My Beauty Favs of 2015

     Hey guys! I can't believe 2016 is almost here! This year flew by so fast and it has been a great year. I wanted to step away from reviews and makeup looks a bit and bring you my beauty favs of 2015. Some products are from 2015 and others were most used products that I used during the year. I hope you enjoy this post and hope the new year brings you much happiness and success. :)

 ColourPop Super Shock Shadows-  I have seen so many pictures and reviews on these shadows that I had to purchase some. I am soooooooo happy that I did. I do not know what the formula is, but it is amazing!! These eyeshadows are super pigmented. The texture feels wet but drys on the lid. These shadows are $5 each which is super affordable for the quality and pigmentation. If you do not have any of these go get them now. You will not be disappointed. ColourPop did an excellent job with these shadows.

  Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip(liquid Lipstick) in Tulle- If you are looking for an affordable liquid lipstick without leaving a whole in your pocket this is a good alternative. This ColourPop Liquid lipstick in the color Tulle is like a brick brown burgundy colour that is gorgeous! I have worn this color all throughout the fall and will be wearing it during winter aswell. It has great color payoff and last a long time. 

Inglot Gel Liner is #77- Where has this eyeliner been all my life? I have been trying out different brands of gel liners and this one is the best. It is a matte eyeliner and applies so smoothly on the lid and does not budge. I love it and one coat is all you need.

Loreal Voluminous Carbon Black Eyeliner-  Out of all the mascaras this has been my go to for most of the year of 2015. This is a staple in my mascara collection because it give my eyelashes such volume that it looks like I am wearing falsies. This is an old school mascara that will always remain new to me. Love it. This to me is comparable to Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara.

  Anastasia Beverly Hills Self Made Palette - I chose this for one of the best palettes of the year 2015 because they improved their formula and the pigmentation is great. This palette only costs $35 and has a variety of colors to create many looks from. This won't break the bank and for the price the quality is wonderful.

   Mac Mineralize Moisture Foundation- In love with this foundation! I have tried many foundations this year, but I always go back using this one because it gives my skin such a dewy look and it feels so light weight. I have dry skin and this gives it the moisture it needs making my face look smooth and hydrated without making it look oily. Best investment I made in a foundation.

     Jaclyn Hill Becca Highlighter- This has been my go to highlighter. It compliments my olive skin tone and gives my cheeks a luminous shine that is not overpowering. I will be making future purchases of  more Becca highlighters because their formula is amazing. It is finely milled and does not have any chunky glitter that some highlighters can have.

    Maybelline Baby Lips- This year has been the year of liquid lipsticks. I used this before every liquid lipstick application to provide moisture to my lips so my lips look smooth while wearing the liquid lipsticks. Dry lips and liquid lipstick is no no. The Maybelline baby lips is amazing and made my lips look great while wearing a liquid lipstick and in general for moisturizing the lips. Great for winter.

   Make Up For Ever Step 1 Nourishing Primer- I have tried a few primers and they just didn't work for me. During the sephora vib sale I picked this baby up. All I can say is this is my holy grail primer. It makes my foundation look amazing and last all day. It is worth every penny and if you have dry skin you NEED this in your life. Primer of the year and probably the next few years lol. Love it.

 Kat Von D Liquid Lipstick in Lolita- This to me has to be one of the best formulas in a liquid lipstick. When I tell you it lasts all day it really does. I eat all day and still stays strong on my lips. It is so light weight on my lips that sometimes I forget I have it on.  The color lolita is beautiful and compliments all skin tones. You can wear this color with any look.

    Maybelline Master Conceal Concealer is awesome! The texture is not thick which I love and goes on smoothly and has wonderful coverage. It doesn't crease much or make me look like I have old bags under my eyes. Hands down the best drug store concealer.

  Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso- The best drugstore blush ever! The formula, pigmentation and lasting power is wonderful .This blush is better than some of the high end blushes. If you are looking for an affordable blush this is the one to get. This color goes with every makeup look and gives your cheeks a beautiful peachy pink flush. Love it!

