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.

The Red Edit: My Favorite Red Makeup Products! (+ swatches)

A while ago, I did a write-up on my favorite pink products. While I do have to add more to that list, I wanted to make a list of my favorite red products, considering Valentine's Day is just hours away. On one hand, I don't really care for the blatant commercialization of that day, but on the other hand, hearts, and pink and red, and prettiness! Okay, favorite red products coming up:

So, from left to right, top to bottom, we have the Maybelline Matte Bar Palette, the Wet 'n Wild Coloricon Blush in Blazen Berry, the Coastal Scents single Shadow in Baked Clay, and the Hard Candy Cashmere Silk demi-matte cream gloss in Tartufo. 

Then we have three shades from the Modern Renaissance palette: Red Ochre,  Venetian Red, and Love Letter. 

And finally, the shade Passion from the Norvina palette. 

Here is a shot of all the eyeshadows: Baked Clay, Red Ochre, Venetian Red, Love Letter, Passion, and Brickhouse (from the Maybelline palette). 

Baked Clay is a shade I use once in a while to brighten up my crease when I am using darker reds. It is the closest thing I have to a true red shade, and I keep it around because it blends so well with other colors. 

And while it took me time to figure out how to use and love the reds in the Modern Renaissance, I am really in love with Passion from Norvina. I have been using it in my outer corner constantly, and I think it's useful in the way that so many people loved and used Bitten from Makeup Geek. 

Finally, the shade Brickhouse is of such excellent quality and is so comparable to the other reds here. If you do not have many warm-toned mattes in your collection, and want an easy way to use mattes, I would strongly recommend the Maybelline palette. 

Our last two swatches our of the lip gloss and blush.

Tartufo (left) is like a glossy lip stain, and is the only way I have worn red tones on my lips. Other than that I tend to avoid true red products. Blazen (right) is a perfect shimmery brick blush, and its shimmer has a slight pale pink reflect. I highly recommend all of these products- I also think you can find the Hard Candy Cashere Silk glosses at half off, as Walmart is phasing them out. 

So there you have it! It really does surprise me how versatile red is as a color. I do feel that this year, more than any year before, I have embraced red colors.

Thanks so much for reading!

3 Looks of the Week: Shimmer and Dark Mattes

I am not going to call myself an ABH stan. I own none of their face or lip products, and only (~oNlY) three of their eyeshadow palettes. But the reason I have three is because I just like the composition of their palettes.

Color-scheme wise, I think the ABH is super usable, and that colors are selected and grouped in very intentional and useful ways. This makes it a pleasure to use the palettes, and a reason I think I stuck to the Modern Renaissance and Norvina palettes- mostly- this week.

If my eyeliner looks weird this week there is very good reason- I am using the Mac eyeliner pot in Blacktrack, and am trying to get the hang of it.

Look One:

Incense in the crease, Volatile on lid, crease, and outer corner, Dazzling on 2/4 of inner lid, and Dazzling on center.

After the entire day passed, I came home and decided Dazzling should have been on the rest of the lid:

Wednesday:

Reds from the Maybelline Matte Bar and Modern Renaissance. Lid was Norvina Rose Gold. 

Thursday:

Basically the same combination of mattes, just less pink.  The lid was a combination of Looxi's Bohemian on the inner 2/4, and then Flamethrower, a copper-pink duochrome from LoveLuxeBeauty. 

Thoughts:

This week I definitely embraced the darker warm mattes, especially red. I really like how it brings out the green in my eyes. I think this weekend I am going to avoid wearing mascara because I did feel like my lashes were a bit more difficult this week.

That's all I have for now- thanks for reading!

Today's Eye Look: Orange and Brown

Today's eye look was the result of four shades:

•   Dawn, from the Subculture Palette
• New Wave, from the Subculture Palette
• Toasted from Clionadh Cosmetics
• Boujee, from Looxi on the lid

Basically, I love New Wave as a shade. It is the perfect "Mac 'n Cheese" yellow-orange. I do agree that the shades from the palette are trickier to blend. You can see how the brown matte on my outer corner, Toasted, is hardly blended with the orange.

On the lid is Boujee, from Looxi Cosmetics. I think this was a good choice because the warm gold matches the other colors, but this shadow has a blue shift, which complements the warm tones nicely. The shift is hard to make out on camera. 

Lastly, I was using a relatively new product. I am trying to get the hang of gel liners, because even though the brush tip eyeliners have been my HG, especially from Physicians Formula, I am getting bored with them, and getting frustrated with how easily I go through them. So I bought Mac's Black Track gel eyeliner pot. I am not sure I am using the best brush, but I do feel like I have more control with the product, so I am eager to keep using it on my eyes. I like the wear time, but I am not sure how I feel yet about the formula.

