1) ARTISTRY Lip Colour in Couture (the 3rd lip colour in the palette) - I've been all about dark lips lately & been wearing this wine/berry lip colour with my everyday look (which will be posted in an upcoming entry). I like to pair this color up with a shiny lipgloss for an extra pop of shine.

2) MAC Eyeshadow in Vertile - Currently, one of my favorite purple to use as a crease color. I like to pair it with Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Flash & smoke it out with ARTISTRY Eyeshadow in Black Tie.

3) MAC Beauty Powder in Pretty Baby - I like to use this as a face highlighter & since it doesn't really show up on my skin, I use it as an setting powder.

4) NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Black Bean - This makes for a great color base for a smokey look & also, makes a great eyeliner on the waterline (paired up with another eyeliner).

5) ULTA Glitter Eyeliners in Topaz & Purple - I like to use these eyeliners on the lower lashline for more oompf to any look. Great for holiday makeup looks!

6) MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Medium-Dark/Natural & Shimmer - My first MSF & I've been using it daily ever since I bought it. The matte/natural side makes for a great setting powder & the shimmer side gives me a glowy look without making me look greasey.

7) Urban Decay Surreal Skin Creamy Concealer in Hallucination - Not as 'creamy' as they claim, but I still like to use it under my eyes & the bridge of my nose.

8) ARTISTRY Lip Shine in Gifted - It's a sheer shimmery light pink that I like to pair with ARTISTRY Couture Lip Colour. The lip shine goes on smooth, not thick, & doesn't make my lip chapped/peel (HUGE plus).

9) Revlon Creme Lipstick in Nude Velvet - Such a HUGE fan of nudes & this is just one of my favorite nude lipsticks. It has a pinky color so, it's not a ghostly pale nude.

10) ELF Brushes (Special Edition from Target) - Great quality for only $1, what more can I say...buy them!

What are some of your November favorites?

Yes, you guessed it...I could NOT stay away from hauling this week! I need to do the Project 10, but I'm a make-up artist & it's essential for me to purchase makeup...right? ;)
I went to Target again this week to buy more items from the ELF line. I went to another Target in my area in hopes to find the Total Face Brush. I did & bought 5 of them (I sold them out). I could look & tell that the brush was better than the white handled face brushes. Once I got home, I tested them out &  I was right. These brushes are much more softer than the standard ones. They are less dense than the regular ones, but still do a great job for all over powder. I also like to use them for applying blush. I would even use the special edition brush on my clients unlike the regular brush. If you are in Target, I would say to stock up on the Total Face Brush AND the Eyeshadow Brush! Next, I'll buy the bronzing brush (I think that's the other one?).

At Ulta this week, they had a special going on for Too Faced Cosmetics. They had a special mini kit that included a mini sized Too Faced Shadow Insurance & Lash Injection Pinpoint Mascara stashed away in the cutest metallic pink mini bag. I love anything miniature so, I couldn't pass this deal up! In fact, I bought two. I wanted to give my sister one of the mascaras & give one primer to my mom. I'm a fan of Urban Decay Primer Potion & L'oreal De-Crease, but always wanted to try Too Faced primer. I tried it a few times at the store before & I wasn't honestly impressed. It's hard to tell how good a primer is just judging from applying it on the back of your hand so, I thought this mini kit would be perfect to get so I can test it out without commiting to the full size primer. I'll do another post with what I think about Too Faced Shadow Insurance next week. While I was at Ulta, I also picked up another mini CHI 44 Iron Guard Spray & picked up some Ulta Brand makeup from their 5 for $5 sale. I bought 4 glitter eyeliners & 1 mini lipgloss tin. The eyeliners are okay quality, I like to use them on my lower lashline. They don't go on very smoothly, but I don't mind using them. The lip glosses in the tin feel a bit grainy, but I like the color pay off.

Next, I went to Sally's for a new nail color & a new pair of lashes for myself. I bought Orly Prince Charming nail polish (reminds me of a OPI color that I had to return at Ulta a few weeks ago because it was old..the entire stock of that particular was old!) & Ardell #107 lashes. I LOVE Prince Charming! It's grey-brownish color with no shimmer (which I love).

I might do a post of the other makeup I purchased over the weekend. I found some frugal makeup finds in some unlike places. You'll be surprised!

