November Favorites 2014

Hey Ya’ll! Welcome to SavingFace!

Guess what, it’s that time of the month again! That’s right, it’s time for monthly favorites!

What’d you think I meant?

Manicure Monday: Sally Hansen, Maybelline and Revlon Gel Envy Yumm...

Hello There and Happy Manicure Monday!!

Disclaimer:

I am fully aware that my nails are in desperate need of a fill but right now I have other things (like Christmas) to worry about that are slightly more important than the lady fingers. But I promise I'll be back at the salon once things calm down. 

I would hate for you to think I let myself go. 

Thanks for reading and remember: 

Don't Just Wear Makeup...Let It Inspire You!

Manicure Monday: China Glaze Winer Berry

Hey Ya'll, and Welcome Back to Saving Face Beauty!

Today is Manicure Monday and this past week I actually got a professional manicure.

Yumm...

I did get acrylics, so these aren’t my real nails, but I had them trimmed and rounded so they don’t look obnoxiously fake.  I’m just a classy bitch like that.

The Shade is Winter Berry from China Glaze. Because I just picked out the polish at the salon, I’m not sure if China Glaze still offers it; but the color is just a classic red. Pretty straight forward.

That's it for Manicure Monday. I hope you had a Fan-f*ckin'-tastic Thanksgiving and a satisfying shopping weekend! 

Remember:

Don’t Just Wear Makeup…Let it Inspire You!

Urban Decay Naked Palettes: Drifting Farther Out of Reach?

When the the Orginal Naked palette was released it retailed at $48. This was when it came with the dual sided pencil. 

The price then increased from $48 to $50 with the upgrade to a brush, which is the same price Naked 2 retailed for. 

During the Holiday season, the price of the Naked and Naked 2 was increased to $52 to meet the price of the newly released Naked 3. 

Just moments ago I went onto the Sephora website to research a  completely unrelated product, and saw that all of the Naked palettes are now retailing for $54!!! 

The price is the same on the Urban Decay Website. 

I guess I should feel thankful that, for the time being, Ulta is still selling them for the regular $52 (a price that I still have not fully adjusted to). 

It's been less than 6 months since the last price increase but, 

at the rate this is going, by the time Christmas rolls around again these could very well become

 $60 palettes!

 I'm not seeing any changes or evolutions in the palettes to make them any better than the previous generation. 

A price increase of the original NAKED palette from $48 to $50 with the exchange of the dual-ended pencil to the shader brush was warranted, but I don't understand why the most recent increases are. 

If anything the quality of certain shadows in the NAKED 3 are not as impressive as the shades in  the first two palettes. 

However, Urban Decay has been on a roll lately. 

I feel like this is a company that is very in tuned with the market and a company that is continually meeting the needs that their consumer base didn't even know they had. 

For example: 

the release of the NAKED Basics palette

their new line of Revolution Lipsticks

the NAKED Lipglosses

Face Powders (in both a pressed and loose form)

the NAKED Skin foundations

the new Perversion Liners

and the recent Electric Palette

Right now it seems like everything Urban Decay touches turns to gold. 

They can do no wrong, which is why the prices on everyone's Holy Grail palettes are slowly creeping up. And now, that Lorac is no longer being carried at Sephora there's no looming threat from the Lorac Pro or the Lorac Unzipped palettes on that front.

If I were Urban Decay I would be reluctant to increase the price of my most popular palettes any further. 

I feel like those who have already purchased all of Naked Palettes (or any of the Naked Palettes) are thinking to themselves:

"Well damn! I'm glad I got that sh*t when it was cheaper!"

Those who might have been waiting for, as Capt. Jack Sparrow would say, 

"The opportune moment" to make their purchase might find themselves even more reluctant to do so. 

Urban Decay has started a notoriously neutral trend that is still going strong. 

This has given rise to countless other brands releasing their own versions of Naked or Neutral palettes. This means more viable alternatives and more 'dupes' on the market with price tags that are more appealing.  

Check out these videos from Beauty Broadcast:

"Drugstore Nude Eye Favorites"

"All Eyes on Metallic Neutral Shadows"

If you've actually made it to the end of the post, thank you for reading my rant and I encourage you to leave a comment and tell me what you think about the price increase.

