2013 Favorites!

Here’s a list of all my favorite beauty products from 2013. I’m not going to go into detail discussing each product because I’ve talked about most of them in monthly favorites posts already, but if you have questions about any of them just ask! Some products aren’t pictured because I don’t have them with me right now but most of them are pictured either in this post or a previous favorites post.

Face:

face products: foundation, concealers, powder

face products: blushes, bronzer, highlighters, setting spray

• Nyx HD concealer
• Maybelline Fit Me concealer
• Benefit Boi-ing concealer
• Benefit Stay Don’t Stray eye and concealer primer
• Elf HD translucent powder
• Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 foundation
• NYC Sunny bronzer
• Elf Tickled Pink blush
• Physician’s Formula Translucent Pearl powder
• Benefit Highbeam
• theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer
• Nyx Boho Chic Rouge cream blush
• *Tarte BB Tinted 12-hour primer
• Elf Mist & Fix

Eyes:

eye products: mascaras and eyeliners

eye products: eyeshadows and eye bases

• Nyx white eyeshadow base
• Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadows in RSVP and Bikini-Tini
• Naked 2 palette
• Lorac Pro palette
• L’Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Iced Latte
• Nyx Pearl pigment
• Nyx Aloha eyeshadow
• Stila Kitten eyeshadow
• L’Oreal Infallible Super Slim liquid liner
• Urban Decay eyeliners in Rockstar and Stash
• Urban Decay eyeshadow in Sellout
• Too Faced Perfect Eyes pencil
• Revlon Colorstay eyeliner
• Maybelline Colossal mascara
• Maybelline Big Eyes mascara
• Covergirl Lash Perfection mascara
• Covergirl Clump Crusher mascara
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz
• Milani Brow Kit
• Anastasia Beverly Hills clear brow gel
• MAC eyeshadows in Satin Taupe, Shale, and Shadowy Lady
• Rimmel Scandaleyes waterproof kohl eyeliner in Taupe

Lips:

lip products

• Nivea lip butter in Raspberry Rosé Kiss
• EOS lip balms
• Nyx Soft Matte lip cream in Tokyo
• Wet ‘n Wild Mega Last lipstick in Think Pink
• Tarte Lipsurgence matte lip tint in Lucky

Hair:

hair products

Le Angelique curling wand

• One ‘n Only Argan Oil Spray
• Suave Dry Shampoo
• Le Angelique Ultimate Curling Iron 18/25mm
• Tresemmé Heat Tamer Spray
• *Sebastian Shaper Zero Gravity hairspray
• Aquolina Pink Sugar hair perfume

Fragrance:

fragrances

• Aquolina Pink Sugar perfume
• *Victoria’s Secret Pink Soft & Dreamy perfume
• Victoria’s Secret Pink Sweet & Flirty body mist

Nails:

Red Carpet Manicure gel polish system

nail colors and Sally Hansen Dry & Go drops

• *Trim Nail Care 7-way buffer
• Red Carpet Manicure gel polish system
• Sally Hansen Dry & Go drops
• Sally Hansen gel polish in Greige
• Essie Beyond Cozy, No More Film, and Vested Interest
• Covergirl Outlast Bronze Beauty and Silver Lining
• Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Pink Satin
• *China Glaze Devotion
• *Sinful Colors Shine Divine

* not pictured

Smashbox Wondervision Mega Palette! – Photos, Swatches, First Impression

For Christmas this year, I asked for the Smashbox Wondervision Mega Palette. I had seen the ad for it at Ulta and immediately looked up reviews and swatches. I don’t have any large palettes that have a big variety of colors so I’ve been looking for one to add to my collection. This palettes has 30 eyeshadows, 3 blushes, and a bronzer. The eyeshadow colors looked amazing! The palette also came with 4 cards for different eye looks you could do. I have seen palettes do this before, but the unique thing about this one is that the cards didn’t say to use specific colors – just colors 1, 2, 3, 4. The idea is that you can lay the card over any 4 shadows in the palette that are next to each other in a row and the look will work for that. I thought it was really cool that the colors are arranged that way!

