Favorites, Lists

2016 Makeup Hits!

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2016 Makeup Hits!

Happy 2017, everyone!! Starting Beyond the Swatch pushed me to try new makeup products and brands last year. There were some makeup hits, a few misses, and a few products that I had lukewarm feelings about but I’d still be willing to give another try!

In the spirit of starting 2017 off with a positive attitude, I’m going to be focusing on my personal 2016 make up hits instead of the misses for this post.  I could go on and on all day about all the different makeup products that I like, so if I literally listed everything, this post would go on for ages. The products below are makeup items that I loved so much last year that I either: repurchased, gifted to someone else, bought additional shades/colors of, or added as a staple product in my everyday makeup collection. Here we go!

Wet N Wild MegaGlo Contouring Palette!

My absolute #1 omg I’m so glad I found you last year was Wet n Wild MegaGlo Contouring Palette. This $5 product replaced my $40 Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Palette. This is one of the few products that I have that I love so much that I buy 2 or 3 at a time just so that I have extras when I run out. Click here for my original review of this product!

Why did I continue to love this product? Huge pans which means the product lasts for a long time. Excellent pigmentation- a little goes a long way. Creamy smooth formula. Easy to apply with either a damp beauty blender or brush. Only downside-a lot of fall out so it can get a little messy. Also, I’ve only found 2 different shades of this product. I got lucky that Caramel Toffee works well with my skintone and my makeup preferences/style but I wish they had more shade options to match more skintones!

NYX & e.l.f. & Colour Pop Lip Products.

This year I re-solidified my love for drugstore lip sticks! My favorite drugstore lip products of this year: NYX Liquid Suede ($7 for crazy intense pigmentation…the color you see in the tube is the color you’re gonna get on your lips), and e.l.f. Moisturizing Lipstick and Matte Lipcolor (only $3 a shade and they’re always coming out with new shades). Another affordable lipstick MVP- Colourpop products! Their liquid lipsticks were my favorite in 2016! Lately it’s been tough for me to want to spend more than drugstore price for lipstick because there are so many high quality options from drugstore cosmetics brands!

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara.

I wear fake lashes almost everyday so I don’t buy mascara very often, but when I do, I spend the extra bucks to buy Better Than Sex Mascara! This product makes my eyelashes fluffy and adds a lot of volume. Doesn’t help with my lashes inability to hold a curl but it makes up for it with it’s volumizing power. I love the super fluffy brush and the pink packaging!

House of lashes eyelash glue.

I know I’ve mentioned that I LOVE lashes from House of Lashes, but I have to give a shout out to their adhesive glue ($8) which was a huge find for me in 2016! When I started to wear falsies everyday, I would use Duo Eyelash glue and started to notice my eyes would start to get irritated and itchy throughout the day. I did some research and found that lash glue that has formaldehyde in it can irritate your eyes. HOL glue does not have formaldehyde in it’s formula so I gave it a try and haven’t had any eye irritation issues since! Please note that this is glue stopped the irritation for me personally, but can still have certain affects on other people. This year I want to find and try organic, all natural eye lash glues. I’ll keep you posted! On top of this, the glue is easy to apply with it’s thin brush connected to the cap and is waterproof.

Photo via HOL Website

Paula’s Choice Skin Care Products and Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Cream.

This year I definitely started to take my skin care regimen more seriously (late 20’s will do that to ya). My favorite brand which was recommended to me by my mom: Paula’s Choice! Great quality moisturizers that make my skin feel refreshed and hydrated. The products I’ve been using and loving- Moisture Boost Hydrating Treatment Cream ($29), Resist Barrier Repair Moisturizer with Retinol ($33), and Resist Cellular Defense Daily Moisturizer SPF 25 ($33).

For my undereye area, especially when my eyes are extra puffy, I’ve been using Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment with avocado ($48).

A couple bonus favorites are found in this picture below! Hey Honey 24Seven Moisturizing Cream and Cammite Castor Oil for my lahes)

And there you have it! Some of my favorites from 2016. I’m looking forward to sharing more make up discoveries this year!

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

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Ipsy, Lists, New Makeup

October Ipsy Glam Bag First Impressions!

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Happy November, everyone!

I wanted to share my October Ipsy bag with you all! Better late then never right?

I’m going to try something different this time around…in the past I’ve written first impression reviews and swatches on all the items in my Ipsy bag in one single post, but this time, I’m going to share my quick first impressions in this post, and then  share swatches and a more in depth product reviews in separate little baby posts! Let’s see how it goes!