If you own any of the NAKED palettes how do you feel about it and do  you think it's worth the investment? 

Those opinions, even though there are a lot of them all over the internet, becomes more important every time Urban Decay increases the price to consumers.

Thanks for reading and remember:

Don't Just Wear Makeup,

Let it Inspire You! 

Manicure Monday: featuring Sally Hansen's 'Punch Drunk' and 'Big Money' - Yumm...

Hello Everyone

and Welcome Back to

Saving Face Beauty!

This is just going to be another

Manicure Monday,

which I promise I’ll be more consistent with in the future.

This week I've decided to go with Sally Hansen's Salon Manicure in 

Punch Drunk 

as the primary color.

I really like this color because I think it's a nice 'transition shade' between Winter and Spring since this a muted version of a brighter fuchsia. 

I live in the Pacific Northwest where Spring doesn't tend to manifest itself until well into June. 

Sometimes late May if we're lucky. 

Even though it's officially Spring, it's still cold, and overcast and foggy in the mornings with the occasional heavy rain and thunder storm at night

(you know, the kind that set off all the car alarms in the neighborhood at 11pm).

For some reason it just doesn't feel appropriate to dive completely into the ultra bright colors that are usually associated with Spring or the neons associated with Summer. 

But don't worry, I'll get there...

eventually. 

I also feel like Punch Drunk could be a little

Radiant Orchid-esque because

the shade takes on more of a purple undertone in person. 

I used Sally Hansen's Gem Crush in 

Big Money 

as an accent. 

*Please excuse the sausage fingers on my man hands.*

I really love this glitter formula!

It goes on opaque in two coats (instead of seven)

and it stays on easily for three weeks. 

That might be a turn off for some people, but I just like to keep the glitter on and change out the main color about once a week, or when it starts to chip. 

Then I'll only have 8 nails to worry about instead of the full set!

I know, I know. 

Not the most original or awe-inspiring piece of work, 

but i'm not very skilled or patient when it comes to the 

intricate nail art. 

So for now, this is what it is.  

Here are the rest of the products I use in virtually all of my manicures. 

Sally Hansen Strengthening Nail polish Remover - 

Besides wanting a strengthening formula, there was no rhyme or reason for choosing this particular remover. It was just the first one that I came across, and it works pretty well. 

Be Natural Cuticle Eliminator - 

I have the worst problems with cuticle over growth, and this product softens cuticles quickly and breaks them down so that you can scrape them away without having to worry so much about bleeding everywhere while using a scraping tool on dry cuticle or even nail clippers. 

California Mango Cuticle Oil - 

I bought this product at Sally's Beauty supply, and it does the job well, but I remember that is was a lil bit on the expensive side. 

There's an apricot cuticle oil that I keep running into at Walmart that easily contains 5x or 6x more product and is less that $5. 

So given that alternative I probably won't continue to repurchase this cuticle oil when I run out of it. 

OPI Original Nail Envy - 

I like to use this as a base coat because it doubles as a treatment. It's okay, and it gives me peace of mind knowing that I'm at least trying to do something to strength my nails, but I haven't noticed any real difference, which kind of sucks considering this stuff is $17-$18 a pop! 

There are other cheaper nail strengtheners out there that probably work just as well. 

And if you're that concerned about your nails, consider a biotin supplement. 

Orly Spritz Dry - 

When I first started using this product, I wasn't painting my nails regularly and wasn't familiar with what the average dry times was, but I did know that I am an impatient person when it comes to that kind of thing, so I got it and it's been working great for me. 

The one time I did not use this product I noticed a major difference in how much longer I had to wait for my nails to dry. 

Keeping that in mind I would say that this product cuts down trying time by about 50% for me. 

In addition this acts as a conditioning agent to help moisturize the skin around your nails so that there's no waisted product, and, as the picture illustrates I like to use this between every layer. 

Out the Door Top Coat -

Self explanatory, its just like Seche Vite but half the price.

That concludes this weeks Manicure Monday!

Hope the season 4 Premiere of Game of Thrones last night was a kick ass as I imagined it would be.

