Hiatus Until The New Year

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to ALL!  Blushing For Beauty will be on a hiatus until the New Year.  Regular posts and Manicure Mondays will resume on January 2nd!   See you then!!!

Manicure Mondays-Rimmel Midnight Blue

I featured this color in my top 10 colors for Fall video and I stand behind that assertion.  Rimmel's Midnight Blue is a beautiful inky navy blue with very subtle shimmer.  I've heard that it is an exact dupe for Essie Midnight Cami.  And let me just tell, the formula was awesome!  It was so smooth and pigmented that I almost only needed one coat.  It lasted for 7 days with CND Stickey base coat and Diamond Dry top coat.  If you're looking for a navy blue polish, try this one!

NARS Cordura Eyeshadow Duo

In the past 12 months, NARS has easily become my favorite makeup brand.  They just can't do any wrong in my book in terms of quality and texture.  After purchasing the Wild at Heart 15th Anniversary palette, I became enamored with their eyeshadow.  My next NARS eyeshadow purchase was the Cordura eyeshadow duo.

I purchased this during the NARS 20% off summer sale and I'm so glad I did.  The left side is a warm  brown with gold pearl and the right side is a cool-toned dark brown with gold pearl.  The two colors definitely complement each other.  I like to wear this duo when I want a dark yet subtle eye.

The texture is very smooth and the colors apply evenly.  I did not experience any fallout while applying this shadow and they blend out wonderfully.  With the NARS smudge proof eyeshadow base (reviewed here), they stay on all day.

In terms of pigmentation, this duo doesn't lack any.  I find that I barely have to touch my brush to the darker brown in order to deposit intense color.  The lighter brown doesn't take much to get the color payoff either.  The gold pearl in both are subtle enough so that it does not look like a glitter bomb exploded on your eyes.

If you are looking for a nice duo, definitely check this one out.  NARS duos retail for $33.00.

My Nail Care (Requested)

Manicure Mondays-Color Club Ready To Royal

Color Club's Ready To Royal is one of those colors similar to OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark (which I don't own).  It is a black looking purple.  In fact, you can really only tell that it isn't black in direct sunlight and even then it's still hard to tell.  I used two coats for opacity, though I could have gotten away with one.  It lasted 7 days before chipping.  Since Diamond Dry does not play well with Color Club polishes, I first used Sally Hansen Diamond Strength No Chip top coat, then my Diamond Dry.  As always, the base coat I used was Creative Nail Design's Stickey base coat.  I know some people hate colors like this, but I happen to love them!

CVS Beauty Clearance Happening Now!

Just wanted to let you guys know that CVS is having their beauty clearance right now.  There are lots of items marked 50% and 75% off!  Hurry while there is still some good stuff left.  Here is a picture of my haul:

I got 3 Rimmel mascaras, a Rimmel Moisture Renew lipgloss, 2 Revlon lipsticks, Ardell Brow Perfection Stencils, and an Ardell Brow Precision Shaper for under $15!  Run, don't walk, to your nearest CVS.

Clinique All About Eyes Serum Review

I have said this before and I will say it again, I have horrible bags and dark circles.  Even though I know nothing short of cosmetic surgery and concealer will help, I still try to find that "miracle" product.  Well this ain't it!  Once again I got suckered into the claims of a product.  Having used this morning and night for about 2 months, I can give a pretty thorough review of this product.

Clinique's All About Eyes Serum claims to instantly cool and brighten to combat puffiness and dark circles.  The product is delivered through a tube with a metal roller ball.  I find that I have to pass the roller ball about 6 times on each eye to get the desired amount of product.  Once the serum is delivered, it absorbs quickly, not leaving behind a sticky residue.

While the massaging quality of the roller ball feels nice, it does nothing to help with the puffiness.  And I find it laughable that it claims to help with dark circles.  I'm assuming that the tiny light reflecting particles are supposed to "help" with the dark circles.  Not on me!  What I do like about it is that it is moisturizing and works well as a primer for my corrector and concealer.  While I like the moisturizing quality of the serum, I can get just as much moisture from the Burt's Bees eye cream (review on this here) for less.  I purchased this at the CCO for $21 though it retails at a Clinique counter for $26 for 0.5 oz of product.

I'm still on the hunt for a product that will help calm my bags down, but alas this one is not it.  I will use it up because, after all, I did pay for it.  Even though it did not work for me, skin care is very personal and it could work for someone with less of the baggage that my eyes come with.

Manicure Mondays-MAC Dance All Night

I have a love/hate relationship with MAC polishes.  I love the colors that they come out with, but I hate the quality of their polishes.  This one is no exception.  I wanted a deeper red, so I was drawn to this color.  The formula wasn't bad, I only needed two coats for opacity.  Unfortunately, it was chiptastic!  It chipped on day two.  I liked the color so much that I kept repairing the chips.  I managed to get 4 days of wear out of it before I gave up.  As usual, I used CND Stickey base coat and Diamond Dry top coat.  Luckily for me, I picked this up at a CCO last year and only paid $8.50 as opposed to the $14 that MAC polishes go for.  Have you had any luck with MAC polishes?

October/November 2011 Favorites

Here is a video of the products that I've been reaching for lately for October and November.  Enjoy!

What I Use To Clean My Brushes

As you know, I have a ton of makeup brushes.  In the past, I've used just the MAC Brush Cleaner.  While it is an excellent brush cleaner, I felt that I was going through it too quickly for the price.  I believe it retails for about $12 for 7.9 oz and I was seriously going through a bottle a month.  Then I read somewhere that it was better to put a sprayer top on the bottle of the cleaner.  That helped but then I felt like I wasn't getting enough cleanser onto my brushes.

Behold Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap.  I have the Tea Tree version. This is an 18 in 1 multi-purpose soap that can be used for a variety of things, from shampoo to detergent.  It is loaded with good oils like Jojoba and Tea Tree.  I purchased this specifically to cleanse my brushes and let me tell you it works great.  It gets cream products out of my brushes like no other and it leaves my white goat brushes clean as a whistle.  I literally only takes a drop to get the brushes to lather and get clean.

This bottle was only $9.99 for 16 oz at Target and I highly recommend this product to clean your brushes with.