I’ve been subscribed to Ipsy for about 6 months now, and overall I’ve been enjoying a lot of the products that I’ve received! But on the flip side, I have been disappointed by some of the random products too. I’ll admit, some Glam Bags have been more exciting than others.  An average Glam Bag seems to consist of 2-3 make up products + 1 skin care or hair product + a cosmetics tool or nail polish.

So without further adieu (took 6 tries to get that word spelled correctly)… here are my first impressions of the products I got in my Ipsy Glam Bag!

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The makeup bag: ADORABLE. First off, I’m a sucker for anything baby pink, and the cute little Halloween cartoon drawings makes this bag even cuter. I may use this bag even outside of Halloween season!

The Balm Shadow/Blush in Cabana Boy. I immediately get excited when I receive The Balm products because I’ve loved this brand in the past. I extra like the fact that this eye shadow doubles as a blush! It’s nice rose, mauvey, pink shade that would be perfect for a blush shade. One thing I would comment on is that I wish the sample size was a little bigger. The size is just enough to pick up some product with your finger to use as eyeshadow but it would be hard to use this as a blush.

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Pur-lisse Daily Lip Nourisher with Mango & Shea Butter. The packaging states that it hydrates,nourishes, heals, softens, is petroleum free and for all skin types. After quick application, I noticed that 1) it smells good 2) tastes pretty good too! Kinda like mango starburst… is there a mango starburst flavor? I don’t know but that’s the first thing that popped in head. 3) Thick consistency, like Vaseline.  4) Definitely made my lips feel instantly soft.

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TreStique Mini Matte Lip Crayon in Belize Bourdeaux. Always love getting lipsticks in my Glam Bag! Can’t have too many different lipstick brands and shades in your collection. I tend to only buy nude or pink shades of lipstick for myself, so it’s always good to expand my palette with the new shades that I receive! This shade at first glance looks like a deep burgundy red. Swatches and a more in depth product review to follow!

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Kokie Professional Nail Polish. This is the 3rd or 4th nail polish I’ve received in my Glam Bag in the last 6 months. It’s great because you receive a full sized nail polish, but I personally don’t paint my nails as often as most people. So the nail polishes I receive go unused. I’ve never heard or used this brand before but the packaging and shade are both really cute! Maybe all these nail polishes will motivate me to paint my own nails someday!

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Ciate Fierce Flicks Felt Eye Liner. First off, I didn’t know that Ciate made makeup! I’ve always associated them as a nail polish brand.  Secondly, I’m not a huge fan of felt eye liners because they feel sorta marker-like to me BUT as soon as I swatched this eyeliner, I was super impressed with the pigmentation and quality. More to follow on this one as well!

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Swatches and product reviews to follow! Stay tuned!

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Favorites, Lists, Shopping

5 Cheap Ways to Store Your Makeup! (All under $10!)

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5 cheap ways to store your makeup!

I have a confession… makeup organization has never been a strong suit of mine! My makeup storage and organization solution over the years embarrassingly consisted of randomly dumping my makeup in my drawers or keeping them in a messy pile on my bathroom counter. But, I have found 5 ways to store my makeup that are so ridiculously easy and affordable that they leave no excuse for an unorganized makeup collection!

1. Drawer Organizers/Dividers

Drawer organizers like the one pictured below have been one of my best investments and helped me maximize the storage space of my bathroom drawers. Now I waste no time digging through a messy drawer looking for a specific product! You can use these as separators in a drawer or use them on a counter top to store your products. I bought a set of 6 organizers that come in different shapes and sizes at Ikea for $10. Check them out on Ikea here!

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2. Decorative Tin or Metal Buckets

You’ll find little buckets like this one below in the dollar section at Target! I’ve also seen them in craft stores such as Michael’s or Joann Fabrics. Target always comes out with new cute designs all throughout the year. I currently own 2-3 different bucket designs for every holiday and season! 😉

These are perfect for storing your make up brushes, lip glosses, mascaras…anything shaped like a long tube!

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3. Hanging Pocket Organizers 

I have a hanging pocket organizer hanging up next to my bathroom sink. I use this to store beauty tools like eyeliner pencil sharpeners, nail clippers, hair ties, eyelash curlers, bobby pins, hand lotions etc! These are all items that I frequently need and somehow always manage to lose, so having extras stored in 1 spot makes it easier for to me find them when I need them.