I went with a brighter, warmer look today, because I was mostly wearing pastel cool tones- blue and grey.  If I don't "plan" a look ahead of time, usually I just try to have it complement whatever I am wearing. Tomorrow I might wear a darker blue or black, so my eyes might be pink or purple. Maybe. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

Anyway, thanks much for reading!

5 Days of Using the Norvina Palette.

I am not normally so consistent with the palettes I use. However, because the shimmers and mattes pair so well with other colors, I had a lot of fun this week. The best part was that I wasn't even intentionally trying to use the palette for the whole week, I just found myself in that frame of mind.

For reference, this is what my palette looks like:

As always, please click on the image for better resolution.

Monday:

From left to right, we have:

Looxi's Durty, BH Cosmetic's Zodiac Dark Brown Matte, ABH Volatile, ABH Dazzling, and BH Cosmetic's light brown shimmer. 

This look I was trying to go for a multi-dimensional brown shimmer look, using both warm and cool tones of brown. 

I first used Durty in the crease and up to the brow bone. Then Volatile in the crease and lid, and the dark brown matte on the outer corner. Dazzling on the center of the lid, and the brown shimmer on the inner part of the lid. 

My thoughts: This look begins my consistent use of the Norvina palette, especially Dazzling, which made THREE appearances this week. I am not sure why. I know I was wearing a blue sweater that day, and wanted a neutral elegant eye look, so I went with the shimmer in the palette that I thought was the most "refined," Dazzling.

Volatile, from the picture, could have been blended more and built up more in the crease, but maybe I ran out of time. 

Anyway, I love using the cool tones of the palette and pairing them with other warm toned shadows. 

Tuesday:

This day I used Clionadh's Strawberry Mousse, Coloured Raine Princess both in the crease. Maybe an Inglot  pink also in the crease? I can't remember!

Dazzling is on the lid, and Mac Snowflushed is in the inner corner. 

Maybe the reason I was obsessed with Dazzling this week- and I think this is true of the Norvina palette in general- is that even though the color appears neutral, it's cool tone makes it work well with other colors, where it almost changes depending on how you use it. Using matte pinks brought out the pink to this color, which I liked.

Wednesday

Today I used Volatile in the crease and on the lid, Dazzling on the lid, Colourpop's Birthday Wish on the inner lid and inner corner, and Mac Snowflushed on top of Birthday Wish.

This look is like an improved version of Monday's look, and I really liked it. I found Volatile a little easier to work with, and I wasn't so hesitant in building it up. 

Snowflushed was also a great product to use with Dazzling, because of the copper and pink dimensions to it.

Thursday

This day I decided to switch things up a bit, which may have required a bit more work and planning on my part. Instead of cool browns and rose tones, I used:

From left to right, Eccentric from the Norvina Palette, Maize from Clionadh Cosmetics, Pumpkin Spice Life from Looxi, Summer and Dreamer from the Norvina palette. 

I used Clionadh's Maize in the crease, Looxi's Pumpkin Spice Life in the crease, ABH's Norvina's Eccentric in the crease and lid, Summer (gold/bronze shimmer) on lid, and Dreamer (light gold shimmer) in inner corner. 

My liner was....not great today. I have no idea why I only realized now I made a pretty significant mistake. The above is actually my eye after work. I thought I needed to improve the look by blending more of Maize up towards my brow bone. When I did my makeup this morning, I did not blend enough upwards. 

Still, I thought this look was fun and I should improve upon it in the future. Maize is a great formula for me. I actually prefer drier more powdery formulas, as long as they adhere to the skin and build up. There are some out there (like Fantasia) that are dry and powdery and blend away to nothing. So as long as a shadow strikes that balance, I am good. 

Summer and Dreamer are quite gorgeous and it seems to be they have almost a duochromatic quality to them. 

Friday

So, rose golds came back with a vengeance today:

From left to right, we have Mac Snowflushed, Colourpop Lay Low, ABH Love, ABH Rose Gold (Norvina), and a BH Cosmetics reddish brown from the Zodiac Palette.

Don't these colors look like a happy family?

This was probably my favorite look of the week:

I used Lay Low in the crease, a warmer toned pink that blends easily. I then used Love also in the crease. 

I then used Rose Gold on the lid, Mac Snowflushed on the inner corner and inner section of my lid, and then finally used the dark matter brown on the outer lid.

