Flower Beauty Blush Bomb in the shade Nectar: Review and Swatches

This has been the year of cream blushes for me. Despite the fact that I have historically been afraid of blush and cream products, I have found that certain cream color products do, in fact, work- and work well. This is certainly true of a new product from Flower Beauty, The Blush Bomb Color Drops. When I saw Temptalia review them favorably (she was the only one at the time who even featured the product), I knew I had to try one.

I picked up the shade Nectar for $9.99.

The blush is housed in a squeeze tube and has a really cool applicator- the nozzle is entirely transparent. 

It contains 0.3 oz of product, and the tube was definitely smaller than I thought it would be. However, the drops are quite concentrated and you only need a little bit. 

Nectar is a very orange-leaning peach. I think it is quite unique to the berry and mauve tones already in my collection. 

Blended out:

I will say that I personally prefer using a synthetic blush brush to blend out the product after I dot a little on my face- and if I have to build up, I will. When I first tried it out, I used my fingers, but I found that a brush creates a more even effect.

On the face, the finish is not matte, but not overly luminous. Moderately dewy, if you will. And with my combination skin, this stuff lasted the entire work day on my face.

In short- I highly recommend this product. While I can't definitely say it is a dupe for any Glossier Cloud Paints (because I have not purchased any), the Flower Beauty is an affordable option that also gives you a better deal. While Glossier Cloud Paints equal to $54.00/fl oz, Flower Beauty clocks in at $33/fl oz. Make of that what you will.

I am very excited to continue using this for the summer!

Thanks for reading! 🌞

Quick Reviews: Palettes I've Purchased @ TJ Maxx

I have talked before about the lure of TJ Maxx. I have admonished myself for falling prey to the discount and accessibility of products that normally I would not see in person. And despite all of this, I have in my stash three palettes from TJ Maxx. I'm going to review them for you today quickly by stating my thoughts, how I've used these products, but forego my usual swatches and looks.

First up is the infamous Subculture, purchased for about $22.00:

I actually have used this palette quite a bit, and think there's a lot of potential here. The darker shades are excellent to pack along the lash line, and the lighter mattes work really well on the lid and crease. Part of the failure of this palette comes from the two shimmers Cube and Electric. As you can see with my palette, these sealed up pretty badly, rendering them unusable. 

Some bloggers have reported success with the two shades I mentioned, but I know ABH has different batches floating out there in the world. I didn't do my research, it seemed, and should have looked up the batch code prior to making the purchase. That being said, the strength of this palette is how it adds depth and coolness to looks, and works well with other palettes. 

The next is my most recent purchase, the Bon Bons palette from Too Faced, for $20.00:

Right of the bat, I am shocked- SHOCKED- that at one point this palette was sold for $49.00. Only some of the mattes- like Mocha and Bourbon- are blendable and have impact, others get pretty muddy. I have been enjoying Satin Sheets as an inner corner highlight, as well as the cream matte to set my primer. I think the two standouts are the two brown shimmers. 

To me this palette is a sign of the times and the beauty landscape of 2015, which included extremely neutral shadows, and formulas that were meant to go with techniques that are not used as commonly- like shimmers and satins in the outer corner (which I believe is making a comeback). Though I do think this is a pretty palette, and the smell of it is divine, I do believe this thing is completely superfluous.  I'll take the L there. 

Finally, we have the most inexpensive palette in this trio, and the one that I have the most to talk about, the Marvycorn palette from BH Cosmetics, which I think I got for about $6.00. 

Let's first start with the highlighters. They are super creamy and could possibly run the risk of being chunky, though the formula is not dense, nor tightly packed. All three do contain micro shimmer. They look pretty on the skin- the darkest one I have to use as an eyeshadow, though. 

For me, the standouts of this palette are the neutral mattes- I know that is ridiculous, but still. They blend really smoothly. My personal favorite is Flodder, which is a really cool yellow neutral beige. I don't have anything else like it. 

