Tarte Blush Palette | Blogmas Day 14

Every year Tarte comes out with a limited edition blush palette for the holidays. I bought lasts years so of course I ud to purchase the new one. The packaging is always adorable and you get five blush pans for only $44. 

I was happy to see the packaging is a lot less bulky than last year's. It's a beautiful black glitter fabric covering the thin palette packaged in a cardboard box with a geometric pattern of gold, rose gold, gunmetal and black shapes. The Tarte logo is engraved on a little gold plate towards the opening side of the palette. Inside it has a nice full sized mirror with gold surrounding the edges of the palette.

 

The blushes come in a nice range of shades, though I would have really liked to see a nice warm peach. Throw in a peach and it'd have a little bit of everything. Tarte has an amazing formula for their blushes and this palette is no exception. They are super smooth and pigmented. They last all day on the cheeks without fading or going patchy and they aren't the least bit powdery when blended out.

 

Fetching is the first shade in the palette. It is a pretty rose pink with slight peach undertones. It's slightly powdery when swatched, but blends out to a smooth even flush. This is a perfect everyday blush for me. 

Dollface is a Babie doll cool toned pink. It's a little daunting when swatched but blended it it gives the slightest tint of color on the cheeks. It is easy to go overboard with this shade, however and I think it's best suited for fair skin since it has the potential to look chalky on the skin. 

Prim is my favorite in the palette. It's described as a plum nude. It's a nuetral shade with slight plum undertones. It's a little deeper and perfect for the winter.  This one is a little more sheer but easy to build up without it going patchy or looking too powdery. 

Next is Smashing. This is a pretty coral pink so it's pretty universal for many skin tones. It leans a little more pink than coral though. Blended into the skin creates a very natural looking flush which is nice. 

Last in the palette is Beaming. I was super disappointed with this one. It's the only shimmery blush in the palette but it comes off as straight up glitter. It's described as an apricot pink but I had to really dig in the pan for any color payoff at all. On the cheeks you get no color and all glitter. 

Overall I do like this palette, but for the price, i expected a little more. For one fifth of the product to be unusable to me, it's a shame. Like I said, a nice peach or a mauve would have been more desirable instead of a glittery blush. However, the packaging is gorgeous and the other four shades will definitely get use and makes the purchase worthwhile for me. 

xoxo

LivforLashes

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Summer MAC Lipstick Haul + New From the Matte Lip Collection

A couple of weeks ago I stopped by my local MAC counter to check out some of the new matte lipsticks and to pick up some back ups of my favorites and I went a little nuts. I got my usual nudes but I also wanted to pick up a few bright shades for summer. I bought 8 shades, either new ones or ones I used to own but forgot about, and after posting a picture on Instagram of my little haul, I had a few requests for a review and swatch post. Enjoy and maybe you'll see a shade or two that you'll like!

Tropic Tonic

This is part of the new matte permanent collection and I was instantly drawn to it. It's a super pretty orange-coral shade and I am in love! It's super pigmented with one swipe and I know this will be a favorite this summer. This wore for about four hours before fading in the center of the lips. It was super easy to reapply without building up or settling into my lips lines.

Men Love Mystery

I love me some purple and lilac lipsticks so when I first saw swatches of this, I knew I wanted it. It's also part of the new permanent collection. It's a pretty deeper violet shade with pink undertones and I love how pigmented it is without being patchy. This one would look amazing on deeper skin tones. This wore for about 3 hours before fading. My lips felt slightly dry after a couple of hours, but a little bit of lip balm helped.

Relentlessly Red

I could have sworn I had this but I guess not so I bought it. This is a retro matte formula so it is a tad drying on me but I couldn't resist the bright cool toned red. It's such a sassy shade and I can't wait to wear this one around town this summer. This wore for almost 6 hours before fading to a really pretty red stain, and again, my lips were a little dry, but nothing too uncomfortable.

Flat Out Fabulous

I've been lusting after this for years but never thought I could pull it off, but after being a little more daring with my makeup lately I decided it give it a try. This is also a retro matte but not as drying as I expected. However, I definitely need a good magenta lip liner to tone down the fuschia of this shade a bit. This wore for almost four hours before needing to be touched up.

Stone

The coveted lip pencil is now a lipstick! Stone is one of my favs so I definitely wanted the lipstick. It's not as grey toned as the pencil but I really like the shade. It's definitely cool toned but more brown and it's a perfect neutral but still with a little drama at the same time. This one wore for about 4 hours before fading away, but it also felt a little creamier than some of the other matte shades, so not the least bit drying.

