Tag Archives: eyeshadow palette

Jul16

Buying Stuff: Episode 26

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Dianna

Insider Tip #257: When you go to your annual skin check at the Dermatologist’s office, plan ahead and make sure you’re wearing your nice underwear. Because regardless of who is looking at you almost naked, it’s less uncomfortable if you’re not sporting a baggy, pilled-up cotton, 6-year-old pair of underpants. Not that I know firsthand or anything, I just randomly thought of it and figured it’d be a handy little tip worth sharing.

Look, I bought eyeshadow!

This is the Givenchy Prisme Quatuor eyeshadow quad in #7 Tentation and IT. IS. TERRIBLE. It is also the only time I’ve ever received something that I put actual effort towards returning. Well, would you spend $58 on something that doesn’t work AT ALL and then store it away under your bathroom counter for the next 15 years? I mean, I would cuz I’m ridiculous, but would YOU? Cuz when you’re Givenchy there’s a certain expectation to uphold, and this was not it. Pigmentation was seriously lacking; even the glittery green looked muddy and matte on the eyelid. These colors should have been beautiful. And for once, the reviews on the Sephora site agrees with me. I can’t speak for the other quads, however, but Buyer Beware. This also has a six month shelf life, so what started out bad just got worse.

And now for a high quality, professional photograph:

Hush. I know. In my defense, I accidentally deleted the pic off my phone so I had to screenshot it from my Instagram, then crop it. I went to a lot of trouble to present it for you. Even more trouble when I tell you I’ve only used it one time.

I’m having bad luck with eyeshadow palettes lately, especially ones from designers. However, this Tory Burch one in Cat’s Meow isn’t as bad as the Givenchy. All of these shades had pigmentation, but the payoff wasn’t as impressive as I thought they’d be. Surprisingly, the two darker shades on the bottom looked about the same on my eyelid even though they clearly are not. The tones of them are more muted than vibrant, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing depending on what you prefer. They give you a more smoky effect than anything else, and they kind of wore off my eyeball by the end of the day (even with primer). I am going to pull it out again this week and have another stab at it. It cost me $60 so something tells me it’s the right thing to do.

I need to stop buying expensive eyeshadow palettes. Case in point:

It’s the NARS Dual Intensity eyeshadow palette and it cost $79, which is clear evidence I make very poor decisions. Yes, it’s pretty. Yes, it’s limited edition (and therefore puts me in a brainwashed kind of panic). But pigmentation on these is not as vibrant like you’d expect and I don’t find myself reaching for it much if at all ever. The shadows can be used wet or dry, and when wet they do give off a much better, bolder color. But who wants to be messing around with water in their eyeshadow? Cuz although this palette is made to get wet, I’d somehow manage to ruin it.

These are pretty:

This is an eye look I created using the Colourpop Supershock eyeshadows in the Shaaanxo collection. I will admit I bought this because I watch Shaaanxo on YouTube, and if you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I do everything YouTube tell me to do. So these eyeshadows are interesting. First of all, they’re like $5 so super affordable. But they are unlike any other eyeshadow I’ve ever had. They are like a cream/powder hybrid. They are kind of wet like a cream, a bit squishy when you poke your finger into them (the fun part!), but you can apply them like powder. Granted, your fingers are the best tools to use with these shadows, but have you ever tried to blend your inner corner with a ginormous sausage finger? It’s nigh on impossible. I stick with brushes and somehow make it work.

More evidence that YouTube has made me its bitch:

What normal person has heard of Viseart cosmetics? Nobody. Unless you are a makeup artist – a real one, not one of those pretend ones on Instagram. So when I saw another of my Beauty Gurus swatching this Sultry Muse palette – who then had the audacity to tell me where I could go buy one of my very own since Sephora decided to do us all a favor and start carrying the line – I took about 1.5 seconds to think about it before I threw it in the shopping cart. And yes, they are gorgeous. They are everything you’d want an eyeshadow to be – buttery, pigmented, blendable. So naturally they cost a billion dollars (or $80, but close enough). Can’t say I’m too regretful. I don’t mind spending money on something I like. I’d rather get it for free, but if that’s not available, what choice do I have? Sephora is constantly out of stock on these – they are very much an in demand product. Which means you are panicking and NEED TO BUY ONE RIGHT AWAY. Or maybe that’s just what my brain does.

How about another photo of my eye:

I did not hear good things about the Hourglass Modernist eyeshadow palettes but I just felt like spending $58 on something. One thing for sure, the pattern molded into the palette is enough to suck you in. I love how ripple-y it looks. When I saw that, nothing else mattered. Is that shallow? Probably.

There are 7 palettes in the collection and I picked Color Field, the green one. Amidst the flurry of no-pigmentation claims, I created the eye look you see above and I was quite impressed. I thought there was plenty of pigmentation, and everything blended together so nicely. Perhaps some of the other palettes are not as good, but Color Field worked just fine. Granted, I used it just one time then stored it under my bathroom counter never to be see again, but THAT IS NOT THE POINT.

Speaking of pigmentation, I give you these:

Do you hear angels? I do. These are the Makeup Geek Foiled eyeshadows and they are the best most pigmented, vibrant, luscious eyeshadows on the face of the planet. This is not a joke. One gentle swipe is all you need for maximum payoff. They have an almost wet texture to them – apparently they have a higher oil content – and certain brushes give you better application. The MAC #239 or any of its dupes works really well. Or you can use your fingers, but again I don’t prefer that method. If you don’t have the MAC one or a dupe, any shader brush that has dense bristles will work.

