite BH Cosmetics eye shadows with sleek precision. This brush's plush, silky bristles, crafted at a jaunty and oh-so-effective slant, make sure of it." - BH Cosmetics

This brush is pretty dense and I've used it the most while doing smokey eyes since it packs on the colour, but I can blend the colour upward with it too. I like using it with dark colours in the outer V because I can easily create a wing with the eyeshadow & use that as a guide. It works really well while packing colour in the crease, browbone, or under the brow. I've also used the tip of the brush to place eyeshadow in the tearduct area & that worked out fine. I like how the angle on the brush isn't too steep so I can use it to place colour in the crease area as well.
This brush shed 1-2 bristles in the past few months.

So those were my thoughts on the 3 brushes. The brushes were sent to me by BH Cosmetics & even though they were probably expecting me to review these a lot sooner, I wanted to test them out a little longer for shedding & quality, but they held up pretty well. As always, my opinions haven't been swayed & I am putting out this review after a few months of testing.
I've already posted a few looks using a customized palette from BH Cosmetics & I will be doing a review on that as well. For now, you can check out the products on their website, Facebook page, &/or Twitter & take advantage of their Birthday Sale (40% off  all 120 eyeshadow palettes).


Anyway, I think I'm just a little biased toward blending brushes in general. They also have a fan brush that I've been eyeing.
What kind of brushes do you like the most?
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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Trying Out the Colour Blocking Trend

On my last shopping trip I wasn't in the mood to shop. Instead, while browsing around at Winners, I saw a pink maxi skirt & decided I'll try out the colour blocking trend. I grabbed a few other things & headed for the fitting rooms. Here are the outfits in the order that I tried them on:


The colours are completely off in the pictures because of my phones non-flash camera & the fitting room lights.

I absolutely fell  in love with the first outfit & didn't want to take it off. I thought the outfit was fun & made me look younger. My mum thought it was a bit too circus-y with the yellow top, but it was definitely my favourite combination & the whole outfit is just under $100 (before tax, of course). I've included a little price breakdown of each item in the look.


I ended up buying the jacket since I can't resist a good winter coat, a jacket, or a blazer that fits well. I'm thinking of going back for the skirt & getting either this pink or another beige-ish colour by the same designer.


My phones camera really doesn't do the colours any justice. The green is actually a St. Patrick's Day sort of green & the skirt is a hot/dark pink, not red.

Which outfit do you like the best?
Have you tried this whole colour blocking trend yet? Do you like it?
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Sunday, April 1, 2012

#marchphotoaday challenge

If you're following me on Twitter or you have liked my Facebook page, you might have noticed that I've been posting images with the #marchphotoaday tag. If you don't know what it is, it's basically a challenge where you snap a picture per day based on the topic/word for the day. More info on the challenge can be found here.


The challenge was an excuse for me to log in to Twitter more & it worked! During March I tweeted more & interacted a lot more with people on Twitter than I ever have before. I've posted my pictures for the month below & each picture is linked to the respective tweet so you can check out the bigger picture &/or what I had to say about it. 


Is this something that you'd be interested in? The list for #photoadayApril is up if you'd like to join in on the fun. Let me know if you plan on participating in the challenge so I can check out your pictures too.
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