The shimmer eyeshadows are a bit disappointing- thin formulas and not high-shine. The only one worth anything, the one that does not require glitter glue or any additional help- is the fourth shade in the top row- the slightly duochrome red-copper shimmer. That one is quite metallic and creamy. 

The packaging, of course, is a major draw. It is prone to getting dirty, but I don't mind. I don't use this palette every day, but I do pull it out every so often and I enjoy it every time. 

Looking at all of these palettes, do I have a life lesson? Yes, stop it. Not the most helpful advice. But I let curiosity get the better of me- especially with the Bon Bons palette. If I had really thought about what my collection looked like, I could have easily realized I didn't need it. The goal is to be a bit more thoughtful next time. 

So that's all I got for today! 

Thanks so much for reading.

May Inspiration Board

Greetings! I don't have much in the way right now of immediate products reviews. I have one very large review of Menagerie Cosmetics Eyeshadow coming up, as well as an updated highlighter master post. But, for now, let's talk about what is inspiring me, and what is not.

These types of posts fall under my Beauty Bookmarks tag. For more extreme versions, I do have old anti-hauls/and TMOS.

First thing coming up is what I assume to be a new palette from Nabla. Now, I do love Nabla singles, but the quality of the palettes is a little more contentious. They have been sneak-peaking the cover of the palette which features rich burgundy, gold accents of suns, seashells, and other symbols, and maybe tropical flowers?

I'm going to throw my hat into the ring (that's a phrase, right?), and make some guesses about what this palette is about, using some key words:

secret cove, tropics, meridian, island, beach, mermaid

Those are my guesses. I tend to like the color layout of Nabla palettes, though I have not yet actually purchased one. We'll see if I take the plunge.

Moving on, for about a year now I've had my eye on another Italian makeup brand, Neve Cosmetics.

Now, Neve currently does not ship to the US. But they did tell me via instagram they are working on it, and their instagram posts have been featuring text in both English and Italian. So, let's hope. I have my eye on a number of things, and I will say that Neve has an excellent range of duochrome shadows and powders that I have not yet seen from other brands.

One makeup artist on Instagram who I have been really inspired by is @lana_makeup_nails. One of her recent books I bookmarked is:

I think her use and placement of color is really cool and something I can replicate, while still looking quite unique.

I've been on a real kick with more watercolor-type shades, and this post from Clionadh is making me think I can use a shade with a blue shift on the lid with a warmer transition color, and it would look really cool.

The lid shade featured is Clionadh's new multi-chromes. Right now they are probably one of the most interesting things going on eyeshadow wise in the indie-verse. I would have to agree, though I wouldn't buy more than one or two.

I am wondering if a potential downside to multichromes is if they are not as versatile as regular shimmers or duochromes.

Anyway, my last bookmarked post is Glossier's new Bubblewrap, and eye and lip cream that is supposed to reduce texture for $26. As someone with sensitive eyes, I love eye cream. I am still using up my Soap and Glory eye gel, but once I finish I will gladly use the Glossier one.

Finally, let me comment on a couple of things I am staying far away from, mostly high-end single eyeshadows.

Most recently Viseart released its single eyeshadows, for $12 for about 2g. Pat McGrath is offering singles at $25 for 1 g. Now, I enjoy buying singles quite a bit. But I am not impressed by these prices. I do think Viseart is definitely giving you a better deal, but both companies have left me a bit disappointed- they are fully capable of producing gorgeous, interesting colors, and I don't see them.

For PML, the singles serve as a complement to the palettes- the assumption is you have at least one large one and one small one, and you need a transition color or something. For Viseart, the color selection is a bit more interesting, but the colors have a muted quality (save for the handful of literally neons).

For me, I prefer to collect singles that are unique and singular, and that complement my palettes, not the other way around. Especially if I am going to invest more than the usual amount, and especially if indie companies are offering a lot of product at a good price, too. While it is exciting that a person does not have to pay $100-something to try PML, I don't think it's exactly fair that we have to pay a fourth of that to "sample" or "try," PML. I think that mentality minimizes how much money you're putting into it, exactly.

So, that's my spiel. Let me know your thoughts!