First Impression #7: Urban Decay, The Electric Palette

Although I’m not a big makeup junkie I will say that I could not pass up the new installment from Urban Decay. After I passed on purchased the “Naked” palettes, except “Naked Basics”, but the “Electric Palette” stood out to me. For me to spend $40+ on a palette one thing has to be in tact, the packaging. The packaging of this palette is what really sold me. Once I swatched the colors I knew that I had made a great purchase. I will be giving swatches without primer as well as tutorials of looks with this palette, and dupes that are on the market. So, let’s get to it.

First let me rant a little bit about the packaging. The packaging is very similar to that of the Naked 2 & Naked 3 cases as far as the similar closure. The tops of those cases are tin unlinks this one which is plastic. The magnetic closure makes it effortless to open and the design on the palette is amazing. It’s the effect of food coloring initially being dropped into water. Great idea to match the name of the palette.

The palette is not that of eyeshadows except it is pressed pigments. Before I get into the colors, swatches, and other details let’s briefly discuss pressed pigments. Pressed pigments can be applied with a sponge, brush, or fingertips. They also come in a variety of finishes including matte, shimmer, satin, and glitter. As they work for all skin types they work great with oily eyelids. The best thing about pigments compared to eyeshadows are the color payoff you get instantly with just one swatch.

This palette features 10 eyeshadows (with descriptions from the site:

• Revolt (Silver Shimmer)
• Gonzo (Aqua Blue)
• Slowburn (Orange)
• Savage (Hot Pink)
• Fringe (Teal)
• Chaos (Royal Blue)
• Jilted (Fuchsia w/ Blue Shift)
• Urban (Metallic Purple)
• Freak (Neon Green)
• Thrash (Neon Yellow)

All of the colors are original exempt for ‘Chaos’ which was featured in the “Vice Palette’. The palette touches base with all bright colors and the darker ones do have a metallic finish. On the back of the package it states:

WARNING: Slowburn, Savage, Jilted, and Urban are not intended for the immediate eye area

Neon pigments are not approved by the FDA and that is a warning to use at your discretion, not that you can’t use them at all.

As for the brush that came with the palette it’s ok, not the best brush I own, but I do like the double sided. Recommendation on the site:

Use the compact precision brush to line, blend and smudge. Use the small pigment brush to apply color all over the lid or in the crease.

In my opinion the larger side of the brush isn’t as stiff as I would like it but it does the job.

Here are the swatches (no primer was used):

Left to Right (Top Row):
Revolt | Gonzo | Slowburn | Savage | Fringe

Left to Right (Bottom Row):
Chaos | Jilted | Urban | Freak | Thrash

My top 3 from the palette are: Gonzo, Savage, and Urban. Urban would be my #1 pick as I am a sucker for metallic purple. I did also try these colors out on my lips and there was no irritation at all. What can I say? I love experimenting.

The palette retails for $49 on Urban Decay, Sephora, and Ulta sites. You might luck up and find it on eBay (with free shipping) for under $50. I purchased mine for $42. Overall I am happy with my purchase. I love all the colors and the payoff is so worth it. I have read issues of the colors staining the skin, but I have applied it to my hand for swatches, my eyes, and lips and I had no issues with staining on my skin. All was applied in my first impression without primer and removed with baby wipes with no issue.

There are cheaper alternatives if you do not want to break the bank with this palette. Colors are not exactly the same, but similar as far as total package. Be sure to click the links to take you directly to the items mentioned.

• Coastal Scents, 120 Palette (1&2) – $18.95
• BH Cosmetics, 120 Palette (1st & 2nd editions) – $29.95
• EyesLipsFace, Essential Little Black Beauty Book (Cool Edition) – $6.00
• L.A. Colors, Haute Palette – $4.39
• Wet n Wild, Poster Child – $4.99
• Wet n Wild, Art In The Streets – $4.99

Check out some of my favorite YouTube tutorials below. They are a range from subtle to ‘electric’ (pun intended). ENJOY!

