Saturday, October 31, 2015

Cooking With Dr. Pepper | Frosty Pep


|| This post is sponsored by Dr. Pepper and Lip Smackers.

Happy Halloween, pumpkins! Anyone having a party to celebrate tonight? If you've got the costumes and decorations, I've got the perfect drink for you to make! It's easy to create, tastes amazing and looks a little creepy towards the end. I mean, who doesn't want all of that in a drink, am I right?


Today we're putting a fun twist on the classic soda float with Dr. Pepper by creating their signature Frosty Pep drink!

You Will Need:

  • 1 scoop vanilla ice cream (per serving)
  • 1 12 oz. can of Dr. Pepper  (per serving)
Let's do this! Place one scoop of vanilla ice cream in a tall glass (or pumpkin goblet if you're feeling Halloween-y!).Gently pour one bottle/can of cold Dr. Pepper over the ice cream. Stir until it's nice and creamy.


How easy was that!? Once the foam settles it almost gives off a creepy brain look - perfect for Halloween! You can find all the ingredients and more at your local Rite Aid. Find your local Rite Aid here.


Psst. Rite Aid also has all of their Halloween decorations/costumes 50% off right now for all your last minute needs! :)
Wednesday, October 28, 2015

#BBCChallenge | Fall


Hey love muffins! It's the end of the month, so you know what that means!? It's the Beauty Blog Coalition Challenge time! This month's theme was simply fall which was a lot harder than one would think. I couldn't make up my mind on what I wanted to do.

  

How to get this look:

  • Starting off with my face, I took my good ol' faithful It Cosmetics CC+ Cream in Light and applied it all over my face with a damp Beauty Blender.
  • After foundation, for some reason, I always go to my eyes. I like to start off with a base (like MAC Paint Pot in Painterly) to neutralize everything out.
  • I decided to play with the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette for this look. I started with the shade Milk Chocolate in the crease.
  • Then I took Cherry Cordial and placed that out the outer lid and inner lid but left the middle of the lid bare (for now) and lightly blended it into the crease.
  • For the middle of the lid, I wanted a nice pop of gold so I took Creme Brulee (literally the prettiest gold like, ever!) and packed that into the middle and lightly blended it into Cherry Cordial.
  • I brought Cherry Cordial down to the lower lid and put Creme Brulee in the middle of the lower lid as well and blended that out.
  • I finished my eyes with Ardell #220s and Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara.
  • For brows, I used Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Brunette and combed it out. I have naturally full brows but sometimes they lack a little shape. This is perfect to pull everything together.
  • Back to my face, I applied It Cosmetics CC+ Cream Concealer and then set it with the highlight part from Smashbox's Master Class 3 Palette.
  • From the same palette, I used the "contour" to well, contour with and the "bronze" part to warm up my look.
  • For my lips, what's better for fall than a dark lip? Kat Von D's Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Exorcism! 
So, ladies and gents, that's my take on a fun, fall look! Make sure to check out the other gorgeous ladies from the Beauty Blog Coalition taking part in this challenge and show them some love! 

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Baby | Snackin' On The Go With Sprout®


Disclaimer: This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sprout® Organic Baby Foods. The opinions and text are all mine.

My one year old is a total snacker. A little bit of this, a little bit of that - as long as he can hold it in his hands and feed it to himself, he's happy.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Currently Lovin' | Fall Favorites!


Hey guys! It's been quite awhile since I've done a monthly favorites post so I decided to combine all my favorite beauty products from the last few months and put them all into one mega fall favorites post!

