Makeup Challenge - Featuring Sleek and MUA

What is Sarah Jane's makeup challenge?

For my makeup challenge I like to pick a set of products and use them for a week or two, trying to see what looks I can create within the limits of what I have chosen.
I used to do them weekly, editing videos with pictures I took everyday. This became very time consuming so I have altered it to show a tutorial of my most used look with the products I chose. I did take some pictures this time, so I thought I would share:

A Gold look from the MUA Going for Gold palette. Yes, it's a rather silly pose!

A Silvery look from the MUA Going for Gold palette.

A pinky purple look from the Sleek Storm palette.

Overall look with the pinky purple eyes, mac cruella de vil blush, NYC bronzer

Check out my video to see all the products I used and how I used them!

Urban Decay Naked Vs. MUA Undressed Palettes

My Beautiful friend Kerry sent me the MUA Undressed Palette from England! (Visit her at KerryLovesGlam channel on YouTube!) The Undressed Palette is supposed to be a dupe for Urban Decay's Naked Palette. I have to say, It's pretty close!

When swatched side by side you can see some differences in color.
Virgin is more yellow and a bit more pigmented than the MUA version - which has a slightly pinky tone to it.
Sin also appears a bit more pigmented but MUA comes pretty darn close.

Naked, one of the two mattes in the palette is far more pigmented than the MUA version. It has much more depth and color to it. I can say that the MUA version still makes a great transition color from crease to highlight.
Sidecar is a bit deeper in color than the MUA dupe, but the MUA version lacks the huge chunks of glitter making it go on smoother without glitter fallout. In fact, none of the MUA shadows have glitter, they take on a more metallic feel instead.

Buck, the second matte is also far more pigmented than the MUA version. Urban Decay has some nice quality mattes which can be difficult for any company to make. The MUA version also seems to have a more yellow tone than a real brown.
Half Baked is one of those golds that are hard to dupe. It's such an almost true gold when swatched. MUA does a pretty good job with their gold, but it appears more rosy and a little less metallic than half baked.

Smog is a great bronze gold that MUA doesn't seem to match very well. Urban Decay has a way of giving dimension to their shadows that just wasn't duplicated here.
Darkhorse also comes off a bit more unique as a not quite bronze, not quite black, maybe a tinge of gold color. MUA makes a nice bronze/black metallic, but again, just not quite a dupe.

Toasted is a great (not that you can see here) Purple based, pinky neutral. I found it hard to get a good image of the true color since my camera won't take a picture without the flash. Toasted is one of my favorites and while MUA comes close, theirs still looks more rosy gold to me with just a slight hint of purple to it.
Hustle is another one of those complex colors and is hard to match. With it's deeper color, another purple based neutral, it goes well with toasted. MUA comes close but seems to lack the dimension and depth.

Creep I was surprised about. It is a matte black with sparkly shimmer - in proper light you can see the some of the glitter is purplish in color. Perhaps the MUA version is more pigmented due to the not quite metallic finish. It's hard to see the complexity of the glitter in Creep without seeing it in person, but on they eye, I am not sure it would make a huge difference. MUA definitely wins on pigment here.
Gunmetal is another one of those complex colors. You can see the steel grey darkness with blueish grey shine. MUA comes close to offering the blueish grey color but again, lacks the dimension Urban Decay can do so well.

For the price of the MUA Palette, you get a great dupe to to the costly Naked palette. People may not even notice a difference when it's on your eyes, but you can see that you do get more depth of colors with the hefty UD price tag. However, if you don't like glitter on your face, the MUA palette is the way to go as UD seems to really like glitter in some of their (beautiful) colors.

I like having both palettes. I'm not sure you need both, but you can see they aren't exact dupes.

New Buzz Campaign!

I received some coupons for new Glade Expressions items for my newest Buzz Campaign! I really wanted the Fuji apple &cardamom spice version, but pretty much all I could find was the Pineapple & Mangosteen scents! It reminds me of a pina colada! Very tropical!

The refillable fragrance mist is great for a quick burst of scent in the air. I am not really sure why you need a refillable mist as you still have to dispose of an aluminum can. I think it's more of a gimmick than anything. You might as well just buy any regular air freshener can, and you get more than 4 scents to choose from that way.