I bought this 5 pocket hanging organizer at the Dollar Store.  I’ve seen organizers like this come in many different variations, so you can get creative with what products you can store depending on the number and size of pockets.

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4. Pencil Cases!

Back to school season for me means stocking up on cute pencil cases to use as makeup bags! I bought these pencil cases during the back to school sale at Toys R Us. I’ve seen these cases as cheap as $3.00! Perfect for packing makeup essentials when you’re traveling or to keep in your purse/backpack!

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5. Decorative trays 

Decorative trays can be used to store products that you use frequently use to allow for easy access. I have one tray sitting on my bathroom counter with my daytime moisturizer, hair serum, castor oil, and any products that I use daily. I have another tray on my bedroom dresser, with my night time skin care products. Having these products displayed out in the open not only makes it easy to access, but also serves as a friendly reminder for me to keep up with my skin care regimen! 😉

I purchased the acrylic tray in the first 2 pictures below for $6 at Ross and the plastic tray in the 3rd picture for $1.50 from Daiso.

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Ipsy, Lists, Product Review

September Ipsy Glam Bag!

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Happy Wednesday, everyone! I wanted to share with you my first impressions of the products I received from my Ipsy September Glam Bag!

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Theme for this month’s Glam Bag: Glamazon… Too glam to give a damn. Adorable! Ipsy is encouraging us to be “through with lazy beauty” and to “put away your sweatpants, let down your ponytail and get glammed up just for the hell of it”.

I’m writing this as I’m wearing my comfiest sweatpants and messiest ponytail- ha. ironic. But yes! I agree, getting glammed up just cuz can be fun!! The bag is super cute. I like the gold tones and metallic colors!

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1) Coastal Scents Limited Edition Elite Medium Shadow Brush

I LOVE when I receive brushes in my Ipsy bag! I’ve heard positive things about Coastal Scents brushes, so I’m excited to add this to my brush collection. Extra bonus that Ipsters get 30% off on any individual brush set! The bristles are soft and tapered and the handle is made of bamboo. Overall feels like a good quality brush!

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2) Living Proof Perfect Hair Day 5 in 1 Styling Treatment (4 oz for $27, 2 oz for $15)

Confession: I know very little about hair products, which is why I enjoy receiving hair products from Ipsy! Gives me a chance to try products without spending too much money or over committing to a brand/product if I end up not liking it.  Hair products intimidate me a little, but the instructions for this product is pretty self explanatory: Apply to damp hair. Blow dry.  Ok, I think I can handle that!

This product is said to deliver 5 benefits that will result in a perfect hair day- “smoothness, volume, conditioning, strength and polish”. Plus it smells really good, another plus!

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3) TreStique Highlight Stick 

Yay a highlighter!! This product looked like a bright, sparkly, white shade when swatched I swatched it on my wrist. I expected the shade to have more of a gold/beige tone based on the packaging and how the product looked in the tube. The product is very pigmented and is easy to blend. I’m looking forward to trying this product as both a highlighter on my cheekbones and as an eye shadow as well! The full size version of this highlight stick retails for $34.00 on their website.

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4) Naked Advanced Aloe Cream

The packaging on this product didn’t give a recommendation on what this cream should be used for or provide any directions for its use. I sampled a small drop of this lotion on my hand and this is what I found! It has a very subtle scent… sort of like vanilla or shea butter. Not sure if it’s supposed to have a scent or if it’s just my imagination. The formula is thick and feels a slightly frothy.  A small drop made my skin look smoother and shinier, but didn’t necessarily make my skin feel hydrated or soft.  A single pack of Naked Advanced Skin Cream retails for $60.00. Check out their website for more products!

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5) Too Faced Lip Injection Extreme

Not gonna lie, Lip Injection Extreme sounds a little intense! I was excited to see a product from Too Faced in my glam bag because I love this brand. This product is said to have long-term effects so a first impression of this product wouldn’t do it justice. But a few of the first things I did notice about this product were that it received excellent results from a consumer study (as shown on the packaging), the consistency is thick and gel like, and it smells like cherries. I have yet to try a lip plumper so I’m looking forward to trying this product and seeing if it works!

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MVP of my Glam Bag this month: This was a toughie because realistically I liked everything I received this month! But I have to award the MVP to (drumroll please)… Too Faced Lip Injection!  I’ve been a big fan of Too Faced Products for a while now and I’m super intrigued about this product! The packaging states that this product delivers instant results, makes your lips feel moisturized and makes your lips look fuller and more plump! All bold statements! I’m excited to put this product to the test (future post possibly??)

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And there ya go! 5 more beauty products to add to my collection!

What did you receive in your Ipsy Glam Bag this month??
What was your favorite item you received? Your least favorite?

Have you tried any of these products that I discussed in this post? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear!!

 

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Lists, Personal

1 picture,12 Guilty Pleasures

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I spy with my little eye… all of my guilty pleasures!

  • Cute notebooks and notepads – my fave are the ones from the dollar section at Target, I pick up 1-2 during every Target run
  • Pop Figures – my boyfriend and I counted 54 in our collection so far…dunno how that happened!
  • Walking Dead – is it October 23rd yet? Can’t wait for the Season 7 premiere!
  • Mean Girls – my all time favorite movie since ’04
  • Friends – my all time favorite show since… as long as I can remember!
  • Pictures of my family, friends and puppy
  • Fancy lookin books and fancy tea cups
  • Turtles! I have a pet baby tortoise and since then I’ve collected and been gifted anything with turtles on them
  • SF Niners and SF Giants
  • Hello Kitty – I’ll never outgrow this!
  • PINK – is it obvious this is my favorite color? 😉
  • And of course, your favorite and mine – MAKEUP!!

Now I want to hear from you!!

What do you like to collect?

What are some of your guilty pleasures?

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Lists, Product Review, Swatch Comparison, Swatch with me

3 Universally Flattering Drugstore Lipstick Colors!

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I think any makeup lover like myself has gone through this exact situation or something incredibly similar: you see a GORGEOUS makeup shade on someone else but then when you try it on yourself, you quickly realize the shade looks completely different!  For the last few months I’ve been researching and collecting a list of make up shades that are said to be universally flattering on every skin tone. This past week I had a little swatch party with two of my friends to test 3 drug store lipsticks to see how they looked on each of our different skin tones!  (Thank you Angela and Tie for swatching with me!)

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1) Revlon Color Stay Ultimate Suede in Muse ($9.99)

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How the shade looks in the package: Hot, bright pink!

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Overall impression: The swatches of this shade looked completely different on all 3 skin tones! The shade was bright wine purple with a hot pink undertone when applied on the lighter skin tone. On a tan skin tone, this shade looked more purple/fuchsia.  The shade looked the most like it does in the package when swatched on a darker skin tone-bright pink!  All these shades were different, but all beautiful! Definitely recommend this lipstick. It’s creamy, pigmented and the color is buildable.  Click here to see pictures of this lip color applied on women of different skin tones on Revlon’s website!

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2)Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor in Red Revival ($7.49) 

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How the shade looks in the package: Deep, true red.

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Overall impression: This lipstick is extremely pigmented and took on different variations of deep red on all of our skin tones. The shade was a bright red on the lightest skin tone compared to the darker skin tones. The shade takes on a more maroon shade when applied on the darker skin tones. Overall, I was very impressed with this lipstick! Definitely a high quality drug store product.

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3) L’Oréal Infallible 8 Hour Pro Gloss in Sangria ($9.99)

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How the shade looks in the package: Orangey-brown with hint of mauvey red with glitter

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Overall impression: There is a huge difference between how this shade looks in the tube as it does swatched. The shade looks more orangey-brown with a red/mauve undertone in the tube, and it surprisingly transformed to a pink/mauve shade when swatched. Overall, this shade is lightly pigmented and applies on very sheer. The shade would serve more as a tint for your lips instead of a solid color. This lipgloss comes with a soft bristled, triangle shaped brush.

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In conclusion!: There is an endless amount of different skin tones in the world- every single one of them beautiful!  It’s amazing to think about how a make up shade can completely transform when applied on different skin tones. Overall, I think that sometimes it’s good to have some guidance on what shades look flattering on your skin tone, but overall- there shouldn’t be any rules on what shades you should wear! If you try on a shade that makes you feel confident, beautiful, and HAPPY, that’s all that matters.

Now I want to hear from you! :

Have you tried any of these shades? Send me your swatches!

Are there any shades that you believe are universally flattering?

What are your favorite shades to wear?

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Blogging, Lists

Top 7 things you need to take pictures for your Makeup Blog and Instagram!

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Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend!!

