Winter Self Portraits with Favorite Winter Lip Products

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Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius. 

-Pietro Aretino

Sometimes, on mornings when I like my makeup or hair or if I'm just feeling like it,  I take pictures of my face. There's no particular reason. I think it may stem from my obsession with portraits. I love browsing through tumbler looking at different artistic portraits, among other things, and whenever I draw; my go-to choice is always a portrait as well. So I've decided to compile my recent self-portraits from this Winter:

I'm also quite obsessed with lip products, as you can see by some of these portraits. Here are a few I've been using a lot this winter (some of them are not available anymore but I've given descriptions for if you'd like to look for a similar shade):

Burt's Bees: Lip Shimmer in Watermelon; a light plum shade that smells delicious

Covergirl: Temptation Tentation (285); a medium orange with gold shimmer

MAC: A deep red-pink lipstick with a FROST finish that I'm pretty sure is part of the Viva Glam collection but the name is completely worn away (it was my first ever MAC purchase)

Maybelline: MAUVE-ULOUS (455); a deep plum shade

Rimmel: Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Lipstick (11); a medium-deep shade of classic red

I hope you are having a nice winter season (even in the cold)!

***

Sincerely, Ella

Bold Gold.

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Maybelline's Color Tattoo eyeshadow in Bold Gold

Maybelline has yet again impressed me with another great product. The Color Tattoo series has been in stores for quite a while now but I had convinced myself I didn't need anything from the collection, as I had a whole palette of eyeshadows just waiting to be used. This excuse was shattered when my clumsy self dropped the palette I had and managed to break most of the colors I used frequently. The lovely golds and browns were transformed into useless colorful powder on my tile floor. Disappointment. I then convinced myself that I didn't really need eyeshadow; I was perfectly fine with just some eyeliner and mascara. That mindset didn't last long. On my next trip to the drugstore I picked up this lovely gold color from the Color Tattoo line.

Bold Gold is the perfect golden color. I've worn it almost every day since buying it, it's really versatile and works with all my makeup looks. The consistency of the shadow has a light cream feel, so I've been applying it using my finger. It takes a second to dry so if I ever get some shadow in the wrong place, I can easily fix it.

The color can range from a light sparkly tint to a real bold shimmering gold, depending on the amount you apply. It is easy to apply different shadows over the Color Tattoo and I haven't had any trouble blending those colors out. Creasing has been a real problem for me in the past. It's always embarrassing to look in the mirror and notice a harsh line across your eyelid when the rest of the color has faded. Bold Gold has never given me this issue. It stays on without clumping or creasing and it also acts as a primer for layering. It has an overall smooth effect all day. Love it!

Have you tried any of the other colors in the Color Tattoo collection?

***

Sincerely, Ella

Maybe it’s (always) Maybelline.

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 Maybelline Volum' Express® the Mega Plush™ Mascara

After a slight detour from the Maybelline mascara, I am definitely back on the “obsessed” track. Although their Great Lash Lots of Lashes™ and Volum' Express® One-by-One Washable Mascara have never really done wonders for me, I have marveled over, and repurchased multiple times, their Volum' Express® Falsies Flared™ and Volum' Express® The Colossal Mascara in the past. After fretting about spending too much on makeup, I took a break from the Maybelline mascara and headed toward the (cheaper) NYC brand. I was definitely not impressed with their Show Time Volumizing Waterproof Mascara, as the brush would barely let me get any of the stuff on. I did find a love for their Big Bold Mascara however. It brought my eyelashes to their full capacity in a matter of seconds... but after 12+ hours of wearing it, it decided to become difficult and jump off my eyelashes in clumps… My lashes were not thrilled. During my recent trip to the drugstore, I had another tube of the NYC in one hand and the new Volum' Express® the Mega Plush™ Mascara Maybelline mascara in the other. Maybelline IS one of my oldest and trusted friends (I use their foundation, concealer, powder, etc.)… But NYC mascara is a new, time saving, buddy. In the end, out of curiosity for what an old pal was recently up to, I decided to go with Maybelline… Definitely not disappointed! The new gel-mousse formula is SOFT without being too light. I do like a heavier mascaraed look. I went with the waterproof formula because my eyes tend to be on the watery side of eyeballs. Although I do still have a new-found love for NYC (I have one of their lipsticks now as well), I have decided that maybe the best choice for mascara is always Maybelline.

Do you have any trustee pals when it comes to mascara?

***

Sincerela, Ella