Haul! H&M, MAC, LUSH, & more!

I was out of town the other day and I did some light shopping. I stopped by Lush, H&M, Forever 21, MAC, & Francesca's! Want a sneak peak?

I had never been to LUSH before, so I was a bit overwhelmed by everything. I picked up the Bubblegum Lip Scrub (because EVERYONE raves about it), the Ocean Salt Face and Body Scrub (because icallitambrosia on youtube/87daysbefore on tumblr raves about it), a small chunk of the Rock Star Soap (because it smelled absolutely delicious) and the Fluffy Egg Bath Bomb (because it was so darn cute)! I also picked up the Cupcake facial ask, but it's currently cooling in my fridge.

If you're interested, you can see what I picked up everywhere else in my haul video! Spoiler: I managed to get my hands on something from the Shop MAC collection WAY after it sold out pretty much everywhere!

Rimmel Glam Eyes Quad

I haven't tried many Rimmel products. Not because I don't like Rimmel, just because I don't find myself gravitating toward the brand. The packaging is kind of drab and I don't hear loads about them, so I typically stay away unless I've heard a lot about the product. However, I saw these Rimmel Glam Eyes quads on sale for only $1.50 at Target the other day, so I figured I'd give them a try.

I picked up Dark Signature (the purple toned quad on the left) and Thrill Seeker (on the right). At first glance, I was really drawn to the different shades of purple in the Dark Signature quad and strangely, I have been looking for mustard yellow shade, which is in the Thrill Seeker quad.

I really was not at all impressed with this quad. The colors applied unevenly and the white and super-pale lilac were quite chalky. They were moderately smooth and the two darker colors were okay, but not great. I  wouldn't recommend this quad and I will probably get rare use out of it.

This found the colors in this Thrill Seeker quad to be of significantly better quality. They weren't amazing or anything, but they were much more pigmented and less chalky. However, darker colors always tend to be more pigmented, don't they? The mustard yellow was probably the worst of the colors, but it was still good.

If you see these quads in stores on sale, I'd skip the lighter colored quads and stick with the darker colors. The darker colors are worth the money (though they are definitely NOT the best drugstore eyeshadows out there), but the lighter colors just aren't worth it. I'm sure they'll apply and look better with primer, but I prefer pairing great quality eyeshadows with my primer.

Have you all tried any of these quads? Have you tried any other Rimmel products that I should pick up? I do have a couple Rimmel blushes that I quite like.

Cotton Candy Crackle Nails!

I know I'm late jumping on the crackle and shatter bandwagon, but I had honestly never been interested in the stuff until just recently. My favorite nail polishes to wear are cream formula pastels with the occasionally glitter tossed in. However, I decided to finally give crackles a shot.

They're a little messy. (I was in a rush and terribly tired, okay?) But I actually quite like this color combination. It doesn't beat out solid, cream pastels for me, but the combination kind of reminds me of sweet, innocent cotton candy (Can cotton candy be described as innocent?).

I used Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear nail polish in Bubblegum Pink (what a mouthful!) and one of China Glaze's Crackle Glaze nail polishes in Crushed Candy. I can't help but look at my nails and have my mouth watering for some Cotton Candy

Do you guys have a favorite crackle color and base polish combination? Let me know! Crackles and shatters may have finally found a tiny place in my nail polish collection.

L'Oreal Infallible Lipcolour

I'll be honest; I'm not a huge fan of lipstains. Yes, they last for ages, but they are so drying and I feel like I can never get that perfect color. As far as lip stains go, I'm quite a fan of these L'Oreal Infallible Lipcolours. These have been out for a while now and I've collected 3 in the past 4 months or so.

The actual packaging of these are really interesting. They come in rectangular, silver packaging with two tubes that pull out of the top. The colored tube contains the lip stain (doe-foot applicator) and the white tube contains the lip balm (to add moisture). These are liquid lip stains which I quite prefer over the marker lip stains, which easily dry out in the package and on your lips. These do take a bit more time to dry, but it's really worth it for me.

Looking at the swatches, you can see the pigmentation. The top color is a gorgeous, classic red chosen by Beyonce. The shade, fittingly, is named 'Beyonce's Red', the middle color is 'Hibiscus', and the bottom is 'Pomegranate'. 'Hibiscus' looks a lot brighter and lighter when swatched than iit does in the container. It definitely boasts some hints of purple. 'Pomegranate' is simply your run-of-the-mill pomegranate.

These beauties last all day and the packaging is so original and chic. These normally cost about $12, but I sometimes see certain shades on sale at CVS and Target for around $4. Pick them up while they're on sale, if you can!

Have you all tried any of these lip stains? What about any of the other L'Oreal Infallible products? I've been dying to try their eyeshadows!

Wet 'n Wild 'Comfort Zone' Palette

Wet n' Wild has quickly become a favorite brand for me. As far as drugstore brands go, they are neck and neck with Revlon for me. Their Color Icon eyeshadows are stunning and I finally caved and picked up the Comfort Zone palette.

 For $5, this palette is an absolute steal. My mother (along with 1/2 of the beauty bloggers and youtubers out there) has had this palette for a little while now and every time I'm rifling through her makeup (which is often... I'm nosy, what can I say?) I swatch these shadows and fall in love. Honestly, Wet 'n Wild are comparable to Urban Decay and I recommend that you all pick this up, if you can get your hands on it!

The pigmentation of each shadow is gorgeous and they are SO smooth and buttery. Literally the only shadow of the bunch that I didn't find absolutely wonderful was the cream-colored Browbone shade on the upper left-hand corner of the palette. It was just slightly chalky and a little less buttery than the rest.

