Sephora Give Me Some Lip Set

Hey guys! I will be adding pictures to this post when I get home from my college campus tonight.

So I recently bought the Sephora Give Me Some Lip Set for $25 on Sephora.com. I was convinced by one of my lovely YouTube subscribers to check it out and I am so happy that I did! This set contains six lip products, two of which are full sized.

First off I will talk about the Tarte Lipsurgence. It is in the color Hope. It is a matte lip-stain in a pencil. These are comparable to the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable lipstains that came out recently, but I like the Tarte a little more. What I don't like about the Tarte is the $24 price tag. Because of that price I would suggest getting these in kits like this one. (Tarte just released a 5 piece Lipsurgence kit for the holidays for $35, get it while it lasts!) This color is a lovely pink. It looks darker in the tube than it is on the lips. I love the way it makes my lips look and it lasts forever! The kit is $25 and this product, a full size, would be $24 on its own. So I believe that right there makes it worth your money!

The other full size product is the Sephora Glossy Gloss in Precious Pink. I'm not a huge fan of Sephora brand gloss but this one is alright. It is a very sheer color and looks good over lipstick. It's a good option if you want to add some shine to the matte Lipsurgence.

The Laura Mercier Lip Glace in Baby Doll is very nice. It has a nice smell and a pretty color. It is also pretty sheer but it does give you a little color. The only problem I have with this is that the glitter can be a little abrasive on the lips. However if you don't mind a little extra exfoliation than this is great for you!

The Bite Beauty Lip Shine in Vintage looks like a strong mauve in the tube but actually comes off very lightly. This is my second favorite thing in the kit. It is very smooth and moisturizing on the lips. It has a semi unpleasant scent, but that goes away very quickly. I think that I would buy more of these because I like the formula enough to overlook the scent. This has probably been my most go to lip color from the kit.

The Hourglass Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss in Child is definitely the most surprising part of the kit for me. I really did not think that I would like the color. As a rule I generally do not like really nude lip colors. Sure I enjoy a mlbb color as much as the next guy, but skin color nude doesn't usually appeal to me. However this color is amazing. Not only does this nude actually look flattering on me (yay no zombie face!) but it feels exquisite on the lips. I fully understand why this warrants the hefty $28 price tag on the full size. I think I will definitely repurchase this (despite that) when I run out of this generous sample. Oh I forgot, it also smells great.

Finally we have the Fresh Sugar Rose Tinted Lip treatment. This is my third mini of this. Excuse my french but I feel like Fresh is kinda whoring this out. It's in EVERY KIT! Don't get me wrong, I love it. I especially love that I will never have to pay $22.50 for the full size. It has spf in it, it tints your lips, and it's very hydrating.

All in all I think this is an A+ set. $25 is a really good price for the quality of the products in the set. I would have paid $25 for the set even if it didn't include the Sephora and Fresh products. Check it out! Let me know what you think!

Also ladies, tomorrow marks the beginning of the Sephora VIB sale. Let me know what you haul!

NYX Butt "Naked" Eyes Palette

I purchased this palette on Haute Look for about $15, $10 less than it retails normally. I was really excited to find it on Haute Look because I had been eyeing and swatching it every time I went into Urban Outfitters. Now that I own it, I would say that it is worth every penny!

I have to admit, What I really fell in love with was the bottom part of the palette. The blushes, bronzer, and highlight powders are very pigmented and beautiful. My pictures don't even do them justice.

The eye shadows are quite nice too. A lot of them are matte shades but they are pretty pigmented. I really like the shimmery colors in the palette as well. When this originally came on the market, a lot of people speculated that this would be NYX's answer to the Urban Decay Naked palette, but this palette is completely different. The Naked palette is filled primarily with warm colors. This palette is pretty much all cool colors. There are also a lot more colors in this palette. However, I would have to say that the UD Naked palette has better quality eyeshadow overall.

At half the price of the Naked palette, I would say that the NYX palette is a good buy. Although the eyeshadow isn't quite as good, the colors are different enough that there won't be any repeats between the two palettes. If I had to choose one, I would go for the UD Naked palette because I believe it's a staple that everyone could use in their collection. This is a nice side addition though!