First impression: All of the shadows (as well as the blushes and bronzer) are really pigmented and soft. Some of the darker colors are a tiny bit chalky, but it’s nothing that prevents them from being able to work with and create a good look. The top row of shadows has mostly matte browns that are very wearable and the lighter ones make good midtone and transition shades. I’m not a huge fan of the second row (warm peachy/orange shades) because I gravitate toward cooler shades for eyeshadow. I do like the shade Umber though – it’s a pretty unique shade of brown that almost has dark green undertones. The third row has some really nice blues and greens and I love the fourth row!! Beautiful pinks and purples with a nice pearly-pink shade. The bottom row is by far my favorite! It has some awesome silvers and grays and a gorgeous taupe!! The blushes are really pretty and 2 out of the 3 are matte, which is great because I prefer matte blushes. The bronzer is also matte and a nice shade that isn’t too orange or too dark for me since I have really fair skin.

The packaging isn’t the best. It’s that common cheap cardboard outside that I’ve seen on a lot of palettes. I wish the palette snapped shut and propped open better. I usually have to hold it open with my other hand while I use it. The cardboard backing on the original one I got for Christmas actually started separating on one of the sides so I had to exchange it. The outside also dents easily, as you can see in the bottom center of it in the picture below. The palette does have a nice big mirror though!

Closed palette

Open palette

Palette with label insert

Eye look cards

How to use the eye look card with any adjacent 4 colors

I apologize about the lighting and shadows in the photos below – it was really sunny today! Also I’m sorry it’s hard to see some of the lighter shades on my pale arms haha

Row 1, left to right: beige, almond, golden, chestnut, fawn, chocolate

Row 2, left to right: taupe, peach, citrine, orange, red, umber

Row 3, left to right: maize, mint, turquoise, green, blue, dark blue

Row 4, left to right: pearl (super pretty!), pink, lavender, violet, purple, black

Row 5, left to right: silver, grey, slate (my favorite!!), brown, pewter, glitz

I really wanted to do a few looks using the cards and show you but I didn’t get a chance to play around with it enough before I had eye surgery last Wednesday. I can’t wear makeup on my right eye and I kind of look like a zombie Maybe I’ll do some looks with this palette in a separate post after I recover.

What I look like right now…

Favorite Brushes!! Sigma, Real Techniques, and ELF

Face:

• beautyblender – This technically isn’t a brush but I almost exclusively wear liquid foundations/bb creams and concealers and I’ve never found a brush that blends out better than good sponges like the beautyblender. I should mention that Casey Holmes did a video where she tried out and found a more affordable dupe! I also like the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge that is similar material but you don’t use it damp. Only complaint about the beautyblender is that it gets a little stained.

beautyblender

RT Complexion Sponge

• Sigma F40 Large Angled Contour – Best brush I’ve ever used for powder blushes. The angle is perfect to get my cheekbones and blend a little onto the apples of my cheeks.

Sigma F40 Large Angled Contour

• RT Multitask (comes in Travel Essentials set) – I have two of these and use them for different things (it’s truly a multitask brush!). I use one for bronzer because I love the blended out appearance it gives to the cheekbones while still adding contour. I have to sheer out my bronzer since I’m so pale and I am able to achieve a good application with this brush and the NYC Sunny Bronzer. I also use it for applying powder to set my under-eye concealer. It is dense enough that I can really press the powder into the skin without getting too cakey of an application.

RT Multitask

• RT Setting – I love this for a more concentrated application while setting under-eye concealer as well as setting small areas of spot-concealed blemishes.

RT Setting

• RT Duo-fiber Contour (comes in Duo-fiber Collection set)  – This is a quite fluffy brush and is more flat than round so I love using it to achieve a nice lightweight application of powder highlighters.

RT Duo-fiber Contour

• RT Contour (comes in Core Collection set) – This is a smaller, more dense, and rounder brush than the duo-fiber one I just mentioned. I use it to get the hollows of my cheek and the bronzer triangle shape on my cheek as well as the sides of my nose.

RT Contour

• ELF Kabuki – I use this to apply a lighter application of powder all over (usually with a pressed powder).

ELF Kabuki

Eyes:

• RT Base Shadow (comes in Starter Set)  – I have applied my lid color with this for over a year now! Not only is this a great brush, but it has lasted over a year with very frequent use. It’s super soft but still packs color on the lid well.

RT Base Shadow

• RT Essential Crease (comes in Sam’s Picks Set) – Just got this and it’s the best crease brush I’ve found! I used to apply crease color with the Sigma E35 (which I will get to next) but I now that use that without any shadow on the brush to blend out crease and transition colors I’ve already put on.

