Drugstore Haul + Swatches (ELF, Wet N' Wild, Hard Candy)

Hey guys! I've accumulated quite a bit of new make-up over the past few weeks so I thought I would share it. I've only tried a few of the products, so full on reviews will be up later when I've tried them for a while. Some of them aren't exactly new in the drugstore, but are cult classics I wanted to try.

Let's get started!

Left: Real Techniques Sculpting Brush, Middle: EcoTools Mattifying Finish brush. Right: ELF Contour brush

I've tried the ELF Contour brush once, and I did like it for creating a sharper contour, and it's actually really soft. The other two I haven't used yet!

The Wet N' Wild Reserve Your Cabana is actually a repurchase for me since I've hit major pan on my first one. I absolutely love it for a natural, soft highlight.

I really like both the blush and bronzer in this compact; they blend well, are pigmented and of course, matte. I've been on a matte kick lately so this I was excited about for sure.

The baked highlighter in Blushing Gems is nice champagne, bronze highlight. I like it so far, but it is rough as most baked products are. So if you like silky smooth powders this is not for you...

I was intrigued by the idea of an ombre blush, and so I picked this up today. I mean just LOOK at it, it's gorgeous. 

Pearlescent Pink is a good blush if you're looking for a pinky-peach blush with some sheen to it with good pigmentation. All things I enjoy in a blush. 

These ELF smudge Pots make great eye shadow bases to layer other eye shadows on top of or can be worn on their own! They don't budge on my eyelids and don't crease after they set. I definitely want to pick up more.

I had high hopes for this palette. Granted, this still is a great palette and the quality of these shadows are awesome, I was just expecting them to be more foiled, so I was a little disappointed. But I'll still wear them for sure and maybe try mixing them with water to kick the metallic finish up a notch.

I've used this primer for 3 days and I LOVE it. I mostly bought it because I wanted to see if it could be a Porefessional dupe but its a creamy white color with a silicon consistency. Either way, it fills in my pores and fine lines pretty well and worth the 6 bucks.

Target recently started carrying L.A. Colors cosmetics and I just had to pick up some eye shadows, like I don't have enough,.. The trio in Sunflower is so pretty and decent pigmentation for only being 99 cents! It is a little powdery though, but not nearly as powdery as the 16 color palette I got in Smokin'. I liked the variety of colors in this palette, especially the greens. The pigmentation is okay, but like I said, very powdery. But hey, it was less than 5 bucks.

I'm real excited to try this foundation. I love the original Revlon Color Stay liquid foundation because its full coverage, has a satin finish, and is more neutral-warm toned that matches my skin. I picked up the shade 150 Buff which is a hair light for me but its easy to warm up the face with bronzer afterwards.

I forgot to take a picture of the ELF Skin Smoothing Serum from their new skin care line. I've used it a few days and it feels super nice on my skin. It's hydrating and the consistency is sorta like a lotion with all sorts of botanical ingredients that are good for the skin.

Whew that was a long post! I'll be sure to check back in with my thoughts on all these products once I've used them more.

Comment down below with your thoughts!

March Boxycharm Unboxing!

Finally got my Boxycharm today, and I could not be more stoked. The theme is Lucky Charm; let's take a look inside...

Inside: 

Travel size Oscar Blandi dry styling heat protecting spray, $11.00

Ofra black eyeliner, $13.00

LVX Nail Lacquer in Mynt, $16.00

Tarte LipSurgence lip tint in Charmed, $24.00

Previse Nutrify Skin Type 1-6 Universal Tonic, $48.00

And 20% Tarte products!

At $21 a month, it's such a bargain for mostly full size beauty products. I have no idea how they make money honestly! I'm most excited for the Tarte lip tint, the nail polish and the skin serum that's a whopping $48 a bottle supposedly. Holy cow. I'll be trying that tonight!

(The pictures don't do the colors justice but camera died and I had to use my iPhone. Grrr.)

LVX Nail Lacquer in Mynt

     LOVING the mint color, so trendy for spring. And Charmed is a beautiful, bright pink that has a minty scent on the lips.     

Tarte LipSurgence lip tint in Charmed

   

       

I'm a little disappointed that the Oscar Blandi hair product I got was a heat protectant and not a dry shampoo, but that's okay. The Ofra eyeliner is also nice, but I have a million eyeliners already since I feel like I get one in every subscription box.

I'd say this months box was not bad! Tell me your thoughts on it and share what you've loved/hated in your box in the comments!

Mani Monday

Feelin' the Monday blues with Essie nail polish in Butler Please, one of my favorite blue colors.

Take that Monday.

*NEW* L'Oreal La Palette Nude 1 and 2 Eye Shadow Palettes Review and Swatches

While I was at Target, I wandered over to the beauty section and saw that L'Oreal had two NEW nude eye shadow palettes. The La Palette Nude 1 and La Palette Nude 2:

My first thoughts were "OMG drugstore Naked palettes!" I was even surprised that there were a few matte shades in each palette. They each cost $15.99.