  • BECCA x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Pop - I know, I know. But I promise, the hype is real, y'all. When you put two powerhouses that are just amazing at what they do like BECCA Cosmetics and Jaclyn Hill together, you should awesomeness to the tenth power. Champagne Pop is buttery soft and incredibly pigmented. The only downside is that this highlighter has broken and crumbled apart on me twice (HEAVY SOBS) and I've never had that issue before and have always been able to fix it with some alcohol. But still. Other than that, I'm in love with this highlighter! PS. It's really flattering for pale skin even though it's a pale gold color!
  • Ardell #220 Demi Wispies - I am SO late to this lash train. I know a lot of beauty v/bloggers obsess over these particular lashes and now I know why. They're just the right amount of wispiness I like without being too dramatic. They apply very easily and I love the invisible band.
  • ColourPop Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick in Chilly Chili - This color is PER-FEC-TION! I'm obsessed with it. I'm almost positive ColourPop changed their formulas on their liquid lipsticks because this is much easier to apply and a little bit thicker and creamer than their previous formulas. The color is this super gorgeous muted plummy brown and I can't get enough!
  • Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Damned - If we're talking dark lippies, Kat's Damned is a must-have! Damned kind of follows along with Chilly Chili in that they both have that gorgeous brown undertone that I've been loving except Damned is more of a black cherry. Kat always nails it with her liquid lipstick formulas: super creamy, pigmented and long lasting.
  • TASK Essential Skin Feed O2 Hydrating Moisturizer - My absolute favorite moisturizer! I became a believer in this after a night of insane makeup projects going on. After all the makeup was off, my skin felt dried out and almost chapped. I applied this moisturizer on before going to bed and when I woke up, my skin felt amazing! Total 360. This moisturizer does take a little while to soak into the skin so I do recommend putting it on before bed but oh man, guys. It's awesome!
  • Phace Bioactive Illuminating Serum - This serum has been amazing! It's a corrective and protective serum to give you glowing, firm, younger-looking skin. It's designed to diminish the appearance of age spots, sun spots and acne marks. I like to apply this after I wash my face but before I moisturize. Sometimes I even mix this into whatever moisturizer I'm using at the time (ahem, the one above!) and apply like that. 
  • It Cosmetics CC+ Cream in Light - If you couldn't tell by it being featured in almost every single look I've done lately, this has been my jam! It's light on the face but provides amazing coverage. I apply it with a Beauty Blender for a flawless, natural look. 
  • Victoria's Secret Heavenly Perfume - Every time fall comes around, I pop this out of closet. The scent is a spicy mix of chocolate and cinnamon and reminds me of the holidays for some reason. Fave cold weather scent!
  • Essie Gel-Setter Top Coat - I'm always on the lookout for a good top coat that keeps my mani from chipping. Let's be real. I'm rough with my hands between playing with my son and dishes and - well, the list goes on and on. This top coat by Essie dries pretty fast and leaves my nails hard and shiny. It definitely prolongs my mani by a few more days.
  • Essie Frock N Roll - Ahh. This polish is SO gorgeous! Frock N Roll is from the Fall 2015 and is a weird grey-ish blackened plum with a galaxy of silver flecks in it. Hands down, my favorite polish from Essie in a veryyyyy long time. 
  • It Cosmetics CC+ Concealer in Fair - Just like the CC+ cream above, this has been my go-to concealer for awhile now. This partners so well with the CC+ cream to get a really nice flawless look. I absolutely love the application which is a cold "spoon" tip. Not only does this conceal but it also is an anti-aging serum, moisturizing eye cream, eye brightening serum, skin-perfecting primer, color corrector, sunscreen and a full-coverage concealer!
  • Neutrogena Makeup Remover Wipes - Stop reading this post and RUN out to buy these babies right now. I'll wait. Okay. Back already? Amazing, aren't they? I've never experienced a makeup removing wipe like this one. It's so gentle but removes EVERYTHING - including lash glue (that's the biggest pain in the ass to get off), waterproof liner and mascara! Check out how it removed my entire skeleton makeup look here!
  • LORAC Mega Pro Palette 2 - I've been obsessed with this palette the day I bought it. It's a great palette for someone who wants a little bit of everything all in one. The metallics and shimmers in this palette are INSANE and I'm not even that into shimmers and metallics, y'all. I just reviewed this here!
Phew! Alright, babes. Those are my current fall favorites. What are yours? 

+ Some products have been sent to me for review but all opinions are 100% my own.
Sunday, October 25, 2015

LORAC Mega Pro Palette 2 | Swatches + Review


Hey pumpkins! How was your weekend? Mine was pretty great. My fiance came back from his work trip and I've been playing with this new palette all weekend. It's the LORAC Mega Pro Palette 2 - and guys, it's STILL available at Ulta (it's an exclusive) for $59!

