beauty

Blogmas Days 7-13 Bite Beauty Lab Review

Well, my hopes of keeping my blog going daily through December vanished. Last week we had a massive event at work, which was the kick off to my hectic week. The next night we went out with friends to see Christmas lights. Followed by another work event the next night, and so on. You can see where this is going.

One of the things we did this past weekend was take a trip into NYC, where we had a jam packed day. We started off the day at the Bite Beauty Lab. This is a store where you can go in and create a customized lipstick. There are two different options when you go in – pay $55 for a less customized option with one color and fragrance OR pay $150 for 2 customized colors/fragrances. I did the cheaper option, and it was SO COOL. There are probably 50 different colors to choose from, and they let you try on as many as possible within your allotted timeframe. (OH and make an appointment!!!) I picked two colors and paid $80 for both. Once you pick the colors you can also pick the finish as well – I chose matte. You then pick the scent. After all of that they spin and then freeze the lipstick. 10 minutes later – you’re ready to go!

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I had a great staff member helping me – she was so helpful! If you can, definitely give this a go – it was so much fun.

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The left one is a lighter nude, and the right one is a berry color. The lighting doesn’t do it justice!

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Blogmas Day 5- Swamp Queen Palette

Several months ago I was so sad to find out that the Swamp Queen Palette was sold out EVERYWHERE. I wound up buying it on ebay (I know this is bad) but couldn’t have been happier when it arrived. Back in November I heard the great news that it was back in stock! It was heavily promoted during Black Friday, and while I’m sad I missed the sale, I really need this in my life!

The different hues of purple were really what drew me in and made me fall in love. I can do a full face with this – contour, blush, eyes and not have to look at anything else. I’d love to hear how everyone uses this palette, especially for eyes! Any tips and tricks are welcome!

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Tarte Shape Tape Concealer

Earlier this year when it seemed like EVERYONE was talking about the Tarte Shape Tape Concealer I knew I wanted to try it. The problem was that I couldn’t find it anywhere. It was exclusive to Ulta at the time and I struggled for a while to find it. Thanks to my googling though I was able to get my hands on it via QVC.

I think QVC is a majorly underrated makeup resource. It took a while to get the product, but my wait paid off, and I’m THRILLED. Buying it through QVC allowed me to get the sponge applicator with it, and I’ve come to love it too.

The color range of the concealer isn’t great, and thankfully I could try it in Ulta before I bought it. I’m quite light, but after looking at what they have I decided Light Medium was best for me. It’s been perfect. It is thick and very full coverage – great for keeping dark under eye circles at bay.

I’ve seen some Youtubers who mix Light Medium and Light together for a pop of brightness right under the lash line, and I’m so tempted to give that a try.

Anyone else tried this concealer? Thoughts?

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Skin Care Ideas

As the weather started changing I could feel my skin was ready for a change as well. I’d been looking for some new products to change up my routine – and if you saw my last post you know I found some- but when I came across this post on amixofmin.com I thought it was perfect. I follow Mindy’s blog and also follow her on Instagram – she’s one of my favs.

Check it out – she wrote all about the “double cleanse,” and I feel like it would be great to implement this fall/winter. Click here to check out the blog post.

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Valentine’s Day Gift Guide

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One of my favorite ways to shop nowadays is through the curated emails I get that are thematically targeted for whatever holiday is approaching. Of all of the emails I received regarding Valentine’s Day gifts, Paper Source was definitely my favorite. I’ve always loved them, and adore their products. I wanted to post this completely because I think this store is adorable – not because I was asked to do so. These are some adorable and sweet gifts for that special person in your life! Below are some screen shots from their website:

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Liquid Lipsticks…

We all know that 2015 was the year of the liquid lipstick. They came out in full force by December, and my list of “must try” brands/colors got massive. As I mentioned in my previous post that I went on a little Amazon binge instead of electing to go to IMATS, I picked up several liquid lippy’s there. I also heard about a few other brands that I just had to try out. Because I prefer the dusty rose shades, these are all variants on my favorite color.FullSizeRender 45.jpg

Of course, this list had to begin with Dose of Colors in Stone. DOC blew up last year, and they are known for their unique color choices. I like it – the formula doesn’t seem to last for me though. Tips on fixing this are appreciated!