RT Essential Crease

• RT Accent (comes in Starter Set)  – I love this tiny little brush for precise lining with eyeshadow, particularly on the inner corner and lower lash line. It’s also great for blending out pencil on the upper lash line.

RT Accent

• Sigma E35 Tapered Blending – Like I said, this is great for blending out crease and transition colors while clean. Also works to apply crease colors.

Sigma E35 Tapered Blending

• Sigma E30 Pencil – Love love love this for applying darker shadow in the outer corner/outer V to add depth and dimension.

Sigma E30 Pencil

• Sigma E25 Blending – This is like the E35 but shorter and flatter. I like it for using a powder highlight under the brows and in the inner corners.

Sigma E25 Blending

• ELF Angled Eyeliner – I use this with gel eyeliner and the bent shape makes it easier to draw lines and wings.

ELF Angled Eyeliner

Brows:

• RT Brow (comes in Starter Set) – This is a small angled brush but thicker and a little larger than the small angled brushes from other brands like Sigma. I like it to fill in the front of my brows up to the arch to get the thicker portion of the brow.

RT Brow

• Up & Up (Target generic brand) Eyeliner brush – This is smaller than the RT Brow but still thicker and bigger than the ELF Small Angled which is better for using shadow as eyeliner. I don’t use it for that, though – I use this to apply shadow on the tail end of my brows.

Up & Up Eyeliner brush

You can probably tell I’m a big fan of Real Techniques. Many beauty gurus on YouTube rave about Sigma brushes and Sigma brushes are really awesome, but I personally think Real Techniques brushes are the same quality and more affordable. Sigma does have a larger selection and variety of brushes, but I own all but one RT brushes (the only one I don’t have is their kabuki) and find that I have everything I need to complete a full face and eye look. I highly recommend RT brushes because they are super soft and durable (they barely shed)! They are also cruelty free and synthetic. You can buy them from Ulta and the RT website.

A side note on brush care: I clean my beautyblender and RT Complexion Sponge with the beautyblender Blender Cleanser solution. I deep clean my brushes about once a month with antibacterial dish soap and extra virgin olive oil using this technique. I spot clean them almost every day with Japonesque Professional Parian Spirit Brush Cleaner. A lot of brush cleaners I have looked at in stores have a bad or very rubbing-alcoholic scent, so I really like this one because it has a citrus scent that isn’t too overpowering. It also does a great job! I just spray it on the bristles and wipe the brush off on a towel or wash cloth and repeat until there is no more makeup wiping off onto the towel. I recommend using a towel you don’t care about for spot cleaning as some makeup stains will probably remain even after you wash it.

Holiday Party Look – Dramatic Eyes

I wanted to show you guys the type of look I would wear to a Christmas or New Years party since those days are soon approaching. I decided to build the eye look around Urban Decay’s Maui Wowie, a metallic golden beige with silver glitter. It’s definitely cooler than most gold shades. For the face, I wore my usual foundation, concealer, and bronzer. I used a cool pink blush with a light silver-pink highlight. I didn’t apply any lip color because I wasn’t actually going out but I would definitely use something light and neutral with this look.

I apologize for my hair in my face in the photos!

Products Used

Eyes:

• NYX White Eyeshadow Base
• UD Maui Wowie on lid and middle lower lash line
• L’Oreal Infallible Iced Latte in inner corner and inner lower lash line
• MAC Copperplate in crease
• Too Faced Pillow Talk (Naked Eye Palette) above crease
• UD Pistol in outer corner and outer lower lash line
• Lorac Pro Palette Slate in far outer V
• L’Oreal Infallible Super Slim liner on upper lash line and wing
• Too Faced Perfect Eyes pencil on outer lower lash line
• (I used tape to get the straight line on the outer V)

Brows:

• Covergirl Brow & Eye Makers pencil in Soft Blonde
• Rimmel Brow Pencil in Hazel
• Milani Brow Kit
• Benefit Speed Brow gel
• Lorac Pro Palette Cream to highlight

Face:

• Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous foundation
• Maybelline Fit Me concealer (under eyes)
• Benefit Boi-ing concealer (on blemishes)
• Elf HD powder (set under eyes)
• Hourglass Diffused Light Ambient Lighting Powder (all over face)
• NYC Sunny bronzer
• NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Boho Chic
• Elf Pink Passion blush
• Benefit High Beam
• Physician’s Formula Translucent Pearl highlighter

My Colored Mascara Collection!

my collection!

