Snapshots and reflections

          The final day of the competition has finally arrived! I had no idea when I applied to the Allure Beauty Blogger Awards contest, it would result in nearly three months of excitement, little sleep, and anticipation (a veritable blog marathon). I had the chance to try new things, including ones that stepped far out of my comfort zone. The competition also underscored that blogging can mean something very different to magazine editors, bloggers, and readers. There are so many different aspects to blogging, including writing, photography, and personality.

         Photography is my favorite aspect of beauty blogging, so I'm closing out the AllureBBA with a series of snapshots captured from my video. Somehow the videos online have a grainy feel, which is a little different than I intended. I've pulled these photos so you can get a feel for what I was hoping for!

         I'd like to conclude on the most important note. With genuine feeling, I'd like to thank you for all the supportive comments and tweets over the past five weeks. Friends and bloggers went above and beyond what I could ever imagine; I owe you many heartfelt thanks. Thank you for braving 'captcha' and the dreaded 'bad captcha' on my behalf. I know it took a lot of effort to cast a vote, and all that effort that is much appreciated. All of this is something I would never take for granted. I'm glad to have had this experience, but the best part was to have had so many of you there along with me!

Thank you, and see on the 'normal' side of blogging from now on!

Love, Dovey.

Note: This post contains photos of products sent by Allure and Revlon for use in the Allure Beauty Blogger Awards

Lavender + apricot

         Recently I wore a look composed of lavender and apricot. The combination of the cool blue lavender on the eyes with a warm golden apricot on the cheeks was a complimentary and unexpectedly fresh. The look centered around the pale lavender grey NARS 413 BLKR eyeshadow and the NARS South Beach multiple. NARS 413 BLKR (reviewed here) gives my eyes a brightening lavender sheen that works for spring. Subtlety works well for this look since the colors are contrasting. NARS South Beach is a new love of mine. I shyed away from it for a long time since it seems warm and orange toned in a heavy swatch. However, when worn sheered out, South Beach becomes a healthy apricot glow.

          The rest of my face was very basic. I kept my lips a natural pale color with Revlon Sugar Frosting (reviewed here), but a lot of other nudes are interchangeable. Lately I've gone back to using NARS Larger Than Life eyeliner in Via Veneto as a quick, easy, and long lasting liner (reviewed here). NARS Coconut Grove eyeshadow (reviewed here) was for my brows. For my face, I used Make Up For Ever HD foundation in #118 and NARS Concealer in Vanilla. For my lashes, I've been using a Lancome Cils Booster XL mascara base and a newly opened tube of MAC Zoom Lash. I'm hooked on using lash primers lately; I think they do make a difference. So far I'm pleased with Zoom Lash; it's not my favorite brush or formula, but a good product for the price.

          Thanks for checking out my current color story! Have you ever tried this combination? How have you been keeping things fresh this spring?

Love, Dovey.

Revlon colorburst lip butters, round two

          I'm back with more Revlon colorburst lip butters! The first time around I went for four light butters. This time I've rounded out my collection with a few more festive colors. Since I've already written a post on lip butters (see here), I will try to address other ideas in this entry and take the opportunity to revel in the beautiful candy colored packaging.

         I love the colorful packaging. It's pretty and useful when you want to grab the right color and go. You can also see below that the top of the tube is clear so you can see what's color is inside! The lip butter colors I got this time around were Peach Parfait, Cotton Candy, Sweet Tart, Raspberry Pie, Berry Smoothie, Lollipop, and Candy Apple.

          The lip butters fit my 'beauty bill' for a few reasons. First, I don't have a very comprehensive lip color collection, and I can experiment with bright pink, raspberry, and fuschia lip butters. Second, the sheerness makes the brighter colors easier to wear. The comfortable balmy feeling makes them perfect to wear at home too, when I don't have any other makeup on. Third, I can toss the lip butters into my bag without having to fret about possible damage, loss, or going bad due to warm conditions. This will be good when I go on vacation.

          Here are my swatches of Revlon colorburst lip butters in Peach Parfait, Cotton Candy, Sweet Tart, Raspberry Pie, Berry Smoothie, Lollipop, and Candy Apple. Peach Parfait is a sheer peach with some glitter. Cotton candy is a sheer light pink. I think it's cool, but not as cool as Cupcake. Sweet Tart is a very pretty bright pink. Raspberry Pie is a pigmented raspberry pink. Berry smoothie is a mauve pink. Lollipop is a pigmented fuschia pink. Candy apple is a red that leans a little orange on me.

           Now my collection numbers eleven lip butters total. Admittedly it's a bit overboard, but I'm happy since I've been using them quite often. My favorites of the most recent bunch have been Peach Parfait, Cotton Candy, and Sweet Tart. Generally I stay shy of red, brown, and orange tones and I've collected most of the pinks, so I think I'm good for now!

