LUX Makeup Box- Coupon Code!

Who needs an amazing storage system for their makeup? I'm happy to announce that I will be working with Lux Boxes! They are a relatively new company that sells acrylic organizers and let's face it, any makeup addict would love one of these beautiful bloxes to display your makeup goodies! I now have a coupon code for you guys for their LUX Makeup Box! With the code "livforlashes" you can get 10% off of their LUX Makeup Box. Each box has five drawers, with the bottom one being 4" deep, so perfect for foundation or nail polishes and each box includes an "H" divider, an "X" divider, a 7-section powder holder and a 32-section lipstick holder. Such an awesome deal! Check out Lux Box on their website and on Instagram! And thank you Lux Box for this generous offer to my readers and for the opportunity!

Colourpop Spring Haul! New Super Shock Shades + Blushes

Hey everyone! I'm back and I have another haul for you guys to check out. A week or so ago I made another Colourpop order since I really like their products, only this time I wanted to try some of the new spring releases. I ended up getting some new super shock shadows, including some of the fun spring pastel shades, a few of the new blushes and two Lippie Stix. 

Colourpop has exploded the last year or so and it is one of the more affordable brands out there with good quality products. Their products are some of my favorites. The shadows are so pigmented and a little goes a long way. And for $5 a pop, I couldn't resist getting more! I ordered six new shades total, including four of the new pastel shades. 

The first two I added to my cart were Acorn and Downtown. Downtown is just a dark chocolate matte brown, but I thought it'd be nice to deepen the crease or as a liner but I was a little disappointed with Acorn. I was expecting a light beige with silver shimmers like it's described on the website, but it's more of a silver with a pinkish undertone. Still very pretty, just not what I was expecting. 

I wanted to try a few of the new pastel shades so I got Cowboy, In A pickle, Flux and Beauty Call. They are all matte and super pigmented, like most of the other Super Shock shadows. Beauty  Call was a little deeper blue than the light pastel blue that I was expecting, but it swatches beautifully and blends out really smooth, which can be tricky with blue eyeshadow. In A Pickle was also a little darker and a little more orange than advertised online too, but I still really like them. Cowboy and Flux are exactly what I wanted though. Flux is the prettiest mint green and I'm already obsessed with lilac so Cowboy is right up my alley. They are slightly powdery, but matte pastel shades can be like that. 

The Super Shock Blushes came out a month or two ago and I've been dying to try them, I just haven't gotten around to ordering any until now. They are packaged the same as the shadows only bigger and they are $8 a piece. The formula is the same as the shadows too, so application was a little tricky for me at first since they can be a bit difficult to apply with certain blushes. First I tried a dense fluffy powder blush, and that seemed to give a nice subtle glow, just a light wash of color, which is what I usually go for with blush. For a more prominent flush, I found that first dabbing the blush on with my fingers then softening it with a stippling brush worked best. I ordered three blushes (for now!). 

The first shade, Between The Sheets, immediately caught my eye since it is similar to Nars Sin, my favorite blush. It's matte and a deeper brown based berry shade. Next up is Tickery which is a totally fitting name. On the website it looks like a soft pastel peach, it's even described as such, so I was a little disappointed to have it arrive and see that it's a pretty dark orange shade. It does blend out much softer than in the pan though which is a relief. Finally I bought Bonus. This one is pretty true to what I saw online so I'm happy with that. It's a really pretty rusty color and it gives a healthy glowing flush without looking too orange or too severe. 

Finally I bought two Lippie Stix shades, Julep and Tootsi. I originally wanted Westie, Monkey and Pepper with the other two I bought, but they were mysteriously missing from my cart every time I went to check out and enter my payment information. Maybe next time... 

I do like the two that I bought however. Julep is a pretty bright coral shade that reminds me of hibiscus flowers so definitely perfect for spring and summer. It's a creamy formula but it didn't feather or slip around on my lips, which is a huge lipstick turn off for me. I was on the fence about Tootsi, but I'm glad I decided to get it. It is literally the perfect brown lipstick for me, which if you're a pale gal like me, you know how hard it is to find a good brown lipstick. It's a cooler light brown with a very subtle hint of mauve and so so pretty! Plus I love how it's matte but doesn't dry the lips out or drag too much. However, these lipsticks really don't last long, especially if you plan on eating, but the price is hard to beat. 

Well that does it for this haul! I'm already planning my next order since I love Colourpip products so much! Have you guys ordered anything new from Colourpop lately? And who else is DYING for those new highlighters to come out?!

Have an amazing day everyone!

