Make Up Look: Winged Liner and Purple Accent

Hi Everyone! 

Today, I just wanted to share a quick FOTD with you from earlier this week. Recently I've been loving the colored bottom lash line look. I think it is an easy fun way to add in color without it being overwhelming! I hope you like it. 

Products used: 

Stila In The Light Palette

Maybelline Eye Studio Gel liner in black 

Maybelline Master Smokey in purple 

Make Up Forever Smokey Extravagant Mascara 

Maybelline The Elixir in 60 Nude Illusion 

What make up looks have you been rocking lately? 

lots of love,

Rena 

Holiday Make Up Wishlist

Christmas season is a great one in the world of beauty products. Most brand have or are coming out with amazing holiday gift sets and palettes that all girls are lusting over. I think this year has been especially great with sets and palettes from Benefit, Nars and Too Faced. I thought it would be fun to share with you the palettes and gift sets I have been lusting over. I really want to try and get my hands on a few of these but exams are killing me at the moment. Let me know if you have tried any of these out or if you are also lusting over them!

Holiday Make Up Wishlist by rena-blank featuring Stila Beauty product / Nars cosmetic / Stila eyeshadow / Rose blush

1) Stila In The Garden Palette: This one isn't a holiday palette but I really want it so it felt right to include it. I already own the In The Light and In The Know palettes by Stila and I am in love with them. Not only are the colors amazing but Stila shadows also have great pigment and color pay off. They are honestly my most used palettes. However, Ulta and Sephora don't seem to carry these palettes anymore! I know Stila came out with new palettes but I really hope they didn't get rid of these palettes because they are amazing. Maybe I can find them online! 

2) Nars Virtual Domination Cheek Palette: This is one of Nars Limited Edition Holiday Palettes. Can we please note how pretty the packaging is?! I think Nars does a great job keeping thing sleek but still beautiful for the holiday time. This palette comes with my favorite bronzer Laguna, three blushes in Deep Throat, Final Cut and Sex Fantasy and a highlighter color in Miss Liberty. The palette is a little pricey at 65 dollars but when you think about it, Laguna alone is 38 dollars and each blush is 30 dollars. In this palette, you are getting six different products for less than buying just the bronzer and one blush. 

3) Bite Beauty Best Bite Remix: This is a mini gift set from Bite Beauty. Bite Beauty is a cruelty free cosmetics brand that specializes in lip products. This gift set comes with four mini high pigmented jumbo lip pencils in Sablé (nude), Pomegranate (rose berry), Rhubard (plum rose), Winterberry (festive Raspberry red). It is currently sold out at Sephora but normally it sells for 25 dollars. This set is great because you get to test out a nice range of colors for a great price. 

4) Lorac Mega Pro Palette: This is the ultimate palette with 32 dollars with all the basic colors and some amazing unique colors too. This palette is sold out everywhere but it is so nice to look at. Lorac shadows are super pigmented, smooth and long wearing. It is selling for ridiculous prices on eBay right now but if you can find it in store I would definitely get a hold on it! 

5) Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot Powder: This is definitely the palette I have been lusting over the most. Benefit always does amazing holiday gift sets and this year I think they out did themselves. The Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot Powder is a palette if Benefit's best selling blushes. As you all probably already know, Benefit does some amazing great blushes. The colors are amazing and so is the color pay off. This palette has 5 blushes in  Dandelion, CORAlista, Bella Bamba, Rockateur and Sugarbomb. There is also Benefit's oh so popular bronzer in Hoola and a cream highlighter in Watt's Up. This palette is sold out on the Benefit website but hopefully it will be back soon! It sales for 36 dollars which is such a deal!

6) Too Faced A Few of My Favorite Things Palette: This is a Sephora exclusive palette from Too Faced. This palette is the perfect travel palette because it comes with 20 eyeshadows, 2 blushes, 2 bronzers, a mini Better than Sex Mascara, a Lip Injection Color Bomb in Bee Sting and a how to guide. This palette sells for 56 dollars and personally, for all the products in it, I think this is the best deal out of all the bunch. This pretty much can be your entire make up bag! The eyeshadow colors in this palette are amazing. They included everything from nice natural mattes to party shimmery colors! Highly suggestion checking this out next time you guys are in Sephora! 