    Purity Made Simple One Step Facial Cleaner- I grabbed this gem on the sephora vib sale.I wanted to try this since so many  have raved about this cleanser. Worth the rave and lives up to the hype. If your looking for a cleaner that does it all. This is the one.  It takes off the makeup so well from your face and leaves it feeling so soft and radiant. I can't believe it took me so long to try this. I won't go without this ever again. I use this every day and night. 

     There you have it guys! My beauty favs of 2015. New and old products that I used most of the year. Hope you enjoyed this post and decide to pick some of these products up and give it a try. I always love reading these types of blogposts to see what is worth buying.

Do you own any of these? Leave a comment. If you have a beauty favs post of the year or a monthly favs, leave a comment so I can check it out. :)

Have a great day and see you next year! :)

Maryam ox

Winter Makeup Look Ft. Too Faced Pretty Rebel Eyeshadow Palette

     Hey guys! Hope everyone is enjoying their winter break . Since it is now winter which I can't believe since the weather has been pretty mild here in the northeast, I decided to do a winter look and put these colors together. I thought it came out nice and is not overpowering. I like the mix of cool and warm tones colors. For those who celebrate the new year you can also wear this look that day as well. I hope you enjoy this pictorial! :)

 Pictorial

1. Prime the eyes with an eye primer.

2. I used the color Girly on the crease area. Blend.

3. For the brow bone I applied the color Dainty. Blend.

4. In the outer V area I used the color Charming. Blend.

5. On the outer and inner lid I used the color Badass. Make sure you leave the middle of the lid with no color.

6. I used the silver color called Jailbird. Make sure you blend just a little so there won't be any harsh lines.

7. For my eyeliner I used Inglot gel liner in # 77.

8. I applied Loreal Voluminous mascara on my lashes.

9. On the water line I used Urban Decay 24/hr eyeliner.

10. For the lower lash line I used the color Badass.

11. In the inner tear duct I used the color Dainty.

12.  I applied mascara on my lower lashes.

Look is complete!

Finished Look

     I really loved how this look turned out. I wanted to add silver to the middle of the lid to brighten up the look. The outer and inner lids I applied a nice purple bluish color. I wanted to warm up the look a bit by adding the color girly to the crease which is a duo chrome color that has light brown undertones. To darken it up just a bit I used darker brown color.  I love how this look has your cool and warm tones colors which I think compliment each other nicely. I think this is a nice look to wear for the winter months.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial and give this look a try,

See you in my next blog post!

Maryam ox

Blue and Gold Makeup Look Ft. Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette

Hey guys! Hope everyone is well. Lately, I have been loving wearing blue eyeshadows. I know some people stay away from using it in their makeup. I think if you use it with the right colors you can create some beautiful looks. I wanted to use the gorgeous blue from Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette(Check Out my review here. ) and show you that wearing blue eyeshadow isn't so scary. :) Blue and gold go really nice together, so I decided to create this look. I really like how it came out and how the brown color in the crease area ties the look together. Hope you enjoy this pictorial and give it a try. 

Pictorial

1. I First, primed the eyes with an eyeshadow primer. For this look on the lid I primed my eyes first with Urban Decay Eye Primer then I took Nyx jumbo eye pencil  in Milk and applied it over the lid to make the gold and blue colors pop more.

2. For the crease I used the color Zone.Blend

3. On the brow bone I applied the color Skimp . Blend.

4. On the outer Corner I used the color Punk to give the look a little more dimension. Blend.

5.  I then applied the gorgeous blue called Danger and applied it half way on my lid.

6. Next, I used the gold color called 1987 and applied it to my inner lid and carefully blended it into the blue so there wouldn't be any harsh lines.

7. I took Inglot gel liner and applied it over my lid.

8. For the lashes I used Loreal Manga Mascara in Black. Before I applied my mascara I curled my lashes and applied 3 coats.

9.As usual I used the Urban Decay Black Eyeliner on my water line. 

10. For the outer lower lash line, I went in with the color Punk to darken it up a bit.

11. Again, I took the blue color called Danger and applied it to the rest of the lower lash line and stopped before the tear duct. Blend.

12. Finally, I took the same gold color I used on my inner lid and applied it my inner tear ducts.

That Completes the look!

