Oh, Darling!

Hi, guys! I've got a review for you all today. I'm pretty excited with this review. Today, I'll be talking about Darling Girl Cosmetics. It's an indie makeup company from Texas. I learned about it from Beauty Bloggers Puerto Rico, one of the blogger groups I'm part of. A fellow member of the group had shared with us about the brand and of course, I had to check it out because by the preview she gave us things looked amazing. In fact, they were!

Image via darlinggirlcosmetics.com

Honestly, I couldn't control my excitement. All the colors were AMAZING. If you're into experimenting with color or simply a little touch of magic here or there, I think there's something for everyone here. One thing I instantly loved were the names of the products. All of them had some sort of pop reference to them, or paid homage to some kick-ass bands (those form part of the Darling Grrl! collection). What a way to win a girl's heart! So, I mad up my mind and the owner, Susan, sent me over some samples to review (samples come in little baggies with 1/8 of a teaspoon of product). In my sample package, I got five eyeshadows, one bronzer/blush and a lipgloss. Susan also included the cutest details in the packaging as well. She threw in a Darling Girl Sticker, her business card and some Hello Kitty confetti!

Clockwise: Roots Radical, Midnight Sea, London Calling, My Little Pony, Bronze Goddess Blush and Curious.

Liquid Kiss luxe in Breathe

You can pick between 5oz. or 3oz. of product. For the price, you can't go wrong. The small sizes go for $2.90 and the larger ones for $5.90. The blushes go for 10oz. and 3oz jars and priced equally. The glosses come in 3ml click pens for $5.25. Since Susan is the only one packaging the products, the shipping time goes from two weeks to sixteen days, but that's mostly because most orders are custom and she churns out those orders on her own but I think it was worth the wait. Now, on to the swatches and reviews!

Curious

In the packaging, this has got to be one of the most basic looking colors ever... that is until you open it up! I am definitely getting myself a regular sized portion of this once I move to NY and finish up my sample. Why? It is probably the color I would get most use out of. It is GORGEOUS! It's a tan-ish taupe color with gold and pink shimmer. The application is smooth and longevity is fantastic. I tested it out for the first time for about 5 hours with a shadow base and it looked just as good as it did when I first applied it. Minimum creasing occurred. I also like it for an inner corner highlight. Being as sometimes we might use shadows for other makeup art around our face, it is important to note that this color is not lip safe.

Midnight Sea

Midnight Sea is a lovely purple with blue and turquoise shimmers like a duo chrome. With a good base and primer, it should be able to stick. I don't have the best primer on hand at the moment (Benefit's Stay Don't Stray), but the color was a bit of a hassle to get to properly stick.  As a light wash it can work beautifully but if you want it to really show up, I recommend foiling it. I also used it with NYX's Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk and it showed up a bit better but not as much as I was expecting. I'm crazy about the color though. Not lip safe.

London Calling

What a brilliant name. You've got to give it to the Clash! When I saw London Calling on Darling Girl's website, I was blown away. It's a navy-ish gray base with red and violet shimmers. When I got it, it reminded me of MAC's Beauty Marked only with a lot more red shift. Once I swatched it I was a bit underwhelmed. When I blended it, I lost much of the shimmer that makes this color so amazing. I'm thinking this color was intended to be used wet as it worked much better when applied as a foil color. It did stain a bit but with eye makeup remover, it was gone completely. This color is not lip safe.

My Little Pony

Come on! How can you not like an eyeshadow named My Little Pony? The name alone got me to picking this one and I'm glad I did. This is one of my favorite ones of the bunch mostly because it is just so darn pretty. I'm not a girl that gravitates towards pink, but when you've got a duo chrome pink that works well anyway you apply it, I'm sold! The shimmer in this shadow leans towards gold, green and pink and it blends beautifully. Loved using this on my inner corners for highlight and against a dark base, it totally transforms any color. This is not a lip safe color.

Roots Radical

When you've got a name that references Rancid, you kind of expect to get something well, rancid looking. This color is far from that. This color is sweet! I usually don't go for greens but I've been experimenting with color lately and gave it a shot. Also, mint is the way to go this summer. I'm thinking this could work well as an eyeliner accent color. The shimmers in this are insane! It has gold and pink shimmers. I had a little trouble getting it to stick but with a better primer it should work nicely. I'm excited to keep playing around with this color!

Here's a look I did using all of the colors. I used Curious as a brow highlight, Midnight Sea on the lid, London Calling in the crease, Roots Radical on the lower eyelid and My Little Pony as the inner corner highlight. For my waterline, I used MAC's Sea and Sky Mineralize Eyeshadow and for liquid liner I used Wet n' Wild's Mega Liner in Black.

Look at all the shimmer! Now, on to the blush and gloss.

