Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick and Fergie for Wet n Wild

Smashbox's Honey has been one of my most worn lipsticks of all time. It seems like I finally found the perfect nude to go with my skin color. My current tube is almost over so I've been wanting to repurchase. Before heading over to Sephora, I decided to stop by the drugstore. I had been looking at the Wet n Wild lipsticks and there was one that seemed to jump at me. I had to take the shade Bebot Love. As it turns out, this could be a dupe for the Smashbox lipstick (almost! I've never been good at picking out dupes).

The shades are pretty similar. I would say Honey has a warmer undertone where Bebot Love has a cool pink undertone. However, the finishes and feel of the lipsticks are very different. Bebot Love has almost a matte finish while Honey has sheen finish. The texture on the Smashbox lipstick is also a lot creamier than the Wet n Wild. Even though it's not an exact dupe of the shade, I don't regret buying it. The matte finish does make it easier to wear and the staying power is a bit better.

Do you like looking for make-up dupes? Which one is your favorite?

Christmas Beauty Bits

This Christmas I got some pretty nice beauty bits. I didn't get anything to big, but they're some that I have fallen in love with pretty quickly.

• Rose Scented Soap- I got this from my mom and dad. Its packaging has to be one of the most adorable things I've seen. The little keepsake box is filled with different stamps and icons from the city of Paris and it's also a music box! It plays Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. The soap is also pretty impressive. The scent is absolutely gorgeous. 

• L'Bel Essential Make Up Remover- This is one the best make up removers I've tried. It's very gentle and removes my toughest make up with just 2 swipes. It is also very moisturizing on skin and leaves my skin feeling pretty smooth.

• Precision Blending Sponge- I found this at TJ Maxx for $6 and decided to give it a try since everybody was raving about the Beauty Blender sponge(which I believe to be outrageously expensive). I don't know if there's any difference between this one and the original, but it does what it needs to do. It makes blending foundation a no brainer while concealing the look of pores. 

• The Body Shop's Lily Cole Lip & Cheek Dome- My best friend Ivonne got me this one and I've been using it since I got it. It's in the shade Crazy for Coral which is a gorgeous and very natural shade. Even though it's such a pretty shade, I find it suits my cheeks better than my lips so I've been using it as a blusher. I like that it has a very creamy texture so it blends into the skin marvelously.

From eyes to nails

I haven't quite forgotten about my new year's resolutions just yet and in the interest of keeping them, I've been looking for ways to use up my beauty products. After getting my Naked palette, all of my other shadows have taken the back seat. However I do have some greatly pigmented and very unique loose eyeshadows that I can't bear to part with. To try to save them I've been using them on my nails and I thought it would be nice to show you guys how.

In case I want to create a one time unique color, I mix clear coat and eyeshadow on a plastic plate until all of the pigment is incorporated. Then I use a clean nail polish brush to apply to nails. For a more permanent solution, try emptying the eyeshadow into the top coat bottle and give it a nice shake.

For a different look I apply some top coat to the nail and before it dries I use a make up sponge to stipple in the eyeshadow.

What are your favorite ways to repurpose beauty products?

2013 Beauty Resolutions

It's the first week of january and everyone knows it's resolution time. I've never been someone who makes a gigantic lists of resolutions and even less one gigantic resolution. I've always thought that keeping a small list of manageable resolutions was the trick to being successful. It's a lot easier to stay encouraged when you're able to see some changes and if you share these with other people that have similar interests. So in this spirit, I give you my beauty resolutions for this year.

What are your beauty resolutions for the new year?

The Best of Craftstyle 2012

After a much needed break over the holidays and some quality time with the family, I decided it was time to reflect on 2012. I had promised that I would work harder to produce post for the blog and I managed to keep it up for a quite a while. Unfortunately, this last semester was brutal(the worst in all my time in college) and this blog suffered a little. I still had a great time writing and thinking up of new posts. Hopefully 2013 will be different and full of wonderful new things. Anyways, here's a look back at my favorites from last year.

Organizing and De-cluttering

I've been on a mission to organize my make up collection and de-clutter my dresser. If you're anything like me, you just line up your products on the dresser. Now what happens when the products don't fit in your dresser? You start stuffing them into a random drawer. After you realize that you're dresser looks like a hot mess and you can't find anything in that random drawer, you go on an emergency organizing spree. Luckily I was able to find a very cute organizer from Tokidoki on sale at Sephora. It has been my miracle worker. It has 4 divisions: a detachable make up bag, some elastic loops for brushes, 2 joined pockets for smaller things, and a zippered pocket.

Isn't it adorable?

