Krystal's Personal Makeup Collection & Storage

I've always had requests to share my collection and storage and to be honest it was so bad and embarrassing that I just ignored those requests. Well, when I was going through my collection and pulling out unloved items for my Blog Sale, I finally organized my makeup and separated my personal makeup from my professional makeup (the products I use on clients).

I didn't photograph all my makeup and tools, but if you'd like a true tour of my makeup items, I will definitely get that done before I pack it all up to move in January.

Sterilite Black Medium Drawer (~$10 @ Target)
Elsa L Pleather Croco Desktop Organizer (~$10 @ Amazon)
90 Bottles Nail Polish Wall Rack (~$35 @ Amazon)
E.L.F. Studio Large Brush Holder (~$15 @ ELF Cosmetics)
E.L.F. Studio Small Brush Holder (~$5 @ ELF Cosmetics)

Krystal's Thanksgiving Makeup

I didn't have time to get some quality photos of my makeup, but I was able to snap a couple pictures in the McDonald's drive-thru while waiting for our breakfast order :)
The daylight shows it a little off, looks like I didn't blend the shades together, but the areas where the pigmentation is sheerer doesn't show up in the photo. But you get the jist!

FACE:
Laura Mercier Foundation Primer
MAC Pro Longwear Foundation in NC20 (my pregnant skin did not blend well with the MAC foundation, so it looks all splotchy and cakey - I should have just gone without foundation... oh well)
Neutrogena Healthy Skin Loose Powder in Medium

* not shown *
BLUSH: MAC - On A Mission
BRONZER: NARS - Laguna
LIPS: Laura Mercier Sheer Lip Colour - Healthy Lips

BROWS:
It Cosmetics Universal Brow Pencil
ELF Clear Mascara

EYES:
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (original)
MAC Eyeshadow - Brule (all over lid - brow highlight)
MAC Eyeshadow - Saffron (upper crease as a transitional shade)
MAC Eyeshadow - Cranberry (crease)
MAC Eyeshadow - Sun Blonde (inner corner, inner lower lash line)
MAC Eyeshadow - Steamy (middle lower lash line)
MAC Eyeshadow - Mulled Cider (deep crease, outer lower lash line)
Lorac Eyeshadow - Black (upper lash line, outer lower lash line)
MAC Eye Kohl - Smolder (upper water line, lower water line)
Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara - Black
Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara

Zoya Carrie Ann

Be prepared to see a lot of red nails coming from me! This time of year screams red polish all day every day. A while back I ordered 4 Zoya polishes during their B2G2 promo. Not surprisingly, all four are reds, and this is the first one I decided to try out - LOVE IT!

Zoya Nail Polish | Carrie Ann


Color Description: Zoya Nail Polish in Carrie Ann can be best described as: Light warm scarlet red with copper, gold and pink-red foil metallic glitter.A festive, sparkling red to add a bit flash to any look.


Color Family: Reds
Finish: Metallic
Intensity: 5 ( 1=Sheer - 5=Opaque )
Tone: Warm
Original Collection: Wicked

This red is just as festive as the Butter London Knees Up I was sporting endlessly for the last 5 weeks. Only difference I see is Knees Up looks metallic, more red and Carrie Ann looks shimmery, more orange - but both look like Christmas ribbons to me!

Carrie Ann can honestly be worn as a one coat manicure. It'll look a little more pinkish, but still shimmery and festive. I love Zoya polishes for their easy application, and this one was no different. The brush and polish combine for a perfect application without even trying. Of course, being a mommy I don't have time to perfect my cuticle lines - but will that really prevent you from understand how AWESOME this shade is?

(btw - all those ripples and bumps you see in the swatch photos, that's how damaged my nails STILL are from that Nutra Nail manicure I tried out :( I'm so distraught! I've had to chop my nails down to the skin and they're still peeling and crying for help)

Base Coat: Seche Retain
Top Coat: CND Super Shiny Top Coat

*CLOSED* Beautylish Giveaway!

My next giveaway will be exclusive to all my Beautylish followers. I have met sooo many lovely, talented beauties on Beautylish, I want to give back to those who have been very supportive of me!