MAC in Extra Dimension Collection

 

Ok MAC fans! It's been announced that MAC is coming out with a new PERMANENT eyeshadow collection. The MAC in Extra Dimension collection is 16 new or re-promoted extra dimensional eye shadows. The prismatic shades range from pretty pink (Stylishly Merry) to champagne (A Natural Flirt), to a beautiful steel grey (Fathoms Deep). These are a hybrid formula that’s said to be a combo or the smoothness of a cream, the blenability of a liquid and a powder finish. These look beautiful and I’m super excited for it! Two years ago MAC had the original Extra Dimension collection, which included the infamous Whisper of Gilt, so maybe they will decide to re-release that. SOOO many people would love that so let’s cross our fingers lol

 

 

 

These shadows will be $20 a piece and are expected to be released on the MAC website on April 30^th, available at Nordstrom on May 4^th, and May 7^th in all stores. And as always, Trendmood posted so beautiful swatches courtesy of Temptalia, and I am already drooling over Grand Galaxy, Amorous Ally, and Silver Sun. Any shades you’ve got your eye on?

 

 

NEW! L'oreal Color Riche La Palette Nude 1 and 2

Usually I am not a fan of drugstore eye shadows. They’re usually too sheer, too chalky or gritty and don’t blend out well. Then Maybelline came out with their nude palette and I was pretty excited about it. The colors were nice, there was a nice mix of mattes, satins and shimmers, but it was just terrible. Pigmentation was awful and any shadow that decided to show up didn’t blend AT ALL. So then when I heard that L’oreal was coming out with their own palettes, I really didn’t even give it a second thought. I believe they had a UK release in November of last year and with mixed reviews, I just wasn’t too interested. Well, just two weeks ago, I saw that my local Walmart had both of the new palettes, the La Palette Nude 1 and 2, and I decided to buy them to try it out. My reasoning was since L’oreal and Urban Decay (amongst other brands) are both by the same company, maybe they’re palette will be similarly good in quality. Happy surprise! These are actually pretty good. From the website:

“Inspired by makeup designers ‘Must Have’ palettes, the La Palette Nude offers everything you need to master the art of nude eyeshadow. Makeup Designer Nude looks curated exclusively for each palette with step by step instructions and live tutorials. 10 highly pigmented shades range from light to dark to flatter every skin tone in 3 shadow finishes: shimmery satin, buttery matte & lustrous sheen.”

Starting with the packaging, both palettes are cases in sleek black plastic, with a clear window to showcase the shadows. The back of the palettes has a number guide of each shadow (they don’t have names), as well as a diagram with examples of how to place the shadow for different eye looks. The palettes themselves feel quite heavy and good quality and not at all cheap like some drugstore items.

Opening up the palettes, each one has ten different shades and a small rectangle mirror. They also come with a little double ended applicator, one side being a typical sponge applicator and the other being a natural haired brush. It’s a pretty ineffective tool to place or blend shadow, so I didn't use it.

The price on these is a little shocking; Ulta has them on the website for $19.99. Even $15.87 at Walmart is a little much, but luckily there are always some good sales at drugstores/mass retailers as well as coupons (I had a buy one, get one 50% off coupon), so you should have the opportunity to buy one of these for less.

Let’s take a look at each one individually.

The first one, the La Palette 1 is the warmer of the two. It has ten shades and out of the ten, it only has three mattes and seven shimmery or satin shades. It has a nice mix of highlight shades, a few shades ideal for transition colors and some deeper colors for definition. I wish there was a dark chocolate brown or even a black however, to line the eyes. This palette definitely lacks a good dark shade. There are a few shades that I really like however, like the ninth one in from the left which is a really pretty pewter gray shimmer shade, and the second one in, another shimmer shade only this one a gold/champagne shade. A few of them were kind of hard to blend, which I was honestly expecting some kind of trouble. For the most part though, the eye shadows were quite bendable, not too chalky and actually quite smooth and almost creamy in texture, which can be hard to find with matte eye shadows.

 

Moving on to the second one...

The second palette, the La Palette Nude 2, is the cooler, and my personal favorite, of the two. Most of the shades are purple and mauve toned. This one has mix of 6 matte shades and four shimmer or satin shades. Unlike the other palette, this one has two deeper shades that I really like. One is a deep burgundy-purple and the other is a very dark, almost black purple. The pigmentation on this palette was better than the other one, but I did find that the shadows felt a little chalkier. A few of the shades, including the dark purple, blended away to almost nothing when I used it, so I had to keep going back in over and over to get the color payoff that I wanted. Pack on color, blend, pack on color, blend. After doing this for several cycles, it eventually just looked like a purple muddy mess. However, a primer did help with that problem some.

So some final thoughts…

For a drugstore palette, I really like them. I like that affordable brands are starting to catch up with products from high-end brands, like palettes and such. The shadows themselves are quite good quality and are very user friendly, with the exceptions of the few shadows I had difficulties with. However, with that being said, I feel like $20 is pretty close to the “not worth it” category for me. A lot of people prefer drugstore because it is so cost friendly, and this one isn't very cost friendly for those on a budget, and I feel like maybe this isn’t geared towards the everyday person that likes L’oreal products. But with that being said, these have found a happy place in my collection amongst my daily essentials lately and I'm definitely glad that I picked them up. 

