Haul (ULTA)

Just some stuff I got at Ulta a couple of weeks ago.

First I got a Brushlab round brush. This was the main thing I was wanting to get after Michele1218 raved about it a while ago. I haven't been able to use it because I wasn't able to find my hair dryer, but I found it this evening and will use it tomorrow morning when I get ready for work. So I'll let you know what I think of it then.



After I added that to my cart I went on a hunt to find enough other items to put in to get free shipping (I'm not the only one who does that--right?). So I decided to continue my lifelong search for the perfect face wash. Which led me to Philosophy products. I decided on When Hope is Not Enough, since it was advertised as a good product for dry skin, which I have. Now I don't know if I got a bad one or if it's just the way the product comes, but it's basically just oil. Oil with another thicker texture that won't congeal. Don't know about that, but I'll keep on using it. It came with a miniature Philosophy Purity, which I like more.



Then I decided to look for the perfect concealer! I decided to go with Benefit's Erase Paste. It's quite a thick, gluey texture, and too pink toned for my skin. It does cover pretty well. It also comes with a cute if not very useful little plastic spatula.




Under my right eye.

It came with a free Benefit double ended lip gloss. Not so into the colors, but it was free.


Now onto the NYX! I decided my NYX collection is lacking so I stocked up haha. I got a couple of the NYX Trio Eye Shadows, one in Nude/Taupe/Dark Brown:




And one in Aloha/Medium Brown/Dark Bronze. Aloha (the pink on the left) came broken a little bit.



A NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in the color Blonde.


A NYX Tinted Lip Spa in Sake and a NYX Round Lipstick in Thalia.


Sake is on the left; Thalia on the right.
The lipstick is super soft as the round lipsticks always are, and the color is so pretty too. The tinted lip spa, however, has such a strong scent that I can't use it. It smells like mint flavored Tums.

And last I got a NYX Eye Shadow Pallet in Champagne and Caviar.


Ugh so pretty!!! I will do a seperate post in this product with swatches cause I am that in love with it. So, look out for that. :)~

Yup! Thanks for reading!

LOTD

This is a look I wore to work sometime last week. I'm not used to wearing winged liner and ended up rubbing most of the wing off of my left eye. Thankfully I have side bangs so I was able to cover it lol.




I think the lid was Naked Lunch by MAC, the crease was just a color from Coastal Scents 88 matte palette, with L'Oreal's Lineur Intense for liner.

Ulta haul is coming up soon!

MAC Sweet Eyes vs Shroom

I was on a search for a dupe for Sweet Eyes, the champagne shadow from MAC's Devoted Poppy palette, ever since the growing dip in it became too large to ignore. It is my favorite all over lid color, and I didn't know what I would do without it upon using it all up. So I had stopped using it. And seeing as it's the only color I ever use from the palette I could never justify repurchasing the whole thing. But finally, last month, I found the perfect dupe! It's MAC's Shroom, which is another gorgeous all over lid color. See for yourself!


Side-by-side

Swatched

They aren't identical, but are very close. Sweet Eyes is a bit more pink toned, but both are super soft, lightly shimmery, silvery taupe-champagne colors. They are both satin finishes.

Hope this helps with someone else's hunt for a Sweet Eyes dupe, if there are any of you out there. ;)

A new beginning

I haven't updated my blog in so long! The main reason for my absenteeism is because I went through a hard breakup with my boyfriend in April, and I had the intentions of giving back my camera (the one all the pictures on the blog were taken with) he gave me for Christmas. In the end I still have the camera because of him not speaking to me, etc. etc. Also, I work full time with an hour commute one way. When I get home the last thing on my mind is taking out my camera and getting it to focus (it's a chore).

BUT--I still have the intention of keeping this blog. It's not going anywhere, as long as I am still OBSESSED with makeup and beauty (and I am!) then this blog is staying around. I did change my name, however. I was tired of butters1984, so changed it to Butters Beauty. It sounds more professional, I think.

What to expect for future posts? I would absolutely love to start doing more faces of the day. I'm a working girl so that means every day is a new day to play around with my makeup. Also, I have been hauling like...I dunno...a dump truck. Haha. :-/ Seriously though, my MAC collection has gone from practically non-existent to an almost full palette, not to mention I now have some MAC brushes now.

So hopefully in the next few months Butters Beauty will start picking up some speed. When I get 50 or 100 followers I am having a giveaway. Planning ahead, it will be full of my own personal favorite makeup items, so you know I will do it right. I have to get that many subscribers, so watch out for more hauls, more faces of the day, more reviews, and more posts!

<3 Melissa

Awesome Drugstore Eye Pencil

I went shopping-crazy at KMart Monday night because I had the day off and found the best drugstore pencil eye liner! It's the L'Oreal Extra Intense Liquid Pencil Eyeliner in black. This stuff is super creamy and glides on so smoothly.


Packaging. Couldn't wait to open it.


I have used it all this week so it's been worn down a little haha.


Swatch.

