June Ipsy Bag Review and Swatches

Hello Lovelies! 

 I came home today to find my package from Ipsy stashed in my mailbox and after opening I knew I needed to get the review and swatches done asap, so here we go!

This month's theme is "On the Wild Side" and features a lovely animal printed bag that I happen to love, and some products from brands I have never heard of before.  

To start off my review I am going to begin with the product I was most curious about, the Sparkling Cream Palette from J.Cat Beauty. I had never heard of J.Cat before seeing this product, and I don't have much glitter in my collection so I was eager to test it out and swatch it. At first glance I expected this glitter to be an eye shadow, but it is actually not safe to use around your eye so it is definitely not for everyone, but I know it will come in handy for me when I am working on more creative makeup pieces. Although it is described as cream the top layer of the glitter is just like regular loose glitter, but as I rubbed the brush in a little bit I could tell it did have a slight creamy texture, but nothing like I expected it to be. Overall I feel these palette would be awesome for someone who does a lot of creative types of makeup, or body painting, because they are quite cheap ($4.49ea.) and they come in a variety of different shades.

BONUS TIP: For my lovely readers who received this in their Ipsy Bag and don't see yourself using body glitter, you could always mix it in with some nail polish to create a lovely glittery shade of polish.

Although I think the body glitter was a bad choice to add into the Ipsy bags I do find myself still curious about the J.Cat brand so I was excited when I realized the fake lashes in my bag were also from J.Cat. At first glance these lashes are perfect to add some drama to any look, and they are a great choice for my favorite styles of makeup. Although I didn't like the lash glue that came along with these lashes I think they are a pretty good pair of cheap lashes ($3.99ea.), but you can also find the same quality lashes around the same price at drugstores.

If you have read any of my previous posts you would know that I absolutely love NYX Cosmetics and am always excited when I receive a new product from them, this time I received a blush named angel. Angel is a soft matte pink shade that looks nearly nude on my pale skin tone, and I absolutely love it. This blush is perfect to add just a little emphasis to the cheeks, but not go over the top with color. I absolutely love NYX products because they are high-quality, and affordable, these powder blushes are only $5.

I am not sure how I have never heard of Starlooks before, because if the rest of the products they offer are anything like the lip liner I received, they are definitely quality. The liner I received was in a shade called Tipsy which is a lovely shade of coral that I would more than likely never choose for myself, but I absolutely love. When I tested the liner I realized that is quite smudge-proof, and long-lasting, which is something that's very important to me. These liners are a little pricier compared to some lip liners, but at $12 I think they are still pretty worth it. I would love to test more products from this company, and hopefully will be making an order in the near future.

Last, but not least, there is the gel eyeliner from Cailyn Cosmetics, another company I have never heard of, so thank you Ipsy for introducing me to a bunch of new things this time around. Before I get to reviewing this product I must tell you that these sell for $21 each, so if this doesn't make you want to subscribe to Ipsy, I don't know what will. I received the eye liner in purple, which is an odd shade for me, but it will be wonderful when I am working on more creative looks. I love gel liners because they are easier to work with when trying to create a precise line if you use the right brush, I believe the brush that is paired with this liner is a little thick, but it will get the job done if you don't own an eye liner brush already. This liner is definitely long-lasting, smudge-proof, and waterproof, which makes it harder to take off, but if you are in the search for a good resistant eyeliner this is the one for you.

If anyone is interested in joining Ipsy, sign up here . I absolutely love Ipsy and would never cancel my subscription, the products are amazing and definitely worth the small price a month. If you have any reservations about joining just remember that most months you receive $30+ worth of products and adorable makeup bags, and you also get to try new things. :)

New Sinful Shine Polishes from Sinful Colors (Swatches and Review)

Hello Lovelies!

Now that my fashion week is over I am working on some fun things to share with you guys, but in the meanwhile I stopped at Walgreens a couple days ago and picked up some new polishes I wanted to share with you. I absolutely love Sinful Colors polish, it is cheap, it doesn't chip easily, and it comes in a lot of amazing shades. As I was browsing I came across a display featuring the new Sinful Shine which has gel tech to make the polishes appear glossy (found exclusively at Walgreens) so I decided to pick three of my favorite colors and test them out. I expected them to be amazing and of course they were. I painted my nails on Saturday with the pink shade called All the Rage and it's now Monday and they still look fabulous, no chips and they are nice and shiny. This polish is actually so shiny that when paired with my long nails they actually look kind of unreal, and they definitely look professionally done. The Sinful Shine polishes are a little more expensive then the regular ones but they are definitely worth it. I would love to have one of everything from Sinful Colors.

L to R: All the Rage, At Sea, and Rendezvous

May Beauty Army Box: A big let down

Hello Lovelies!

After this month I am unsure if I will be continuing my subscription with Beauty Army , because in the past couple of months I haven't had many good products to choose from and a lot of the products have been repeats of what I have already tried. Although there are some products that I do love to receive multiple samples of it is hasn't been worth the $12 a month. I will show the products I received this month but since I didn't receive the greatest selection I honestly won't have a lot to say.

