Nail of the Day: Revlon Rain Forest!

Hi guys!

So here's another nail of the day post! My previous nail polish I had on was Revlon's Indigo Night with an Essie Luxe Effects topcoat overtop of it, however, I wasn't able to get a decent picture of it because my camera just wasn't picking up the glitters right, so instead, here's Revlon's Rain Forest!

This is from the new Colorstay line by Revlon, and I really love these nail polishes. They are soooo opaque - a bit on the thicker side, but that's made up with it by the opacity. You could possibly get away with one coat if you wanted to. The only thing that I dislike is something I liked in the first place: the brush. It's a flat brush, which is pretty decent, but the plastic wand connecting the brush to the cap is flat and makes accuracy a bit difficult. It's doable, but difficult.

With flash, about 2 coats. It doesn't really do it justice, but this is the best photo I could get! Also, ignore that chip on my thumb, sorry! ):

The flash from my camera screwed up the colour just a little bit. It's about a half shade darker than shown here. I own OPI's Here Today, Aragon Tomorrow, and this colour is basically a smidge lighter than it strwen with a golden-green shimmer, which is stunning. It's the quintessential, perfect fall colour!

What's on your nails now?

-Sara xx

Tutorial: Jennifer Lawrence L.A. Hunger Games Premiere Inspired Makeup!

Hello there everyone!

This tutorial is possibly one of my favourites. I just love it! It's not that difficult to do, either, and maybe it's just because Jennifer Lawrence was living perfection when she arrived at the premiere and a little piece of me feels like I'm her when I did this tutorial??? OK, well, anyway.... 

(I'm only kidding. But she was perfect at the premiere!)

The thing is, that premiere was about 6 months ago! So it took me 6 months to do this look... alright... well... you know... at least I did it! WOOOOO!

Here's Jennifer at the premiere, looking flawless as always:

CAN WE APPRECIATE HOW GORGEOUS HER HAIR IS?!  BTW, I'm totally doing this for junior prom. I love the idea of the headbands being braided throughout the bun. :D

Okay, enough pictures. Here's the video:

P R O D U C T S  U S E D

• Too Faced Shadow Insurance
• Maybelline Color Tattoo Cream Shadow in Bad to the Bronze
• Too Faced Smokey Eye Palette (Cloves on lid, Up in Smoke on outer V and upper/lower lashline. I mention in the video you can use the black in the palette if you have tanner/darker skin but on me it would look too harsh)
• INGLOT AMC 54 e/s
• INGLOT e/s that I don't know the name too...it's basically a darker, more brownish version of UD Half Baked. You can use Half Baked if you've got tanner/darker skin than I do, which would look awesome, or just use Half Baked if ya feel like it :D
• L'Oreal Morning Light e/s
• Maybelline Blackest Black gel liner (you can also use a pencil liner for lining the waterline if you'd like)
• L'Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black Mascara

Cheeks:

• NARS Casino Bronzer
• NARS Orgasm Blush
• MAC Soft & Gentle MSF

Lips:

• MAC Strange Potion Lipglass (LE) (From Surf Baby collection. Any pinky-nude lipstick/gloss combo or just gloss would work too)

PICTURES!

(apologies there was no close-up eye shots, I couldn't get any good ones that did the look justice. But if you watch the video, you can clearly see it up close! :D

Hope you enjoyed the look!

-Sara xx

Shimmery Copper Smoke: Tutorial!

Hi guys!

Long time no blog ): Mehh. I've been super busy and stuff so yeah. But, here's a new tutorial! :D I really love this tutorial, because it's a bit dramatic (might even lead to editorial) but still wearable at the same time. I hope you guys really like it!