What gift sets and palettes are you lusting over this holiday season?

lots of love, 
Rena 

September Favorites

Hi Everyone! 

I hope everyone is having a good school year so far. It is only the fifth week and I'm already super stressed out. However, being stressed out hasn't stopped me for loving some beauty bits and pieces this month. Here are my September favorites. Let me know what you have been loving! 

First off, is a candle that reminds me so much of summer. This is the Turquoise Waters candle from Bath and Body Works. The scent is described as sea spray, sunlight and beach grass and let me tell you, that is exactly what this smells like. It really reminds me of the beach at Cape Cod. I also love the turquoise glass jar it comes in. I am excited to clean it out and use it for my make up brushes or lip glosses after I finish this candle. 

Next is another Bath and Body Works product. I think I've taken a few too many trips in there over the past few months. This is from the aromatherapy line by Bath and Body Works. It is the Stress Relief Eucalyptus Spearmint Sugar Scrub. That was actually a mouth full to type. I adore anything mint scent; it is one of my favorite smells. The mint smell is very relaxing. This sugar scrub is really different from any other I've ever tried. I think this is because it is essential oil based so it is super smooth. It leaves my skin feeling so soft and nourished. The sugar in this is also on a thicker side which I prefer. You definitely have to make sure you wash it all off so you're not left greasy though. The sin this is also on a thicker side which I prefer.  I don't know if this is actually helping me relief stress but it is definitely making my shower very luxurious. 

Surprise! Another  product from Bath and Body Works. This is the last one I promise. This product has been a life changer. I kid you not. This is the C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve. It has reached the point that I can't leave my house without this. I use this as chapstick and on any dry patches. I really like how natural this smells. I love fruity lip glosses but I feel like my chapstick needs to smell clean and fresh. This smells like a bunch of roses which is amazing. This also leaves my lips soft and slightly glossy and feeling pretty. I highly advice anyone with very dry lips to try this out. 

Last of the skin products is the Simple Replenishing Rich Moisturizer. I like this because it is odorless, greaseless and dyeless. This stuff gets the job done and doesn't break out my skin. I find that  face lotions filled with perfumes and oils tend to break me out. But this stuff has been very effective at making my skin hydrated and smooth without breaking me out. I don't think I could ask for anything more from a face moisturizer. 

Finally, here are a few make up pieces! First is the Maybelline The Elixir in 60 Nude Illusion. I have found myself reaching for this a lot since I bought it at the end of August. I love this over Rimmel's Nude Delight (my favorite nude!) and just on its own. The finish is a lovely satiny true nude color. This stuff isn't overly shiny but it definitely has a nice glossy finish. It also lasts a decently long time. Overall, it is super easy to wear and very inexpensive. Next, is a mascara I forgot I owned but am so happy I rediscovered. It is the Make Up Forever Smokey Extravagant Mascara. I only have the small travel size which is why I probably forgot about it. I think I got as a reward from Sephora. The brush on this thing is amazing! It gives you such full voluminous lashes. I am definitely going to do a full review on this asap with pictures of before and after application. lastly, is an oldy but a goodie. This is probably the best liquid liner I've ever used. I have tried many but none have ever come close to my Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner. Once you apply this, it isn't going anywhere. I been loving using this liner with the smokey extravagant mascara for a classic winged liner with full lashes look. 

Let me know what you've been loving this lovely September month. I am super excited for October! I love the cooler weather because it means I can pull out all my sweaters and boots! Can't wait to wear dark lipsticks.

Lots of love,
Rena

New Stila Pieces

L to R: Violet, Halfmoon, Intense Black

 Stila is one of my favorite brands when it comes to eye liners and eye shadows. Honestly, it is probably one of my favorite higher end brands in general. Their "In The Light" Palette is a daily staple of mine that has been part of many monthly favorites. Kitten is my go to inner corner and brow highlight color and I own about 8 of their Smudge Sticks already. Needless to say, I think Stila does amazing eye products. This is way I thought it was about time I expanded my Stila collection. I decided to pick up the "In the Know" Palette and Stila Most Wanted Eyeliner Set. So far I am very happy with my selections.

