Eyes of the Day - Purple Winged Cut Crease

Today, I decided I was going to play with the cut crease in a flattering color for brown eyes: a dark plum, deep purple shade (MAC's Fig 1). I know it's fairly common to produce a cut crease in a smokey eye or to define the eye, but I wanted to take it a step further and really wing it out dramatically.

I will tell you that going grocery shopping with this look, I was receiving a lot of stares - I think people couldn't tell what it was that was so different about my face. This is not an every day makeup for the office, I could see how it would be inappropriate in some places, but if you're just having fun, it's great!

I wanted to keep the lid a light color, pretty much a stark white with some glitter for extra pizzazz (as if a dramatic winged crease wasn't enough!) - apparently the pizzazz decided to get onto my lashes for this photo though. I made sure to blend the purple color in my crease out and make it more smokey so that the look was less stark.

I cleaned up the bottom of the crease by adding the purple first, then a peach color above it and making sure to add my lid colors last (the white-ish). I also went in with a fine angled brush and used more of the purple to get the line more precise and opaque. A good trick for creating a cut crease is to apply a similar-colored eyeliner as your base and then follow that line with your eyeshadow brush, this is especially useful if you're just starting out this kind of look or your orbital bone doesn't naturally dictate where that wing would look most flattering.

Products Used:

MAC's Nylon - all over lid shade
Sephora Wedding Day - layered over Nylon for white glitter effect
MAC's Fig 1 - cut crease
Fresh Peach (Anastasia Beverly Hills - Maya Mia Palette) - above the cut crease wing as warm transition shade
MAC's Vanilla - as brow-bone highlight shade
Pacifica  Waterproof Eyeliner in Fringe - to line the waterline with a plummy brown color
Stila's Stay All Day Liquid Eyeliner (Black) - to create the cat-eye on the lid
Ardency Inn Punker Eyeliner - to make the line extra back, layered on top of Stila liner

Hope you enjoyed this cut-crease, double wing look!

Monarch & Chrysalis

Monarch & Chrysalis by lethalglam featuring Kat Von D's brand new eyeshadow palettes, exclusively available at Sephora, called Crysalis (purples) and Monarch (oranges)

Butterfly hair pin
etsy.com

Butterfly bangle
amazon.com

Vintage mini dress
ladyvlondon.com

Kat Von D matte palette eyeshadow
sephora.com

Kat Von D matte palette eyeshadow
sephora.com

Stila long wear eyeliner
beauty.com

High heel shoes
etsy.com

Kaiser Craft Enchanted Garden Collection 12"x12" Single Sided Glitter...
franticstamper.com

Red Winter Cheetah

I saw this dress on Modcloth.com recently and this look was inspired by a friend of mine. She's fun and girly and likes wearing dresses like me. She's eclectic and electric, classy and fierce all at the same time. I know this ensemble would make anyone feel like they're the belle of the mall. This is a look complete with accessories and makeup inspiration. A bold, golden cat-eye is the perfect addition with a dark brown winged eyeliner.

Red Winter Cheetah by lethalglam featuring white tights

Red dress
modcloth.com

Knitted dove coat
modcloth.com

Hue white tight
lordandtaylor.com

Vivienne Westwood suede boots
vestiairecollective.com

LeJu gothic jewelry
boticca.com

Oasis red hat
$13 - oasis-stores.com

Stila eyeshadow
beautybar.com

Izabel London:Izabel London Brown leopard scarf cardigan
dorothyperkins.com

Product Review: Sephora Superstars Limited Edition Gift Set

Hi everybody,


I wanted to bring you all a review about my new favorite purchase and product available on the market right now. It retails for $75 but the value of the products in this set is exactly $296.11 (you can see the calculations below) if purchased separately.

This is a 13 product set, of which 9 products are full sized and the others are very generous deluxe samples. These products are the best sellers of 2013 at Sephora, so you know they've got to be great.

So I took pictures of what all the products look like out of the box and I'll go through the efficacy of each one of them.





The packaging is absolutely delightful, when you pull off the laser-cut top-sheet, the inside box is a beautiful rose gold. As you can tell the produts range from lipstick to nailpolish to hair and perfume, this is a kit that basically gives you everything you need for a daily makeup routine (and even has 2 skincare products included).

The nail polish included in this set is Deborah Lippmann Nail Lacquer-Cleopatra In New York which is an absolute onyx black with gold hexagonal sparkles in various sizes that remind me of New Year's Eve. It is absolutely fantastic and the nail polish looks in real life exactly the way it looks in the advertisement below. This product if bought on its own retails for $19!!

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NARS actually has 2 of their products that made it into the favorites this year, and I was extremely excited because I've only ever owned 1 blush from NARS since they are so expensive I can never really justify purchasing their products! Both of these products are full sized. One is a Blush and Bronzer Duo in "Orgasm" and "Laguna" (their most popular shades) and the other is NARS Sheer Lipstick, Dolce Vita in the most wearable and universal shade "Dolce Vita" which looks great on all skin tones and anytime of day. The Blush duo retails for $41 and the lipstick goes for $26.

This set includes a rollerball of Viktor & Rolf's extremely popular floral scent Flowerbomb . I've always wanted to try this perfume and it was always too expensive, with even the rollerball selling for $29. I'm happy to report that I would purchase the full size, it's smells of oriental flowers (my absolute favorite), roses, freesia's and orchids! This is definitely a luxurious and delightful present to receive in this box.

Another product I was EXTREMELY excited to try out is the Too Faced lash system "Better Than False Lashes". This is actually two products, one is the "Nylon Lash Extension System" which applies nylon fibers to your eyelashes to add volume and length, and the other is the mascara itself which is used to wet your lashes before applying the nylon fiber and then for one final coat to color them black at the end. I'm happy to report that this is, in fact, a miraculous mascara. It makes my lashes look at least 3x fuller and longer than they really are. My lashes actually touch the backs of my eyelids when I wear this! Too Faced Better Than False Lashes Mascara retails for $35 if purchased outside of this set.





The Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray is probably the item I was least excited about so I'm not too upset that this is a travel size rather than a full sized product. 1.7 Fl. Oz are included of this product and this retails for $17.91. This is a good beach spray, if you want to style your hair in beachy waves. It's actually even useful to add volume and distress up your hair a little bit if you want to create a messy bun.

I definitely recommend trying this out in the Superstars collection, I personally would never pay full price for this item because I don't think it's necessarily better than other $8-$12 surf sprays. I was happy that I did get to try it out in the set and I probably never would have if it wasn't included. I also can't think of a different hair product I would be happier to see inside this set, either, so it's still a win-win.

I'm a huge fan of Urban Decay, I own most of their palettes and I can never get enough of their buttery, blendable eyeshadows. Eyeshadows are the one must-have product from Urban Decay, the rest is good too but their eyeshadows are exceptional. The colors "Sin" and "Mushroom" are included in this set, they are a two-in-one eyeshadow. This is limited edition and, as far as I know, only available in this limited edition set. Full sized UD eyeshadows retail for $18 (but these are just in one color). I think it's really great that they give you two universal colors that are for ideal for a perfect neutral look.

Another product I hadn't had the pleasure of trying is Smashbox's Camera Ready BB Cream and it was also included in the set! Now, the only caveat here is that this only comes in the shade "Light" in the set so it will not work for all skin types. However, it is super-blendable, I'm usually a beige or nude tone and it seems a little closer to those shades that a true porcelain or "light". This is the full sized product and retails for a whopping $39. I think it's safe to say that I never would have tried this product out if it wasn't in this set, it costs a pretty penny. However, I really do appreciate it, it's very full coverage and blendable, it really moisturizes your skin as well.

The next two products are both staples in my beauty routine. One is Anastasia Brow Gel, Clear (0.085 oz)  (travel size, $5 value) and the other is stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner ($20 value). If you've read this blog before, chances are that you know my absolute favorite daily eyeliner is the felt-tip pen one by Stila, this is a great way to test it out for a fraction of its cost. The brow gel is extremely useful for taming eyebrow hairs. 

Josie Maran Argan 100% Pure Argan Oil 0.5 oz has always been a beauty blogger favorite and is used for hydrating skin, cuticles, and dry hair. The retail value of the travel sized product is $15.20 and will last for months of usage, seeing as the applicator is an eye dropper so you can use this product in a very targeted way.

To finish off the set, last and maybe the best is the Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream 0.5 oz to brighten and depuff (retail value $31). This is a small container that packs a big punch, it's packed to the brim, smooth and supple like whipped souffle batter, and smells of orchids and crushed pearls. I love this stuff, I've been using it nightly and I wake up with soft and rested eyes.