P R O D U C T S
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
ULTA Eye Crayon in Birthday Girl (a shimmery pinkish-beige base would work)
UD Naked e/s in crease
NYX Trio Eyeshadows in Shimmer, Peach, & Copper (Shimmer on lid, Copper in crease)
Lancome Colour Design Classy Stiletto e/s
[I'm not exactly sure if this is the exact eyeshadow that I used, it's INGLOT, and I'm almost positive it's Shine 40. It's a really beautiful amethyst colour with some silvery sparkle to it)
MAC Sketch e/s
UD Foxy e/s to highlight
L'Oreal Double Extend eye enhancing liner for green eyes (any dark matte green eyeliner would work)
[Also I can't remember what this colour is, I think it's INGLOT AMC 72. It's a darkish-blue-based purple, used on top of Sketch)
L'Oreal Morning Light e/s
UD Creep e/s to smudge/press into upper lashline
L'Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black mascara

Cheeks
NARS Casino Bronzer
NARS Super Orgasm Blush
Benefit High Beam

Lips
Revlon Pink Truffle Lip Butter

Picture time!

Hope you liked it (:

-Sara xx

Tutorial: Disney Princesses - Pocahontas!

Hello everyone!

Time for another tutorial! This one is one of my favourites, it's a very different approach to the typical Pocahontas look, and I really love it. I hope you guys love it too!

P R O D U C T S

Eyes:

-Too Faced Shadow Insurance

-NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk

-INGLOT Matte 390 e/s

-BH Cosmetics 120 Palette 3rd Edition (mixture of some orangey-reddish-browns, blue & purple on lower lashline)

-NYX Copper e/s

-MAC Vera Metallic Pigment Stack (LE) - Lantern Light Campire Stack (coppery gold on majority of lid, lighter peachy-melony-gold on center & inner corner)

-MAC Espresso e/s

-NYX Slide on Pencil in Golden Bronze

-NYX Slide on Pencil in Jet Black

-L'Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black

-Too Faced Better than False Lashes Step 2 Fiber Extensions

Cheeks:

-NARS Casino Bronzer

-Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blush in Natural

-NARS Hungry Heart Highlighter

Lips:

-UD Lip Junkie in Naked (with the Naked 2 palette)

PICTURE TIME!

Hope you enjoyed!

-Sara xx

Nail of the Day: China Glaze Watermelon Rind

Hi everyone!

Long time no blog! Apologies (: I've been quite busy lately, sorry! I actually managed to paint my nails something pretty awesome (like actually doing some nail art), but I wasn't able to film a tutorial since it was my first time doing it and I forgot to take pictures ): Anyway, I decided to paint my nails one of my most favourite colours ever: China Glaze Watermelon Rind!

This colour is a gorgeous shimmery green that leans a bit on the tealish-blue side. This is from the Summer Days collection released a bit back I think. I've had this colour for a while - I bought it at Sally's for only $5! (You can also find it on discount websites like 8ty8beauty.com and head2toebeauty.com, for only $3!)

Natural light, 2 coats - ignore the bit unevenness, I did this at 11 p.m. in about 10 minutes!

Isn't this colour gorgeous! Perfect for summer, and even fall, because to me, it works because I feel like doesn't lean warm or cool - it can lean both! One of my favourites.

-Sara xx

Tutorial: Disney Princesses - Jasmine!

Hi everyone!

This tutorial took two months... well, I mean that in the sense it took 2 months before I put up another Disney Princess inspired look! I'm really sorry about that - I definitely will do them more often because I really love this series, and Disney! (:

I tried the Jasmine look out about four times before I liked it. Instead of making it crazy, I made it a bit more wearable, incorporating colors of the movie. Hope you enjoy it!

P R O D U C T S  US E D
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk
UD Naked e/s
UD Buck e/s
MAC Espresso e/s
BH Cosmetics 120 Palette 3rd Edition
Stila Color Wheel Palette (LE) - Mint colour (basically, an aqua-mint color with a bit of gold shimmer would work. Perhaps something like Aquadisiac by MAC would work as a dupe.)
MAC Surf the Ocean Metallic Pigment Stack (LE) - seafoam green shade. Pretty much the same colour as the previous eye shadow, but more greenish and shimmery (hey, it's metallic, right? :D
NYX Slide on Pencil in Gold
e.l.f. cream liner in Black (I wouldn't recommend this. It dried out on me and was very difficult to work with. Use a liner that will give a softer, muted appearance, which is why I prefer cream or gel, but this isn't one that is useful.)
Matte black eyeshadow, any for setting the liner
Revlon Photo Ready 3D Mascara in Black

Cheeks:
NARS Blush in Sin
NARS Hungry Heart highlighter (anything gold to keep with the theme)

Lips:
MAC Strange Potion Lipglass (LE) - from the Surf Baby collection last year. Something peachy-pink would work (:

Pictures!