I went to the nearest CCO (Cosmetic Company Outlet) yesterday to see what they had on stock. I haven't been to this CCO in years & the CCO I went to in CA a few months ago didn't have what I was looking for...MAC Cosmetics. The CCO I went to yesterday was fully stocked with a nice selection of eyeshadows, blushes, msf's, pigments, lipsticks, lipglasses, paint pots, brushes, foundations, concealers, fluidlines, & a lot of holiday sets/exclusive LE collection items. I was really there looking for one collection in particular, the Hello Kitty collection! I watched a lot of youtube CCO haul videos with HK items being purchased at CCO's. I was hoping my CCO would have some HK items as well. I didn't see any HK...until the SA saw my earrings (I was wearing my HK earrings) & guided me to the HK items they had on stock. I was SO excited! They had the beauty powders, eyeshadow quads, lipsticks & lipglasses from the collection. The even had some HK Kouture items (just the compact & lipglosses). When MAC first had the HK collection out I wasn't very impressed so, I didn't buy anything. Now, that I see it at the CCO, I'm rethinking that! I only got the beauty powder in Pretty Baby. The other one was a peachy color, I should have gotten that as well but, I just wanted to try Pretty Baby for starters. I'll probably go back sometime soon to pick up the other beauty powder. I tried Pretty Baby last night & it gave my face a nice glow + help minimize shine. I also picked up Fertile eyeshadow. It's a deep dark purple that's be gorgous over a black color base & used for a smokey purple look. I didn't realize until I can home that I already had an eyeshadow that was identical to Fertile! The one I already have that is a dupe for Fertile is Stila's Cassis. Both look great with Urban Decay Flash & ARTISTRY Royalty eyeshadows.

I went to Target a couple days ago in hopes to find the new special edition ELF Cosmetics items. I wasn't really interested in the makeup, I was moreless interested in the makeup brushes. My Target had a little endcap of special ELF makeup. They sold out most of the brushes except for the eyeshadow brushes so, I bought the last 3. The eyeshadow brush is different than the regular white handled eyeshadow brush. It's smaller & more sturdy, perfect for packing eyeshadow on the lid or using it to highlight. I also like the appearance of the brushes because they look more sleek with the special edition black handles. The brushes are still $1 (not unless they come in a set that is either $3 or $10). I'm not sure if this ELF line will just be available for the holidays. In March 2010, some products of ELF's Studio line will be offered at Target. I'm very excited about that, hope they have the brushes available!

As you all know, Ardell is one of my favorite false eyelash brands ever! Lately, I've been venturing off & in search of other false eyelash brands that are worthy enough to use on my clients & myself. I have 3 non-Ardell brands that I'm going to do reviews on. Can one of these brands possible be as good as Ardell?

Red Cherry

I've heard quite a few good reviews on this brand. I bought quite a few pairs of the #47 a few months ago to use on my clients. I have yet to use these on any of my clients. The lashes seems flimsy & cheap. You have to be EXTRA gentle when taking the lashes out the container because you can easily bend the lashband. The #47 seem a bit hard to put on as well. The lashband doesn't have a good curve so, this is why I find it more difficult to put on. The other thing I don't like about these lashes are the fact I can't use the same pair over & over for a week. These lashes only last me a couple days. I would not order these again. Now, if I saw them at a store & they weren't the #47, I might buy them. Overall, I wasn't happy with this brand.

Grade: F

I-Envy by Kiss

I was at this beauty supply store looking for some Ardell lashes for a shoot I was doing the next day. I saw the Ardell display, but out of the corner of my eye I saw this small display of lashes on the counter. I walked over & the packaging was what really sold me first. They had a small, but nice variety so, I picked up 3 pairs. They looked like they were good quality so, I used them on my model the next day without testing out a pair on myself. Kiss lashes remind me of Ardell's! They were great quality, easy to apply, & looked wonderful on the model's eyes. I wish I had bought more especially, in the style that I used on the model. I can't wait to try to buy more from this brand as well as using a pair on myself.

Grade: A

ELF Dramatic Lash Kit

I was skeptical when I saw that ELF had false eyelashes for only $1...how can something SO cheap be good? I tried them out one day & surprisingly, I liked them! I like them better than the Red Cherry lashes I bought. They were easy to apply & seemed pretty good in quality. I thought maybe they would make my eyes itchy, but they didn't. My only compliant is that the lashes don't look too dramatic on my eyes. I wish the were a little thicker to give that va-va-voom effect. Other than that, I quite pleased with ELF's lashes.

Grade: B+

• Eyeshadow Primer: Urban Decay Primer Potion (on eyebrows, lids, crease, browbone, lower lid) & Jane Colorsticks in Oh Yes as a color base


• Eyebrows: Artistry Espresso Eyeshadow, Magic Collection Dark Brown Eyeliner, & Nicka K Liquid Eyeliner in Brow


• Lid: NYX Lime Green Eyeshadow
  


• Crease: Artistry Espresso Eyeshadow
  


• Crease Line: Artistry Black Tie Eyeshadow


• Highlight Color: Artistry Starry Night Eyeshadow


• Upper Lashline:Wet n Wild Black Liquid Eyeliner


• Lower Lashline: Artistry Espresso Eyeshadow & NYX Lime Greem Eyeshadow
  


• Lower Waterline: Prestige White Eyeliner

• False Eyelashes: ELF Dramatic Lashes