My Full Sephora Diamond Train Case!

Hey Beauties! Happy Hump Day to ya!

So back in December I purchased my very first train case from Sephora. The diamond train case in a beautiful red color. I posted pics of the train case and the "empty" inside (check those HERE). Several people asked me to post pics of the case once I filled it with goodies so here you go! (don't judge me, people)

Here's the train case closed

Open top portion

Open middle portion with sides expanded

Open close-up...palettes in the bottom removed....excuse the clutter I sometimes just throw stuff in the bottom when I'm in a rush  =(

Okay so this isn't nearly all my makeup products that I own but a lot of what's in here is stuff that I either recently used, plan to use soon, or use daily. I have found that it is a lot easier to keep my daily staples in here so that I'm not rummaging through my other plastic containers to find stuff. I MAY post pics of my bathroom counter soon because I do have a makeup vanity (which houses a lot of my lipsticks and glosses) and another makeup tray with "other staples" sitting on the counter. Plus my "sephora style" brush jars w/crystal rocks.

I love my train case though. And when it's full it is HEAVY so it sits nice and quietly on my bedroom floor. I will haul it to the bathroom when I'm doing a complete makeup look so I don't have to go back and forth but usually I just leave it in the bedroom, grab what I need for my "morning routine" and that's it. It is very spacious and has removable dividers, keys for the locks and a shoulder strap.

So that's it! Do you beauties have a train case? If so, what do you store in it? Do you only use it for traveling?

Have a great day!

M.

Face of the Day: Sunset Bronze Look!

Hey Beauties!

I'm trying to make a concerted effort to practice my makeup application skills and post more Face of the Day looks here on The Rouge.  It really helps me learn and I encourage you all to practice, practice practice on yourselves!

So I did this look yesterday using some of my Milani shadows as well as NYX Jumbo eye pencil in French Fries as a base.

Check out some of the products I used....

NYX French Fries (used as a base) metallic bronze color

Milani shadows (l-r Golden Bronze, Sun Goddes, Sheer Sand, Flare)

Splash powder blush in Expresso (top brown color)

Here's the look I did....

Product Run-Down:

Face:

-Monistat Chaffing Gel

-Physicians Formula translucent powder (for shinies)

Eyes:

-Too Faced Shadow Insurance

-NYX Jumbo eye pencil in French Fries (all over lid and upper eye area as base)

-Milani Flare e/s (inner 3rd of eye and lower lash line)

-Milani Sun Goddess e/s (middle 3rd of eye and mid-outer lower lash line)

-Milani Golden Bronze e/s (outer 3rd of eye)

-MAC Brown Down (crease)

-Milani Sheer Sand (brow highlight)

-MAC Feline kohl power (lower lash line)

-Stila Smudge pot in black (upper lash line)

-Lashblast Length mascara (meh! not a fan just grabbed it cuz it was close)

-MAC Cross-Cultural e/s (brow fill)

Cheeks:

-Splash cosmetics powder blush in Expresso (my Cocoa puff cheeks shade...luv it!)

Lips:

-MAC Cork l/l

-MAC Chelsea lipstick

*I think French Fries NYX Jumbo pencil is a beautiful bronze color for brown beauties. I'll definitely be using it as a base a lot this summer. ;)

Let me know what you think! 

Have a wonderful day, beauties!

M.

Product Review: Kimble Hair Care Systems Shine Serum

Hey Beauties!

Today I want to review Kimble Shine Serum from the new line of hair care products launched by celebrity hair stylist Kimberly Kimble.  Ms. Kimble's clientale includes Kerry Washington, Mary J. Blige, Beyonce and many others.  I had been hearing buzz about her up and coming hair care line and was really excited to try the products. So read on to see how this Shine Serum measures up!

The Claim: 

For Dull Hair and Frizzed Hair....A luminous finishing gloss, Shine Serum's oil-free formula adds brilliance to hair without the grease. A moisture barrier is formed around the hair shaft for all day smoothness and silkiness. Controls fly-aways. From product information sheet. 

The Truth: 

The product information was really speaking my language. Just a quick background on my hair....while I appreciate glossy shine, I have to be very careful about the oils and products I use to achieve shine because my hair is naturally oily. This means that whatever products I put in my hair, I have to be sure they are lightweight and non-greasy/oily so it won't weigh my hair down or make my hair stiff  and flat. I LOVE bouncy, moveable hair! So after reading the product information for Kimble Shine Serum I was excited to try because of the oil-free/non-greasy claim and the promise of glossy shine. 