I recently went through a phase of wanting to try out colored mascaras. Here’s a list of what I have:

• Inglot Color Play Mascara in 02 (it’s a mint/aqua green shade)
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Hypercolor Brow & Lash Tint in Electric Blue
• Butter London Wink Colour Mascara in Indigo Punk
• Maybelline Great Lash in Teal Appeal, Green With Envy, Wink of Pink, Vision in Violet, and I See Blue

Here are each of the mascaras. The first picture is the mascara worn alone (no eyeliner) and the second picture is the mascara worn with a similar colored eyeliner/eyeshadow. I typically wear the mascaras with the similar colored liners.

Great Lash in I See Blue:

Maybelline Great Lash in I See Blue – alone

Maybelline Great Lash in I See Blue – with eyeliner

Great Lash in Teal Appeal:

Maybelline Great Lash in Teal Appeal – alone

Maybelline Great Lash in Teal Appeal – with eyeliner

Great Lash in Green With Envy:

Maybelline Great Lash in Green With Envy – alone

Maybelline Great Lash in Green With Envy – with eyeliner

Great Lash in Vision in Violet:

Maybelline Great Lash in Vision in Violet – alone

Maybelline Great Lash in Vision in Violet – with eyeliner

Great Lash in Wink of Pink:

Maybelline Great Lash in Wink of Pink – alone

Maybelline Great Lash in Wink of Pink – with eyeliner

Inglot Color Play in 02:

Inglot Color Play in 02 – alone

Inglot Color Play in 02 – with eyeliner

Anastasia Hypercolor Brow & Lash Tint in Electric Blue:

Anastasia Hypercolor in Electric Blue – alone

Anastasia Hypercolor in Electric Blue – with eyeliner

Butter London Wink Colour mascara in Indigo Punk:

Button London Wink Colour in Indigo Punk – alone

Butter London Wink Colour in Indigo Punk – with eyeliner

As far as the formulas/application qualities, I would say the Great Lash and Hypercolor are the best. The Inglot mascara sort of dries crunchy and doesn’t feel very nice after a few hours of wear. With the Button London mascara, at least for Indigo Punk, I have to really layer it a lot to be able to see the true color. Hypercolor has a fantastic wand but Great Lash is obviously much more affordable and also has more colors to choose from. They have 6 total (the only one I don’t have is a burgundy color called Very Berry) whereas Hypercolor only has the blue one here in addition to a purple and pink.

Fall Favorites!

I got really busy over the past couple months with schoolwork so I’m really sorry about not having an October favorites! I had all the products drafted out but never made time to take the photos. So I’m combining my favorite products since September for this post!

Eyes

• Sigma E25 Blending Brush – I got a mini version of this brush (just the shorter handle – the brush tip itself is the same) as the little extra when I bought my Creme de Couture palette. I use it for blending a little bit, but I still prefer my E35 for that. I mostly use this for applying lid colors and highlighting under my brows because it’s more flat and less round. It’s great quality like all Sigma brushes and it was nice to get it as a free extra since it’s a $15 brush and the shorter handle doesn’t make it any less capable of doing its job.
• Real Techniques Essential Crease Brush – RT recently came out with a set of 6 brushes (2 eye, 2 foundation, 2 finishing) called “Sam’s picks” and this was a set exclusive so of course, me being me, I had to buy the set just for this brush. But the set also had 4 brushes I love and would like to have duplicates of anyway. The essential crease brush is awesome because it’s light and fluffy so it’s great for applying a transition color really softly. It’s also got a nice shape where it’s round at the base but slightly pointed at the end so it can be used for blending as well as getting a more concentrated application of color. Love it!

Left: Sigma E25; Right: Real Techniques Essential Crease brush

• Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Rockstar – I’ve had this for a while and always use it in the fall and winter. It’s a dark eggplant color and I think it helps bring out my hazel eyes. The formula of these pencils is super smooth and creamy so it’s really easy to apply.

UD 24/7 Glide-On Eyeliner in Rockstar

• Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner in black – This is a twist up eyeliner so I love that I don’t have to sharpen it. It’s very pigmented and creamy – great quality for a drugstore liner. I can get a nice thin line very close to my upper lash line so this is easy to apply when I don’t want to spend a long time on my eyeliner.

Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner in black

• CoverGirl Lash Perfection mascara – This is a great lengthening mascara that also adds a good amount of volume. It doesn’t clump and the brush is a good size (I hate huge mascara brushes like the Flamed Out mascara for example). I just wish it came in a waterproof formula too!
• Maybelline Big Eyes mascara – I don’t really use the regular sized brush upper lashes brush but I love this for the small brush for lower lashes.
• Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara – I got a little set that came with a mini size of this and the Perfect Eyes eyeliner and this mascara is great! The wand looks kind of scary like it’s going to clump everywhere but it’s no clumpier than the average volumizing mascara. This stuff really adds awesome length and volume.
• Ulta eyeshadow in Silk – This is a rediscovered favorite. I was reorganizing my makeup storage and remembered that I had this. The shade is similar to MAC’s Phloof! – it’s a frosty light beige. I love it for a lid color as well as a brow highlight. It also really adds a pop to the inner corners.

Ulta Silk Eyeshadow

• MAC Pigment in Pink Opal – I bought some sample sized MAC pigments for around $3-4 each from here and I highly recommend it! Perfect if you just want to try out some pigment shades without committing to the full size and paying $21 for it from MAC. I thought this color is really cool because it’s white but has pink reflects so it has an awesome pink sheen when you tilt it in the light.
• NYX Pigment in Pearl – This is an iridescent frosty pink shade and I think it looks really pretty for a nice pop to the lid and inner corner.

Left: MAC Pigment in Pink Opal; Right: NYX Pigment in Pearl

• NYX eyeshadows in Aloha, Charcoal Brown, and Hunter Green – These are all very pigmented and soft. Hunter Green and Chocolate Brown are great colors for fall! Aloha is a nice shimmery everyday lid color.

Top to Bottom: NYX eyeshadows in Charcoal Brown, Hunter Green, and Aloha

• Benefit Creaseless Cream shadow in R.S.V.P. – I didn’t think about buying this before because the color is a rose gold sort of tone and slightly darker than what I usually choose for an eyeshadow base but I have been using this non-stop! The color is great for fall and winter and looks really pretty when worn alone too. And the formula of the Benefit cream shadows is amazing as always so it has a really nice, smooth texture.
• NYX White Eyeshadow Base – This is just like the Milk Jumbo Pencil except in pot form so you don’t have to sharpen it. Just as great as the Milk pencil and the formula feels pretty much the same. Great for brightening up colored shadows.

Left: NYX White Eyeshadow Base; Right: Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in R.S.V.P.

Face

• NYX HD Concealer – This is a great formula and I love liquid concealer for under my eyes because I can use my beauty blender and get a great finish. However, I have to say that the shade range for this concealer could use some improvement. I bought CW01 (Porcelain) because I’m usually the lightest color in face makeup since I’m so pale. It’s actually pretty light on me so I use it for brightening as well as concealing under my eyes. I wanted to get another one in my actual skin tone so got CW02 but I really can’t see a difference between that and CW01. I swatched CW03 in the store but it was more salmon toned. I swatched my color in Maybelline Fit Me concealer next to all these swatches and none of them were close enough that I felt I could really find my shade. But I love the lighter shades for brightening and again, the formula is great.
• CoverGirl Professional Loose Powder – I’ve used HD translucent powder for a long time but I noticed the white cast that would show up in photos, so I wanted to buy a flesh colored powder to try out. This one was only $6 and it’s AMAZING. It photographs nicely and a little goes a long way. I use it with my ELF kabuki and I feel like I don’t have to use that much powder to completely set my foundation and concealer. I always had to use a lot with the HD translucent powders. It has a super tiny amount of shimmer but you can’t see it when applied and it kind of adds a little bit of a glow/brightening effect. It also feels really nice and smooth on the skin. The only negative is it’s a little thick compared to the translucent powders I’m used to, so sometimes I mix the translucent powder with it (about half and half) and I love the way that comes out and feels on my skin.
• CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation – GREAT coverage! Not too thick and you don’t need that much to get the good coverage. It’s around the same consistency as Benefit Hello Flawless, but the shade range is much better. It’s pretty long lasting and lightweight feeling.
• NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Boho Chic – I like a nice cream blush during the colder months and this is a nice basic light pink color that gives me a natural looking flush.

NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Boho Chic

Lips

• NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Tokyo – This is my new favorite lip color product! I love lip products that dry completely and don’t come off when I take a drink or eat something. My MUFE Aqua Rouge did this, but it also feels kind of stiff on my lips. This is soft (just like the name says!) and I barely feel it when it’s on. It dries completely after about 5 minutes to the point where I can kiss my hand without any product transferring. I wish they had more shades because I would buy a lot of them! Tokyo is a light pink, almost nude shade. I also just bought Antwerp, which is more of a coral.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream
left: Tokyo, right: Antwerp

Nails

• Sally Hansen Dry & Go Drops – OH MY GOD these are insane. Why did it take me so long to try these?? They literally work wonders. You wait a minute after applying a top coat and then do a couple drops on each nail with this. After 2 minutes your nails are GOOD TO GO. No smudges or dents. It’s like a miracle. I wish I had tried this many years ago. Anyone who paints their nails seriously needs this in their life!!!

Sally Hansen Dry & Go Drops

• Red Carpet Manicure Portable LED Light & Must Haves Kit – I’ve been wanting a gel polish kit so I could give myself gel manicures at home instead of paying $30+ at the salon. Ulta was having a buy 1 get 1 half off on Red Carpet Manicure products and this was cheaper than most kits I’ve seen. The portable light is smaller than the regular one but this just means you have to cure 4 nails on one hand, 4 nails on the other, and then both thumbs instead of each hand at once, and you have to cure it for about twice as long (but 2 minutes really isn’t that long anyway). Their regular light is $50 and the portable is $25 (got it for $12.50 with the sale) so I would say the price makes up for the slight disadvantages. The Must Haves Kit includes their Purity Cleanser (you use this before the manicure), Erase Gel Polish Remover, Prep polish, base coat, top coat, and cuticle oil. My manicures using these products have lasted just as long as the salon gel manicures do so I don’t think I will ever pay for a salon gel manicure again!
• Sally Hansen Pro Gel Polish in Greige – This is a nice neutral taupe (great for fall!) and was the first gel polish I bought to try out. I haven’t used a Red Carpet Manicure polish yet but I figured all gel polishes are probably the same, and my manicures lasted a while so I doubt mixing brands matters.
• Formula X for Sephora Xplosives Top Coat in Chaotic – First of all I just wanna say I am so impressed with how many different effects are available in the Formula X line! So glad they came out with it. I bought this top coat which is basically black and white confetti so it has a bunch of different shapes in it – hexagon chunks, tiny dots, sticks – and looks almost like paint splatter on the nails. I just bought the another one in Wham! which is just white confetti. I think the effect is super cool looking and really easy to do. The confetti is dispersed pretty well so you don’t have to paint a bunch of coats or push the confetti around to get the desired effect.

Formula X for Sephora Xplosives Top Coat in Chaotic over China Glaze For Audrey

Perfect Palette Tag!

Okay so I’m going to do this post since it doesn’t involve me taking my own pictures and I can use pictures from online!

1.) Best Packaging – Naked 2: It was hard to decide between this and Lorac Pro because Lorac is much sleeker, but I like that Naked 2 snaps closed and has a space for a brush (I’ll often put a brush there when traveling but I don’t use the brush the palette came with). Plus the Naked 2 mirror is bigger.

2.) Best Color Payoff – Lorac Pro: Again, it was hard to choose between this and Naked 2. A lot of beauty gurus on YouTube have been choosing their UD shadows for this one, but I think the Lorac Pro is better because the shimmers are a lot softer. UD shadows are great except when they have a lot of glitter, so I would say overall Lorac Pro is better because every shadow in the palette has great payoff and not just most of them.

3.) Most Versatile – Naked 2/Lorac Pro: couldn’t decide! I wanted to go with a neutral palette because I personally think neutrals are more versatile than bright colors (which is why I didn’t choose my Sigma Creme de Couture for this one). Part of me wants to say Lorac Pro because it has half matte and half shimmer, and a variety of tones and neutral colors. The other part of me wants to say Naked 2 because the colors are more unique. So I’m just gunna go with both 🙂

*** NOTE: When I get the Smashbox Wondervision Mega palette for Christmas I would definitely say that one. It has 30 shadows that are colors but still a good amount of neutrals to combine with, a combination of mattes and shimmers, plus 3 blushes and a bronzer. Can’t wait to get it and use it!!