 

 

OOTD #5: Color Block [5.10.14]

 

Another week and another OOTD. This one was fun to put together. I went out with a friend for a late lunch and this is what I came up with. It was a bit on the cool side due to scattered thunderstorms, but I love how this look came out. Be sure to click the links in the caption to get the item or an item similar. On my lips I first wore Mac‘s ‘Heroine’, but after lunch I replaced that with a darker purple, Wet n Wild‘s ‘Cherry Bomb’.

Shirt – Forever 21
Skirt – Forever 21
Shoes –KMart
Necklace – H&M
Purse – JustFab, ‘Savant’

 

My Top 5 Nail Polishes: Spring Edition

I am a nail polish junkie and I’m proud of it. I recently downsized my collection and I am very content with the color selection I have. I wanted to share my Top 5 nail polishes for Spring and give a high end and low end option. Be sure to check out my nail polish collection, closet downsize, and vanity posts for my nail polish journey.

1. Ocean Blue

I love a dark blue for spring. It just makes my skin tone pop. I usually go for pink, but I wanted to switch things up. I’ll probably lean more so towards the pink in the summer. As for the three options I chose, it all started with The Sephora By OPI, ‘Slushied’ from the Glee Collection. Two similar colors I have in my collection are: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear, ‘Blue Me Away‘ ($2.99) and Zoya ‘Phoebe'(Matte) from the MOD Collection. ($9).

2. Teal/Turquoise

One of the most infamous signature colors from Essie is ‘Turquoise & Caicos‘. ($8.50). The name gives away the underlying color, turquoise, but ultimately I think it’s categorized more as a teal. Sephora by OPI also has a very similar color called ‘Read My Palm’. Although they are similar as you can see from the picture the Sephora polish is a tad bit darker. This color is hard to come by but there are many other options similar online. This particular color is available in a gel polish.

3. Yellow

I love a great yellow polish and I usually have about 3 or 4 in my collection and I wear them throughout football season (Steelers; Black & Yellow), BUT there’s nothing like a nice yellow on the nails for Spring. What I love about these two yellows is that the Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in ‘Mellow Yellow‘ ($2.99) gives that hint of yellow that I love. The Zoya color ‘Pippa‘ ($9) gives me more pigmentation, but it’s not dark enough to be a mustard yellow. Love the different tones of both polishes.

4. LIlac

If you couldn’t tell my now I am a HUGE fan of the Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear line. I own quite a few of purple polishes, but this one is my ultimate favorite. This polish is called, ‘Lacey Lilac‘ ($2.99) and it surely lives up to its name. This color will work great for any and every skin tone. Essie has great lilac options as well with a price tag of $8.50 a bottle: ‘Bond With Whomever’, ‘St. Lucia Lilac’, and ‘Lilacism.’

5. GLITTER

This is by far my favorite OPI nail polish to date. It was in the Serena Glam Slam Collection and I have been holding on to it and making sure it didn’t dry out since it’s such a beautiful color. I absolutely love it. The only dupe currently available that comes the closest to this color is Zoya’s ‘Faye’ ($9).

Be sure to check out my TOP 5 accessories & lippies for Spring.

What are your top nail polishes for this Spring?

Fashion Forward Friday [V.10]: Spring Haul (Pt.3)

This is my final installment in my Spring haul series. Be sure to check out parts 1 & 2. In this haul I will be featuring items purchased from Wet Seal, JCPenny, and eBay.

I have an OOTD coming up that will be featuring items from my previous spring hauls. I took advantage of the 5/20 deal and ordered 2 pairs of cropped leggings and 3 crop tops which I can’t wait to style. I did order a white one instead of the fuchsia pink one I received, but I guess it was out of stock. I’ll purchase it elsewhere. Click the links to get to the item.