I've been using Kimble Shine Serum for about two weeks now and I am hooked. I absolutely love it and the claim is true. It smells REALLY great and I was really impressed with its ability to create a glossy shine without being greasy or weighing down my curls. A little goes a LONG way. I usually just use one small drop/pump in my palm once every couple days or so usually after I unwrap my hair I'll fluff, apply a small drop of the serum in my palm...rub it through my hair and finger comb....fluff again and go. I did exactly that this morning and here's a couple shots of my hair so you can see the shine...

Pros:

• Oil-free
• Lightweight and non-greasy
• Wonderful smell
• High gloss shine
• A little goes a long way
• Smooths and moisturizes
• Affordable for a high end hair care system ($11.99)
• Pump dispenser gives you control over how much product you use
• Kimble Hair Care system products can be found at your local Target stores or online at Target.com (easy!)

Cons:

• N/A (honetly can't think of one)

Recommendation: If you are looking for a really great shine serum that won't weigh your hair down....try this! It has become a staple in my hair care routine. =)

Overall Score: 5 out of 5 

*Kimble Hair Care System includes MANY other hair care products for all types/styles of hair. Please check out the full product list HERE then head to your nearest Target store to buy! ;) 

Take care, Beauties!

M.

**A product sample was provided for review consideration. Please check my full disclosure policy HERE.

Photos used from target.com and kimblehaircare.com

Friday Brights w/ NYX Milk! This post is Rated R....

Hey Beauties! Happy Friday!

I'm just going to start this post off by saying that if you are a beauty who LOVES bright eyeshadow or if you LOVE for your eyeshadow to POP...please find your nearest NYX retailer and grab the Jumbo Eyeshadow pencil in Milk. Like...now. This white creamy pencil used as a base to your eyeshadows will make you a very happy girl. I wouldn't lie to ya!

I just recently added this to my makeup stash and I finally decided to test it out by doing a bright eye-look. I love bright shadows and I marvel at them on other people...but oddly enough I don't do them very often on myself. This is probably for a few reasons including the fact that I barely wear makeup to work and wouldn't do bright shadow there anyway and on the weekend I'm not much better. LOL. But TODAY....TODAY we have a bright look and I actually dig this.

So it took me a WHILE to figure out what shadows to use for this bright eye. I finally settled on my NARS eyeshadow duo Rated R. I've had this for...a few years now. It was actually the very first NARS product I purchased (for some reason I was just drawn to the pretty cobalt blue and sparkly lime green), however, I have never (until now) used it. Shame! I have waaay too many things like this in my stash that I have yet to get around to using. Which probably means I shouldn't buy anything else right? Yeah.

So check out the NARS Rated R duo!

Here's the look I did using NYX Milk as a base (all over the lid and eye/brow area)...

Product Rundown (MAC unless otherwise stated):

Face: 

-Monistat Chaffing Gel (face primer)

-Studio Sculpt Concealer NC50

-Studio Finish Concealer NW40

-MSF Dark

-Physicians Formula Translucent Powder

-Fix+ spray

Eyes:

-Too Faced Shadow Insurance (primer)

-NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow pencil in Milk (base...dabbed all over eye area and blended w/finger)

-NARS Rated R eyeshadow duo

-Studio Sculpt Concealer NW40 (brow highlight)

-Feline kohl power (lower eyeliner)

-Stila Smudge Pot in black (upper lid liner)

-Cross-Cultural e/s (brow fill)

-Anastasia brow gel

-Covergirl Lashblast Length mascara (lower lashes only)

-L'Oreal Voluminous mascara (top lashes)

Cheeks:

-NYX Powder Blush in Copper

Lips:

-Cork l/l

-High Tea l/s

-Comet Blue Dazzleglass (LE)

The NYX Milk gets it POPPIN'....it will literally take your shadows to another level! Use it in moderation...I literally dabbed it over various areas of my eye and blended it out all over from there. 

Grab one up! They will run you about $3 each over at Cherry Culture. ;) I also grabbed French Fries (a beatiful bronze color) and Purple jumbo eye pencil. I plan to use those soon in other looks! 

