By Sheila Arkee

This is really one of my favorite looks – a dash of silver to accompany an electric blue shadow. To intensify the blue shadow, I used Makeup Geek’s Electric gel liner as a base – shazam!

Face

Hourglass No. 28 Primer

Rimmel Clean Finish Foundation #420

Painted Earth HD Concealer in Light Peach

MAC Studio Careblend Pressed Powder in Medium Dark

MAC Foolish Me Blush

MAC Refined Golden Bronzer

Eyes

Base: Prestige Primed & Ready

Inner Lid: Sugarpill Tiara

Mid Lid: Makeup Geek Electric Gel Liner as a base with BFTE Electric

Outer Corner: Girlactik Ballet

Browbone: Milani French Vanilla

Liner: Avon Ultra Liner in Dark Brown

Brows: Make Up For Ever Aqua Brow #15

Mascara: Make Up For Ever Smoky Lash

Lips

Milani Brandy Lip Liner

MAC Spring Bean Lustreglass

The post 347/365 Days of Makeup 3.0: Silver, Brown, and Electric Blue appeared first on Painted Ladies.

By Sheila Arkee

As the official curly-haired representative of Painted Ladies, I was excited to try Marc Anthony Strictly Curls Stretch. This is a styling cream that promises to loosen tight curls, add shine and fight frizz at the same time.

With an ingredient list that boasts coconut oil and shea butter, this under $10 styling cream has a lot of good things going on!

To be completely honest, I don’t notice any significant amount of stretching out or loosening when it comes to my curls. Not enough, anyway, to make nearly any kind of a dent in the never-ending curly maze known as my hair. However, I will give this styling product many props because it’s possible the best curl cream I’ve used in years.  My curls are shiny, defined, easy to handle and my hair looks great 2-3 days past wash date, without feeling heavy at all. Amazing!

Will I restock this budget-friendly hair product? YES!

You can find Marc Anthony products online and in Ulta stores.

The post Does Marc Anthony Strictly Curls Stretch Loosen My Ringlets? appeared first on Painted Ladies.

My experience with size discrimination is one that took me a while to put into words, but one that I feel is extremely important to share.

Read more over at the Curvy CEO blog!

The post All Size 18 of Me appeared first on Painted Ladies.

By Sheila Arkee

After playing around with Make Up For Ever’s new Aqua Cream shadow in Pearly Mauve, I decided to try my hand at an Aqua Cream exclusive eye. The results? A super pretty Spring eye!

Base: Prestige Primed & Ready

Lid Shades: Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream #54, 13, & 23

Browbone: Milani White Lie

Liner: Make Up For Ever Aqua Liner in Pearly Green Lagoon

Brows: Billion Dollar Brows Universal Brow Pencil

Mascara: Make Up For Ever Smoky Lash

The post 346/365 Days of Makeup 3.0 appeared first on Painted Ladies.

By Sheila Arkee

Ok, let’s get down to business with L’Oreal’s newest lash enhancer, Power Volume Collagen 24 Hour Mascara. Hello, incredibly lush lashes!!!!!!!

In comparison, here’s my lashes with Jordana Best Lash Extreme.

And Make Up For Ever Smoky Lash.

Ladies and gentlmen, we have a contender for “Best Appearance By A Mascara In An Independent Beauty Blog”. Really.

Unlike Revlon’s Lash Potion, which left me feeling entirely lukewarm, I have had nothing but good things to say about this budget friendly mascara since the first application, and that’s really saying something.

With a bristle brush (are we over the plastic spoolie trend?), this mascara is curved in all the right places and swipes through my lashes with ease, with a rare clump to be found. The mascara comes in three shades, and I chose Blackest Black amongst Black and Brown.

While Power Volume Collagen claims to last for 24 hours, I found that it does hold a curl and keeps the volume going for an entire day without smudging or flaking. A total win as far as I’m concerned.

My current top 3 mascaras? In random order (because I love them equally right now): Jordana Best Lash Extreme, Make Up For Ever Smoky Lash, and L’Oreal Power Volume Collagen.

You can find L’Oreal Power Volume Collagen at your local mass market retailer for around $8, which is a stellar deal for an exceptional mascara.

What are you favorite mascaras of the moment?

