Dose of Colors Lipgloss and Lipstick Swatches

While I was at IMATS LA, I had the opportunity to swatch the lipglosses and lipsticks from the line Dose of Colors. Dose of Colors is the makeup line from instagram beauty MakeupbyAnna. I've been interested in the lipsticks and lipglosses but the website swatches are a little photoshopped so I was a little reluctant to trust them.

When comparing my swatches to the website swatches, the lipgloss swatches are near spot-on. However, the same can't be said for the lipsticks. The dark purple, Dark Secrets, is so different from the website swatch; it's not nearly as dark as it appears in my opinion.

Lipglosses:

(This photo was taken with flash but it's color accurate to the non-flash photograph. It was the only one that turned out clear!)

Top Row: Cotton Candy, Attitude, Wild Child
Middle Row: Burning Love, Purple Fusion, Toxic
Bottom Row: Undressed, Petals, Sunshine Kisses

Lipsticks:

This photo was taken without flash.

Top Row: Poise, Angelic, Play Date, Coy
Bottom Row: Karma, Seductive, Love Potion, Dark Secrets

Anyway, I hope you find these swatches useful and I hope they help you make a decision when it comes to purchasing.

Event Recap: ISSE Long Beach 2014

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of attending the International Salon and Spa Expo in Long Beach. It's a professional trade show catered for the newest trends and styles for hair, nails, and skincare, with a dash of cosmetics in there too. I really enjoy attending the show because it lets me get the scoop on new polish collections and skincare products.

I hope you enjoy my pictures from the show!

There were many many booths to see so I'll try to highlight the brands and products that I think you guys might enjoy trying out.

HAIR PRODUCTS

If you have long hair, I really recommend The Wet Brush. It's a hair brush with extremely flexible bristles so they don't tangle up in your hair and you can use it straight out of the shower. My hair is much too short for it and it is highly recommended by Alyson (she owns multiples which just goes to show you that it's well-loved!)

Amika

Quite honestly while I have samples of Amika products, I haven't actually tried them out on my hair yet. I just wanted to take this picture because I think their products have such cool packaging (a superficial reason for sure but I enjoy the slightly psychedelic experience I get when looking at their products)

Elin Bianco

The brand includes a winged horse, so why not?

NAIL PRODUCTS

CND

CND have come out with a new line of polishes, a two-system line that promises a week's wear. Although I wasn't sure about the polish, I have heard great things about the topcoat that goes alongside it! 

Jessica Cosmetics

I don't know much about Jessica polishes but I do know that in the past, they were making lots of Chanel polish dupes. Their Spring 2014 collection look perfectly preppy for the upcoming season!

OPI

I saw their Glitter Off Base at the show but I haven't been wearing glitters as much so I didn't pick it up. Stephanie over at Aquaheart did pick it up and did a great review so be sure to check it out here!

OPI are also coming out with these Sheer Tints, unfortunately one of the colors was sold out but here are bottle pictures of three of them.

ORLY

I got to see two of their recent Collections. This is Blush for Spring 2014

and this is Surreal from Fall 2013. Maybe I don't like change but I really preferred their original logo, it seems so plain in comparison.

BODY/SKIN PRODUCTS

Glycelene

I was introduced to the brand at the show and it's still a relatively new product. The brand consists of a Moisturizer and Beauty Ointment. Both are multi-purpose but the Moisturizer is touted as a petroleum jelly alternative. The product is a bit expensive but I love the idea of a petroleum jelly alternative and the beauty ointment is great on my cuticles. If you're vegan and looking for some new skincare, you might enjoy some of the Glycelene products!

BonBliss Beauty

To round out this post, I needed to mention BonBliss. This company makes my favorite body scrub, my scent of choice is their Mango Sorbet. It's wonderfully fruity with a sweetness and citrus kick that adds some depth. I prefer their Scrub 2 Go tins as a hand scrub but their Body Truffles are pretty cool too.

I really enjoyed going to the show. It is geared towards professionals but it allows plebs like me a chance to scope out new trends and products!

Disclaimer: I received a press pass to attend the show!

Sugarpill Cosmetics Brushes and Limited Edition Smitten Chromalust Available!

Affiliate Link

So Sugarpill (Affiliate link) pulled a fast one on me in the middle of the night and just released their line of makeup brushes (made with synthetic hairs) and their limited edition Smitten Chromalust!

There are four brushes in the line, a large eyeshadow brush, a tapered crease and blending brush, a precision eyeliner brush, and a lip brush. The large eyeshadow and tapered blending brush are $20 each, the eyeliner brush is $16, and the lip brush is $18. Smitten Chromalust is $12.

I actually thought the Chromalust was going to be released next week so it's awesome that it's on sale now. If you'd like, you can still enter my giveaway for a chance to win one otherwise ensure you have one in your hands by ordering it from the website. If you want to get the brushes and Smitten Chromalust, you can purchase a bundle set of all five items for $78 (instead of $86) but only until Tuesday, February 11th.