What do you think? Do you use Milk as a base? 

Have a FAB weekend, beauties! I'm hitting the Jay-Z concert tonight! Whoo Hoo! Ciao!

M.

Bobbi Brown Pretty Powerful Contest! Vote for Amina!

Hey Beauties!

I wanted to stop in real quick to let you know that my girl Amina is currently ranked #4 in Bobbi Brown's Pretty Powerful contest. Please PLEASE PLEASE go to the site and vote for her as many times as you can. We want to be sure to push her to the top 3! She is such a lovely person with a beautiful spirit and her testimony really IS pretty powerful!  We definitely want to see her advance to the next round! There are less than 2 days left so hurrrrry and vote!  =)

Good luck, Amina! Us beauty gals are all pulling for you! ;)

Check her blog here: Coup de Coeur


Vote here:

Pretty Powerful Sponsored by Bobbi Brown

M.

Monica 'Everything To Me' Inspired Smokey Eye!

Hey Beauties!

So I think last week sometime I tweeted about how much I LOVED Monica's Dark Gunmetal Smokey eye from her 'Everything To Me' video and I said I was going to try to "recreate" the look for myself. Soooo I did! Here's the look from the video on the right. The reason that I love this smoky eye so much is that its SUPER polished and the blackened silver shadow is beautiful! As I examined the eye (yes....I examine from every angle possible if I can...lol) I noticed that the brown shadow right below the brow bone (blended on top of the dark shadow) works wonders to pull the look together and give the dark eye balance. I really think this is the type of smoky eye that's easy to execute and even beginner makeup beauties can recreate with minimal effort. So here are some pics of my look (the flash is making the dark shadow look...less dark...lol) along with a run-down of the products used and a few notes here and there...Enjoy!

This last pic just cracks me up...I'm SO NOT gangsta! Ya'll know I'm not well. Deuces though! =)

The Product Run-Down (MAC unless otherwise stated)

Face:
-Monistat Chaffing Gel (face primer)
-Studio Sculpt Foundation NC50 (select areas; applied with a Beauty Blender sponge)
-Studio Sculpt Concealer NC50
-Studio Finish Concealer NW40 (under eyes and brow highlight)
-MSF (Mineralize Skinfinish) in Dark
-Physician's Formula Translucent powder (lightly dusted)
-Fix + spray

Eyes: 
-Too Faced Shadow Insurance (primer)
-Blackground Paint Pot (base)
-Carbon e/s (deep matte black)
-Black Tied e/s (deep black w/silver sparkles)
-Bobbi Brown gunmetal e/s (deep silver/gray)
-Sparkly dark gray e/s from MAC applied wet (umm...didn't write the name but I know it was in one of my smoky eye quads from MAC; probably limited edition but it looks just like Black Tied but its gray)...I'll get the name later
-120 palette dark metallic pewter e/s applied wet (the shadows in this palette are not named or numbered...sorry!)
-Embark e/s (matte chocolate brown; blended above dark shadow)
-Brown Down e/s (matte medium brown; blended above dark shadow)
-Tete A Tint (matte caramel color; brow highlight used over NW40 concealer for emphasis)
-Cross-Cultural e/s (eyebrow fill)
-Anastasia brow gel
-Feline kohl power (line lower lid)
-L'oreal Voluminous mascara

Cheeks:
-MSF Deep Dark

Lips:
-Cork lipliner
-Fresh Brew lipstick
-Mad Cap lipglass

Okay a few tips for this look and ANY dark smoky eye really....

1. DO the eyes FIRST! Before you do the rest of your face...PLEASE do your eyes. You WILL have eyeshadow fall-out and with the dark colors, once you do, its harder to remove that from your face without disturbing the rest of your makeup. When I did this look I did my eyes first and after I finished my eyes I cleaned my face up and cleaned around the perimeter of my eyes (to prevent that raccoon look) with a makeup wipe. Now if you have your foundation/powder/concealer done....you won't be able to do that, right? Right.

