MAC Mickey Contractor Eyeshadow Review & Swatch: Rani

When I saw that Mickey Contractor came out with a collection I was super excited, until I found out my local MAC stores weren't getting it I asked my buddy at the MAC counter at the Macy's I work at and he said that out of the quad, the fluidlines, the concealor, and the eyeshadows I wanted, I should go for the hot pink. So I did! It's called RANI like my YouTube channel and blog :) Here are the swatches..

The only complaint I have about this is that it has a lot of fallout and its very powdery to the touch, as you can kinda see in the pictures there were little bits of powder all on the inside which doesn't really happen with my other MAC eye shadows. Otherwise it's gorgeous perfect for Bollywood style or bridal eye, or Valentines day eyes!!

FREEBIE ALERT! Zoya Nail Polish Giveaway ENDS Jan 7th, 2011

Zoya announced on their facebook page that they have reached 20,000 "likes" and will be giving away 3 free nail polishes!!! 


At checkout enter the code FB2011 and you'll only have to pay $6.95 for shipping, your saving $21 + tax!!! This ENDS on Jan 7th, 2011 so hurry those orders in!


Zoya is supposed to be awesome so I'm super excited to try them out, I bought


Kalmia- a firey, chrome orange/red
Harlow- a magenta/purple metallic shimmer 
Charla- a glittery bright blue 
Layla- a hot neon pink
Edyta- a glittery dark green(one of the top 10)
Richelle- a glittery gold


Yes, I got 6, b/c I'm a shopoholic, and I'm in desperate need of help LOL. You can do this too if you just do 2 separate orders.. shhhhh


If you don't have any idea about what colors to get as I was, check out their "Top 10 Colors of the Season" and their latest collections on the bottom of the left sidebar!


I hope these are all pigmented, and not sheer glitters! I'll be posting my review and swatches as soon as I get them so stay tuned!!!

Benefit Instant Brow Pencil Review

Although strong brows are hot right now, it's not really my thing, so I'm new to the whole brow color aspect of makeup.

I started threading my own eyebrows and made a few mistakes, leaving me with areas that need filling in. Dior's Brow Styler is awesome, but the color Universal Brown, doesn't work well with my brows, so I went to Sephora and picked up Benefit's Instant Brow Pencil because the brush at the end was most similar to Dior's. I got the color Deep which is a greyish black that looked most natural against my brows.

This brow pencil SUCKS! Here are my reasons why:

-It HAS to be sharpened to go the best, which wastes product
-If you touch your brow, the color comes right off
-It clumps after a few hours leaving you with black bits in your brow area
-The formula is so smooth that it adheres to the brush so you have to wash the brush just like any other makeup brush, which is a tad difficult because it's attached to the pencil so you have to be very careful
-The pigmentation really isn't all that great

I'm very disappointed with Benefit, looks like I'll be going to MAC for a brow pencil!

Philosophy Dark Shadows Review

Dark under eye circles are a permanent side effect of stress, and lack of sleep. Being a college student, I've been blessed with them, and finding a remedy to them is serious business.

I went into Sephora about 6 months ago looking for an eye cream that would get rid of them for under $50, the girl said Philosophy Dark Shadows.

While it's a great eye moisturizer, and it lasts forever, it did absolutely nothing for my circles. It says it can be used for the upper lip area too, so I figured I'd try it, even though I don't have any dark pigmentation there, and I broke out horribly in that area.

Needless to say I'm stuck concealing my under eye circles until I find something that works, the next product I'll be trying is by Kiehl's Eye Alert so stay tuned!

Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes Eyeliner vs Kohl Eyeliner

I'm not the biggest fan of pencil eyeliners, but when I worked at Abercrombie, makeup was a no-no, so I'd tight line my eyes and wear mascara to get my makeup fix.

MUFE's Aqua Eyes in OL or Black is the BEST and ONLY pencil eyeliner that I will ever wear or suggest to anyone, I told my mom about it, and she went out and bought 4 of them! Some of the colors don't go on as well as the black, but it will not run or smudge. Pencil eyeliners have the least bit of pigmentation in comparison to cream/gel based liners and liquid, so you can expect a very dramatic look from them. This one is definitely more pigmented than others that I've tried, and if you warm it up between your fingers or on your hand you'll get better results.

