Too Faced Lip Insurance + Revlon Kissable Balm Stain = Power Pout

I figured out how to really make Too Faced Lip Insurance work. With Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in Smitten, it lasted almost through the entire work day.

Too Faced Lip Insurance

Revlon-Just-Bitten-Kissable-Balm-Stain-in-Smitten

Revlon-Just-Bitten-Kissable-Balm-Stain-in-Smitten

Revlon-Just-Bitten-Kissable-Balm-Stain-in-Smitten

 So here's what you do:

• Apply a thin coat of Too Faced Lip Insurance and wait for it to dry. It will start to feel tacky.
• Put the lippie of your choice over the top.
• The Just Bitten Balm stain in Smitten worked really well with this!

I really hope this works for you as well as it did for me.

Try it out yourself and see how long your lip color can last! Let me know how it goes, and comment below. Tell me what you used.

Do you use lip primer? What works for you?

Cheers!

Julep Maven May 2012 American Beauty

May's was my second Julep Maven shipment, and I have to say, I like each one of these more and more.  This one included a cute bag, and Kylie, a magnetic polish.  Ellie is the other polish, which is a very nice sheer pink iridescent shade that I look forward to using as a top coat. The magnet works well, although it took me one fail on my thumb to figure out how to do it. My best tip is to look at your nail from the side as it dries, and then hold the magnet as close as you can without touching to the widest flattest surface of your nail.

My Julep May 2012 shipment

 I'm not saying my manicure skills are the greatest.  This job could definitely use some work with a small brush and some nail polish remover to clean up.  Learning on the job, me. :)

But I wanted you guys to be able to see how nice this Julep collection is. I think it's worth the money.  Here are the photos.

The stitching of the logo is cute. It's faux stitching, but I like.

Pretty useful looking pedi tool.

Useful pockets in the bag, too!

I like both colors a lot! That's the magnet, lower right.

I am at the lower slope of my manicure learning curve. I'll work on it!

Inside, lit, with flash

 So what do you think? Which subscription services do you get, and how do you like them?

Drop me a line below, and let me know what's on your mind.

Happy first day of a 4-day week!

:)BeautyJones

Swatch Saturday: Crown Brush 180 Palette—Part 1 of 6

Oooh...pretty colors!

Crown Brush Palette Yellow Green Purple Square

Sometime in January I saw that Hautelook was having a sale on Crown Brush products, and they had this palette with a ridiculous amount of colors—180, for $38 (half off, or so).

Now, if you've read this blog before, you know how I love color—gorgeous eye-popping saturated color. So I bought it.

But since then I've really been blogging a lot, shopping a lot, went to The Makeup Show LA and saw the Inglot display there (gasp! ooh! aah!) So I was wondering, how good was this initial purchase, this Crown Brush palette.

You and me, we're going to find out, because I'm swatching every single shade in there, and you'll see the results.

And it will also be a catalog of how these colors look on my skin, so I can use it as reference later. Once I'm done, I'll do a roundup of all 6 squares that are in this palette.

While I'm thinking of it, here's a list of YouTube Beauty Gurus I find particularly great at bright color eye looks.  I'm linking you to a favorite color-focused tutorial video—one for each Bright Beauty:

• Pixiwoos. They don't do anything badly, these gorgeous Brits, and those pretty eyes of theirs with all that lovely eyelid space are great canvasses for color.
• Nikkietutorials. Nikkie is just so funny and adorable. Never miss her vids. And she's an amazingly creative and skilled makeup artist. Can't get enough.
• Vintageortacky. She's got looks for every Disney Princess. Love that! Her Inglot haul got me all excited about snagging me some of that! She's adorable, and so great at bright colors, pin-up looks, retro. Check out her MadMen looks, too! Milani's been giving her a lot of love, and she's been working all that product to show the rest of us how to maximize those drugstore finds. Yay, Cora!!!
• Lisa Eldridge. This lady is the Harrods of makeup artists. First class all the way. She just plain knows what she is doing in a big way. Kate Winslet red carpet look? No, she didn't recreate it for a video. She worked on Kate herself. I've linked you to a particularly pretty soft pastel candy-colored vid she posted recently.
• Smashinbeauty. What a face this girl has! And she knows how to play up her eyes with brilliant color. Red eye shadow? She does it and rocks it!
• Phyrra. Gotta mention her, because not only is she bold in makeup and hair, and she specializes in swatching really cool indie cosmetics, but her blog has some of the most useful posts I've found. Check out her How to Care for Colored Hair post. Awesomeballs!