There are a couple of cons though. The price for one eyeshadow is $10 so if you want to own the entire current collection, that’s $200 out of your pocket. I’m not saying I spent the last few months buying every single Makeup Geek eyeshadow available or anything, but I probably did. It didn’t hurt as bad until I got to the foiled shadows. Ouchie. But once I start on a project, I literally have to finish it because my OCD says so. Yes, I’m quite aware I have a problem.

The other con is these shadows are very delicate and can crumble on you with no warning. I swear I haven’t been throwing them around the room – they’ve been sitting gently in a Z-Palette the entire time – but two of my shadows have random chunks coming out of them. Not a huge deal since you can just press them back into the pan, but it is kind of annoying. And since they are $10 each, any crumb missing might as well be the Hope Diamond or something.

Let’s end on a bummer, shall we?

Who wants to buy a palette that looks like a quilt on the inside? Me! And who wants to pay $96 for it? Me! Wait … wait?! I have no idea what I was thinking when I bought the By Terry Eye Designer palette but I’m pretty sure it has 97.93766% to do with that stupid pattern stamped into the eyeshadow. Who’s the most ridiculous person on the planet? I’m not even gonna answer that question cuz you already know.

These are new and come in two styles. I bought the #2 Color Design because of the vibrant fun colors. And yes, it is a beauty to look at. And makes a very cool Instagram photo as evident by the 81 likes it’s currently received. But good gracious it’s pricey! And to be honest, I don’t think it’s worth it. Sure it looks fancy, but I did not find the pigmentation on any of these to be particularly good. Or not $96 worth of good. And I don’t know about you, but if I’m spending that much money on anything, it bygod better be the best thing that’s ever been invented. I’m keeping it until I die though because I figure eventually I’ll use it at least one more time by then. Hashtag JUSTIFIED.

In case you haven’t noticed but I’m extremely behind this month already. What is time? Where does it go? I dunno, guys. Sometimes I just paint my nails for three hours in the evening instead of doing something important. Although painting my nails is pretty important, but I imagine my husband thinks scooping cat poop is more important. He is WRONG. Bye Friends!

Dec15

Buying Stuff: Episode 23

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Dianna

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Just 10 days until Christmas and only 1,457 presents left to buy. Have I told you about the time I waited until the absolute very last minute (i.e., Christmas Eve) to buy gifts? Or that I bought Easter basket trinkets at midnight on Easter where they were, surprisingly, not even discounted? How about those birthday presents that tragically get “rerouted” during delivery end up arriving at my house roughly a week late? I tend to procrastinate with things that stress me out. However, advertise a makeup pre-order for something that’s not even available for 2 or 3 months, and I’ll get that done like yesterday. Perhaps someone’s priorities are skewed? I mean, not mine, but someone else’s?

In any case, I bought stuff:

Your eyes are not playing tricks. I bought the Gucci Lustrous Glow foundation y’all! I was so curious about this product because there were only like two reviews of this YouTube. I wasn’t even sure what color I was, and that quickly became my mission-slash-obsession in life. Like, first find out my Gucci foundation shade, then solve world hunger. I started with Light 030. It seemed to be a touch too light, so I thought it would be safe to go up one notch to Light 040. This one I held onto for about a week trying to decide if it matched. It didn’t un-match necessarily but my face is naturally a little darker than my neck so it was hard to be sure. I went ahead and ordered Light 050 so I could do a proper comparison.

You can imagine all the trouble and expense I’m going through at this point, yes? I had charges for foundations before refunds were processed. Thank God for Discover, that’s all I have to say about that. Finally ended up settling on Light 050. It had the least degree of washing out (if any). I wouldn’t call it a perfect match – a skosh too yellow – but I’d make it work. I mean, it’s Gucci. You don’t return Gucci. It’s in a rule book somewhere, I’m certain.

And was all the trouble worth it? Welllll, it’s a decent foundation. It had a nice natural finish to it. Very slightly glowy on me; it wasn’t “lustrous” by any means. The coverage was light to medium. When foundations are light coverage, I tend to not like them as much because all my ugly bits show through. So keep that in mind. If you have a good complexion to start with, you’ll probably like this foundation more than me. Best part is the lovely packaging. If anything, you can buy this to sit on the back of your toilet for your house guests to admire. A little pricey for bathroom décor, but did I mention it’s Gucci?

It was 3 o’clock in the morning when this happened:

I really shouldn’t have internet access once my husband goes to bed. Cuz I bought the May Lindstrom Honey Mud cleansing silk almost on autopilot. However, it wasn’t alcohol-induced so points for that.

This stuff is advertised as a cleanser. It’s made out of honey and clay and somehow manages to smell exactly like a Tootsie Roll. The consistency is like a pudding before it sets up in the fridge. I won’t lie; you want to eat it. It feels super moisturizing and soft on the skin. I can see this as a very luxurious spa treatment because it’s so elegant and lovely. HOWEVER. I was disappointed that it didn’t seem to clean my skin very well. If you ask me, I’d consider it more as a pre-cleanser than a main cleanser. For an $80 price tag, you should expect more. Like pore gunk removal-slash-zit zapping-slash-magical powers. They do give you the option to apply this as a mask instead, and I can see it working well in that capacity.

