Sunday, October 11, 2015

Too Faced Stardust by Vegas Nay Palette Review

Hello my lovelies, I am extremely excited to bring for you all today a review of this gorgeous and limited edition palette. I finally decided to get this and I couldn't be more happy with my decision. It is such a beautiful palette with amazing shadows and other extra goodies! The shadows are amazingly pigmented and blendable, easy for me to work with even though I am not the greatest at smoky eyes. 





The palette comes with 12 large shadows. Finishes are matte and shimmer. I got the descriptions of the colors from Ulta's website. 



First 6 Shadows
Chandelier: matte cream
Millennial: matte warm medium brown
Girl's Night: matte deep warm brown
#selfie: cream white with slight silver shimmer
Showgirl: bronzed pearl
Jackpot: brown with gold shimmer

My favorites from these are Millennial and Showgirl. You'll see in the swatches how beautiful these shades are. I was underwhelmed a bit by Chandelier on first swatch, but it applies well to the brow bone.



Left to right: chandelier, millennial, girl's night, #selfie, showgirl, jackpot
Last 6 shadows



Pink Pearl: pearl cool light pink
The Strip: silvered mauve
Follow Me: vibrant blue sparkle with blue shimmer
Double Tap: deep red brown with violet sparkle
Golden Nugget: gold foiled coppery shimmer
Sin City: matte black

Double Tap and Golden Nugget are definitely winners for me with these 6. Sin City wasn't the blackest in my opinion, but I don't black that often so I don't mind that. Also, Follow Me gorgeous and you can kind of see it in the swatch that it has a bit of a dual chrome finish. I didn't think I would like it nearly as much as I do. I can't wait to do some looks with it.

Left to right: pink pearl, the strip, follow me, double tap, golden nugget, sin city



The set also came with a deluxe glamour dust glitter pigment in Nude Beam, a deluxe Better Than Sex mascara, a deluxe Shadow Insurance eye shadow primer, and 6 glamour guides. I am just as excited about all of these extras as I am about the shadows. I haven't tried any of the makeup items, but I have heard great reviews on all of them. I don't want to open any since I am trying to finish off some older things. I have tried 2 of the looks from the glamour guide cards, they are easy to follow and I was happy with the way the looks came out.


Saturday, October 10, 2015

Project Pan Roulette

Hello lovelies, so I decided that I would do yet another project pan. I am really enjoying doing these and seeing that I am actually using products and not just letting them go to waste by sitting in my collection. This time I decided to go with a project pan roulette. I like the idea that I don't really know what I am going to have to finish up. 

Here is a list that I put on little pieces of paper and chose from a hat. Some I was excited about choosing because I knew right away what I was going to use, others were a little more difficult. 

1. An Item of your choice
2. A product you are loving
3. something fun
4. a product from a palette
5.  a cream product
6. a deluxe sized item
7. a bronzer
8. a blush
9. a product you regret buying
10. a product you have a love/hate relationship with
11. something you already hit pan on
12. an item in a color you don't normally wear
13. a loose powder product
14. a new item in your collection
15. on of the oldest items in your collection
16. an item that was a gift
17. an item with beautiful packaging
18. one of your most expensive items
19. one of your cheapest items
20. a drugstore item
21. a lip product
22. an item from your favorite brand


I decided to choose 12 different categories and as soon as I finish 10 of the 12 products, I would consider that a win and the project will be over. As of right now I am not sure whether I want to give myself a time limit or not because I think I may be starting another seasonal challenge. I will let you guys know once I do my first update. On to the things I pulled!

1. Loose powder product: NYC Smooth Skin Loose Face Powder. Completely freaked out when I chose this because they are not the easiest thing to finish, but I think I can get through it.

2. One of the oldest: Artistry Light Up Lip Gloss in Champagne. I need to move this out of my collection because it really is one of my oldest and I don't wear it nearly enough.

3. Blush: Wet n Wild blush in Heather Silk. My goal is to just hit pan on this. Figured I would pick a blush that I wouldn't mind wearing in Autumn and into Winter. 

4. Product I regret buying: Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm. I got this when Ulta had it for 50% off, so I only paid $17 for it, but I never reach for it because it has next to no coverage whatsoever. Could have gotten other things with that money that wouldn't have just sat in my collection the way this has. 

5. Beautiful Packaging: Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in Love Craft. This was a point perk on Sephora, I love the packaging on this. Also the only other things in my collection that have beautiful packaging are palettes and I didn't want to include any of them.

