Laura Mercier Bitten Lip Gloss in Healthy Lips

The swatch.

As I stated in my last post, I got this lipgloss for a real bargain from All Cosmetics Wholesale. I can't say anything negative about it! I love everything about this lipgloss. The color is beautiful and very well pigmented so it gives me a gorgeous lip when I wear it. I love the scent of it. It smells like a chocolate orange. I like that it comes in a squeeze tube instead of with a doe foot or brush applicator because I feel squeeze tubes are much easier to apply. I would definitely purchase more Laura Mercier gloss, Laura Mercier is probably my favorite brand!

The Balm Plump Your Plucker Water My Melon Review and ACW Info.

The color swatched.

I recently discovered the site All Cosmetics Wholesale (linked in the sidebar) after becoming determined to get make-up as cheap as possible. I wasn't sure if the site was legitimate or not when I first saw it but there were so many products on it for such great prices that I had to try it out. I ordered two products, The Balm Plump Your Pucker in Water My Melon and Laura Mercier Bitten Lip Gloss in Healthy lips (I'm a huge lip-gloss junkie in case you haven't heard). I paid about 17 dollars for both of them and shipping which was pretty good considering Laura Mercier lipglosses usually retail for I think 20 something. On to the review...

I love this lipgloss. At first I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't more pigmented, but I soon got over that because it smells amazing. If you don't like watermelon than this scent isn't for you, I love it though. This gloss would go really well over a lipstick. It has a bit of plumper in it (it tingles a bit like Buxom lip products but not quite as much) which I love, and it isn't sticky at all. When I put this on and smell it, it makes me happy. I will definitely be buying more from this line, I want them all!

Lancome Pretty Pretty Palette Review

The Palette

The Swatches

So I got this palette for about $40 from Lancome because I wanted the GWP. It was the prettiest palette I saw. I'm not crazy about it. It's very well pigmented but the pink color, Makeover, is hard to pull off. When I use the palette I want to use all the colors but I just cant seem to use the pink correctly. Also, the size of the eyeshadows aren't great for the amount of money they cost. The GWP that came with it had two eyeshadow palettes so I could justify it, but I probably wouldn't purchase another Lancome palette without a GWP to sweeten the deal.

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My face routine.

I wash my face twice daily. In the morning I use Skinceuticals purifying facial cleanser and a scrublet to clean my face. Than I use my Neutrogena oil eliminating astringent to fend off acne. Then I put on a tinted moisturizer (in the fall/winter I will use moisturizer before putting on foundation. Then I do the rest of my makeup.

In the evening I take my eye makeup off with an oil-free eye makeup remover. Then I either use garnier makeup remover wipes or Aveeno cleansing pads to remove the rest of my make-up and clean my face. I then use the neutrogena astringent followed by my Sephora Instant Moisturizer.

I hope this helps anyone who is looking for a model for what to do! Please leave comments and subscribe!

Some advice.

Never ever ever put a powder palette into a bag that gets jostled around a lot. Those things break like there's no tomorrow. I can have a powder palette in the make-up bag in my purse and it still breaks. I'm talking about highly pigmented stuff, stuff that easily comes off on make-up brushes. It is the most frustrating thing in the world when you pull out a palette and there is powder all over the place. It's happened to me twice now.

Also, don't leave lipstick/chapstick/creme blush/creme eyeshadow in the car. Just don't do it. Take the lipstick for example, you leave it in the car than pull it out to use it and it's all over the cover of the tube. Always try to keep your make-up at or below room temperature, especially the stuff that melts.

Now here are some tips that I have learned from copious amounts of reading.

1. When a mascara dries out you can seal it and put it in a warm cup of water to resuscitate it.

2. If your eyeliner is really hard and pulls at your eyes (Wet N' Wild anyone?) hold it near a lamp to melt it (a little) and it will be much smoother.

3. A really dark lipstick can be made a tad less shocking by putting a really light pigmented lipgloss over it.

4. If all your make-up in a palette cracks because you didn't listen to my advice, you can put it into a box and use it as a loose shade. There are also supposed to be ways to re-shape the powder to the pan but I'm far too lazy to try that.

5. If you use a regular (non-baked) eyeshadow wet as a liner and such you should take from the outer edges of the color because the water can warp the shadow itself.

6. To avoid looking like Snooki while applying bronzer, apply it only to the commas of your face. The commas of your face is that area that starts at your forehead and follows your hairline down to your cheeks. If you follow this technique, you will still get color but you won't look like an oompa loompa.

7. You need to have two different shades of foundation, one for summer and one for fall, spring, and winter. (Unless you live in a place where you can be tan all year long, I do not.) Test the foundation on the edge of your jawbone to see if it blends in with your cheek and neck. If you don't trust yourself to get it right, have someone help you but make sure they know what they are doing. I've been incorrectly matched about 3 times now. Also sometimes your skin looks different under the unnatural lighting in stores. Make sure the person who helps you knows whats what before trusting them or else you will look orange. As stated in the previous, orange is bad.

8. I don't care how lazy you are, cleanse, tone, and moisturize your skin twice daily!!! This is the most important thing I can tell you! Every single step is important. It's up to you to discover what products are best for you but if you don't do all three of those things, you will never have baby soft skin like yours truly. I used to be the laziest when it came to facial maintenance but I had a bad bit of acne that changed my entire mindset and now my skin is the best it has been since infancy. Beautiful skin = beauty. You can cover up your greasy, pimply, dried out skin with all the makeup in the world but you won't look half as beautiful than if you buck up and start taking care of it the way you are supposed to! I'll do a post on what I do/use for my skin at a future time.

