Review: Sephora Color Flip Palette

SEPHORA COLOR FLIP PALETTE
A travel-sized, colorful, layered palette. It has three layers: eyeshadow, lip color, and cheek color.

EYESHADOWS Range from purples to neutrals to blues and greens. Unfortunately, the quality is uneven. I found the two matte shades on the far left to have the strongest pigmentation and the purples to have the weakest. With a base and a firm hand, I was able to "make them work!"

LIP COLORS A fun range of mostly fall-themed shades; there are neutrals, berries and even bubblegum pinks. My favorites are pictured in the second row from the top; a sheer, shimmery neutral brown and a vamp deep berry.

CHEEK COLORS Supposedly one is a bronzer, but I find the two shades to be more of a highlighter (left) and a blush. The highlight is pink-toned with shimmer; the blush is a lovely deep rosey color, but is unfortunately a total glitterbomb. I don't mind it so much, but some might.

OVERALL The quality is lacking in places, but it's a cute idea and encourages me to try new color combinations. It's compact and easy to toss into a purse.

TO BUY Sephora, $15.

What do you think of the Color Flip palette?
Love, Val

PS - Sorry for the long, long break - school has gotten really overwhelming. I've missed blogging so much and am glad to be back!

May Faves!

For me, May has been a month of glowy, fresh skin with subtle eyes and coral lips. On to the faves!

FACE
Stila Tinted Moisturizer is an illuminating, glowy start to any makeup look. I love its barely-there coverage; just enough to even out the complexion.
I like to follow up with a tiny dot of Stila Perfecting Concealer, which covers blemishes and redness beautifully.
Atop the cheeks I apply Revlon Colorstay Brighten Finishing Powder for a sheer highlight - right above whatever blush or bronzer I wear that day.
EYES
I adore this $1 e.l.f. "Day 2 Night" Quad; the pigmentation is excellent and the colors are fab. I use the cream shade on my lid with the taupe brown blended through the crease.
LIPS
I like to finish off the look with Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in Coral Reef for a glossy coral finishing touch!

This is my 1st anniversary for my favorites posts! Read last May's here.
Have an excellent day!
Love, Val

Rosy & Frosty: A Tutorial

Hey guys! First, thanks so much for following my blog and entering my giveaway!!

Second, I have a tutorial for you all! It's a super-quick way to embrace the season. I like to think of it as a caught-up-in-a-snowstorm look. Enjoy!

1) Foundation. I like to skip powder for a nice dewy finish in winter. (Revlon Colorstay in Nude mixed with moisturizer)

2) Rosy stain. Time for a winter flush! Add the liquid stain to your cheeks, temple, lips, and even the outer corner of the eyelid for an allover rosy look. (Benefit's Benetint)

3) Now, to incorporate the frost! Dust shimmery white shadow all over the lid. I also used mine on the bridge of the nose, tops of cheek bones, and cupid's bow for some facial highlighting. (Sephora Mono eyeshadow in Aspen Summit)

4) Add mascara. For fun and a twinkly surprise, I added more of the white shadow to the tips of my lashes afterwards. (L'Oreal Telescopic clean definition in black)

5) Finish off your lips with balm to protect from the harsh winter dryness! (eos lip balm in sweet mint)

Done! You should look rosy and frosty, and you can be out the door in five minutes with this one.

All for now-
Love, Val

How To: Highlight, Blush, and Contour

Enter my giveaway if you haven't already!

  Hello readers! I hope your summer is going well. So today I have a bit of a tutorial for you all on cheek makeup - highlight, blush, and contour. You can do all three things with an angled blush brush; I use the MAC 168, but Sigma, Essence of Beauty, and Sephora carry angled blush brushes too. I only got the brush in the first place because I knew if I was going to invest in a MAC brush, it needed to be multifunctional, and the 168 seemed like the best choice. (If you don't own an angled blush brush, any ordinary blush brush will do.) So without further ado - the tutorial!

1) Contour. Find the hollow of your cheek (the slightly concave area next to your ear) and follow it for about two inches. (If you have no hollow just follow the line from the top of your ear to your mouth.) This is the line you'll want to contour along. Dip your angled brush into a matte bronzer a few shades darker than your skintone - I used Benefit Hoola - and contour along that line. Use your fingers to blend until the line appears natural when in full view. Your face will now appear slimmer and better structured - the contour gives the illusion that your cheekbone is casting a shadow. Cool, huh?

2) Blush. Clean your brush on a paper towel and this time dip it into the blush of your choice (I used Benefit Coralista). Smile to find the apples of your cheeks, and using short downward strokes apply the blush all along your apples and up to your temples. Be sure not to put the blush too high and blend with your fingers if necessary. This will bring a dose of color to your cheeks.

3) Highlight. Clean your brush again, but now select a highlight color. For light skin tones, I'd recommend a pink-toned highlight; for medium skin, more of a champagne color; and for darker skin, a golden highlight. I like Naked Lunch eyeshadow by MAC. Pick up some product again and sweep it across your cheekbones at a 45 degree angle, right on top of the blush. This will add a healthy glow to your face.

Done!

Hope you liked the tutorial! I've been loving putting emphasis on cheek makeup lately and hope you try it out.

Love, Val