The LORAC Mega Pro Palette 2 ($59) is an exclusive to Ulta Beauty but will not be limited edition and is a permanent addition to LORAC at Ulta. This palette was created my celebrity makeup artist Carol Shaw and is loaded with 16 shimmer shadows (bottom two rows) and 16 mattes (top two rows). These shadows are infused with soothing botanicals and can be used wet or dry! 

The palette itself this time is a deep navy blue with the name in silver. It's the exact same size at last year's palette (5.7" x 7.7") and includes a large built-in mirror on the top half of the palette.

  • Porcelain - (matte) a off white with a yellow undertone. Very silky and smooth. A smidge on the powdery side but totally workable.
  • Custard(matte) a super pale yellow. Same as Porcelain. So, so buttery to the touch but a teensy bit powdery. Again, not a huge problem at all.
  • Tawny(matte) a medium brown with an almost red undertone. Such a gorgeous color but a smidge on the dry side which caused it to apply a bit sheer. Could probably work better over a primer or base. Love this as a crease shade!
  • Burlap(matte) a medium brown with yellow undertone. Another crease shade fave! Pigmentation was on point and was very buttery to apply.
  • Melon(matte) a light coral. Melon was pretty powdery (as you can see in the swatch) but actually applied better on the lid than swatched on the arm. I must also note that the pigmentation was still great.
  • Tangerine(matte) a soft orange with red undertones. Swoooooooon! One of my favorite shades from the palette. I mean, look at that pigmentation! Buttery soft and easy to apply with little fall out.
  • Saddle(matte) a dark brown. Saddle played nice and wasn't powdery at all. Very soft, easy to apply, little fall out and opaque.
  • Forest(matte) a blackened forest green. What a tough color to photograph but it's so gorgeous in person! Very opaque and pigmented, buttery soft but had some fall out.
  • Bisque - (matte) a light pinky beige. Great color payoff for such a light color (sometimes they fade easier than darker shades). A bit powdery but easy to apply.
  • Lavender - (matte) a light lavender purple. Powdery and needs to be built up to achieve a good level of opacity. 
  • Purple - (matte) a purple with some cool tones. Kind of a bummer for me. While it wasn't powdery, it applied weird and patchy on the arm as well as the lid. 
  • Sorbet - (matte) a light dusty pink. Applied a little sheer but can be built up for a good level of opacity. Soft and buttery to the touch.
  • Goji - (matte) a muted reddish plum. There's something about burgundy/plum shades that just pull at my heartstrings! Gorgeous shade. Applied very nicely, a smidge on the powdery side but absolutely fine to work with. Pigmentation was great!
  • Cabernet - (matte) a dark burgundy with brown undertones. A little on the dry side but applied well. Pigmentation was okay but faded slightly at the five hour mark.
  • Ash - (matte) a dark purple with grey undertones. Ash is a chameleon type of color because it doesn't look very purple in the pan but once applied - oh hello! Ash was a little dry but applied okay. 
  • Black - (matte) a black. It's so hard to find a good, opaque black. This was a good black but I wouldn't say it was the best. A little chalky but it did build up to a nice solid black.

