Favorite Products of 2010 !

This post has been a long time coming. ( ´•         A       •`  ) 2010 was actually the first whole year I've worn/bought/used makeup. That's right, I actually didn't REALLY start wearing makeup until the beginning of my sophomore year of college, fall of 2009. What I mean by I didn't "really" start wearing makeup till then is that I never really bought or used products before that. Yeah, I wore some funky silver liner for fun in the 6th grade, but makeup wasn't used by me until probably my senior year of high school. Even then, I only wore bronzer, the occasional eyeliner, and mascara once in a while. I don't know if that really counts. Anywho, as I was saying before I got off track, is that 2010 was a big year because that was my makeup frenzy. Just from a year, I've accumulated more makeup than I can use in my lifetime, and now I'm here to share what worked/I liked best.

1. Primer: Philosophy's The Present. There has always been a lot of speculation on whether primer is needed or not. I don't use them everyday, but If I'm out for a long time, it's a must. Primer does help keep your foundation on longer, that's their purpose after all. If you find the right primer, it can even make your foundation look better! After I apply The Present, I wait about five minutes for it to dry (if you don't wait, prepare for some gross looking foundation). After I apply my foundation, my skin looks amazing. Not airbrushed, but pretty darn close.

2. Foundation: NARS Sheer Glow. This was a tough category. I use a different foundation every day of the week, and it's so hard to narrow down which one I like the most. I went with Sheer Glow because the coverage is nice, and the formula doesn't look or feel heavy. I use the colors Stromboli and Punjab. Other foundations I was considering were Revlon's Colorstay, Diorskin Nude, and MAC StudioFix.

3. Tinted Moisturizer: Physician's Formula Healthywear. I prefer this over ALL my tinted moisturizers, including one by the popular Laura Mercier. This provides more coverage AND has an SPF of 50, which is darn close to amazing in my book. I always forget to put on sunscreen, so this solves my problem.I use the color Light to Natural.

4. Powder: MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural. Sometimes, tinted moisturizer can leave me looking sooo greasy, even though I naturally don't have oily skin. I switch powders regularly, depending on if I want extra coverage, etc. I like MAC's MSF the best because it does the simple job of making my face not shiny. Period. I use the color Medium Plus. It's a bit light, but the next color is Medium Dark, which is way too dark for me to powder with.

5. Concealer: Amazing Cosmetics concealer. To be honest, this is just the best out of my bunch of concealers, but I feel like I'm still not completely satisfied, and I don't know why. It's thick, so you just need a bit, and it covers up my undereye circle great. But... it still doesn't make me look FLAWLESS, ya know? I still really like this though.I use the color Medium Beige.

1. Blush: Rock and Republic Contrived. I am the proud owner of all 12 available colors. That's how much I like them. They're super pigmented, and super pretty to look at. These really will last me forever since I barely even use any product at one time. My current favorite color is All Nighter, which is a bright hot orange with a sheen. I use it lightly on my lips and it gives me a pretty coral glow.

2. Bronzer: NARS in Laguna. I was debating between this or Benefit's Hoola. I went with Laguna because it's more golden in tone, and I use it to make me look tanner, and I use Hoola more for contouring. Everyone lovesss Laguna, so I guess I don't have to explain it. It's simply a nice bronzer. ( >          ε         ~ )

3. Highlighter: Eyeko 3-in-1 cream. I've blogged about this before, and I still love it. The cream formula is very easy to apply. It has a golden glow, which I always find nicer than the silver ones. I use it on my cheek bones and down the bridge of my nose. PRETTTY.

4. Lipstick: NYX Round lipsticks. I'm still on the search of a lipstick formula that won't dry out my lips and glides on as nicely with as much pigmentation as my NYX ones. I like NYX because the colors are opaque and they are the least drying ones I have. My favorite colors are Honey and Circe, both nudes, and both have almost been used up...

5. Lipliner: Sephora Nano lipliners. I'm not a big lipliner person, and I only own a few. This is actually the first lipliner I've ever owned. I bought it after Lollipop26 raved about it and called it her HG a long time ago. I use the color Native Nude to OVERline my lips and sometimes to fill them in to tone down my natural lip color. Lately I haven't been filling them in because my lips have been really dry.

6&7. Lipgloss. Smashbox Lip Enhancing glosses and Rock and Republic. I couldn't pick just one, so I felt like I should mention both. I like the Smashbox ones because they're very pigmented, and I like the R&R ones because they make my lips look plump due to the glossiness, and they come in nice sheer colors. My favorite Smashbox ones are Pout and Sand, and my favorites in R&R are Muse and Vacant.

1. Eyeshadow Primer: LORAC Behind the Scenes. GASP. Yes. I didn't say Urban Decay or Too Faced. No, I'm not going crazy. I really do like LORAC's the best. I feel like it makes my shadows the most vibrant, and the staying power is better too.