Please leave questions and comments and subscribe!

Benefit Bella Bamba Blush

I wanted a Benefit boxed blush for a long time. I was thrilled when I saw that this was part of the Pretty Committee set for $40 as these blushes retail for $28. I absolutely love it!

The color is very flattering but you have to be careful with it. It can be applied much too heavily if you aren't light handed. But if you are gentle with it, it can give you a nice flush! It also has a nice scent.

Next I want to try Coralista! Let me know if you have tried any of the other blushes!

Please leave questions and comments and subscribe!

Wet N Wild palette in "Blue Had Me at Hello"

I've been having a love affair with Wet N Wild eye shadow lately. Their trios are heavenly! When I saw the teal in this palette, I knew I had to have it.

There are two looks to this palette. On the left is a smokey look and on the right is a teal look. Both of them are stunning when applied. Hopefully you can see how beautiful the swatches are. These shadows are buttery. My favorite color is the teal. It's beautiful and true to color.

If you want cheap, high quality shadows, check out these palettes!

Please leave questions and comments and subscribe!

MAC Viva Glam V Lipstick, The Universal Color

Sorry for my absence! I've been in a funk when it comes to blogging lately. I was also on a no buy for the month of July. Then I went on a week long camping trip where I wore absolutely no make-up at all! But I do have a back log of products to talk about so here goes!

My dad's girlfriend has this lipstick and I've always been interested in it, especially because she sings its praises. Next I ran into it on someone's blog. She was a member of a group called the "lipstick bandits," a group of bloggers who coordinate posts about lipsticks. They, as a whole, decided that MAC Viva Glam V is the universal lipstick color. Once I read that, I knew I had to buy it.

I really really love this color! And it has indeed worked on everyone I've tried it on. It's a beautiful color that is definitely a mlbb on me. I can slap it on without being too worried about application because it's such a natural color. It looks great!

I would suggest this to anyone looking to buy a flattering MAC shade!

Please leave comments and questions and subscribe!

Garnier Skin Renew BB Cream

This is the first BB cream that I tried, ever. I automatically liked it. Everyone else hates it. I don't really know why. I have since tried a sample of the Stila HD BB cream that I received in my Birchbox, but I don't like it more than this. I think this one has the same amount of coverage, a more pleasant smell, and I like that it has SPF in it which the Stila one doesn't. SPF is pretty important to me this time of year. I've been trying to make sure I either use a moisturizer or foundation with SPF in it every day. This is both, go figure.

Hopefully you can see from the swatch that it matches my skin pretty well. It applies sheer to medium coverage. People say it's just a glorified tinted moisturizer but I disagree. This gives me much fuller coverage than even my Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer. Coverage is important to me as I have very red cheeks; I feel comfortable wearing this out of the house with the amount of coverage it gives me.

Am I missing out terribly when it comes to higher end BB creams? Please let me know! Tell me what your favorite BB cream is or if you've used this one, let me know what you think!

Urban Decay Cosmopolitan Lip Gloss

Hey everyone! So I picked this up on sale a while ago and I never got around to reviewing it! Apparently Urban Decay had a line of glosses inspired by drinks! I thought this was adorable (remember I'm huge into gimmicky products and I'm not afraid to admit it) and because I'm 21, I thought it was appropriate!

The gloss itself is a nice color and consistency but there are some big flaws. I guess it is supposed to smell like a Cosmo. Now I'll admit that I am the most boring 21 year old alive. I rarely drink. I'll have Margaritas with my dad but I don't go to bars or anything like that. I really don't have a reason to. I don't need to pick up men because I have a simply wonderful boyfriend who I have been dating for 2 years, and my two best friends are under age so I can't help them pick up men. Anyways, my point is that I haven't ever tried a Cosmo so I don't know what they smell like. I supposed if I smelled a Cosmo and it smelled like the lipgloss I would change my opinion. For now, the gloss smells like bubbles to me. Bubbles as in the $2 bottles of bubbles that you buy in a drug store for a kid in the summer time when you are trying to think of ways to keep them occupied. I really can't get over the scent. I apply the gloss and as if I got into the TARDIS (Doctor Who reference for all you poor souls who haven't experienced DW yet) and was transported back to my childhood. Bubbles aren't exactly something you want to apply to your lips, so the experience is kinda negative for me.