I have had my eyes on the "In the Know" Palette for quite some time now. It has 12 matte shadows in it which I adore. I have been looking for an all matte palette for a while and the Naked Basic palette just does not have enough colors for me. The "In the Know" palette has a great range of colors from light nudes (air, wind, desert, clay) to dark nudes (earth, driftwood) to grays (rain, smoke), a black (ebony) and lastly my favorite of the bunch, a bright reddish orange color called fox. I feel like this palette allows you do to more than just a simple everyday look. I cannot wait to play around with all the colors and see what looks I can come up with. I also love how all the Stila palettes comes with a Stila Smudge Stick eyeliner. The one is this palette is a gray color called halfmoon.

The Stila Most Wanted little set comes with two liners. First is the Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid eye liner. This stuff is amazing. I have been using it for about a year now and it is the blackest liquid liner ever. The Most Wanted set comes with a deluxe sample size of it but honestly it lasts for ever. The other liner is another Smudge Stick. This one is a bright light purple color called violet. I think this is gonna really make brown eyes pop (which I have) so that makes me really happy!

Overall, I definitely think everyone should check out Stila. They honestly have some amazing eye products!

What have you tried from Stila?

The winner of my giveaway is entry 1008 Abby B! Congrats! :) 

Lots of Love,
Rena

Make Up Look: Joker Inspired

Hello Everyone!

So while procrastinating on writing a paper, I ended playing around with my make up. For some reason I ended up being inspired by the Joker. Maybe it is because I saw some cool Joker make up looks in pinterest or because he is just a bad ass. Either way here is the look I got and the products I used. I hope you like it!

The Look: 

The Products used: 

I applied Rimmel Scandeleyes Eye Shadow Stick in 001 Witness White. After that, I outlined my lid adding a wing effect at the end with Sephora + Pantone Universe Liquid Liner in last year's color of the year (I don't remember the name but its basically just a bright green).  I lined my waterline with Stila Smudge Waterproof Eye Liner in Emerald. On my lower lash line I used L'oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in 557 Glistening Garnet. I flared it out at the end. Next I lined my upper lash line with Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner in  Intense Black. Finally I used Maybelline the Great Lash in Teal Appeal on my upper and lower lashes.

What do you think? Also what other superhero/ villain make up inspired looks would you want to see?

Lots of Love,
Rena 

March Favorites

Hello Everyone!

Make Up Look: Classic Cat Liner and Pink Lip

Hello Everyone! 

I am a huge fan of bold eyeliners from bright colored liners to dramatic cat eyes, I love it all. Today, I wanted to show you a cat liner look I been loving lately. I adore having a really natural eye base with a bold thick liner and a light pink lip. I think it looks really girly and effortless. The products I used are Benefit Gimme Brows, Stila In The Light Palette (Bare all over the lid with Bliss in the crease and Bubbly in the inner corner), Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner in Blackest Black with a Tarte double ended eyeliner brush, Rimmel ScandalEYES in Nude, Make Up Forever Smoky Extravagant Mascara and Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick in 17. I hope you like this look! 

Let me know how you feel about cat liners and what type of liner you like to use for it!

Lots of Love,
Rena  

Make Up Look: Easy Everyday Brown Eyes

Hello Everyone!