4.) Best for Travel – Too Faced Naked Eye: Any neutral palette is good for travel but I chose this one because the shape of the palette is great. While Lorac Pro and Naked 2 are slimmer, Naked Eye fits in my makeup bags better because it’s smaller.

5.) Biggest Regret – Physician’s Formula Shimmer Strips in Nude: I discussed products I regret buying and mentioned why I regret buying this here. Zero pigmentation!! Sucks because it would be perfect for traveling since it’s so tiny but still has 9 shadows, plus it’s neutral. But neutral means nothing if you can’t see the shades!

6.) Best Color Names – Too Faced Naked Eye: Too Faced is one of those brands that has fantastic names. UD is good too, but for these palettes, Too Faced was better. Naked Eye has scandalous sexual names (because the palette is called “Naked”): In The Buff, Birthday Suit, Pink Cheeks, Pillow Talk, Satin Sheets, Lap Dance, Like A Virgin, Unmentionables, Stiletto

7.) Least Used – Urban Decay Skull palette: I bought this because it was on sale and had some UD shades I wanted. The shades I was after are Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, Chopper (which I ended up getting later when I bought the Naked 2 anyway), Shattered (duotone turquoise/gold), Blunt, and Twice Baked. I also thought Vert and Grifter were cool shades to have. The quality of these shadows are typical UD – good unless they have a lot of glitter. I just hardly reach for this because I mostly stick to neutral looks, for which I pull out my all-neutral palettes for. I only ever reach for this to use Vert, Shattered, or Grifter which isn’t often.

8.) Most Used, Most Loved, Desert Island:  Naked 2! For the fourth time (half the questions of this tag), I was choosing between Naked 2 and Lorac Pro. I originally got Naked 2 instead of the original Naked because I prefer cooler toned colors to warmer tones. In the Naked 2, I love and often use every color except Chopper and Foxy. I just don’t like the yellow tone of Foxy and I don’t like the copper tone and micro-glitter formula of Chopper. In the Lorac Pro, I have never used Gold or Garnet, and I rarely use Taupe, Sable, Light Bronze, and Espresso. When it comes to shades I’m totally crazy about, Naked 2 has a little more of these than Lorac Pro. So overall I would just rather have Naked 2 if I had to choose just one!

*** THESE PICTURES ARE NOT MINE! *** Unless I linked to another post from this blog, I got these pictures from Google Images.

Lorac Pro Palette (swatches from Temptalia here):

Lorac Pro Palette

UD Naked 2 Palette (swatches from Temptalia here):

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

See the Too Faced Naked Eye Palette and swatches from my September Favorites post here

UD Skull Palette:

Urban Decay Skull Palette

Smashbox Wondervision Mega Palette:

Smashbox Wondervision Mega Palette

and a few swatches from it:

Wondervision Mega Palette swatches

I’ve been a terrible blogger!

I know I haven’t posted in a long time…I suck. I have a draft of my October/November Favorites which is almost complete other than some swatches, but I have been pretty busy with schoolwork (the end of the semester is always rough). I thought I would have time to catch up last week while I was home for Thanksgiving but I ended up spending a lot of time with my family and friends. Not that that’s a bad thing of course – but just unfortunate I’ve gotten so behind on my blog.

The next two weeks are going to be pretty crazy with school so I’ll try to find some time to finish the Favorites post, but I probably won’t have time for other posts besides that. BUT, then I have a month off school and I will have no excuses! I’m planning on doing:

• the perfect palette tag
• a holiday makeup (and possibly hair) look/tutorial
• a review with swatches of the Smashbox Wondervision Mega Palette (getting it for Christmas!!)
• a review with swatches of my colored mascara collection and this will probably include some matching eyeliners of the colors I have
• products I would or have repurchased
• a short review of RapidBrow
• my favorite brushes

Can’t promise I will get all those done in the month I have off, but I will try! Let me know if there are any particular posts or types of posts you’d like to see. And don’t hesitate to ask any questions you might have!

So yeah sorry for the lack of posts but I will be back as soon as I can!

Sigma Limited Edition Créme de Couture palette!

This is the first palette I’ve purchased from Sigma. It was $32.00 and has 16 colors that are all matte and mostly pastel, candy color shades. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like you can get the palette right now but I really wanted to show some swatches. The shadows are all fairly pigmented but I don’t think they are as good quality as the Sigma single eyeshadows. But I do feel like you get a decent quality for the price. You’re pretty much paying $2 for each shadow in the palette so that’s not as pricey as other colored palettes like Urban Decay for example.