ANYWAYS, (I'm in a tangent mood tonight) the other flaw with the product is that when you pull the doe foot out of the tube there is never enough product on it. Now my lips aren't very big, but I'm finding myself having to dip the wand in the tube at least three times to cover my lips all the way.

I thought maybe I had a defective Bubble-smelling, poor-dispensing gloss, but my best friend Becca has the same one and hers is the same. Oh well, I'll keep wearing it and see if it grows on me!

Let me know what you think!

Barbie Loves Stila Smudge Pot in Cobalt Clutch

I eyed this product for a long time before I bit the bullet and finally bought it. The funny part is that it was on sale the entire time I was eying it for only $8! Seeing as how Smudge Pots retail for $20, I'm not really sure why I waited... Oh yea, the color. I was both fascinated and terrified of the electric blue. Instead of calling it "Cobalt Clutch" they could have called it "The Most Beautiful And Impractical Color Ever."

As you can probably see from my swatch, it swatches more on the sheer side (buildable coverage) and it is a little blotchy at times. I would suggest wearing a primer with this color because it smudged and creased on my pretty easily when I wore it as a liner (I am still afraid to wear it as a lid color).

Do you have this color? What do you think of it? Let me know!

Urban Decay Urban Glow Highlighters

Moonshine and Wicked

Moonshine and Wicked

I think I've mentioned this before, but to anyone new here: I'm obsessed with highlights.

This started when I bought my Smashbox Fusion Softlights in Baked Stardust. I bought it on a whim because it was on sale and frankly I was going a little shop happy. I had no idea what to do with it, so naturally I went to my good old friend YouTube for some advice. Then I started swirling it around with my brush and brushing it on my cheekbones, my temple, the bridge of my nose, and sometimes my chin. It gave me the most beautiful sheen I have ever experienced. I'm speaking of it in the past tense because as I used it every single day, I hit pan on it pretty quickly. I wore it down further and further until one day while transporting it from my mother's house to my father's house, half of it crumbled. Since then I had kept it with my bronzers and highlighters occasionally trying to use it. Very recently my youngest sister, Maddy, was bored and made me throw out old or broken make-up. Sadly, that was one of them. I don't want to pay full price for it, something along the lines of $28, but I can't seem to find anything to replace it as of yet.

ANYWAY, I've ventured into cream highlights. These were and I think Wicked still is $6 in Urban Decay's sale section, so I had to get them. The only complaint I have is about Moonshine.

As you can see from my pictures of the products in the pan, Moonshine looks very white and Wicked is a little pinkish. However, in the swatch picture, Moonshine comes off as being quite a bit pinker than Wicked. Why? Because although Moonshine is white, it has an incredibly pink duo-chrome. While in the pan it doesn't really appear, it's very vibrant on the skin. So naturally, if I'm putting highlight in various places on my face, Moonshine is going to look a little funky say on my nose. I am much more likely to put it over my blush, but that doesn't really give me the look I'm going for: subtle glow.

Wicked is much more neutral when it comes to applying it all over the face. I have been using it much more than Moonshine. It is a very natural color.

So I think I prefer powder highlights to cream, but these are good products and if you are interested you should pick some up while they are still this cheap. These are easily blendable and wear a long time.

Let me know what you think! Please comment and subscribe!

The Body Shop Primers

Vitamin C Skin Boost Left and Matte It Right

Vitamin C Skin Boost Left and Matte It Right

These are two primers from The Body Shop, one of my favorite places to find skin care!

Now I've had the Vitamin C Skin boost for a long time. I love the way it feels on my skin. The smell has gone from great to not so great, but it still works really well. It has something in it that makes your skin glow! It also really helps my make-up to stay.

