If you know anything about Coastal Scents, you'll know they're most famous for their 88 eyeshadow palettes. Awhile back, I saw these 12-shadow Go Palettes on their website and loved how they looked. The palettes feature shimmery and matte shades, which is always a nice for us matte fans! Each Palette is inspired by a famous city and retails for only $8.95. Today I have London to share with you.
The pigmentation, as with all Coastal Scents shadow, is great. I find the eye shadow to be a bit stiff, not buttery like Urban Decay or theBalm. The shimmery shades, as always, are a little better quality than the matte shades. All in all, I actually like this palette a lot. The mattes are gorgeous for a natural eye look and the blue & purple hues are gorgeous for a night out. You can easily do a bright, natural, or smokey look with this palette. Though I don't think these are the best eyeshadows I've ever tried, they work and the price is just stellar. Note: The shadows are swatched by rows, so the first image below is for the first row of eyeshadows, etc.
Have you tried Coastal Scents, yet? If so, is there anything from them I should try out?
Before I say anything else, you need to know that I love these lipsticks. Though I haven't tried many of the CoverGirl products, I can honestly say that these are some of the best lipsticks I've ever tried, drugstore or high-end. They are crazy pigmented, super creamy, and there's a pretty sizable array of shades. Until you actually try some of these out yourself, me telling you how smooth they are won't really sink in, but trust me... they're amazing! They retail for about $6.99 to $7.99.
From left to right (in all pictures): Fairytale, Smitten, Darling
These are definitely my favorite drugstore lipsticks (even above the Revlon lip range). They're just so pigmented and smooth (which is all I can ask for in a lipstick). Note: The lipsticks are all a little brighter in person than they come up when swatched in a picture.
Have you tried any of these CoverGirl Lip Perfection Lipsticks? Which shades should I check out?
If any of you have head of e.l.f. before, then you probably know they're a huge sensation. From beauty gurus to your average consumer, I've heard practically everyone talk about e.l.f. Though they're a hit or miss company for me, I adore their studio blushes. For only $3 each, they won't break the bank either.
From left to right: Pink Passion, Mellow Mauve, Candid Coral, and Gotta Glow.
Though these blushes can be a tad chalky (specifically the highlight shade Gotta Glow), they're more than worth the $3 price tag. They're quite pigmented and there is a good variety of shades (from brights like Pink Passion to muted shades like Candid Coral). I also love the sleek, NARS-inspired packaging.
Have any of you tried the studio blushes? What are some of your other favorite e.l.f. products?
I'm a huge fan of the chevron print that everyone's been obsessing over this year. However, I rarely wear prints when it comes to clothing, so I opted for these fun chevron nails today! The idea came directly from a video by sarahbelle93x. To get the chevron nail decals, check out this etsy shop. The yellow nail polish is from Butter London and it's in the shade Cheeky Chops. The other polish is Nicole by OPI in the shade My Lifesaver, from the Justin Bieber collection. The best thing about the decals is that they were super easy to use. However, make sure that your nail polish is at least semi-dry, because I've found that they go on smoother, the drier my polish is.
What do you think of the chevron accent nail? How about the color combination?
With Back to School right around the corner, the August Birchbox focused on creating a little Beauty School Supply Kit, filled with beauty essenials. They also partnered with Pencils of Promise, an organization that works to provide all children with quality education. Birchbox is donating 15% of all proceeds in the month of August to Pencils of Promise to help build a new school.
Birchbox is a $10-per-month subscription service that sends you 4-5 deluxe beauty samples every month. This month, my box had 5 products and also included a little Beauty School booklet, containing tips and tricks on the basics of beauty.
