March 2014 Empties!

Hello Wonderlandians!!

I will be sharing some of the products I have managed to use up in March. I know it's not really the end of March yet, but I am ready for this post!! 

As you may know from one of my previous post I have done the ombré thing to my hair. With this knowledge alone you will hopefully understand why most of my products I finished are hair based. Some of these products came from the Ipsy bag and had been with me for a while before being completely obliterated the month of March!

A list of the items:

-BigSexyHair 

-Bare Minerals 

-Got2Be

-Urban Decay

-Herbal Essence

-Nourish Organic Face Lotion

Alice Points:

-Healthy Sexy Hair soy renewal I absolutely loved this! It makes your hair feel 10 times better and it has a very fresh scent

-BareMinerals face moisturizer I loved this product in Alaska because my face was unbearably dry there!

-Urban Decay all nighter setting spray is so refreshing and feels nice on your skin! It also of course lets your makeup stay put longer which is a life saver for someone with oily skin

-The organic face lotion was nice to it smelled glorious and left your face nicely moisturizer. I really liked tat it wouldn't make your skin feel greasy, it would sink into your skin almost instantaneously

Red Queen Points:

-Got 2 be dry shampoo worked all right, but it's definitely not a favorite. I wouldn't repurchase this item, personally.

-I also didn't enjoy the Bog Sexy Hair texturizing powder it made my hair feel really gross and like it hadn't been washed in ages!

That's it for this post until next time! 

Yours Truly,

Abstract Alice

The Joy that is Pentatonix!

Hello Wonderlandians,

Today I will be talking about one of my favorite acapella groups. They started of on the Sing Off and as of late they have been doing really really well, which is great news! If you have yet to hear this group, I highly recommend you do so.

PTX, as their name is often shortened to, has released 3 albums now. I own all 3 and they were a really good investment. I had the pleasure of seeing them live at their Oakland performance at the Fox Theater!

They were amazing! They not only carried themselves really well throughout the performance, but if you keep tabs on them on YouTube their personalities came through as well, which is a big plus because they have some of the most excellent personalities.

They began the show by singing their Daft Punk Medley which you can listen to here:

This, I thought, was an excellent song to open with! It showcases every one of their talents. The song I was most excited to hear was Run to You. It is such a beautiful song and it is so different than anything they have done before. If you haven't heard that here is a link to that:

Not sure how it was even possible, but it was even better live. You could hear their voices a lot clearer and just wow.

On another seemingly random, but related note. Hats off to Kirstin and Mitch! Kirstin I feel sometimes gets swallowed in their music, but hearing her in the live performance she has a strong powerful voice that is a force to be reckoned with! As for Mitch, holy high notes!! I knew Mitch had range, but it was staggeringly more amazing live. This goes for all the Pentatonix members they were definitely on point with their performances!

Here are some pictures from the concert!

Enough of my ramblings and until next time!

Yours Truly,
Abstract Alice

Hair Update!

Hello Wonderlandians!

If you follow me on Instagram you will have noticed that my hair has recently undergone a couple changes. 

My Experience:

I have to say although I do love the color my hair turned out, I am not at all pleased at the condition it was left in... I have some very fried bits of hair now...boo, however I went in knowing this would most likely be the case considering how damaged my hair came back from Alaska, thank you for having no moisture -_-; The lady who did my hair wasn't at all confident in what she was doing so I was very hesitant and nervous the whole time, if anything I tried making her feel better. Overall an okay experience.

The Outcome:

Like I stated above I love the color :D

Aftercare:

My hair will be needing some much needed deep conditioning. A lot of hair repair and love! Here is a list of my hair care products:

-Coconut Oil

-Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Leave in Conditioner

-Dove Dry Shampoo

-Keratin Infused Conditioner

That's all for today's post until next time!!

Yours Truly,

Abstract Alice

xoxo

Winter Blues Make-Up Tutorial

Hello Wonderlandians!