I haven't had Matte It for that long, but so far I like it. Its clear and has no scent. It seems to help with oil better than the Vitamin C Skin Boost. As far as the longevity of make-up, it seems to be pretty on par with the Skin Boost.

I would recommend both these products although I like the Vitamin C Skin Boost more. Check them out!

Please leave question and comments and subscribe!

Wet N Wild Silk Finish Lipstick

511B Left and 521A Right

511B Left and 521A Right

511B Left and 521A Right

You will probably notice that I'm having a bit of a love affair with Wet N Wild lately. I will admit, I used to look down on the brand. This is partially due to their eyeliners which actually hurt my eyelids when I use them. My feelings about the brand radically changed recently when I noticed the hype about the Mega Shield lipstick and decided to try some out. While these products aren't quite on par with say a MAC lipstick there is one HUGE bonus: the price.

I believe these two lipsticks are $1.99 each. I would advise anyone who wants to try out interesting colors to buy these instead of other brands because they are that cheap and frankly, how often does one wear fuchsia lipstick?

The shade 511B is a rasberry shade. It is creamy and there is no scent. 521A is fuchsia with a purple sheen. It is also creamy with no scent. The colors have sheer to medium coverage as advertised and are quite buildable.

I will definitely be picking up more of these colors in interesting shades to try out!

Please leave questions and comments and subscribe!

Tarte Lip Surgence Review

Fiery Left, Joy Right

Fiery Left, Joy Right

Fiery Left, Joy Right

Wow I've been a little lip product crazed lately. Lip products are my absolute favorite products so sometimes I can get a little carried away!

Anyways, this is a review on the Tarte Lip Surgences that I own. Funny story, I didn't purchase either of these. No no no, I didn't rip off a store (no one sells Tarte within 100 miles of where I live) but for the price, $24, I'm certainly glad I didn't pay for them!

Fiery, the red color, I received as part of a Sephora 500 point perk. I loved everything else, but I was especially delighted with the red. The red is long lasting and cool toned so it looks good with my skin tone. I wore it to a CD release and received lots of compliments on it.

The coral-y/orange-y color, Joy, I received in a Birchbox. Birchbox has this funny habit of doing that. Just when I'm so fed up with Birchbox sending me the most unappealing products, they send me a box with something amazing. Joy is amazing. While it looks pretty orange, it comes off a coral on my lips. I am in love with the color it gives me. It is creamy and shiny. It doesn't last as long as matte Fiery, but I don't mind reapplying lip color.

I love the packaging of these lipstick pencils. They are like the Clinique Chubby sticks. They twist up so you don't have to worry about sharpening! The pencil format allows for precise application. I also love the smell of these lipsticks. They are very minty, but not overpoweringly so.

Would I spend $24 on these? Only if I was looking to treat myself. I see $24 as an investment. I want a product that will really last for $24 and I prefer a traditional lipstick for that. However, I would buy these in kits and such. I really do enjoy them. The bottom line is, they are good products just a little pricey for me.

Please leave questions and comments and subscribe!

NYX Round Lipsticks

Margarita, Christie, Haute Melon, Tea Rose, Spellbound, Snow White

Margarita, Christie, Haute Melon, Tea Rose, Spellbound, Snow White

Margarita, Christie, Haute Melon, Tea Rose, Spellbound, Snow White

I've heard so much about these lipsticks that I had to try some for myself. Unfortunately, the swatches on NYX's website, Ulta's website, and Cherry Culture are all inaccurate color wise. This is something that happens frequently with lipstick swatches and it is very frustrating. Instead of swatching each color on the site, the company takes a picture and then digitally alters it to an approximation of the color. This is usually inaccurate color wise, and it doesn't show frosted colors, duochromes, or shine. Because of this, I usually prefer to buy lipstick in a store. Unfortunately, I don't have a store that sells NYX products (other than my Urban Outfitters which sometimes carries NYX palettes) anywhere near me. What I ended up doing was looking up the round lipstick swatches in YouTube Videos and on other blogs. I would look up a certain color multiple times on different skin tones to see how it looked. This proved to be the most effective way to search for good colors.