Overalls
Cropped Leggings
Crop Scoop Neck Tees: Black, Blue, Pink

During Easter weekend I headed over to JCPenny and took advantage of the sale they were having. I knew I wanted a pair of converse, either blue or grey, so with a $10 off $25+ coupon I knew it’d be the perfect time to get them. These were $50, low tops are $45, so i ended up paying $40 for the sneakers which wasn’t a bad deal. I also purchased these with the dress featured in my OOTD #3.

Converse High Tops, Charcoal

Last but not least I have been eyeing the new palette from Urban Decay. The ‘Electric Pressed Pigment Palette’ is way out of my comfort zone and I won’t go into too much detail as I will be doing a ‘First Impression’ on the palette. Be on the lookout for that. I snagged this on eBay for $42 (+free shipping), regular price $49.

My Top 5 Lippies: Spring Edition

I recently posted my top 5 accessories for Spring so to keep along that theme I wanted to post about my top 5 lip products (lippies) for Spring as well. Here they are (in price order):

• Wet n Wild Megalast Lip Color – ‘Sugar Plum Fairy’ – $2.29
• Wet n Wild Megaslicks Balm Stain – ‘ A Stiff Pink’ – $2.99
• NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss – ‘Dolly Pink’ – $5.00
• Maybelline Color Sensational – ‘Brazen Berry’ – $7.49
• Mac Cosmetics – ‘Heroine’ – $16.00

Swatches Left to Right:

‘Heroine’, ‘Brazen Berry’, ‘Sugar Plum Fairy’, ‘Dolly Pink’, ‘A Stiff Pink’

If I had to pick 1 favorite out of the 5 it would be hard because I’m a sucker for purple. I know it’s Spring and dark lips are more fall, but I think for a night out ‘Sugar Plum Fairy’ would be perfect. ‘Brazen Berry’ and “Heroine’ are very close in color, but ‘Brazen Berry’ is a tone lighter not making it an exact dupe. I did a First Impression on the Wet n Wild Balm Stains and ‘A Stiff Pink’ was my favorite out of the 3 I reviewed. I have tried other light pink lippies on my lips and none of them work except for this one. To give it more pizzaz than it already has, add ‘Dolly Pretty Pink’ on top. As for my fav, I’ll go with my most worn ‘Brazen Berry’.

What are your fav lippies for Spring?

Stay tuned next week for my top 5 nail polishes.

OOTD #2: Easter [4.20.14]

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

I decided I’d share my Easter outfit of the day. I hope that you all enjoy your Sunday and are ready for the new week! Be sure to check out my Casual OOTD from yesterday here. Also be sure to click the links within the pictures.

I had initially planned on wearing this:

Dress: JCPenny
Shoes: Charlotte Russe

BUT since the weather would below 50 degrees I decided on a pants & blazer ensemble instead and keep the accessories/makeup I had originally planned.

Blazer: JCPenny
Shirt: Forever 21
Pants: Unknown
Shoes: JustFab, ‘Lorient’
Nail Polish: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear, ‘Lacey Lilac’
Watch: New York & Company

MAKEUP DETAILS:

Brushes – E.L.F., Sonia Kashuk, MAC 187
Mac Studio Fix NC45 ($27)
E.L.F. Translucent Matifying Powder ($3)
Revlon Lip Butter ‘Fig Jam’ ($7.49)
Revlon Colorburst ‘Peach’ ($5.07)
Benefit Bad Gal Lash ($10-$19)
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear ‘Lacey Lilac‘ (2.99)

 

OOTD #1: Casual [4.19.14]

HAPPY SATURDAY EVERYONE!

I want to incorporate more OOTDs (outfit of the days) here on my blog and I thought since I don’t work today I could give a glimpse of what I wear on a Saturday when I have a few errands to run. I spent the earlier part of my morning blogging and I will be going to the mall soon on the hunt for a lavender outfit & a pair of Converse. Hopefully I’ll be successful in getting what I’m looking for. Anyway, I wanted to share my OOTD so here it is. I

So not pictured I have on leggings from H&M that I will feature in a future haul and a basic black tank from Forever 21. I like to keep my outfits as simple as possible when I have nowhere important to go. Be sure to click the links under the pictures.

