by Jessica Dawn

Yep, back with another Rihanna for Mac Eye Shadow Palette. This palette, 2X Dare, is pretty similar to the other Rihanna palette, but I'm really glad I got both. They're different just enough to give a slightly different look. I think this could be another really pretty look that you could do for New Year's Eve too. Hope you have a good New Year! Step 1: Apply the second rose gold shadow to the whole top lid, patting into place so that you don't get a ton of fall out. Step 2: Apply the first cream shadow in the inner corner and take that down the bottom about a third of the way in. Then apply the third blue-ish shadow in the center of your bottom lid, blending with the cream on the inside and taking it almost to the outer corner. Step 3: Apply the darkest shadow on the outer part of your bottom lid, bringing it up just slightly into the top lid area. Step 4: Apply the fourth brown shadow on the top part of the outer corner to...

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! I really feel blessed this Christmas. Not just because I received a mandolin (yes!!) but because I was able to see all of my family. They have a way of reminding you who you are and keeping you grounded. It's just very special to see (almost) everyone, especially since all the cousins are getting older and starting to have their own kids. It will only get harder for everyone to get together and we always wonder if this will be the last year for this many people to be in the same room at once. Yes, blessed does not even begin to describe it. I broke down a while back and decided to join the crowd in the Rihanna for Mac collections. I purchased the RiRi Woo lipstick the first round, but didn't purchase anything the second round. But, there were just too many pretty pictures and videos of the second collection that I knew I had to buy something from the third. I ended up with a few things (read: too many) and am really loving them. ...

Let's talk mascara. I am in love with the L'Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black Mascara. I also love the Voluminous Carbon Black mascara, but it's a little difficult to work with, which prompted me to pick up the Telescopic mascara in the Carbon Black line. The Carbon Black line is exactly what it sounds like - meant to be a super black mascara, more than usual. The telescopic does not disappoint in this. I think it's even blacker than the Voluminous. To compare these two, the Voluminous is a volumizing more dry formula with a dense bristle wand, while the Telescopic is a lengthening, wet formula with a plastic applicator. (They do have a Telescopic mascara that isn't Carbon Black if you find the Carbon Black mascaras too black, like if you have lighter eye lashes.) Hopefully you can see from the above photo that this wand is a little different. It's a plastic applicator that has four sides. On each of the corners, it has the little spikes that a normal wand ...

More love for the Lorac Pro palette today. This is a supper simple eye, using just two main shades plus a highlight. Normally I would never have picked to put a baby pink all over my lid, but I decided to give it a try and am glad I did. It simply gives the eye a very soft, feminine look. Step 1: Apply White as a base so that the pink stands out a little more. Then apply Lt Pink to your whole lid. Step 2: Apply Deep Purple in your crease and blend really well. I used Real Technique's Deluxe Crease Brush which is an extremely dense brush. Step 3: Apply Deep Purple in a thin line on the outer half of your bottom lash line. Also apply Champagne on your inner corner and bring it down just a little. Step 4: Eye liner and mascara. I used Stila's Smudge Stick in Damsel on my upper lash line and Benefit's They're Real mascara. Face: Benefit the POREfessional; Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse Foundation in Classic Ivory Light 2 applied with Re...

The holiday's are approaching so quickly this year. If you think about it, it's really incredible how time seems to go by so much quicker as you get older. Not that I'm aging or anything. =) Time really has escaped me and this might be my only holiday look this year. I used Bobbi Brown's Oysters and Caviar palette, which was limited edition, but the shadows I used are pretty standard. Hope you enjoy and are having a good holiday season so far! Step 1: Prime your eyes. I used Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer. Then apply Pink Opal all over your lid. Step 2: Apply Grey Sky in your crease. Step 3: Apply Plum Steel in your outer crease to give a little more depth and color. Step 4: Apply Pearl Oyster over everything to add that fun glitter/shimmer for the holidays. Also apply White in your inner corner. Step 5: Eye liner and mascara. Apply Rich Caviar on the outer third of your top lid. I then used Rimmel London Soft Kohl Liner in Pure ...

I have been loving light nail polishes lately. I will fully admit that it has something to do with how horrible the tips of my fingers and nails look from playing guitar so much. I'm keeping them super short right now and they get so dry. (Does anyone have a good solution for this?) So I think dark polish looks a little silly on my nails, at least right now. Enter light polishes. Okay, so only one of these is actually a polish. The other three are what L'Oreal is calling, Magic Top Coats. These are, from left to right, Wishful Pinking, The True Diamond, The Matte Velvet, and The Shift Me. The swatches below (excuse my awful looking nails) are two coats of Wishful Pinking, one coat of The True Diamond on top of Wishful Pinking, one coat of The Matte Velvet on top of Wishful Pinking, and two coats of The Shift Me by itself. I love how light polishes give a more natural look to your nails but don't leave you feeling naked, and these ones are all really great, especially f...

I purchased the MAKE UP FOR EVER Midnight Glow palette on a total whim with Sephora's VIB sale this year. I hadn't seen it in person and haven't heard anything about it (still). It's probably the most unique palette that I own. The packaging is small. It's definitely the smallest palette that I own and with 8 good size shadows. I was kind of put back by this at first, but now it's awesome. Why do we need such huge packaging for all these other palettes? I can't speak to all the shadows yet, but the ones I used in this tutorial are definitely unique. They are not any where near opaque. They're kind of like a glitter nail polish without a base color in it. While this is different, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Actually it's kind of a breathe of fresh air from all the other palettes I have, but it's definitely something to think about how much you'll use it when buying it. For me, my everyday makeup consists of very little to no eye ...