Back to the Crown Blush palette: I swatched all of these over the Urban Decay Primer Potion, original formula.

Here are some photos, and I coded the colors on my hand and in the palette below, so it's easier to talk about all this.

The top left 4 colors, particularly the topmost leftmost one don't have a lot of ooph, aka pigmentation.
The yellow third row, second column is crazy shiny and pigmented, though. It's in the middle of this picture.

I think the speckled colors on the bottom are a bit of a cheat, because the speckles don't go too deep,
and once they wear off, you just have a color that is identical to another in the palette.
Except for the Y11 at the bottom. The basic shade stands on its own.

Numbered for Reference

Yellows and Greens featured here.

The Yellows and Greens:

• Y1, Y4, Y8 and Y10 are not so very very pigmented, and melt into my skin, but are still pretty.
• Y7 is wonderfully bright! 
• Y11 is a lovely goldenrod shade.
• G1 - Spring Green.
• G2 and G4 - Nice pale bright greens. St. Patty's Day all the way!
• G3 - Nice pigmentation! Forest Green.
• G5 - not as strong, but that could be because the gold tones tend to melt into my skin tone.
• G6 - Really Kelly Green and strong.  Fun!
• Love G7! Mermaid-ish beauty!
• G8 - Goldy Green. Sweet!
• G9 - the blue shimmer in this one could stand out more.

Featuring Blues and Purples. Some of Yellows on left.

The Purples and Blues:

• B1 and B2 don't look so very different from one another.
• B3 makes me think of flying Pan Am when I was a kid on my way to Bermuda, so that one is winning!
• B4 - love that hint of purple in the periwinkle
• B5 is really cool, with that magenta tone within the sky blue. I don't think the magenta will last more than a few swipes, though.
• P1 - really interesting shimmery pale vapor blue silver
• P2 - Very nice pale lavender blue
• P3, P4, P5 don't look so different on my skin as they do in the palette, and the glitter in P3 and P4 isn't fine milled or plentiful enough to have much of an impact. But that could work for some subtle violet eye looks, I guess.

The palette looks like this closed.

Even after two makeup removing wipes and a night of sleep—it's now Sunday—these colors are still on my hand. Hmmm.... The pigments aren't super strong but they stain.  Harrumph!

Still stained with the colors

So far so good. Seems like these shades are nice and usable. Just need some space on my bathroom counter for this gigundo palette.

What do you think? Do you own this one? Do you have the BH ones? How does this one stack up for you so far?

Thanks for reading, and I hope you found this post fun, useful, diverting, stimulating, and other good things.

Let me know what you think by commenting below. Cheers!

:)BeautyJones

@BeautyJonesToo
https://www.facebook.com/BeautyJonesToo

smashbox Photo Op Mega Palette:

I love color, but some days, neutrals totally rock!

Smashbox Photo Op Auto Focus Eye Shadow Trio

With this mauvey-rose colored top, a neutral eye, and some pink blush and a soft pink lip

No one loves bright pretty colors more than me, but with a monochromatic look based on neutrals  you can achieve such subtle effects.

This makeup look uses browns and tans flushed with pink, so even the slightest hint of a brighter shade, like the posy-pink blush, and the poppy-pink lip, really jumps out. Just a bit of contrast in color becomes a bit dramatic, especially on a look meant for daytime.

I love this mauve top. I got it down at the Terranea Resort, where they sell really beautiful yoga wear.
These flat cultured pearls are a peachy-cream color, with shades of turquoise and green in the light—those subtle shades are more visible because of the monochromatic look.

