Eyeliner Collection and Declutter

For someone who hates applying eyeliner, I have so much of it.

Party the reason for this is subscription boxes, but also because for the longest time, I have been someone on the hunt for the perfect, HG product. However, that does not exist.

What I have learned, however, is that for my eyeshape and preferences, an eyeliner has to be three things:

1. black
2. waterproof
3. brush tip

Felt tip, as popular as it is, skips on my eyelids. And because my eyes are prone to watering, I need something that can last the day. 

I am not going to provide swatches only because I don't want to waste product. 

So, I'll go through what I have, talk about each one, and decide what I am going to do with them. 

Let's start!

1. Physician's Formula Eye Booster in Ultra Black and Black. Waterproof, long-lasting, and brushtip. The regular black shade is a little too brown-toned, but Ultra Black is perfect. This is basically the closest I have to an HG. I am so obsessed about these, which are too expensive in my opinion (@ $8-11), that when I am running low, I buy back-ups and use them simultaneously, which makes absolutely no sense. So now I have three that I am using up, having no idea which of them has the most product. 

2. LA Splash Ark-I-Tekt Eyeliner, Waterproof. $14. I have a review up on my blog about this. It is not as waterproof as the Physician's Formula one, but slightly easier to apply (smoother). However, the brush bristles have continually bent out of shape for me, making me have to snip some off. And I can't store it upside down or else the product will flood the tip. I know I am making this eyeliner sound like a nightmare, but it's not that bad. I will use it up, but not repurchase. 

3. Lioele Brush-Pen Eyeliner, $2.99. I found this today at TJ Maxx and bought it on the name alone. I am so paranoid that the world will stop making brush-tip eyeliners so I have this impulse to hoard them. Anyway, I have not used this for any prolonged amount of time, but I did apply it to me eyes today and I like what I see so far. It is smaller than the other eyeliners in my collection. 

4. Speaking of small eyeliners, I also have the NYX "That's The Point, Hella Fine Eyeliner." I found this at Target for about $9.00. It is felt tip, but the tip is super small, which I like. I use this to create small wings. 

5. Clio Calligraphy Liner in Kill Black. Another K-Beauty TJ Maxx purchase. I will be decluttering this one, for as cool as the shape of the felt-tip is, this stuff rubs off too easily. 

6. I will also be decluttering, unfortunately, the Wet 'n Wild holiday/Halloween 2018 eyeliner in Later Witches, a coppery brown metallic with some microglitter. I don't want to declutter it because of the name, but the formula is so chunky and hard to apply. Later, witches. 

7. I am going to hold on to Physician's Formula Matte Lacquer Gel Cream Eyeliner in Ultra Black, the ill-fated dupe to the ill-fated Benefit Push-Up Liner. I love this formula so much, even though the applicator is so unwieldy. I plan to use more of it, especially for smudgier looks. 

8. Another non-brush eyeliner I will be holding on to is the PIXI Endless Silky Eye Pen, in a trial size. This glides onto my eye really well and stays put. 

9. I will be getting rid of one NYX Jumbo eye pencil, in Cottage Cheese. I bought it for the name but I don't use it. 

10. I will also be getting rid of the Jordana Color Envy "Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner" in Antique Gold. Waterproof it is not. 

11. The NYX Wonder P encil used to be really useful for me, but I stopped using it for some reason. I used to use it a lot last year to correct eyeshadow and liner mistakes. I am going to keep it around, just in case. 

12. Speaking of NYX, who seems to be highly represented in this list, I also have the Faux Blacks liner in Black Olive. I like the concept of this line, and I like the color and formula. I have not been using it  really but I plan to. 

13. I will be decluttering the elf Stardust Glitter Eyeliner in Pink Opal. I bought it because the name reminded me of the MAC pigments, but this is the opposite, in terms of pigment. It's a very weak eyeliner. 

14. I will be decluttering a Ciate Star Stamp/Eyeliner that I got from an Ipsy bag. I never use this, nor will I. Felt tips just don't agree with me, thought the formula is fine.

15. Speaking of stamps, I will be keeping the Vogue Effects Eyeliner Wing Stamp. This is a very convenient product. The actual formula is fine- it's not the deepest black ever, but it does not run. 