A side note: the honey used for this is collected from unsprayed/unfertilized fields of wildflowers in Michigan. So now everything bad I just said went right out of your head didn’t it? Yeah, mine too.

I owned zero products by Tory Burch when I discovered they had a small amount of makeup on the Sephora website. And because I’m in a constant state of needing to own all the things, I picked up this Bronzer and Blush. Shade is called Divine, although that point is moot since it only comes in one shade.

First of all, the packaging will suck you in. I love orange. So warm, so summery. Just looking at it will bring a smile to your face. But the product itself isn’t that bad either. I wouldn’t say you could use each section separately unless you use teeny tiny brushes. Rather, just swirl your brush over all the shades combined. You end up with a very pretty sunkissed glow on the cheeks. I am much more happy with this purchase than originally expected.

If you’re looking to buy Tory Burch makeup, there isn’t a huge selection. Sephora carries lipstick and a lip and cheek tint as well. Hopefully there will be more forthcoming in the future as I am not opposed to buying something else.

Look – something pretty:

Another instance of wanting to own all the things. My first Kevyn Aucoin purchase, and I’d say it’s a pretty good one. Hautelook was having a sale and the only eyeshadow duo left was the #201 Antique Silver/Plum Shimmer. Turns out, that was the perfect duo for me. The purple looks so stunning with my brown eyes. And the silver isn’t like SILVER! but more Silver. Well, I’m sure you know what I mean.

Blendability was excellent. Pigmentation was excellent. I can’t think of anything bad to say. I want to buy all of them, so that could be bad. For my wallet, anyway.

I bought this too:

It’s the eyeshadow palette out of the Tarte Bon Voyage kit. Why didn’t I show you the entire kit? Cuz the only thing I wanted the kit for was so I could get this palette. It is amazing. Great selection of mattes and pretty shimmers. Nothing super glittery. Neutral but still colorful. I got so much use of it for an entire week and never reused a shadow. That’s value. The cost is $59, but this is a 20-pan palette, and larger pans at that. Plus you get extras in the kit like a mini finishing powder, mini cheek stain, mini mascara, and a full size lipgloss and lipstick. Oh, and a mini Maracuja oil. So honestly, it’s got good stuff for a really great price. What I’m trying to say is go ahead and buy this. It’s at Sephora only. And it’s LIMITED EDITION. You panicked yet? You should be.

However, do not buy this:

This is a mucho mucho waste of money. It’s the Bobbi Brown Mini Eye Palette. Super cute packaging, which enticed me first. Then I thought the price ($35) wasn’t too terrible for 8 designer eyeshadows. I mean, it’s not awesome but I suppose you’d could say I’m used to it. My last thought was that I didn’t have a lot of Bobbi Brown stuff, and because I’m very ridiculous, I went ahead and purchased it because that made perfect sense.

Now. I’m not saying this palette wouldn’t work for certain people. But for me it was simply no bueno. Three of the shadows were chunky glitter, and even though they are quite clearly different colors in the pan, absolutely no discernible difference appeared on my eye. The other colors were okay, but very sheer. If I want a sheer look, that would be okay, but more often than not I don’t. The size of the palette is a 2-inch square. This doesn’t bother me, but I wanted everyone to know in case they would be expecting something bigger.

Ever since I’ve gotten this palette, it’s been hiding out in the Train Case of Unused Makeup. It’s probably going to live there. I’m keeping it because the packaging makes me happy and it’s Bobbi Brown (i.e., fancy). Does that make me shallow? Probably.

Last thing:

As if I don’t have enough cleansers or something, I went ahead and picked up the Sunday Riley Ceramic Slip cleanser primarily because I liked the name Ceramic Slip. I really should develop more appropriate shopping techniques. I certainly shouldn’t base my purchases based on clever names, pretty packaging, and whether or not they look like food.

Regardless, though, this is a good cleanser. It doesn’t smell that great. Like it literally smells like the inside of a ceramic pot. That’s probably not its intended smell, but I detect nothing floral, sweet or perfume-y at all. It has black pepper and frankincense in it. Are those good smells? NO. But they’re not horrid, so we can move on.

This cleanser is not moisturizing. It actually physically tightens your skin. It foams up really nice when you use wet hands and makes you feel like you’re getting your face super duper clean. It claims to give me miniscule pores and flawless skin. It’s printed right there on the front of the bottle. They wouldn’t do that if it wasn’t true. Either that, or it’s just a very clever marketing ploy because besides the name, that’s the other reason why I bought this.

Okay friends, we’re at the end. Beauty boxes are arriving so I’ll be getting on those reviews soon. Plus I’m in a constant state of Buying Stuff, so honestly, the fun will never die. Hope it’s warm and sunshine-y where you are. I’m going to go roll up in a ball under a blanket somewhere. Bye!

Nov6

Buying Stuff: Episode 21

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Dianna

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Finally the sun has come out after being non-existent for the past several days. I was starting to wonder if we’d ever see it again. I mean, by all means be 48-degrees if you have to, but at least give me sunlight. Without the sun, I am moody and sad and var var pale. Sunshine sustains me. It’s the only thing that can get me through the disaster that is Winter. I love sun, sunlight, sunshine, and any and all things sun-related. Sunglasses.