6. Product I am Loving: Jordana Easy Liner for Lips in Rock n' Rose. I am obsessed with this lip liner. I use it everyday because it is my perfect nude. My favorite lip liner of all time!

7. New Item: Stila Stay All Day concealer. I got this on Hautelook but haven't done more than just swatch it because I have been trying to use up other concealers. 

8. Cheapest Item: ELF Instant Lift Brow Pencil. Haven't even used this yet since I am using up another brow product, but look forward to trying it out. If it does work out well that would be exciting since it is only a couple of dollars!

9. Cream Product: NYC City Proof 24 Hr Eye Primer. Debated whether I should have this here or under product I regret buying. I like using the maybelline color tattoos to enhance the eyeshadow I put over it, so I don't know what I was thinking when I bought this honestly. I look forward to moving it out of my collection though.

10. Drugstore Item: ELF Mist and Set. I enjoy using this product in my day to day routine as it is, so I thought why not just add in something I won't get bored with using. 

11. Lip Product: Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Get Ready. This is a deluxe sized sample lipstick I got in ipsy, I have had it for too long and haven't worn it, but it being in a project will basically force me to use it. 

12. Item of my choice: NYC Smooth Skin Bronzer in Sunny. I have had this for so long and would feel guilty using another one while this is just sitting in my collection. I am just aiming to use this until it hits pan to count it completed.

So there is the list. If you have made it to the end of this post I applaud you. Again the goal is to finish 10 of the 12 items. I'll write to you all with another update soon!


Saturday, October 3, 2015

Finish 13 by Halloween Update #2

Hello my lovely readers, today I bring for you my 2nd update for my Finish 13 by Halloween project pan. Now, I know it is the 3rd and I should have posted on the 30th of September, but school and work have officially overtaken my life. I did however take the photos on that day, and that is why the quality of them isn't the greatest. Anyway, there are a lot of products so I will just get right into it.


All 13 of my products.
So, I guess I will start with face products.  The Garnier BB Cream has some considerably less product in it. The Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer, I honestly don't know what my progress on this is. I can't get the air out of the top and it is hard for me to see through the packaging. This is one of the items that I am pretty sure I won't be finishing. The Yaby Natural Finish foundation has also got some progress on it. If I just use it more exclusively like I had planned, I probably would have been done with it by now. For the past week I have been only using it and I found a way to make it work better with my skin so I don't mind using it as much as I was before. I have a lot more pan on the Mac Mineralized Skinfinish Natural. I'm pretty confident that I will be finishing that one up soon. I have finally hit pan on the Mac Studio Finish Concealer. I was working on only one side, but then realized that that wouldn't have shown up in the photos and so I started in on the middle again. Because of how I was using it though, I am almost done with half of on side. 

Next, I have a variety of the other products. First is the Rimmel Scandaleyes in Black. I am not making the greatest progress on this and since I am only using it to tightline, I wasn't expecting much. I will continue to use it for the rest of the month, but I will be happy to use something that won't transfer everywhere as much as this one does. Next is the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Branded. My progress with this is alright. I didn't really start using it until I finished with my Finsih 5 by Fall project pan because I had a base in there that I was using. The goal is to use half of that I have left of this, but I'm not sure that will happen. I have the Salon Perfects Brow Pencil, and I made good progress on this. It won't be finished based on the steady progress I have been making, but it will be pretty close and that is exciting. I'll be glad to move that out of my collection and use my new brow products. As for lips in this challenge, I have the Almay liquid lip balm in blooming and the Maybelline Babylips in Twinkle. Both have good progress on them. I'm not too worried about finishing either one of these. 

As for the products that I have finished for this project, I have three! My Maybelline Babylips in Cherry Me was a pain to finish. It got really goopy towards its end. Also, the red wasn't a very flattering one on me and because I was trying to finish it, it was always splotchy and uneven looking. As for the other 2, they were both from the ELF Blush and Contour duo. I hit pan on the blush a lot earlier than the bronzer. I will probably choose to finish up this blush in a future pan because I really enjoyed using it. The bronzer however was another story. It looked a lot better as an all over shadow than as a bronzer. It was always really splotchy and uneven on me. Also, hard pan keeps forming over it, and it is annoying to have to deal with it. I may just toss it once I finish the blush completely, but for now I may just continue to use it as an allover shadow look on the days when I don't have too much time to get ready. 