Where will you find me on a typical Saturday or Sunday morning?? Sitting on the sidewalk & grass area outside my apartment in my PJ’s, with a bag full of makeup, ready to spend the next couple hours under the gorgeous California morning sunshine, swatching makeup and taking pictures for my blog and Instagram! 😉

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This post is for anyone who is interested in starting a beauty blog or Instagram account! Keep reading below for a list of the top 7 items I use to take flatlays and pictures of swatches!

1) Simple Background

I’ve researched all the different backgrounds that bloggers use for their pictures & flatlays and they all have one common piece of advice: keep it simple! 

I’ve tried a few different backgrounds and I found that a plain white foamboard works really well when taking pictures in natural light, which is my preferred choice of light to take pictures in! The board I use is Elmer’s White Foamboard from Michael’s.

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Other backgrounds I’ve used for flatlays include bedsheets, rugs or fabric with interesting textures (I use small swatches of fabric from the craft store), scrapbook paper, decorative boxes, or anything in nature such as grass, flowers, trees etc!

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2) Camera of choice

I’m currently using an LG G4 phone for my camera and I LOVE the quality of phots I get.  I tried using a point & shoot camera to take pictures of swatches but I personally found that the camera on my phone most accurately captures the way shade of makeup looks and it makes it easy for me to upload directly on IG or my blog. I suggest trying out different cameras to see what your favorite one to use and what works best for your blog and purpose 🙂

3) Tape!

It’s amazing how good ol’ Scotch tape makes such a big difference when taking pictures of makeup swatches on your arm/hand! There are a lot of times that I spontaneously swatch makeup on my arm and in these cases, I won’t take the time to use tape to frame the swatches. But, I find that using tape when swatching makeup makes the edges much cleaner and helps space the swatches evenly on your arm. See the difference below between swatches done freehand and swatches done using tape.

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(makeup swatches done freehand)

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(using tape to frame the makeup swatches)

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4) Makeup Wipes.

Makeup wipes are a must-have to clean in between swatching different makeup products and can also be used to clean your products so that they’re photo ready. I typically use Target’s Up&Up make up wipes to erase makeup swatches on my arm. These wipes work well, smell great, and are super affordable at 50 wipes for $3.59! I save my Neutrogena makeup remover wipes to use on my face or for harder to remove makeup swatches. Other good items to have around for cleaning your makeup/swatches are paper towels, water, and hand sanitizer!

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5) Notebook

One big piece of advice: take notes to keep track of what pictures you’re taking! It can be really difficult to distinguish the brand and shade of the makeup you took pictures of unless you take note of it.  The notebook also comes in handy to take down your thoughts on how the color looks, consistency, texture, your first impression of the product, and anything else that may be hard to remember after the fact.

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6) Props

I like to keep my pictures very minimal and simple but a few props are always good to have at hand. Some of my favorite props I recommend are: flowers (both real or fake), jewelry, ceramic bowls or plates, anything from the scrapbook section in a craftstore, and any little trinkets you have.

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Be sure to use all the beautiful and natural items you find outside! Flowers, trees, lakes, mountains, beaches, the sky, etc all make amazing backgrounds!

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7) Makeup!

And last but not least, makeup!! Old makeup, new makeup, anything you have! Just grab a handful from your stash and go swatch crazy! 🙂

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Someday I hope to have a beautiful makeup room to take pictures of my makeup and swatches, but for now, I love my little spot on the sidewalk outside my apartment.  🙂

Now I want to hear from you!

What are your favorite items to use when taking pictures for your blog?

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Lists, Shopping

Ulta Window Shopping!

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Hi lovelies!!!

I went to Ulta the other day with a gift card that’s been burning a hole in my wallet for a few months now! As as per usual, I went a little crazypants with the swatches but for the first time that I can remember, I left with absolutely no new makeup purchases. Unheard of!

My head went spinning with all the new makeup possibilities….Should I buy a bunch drugstore products, or splurge on 1-2 higher end items?? Ooo I like this lipstick, no Alyssa you don’t need more lipstick. But I always need more lipstick. I think I have this shade already, wait do I? Ok I have this narrowed down to 15 different choices. Should I restock on my faves or try something new?? Would I ever wear turquoise eyeliner? You never know. Ok I have this narrowed down to 10 different choices…

In the end, my indecisiveness got the best of me and I left empty handed with my arm covered in a collage of swatches of different makeup that I liked, loved, or didn’t care for!

See the damage below 😉

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Here’s a list of the top 10 brands/products that caught my eye during my little trip to Ulta!
This a mix of new and old products/brands, makeup that was featured in the store, and anything else that caught my attention!