 Finished Makeup Look

This has to be the most one of the most beautiful blue eyeshadow that I ever used. Urban Decay did a wonderful job on this color. When you pair blue with a neutral eyeshadow it balances the look and adding the gold brightened the entire look.

I hope you give this look a try and for those who are afraid to wear blue eyeshadow this is one way to wear the color blue.

Be safe everyone and see you guys in my next blog post.

Maryam ox

Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette- Review and Swatches

     Hey Guys! Today I am reviewing the most wanted eyeshadow palette of the year and that is the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette. I remember when the news hit everyone was so excited to get their hands on it. At first I was on the fence as to whether I should purchase it because of many mixed reviews. Most people said it wasn't exciting and expected the palette to be more colorful instead of mostly neutral. Gwen Stefani's style as far as her makeup goes is very simple so it makes sense that she chose the colors she wears on a daily basis. After much consideration, I decided to purchase the Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette. One because it is Gwen Stefani and two because the packaging is lovely and the colors as well. Hope you enjoy my review!

The Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette retails at $58.00 and contains 15 eyeshadows (12 are new) containing mostly neutral shades with a few pops of color.

I really love the packaging. I love the gold and white cut out detail in the middle overlaying the black giving it a 3D effect. It has a little weight to it and it's smaller than the vice palettes, but has similar packaging and a magnetic closure.

The Palette also comes with Gwen Stefani Lipstick samples. The lipsticks will release in Spring 2016.

Look at how beautiful these colors are. The color Danger is gorgeous!

My Fav Shades:

Steady

Serious

Baby

Pop

Zone

Danger

Least Favorite:

Pop

Repeat Shades:

Skimp

Stark

Blackout

Over All,  I am happy that I purchased the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette. I was afraid I might return it because of the many neutral shades that are dupable, but the pigmentation of  most of the eyeshadows especially the matte shades won me over. The matte shades are very smooth and buttery and blend very well as well as the shimmer shades with the exception of the color Pop. That color is terrible. There is no base color. It is like a sheer glittery shade that has a lot of fall out. The pigmentation is very poor. I would replace this shade with a nice purple shade since there are already a few shades in the same color family. A purple shade would have been awesome in this palette. Other wise great pigmentation and they blend very well. The eyeshadows lasted for 7 hours and still were going strong and they didn't crease. I was also afraid some of the shades would not show up on my skin, but surprisingly they do and I am quite pleased. If you do not own any Urban Decay Naked palettes then the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette would be great to own. 

You can purchase The Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Eyeshadow Palette at :

Sephora

Ulta

Hope you enjoyed this review and found it helpful!

Stay safe everyone!

Maryam ox

*Products purchased by me*

MOTD- Light Gold and Neutral Makeup Look

Hey guys! I wanted to share my MOTD I that I posted on my Instagram which you can follow here. I thought I share it here for those who may not follow me.  I post makeup looks, mini hauls, and makeup products. Hope you like this makeup look. It is simple to achieve.

As I have mentioned in my previous post, I have been experimenting with gel liners and creating a more dramatic wing . I have been loving this style. I still have to practice, but I think it is coming along. These colors that I used are nice for weddings if you want a subtle sparkle. I used colourpop cosmetics for the lid in the color Koosh to create sparkle on my lids with out using glitter. This a great alternative to using glitter and there was no fall out. To make it look less dramatic you can just do a traditional or less dramatic wing.

Products used:

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in the New Dewy+ Smooth.  Perfect for Dry skin. Color in Sun Beige.

Inglot Gel Liner 77(one with the black top) in Black. Wonderful gel liner.

Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner pencil in Black. My staple waterline line eyeliner.

Colourpop Liquid Lipstick in the color Tulle. Beautiful brick red color. Love their liquid lipsticks and  they are so affordable. ($6.00)

TheBalm Mary Louminizer.

Colourpop Cosmetics eyeshadows in the colors Koosh and Bandit

Maybelline Master Concealer in medium. Perfect shade for my skin. I really do not like to use a lighter concealer than my skin tone. I think I look funny. lol

Loreal Butterfly Mascara in Black

*Not pictured I used Mac cosmetics eyeshadow in Embark.