So, final count!

This is what I am keeping:

12 products

And  I am giving away:

6 products

Not bad!

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 •＾)

Eyeshadow Palette Collection Post

Hi everyone! I was inspired to do a palette collection post. I am not going to count my two z-palettes, but rather complete, pre-made palettes.  With each palette I'll talk about how much I use it and give my thoughts on each.

The first section of palettes I am going to talk about are all from BH Cosmetics.

The Carli Bybel Deluxe Palette (top)

I have had this for one year. I have hit pan on the cream shade, and reorganized some shades from this palette by depotting two of the highlighters to put in my highlighter z-palete. Overall, this is a really easy to use palette with some excellent lid shades. It has subtle color to what could be considered neutral shades, which is what I prefer.

Where the palette falls short is just the sheer amount of highlighter/repeat shades. If she could have just stuck to an eyeshadow palette and maybe a separate highlighter palette, that would have been a lot less overwhelming and I'd want to use the palette even more.

I use this palette especially for a matte burgundy shade when I need something for the outer corner of my eye, because it is so soft and does not skip on my skin.

The Zodiac Palette (right):

My own palette is a bit of a mess because the center highlighter cracked and got everywhere. Other than that, though, I love this palette for glittery and high-shine lid shades. The mattes are of excellent quality, but I find they blend (especially the dark brown ones) little too easily, so less is more when it comes to those shades. It's a great palette, especially for the fall and winter.

Take Me Back to Brazil Palette (bottom):

This is such a fun palette but the shimmers are useless. They have no pigmentation. The reason this palette is worth anything is the mattes, which have pigment, but should be built up. In this way, for me at least, this palette is very useful for infusing colors into a look. I stick to the yellows, purples, pinks, and reds, though, and far away from the blues.


The next set of palettes are some of my smaller ones:

The Tarteist Pro to Go palette (left):

I got this from ebay after obsessing after it for months. Why? Ugh. I don't know. It feels so long ago. It is a nice little palette, with a nice selection of shimmers and mattes. It just feels like a thoughtful palette. The mattes are very smooth and soft.

The Wet 'n Wild Not a Basic Peach Palette (top):

This was part of WnW's brand update and reformulation. I really enjoy the this palette, especially the transitional mattes. However, the quality is a bit inconsistent, as I did discard two shades that were not working for me.

The Too Faced Peanut Butter and Jelly Palette (bottom):

I got this from TJ Maxx on discount, but I don't regret it. This is an adorable palette, and really easy to make orangey brown looks with it. I really like the quality of the eyeshadow, except I think Bananas is very sheer.

Physician's Formula Classic Nudes (left):
This was part of their anniversary collection, and my review of this palette was very positive. It is a handy palette to have around.

Wet 'n Wild, Walking on Eggshells (center):

I purchased this solely to have the original formula in my possession. The quality is lovely. Unfortunately, I do have many overlaps with the color in this palette, but I do occasionally use it when I am in the mood for an easy look.

Wet 'n Wild 6-pan Palette in Greed (right):
I don't use this palette as much any more, but the salmon matte is my everything and I can't let it go because of that.

Finally, we have my larger, higher-end palettes:

ABH, Modern Renaissance.

I'll be honest. I am still using it after two years, and have panned six shades. I still really enjoy the quality of this palette.

Coloured Raine, Queen of Hearts palette.

This is a gorgeous palette, and the quality is commendable. The mattes are super blend-able, except for Ladyship. She's a (royal) pain. For me, the shimmers are a little intense for the day to day, which is why I don't use this palette as much as I'd like. If their mini-palettes would have been of better quality, I think I would have been better off using that. Still, I really enjoy using this palette.

ABH, Norvina.

 I have been using this for a couple of days now, and I am very pleased. This palette has a lot of what I have been looking for color-wise. I do think there are too many shimmers, and that the palette would benefit from one or two more mattes. Still, I really enjoy this palette and look forward to continue using it. I find it to be very inspiring.