La Palette Nude 1

La Palette Nude 2

(Also, excuse the dog hair that some how has made its way onto these already. I haven't even had them for an HOUR and they already have dog hair on them. *sigh*)

Upon immediately comparing them to my Naked and Naked 3 palette, I saw that they weren't really dupes at all. 

Left: L'Oreal La Palette Nude 1, Right: Urban Decay Naked palette

First, the Naked palettes have 12 shadows, and the La Palettes only have 10. The Nude 1 palette is almost exclusively nude, warm brown shades with a few copper, cream and gold colors. There are 3 matte shades and the rest are a satin finish.

  

I was pleasantly surprised at the formulation of these shadows; they are decently buttery and smooth with pretty good pigmentation. I definitely had to swatch it 2-3 times to get the color payoff I wanted but overall I think these are decent shadows!

Left: Urban Decay Naked 3, Right: L'Oreal La Palette Nude 2

The Nude 2 palette has 6, count them, 6 matte shadows! The rest are satin. Thank the drugstore gods who are creating more matte shadows! This palette is definitely more rosy toned than the Nude 1, but more muted, darker and plumier browns than the Naked 3, which is definitely more pink toned. 

Sadly, there aren't any close dupes from either palettes for any of the Naked shadows but they are in the same shade range. I'm sure some of the same looks could be created using these palettes instead of taking out a small loan for the Urban Decay palettes. Honestly, I'm happy they aren't dupes so I can play around with the different colors in these palettes and not feel guilty about not utilizing my expensive Naked ones. I'm especially stoked about the matte shades.

The final question: Are they worth it?

I think so.

I haven't had the chance to wear them yet, but just by the swatches I think I'll be using them all the time in my daily make up routine. The quality is decent, especially for drugstore, the shade selection is versatile and they are cheap palettes compared to the high-end brands. It definitely is not Urban Decay quality by any means, so if you're expecting that you are going to be disappointed.

Would these replace my Naked palettes? No, but they will be a nice edition to my collection.
The drugstore is stepping up their game big time and I'm loving it.

Have you tried the new L'Oreal La Palettes? What do you think? Comment down below!

Fresh Beauty Blenders and Liquid Cleanser

I recently ordered the double pack of Beauty Blenders online at Amazon and the one I ordered came with the liquid cleanser which I'm eager to try out. I LOVE my Beauty Blender, it's the only thing I use to apply my foundation now. It is so easy to use and leaves the most beautiful finish on the skin that looks natural and not cakey. 

However they do cost a pretty penny, with each sponge being almost 20 bucks .Booo. I'm not gonna lie, it took me a good while before I convinced myself to fork over the money for a little sponge... But I'm so glad I did. Totally worth it for me. 

A good alternative I've found that I like a lot if I'm not feeling like dropping the money on this is the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge, which retails for about 6 bucks. 

I'm interested to see if the official Beauty Blender Cleanser is any better than the good ol' fashion dish soap I currently use because it also is quite expensive, which I think is about 15 or so dollars. I try to clean mine everyday but the stains that my make up leaves behind drives me absolutely crazy... I've literally washed my sponges so hard trying to clean them I've ripped them on multiple occasions. Oops. Needless to say I'm not as gentle as I should be on them and replace my sponges every few months or so, which is recommended anyways to prevent bacteria build up.

If you are thinking about taking the plunge (which you should), the double packs are the best deal. Especially if you order them on Amazon where they usually have package deals with cleansers too and free shipping if you have Amazon Prime. Two Beauty Blenders and the cleanser was only $30 compared to the $20 per sponge.

Let me know in the comments your thoughts on the Beauty Blender or if you've tried the cleansers before! I'd love to know a cleaning method that works for you.

Ipsy Bag March 2015

Woohoo! I love getting my subscription boxes/bags! I got my Ipsy bag for the month of March a few days ago and I'm eagerly awaiting my BoxyCharm box. This months theme is Floral Fantasy:

Includes: Acure day cream, NYX Butter lipstick, Pur-Lisse pur-delicate gentle soymilk cleanser and makeup remover, Bottom row: Vintage by Jessica Liebskind illuminating face highlighter, and Evelyin Iona Cosmetics concealer.

I was especially psyched about getting the full size NYX Butter Lipstick in Pops. In the tube and swatch it looks like a pretty dark reddish mauve color, but on my lips it'

s a beautiful "my lips but better" mauve- brown shade.

 

I am familiar with the brand Pur-Lisse from previous bags, and I am excited to try it out! The highlighter looks pretty enough in the swatch, but I'll see how it looks on my skin.

The concealer is just meh for me because the consistency is pretty thin when I was expecting something thicker.

As for the Acura day cream... I'm pretty stocked on moisturizers so I'll probably end up giving it to my mom or sister. Overall this months bag was good. My favorite would be the lipstick because it is such an everyday shade for me and super wearable. The bag itself is one of my favorites too. ;)