eBay Ninja: Steve Madden Haviland Boots

Steve Madden Haviland Boots

A little known fact about me? I AM AN EBAY NINJA. No joke. I can bid with the best of 'em. Seriously, I can't even begin to tell you all about amazing deals that I've scored. Out of all of them, this may be my finest. I was in the market or a nice pair of affordable black leather over-the-knee boots. The key word there is affordable. I would love a pair of Stuart Weitzman 50/50s, but I don't have an extra $600 laying around. Finding over-the-knee boots has been a struggle since I have such skinny legs. A Google search led me to these.

These are from last season, so they were only available on ebay. The Ebay Gods were smiling down on me, because I easily found a pair in my size. And the starting bid was only $20!!!! They're real leather and retailed for about $150+!!! Eventually, I ended up winning them for $41!!! WIN!!!

Overall, I'm very happy with them.They were in near-perfect condition with only a couple scuff marks.The leather is nice and soft, and I love that they have a little 1 inch stacked heels. I'm tall, so they only come a little over my knees. They're super comfortable and I can wear them all day with ease. Though I read that these are great for skinny, lil' chicken legs like mine, they were still too big. They sag a bit when I just wear leggings or tights, but they're fantastic with skinny jeans tucked in. So happy I have these to get me through the winter months!

Recent Buys

Xhilaration dress from Target

H&M blazer- I received a $10 scratch-off coupon, so it only came to $15!

New York and Company striped sequin cardi - on sale combined with my employee discount, it was less than $6!!!

Another NY&CO sweater

Clockwise from upper left: Borba Skin Clarifying drink mix, MAC eyeshadow in Twinks, Sally Hansen Nail Growth Miracle nail polish in Polished Pearl, Chanel Chance Eau Tendre, Wet n' Wild Color Icon in Reserve Your Cabana, Zoya nail polish in Paz, Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer (travel sized) in Nude, and MAC lipstick in Lady Danger

Happy birthday to meeeeee!!!!

I have been 22 years old for exactly one week! My family and I celebrated with dinner at Cantina Feliz (Mexican food is my fave) and a delicious chocolate cake :)

Obsession: Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm

Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm with Natural Mint and Shea Butter

I'm going to get right down to it: this is hands down the best lip balm that I had ever tried. For a long time I was loyal to EOS Smooth Sphere lip balm, but after seeing Temptalia (a.k.a. the Queen Bee of beauty bloggers) rave about Jack Black, I decided to give it a try. The price made me a little hesitant...at $7.50 per tube, it's twice the price of a Smooth Sphere. Turns out it's worth EVERY penny. The moment I put it on my chapped lips, I could feel it at work. It's non-sticky and not too thick, but lasts way longer than other lip balms, so there's no need to reapply every five minutes. After using this for a few weeks, my lips have been so much smoother. I like to use this right before I use lighter colored lipsticks that tend to emphasize fine lines or dryness. Other pluses? It's loaded with natural ingredients like avocado oil and green tea extract AND it contains an SPF of 25. Love, love, love. Seriously, I don't have anything negative to say. Pick one up at your local Sephora or Ulta.

Makeup Tutorial: Kristen Stewart W Magazine

 

Products used:
Urban Decay Primer Potion and Naked Palette
Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black
Maybelline Falsies mascara
Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara

Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse foundation
Sally Girl Bronzer
Smashbox Soft Lights highlight

Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Born With It
Maybelline Dream Mousse concealer (discontinued, any concealer will do!)
NYX lip liner pencil in Natural

Coastal Scents angle brush and eyeshadow brush
Sonia Kashuk pointed blending brush and large crease brush
MAC 168 brush

I'm doing a Wet n' Wild Comfort Zone palette giveaway!

Go to my YouTube channel to find out how to enter!