Next in line is Lime Crime’s Velvetine in Faded. I really like this one, but it is a little too dark for me to wear to work. I need a liquid lip that works for a multitude of purposes.

Following that is Gerard Cosmetics liquid lipstick in Serenity. This is perhaps the most orange of the group, but I wanted to try it for a few reasons. One, Gerard Cosmetics is so frequently mentioned by other bloggers/vloggers, that I really wanted to try it out. And two, because this specific shade was a collab between GC and Manny MUA from Youtube. I love wearing this! I just have to watch, because on me sometime it turns a bit too orange depending what color palette I have on.

I also heard many people talking about Glamorous Chicks Cosmetics – so I made sure to add them to my list! I purchased the Tame Matte Velvette and I really like the shade a lot. Quite versatile, but can appear a bit too dark at times for work wear.

When I was at the Bobbi Brown counter recently I was shown a lip gloss that was in the color Dusty Rose. While this doesn’t have any staying power like the liquid lipsticks, the color is opaque, and can definitely hold its own in this group.

The Beauty Bakerie is a brand that I heard of via YouTube. The color here is identical to the one I bought from Glamorous Chicks. I got the Versailles Lip Whip, and while the formula is a little strange – I’m not always a fan when formulas are whipped- this one has staying power. And I don’t find that it leans toward the darker side, unlike its GCC counterpart.

The last one on the list is by far my favorite. The color is Clueless and it is from ColourPop and it is perfect for everyday wear. It lasts, and I seriously can’t say how much I love it. I reach for it constantly, and need to try other colors!

See swatches below! (Same order as above starting from the top!)

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January 2016 Favorites

Between having pneumonia and then things being crazy at work, my time has been pulled in a million directions. But I didn’t want to miss mentioning some of my favorite products from January! My goal is to do a favorites post every month – hoping I can stick to it!

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January brought me a super random group of favorites. I made the decision not to head to IMATS again this year, largely because once you factor in the ticket price and the train tickets, the discounted makeup doesn’t seem worth it to me anymore. Once that decision was made, I decided to use an Amazon gift card from Christmas to pick up some of the items I would have picked up at the show. I’m looking to try out and explore new makeup brands, and also brands that have been pretty hyped, so this seemed like the best way to do that. One of the pieces I picked up was the Morphe blush palette (Morphe 9B The Blushed Blush Palette) that Jaclyn Hill talked about a few months back. Note: my camera massively darkened the blush colors above, see below for true colors.

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I haven’t stopped using it since I bought it – the colors are gorgeous. I’ve become a blush-a-holic, and this has just fed the addiction. Conveniently I also received a Target gift card [to feed my massive Target addiction] and this allowed me to purchase the Sonia Kashuk 10 piece Facet-nating Brush set. This was put out around Christmas, and I tried forever to justify buying it. The brushes are mixed between goat hair and synthetic – I love many of the goat hair ones. It really completes a brush collection, plus the gold handles are gorgeous.

And then there was the L’Oreal True Match Lumi Liquid Glow Illuminator in the shade Ice. I tend to like liquid highlighters, so I was excited for this one, and it didn’t disappoint. Plus, lets be real, their packaging is enough to make you buy one.

Every so often I get brave and decide to try a new dry shampoo. Strangely enough, although I’m blonde and it shouldn’t be so bad, I find they make my hair look gross.  The Bumble and Bumble Pret-a-powder smells amazing, and truly does the job of refreshing your hair. Because I have natrually dry hair, a product like this is perfect for me. I know some people have problems with the idea that this is a powder and not a spray, but I actually like that. This way it doesn’t make my hair clumpy or sticky like some do.

I found the CoverGirl Eye Shadow Quad in Blooming Blushes on one of my many trips to the drug store recently. The quality of the shadows isn’t amazing, but blendable enough to really work. Plus anything with a pink smoky eye is right up my alley.