Therefore I sit in my car during lunch hour where it proceeded to blaze hot right onto my face and into my eyes. Urgh. Go away, Sun.

Clearly something is wrong with me.

Look, I bought stuff:

This is the Benefit Majorette Booster Blush, and I have no idea what I’m going to do with it. This is one of those circumstances where I bought something cute simply because it was new and would make a good Instagram picture. Does that make me shallow? Probably.

Okay, yes, it’s a cream-to-powder blush so obviously you can use it that way. But I’m not a huge cream blush fan even though this one is pretty idiot-proof. Like the most easiest application and blendability I’ve ever come across. The color is a sweet girly peach. It’s matte and has a great smell. You can also layer it underneath another blush to give that other blush more vibrancy. But those are two things I’m not really interested in. First of all, who has time to be applying TWO blushes? (Superhumans.) And second of all, I didn’t think it looked all that pretty on my face. However, everyone else in the universe seems to love it, so apparently I lose at makeup.

But then I bought this:

Who else has been petrified of the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade? I mean, this stuff is a gel-like cream you apply to your eyebrows with a liner brush – freehanded – and hope to God you don’t ef it up. I am not a natural when it comes to drawing on brows. Sure I could just follow the lines like a normal person would, but I do have pictures of myself where I did just that and ended up creating BROWS! with jazz-hands and everything. So I was scared that something as pigmented as this would be messy and worse.

Long story short: I faced my fear. Me and Sephora had a little chat and I decided to go for it. But which color? They’re all variations of brown. Which one would create the most natural look? I wish I could tell you my selection process was more scientific, but it all boiled down to seeing the word “universal taupe” on other brow products from other brands, so I chose the Taupe one and walked away before the anxiety kicked in.

Believe it or not, this isn’t as scary as I expected. If you tap your brush in lightly and very gently sweep over your brows, you can make some natural looking arches. Granted I can’t come close to the pictures I see on Instagram, but it’ll do for me. As for the color, there may have been a better brown shade to suit me, but the Taupe works just fine. Which is good cuz I’m pretty sure this little jar will outlast everything in my makeup collection.

Guess who came to America?

It’s Charlotte Tilbury! This is some exciting news cuz the last (and only) time I bought one of her products, international shipping about made me change my mind. Since I had my pick this time, I chose the Feline Flick eyeliner pen. As my preferred method of eyeliner, I feel as if owning all of them is completely justified. But then again, I write a beauty blog, so EVERYTHING is justified as far as I’m concerned. And nobody can argue with that kind of logic.

But back to the eyeliner. I liked it alright. The nib is pretty sturdy, so it lends a great amount of control in the application along the lash line and drawing the angle in the start of the wing. However, when I tried to connect the wing portion to the base of my lashes, the sturdiness of the nib didn’t make that part as easy. Like I literally had to go over it several times in order to get a good, crisp looking line. However, my own OCD may have played a part in that. And also, I am not very good at winged liner. But aside from those two things, I can’t say this eyeliner is my favorite. I’ve went back to my Kat Von D pen for the time being.

Look how beautiful:

I bought this Laura Geller Baked Gelato blush because it looked like food. Like something I could stick my finger in then lick off. A cupcake top. A vat of frosting. I literally couldn’t NOT buy it after laying my eyes on it. Whoever was in charge of the design of this product is a genius. I own chocolate masks, strawberry moisturizers, and all things coconut BECAUSE of geniuses like this. All other companies should take note. You want me to buy your product? Make it resemble food.

This is a really beautiful blush. The shade I picked out was Guava, and it’s a bright but wearable pink. It’s sheers out really well and creates this lovely flush of color. I’m not sure if it’s a cream that’s been baked or what exactly, but it’s applied like a normal powder blush and that’s all I really need to know. I feel like I need more colors, but I’m trying very hard to be good.

Hahaha, just kidding. I bought this too:

This Smashbox Cherry Smoke eyeshadow set is the perfect fall palette. Instead of your typical grey or black smokey eye, this is a taupe and burgundy version and it’s absolutely gorgeous. Each shadow applied well and blended nicely. I could create a daytime, natural look with it as well so it’s pretty versatile. Although I don’t necessarily stick to daytime/nighttime makeup rules. I want what I want when I want it. Smokey eye at 10 a.m.? Done. But for those who like to stick to rules (and are probably not wearing white after Labor Day), you can still utilize this palette at your 9-5. And back to that whole food thing – the word “cherry”? Sucked me in right away.

One of the best makeup decisions ever made is below:

It’s the Sedona Lace Round Top #480 brush and I’m in deep, passionate love. Ugh. I can’t even express properly how beautifully this applies foundation. It hugs every curve of my face and makes blending practically effort-free. I thought I loved my Real Techniques Expert Face brush, but this (while similar) is so much better. Even the price is good at $18.95 (although I had a 20% coupon as well as an additional $4 off). The bristles are dense, and the round top gets rid of harsh lines that blush or bronzer might create. I don’t think I’ll ever want to use anything different. It’s also pink and adorable and looks pretty on my counter. How many more reasons do you need? Approved! Put it in your basket.

We done for today. I’m now going to get back to fighting with Sephora’s broken website. They are having their 20% off sale and the entire world is on the internet. Boo.