2. Pencil Eyeliner: MAC Pearlglide. I discovered this pretty late in the year, but OH EM GEE. It's the bee's knees. It glides soooo smoothly, like BUTTAH. The pigmentation is amazing, and it stays on forever! Nothing bad to say here! My favorite color is Black Swan, which came out with the Tartan Tale Holiday Collection.

3. Liquid Eyeliner: Loreal Lineur Intense. This is my favorite RIGHT NOW, because I ran out of my Stila one, which honestly stays a little better. But, I've used the Loreal one for a really long time and I still love it. It's easy to apply and gives dramatic color.

4. Gel/Cream Eyeliner: MAC's Fluidline in Blacktrack. DUH. This is the eyeliner I used to use all the time. I've gotten too lazy to whip out a brush lately, but it's still the best formula I've tried.

5. Brows: Anastasia Beverly Hills Highlighting Brow Palette. I use this every single day. It has three different colors you can mix to get the perfect color.

6. Mascara: Maybelline Full and Soft. This is my go to mascara. It gives me great looking lashes, volume and length, but keeps them soft at the same time. There's nothing I hate more than clumpy hard lashes!

7. Eyeshadow: MAC. I own tons of eyeshadow, and I like most of them, but nothing makes me happier than a MAC one. They come in tons of shades, and most of them are pigmented and smooth (it's hit or miss). My favorite color of all time is Cork.

1. Facial Cleanser: Philosophy's Purity. I use this to cleanse my face of makeup at the end of the day (or uhhh the next morning if I'm lazy). It takes my foundation off great and leaves me feeling clean.

2. Face Wash: Origins Checks and Balances. I've never had a face wash as silky as this one. You only need a little, and it lathers up to be a silk-like consistency on your face. The smell is a little hippie-ish, but the formula is amazing.

3. Moisturizer: Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. I have Normal to Dry skin, and I use this every single morning before my primer or foundation. It gives me a smooth finish to work with and leaves my skin smooth and... errr... pliable?

4. Lip Treatment/Chapstick: Neosporin Overnight Renewal Therapy. I have really problematic, sensitive, lips. I'm forever trying out new lip products to achieve kissable soft lips. It's a long journey. I really enjoy this one because it's very hydrating. I actually use it during the day too. Oddly enough, it has the consistency of a thin face moisturizer.

5. Makeup Setting Spray: Makeup Forever Mist & Fix. This stuff really does what it claims. It certainly makes my makeup last longer than it would without spraying this first. I have to be careful to spray it quickly and from a far distance though, or the spray will be too thick.

6. Eye Makeup Remover: Talika Lash Conditioning Cleanser. I never ever use my facial cleanser to try to remove my makeup. It just doesn't work that way. I always wear eye makeup, be it full out, or just mascara. This stuff removes all that gunk like a dream, AND conditions my lashes at the same time.

1. Body Wash: Philosophy's Candy Cane. Smooth, Luxurious, Smells like Peppermint. HIT. The smell doesn't last long, and it very faint, but I love the way it smells when I'm taking a shower.

2. Gradual Self Tanner: Origins the Great Pretender. I like to use this to give me a healthy glow every once in a while. It smells really nice when you apply it, really minty and not at all like a self tanner. It does fade to a slight self tanner smell though. It's easy to apply and it's impossible to get streaks. The only downside is it has shimmer, so I like it best when I apply it and shower the next day.

3. Body Lotion: Victoria's Secret Pink Fresh & Clean. I don't use lotion very often, only during the summer to get rid of ashy legs/knees. The lotions I like best come from the Victoria Secret Pink lines, because of the nice scent. This one smells very lovely.

4. Self Tanner: Sun Labs. This is an instant self tanner. It doesn't make me orange, because of it's green undertone, and I'm left with a bronzey look. You have to be careful with it because you can get a bad case of self tanner hands. I'm too lazy to use a mitt or glove, so I just wash my hands after doing each "section" of my body. I own this self tanner in medium, dark, and very dark. I also own various versions of it, such as an overnight one.

5. Body Spray: Victoria's Secret Pink Fresh & Clean. I love this scent so so so muchhh. (Hence why I also use the lotion). I can't describe it, it really is fresh though.

6. Perfume: Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy. I love this so much. The strange thing is, it's totally not my type of scent. I stay away from florals, but this one just WORKS on me. Isn't it weird that fragrances smell different depending on who the person is? Oh, and I also adore the pretty bottle!

WHOO. Wow. I didn't know that would be so long. That took forever and a day. I hope I didn't bore you guys! Let me know what you think of these products, and feel free to ask questions!

Thanks for reading & I hope to post more soon. (School's been kicking the living daylights out of me!)

♥Au Revoir! 

[CLOSED] New Years Urban Decay Giveaway!