I might do a quick pictorial if you like using these colors to give you more details on how I achieved this look. 

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Maryam ox

Simple Neutral Look Ft. Anastasia Beverly Hills Self Made Eyeshadow Palette

     Hey guys! Today I am bringing you a simple neutral look with a subtle pop of color featuring the Anastasia Beverly Hills Self Made Eyeshadow Palette. You can read my review on the palette here. You can make this look even simpler with out the dramatic eyeliner, but I wanted to add it for a more dramatic effect. Hope you enjoy this pictorial and give it a try.

Pictorial

1. I always start with priming my eyes with eye primer. For this look I wished used a white primer for the lid to make the lid color pop more. If you try this I recommend using a white eye primer for the lid.

2. Next I apply the color Sherbert in my crease area and blend.

3. For the brow bone I used the color Buttery. Blend.

4. To darken up the look a bit I used the color Hot Chocolate on the outer corn of my lid and brought  it up mid way into the crease. Blend away. If you lose the intensity of the color add a bit more of the brown color.

5. On the lid I used the color Pink Champagne.

6 For this look I used Inglot black gel liner and lined the top part of my eyes. 

7 Take your favorite black mascara and apply and reapply if you like.

8. Apply you favorite black mascara.

9. Below the lash line I used the color Isla.

10. Finally, for the tear duct I used the color Treasure.

The look is complete!

Finished look

   I loved how this look came out. It is a simple neutral look with a subtle pop of color. I have been experimenting with gel liners and  doing different styles. I really love how the eyeliner came out and how sharp it looks at the ends. Usually I am a liquid liner girl, but I think I am falling in love with gel liners. :)

Hope you enjoyed this look and give it a try.

See you in my next blog post! Have a safe weekend!

Maryam ox

Anastasia Beverly Hills Self Made Eyeshadow Palette: Review and Swatches

    Hey guys! Hope everyone is well. Today I am bringing you a review on the Anastasia Self Made Eyeshadow Palette. I love Anastasia Beverly Hills eyeshadows although some colors can be a miss. For the most part they have great pigmentation and blendability. I missed out on the last eyeshadow palette called Anastasia Beverly Hills World Travelers palette and I regret it. When I heard another palette was coming out I couldn't pass this one up and I am so happy I didn't. Hope you enjoy this review!

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Self Made Eyeshadow Palette (Limited Edition) retails at $35.00 and contains 14 shades ranging from neutral, colorful to black.

I love the packaging and how sleek it is. Great for traveling.

My Fav Shades:

Pink Champagne

Deep Purple

Metallic Plum

Hot Chocolate

Hot and Cold

Review/Thoughts

     Overall the Anastasia Beverly Hills Palette Self Made Eyeshadow Palette surprised me in the improved pigmentation of their eyeshadows. In their previous palettes, the eyeshadows still had great pigmentation, but I felt the eyeshadows in this palette are more pigmented and had a different formula. They are much more smoother and richer. I was quite pleased. The eyeshadows also blend seemlessly.  She did a wonderful job in this palette. However, there are some shadows that don't quite pack the colorful punch like the mint color Isla. You would have to work with a white base for it to pop and not fade. I wore the color Buttery on brow bone and that color was a bit powdery. The color Pink Champagne is such a gorgeous color and surprising the glitter color stood on the lid, but there is a lot of fall out when I was applying the eyeshadow. My advice if you are going to wear this color do your foundation last. I wore the eyeshadows for 7 hours and they did not crease or fade.  I think the packaging is chic and sleek perfect for traveling. I love Anastasia Beverly Hills Self Made  Eyeshadow Palette. The color selection is beautiful and to me the eyeshadows in this palette improved in quality and pigmentation. I highly recommend this palette, so If I were you I would hurry and purchase it before it sells out for good.

It is currently not available on the Sephora website, but you can still purchase the Anastasia Beverly Hills Self Made Eyeshadow Palette at:

Ulta

Macys

Beautylish

Nordstrom

Hope you enjoyed this review and found it helpful.