Requirements:
- Have a Beautylish account - sign up is free!
- Be a follower of my Beautylish profile - CLICK HERE to follow
- Find the photo of my Beautylish Giveaway Prize - CLICK HERE to go to that photo
- Leave me this comment, and fill in the blank:
"Enter me into Krystal's Beautylish Giveaway! I love Beautylish because [enter your answer here]"
(if you don't fill in the blank, I won't count your comment as an entry)
- Must be 18yrs+ or have your parents permission to enter

* This giveaway is open internationally
* This giveaway is open from 11/27/11 - 12/3/11
* The winner will be announced on 12/4/11 on my Blog, Facebook and Twitter
* Winner will be contacted through Beautylish, I will leave a comment on your Beautylish page and if your profile has additional contact information I will contact you on all sources you provide (i.e. email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
* You may enter as many times as you like, 1 winner will be chosen at random, so the more entries you make the higher chances you have of winning!

NOW FOR THE PRIZE!
Valued at $70, I'm giving away:

Ardell Natural Style Lashes - Sexies

Ardell Fashion Lashes Glamour - 107

DUO Eyelash Adhesive - Dark Tone, White/Clear

Andrea Face Q's Fresh-Ups Linen Facial Blotters

Andrea Eye Q's Makeup Remover Pads

China Glaze Crackle Glaze - Broken Hearted, Lightning Bolt

100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Ultra Lengthening Mascara

Slatkin & Co. Scented Candle - Spiced Cider

Winner of my Thanksgiving Twitter Giveaway!

Last night my Thanksgiving Twitter Giveaway ended and this morning I used Random.org to choose the winner out of 136 entries!


Thank you all for entering, and keep your eyes peeled for more giveaways!!

oxoxo
Krystal

The winner is Mandy aka @bullet9885 on Twitter and Mandy's Beauty Page (Bullet9885) on Facebook!

Congrats girl!!!

Krystal's November Birchbox!

I honestly received my November Birchbox over a week ago, but I just let it sit on my vanity, unopened, this whole time - mainly I was so disappointed with my October Birchbox that I felt no excitement to open this one. I mentioned I hadn't opened it yet on my Facebook page and found out people received polish and perfume, so I opened it last night to see what I got. I can't find time to do my makeup and film me opening it like I usually do, so hopefully this blog post will suffice.

I must say, I'm happy I opened it and I wish I opened it sooner! I'm pretty happy with my November Birchbox so far!

Here's what I received this month:
Atelier Cologne Vanille Insenee Cologne Absolue
Borghese Fango Active Mud
LaRocca Skincare Champagne & Shimmer Supreme Creme
Zoya Nail Polish in Izzy
TREAT - Two Paper Dolls Ampersand Coasters
PRIZE UNLOCKED! BaubleBar Black Wood Pop Bracelet

Since I didn't film me opening the box, and showing my first impression of these items, I took a BAZILLION photos to share with you all!

Atelier Cologne Vanille Insenee Cologne Absolue
This cologne smells really nice - I'm a little surprised because it says it's a vanilla scent and normally those remind me of air freshners, but this cologne just smells sweet and delicate. It came in a sheer paper envelope with a super cute postcard (I have no idea what I'll do with the card...)

Borghese Fango Active Mud
I didn't swatch this mud because I think applied dry it would most likely feel cakey. I can say that it's really thick because I tried to squeeze some out to photograph and it took a lot of strength (with my bum thumb too) to get it to peak just enough to take a picture.

LaRocca Skincare Champagne & Shimmer Supreme Creme
This stuff is a little odd. It smells really really delicious, but it feels gritty and just doesn't soak into the skin. I have to figure this stuff out, it looks gorgeous, I just don't understand how to use it - yet.

Zoya Nail Polish in Izzy
I love this polish! I can't wait to try it on!

