May Favorites!

It's the end of May and that means it's almost June. JUNE. How did that happen?! Anyway, here are a few of my favorite things from the month of May...

Let's start with the newest edition to my collection, theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer highlgihter. I know I shouldn't have included it since I got it recently but I just can't put it down.

I have used the Nyx HD Studio Finishing Powder before, and just repurchased it after my E.L.F one ran out. It's a translucent silica loose powder that I use to mix,buff and set all my make-up. The E.L.F HD Loose Finishing Powder is very similar, and a few dollars cheaper but the Nyx one is silkier and feels like I'm dusting angel clouds on my face.

Plus, the packaging isn't as bulky and annoying so I prefer this over the E.L.F one. This does have the potential for flashback in pictures though, I haven't experienced any, but just a heads up.

My go to lip color this month has been my Maybelline Color Whisper in Lust For Blush. It's so easy to put on for a wash of color before I go out the door and is a neutral pink that goes with pretty much everything.

One of my favorite eyeshadows of all time is the L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Amber Rush. There are no words to describe this except YAAASSSSS!!! It's the most gorgeous metallic rose gold that is so pigmented and gives a foiled effect to the lids. You will not regret picking this shade up. I have a few other shades but this is by far the best shade.

Tip: these are best applied with your finger tips for maximum foiled goodness!

The Wet n' Wild Bronzer in Ticket to Brazil is the perfect shimmery bronzer for the summer to give that bronzed glow to the cheeks without being too much. It's only about 3 bucks too!

Another gem from Wet n' Wild is the Megalength Waterproof Mascara. It is so perfect for the bottom lashes! I have a hard time finding mascara for my bottom lashes that defines and volumizes but still looks somewhat natural. I have fairly long bottom lashes so they can look freaky pretty quick with the wrong mascara.

It has a skinny wand so it really can get those little lashes and is waterproof so it doesn't smudge or budge!

Last but not least, the Bodyography Brow Brush and Brow Essential Trio powders I got in my Boxycharm! The powders are so silky smooth and the brush makes filling in my brows a breeze. What a steal!

Those are all my May favorites! What are yours?!

On a side note, I met the most ridiculous cat while I was reading outside of my apartment. It's my neighbors cat that just made itself at home on my towel!

Seriously, what cat does this?!

Also, go see Mad Max: Fury Road. SO GOOD! I just saw it tonight! If you like non-stop action and watching Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron be bad asses you won't be disappointed.

I mean, who can resist Tom Hardy? ;)

xoxo

Jessica

Contour Craze: Contour Powders

As we all know, contouring has gone cray cray; everyone and their mom is coming out with their version of contour powders and kits. Which I think is a good thing because it gives people with different budgets and tastes different options to pick and choose from. Drugstores have even gotten on the bandwagon! 

Here is a closer look at the powders I use the most (and my new edition that I love) when I do decide to contour a bit more than just slapping on some bronzer:

The Aesthetica Cosmetics Contour Kit, Wet n' Wild Contouring Palette in Caramel Toffee, NYX HD Blush in Taupe and theBalm Bahama Mama.

Let's start with my new love, the Bahama Mama, which is technically a bronzer but it's dark and neutral enough to work for contouring (on me at least). It's also a great bronzer when used with a very light hand!

This NYX HD Blush in Taupe is one of the most grey-toned powders I have with almost a hint of purple in it to really imitate shadows on the face. It's pigmented, cheap and easy to pack for traveling thanks to the sleek packaging. It's technically labeled as a blush but I would never in a million years use this as a blush with my skin tone.

The Wet n' Wild Contour Palette in Caramel Toffee is definitely cooler in tone and on par with the NYX Taupe but a little more pink. It's a great drugstore buy for someone who wants to try contouring but is a little hesitant. It's cheap, easy to work with and you aren't overwhelmed with all the options that some contour kits include.

The only contour kit I actually own is the Aesthetica Cosmetics Contour Kit that I got on Groupon for $20! It's usually around 40-50 bucks I think, but I see it on Groupon and Hautelook frequently so I would just wait to buy it on sale. Is it the best ever? Well I'm not blown away by it but it gets the job done. It is extremely comparable to the Anastasia Contour Kit just judging by swatches and pictures (but I don't own it myself).

Mine is well used obviously! ;) The shade in the middle in the bottom row is the one I use to contour with the most, and it's called Picture Perfect and it's the darker, more grey-toned out of the three. The others are warmer and better for bronzing I think.

Here is all of them swatched to compare:

Starting from the right: Nyx Taupe, Wet n' Wild Contour, theBalm Bahama Mama, last three are the Aesthetica powders (Picture Perfect, Flawless and Sunkissed)

There you have it! I would LOVE to get my hands on the Kat Von D Shade and Light Palette someday! :)

Recommend any contour powders, bronzers or kits I should try? 

Hautelook Haul: the Balm and Morphe Brushes

Hautelook is a Nordstrom Company that sells deeply discounted items in flash sales and is great for snagging high end make up items at reasonable prices. Once in a while they will even feature popular brands like Lorac, BECCA, the Balm, etc. Almost all of my the Balm products I got on Hautlook! So I would definitely check it out!

This time I got the Balm Mary-Lou Manizer highlighter, the Balm Bahama Mama bronzer and a Morphe 6 Piece Deluxe Contour Brush Set!

 I've always wanted to get my hands on the coveted Mary-Lou Manizer, and I can definitely understand the hype!

First off, the Balm always has cute and sassy packaging which I thoroughly enjoy but the product itself is beautiful!

