Monthly Favorites: July 2013

My beauty favorites in July

Here are some of the makeup products that I have been obsessed with this month!

The first thing that I thought of is a lipstick. I have been using the same lipstick all month. It is the perfect color for me. Its like my lip color but better! It is the Victoria's Secret Color Drama Lipstick in the color Absolute. I loooooooooooove this lipstick, it is so creamy and smooth. It is also shiny on its own, so I don't even need to add a lipgloss-but I do anyway. It is so pretty and I heart it!

Next are the two lipglosses that I use with the Victoria's Secret lipstick. The first lipgloss is NYX's Mega Shine lipgloss in the color Beige. This color is the exact same color as the lipstick, so they go together perfectly. I love this lipgloss. It has an amazing lasting power, and its not too sticky or runny. And it smells soooooooooo good, just like candy. I can't say enough good things about this lipgloss.

The other lipgloss that also goes perfectly with the lipstick is the Nars lipgloss in the color Turkish Delight. The color is much lighter than the lipstick but I like it because it makes the lips super shiny. Once its blended in with the lipstick it gets a little lighter but it is still sooooo pretty. This lipgloss isn't sticky or runny either, the smell is a little weird, but once it's on the lips you can't smell it anymore.

This next product I rediscovered, it is the Benefit High Beam highlighter. I used to use this product everyday a few years ago, and I loved it. Then I started trying new things and kind of forgot about it for a while. But I recently took it out and started using it again, and I remember why I loved it so much. It is so easy to use. I only use a tiny bit on the top of my cheek bones and a little bit on my cupids bow. It makes my face look glowey and healthy without looking wet, and it doesn't have that awful glitter chunks like some other products tend to have. 

Next is a pressed powder. It is the Revlon Nearly Naked pressed powder. I use the two lightest shades which is "Fair" and "Light." These powders are really affordable but they have a high-end quality to them. They are super smooth and so nice on the face. I use the lightest shade (fair) under my eyes and down the center of my face, that is where I use a light color cream product that is next on this list. I use this so it keeps the center of my face light. Then I use the color "light" on the outside of my face, and that creates a very light natural looking depth, so my face doesn't look one dimensional. I really like the end result with this combination. 

I think this has to be my favorite thing to put on my face. It is the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser Concealer -what a mouth full! I use the lightest color (Fair) to highlight my face. So I apply the concealer to the top of my cheeks, down the center of my face, my chin, and the center of my forehead. Then I just use my foundation brush (sigma F80) and blend it into my foundation. It helps give my face a more flawless look. Once it sets I use the Revlon Nearly Naked powders to set all my hard work. 

This is my all-time favorite lash product. It is the Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara in the color black. This is the best thing ever invented. It has the tiniest brush ever and it coats and gets ever single lash hair with one swipe. It is so easy, it doesn't smudge or come off, it's not flaky and it is sooooo easy to get off when I want to take it off. 

So those were all the products that I have been loving this past month. Let me know what beauty products you couldn't live without for the month of July!

:) 

Neutral Palette Showdown! Part Three

Coastal Scents, Makeup Geek & Lorac Pro 

This is the final post for the Neutral Palette Showdown Review series. If you haven't already, check out part one and two where I review the Urban Decay Naked palettes, my MAC neutral palette, the Victoria's Secret Nakeds palette and the Balms Nude'tude palette. 

This is the start of the end - of this series I mean.
I'm going to start with the Coastal Scents 28 Neutral Palette. I ordered mine from amazon about 2-2.5 years ago. The price on the website is $12.95. Yes, that is correct, I said $12.95. This has to be the cheapest palette that I own.  

This palette comes with, you guessed it, 28 neutral eyeshadow colors. There are matte shadows, shimmery shadows, light and dark. The colors don't have names but here are some photos and swatches.

This was one of the first palettes that I bought way back when I started getting into makeup. I used it all the time, and I have to say I really liked it. I haven't used this palette in a long time because of all the other palettes that I have now. But that doesn't mean it's not amazing. The colors are pigmented and the quality is pretty good. There are so many colors in this palette that you can make a lot of different looks with it. It is definitely a one-stop-shop. The only thing I will say about this palette that I didn't like is that the eyeshadows are a little powdery and so there is some fallout when I apply them. I usually try to tap off as much eyeshadow as I can to minimize the fallout. That is really annoying, especially when using the darker colors.
Over all I really like this palette. It is super affordable and you get a lot of product for your money. I would recommend this to anyone, especially if you are a beginner and are building up your collection. It is also really good to practice with when you don't want to use up your more expensive eyeshadows.