TREAT - Two Paper Dolls Ampersand Coasters
Um, I'm not sure why they put these in the Birchbox this month... Coasters?! Really? I think it's a little weird. I'm not blown away by the coasters so I probably won't even check out the brand online, but I guess my coffee has two new coasters to sit on :)

PRIZE UNLOCKED! BaubleBar Black Wood Pop Bracelet

This is my FAVORITE part of the Brichbox this month!! I was so excited to find that little black baggy in my Birchbox, and then I opened it and my heart got all excited! This is my type of accessory. I love the black, I love the large beads, I love the glitzy bead and I LOVE that it's on this hemp-like string. It's super cute and will be featured in my bracelet combos this season and maybe even the next season too! :)

In case you didn't read my blog all about Birchbox, here's the link if you have any questions about it: What is Birchbox?

* * If you would still like to see a video of me showing the items I received in my November Birchbox, let me know and I'll film one just for you :)

Krystal's October Birchbox Review!

Ugh! My October Birchbox bore me to pieces! It was weird. Usually I'm very excited about my boxes and the brands that I get, but I ended up not loving a single item in this box - actually, I only really liked one item, but I would never buy the full size - therefore I didn't love it.

Here's what I had received last month:
Befine Lip Serum
Blinc Mascara
Pangea Organics Japanese Matcha Tea Facial Mask
Orofluido Beauty Elixir
EXTRA - Tea Forte Minteas

Befine Lip Serum
Apparently some people received the other half of this duo, the Befine Lip Exfoliate, which Birchbox should have either offered both or only the exfoliate. I don't own a lip exfoliate, so to be honest, this lip serum was pretty useless to me. I tried wearing it as a lip balm, but it's so thin that it just soaks in and nothing happens. It doesn't hydrate your lips and I ended up needed to apply a balm after a few minutes. Lip exfoliates and serums go hand in hand, in my opinion anyway, and you really can't enjoy one with the other. So, ya, I feel like I can't even give a review on this product because used on it's own it's not worth buying, but used in the duo it comes in (BeLips Duo at $25) it might work great.


Blinc Mascara
I truly disliked this product, and I'm very disappointed it was in my Birchbox because it's far from anything I would choose to try out on my own. This mascara is mainly for lengthening, but I prefer voluminous mascaras myself. It does lengthen, but trying to apply this mascara was long and quite annoying for me. The formula was so dry that I didn't really know if I was applying anything to my lashes at all. I had to dip the wand back into the tube so many times, just to get an adequate amount of product on my lashes. Another dislike I had, it stole my curl! My lashes were flat and falling within minutes of drying. If you have short lashes, you might like this mascara because it does do a decent job at lengthening, but I wouldn't recommend it at $24 a tube!

Plus it's a very messy mascara to apply - might have been all the layers I felt I needed to apply to see the product on my lashes.

Two photos of my lashes before, and two photos of my lashes after:

It was very easy to remove though...

Pangea Organics Japanese Matcha Tea Facial Mask
I did not like this mask at all. It worked fine and made my skin feel smooth, but I did not like that it was so chunky. It has debris in it, probably the tea, and it burns/irritates my skin for the first 5 mins of wearing it. I did not like the smell either - I'm not a fan of herbal scents, and this one was not to my liking. If you're looking for a mask of natural ingredients, it's worth trying - but if your skin gets easily irritated I wouldn't recommend this one.


Orofluido Beauty Elixir
I've been using this oil every so often since I received it, and I really like it! It smells amazing, it doesn't leave a greasy feel on my hands after using it, it doesn't weigh down my hair, it doesn't make my hair feel or look oily, the scent lasts until the next time I wash my hair AND I can use it on wet and dry hair. I haven't used it every time I wash my hair or style it, just on special occasions because I don't want it to run out. Although I like it a lot, I don't love it enough to pay $29.99 for 3.4 fl oz. of it. It's not a product that my hair needs, it's more of a pleasure item. I will say, if you are in the market for a GOOD hair oil - definitely try this out!
(I was also directed to some very helpful videos by a YouTube subscriber, 


EXTRA - Tea Forte Minteas
These mints were so yucky, I threw them out the same week I got them. Note to self: lime and mint is not a good mixture to my taste buds.

In case you didn't read my blog all about Birchbox, here's the link if you have any questions about it: What is Birchbox?

* * I did not film a review video for my October Birchbox, I was just so discourage by this box that I didn't feel like being a hater the whole video, LOL
* * If you still want to see me do a review on my October Birchbox in video form, let me know and I'll gladly film it just for you ;)