  • Sugar - (frost) a champagne. Hello beautiful! Amazing color pay off with a slightly powdery but totally workable texture.
  • Chiffon - (frost) a pink-toned champagne. Another awesome color pay off with a slightly powdery texture. Again, totally workable.
  • Prosecco - (metallic) a warm (almost rosey) beige. I absolutely love this color! Smooth, buttery texture even though it appears almost "chunky" in the swatches. I think it's just the way it reflects because it was anything but.
  • Soft Plum - (pearl) a soft rosey plum. Unfortunately, this shade just didn't do it for me. Very sheer and had to be built up to even get the less-than-opaque swatch seen above. 
  • Cinnamon - (metallic) a copper. Oh, Cinnamon! Gorgeous pigmentation, smooth application, little fallout.
  • Sandstone - (frost) a medium taupe. Slightly dry but amazing pigmentation nonetheless. Great color pay off and smooth to apply.
  • Gunmetal - (metallic) a dark steel gray. Heart eyes, guys, all the heart eyes. Fabulous texture and color pay off. 
  • Blue Quartz - (frost) a bright blue. Blue Quartz was slightly dry for me but still had great color pay off and applied well.
  • Moonlight - (frost) an off-white. While I wouldn't say opacity was at 100% with the first swipe on the arm, it's definitely buildable. No fallout and felt like butter!
  • Seashell - (frost) a light beige-y yellow. Buttery soft texture and applied fabulous. Great color pay off as well. 
  • Peony - (frost) a light peach. Slightly crumbly but applied very well and had a great color pay off.
  • Dark Sienna - (pearl) a medium chocolate. No words, guys, no words. SO pigmented and applied like butter. 
  • Penny - (metallic) a blackened bronze. Gorgeous color payoff and has a great buttery soft texture.
  • Olivine - (frost) a light gold with olive undertones. I know it sounds like a broken record but again, gorgeous pigmentation and a soft, buttery texture. Slight fall out from the shimmer.
  • Gold Leaf - (frost) a light yellow gold with gold shimmer. Oh Gold Leaf, I had such high hopes for you. Unfortunately, this shade was very crumbly and I could barely apply it to the lid without it getting everywhere. Applying this wet helps a little bit but it sheers out. 
  • Black Ivy - (shimmer?) a deep, blackened green with a subtle micro-shimmer. I didn't expect this to be as pigmented as it was but hot damn, it's awesome! Super opaque, applied very nicely and had little fallout.
 (Lid: Forest | Inner Corner: Tangerine | Lower Lid: Ash | Crease: Sorbet | Brow: Chiffon)

Overall: I am such a huge fan of this palette! It has such a great mix of mattes, metallics, shimmers and everything in between. The two bottom rows of this palette alone should make you want to run out and buy it. That being said, if you already have the first one, you probably don't need this but if you are looking for a fab all-around palette, this is SO it!

LORAC | Buy - $59
Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Halloween | Pink Fairy


Awwwyus. Guys, there are nine days left until Halloween and I am back with another makeup tutorial! First off, can I just say that I'm so proud of myself for plowing through and doing more than just one tutorial this year. I normally have a huge list of costumes and makeups I want to do and then I'm like, "Crap. Next year. For sure." So yay Noelle! 

So recently, I received this gorgeous pink wig from the amazing people at Wigaholics and had a blast coming up with this easy, pink fairy look for Halloween. I actually have two other costume ideas I'd like to use with this wig as well. Would you guys be interested in seeing them? We can do a one wig, three looks kind of thang. Let me know in the comments! 

Let's talk about this wig real quick, shall we? I absolutely love this one from Wigaholics! It's the Baby Pink Long Wavy 75cm Wig and it's amazinggggg! It's a basic cap with clips and is made from Hiperlon Fiber. It can be styled with heat tools and comes with a wig stand, brush and wig cap. I can't get over how well this is made and felt confident that there would be no issues (falling off, shedding like crazy, sliding down, etc.) with wearing this out. The quality is so luxe but the price ($30-40) is so on point. The site has so many different wigs to choose from and covers a variety of looks. From short styles to insane mermaid manes, ombré to solid color, Wigaholics seriously has it all. 

How to get this look:

  1. For this look, I really wanted a dewy, almost ethereal foundation base. To achieve this, I mixed my It Cosmetics CC+ Cream (in light) with Rouge Bunny Rouge Seas of Illumination (one pump of cc cream to two big pumps of illuminator) and applied that with a damp Beauty Blender.
  2. Next, I laid down MAC Paint Pot in Painterly as a base for my eyeshadows onto my lids. 
  3. Then I took Anthem from the Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca Remix Palette and took that into my inner corner and brought it up to my eyebrow and blended it out to the tail of it.
  4. Then I took Swoon into my crease and blended it all the way out to my temple.
  5. For the lid, I patted Love onto my lid. Then I mixed Love and Swoon together and took that back into the crease to blend it all together seamlessly.
  6. Last minute, I decided to pat Skull into the inner corner for a nice iridescent effect over Anthem.
  7. Then I wet Rewind and Love and drew long feather-like strokes coming out of my eyebrows.
  8. For lashes, I went with Ardell #220 Demi Wispies and Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes on the bottom lashes.
  9. For dat glo tho, I applied ColourPop Wisp and then Becca x Jaclyn Hill's Champagne Pop over it. 
  10. Lastly, for the lips, I wanted to keep it lowkey and light and went with ColourPop Shimmy but you can change it to whatever you want. A pastel lavender would look amazing!
I hope you guys enjoyed this tutorial and I'll see you back here for the next one! :) 