Cotz Face is a mineral sunscreen for natural skin tones with an SPF of 40. The tube I received is absolutely tiny and only included enough for maybe five to ten applications if I am lucky. When I first squeezed the sunscreen out of the tube I was surprised to find it the same shade as my skin tone and I initially tested it on the top of my hand. At first it has an almost mousse like consistency and when blended it turns into a lovely matte finish. This sunscreen would be great for days where you want to skip a couple makeup steps because it also offers a little coverage. I may find myself having to purchase this for this summer. 

Once again Beauty Army is filling it's boxes with tiny samples such as this one, they are so small that it's near impossible to give a good review. The Wild Rose Cream is suppose to moisturize and brighten the skin for 24 hours, and it's meant for normal and dry skin types. When I first ripped open the package I noticed that it is heavily scented and kind of smells between something floral and my grandma, I also notice that the majority of the package is not in English. Although this product did make my skin feel quite smooth, I honestly  didn't have enough to really offer a good review. 

I was honestly curious about the skincare line from Own receiving this small sample has me feeling defeated. Although the statistics of the skin line seems to prove that there products are wonderful I have actually heard a lot of negative reviews recently, and they say it takes up to 8 weeks to see results and this sample definitely will not last that long. Once again I can't really say much about this product which bums me out because I want to be able to fully review everything I receive for everyone.

 Another product I can not get any use of is this gel polish from Nail Luv because I do not own a LED or UV lamp which is required and I do not plan to purchase one. Although gel manicures look fabulous I would rather not raise my chance of getting skin cancer in the long run. Using UV lamps frequently for nails has the same effects as using a tanning bed frequently. Although some people don't seem to notice that these beauty regimens are risky, I am the type to avoid things like this. Basically if you do decide to follow this trend please apply sunscreen to your hands before your nail appointment. 

Last but not least, these products are ones I have chose before and decided to choose again for lack of better choices. I absolutely love the scanda-lash mascara from Mark, it has become my ultimate favorite because it makes my lashes look fuller and longer in one quick application. Although I do like the Teen Tone Color Touch Eye, Cheek, and Lip Glow, I find myself rarely using it because I do not like cream blushes and I own so many better pink lip products, but it is a very good product for on-the-go or travel purposes because of it's multiple uses. 

May Ipsy Bag "Spring Fling"

Hello Lovelies!

I received my May Ipsy Bag two days ago and once again will be reviewing the products. The theme of this month's bag is of course "Spring Fling" and it's filled with products that are good for looking good in spring/summer. I also noticed that it seems a lot of people received different products this month which makes it kind of fun for us bloggers. I absolutely adore the print of the bag this month, it is bright, colorful, and fun.

My favorite product this month is the Moondust eye shadow in the shade of Space Cowboy from Urban Decay. I received this as an extra because I am an active member of the Ipsy community. This shade is a light champagne color with TINY flecks of silver glitter and has quickly become a favorite in my makeup collection. The collection of Moondust shadows consist of six different BEAUTIFUL shades that I would love to own. From the container the Moondust appears to be a cream, but it actually is a powder and applies easily and looks wonderful. These little shadows are $20 each from Urban Decay which makes this $10 Ipsy Bag so worth it. Below is a look I created using the Moondust, and a brown shadow, called Roo, from RoseMarie Shadows.

I always love adding new lip products to my collection, especially in red/pink shades like this one from Mirabella called Posy. Posy is a color sheer lipstick and applies very lightly and provides about as much color as a tinted lip balm, but it does go on smoothly and lasts long.  For $22 I would much prefer to purchase a tinted lip balm to wear if I wanted this little color, but if price doesn't matter I think these would be a nice everyday lip product.

Juice Beauty  is a great company that offers organic alternatives for cosmetics such as this pink reflecting gloss. The gloss itself smells wonderful and is quite moisturizing but I do have a little thing against the texture that comes with it being an all-natural product. I can get past the issue with the glosses texture, but I can not see myself paying $15 for the gloss although it's organic.

When I first opened the little box I wasn't sure what to think of this color of polish from Zoya called Blu. Obviously pastels are part of the trend for this spring/summer but being as pale as I am some shades just don't work well for me and this seems to be one of them. Although I am not a huge fan of the shade personally I do like the color and the polish is wonderful. I created the look pictured below using two coats of Blu topped with a 3D accent bow from Kiss Nail Designs. These polishes can be found on the Zoya website for $8.

I already have a love/hate relationship with this concealer from Yaby. I love this concealer because it provides great coverage, but I hate it because this particular shade Ipsy sent me isn't right for my skin tone. Ipsy sent me a shade called Buff which seems a little too dark for my skin I typically would have chosen the shade of Ivory for myself. I also dislike when Ipsy sends us refill tins, because I honestly just don't have a place to put them, one day I need to purchase myself a concealer palette. Setting the hate aside the concealer itself is quite wonderful, it is perfect to cover up flaws and applies smoothly. I also love Yaby concealers because they offer a wide range of skin tone choices. These refill tins are $4.85 each, but a full concealer palette from Yaby is $100.