I have decluttered a couple of palettes in the past that I definitely talked about on the blog. These include The Balm Meet Matt(e) Nude, The Balm Nude 'Tude, Urban Decay Pulp Fiction (this one pained me), Cargo Venice Enchantment, and Kat Von D Chrystalis and Innerstellar. With that in mind, I really like the collection I ended up with today.

Weekend Thoughts and Declutter

Hi all,

I know I have been promising another long-form anti-haul for a while. But the thing is, the releases have become so crazy and constant that I actually don't care anymore. I'm at a really good place with my collection, though it could definitely be smaller, but overall I am not really feeling the pressure to make any purchases. For me, it has been really easy to avoid the lure of these releases.

So, anyway, I have one empty to talk about- my second bottle of the Simple micellar water. I've really liked it, but I am not going to repurchase another just yet. I've got a lot of cleansing creams I want to get through first.

I have a long overdue declutter of five items:
Almay Liquid eyeliner- absolutely no staying power.
Revlon bronzer in Desert Bronze. I will never trust Revlon with face powder again. They have a terrible track record for me.
Nyx All Over Balm- For a balm, it's ingredients are not stellar, and the coconut scent is very faint. I used about half, and have no use for it.
Seraphine Botanicals Guava Butter Lip and Cheek Tint- I've had this past its expiry, and in that time have never used it. It's gone.

Last week I felt I was making a lot of good decisions regarding my makeup. Tomorrow my challenge will be to incorporate a highlighter I barely use, maybe with a matte eye. The highlighter I have in mind is Wet 'n Wild's Mermaid one.

Thanks for reading!

Highlighter Collection Post

I have not updated my inventory for quite a while. I really ought to. But before I do that, I am going to present to you a comprehensive post on my highlighter collection! I was inspired greatly by one of my new favorite youtubers, Nisipisa.

The truth is, I have way too many highlighters. Such is the case. A tale as old as time.

The way this post is going to be organized is by type.

We'll start with highlighters in palettes:

• The highlighter in the BH Cosmetics Zodiac Palette. I did a post yesterday on this. It is super pigmented and intense. I shudder to think what this would do if you were to wet the brush. Only a teeny bit is necessary to get some gleam, for it can quickly build up and become textured. Overall, I do enjoy this.
• The six highlighters in the Carli Bybel Deluxe palette. Okay, so I don't feel completely overwhelmed, I don't think of these as highlighters. I find the formula too thick for my liking, so I consider them to be giant eyeshadows...that I barely use 😓

Then we have smaller palettes of highlighters:

• Milani highlighting palette in Holographic Beams. I really have been using this a lot lately, especially the pink shade. These are iridescent, without being dry or excessively sparkly. I want to hit pan at least in the pink shade, I have decided. 
• The highlighter in the WnW Fair Trade Coffee trio, which I bought at the suggestion of Miss Kimberly Clark. And though it fades quickly on my more oily days, the highlighter is a bit white and shimmery, but in a way I think is tolerable. I don't really use this very much, as it's more of a memento? Keepsake? Makeup collectible? 

Singles! This is where we get...ahem...crazy

• Wet 'n Wild Precious Petals. This is a light golden peach highlighter that is a tad too dark, so I use it either as a blush "topper," or mixed with the Mary Lou-manizer. It has that very metallic, "wet," finish.
• Mary Lou-Manizer by The Balm. First, I bought this at full price, which makes me mad. Second, this is taking forever to pan. As much as I like this pale gold, slightly shimmery, but incredibly intense highlighter, I always seem to forget it is in my collection. 
• ittse, Hustle and Glow. I love the formula on this one. It is also a pale gold, but highly metallic. 
• Vanessa's Vanity Sparkler in 6 pm. This is not so much a highlighter as a pressed duchrome body shimmer and I think it is gorgeous. It is a peach reflect with gold and peach shimmers. 
• Revlon Color Charge in Highlight. One of my more recent purchases. I reviewed this mostly positively, though I think the line is over priced and nothing special. It is a light rose-gold powder. 
• Milani Strobelight in Afterglow. I used this a lot in the summer, but have since tried other things. It is a pink-toned light powder, highly reflective and metallic. Somewhat emphasizes texture, so a light hand is needed. 
• Wet 'n Wild Midnight Mermaid highlighting bar. For whatever reason, I can't seem to declutter this. I don't know what I would wear this, but I do like the intense gold sheen. The drawback is the slight grey/green tint to the powder, but that may be your cup of tea. 
• Colourpop pressed powder highlighter in Here Kitty Kitty. It's a warm champagne-toned highlighter. I bought this because Temptalia actually gave this an A+, and I wanted to see what that was all about. Basically, this is a dupe for Mac's Soft and Gentle. I think. Here Kitty Kitty is highly reflective without showing texture, and lasts a long time, too. I really like it. 
• Becca, Lilac Geode. I bought this in a moment of weakness, but I don't regret it. It is a gorgeous powder that does not show texture and lasts a long time. It's just barely a duocrhome, a golden sheen with a cool-pink base (? is that the right term). It's just so pretty. 
• Finally, we have Wet 'n Wild Liquid Highlighter in Halo, Goodbye. Also reviewed on the blog. At first appears to be a pale pink sheen, but is layered with shimmer. I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. It lasts quite a bit, and does not appear textured- hooray! 