I usually have such a problem blending dark mattes, but I think I am finally getting a hold of doing a decent job. The key for me is not to use a blending brush, but to rather use a packing brush to sweep the product on the outer corner.

So yeah, I would definitely wear this look again. I am super pleased with it.

Final thoughts:

Norvina is a great palette. There are some colors that I still barely use- Drama and Soul- but maybe this weekend I can complete the full week.

Thanks so much for reading!

Trying New Techniques with the Subculture Palette

Did I mention I bought the Subculture palette?

Probably not. Upon its contentious, controversial, dramatic, tragic, tragicomic, etc. etc. release I stayed far away. Too much trouble, I said to myself. Definitely not worth $40-something, I said to myself.

But what about $22? sang the siren's call of TJ Maxx.

Hm.

And for the most part, I avoided purchasing from TJ Maxx for at least two months since it started popping up.

But eventually I caved. I caved because 1.) I am drawn to iconic color stories, 2.) I am sort of an ABH stan (only sort of), and 3.)  as much as the quality of the palette is debatable, I thought it had a place in my collection.

I plan on reviewing the entire palette later, but I will say that it has pushed me to branch out a little bit and try new techniques, which I very much appreciate. These new techniques are required by the type of products in this palette.

For example, Subculture contains these matte shades that are not kidding about being matte. They are so serious, so serious about being matte you guys. They don't move an inch once you place them down. Which is a shame. How am I supposed to blend that?

(Now, I should note I knew about these issues before I bought the palette. )

Well, what about liner? I actually don't mind using powder to line my eyes, as long as I have a good lining brush. In this case, the Luxie 215 Small Angle brush was the one I used for this following lewk:

Now, don't get me wrong. I know this look is super basic. But for me, I was trying things that I normally never do. And I liked the results. 

So we have remnants of Stila Kitten on the lid, and then from the Subculture palette: Dawn as the transition, New Wave on the outercorner. I put down a brown-toned Physicians Formula liner, and packed the shade Rowdy on top of it. 

Using Rowdy, I then made a small wing. I was not liking the appearance of the wing, so I drew a line downwards and connected it. 

I then brought Rowdy further along my lash line. I used Fudge with the Cargo Magic Eye Brush, which is just a small, very densely packed blending brush to blend. And then I took Dawn also on the lower lash line and swept it across the blend Rowdy a bit more. 

My thoughts?

I think I definitely am going to be doing this in the future. It was't too difficult nor time-consuming. I would just work on shrinking down the wing a little bit so it doesn't look so hooked.

Thanks for reading!

Post Autumn Royale: EoTD

Hi everyone! Today I have a review of the products that I wore on my face today. I have pictures from the beginning of the day an hour or so after initial application, as well as at the end of the day, after about six or seven hours. 

Right off the bat, I was dealing with a swollen and runny eye, so I was a little afraid of doing anything too elaborate. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Normally, when my eyes are giving me issues I stick to a simple matte look, but I wasn't in the mood for mattes today. As I was doing my makeup, I was watching a video with Nisipisa, who was doing a really pretty pink-toned look, with shimmer. 

So I was inspired. I used two palettes: The Norvina Palette and the Good Sport Palette. These complement each other nicely because Norvina skews a little more cold and GS much warmer, so even though you'll see I was using mostly warm neutrals and golds, there was something a bit elaborate or decadent (in my humble opinion) about the eyelook. 

So, what did I do?  After priming my eyes, I set my brow  and crease with the shade Base from the Norvina palette, and then I used the shade trooper from The Good Sport pallete. Trooper is a lovely golden yellow matte that makes a perfect transition shade.  It blends very easily. After setting down Trooper, I blended in Eccentric from the Norvina palette. Eccentric is a yellow-toned caramel matte brown. I also set that down on my lid and blended it into the crease. 

Then, I took the shade Wild Out from The Good Sport palette, which is a lovely toasted golden shimmer, and put that on the inner part of my lid. On the center of my lid, I blended in Dazzling, a red-toned brown shimmer, to deepen the shimmer on my lid.  I took the shade Passion from the Norvina palette, a  red toned dark shade, and blended that carefully on the outer corner. Finally, I took the shade Licious from the GS palette, which is a very vibrant golden-yellow shimmer, and popped that on the inner corner. 

Though I was concerned about my eyes today, they held up pretty well, and I ended up really liking the look. I think I liked it so much because of how I paired the inner corner shimmer with the transition shade. I think I'm going to try to do this a lot where I match those colors. It made the look cohesive and fun. 