The Diffuser is nice. It has a great bamboo looking design, while the oil sits in the bottom of the container. You just pop in the wick, which is essentially a sheet that fits between the wooden decorative sides. The smell slowly evaporates into the air leaving a tropical fruity smell that spreads throughout the house!

If I had to choose between the two products, I would get the diffuser. I don't understand the need for a "refillable" air freshener if you can't use recyclable plastic containers for the refillable part. The diffuser makes more sense as it always puts out a good smell, there isn't anything to plug in or burn. You don't have to worry about it all!

Let me know if you've tried any new Glade products and which smells you like best!

UPDATE:

I have tried the Covergirl/Olay foundation sent to me. I did a test the first day where I left it on overnight to see if my skin would react drastically. It did not. Since then I have been wearing it AND washing it off everynight. I have since notice small breakouts on my forehead. I will give it a bit longer, but if my skin gets worse I will have to stop using it.I was worried about this as I have not gotten along well with Olay moisturizers in the past.
It is a full coverage foundation for sure, but I also noticed there is a lot of transfer throughout the day. I have sensitive combination skin (oily in my t-zone).

You can view me putting it on and my initial impression through my YouTube channel here:





If you have tried it, let me know what you think!

Mary Kay® TimeWise Repair™ Volu-Firm™ Eye Renewal Cream

I had the fortunate opportunity to try the Mary Kay TimeWise Repair Eye Cream. I have been using it since I got it and find that it is a very nice eye cream. It's got a nice thick consistency without being goopy or too thick. It smooths on nicely and you don't need a lot for both eyes.

Here is what Mary Kay has to say about their product:

"Smooth, wrinkle-free skin is eye-deal at any age! A lifetime of animated facial expressions, sun exposure and squinting can cause the delicate, fragile skin of the eye-area to become more susceptible to advanced signs of aging, which can contribute to a tired, older-looking appearance. Mary Kay helps combat these aging culprits with the all-new Mary Kay^® TimeWise Repair^™ Volu-Firm^™ Eye Renewal Cream. This rich, pampering, formula is part of the all-new Mary Kay^® TimeWise Repair^™ Volu-Firm^™ line of targeted products, containing ingredients that target sagging skin, crepiness, under-eye bags, puffiness and dark circles. In fact, after a four-week study+, a majority of women agreed that skin felt instantly refreshed, revitalized, that skin looked resilient and that the cream felt silky and simply melted into the delicate targeted eye."

I have some crepiness, some dark circles, and some smile lines or "crows feet" starting. I did find that with extended use there was a little difference, but after a month or more of using it everyday, I can't say it's a "WOW" difference.

Here are some before and after pictures.

The applicator tip is meant to massage the cream into your eye. I found it awkward to use unless I put the cream on first with my ring fingers. Also, after massaging one eye, the tip was too warm to feel a cooling effect on the other eye. It's a nice concept, but I find it easier not to use the application tip at all.

According to the Mary Kay website the TimeWise Age Fighting Eye Cream is $26. I can't tell if that is the same product though. It is the only price I can find on any TimeWise eye cream product. 

If you try the new eye cream, please share your experience in the comments below!

Covergirl and Olay! Bzz Campaign!

I am waiting and waiting on my Bzz Campaign package featuring the new COVERGIRL & Olay Tone Rehab 2-in-1 Foundation and COVERGIRL & Olay Pressed Powder! I am hoping it actually comes in time for me to test it out properly before the end of the campaign. I wonder what is taking so long!

I will post before and after photos and tell my thought here after I have tried it out!

Let me know if you have tried it yet and what you think!

Check out Smiley360!

Hey there! Sarah Jane here with my first blog post! I'm trying it out as an expansion from my YouTube channel!

I joined a site called Smiley360.com                     http://smiley360.com/index.php
You can get a chance to try new products the more active you are on the site and sharing your opinions. I think it may be US based only.

(My future posts will they to have some international sites.)

Quick and easy blog post. Check them out if you are interested!