Makeup Tutorial: Freida Pinto Planet of the Apes Premiere

Product list:
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Wet n' Wild Comfort Zone Eyeshadow Palette
Maybelline Master Drama Cream Eyeliner Pencil in Midnight Master
Maybelline Falsies mascara

ELF blush in Candid Coral
Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse foundation

Maybelline Color Sensational High Shine Lipstick in Plum Shine
Wet n' Wild lipstick in 508A

Coastal Scents eyeshadow and powder brushes
Sonia Kashuk pointed blending brush and crease brush

Makeup Tutorial: Easy Wearable Jealousy Wakes Look

Products used:

Urban Decay Primer Potion
Maybelline Eye Studio Master Drama Cream Eyeliner in Midnight Master
Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black
Stila Kitten eyeshadow
NYX eyeshadows in Eucalyptus and Dune
MAC Jealously Wakes eyeshadow
Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara

Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse foundation
Studio Gear powder blush in Sierra

NYX Mega Shine Lipgloss in Smokey Look

Coastal Scents angle brush and powder brush
Sonia Kashuk pointed blending brush and large crease brush

Makeup Tutorial: Olivia Wilde Nylon Magazine Inspired

Products used:

Urban Decay Primer Potion
BH Cosmetics 1st Edition 120 color Palette (shimmery purple, matte light purple, dark shimmery purple, shimmery charcoal gray)
Maybelline Eye Studio Master Drama Cream Eyeliner in Midnight Master
Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black
Stila Kitten Eyeshadow
Maybelline One by One Mascara in Very Black

Nars Orgasm blush
Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse foundation
Maybelline Fit Me Concealer

Pop Beauty Lipstick (no longer available, any sheer nude lipstick will do!)
NYX Round Lipgloss in Whipped

Coastal Scents eyeshadow brush, angle brush, powder brush
Sonia Kashuk pointed blending brush and large crease brush

Just for LOLs: Beauty Addict Kitty

I'm laughing SO hard right now looking at these! Found them on Tumblr:

Obsession: Zoya Nail Polish in Jules

Zoya Jules Nail Polish

Jules is a BEAUTIFUL polish. It's a beige/gray base loaded with tons of gold and silver micro glitter. I actually liked it with just one coat (it was sheer, yet still very sparkly), but I still decided to use two coats. The formula went on smoothly without streak-age. I'm a sucker for gold nail polish, but this is definitely one of my new favorites.

Makeup Tutorial: Summer Party Look

This is a party look that's great for summer nights. Hope you all enjoy!

Products used:

Urban Decay Primer Potion
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Yogurt
Urban Decay Naked Palette
Milani Baked Eyeshadow in Melange
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in stash
Maybelline Eye Studio  Master Drama Cream Eyeliner in Midnight Master
Maybelline One by One Mascara in Very Black
Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Clear

Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse Foundation (applied before video)
Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips blush

Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Coral Crush
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Coral Reef

Coastal Scents eyeshadow brush, angle brush, powder brush
Sonia Kashuk pointed blending brush and large crease brush

L'Oreal Paris Studio Secrets Professional The One Sweep Eyeshadow

L'Oreal Studio Secrets Professional The One Sweep Eyeshadow in 808 Smoky for Brown Eyes

From the beginning, I was a little skeptical of this product. Alright, a LOT skeptical. Freida Pinto looks beyond gorgeous in the advertisement, but I knew that it really wouldn't be as easy as one sweep of an eyeshadow brush. I decided to give it a try since something intrigued me about it.

First off, the pigmentation is not very good at all. To get those swatches I had to press the sponge applicator down really hard. And even then, the color pay-off was below average. The shadow is very uneven when applied, so one sweep didn't do the job. I had to try 2 or 3 times just to get a decent photo. The first time, it was too streaky. The second time, all of the colors muddled together and looked splotchy. I think that part of the problem is that the oddly-shaped applicator doesn't fit my eye. If you have more almond-shaped eyes, then it's a problem. Overall, it doesn't look horrible, but it's not worth the trouble. You're much better off applying shadows one at a time.The concept is nice, but the execution just wasn't there.

Maybe it just takes some getting used to, but I can't help feeling like I wasted $10 was wasted on this. Womp womp!