As for the colors I purchased, Margarita is a coral with a lot of frost. I would prefer there to be less frost but I still like the color a lot. Christie is very light pink with frost. Usually a color like Christie would make me look pretty trashy but Christie looks quite nice. The next color is Haute Melon. Haute Melon is like Margarita except it comes off matte and has no frost. This one is tricky. It feels pretty waxy and drying when I apply it so I prefer to layer a gloss over it. I really like the color though and for $4 I can't really complain. Tea Rose is my favorite of all the colors I purchased. It's a my lips but much better color on me and it is very creamy. That will probably be the first that I run out of. Spellbound is a deep pink. It is very creamy and while it is bright, it is still a wearable color for every day. Finally, I have to admit that I purchased Snow White because of all the Snow White hype that has been happening lately. Also the swatches looked really good on everyone else. Snow White is dark, super dark. I wore it in my April favorites video. If I have the right eye look going on, I can either look like a Disney villain or a film noir damsel. This is definitely a night time lipstick, but it is fun to play with.

I hope to get more and more of these lipsticks. It would be awesome to find a store near me that sells them so I can witness them in person!

Please leave questions and comments and subscribe!

Wet N Wild Mega Shield Lip Color

Within These Adobe Walls top, Lolly Popstar bottom

Within These Adobe Walls top, Lolly Popstar bottom

These Mega Shield lip colors are brand new from Wet N Wild. They cost around $2.99 at drugstores or wherever Wet N Wild is sold. These have been getting a lot of notice on YouTube lately, so I thought I would check these products out. They are advertised as sheer to medium coverage but I think they are more of an opaque coverage. They are very moisturizing.

The first color, Within These Adobe Walls, is a peachy pink color. It is definitely my favorite out of the two. It is a very pretty color. The second color, Lolly Popstar, is a frosted raspberry color. It's pretty bright and I'm not overly fond of the frost, but I do like the color itself.

I do have a couple complaints about these though. First of all, the color extends above the casing which means that when taking off or putting on the cap, you run the risk of denting the lipstick. Also, the cap comes off extremely easily so it is best not to let it roll around in your purse.

All in all, flaws aside, this product is an extremely good value and I will be checking out more from the line!

Please leave questions and comments and subscribe!

Naked vs. Naked 2, A review and comparison

Naked 2 on top and Naked on bottom

Naked 2 on top and Naked on bottom

As a graduation gift to myself, I bought myself the Naked 2 palette. I had been wanting this for a while, but because it was $50, I wanted  to save it for a special occasion. I will now review and compare the palettes!

So first off, the packaging. The original Naked palette is in a velour cardboard palette with magnets that secure it. It has a small mirror on the inside. Naked 2 comes in a hard case that closes with a clasp. It has a much bigger mirror inside. In terms of packaging, Naked 2 is clearly superior.

Naked and Naked 2 both come with brushes and extras. Naked comes with an eye shadow brush and a mini Urban Decay primer potion. I absolutely love the brush that comes with the Naked palette. It is my brush of choice every day when I apply my eye make-up, no matter what shadows I am using. The primer potion is also really good. A lot of people were happy that the Naked 2 palette doesn't include a primer potion as Urban Decay usually includes it in their other palettes. I do think that it is unfortunate that they don't include it because for people who are new to the brand and who decide to buy Naked 2, they won't be getting the primer potion. I recommend the primer potion highly! Naked 2 comes with a dual sided brush and a mini lip junkie in Naked. The shadow brush on the dual sided brush is smaller than the shadow brush in the original Naked palette. I don't like it as much as the original brush because of this, but it is still a very high quality brush. One thing I do enjoy about the dual sided brush is the crease brush. It is a nice brush, although I have crease brushes from Sigma that I prefer. I like that they include a crease brush, if I take this palette with me on a trip I won't have to bring two separate brushes! The lipgloss isn't my favorite. When it comes to lip plumpers I prefer Buxom plumpers. The color also kind of washes my face out. It's so neutral that I probably wouldn't use it in conjunction with either Naked palette as I feel it looks best with a bright eye. I would have to say when it comes to the additional items in the palettes, the original Naked wins.