* Wig was sent to me for review. 
Thursday, October 15, 2015

ColourPop Ultra Matte Liquid Lipsticks in Instigator, Chilly Chili, Bad Habit, More Better & First Class


It's Friday, y'all! Anyone else feel me when I say that that means absolutely nothing to me now that I have a toddler? Whomp, whomp, whomp. I can at least pretend I had a crazy night out when I wear one of these lipsticks. They're the new limited edition ColourPop Ultra Matte Liquid Lipsticks from their Fall '15 collection and I mean, sa-woon, right?! How gorgeous are these colors?

  • Instigator - a mid-tone peachy pink. Instigator reminds me of Lime Crime Babette but like, a thousand times better. Babette ended up pulling extremely orange on me and it looked horrible. Instigator, on the other hand, does have a slightly peach undertone but actually looks flattering on pale skin. The formula on this is way different than the first liquid lipsticks I tried from ColourPop. This one is slightly thick and goes on so, so creamy. What a dream!
  • Chilly Chili - a muted plummy brown. Oh Chilly Chili, you are ah-maze-ing! If you could only buy one lipstick from this collection, it's this one. Hands down. The color is to die-for and the formula is out of this world and similar to Instigator. Super creamy, pigmented and applies like a dream.
  • Bad Habit - a dusty mauve pink. I sound like a broken record because again, this was fabulous to work with. Pigmentation was on point, creamy but not too thick and easy to apply.
  • More Better - a deep violet wine. Unfortunately, the record stops here. More Better was odd to apply. The consistency was too thick and almost dry. I wonder if maybe I got a bad batch? Love the color but pretty disappointed in this shade.
  • First Class - a vivid orange red. Then we go from one extreme to the other. First Class was very liquidy and applied super patchy. Again, I loved the color but it's a bummer about the consistency.
Overall: I love Instigator, Chilly Chili and More Better. I love the new formula on these three. Unfortunately, I think More Better and First Class fell short. First Class reminded me of the old formula and More Better just seemed like a bad batch. Three out of five ain't bad, right?

ColourPop | Shop ($6)
Thursday, October 15, 2015

Phuse | So Shady Smokey Eye Brush + Review


Hey babes! Phew. It's almost the weekend. Woohoo! Today I wanted to show you a look I came up with using the Phuse So Shady Smokey Eye Brush!

The So Shady Smokey Eye Brush from Phuse is a brush used to smolder and blend out a smokey eye with ease. The brush is densely packed with round bristles into a tapered shape to get into the crease and be able to blend out the shadow easily. The brush is SO soft and worked really nicely. I was also impressed with how versatile this brush is and can be used for different purposes besides just blending out a smokey eye. I also used this brush as a great brush to apply shadow into the outer v. and it worked amazingly.

For this look: I started with the MAC Painterly Paint Pot as a base. Then I came in with Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca Remix Palette's Misfit, Hyperballad and Dark Wave across the lid. I then took Noble into the crease to blend it all out into the crease. Using the So Shady Smokey Eye Brush and Black Metal from the palette, I applied it into the outer v and smoked it out. Then I took Echo and applied to my lower lid and smokey that out as well with the same brush. Lastly, I applied Love in the inner corner. Taking my Kat Von D Autograph Liner, I created a cat eye. I used Ardell Demi Wispie lashes and finished my brows with Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz.

Phuse | Shop
* Press Sample
Wednesday, October 14, 2015

#HallowCleanFaceOff | Skeleton Halloween Makeup Look with Neutrogena


This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HallowCleanFaceOff #CollectiveBias

Halloween is upon us, ghoulfriends! Woohoo! It's officially 16 days away and if you're like me, well, you probably don't have your costume planned (I mean, how can I pick just one!?) and wait last minute for these kinds of things. Don't you worry! I've got you covered. 

Today I'll be showing you how to create an easy skeleton look with the most basic of face paints and techniques - AND on top of that, I'll be showing you a fast, sure-fire way to remove your makeup at the end of the night! Let's get to it.