So there you have it. That was a lot to get through. I decided that if I finish 7 products from this project I will be proud of myself. The main goal for my doing all of these projects is to try to get through my products, make sure I am getting my moneys worth, and to make sure I use things before they go completely bad and become unusable. While I may put them on the side after the project is over, I won't completely just forget about them. Constantly having to use a product really lets you know if you like it enough that it would be considered repurchasable. 

What I think I will be able to finish in the next month:
Maybelline Baby Lips in Twinkle
Mac Minieralized Skinfinish Natural
Mac Studio Finish Concealer
Yaby Natural Finish FOundation
Almay Liquid Lip Balm in Blooming.

Well, until my next post my fellow beauty lovers. 

Friday, September 25, 2015

Finish 5 by Fall Final Update


Hello lovelies, I write for you today my final Finish 5 by Fall update. This was a tough one, but I finished 5 products and my first project pan was a success! 

I wasn't too worried about the concealers, and they were pretty easy to get through. I will be repurchasing the Maybelline Fit Me concealer but not the Rimmel Wake Me Up. 

The Maybelline BabyLips in Coral Crush was pretty easy to get through, but I won't be purchasing any more of them until I get through my entire collection of them. I probably won't repurchase any even after that. I don't feel like they are as moisturizing as I would like. 

The Rimmel Stay Matte powder was a mess towards its end. I ended up just crushing it and turning it into a loose powder to get through it. I have already repurchased, but I know that I won't be putting it in my travel makeup bag because the packaging is terrible and ruined everything the first time round. 

be a bombshell cream shadow in submissive. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to make it through a quarter of the product. I started to really pack it on in the end honestly. I am relieved to be able to put it away now though. It is alright, but if I used too much it would crease. I much prefer the Maybelline Color Tattoos over this. 

I hadn't anticipated that the Rimmel Scandaleyes nude eyeliner would be so hard to get through. As you can see from the markings on my paper, I didn't make it through a lot. I like this product, so I am not too worried about having to continue using it. I already own a back up of that as well. This was the one product I couldn't finish, but I only needed to finish 5.

Overall, I think this was a huge success. I am currently working on minimizing my collection and put myself on a no-buy until I completely finish 10 products, so finishing these definitely helped. Also having to consistently use a product really gives you a sense of if you like it or not. 


Monday, September 21, 2015

Empties #3 - Hits and Misses


Hello lovelies, I have for you some more empties. I am going to get right into it since there is a bit to get through. 

1. Revlon Bold Laquer mascara - liked it enough but not enough to repurchase it. I think the regular grow luscious in the green and silver packaging is better than this. 

2. equate makeup wipes - I don't use wipes unless I have a total cake face on and my cleanser doesn't feel like it will be enough. I do use these to clean up while I am doing my makeup and when I go on a swatchfest (happens at least 3 nights a week). They work well enough and are inexpensive. I have repurchased these time and time again.

3. realtree for her - I got this perfume in an ipsy bag I believe. I was so sad when it finished because I am obsessed with the way that this smells. If I was any good at describing smells I would explain this but I am not so I won't. I will be purchasing a full size!

4. Real Techniques sponge - I have already purchased a new one. It is really inexpensive and I love the way that it applies makeup. This one was just getting old and started to crack so I got some when Ulta had 20% off. I also got all 3 of my sisters using it now too.

5. Chapstick in Strawberry - I know I am not the only that counts actually finishing a chapstick and not losing it somewhere as a victory. This is my favorite chapstick and once I get through all of mine it will probably be the only one I purchase. Have already repurchased, love this flavor!

6. elf makeup remover pen - i love this for when I get a random mascara dot on my brow bone --happens often-- or when I want to achieve a perfect wing. It is only $3 and I have purchased it countless times already. Made the mistake of not closing one of them properly though and so it dried out pretty quick. 

7. Bare Republic sunscreen - I didn't actually finish this, however I am tossing it because it separated. I don't know how long I have had it, but it wasn't that long. Will not purchase a full size of this. 

8. Benefit Porefessional - I like this primer, but I am not sure I would actually purchase a full size. I like the one from dr. brandt more. Once I get through all of my primers and samples, I will probably purchase that one over this. I don't hate getting samples of it though, just not sure I would spend that much money on it.

9. elf Makeup Mist and Set - I really like this for daily use. It doesn't always have the best spray, but it works well enough. I have already repurchased it. 