Bronze Goddess Blush

I think this one was added as a bonus for my order but one can never refuse a pretty blush. This peachy-tan blush works as a bronzer too. It's an easy application because you've got a two in one product. It wasn't as long lasting as some of the eyeshadows but that varies from formula to formula. I haven't been using a face primer for a while (tsk, tsk, tsk), so maybe with a primer it will work best. The color did show up nicely and gave my face a warm touch.

Liquid Kiss Luxe in Breathe

I was expecting this color to be a bit more opaque than what it really is, but I'm happy with what I got. This is actually a color I'd use everyday because it makes my pale lips look normal, but better at the same time. Breathe is a beautiful berry color with blue and gold shimmers. What really amazed me about this is how long lasting and hydrating it is! I mean, I applied this in the morning and I still feel it on my lips, eight hours later. I'M NOT KIDDING. The color wears off beautifully. I had absolutely no bleeding and the formula is thick but non-sticky. The texture reminds me of Korres' Lip butter and we all know how I love that thing. I think we might have found a very nice alternative. 

All in all, I am incredibly amazed at the quality of these products, the prices and the huge range of colors, especially rare colors, duo chromes and colors with beautiful shifts. Once I get through my samples and move to NY, I will be ordering more colors from Darling Girl Cosmetics. Don't forget to swing by their webpage and "Ooooh!" and "Aaaah!" at all of the goodies! Also, like their Facebook  page  and blogger too! Thanks to Susan at DGC for being such a doll! Anyways, see you guys soon.  I've got lots of packing and organizing to do before I move to NY next week! I'll keep you guys updated!

Skitch-I-Y: 4 Different Ways to Wear Blue

If you've ever found the most beautiful blue eye product, bought it and got frustrated because it seems that whichever way you apply it makes you look like a clown, don't feel bad. It's happened to all of us. Although blue seems like an easy color to pull off, it's very hard to do sometimes because overdoing it or choosing the wrong blue may go from spectacular in the package to clown-tastic on your face! Alike lots of colors, it's all about what tone of blue you chose and how you wear it. It all comes down to balance.

photo via style.com

I must admit I wasn't too keen on wearing blues because somehow I always ended up looking kind of sick because I've got deep set eyes and quite a bit of dark circles under them, so I used to stray a bit from blue and shun it with fear and you all know that I do not fret when it comes to wearing bold colors with my makeup. It's a little strange because blue is actually the color that best suits my eyes. Well, lately I've been kind of obsessed with the color and I've recently gotten some super sweet blue hues for my lids. I decided to give blue a try and boy, I'm not going back! I've gone from hesitant to bold! Also, I'm really excited because it's a color that was featured on many runways for fall.  Prabal Gurung had his heaven and hell models with bold cobalt smokey eyes. So believe me when I say, I'm VERY excited for fall makeup trends.

Here are the 4 different way's I've used to solve my blue-eyed dilemma:

 Cobalt Waterline

This is the look I wear the most being as I'm a sucker for cat eyes. The easiest way to play up a simple look is with bold colored eyeliner. This is the most moderate way to add a touch of color that impacts enough to make a statement. You can actually play with any tone of blue here since the rest of the look is so toned down. Same goes for the rest of the face. Since this eye look is demure but just the right amount of bright, you can play up your lips. 

For this look I used Wet n' Wild's Mega Liner in Black, NYX's Retractable Eye Liner in Deep Blue, MAC's Sea and Sky and on my lips I went with Lanvin x H&M's Red. On my cheeks I went with Gosh's Cheeks and Lips in Back to Nature. 

            Blue Wing

This one basically keeps the same principle as the Cobalt Waterline look: simple but bright. Instead of doing a typical black wing, turn it blue! But be warned, if the tone is too light, well... it might look just plain bad. You want to keep it classy. Go for a deep navy for a classic look or a cerulean for a playful look. Anything lighter and you've eliminated any tastefulness for this look. With this eye, you've got space to play around with the rest of the face since it's quite toned down. Add a bright pink lip or a beautiful coral for summer. For more formal affairs, go with a blush lip tone.

I kept mine playful because I wanted something suitable for the bright summer trend so I went with NYX's R.E.Y. in Deep Blue with a light dusting of Warpaint's Totes Turq over it and MAC's Pfloof! for inner eye highlighting. For cheeks I used Gosh's Cheeks and Lips Back to Nature with a little bit of Nars' Sin and for lips I went with Sephora's Hot Hues Lipbalm in Paradisso Purple with Covergirl's Eternal layered over it.

                      Blue Slate

This is probably the hardest one to pull off since the color borders on what could go right or wrong, but done right and it can play up any eye color (at least in my opinion it can!). Go for a more silvery blue and a soft navy crease with a simple liner for better eye definition. Apply some of that navy underneath you bottom lash line and keep the waterline either dark for a look that smolders or light for a bigger looking eye. A tip I learned from Marlena of Makeup Geek: if your eyes are cool, keep the rest warm to balance out the look and vice versa.

