2nd Love Cosmetics Love Spell Lipstick Review

Aloha Lovelies!

Long time no blog right?? So very sorry for that but I just got a little caught up in working on a few projects here and there and put my keyboard on the backburner. Not to worry though, I am back with a new review for you all on a fabulously adorable little lippe from a cosmetic company called 2nd Love.

2nd Love cosmetics is the creation of a 2nd generation cosmetics company and is based out of Los Angeles, California. They are striving to both create and develop "quality cosmetics with innovation and style" ( 2012 My 2nd love).

At the beginning of February 2nd love hosted a Facebook flash giveaway offering a chance to win one of their love spell lipsticks (so adorable for valentines), which I was lucky enough to win!

Love spell lipstick #08 Giddy

In less than 2 weeks I received the above pictured lipstick in the mail with a note from 2nd love tucked in as well congratulating me on winning the giveaway, telling me more about the product and the company and letting me know that if I loved this little darling as much as they hoped she has 11 other sisters!!

 

 

 

So you know I get picture happy right??!..The shade send to me is #08 Giddy, and it is a beautiful orange based red color. The Love spell lipsticks from 2nd love are both a balm, and a very, VERY highly pigmented lipstick all rolled into one cute little package :)

 

 

The above picture is a close up shot of the product, it shows the outer balm portion which is glitter infused (not the least bit gritty) and then the inner highly pigmented lipstick portion. Both of these combine together to provide you with a smooth hydrating long wear lip finish.

 

 

 





Vanity up-cycle DIY

Aloha lovelies,
                  

                   While most people spent their weekend in preparation for super bowl, I spent this weekend working on a little (well not so little) DIY up-cycle project to create a vanity/workspace for myself!

                        Chalk paint is my new obsession, it is ridiculously easy to use in projects; no need to prime, sand or any of that mess prior to painting (although I do usually prefer to give my work surface a light sand). I find that the paint dries pretty quickly which is nice because you can knock out a full blow project easily in a weekend.

                          For this weekends project rather than invest in a new vanity or desk I opted to up-cycle a desk that I have had since I was a pre-teen. Given the fact that I am 28 now the desk has seen much better days, so a facelift was long overdue!

Before picture of my desk

 

               As you can see from the photo above the desk was a honey color prior to painting. My husband and I gave the entire desk a quick sanding with a power sander, whipped it down with a dry rag then we drilled holes for the hardware. Next I applied a dark brown chalk paint as my base coat. Once the base coat was dry (about an hour) I then applied Emerald Isle, my chosen main color (a vibrant green).

               I allowed the green coat to dry another hour then applied a second coat for maximum opacity. After another hour, I filled a small container with water and went in with a rag and began the distressing process. Basically you just take off paint by rubbing the surface with the wet rag as you see fit. Once you are content with how the piece looks let it dry fully then either set the entire thing with a piece of chalk (if you want to use it as a chalk board) or go over it with a finishing gloss to protect it and seal it. I used a sealant. While waiting for the seal to dry I applied some gold metallic wax to my hardware then sealed those as well.

What's in your collection?..a peek inside my make-up drawers!!

My make-up collection isn't as huge as some peoples by any means (it could always be bigger!), but I do keep my stash in a three tiered storage container in the corner of my room for easy access. I actually don't even have all of it in there either lol..all of my lip products are in a separate carry bag which is full now, and then there is my "daily" face bag!! so maybe I have a bit of a problem. I did tell you I am a make-up junkie right?? so here goes.. Let me know if you want to see the daily face bag or my lippie bag :)

All of my bigger palettes, too faced, Tarte, Urban decay, Benefit..

This drawer is all face products, highlighters, blush, bronzer, cream products etc. The pink bag should be in another drawer but it did not fit, it holds all of my eyeliners

This entire plastic tub is full of all my loose shadows and mini palettes..there's a ton!

Inspiration

I have seen the question asked, what does make-up mean to you? For me that is a simple answer, creative expression; freedom. I love that there are no boundaries in make-up. As a photographer I am inspired literally by the world! I am drawn to light, texture, color, and shape. I merge my passion for photography and my love for make-up through taking inspiration from my work and creating looks :)

Glamourdolleyes: my first indie cosmetics experience

Glamourdolleyes is an amazing cosmetics company which creates loose shadows (pigments), blushes, nail polish, lip gloss, lid priming products, and a product known as "foil me" which just as the name states is used to foil or create that wet look with pigments.

I really became aware of Glamourdolleyes about the time that the bloggers collection was released through stumbling onto some swatch postings on Nymphettes blog. The shade created for her "Veteran" 100% sold me on needing Glamourdolleyes in my life!!

 

Having no prior experience with other indie brands or pigments in general I was not sure what to expect when I took the plunge and made my first order, but with so many loyal fans already lined up how could I not love them too right?

 

My very first order consisted of Dino Spotz (a great dupe of Mac blue brown pigment), Sex appeal, Soul sisters, and Morocco. Have you given indie brands a chance? you might be pleasantly surprised by what you find!