What are your thoughts? Are these palettes a hit or a miss with you? Let me know your thoughts and have an awesome day everyone!

 

L'Oreal La Palette Nude 1 & 2 available here, here, here and here.

 

Follow me on Twitter! @LivforLashes

 

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Email: liv_2008@icloud.com

Too Faced Sugar Pop Palette | Review + Swatch

A week or so I had a 25% off coupon for the Too Faced website, so I thought I would buy a few things from their newer collections. I immediately knew I wanted the new Sugar Pop palette and that was the first thing I put in my cart. I also ordered the new Cocoa Contour palette and the Natural Matte palette. Well Tuesday my order came in and I am so excited about these things! I HAD to swatch the Sugar Pop palette immediately. I had to. It's seriously too cute.

 

The packaging is like all other Too Faced palettes. It's encased in a small travel-friendly aluminum magnetic case which I love. But the thing I love about this one is it's printed with bright colorful macaron cookies. It screams spring and summer and the shades inside are just as bright.

So also like most of the Too Faced palettes (excluding the Chocolate Bar and Semi-Sweet palettes), it comes with three highlighting shades and six smaller shadows. The colors in these are phenomenal! They are all super pigmented and buttery, with most of them shimmers and satins and one matte shade, Blackberry. My favorites are Sugared Violet (a deep purple full of duo chrome shimmers) and Blue Raspberry (turquoise-aqua shimmer).

The three highlighting shades range from a creamy yellow, Rock Candy, to a pale pink shimmer, Strawberry Ice, and finally a pale peachy shade, Peach Fuzz. Rock Candy is a little chalky, but it blends out very smooth without losing pigmentation. The other two are beautiful, adding a hint of color and shimmer without being overpowering.

All nine eye shadows are grouped horizontally into trios to create the different looks that are mentioned on the attached insert. The first trio is "Sweet & Spicy" which includes the shades Rock Candy, Macaron and Malted Milk Ball, ideal for a smokier bronze eye look. Next is Sugar Plums, a cooler plum based trio, which includes Strawberry Ice, Sugared Violet and Blackberry. Last up is the trio "Candy Coated" including Peach Fuzz, Bubblegum and Blue Raspberry, a perfect combo for a bright, colorful look.

Overall, I'm really enjoying this palette so far. I can't wait to play around with it some more and experiment with the bright colors, especially with summer right around the corner.

Have any of you bought the Sugar Pop palette? What are your thoughts on it? And Let me know if you guys would like a review on the Cocoa Contour palette or the Natural Matte palette!

Have an awesome day everyone and thanks for reading!

Spring Makeup Essentials

Spring is here everyone! Spring is by far my favorite season. The weather is beautiful, everything just feels so fresh outside and it's usually the time of year that all of my favorite prints and colors are being worn. It's also when I tend to incorporate more color into my makeup looks after sticking to vampy or neutral  lips and flat mattes all winter. Fresh faced makeup tends to take over, so today I've compiled a list of my must have spring products!

Tarte Brazilliance Skin Rejuvenating Maracuja Skin and Face Self Tanner

I'm not big into frying my skin for that perfect tan, so this stuff helps me get a soft bronze glow for those shorts and tank tops. Plus the mitt it comes with makes self tanning effortless without worrying about streaks.  

BareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream

This mix between a moisturizer and a foundation is perfect for light coverage days. It hydrates the skin while it also evens out the skin tone, perfect for warmer days when you don't want something heavy. 

Clinique Cheek Pop Blush

Clinique was one of the first brands I ever tried and even today I love their blushes. Not too powdery and blends seamlessly into the skin for a soft flush. And doesn't the packaging just scream spring? Plus they have a bunch of pretty new spring colors now available!

Becca LE Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Blushed Copper

This looks amazing for a light bronze glow to the tops of the cheeks. But it's limited edition, so don't wait too long! This baby is definitely on my wish list!

Laura Mercier Watercolor Mist Eye and Cheek Palette

These pastel shadows are spot on for spring for just a soft wash of color across the lids, or built up for a more fun pop of color. Plus you get two blush shades that double as eye shadows, which is a nice bonus!

Sephora Contouring 101 Face Palette

Add a little definition or a little bit of highlight to your makeup looks with this. Plus, since it's a smaller contouring palette, good for travel and on-the-go. 

Lorac Alter Ego Lipstick in Girl Next Door

My favorite lipsticks for spring are pretty pinks and corals, and this shade is perfect. The formula is creamy and long wearing and not too drying for a matte. 