Earrings – Wet Seal                                                Lip of the Day (LOTD) –                                       Wet n Wild Balm Stain, ‘A Stiff Pink’

Shirt – Gap

Shoes – GoJane

Purse – Joyce Leslie                               Makeup Bag – Gifted                                 Wallet – Betsey Johnson

Bath & Body Works– Beautiful Day                          Jordana – ‘Eggplant’            Revlon Lip Butter – ‘Fig Jam’    Wet n Wild Balm Stain –‘A Stiff Pink’                                                Sephora Compact Mirror (w/ light)

Products I Regret Buying (Beauty Edition)

There are many beauty products that I have purchased for one of 3 reasons: impulse, YouTube, and sales! Each one of the products I REGRET purchasing fall into that category and after downsizing my makeup collection I have become more conscious of what I want/need to buy if anything at all. I have broken down the products in 3 categories: eyes lips face, but I will be doing additional installments to this series beyond beauty so stay tuned.

EYES

When I first got into purchasing makeup I went for what was affordable and could not justify spending over $5 on a product. When it comes to makeup I will say to choose quality over quantity and that it’s better to have one great palette to begin with than a bunch of mediocre eyeshadow just to say you have a collection. ELF is one of the most affordable lines and I have a lot of their products in my collection. Overtime I will say that their shadows have gotten better. I’m still ready to try out the baked shadows, but with ELF it seems that the more you pay the better the quality. These larger palettes are just the worse for me personally. The colors don’t really show up and I’m not just talking swatches. I’m just not a fan at all.

The next quad that I have is from Revlon and it’s called, Coffee Bean. I’m really big on neutral shadows. Similar to that of the ELF palette I purchased I absolutely hate it. Reason I bought it? CVS 75% off sale. I snagged this for no more than $3. The only good color I could work with was the copper color, but for me only to like 1 shadow out of 4 is a waste for me. I’ve been holding on to it hoping that I’d get some use out of it, but I’m not so lucky. I’ve been letting my younger sisters dabble in these two palettes. Personally, they’re of no use to me.

LIPS

I showed product in a beauty haul and this is something I regretted buying after it didn’t apply to my lips. The swatch color was amazing, but ABSOLUTELY nothing showed up on my lips. The product glided on my hand and the applicator was that of a fine tip marker. Unfortunately nothing showed up on my lips at all. No color and it was a waste of $2 for me. This product is not worth saving. In the trash it goes.

FACE

I’m so used to my Mac Studio Fix and it was worth every penny, but the FIT ME products that I purchased were all based from YouTube. YouTube is a good and bad obsession. I’m always inspired and excited to share blog posts here and redesign different rooms in my home, BUT I will say that I’ve purchased a lot over the past 2 years based off YouTube. The Maybelline FitMe Foundation happens to be one of those. I spent about $8 on the foundation which was no problem. It was the first Liquid Foundation I had purchased. In my lifetime I’ve only purchased 3 foundations, this one included. This foundation was just too cakey on my skin. When I swatched it, it matched my skin but upon application it was just bleh. Not a fan. The same thing goes for the blush. That was a mix of an impulse buy and YouTube. I was just wanting a blush to try out, but nothing too crazy. I thought this one would give me a hint of color on my cheeks, but it just looks more like ash than anything, Not a fan and I will be tossing this. As for the foundation, it’s of no use to me so I will unfortunately be tossing it as well.

Although the 5 products above I regret buying it was worth a try and you’ll never know how something is until you try it. No love lost with these I just don’t recommend them.

Lipstick Tag!

I’ve become a huge lipstick junkie and I’ve decided that there’d be no better way to start showing my collection than to start with this tag. This is a combination of both lipstick tags I found on YouTube.  ENJOY!