The post L’Oreal Power Volume Collagen Is A Contender For My Next Greatest Mascara appeared first on Painted Ladies.

By Sheila Arkee

I’m feeling totally Summer ready with the newest from Make Up For Ever. Seriously gorgeous colors!

Face

Vapour Organic Beauty Stratus Instant Skin Perfector

Make Up For Ever HD Foundation #153

Painted Earth HD Concealer in Light Peach

CoverGirl + Olay Pressed Powder in Light/Medium

Nars Sin Blush

Make Up For Ever Uplight#12

Eyes

Base: Prestige Primed & Ready

Lid: Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream #54 Pearly Mauve

Outer Corner: Inglot DS #465

Browbone: La Femme Candlelite

Liner:Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes Liner #52L Pearly Green Lagoon

Brows: Make Up For Ever Aqua Brow #15

Mascara: Make Up For Ever Smoky Lash

Lips

Make Up For Ever Aqua Lip #19 C Pomegranate Pink

Make Up For Ever Star Gloss S4

The post 345/365 Days of Makeup 3.0 appeared first on Painted Ladies.

By Sheila Arkee

Summer is approaching, ushering in heated temperatures, longer days, and tons of outdoor time.  It’s my favorite time of the year!  Considering that I spent a large chunk of time at the beach with my son last season, I’m starting to mentally prepare myself for several months by the sea, and that includes getting my waterproof makeup game set and ready to go. Make Up For Ever has the solution to any makeup meltdown with their newest collection for Aqua Summer 2013.

While it’s a challenging category to conquer, Make Up For Ever has the distinction of doing waterproof makeup right. With pencils and creams that are vibrant, flexible, bendable, and just plain old fashioned pretty you can’t miss with any products from the award-winning Aqua line.

There are 5 new Aqua Rouge ($24)  long-wearing lip colors that are actually perfect for a long day. I love Aqua Rouge lipsticks because they truly stand the test of time! Just gloss up the base color and you’re ready. This shade is Pomegranate Pink.

To go right along along with Aqua Rouge colors, I just gave my heart to Aqua Lip ($18), which are  incredibly gorgeous and smooth lip liners. This one is called Pomegranate Pink.

I just love a good cream eyeshadow and that’s exactly what Aqua Creams ($23) are. Fadeproof and more, they’re great alone or as a shadow base. Pearly Mauve is incredibly beautiful!

Last, but not least, are the new,Aqua Eyes ($19) liners, one matte a brown and the other a shimmering green that I’ve fallen in love with. May I introduce you to my newest eyeliner love, Pearly Green Lagoon:

Worn together, these colors are amazing! The best part is that not only are they easy to apply and blend so nicely, they set quickly and stay on your face, not some melted mess running everywhere. A win, all around.

You can find Make Up For Ever online and in Sephora stores. Visit Make Up For Ever online for more on Aqua Summer 2013.

The post Make Up For Ever Serves Up Vibrant & Fadeproof Color With Aqua Summer 2013 appeared first on Painted Ladies.

The post Weekend Beauty Reads from the Beauty Blog Coalition appeared first on Painted Ladies.

By Sheila Arkee

A bold combination of colors, topped with some of my favorite false lashes for some bright Sunday fun!

On a side note, the winner of the MAC contest has been emailed, so please check your inbox and spam mails if you entered!

Base: Prestige Primed & Ready

Lid Base: Milani Shadow Eyez in Green Safari

Outer Lid: BFTE Electric

Inner Lid: MAC Mythology

Outer Corner: theBalm Jealous Jordana

Browbone: MAC Vanilla (pressed)

Liner (upper): Urban Decay Perversion

Liner (lower): MAC Fascinating and Sugarpill Tiara Loose Shadow

Brows: Billion Dollar Brows Universal Brow Pencil

Mascara: Make Up For Ever Smoky Lash

Lashes: Daiso #11

The post 344/365 Days of Makeup 3.0 appeared first on Painted Ladies.

By Sheila Arkee

I love these three greens! From left to right: theBalm Jealous Jordana, Urban Decay Zodiac, and BFTE 1939.

The post Swatching Sunday: theBalm Jealous Jordana, Urban Decay Zodiac, and BFTE 1939 appeared first on Painted Ladies.