Sep14

Birthday Haul: Part 1

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Dianna

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Remember last month when it was my birthday? How I turned 40 and had to console myself with makeup? Yes, it was touch and go there for awhile. Luckily, I pulled through. Here’s why:

Pretttttttay! I’m not even kidding when I say you need this Tarte Rainforest After Dark palette, especially cuz it’s limited edition and could disappear for all eternity at any time. I’m not being dramatic. It could be happening right now as we speak for all I know.

This palette covers all your face needs. We have six beautiful purple and gold eyeshadows, a lovely champagne highlighter, their Park Avenue Princess bronzer, and a gorgeous dusty rose blush. I love everything about this palette. I will be packing it for my trip to Vegas next month since it’s a 4-in-1 and that’ll save me room in my suitcase. Cuz I have no plans to visit the Inglot store while on vacation and buy hoards and hoards of eyeshadow. That’s pretty specific, but yeah, no plans whatsoever …

The day of my actual birthday my husband and I were going out of town. Quick stop for him to get a haircut gave me about 15 minutes to run across the street to Sephora. Look how much I can accomplish in 15 minutes:

Well the Wet N Wild Comfort Zone palette wasn’t from Sephora but we stopped on the way out of town for that too. I had a dream about this palette and knew immediately I had to get it RIGHT NOW. I mean, when you start dreaming of specific eyeshadow palettes, that’s like the voice of God talking or something.

If you love earth tones, you will love this palette. They are gorgeous. I don’t know how I overlooked this before on my million other trips to Walgreens. So pretty. The only issue some may have is the shadows are all shimmery. No mattes. That doesn’t bode well for my old lady eyes, but I created a look with it that didn’t turn out bad at all. In fact, it looked quite stunning. It blended seamlessly, which is rather important. I highly recommend if you’re asking. For $5, I’m not even sure there’s a question.

But back to what I managed to toss in my Sephora basket in the span of 15 minutes. Make Up For Ever had a new display of these Artist Shadows and I was immediately drawn to it. There was this gorgeous orange right on top, and I couldn’t drag myself away. It looked almost like foil it was so shimmery and intense. I daydreamed a bit about what kind of eye look I could create with it, then picked up the box to toss it in my basket. And noticed –

It’s a blush. My most perfect tangerine eyeshadow is actually a blush. Heart = broken.

Well, drat. I still wanted it though and the clock was ticking. Who says you can’t use blush on your eyelids? My YouTube beauty gurus do it all the time. And I am nothing if not a beauty guru.

Ended up creating a 3-pan palette with the orange (ME734), a black purple (ME930) and a copper red (ME728). I wore all three shadows on my lids during our weekend getaway, proudly displaying my circus eyes while sipping a latte in a cafe on Sunday morning. My husband thought it was a little much for a coffee date, but what does he know? (Nothing.) Checked in the mirror to see what he was referring to and quickly declared his eyes as broken. I looked fab, end of story.

The other thing I picked up was the Too Faced Melted Lipstick in the shade Melted Fig. This is a beautifully saturated purple color. But it’s wearable too. Because it’s purple but not purple.

These lipsticks go on very smooth. They’re pigmented beyond comparison. A little glossy at first, but that fades away to an almost matte finish. Can feel a little dry on the lips after awhile, but the color does last and last and last. I don’t think I’ll buy any more of the colors, but I’m happy with what I got.

The last bit for today is this thing right here:

Stila has came out with four new Eyes Are The Window palettes. I went back and forth for awhile trying to decide which one I wanted. Finally settled on the Mind one which has all matte shadows. Not sure of my reasoning other than in the picture, the vibrant earthy colors spoke to me the loudest.

In person, these are some pretty shadows. They just look so perfect in the pan. But when applied, I felt like the blendability was slightly lacking. I could create a look with them yes, but was never fully satisfied with the final result unless I’d properly blended for 15 years. It literally takes that long. Or felt that way at least.

And so now I have a bad attitude about it and probably won’t pick it up very often. But the packaging is adorbs so if you can salvage anything, by all means spend $50 so you can display this beauty in the wicker basket on the back of your toilet. I mean, that’s what I’m doing with mine.

This is just part 1 of the birthday haul. There is much much more to come. You should probably go ahead and get excited. It’s coming people. And also, I am the boss of you.

Toodles!

Jul11

Buying Stuff: Episode 18

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Dianna

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Today is my husband’s birthday, and to celebrate, I bought myself some stuff. Because I have to go take him to see that dang Planet of the Apes show, and I tried to convince him it’s cool to go the the theater by yourself but he wouldn’t agree, so now I am forced to watch a boy movie for 11 hours straight. Give or take 9 hours or so.

In other words, all things below immediately and undeniably JUSTIFIED.

First up:

I was running out of cleansing milk – you know, what they call an emergency – so I thought I’d try something new. Picked up the Le Couvent des Minimes version. I haven’t used it yet because per usual, I think I’m about out of a product so I rush around to get my replacment ready, when suddenly my almost empty tube replicates itself and I get another two weeks of use out of it. I did smell it, and it’s a very delicate rose scent. I squeezed a little onto my fingers to discover the consistency is quite loose. Not sure how I feel about that, as I like a thicker cleansing milk, but we’ll see. I’m almost certain I have only 1 or 2 days left of my current product, as long as the planets are aligning properly as they should.

