Month: May 2017

Lorac Pirates of the Caribbean; 4 looks one palette & review!

~ SeriouslyStyled ~ 1 Comment

Let me start this by saying two things. 1.) When I first saw this drop I had no intention of purchasing it but then I saw it in person and understood 2.) Lorac makes my single favorite eyeshadow formula of all time

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This palette retails for $52 but was on sale at Ulta last week for $41. I used Kohls cash (that my mom graciously gifted to me) to purchase mine. The packaging is large, clunky cardboard reminiscent of old school Urban Decay palettes. The eyeshadow palette contains a slit on the side to store the blush/highlighter palette if you decide to purchase that as well (they’re not sold together).

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This palette contains 18 eyeshadow shades and one mini eyeliner. This eyeliner is AMAZING. I kid you not it’s the best eyeliner I have EVER tried in my waterline. I was so, so surprised, as I’ve never tried any of loracs eyeliners or mascaras but boy will I be in the future.

This is a very cool toned eyeshadow palette and I am loving that, as I have a very cool complexion so these shades have been so flattering and so fun to play with. I’ve been infatuated with warm tones lately so it’s been fun to go back to my tried and true.

My favorite of the shadow shades are: silvermist, pirates chest, sea haze, silent mary and black pearl.

 

Above are my two favorite looks I created. This palette is fantastic for cool-toned smokey looks. I was able to create a silvery blue smokey eye with silver mist, yo ho, black pearl and silent mary and I was also able to create a green smokey eye using bones, sea haze, menace and ghostly. I LOVE these two looks and can’t wait to wear both of them again. Lip color on the left is Colourpop Clueless and the lip color on the right is Smashbox gloss in Pulse.

This next look was a very nice, wearable look that I rather enjoyed. I used the shades pirates chest, matey and compass. Lip color is Bite lip pencil in beige nude with a gloss over it.

For my final wearable look I used treasure, bones and tell no tales. I actually enjoyed this look far more in person that the way it photographed. Lip color is Nars Dragon Girl.

 

Overall, I really love this palette. It’s extremely versatile and it has been very easy to travel with. I also love the convenience of being able to store the blush palette (which I also purchased) in it so that I have a large number of my powdered face products all together. The large mirror is also very nice (there is also a nice mirror on the blush palette). Like most Lorac shadows they kick up up a bit of powder, but noticeably less than the Lorac Pro palette. These shadows are well pigmented and perform well. They hold for longer when used with a primer and or concealer on the lids (do note that I have very oily eyelids). I did find that sea haze performed far better with I sprayed some Maybeline master fix on my brush before picking it up and it was quite stunning foiled.

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Swatches in the same order shadows are in the palette starting at the top left. 

I heard that this didn’t get the greatest reviews but I rather disagree. I find this to be an excellent and very versatile palette. It has proven to be travel friendly and able to create a variety of looks for day and night (dates, work, shopping days, etc). If this is something you’ve been on the fence about I’d say if you enjoy cool tones and the Lorac shadow formula and don’t mind bulky packaging then I’d say absolutely pick this up! It’s excellent quality and fun! This is the most inspired I’ve felt by a makeup item in a long time and I didn’t even think it was something I wanted at first.

 

That’s all for now!

 

XO

-A

Special Occasion Makeup; A Spring Wedding Guest Look!

~ SeriouslyStyled ~ Leave a comment

 

For me this seems to be the year of exactly four hundred thousand weddings. Okay, four as a guest and one as an artist (that I know of so far) but that’s a lot! The first of the year was my cousin’s wedding in April. She got married on a Saturday in a stunning Catholic Church. Here is the look I created for that occasion. I’m honestly in love with it and plan on doing variations of this look for the rest of the spring/summer weddings. Although, I’m a bridesmaid in the next wedding on the books so I will probably tweak more to theme.

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Here are the products I used:

Glamglow moisturizer in Nude Glow

Lancome Teinte Idole foundation in light bisque

Maybeline Age Rewind concealer in Brightener

Benefit Erase Paste in shade 2

Lorac I love brunch palette (Jelly donut, sorbet and pancakes).

Lancome Art Liner

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer in Soft Brown

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush from the 2016 holiday palette (the tan/peachy shade).