If you saw my last post you may have seen this look all ready, but here is the tutorial to achieve this look. Hope you enjoy and if you decide to try the look out please use the #abstractalice to show me on Instagram or Twitter.

Now on to the tutorial!

 

Products used:

• Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream
• Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer in Light
• Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Translucent 001
• Urban Decay Brow Box in Brown Sugar
• Lime Crime's Eyeshadow Helper
• BH Cosmetics 1st Edition 120 palette
• Love &Beauty Cream Cheek Blush 
• EOS Lipbalm
• Lime Crime's lipstick in Coquette
• Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya
• Nyx Super Skinny Eye Marker

To begin with I already have foundation on. To see what I use for my foundation check out My Drugstore Foundation Routine. Now on to the tutorial:

The first thing I did was fill in my eyebrows. I wanted a bold eyebrow look for this look so I decided to use a shade darker than i would normally.


A picture of the palette I used for this look. Eyeshadow from BH Cosmetics 120 palette 1st edition.

You start of by priming your eyes. I used Lime Crime's Eyeshadow Helper to prime my lids and under my eyes. Place primer in all areas where eyeshadow will be placed.

In order to brighten up my eyes and and make the lightest color stand out I used Nyx's Jumbo Pencil in Milk to put in my inner corner. I then blended it out using my fingers.

I then took the 1st color, which was a very light sea green color.

I placed that in my inner corner and filled in about a third of my eye using that color.

I then took a 2nd color a light blue and placed that in the center of my lid and blended it into the 1st color.

It should more or less look something like this.

The last color I used was a dark blue, with a bit of black to make it slightly darker, and placed that on the outer third of my eye using a v shape.

It looks like a very harsh cat eye before blending, like so.

You want to blend until you like it or until there are no harsh lines and all your colors are nicely blended.

Take the three colors and create the same gradient effect under your eye. I suggest starting with the lightest color.

This is how the eye makeup looks all blended and carried to underneath the eye.

I then used a white shimmery color to highlight my brow bone and to put in my inner corners.

This is what that looks like done :)

I forgot to take a picture during this last step for the eyes, but I decided to add on a pretty thick cat eye to make the look pop even more!

I then took an orange peachy color I had and put that on my cheeks. For my lips I mixed Lime Crime's Lipstick in Coquette with Revlon's Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya.

TADAH! This is the completed look!

Note: I completely failed to acknowledge my eyelashes. Oops! In order to complete this look curl your lashes, if needed, and add your favorite mascara! If you want something a bit more dramatic add on your favorite falsies!

Close up of the eyes

You can see the eyeliner in this picture!

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial! This is the first 'official' tutorial I have put up on my blog. I can't say it's the best, but it is a learning process and i hope they get better over time. Until next time!

Yours Truly,

Abstract Alice

xoxo

My Drugstore Foundation Routine!

Hello Wonderlandians!

As you may have noticed I have been not so active this past month. I have no excuses I am just bad with keeping up with things...hopefully all will improve from now on! Anyway Today I will be sharing with you my drugstore go to foundation routine for Winter.

Products I used:

• Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream in Light
• Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer in Light
• Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Translucent 001
• Pixi Beauty Bronze in Subtly Suntouched

 How to:

I would like to say that I usually use primers on my face, as I find that they help my makeup last longer. That being said when I am using BB creams I do not use primers as most BB creams have 'skin perfecting' benefits which I like to take advantage of...

First, you want to take your BB cream and apply it on your face. I use the 'dotting' method, because I find that it helps me evenly apply foundations/ BB creams to my face. I then blended the product unto my face using my clean fingers. This is my favorite way to apply BB creams in general. I like to let the BB cream settle for about a minute before applying powder.

Second, take your concealer and apply underneath your eyes and extend a bit to the cheeks to provide a highlight. I also apply it around my nose to hide redness and on choice spots that may need a bit of covering up.