Whirl

This was a no brainer. Another fav lip liner, the lipstick is a little more terra cotta colored. It's like a darker version of velvet teddy, so I know this one will be a favorite of mine. It's a warmer brown which can be hard for me to pull off, but with a good lip liner this will be amazing. It wore for almost five hours before getting a little patchy in the center of my lips.

Sushi Kiss

This one is one of my favorite oranges ever! I had this years ago but lost it so I'm happy to add it back to my collection. It's a satin formula, so not as opaque as the mattes but I love how it's a little neon and a little wild. It reminds me of Orangesicles! Definitely will be one of my go-to shades in the coming months. This wore for about three hours before getting patchy, but reapplication is quick and easy without having to worry about it getting streaky or built up in your lip lines.

Sweet & Sour

Another rebuy, this is another orange-y shade. It's a cremesheen formula, so it's definitely sheer, but it adds a pretty wash of summery orange to the lips. This is similar to Tumble Dry from the Wash and Dry collection, only more pink. This will be a perfect very day lipstick this summer when I want a little color. The wear with this formula (and no lip liner) is typically only a couple of hours, but it leaves my lips feeling soft and hydrated which makes up for the wear for me.

And that does it! Summer is my favorite season, so there was definitely hot weather in mind when I chose some of these shades. Can you tell I like orange? Haha! Well I hope you enjoyed this post and I'd love to hear what you've picked up from MAC lately, or any thoughts on the new matte lipsticks!

xoxo

LivforLashes

Anastasia Beverly Hills Artist Palette | Review + Swatch

It seems that every time Anastasia Beverly Hills releases a new product, the Internet and Instagram explode with excitement and hype. The release of the new Artist Palette was no different and I shamelessly jumped on the bandwagon and purchased it. I have all five  palettes previously released by ABH and have yet to be disappointed, so I figured I couldn't question the quality of the eye shadows. 

 

The packaging is a cool abstract blend of different colors that look like an artist's brush strokes with the ABH logo in black on the bottom left corner, very vibrant and not at all hinting at neutral eye shadows within. It's the same cardboard packaging as her other palettes which definitely leaves something to be desired, since it feels a little flimsy and cheap. There is a mirror within, but again, it's a little cheap feeling since its plastic and distorts the reflection making it not very practical to use for applying makeup. The palette also comes with a double ended brush, though this one actually looks more usable compared to the brushes that came with other ABH palettes in the past.

 

The shades of eye shadows are gorgeous. They range from neutral everyday shades to more daring pops of color in a well-balanced mix of mattes, shimmers and satins. They practically scream summer. When I saw the first sneak peek of this online, that insanely bright yellow shade immediately caught my eye. This isn't a palette I would normally go for, but the colors in this one called to me. 

 

The shadows themselves are typical of ABH eye shadows: buttery smooth, easy to blend and super pigmented. A couple of them were a bit patchy like Aubergine and Blue Velvet, but not too bad. I also really love the fun names of each shadow in the palette. 

Top: Dusty Rose, Aubergine, Anaconda, Punch Fuschia, Buttery, Blue Velvet

Bottom: Coal, Unicorn, Phresh, Baby I'm a Star, Orange You Fancy, Beigely

(Without flash)

 

(With flash)

Overall I have to say that I really like this product. The colors are bright and fun and I think there is a nice balance of neutral and bright shades. The eye shadows are good quality and for only $30, its a pretty good bargain considering the prices of eye shadow palettes from competing brands. My only complaint would be shipping. I ordered from the ABH website and it took almost three weeks to receive the palette, when in the past I've gotten my ordered within a week.

 

Did any of you purchase the Anastasia Beverly Hills Artist Palette? What are your thoughts on it? Until next time...

 

The Artist Palette is available on the ABH website, Ulta, and Sephora.

 

 

 

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!

NARS + Christopher Kane Collection

 

Available April 15th! Scottish fashion designer Christopher Kane has teamed up with NARS for a new collection. Kane's designs are known for game changing prints and bright pops of color, and this collection is no different. It includes an eyeshadow duo (Parallel Universe), a single eyeshadow (Outer Limits), four lipglass shades (Mezmer, Nebulous, Nucleus, and Glow Pink), two blushes (Starscape and Silent Nude) and two multiple-use color sticks (Violet Atom and Quantum Sheer). Bright pinks and rose hues are prominent and the whole line just looks gorgeous! I'm also really loving the space/science-themed named. As always, the ever dependable Trendmood posted swatches and I'm dying over Starscape (bright pink blush) and Mezmer (pink gloss). 

 

 

This is available April 15th online on the NARS website and in stores May 1st. Prices range from $26 to $39. What do you guys think of this collection?