HOW TO GET THIS SKELETON LOOK:
  1. We're going to start off by applying your favorite foundation. I like this technique instead of just slathering on the white face paint because I think it creates a more natural "off-white" look.
  2. Using a foundation brush, apply the white face paint. You can go ahead and skip the area around your eyes as we'll be filling that in later with black.
  3. Using a black eyeliner, face paint or even a liquid liner, create a "M" on your nose and fill it in, making sure to get the sides and under the nose.
  4. Take the black face paint and start filling in your eye sockets. Feel for your actual eye sockets instead of creating circles. Remember they don't have to match :)
  5. Set your nose and eye sockets with matte black shadow so they don't crease.
  6. Outline your jaw "socket". Get a feel for your own.
  7. Taking a small, detail brush and some black face paint (or liquid liner) sketch out your teeth on your lips and extend them out.
  8. Let's "sink in" our temples by shading them in with black shadow or face paint.
  9. Going back to the jaw, we're going to color in the rest with black face paint.
  10. Outline the teeth with black shadow and blend it out.
  11. (Optional) Scrunch your face into an angry pose and fill in any lines caused by the pose near your eyebrows and nose to give your skeleton a mischievous look.
  12. (Optional) Bring the skeleton down your neck by creating three "squares" and then fill the area around your neck in with black paint. Set with black shadow.
PHEW! After a long night of tricks and treats, scary movies and candy binging, you'll probably want this makeup off. I'll admit that although a full face is fun to wear, it can be an absolute pain to remove. After searching for forever for the perfect remover, I finally found a super gentle remover that gets the job done - right in the skincare aisle at Walmart!
It's the Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Wipes and guys, they're amazing! What I love the most is that they're gentle enough that they can be used around the eye area without an irritation. They're also clinically proven to remove 99.3% of your most stubborn makeup - even waterproof mascara! 

I was challenged by Neutrogena to "un-Halloween" at the end of the night and remove all of my costume makeup - WITH ONE WIPE *enter dramatic music*. Oh, it's on!


HOW TO REMOVE YOUR HALLOWEEN MAKEUP:
  1. Start with the Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Wipes and gently rub away your makeup.
  2. Then I take about three pumps of the Neutrogena Ultra-Light Cleansing Oil and apply it to a dry face with dry hands. I massage that all over my face and then rinse with water.
  3. Lastly, I wash my face like normal and apply a moisturizer!
What do you think of this look? Would you rock a more complex makeup if you knew it'd be easier to take off at the end of the day?

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HallowCleanFaceOff #CollectiveBias
Wednesday, October 07, 2015

BoxyCharm | September Box - Runway Ready


Hey babes! I'm back with BoxyCharm's September box (a teensy bit late but better than never)!

What's BoxyCharm, you ask? BoxyCharm is a beauty subscription that comes to your doorstep every month with 4-5 full size luxury items for $21 a month. While that might sound a little more expensive than other subscription services, consider that you're getting guaranteed four full size products every month while compared to Ipsy where it's only $10 but they're usually smaller samples. The promise of full sized products alone totally got me hooked on it!



  • Scratch Nail Wraps in "Lacework" ($12) - You guys have no idea how excited I was to see Scratch Nail Wraps in this month's box! I'm obsessed with these babies and can pretty much go on record saying that they're the best I've ever used. They're thinner than other wraps so when you apply it to your nail, it applies easily and smooth. And let's talk about the design! Lacework is two fun designs in one - a beautiful clear wrap with a fun white criss-cross design with gold half moon along with a gold half moon with gold tips.
  • Kardashian Beauty Black Seed Dry Oil (???) - I had never used Black Seed before trying this out so I wasn't sure what to expect. It's supposed to nourish your hair so it appears strong, thick and smooth with no residue left behind. I applied it to the ends of my hair and noticed that they felt softer instantly!
  • Vasanti Professional Foundation Brush ($32) - I'm a BeautyBlender kind of gal for foundation but I love using this brush for cream bronzer and contour. The brush is soft, holds it shape and applies the product nicely without any patchiness.
  • Previse Skincare HydroMilk Hydrating Lotion ($48) - This is a contender for one of my new favorite moisturizers! HydroMilk contains hyaluronic acid, botanicals and a blend of essential fatty acids that repair your skin as well as moisturize it.
  • tarte SmolderEYES Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner in Bronze Gold ($19) - It's been a long time since I've used a chunky eyeliner but I'm in love! What I love about this is that it's pigmented and doesn't transfer like some thicker eyeliners do on me. I'm also in love with the color itself. It's a smokey bronze-y gold that is so stunning. I actually wore it in my Mummy Tutorial