Remember when I promised to put up a giveaway a few weeks ago..? It was originally a Christmas giveaway, then it turned into a holiday one, and out of busy-ness, is now a New Year's one! ( >        Α        ~ ) yayyyyyy

Well it's finally here!

Up for grabs is a bundle I've made consisting of all Urban Decay products. All products are brand new of course
( n ________  n)

What you'll be winning:
Cocoa Body Powder
Eyeshadow Transforming Potion
Liquid Eyeliner in Lucky
Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner in Distortion
Summer of Love Nail Polish set
Eyeshadow in Chains
Matte Eyeshadow in Chronic
Deluxe sample sizes of: Lipstick in Midnight Cowboy, Skyscraper Multi-benefit Mascara, Pocket Rocket Lipgloss in Timothy

Rules are the same, plain and simple:

1. Leave a comment telling me what your New Year's resolution is! (And include your email address so I can reach you)
2. You must be a follower.
3.  Only one entry per person
4.  Enter by January 14th 11:59 PM
5. Giveaway is open internationally

Good Luck! 


Gahhhh! I forgot to mention that my lovely Samsung dual screen camera was broken on New Year's Eve, errr, when I had.... been drinking... and left it out in the open at a party. When I turned it on on the way out, the screen is mostly white! Somebody at the party broke it and put it back ( TT __ TT ). I don't know how I'll be taking photos for awhile.... Just a heads up!

Merry Christmas! Am I late?

I really wanted to post yesterday but I was so busy, but I hoped everyone had a lovely Christmas!
In case you haven't noticed, my blog is COMPLETELY different. I mentioned that the pink was tiring on my eyes, and I was just NOT happy ( *     3     * ).... I just sort of threw this together for now, I made the banner in about 5 minutes, but when I have time, I'll make something better. ohoho. I really just needed something simple that didn't make me want to throw up. If you liked the old layout better... I am so sorry...

These are photos I took, of myself, in the car, on Christmas... It wasn't even bright outside and I look washed out. Excuse: I took it with my camera phone.

It really didn't feel like Christmas this year. I was somewhat disappointed... Oh well, at least it will be snowing this week! 

Here was my family's Christmas tree. You see how it's lopsided and just... strange looking? Well, it's a funny story. It's supposed to be a 7 foot tree (synthetic), and my dad threw away two parts. So we had to improvise! We took a mini tree and put it on the 1/3 we had left of the other tree! Strange that it kind of worked... that's also why there's different colored lights on top ( >       w       < ).

Also, here are my Christmas nails! Hmmm, they're very uninteresting in photos, BUT I assure you, they look a lot better in real life because of the pretty sparkles. I used FIVE different nail polishes to do this look, all by China Glaze. I'm sure you're not interested in which ones so I won't bore you with names.

This is my "Christmas" outfit:

Every single piece down to my feet is Forever21. Yes, that is in fact a cape I am wearing. The red purse is from Kohls, and I'm sure you guys remember my fox tail form H&M. I finally figured out a way to post up pictures of my outfits without showing off my mirror. Cropping. Yes. It seems so simple now. (By the way, it's really not, look at all those edges I was too lazy to fix).


ANDDDD this is my last picture for the day, I wanted to show you guys my sister's cool mirror. I like to do my hair in her room. Hohoho :D.

So a bit about this blog... I've been trying my hardest to be more consistent on this blog. I also want to let you guys know what's going on with my blog. As of recently, it's been mainly a beauty/cosmetic blog, however, I've been slowly trying to make the transition to do a lot more fashion. Here's a fact you most likely do not know, A Haute Passion started out as a purely fashion blog. That's right. Before the makeup was launched, I cleared this blog of all my fashion posts, restarting with an entirely different view. So, this blog will function a bit differently as well the formatting and overall appeal of the posts. Of course, I still love makeup and will continue to do reviews and such. This afterall, IS a beauty blog. I have been recently been reevaluating just how much of it I have, and will do a blog sale in the near future. I've realized that while I love makeup, I can still run a beauty blog without hoarding, ya know what I means? I hope you guys will stick around with my new transitions!

I think I'm just about tuckered out now. I had work today and I have work in the morning too. I have the photos taken for my "Holiday" giveaway, so look forward to that soon!

Hope everyone has a good night! And I'd love to hear about your Christmas! Get any cool presents? Any makeup?? ( n ______ n) 

Merry Christmas Eve! (Some Early Christmas presents!)

I can't believe it's Christmas Eve! And I can't believe it's raining... =(
I wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas as well as share some early presents (most of which I bought for MYSELF yesterday.... I can't help it!). So this is a bit of a haulage post to share some buys I bought while "Christmas Shopping".

