July 2016 Favorites -- Beauty & Bath

1. Kat Von D Serpentina Eyeshadow Palette:  I couldn't not get this!  It's Kat Von D, had beautiful jewel tones and a color named after my favorite jewelry company -- Bloodmilk. The colors are wonderfully pigmented and gorgeous!
2. Black Moon Cosmetics BLACK METAL TRINITY™ - Limited Edition Pack & Myth:  I had to get these as well.  Black Metal Trinity consists of (according to Black Moon's website):  Immortal: A blackened purple with flecks of purple and arctic blue. Armageddon : A blackened red with hints of copper.  Sorrow: A deep blackened blue with flecks of arctic blue. Then there is Myth: a blackened emerald green with hints of teal to really push this color to the next dimension. They're all BEAUTIFUL.  My two favorites are Armageddon (-- this is the most metallic red I have ever seen!  I was so impressed!!!) and Immortal -- just a gorgeous vampy metallic purple!
3. Anastasia Beverly Hills - Glow Kit - Moon Child - I was practically salivating over this when I saw it!  Oddly enough, I think because they all came out around the same time, I kind of saw Serpentina, Black Moon's metallic lippies and the Moon Child palette as going together -- and they do, fabulously!!!  A really cool thing to do with this palette is to pair your eye look with the opposite color i.e. a red shadow and lip look with Lucky Clover's hint of green.  It's just beautiful!
4. Laura Geller New York Baked Color & Contour Palette:  (Shopped my stash!)  Heard about this some months ago from emilynoel83.  I got it after I dropped my It Cosmetics face disk and broke it. (I had used most of the highlighter and I think hit pan on the bronzer.) When I first got this, I was afraid it was going to sit in my makeup drawer unused for the most part.  I had not yet discovered the beauty of Baked French Vanilla.  I don't use it as a cheek highlighter, I use it as an under eye brightener, and in general a middle of the face brightener.  I can also use the bronzer as a contour as it's not uber warm.   The blush has a hint of shimmer and is the most beautiful pinky coral color.  Overall I really love this a lot better than the It Cosmetics face disk.  
5. e.l.f. Beautifully Bare Smooth Matte Eyeshadow in Nude Linen:  I took a chance and got this from e.l.f.  I had a feeling it would work well for me as and eye primer -- and I was right!!!  This is also fabulous if you're going for a no-makeup-makeup look to even out the eyelids.
6. DIY Cosmetic Containers - 26 MM 5 WELL BLACK PALLETTE, Makeup Geek Flamethrower, Coastal Scents Chamois Nude, Makeup Geek Cocoa Bear, Makeup Geek Bitten, Makeup Geek Cupcake: (Shopped my stash!)  I kept looking at Becca's Ombre Rouge Palette.  I came very close to purchasing it.  Then I remembered that I had an empty 5 pan palette, and some very similar single shadows.  I put Makeup Geek's Flamethower foiled shadow in there as I love shimmer on the lid.  I calculated it.  If I were to buy everything in lieu of getting Becca's Ombre Rouge palette, it would come out only a few dollars less.  But, adding the $40 Ombre Rouge palette when I already had colors like that didn't make sense for me.  
7. e.l.f. Prime & Stay Finishing Powder: (Shopped my stash!) I bought this months ago because of a the good reviews -- & for $2, why not?  I didn't really use this until I went on a trip. This powder minimized the look of my pores!  -- For $2!!!  
8. Essence Lash Princess Mascara - False Lash Effect: I heard about this from Young Wild And Polished.  This is a fabulous drugstore mascara! She seems to be the queen of finding really inexpensive kick-butt mascaras!!!
9. MATRIX Oil Wonders Oil Conditioner:  Ulta was having a sale on their large bottles of hair care.  I decided to try this on a whim. I LOVE this!!!  It's not often I find a conditioner I love.  I have long fine hair that's DRY!!!  This conditions my hair beautifully!
10. Sun Bum® 3 In 1 Leave In Hair Conditioning Treatment:  This was also on sale at Ulta.  I wanted to try this because it had SPF in it.  I thought it would be great for traveling.  OMG -- this stuff detangles like a dream!!!  A must for long hair!
11. GOT 2B Glued Blasting Freeze Spray: I have a cowlick in my bangs that causes them to split.  I should have tried this sooner.  I haven't tried every brand of hair spray there is; but, this is the only brand I've tried that really works to keep my bangs in place.  I also use it to keep flyaways from forming when I tie my hair back before going out -- which is every day during summer.  

5 out of 11 favorites were shop my stash items Yay!!!

Ta Ta For Now!

August 17th is Black Cat Appreciation Day

June 2016 Favorites -- Beauty & Bath

1. tarte GRAV3YARDGIRL Swamp Queen Eye & Cheek Palette: I love Grav3yard Girl a.k.a. Bunny.    I had to get this palette when I saw it.  I've created a few looks with this.  It's a very versatile palette.  I do have a couple of complaints about this palette, however, no fault of Bunny's.  The shadows are nicely pigmented; but, have quite a bit of fallout.  I hear the eyeshadows are not up to Tarte's usual standards.  The bronzer/contour is extremely warm and extremely pigmented.  Not quite suited for most people -- but would make an excellent eyeshadow. (Personally I would have made the color more like Wet n Wild's contour.) That being said, I think the palette is very useful and can lend itself to travel as well as many neutral but edgy looks.  I have to wonder, though, why Tarte released that palette if the shadows were not up to their usual standards, when Grav3yard Girl, at the time, had over six million subscribers.  (She now has over seven million.)  Not all of her subcribers -- like me -- have tried Tarte shadows before.  They stand to lose some repeat customers by doing that.
2. Marc Jacobs Beauty Enamored Hi-Shine Nail Lacquer in Petra: I had admired this color for a LONG time!  I finally broke down and got it and was so impressed by how lovely it went on. I don't think I had ever applied my polish so flawlessly before. As they say -- it practically applied itself.  The color is gorgeous also.
3. Hourglass Ambient® Lighting Powder in Luminous Light + IT COSMETICS Celebration Foundation Illumination in Light: My husband and I went on vacation in June and I came back with a bit of a tan.  I found that I could no longer use Wet n Wild's Reserve Your Cabana with my powder foundation.  I decided to try Hourglass's Luminous Light instead (which I've had for almost 3 years).  It worked beautifully.  Luminous Light is not one of those highly metallic highlighters.  It imparts a beautiful glow and helps powder foundation not look dry.  I'm looking forward to using the Hourglass up since I've had it for so long.
4. Becca x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Collection Face Palette:  I'm a sucker for highlighters, especially Becca highlighters.  I never got around to getting Champagne Pop as a single; so, I thought this was an excellent opportunity to get that, along with her newest Proseco Pop & three blushes.  The packaging is so elegant!!!  Champagne Pop has a slight peachy pink tone and Proseco Pop has more of a golden tone. Rose Spritz (blush) reminds me of The Balm's Cindy Lou Manizer a shimmery peachy blush.  Amaretto looks very brown in the palette; but, comes off more peachy-bronze on the skin.  Pamplemousse (which means grapefruit in French), is a beautiful coral.  
5. Ole Henriksen 3 Mini Wonders + Cleanse:  This set contains: 1.5 oz African Red Tea Foaming Cleanser, 0.33 oz Truth Serum Vitamin C Collagen Booster, 0.25 oz Sheer Transformation, 0.25 oz Invigorating Night Treatment: I decided to try this, as I had heard some good things about Ole Henriksen.  I figured everything in the kit was small enough just in case I didn't like it.  BUT -- I found that I loved EVERYTHING!!!  The two things that I am probably going to replace soon are the Invigorating Night Treatment -- but in serum form.  I don't like the idea of dipping into the jar all the time. I also want to replace the African Red Tea Foaming Cleanser, soon.  The Cleanser smells so good -- almost like orange cream!  