Obsession: Maybelline Eye Studio Master Drama Cream Pencils

Maybelline Eye Studio Master Drama Cream Pencil in Midnight Master

After 6 hours of wear

New Maybelline Eye Studio Master Drama Cream Pencils promise creamy application, intense color pay-off, and 24 hour smudge-proof and water-proof wear. Let's break down the claims one by one:

• Application: SMOOTH as buttah! It glided on without any tugging or pulling.  The texture is really great and is super creamy, just as Maybelline claims. If you want to smudge it, you can, but I recommend doing so the second you apply it. The longer you wait, the more difficult it will be. The pencil comes sharpened, but as you use it the tip becomes flat and stays flat as you twist up more product. That makes it difficult (but not impossible) to make really, really thin lines.
• Pigmentation: As you can see from the swatches, the color pay-off is pretty good. It goes on jet black in one pass and only gets better if you add another layer or two.
• Wear: Decent, but not even close to 24 hours. The first time I tried it, the liner lasted about 4 hours before I experienced some minor fading on the waterline. In the picture above, I set it with a a small amount of matte black eyeshadow and after about 6 hours it wasn't bad at all. Still some fading and a bit of smudging, but not bad. My top lash line stayed put on its own for the entire day until I removed it at night. Before I washed the swatches off of my hand, I ran some water over them and vigorously rubbed them with a dry paper towel. Didn't budge!

I wasn't a huge fan of the packaging. It was VERY difficult to twist up at first. For a moment I thought I had purchased a defective pencil, but it did eventually work after a minute of playing around with it. The pencils are available in 6 colors; Midnight Master (jet black), Sapphire Strength (blue), Bold Brown (warm medium brown), Coal Commander (dark charcoal gray), Vibrant Violet (dark purple), and Made of Steel (light gray.) Even though I really liked this, I prefer Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner. It's a very similar product in different forms (pencil vs. pot). But for around $7 each, I'll definitely be going back for one or two more!

10 Tips for Saving Money on Makeup

Another vid!

Switching up my layout!

Doing some major construction to improve the look and feel of the site. Ignore the weird/random changes that are going to be happening in the next few days or so!!!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Deal of the Day

Forever 21 Suedette Leopard Print Booties, $27.80 * Jeffrey Campbell Pixie Fur Booties, $194.95

Makeup Tutorial: Alexa Chung Inspired Silver/Bronze Look

Products used with dupes in bold:

Eyes
Urban Decay Primer Potion (original) - any eye primer will work
NYX Eyeshadow Single in Eucalyptus - any light shimmery taupe shadow
Stila Eyeshadow in Chloe-available in the It Girl Trio Eyeshadow Palette (snagged for only $5 on sale at Urban Outfitters) - any medium brown shimmery shadow will work
Urban Decay Naked Palette (Smog is available as a single eyeshadow) - NYX latte foam
NYX Chrome Loose Eyeshadow in 3 Wise Men - NYX Loose Pearl Eyeshadow in silver, any bright silver pigment
Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner in Blackest Black - Wet n' Wild gel eyeliner
Maybelline Define-a-Brow Pencil in Dark Brown
Maybelline Falsies Flared Mascara in Very Black - any mascara
Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara in Black - any mascara can be used on your bottom lashes

Face
Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse Foundation in Sandy Beige (applied before filming!)
NYX HD Grinding Blush in Terra Cotta

Lips
EOS Lip Balm in Sweet Mint
NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Natural - MAC Lipglass in Lust

Brushes
Coastal Scents Eyeshadow and Blush Brushes
E.L.F. Blending Brush
Revlon Detail Brush

Inspiration: Royal Wonders

Barbora Pracharova by Waldemar Hansson Kurv Magazine #20, Barbara Palvin by Eric Maillet for Vogue Russia December 2010, Isa Asklof by Sylvie Malfray for Harper's Bazaar Romania, Givenchy Paris Haute Couture Fall 2010

Mariacarla Boscono by Camilla Akrans for Vogue Nippon

Givenchy Paris Haute Couture Fall 2010, Olga Maliuk by Riccardo Tinellifor Elle Spain December 2009, Naomi Campbell by Steven Meisel Italian Vogue July 2008

Happy 4th of July!

Essie Red Nouveau , Essie Declare Your Denim (limited edition created for Teen Vogue), and China Glaze Lightning Bolt crackle