BoxyCharm | Shop + $21 a month
* Press sample
Tuesday, October 06, 2015

Kat Von D Everlasting Lipsticks in Lovesick, Exorcism and Damned - Swatches & Review


Let's talk liquid lipsticks. I don't think there's a beauty company out there that doesn't have their own version out right now. Sometimes it's hard to navigate through them all and really see which ones are worth the moola, am I right?

Kat Von D's Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks are at the top of the must-have list of liquid lipsticks. The majority (if not all) of them are incredibly creamy and pigmented with a matte finish. I've reviewed in the past Bachelorette and Mau5 and just recently snagged three more on my most recent trip to Sephora. Let's get to it!
  • Lovesick - a mauve nude. I would describe it as a soft, dusty cool-toned mauve-y nude and it literally my new favorite pink lipstick like, ever. True to Kat Von D's liquid lipstick formulas, it's incredibly creamy, pigmented and smooth to apply.
  • Exorcism - a ripe blackberry. Hellllllo fall! This is your quintessential vampy fall lipstick, for sure. Again, the consistency is nice and creamy. I really loved that I could keep reapplying this and fixing it if I didn't get a nice line the first time without it getting crumbly or patchy on me.  
  • Damned - a black cherry. Another fall favorite. Damned has a bit of a brown undertone. It legit makes me feel like a vampire, guys or that I could go kick some ass with it on or something. I don't even know why. Like the other two, the formula was smooth to work with and creamy to apply. No feathering or bleeding to report even going into the wee hours of the night.

Overall: The entire time I was swatching/wearing/editing these lipsticks and pictures, I'm like, "Why the heck don't I own the entire collection?" I can't say enough good things about these liquid lipsticks from Kat Von D. Every lipstick I've bought has been a dream to work with - creamy, pigmented, smooth to apply, no bleeding or feathering, long wear time. It's all there. I highly recommend picking up some of these and adding them to your collection!

Kat Von D | Shop ($20)
Monday, October 05, 2015

Heavy Metal | Copper Tones


Vampy lips and cranberry tones take over once autumn comes around but I'm ready to rock the look below instead! I love, love, love metal tones  and copper looks, don't you? 

I was going through my September Rite Aid Network box and fell in love with some goodies from the company Total Intensity by Prestige. Have you tried them? To be honest, I wasn't familiar with the brand but after creating the look below, they'll be on my list to check out more the next time I head over to Rite Aid!


HOW TO GET THIS LOOK:
  • I started off using Total Intensity Total Wear Shadow Stick in Desert Delusion all over the top lid and bottom lid. I then blended it out using my Sigma Shader brush up into the crease.
  • I then took Kat Von D's Papilo from the Monarch Palette into the crease and up for a nice transition in a windshield wiper motion.
  • Back to the lid, I applied Total Intensity True Metals Eyeshadow in Copper in a soft, patting motion. I love using a shadow stick underneath eyeshadows (especially glitter ones like this!) because it provides a nice base to stick to.
  • I also brought Copper to the bottom lid over Desert Delusion as well.
  • For lashes, I went with Ardell Demi Wispies (I can't get enough of these!) and then took Total Intensity Beyond Lashes Mascara in Molten Brown on the bottom lashes as well as the top to blend the falsies with my real lashes together. A brown mascara really gives a softer, more natural look to lashes that I love.
You can find Total Intensity at your local Rite Aid. Let me know what you guys get! 

* Some products were provided by Rite Aid as a blogger for their network.
Thursday, October 01, 2015

Makeup Revolution | Iconic 2 Palette, Salvation Intense Lacquer in Gave You All My Love and Amazing Lipstick in Love Nude


Hi chickadees! How's your week going? I hope it's going it's going as fabulous as you are *insert cheesy wink*. Hahaha. Alright. Today's post is all about Makeup Revolution, a drugstore brand from the UK! They're also known in the beauty world for pretty killer dupes for some cult-fave palettes and such.