6. L.A. Girl HD PRO Primer Eyeshadow Stick: This looked a lot like Kat Von D's eye primer stick (which I have not tried), the consistency seemed similar to MAC's Paint Pots (which I like; but, will not buy anymore until they stop the practice of animal testing), and the fact that it's in a twist up stick makes it convenient for travel or on the go.  I actually like this.  It works great; and, I have no complaints.  
7. MAKEUP GEEK FOILED EYESHADOW PAN - FLAME THROWER:  This is my first Makeup Geek Foiled Eyeshadow.  I love metallic orangey-copper eyeshadows!  This goes on well and stays on well.  After seeing a look Jessica Haze of Mirrors And Haze (YouTube) posted on instagram, I love using it as a pop of color with purple/plum eyeshadows.
8. Morphe Brushes 35P - 35 COLOR PLUM EYESHADOW PALETTE:  This is a great palette.  The colors range from red and royal purple to some neutral and warm browns to help blend.  Theres even a black and a couple of beiges.  Talk about a versaite palette!  Even if one was not inclined to wearing a purple eye on a given day, one could do a barely there makeup look,  a berryish eye look, a dark smokey eye with a lot of black.  So many possibilities.  My favorite way to use this palette is with the purples and add a pop of color in the middle with Makeup Geek's Flame Thrower a la Jessica Haze.  
9. MAKEUP REVOLUTION Ultra Contour Palette:  This is one of those palettes can be used in conjunction with an eyeshadow/blush palette.  The contour shades are not too pigmented and easy to blend.  There are two lighter face powders, one of them being yellow which I find nice for brightening under the eyes or on the nose.  And there are two shimmery highlights -- one of them being extremely shimmery.  A nice possibility for traveling!
10. KVD VS Formula X Nail Polish in Piaf: Named after one of KVD's Sphynx cats.  This is much more purple than the lipstick which is more of a purple taupe.  It's a beautiful color with a little shimmer in it!
11. LA Splash Lip Couture Waterproof Matte Liquid Lipstick in Honey Blonde: This is an interesting color.  It's not a greige, it's more of a mustardy beigy brown.  A color like this can give an interesting warm eye look that extra edge.  L.A. Splash's liquid lipcolors STAY ON!!!  You need to remove it with waterproof makeup remover.
12. MAKEUP REVOLUTION Blush Palette Blush Queen: One of the criticism's of this palette is that at least four of the 8 shades are really similar.  That is actually one of the things I like about this palette.  How many times have I used one color in a palette before all the other ones?  Those four similar colors in the middle are actually my favorite.  So I won't soon have a forgotten about palette with one empty pan in it.
13. Nyx Cosmetics Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in Brooklyn Thorn:  I saw one of my favorite YouTubers, Mirrors And Haze, swatching the new shades of Liquid Suede.  This was my favorite.  It's a beautiful taupey color with a hint of purple in it.
14. Black Moon Cosmetics in Deranged:  This is a beautiful brownish red!  Their liquid lippies smell divine!!!  Like Vanilla Cupcakes!  And the formula is not drying at all.  A great option for those who can't wear the usual matte liquid lip formula; or, for those days when you need some relief from the usual formula.  Not a transfer proof formula, however.  I love liquid lippies because I have a vertical labret piercing and it makes putting on lipstick so much easier (so I love the option of having different types of finishes with them).
15. MAKEUP GEEK FULL SPECTRUM EYE LINER PENCIL - PLUMERIA:  Described by Makeup Geek as: "a deep ripe berry with a smooth matte finish."  I love this pencil when I'm doing an orange or red eyeshadow look!  I love that this is in non-twist up pencil form too.  I never have luck with twist up eyeliner or lip liner.  They always break on me and end up being a waste.   

Ta Ta For Now!

It's Luna!!!