Makeup For Ever Aqua Brow

Sculpt your brows or fill them in more naturally with this. Plus it's waterproof and sweat proof so you don't have to worry about your brows fading away during your springtime outdoor 

excursions. 

BodyBlender by BeautyBlender

This is a jumbo sized beauty blender meant for, you guessed it, your body. I imagine this would be good for applying instant bronzers and self tanners without the patchiness or streaks you get with regular tanning mitts.  

What are some of your spring must-haves? Let me know below!

 

 

Products:

Tarte Brazilliance Skin Rejuvinating Maracuja Skin and Face Self Tanner- $39

bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream- $29

Clinique Cheek Pop Blush- $21

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Blushed Copper- $38

Laura Mercuer Watercolor Mist Eye and Cheek Palette- $58

Sephora Contouring 101 Face Palette- $28

Lorac Alter Ego Lipstick in Girl Next Door- $16

Makeup Forever Aqua Brow- $20

BodyBlender by BeautyBlender- $28

 

Follow me on Twitter! @LivforLashes

 

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Email: liv_2008@icloud.com

 

Target e.l.f. Haul | Foundation, Brushes, Lip Products and More!

I love me some good affordable makeup, so when I saw that my local Target really amped up their e.l.f. display, I went a little nuts. I really like e.l.f. but usually my local stores just carry the basics and a few of the studio brushes and blushes. I used the Target Cartwheel app to save some money and I only spent about $35 out of pocket for all of this stuff! I recently posted about my favorite e.l.f. products, but I can easily see some of these joining my favorites.

First I got a few brushes because e.l.f. Studio brushes are amazing and they're only $3 a piece! They're soft and don't shed and they're comparable to my higher end brushes. 

I've seen a few reviews on the Flawless Finish Foundation so I decided to try it out. I bought the lightest shade, Porcelain, I which is a bit dark for my currently-pale skin, but it felt nice and lightweight and didn't break me out which is awesome, since my skin is so sensitive. 

I've heard that this blush in Gotta Glow Is similar to NARS Albatross, so I was excited to try it out as an affordable dupe. It is really close to NARS and it's the perfect yellow gold highlight, however it is quite chalky and powdery.

I love the red Matte Lip Color as I mentioned in my previous e.l.f post so I picked up another one in the shade Tea Rose. It's creamy and pigmented and such a pretty mauve color. I'm already obsessed!

I also bought a Lip Balm in the shade Pink. It's a tinted balm with SPF-15 and I really like it so far. It's a pretty light pink it's it really helped my dry lips feel smooth and not at all greasy. 

I picked up another black Studio Cream Eyeliner since this is one of my favorite liners ever. It's super black, it doesn't flake off and the creamy formula makes application so easy. 

I've never seen this Studio HD Lifting Concealer before so I think this is a new product. I bought the lightest shade in Fair, which still looks a little too dark for a highlighting concealer on me, but I can't wait to try it out. 

Another favorite, I bought a back up of the HD Undereye Setting Powder. I've mentioned this in several posts, including my 2014 favorites, and it's one of my Holy Grail products. 

I love the e.l.f. Eyebrow Kit so when I saw this I thought it'd be nice to try out. It's the Eyebrow Lifter and Filler. One side is a creamy highlighting pencil and the other is a shade to fill the brows with. It's a little too soft and a little too warm for my brows but with a little bit of a cool toned brown powder, this will actually be a nice brow product to try out. 

e.l.f. eyeshadows are hit or miss with me but this Prism Eyeshadow palette is gorgeous! Shaaanxo used it in a tutorial last June (watch that HERE) and I haven't seen it in stores yet, but I have thought of buying from time to time online for months now. This is the "Naked" palette with all bronze shimmery shades. There's minimal fallout and the eyeshadows are nice and buttery and apply so smooth.

Finally I picked up a pack of the Makeup Remover Cleansing Cloths. I always have some of these in my gym bag and purse. I love these, they're so cheap and don't irritate my skin, and they're some of the heat makeup removing wipes I've come across. 

e.l.f. is such an awesome brand. You really can't beat the prices and the quality is amazing. Make sure you check out their website because like I mentioned above, there's always some kind of deal going on and there are a ton of products not always available in stores to try out! What are some of your recent e.l.f. pick ups?

Products:

Studio Brushes- $3 each

Flawless Finish Foundation- $6

"Gotta Glow" Powder Blush- $3

"Tea Rose" Matte Lip Color- $3

"Pink" Lip Balm- $3

Studio Cream Eyeliner- $3

Studio HD Lifting Concealer- $3

HD Undereye Setting Powder- $3

Eyebrow Lifter & Filler- $3

"Naked" Prism Eyeshadow Palette- $10

Makeup Remover Cleansing Cloths- $3

Follow me on Twitter! @LivforLashes

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Email: liv_2008@icloud.com