 It's a gorgeous gold-champagne powder highlight that packs a serious punch pigmentation wise. It would be extremely easy to overload your brush and end up looking crazy with this, so use cation. I apply it with a fan brush and that helps diffuse it to look a little more natural and subtle.

 Since you only need a small amount for big a impact highlight, this will last me FOREVER, which is nice.

Bronzers and contour powders have been my thing lately, so I naturally wanted to try the Balm Bahama Mama bronzer. I was a little nervous at first ordering it since it looked very dark in the pan, but it's not nearly as scary once applied and blended out on the face!

See!? Not as intimidating. But I would definitely recommend using a light hand, especially if you are light/fair skinned. Darker skin girls will love this though! It's a neutral brown with minimal orange under tones which is good news for contouring. It's smooth, easy to blend and great for giving your skin the appearance of a deep tan without looking too fake. Even better when paired with an actual tan. ;)

I've wanted to try Morphe brushes for so long and I was missing some good foundation/buffing/contour brushes from my collection so I figured why not kill two birds with one stone and get the Morphe 6 piece Deluxe Contour Set.

They came in a little black pouch (which is really cheap looking but whatever) and it included an Angled Buffer, a Round Buffer, Pointed Contour Buffer and 3 mini versions of these brushes.

I haven't tried them out yet because honestly, I'm not quite sure how to best utilize these brushes since I pretty much just use my Beauty Blender for everything. So if you have any suggestions please let me know! But this is a nice brush set that has soft bristles and a variety of different brushes.

Questions? Comments? You know what to do.

xoxo

Jessica

May 2015 Birchbox Unboxing!

As a special surprise for my birthday, my mother-in-law got me this months Birchbox! I actually used to be subscribed to Birchbox awhile back but dropped it in favor of Ipsy and Boxycharm. I find that Birchbox is geared more towards skin/hair care rather than make-up so if that is more appealing to you, give Birchbox a try!

Let's dig in!

First off, the box is a collaboration with Cupcakes and Cashmere, hence the super cute box! The first sample I took out was the Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls curl lotion. I'm definitely interested in trying it, I just find that samples like these are hard to store and create a mess if you don't use it all in one application

The next packet samples are La Fresh Oil-Free Face Cleanser Wipes. These will be great to travel with and take with me when I crash at a friends place (like tonight, so I'll test 'em out).

I feel like in almost every Birchbox I got in the past, it always included some sort of moisturizer. Well that hasn't changed haha! I got a Naobay Oxygenating Cream Moisturizer, and it smells really good. Almost like a fruity scent bordering on Fruitloops, but in a good way! I'll most likely pass this on since I already have so many moisturizer samples to use up.

I also got a sample of PARLOR by Jeff Chastain Moisturizing Sea Salt Spray. I don't know how I feel about sea salt sprays since I already have waves/curls and using these types of sprays just tends to tangle and frizz my hair. But hey, I'll still try it out.

This Dr. Jart+ BB Night Beauty Balm intrigues me. It's a tinted BB cream that you can wear day or night, and comes out in a clear gel with white beads. Once you start to blend it in to your skin, it transforms into a tinted gel. So weird! I don't really understand why you would need something tinted if you are just going to sleep; I would just worry about it transferring onto my pillow to be honest.

Lastly, I received a Cynthia Rowley Creamy Lip Stain in Poppy. I love me some lip stains, and this is a beautiful, bright orange-red that'll be great for the summer! It's a tiny sample with a doe foot applicator to match. It swatches a little patchy but we shall see how it applies on the lips.

Well that's all folks! This box was just okay, but it was free so I'm not going to complain. :)

What did you think of this month's box?

May 2015 Boxycharm Unboxing #Bold&Beautiful

It's gonna be May... Boxycharm! Opened my Boxycharm today and oh man it's a good one!

All the products I received were full-size this month! Whoooo! 

I got a Bodyography Essential Brow Trio and Bodyography Brow Brush (both $19.00 each), The Lip Bar Lipstick in "Kiss Me" ($20.00) Lauren B. Beauty Nail Polish in "#ImJuicing" ($18.00), and a ModelCo Bronze Shimmer ($22.00).

I'm always astounded by the value of this box. For only $21 a month you get 4-5 mostly full size products. WORTH IT.

The Bodyography Essential Brow Trio has 3 matte shades that can be mixed and matched to get the perfect shade to match your brows: blonde, medium brown and dark brown powders. They feel super silky and surprisingly pigmented! The blonde shade doesn't show up in the swatch and would be too light on me anyways but the other two I'll definitely use!

Shockingly, I don't have a good brow brush ( I use the tiny brush and spooley in the NYX eyebrow cake powder set) so I'm super happy about getting this!

The only thing I'm let down about is the Lauren B. Beauty nail polish color. I'm not really a lime green polish person but I'll give it the 'ol college try. The packaging of this polish is cute and feels high quality. Nice to add to my little collection...

Funny enough, I have a sample/travel size of this ModelCo bronzer already from another subscription box! It's a good shimmery bronzer that isn't as orange as you would expect by just looking at it in the pan. It's a huge size too so it'll last forever.

Last but not least, the Lip Bar Lipstick. You guys, it comes in its own pouch. How freaking cool?! The packing itself is also sweet and like nothing I own. However, it is plastic so it doesn't have the same expensive feeling weight to it as some lipsticks do.

The shade? CORAL. Ha! If only I got this last week for my coral lipstick collection post ;)... Which you can see here. It feels creamy and soft swatching it on my arm but we'll see how it actually wears on the lips. Pigmented? Hell yeah it is.

SO GORGEOUS.

I'm usually impressed by Boxycharm, and this months box is no exception. I'll definitely get use out of all these products! 

Was this months box Yay or Nay for you?  Comment below!