The only other notable product I used today is the blush, a new purchase from T.J. Maxx, the Lipstick Queen blush Frog Price, which I purchased for $6.00. I knew it was a creme blush that was green in the pan, but on my face it created a natural rosy flush that lasted the entire day. I never had a blush do that before, so I am quite impressed with it and can easily see how I will use that entire product up. 

So that is it for today- thanks so much for reading!

EoTD: Gold and Taupe

Greetings!

Today's look comes from two products: Covergirl's Blooming Blushes Quad, and the ABH Norvina palette.

I've done this look a couple of times before, but never seem to get great pictures of it. So basically, I take the pink-toned cream shade in the Blooming Blushes Quad and sweep it over my browbone and crease.

Then I took the taupe shade in the quad and blended it in and above the crease.

I took the shade Volatile from the ABH palette, which is a bit deeper, and blended it on the outer corner/crease.

I took the shade Summer, a bright gold/bronze and put in on the lid, blending into Dreamer, a light gold shimmer, into the inner corner.

Basically, I love how this look plays with warm and cool tones, and how much of an impact the contrast creates.

Other things to note- on my face today I wore my moisturizer with SPF, but on top of that I used Coty Airspun. I've never done that before! I really liked the results and plan on doing that again in the future.

Thanks so much for reading!!

The Pink Edit: My Favorite Pink Products, at Different Price Points!

Greetings!

I am very excited to present to you today's post on my favorite pink products. Pink is a very relaxing, sweet color, especially cool-toned pinks. So let's jump right in, from left to right, top to bottom.

1.) Boardwalk Marshmallow Clouds, by Bath and Body Works, $14.50, but I bought it on sale for about $8.00. The packaging of this container is pink, but I am including it in this post because the scent embodies pink. Described as "whipped vanilla, marshmallow meringue, white magnolia, and sandalwood," it is very sweet without being too cloying, and I have been wearing it all summer. The only problem is that it is not very long lasting, so I do have to reapply it 2-3 times during the day. I really do enjoy the scent! 

2.) The Norvina Palette, ABH. $42. I knew that I was going to get this palette as soon as I saw it. I have also been using this constantly all summer. The color scheme works for me, and I just love the rose and purple tones that come out of it. 

3.)  Maybelline Sensational Shine Compulsion in Taupe Seduction, $6.00. Another lip product in Maybelline's line called "Taupe," and not really Taupe. This is a cool-toned rose that gives an intense shine. It is definitely worth picking up. 

4.) Bite Beauty Matte Creme Lip Crayon, sample (full size $24) in Glace. I received this from Sephora as a birthday gift, and I honestly did not expect to love this. I thought I had this problem of Bite lip products wearing too warm on me, but this one does not disappoint. It's just...pretty. 

5.) Covergirl Eyeshadow Quad in Blooming Blushes, ~$7.00. I have a review on this coming up on the blog, but I will say the stand out shade in that quad is the pink. It is a cool-toned pink that is super soft and shows up well on my skin.

6.) Looxi Beauty Highlighter in Stripped, $7.50. This is an  iridescent cool-toned pink that, as a highlighter, wears smoothly on the skin.

7.) Looxi Beauty Eyeshadow in Tesla, $5.00. I have been on the hunt for a pink frosty eyeshadow and I don't think I will ever come across one as unique as Tesla. The pink is on the bubblegum side, and it is duochrome with a blue and green reflect. It is a gorgeous shadow!

8.)  Wet 'n Wild Megaglo Highlighter in the Sweetest Bling, $2.49. This is a limited edition highlighter Wet 'n Wild had on clearance. Original price was about $5.00. Now it can be found on Amazon for $10. I would not recommend buying that, though, because currently WnW sells Botanic Dream, which I've read is similar. Still, this is a gorgeous icy pink highlighter.

9.) Wet 'n Wild Zodiac Limited Edition Lipgloss, Cancer $2.50. I purchased this because it's my sign! I was a little scared because I was not sure how it would appear on my lips, but it is not stark white at all. It is a subtle pearly gloss and I would highly recommend it!

Onto the swatches~

From left to right, Maybelline Taupe Seduction, Bite Beauty Glace, Looxi Stripped, Looxi Tesla, Wet 'n Wild Cancer

What are your favorite pink-products?

Thanks for reading! (＾• ω •＾)

The Norvina Palette: Swatches and Pics

This is not a review post just yet! But I thought I would show some pictures of my newly arrived Norvina palette!

I have a review in the works so stay tuned!