Review: Maybelline 24H Tattoo Eyeshadow

Maybelline 24H Tattoo Eyeshadow in Tough as Taupe

Left: Blended with a brush |  Right: Swatched with finger

There was a lot of buzz surrounding these eye shadows and they were being compared left and right to MAC's Paint Pots.  I've never tried the MAC Paint Pots, so I can't really comment on that. At the moment of buying this I was just looking for a nice cream eyeshadow. I was very surprised with this one. The formula is very creamy and can just as easily be used with a brush or with your fingertips. The color payoff is great, but with this particular shade I feel that the name is a bit off. I see this shadow as being more of a light grey than a taupe color. The most remarkable feature of this shadow is the lasting power. While I cannot testify to it lasting 24 hours (I find that a bit odd), I can say that this lasts from when I put on my make up till I take it off. Overall, I would say that these are great cream shadows regardless of whether they are similar to the MAC ones. I'm looking forward to trying some other shades, particularly Bad to the Bronze.

Review: Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush

Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Candy Coral

I got this little blush as an impulse buy. I feel in love with the bright coral shade and just had to try it. However, my experience with this product was very disappointing. The packaging looked really adorable. At first you get this really smooth looking product, but after a while it deflates and looks pretty messy. I did find that the texture of the product was very interesting, it felt very soft and airy. Maybelline suggests that you apply the blush with your fingertips and I must agree. The only way to really blend the blush is to use your fingers and well I didn't really find it too easy to blend. Another thing that disappointed me about the product was the pigmentation. I feel like it barely shows up on my skin tone, and for it to be noticeable I need to pile on the product.

Korres Mango Butter Lipstick

Mango Butter Lipstick SPF 10 in Purple

I picked up this little guy at TJ Maxx for just $4. I've been hearing a lot about the Korres products so I thought I would try this one out. The packaging is very simple but still attractive. It claims to be a "lipstick with a rich, intense colour for a brilliant high shine and wet look" and I couldn't agree more. The color payoff is good, it's not exactly as dark as it looks in the packaging but it's still a pretty good match on the lips. It does have a very shiny finish that reminds me more of a lip gloss than a lipstick but I don't mind. I think the shine makes the color look a little bit lighter and a bit more wearable (I am really afraid of dark lipsticks, but I stepped out of my comfort zone to try this one). The lipstick is also very smooth. It glides on effortlessly and it keeps my lips moisturized as long as I wear it. It has very good lasting power, it keeps the shine and color for around 5 to 6 hours.  This product left a very good first impression of the Korres brand. I'm definitely very excited to try some of their other products, specially their famous lip butters.

Everyday Look for School

School is starting next week, so I have to start getting my act together. This means very early mornings and very little blogging time. Hopefully with some very thought out organizing and scheduling I can keep this blog from suffering. Seeing how I have to get up ridiculously early every day I've been making some changes to my make up routine to keep it on the 5 minute range. I don't really like to look "made up" so I mainly wear a little eyeshadow to brighten up my eyes, a little blush for some color, and a lip stain or balm on the lips. I've always liked to watch "get ready with me" videos and filmed one, so without further ado my school make up routine!

Products Used(in order of appearance): 

Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream in Light/Medium 

Almay Clear Complexion Powder in Light 100

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (oops I forgot to show that in the video) 

Naturale Beauty Mineral Eyeshadow in Elegant

Benefit Bad Gal Lash mascara 

Diorblush in Peechy Keen 

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Pink Truffle

Review: Covergirl Lip Perfection Lipsticks

Sultry Sensuelle(left), Delish Regal(right)

Delish Regal

Sultry Sensuelle

I had been searching for some nude lipsticks for a while and recently my mom picked up these two shades for me. She actually chose the lipsticks because they don't dry out her lips and seeing how they worked for her I was happy to try them. These actually claim to smooth out your lips in a period of 7 days. I didn't actually see any difference but my lips don't dry out when I use these. The formula is very creamy, I would say that maybe a little bit too creamy. I try to use these with a light hand because they can buildup and look a bit gooey. If I go a little bit overboard, I just blot with some paper towels. As for wear, they're not really that extraordinary lasting around 4-5 hours. Overall, I would say these are good not great.

May's Beauty Haul

This summer I'm using more relaxed makeup styles so most of my experimenting has been going on with nail polishes. I'm really into bright blues, pastels, and nudes. Anyway here's what I got: 

Nicole by O.P.I. polishes in My Lifesaver (left) and My Favorite Gold (right)

O.P.I. mini set inspired by  the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 

Revlon Nail Polishes in Graceful (left) and Radiant (right)

NYC Smooch Proof 16H Lip Stain in the shade Never Ending Nude