2. Blend! Blending is your friend! Which is why its important to have good blending brushes (I used MAC's 222, 224, and 226 LE ). I'm looking at these pics and I blended alright but definitely could have been better. I really wanted you guys to see how the dark brown shadow above the crease and blended with the black really makes this look standout (which is one of the first things I noticed about Monica's eye). I would definitely suggest using a "transitional color" such as this when doing a deep dark black smoky eye because it will give you more dimension. Or, if you want, you can always do a deep dark black on the lid and blend with a lighter gray color into the crease to create a "gradient"...again...dimension.

3. Pat DON'T Sweep! This goes for any color that you want to POP or stand-out...use a good brush (I used MAC's 239..this is my fav brush for packing on lid color...it's firm and picks up e/s well)...pack your brush with shadow (I tend to blow off any excess to help with fall-out) and then pat, pat, pat onto the lid (no sweeping  motion). Using a sweeping motion will essentially blend your eyeshadow out and away...lol. So with this look I packed each color on my lid using this method. Reserve the sweeping motion (or swirly circle motion) for crease colors and blending above the lid. ;)

That's it! Let me know what you think in the comments. =)

I'm so happy today is my Friday. Have a good day, beauties!

M.

Hidden Gems: Neighborhood Beauty Supply Discoveries!

Hey Beauties!

I recently discovered a few GEMS at my local beauty supply stores and I wanted to share those with you. Special shout out to my SG Amisha, who gave me the heads up on searching local neighborhood (mom & pop) beauty supply stores for hidden cosmetic gems. She was SO right! I popped into one closest to my house just on a whim and I discovered an entire display of Sinful Color cosmetic glosses and blushes (ummm! Two of my FAVORITE beauty items!). Score!

Check out the Sinful Blush display (sorry so fuzzy...took this with the BB):

Here are the goodies I grabbed from Beauty Supply #1:

Sinful Blush in 'Sinful Dust' (shimmery golden orange) and glosses in Tempting (brown natural) and Miserable (sparkly clear/gray)

Its been a while since I did a Milan's Rouge post so here we go! Sinful Dust is a really pretty sparkly peachy golden orange (that's a mouthful huh?). PERFECT summer shade for cheeks. I tend to go for more shimmery natural shades in the spring and summer because they look stunning in the sunlight.

Sunlight

Indoor light

See? Light and subtle like a sunkissed tan. Loves it.


I'm also wearing the Miserable gloss in these pics (no liner). I can't remember the exact price of these items but I believe they ranged from $2.99 to $3.99. Sweeeet! Check your local beauty supply...if you have no luck there Cherry Culture sells Sinful cosmetics as well. ;)


At Beauty Supply #2 I was able to grab 5 Splash Cosmetics duo blushes/highlighters for....*drumroll* $.99cents each! Check them out....they are purrrrty!

More Rouge posts to come...I really don't need like anymore blushes...like ever ever. =)

Have any of you found hidden gems in your local beauty supply stores? Lemme know!

Have a great day beauties!

M.

Nail Week! China Glaze Spring 2010 Up & Away Collection

Hey Beauties! Happy Friday! We all made it another week.

I must say I've been really enjoying Nail Week and I saved some of the best swatches for last. Before we get into all that I just want to thank you all for stopping in, checking my posts, commenting and giving your input. Its really helped ME a lot and I have a few things I've added to my ever-growing list of "things to get". So thank you! My wallet doesn't like you much though. =)

Now on to my swatches. China Glaze's Up & Away Collection is the best Spring collection I've seen so far. I really think they nailed it. 12 creme polishes in various "spring time" shades ranging from pretty pastels to bold brights. I mean...DUH! Its perfect for Spring and it didn't leave me wondering "okay...what were they really going for with THOSE colors??!" as I sometimes do when I see a collection.

Anyway, I loved it so much I grabbed up 6 out of the 12 shades and I love them! Check it out...



Peachy Keen (creme pastel peach)

Re-Fresh Mint (pastel mint creme)

Flyin High (midtone blue creme)

Heli-Yum (bright magenta pink creme...LOVE IT)

Grape Pop (pure bright purple creme...another love. Best purple polish)

Four Leaf Clover (bright green creme...another hard one to photograph. Its actually darker and brighter)

This collection also has a pastel pink, lavendar, yellow and a bright yellow among others. Check it out! There's something for everyone.

How are you liking this collection? Did you snatch any of these colors up? Any favs? Let me know!!

Have a great weekend, beauties. =)

M.