Hope you enjoyed this installment of the Disney Princess series! (:

-Sara xx

Nail of the Day: OPI Just Spotted the Lizard

Hi everyone!

So I was bored the other day and decided to (finally) paint my nails the color I've been dying to get on them! CHANEL PERIDOT! Wait, what? Oh, yeah, that's not what it is... that's just what it looks like! Rather than shelling out a whopping (and I say, extremely overpriced) $25 for nail polish, here's a dupe for it that is exactly the same thing! WOO!

This is OPI's Just Spotted the Lizard, extremely appropriately named and released with the brand new (well, it's been out for a bit I guess haha) Spider-Man collection to tie in with the movie. I have yet to see that movie, btw. (Emma Stone & Andrew Garfield are the cutest couple ever. :D) The reason why Chanel's Peridot was so sought after and such an amazement to the beauty industry was because it was so difficult to dupe at the time it was released last year. There was really no color like it, that had so many different tones in it. Of course, other nail companies jumped on the bandwagon and decided to try and make similar colors (for cheaper, thank god!) and I know there are other dupes for Peridot as well. But I like this one (:

One downfall for this polish is you cannot get away with one coat. It'll be too sheer. (In all fairness, why would you? It's such a beautifully different color, I'd want it to be as strong as possible!) But it is a tiny bit on the thinner, streakier side, which sucks, but it's doable. It'll just take a bit more coaxing to get it to be opaque.

This came in a set of four, since they were sold out of the full-sized bottle, but it was worth it because the other colors in the Spider-Man collection are really nice anyway. (:

I would describe this as a dirty-gold base shot through with earthy green and blue. It is a duochrome and changes when you move your hands, henceforth the awkward pictures of my hands, haha :D

These were taken with a flash so you can see the duochrome.

This was taken in a more natural light with a flash, and it showcases the nails perfectly. See how crazy this color is?!

 See how the nails look a bit green?

I usually never take pictures with the bottle (and it's really tiny because it came in a set, as I said) but I wanted to show how weird the bottle looks. See the blue on the side? Also I positioned my nails this way because you can see the gradient effect it has - blue to teal to green to gold, etc. HOW AMAZING?!

I'm in love with this nail polish. It's just so fun to look at and very different - I own nothing remotely close to it, which is awesome. Seriously, check out this polish, or a dupe for Peridot, it's amazing! :D

-Sara xx

Nail of the Day: Zoya Vivi

Hi everyone!

RESULTS OF THE PREVIOUS NAIL POLISH: Almost 2 weeks, and not too much significant wear. It receded more at the tip and from the cuticle. But it definitely lived up to its claim!

So I recently repainted my nails, and I'm loving this color. I've been wearing a lot of  blues and purples lately and I just wanted something fun, bright, and PINK! (:

This is Zoya's Vivi, a color I just recently picked up. Check out how gorgeous it is:

This picture doesn't even really do it justice. I can best describe it is a bright, blue- based fuschia-pink with  and a shiny blue reflects in it (not shimmer or glitter, but when it hits the light, it turns it a bit bluer toned). Just checked their website,  and it's definitely a blue-pink duochrome. A really awesome color!

This polish is a bit watery or liquidy, but it wasn't a big hassle to apply. It's extremely opaque (as I'm finding nearly every Zoya polish is like that) and it covered my nails in, you guessed it, one coat. The formula for this one isn't spectacular for applying, but it's doable, and the end result is awesome.

The closest dupe that I own (or at least I think is similar) is Essie's Super Bossa Nova (love the name!). However, I think that is a much darker pink rather than full on blue-pink duochrome. It is a blue based pink though. They're the same price ($8, even though I got mine at a retailer for $6.95) so it's up to you!