Thanks for Reading and Remember:

Don't Just Wear Makeup...

Let it Inspire You!

FrankieRose Cosmetics

Hi Everyone!

Welcome Back to Saving Face Beauty!

I was recently introduced to a new makeup brand (at least a brand that's new to me) when this video popped into my feed about a week ago. 

Frankie Rose Cosmetics carries products for Eyes, Cheeks, Lips and Face. 

The video really intrigued me, and I think I might be purchasing a few items form this brand in the coming months, but since the price range is in the mid-range to high-end I'll have to prioritize my order.

I'll link some standout  products down below in my luvocracy page if ya'll want to check those out. 

Or if you've tried Frankie Rose yourself and any recommendations (or warnings) I'd love to read your opinions on that as well. 

For a list of intriguing products please visit this link:

luvocracy.com/savingface/collections/frankie-rose-cosmetics

and

Feel Free to Creep on me:

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Luvocracy

and subscribe to my Blog!

Thanks for reading and Remember:

Don't Just Wear Makeup...

Let it Inspire you!

NYX Dark Circle Concealer Review

Hello All

 and Welcome Back to Saving Face Beauty!

This past weekend I went to Ulta because I had, not one, but two $5.00 off coupons that were burning a hole in the back pocket of my dark-washed skinny jeans.

I spent a lot of time at the NYX display, so expect several review of new NYX products coming up to be on the look out. 

The NYX Dark Circle Concealer comes in 4 colors: 

Fair, Light, Medium and Dark. 

When I first heard of this product I was immediately reminded of the Benefit Erase Paste concealer. 
This product from NYX, however, has more of a pleasing texture. 
It is thin, light and creamy. 
While the Benefit Erase Paste in comparison is still creamy but is also thicker and...Pastier!

Let me insert a blurb about this concealer form the NYX site:

"A serious solution for one of beauty’s most challenging problems! No fancy names, just a product that can be counted on to do the job. The product glides on without looking thick or obvious. Coconut oil provides intensive moisture and ensures no caking. The subtle hint of orange counteracts the appearance of dark circles, while natural skin-toned pigments work in unison to provide the ultimate coverage."  
- Someone that works for NYX 

This concealer is nice and moisturizing which, let's face it, is a Godsend at this time of the year. 
It's definitely one of those products that works best with a finger as opposed to using it with a brush as it gives way nicely to the heat of the fingers and therefore blends nicely into the under eye area. I was impressed because this product looks a whole lot more like skin than a lot of other concealers I've come across. That quality I would probably attribute to the coconut oil. 
If your dark circles are really prominent, perhaps try using this in junction with another concealer. You might try mixing it in with the NYX Full Coverage concealer to give it more of a corrective quality, or layering it under a brightening concealer.  

Even though its nicely pigmented it's not high coverage by any means. 
I had to really build this product up under the eye to achieve a satisfactory outcome. 
(That being said, I have really bad dark circles that make me look like a Panda). 
If you have really bad dark circles, like I do, I find that this product layers well. I noticed minimal creasing after about 4 layers of product whereas I would notice it after one layer of just about any other concealer. 

How I Use It
On those days when I'm going for a high coverage look to the skin, I like to use 2-3 layers of the Dark Circle concealer first and then foundation second, finishing the look off with a light brightening  concealer. That seems to work pretty ok. 
On days when I just want to look normal, I layer the Dark Circle concealer over a BB cream and run out the door with a tube of mascara in my hand. That seems to work out pretty ok too. 

The harsh truth is there is probably nothing in the world, now or in the future, that will ever fully disguise my dark Panda Bear circles. However this concealer from NYX does a pretty good job at making me look like I haven't just been in a bar fight. 
For that I would gladly pay $6.

However, I couldn't get this product to produce a favorable outcome with just one layer. And if layering and mixing and putting necessary effort into your makeup just isn't for you, maybe this is something you'd rather pass on. 



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For a list of all products mentioned click on the link below:

http://www.luvocracy.com/savingface/collections/nyx-dark-circle-concealer
Thanks so much for reading and Remember:

Don't Just Wear Makeup...
Let it Inspire You!