This is one of those products that I will never be testing and I will be giving away to some lucky friend unfortunately.  As I have said before I love having an ivory complexion and do not wish to have a tan. The reviews for this Wash Off Instant Glow Lotion are kind of all over the place, mostly I see bad reviews from people with fair skin like myself saying it was too dark for them, but others say it is amazing. Although I don't have much to say about this product if you would like to try it for yourself you can find it here and the full sized bottle is $18. I wish Ipsy would really take the little quizzes they give us more into consideration so people like me wouldn't receive products like this, but even though I don't like this particular product this month's bag was definitely worth it. 

In the end this bag adds up to about $80 worth of product (not including the price of the bag itself) and is obviously worth the small price tag of $10 and being active in the Ipsy community to receive bonuses such as the Urban Decay Moondust. 

NYX Cosmetics Haul and Swatches

Hello Lovelies!

So, it's finally spring! Every spring/summer I feel inspired to use more color in my makeup on a daily basis and I ultimately end up purchasing some new items to add to my collection, this time around I purchased some items from Nyx Cosmetics and I also had a little online Ulta shopping spree. (That will be my next post.) So, here we go with the new items........

So I absolutely am in love with my selection of lip products I chose, +NYX Cosmetics offers a wonderful selection of shades and since I already have tons of reds I wanted to add some pinks to my collection. I also was in need of a lovely red lip liner, and a reddish gloss. So far my favorites are the Jumbo Lip Pencil, and the two lipsticks I chose, they are the perfect spring/summer shade. 

 The Nyx Butter Glosses are a wonderful non-sticky, pleasantly scented gloss that moisturizes. Nyx only offers a small selection of shades, but the shades they do offer are spectacular. I love Cherry Pie for summer time, and it works great for on-the-go makeup.

I absolutely love Nyx Jumbo Pencils and so far this color is my ultimate favorite, probably my favorite pink of all time, and it provides a wonderful bold lip. These pencils are highly pigmented, long-lasting, moisturizing and I want one in every shade. 

Shiva is a blue-toned fuchsia that has a hint of shimmer. Just like all of the other lip products it works wonders, and is a beautiful shade. 

I was definitely in need of a good red lip liner considering red lips are part of my signature look, and this one is my new favorite.

 This was kind of an impulse buy mostly because I was simply curious, this is the shade called Romantic Love and it provides an extremely subtle shade of reddish pink. I like to grab this gloss when I am in a hurry and I want to have a little color on my lips but don't have much time for application. (It's non-sticky, and surprisingly long lasting.)

 Lately I have been more interested in trying different fake lashes even though I honestly have a hell of a time applying them, but they definitely can completely change/boost your look. So far I have wore these once and  was complimented numerous times, and the lash glue worked quite well.

 I have purchased NYX's Jumbo Eye Pencil in the shade of milk numerous times. I love to use it as a highlighter underneath my brow, on my waterline, and it also works well as a base for shadows. The eye pencils are long-lasting, highly pigmented, and it has multiple uses.

 I am addicted to these kind of eye liners, I have tested numerous ones and this one is pretty kick ass if you are looking for very fine lines.

 I love these pearl shadows, this shade is called White Pearl. These are highly pigmented, cheap, and a little goes a long way.

 I have been looking for a good cheaper foundation in the right shade and I think I have found it, this offers wonderful coverage, but doesn't appear cakey at all. I love to top this with a little powder for the perfect matte appearance.

I have also been searching for a good cheap primer that works well for taking photographs and so far I am not sure this makes much of a difference compared to other primers, but it does work well to even skin tone.

 I love Nyx Cosmetics! 

RoseMarie Shadows Review, and Swatches.

Hello Lovelies!

I recently stumbled upon a lovely Etsy shop called RoseMarie Shadows  and instantly fell in love with the selection of mineral eye shadows offered and I just had to order me some.

Now, normally I am a little iffy about ordering anything from Etsy, I have heard a couple horror stories, but the woman behind this specific shop was wonderful and offered GREAT customer service to me and I hoping to get her a little more of a following with this post because it's definitely deserved.

The shadows came in this adorable little bag with information card attached.

One of the amazing things about this little shop is that they offer a selection of sample packages, each package contains a different amount of samples, but either way you get to choose which shades you would like to sample. I decided to go with the smallest sample package, simply because this was my first time ordering from RoseMarie Shadows and I already have quite the collection of makeup, but after testing the shadows I must say that I will definitely be ordering more in the future.

When I ordered the owner of the shop happened to be a little ill so she kindly sent me a message  thanking me for my order and informing me that she was sick and she didn't want to be near the makeup to prevent contamination, so she delayed the order a little bit and included a couple extra samples. I definitely appreciate her honesty, I would much rather her work on getting better then rushing an order with the chance of contamination. So, instead of receiving just five samples I ended up with eight, and I LOVE them. Every shade looks AMAZING, especially with an eye primer/base, and they blend wonderfully. 

The shades I personally chose were Oink, Snowflake, Vampire, Roo, and Onyx. 

Here's a little look I created using Oink and a bit of Snowflake.

A look I created using Vino on upper lid, snowflake as a highlight, and purple pirate under my lower lashes.