Iconic 2 Palette ($6) - The Redemption Iconic 2 is warm-toned 12 shadow palette. It contains three mattes, six metallics, three satins and three shimmers. It also comes with a dual-sided applicator (yes, foam applicator - not a brush). Does this palette look familiar? That's because it's known on the beauty block as an amazing dupe for the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette. I'll compare the two in a second but let's talk about the shades in this palette first. 

  • #1 - a matte yellow cream.
  • #2 - a metallic orange-y bronze.
  • #3 - a soft satin champagne.
  • #4 - a metallic rose gold.
  • #5 - a matte taupe with purple undertones.
  • #6 - a satin blackened bronze.
  • #7 - a shimmery taupe.
  • #8 - a satin steel grey.
  • #9 - a metallic grey with pink undertones.
  • #10 - a metallic warm copper with micro glitter.
  • #11 - a satin brown.
  • #12 - a matte black.
I was going to go through each shade and note any issues but honestly, this palette was pretty fabulous. I had a minor issue with two shades but the rest were pigmented, smooth and had little to no fall out. The trouble makers were #1 and #11. #1 applied a bit chalky and barely showed up when used on the eye. That being said, my skin tone is similar to the color so that could obviously be it but I've read that others had issues with it showing up. The second troublemaker was #11. The first few swatches, it barely showed up and was super dry. After "scratching the surface", it seemed to apply fine and was very pigmented. So beware that some shadows might have that weird "coating" on the top that you have to get through before it applies normally. My absolute faves of the bunch would have to be #4, #5, #6 and #10.

 (Middle lid: #2 | Outer V: #11 | Crease: #5 | Lower lid: #5 and #2 | Inner corner: #3)
So how does it compare to Urban Decay's Naked 2 Palette? Pretty darn close. There are a few that are slightly off but for the most part, they're very similar and you definitely don't need both palettes. There's also a difference in formulas and consistencies as well. I'll break it down for you.
  • #1 vs. Foxy - Foxy is slightly less dry than #1 but they both seem to be the same shade and have a slightly chalky finish to both. 
  • #2 vs. Half Baked - Almost exactly the same except I think that Half Baked has slightly larger glitter in it.
  • #3 vs. Bootycall - The swatches above don't show it very well but #3 has pink undertones while Bootycall has peach undertones.
  • #4 vs. Chopper - Same.
  • #5 vs. Tease - #5 is softer than Tease but the color is the same.
  • #6 vs. Snakebite - Snakebite is WAY more of a blackened gold than #6. It is significantly darker in person.
  • #7 vs. Suspect - Same.
  • #8 vs. Pistol - Same.
  • #9 vs. Verve - Verve is softer and more pigmented while #9 had to be built up (like, one more swipe) to be the same opacity. Verve is also more beige-y while #9 has some warmer undertones.
  • #10 vs. YDK - Exactly the same.
  • #11 vs. Busted - Busted is way more pigmented. WAY more.
  • #12 vs. Blackout - The same which is impressive because I can't even tell you guys how hard it is to find a nice, pigmented black. Bravo!


Amazing Lipstick in Love Nude ($1.50) - Love Nude is a satin-y nude with brown undertones. I found that the color would be flattering on most skintones because it starts off sheer but can be re-applied to build up opacity. That being said, I wasn't a fan. The scent of the lipstick is black licorice which I don't find appealing (personal preference) and the consistency of the lipstick felt almost cheap. 

Salvation Intense Lacquer in Gave You All My Love ($4.55) - I'm normally not a fan of glossy lipglosses (doesn't that make sense?) but I really liked this one. It's not sticky but has a high shine and is nicely pigmented. The color itself is an intense fuchsia with subtle shimmer. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the scent which smells like a weird, cheap cherry. Wasn't a fan.


Overall: Out of the bunch, the Redemption Iconic 2 Palette was the all-star! I was very impressed with the pigmentation and general application of the shades. For a drugstore palette, this rivals some of the high-end alternatives - including it's infamous dupe! 

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