Beauty Bookmarks, #1

Hello! So this is a new feature from my blog, which really isn't dissimilar from what I've already been doing. I like to TMO/anti-haul things I like, but it's really draining to sustain a negative viewpoint. Even in my TMO's, I don't really do that completely. If a product seems interesting, I'll concede to that, but also talk about why I won't personally be purchasing it.

So, for the sake of clarity, I am going to call my product release posts Beauty Bookmarks, because they're usually literally posts on Instagram that I've bookmarked. There are releases that I am aware of but have chosen not to discuss, only because I would never buy them. 

The first item is hot off the presses, in terms of news about its release. We are talking about a blush and eyeshadow palette, called Fetish, from Kat Von D. You may remember an Instagram post from 6 mos ago (lul), which was a sketch of the calligraphy for the palette design. Both palettes are ovoid, with raised print. The names of the blushes/highlighters are: Roseshock, Magick, Telepathy, Bathory, Salem, and Coven. Three pans are larger than three others, but I am not sure which she would make the big pans. The Alchemy palette was pretty small, so if she is reusing those supplies, then my prediction is that the highlighters will be the smaller ones. 

Now usually I really don't care about product names, but Erzabeth/Elizabeth Bathory was a serial killer. Not a good look. And as someone who teaches The Crucible, I don't think of Salem as really needing to belong in this hodgepodge mystical assemblage she has going on here. It's a bit lazy. 

As for the eyeshadow, there are quite a lot of them in this palette. Like a lot. And all of them have names related to certain practices and lifestyles that I am sure Kat Von D is misusing or misappropriating in some way. 

The interior of both palettes have not been released, but let me tell you, aside from two steeply discounted palettes I bought from her one time, I have no intention of buying her products ever again. The anti-vaccination stupidity, neo-nazi associations, etc., are inexcusable and I am not funding it. 

From a product point of view, face palettes are a gamble. Unlike an eyeshadow palette, face palettes have bigger pans of product that might not work for you. As for her eyeshadows, she seems incapable of producing permanent eyeshadows anymore, so essentially she's glutted her own market. I have been expressing fatigue with the Ma Vida Loca palette craze for the longest time, and every palette since then has been some spin on "dark rainbow." Okay. Not for me. 

Let's move on, shall we? 

The BH Cosmetics Desert Oasis Palette. In terms of brands that have the potential to be direct competitors with Colourpop (you've heard it here first, folks), BH Cosmetics is one of them. Just start selling singles, darn it! Anyway, they are releasing this summer palette that actually looks quite pretty. This is Trendmood's pic:

Though I have most of these colors, and would not wear blue eyeshadow, I think the composition of this palette is nice. I don't quite get the placement of the larger pans, but it still feels balanced in terms of shimmer and matte shadows. The larger pans could also be bronzers. The way this palette is designed is to be an all-purpose summer palette, and for someone who does not have this already, it would not disappoint them. I trust BH Cosmetics's both shimmer and matte formulas (which have improved so much!).

Nyx Swear By It giant eyeshadow palette: $35. 40 shades. Can you imagine that for five dollars less you could have purchased an Element palette? Yeah, neither can I. Here is a promotional pic:

Hm. I have not tried the Nyx non-neutral matte or shimmer formula. To me, this is bit intimidating, and I wish they offered this palette in halves or quarters. From a brand point of view, this is an interesting move. They are really trying to get a sense of what people will pay for, and what they won't. This mimics the Sephora Pro palettes set-up, and maybe even a little Viseart. My issue with palettes like these are the colors they choose to make shimmer. In the case of this palette, I think Nyx made smart choices and the palette is balanced. While I do think this is an interesting release, and though I am curious to see the quality of the shadows, I know I am skipping this one because I do have a lot of eyeshadow already. I would never get through all those colors. 

Fenty Moroccan Spice Palette:

$59 and sold out already.

So I got a little bit of push-back on reddit for suggesting that this palette is similar to the Natasha Denona Star palette. Here me out:

Granted, the initial images Fenty releases were VERY cool-toned, hence my associations with this palette. Still, I do see some parallels. Now, if I did not have the Modern Renaissance, or Looxi shadows coming in, or tons of other eyeshadows, I'd buy it. I think Fenty did a really cool job with colors. It is not a neutral palette. 

So, those were my thoughts! Thanks for reading! 

Miscellaneous Bite Beauty Swatches and Reviews

Hello! I have found myself with suddenly a bunch of Bite Beauty samples and products that I thought I would share.

First, I have three Bite Beauty Multistick samples. The Multistick can be used on the eyes, cheeks, and lips. A full size of the product is $24.

In order of the swatches, the three colors I have are:

Papaya, a bright coral, Biscotti, a mauve, and Cashew, a rose brown.