Out of the eight shadows, my absolutely favorite is the bottom, right-hand corner Definer. It's such a unique color to find in general, but to find something like this at a drugstore is astounding, really. It's a creamy blend of a metallic slate blue and a brownish red. It's the very definition of duo-chrome and it likes absolutely fantastic in every light. It's not the most wearable color in the world, but it is wearable if you pair it with the right shadows. I love it!

Have any of you tried Wet 'n Wild Color Icon eyeshadows? Better yet, have any of you all tried this palette? I'm thinking of going back to CVS and picking up a second palette to giveaway to you all. Anyone interested in this as a giveaway?

Harajuku Lovers Giveaway Winner!

The winner of the Harajuku Lovers LOVE Perfume is Lean! Thanks to the rest of you that entered and there will be another giveaway on this blog very soon!

Top 10 Spring Nail Polishes!

In the past 5 months or so, I have become a nail polish junkie. Up until then, I literally had only worn nail polish a total of 4 or 5 times in my entire life, and now I find myself changing up my nail polish every 2 days or so. Anyway, I decided to share some of my favorite nail polishes for spring with you all!

If you watch my YouTube videos, you've probably already seen my video (down below) about these polishes! China Glaze, Revlon, NYC, Sally Hansen, Essie, Zoya, and OPI all make an appearance!

Nail Polishes I Mentioned:

Essie 'Topless & Barefoot'

China Glaze 'Bahamian Escape'

OPI 'Steady As She Rose'

NYX Long Wearing 'Starry Silver Glitter'

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear 'Mint Sorbet'

China Glaze 'Peachy Keen'

Revlon 'Whimsical'

Zoya 'Kristen'

Essie 'French Affair'

China Glaze Crackle 'Crushed Candy'

My absolute favorites from the bunch? China Glaze's 'Bahamian Escape', NYC's 'Starry Silver Glitter', & Sally Hansen's 'Mint Sorbet'. Gorgeous pastels and a breathtaking glitter!

What are your favorite nail polishes for springtime? Are there any you recommend I should try?

Harajuku Lovers Perfume Giveaway!

So, I have this obsession with doing giveaways and since I've yet to do one on this blog, I figured it's time for one! I'm giving away the Harajuku Lovers Wicked Style LOVE Perfume! Sephora describes this .33 OZ perfume as Cute, Fruity, and Floral. The main notes are Nectarine, Orangeflower, & Blend of Woods.

Rules! To enter the giveaway, you must follow this blog (publicly, so I can easily contact you if you win) and comment on this post telling me your favorite perfume! This giveaway is open to residents of US, Canada, & UK. Giveaway will end on March 18 at 11:59 PM and I'll announce the winner on this blog (and contact them) on March 19.

P.S. If you're interested in winning Urban Decay's "the Fun Palette," check out my giveaway on my YouTube channel here.

Mini MAC Paint Pot Haul!

 I stopped by a CCO (discount makeup store) yesterday and I picked up two MAC paint pots, both coincidentally from the Posh Paradise collection (released last fall). For $11.75 a pop, rather than the MAC store price of $17.50, I caved and picked up Nubile and Treasure Hunt.

I've been eyeing both of these since they were released, but I wasn't able to get my hands on them when they were in MAC stores. Angels started singing Hallelujah when I found these gems buried in the back of the rows of paint pots. They were each the last in stock of their shades!

Nubile is very similar to Painterly, but a little peachier and not completely matte (though it's really not very shimmery... perhaps a smidgen frosty). Treasure Hunt is a light gold, very yellow but not bright.

Treasure Hunt could easily be used as a shadow by itself, or as a shimmery, pale gold base for other eye shadows. It's one of those colors that I can pair with a lot of shadows I have, making it worth the price and easily usable. Nubile can also be used by itself as a really natural color on the lid, or as a flesh-toned base for pretty much any shadow.

Have any of you all been to a CCO? Better yet, what do you guys think of MAC Paint Pots? I'm a big fan!

Tarte LipSurgence Natural Matte Lip Tint

The moment I saw the word 'matte,' I was sold. I'm a huge fan of matte lips, but I find that almost all matte products on the market are drying. Sure, there are those hidden gems that don't completely dry out your skin and lips, but for the most part, matte is equal to drying. These Tarte Matte LipSurgences (not to be confused with their counterpart, the original, non-matte formula) claim to create a pigmented, matte lip AND moisturize.

Months ago, I bought Lucky (light pink) from DermStore and found myself completely let down. However, I recently received Fiery (brick red) for free as part of a Sephora point-perk and I fell in love with the product. My love for Fiery inspired me to try out Lucky again and I really do love it.

First off, the packaging has slightly changed. Though very, very slightly, the lid has been changed in the past few months in order to make the product easier to open. Trying to open Lucky is hell (part of the reason I never used it) but Fiery opens easily (I assume all shades of this product being sold now have the new packaging).

As you can see, the older one on the left (Lucky) has a slightly-concave lid and the newer one on the right (Fiery) is completely flat on top. If you decide to pick up this product in a store, make sure the one you buy has a flat-top lid, it's a million times easier to open!

The pigmentation is beautiful. These pictures really aren't doing the products justice. With one swipe, they are super opaque and crazy smooth. I will say, I feel like Fiery is a touch smoother than Lucky. I'm not sure if it's because it is a new formulation, or if it's simply because of the color of the product. Either way, I think these lipsticks are gorgeous and really do last for a long time. I'd recommend using a lip scrub before putting these on, because they are matte and will stick to any dry skin on your lips. For $24 a piece, I probably won't be buying anymore, but I do love the ones I have. If you aren't concerned with price, these are great! However, if you're cost-conscious, search around for some more viable options.

Have any of you tried these? What do you all think?