My Holiday 2013 Party Look

I wore this outfit for Christmas Eve dinner.  I bought the dress for $60 at Kohl’s a year ago, but I never wore it. I added a black belt to accentuate my waistline.

OUTFIT

I also decided to add some color with a red tie..for after party ;P. The earrings are from Charming Charlie ($10). And who needs the shoes anyway??!! ..kidding… I had shoes – black pumps, but my feet were hurting by the end of the day, so I took them off for this photo shoot.

ACCESSORIES

The rose gold-plated ring I bought online (I can’t remember where… it was over a year ago) and the bangle at Kohl’s for $15.

HAIR AND MAKEUP

I did a soft wave on my hair by blowdrying it with a curling brush and then putting few rollers for extra body. For the makeup, I opted out for a bold berry-cherry lip, soft cat eye, and dusty-rose cheeks.

 

Bobbi Brown at Costco (review)

Dear Lovelies,

I went to my local Costco today to check out their products. I found some great items at amazing prices, but my attention was drawn towards a small assortment of makeup products.  What caught my eye the most was the Bobbi Brown Eyes (Day to Night Shadow Options) Palette at a bargain price of $36 (retails for $52).  It’s not the newest Bobbi Brown Eye Palette, but I couldn’t resist the great price and beautiful colors.

Left to Right: Ivory, Dusty Plum, Eggplant, Star, Volcano, Diamond, Caviar

SWATCHES

Top (from left): Ivory, Dusty Plum, Eggplant and Bottom (from left): Star, Volcano, Diamond, Caviar

MY REVIEW

When I opened up the palette, I was pleased with the color selection (2 matte colors; 2 shimmery  colors; 2 glittery/sparkling colors; and 1 metallic color). I also liked the fact that the palette came with a brush…although not very high quality.

The two matte colors (Ivory and Caviar) were pretty good. They are pigmented and smooth, easy to blend. The color pay-off is great.

I also liked the two shimmery colors (Eggplant and Diamond). The Eggplant (plummy) color was my favorite of the two shades. It is very pigmented, smooth, and blendable. The other color, Diamond, was a little too light and it didn’t show up easily on my skin.

Nest, I sampled the sparkling/glittery colors (Star and Volcano), which I also found Volcano to be pigmented and bendable. Star, however, was a little too  sheer for my liking..although the glitter showed up nicely and it wasn’t too overwhelming.

The shade I liked the least was the  metallic color (Dusty Plum). That shade was way too sheer, not very pigmented, and a little chalky. I had to swatch it twice to even make it somewhat visible on my skin.

Overall rating: B.

Further Explanation/Comparison with INGLOT:  GOOD, but NOT GREAT! I don’t think this Bobbi Brown Eye Palette is worth $52 retail price.  In my view, it didn’t even come close in comparison to my beloved makeup brand, INGLOT.

INGLOT offers hundreds of eyeshadow colors, which are highly pigmented, easily blendable, and extremely affordable. For $6 a pot, you can build your own custom makeup palette and enjoy a high-quality product for a fraction of a price. This year alone, I bought over 30 colors from INGLOT (http://www.inglotusa.com) and I luv every one of those shades.  Here is a link to my review of few of the INGLOT eyeshadows I ordered: http://wp.me/p2nX11-ie.

Thanks for reading!

XOXO

Mona Yoanna

 

INGLOT eyeshadows review & swatches # 64, 494, 439, 446, 40, 434, 420, 440, 395, 35, 507

Why I luv INGLOT?

If you never tried INGLOT eye shadows, you are missing out! They are great quality: highly pigmented, milky, and smooth. They are extremely blendable and last all day.  The best thing is the PRICE: $6 for a pot (called freedom system). With more colors then MAC, you are for a treat. I honestly don’t think I will ever purchase another MAC eye shadow ever again.

TOP ROW (left to right): 64, 494, 439, 446, 40
BOTTOM ROW (left to right): 434, 420, 440, 395, 35
RIGHT SIDE: 507

How I choose my INGLOT shades?

I heard of INGLOT few years ago, but I never tried it. It is a cosmetic brand popular in Europe. There are only few stores in US that sell INGLOT and my town, Houston, is not one of them. I came across a blog with some INGLOT swatches and wanted to test them out myself. I placed my order online (www.inglotusa.com) for 11 colors and 14 days later (yeah, it took a while L) I got my carefully selected shades. INGLOT has 100+ of colors, so it took me about 5 hours to select my 11 eyeshadows.

As you can tell from my selection, I was partial to purples/plum shades.

TOP ROW (left to right):64, 494, 439
BOTTOM ROW (left to right): 434, 420, 440

TOP ROW (left to right):  446, 40
BOTTOM ROW (left to right):  395, 35
RIGHT SIDE: 507

Number and Description of the Inglot Eyeshadows

#64 AMC:       black with golden micro -sparkles
#494 DS:        bluish purple with golden flecks
#439 Pearl:    medium violet-purple
#446 Pearl:    deep plum purple with red undertones
#40 Shine:     medium plum purple with metallic sheen with silver micro-sparkle
#434 Pearl:    purple-grey silver
#420 Pearl:    purple taupe/mauve with metallic silver sheen
#440 Pearl:    frosted icy pale lilac
#395 Pearl:    pale yellow with high white sheen (maybe shimmer)
#35 Shine:     sheer pearly white
#504 DS:        teal green with silver shimmer

Individual Color Swatches

I swatches each color just once. As you can see, the color pay-off is amazing! They are very pigmented. I only noticed that the lighter shades are more sheer.

#64 AMC:       black with golden micro -sparkles

#494 DS:        bluish purple with golden flecks
#439 Pearl:    medium violet-purple

#446 Pearl:    deep plum purple with red undertones

#40 Shine:     medium plum purple with metallic sheen with silver micro-sparkle

#434 Pearl:    purple-grey silver

#420 Pearl:    purple taupe/mauve with metallic silver sheen

#440 Pearl:    frosted icy pale lilac

#395 Pearl:    pale yellow with high white sheen (maybe shimmer)

#35 Shine:     sheer pearly white

#504 DS:        teal green with silver shimmer

Where to buy

I’m extremely satisfied with the 11 shades I’ve received, and I just placed another order to additional 11 colors. To purchase INGLOT online go to www.inglotusa.com.  To find a store near you, go to http://www.inglotcosmetics.com/inglot/stores.

 

 

Not So Plain Jane: Dramatic Eye Makeup

We live in a world, where looks are very important. How we dress and how we do our makeup and hair matters. We are judged at the first glance by the way we look. It is said, but true. We don’t live in a perfect world, but we can make the best off of it.

I strongly believe we are all beautiful in our own way. Some people just spend more time on their look and others spend less time. Since this world seems to focus on looks, I think it is important to appreciate our own beauty, embrace it, and make it shine.

Few nights ago, Jane texted me if I could do her makeup for a new job at some local bar. I, of course, jumped at the opportunity. I was excited, because Jane is very new to makeup. She usually wears very little or no makeup.

I wanted to bring out one of Jane’s best features: her magnetic eyes. So, I decided to do a classic smokey eye. It was a dramatic change for Jane, but she really liked it.

At the end, she was very satisfied with the look and got many tips. I want to think that her new bold makeover helped somewhat ;).