Schick Hydro Silk Razor- Though this wasn't a terribly exciting product, it's useful and a necessity for most of us. The Schick Hydro Silk Razor has 5 blades and is meant to help moisturize, while shaving. It also came with two Schick coupons. Full size- $10
Beauty Fixation Lipstick Touch-Up- This was one of my favorite products! These are basically cotton swabs, filled with makeup remover. Though they're intended for cleaning up the lines of a bold lipstick, they're also good to clean up any other makeup areas, especially if you're on-the-go! Full size- $5
Sumita Brow Fix- I love this little pencil! Basically, this brow base is designed to clean up the brow area and disguise any tiny hairs and discoloration around the brow. It's a concealer-like product and is a super pigmented, light flesh tone. Full size- $11 Juicy Couture Viva la Juicy La Fleur- This was a tiny sample (as nearly all perfume samples are), but it smelled wonderful. If you've smelled any of the other Juicy scents and liked them, then you'll probably like this one, as well. This is meant to be a follow-up to the original Viva la Juicy scent. It boasts mostly fruity and floral scents, so it's definitely a girly fragrance. Full size- $70, Sample size- $1.40 GLOSS Moderne High Gloss Masque- This is a hair masque designed to add a lot of gloss and shine to your hair. I haven't tried this out yet, but it looks promising. Full size- $39, Sample size $4.88 Price of box- $10, Value of box- $32.28
Though nothing in this box was really out of the ordinary, I think i'll get use out of all of the products and I love when I can use everything in a box. If you haven't already checked out Birchbox, make sure to do so! For only $10 a month, Birchbox is decidedly my favorite beauty box.
Have you all tried out Birchbox? Did you get anything different in your box? If so, link me to your post about your Birchbox, I'd love to see what you got!
When I first heard about theBalm, I was intrigued. They have adorable names for their products and everything I've tried from them has been high-quality. The Betty-Lou Manizer (see what I mean about the adorable names?) is designed to be an all-in-one bronzer, eye shadow, and all-over shimmer.
On the left you can see it swatched straight from the powder and on the right you can see it blended. As much as I love the pigmentation and color of this, it's just not right for a bronzer. If you're a medium-dark shade, the color probably wouldn't be too dark for you, but it's way too shimmery for contouring or even all over the face. If you've got darker skin, this would be a pretty highlight (when blended properly) and it makes an absolutely gorgeous eye shadow. This retails for $24 and you get .3 oz in the compact.
Have you tried any products from theBalm? Are you as in love with the quality as I am?
In case y'all didn't know, I'm a really messy person. I've been messy ever since I was a kid and keeping things organized is definitely not my strong suit. My room is always a disaster and my purse is no exception. For a more detailed look into my purse, you can check out my What's In My Purse? video, but for now, I'll just give you the gist of it. FYI, I use a black satchel from Olsenboye that I studded myself back in January.
Random stuff:
-Looking for Alaska by John Green
-The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
-Betsey Johnson sunglasses
-Banana Republic glasses
-Kenneth Cole Reaction Wallet
-Headphones
-iPhone
-Dark Knight Rises movie ticket
-Keys
-Hair tie
-Tea Forte Minteas
-Mini hair brush
There's also a few receipts and random little things in the purse, but you've essentially seen it all. What's in your purse?
Emily Hudspeth, hair design and makeup artist: Getting polish remover (and other beauty products) for FREE from CVS! To celebrate, I did a fun crackle manicure that will be great for college football season.
Lola's Secret Beauty Blog: Looking for the perfect "golden-laced pink-peach" blush for a natural glow- then look no further than Youngblood's Crushed Mineral Blush in Sherbet! This is a real stunner!
Cosmetics Aficionado:NYC Summer Crush is a palette that screams tropical with it's warm pink, orange, yellow, and purple colors, but how does it perform?
adore-a-polish: In this post Kristina breaks down to the bare necessities in what she brings on her theme park adventures.
GlitterPukee: GlitterPukee talks about the awesome Aussie cosmetic line Eye of Horus. The products are perfect for anyone with sensitive eyes. They are waterproof but super easy to remove. Want more? Great swatch photos are just a click away!
Ooh La La Polish: Looking for an easy & fun nail art challenge? Check out the "My Favorite Things" challenge at Ooh La La Polish!
Lisa's Nail Obsession: Simple, yet modern, and it goes with everything. The Tutti Frutti Stripes Nail Design.
the passenger element: Why I had to cancel by Glossybox Subscription (spoiler: unimpressive)
Pinked Polish: Wanna see a Scandalous Polish??? Melissa at Pinked Polish, Tried it on Tuesday
Beauty Product Review: Want big, bright eyes? Find out how I get the look with Smashbox's Brightener!
Polarbelle: See the Layla Cosmetics booth at Cosmoprof 2012 and all the beautiful items that Polarbelle experienced.
My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog: Laura loves Lhasa! This week's Taupe-tastic Tuesday features the beautiful shade by NARS.