-Sara x

Tutorial: 60's/Twiggy Inspired Makeup!

Hi guys!

This tutorial was a ton of fun to film, and I absolutely love the way it turned out. I was planning to do a 60's inspired look for a while, so after 3 failed attempts at trying to do some sort of tutorial (not specifically this one) I settled on something natural... and then it turned into this! Hope you like it!

P R O D U C T S
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk
UD Naked 2 palette (Tease all over lid/crease, Half Baked/Verve/Bootycall pressed onto lid, YDK a bit into crease, Blackout underneath lashline, creasline, and setting the liner)
L'Oreal Eye enhancing eyeliner thingy
NYX Slide on Pencil in Jet Black (tightline only)
Maybelline Master Precise Liner
Too Faced LashGasm Mascara
Rimmel Sexy Curves Mascara

Cheeks
NARS Casino Bronzer (high contouring)
NARS Desire blush (apples of cheeks, a bit higher, centered)
NYX Slide on Pencil in Black, dotted all over for freckles (:

Lips
MAC Please Me lipstick (FINALLY using this in a way I'm proud of! haha)

Pictures!

The inspiration, Twiggy!

My version, a bit more mod-inspired:

~~~ULTRA FANCY 60'S EDITING WAHOO~~~~~~

Hope you enjoyed the look! What's your favorite decade for makeup?

-Sara x

Nail of the Day: Zoya Areetha

Hi guys!

So I'm just going to update what's on my nails every time I paint them. It's much easier with that magic Sephora nail polish remover thing :D

So on my nails currently is a nail polish I recently got a the mall. There's a store that sells tons of amazing nail polish, hair products, and more, and as I walked by I noticed they had Zoya. I had heard of Zoya through YouTube, and I saw how many amazing colors they had on their website, so I was beyond happy when I could see them all in person!

You know I love my purples, and this one really caught my eye! I don't own anything like it, and at only $6.95 I couldn't pass it up!

This is Zoya's Areetha. On their website, they list it as (it's $8 on their website, might I add!) "A medium blue-toned purple with a reflective, silver metallic frost finish. An icy-cool look like the winter sky at midnight." This nail polish is exactly that, and does not disappoint!

Ignore the pillow, haha! Natural light with flash, one and a half coats.

I like that it is very versatile for many skin tones and can be used in winter too. Right now I like how it is a springy-ish color but still a bit light and dark at the same time. The finish reminded me immediately of China Glaze's Avalanche, which I also own, except of course Avalanche is a much more greyish-silver tinged dark purple.

This nail polish applied so opaque it's not even funny. In one coat. That's really all I needed. And the great part? It didn't feel heavy or thick and was very fast drying. Since I put it on last night, I don't know how long it will last, but Zoya says it's one of the "maximizing wear" ones. I'll post the results in the next nail of the day!

What do you think? Have you bought from Zoya before? Do you like shimmery, shiny purples?

Thanks for reading!

-Sara x

Tutorial: Keira Knightley Inspired Makeup!

Hi everyone!

Sorry this took me so long to write this blog post, I just finished school on Thursday and I had finals since last Friday, so I've been very busy! But better late than never, right?

So I've been a huge fan of Keira Knightley's makeup lately, and she is absolutely gorgeous. I saw a picture of her and I fell in love with her makeup. I've never really lined all around my eye before, but I do like how it looks, which is awesome!

Here's the inspiration picture:

So I did my own little spin on it and I like how different it is and how it turned out. :D

P R O D U C T S

• Too Faced Shadow Insurance
• INGLOT Matte 390 mixed with UD Naked e/s, in crease
• INGLOT Shine 409 e/s (almost positive that's what it is, on lide)
• UD Smog e/s (in crease, blended towards lid)
• MAC Espresso e/s (in crease)
• INGLOT AMC 54 e/s (on outer edge)
• UD Foxy/Bootycall e/s (highlight - Foxy to cancel, Bootycall to Highlight)
• MAC Surf the Ocean Metallic Pigment Stack (antique gold, blended onto lid)
• NYX Slide on Pencil in Jet Black (on waterline, into inner corner, tightline, upper lashline smudged with...)