First are a few clothing pieces I got for myself. I like to buy a lot of plain pieces that are versatile. You can never have too many plain tees, so I bought two simple burnout material tees from PacSun, one gray and one white. I wish I could devise a better way to take photos of clothes...

I also got this plain tan skirt from Forever21. It was so cheap! I'm planning on wearing it as part of my Christmas dinner outfit with a red top.

My favorite clothing piece is probably this nautical-esque top from H&M. This was also a great bargain. It's not so interesting laid out like that, but is really cute on tucked into a skirt!

Also at H&M, I found the popular fur shawl! I was wondering if these came in multiple colors? I've read various blogs and the colors of other bloggers look a bit different. Anyways, I was lucky that my H&M finally stocked these.

I was debating if I really needed it since I already have two fur shawls. The two in the back are from Foreign Exchange, and the H&M one is in the front. I think I've decided to keep it because it's made nicer than the other ones. The fur is softer and the material is thicker. It also lays across my shoulders better than the other two.

Next, I went to Nordstrom Rack and bought two pairs of shoes. I really like the look of the chestnut colored sherpa booties over skinny jeans. They're also very comfy =). The black flats are by Steve Madden and I'm still debating whether I should keep them. I've been wanting a plain pair of studded flats for awhile, and they were pretty cheap.

Lastly, I bought two new fragrances. I got the Pink Sugar set from Sephora and the Live Pink fragrance from Victoria's Secret. The Pink Sugar one is VERY sweet. I bought the VS one simply because of the cute packaging... Other than that, I will most likely stick with my Viva La Juicy perfume.

On to early presents!
I received my present from my coworker and one of my best friends early.

My friend Carina got me really cute presents! She got me a very sweet teacup from Anthropologie with tea, sugar, and biscotti. I love biscotti! I don't like Earl Grey tea, but I'll try it anyways. She also bought me a notebook from Anthopologie. I'll be using it for class notes =). I was also very surprised to find a Givency eyeshadow palette in it! It's very small but very expensive. I'm scared to use it and ruin it! Lol (*-*)

One of my coworkers also got me a very nice present. I recieved a Hickory Farms Sausage and Cheese set (don't laugh! I LOVE this stuff, I could eat it all day). He also gave me a mug with a bunch of goodies and candy inside. The cutest part of the gift were the handmade glass ornaments (he didn't make them though). I've put them on my tree already.

Have you guys ever gone Christmas shopping for others only to end up with things for yourself?? 

*I've been despising the look of my blog. New layout coming soon! 

$10 NARS Deals at Sephora

Sometime last month (?), or maybe it was just a few weeks ago (time escapes me), I ordered a couple of NARS goodies after discovering they were only $10 on Sephora. I bought NARS' Duo Eyeshadows in Cheyenne and Wicked as well as their lipgloss in All Night Long. I believe that the duo eyeshadows are now sold out but the lip gloss is in stock. >(^o^)> I'm not sure what possessed me to make that emoticon.

 

Wicked, All Night Long, & Cheyenne 

Shown above is Wicked. This was really just an impulse buy because I can't pass up a good deal. Other than that, when will I ever wear lime green eyeshadow?

Cheyenne was more up my alley. It comes with a bronze-gold as well as a reddish copper.

 

 Wicked duo, Cheyenne duo (The copper color is not true to life, it appears more of a cool brown in photos, but true copper face to face... )

Cheyenne duo, Wicked duo

Like all other NARS eyeshadows I've tried, I'm again amazed by the amazing texture and pigmentation. They are always smooth and the colors are always vibrant and pigmented. I haven't actually used Wicked yet (bad I know, considering I received it so long ago), but I reckon the white will make a nice highlight, while the green will make a nice partner to keep the white company in it's lonely case. I did end up using Cheyenne, using the gold all over the lid and the red copper into the crease. Verdict? Amazing color payoff, horrible look on me. That's right. I don't even know why I attempted to use this duo, I KNOW that copper and reddish colors look HORRENDOUS on me. There's just something about coppers that make me look plain gross and a bit evil. I'm not joking. I just can't pull it off, I can't really explain it, but I just look BAD. B-A-D. Get the picture? So, two out of four colors isn't horrible is it...?

Moving on (since I'm getting oh-so-huffy)...

All Night Long was another impulse buy. I always wear nudes, but couldn't resist the cheap pricetag on this deep colored baby.

All Night Long  is a wonderfully smooth and pigmented berry color. It looks like a deeper plum in the tube but applies like a light berry when swatched. I haven't tried it on my lips because I'm still getting over my experience with Turkish Delight (YEESH Note: Splotchy color, horrendous taste, bad smell). BUT, sources have informed me of the majesty that is this lip gloss (translation: it's wonder in a tube).

Bottom line, I like the products (with the exception of the way copper looks on me), but truth be told, these have been sitting in the back of a drawer ever since this swatching session.

THREE DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS!