Smoky Winter Look using Urban Decay Smoky Palette

Hello everyone! I am back with a tutorial using Urban Decay Naked Smoky palette. This is also a new addition to the delightful balance family. If you'd like to see what I did, keep reading.

For my foundation I used my Lorac N.P. foundation in NP1 (porcelain). I applied 1/2 -1 pump of this and blended it out using my fingers.

I used my NYX HD concealer in the lightest shade and applied that in the shape of an inverted triangle under my eyes. I used my Real Techniques expert face brush to blend that out.

I then used my Mary Kay loose powder in Ivory and a big fluffy brush to set everything.

I used my Lorac eye primer

   

And spread that with my ring finger all over the lid.

I filled in my brows and set them using the NYX eye brow pencil in dark brown and the Tarte amazonian clay eye brow gel in dark brown.

I used the color Thirteen (the lightest, satin/matte finish) and a flat shader brush and applied this to the inner 1/2 of the lid.

                         

                                     

I used that same flat shader brush and applied the color slanted to the middle of the lid.

                                    

                                   

I used the color dagger and a flat shader brush and applied that to the outer third of the lid.

                                        

I used the color black market and an angled brush and applied it to the outer v.

I used a clean crease brush and blended it out the colors.

I then took the color combust (a light pinky matte shade) and a small crease brush and applied that as a brow bone highlight.

I used my Nyx felt tip eye liner in black and created a line on my top lashes.

                                        I then curled my lashes and used my Too Faced Better than Sex mascara.

                                          

                                         

I used my Too Faced Chocolate Soleil bronzer and my Sephora contour kit to slightly contour my face.

I used my Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil and a big fluffy brush to apply the bronzer all over my face and around the temples to warm up my skin.

I used the color Dream On (a peachy cream color) and a small blush brush to clean up the contour between the cheek and the chin.

                                          

I then used that same brush and my Too Faced highlight in Inner light and applied that to my temples, my cheekbones, down my nose.

                                            

                                             

                                        

I used a blush brush and the color Papa Don't Peach from the Too Faced Everything Nice palette and applied that to the apples of my cheeks.

 

I then used the lipstick from Mac in the color Media and applied that to the lips.

                                         

I set the whole look using my Make Up For Ever Mist & Fix.

Hope you guys enjoyed this look! 

Thanks for reading!

                      ~Naty

Project Pan: Finish 6 by Christmas – Finale - Fail

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog once again! I am here to check in for the final time for the Seasonal Project Pan, Finish 6 by Christmas. This time around, I completely failed at my attempted project pan. I don't know if the products I chose were just too difficult, or too full, or what, but I did not even finish one single product. :-( 

Anyway, here is the progress I actually made:

                            

This is my body spray from Bath & Body Works, in Amber Blush. I started the project right at the top there on that red line. Where my top index finger is pointing was the last check in, and I am currently at the bottom finger, right by the gold leaves. So, I did not finish the spray, but I do have significant progress.

                             

The next product I have is MAC Media, even though I did not finish this lipstick, I am pretty sure I got about half way through the product, so not bad at all.

                            

This is the deluxe Kat Von D lipstick. When I started this project I was on the fifth stud, in my last post I was on the 4th stud, and now I am halfway down the third stud, so I would call that good progress. 

                            

This next one is my Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil. I have been doing really good at using this up, even though I did not finish it. Currently, I only have an outer circle to finish up, so I am hoping to have it done by the end of this month.

                             

This one is the one that made the least progress on. I don't even think it moved at all from the last time I checked. :-( But, it was completely full when I started.

                             

Finally, my Too Faced Everything Nice highlight. I think you can see a bit more pan, I did not get to finish it but I did make some progress. I am currently working on using up that top part, and then I will move to the sides. 

Even though I did not finish a single product, I do feel like I have made decent progress with my products. Did you participate in the Finish 6 by Christmas? Share your videos or blog posts in the comments section, I would love to see how you did!

Once again, thanks so much for reading! Have a great rest of your weekend,

    ~Naty

November and December Empties - 2015

Hello everyone! I am finally catching up with my November and December empties. If you can tell, my picture quality is better because my wonderful husband got me a new webcam for my birthday/holidays woooo!!! Also, sorry about the tree to the right, and my coat haha. Anywhoooo here is what I used up in the months of November and December.

 

This first product is something that I have had for the longest time. It is the ION Repair Solutions treatment to strengthen and moisturize weak, damaged hair. It is 100% vegan. I use this mostly on my ends as they are the ones that have been damaged the most. I think this is a good product but it is not a miracle worker. it does fortify somewhat. My hair looks shiny and stronger the day I use it but on 2nd or 3rd day hair, you can't really tell.

This is a conditioner from Ulta, it is the smoothing and protecting one. i use this one in combination with the hair treatment from ION, and I leave it in my hair for 3-5 minutes. This conditioner has keratin in it so it is pretty good for damaged hair. Again, I use this only for my ends. This product has no parabens, sulfates and is not tested on animals. 

 

This face mask I got as a sample from Sephora. It is from Peter Thomas Roth and it is the Irish Moor Mud purifying black mask. I really enjoyed this face mask, it went on nice, did not dry out my skin, and cleared out my pores. I would definitely consider purchasing this in the future. 

 

This is the Mint Choc Chip face mask from Montagne Jeunesse. I absolutely love this mask, it feels very nice on the skin, and is very moisturizing. You can actually get two uses out of each of these little packages for two applications; I usually share with my husband, or keep it for the next week.

This is my favorite cleanser, it is from Yes to Cucumbers. It is very gentle, so it is perfect for sensitive skin, and it really does a good job at taking off makeup. However, it does not take off your makeup 100%.

For some reason these past couple of months I used up 3 Neutrogena makeup removing wipes. If you read my blog then you know I absolutely love these; I have tried different brands trying to branch out, but I always come back to these. They remove most of your makeup and these specific ones in the purple and blue packaging are good for sensitive skin. I did recently see at the store that they came out with a more natural version of these wipes (they're in a green package) but they are drier so I have to scrub my face a little harder, which irritates my skin. 

 

Another product I used up is this Too Faced eye primer, Shadow Insurance. I really liked this product, this is the full size. It will last you a whole year! (I got mine back in December 2014). The eye shadow really sticks on to this and does not budge at all. Definitely a product worth investing in.

This is another deluxe sample that I got from Ulta. It is the L'oreal EverStrong Sulfate free shampoo. It was a very nice shampoo, it smells like rosemary and juniper. I did enjoy it but I have been using a organic shampoo that I have been liking so I do not know that I will be purchasing a full size of this.

                         

Finally, this is my favorite body wash, I got it at Ulta and it is from the brand vitabath. It is sulfate and paraben free. It supposedly has antioxidant rich superfruits as well as vitamins A, B3, C, E and provitamin B5. Despite not having sulfates, it does lather richly, and it smells divine. If you are allergic to fragrances though you might want to skip this product.

Those are all the products that I have used up these last couple of months. I hope you enjoyed this post, and until next time!

Thanks for reading!

     ~Naty

Biweekly Makeup Basket Dec 28 – Jan 10

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! I hope you have all had a wonderful holiday, if you celebrate, and if not, I hope you at least had a couple of days off to relax. I am back again with another biweekly basket for this week and into the new year.

The products I will be using are as follows: 

For the eyes, I will be using Stila liquid liner in Java. This liner is kind of like a gel formula. It is very easy to apply, and has a sort of satin-y look to it, not shimmery but not necessarily matte.

I am very excited about using this palette, this is a new addition to the Delightful balance family. I got this baby for my birthday, and I have honestly had my eye on it since they announced it's release. This is the Urban Decay Naked Smoky palette. Unlike the other palettes, this one has a few more matte/satin finish-shadows. I am stoked to have this palette and am excited to create awesome new looks for you all, so stay tuned!

 For my foundation, I continue to enjoy Lorac's Natural Performance palette in NP1. I know I promised a review and I am working really hard at trying to keep blogging, but I have been really busy. Maybe when the holidays are over I can get myself back on track. 