1. How many lipsticks do you own? 41

2. What was your first ever lipstick? Revlon Colorbust Lipstick, Peach (075)

3. How old were you when you started wearing lipstick? 17/18

4. What is your most worn lipstick? Revlon Colorbust Lipstick, Peach (075)

5. What is your favorite finish? Cream

6. What is the last lipstick you bought?

• Wet n Wild, Think Pink
• Wet n Wild, Dollhouse Pink
• Jordana, Raspberry
• Jordana, Eggplant

7. How many lip products (including balms & glosses) do you currently have in your handbag? Revlon Lip Butter, Fig Jam & Vaseline.

8. What lip product do you use to rock a red lip? ELF, Fearless

9. How do you store your lipsticks?

10. Most expensive / inexpensive lipstick(s)? NYC / Mac

11. Favorite lipstick of the moment? Mac, Heorine

12. Show a lipstick you use to stand out. Mac, Hautecore

13. What lip products are you currently lusting after? Anything from the RiRi Hearts Mac Collection & the Nyx Lip Butters.

 

My Beauty Corner (Vanity Tour)

Since I’ve moved rooms in my house recently and have had to downsize since I was moving into somewhat of a smaller space. I now have an office and I have downsized from having an entire room as my closet. My bedroom now houses my clothes, accessories, and my beauty corner which I’ve been wanting to share. It’s to my liking after finding the right, practical organization over the past week and I’m in love with it.

I’ve never really wanted a vanity because I know I’m not going to sit down and do makeup every day. It’s very rare that I wear makeup and I’m more of a lipstick girl. Anyway the drawer system was something I knew I needed and the system I have is the South Shore Chocolate 5-Drawer Dresser from Walmart.

Time to zoom in on the organization & decor.

First up in this built in shelf that’s been  in this room for as long as I can remember. It’s an older house and a lot of things are pretty permanent, but I used this shelf to add a bit of spring and to display my academic achievements. I have my college graduation book that I made on Shutterfly. (My phone is covering my name.) I also have my graduation picture which is right next to my Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume that is empty, but I love the packaging so much I don’t want to throw it away. On the other end I have a flower pot from an Edible Arrangement filled with fake flowers from Dollar Tree.

As for the top of the dresser I tried to keep it as minimal as possible. I do have two organizers that I purchased from Target. The desk organizer holds mascara, a few eyeshadow palettes, and eye pencils. The drawers hold my surplus of eyeshadows and a couple blushes. Both containers cost me no more than $6. The lipstick holder I purchased on Ebay and it holds my Mac lipsticks, Revlon, Wet n Wild and one RImmel. The bottom container holds the rest of my lippies and it was in a Color Workshop set I received. The rest of the stuff on my dresser are the lotion and body spray I use daily along with my mini perfume collection, hand sanitizer, and mirror.

Time to move on to the drawers. My first drawer holds everyday products such as body wash, fascial scrub, brush cleanser, razors, etc. I organized the drawers by the frequency I would reach for something.

The next drawer holds all of my surplus lotions and body sprays. I’ve purchased most of those on sale and I am currently on a NO BUY of those products no matter how much of a sale because I want to use what I have.

The 3rd drawer has like nothing inside of it. It’s my candle collection that I’m working on. I will say that the next time a candle sale happens at Bath & Body Works I do want to stock up on my favorite scent Pineapple Mango.

The 4th Drawer holds my nail polish and hair stuff. Nothing really major. I’ve recently downsized on my nail polish and I hope to downsize some more. One container is a great size compared to me once having 3 full containers of that size.

The last drawer just holds some of my blankets which I’ll use more in the summer & football seasons. The purple one is crocheted and a birthday gift from my grandmother. The leopard one was a Christmas gift from a friend. The other side of the drawer is my Steelers section which has 2 blankets & my Terrible Towel.

Well that’s my beauty corner and I really couldn’t be happier. I do not plan on downsizing anymore or purchasing, unless it’s candles ^_^!