Cyber Monday Sales

So as most of you know, today is the day the internet gives something back and gives us Cyber Monday in repayment for sucking the lives out of us the rest of the year. I've scooped out the best beauty deals for you and thoroughly researched the web for deals. You will want to take advantage of these sales because cosmetics products only go on sale when an item is being discontinued, is old, or a store will no longer be carrying that brand... it is very rare that they just have a great sale, usually the sales are fairly bogus. The best deals I can find thus far are:

- Stila's warehouse sale where things are up to 80% off can be found here. They make fabulous eyeshadow and lipgloss

- E.L.F. has a 50% off any purchase over $25 (code 50wide) offer or you can get free shipping over $25 (SHIP25) at their site here - it's unfortunate that you can't have both offers, though

- Cherryculture has 20% off your entire purchase on their website, they have great NYX products and most of their stock is inexpensive to begin with

-  Clinique gives you 3 deluxe sized samples (which means bigger than sample size but smaller than the full product) for any purchase on their website, this is a great deal because the items they have as samples can be amazing: such as blush, eye creams, lipsticks. So I suggest you pick up something you love by them and would use up even if there was no free offer (I get the De-Puffing Eye Massage Serum).

- Elizabeth Arden has 25% off any order and free shipping with code BF2 here and a free 9 piece deluxe gift set with any order over $40.

- Tarte has a pretty lame deal of 20% off up to $100 and then you get $30 off, the code is CYBER and you get a free full-sized gift here

- Shiseido (which almost never has a sale on anything) has a gift of deluxe samples including a primer, translucent powder and satin face color in a cosmetic pouch for purachases of over $50.

- Bath&BodyWorks has an amazing deal of 25% off your entire order with the code CYBER2011 and when you check out anything in the Holiday Traditions Body Care selection you get buy 1, get 1 free for double your order!

- The Body Shop has any 3 single items in the online store for $30... that's right, even if the one item you chose was over the total price, it will still only be charged as 3 for $30. You also get free shipping with any purchase. If you add the code JOY10, you also get 10% off your order. So 3 items end up being $27, when usually just one would run you higher than that. Plus you get the free shipping... this is an amazing deal for night-cream and moisturizers.

Happy hunting everybody!!!!

Easy Eye Transformation

Do you ever wonder how to do a simple and foolproof winged liner that's appropriate for every day and work? Well look no further, in this post we'll discuss the proper order to put on your eyeshadows and how to easily apply your eyeliner! Firstly, you want to prime your eyelid all the way up to your eyebrows and under your eyes. This is because the eyeshadow won't stick properly all day long if you don't have a base for it. I used Benefit's Stay Don't Stray primer because I like the thick consistency of it, but a good substitute is a Mac concealer that fits your skin-tone, or Hard Candy's Nobody's Perfect concealer (available at Walmart for a whopping $6, including 6 shades!).
Rub the concealer in with your brush or fingertip, using your ring finger to apply the least amount of pressure to your eye (this avoids excessive wrinkles, ladies and gents).

This is a neutral look so I used the Urban Decay 'Naked palette' and MAC's 'Nylon' eyeshadow. For the base eyeshadow color, 'Naked' is a great option because it is just slightly darker than my skin-tone and shows barely a hint of color. This was applied with a regular eye-shadow brush and the color was packed on. Then, I used the color 'Buck' for the contour, going in a crescent shape around the ball of my eye, and you don't have to be too clean when you apply these colors because they will be blended together at the end. For the highlight, I used 'Nylon' from MAC because it's got a frosty sheen and is visibly lighter than my skin, attracting light underneath the eyebrow and away from any dark-circle. This makes eyes appear bright and refreshed.

Base (Naked), Contour (Buck), and Highlight (Nylon) eyeshadow application

For the winged-eyeliner application, I'm going to advise that if you are not experienced in this, you should use either an angular eyeliner brush or a brush-tipped applicator. I'm going to use the latter because I'm obsessed with Stila's 'Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner' (wow, that name is quite a mouthful). The tip is very fine, but the pen rests very stably   in my hand because, especially if I balance my arm on the table during my application. You should always rest your elbow on a flat, immovable surface when you do your eyeliner because otherwise the line will turn out shaky.

If you don't know where to start and you want to achieve an even winged look that is the same on both of your eyes, use these simple guidelines. The first line I draw is from the outer corner of my eye and points upwards to the end of my eyebrow, you can go as far with this line as you want to, it really depends how dramatic of a look you're going for (the farther, the more wingy it will be). Then, I go back to the inner corner of my eye and begin the contour of the line. Do not attempt to fill in as you're drawing the contour because you will not get as smooth of a finish, you want to get the contour done in one smooth stroke. Connect your contour to wherever you like on the winged edge (I go to halfway of the line that I first drew). Then go back underneath your line and fill in from your eyelashes to the outline of your liner. 

Wing, contour, and fill-in eyeliner application

Now apply your mascara of choice and voila, you have a pretty look that is appropriate for anytime of day or night!

Let me know if there's anything any of my readers would like to see in the future! Hope you had fun reading this post :)