Laura Gellar Gilded Honey Highlight

Covergirl Supersizer mascara layered with YSL The Shock mascara

Rimmel Provacalips in Wish Upon A Berry

Maybeline Master Fix Setting Spray

Here’s a pic of my outfit and my oh, so handsome date. Doesn’t he look thrilled? Lol.

This look lasted all day through a long drive, ceremony, dinner, rain, etc. Unfortunately, we had to leave before dancing but I have confidence it would’ve lasted fairly well, as well as any full face can when you’re moving your body.

Anyway, it was a beautiful day and a very fun day as well! Can’t wait for the next wedding (ahh and bachelorette party in Chicago ) coming up here very soon!! Eek! My best friend is getting married; I’m so excited!!

XO

-A

Viseart Petit Pro Review

~ SeriouslyStyled ~ 1 Comment

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Viseart is a well known luxury brand used by pros and has very differing reviews from two of my favorite Youtube personalities (Stephanie Nicole who loves these and Livloveshermakeup who had the cool mattes palette and did not like it). I felt that for $30 I could give Viseart a shot and see if it was worth it for me.

This palette contains eight shades (4 matte and 4 shimmer) and a total of 5.84 grams of product, at a price tag of $30 (plus tax and shipping, however I did not include this in the per gram breakdown) it comes down to $5.13 per gram, which is actually pretty steep. I did get this during the VIB sale, as I was planning to purchase it anyway (woo a whopping $4.50 since off).

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A warm toned look using this Viseart palette. 

First and foremost these swatch beautifully, they’re buttery and come off as high-impact shadows. Unfortunately for me, that’s about where it ends. The matte shades are lovely, the blend out nicely and have decent color payoff but they’re honestly no different than my Lorac mattes (which are my favorite). For the price of a Viseart palette I could purchase two Lorac palettes and be just as (if not more) satisfied. Where it gets worse are the shimmer shadows. I put one of my regular eyeshadow brushes in the shimmer shades and barely and pigment was picked up. I eventually had to pack it on and foil it onto my eyelids and then it barely held on for the work day. A few days later I used Juvia’s Place Masquerade palette and it held on better than the Viseart palette did (for slightly less money and more shades in a larger size).

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Swatches

In addition to the actual product, the size of the palette is quite literally the size of my credit card and it is in a fold-out cardboard container (I do know corrugate costs are up right now but this is a pretty teeny carton). The shadows appear to be in a plastic holder within the cardboard packaging and quite frankly just look cheap. They are easily removable so that they can be stuck in a Z-palette for a makeup artist or someone who enjoys condensing their collection. However, I enjoy using palettes all together and haven’t yet invested in a Z-palette.

Though the tones are beautiful I wouldn’t recommend picking this up. Rather invest in the Lorac Pro for $14 more and double the shade selection or the ABH Modern Renaissance if you’re looking for a beautiful warm-toned neutral palette. I’m super bummed that these didn’t live up to the hype for me, but ya live and learn.

 

XO

 

-A

 

Wedding Day Makeup

~ SeriouslyStyled ~ 1 Comment

 

So occasionally I pick up gigs doing wedding makeup on the side. It’s fun to turn my hobby into a side hustle and I truly, truly enjoy doing it.

This blog post features the wedding of Klaudia (the beautiful bride pictured below). Klaudia was one of my classmates in my MBA cohort and a truly kind and beautiful person. Her and her family were so sweet and welcoming and so much fun to work on. They had beautiful weather for their morning brunch wedding.

I was able to do makeup for two bridesmaids, Klaudia’s step mom (not pictured, didn’t get a photo) and the bride herself.

So the following are the products I used for the left bridesmaid:
Lancome teinte idole foundation
Benefit Erase Paste Concealer
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Hourglass blush in surreal glow
Buxom lip liner in White Russian
Lorac Pro palette (cream, white, taupe and espresso)
Maybeline Sensational Luscious Mascara

So the following are the products I used for the right bridesmaid:
Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Skin Tint
Maybeline Age rewind brightener concealer
Hourlgass blush in surreal glow
Lorac Pro Palette (cream, nude, champagne).
Maybeline Sensational Luscious Mascara
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Essence Make Me Brow in Blonde
I’m failing to remember the lipgloss I used for her but I will update it if I remember!