 One misconception I had about this product is that I essentially thought it was the same as putting lipstick on your face. Maybe that's not too different, but the formulation of the multistick is different than their lip products. It is drier, but not matte, and easily blendable with a brush. It does not have a sticky or oily finish, and does not drag on the skin when using a brush. In fact, I tried blending with my finger as well, but the product behaved better with brushes- for the eyes and face.

The two products included in the Sephora June birthday gift are Chai, a lipstick, and a brighter red-brown and Glace, a matte lip crayon, a brown-pink that reads duskier on me. Both are long wearing and do leave behind a pleasant stain.

Glace on top
Chai on bottom

Glace on top
Chai on bottom

Final thoughts:

There is no doubt in my mind about the quality of Bite Beauty. The products are hydrating and pigmented. However, what ultimately deters me from buying from this brand is that the colors Bite Beauty offers appear to me very tonally similar, so I am not noticing a lot of variety in the color concept (is that even a phrase? sounds pretentious to me) that Bite presents.

I am not hankering to buy any Bite products soon, but I will happily use up the products I do have now.

Thanks for reading!

EoTD: Rose Gold w/ Stila's Glitter and Glow Liquid Eyeshadow in "Kitten"

So a long time ago I put Stila's "Diamond Dust" in a disappointing products post. And I still stand by that- it clung to texture, felt terrible on, and I just could not believe that was what the hype was about.

And then, as a result of my Sephora haul, and I got a tonnnnn of free samples- including a couple of uses of the Glitter and Glow in the shades "Kitten" and one that is slightly darker than Kitten.

Feeling brave, I decided to go with Kitten and layer it on top of Mac's Painterly Paint Pot...and I really like the look so far. I was stuck by how different it was to Diamond Dust- it was smooth, did not irritate my skin, and did not apply patchily. 

Of course, how it wears throughout the day will be another story. It is pretty warm and humid out, so I will be looking for creasing, etc., and I will update this post with my final thoughts. 

But other than that, I really like my look today. 

I am wearing the Fenty foundation mixed with Physician's Formula Healthy Foundation, and with Mary Loumanizer as a highlighter, which I have not worn in forever. It is one of those products I am trying to pan this summer. My blush is my usual mix to make a rose-brown tint, and I am wearing my Milani contour stick. Both powder and cream formulas are working very nicely on top of the foundation. 

I am also wearing one of the items from the Bite Beauty June Sephora birthday set- the lipstick in Chai. 

One thing I will say before I show the pictures is that compared to the eyeshadow powder version of Kitten, the liquid one is darker because its liquid base is rose brown. I like this quite a bit because it gives a bit more depth and complexity on the eye. I did pack the shadow Kitten on the center of the lid just for a bit more sheen and to see what would happen. 

Here are the results:

Also, before I wrap this up, I should say I got samples of a variety of products that I could feature on my blog, and decide whether or not I would purchase full size. These include:

-Tarte Blush in Exposed (though I already know I would not give Tarte a single penny)

-A couple of samples of Bite Beauty multisticks (maybe for a monochromatic look)

-A couple of samples of the Sephora story lipsticks

-Some Buxom liquid lipsticks

-Clinique Foundation

Let me know what you think of that idea! Thanks for reading. 

Summer/Birthday Haul and Anti-Haul + Some Reviews and Sephora Ramblings

Hello hello hello!

Today I have a bit of a long form haul post. It was my birthday a couple of days ago and I did pick up a couple of things beauty and skin care related. Part of this post is to keep all these products straight in my mind, and part of it is just to talk about my thoughts.

Before I get into it I should say that I did not buy any eyeshadow. It's really surprising for me because I love eyeshadow most of all, but I am finding myself looking for really unique duochrome and affordable pressed options and there are none. Touch of Glam Beauty is a potential place to look at, but nothing really jumped out at me. The shipping for Clionadh Cosmetics is way too much, as they are a Canada-based brand, and I really don't like the set-up of Devinah's website. I feel like I am not getting any idea of what the colors will actually look like on the skin. So overall I am just giving eyeshadow a pause and enjoying what I do have in my collection.

Moving on, I did go out to Sephora and swatch a couple of things because I needed to! So while this post will be ruminations on what I did buy, let's start with the things I did not buy:

1.) Fenty:

• Glitter Puff: I knew reviews on this were mixed but...I just had to touch it. It was super soft, and super, super glittery. The glitter particles were almost silvery, and were finely milled. 
• Gloss Bomb: I have been sorely tempted to buy this one. It is always in my Sephora loves list or cart. But after swatching it and smelling it on my hand....I just wasn't blown away. I was not about to actually try it on my lips, but from swatching it alone I was not impressed. The scent had a lemon tang to it, and I just could not justify purchasing it when I currently have three lipglosses that I need to use more of. 
• Duo Mimosa Sunrise: You can tell how hyped people are for a product and how interested in it they are going by how they were swatched in the stores. For example, this duo was swatched to death at my local Sephora. The metallic magenta side is gorgeous, and the orange-gold side is also very pretty, but after swatching it, I realized I already have the orange side. While a lot of people surmised that the new Wet 'n Wild Humming Bird collection would be similar to this release- specifically the orange and magenta colors, a closer "dupe" could be the Colourpop eyeshadow Chauffeur, which I also have. Both are bright oranges with a strong gold reflect. That being said, there was no need for me to buy this duo.