And then we have eyeshadows that I sometimes use as highlighters if I feel like it:

Actually, for now, the color Crown by Coloured Raine is absolutely spellbinding as a highlighter. I was blown away by how good it looked. Crown is an intense white metallic, but clearly with gold and even a hint of pink reflect. 

In total, that brings my count to ..12. Not counting the Carli Bybel highlighters. I simply cannot buy any more highlighters. The ones I am closest to panning? Mary Lou and Hustle and Glo, but even that is going to take me a long while.

Thanks for reading! 

Products in Makeup Purgatory (text post)

So, today I wanted to talk about products that I have not really officially decluttered and moved out of my life, but sent to a place in my room called "Makeup Purgatory." It is a box, and it is where I keep products that I do not use, but am not ready to part with for one reason or another.

I haven't mentioned a lot of these products on my blog (but some I have), so I thought this might be an interesting feature.

Let's begin with powder products.

The first item is Revlon Highlighting palette in Desert Bronze. Now, I bought this from Amazon, and it is discontinued, but I checked the batch code and it has not expired yet. However, I have tried to use this a couple of times now, and I just don't like it. The lighter warm brown strips of the product are hardly visible, and the darker cool brown strips are way too pigmented. There's one strip of a white shimmer highlight that is neutral, and of a pretty good quality. But there's no way to customize your look, I feel, so you're best bet is a sweep of the product with a fluffy powder brush. It is not patchy or anything, but a little too pigmented for me to feel comfortable using it as a bronzer. I have not yet decluttered this because I still feel it is new to my collection, and I wonder if it can be used as a contour.

Wet 'n Wild highlighting palette in Boozy Brunch. I have talked about this one a lot, and how it is a purported dupe for Champagne Pop. For me, it is just too dark, as much as I wanted this to work for me. I don't feel like decluttering it at the momet, and wonder if I can just get away with using it as an eyeshadow (though I don't lack these).

Nyx Powder Blush in Taupe (OG shade). I did really use this faithfully for a while, and then lost interest in contouring. Now, I use a cream contour, as well as a powder one, and really have let this go by the wayside. I wonder, though, as I do like brown blushes, if I should just start using this as a blush and see what happens.

Pulp Fiction Palette: A perfect example of why I have makeup purgatory. This is not in my daily rotation, but it does contain products that I want to use, but just don't. I have tried really hard with this palette, and I wonder if the shadows have just gone off. Oh well. It's there if I need it.

Moving on to liquid/creme products:

No Poreblem Primer, by Touch in Sol. A lot of beautubers have been sent this and are using this, be forewarned. I got this in a sample from Ipsy and have been holding on to it..well, for no good reason really. It smells clean, but it is loaded with dimethicone. I mean, I am not putting that all over my face. NO m'am. And I hate the name. I really ought to just toss this.

Speaking of heavily sponsored, dimethicone products, L'oreal Infallible Pro-Matte. Ugh....I tried so hard, but I hated the way this looked on my skin. It was too pink, set way too fast, and just was a pain to work with.

Pur-lisse Lip Balm. I've got a lot of lip balms that I prefer, but I do like having lip balms around. This one I got from an Ipsy bag. It's a little slippery for my liking.