Thus ends my impromptu lecture. I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to comment! :)

Lancome GWP Review

The bag.

The items I chose.

The blue palette.

Swatches from the blue palette.

The green-pink palette.

Swatches from the green-pink palette.

Swatches of the lip products.

I was very excited when I got a flyer in the mail for this Lancome gift with purchase. The best part of this one was instead of getting six items that were chosen by the company, I got to choose six items from about 14 that I wanted in my gift. I was especially happy to get both eyeshadow palettes. The colors are well pigmented (not as well as Urban Decay but pretty good) and the blues are all stunning. The lipgloss is a shocking pink in the tube but works really well on the lips. The lipstick and lipliner are both a little dark so they would be better for evening wear. The brush is probably the best part of the gift. It's full size and would probably retail for $30 easily. This GWP was well worth it and will be available until 9/5 I believe!

Urban Decay Single Eyeshadows and Mascara Review

The Eyeshadows

Shattered on left and Grifter on right.

Swatches of the colors.

The beautiful mascara tube.

Supercurl curling mascara.

So recently I've discovered that make-up is a lot cheaper on Ebay. I got these three items for around 12 dollars total which is way cheaper than they would be in a store.

First, I'll start with the eyeshadows. I have a weakness for turquoise so I had to get Shattered. Not only is it a beautiful shad of turquoise, it also has a very pretty green sheen to it. Needless to say, I am a big fan of this! Grifter is a completely different shade. It's a very light pinkish purple color with a ton of glitter. It is dressy and casual at the same time. I absolutely love this color as well!

The mascara is really great too. The applicator has plastic bristles (like CoverGirl Lashblast) and works really well to curl my lashes and elongate them. I would definitely repurchase this mascara!

Review: Tarte for True Blood Palette

The outside of the palette.

The eyeshadows.

The entire kit with the drawer pulled out.

The first four colors in the palette and the eyeliner.

The last six colors.

The middle six colors.

The middle color.

Sorry that the pictures are out of order and that bayou is flipped and that the color isn't great, I clearly haven't gotten quite a grasp on photo editing yet. Anyways...

This is my review of the Tarte for True Blood palette. Let me just say that I am in love with this palette! The colors (if you can't tell from my crappy cell phone pictures) are gorgeous! The eyeliner is probably the best eyeliner I have ever used. When I run out I will definitely be repurchasing! I also love the mascara and primer. The packaging is a little bulky but it was well worth it. While I still prefer the Naked Palette and think that Urban Decay eye products are superior in general, this may be my #2!

My Current Top Ten Favorites.

My favorite things seem to change very frequently but there are a couple that always stay the same. I tend to like lip make-up more than other types so top ten lists will probably have a lot of lip supplies on them in the future. However, I think this one is more balanced. Enjoy!

1.

 The Naked Palette is great because all the shades are neutral and go great with any eye color. Any true make-up fanatic has this in their collection as far as I've seen. This is my most reached-for eye shadow palette. It is well worth the money!

2.

 This was the first Laura Mercier product that I purchased and I fell in love with the brand right away. This bronzer is the perfect color to give my (very very light) skin a natural tanned look. It brushes on very easily and it is just amazing! The color is Dune Bronze.

3.

 Neutrogena Clear Pore Oil-Eliminating Astringent is what cleared up my face. This stuff is like gold in a bottle. I'm allergic to benzoyl peroxide so salicylic acid is the only way to go. Also, face washes with acne treatment in them always dry my face out too much. I use this as a toner after I wash my face and right before I moisturize and it works like a charm. If it stings, you know it's working!

4.

 Sephora Instant Moisturizing Cream makes my face feel like a baby's butt. I'm not even joking. My skin has never been this good before, all because of my facial regimen and this little gem.

5.

 Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer spf 25 oil free is really great. I use it as a foundation in the spring and summer time because my face doesn't need as much coverage. Not only does it have sun protection in it, but it's also oil free which is a must for my skin. This is in the color Porcelain.

6.

 The Urban Decay Primer Potion is the best eye primer that I have used yet (and I've tried the other favorite contenders). The color comes out the best on this primer and it lasts the longest as well. I've never had a problem with creasing with this stuff. I will always repurchase this!

7.

 What can I say about Buxom lip gloss? It is probably my favorite lip gloss in the world right now. I want every color. I especially love how they all have stripper names. Bravo Bare Escentuals! This one is in the color Bunny.

8.

 MAC Cremesheen is like a gloss and a lipstick in one, even though it is just a lipgloss. I love putting this on, especially because it smells delicious. This one is in Bare Again.

9.

 Rose Salve is amazing. I use this very frequently. I have it in the knockoff Bath and Body works version, but I think they are pretty much the same. It smells great and it is good for a bunch of different things. I use it on my lips primarily but I have also used it on my cuticles and on chapped skin. This is the most useful thing I have ever purchased!

10.

This is just a sample that I got at a Clinique event but I will definitely buy the full size. It is the Clinique All-Over Face Color in Almond Blossom. It is beautiful. It is the perfect medium between a blush and a bronzer for me. I have been reaching for this every day lately.

I hope you enjoyed this! If you have any questions ask them in the comments!

Hi and Welcome!

My name is Roxy and I am a beginner at all this make-up stuff. Well, sort of.

I started to get into make-up seriously about five months ago. I have been obsessed ever since.  I have read books, watched countless make-up videos, read make-up blogs, and gone over and over dozens of make-up retail sites. I have purchased many products and I have begun to have a pretty good knowledge of what is good to use.

This site will chronicle my exploration of make-up: the good, the bad, and the just plain ugly.