• INGLOT black eyeshadow w/ red & gold shimmer that I don't remember the name, mehh, but I'll find it (:
• L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara
• NARS Desire blush
• NARS Hungry Heart highlighter
• Urban Decay Super Saturated Lip thing in Lovechild

pictures!

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial! What celebrity makeup do you like?

-Sara x

Tutorial: Taupe Smoke

Hi everyone!

Today I have another tutorial for you! This one is a very simple, easy-to-do smokey-ish look (I've been really loving smokey stuff lately) and I didn't really know what I wanted to do for this tutorial - something kind of cooler-toned, I guess. So this is what I came up with!

P R O D U C T S

• Too Faced Shadow Insurance
• NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk
• UD Tease in crease
• Revlon ColorStay Shadow Quad in Addictive (Used the light grey on lid, shimmery dark grey in crease)
• Lancome Color Design Classy Stiletto e/s
• MAC Satin Taupe e/s
• UD Foxy e/s (over inner lid)
• UD Half Baked e/s (lightly - when I say lightly, I mean really lightly on lid)
• INGLOT Matte 326 e/s
• L'Oreal Morning Light e/s
• L'Oreal Double Extend liner for green eyes (white in waterline, green blended on lashline)
• INGLOT Pearl 419
• Maybelline Master Precise liner
• L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes
• NARS Orgasm blush
• Revlon Sweet Tart Lip Butter

That's it! Here's some pictures:

Close up!

The completed look!

Hope you enjoyed it! (:

-Sara x

Nail of the Day: China Glaze For Audrey

Hi everyone!

Today's post is a nail of the day - my magnetic nail polish started to chip a bit near the cuticles and at the tips so I figured I'd use my new nail polish remover thing from Sephora (where you dip your hand in and within seconds it removes your nail polish) and I wanted something a bit brighter, more springy. Henceforth, I delved into my "collection" and picked out a gorgeous, opaque, Tiffany-box-blue color by China Glaze called For Audrey.

This is about a coat and half, I would say, because this polish applied very opaque and thick and I just had to go back and apply a very small amount to cover the entire nail fully. The formula is very nice - China Glaze's formula is one of my favorites - and it's a very nice "bright" color without being neon. It doesn't lean too blue or too green, and apparently, it's the exact color of the Tiffany Box, inspired by Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffany's:

I think it's exact, no? (:

Do you like opaque, robin's egg blue polishes? What's on your nails now?

-Sara x

Mini-Review: nails inc. Magnetic Nail Polish

So the other day I went to Sephora and picked up some goodies that I'm quite excited about, especially since I haven't purchased anything remotely "high end" or "Sephora-quality" in a while (well, except Too Faced Shadow Insurance, but I got a full sized on eBay for $8 :D) so this was a fun trip for me.. and my grandma! (Yes, I took my grandma with me to Sephora. Don't judge! She likes makeup too!) The Sephora in my mall set up a "nail studio" which features all these cool nail brands, and I've heard of this brand before because Leesha, or xsparkage, talked about this new thing a while ago - magnetic nail polish. So, I figured I would try it, and the coolest thing is at this Sephora they let you try on all the nail polish right there!

And I have to say - this is literally the COOLEST nail polish I have ever tried!

T H E  D E T A I L S:
Where to Buy: Sephora, nailsinc.com
Price: $16 (U.S.), 13 pounds for UK buyers
What is it? Nail polish that is infused with magnetic particles. It comes with a removable cap with a magnet on top and a small crevice where you would put on your skin. Within seconds, it creates a cool wave nail design (the new ones can create a fishnet/diamond design). On nailsinc's website, it says that the iron powder in the polish "gravitates towards the magnet" to create a cool design.
How do you apply it? Apply one coat to all of your nails, then do a second coat nail-by-nail and use the magnet on that second coat. So, I would do my pinky's second coat, use the magnet, then move onto the next nail. Don't use a base coat; the lady at Sephora said it might interfere with the magnetic particles.