See you in my next blog post and stay tuned for a pictorial using this palette. :)

Maryam ox

*Product purchased by me*

Blue And Burgundy Makeup Look Ft. Make Up For Ever and Mac Cosmetics

     Hey guys! As promised today I am bringing you a pictorial mainly using the Make Up For Ever 15 Artist  Shadow Palette that I reviewed on my previous blog post which you can check out here. In this pictorial, I also used two eyeshadows from the Mac Warm Neutral Palette.  I really love how the blue and burgundy compliment each other. I hope you enjoy this pictorial and give it a try. :)

Pictorial

1. As you know before I do any makeup look I prime my eyes most of the time with Urban Decay Eye Primer.

2. I apply eyeshadow in the crease first using the color Saddle from the Mac Warm Neutral Palette as a transition shade. (The Mufe 15 Artist Shadow Palette does not have any transition shades or matte shades to work with.) BLEND

3. I then took the color Brule and I applied it to my brown bone to give it a little highlight. BLEND.

4. Next I took the Burgundy color and applied it to my inner crease and blended it out.

5. I went in using the color next to the burgundy and applied to the outer v part of my eye. Blend.

*If at any point during your makeup look the colors get washed out because of blending you can alway go back and touch it up to get the desired intensity of color that you want.*

6. For the Lid I used the Colbalt blue shadow color.

7.Take you favorite black liquid liner and apply it to your lid.

8. Once the liquid eyeliner dried I used a lash curler to curl my lashes and applied three coats of my  black favorite mascara.

9. For my waterline I used black eyeliner pencil.

10. I took the burgundy color again and applied it below my lash line. Make sure you blend to diffuse the color.

11. Finally I took the whitest color and applied it to my inner tear duct to brighten up the look a bit.

Done!

Finished Look

I really loved how this look came out. The burgundy and blue colors really compliment each other. I know for some wearing blue eyeshadow can be intimidating but if you pair it with a neutral or toned down shade like burgundy. The blue is a nice pop of color without over powering the look. 

Close Up

The transition shade Saddle which is in the Mac Neutral Warm Palette diffuses the burgundy color and blends it out nicely. The white in the inner tear duct brightens up the look.

Hope you enjoyed this pictorial and see you guys in my next blog post!

Maryam ox

Make Up For Ever 15 Artist Shadow Palette: Review & Swatches

     Hey everyone! Hope all is well! Today I will be reviewing the Make Up Forever 15 Shadow Palette. If you are looking for quality eyeshadows that give you amazing pigmentation and lasting power then you might want to hurry and grab this eyeshadow palette. This is the second purchase of Make Up Forever Eyeshadows and let's just say they are worth every penny. For more on this review and swatches please scroll down. Hope you enjoy! 

The Make Up For Ever 15 Artist Shadow Palette retails for $59.00  and comes with 15 that contain neutral and bold colors.

I absolutely love the  sleek bright orange glittery packaging .

If you do not want to purchase the entire palette, you can purchase them as singles. Here are the names.

The purple eyeshadow is an eye catcher.

My favs:

Burgundy shade(D 826)

Bright Purple (l 922)

Rich cobalt blue(Me 216)

Swatch Time!

     Over All I am in love with the Make Up For Ever 15 Artist Shadow Palette. The eyeshadows have great pigmentation with the exception of a few. Some colors you really have to take the time and pack on. Once the color is on they really adhere to the lid and do not fade. For the more vibrant colors, my advice is to use a black or white base to make the color more vibrant. The eyeshadows blend wonderful together and lasted on my eyes all day. My only complaint is there is no matte shadows in this palette so you can't use just this palette to create a  complete look. The shadows come in iridescent, diamond and metallic finishes. You would have to go through your other eyeshadow palettes for that transition and highlight shade . Do I recommend this palette! Yes. 15 eyeshadows for $59.00 is a great deal. Individual eyeshadows cost $21 each and the pigmentation is the same as the individual eyeshadows. If you are looking to start up your makeup up forever collection, this is a good way to start. 

You can purchase the Make Up For Ever 15 Artist Shadow Palette at Sephora and the Make Up Forever website.

Hope you found this review helpful and stay tuned for a pictorial using the Make Up For Ever 15 Artist Palette.

Maryam ox