Then I got the Lorac Pro 2 eyeshadow palette. I already have the first one, and it’s amazing and beautiful, so naturally I had to grab the little sister. This time around, the shades are quite colorful versus the more neutral shadows of #1. And as expected, this palette is perfect. Using the same concept from before, there is a row of mattes and a row of shimmers. The shadows are pigmented, buttery, smooth, glorious. I am so happy I bought it. If you have just $42 and you’re wondering what to do with it, stop thinking and put this in your basket. No, I’m serious. Do it right now.

Fine, here’s a close up first:

I have been using Light Brown or Nectar in my crease, which are both great. And the shades Rose, Chrome and Jade are beautiful lid colors. Love Cocoa, Plum and Navy in the outer V. Honestly, you won’t regret getting this palette unless you hate perfection. I mean people are weird, sometimes. But if you are a normal human and do as I tell you, you’ll be sitting home on Saturday night playing with your makeup while all your cool (stupid) friends are out having “fun.” Such fools.

Perhaps one of the funnest (most fun?) lipglosses I’ve ever owned is Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie in the shade Hypnotist. It looks like the future, like something Judy Jetson would wear. That’s not even a joke. Look:

How pretty is that? Who doesn’t want an iridescent lipgloss? (Crazy people.) However, I will say that this lipgloss doesn’t do a whole lot on it’s own. It’s mostly clear with shine. It fares slightly better on top of lipstick. Gave my nude lipstick a bit of extra dimension although nothing crazy. In fact, it’s more of a novelty than anything else. I don’t mind it. It’s pretty to look at, smells like mint chocolate, and feels good on the lips. I will most likely repurchase cuz I enjoy spending money on pretty things that don’t work. You probably should too.

I know. I’m ridiculous. But my lipgloss is holographic so try arguing with that. (You can’t.)

Picked up this batch too:

I’ve never used any of the Body Shop body butters before, and Ulta had them on sale for 40% off. And naturally I can’t walk away from a good coupon, so I put the coconut one in my basket. This smells so good, like summer and the beach. Can’t wait to start using it, but as usual I’m constantly trying to finish up other products first. Hopefully I’ll get to it by the end of the month.

I’ve been feeling a little oily this summer so for the first time in my life I’m buying products to fix it. I have a few sheets of some Tatcha Japanese blotting linens left, and I really love them. Figured I’d try something different, especially cuz the Tatcha ones are kind of pricey. Decided on these little NYX matte ones. And guess what? Do not like. Of course I wouldn’t since they’re practically free compared to the other ones.

First of all, the packaging is awkward. It’s not easy to remove the papers. I have to unfold the whole packet and then put it all back together. It takes too much energy. If the choice is to remain oily or break a sweat fiddling with the dang packet thing, I suppose oily isn’t such a bad deal after all.

And second of all, I’m comparing them to the lovely texture of the Tatcha papers, and there’s just no comparison. Granted, the NYX ones are cheap, and Tatcha has made me spoiled.

Long story short, I bought some Boscia papers so I’m gonna try those instead.

I also picked up another NYX Butter Gloss. I own like 7 or 8 of these. That’s probably not a lot compared to some, but I carry them all in my purse so they take up a lot of space. However, I didn’t have a brown so what is there left to do but buy a brown? Got the color Praline and it’s so pretty on top of my nude lipstick.

Then of course at the check out counter they had these sample tubes of Peter Thomas Roth peeling gel. It says right there on the package that your dead skin will roll right off your face. I challenge anyone not to want to buy 15 tubes of this stuff. Seriously, dead skin. Rolling. Right off your face. I can’t even.

I used this the other night, and it really is quite amazing. After washing, apply this gel to your face in circular motions. Quickly, little balls of product and dead skin starts to ball up and fall into the sink. Then afterwards you literally feel as if you replaced your old face for a new one. It’s fantastic. I have a suspicion I’m about two seconds away from buying a full size.

Have you ever wanted a purple lipstick so bad that you ended up buying a purple lipstick? I did, and it was the Make Up For Ever one in #15. Now, the color is gorgeous. It’s true purple. There is a lovely pearl finish. However, the drawback is the formula. It’s so incredibly dry it practically drags across your lips. I have to do extra extra swipes just to cover all the surface area evenly. It was cumbersome and effortful. I had a lot of thinking to do.

Decided to go with it anyway cuz did I mention how bad I wanted a purple lipstick? Sometimes I do things against all practicality. However, it turned out alright in the end. Here is me wearing purple lips topped with the iridescent Hypnotist gloss mentioned earlier:

Ooooh, purty! Totally worth it. I don’t even care about the formula anymore. I will spend the rest of my life applying this lipstick if the end result looks like this every time.

Last haul is this one:

Another emergency – I was running out of eye makeup remover. So I thought I’d give this Mario Badescu one a try. It’s a gel, not a liquid, so it’s kind of weird. Also you have to really enjoy smearing black mascara all over your eye socket cuz that’s how you remove it with this stuff. But I will say it works really really well. And when you get it in your eye, it only stings for like 5 seconds. Success!

Then as a gift with purchase, I got this teeny sample of the Mario Badescu glycolic face wash. I had every intention of using it, but you know how I have like 7 or 8 tubes of cleansers in line already? One more might send me into an anxious fit. My daughter has it now. I have to bribe her for two-armed hugs you know.