I briefly tried some of the brushes while I was at IMATS LA. I do think the price point is a bit high in comparison to the rest of their line but for some of you, it may be worth it to own other Sugarpill branded products. Sadly I felt that the eye brushes were a bit too big for my eye shape so I might exercise caution if you're seeking smaller brushes (with the exclusion of the lip and eyeliner brush of course). I hope their brushes will be available at The Makeup Show (via Nigel's or Naimies) so I can try it out some more!

Disclaimer: The link marked as an affiliate link and the pictures have an affiliate link within. This allows me a commission based off your use of the link when making a purchase. All opinions are my own!

Sugarpill Cosmetics LE Smitten Chromalust Sweepstakes!

So I just hit 1,000,000 views on the blog yesterday and I'm super duper excited about it. To honor the occasion, I've decided to give away a Limited Edition Sugarpill Cosmetics Smitten Chromalust I picked up while I was at IMATS LA. I didn't get one for myself, just one for you guys so I hope you enter for a chance to win!

It's a short giveaway, only until next Wednesday (the 12th) because I wanted to time it so if you didn't win, you'll know before their Birthday Sale. (which should be happening around the 14th!) They mentioned at IMATS that they were selling some of the Smitten Chromalusts in February so I'm assuming they mean during their February sale. This is vegan by the way!

I don't have a swatch of it (because I can't exactly swatch out of the jar that I'm giving away but I do have this swatch from Amy (owner of Sugarpill)

Open to the US only guys, sorry about that but I'll have international giveaways in the future!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

OCC Cosmetic Colour Pencils - Lip Swatches and Full Face Photos

Press Sample Affiliate Link

So I realized that I hadn't done any lip swatches of the OCC Cosmetic Colour Pencils, despite the fact that I much prefer them as lip pencils over any other use. I managed to swatch all eleven pencils in one sitting (and my lips are being drenched in lip balm as we speak). I think it'll be easier for you to get a sense of the color this way so I hope you find this post useful! I'll give my thoughts on each color as a lip pencil.

I do have a more in depth review on the formula here. I revised my thoughts on the formula a bit but for the most part it's still the same; I much prefer them as lip pencils as opposed to multipurpose pencils.

The pencils are available at Sephora (affiliate link) for $16 each if you'd like to get them now.

As always, pictures were taken in natural daylight. The pencils were applied straight on, no lip brush was used. I did apply a thin layer of lip balm (and wiped most of it off) prior to application because it made the pencils easier to apply but it did not affect the color. 

I'm experiencing major problems with Blogger adjusting the color of Anime, Grandma, and Hoochie which is affecting their accuracy so instead of hosting them here, I've uploaded them to an imgur album so you can see their true color unadulterated by Blogger's antics.

View Anime, Grandma, and Hoochie's pictures here.

Black Dahlia

Black Dahlia: "Blackened red" Much like the lip tar, the heavier the layer the deeper the color. Black Dahlia is a color that can be built up from a stained berry to a deeper red but I think it can be difficult to get a perfectly even layer on your lips. I applied a heavier layer here but you can get a sheerer color by applying a thinner layer.

Feathered

Feathered: "True white" While Feathered can get to fairly opaque coverage on the lips, it felt much drier and draggy than the other pencils so it was a little annoying to apply. I'd recommend a thin layer of lip balm (then wiped off) as a base so the pencil glides on a bit easier. This would be really cool to use if you wanted to do an ombre look.

NSFW 

NSFW: "True, balanced red" NSFW is so gorgeous. It's very similar to the lip tar and was wonderful to apply. You can get a really opaque, matte red look and you won't even need a color on top.

Pennyroyal

Pennyroyal: "Roasted peach brown" A bit too brownish for me but I think on other skin tones, it makes for a wonderful nude. This is eye-safe so if you have a tanner complexion, you may like this color for lining your waterline!

Pool Boy

Pool Boy: "Aquatic blue creme" Oddly enough, the pencil version of Pool Boy is different from the lip tar version. It's much darker though still beautiful. It would still be a wonderful match to pair the lip tar and pencil together!

Sibyl

Sibyl: "Midnight brown-out" For Arabelle, a brown lipstick. It's a brown that really edges on black and gives me all kinds of nineties vibes.

Tarred

Tarred: "True black" If you've been dying to pull off that matte black look (and wanted to use a true lip safe black), this is your color. Wear it, cherish it. Also, it'd be great for an ombre look.

Trick

Trick: "Warm, mid-tone beige" Trick is my new favorite nude color. There's enough pink in this beige so I don't look too ghastly in either direction. 

Of the eleven colors, Trick is my favorite. I would like Black Dahlia more but I think it applies too unevenly so it's a little high maintenance.

Disclaimer: I received these pencils courtesy of the brand. All opinions are my own. I'm not being compensated for this post. The link marked as an affiliate link gives me a commission based off your use of the link if you decide to make a purchase. Feel free to use a nonaffiliate link!

My One True Skincare Love (Link to a $200 Sephora Sweepstakes!)

Sponsored

Hi everyone! I'm doing a post sponsored by Coupons.com over on my other blog, Portrait of Mai² so if you'd like to enter for a chance to win a $200 Sephora or Spafinder giveaway, click the link below!

*****Click to be redirected to the other post!*****