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

How to look wide awake on minimal zzzzzzz.....

Hi all! So last night I slept really crappy, I mean like 4 hours extremely interrupted crappy sleep. However, you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at me (unless you caught me yawning). This is the wonderful power of select products. And I'm about to share with you my secret.

First, I started with my normal moisturizer (currently it's Murad's Anti Aging Moisturizer SPF 20 for blemish prone skin) then used a depuffing eye cream (I like Simple's Revitalizing Eye Roll On, the metal ball feels amazing on puffy tired eyes!). Next I started with my makeup, picking a hydrating primer (MUFE Step 1 Hydrating Primer) and I mixed it with my Cover FX Custom Coverage drops (I'm in the color N25) to give a nice flawless base. I didn't want to over use my concealer today so I picked a light weight but very pigmented concealer a few shades lighter than my skin tone to cover up the dark circles and brighten up my eye area (I used Maybelline Master Conceal Camouflaging Concealer in 10 fair). Then I set my whole face with a lightweight powder (I used Rimmel's Stay Matte Powder). Next up, highlight and blush. I also didn't want to go overboard with the highlight because sometimes what you think is helping, makes things worse...I took L'Oreal's True Match Lumi Rose Liquid Glow Illuminator just on the tops of my cheeks and followed with Mally's Liquid Face Defender Blush in Mimosa to give a healthy, wide awake glow to the apples of my cheeks. Next up, the eyes. I just put a tinted brow gel in to keep my unruly brows in place (I used my normal L'Oreal Paris Brow Stylist Plumper in Medium to Dark). Then I used an eye primer (Urban Decay Eye Primer Potion in Enigma) followed by ColourPop's Play super shock shadow in my crease and put their Mirage shadow on my lids. I chose these colors for the way they complement my skin tone and make my eyes look big and awake, you can use different colors that work well with your skin and eye color. I finished off my look with my normal cat eye liner (Kat Von D Tattoo liner in Trooper) and curled my lashes before applying mascara (Armani Eyes to Kill Classic Black). Put on some pink lip gloss and I'm all set!

After this, all I need to face the day is a good strong cup of coffee....

xoxo
Shell

June 2015 Favorites!

Hi all! Sorry I've been MIA a lot this month, I've got a lot going on and like no down time. However, I did find some time to put together my favorites from this month! I've been travelling a lot lately and these beauty/hair items have been with me every time I leave home this month. Let's get to it!

First, let's take a moment to talk about my holy grail, all time favorite liquid liner EVER. Kat Von D's Tattoo Liner in Trooper. I found this when I first really started to get into high end makeup and discovered Sephora. I really wanted to learn how to do the perfect cat eye and an employee told me to give it a shot. It has a brush tip so it's easier to use for beginners and the formula doesn't budge once it's on. I've gotten pretty close to the outer corner of my eye when doing a cat eye and that did run a little, but after I wiped that part away, it stayed. Whenever I open a new one, I'm on Sephora's website ordering another one because I just can't run out, it's that good!

Now, on vacation, I got a little burnt then a lotta tan. Sadly, this meant none of my foundations matched me anymore so I "had" to go buy a new one. I had heard lots of great things about stick foundations for the summer time so I decided to give the Revlon Photoready Insta-Fix Foundation stick a shot. Ironically, the shade that matched my tan is 170 Golden Beige which is like 3 shades from their darkest color. I'm not THAT tan...so this is not going to be something good for dark complected people. However, I love it! I use my Real Techniques sponge and blend it out and it makes me look flawless! And I don't feel like a big sweaty grease ball at the end of the day, bonus! I might have to try their liquid foundation when fall time comes!

In the heat, you need an eye shadow primer that keeps everything on lock down and on your lids. I've always been a fan of Urban Decay's original Primer Potion but I ventured out and tried other brands to see what was all out there. Then, Urban Decay released a limited edition color called Enigma and I came crawling back to Urban Decay. It's a pretty mauve color straight out of the tube but once you blend it out, it's more of a light mauve. In the picture above, on the left is blended out and on the right is straight off the wand.

I bought this mascara on a whim and it's becoming a favorite of mine (minus the price). It's Armani Eyes To Kill Classic Mascara. It's not waterproof but it doesn't run. It's not a very wet formula but it's easy to build on layers if you need to without being clumpy. If I put it on my bottom lashes, it does leave little dots on my under eye area, but that's because I have long bottom lashes. Not sure if I'd repurchase this again, unless it's on sale again, but I'm loving it while I have it!

I love gold toned highlighters for the summer! My current favorite is Lunch Money by ColourPop. It just gives such a nice glow to the cheeks with a hint of sparkle. It's a cream like formula too so it blends in really well and just looks amazing. And it stays all day! Bonus for hot summer months!

I have been using this night cream for about 2 months now and I'm almost out. It's lightweight but really moisturizing which is what my dry skin needs. This Garnier Miracle Sleeping Cream is some damn good stuff. I wouldn't say it works miracles, I thankfully don't have wrinkles and I'm 110% for prevention!

Normally, I'm all about color eye shadow but this month I've been going more neutral in my eye looks. I busted out all of my Urban Decay Naked Palettes (yes, I depotted them and put them all into one neat and tidy place, best decision ever!) and haven't really looked back yet. You can create any look you want with these shadows (smokey, glam, subtle, etc). I just love these palettes so much! Glad I busted them back out!

And finally, from frizzy crazy hair to controlled hair! This Living Proof Control Hairspray is just what I needed for summer. It doesn't make my hair feel crunchy, it's still soft after I put it on and it doesn't make my hair feel greasy after a few hours. It tames the fly aways and keeps the frizz at bay. I will be repurchasing this gem!

Those are my main products from this month that I just kept reaching for and packing all month long!

P.S. For those of you who may be wondering what's on my nails, it's Jamberry's Mermaid Tales wrap. You can get it from my friend Jennifer's website  http://jenplank.jamberrynails.net

xoxo
Shell