10. Mary Kay black eyeliner - If you seen my original Finish 5 by Fall you would know that this was one of the 5, however it was incredibly dried out. I didn't like this too much when I originally got it so I won't be repurchasing it. I have tried far better liners than this one. 

So there you have it. These are all the products that I have finished recently. Keep in mind that this does not include the products that I use for my project pans that I have going on. I keep those in a separate bag so that I can keep track of what I have going on. 

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Current Reads September 2015


Hello people of the internet, so here for you today I have yet another current reads for you. I guess I will go from left to right. Lets just pretend that my planner isn't there, I couldn't be bothered to move it. 

1. apples & chalkdust by Vivki Caruana
This is a really cute read. Its just little stories and things of encouragement for teachers. Caruana uses her own experiences as well as from a couple of other teachers. Really cute read for anyone going into education.

2. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
This is I believe the fourth book I am reading from Rowell. I have come to appreciate her adult contemporary novels and this is one of them. I just started reading it, so I don;t know how much I like this one, but so far it seems like an easy read. Sometimes I need something like this to get me out of a reading slum. 

3. The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks
Working through this pretty slowly; possibly because I have already read it before. I go to this whenever I am in the mood to read and just don't know what to read. I know when the story develops a bit more I won't be able to put it down, but it is a bit slow in the build for now and that is how it reads.

4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
Still working on reading all the Harry Potter books. Clearly I got stuck on the third one. There is nothing wrong with the book, but like with the Sparks book, it is taking a minute to get started. I realized this with the other 2 as well. Once I get to the good part, I am sure I won't be able to put it down.

So there you have it. I am doing a lot of reading for my classes at the moment and so my personal reading is taking a bit of a back seat. I am so far off from my goal of 24 books by the end of the year, but I will keep at it. I will be happy if I could read even 12 honestly. Happy reading everyone. 

Monday, August 31, 2015

Finish 13 by Halloween Update #1

Hello lovelies, today I write for you about yet another project pan that I am doing.

Right off the bat, you may have noticed that I chose to change one of my products. I didn't realize how hard it would be to get through the cream shadows. I have a bronze one in my Finish 5 by Fall project, and at this point I am really sick of the color and I can't wait to not have to base my eye looks on that. I chose instead another Maybelline baby lips in Twinkle.


Here is my progress on some of the face products. I hit pan on the blush! Really excited about that and consider that to be one product done because I only wanted to hit pan on it. Relieved that I don't have to use this anymore and have already started using my more Fall appropriate blushes. The bronzer has a decent dip in it and I'm close to hitting pan I think. I don't mind having to use this everyday. I have actually been using it on my eyes with either the bronzer all over the lid or just in the crease with the blush as my lid shade. With a bronze base it comes out rather nice. I used the yaby foundation only a couple of times, I think I am going to start focusing on just using that and putting the bb cream on the side. I don't know my progress on the pixi primer because I can't see through it, but I am using it everyday and I think I am making decent progress on it. The Garnier BB Cream has been getting used just about everyday and I think I'm close to actually finishing it up, but I want a break from it. I start school in a week and I don't mind using that whereas the yaby foundation isn't my favorite. I have used the mac mineralized skin finish a couple of times as well, I think I have hit more pan on it than I already had. I'm still working on my Rimmel Stay Matte powder, but as soon as that is done, which will be soon, I think this will be gone before I know it. Especially if I use it as a foundation.


I think the product I have made the most progress on is the Almay Liquid Lip Balm. I enjoy using it on top of my lipsticks or just on its own. The babylips in cherry me is taking longer than I thought to get through, but I will make it through. You can kind of see that I am working on clearing the edges of both the color tattoo and the concealer. I am about to start making more progress on the concealer because I am just about a day or two away from finishing my fit me concealer. I think I just want to use half of both of those and would consider them a win for this project and just maybe add them to future projects. The 2 pencils are taking way longer than I expected they would. They each just made about one line on the paper difference. I sharpen that brow pencil a lot, but it isn't going anywhere. Honestly it is a little discouraging, but I will continue on. There is no progress on the twinkle babylips because I just switched it out last night. 

So there you have it. Not much progress, but I still have 2 months and am confident that I can make a lot more progress. My goals for the next update is to be done with the babylip in Cherry Me and hit pan on the bronzer. I think I will also be able to get though the yaby foundation in the next month.