For this look, I used MAC's Sea and Sky, the blue shadow in Mark.'s On the Dot compact, and MAC's Pfloof! I also used my NYX Deep blue liner. For cheeks I went with Nars' Orgasm and on my lips, some NYX Matte Lip Creme in Stockholm and Hot Topic's Foil Lip Gloss in Batch #F1711.

       Smokey Jewels

Save this look for the extra special events, although if it were me I'd use it for everyday. To get extra pay-off always start off with a dark base color. Any cream shadows (in moderation to prevent creasing!!!!) should do the trick. Layer over it a deep blue and take it all the way up to the crease. You can choose to use a lighter blue to blend it out or neutralize the brightness like I did with a orangey-brown color. Highlight the brow bone and inner eye corners. Take a bit if that dark color to the outer corner of your lower lid. Remember to keep the rest of the face soft as this eye look is very strong. Balance, my loves, is key.

For this look I used Tarina Tarantino's Creme Shadow in Meteor Night, MAC's Sea and Sky (you can tell I love it), both MAC's Blue Brown and Saffron on the crease and MAC's Amber lights for a jewel toned effect and contrast on the inner corner highlight. On the rest of the face, I stuck to Gosh Cheeks and Lips in Back to Nature and NYX's Soft Matte Lip Cream in Stockholm and Hot Topic's Foil Lip Gloss in Batch #F1711.

I invite you all to give blue a shot and be wise on your color selection and balance. Blue is a challenging color for eyes, but nothing anyone can't master. 

Also...

... if you're wondering about my jewelry, I want to thank the amazing Miss Erika Peña for creating such AMAZING pieces. I am literally obsessed with these earrings! These are hot off the oven and they've just arrived to the boutique!  Love the geometrical shapes and structure! They go perfectly with the kasar finish of my Ulan ring. Shop 'til you drop for more of her amazing accessories at www.erikapenashop.com or stop by her Facebook page: www.facebook.com/erikapenaboutique for more details.

Also, don't forget to enter my Big 100 Giveaway if you haven't for your chance at some sweet swag! Stop by my Facebook page and follow me on Tumblr and Instagram. I'm LilaLane! See you guys next time! 

The Skitch: Spring Makeup Trends

Leave it to me to wear a dark palette on my wardrobe all year long. How do I occasionally experiment with color? My makeup! Here's where I go crazy literally every chance I get. If there's always something I look forward to in the morning it's deciding my look of the day. I'm quite excited about some of the makeup trends for this spring because they truly are right up my alley. It's all about playing up the eyes or lips. 

I present you all with my new face chart model. I like to call her Lila. 

Neon lights

Play up your peepers with an extra bold color for that edge your look might be missing. If you're not into sporting bright colored accessories, a touch of neon for spring on your makeup might be just what you need so try out a bold aqua or pink on your lids or lips! It might be a bugger to find neon colors in the US because the FDA doesn't approve of them (booo!), but by simply adding a white base to any bright eyeshadow, the color will instantly pop! Try out NYX's Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk or and always remember to prime your lids for extra payoff!

Bold blue

I'm really excited for this trend because it's one of the few that will actually carry on to fall. If you saw Prabal Gurung's f/w 2012 show the models sported a striking blue lid. Blue tones are also fantastic for brown colored eyes. They're complimentary colors so it's a given that your eyes will go from boring to amazing! Practice out many different looks with blue colored shadows. But take it easy, blue shadow can be messy and your look can go haywire! Just remember to play it up gradually. Maybe start out with a nice eyeliner or a navy smokey eye. You can also play with your mascara color. 

Neutral brown and a pop of poppy!

Neutrals are always in and how about taking that smokey eye and softening it up for the spring? Grab your brown colored shadows and blend all along the lids for a soft, yet sultry look. Rub on a nice, peachy color on the apples of your cheeks and play up the look with a bright coral color or a classic red lip! If you're not into a bright lip, keep your lips toned down with a nude color and maybe a swipe of gloss.

Wing it!

I believe there is one look that is absolutely fool-proof and timeless: the winged eye! Absolutely no other look is as flawless as this on is in my book. Whether you like to get your done with pencil, gel or liquid liner, it's a look that'll lift any eye. It takes a little practice mastering the wing, but I promise that once you've got it down, it's a makeup look you'll want to wear almost every day. Play it up with a bright coral, red or pink lip and you're out the door in 1, 2, 3! You can even add some false lashes for that extra va-va-voom!

I'm really excited for these makeup trends this spring and they're all looks that can be easily transformed for any outfit, occasion and season. They're playful, exciting and easy to achieve. What are your favorite spring makeup trends? 

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