The next palette I'm going to talk about is my Makeup Geek palette. I made this palette myself, just like my Mac palette. I purchased the Makeup Geek eyeshadows from their website, and the palette I put them in is the Z Palette - which is awesome all on its own. Ill talk about that in a future post.
Each eyeshadow pan is $5.99 and I purchased six eyeshadows. The colors that I have are the following:
Cocoa Bear, Taupe Notch, Twilight, Beaches & Cream, Shimma Shimma, & Vanilla Bean.

I got introduced to the Makeup Geek brand from the creator of the makeup line, Marlena. Her Youtube username is Makeup Geek TV. Her tutorials are really nicely made and real easy to follow and to create the same looks. So when I heard she made her own makeup line I was really excited to try them out.
I really like that Makeup Geek sells their eyeshadows in pan form as well as in a compact because you can build your very own custom palette. I have been using these eyshadows for about a month now, so they are still a little new to me. But I am really enjoying them. These eyeshadows are comparable to the Mac eyeshadows. The quality is very nice, they are pigmented and the color payoff on the eyes is amazing. Even though the texture of the eyeshadows is pretty smooth, there is a little bit of fallout with the more shimmery shades. The fallout is very very minimal.
I am really excited about these eyeshadows. I can't wait to try out all the different colors. These eyeshadows are pretty much dupes for the Mac shadows. So if you like good quality products but don't like spending $12 for one eyeshadow, I recommend you try out the Makeup Geek ones, these are only $5.99.

The very last palette that I will be reviewing for this series is the oh-so-famous Lorac Pro Palette. I purchased this palette from the Sephora website. It retails for $42 and you get 16 eyeshadows and a mini Behind the Scenes eyeshadow primer. The top row of shadows are all matte colors, and the bottom row is all shimmery colors. The names are the following:
Top row: White, Cream, Taupe, Light Pink, Mauve, Sable, Espresso & Black
Bottom row: Nude, Champagne, Gold, Lt. Bronze, Pewter, Garnet, Deep Purple & Slate

I purchased this palette about 2-3 weeks ago, so it is still pretty new to me, but I wanted to include this palette in the Nuetral Palette Showdown series because this has been raved and ranted about all over the internet. I think the first person I saw talking about this palette was Kayleigh, check out her Youtube channel ForeverYours0727. She really liked this palette. But that was a really long time ago when the palette actually launched. Fast forward to the present, and I finally took the plunge and bought it.
This palette is different than any other neutral palette I have. What makes it unique to me is that half the eyeshadows are matte, and the other half of the eyeshadows are shimmery. No other palette has ever been this balanced. This is great because the amount of different looks you can make are endless. You have so many options to choose from. I really like this palette. The eyeshdows are really pigmented and the payoff is really good. You really don't need much product to get the color to show up of your eyes.
The only think I didn't like about this palette is that the eyeshadow pans are really small. So you aren't getting a lot of product.
This palette is more of a splurge item, but I think it was worth it. The quality is amazing and the colors are very versatile. So far I am really enjoying coming up with different looks with this palette.


To finish the Neutral Palette Showdown, I'm going to list my favorite neutral palette to least favorite neutral palettes from this series.

1. Mac neutral palette
2. Naked palette - Urban Decay
3. Naked 2 palette - Urban Decay
4. Lorac Pro palette
5. Nude'tude palette - The Balm
6. Makeup Geek neutral palette
7. Coastal Scents 28 Neutral palette
8. Naked Basics palette - Urban Decay
9. Nakeds palette - Victoria secret

I hope you enjoyed this series, I definitely enjoyed writing it.
Hopefully this can help you with what neutral palette you should choose, and if you should splurge or save.

:)

Neutral Palette Showdown! Part Two

MAC, The Naked's & Nude'tude Palettes Review 

Continuing the neutral palette showdown with my reviews of some more neutral eyeshadow palettes. If you haven't already check out part one of this series, I reviewed all of the Urban Decay Naked palettes, so check it out!

So getting right into it, I'm going to start with my custom MAC palette. I purchased all of the eyeshadows and the palette itself off of the MAC website. I picked out all of the eyeshadows over the past year and a half. Each pro palette refill pan costs $12 and I have 19 eyeshadows in my palette. The colors that I have are the following (from top left to bottom right):

Satellite Dreams, Copperplate, Wedge, Twinks, Swiss Chocolate, Folie, Sketch, Satin Taupe, All that Glitters, Mystery, Cork, Soft Brown, Cranberry, Print, Naked Lunch, Brule, Ricepaper, Gesso & Carbon. 

Okay, so on to the actual review now.
This is my favorite palette, part of that is that I chose the colors myself. Mac products in general are extremely good quality and the eyeshadows are amazing. I love all of the colors that I have. I don't always use all of the colors though, but this is my most used palette hands down. When I get ready in the mornings this is the palette I reach for every time. Even if I use a different palette I always add a little Mac eyeshadow to my looks.
The matte shades are by far my favorite finish but I don't have complaints about the pearl/satin finish. My absolute favorite eyeshadows in this palette are Mystery, Cork, Wedge, Satin Taupe, and Naked Lunch. I also use Mystery as my eyebrow powder, at it works perfectly.
I would absolutely recommend MAC eyeshadows for everyone. They are a bit pricey but it is definitely worth it. The eyeshadows are pretty decently sized and they last a long time. I have hit pan on three of my eyeshadows (you can see in the picture) because I use them every single day, and I will be repurchasing them when I run out.

Next on my list to review us Victoria's Secret the Naked's palette.
I purchased this at Victoria's Secret for $28. I think if you wanted to buy this you would have to go into the store because I couldn't find it on the website. There are 10 eyeshadow's in this palette. It also comes with a black pencil liner and a dua-ended brush. The colors in the palette are the following:
Barely Pink, Copper Sand, Graystone, Brown Sable, Sparkling Black, Warm Vanilla, Tawny Pink, Smoky Lilac, Sparkling Brown and Charcoal Black.

This palette was very disappointing. I love the Victoria's Secret bath and lotion products so I thought I would give their cosmetics a try. Needless to say this palette made me change my mind. The colors in the palette are really pretty, but the inside of the palette just looked cheap. The dual-ended brush was the same on both ends, and the quality was pretty much garbage. Also the eyeliner was really hard to use, if I wanted the color to show up I would have to press really hard. So the eyeliner wasn't good either.
Now onto the eyeshadow itself, like I said the colors in the palette looked really good. But then I started using them. They eyeshadows are not pigmented at all, and when I tried to pack it on to try and get some color payoff there was so much fallout it was ridiculous. The light colors were all the same on my skin tone and the darker shadows were not pigmented. There was also way too much shimmer/glitter in the shadows, which just made more fallout.
I really tried to give this palette a chance but it just didn't work for me. I would not recommend this palette just from my experience with it. I think it was just a waste of money to be honest. The only thing that I like about it is the outside packaging.

The last palette that I'm going to review for this post is The Balms Nude'tude palette. I purchased this from their website and it was $36. This palette comes with 12 eyeshadows the colors are the following with the finish in parenthesis:
Top row-Sassy (satin), Selfish (satin), Sophisticated (satin), Sexy (matte), Serious (matte).
Bottom row-Snobby (frost), Standoffish (frost), Sultry (matte), Schitzo (satin), Silly (matte), Sleek (matte)

I really like this palette. It is much slimmer than some of the other palettes I have talked about mainly the Naked palettes. It has a magnetic closure so its nice for traveling. The actual eyeshadow pans are a bit smaller than most other eyeshadow pans.
The colors in the palette are very impressive. Before I purchased this palette, I had never tried any products from The Balm. So i wasn't really expecting much. But like I said I was really impressed, the eyeshadows are very nicely pigmented and the payoff on the eyes is amazing. I would definitely say that these eyeshadows compare very well to higher end shadows. There is a nice range of colors too, there are a bunch of different lighter shades that are great for highlighting. Then there are some bronze colors in there that are perfect for an everyday look. And lastly the darker sexier shades that are great for a smokey eye. There are a few colors that are a little glittery which causes some fallout but its not too bad. I usually tap off the brush so I minimize the fallout.
Overall I really like this palette. Its also a nice cheaper neutral palette when you don't want to spend $50 plus on a palette. I would highly recommend this palette because the quality is pretty close to higher end products.

So this is the end for part two of the neutral palette showdown. I hope these reviews are helpful.
In the next blog post I'm going to review some drugstore and more inexpensive palettes. They are the wet'n wild palette, a Coastal Sense palette, and the Makeupgeek eyeshadows.

:)

Neutral Palette Showdown! Part One

Urban Decay Naked Palette(s) Review

Neutral, Nude, Naked, we have heard it all. This is a trend that is not going anywhere anytime fast. Neutral eyeshadow palettes are everywhere lately, and lots of different makeup brands are making them now. The colors range from white to cream, brown, grey to black, and every other color in those ranges.

Neutral colors are so popular because the colors are flattering on everyone, from different eye shapes to different skin tones, you can't go wrong with neutrals. The colors are also very versatile, you can create an everyday look, and then you can switch it up and go glam with a classic smokey eye.

The neutral eyeshadow colors are by far my favorite to use all the time. I love it.
So what's out there? What palettes are the best? Which palettes aren't that great? What you shouldn't waste you're money on.

Like I said, I love the neutral colors so I have tried quite a few neutral palettes. The first palette I'm going to review is the first one that I bought: the Urban Decay Naked Palette.
This palette retails for $50 and I purchased it at Sephora. This palette comes with 12 eyeshadow colors, a synthetic shader brush, and a mini primer potion.
The colors from left to right: Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep & Gunmetal.
I loooooove this palette, I would say this is one of my favorites. The eyeshadows are very pigmented, they are decently sized so they last you a long time, and they last a long time on my eyes. Even if its been a really long day and I work out and life happens, the eyeshadows do not budge.
This palette is mostly warm tone, which compliments my skin tone perfectly. My absolute favorite colors from this palette are Virgin, Sin, Naked, Buck and Darkhorse, They are so perfect together and are my go-to looks in the morning.

The only thing that I dont like about this palette is that there are way too many glittery/shimmery colors, and only 2 shadows that are matte. The shimmery colors are a tiny bit chunky and that gives me a little fallout.
Overall this palette is a winner. There are a ton of different looks that you can create and very handy for traveling. I would recommend this palette to everyone. It is amazing.

The next palette I'm going to review is of course the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette.
This palette is very similar to the original Naked palette. It retails for $50 and also has 12 eyeshadow colors. I also purchased this palette from Sephora. The palette also includes a double sided synthetic brush, one side has a shader brush, and the other is a blending brush, and it also comes with mini Lip Junkie lipgloss in the color naked.The colors that are in the palette from left to right are: Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted and Blackout.

The main difference between Naked and Naked 2 is the undertone of the eyeshadows. The Naked palette has mostly warm tone colors. The Naked 2 palette has mostly cool tone colors. The majority of the colors in this palette are glittery/shimmery (like the original) with only 3 of the 12 that are matte.
Before I purchased this palette I thought about it for a long time, because I already had the original Naked palette, and I didn't want to spend all that money if it was going to be the same. I saw a lot of reviews of this palette on Youtube, and finally I decided to buy it. And I am glad I did, because the palette is different from the original Naked palette. The colors are pigmented and are long lasting. It's very versatile, you can create so many different looks. It's definitely a one-stop-shop for any look, you will have everything you need in this palette. If you are a makeup addict like I am, you should buy it. I like this palette but I don't love it. I prefer the original Naked just because the warmer tones complement my yellow undertones better.

The last nude palette I'm going to review is also from Urban Decay (surprise, surprise) and it is their Naked Basics Palette. I must say that I got sucked into buying this product just because it was another Naked palette from Urban Decay. And I just couldn't resist.
This palette retails for $27 and has 6 eyeshadow colors. This palette was marketed to be an all matte palette that compliments the other two Naked palettes. The first color isn't really a matte though, it has more of a frost finish (on the Urban decay site they say that this color is a demi-matte), but all the other colors are matte. I especially liked that aspect of it because the Naked and Naked 2 palettes have mostly shimmery/glittery colors. The colors in the palette are the following: Venus, Foxy, W.O.S., Naked 2, Faint and Crave.

At first I really was exited about this palette. It's small which makes it perfect for travel or carrying it in my purse, you know, just in case. It looked pretty straight forward to use and the colors are nude, which by now you know that I'm obsessed with. But once I started using it I realized that the eyeshadows are very chalky and powdery, I thought it was just because they are matte colors. But I have matte colors from other cosmetic companies and they are not as chalky as these. Also the lighter colors in the palette are really similar, so even if I pack on one of the lighter colors and apply the next shade over there isn't really a distinction. It might be because I have a lighter skin tone. But the only colors that really show up on me are Venus (because of the frost finish,) Faint, and Crave (which are the two darkest shades.)
That made me sad because I really wanted to love this palette. When I am getting ready in the morning I find myself not reaching for this palette at all.
Overall I'm a little bit disappointed because the Naked and Naked 2 are such good palettes and I wanted the Naked Basics to be equally as amazing. Sad to say but it's not. I would recommend you not to buy it, just based on my experience with it. I think there are better neutral palettes out there. Don't just buy a product because of the company that makes it, which was my mistake. I would also recommend that if you really want a product not just eyeshadows, to go check them out at the store because there you can swatch and actually see how a color will look on you're skin.  

So that's the end for this part of my Neutral Palette Showdown. On the next blog post I will be continuing this series of reviews with my Mac Neutral Palette, the Victoria Secret The Nakeds, and The Balms Nude'tude palette.

Thanks for reading, and I hope all these reviews help you in making the plunge (or not) on buying really expensive things to put on you're face (or not.)

:)