Replacing my dried up pot of Maybelline gel eyeliner, I got the Napoleon Perdis China Doll one. I used it and it’s very creamy and easy to apply. I like it. Plus it was on sale at Ulta for $15. If I didn’t buy it at that point, I’d be accused of a mental imbalance, for sure.

Got a beautiful matte balm stain from Revlon called Sultry. One of my YouTube beauties raved about it so naturally it went on my wish list. And then about two seconds later I went ahead and bought the dang thing. This color is one of the prettiest I own, and I literally own a billion. Give or take. And this matte formula was not drying on my lips at any point, which was a nice surprise.

And finally, I bought a nail polish. No,
you did not misunderstand what I just said. I thought this Revlon color in Chameleon was so unique, I knew I had to have it. I love how the gold turned to green in different angles. I had never seen another color like it.

Well, sadly, it wasn’t quite as pretty on the nail. Mostly it was an antique gold/bronze and the green wasn’t that evident. A bit of a bummer really. I mean, I freaking bought nail polish; the least it could do was be amazing. Hmmmphf.

Well that’s it. You’re free to go about your weekend as you please. Bye!

Mar24

Buying Stuff: Episode 8

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Dianna

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Huge haul alert. Just a warning, in case you have something important to do within the next 15 hours. Otherwise, get comfy; we gonna be here for a bit. I’ll try to make it short and sassy, but sometimes (i.e., every time) my eyes sort of glass over when talking about makeup and skin care. I’m so addicted, I can’t focus on anything else anymore. Seriously, my husband could be standing in the middle of Ulta completely naked and I’d never notice.

So let’s get started. You know how I am about wanting to own all the things. Pretty sure that will never end, although I’m giving my best effort. Every time I am on YouTube, one of my gurus starts talking about some brand I don’t own, and that gives me the hives like no other. I need to have something, anything, from every brand or I can’t function properly. OCD sucks so bad sometimes. It manifests in many different ways, one-track-mindedness being one of them.

Here is an eyeshadow palette from Lime Crime:

I chose the Alchemy palette because it is new and all the shadows are duochrome. They are absolutely gorgeous shadows, and surprisingly wearable, especially the purple in the middle. Very very pigmented as well, which is nice. I think my favorite of the five colors is the green. It’s vibrant and bold, looks beautiful on the outer V and lower lash line. Reminds me of spring, not Easter spring, but green grass spring. It evokes a feeling of warmth and sunshine in me, and effectively cures my Seasonal Affective Disorder. In other words, this palette is a medical necessity and therefore justified.

Next!

I used the Carol’s Daughter Monoi Repairing Hair Mask yesterday, and I’m so in love. This is some amazing stuff. But in order to get a bigger picture, let me describe my hair to you. Naturally wavy. Dries frizzy and poufy (the bad poufy, not volumized poufy). Fine texture. Oily scalp but dry ends (I know; I told you I was my own oxymoron). In simpler terms, I just don’t like. I wish I could let my hair dry naturally and love the results. But no, that would be too simple, and my life is all about the complicated. Wavy hair is not the same as curly; it’s can’t-commit hair, the worst kind. Be curly if you wanna be curly. Don’t look as if you thought about it and changed your mind in the middle. Cuz what I’m left with is straight and fine in the scalp region, lumpy in the middle section, and frizzed out at the ends.

I use a hair dryer and a flat iron or curling iron, so there’s heat damage to add to all that other mess. It’s not color-treated, or at least not since 2011. But it does break easily, and even after I get a haircut or trim, my ends still look like they’re split. As if my hair is not committed to being curly or straight, but dadgummit it has no problem being broken. And you should just see how much hair swirls around in my bath water. I spend more time picking errant strands off my body or untwining them from around my fingers. What am I supposed to be doing in the tub? Nothing. What am I really doing? Trying to save myself from being attacked by my own hair. No. Bueno.

Enter the Carol’s Daughter mask. First off, this stuff smells like the Garden of Eden. Use this mask for that sake alone; it’s heavenly. In fact, I’m sitting here typing this blog with a swatch of hair strewn across my upper lip like a makeshift mustache. You literally can’t stop smelling it. It’s made with monoi oil, which is apparently derived from 15 gardenias and coconut oil combined over a 15 day sacred ritual. That’s quite specific, and I wish I could tell you I was kidding, but I’m not. And it comes from Tahiti. Tahiti. Are you convinced yet?

The result? Glorious. My hair was less poufy and so extremely smooth and silky. The silkiest it’s ever, never been. And my ends look very healthy, even though it’s been 3 months since my last haircut. I will never be without this mask now. I’m so happy I could cry.

As for the tiny jar of Tarte eye treatment, I haven’t used it yet. But of course I needed it right this second. Bought a sample off eBay because I didn’t want to commit to a $38 full-size. I’ve heard great things about it, so I’m excited to use it. After I finish this horrendously large tube of Glytone that seems to replicate itself after every use. I’ll never be done.

More good stuff. See below:

Cutie pies! All of it, just adorable little cutie pies. I work as a buyer, and one of the departments I buy for is a spa. This is a relatively new job responsibility, and it’s proving to be quite dangerous because now I know exactly what products they’re ordering and I need to own every last one of them. These three things are from the Farmhouse Fresh line, and I barely walked away with the small shopping bag as opposed to the industrial sized platform truck I really wanted. Everything was simply precious. I swear, if there’s an idiot CEO out there that claims packaging isn’t that big of a deal, I will karate chop them in the throat. Because honestly, it gets me lured in every single time.