 

So the following are the products I used for the bride:

Lancome Tentie Idole Foundation
Lorac Pro Plaette (nude, cream, champagne, taupe) and Too Faced Natural Eyes (the original 9 pan) palette (satin sheets).
Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Palette to create a custom shade
Hourglass surreal light blush
ABH Brow Wiz
Maybeline Age rewind brightener concealer
Hourlgass blush in surreal glow
Maybeline Sensational Luscious Mascara
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Hourglass surreal light finishing powder
Hourglass surreal strobe light highilgihter
Maybeline Master Fix setting spray

 

All in all it was a fun morning and a beautiful day! The photos I saw afterwards were gorgeous and I hope that Klaudia and her now husband had a lovely honeymoon.

 

XO

 

-A

MBA Graduation Day Makeup!

~ SeriouslyStyled ~ 3 Comments

 

As many of you may know I received my MBA in Supply Chain Management last Friday! Exciting (scary), isn’t it? So I wanted to share with you the look I came up with for the day. I was also practicing the look that was requested of the bride I worked on the following day, so I was experimenting with neutral shadows; which is actually different for me. I tend to go for whacky colors or plums/pinks if I’m doing a more natural/neutral look.

For the look pictured I used:

I prepped my skin with Algenist moisturizer.

Lancome Teinte Idole Foundation in Light Bisque.

Hourglass Holiday 2016 ambient lighting palette blush in surreal glow and highlighter in surreal light. This made me fall in love with this blush and with hourglass powders all over again; I’m obsessed!

For my eyes I used the Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar and the original Lorac Pro palette (which is always my favorite for bridal gigs).

I used the Estee Lauder brow pencil I picked up from TJ Maxx a few posts back.

For mascara I layered Too Faced Better Than Sex and Neutrogena healthy volume.

For liner I used the Physicians Formula pen liner that everyone swears is a dupe for Kat Von D’s Trooper (Spoiler Alert; it’s not!)

For concealer I used Benefit Erase Paste and Maybeline Age Rewinder in the brightener shade.

For my lips I used the Rimmel Provocalips in Wish Upon A Berry. (I am obsessed with these; I swear they work just as well as the Lipsense trend everyone is crazy for now).

I finally set the look with Maybeline setting spray.

I spent the day with my mom grabbing lunch, getting to pick out a new couch (was my graduation present) and hanging out with my mom and fiancé. Then, finally, walking across the stage to grab my…diploma holder. Lol. Since my diploma is being mailed. But, hey, I can now add fancy credentials to my name and say I made it!!

 

This photo shows my makeup at the end of the day; which still looked pretty damn good! If you’re wondering my mortar board says, “MBA, when your B.S. can’t take U further.” Yes I am very proud of it. Lol. I tried to hang it on my desk at work but sadly the rhinestones just started peeling off.

 

That’s all for now!

 

XO

-A

 

Life Update

~ SeriouslyStyled ~ 2 Comments

Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry for my going MIA for the last few weeks; to say it’s been busy is an understatement so here’s what’s gone down:

1.) I finished my internship and we had mid-year inventory (anyone whose ever had to do inventory knows this is a nightmare).

2.) One of my cousins got married, so we used that weekend to travel down there to celebrate her marriage and visit family.

3.) I graduated this Friday with my MBA!

4.) I start full time at the location where I did my internship tomorrow.

5) My best friend graduated yesterday with her masters in education and we went over to celebrate with her and her fiancé and family last night.

6.) My fiancé starts his full time photography internship tomorrow.

7.) We booked our reception venue for our wedding and now can wait until next year to do anything else. Phew!

8.) As a graduation present my parents are getting us a new couch, so we’re going to look at those today.

9.) I had the pleasure and honor to do makeup for a wedding of one of my cohort members yesterday. Her and her family were absolutely beautiful and model clients; be looking forward to that post coming soon!

10.) We booked our wedding photographers and their work is absolutely the most stunning I’ve ever seen.

 

That’s all I can think of for now!

 

XO

-A