Now on to the colors. Between the two palettes, there is one color that is the same and that is Half Baked. One interesting fact about Naked 2 is that the shadows were formulated with Urban Decay's new formula. I couldn't really tell the difference between the two when I swatched both versions of Half Baked. When it comes to the two palettes, Naked has more warm shades and Naked 2 seems to venture more into cool shades, especially more towards the right side of the palette. I love that Naked 2 includes two silver colors. One thing that I would change about Naked 2 if I could would be to arrange the colors from light to dark like they did (more or less) in the original Naked palette. Naked contains two matte colors, both brown crease colors. Naked 2 contains three matte colors, a highlight color, a crease color, and a black. I enjoy the selection of mattes in Naked 2 more than the ones in Naked.

All together I do like both palettes. I believe that both palettes stand alone but can also easily be used in conjunction with each other. I think the original Naked is perfect for a beginner. It was one of the first palettes that I ever purchased. I would say that Naked is what really enthused me about make-up. I think Naked 2 is great for someone with more experience. I love both of the palettes, but it is not necessary to own both.

Please leave questions and comments and subscribe!

Urban Decay 24/7 Pencil Stash

Left to Right: Delinquent, Rehab, Juju, Sin, Clash

Left to Right: Delinquent, Rehab, Juju, Sin, Clash

Left to Right: Delinquent, Rehab, Juju, Sin, Clash

 I had been eying these for a long time before I found them for $12 on HauteLook. Now they are $9 in the sale section on the Urban Decay website!

So let me describe these for you all. Delinquent is a dark purple with purple glitter. Rehab is a shimmery medium brown. Juju is a shimmery taupe color a few shades lighter than Rehab. Sin is a shimmery champagne color. Clash is a bright blue with silver sparkles.

These pencils are not full size, but they are well worth the price. I brought these with me when I went to Florida and I loved them! They can be worn as a shadow, liner, or base! They don't crease on me and they are easily blendable. As you can see in the third picture, it is pretty easy to blend them out before they dry. My sisters even ditched the make-up that they brought to Florida to use these every day and when we got back, one of them bought this kit!

These are perfect for anyone who wants quick and easy tools when they are on the go!

Please leave questions and comments and subscribe!

Stila Beach Palette Number 5: Living the Life in Laguna

Top row from left: Sand Dollar and Sunset, Second row: Cove and Bonfire, Third row: Seashell, Bottom Row: Pacific Coast Highway

Top row from left: Sand Dollar and Sunset, Second row: Cove and Bonfire, Third row: Seashell, Bottom Row: Pacific Coast Highway

I have to admit, of all the Stila Beach palettes, I was most hesitant to try this one. This is probably a surprise considering what Wonderful in Waikiki looks like. I have always been under the belief that wearing pink on you eyelids makes you look like you are diseased, and this palette is full of pinks. The colors, while gorgeous, scare the living daylights out of me. But I was wrong. My best friend Becca got this palette a while before I did. A couple times I noticed how beautiful her eye make-up was and told her. It was always when she was wearing the colors from this palette. After I bought it, I wore it to work. I received two compliments on my make-up that day from two different people. So I got over my fear and started loving this palette.

So the first color, Sand Dollar, is a light ink with silver sparkles. The second color, Sunset, (my personal favorite) is a metallic dark pink with rosy sparkles. The third color, Cove, is a purple with pink sparkles. The final eyeshadow, Bonfire, is a dark brown with pink sparkles. They are really pretty!

Now on to the blushes. In my opinion, they look almost the same and don't really have a lot of pigment. Seashell is a light pink with silver sparkles and Pacific Coast Highway is a hair darker and more peachy with silver sparkles. On my very red skin they don't really show up at all.

Will you be daring and try this? Leave me a comment and subscribe!