 *Spoiler alert! I did not finish this product, nor did I finish any of the products in the most recent project pan :-( But I will continue to use them! This is the Kat Von D deluxe size lipstick in Underage red.

 This is MAC Media, I really like this shade but I can't wear it every day anymore as it is not appropriate for my job. I do like wearing it as a stain though, but not full force. 

 This is my NYX HD concealer, it is very good, but you have to make sure not to apply too much product or else it will crease up terribly (as with most concealers).

 This is my Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil bronzer, deluxe size. I cannot wait to be done with this, in all honesty, I know I am really pale but this is too orange for my liking. It is okay as an all over bronzer but not if you want to contour.

 This is the Mary Kay loose setting powder in Ivory.

 This is my Too Faced Inner Light highlight from the Everything Nice palette (this is not the most up to date picture, but I have made some progress).

Finally, for blush, I will be using my Papa Don't Peach from Too Faced Everything Nice palette.

Thanks so much for reading, keep checking for more posts and don't forget to subscribe, as well as follow me on Instagram. 

Hope you have a great rest of the week!!


      ~Naty

Biweekly Basket Dec. 14- Dec. 28^th

Hello! I hope you are doing well. Thanks for checking out my blog! If you are new to the blog, please subscribe to the right if you have a profile on blogger, or subscribe to the left by email. You can also follow me on Instagram. :-) Now, on to the reason we are here. I completely missed the last 1-2(?) biweekly baskets, I have been doing really bad about posting but I hope to get myself back on track soon.

The products I will be using this week and next week are as follows:

 Lorac Natural Performance foundation in NP 1 or Porcelain.

                                                 
Mary Kay Loose Setting Powder in Ivory.


                                              
 Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil Bronzer.


                                              
Too Faced Everything Nice palette highlight in Inner Light


                                                     
 Kat Von D deluxe sized lipstick in the shade Underage Red


                                 
Too Faced Better than Sex Mascara

Tarte blush in Peaceful (have really been loving this!)

And finally, for the eyes, Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette

I hope you enjoyed this post and seeing what kinds of items I will be using. I hope to have some more posts up soon, I know I promised a review of the Lorac NP foundation, and that is coming, soon! So keep an eye out for that. 

Again, thanks so much for reading!

~Naty

Finish 6 by Christmas Update 2

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well and enjoying your week. I had not posted regarding my seasonal challenge, Finish 6 by Christmas in a long time; the reason I have not posted is because I honestly have not made a whole lot of progress. I do not believe I will be able to finish any of these products, which is kind of a bummer, but at least I have made good dents! So, without further ado, here is where my products currently stand.

This is my Kat Von D deluxe lipstick in Underage red. The last time I checked in, the lipstick was on the fifth little stud looking thing from the bottom up. Now I am on the third stud looking thing! Yay progress! 

                                     

This is my Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil bronzer. I think I have made progress as I can see even more pan. I am not sure that I will finish this by Christmas but I will surely try!

                                                       

This is my highlight (Inner Light) from the Too Faced Everything Nice palette. I do believe I have made some progress but I still have a long way to go.

                                                           

This is MAC Media, I have definitely made progress on this but not as much as I would like. I have been solely working on the lipstick from Kat Von D so this one has been a little rejected. 

                                                 

This is my body spray Amber Blush; the last time I checked in I was around those blue flowers. I think this might be the only product in this project that I might be able to finish. I am currently where my thumb is, right above my nail.

                                              

Finally, this is my Mary Kay setting powder. I don't know if you can tell, but I am currently where that yellowish green line is, right next to the g. I don't know what I was thinking including this product in my project because there is no way I will even get close to finishing it! 

That was my progress, as you can see, it was not very much. If you would like to check out my previous post to compare, you can check that out here: http://delightfulbalanceoflife.blogspot.com/2015/11/project-pan-seasonal-challenge-finish-6.html

Once again, thanks so much for reading! If you are doing a project pan, please add your link to the comments, I would love to check out your videos/posts! 

Have a great week!

      ~Naty