Thirdly, take your favorite drugstore powder and apply over the BB cream. I am using my favorite drugstore powder the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder. I apply the powder on my T-zone first and then spread it to the rest of my face. I have pretty oily skin so this is a must for me. If you have dry skin I recommend skipping this step entirely.

Lastly, take your bronzer and add a bit of contouring. I put some in the hollows of my cheeks and  around my hairline.

And then you're done!

If you want to find out how to achieve my bluesy eyeshadow look in this picture check out next weeks post!

Yours truly,

Abstract Alice
xoxo

Maybelline Color Tattoos Review

Hello Wonderlandians!

Today I will be reviewing 4 of the Maybelline Color Tattoos. Originally my sister got these, but as she never used them I took them under my wing. When I first began to use these I was slightly baffled by the consistency of these products. They are almost gel like in texture. Now that I have used them for a bit I must say that I prefer to use them as color bases then on their own. While the color payoff is great (for most) I must say that if left without shadow they tended to crease on my eyelids with the exception of Bad to the Bronze and Tough as Taupe.

L-R: Too Cool, Bad to the Bronze, Audacious Asphalt, and Tough as Taupe

L-R: w/flash Too Cool, Bad to the Bronze, Audacious Asphalt, Tough as Taupe

w/o flash

Overall I give these products 7 out of 10 tarts. Although I do use the products and enjoy doing so, I can't say I will go out of my way to repurchase these again. Perhaps in different colors.

Alice Points:
-Make excellent bases for eyeshadow
-Really pigmented (Bad to the Bronze, Audacious Asphalt, and Tough as Taupe)
-I really like the consistency

Red Queen Points:
-Claim they can be worn on their own, but they creased on my lids (I tend to have oily skin)
-Too Cool is splotchy and not all that pigmented

Hope you enjoyed this review and until next time!

Yours Truly,

Abstract Alice
xoxo

My 2013 Favorites

Hello my mad friends!!

 I will try to make this a short post and if not I will try to make it picture heavy. I have been gradually growing my makeup collection and this year I feel like I have significantly added to it. Some products have been repurchases whilst others have been some new favorites. Jumping right in here is my 2013 favorites!

Face:

• Holika Holika Aqua Petit BB cream in shade No.2
• Urban Decay Naked Skin in 3.0
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Powder in Medium Plus
• Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in 001 Translucent
• Urban Decay Brow Box in Brown Sugar
• MAC Concealer in NW20
• Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer in Medium/Light
• Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Plum Wine
• Be a Bombshell Blush in Beach Please

Eyes:

• Lime Crime Candy Eyes Eyeshadow Helper
• BH Day & Night Palette
• Too Faced The Return of Sexy 
• Urban Decay Naked Basics
• Urban Decay Naked Palette (not shown)
• CoverGirl Cafe au Lait trio 
• MICA Beauty Cosmetics Gel Liner 
• Bella Terra Mineral Cosmetics Mineral Shimmer in Emotions
• Starlooks Eyepencil in Obsidion
• Urban Decay Eyelash Primer Potion
• Urban Decay Supercurl Curling Mascara
• Pixi Lash Boost Mascara

Lips:

•  Revlon Colorburst Lacquer Balm in Provacateur
• Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Shameless
• Revlon Just Bitten in Lovesick
• Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate in No. 09
• Maybelline Colorsensational in 990 Fuchsia Fierce
• Maybelline Vivids in 900 Hot Plum
• Mirabella Sheer Lipstick in Daydream
• MAC Matte Lipstick in Russian Red
• Lime Crime Lipstick in Centrifuchsia 
• Lime Crime Lipstick in Poisonberry
• Lime Crime Velveteen in Red Velvet

Books:

• Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
• Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
• Makeup is Art by Academy of Freelance Makeup 

Hope you all enjoyed my 2013 favorites!!! I know it is a lot so thanks for sticking around til the end (if you did). The 2013 year was one filled to the brim with adventures! I only hope that 2014 is as exciting if not more! Happy New Year and I wish you all the best of luck :)

Yours Truly,

Abstract Alice
xoxo