SOCIAL MEDIA

Friday, March 28, 2014

Eye shadows Under Ten Dollars: Inglot, Maybelline, Sigma, and More!

I thought this would be an handy-dandy reference for us (yes, I wanted this as well) so we could keep in mind that there are some really affordable quality eye shadows out there. Being pretty does not mean having to break the bank (although I have been guilty of this).


1. Inglot Eyeshadows $6. Inglot makes some of my favorite shadows. You can easily find many MAC dupes within their collections, and they have a LARGE eye shadow collection. The only down side is that it is hard to find an Inglot store in the US. I get mine at the Inglot store in Las Vegas or Fashion Island in Costa Mesa California. There are also several Macy's stores that carry Inglot in store (Beverly Center, Los Angeles). 
2. Maybelline Eyeshadow Quads. Unfortuantely, I don't know the price of my quad since I bought it so long ago. I do know it was cheap. And it has lasted me forever. I can even use the Natural Smokes quad as an eyebrow filler. 
3. Sigma Individual Eye shadows $11. So I cheated a little. These are a dollar more than the $10 limit I set for this post, but hopefully, a dollar won't break your budget. I had to put these in here since a lot of other bloggers don't include Sigma when talking about good budget eye shadows. Sigma keeps rolling out more and more colors all the time, and the shadows go on like butter on the lid.
4. Wet n Wild Eyeshadow Trios $4. These shadows are a great option for girls on a budget. I own a bunch of these trios. The ten? pan palettes are very budget friendly as well although I do not own any myself and cannot tell you the price. The shadows themselves go on buttery-smooth and last all day with primer. There is a bit of fall out due to shimmer so if that is not your thing, you might want to avoid these. Also I think the shimmer emphasizes wrinkles so this might not be a good eye shadow for mature women.
5. NYX Eyeshadow $4-10. Love Love Love! I cannot say anything bad about these. They have a great color range and go on buttery smooth. In addition, they come in a variety of finishes (matte, shimmer, etc). The one down side to me posting this now is that NYX has recently changed their eyeshadow packaging to circular pots similar to MAC. I think they have changed the shades and the names as well. Knowing NYX, the new shadows should be the same as or better than the old products, however, if you decide you want to stick to the square packaging, they can be found online at various discount drugstore makeup sites that sell discontinued products. 
6. Be a Bombshell Eyeshadow Quad $16. Again I cheated here a little since this quad isn't under $10.  However, the size of each color pot will last a long time so the per color cost is under $10 ($4/color). These shadows go on smooth, have lots of pigment payoff, and last all day with primer. The down side is that there is not a large collection of quads to select from, limiting the color range.

These are my drugstore/budget eye shadow favorites that I have personally tried. What drugstore/budget eye shadows are your go-to products? I'd love to try them out!

Disclaimer: All products purchased by me. I did not receive any compensation for the opinions listed here.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013

ARTSY WEDNESDAY: Designer-inspired

Today's theme was designer-inspired. I was inspired by this gorgeous Monique Lhuillier dress:


I was pleased that my idea for my nails panned out:


I used Wet n Wild Shine Black Creme as the base, and used paper reinforcements to make the half-moons. [There's a great tutorial here.] I used Wet n Wild Shy on top of the black. Last, I used one of my new Bundle Monster stamping plates, BM-20, to stamp the design on top of my half-moon manicure. 

This was my first time doing a half-moon manicure with paper reinforcements, and I learned how important it is not to use a thick polish for your top color. If the polish is too thick, then it's hard to get a clear half-moon. Also, if you accidentally put too much polish on your nail, you also don't get pretty half-moons. This was also my first time using my stamping plates; I plan on doing a review of the plates soon, and I'll include some tips on stamping there, too. Also, let me know if you would like a more detailed tutorial of this!

Be sure to check out the other girls' designer-inspired manis: