Fashion Post: Stitch Fix #6

Hi all! Recently I got another Stitch Fix for some fall transition items and because it's been over a month since I've gotten one. I know there's a Stitch Fix missing, I deleted my pics for Fix #5 for some reason but that was all dresses for the 2 weddings I attended this summer.

With this Fix, I specifically asked for three things: a medium sized, dark colored purse; a pair of plum colored skinny jeans and the Helena Gemstone Chain bracelet that I saw on Pinterest. I didn't get what I was expecting BUT this Fix wasn't a complete waste. Let me explain:

Urban Expressions Aiden Zipper Detail Satchel

I'm going to start with the most disappointing item I received, the purse. First, I have no love for fringed items and this purse has awkwardly placed fringe or dangles, however you want to see it. Love the navy color of this purse, it's too bad that it had these weird fringe things hanging from it.

Top: Laila Jayde Kneene Knit top

Bottoms: Just Black Jimmy Skinny Jeans

Close up of Laila Jayde Knit Top

I love the pattern of this shirt, but it was too baggy on me. It doesn't flatter my figure very well and it's really snug at the bottom, which accentuates my hips (something that I'm not looking to do). The jeans I didn't keep because I already have like 4 pairs of dark blue skinny jeans and I don't really need another. They're really comfortable and fit true to size. Both of these items ended up going back.

Loveappella Milo Knit Top

Back 

Pulling this shirt out of the box, I immediately fell in love with the pattern. It's a soft and comfortable top that's kind of fitted but not super tight. I love the keyhole in the back too, lets the tattoo between my shoulder blades peek through. This one I definitely kept, here's to hoping this warm weather sticks around for a bit so I can wear this before putting a sweater over it to keep wearing it through the fall.

Bay to Baubles Zephyr Stone Stretch Bracelet

At first, I didn't think I'd like this bracelet, until I put it on. The bracelet just pops against my skin and it's the perfect size for my wrist, I usually have a hard time keeping these "one size" stretchy bracelets on my small wrist. Bonus: I just bought a turquoise bead necklace that almost matches the blue in this bracelet, win!

Out of the five items, I kept 2. Not a total loss but I was hoping for more that I kept since I was specific about what I wanted in the Fix. Here;s to hoping the next one is better!

xoxo

Shell

Fall Fashion Haul 2015 (Nordstrom and Target)

Hi all! Over the past month, I got a little antsy with all the pretty new fall clothing coming out and decided to grab a few basics before all the good stuff was gone. Thank you Target for starting this "buy for fall" spree I had....

I put together a few outfits that I found with tops from Target and jeans I got online from Nordstrom. I had found the brand Vigoss back in my high school days for the one year our JcPenney's carried it in store and fell in love with their jeans. I still have that pair of pants, 10 years later, and they're starting to not fit so I was tripping over myself to get some skinny jeans from them when I found them on clearance on Nordstrom's website. Ahhh....I missed Vigoss so bad....

Now that I've been sidetracked, here's what I put together.

Outfit 1: Camo and Combat Boots

Not the best picture, my hair is crazy frizzy right now...

That's better!

Close up of the camo tshirt

Details:
Camo Tshirt: Mossimo brand (got it on sale 2 for $16) from Target
Pants: Vigoss The Jagger Skinny Jeans, light wash (on clearance for $44.40) from Nordstrom
Boots: 2 year old K9 Combat boots from JcPenney

This is a nice laid back outfit for just everyday. I've never really worn combat boots with skinny jeans before, but I do kind of like this look. I'm trying to step out of my comfort zone with fashion and stop wearing just sweatshirts, tshirts, jeans and tennis shoes (I'm pretty easy going that way lol)

Outfit 2: Comfy flannel and cowboy boots

Full outfit

Close up of the shirt

From the side

Details:

Flannel top: Mossimo, $25, from Target

Jeans: Vigoss Release Hem Skinny Jeans (on clearance for $40.80) from Nordstrom

Boots: Ariat Sahara Over the Knee Boots (bought in Florida on vacation), $229.95 on Ariat's website

This is such a country outfit! The flannel is SO soft! I was super surprised and I'm sure I'll be wearing this a lot next month! The boots are really comfortable and can easily be worn all day without being in pain, the jeans aren't super stretchy and fit really well and true to size.

Outfit 3: Cozy Sweater Cardigan

Front

Side 

Knee Detail (what sucked me into this pair of jeans)

Details:

White Tshirt: Mossimo (also got 2 for $16) from Target

Cardigan: Mossimo Open Layering Hachi Cardigan, $22.99, from Target

Jeans: Vigoss The Jagger Skinny Jean, $44.40, from Nordstrom

Boots: Mossimo from Black Friday last year at Target

This is a casual outfit but can easily be dressed up with jewelry or a different top underneath the cardigan. I wasn't sure about the cardigan at first, my 9 year old son talked me into it, and I do have to say I like it a lot more than I thought I would! It's definitely comfortable and very easy to layer with thirts, tank tops, whatever you want!

Outfit 4: Dolman top and tomboy jeans

Front

Side view

Details:

Top: Dolman top from a Stitch Fix last year

Jeans: Vigoss Tomboy Distressed Jeans, $59.00, from Nordstrom

Shoes: old ballet flats

Another quick and casual outfit that can easily be dressed up with heels and jewelry. I love this top and these jeans are quickly becoming my favorite boyfriend jeans! So comfortable and I can unroll the hem so they cover my ankle (the other pairs I have stitched the hem together so you can't unroll it all the way).

That's all I've purchased for now, most of it was cheap or something I had already in my closet. The jeans were something I needed besides my usual bootcut's. Like I said, trying to shake my closet up a bit ;)

xoxo,

Shell

Review: Neutrogena Healthy Skin Blush

Hi all! This last month I received an excellent opportunity from Crowdtap to sample Neutrogena's new Healthy Skin blush. I had already owned the shade Rosy since they were released but I wanted to try different colors (and who says no to free makeup?!?) so I accepted.

From Corwdtap, I received the shade Flushed that I thought at first was too bright for me, as you can see it pretty much matches the red card they sent with it. However, it's a beautiful color that would work well with all skin tones. It blends beautifully and is pretty pigmented but not enough to where you look like a clown (I've tried a few like that, all the blending in the world doesn't take away over done blush....). This formula lasts all say and even stay put through hot and humid days! I was very impressed with this blush and will be buying the last few shades left in the range! Here are the swatches of both colors I have:

Top: Rosy (10), Bottom: Flushed (30)

There are five shades in the range (three blush, one bronzer and one highlight shade) and they're priced at $8.49.

xoxo
Shell

Anastasia Beverly Hill Artist Palette: Review and Look

Hi all! About a month ago, I caved and bought the Anastasia Beverly Hills Artist Palette after drooling over it in the store since it came out. This palette is currently available online at Sephora but I know it's not in my local Ulta so you might have to hunt this down if you don't have it yet.

At first, I wasn't going to buy this palette. The shadows at the store were chalky and barely had any pigment. I had seen quite a few videos on the palette and I just LOVED the colors so I finally caved when I heard they were coming out with another palette. I was honestly surprised that the palette I got was much better than the one I had swatched in the store! Hallelujah! I immediately started playing with it and I don't regret this purchase one bit. A white primer or cream shadow underneath definitely help the pigmentation of the shadows, some do have little pigmentation but if you work with them, you get a good look out of it.

This is a look I did using Phresh (yellow, lid), Orange You Fancy (crease) and Punch Fuchsia (lower lash line).

I do love my colors, especially in the summer!

xoxo
Shell

July Favorites!

Hi all! Man, July flew by fast! I never stopped moving it seems (my lack of blog posts proves my point LOL). I only have a few items this month that stood out to me and weren't repeats from last month. It was a mild month at first, then it got HOT and HUMID and ick...but these products held up to all of this and most of them traveled with me on my many summer adventures this month.

Not that you can really see this swatch because it just barely gives my skin a glow, this is Marc Jacobs Beauty Shamless Bold blush in Obsessed. And let me say, I've been obsessed since I got it! It's not too bold, it's a light pink with some gold shimmer to it. It reminds me of NARS Orgasm but much better in my opinion. I haven't used powder blush in a long time (like March) and I wanted to break a few back out and immediately remembered why I love this blush so much!

My poor skin has been suffering this last month thanks to the extreme temperature fluctuations. This hydrating primer from Make Up For Ever was a lifesaver on the days my face felt so dry I was surprised it didn't crack! It has the texture of a light lotion but helps make sure your makeup stays in place all day as well as taming the dryness in your skin.

I was iffy when I bought this but I've started to love this Yves Saint Laurent Volupte Tint-in-Oil lip gloss in Pink About Me. This is a beautiful "your lips but better" type color and it helped immensly in hydrating my poor, parched lips (do you see a dry theme going on here? Yeah, July was rough lol). This is currently in my purse and it's been travelling with me since the beginning of July. It's not going anywhere anytime soon.

I know I haven't had this long, but it quickly found it's way into my favorites list this month. Along with dryness, my skin has broke out a lot this month thanks to a medical issue I've got going on right now. This Too Faced Born This Way foundation was the perfect coverage to help hide all my blemishes and to make my face look bright and flawless. I cannot thank this foundation enough this month!!

That's all for this month. I'm sure August will be a blast and over too soon since Summer is almost over *cries*

xoxo
Shell

BIRTHDAY HAUL!!!!

Hi all! I recently had a birthday and treated myself to a few items courtesy of my Birchbox points and a coupon and a gift card from Sephora! Happy Birthday to me!!!

I'll start with Sephora:

Left: Sephora Collection Oil Infusion and Care in Iced Coffee

Right: Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Mother

The Sephora Oil Infusion and Care, I'm a bit iffy on so far, it seems to dry out my lips quite a bit, might be the humidity, might be the formula. We'll see. Expect a side by side comparison of this and the YSL tint-in-oil I splurged on a while ago. I think this is Sephora's response to that, which is why I ordered it :)
Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick is probably, hands down, my favorite liquid lipstick that I've tried so far. It dries matte but doesn't really dry your lips out, the color lasts HOURS and it's just such a smooth and beautiful formula...well worth the $20. This color is one of her new ones and it's a dusty mauve color that is just perfect.

Ahh...the Make Up For Ever Jamie Chung Palette...as soon as I saw this on the website I had to have it. I haven't tried the new formulation of MUFE's Artist Shadows yet and this was a good excuse to try them. The colors are more cool toned and all but the white shade has some shimmer/metallic look to them. They blend together very well and the one time I've worn them, they held up really well. The one thing I don't really care for is the packaging, the shadows are pretty much free floating in the foam and you can easily shake them out. I think I might switch these shadows to a Z Palette where they'll be more secure...

Top to Bottom: NARS Velvet Matte Pencil in Cruella, NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien and NARS Larger Than Life Eyeliner in Via Veneto

So every year at Sephora, they have these little free birthday kits for you if you place an order online or if you're lucky enough to live close to the store, you can go pick one up there. I love NARS products and this set was perfect. The eyeliner is exclusive to VIB Rouge members, the lip pencils are for everyone. They come in little mini sizes but that's perfect for me, I switch lip colors all the time and wouldn't be able to tell you if I've ever actually finished a lipstick...

And finally, with a promo code (my bff when shopping any website!), I got a deluxe sample of Clinique's Acne Solutions BB Cream. Although, this is more like "acne solutions bb water"...it is extremely watery but intensely pigmented. I can get medium coverage out of this and the color I got was Light Medium and it matches fairly well. There is no salicylic acid or other acne treatments in this, the "acne solutions" part just shows that it doesn't clog pores and is oil free. I still had to set this the one time I've used this so far, most other BB Creams I've used, I haven't had to.

Now to Birchbox:

Top to Bottom: Smith & Cult The Graduate, She Said Yeah

I am a sucker for pretty packaging and this polish packaging is preeeetttttyyy. I just love it. The polish colors I love too, of course, that's why I got them! The Graduate is a grayish nude color (as seen in the pictures above, I have both colors on my nails) and She Said Yeah is a periwinkle color. I was impressed with how these applied, The Graduate being thicker than She Said Yeah which made it difficult to apply, the humidity didn't help either. I've had these on my nails for about 5 days now and they're already starting to chip at the tips...I'll still use them tho, all my other polish does the same, I rough on my nails.

Top to Bottom: Cynthia Rowley Creamy Lipstains in Poppy, Sugar, Dahlia, Heartthrob

I got the Cynthia Rowley Creamy Lipstain in Valentine in February this year so when I saw this little mini set of 3, I just had to try out these other colors. I used their free 2 samples code and got the shade Poppy with the set. These are very moisturizing and do leave a very flattering stain on the lips. These little guys can also be used as a cream blush which I also love to use them for. You can go sheer with these or you can layer them on and get a bolder color. I don't have a favorite as of now, but I'm sure Dahlia and Heartthrob will be making lots of appearances for fall.

I bought this Balance Me Super Toning Body Oil because I've been wanting to try a body oil and when this one said it could help even out skin tone and help get rid of cellulite and all natural products??? Hell yeah, sign me up! I've been using this for about a week now, can't say it's doing anything for my cellulite but it makes my skin all glowy and healthy looking and just all over amazing. All pluses in my book!

And then I got these bad boys at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale:

Kate Spade Glitter Studs! Bigger than I expected BUT amazing in all ways.

And that's all folks! For this round anyways!

xoxo
Shell

Laid Back Summer Outfit

Hi all! Over this last weekend, it was my birthday as well as my high school 10 year class reunion. This comfortable outfit I put together kept me cool and with the added chambray button up, when it got cooler as the night went on, it was an easy way to add layers and stay warm.

The chambray top and black and white striped dress are from Target. Sandals are old Candies ones I got a Kohl's about 4 years ago (back when gladiator sandals were first coming out).

For my makeup, I paired this look with a red lipstick (ColourPop's Bossy) and neutral smoky eye (light grays and silvers using Lorac's Pro Palette), more of a natural looking blush (light peachy pink, Neutrogena's Healthy Skin Blush in Rosy), and a nice sparkly highlight (Becca's Opal).

I'm going to try to incorporate more posts like this in my blog, give you guys some fashion/makeup ideas for fun outfits or just day to day looks. Hope you enjoy these types of posts!

xoxo
Shell

Electric Eyes: Look of the Day

Hi all! It's friggen hot outside today so I thought I'd play with some "hot" colors! I busted out my Urban Decay Electric Palette and put together this look. I got the idea from a Pinterest post I found awhile back that I just hadn't had a chance to sit down and recreate yet. Hope you enjoy!

On the lid: Gonzo (inner corner) blended into Chaos (rest of lid), Revolt (inner corner highlight)

In the crease (in order that I applied): Urban (purple), Jilted (fuchsia) and Savage (hot pink)

I followed the same pattern when applying to lower lash line.

Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper for my wing, Nars Larger Than Life eyeliner in Via Vento (waterline)
Armani Eyes to Kill mascara
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Pen in Universal Deep
L'Oreal Brow Stylist Plumper in Medium to Dark

xoxo
Shell

Major Ulta Points Redemption Haul!!!!

Hi all! So I was a good girl (or naughty, depending on how you look at it LOL) and saved up my Ulta Rewards points and went on a bit of a spending spree. I was saving to get the new Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette and I still had points left over so I just decided to blow them all and get some other new stuff to try out! Most of this is high end but I did get two drug store eye liners and a peel off mask. On to the haul!!

Freeman Feeling Beautiful Cucumber Peel-Off Mask: I'm kind of addicted to these Freeman masks, $4.99 for a lot of applications and your face feels amazing afterwards. This one is a calming mask that also clarifies your pores at the same time. 10/10 so far in my book!
Urban Decay Revolution High-Color Lipgloss in Scandal: I was just randomly swatching these lipglosses because I wanted a new lipgloss and as soon as I got to Scandal, I just stopped swatching and grabbed one off the shelf. It's a slightly sheer hot pink that's a "your lips but brighter and better" color and it instantly screamed summer to me. After I bought it, I put it on in the car and was disappointed in how sticky it was. It's extremely off putting to me BUT I love the color so much I'm going to suck it up and wear the hell out of it.

New Releases!!!

Rimmel Exaggerate Smoke n' Shine eyeliner in Purple Craze: Love the color but it has like no staying power. I put it on my waterline and it was gone in the 20 minutes it took me to get to work...I haven't tried to use it as a top lid eyeliner yet, I stick with my Kat Von D Tattoo liner 90% of the time. Still working with this product, I love the color too much to just return it.
Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Pencil in Cashmere White: I saw this in an ad in a magazine at work and just had to get my hands on at least one of these. There's not a lot of shades (5 in total: white, cobalt blue, charcoal, black and brown) and I've always wanted a white eyeliner so I grabbed this one. The pigmentation is amazing AND when you blend it out the color still stays pretty well, doesn't sheer out very well. It stays all day (haven't used in my waterline, yet) but removes easily at the end of the day.

Top to Bottom: UD Revolution Lipgloss in Scandal; Rimmel liner in Purple Craze; Maybelline white gel pencil liner

Now, the two new high end products I've been dying to get my hands on: Too Faced Born This Way Foundation and Urban Decay's Naked Smoky Palette.

I was really skeptical about this foundation because I haven't really heard much about it besides that it's "amazeballs" and I "had to get my hands on it" from other beauty bloggers I follow. Usually when everyone says it's amazing, it's usually a fail in my book. This was one of those rare occasions that when everyone says it's amazing, I think so too! It blends in beautifully and the finish looks almost identical to bare skin! I've been looking for a foundation that does that my whole makeup life! I barely need a pump to cover my whole face in a light to medium coverage but you can build it up to full coverage by adding more layers. I'm not really a full coverage gal tho so I haven't built it up to that level of coverage, I'm just going by Too Faced's claims. I got color matched in the store and I'm the shade Nude which is a 98% match for my skin tone. This does pull more of a yellow tone to it so if you have pink undertones, definitely go get matched in a store.

That packaging gets me every time *sigh*

Ahhh...the highly coveted Naked Smoky Palette. How I love and yet hate thee....

We'll start with the cons: most of the shades are glittery or have a sheen to them, you only have 4 matte shades out of 12 and I personally would have liked a light warm toned matte to use in my crease. With the glittery shades you do get fall out, so be careful using them if you do your face makeup first. Overall, I would like more warm tones but I'm a warm tones kind of gal but that sure didn't stop me from cashing in my points on this!

Pros: they do give you a lot of good color combos to make a really cool looking smoky eye. All the shades blend well and don't really disappear too much when you blend them out (blending is key to a good smoky eye!). The brush is amazing too, the smokey smudger definitely comes in handy when blending out the bottom lashline and smoking out any part of your look.

Hope these first impressions help you in your decision making process! Which of these new products are you most excited to try? Let me know in the comments below!!

xoxo

Shell

Battle of the Boxes: July 2015 Birchbox and Ipsy

Hi all! Welcome back to Battle of the Boxes Round 2! Honestly, this month I wasn't impressed with the boxes as a whole, but there were a few stand out products between the two. So we'll just hop to it!

First up, Ipsy

Crown Brush Tweezers: Full sized, $17.95. These are good tweezers, gets the job done.
City Color HD Powder: 4.0 grams, full size 7.0 grams for $5.99. Good setting powder, works just as good as high end ones I've tried. It is translucent so you don't see it on top of your foundation.
Nudestix Magnetic Eye Color in Gilt: Full size (0.10 oz) with sharpener, $24. I'm not going to lie, I'm a cream shadow junkie. When I got this I was extremely excited to try this out. It is a light gold color with some sparkles. It just looks amazing on my skin and against my green eyes. I'm sure this would double as a lovely highlight color too! It wears throughout the whole day without creasing or loosing too much color. Here's a swatch of it:

It was love at first swatch. *drools*
pur~lisse pur-bright ultra skin brightening serum: 0.34 oz, full sized 1.0 oz $76. I love the way this serum feels on my skin, I use it in the morning before my moisturizer. I've only had it a week so I can't say if it's doing anything or if I'm going to be dropping $76 on a full size (my skin better glow from the inside out for $76...)
Classico by Jor'el Parker: Full size, 0.3 oz, $21. Honestly, I hate this scent. Way too flowery for me, it makes me gag just taking a small whiff, I'm more of a clean or musky scent kind of girl (I've been known to wear guy's cologne once in a while). This was a definite miss for me.

And now, Birchbox

StriVectin-AR Advanced Retinol Eye Treatment: 0.17 oz, full size (0.5 oz) $75. It's a very creamy and deeply moisturizing eye cream but I don't feel it's worth the $75 to me. I'm all about preventing wrinkles but I'm not sure I'm ready for retinol just yet, maybe in a few years after I hit the big 3-0.
Dr. Jart Ceramidin Liquid: 0.3 oz, full size (5 oz) $39. I've used this a few times, I'm not too impressed with it, I didn't feel like this did anything for my skin. This is supposed to be used as a serum followed by a moisturizer which is what I did. Maybe it's just not for my skin...it happens.
Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant: 0.25 oz, full size (2 oz) $78. It's a good, gritty scrub but it's too harsh for my skin. I ended up breaking out a bit with this after I tried it sadly (not so sad because of that price tag....)
Oribe Apres Beach Wave and Shine Spray: 1.0 oz, full size (8.5 oz) $39. Love love love the smell of this! And it lasts well after you first apply it. I'm still working on how to use this exactly but it does have good hold to it and it does make my hair shiny. I already have curly/wavy hair so for me it's more like a hairspray but it's supposed to make it curl more, if I read correctly?? (I probably didn't, I sprayed it and smelled it and just started using it lol)
Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Venezia: 0.05 oz, full size (0.10 oz) $24. Love the bright pinky coral color but unfortunately, after drying this cracked and started to crumble every time I moved my lips...I plan to play with it and try to get it to work for me...I like it that much!
FULL SIZE PRODUCTS:
Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara: $20. Got this as a sample from Sephora a while ago and fell in love. Ironically, I was just thinking about ordering one when I got this in my Birchbox. It gives wonderful volume and separates lashes beautifully. This one is definitely going to be in my rotation on a regular basis.
Laura Geller Bronze-n-Brighten in Medium: $33. I personally find it funny that they sent me the darkest shade of this and yet it still barely shows up on my skin! However, it does give an amazing glow to the cheeks. I use it like a blush, lightly sweeping it over the apples of my cheeks and then blend a blush over it and I look like I just got out of the sun. It's amazing. It's not too sparkly but you can see the "highlight" properties of this product.

Left: Laura Gellar Bronze-n-Brighten in Medium; Right: Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Venezia

why did they both send me lots of expensive skin care?!? I don't have $75 to drop on that LOL.

The winner: Birchbox! Mainly for the two full size products I received in my upgrade. The Nudestix from Ipsy did make that bag worth what I paid for it but Birchbox still wins, hands down.

If you want to give either of these subscriptions a shot, below are my personal reference links.
Birchbox: https://www.birchbox.com/invite/6dppz
Ipsy: https://www.ipsy.com/new?refer=4ydj

xoxo,
Shell