          Thanks for reading! I hope you are enjoying a good weekend! Do you have a favorite lip butter color? Are there products that you've gone nuts over? As an aside, I'm hooked on Burn Notice. I just finished Season 1 on Netflix!

Love, Dovey.

New year, new favorites

          When the clock struck twelve on New Year's eve, my my mind hit a makeup reset button. I found myself reaching for natural and fresh tones. Here is what I used the most during January:

1. Urban Decay Naked 2 palette - I've used this palette almost every single day since I purchased it in early January. My most used colors include Bootycall, Tease, Pistol, Chopper, Snakebite, and Busted. (See my NAKED2 review and swatches here)
2. OPI Tickle my France-y (review and swatch here)
3. OPI Bubble Bath - Bubble bath gives my nail a sheer and polished finish.
4. Revlon Sugar Frosting lip butter -This was my first lip butter love and it did not disappoint.
5. Revlon Strawberry Shortcake lip butter is a fresh and cool pink (review and swatches here)
6. Maybelline Dream Bouncy blush in Orchid Hush - I love the slight lavender tones (review and swatches here)

7. NARS Concealer in Vanilla - I like to carry this around in my purse to cover up blemishes during the day. I like that it's not reflective and can be used for purposes other than under-eye concealing.
8. NARS Mayflower lipstick - a sheer strawberry pink
9. NARS Belle de Jour lipstick - a sheer peachy nude
10. Bobbi Brown eyeshadow in Smoke - I'm experimenting with this as an eyebrow color.

          The colors remind me of multicolored pebbles bathed in cold water of a New England beach. I think they'd look great with a striped nautical shirt, don't you think? I guess my imagination is in the mood for traveling lately. What sort of color palette do you find yourself reaching for in the new year? Have you been traveling at all this winter? Thanks for reading!

Love, Dovey.

Inspired by Louis Welden Hawkins

          Today I have a very special 'Inspired by art' post. I'm sharing a cosmetic color palette inspired by the painting Severine by Louis Welden Hawkins (circa 1895). Severine hangs at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. The photograph above was taken by Jessica of Getting Cheeky during her travels. She generously shared her photography with me for this post. I love how we can see a reflection of the museum's window architecture in this photo; It almost feels as if I'm right there gazing at Severine myself.

          Severine can hold your gaze for quite a while. There is a peculiar quality about the painting, as if something is out of place and you can't put your finger on it. The striking gilded background is reminiscent of paintings from the renaissance. It's something you might imagine seeing in an old cathedral. Her hands are clasped together and her eyes gaze upward reminiscent of prayer. However, we begin to see evidence that this work is more modern than upon first impression. Severine's gestures and expressions are more pensive than prayerful. When our eyes move downward, we see a flurry of correspondences strewn about a desk. Severine's generously proportioned forearms seem to be front and center, lending importance to the idea of writing. Finally there are some delicate adornments, such as the pinky ring and slightly droopy flower, that add a touch of whimsy to the piece.

           There are faded earthy colors with a golden warmth. At first the colors seem like fall, however in my opinion it is more reminiscent of spring awakening from winter slumber. This seems metaphorically fit for subject of the piece. Since we're currently in this sort of season, I felt that Severine would be a perfect color inspiration for the moment.

           In the painting I noticed the following colors: a striking gilded background, the pale yellow parchment, her slightly ashy complexion, red-brown highlights of her hair and books, the cool brown tones in her hair and text, the olive in her gown, the lavender-pink of her flower, and the blue-grey of here eyes and jewelry. The colors I pulled from my collection are:

• Gold - Make Up for Every aqua eyes liner in #9L and Urban Decay Half Baked eyeshadow. The new green tinged gold in the NARS Paramaribo eyeshadow duo would be excellent.
• Pale yellow - Urban Decay Foxy eyeshadow
• Complexion/shadows - Urban Decay Tease
• Red-brown - Stila Cherie and Chocolat eyeshadows mixed. Both are from the Stila Pretty in Paris palette.
• Cool brown - NARS Coconut grove
• Olive - Bobbi Brown Sage eyeshadow
• Lavender-pink - Maybelline dream bouncy blush in Orchid Hush and Revlon colorburst lip butter in Sugar frosting
• Blue-grey - Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Silver lining

           The swatches of the colors are shown below. Here is how I imagine the look should pull together: The eyes should be both ethereal and earthy.  Gold tones could cover the lid or line underneath. The parchment, red browns, bark, or olive are layered on for some grounded depth. There will be just a faint blush on the lips and cheeks, reminiscent of Severine's flower pin. Blue-grey nails are a nod to the cloudy lake color of her eyes, bracelet, and the ring on her little finger.