Seraphine Botanicals: Guava Butter Cheek and Lip Tint. This one of the two creme blushes that I own. On paper, the smell would be nice: fruity and sweet. But I find it cloying, and would not use it on my lips. I like the idea of having a cream blush, though, and the color is nice

Tini Beauty Barfly Highlighting Stick: Again, I find the idea of stick products interesting. Also from an Ipsy bag, this highlighter smells like acrylic paint when first applied, but the scent dies down. It is a pale pink highlighter with bits of glitter. Because I've had it for about a month, I am not ready to toss it yet, but I don't really feel as if I am going to get use from it.

Hard Candy Lip Primer Duo: I find this primer to actually be kind of effective, even when worn on its own as a balm or gloss. It just takes up a lot of space, but I don't mind it. i think Hard Candy is pretty innovative, and I do appreciate them as a brand.

Reflections:
I did not anticipate coming up with alternative uses for some of these products, but I am glad I did.

It concerns me how many of these products are from Ipsy, and now I am wondering if it is even worth it anymore.

Last Phase of the Declutter! Two eyeshadow palettes.

I've tested two eyeshadow palettes that I feel have been on the chopping block for a long time, but after trying both of them out one last time, I am pretty certain in my decision to nix them.

One is the Urban Decay Pulp Fiction palette. Honestly, I just feel that I waited too long to use this palette, or the mattes are just not for me and don't perform the best on my eye. They get really muddy and are very soft, which is not something I necessarily need. Furthermore, I just feel like the colors were getting dull. So, even though this appealed greatly to my movie-loving self, as eyeshadows I needed to let it go.

Lastly, I got rid of The Balm's Meet Matte Nude palette. I just can't with the shadows from The Balm. I just don't like them- the pans are huge, and though the dark browns perform okay, I've got dark browns in many palettes. And Matt Singh, a matte salmon shade, hardly shows up on the skin. It's ridiculous.

It has to be my mantra from now on to stay away from The Balm. Especially because they can be always found at such a low price at Nordstrom Rack, Marshall's, Burlington Coat Factory, etc. Tempting, but not worth it.

Overall, I feel better about the amount of palettes in my collection right now.

I own three higher-end eyeshadow palettes:

1. Modern Renaissance
2. Eyes Cream palette
3. Queen of Hearts palette

two smaller discounted higher-end palettes:

1. The Tease by Marc Jacobs
2. Tarteist Pro to Go

and five small drugstore palettes:

1. Maybelline x Shayla City Mini
2. Downtown Sunrise City Mini
3. Must Have Metallics by Milani
4. WnW Greed palette
5. WnW matte palette

and one large z-palette.

Makeup Collection: Declutters and Additions

So, for the past week I have noticed significant overflow in my makeup organizer, in the section where I keep lip products. As part of the acrylic organizer, the center "row" is divided into three: on the left is where I keep misc lip products, the center are my go-to brown/nude lipsticks, and the right is where I keep gloss.

Today I evaluated my collection, and decided to rid myself of two that I was just using.

1.) Trust Fund Beauty Lipgasm Gloss in {shrugs} from Ipsy. I had a couple of issues with this product, but kept it around for as long as I did because it was not a sticky gloss, and kept my lips moisturized. However, it smelled like paint, and had rather pointy applicator that was not pleasant to work with. If my lips were chapped, it would actually pull at the skin on my lips (shudders).  If I had to choose between that gloss and my Nyx gloss in Praline..well, that's no contest. The TFB gloss is done with.

Speaking of this brand, why is it that no one has heard anything about it? No releases, no nothing? And ipsy promoted the hell out of it, I even got that stick highlighter- (That Glo Tho *rolls eyes* ) which was a complete fail. Perhaps, despite heavy sponsorship and promotion, the products were simply not that good?

2.) I also had to say goodbye to the Covergirl "Colorlicious Melting Pout" lipgloss in "Gel-ebrity." It was a beautiful brown opaque gloss, but the applicator was super frustrating and did not dispense product. Silly me, I thought popping the applicator off would solve this issue, but alas. It did not. Furthermore, that exact shade of brown is very similar to my most recent lipstick acquisition: Bloodline by Hard Candy. And I like that product more, so...