  1. Benefit Magically Transforming Brow Collection
    There were a couple of end caps and displays featuring these products. The packaging is very interesting….almost intimidating! Looked like a mix of badass weaponry and scary equipment you find at the dentists office. The product line includes brow gel, eyebrow conditioning powder, 2 types of eyebrow pencils, and eyebrow cream all ranging from $24-$28. This is said to make shaping and filling in your brows super easy and “goof proof”!
  2.  Lorac Pro Palette 3, $44
    I have the Lorac Pro Palette 1 and I love everything about it! The quality is fantastic, the shades are gorgeous, and the color payout is amazing. Hence, I’ve been anxiously wanting to try the new Lorac Pro Palettes, both the #2 and #3!
    The Lorac Pro Palette 3 comes with 16 different colors. A majority of them are neutral/nude shades. I was most intrigued about the shades in the bottom row of the palette, specifically Amethyst, Dark Mocha and Truffle.
    *Just an FYI that these palettes are also sold at Kohl’s!
  3. Urban Decay Vice
    This display is definitely an attention grabber. I dare you to walk by it without stopping and marveling at it’s beauty. It beckons you to want to try all of the different colors, even the ones that are out of your normal make up preferences! I’ve seen a lot of beauty bloggers swatch and rave about this product, and I can see why! The lipsticks are super pigmented and you can trust that the color you see in the tube, is exactly the shade you’re gonna get! Not to mention that there are sooo many shades to try:
    Vice Lipstick- 39 shades
    Comfort Matte- 21 shades
    Metallized- 13 shades
    Sheer- 16 shades
    Sheer Shimmer- 5 colors
    Mega Matte- 6 colors
  4. Too Faced Chocolate Collection
    This collection totally won me over because I’m a sucker for cute and creative packaging. So you can imagine how giddy I was over this collection. Look how adorable!! The eyeshadow palettes come with 16 shades (mix of matte and shimmer).
  5. Ulta Brand Eyehadow Palettes $19.99
    I’m not sure why I’ve never come across these palettes before! I wasn’t sure what to expect when I swatched these and let me tell you, I was definitely pleasantly surprised with the quality! When I swatched these shades on my arm, they were pigmented, shimmery, and easy to blend! There were 5 palettes available with different combinations of shades: Prismatic, Miss Fabulous, Metals, Rose Gold and Gilded Gold. 
  6. NYX Vivid Brights Electro Liner and Liquid Liner
    This line was featured on a main endcap display in the drug store section of the store. So many fun and bright colors! Makes me want to break out of my normal black eyeliner routine and try a look completely out of my comfort zone! The liquid liner comes in 9 different shades from green, to purple, to blue to brown! How fun!
  7. Soap and Glory Brand
    The last time I saw this brand, it was a lotion brand with adorable pink packaging and witty product names like Hand food and Orangeasm! I was incredibly intrigued and enticed to try this new makeup brand! The packaging is girly and adorable. I wasn’t able to find the cosmetics products on Ulta’s website but check out these products on Soap & Glory’s website! Their lipsticks, cheek sticks and powders are what caught my attention the most!
  8. Honest Beauty
    I was excited to try this makeup line because I previously associated the Honest Brand with their baby product line. Hats off to the beautiful Jessica Alba for expanding her brand! I did a quick swatch of some of the products and there were a couple hits and a couple misses! The lip crayons (comes in 12 different shades) were SUPER pigmented. The cream foundation was super hard to spread when I swatched it on my arm, which makes me think that spreading the foundation all over my face would be even more difficult. The eyeshadows were pigmented and the shades were pretty!
  9. Buxom Customizable Palettes
    I love the idea of being able to customize an eyeshadow palette. Especially when I typically only use a few different shades in the palettes I own now.  You can customize a palette with 6 different shades for $40! There are 40 different shades to choose from.
  10. Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance PaletteI’ve seen so many bloggers rave about this palette so this was one of the first products I sought out on my Ulta trip. I’ve been huge fan of deep burgundy eyeshadow shades lately and this palette is chalk full of so many that I want to try! The shades that I swatched and love the most were Venetian Red and Lover Letter. This palette will definitely be MINE on my next trip no ifs ands or buts about it. I need this in my collection!

     

Now I want to hear from you!

Have you tried any of these products/brands? What do you think??

What were your last purchases at Ulta? Share your hauls! 🙂

Do you want me to swatch/review any of the products above?

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