2.) Pat McGrath Bronze Ambitions Palette. I knew I was not going to pick it up because it is palette with brown eyeshadows in it for $55. Still, I wanted to get a sense of the formula of the shimmer shades, and see what exactly is all the fuss is about. And well.....I swatched the coppery shimmer shade and was blown away. One small swatch and it was vibrant, high shine, and did not move around on my skin. It lasted even when I tried to rub it off. That is what a person is paying for. As I use up more eyeshadows, I probably will consider buying one of her smaller palettes in the future based on the quality of the shadows, but only if the palette has enough shade variation and interesting colors. I want her to do more duochromes, pretty please.

3.) Huda Electric Obsessions: I swatched one magenta matte shade and that did not budge. I am not sure how easy it would be to blend out but it was definitely intimidating. Incredibly rich in pigment and vibrant color, though.

4.) Natasha Denonana Tropics Palette: I did not actually swatch this because after opening the palette, it just looked..gross. Hard pan everywhere, and the shimmers actually just looked like flaky glitters/mica tightly pressed. I would never pay for this.

And finally, a brand I did not get to swatch even though they are sold in Sephora: Viseart. Are they online only? I would have loved to get a look in person at those.

Okay, let's get into what I actually bought:

1.) Fenty Pro'Filtr Matte Foundation. I bought this because in the summer my face tends to get greasy and I wanted a more matte option.  I should have gotten a shade darker, though. While I love the lightweight formula and lack of fragrance or any smell, I do need to mix it with my Physician's Formula Healthy Foundation to get a perfect color, which I am not mad at, because I do like that foundation too. I think this foundation will be better for me in the winter, by itself.

2.) Bite Beauty Gift for June. I am counting this in my haul because these are things I am going to use. It was a nice little kit- one lipstick in Chai, which is this really bright red-brown, a matte crayon in Glace, and a little sample of the agave lip balm and sugar scrub.

3.) Saturday Skin No Bad Days Set. This is coming in the mail today and I am super excited. It was a pretty pricey set but I liked the packaging and ingredients and variety. So we'll see.

4.) First Aid Beauty Set. A long time ago, I got a small lotion sample from Ipsy, and have been obsessed with this brand ever since. I used up their Eye Gel completely, and liked it a lot. So as a set I got the two jars of their Ultra Repair Cream, in regular and Vanilla  Citron. These also come in today.

And at Lush:

1.) Ultrabland Face Cleanser. Everything I hoped it would be. Love it!

2.) a sample of Cosmetic Catastrophe. I have not used it yet, but currently it is in the skin care drawer of my fridge. The salesperson at Lush said to use this only two times a week, so I want to be judicious about when I decide to use this.

and a random Target purchase:

1.) Cerave Eye Repair Cream. So, I don't have dark circles so I can't comment on the veracity of that claim. However, this is a great cream that absorbs quickly, is not greasy, and improves the look of my skin around my eyes, especially fine lines. I really do think this is a great product for my specific purposes.

...So that's my haul! A lot more skin care this year. Like tons more. I hope this post was helpful, and you can definitely expect more reviews on the products included here!

Thanks for reading.

Eyes of the Day: Pinks, Reds, and Oranges

Today I have two different but related eye looks to share with you. I used the following products to achieve them:

1.) Too Faced (TF) Peanut Butter and Jelly Palette
2.) Coloured Raine (CR) Queen of Hearts Palette
3.) Colourpop (CP) Lay Low
4.) Vanessa's Vanity (VV) 6 pm

From left to right, we have 6 pm by VV, CR Crowb, CR Noblewoman, CP Lay Low, TF Extra Creamy, and TF Nuts About U

The first look was done by setting my primer with Extra Creamy, and Blending Lay Low in the crease. I then took Nuts About U in the crease and outer corner, really blending. On the inner corner of my eye I used Crown, and then mixed that with Noblewoman to create a more muted effect. 

Eyeliner was Physician's Formula, and mascara was the new Covergirl Flourish mascara in brown.

And here is the second look, which was a lot harder to capture a decent photo of:

So everything is pretty much the same as the first one, except the only shimmer is VV's 6 pm, a duochrome sparkler, that I used on top of Pixie Epoxy by Fyrinnae. I did not use eyeliner this time, but used the same mascara. 

 This is a really weird and blurry photo that best captures the sparkle.

In sum, I really liked these colors and will keep on using them. I think they bring out the green tones in my eyes. 

Thanks for reading!