Stray observations:

3.) I am still holding on to a rather old gloss called Monster Gloss from Femme Couture Beauty. I bought this years ago from Sally Beauty, and it is a light gloss that has that red-brown shifting blue pigment. I  keep it around because I think it is cool that right now, brands are trying to accomplish this, and charging an arm and a leg, for what other companies have been doing for years.

4.) I have a small Bite Beauty lipstick collection that I need to make more use of.

5.) My most used lipsticks are as follows: 1-Sin-a-mon from Maybelline  2-Touchable Taupe, also from Maybelline 3-Dolly, Buxom

Moving on to eyeshadow, I recently took a look at my z-palette and reorganized some shades, as well as nixed some others. These are the four I depotted:

Let's move from l-r, and top-bottom.

We are first starting with a frosted white shade, from the BH Cosmetics Foil #1 palette. This is a really nice, opaque shade, but completely extra in my collection. I don't really use white in my inner corner at all. So even though I was holding on to it for a while, it was time. I also have the Nyx crayon in Cottage Cheese, which pretty much serves the purpose that white shade had, and I would rather use the Nyx crayon up.

On the right is a frosted silver-green shade. I did not like this very much because I felt that the color was too muted. I do have a stronger green shade in my palette, and I know I would much rather have more distinct colors on my face.

Moving on, we have a copper shimmer also from the BH cosmetics palette. I am decluttering this because this is probably the most common duped color throughout my collection. It is a dupe for Amber Rush from L'Oreal, which I like better, as well as Sherbert from the Dose of Colors EyesCream palette. AS WELL as a shade from my Queen of Hearts palette, as well as a Rose Gold shade from my Milani metallics palette. And I enjoy all of those- not this one.

The next is also from the BH palette- this kind of indistinct purple-brown metallic. It swatches beautifully, but I don't get the level of sheen I want on my eye.

And last, is a gold-pink duochrome that was depotted from a Sleek palette. I just down wear this any more, and have since bought really nice pinky duochromes that I prefer.

What else?

I also destashed two L'Oreal mascaras whose time was up- The L'Oreal Paradise one, which I think is dreadfully overpriced, and the Voluminous w/ a Curved Brush. I used them both until the formula got pretty goopy and smelled a bit off, and have since bought the Voluminous Original in Blackest Black, on clearance for $4.00. It performs even better than the Lash Paradise, I feel. We'll see how it wears throughout the day, but I've got a feeling I've got a new HG.

I am also decluttering the Milani palette in Earthly Elements- because there was no need for me to have this. I have two brilliant oranges- slightly different- in the Queen of Hearts palette and Modern Renaissance. Besides the two mattes in the Earthly Elements palette, the rest I would not use, so it is not worth it to me to keep it. The brown matte, like the orange, performs beautifully, but I can dupe it a couple of times over in other palettes I own.

I am also getting rid of Boozy Brunch, which is a WnW dupe for Champagne Pop, from Becca. It's just too dark for me, and takes up way to much space in my drawer.

In terms of brow products, I will be decluttering two. There was a time I thought I actually needed special brow products, but I really don't. I use a wax to shape my brows, but that's it.

So, Soap and Glory Arch De Triumph is being kicked to the curb- though the highlighter pencil side was nice- a pink toned cream color that had a powdery formula once applied, the brown pencil side was useless. The pencil had no color payoff unless you pressed really hard, tearing out your brows in the process. Not fun.

Also, I am tossing Hard Candy Brow's Now! Brow Gel and Highlighter. I actually liked the idea of a brow gel, and did use a good portion of it. The highlighter end was a shimmer pinky-white shade that I would ever use, and like I said before, I like using clear brow wax, so I have no need for that.