MUFE's Kohl Eyeliner in 6K is a gorgeous black eyeliner with gold glitter, I fell in love instantly when I saw it in the holiday gift set, and had to buy it online! It looks awesome on the bottom lid, but it isn't as glittery on the eyes as it is in swatches. The top lid is pretty much the same deal as Aqua Eyes. It's not really a long wearing, smudge proof, or waterproof eyeliner, so I suggest using a primer with it like UDPP for the best results. If you want a really good glitter payoff, definitely layer this 2-3 times! If you want something similar but more long wearing, go for MAC Fluidline in Blitz & Glitz! it's not as glittery but you'll get the same effect, more pigmentation, and better wear!

I'll be sticking to my liquid eyeliner and fluidline for my dramatic eyes, but these pencils are great for those of you who prefer pencil eyeliner, lazy days or business occasions where dramatic makeup is a no-no!

Olive Oil!!!

You're probably wondering why I'm talking about olive oil on a beauty blog. Olive Oil has been used for centuries as a vital skin care product. It can be used for almost anything, recently I've put it to use.

My hair is super fine and thin, I've been losing so much hair lately and I have no idea what to do, since hair vitamins are doing next to nothing for me and neither did Almond Oil so my mom suggested I start using Olive Oil. Olive oil is great for dry, split, damaged ends too!

Now, Almond Oil was super heavy in my hair, and insanely hard to wash out. Olive oil washes right out with Herbal Essence's "Drama Clean" shampoo. No problems!

You can get olive oil almost anywhere, I'm using target's brand, and I like to use Extra Virgin because it's the purest form.

Olive Oil helps speed up the hair growth process, restores shine, strength, and softness. Yes it smells funny, but it's totally worth it! I also use it on my eyelashes to keep them healthy. I was blessed with long eyelashes, but they tend to get dry, so I've been using olive oil as a makeup remover instead, and just applying it on my lashes and brows when I use olive oil in my hair to restore its softness. It's great for skin too, and my eye area gets super dry from heavy eye makeup.
Here is my regimen for using olive oil in my hair:

1. Pour a small amount into a bowl
2. Warm it up for about 10 seconds
3. Use a cotton ball to dab it straight on to the scalp in sections
4. Rub the remaining amount onto your hands and smooth through hair, pay special attention to your ends!
5. Massage scalp to get the blood flowing
6. Comb, don't brush, your hair to evenly distribute the oil
7. Throw your hair up and in a shower cap

I leave mine in over night, 2 nights to 3 nights a week. You can leave it in for 30 mins and wash it out if you want.

When washing it out:

1. Soak hair thoroughly in water
2. Wash with Herbal Essence's "Drama Clean" or any cheap/regular shampoo like Fructis

3. Wash again with normal shampoo & condition as normal

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L'Occitane Dry Skin Hand Cream Review

We use and wash our hands possibly more than any other part of our bodies, causing them to be the driest too. I'm not a fan of hand creams, but I'm also not a fan of dry, cracked, painful skin. Not to mention the fact that women probably don't want dry scaly hands touching their faces at work. 

Here's my issue with them, I hate feeling and looking greasy, not being able to touch things without leaving a nasty oily finger print, or literally having butterfingers. I also don't like feeling like I have a glove of cream on my hands, even after I wash them, I like to feel naturally smooth.

 I've seen L'Occitane products at Sephora, but wasn't sure if I'd like this hand cream, because of the above. I went ahead and bought the Shea Butter hand cream for $26, the smaller size is $10, but my Sephora only had the large size. 

This hand cream is perfect for people like me, who don't like feeling greasy. It absorbs into skin quickly, so the greasy feeling you get after putting on hand cream doesn't last, and leaves your hands feeling soft. It smells like honey and shea butter which is another plus.

The only downside to this is that it's not quite a cure for dry skin, meaning that once you wash your hands, they are likely to be dry again if you don't reapply. Good news is you can always layer it on really thick before you sleep and put on cotton gloves or socks over your hands to lock in the moisture. 

Overall, I really like this hand cream, and it's perfect for people who don't like thick creams, or having greasy hands.