          Thanks for reading and thank you Jessica for providing wonderful inspiration! I had a lot of fun putting this together. It was completely different from the palette I put together for Renoir (and admittedly more challenging). I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Love, Dovey.

Sunday Soak

          After a marathon session of watching NFL playoff games with Mr. Lovey today, I decided that I needed to unwind. We love football, but too much can be stressful! Inspired by Getting Cheeky's weekend pampering and Beauty Reductionista's LUSH Golden Wonder bath bomb posts from today, I decided to indulge in a bath.

        My bath bomb of choice was LUSH Sex Bomb. You can see the 'detonated' version above. It smells of beautiful jasmine, sage, and ylang ylang. I really love how it turns the water a rose pink. I haven't tried all the LUSH bath bombs yet, but this is my favorite so far. I had a really long and relaxing soak 

          After my bath, I followed up with a few items to pamper myself. I used a sample of Philosophy one minute microdelivery purifying peel. Afterwards I applied Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum and Avalon Organics Vitamin C serum. The Vitamin C serum is a current stand in for a face cream. When my skin isn't happy with other skincare products I'll stick with this serum; it always seems to do the trick. I used my Revlon lip butter in Strawberry Shortcake (reviewed here) for a fresh pink pout. I applied J.R. Watkins Mango Hand and Cuticle salve to seal in moisture to my hands which have been suffering from dryness lately. Finally, I gave myself a quick manicure with OPI Bubble Bath nail polish. The name is fitting, don't you think?

          Thanks for reading about my Sunday Soak! I hope everyone had a good weekend too. What are your favorite bath bombs or bubble baths?

:Love, Dovey.

My Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters

          On Friday Mr. Lovey and I stopped by Chinatown for some takeout. There was a Walgreens in nearby so I decided to stop in and see if I could find anything on my drugstore makeup wishlist. (My neighborhood's drugstores never have any exciting displays in stock).  It was my lucky day! I found a selection of Revlon Colorburst Lip butters in the Revlon display and Mr. Lovey scouted out an even larger display with more colors (he knows the way to a dove's heart).  I chose four colors to try: Cupcake, Strawberry Shortcake, Sugar Frosting, and Creme Brulee. True to my usual tendencies, these colors fall on the light end of the lip butter spectrum. Today I have a review and swatches of my shiny new lip butters.

            I love the colorful translucent lipstick cases that the Revlon lip butters come in. They're so optimistic and bright; you can't help but feel happy with them in hand. They're practical too since they correspond to the color of the lip butter inside. The front and back of the lipstick tube have the Revlon crosshatch pattern, while the other two sides are smooth. I've never owned a Revlon lipstick before and was didn't know that the crosshatch pattern wasn't on all four sides.        

         The top of the lipstick tubes are clear, revealing the color of the lip butter inside. The colors on top look quite intense and bright. However, when worn the colors become sheer as seen in my swatches below.

        When I swatched my four Revlon Colorburst lip butters below, I used at least two layers of lipstick. They are sheer in the swatches, however they do add visible color to the lips. Lately I've been favoring sheer lipsticks so these really hit the spot. Sugar frosting is a sheer pale pink. Cupcake is a very cool light pink. Strawberry Shortcake is more of a regular pink; however it still falls in the cool spectrum. I was surprised since from the color of the lip butter stick itself appears to be slightly warm. Creme Brulee is a light warm peachy nude. The finish of the Revlon lip butters are slightly shiny, but not nearly as much as a gloss. I like it because it's like having a sheer lipstick + hint of gloss in one product.

      The texture of the Revlon lip butters are like a thick balm. They are slightly tacky in texture. They're not weightless, but they're still comfortable. They do a pretty good job of preventing my lips from drying out even though I wouldn't call them moisturizing. So far they haven't dried or caused peeling of my lips, which is great. The lasting power is quite good. Normally most lipsticks disappear on me (i.e. get eaten) quickly. These lip butters seem to last as long, if not longer, than normal lipsticks.

          Overall, I'm a big fan of my Revlon Colorburst Lip butters. The colorful packaging, colors, and quality are wonderful, especially considering the price. I think the texture may not be as weightless as some higher end products, but it is a small sacrifice. I'm really glad I took the plunge with the Revlon lip butters. I've wanted a sheer lipstick for a while, but didn't want to invest in the pricier versions. I think this is one case where I would prefer to have a larger number of drugstore shades as opposed to one high end product! My only regret at this time is that I didn't try more shades. I'd love to add Cotton Candy, Peach Parfait, Sugar Plum, and Creamsicle to my collection.

         Thanks for reading! Have you tried the Revlon lip butters yet? What are your favorite colors? Where do you stand on the drugstore vs. high end sheer lipstick debate?

Love, Dovey.

P.S. You can find many more swatches on Planet Martha and Karlasugar