I bought this palette because I thought it had a nice range of colors and I liked that they were all matte. I feel like it’s difficult to find palettes with colored shadows without most of the shadows being shimmery or glittery. I especially really love the purples and blues in this palette and I think they would go well with a lot of my colored eyeliners and mascaras (colored mascara collection post coming soon!). I didn’t have that many colored shadows in my collection so this was definitely a good addition.

Row 1, L to R: Redberry Rose, Apricot Flower, Passion Fruit, Cherry Blossom

Row 2, L to R: Meyer Lemon, Ginger Pumpkin, Cafe au Lait, Blueberry Cream

Row 3, L to R: Violet Whip, Lavender Honey, Cassis, Elderberry

Row 4, L to R: Blue Chocolat, Almond Pear, Creme de Menthe, Citron Pistachio

Products I Regret Buying!

• Urban Decay The Black Palette ($36): This palette came with a mini Primer Potion and contains 6 eyeshadows “dipped in black.” The eyeshadows are the typical good quality of most UD shadows but since they all have a black undertone, they are extremely dark. In the pan, the colors look pretty but when applied they are too dark to differentiate between most of the shades. Unless I was using the colors for a very dark and smokey eye look, I really don’t find these shadows to be wearable enough to make this palette worth while.

• Lorac CC Cream ($28): I discussed this product in a previous haul post. It doesn’t have enough coverage to actually be an effective color corrector. I had to use 3 layers to cover my slight redness so I really wouldn’t recommend this if you want more coverage than an average tinted moisturizer.

• Physician’s Formula Shimmer Strips in Nude ($11.99): The shadows all look super pretty in the palette but have terrible pigmentation. I tried them with a wet brush and it didn’t make a difference. I also tried spraying my brush with setting spray to see if it would grab onto the product more but that didn’t do anything either.

• Rimmel London Glam Eyes eyeshadow quad in #028 English Breakfast ($5.99): Same for this as the Shimmer Strips – pretty but not very pigmented colors and wetting the brush with water and setting spray didn’t help.

• Urban Decay Pore Perfecting Complexion Primer Potion ($31): I’m not sure how the old formula was, but they reformulated this primer sometime around summer 2012. I find this one to be greasy and pretty thin. While it does its job as a primer, I can’t apply it without feeling like my pores are being totally clogged. I much prefer an oil-free primer like Benefit’s Porefessional that leaves a silky, lightweight feeling on the skin.

• Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream ($30): While this does a decent job at hydrating the eye area, it is supposed to instantly reduce dark circles but does this by having a brightening tone to it. It’s too thin of a formulation to actually reduce the darkness so the brightening factor doesn’t really do much. It doesn’t do anything for my puffy under eye area so I would rather spend less money on a cream if it’s only going to hydrate the area.

• Tarte Maracuja Cheek Tint in Light Nectar ($25): If you read any reviews, you’ll see that everyone says this stains your fingers. Knowing this, I bought the lightest shade. It does stain your fingers but you can also apply it with a sponge to avoid this. But that’s not what I don’t like about it. The product dries too quickly to blend out. If you dot it around your cheeks and then try to blend it, the dots will be darker and you can see them after you blend because they already started to dry. The only way to really use this is to spread it out well on a sponge and then dab it on the cheeks. It’s too much of a hassle for a $25 cheek product in my opinion.

• Elf Shimmering Facial Whip ($1): Since this product is super cheap, it wasn’t a true waste of money but I still regret buying it just because I know I’ll never use it. I heard this was sort of a dupe for Benefit’s High Beam, but the formula is too thick and sticky for my liking. High Beam is much more blendable.

• Maybelling Mega Plush mascara ($7.49): This mascara was advertised for having a “revolutionary gel mousse formula” but the formula actually makes it super thin and does hardly anything for lashes. It adds absolutely no volume and not much length. I would only use this if I was layering it with another mascara.

• Maybelline Age Rewind Eraser Dark Spot concealer ($9.99): This is a good concealer but it almost seems like it oxidizes and becomes more yellow after applied. It just doesn’t look good on and I much prefer Maybelline Fit Me concealer.

Let me know of some products you regret buying too!