Today I wanted to share with you a very easy make up look that I have been wearing to class and work a lot recently. This look uses a lot of drugstore make up ( with a few high end) which I think is really nice because I hate seeing make up that I love but can't easily get the make up to recreate the look with. I started off with L'oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder Foundation in 320 Natural Beige. I love this foundation for a quick look because it is really light and looks natural. Next, I applied Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer in Light  underneath my eyes. I set my face make up with Airspun Loose Face Powder in Naturally Neutral. I bought this after seeing Tati from GlamLifeGuru talking about it in a Madness Monday video and I have to say I really like it. I didn't use any blush or bronzer with this look but I did highlight my cheekbones with Rimmel Wake Me Up Instant Radiance Shimmer Touch in Flush of Pearl. For my brows, I used Benefit's Gimme Brow. I love this stuff for a quick easy way to get my eyebrows into place. I followed that up with Milani Shadow Eyez in Champagne Toast as a brow bone highlight.  For my eyes, I applied Maybelline 24 HR Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze all over my lid. Then I went in with a fluffy brush and applied Maybelline Color Tattoo Pigment in Downtown Brown in my crease and lower lash line. Finally, I took Kitten by Stila and used it as an inner corner highlight. I applied Rimmel ScandalEYES Eyeliner in Nude into my waterline and topped off my eyes with a few coats of Calvin Klein Mascara that I got from Ulta as my birthday gift. Finally I put a little bit of Maybelline Color Whisper in One Size Fits Pearl on my lips.

I hope you guys enjoyed this look!

Lots of Love,
Rena 

Make Up Look: Cara Delevingne

Hello Everyone!

Today I have a snow day from university (woot!) so instead of catching up on some readings, I've decided to play with some make up. Cara Delevingne is absolutely beautiful and I have really enjoyed stalking  browsing her make up looks. I really love this look and I think it is going to be such a nice look for the spring. Let me know what you think!

Products used: 

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 HR Foundation 

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer

NARS Orgasm Bronzer 

NYX Terra Cotta Blush

Benefit Girl Meets Pearl

NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder

Stila In The Light Palette 

Stila Emerald Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner 

Stila Stingray Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner 

Maybelline EyeStudio Gel Liner

Covergirl LashBlast 

Maybelline  885 Vibrant Mandarin Lipstick 

Maybelline Color Whisper Orange Attitude 

Lots of Love,
Rena 

Top Thirteen of 2013: Face, Eyes and Lips

Hello Everyone!  I can not believe that 2013 is already over! It honestly flew by so fast. Here are my top thirteen  face, eyes and lips products of 2013. I can't wait to see everything that 2014 has to bring. I hope you enjoy!
1) Rimmel Stay Matte Powder: This my everyday "go to" press powder. It does a great job controlling shine and helping my foundation and concealer stay on all day. It is also really affordable. I got mine at CVS for around five dollars and one container of this has lasted me for about six months now!Overall, you get great quality for such a low price.

2) Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer:  I got this from my international swap and oh boy how I wish this was available in the states. Lets start of with the smell: IT SMELLS LIKE CHOCOLATE. Every girls wish right here. I also really enjoy using this contouring. It isn't only glittery or sparkling so it is perfect for contouring. It also opens up like a book which I think is pretty cool. Bourjois really needs to come over to the states because they have so many great products that I wish I could try!
3) NARS Laguna: It is a very natural bronze color. It has some nice shimmer to it but it isn't overwhelmingly shimmer. The formula of Laguna is probably my favorite thing about it. It goes on so smoothly and easily. It blends really is and never leaves your face looking muddy or heavy. It gives you a healthy glow that isn't shiny. I use it all over my face or to contour my cheekbones! 

4) Rimmel Moisture Renew in Nude Delight: This lipsticks has been in multiple monthly favorites as well as my top three lipsticks of the moment post. Basically this is a perfect everyday nude color. It is easy to wear, long lasting( around 5 hours without retouches if I am not eating or drinking) and very affordable. I picked it up for around five dollars at CVS. It is beautiful nude color with a little bit of shine. I love pairing it with my NYX Mega Shine Gloss in Pink Nude. 

5) NYX Mega Shine Gloss in Pink Nude: This has been my " go to" everyday lip gloss mainly because I love how it looks over Rimmel's Nude Delight.  I also adore the smell of these glosses. They remind me so much of Capri Sun in Fruit Punch. However, the smell doesn't linger around which is great because no one wants to smell fruit punch while working or drinking coffee. Overall, the NYX Mega Shine Glosses are lovely but Pink Nude is my favorite color. This is very affordable I got it from Ulta at around four dollars.