What I bought was a jar of Honeysuckle Orange Custard body cream, a tube of Front Porch Punch hand cream, and a Sundae Best chocolate face mask. All food scents, so delicious and summery. I’ve mentioned before how boring body lotion or hand lotion is, how I never ever buy it, unless it is in cute packing or it smells like fruit. This stuff’s got both.

I’ve brought the hand cream to work, so now I’m using it all day long. It’s a mixture of strawberry, mango, melon and grapefruit. So good. If my hair isn’t stuck up underneath my nose, it’s my fingers. Yummy and delicious. I haven’t used the body cream, as I’m trying to finish my Ahava sample, and then I have the Josie Maran sweet citrus body butter next in line. In other words, it’s gonna be a while. But just having it in my bathroom, owning it and claiming it as mine, satisfies me to no end. Plus it has a wooden spoon applicator. A wooden spoon applicator! You need this in your life, at the very least so you can own your own tiny wooden spoon. As for the face mask, it smells and looks like chocolate pudding. It’s divine. I may eat it if I don’t use it soon.

Last bit of goodies is this small haul from Ulta:

I actually finished my Urban Decay pressed powder, so thought I’d give the loose powder a try. Someone on YouTube said it gave them flawless skin, and well, you don’t have to tell me twice. Flawless is a magic, evil little word, isn’t it? You tell me something is going to make me flawless, and I’m buying it about 2.5 seconds later.

The tube of Too Faced LashGasm mascara is a really good one. I actually owned this not too long ago, and it made my lashes look amazing – or as amazing as my lashes have the capability to be. Then one day I dropped the tube on my tile floor, and ruined my life just like that. The tube cracked at the top, and all the mascara oozed out of it. I tried to salvage it for a few days, but it was just too messy, and then I started having OCD panic attacks about all the poo germs getting into it because it’s stored on the counter right next to the toilet. Needless to say, I had to give it a sad little goodbye. But now that I’ve replaced it, my heart has healed.

I own a lot of the NYX butter glosses. They are some of the best lip glosses that ever lived. Not sticky one bit, smells amazing, colors actually show up even though they are sheer. Thought I’d try the purple because I live on the edge, and also the name of it is Raspberry Tart, which makes me think of pie. I love pie. And cake. Cake and pie. With whipped cream on top. And chocolate shavings.

What are we talking about? I dunno.

I actually have a Sephora order delivering to my house today, and I was thisclose to calling in sick so I could sit home and wait for it. You know how it is. The excitement becomes almost too much to bear sometimes. I’ll do another haul on that later this week. Still got 6 beauty boxes to review and only 7 days left in the month. Pressure’s on, people. It’s hard being a blogger sometimes. So. Hard.

Toodles!

Jan17

Buying Stuff: Episode 4

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Dianna

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I spend a lot of time on the couch. It’s the one thing I do that I do very well. In my house, couch-sitting is an Olympic sport and I am the undefeated, gold-medaling champ.

But when combined with pajamas and an iPad, I’m downright unstoppable. Because:

Things like that happen.

I’m telling you, I don’t even know what it’s like to be normal anymore.

My status quo lately? Undeniably buying stuff. All the pretty things that others have, I want. Then I just make it happen. It’s seriously like magic.

Anyway, picked up a few things at Sephora as I am wont to do. Needed a body scrub so thought I’d give Soap & Glory a try. The Flake Away had a little travel size available for $5 so yes, please. Nexxxxxxt.

I wanted something from Illamasqua. Don’t judge me when I say I didn’t even care much what it was exactly, I just wanted to own something from the brand. That sounds exactly as if I have some sort of a shopping problem. But we’re just gonna ignore all the warning signs and move right along.

After scrolling through their offerings, I decided on a lovely cream blush in the shade Zygomatic, which is described as a peachy beige. Looked pretty online, but one never really knows about these things. Lemme just say, I am so very pleased. I don’t own any blushes in this color, so that proves right there that I needed it. But also, in person it’s just so so so nice. Feeling pretty darn pleased with myself at this point.

Now I have saved the best for last. One of my You Tube beauty gurus did a video on the Kat Von D Esperanza palette. And in proper form, I went and purchased it about 2.5 seconds later. Here’s a close-up of the colors:

Well. I love. That’s all I can really say. Don’t they just speak the word spring to you? I find a sort of peace and serenity just looking at it. In the midst of the gloomy grayness of winter, I can temporarily be fast forwarded about 3 months. And it cures me. Kat Von D’s Esperanza palette cures me. It’s basically a medical necessity. Therefore justified.

And then as you can see there is a tiny sample of Origins CC cream. It was a freebie. Sephora gives you gifts with purchase, and out of all the tube-like products to choose from (as there’s no way in hell I’m choosing anything that comes in packet form), the Origins seemed the best choice. Hopefully I’m right.

So that’s it. I bought stuff. What else is new? Good night.

Snacks On Rotation

surprisingly, not a food blog

Tag Archives: eyeshadow palette

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Buying Stuff: Episode 21

Birthday Haul: Part 1

Buying Stuff: Episode 18

Buying Stuff: Episode 8

Buying Stuff: Episode 4

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