Liquor, Lube and Lipstick: How did I get over my aversion to wearing "vampy" colors? By wearing one with glitter, of course!
Aly Loves Lacquer: Aly Celebrates Her 20th Birthday with Freehanded Cupcakes
makeupmaniac16: Too Faced Smokey Eye Shadow Collection: Review + Swatches
Mani Curiously: Looking for that perfect red polish? Check out E's ode to butter LONDON's Come To Bed Red!
Stephanie Louise- All Things Beautiful: Ready for fall? Here are the swatches of Zoya's Diva collection complete with the MUST HAVE FeiFei!
Liesl Loves Pretty Things: Liesl loves China Glaze Bohemian collection! Check out the possible Lippmann Sugar Daddy dupe here.
Beauty Binge: Beauty Binge declares Christmas in July when she reviews the July Glossybox!
Beauty Info Zone: How much can you spend on one face? Find out what Marcia from Beauty Info Zone spent on her face in the Makeup Wars.
Love my Nails: Cute nail polish art that's both simple and chic!
Makeup Chronicles: Until 8/13, get a free gift from e.l.f. when your order is over $20!
Mama Fashionista: Mama Fashionista takes a look at some of the newest (and most extravagant) innovations in nail polish. 18k gold leaf and black diamonds, oh my :)
A Little Polish: Looking for a great nude polish this Summer? Check out Stephanie's favorite here!
Samarium's Swatches: Sarah from Samarium's Swatches is celebrating her Blogiversary by having a Giveaway!
MakeUpMom123: Awesome August Giveaway! Three Great Prizes Including an Indie Nail Bundle, Make Up Bundle & Amazing Hair Care Bundle. Enter Today!
Earlier in the week, I ordered two lipsticks from the MAC by Request collection. A few months ago, MAC allowed fans to vote for their favorite discontinued MAC shades and the top three from each category (lipstick, lipglass, & eye shadow) were put up for sale again. I'm a lipstick junkie, so I had to order my two favorite shades from the collection ($15 each). These two lipsticks are actually the only products currently sold out from the collection, but you can find them on eBay (just beware of scammers)!
Moxie is on the left in all pictures and Candy Yum-Yum is on the right. They're both matte finishes and look absolutely GORGEOUS on. Wearing a bold lipstick is definitely my signature makeup look and these lipsticks both fit the bill. My purchase of Candy Yum-Yum was actually inspired by Cassie Steele (she played Manny on Degrassi back in the day), who is apparently obsessed with this lipstick color!
Did you all manage to get what you wanted from the collection? I'm so thankful I was able to get my hands on these particular shades, especially Candy Yum-Yum!
Most of y'all have probably heard a thing or two about these NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils. These pencils are cult favorites, specifically the shade Milk. You can find these pencils in basically any color and they are a staple for beauty addicts on a budget. For only $4.50 (and cheaper some places), they're a super value. Plus, there's a ton of product in the stick and it lasts for ages! As far as drugstore eyeshadow primers/bases go, NYX is my reigning champion.
Since I'm more of a neutral gal, I have four neutral shades to show you (including the ever popular Milk). While these can be used as cream eyeshadows or eyeliners, I prefer to use them as an eyeshadow base. These pencils really help to eliminate creasing and keep your eyeshadow in place longer. The warmth from your fingers helps to blend them out. I find that the shimmery shades are slightly smoother than the matte shades.
Milk (far left) is an opaque, pure white shade. Because you can put any color over this shade, it's hugely popular. Slapping some bold shadows on top of Milk is an essential for me, because the bright colors look even brighter over it. If you want a similar effect, but with a little bit of shimmer, Cottage Cheese (second from left) is your best bet. It's slightly sheerer than Milk. Yogurt (second from right) is one of those gorgeous pinkish, champagne colors that I personally love. This one is my favorites to wear alone or with soft neutrals. French Fries (far right) is a muted bronze that looks great with blended into the crease.
Overall, I'm a big fan of the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils. Have you guys tried the jumbo pencils?
So far, I've had mixed feelings about Glossybox. It's kind of a hefty price for a box of beauty samples ($21), but they do tend to have significantly larger sample sizes. If you want to see more of my opinions on Glossybox, check out my May and June Glossybox reviews. This month's products were all centered around Summer Nights. Keep in mind that Glossybox sends out their boxes at the end of each month, rather than the middle (like Birchbox and Glossybox). With the box, also comes GlossyMag, a little Glossybox exclusive magazines with featured beauty products, tips, and tricks.