Whenever I can I like to support fellow bloggers or Youtubers that I like to watch. When I saw Dani from Coffee Break with Dani released the 5 slot clear organizer in a collab with Zahra, I was happy to pick one up. I use it to store brushes, but I’ve seen posts from other bloggers where they bought upwards of 5+. These really are great. In a recent video Dani said they are almost sold out!

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And last, but certainly not least, I wanted to include two of the jewelry items I’ve been wearing on the reg lately. For our anniversary (which is at the end of December) my boyfriend got me this amazingly sparkly Michael Kors watch that I had been eyeing. It fits my wrist perfectly, and I’m obsessed with the sparkles! I was so surprised – and I know I’m quite blessed to have such a generous boyfriend. In addition he gave me the gorgeous necklace above as a Christmas gift. I’ll be sparkling year round!

What products were you loving last month??

Empties Part II

I meant to post this back in December, but the month seemed to get away from me before I could! This is the second part in my empties posts. These are the products I used up last year. Some just went unused/bad and some I completely used up. Sorry for the bad quality of the photos – I’ll be using a new camera going forward!

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I’ll just pick out a few of the above to talk about. The Stila lip glaze in Watermelon is one that I just adore. I have so many back ups! But beware – it is uber sticky, so stay aware if that isn’t your thing. Jesse’s Girl [lip gloss fourth from left] is a brand that I’m becoming more familiar with, and one that I often have trouble finding. I found mine at Rite Aid, and I am simply in love with the frosted pink color. I really want to try their eye liner because I heard it is awesome. The Maybelline Instant Age Rewind is a fantastic concealer, but the tip of mine was a sponge applicator, and it really didn’t work for me. I worked with it because I loved the formula, but the sponge deteriorated beyond recognition by the end. I do recommend this product – I hope they have changed the applicator by now! The Tarte lip gloss was ok – nothing super special – although I’m a big Tarte fan. The Make Up Forever HD Foundation is my favorite. The bottle above is before they changed the formulation, but it is still my daily go to.

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The only mascaras that I would highlight above are the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara [third from left] and the Too Faced Queen Sized. Both are super old in my collection, so I had to throw them out. But I adore them. And of course, I love the Anastasia Brow Wiz. I’m working through two other brow products now, but will eventually return to this one.

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I LOVE Bumble and Bumble products. My salon carries the line, so I often pick up products there. The creme de coco shampoo is fantastic, and smells incredible. I plan to pick up another bottle in the near future. The mending shampoo is alright, made my hair too fluffy though. I HATED the Caviar Anti-Aging Replenishing Moisture Shampoo. Doesn’t do a thing and made my hair dry. I use the Organix Moroccan Argan Creme shampoo on the reg, and I think it makes my hair pretty soft. Dry Bar’s Sake Bomb Shampoo is good – not great – but works well for travel. The Tresemme Keratin Smooth Shampoo is pretty good as well. As someone with crazy, curly hair, it definitely smooths out the texture of my hair.

Have you guys tried any of these products?

Birchbox January 2016

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Finally – my last subscription box arrived! I will always love Birchbox, even when I don’t always love my box each month. I’ve come to realize that having small sample sized items are GREAT for travel, and since I’ve been doing a lot of that lately, these have definitely come in handy.

I have to say – I adore the theme (and the color of the box) this month. I selected “ambition” to be my word for 2016. I want this to be the year I achieve some serious goals!

This month the items in my box are just OK. I laughed when I opened it because there were two products (shampoo and conditioner) from Beautiful Nutrition. In my Glossybox I just received a bottle of toner from the same brand – so this brand must be blowing up the beauty market. I’m curious to give it a shot! See what else I got in my box below:

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Beautiful Nutrition Grapefruit Detox Shine Repair Shampoo

Beautiful Nutrition Grapefruit Detox Shine Repair Conditioner

Cargo Swimmables Shadow Stick – Coral Reef

derma e* Hydrating Serum with Hyaluronic Acid

Peripera Peri’s Tint Water – Strawberry Juice

What did you guys get in your box this month?