In terms of what I added to my collection:
-I mentioned the L'Oreal Voluminous mascara, which I am totally blown away with.
-The Coloured Raine Queen of Hearts palette, which I feel has a perfect place in my collection, but I do want to hold off on using it until I pan more of ABH Modern Ren.
-Freeman Avocado and Oatmeal Mask- finally I found one! Walmart was out of this and by chance I stopped in today and they had it! This mask, less than three dollars, I am hoping will be a good replacement to the Shea Moisture Clarifying Mask (which is $15...)
-Hard Candy Mattifying Setting Spray
-BH Cosmetics Setting Spray (which I bought before the Hard Candy one...even though I don't mind this one- formula wise- it keeps getting clogged in the spray, and I have to spray a bit before applying to get an even mist)
-A few weeks ago I also bought the Maybelline Fit Me in Matte and Poreless, which I repotted into an empty container (the Ordinary Serum Foundation fyi), so I use it with a pump bottle, which I am quite pleased with all around.
-Finally, I bought an empty eyeshadow quad from Sally Beauty from their house brand (formerly  Sally's Girl), Bitzy. I really liked the design of it, and I am interested in smaller palettes (says the girl who bought the queen of hearts palette), so in it I placed my current favorite eyeshadow singles:

Here we have ABH Amber, Vanessa's Vanity Tangy Dijon, Coloured Raine Angel Face, and ABH Fudge.

What I really also like about this compact is the mirror, as well as the rounded edges. This makes an excellent travel container for any of my single eyeshadows!

Thanks for reading!

Z-Palette Updates and Progress!

Yay, another z-palette post! I haven't done one of them in a very long time, and I am so excited. I added a few things, took away a few things, resurrected some eyeshadows from makeup purgatory, you know, the usual! Today I thought I would talk about notable additions to my z-palette.

I don't particularly think this is the palette to end all palettes. But for what I have, I know I could just take this with me and I'd be set. In addition to this palette, I have 9 palettes total. All my eyeshadow is mostly drugstore/affordable/discounted, with some full price high-end thrown in.

Let's get to it! Let's first talk about brand new additions:

1. Angel Face by Coloured Raine. This is in the "fifth" column of my palette, the second one down. It is a reported dupe for MuG's "Peach Smoothie," and I think Orange Soda by ABH. I can see why shades such as this are excellent for helping to create blended-out, warm looks. I've really been enjoying this eyeshadow. 

2. Mac Chrome Yellow: This is the brightest yellow, farthest down in the "third" column. I've used this in my crease, but it is tricky to work with and I haven't yet used in a way that I especially like.

3. Tangy Dijon, Vanessa's Vanity. Just arrived in the mail today by total surprise. It swatches beautifully, and I am excited to use it, and perhaps even pair it with Chrome Yellow. 

And now, resurrections!

4. Urban Decay sample shadows in Lounge and Fireball. When I first got these, I didn't know what to do with them aside from swatch the,. But I've grown to really appreciate duochrome shadows, and have decided to give them a second chance.

5. The brown matte shade from the Nude Tude palette, depotted. I have it here to the left of Fudge from ABH. This shade has a really large dip in it from constant use from a while ago, and I want to pan it. It is my mission. And it still works really nicely. 

For reference, this is what my palette looked like five months ago:

Before we get to decluttered shades, let's talk about panning progress!

6. The Kat Von D large pan of a cream shadow: I definitely made progress on it. I don't know when I am actually going to use it all up, but I am getting there.

7. ABH in Amber. This one is not panned yet, but it is getting close. This is probably one of my favorite lid shades of all time, and I know it is very close to hitting pan. Amber is in the sixth row from the left, and the third one down. 

As for decluttered stuff that is moved to makeup purgatory:

8. One half of a Nars duo. This was when I was getting really into yellow-toned mustard shades. But this was not flattering on me. It just came off really muddy and I did not enjoy using this.

9. Japonesque pixellating shimmer powder thing: This came from an ipsy deal, and I was actually keeping this in my face products z-palette. I needed to make room in there for a powder from Vanessa's Vanity, and I chose this to go. Why? It's an okay powder and I would use it under my eyes, but I have not used it in a while. I don't think there was anything special about it, and I don't see myself using it in the future. 

Goals?
Aside from panning, I really want to push myself to use the KvD mattes, as I have not used them in a while. They are perfectly good, I've just been enjoying other things. I also want to try more of the colorful shimmers I have, in order to use my z-palette in a more balanced way.

Thanks for reading!