Which one do you own? I own Houses of Parliament, the purpley one.

So the big question is ... DOES IT WORK?

Here's a picture of my nails... so let's see...

YES IT DOES!!!!!


How awesome does that look?! It's fantastic!

P R O S  & C O N S
Pros

• Extremely fast drying. When I tried it in Sephora, it dried almost instantly, and when I redid my nails for the actual manicure, it dried so quickly. All in all, it took about five minutes at most to do both hands completely with the design.
• It's so easy - it looks like I painted a base coat of a really dark purple then put a brighter purple on top in a weird wave design. But I didn't - all you need is a second or two with the magnet and you're done!
• It's really long lasting. My nail polish manicure only seems to last a few days at most, and after the first day there's usually some receding at the nail line. But this has stayed intact so well and it looks amazing.
• The effect is really cool! The color really pops and it has a very nice duochrome finish.
• Coverage is amazing as well.

Cons

• It's quite expensive. This is the most I've ever paid for nail polish (the only real reason I bought it was because I had a gift card). At $16.50 it's more than other polishes that are more expensive than, say, OPI or China Glaze. However, I do think that it's more expensive simply because it is a magnetic nail polish, and maybe it's more difficult to make. It is worth the money, though.
• The color range is a bit limited. There's only 5 colors available - the purple, a silver, a cranberry-red, a teal-green, and a taupey-bronze. All very beautiful, but I really wish they would make more. But, all the colors work for many skin tones, which is a good thing.

I believe that's it! Pros outweigh the cons, in my opinion. Have you tried magnetic nail polish? I know there are drugstore, cheaper versions of this - what are your opinions on those?

-Sara x

Tutorial: Name in Lights!

Hi everyone!

Alright, so I clearly have neglected this blog, but I figured, why not post something? I don't always take pictures of my tutorials, which is why I kind of stopped blogging, and also I haven't had much time at all. But this is another outlet that might be easier to maintain as well, so I'll place the link back on my my main channel, saraxbeauty.

This tutorial is slightly ironic because in my products I regret buying video for the eyes, seen here, and you'll have to dig around a bit in the video to find the exact place, but I mention my "failed" purchase of Victoria Secret's eye shadow in Name In Lights. It's absolutely gorgeous in the pan, as it's like a purpley-silvery-color with silvery gold shimmer. However, it's consistency is not the best, and I mention in the video it's like a pressed metallic pigment that hasn't been pressed well - if you use it dry, you're gonna basically be getting nowhere, because you won't get any product on the brush. You need to use it wet to get any payoff. It's nice but a little difficult to use, but you be the judge of the payoff (:

I hope enjoy this tutorial! Here's the video:

P R O D U C T S  U S E D

• eyes
• Too Faced Shadow Insurance
• Maybelline Color Tattoo Cream Shadow in Too Cool
• Victoria's Secret Shimmer Eye Shadow in Name in Lights, used wet
• INGLOT Matte 390 e/s, then mixed with UD Naked into crease
• INGLOT DS 465 e/s - outer lid/crease
• INGLOT Matte 326 e/s - outer v (similar colors are Handwritten or Mystery by MAC - something that is very a very dark, cool-purpley brown color)
• UD Virgin e/s as a highlight
• MAC Aloha! Metallic Pigment Stack - Campfire Stack - Lightest beigy shade just on inner corner
• UD Foxy e/s - inner corner
• NYX Slide on Pencil in Jet Black
• Make Up For Ever Aqua Liner in #15 (that weird "anthracite" shade)
• Benefit Bad Gal Lash
• Rimmel Sexy Curves Mascara
• cheeks
• NARS Sin blush (checked on Sephora which one, cause I always get confused!)
• MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft & Gentle
• lips
• Urban Decay High Gloss Saturated Lip Color in Lovechild

This seems like a lot of products, but it's actually really easy to do! Here are some pictures:

Hope you enjoyed it!

-Sara x