This month, my box had 5 core items and 2 little bonus packets. According to Glossybox, the products this month were chosen to "offer you the essentials you'll need to indulge in products that show off your sun kissed skin and hair and enhance sultry skin." I was immediately pleased with the size of the products, before even trying them out.
Alessandro International Pedix Heel Rescue Balm- I was pleased to find this product in my Glossybox. I have fairly dry heels and I've been trying to eliminate that lately! I haven't tried this yet, but I'm hoping this really works! Full size- $18.50, Sample size- 5.55 Ofra Cosmetics Universal Eyebrow Pencil- Surprisingly, the color looked perfect for my brows, and it went on smoothly. It's partly made with beeswax, making it really stay on your brow area and it's also water resistant. I loved that this was full size! Full size- $10
Sebastian Color Ignite Multi Tone Shampoo- This shampoo is specifically designed for color-treated hair. It's intended to add moisturize, which is really all I'm looking for in a shampoo! Full size- $14.95, Sample size- $3.03 Sebastian Color Ignite Multi Tone Conditioner- This conditioner is also targeted at color-treated hair. The conditioner is actually a foam, which is rather unique. Full size- $16.95, Sample size $4.24
Senna Cosmetics Double Dose Lip Lacquer- I was really excited to see a full size makeup product in my box! This features two thick glosses: a pink with small flecks of iridescent glitter and a bronze/brown color. Though I definitely won't be wearing the brown, the pink is nice. The glosses are semi-opaque. Full size- $22 Caswell-Massey Almond & Aloe Hand & Body Emulsion- These two packets weren't counted as part of the box, just little extras thrown in. I tried one of the packets and I really liked it. It's a really moisturizing lotion and has a super strong almond scent. Personally, I'm a huge fan of almond scents (it reminds me of these almond cookies my mom makes every Christmas), but I know not everyone loves the scent. Full size- $24, Sample size (both packets combined), $0.82 Price of box- $21, Worth of box- $45.64
The price of the products in size were worth more than double $21. However, how much the box is worth to each person will differ, because of the products. If you love all of the products and will use them all, it's totally worth the cash, but if you hate most of them, it's probably not your best bet. Overall, I was pretty pleased with this box and I'm totally obsessed with the little bonus almond lotion!
Have you tried Glossybox? How did you feel about your box this month?
I always feel a little guilty when I bash on products, but I find that posts like these can be really helpful for other people. Keep in mind, these products didn't work for me... which doesn't mean they won't work for you. Some of the products are simply the wrong color or consistency for my skin and then there are some I just all-around don't like. Be sure to check out my video at the end of this post for a better view of the products and for a more in-depth discussion about them.
Victoria's Secret Mysterious Eyeshadow Quad- Despite the gorgeous colors, when I actually try to use these shadows on my eyes, they come up faded and I always have to apply a ton of product to get a good end result. They aren't the worst shadows in the world, but for what Victoria's Secret Makeup costs, I definitely didn't think this was worth it. Milani HD Advanced Concealer (02)- This is supposedly a dupe for the YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch, which is why I picked it up. Honestly, I just don't think this brightened up my undereyes enough and it really didn't conceal much either. Tarte emphasEYES Inner Rim Eye Pencil- The texture of this was really tough against my skin. I prefer a smoother eye pencil, especially because the skin around the eye is so delicate. Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain (Cherish Devotion)- This product is actually okay. However, I don't think it did what it was supposed to. As a lip stick or a chubby lip crayon, it works fine. Not super pigmented, but if you pack it on enough, you'll get sufficient color coverage. However, it definitely doesn't stain, which is why I wanted it. Maybelline Baby Lips (Peach Kiss)- First off, I'm actually a big fan of the Maybelline Baby Lips products. However, this specific one had kind of a slight gritty texture and didn't moisturize well, like the other colors in the range did. I rarely use this, because the color isn't too spectacular and the texture isn't pleasing. MAC Wonder Woman Lipglass- It's a gorgeous red color with gold flecks, but I simply NEVER use this. I have seriously never used his product and as y'all know, MAC is on the pricier side, so I'm not too happy about spending so much on it. As gorgeous as it is, I rarely wear red lipstick and when I do, I never use a gloss.
Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation- As much as I love the texture of this, it's just way too drying for my skin. It leaves my skin looking flaky. I thought that it would work for the summer (because my skin is oilier in the summer than it is in the winter), but my skin is just way too dry for this. If you have oily skin, though, I'd give this a try!
ELF Studio Powder Brush- I heard so many gurus rave about this, but it just wasn't for me. I found that it shed a ton and even after washing it three times, it continued to shed huge brush hairs.
Motions Oil Moisturizer Hair Lotion- This was so weird! Instead of moisturizing my hair, it left my hair feeling very dry and brittle. I absolutely hated this.
Essie Matte About You- This is just a matte top coat. I don't think this is a bad product, I just NEVER wear matte nails.
OPI (Love Is A Racket)- For some reason, I just hate the way this color looks on my skin. It's a metallic, which isn't really my thing anyway and it looks almost like a red foil on my nails.
Essie (Haute As Hello)- Like the OPI color, this jut didn't suit my skin tone. I've seen the color on a few other people and I love how it looks, but something about the red undertones of my skin don't mesh well with this!
What products do you all regret purchasing? Have ayou had better luck with some of these products than I have?
Too Faced... A brand after my own heart. I picked up this Too Faced Smokey Eye palette awhile back and ever since, I've been obsessed with Too Faced. Because there's really nothing better than a smokey eye, I wanted to share my opinions with you all on the palette that spawned my Too Faced obsession.
The Smokey Eye kit retails for $36 and boasts 9 eye shadows and a trio of cards to help you create the perfect smokey eye. Each row of the palette features shadows to create a specific look: Day, Classic, & Fashion. Each eye shadow has a cute little name to go along with it, as well!
So that you can get a feel of what the eye shadows will look like, I've swatched them and put them into trios with their corresponding look. First up is the Day look (Firefly, Cloves, and Up in Smoke), next is Classic (White Lie, Nice Ash, and Smokin Hot) and finally Fashion (In a Flash, Smoking Jacket, and Smolder). Smokin Hot and Smolder are matte shadows, which are essential to any good palette, in my opinion. Smoking Jacket was actually in my Top Ten Favorite Eyeshadows video I did awhile back!
As you all can probably guess, I love this palette. Too Faced has actually become my favorite comany for eye shadows, especially when it comes to their shimmery shades. They are so buttery smooth and pigmented, which is really all a girl can ask for in an eye shadow. I've used each and every one of these color combinations for various events and daily outings and I always get compliments from my makeup-savvy friends when I wear these shadows. If you haven't already picked up this palette (or any of the other Too Faced palettes), I'd absolutely recommend giving them a try.
What are some of your favorite Too Faced products? Any recommendations as to what Too Faced product I should pick up next?
I'm a huge nail polish junkie. Though my collection is definitely not the largest (and certainly not the smallest), it's filled with colors I love. As far as minty hues go, I've got a t least a dozen. When it comes to oranges, reds, and yellows... there are about 5 in total. I'm very picky about my nail polishes, but when I see one I like, I have to have it. As far as consistency goes, OPI is at the top of the pack, but for some reason, I have nearly four times as many China Glaze polishes as I do OPI. Whatever the brand, I have my nails painted at all times (this can be a good and bad thing). Do you have any of the same polishes as me? What are some of your favorites from my collection?
I adore Hard Candy cosmetics. Seriously, every single time I go to Walmart (which isn't much, I admit), I pick up a few things from the Hard Candy section. They are sold exclusively at Walmart and they're pretty well-priced. These Blush Crush Baked Blushes (that's a mouthful) are some of my favorite products from the Hard Candy range of makeup and they retail for $7 each.
The blush on the left (in all pictures) is Living Doll and the blush on the right is Honeymoon. Living Doll is a nice blue-toned pink and Honeymoon is a lighter peach. Though I'm typically not a big fan of shimmer in my blush, I love the way the shimmer turns to a sheen with these blushes.. They're soft, blendable, and pigmented, but not as pigmented as a few other blushes I've seen. Actually, the only makeup product where I don't mind a little less pigmentation is with my blush, because blending out a super pigmented blush (which I often do, anyway) can be so time consuming. Both of these blushes just make your skin glow and are definitely worth the drugstore price tag.
Have you all tried any of the Hard Candy products? Are you as obsessed as I am?