This stuff lasts really well. I drew it on my hand and after taking and uploading the pic (a couple minutes) tried to wipe if off with my finger but it wouldn't budge. If you set it with black shadow, it will stay on your waterline all day. I have cried with it on and it doesn't run. Definitely a "holy grail" product.

Drama

PRODUCTS

NYX Eye Liner in Extreme Black as base and on waterline
Naavah Cosmetics in Silver Moon on lid
Urban Decay in Secret Service in and above crease
Coastal Scents eye shadow in black on waterline & also in crease blended into Secret Service
Coastal Scents eye shadow in light blue and light silver under lower lashes
L'Oreal Voluminous Eyeliner in Black for the upper liner & wing
Rimmel Glam Eyes in Black on lashes

I should have done my brows too but didn't think about it. :x

The sample of Naavah Cosmetics I got from winning AprilAthena7's contest. I love the color and wanted to make some kind of look with it so here we are!

A few ELF Studio Blushes

Part 2 of pics and review of my ELF haul. This time it's the three blushes I picked up from ELF's Studio Line. As always, please enjoy! Let me know if you found this useful. :)


Side-by-side.

Closeup of packaging.

The label on the underside.

Swatches.

The following close-up pics caught the reflection of my camera flash bouncing off the compact's mirror. They are solid colors, it's just the flash making them look like they have stripes through them!


Pink Passion is a bright fluorescent pink. It is much more vibrant then is coming off in the pictures. It's a lighter tone, too. This blush is completely matte.

Candid Coral. I nicked it with my thumbnail when placing it for a picture. :( Anyway this blush is a peachy-pink color. It has tiny gold glitters in it. On the cheeks it is a shimmery peach with some orange undertones. It is similar to a few MAC Mineralized Blushes, Rhapsody in Two (Blush Duo) for one example.

Berry Merry is a raspberry color with small gold and rainbow glitters. The glitters in this blush are bigger and more noticeable than those in Candid Coral.

Review:
These blushes are $3 on eyeslipsface.com. They have 0.168 oz/4.75 g (that is the amount listed on the boxes they came in; the blushes themselves list a 0.097 oz/2.75 g, but that is the amount in their eyeshadow which is half the blushes size). Like ELF's Studio Eyeshadows, their Studio Line of blushes have packaging similar to NARS'. They are black plastic with a little window and little mirror above it. And like the eyeshadows, these blushes are very soft. They are very easily swatchable and are easy to pick up with a brush. All three are pretty sheer. Pink Passion and Berry Merry are easily buildable, but Candid Coral is harder to because of its light color.

Berry Merry comes off sparkly with a hint of color if you only put a little on, and will need to really build it if you want some color pay off. As I said though, it is easily buildable. Candid Coral also comes off more shimmery with a hint of color; however, because it is a much more natural-looking flush, I don't find it as a negative as I do with Berry Merry. Pink Passion comes off as a light-toned fluorescent pink. It is completely matte. This is my favorite because if I want a natural cheek color I can put a little bit on, and if I want a stronger cheek color I can put on another coat.

I believe that Pink Passion is the only matte blush ELF offers so far, which is unfortunate. Nothing wrong with shimmery blushes, but sometimes you want something that will look like a natural flush. Also, and this is a big negative for me, these give me tiny bumps on my cheeks. Not pimples really, just dry bumps. Someone else complained of this in a review of this product on eyeslipsface.com. I only saw the one person who had this problem, so I suspect it's just a sensitivity to whatever is in this product. I have really dry skin, and while it isn't really sensitive, maybe the dryness affects it? The Complexion Perfection powder gives me tiny bumps as well, but I still love it and use it. Review on that and the rest of my stuff is coming soon!

Thanks for reading!

ELF Studio Eye Shadows

I am finally getting around to my post of my ELF haul. I am not going to post everything...at least not all at once. I am doing this only to swatch and review the products in case anyone is in need of a "try-before-you-buy" by proxy. So, below are all of the ten shadows in ELF Studio Line, complete with swatches and a review of them. Hope you enjoy! :)


Packaging.

Label on the underside.


Mystic Moss is an olive green with gold shimmer.
Coffee Bean is a chocolate/manure brown with rainbow glitter.

Sand Dollar is a shimmery white.
Saddle is a brown with superfine rainbow shimmer.

Butter Cream is a shimmery golden yellow.
Pebble is a grayish taupe with superfine silver shimmer.

Raspberry Truffle is a shimmery reddish/brownish purple.
Amethyst is a royal purple color with fine purple shimmer.

Charcoal is a dark gray with blue undertones and rainbow glitter.
Wild Wheat is tan with gold glitter.



*Swatches in the top rows of both pictures have no base. Swatches in the bottom rows of both pictures use NYX Jumbo Pencil in milk as base.*

Review:
The first thing I noticed about these shadows is obviously the packaging. They are very sleek and chic. It is black plastic with the words "elf Single Eyeshadow" in white font on the front. Inside there is a small window with a small mirror above it. It is, as with most of the studio line, similar to NARS' packaging. These shadows are 0.097 oz./2.75 g.