The Products: This look is almost completely out of the smashbox Photo Op Megapalette:

Cheeks: Posy Pink

Lips: Bitten gloss

Eyes:

Photo Op Auto Focus:

• Champagne: A shimmery cream, all over lid from lash line to brow bone
• Flamingo: Not well named, sorry, smashbox. Anything named 'Flamingo' ought to be bright peachy pink. This is a more conventional shimmery peach with some rose tones. I do really like this shade.  I just have this OCD issue about naming things. I put this on the lid up to the crease
• Java: A matte deep brown. This should not blend as easily as it does. Matte shades are notoriously hard to blend.  Not this little beauty. I put this along the lash line, and in a soft wedge on outer lid blended up into the crease. Seriously, the ease of blending saves so much time and stress. Did I mention I am in love with this palette?
• Midnight Brown cream eyeliner, from Photo Op Mega Palette.  I just washed this out of my bdellium angled eyeliner brush, and it is so darned pigmented. Getting it out took some doing. But I don't mind. That pigmentation means you can do a brown rather than black, and keep the look soft but still strong.
• Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara in jet black. In terms of control, lack of clumping, and coverage, this is still the best mascara I've ever owned.

Here are some money shots of the palette:

Auto Focus is in the center. Now would you call that center shade 'Flamingo?' Way too subtle for that.
I"d call it Bermuda Sand.

So, Happy Friday before a 3-day weekend, every body!

I hope this post was fun and interesting, and gives you some ideas for your own daily face. Drop me a line, let me know what you think.

Also, follow me on Twitter at @BeautyJonesToo. I post Instagram shots and little reviews when I pick up random items from the CVS and Ulta, and other cool beauty spots.So much stuff to share, makeup and beauty-wise.

Have a great day, and if you are in L.A. like I am, be careful in the rain!

Cheers!

:)BeautyJones

smashbox Photo Op Mega Palette Look: Hyperfocal

So I ordered this smashbox Photo Op Mega Palette from QVC, which is the only place you can get it, and after my iPad, it's my favorite thing. Obsessed! Seriously. I may need to start a 12-step program just for this.

smashbox Photo Op Mega Palette

smashbox Photo Op Mega Palette

smashbox Photo Op Mega Palette

I'm working my way through the Photo Op eye shadow trios. Today's look is Hyperfocal, which is made up of Mist, a blue-gray silver, Rose, a silver-gray shimmery pink, and Obsidian, a deep charcoal gray with pale blue shimmer. Mist went on my lid, browbone and tear duct area. Rose covered the lid. Obsidian went down by the lash line, beneath my eyes in the outer third, and blended up into the crease.

Oh, this stuff is so nice!

The texture of this is fantastic--smooth, buttery, only a touch of fallout, and it blends like a dream.  You almost don't have to blend it at all, which really does save time. Pigmented, check. Subtle shades with nice color nuances, yes!

The palette contains all of their Photo Op shadows, a complete suite of eight eye liners, an eyebrow wax and all of the brow shades anyone will ever need, two blushes, four lip glosses, and three highlighters, aka "Soft Lights," all within a sleek red patent leather binding that closes firmly with small magnets.

I used the eye liner in Picasso, a teal-navy blue.

This almost contains all the makeup you need for travel, except for foundation, concealer, mascara, bronzer and finishing powder.

I used it with the small sample of their Photo Finish Lid primer, which works at least as well as the Urban Decay Primer Potion.

The brow powders and wax are now my favorite way to do my brows. The blushes are pretty much all you need. I usually alternate between a bright magenta pink and a terracotta shade anyway. These are lovely. I especially like the magenta one. (See tomorrow's post.)

 Lips: OCC Lip Tar in Kava Kava topped with Anastasia Lip Gloss in Bellini. This is my favorite kind of nude lip—one with a touch of peachy orange.

I hope you enjoy taking this journey with my and smashbox. I'm loving it!

Cheers!

What's your favorite eye shadow? Which formula is your favorite? Which colors?

As always, drop your thoughts into a comment below!