6) Rimmel Wake Me Up in Classic Beige: It took me forever to find this concealer! Walmart was always sold out and Target and Cvs just didn't carry it which made no sense to me. Anyways, I read so many great reviews about it and it lived up to the expectations. I love it for the bags underneath my eyes. I think it does a great job brightening up that area. I have it in Classic Beige. It has been my "go to" concealer this year. I am on my third tube already!
7) Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Liquid Foundation by Benefit: This has been my favorite foundation this year. I actually just bought it in my winter shade. It is a medium coverage that lasts all day and does not look cakey. It actually leaves a really nice healthy glow to the face. Plus it has SPF in it which makes it perfect for the hotter months. Honestly, it is very lovely and worth a try. 
8) NYX Powder Blush in Mocha: Mocha is a beautiful rusty rose color. It contains no glitter but it's not completely matte. I find that it gives your cheeks a healthy glow. It is so easy to wear and I really think it would look amazing on any skin tone. It feels very luxurious but have an amazing price tag. I got this little gem at Ulta for around 5 dollars. 
9) Maybelline 24 Hr Color Tattoos by Eye Studio: These eyeshadows are my favorite cream based eye shadows. I own four colors: 35 Tough as Taupe, 50 Edgy Emerald, 30 Pomegranate Punk and Bad to the Bronze. They are really easy to apply by brush or finger ( I prefer to use my fingers) and they blend very nicely. These shadows leave a nice smooth finish that doesn't crease. They are also really nice bases for powder shadows if you want to get a lot of pigment out of the powder shadows. A lot of people compare them to MAC paint pots and since I never owned a paint pot, I can't compare but these are really lovely. 
10) They're Real! Mascara by Benefit: This is my holy grail mascara. It does what I use to use three mascaras to do. It gives amazing length, holds a curl and gives great volume. I love the sleek metallic gray packaging as well. Whenever I wear it, I get so many compliments about how amazing my lashes look.  11) Woodwinked by MAC: This color is a beautiful warm gold color with a bit of shimmer in it. It is probably my favorite MAC color that I own. It looks great in the crease or all over the lid and I love pairing it with Naked Lunch. It is perfect for everyday wear or for a bit of shimmer at night. Honestly, I think this is a shadow every girl should own. It would look amazing on any skin tone. 
12) Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner by Stila: These are my favorite eyeliners for my lower lash line. They come in such amazing colors and they really last forever! I own seven of them and I can honestly say I wear all the colors. They are so water resistant. I have showered with them on and they are still there after! 13) Sleek I Divine Palette in Storm: The packaging is very nice and not cheap feeling at all. It is an all black case with a huge mirror inside. This palette comes with three matte shades (a nude, a medium brown and a black) and nine shimmery shades ( a highlight color, a light brown, a dark brown, a light blue, a dark green, a navy blue, a gold, a rose pink and a dark rose brown color). The colors are amazing for everything from an everyday look to a smokey eye to a pop of color. It is extremely versatile.  They are extremely pigmented and very easily blendable.  The shimmery colors are a bit more pigmented than the matte ones but the matte ones are still very nice. I really wish Sleek was sold in the states!
I hope you've all had an amazing 2013 and I wish all of your a happy 2014! 
Lots of love,

Stila: Color Outside the Lines Review

Top to Bottom: stingray, lionfish, aubergine, navy, emerald

Colors before shower

Colors after shower

Hello Everyone!
Today I am going to be sharing with you a lovely little gem I picked up at Ulta the other day. It is the Stila: Color Outside the Lines Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner Set. I saw this and got so excited because it was on sale for 15 dollars! Normally it retails for 34 dollars at Ulta. It comes 5 eyeliners in stingray, lion fish, aubergine, navy and emerald. They are not full sized but they are about two thirds of the full size. The full size retail individually for 20 dollars. This is such a good deal! I honestly could not help myself. 
The colors are all beautiful and vibrant. They also last a really long time. In the picture above, you see the eyeliners right after I swatched them and look at how amazing the colors look. I took a shower right after i swatched them and the picture below is the swatches after I showered. The colors still look amazing so they are definitely pretty waterproof! 
Overall, this is a great deal and Ulta has a lot of amazing holiday deals going on right now! Go check them out :)
Lots of Love,