These shadows are velvety soft to the touch. So soft, in fact, that when applying my makeup one morning I put Saddle on my lid, blended a different brand of shadow in my crease, went to put on liner and realized that Saddle had been blended mostly off. It is simply TOO soft. And as you can see in the swatches at the top, most of them have little pigmentation. Wild Wheat and Butter Cream are almost unintelligible with and without a base (although my skin tone plays a factor, obviously). Sand Dollar and Butter Cream also come off somewhat chalky.

A huge con is the small selection of colors. This collection is fairly new, so it is possibly that over time ELF may add more colors. But as of now it consists of four brown/brownish colors (Saddle, Raspberry Truffle, Pebble, Coffee Bean), two light yellowy colors (Wild Wheat, Butter Cream), two similar dark ones (Charcoal, Mystic Moss), one purple (Amethyst) and one white (Sand Dollar).

Another con, in my opinion, is that they are all shimmery or glittery. None of them are matte. I like shimmery or sparkly shadows, but to not have one matte color to choose from is unfortunate. There is a reason most cheap shadows are sparkly; it makes them look more pigmented. The only one I could call an almost matte is Pebble. The shimmers are very fine and fewer in number than the other shadows. Maybe if the collection of Studio Shadows grow, ELF will add some varying textures to the mix.

Recommendation:
If you want to just give one a try for now, I recommend Coffee Bean. I wear this in my crease on top of another brown almost everyday. It is a nice color and has lovely rainbow glitters in it. Definitely my favorite. Pebble is a close second.

Thanks for reading! <3

*These products were bought with my own money and my opinions are not influenced by anyone.

NYX Sale

Cherry Culture is having a 25% off sale on all NYX cosmetics through this Tuesday May 25th!



Add any NYX items you want to your cart, click on your cart, and enter code NYX25.

HOT DEAL YOU NEED TO CHECK OUT

If anyone that is reading this has been thinking of buying some stuff from ELF but you're not sure, this should help you decide! It is 50% off of their Studio Line courtesy of dealtaker.com. I just made an order on ELF for $130 worth of stuff, some regular line but mostly Studio Line, and ended up getting $55 OFF the order totaling $75 (and got free shipping cause anything $75+ qualifies for free shipping). I seriously bought every Studio Line eyeshadow and 2 sets of their Studio Line brushes thanks to this deal!

ELF Code: STUD50

It expires 4/12/2010 so hurry! :)

Drugstore haul

Hi everyone! This is a haul post of things I bought from Rite Aid and KMart.



Sally Hansen Salon Nail Lacquer in Oh! Naturale; Pink About it; Navy Baby
These were on clearance at Rite Aid. I like all three of them. Oh! Naturale and Pink About it are very similar, but Oh! Naturale is more nude than pink. It takes 3-4 coats to make it opaque. They are professional-looking colors, and are similar to most Essie colors. Navy Baby is really pretty too. It is opaque with just one coat!


Revlon Lipstick in Soft Nude
Soft Nude is such a great lipstick. It is a pretty color, smooth texture, and moisturizing. Pretty packaging, too!

Maybelline Color Sensational in Pink Please
Pink Please was not as good. It is a very dry formula, and drags across your lips when applying. Also, it smells bad. I saw this in flowerpush's video on Youtube, and she said that it smells like sunflower seeds. It does! It is like a dusty old makeup smell that really does smell similar to sunflower seeds. Yeck, I don't like it. :/


Posh brushes
I love Posh brushes! All three were I think about 7 bucks. They are soft and cheap. Got these at KMart.


Wet n Wild Gel Eye Liner and brush
This stuff stays all day. I put it on my hand and after a minute will not come off no matter how hard you rub. The brush is prickly and kind of hard to work with.


Rimmel Glam Eyes Mascara in Extreme Black
Another thing I saw on flowerpush's channel. At first use I think it is ok. It does kind of glob my lashes together, a lot more than L'Oreal Voluminous. I am trying this one out.


L'Oreal Paris Lineur Intense in Carbon Black
Heard about this from fafinettex3 and wanted to try it. After trying it myself, however, I don't really like it. I feel it is streaky.

I also got some false eyelashes by Revlon, but I didn't take pics of them.

Thank you for reading! :)

Hair-Do

Me curling my hair! The pic was so bad because I took it accidentally with my hand over the flash and it came out really red, so I made it sepia tone instead. :P

St. Patty's

I know I haven't posted in a while! Update on the job, my background check went through fine and I am going to start Monday the 22nd! I am soo nervous but excited too. :]

So anyway, I was bored last night and when I'm bored I play around with my makeup (I'm always trying to improve)! Anyways I wanted to do something dramatic and definitely not an everyday look. I picked green to use because I decided I might as well try something for St. Patrick's Day, even if I don't personally celebrate it. All the greens and black were from my Coastal Scents 88 matte palette; the highlight is an Elf color from the Drama quad (favorite highlight color ever what!).





Thanks for reading! <3