:)BeautyJones

Face Chart Favorite: Smokey Gray-Brown lids, Soft Pink Lips

Face Chart: Gray Eyes; Pink Lips

My last weeks favorite face was also its simplest and quickest.  A bike to work face with a cool medium gray lid, a soft pink lip, the usual Cinema Secrets nude peach blush and Aveda bronzer. NYX nude on nude palette was the source of the eye shadow and the lip. Mascara was the Great Lash Waterproof stuff in black.

This was the face on me.
Needed a bit more concealer between tear duct and bridge of nose, but oh, well.

So why is this a favorite? It's a bit dramatic, and it's still a day look. Who doesn't have a bit of drama in their day? But this is the kind I like. The kind that brings out the golden tones in my eyes, rather than the red veins and the cray-cray.

NYX nude on nude palette.
Eyelids: Top Row, 3rd and 4th from Right
Lips: 4th from Left

From a 3/4 angle you can see the shape of the eye. Looks more winged out than I realized.
Strong and balances out the strong color of this dress.

And to think, on the day, I thought this one didn't come together.

What's your favorite daytime look? How dramatic do you feel comfortable getting under daylight and office light?

Let me know, and share what works for you in the space below!

And see that Eiffel Tower widget top left on this page? Click on it to subscribe to BeautyJones on Bloglovin, the awesomest blog-following App/Site ever! If you haven't tried it, you really should check it out!

Cheers!

:)BeautyJones

Swatch Saturday: Naked Cosmetics Harvest Moon Collection

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

So I'm starting a series here on the BeautyJones: Swatch Saturdays

Other folks do this series, but I thought it would be a great exercise, since I had yet to swatch anything for you, my dear readers.

Turns out it takes practice and a lot of skill.  Had to do it once, and start all over again and then, wouldn'tcha know it, it's kinda overcast here in Lovely LAlaland, which never happens. But enough of my trials and tribulations, here's the star of our show...

Naked Cosmetics Harvest Moon Collection

Naked Cosmetics!!! 

Naked Cosmetics Gorgeous Display at The Makeup Show LA.
Harvest Moon is the third row from the bottom.
DROOL!

I bought this gorgeous stack of loose pigments at @TheMakeupShowLA, which is a wonderland, as I believe I have mentioned once or twice. @pursebuzz was there doing a talk about brushes with Crown Brushes, and she said these pigments were her favorites. Now, drumroll please, the swatches!

Inside in Low Light, but then adjusted by magic iPhoto pixies

This shot shows the basic colors pretty well. The upper row is on bare skin, and the lower row is on Urban Decay Primer Potion.

DUO CHROMES! How I love them. These have so many shades and change so nicely in the light. They are hypnotic. They go with my eyes, which means I now need to do a look using only these.

So here's a grid below. Naked Cosmetics so needs to name each shade. They must have spent tons of hours making these pigments gorgeous.  Just a few more hours, and, voila, some nice memorable names. Here are mine. They aren't necessarily the most awesome, but I would remember these. Maybe you would too!

Cheers, and Happy Saturday, Dear Readers!

Let me know if you like this format, and just let me know what you're thinking about, in the comments below.

:)BeautyJones

Product
Naked Cosmetics Harvest Moon
Colors	Description	The Name it Needs But Doesn't Have
01	Duo chrome: White with Peach, Pink, and Pale Gold Iridescence	Mothkiss
Colors	Description
02	Duo chrome: Orange with Pink and Gold Iridescence	Barbie's Bender
Colors	Description
03	Duo chrome: Yelow with Green and Gold Iridescence	Lemon Mint
Colors	Description
04	Duo chrome: Grass Green with Orange and Gold Iridescence	Dragonfly
Colors	Description
05	Duo chrome: Antique Gold with Green and Yellow-Gold Iridescence	Gramma's Julep
Colors	Description
06	Duochrome: Brown with Teal and Pale Gold Iridescence	Chocolate Opal

Harvest Moon Collection: Inside with Flash

Look how the flash loves to light up these little beauties!

Naked Cosmetics Harvest Moon Collection Outside with Elusive Sunshine

Look at all the freckles on my arm!

Naked Cosmetics Harvest Moon Collection Inside with Ambient Morning Light.
Isn't it crazy that the two photos above are of the same products? Love that changeable duo chrome color!