Lip Love: Maybelline Color Elixir Glosses | My Collection + Swatches

     I can say with certainty that Maybelline lip products have tended to be some of my best purchases from the drugstore, with only a couple of exceptions that are only in terms of choosing an unflattering shade for my skintone, and not necessarily a faulty formula. I can say I have yet to encounter a Maybelline lip formula that I dislike. Their Color Sensational Creamy Matte Lipsticks are always my first stop when I visit the brand's section, just to see if any new colors have been released. 😍 It's no question that the Creamy Matte formula is certainly in my top 5 favorite formulas of lip products, and that's not just for drugstore - it's overall! 

     Alas, it's almost time to part with one of my favorite moisturizing, comfortable lip gloss formulas - these Color Elixirs are at a heavily discounted price in many places, and so since it seems that the brand is phasing them out soon, I thought I'd show these glosses some love on my blog! It really is a lip love with these, as they really show the lips love by providing a hydrating feel and long lasting wear! Oh, and I almost forgot: They also only require 1 coat! All swatches below are done with only 1 pass of the applicator!

Maybelline Color Elixirs L-R: Signature Scarlet, Blush Essence, Caramel Infused, Mauve Mystique, Mystical Magenta

Recent Drugstore Acquisitions + Urban Decay Swap!

     I'll start with the swap, then I'll go on to the rest of my purchases. With my friend, a couple weeks ago I swapped out my Urban Decay Vice 2 palette that I had never used, for the gorgeous Urban Decay Full Spectrum Palette. I needed some bright hues in my life, and thought this would fit the bill. I had wanted to purchase the Electric Palette for such a long time, that I just felt like trying the first Urban Decay selection of rainbow hues that my eyes passed over, because well, they can do no wrong, right? Well, I still can't say how sure I feel about the Full Spectrum just yet, as I've only used about a third of the shades in the palette on my eyes thus far. I was, upon first impression, a bit disappointed with the performance of some colors moreso than others. It's still on Sephora's site on sale for $35, if you want to check it out.

Now, getting more experimentation with e.l.f. products. I had really wanted to try their Illuminating Palette after seeing how the formula blended into the skin, not to mention my enthusiasm after seeing the complete absence of glitter or sparkle particles in any of the powders! I had also heard great things about a couple of their newly launched lip products, and decided to try out their Poreless Face Primer as well! I have more from other brands as well! Just take a look at these beauties!

90's Style | Minimal Feature-Enhancing Matte Makeup Look featuring New Products!

     Hi friends! Bringing it back to the 90's! Today's post involves the insanely basic makeup look I wore to a more insane jazz concert I went to on Sunday (Psycho Acoustic Orchestra, check them out if you like jazz!), and I used a lot of newly acquired beauty products!

Panned Products #1

*Includes Affiliate Links
Hello all!  Today's post will just be showcasing a few makeup items that I have been automatically grabbing for lately, and without much thought. Admittedly, I haven't really been planning my makeup looks or really been allowing much room for that creative spark to my makeup (or even my fashion choices, for that matter), as I currently have a lot of other things going on - I realize that I will never be doing even a fraction near as many things in one day as someone as, say, Eleanor Roosevelt did, so I'm putting that in perspective lol (I'm reading a comprehensive bio on the First Lady, so things from it are just kind of sticking to the forefront of my mind at the moment, and I'm incorporating it into everyday thoughts and conversations. I unknowingly let the book take over my life and entire mind, so to speak. 😄

Anyway, these items actually didn't take very long to hit pan on, though I have owned a couple of them for a hot ass minute. The first two are a couple of neutral basic, everyday shimmer eyeshadow palettes, shown immediately below, followed by a beeee-yootiful cream blush as well as a concealer cream. I love seeing pan. Some other people seem to want to shed a tear when they see it. Eh, seems I'm the only one, then?

Eye Palettes

A Few Product Empties! + Would I Repurchase?

*Contains Affiliate Links

     Hello there!  Hooray, it's almost the weekend! So, today, I have a scarcely proportioned roundup of the products that I've recently finished up completely (and these are the ones I actually managed to keep the empty containers for). This is split in half with two skincare products, and two makeup products. And, I know, in theory, it's a good habit to throw away crap as soon as it's coming up empty, but for posts like these, well....let's just say there are a few other things I finished that I wished would've stayed around a bit longer for me to do a post on them. Hmmm, hoarder tendencies there, or no?

In all honesty, I sometimes don't really see the point of "empties" posts without information that I can get something out of, whether I'm reading or watching, so to reiterate what some others prefer to do, I would like to tie in some mini reviews on these items. Ultimately, what it will come down to is, would I purchase and try these babies again, or were some of these products just a thorn in my side that I couldn't wait to use up, so they would be out of my hair forever? Read on to find out! 

Glowy Everyday 'Naked' Makeup | Coral & Pink

I've been going through a huge coral phase as of late. As well as crazy color pairings to go along with it (coral and lavender? coral and chartreuse green? Eh??). However, I think that my skintone much prefers coral as an accent in itself to an otherwise clean, understated all-purpose neutral look, which is what I was going for here when I decided to utilize the always-beautiful Urban Decay Naked Palette. It has been a few weeks since I took these pics, and for some reason I completely forgot to write down what I used for base makeup.....eeek. So I don't remember what I used. Sowwy. **Proceeds to droop head in blogger's shame.**
     But as for the color products, I definitely have that covered. :) Including the base makeup, this look was super simple, and could seriously take only 10 minutes to put together! Here we go! Continue reading for the products I used!

Sneak Peek: Maybelline Rebel Bloom Color Sensational Lipstick Collection for Spring 2015

     So, I have a bit of a confession to make: Whenever I hear so much as a whisper about a new Maybelline collection of lip products, it is one of the only  times where I am more likely to find myself driving out to multiple locations, searching high and low to hunt the suckers down. In the case of this new Maybelline Rebel Bloom Color Sensational Lipstick collection, I surprisingly found it at the first Walgreens I went to. The display was in the most inconvenient spot for a blogger, if I may say so myself: it was perched nowhere else but on the top shelf of one of the tall back aisles where they put out all the holiday sets, so since I'm a shorty, I couldn't pan my phone high enough to take a closer shot of the shade names that were on the display. My apologies, guys. 😃

'Fantastic Five' Series: Top 5 Lipsticks for Fall

*Contains Affiliate Links      
     Hello, and good day, everyone!  Well, my lovelies, I hope you all are having a beautiful week so far! I am back with the third  post in my Fantastic Top Five Series. This time, however, I cheated a bit, and just had to squeeze a sixth one in there. Now, just a preface: I'm honestly not very bold when it comes to what I rock on my lips on a day-to-day basis (yeah, not even in the fall months - you don't have to tell me, I already know: laaame) and since I'm always working, or running around apartment-hunting or other mundane errands, my colour palette, as of late, has been nothing but basic, honey. No vampy traffic-stopping colors like oxbloods, glossy deep wines, burgundy or bright berries, or those deep bruise-y purples, have been on this lady's agenda (or lips) lately.

     I think that if I had a nightlife/vixen side to my personality, I would call these my 'Lazy Roll Outta Bed Fall Lip Picks,' and would make another version of more amped-up, bolder picks for this post, but, eh, I really don't, as the vixen in me has been dormant. Ok, it was never really there in the first place. 😄 Okaaaaayy, let's keep moving right along, shall we?

L-R: Maybelline Color Whisper in 'Berry Ready' | L'Oreal Colour Caresse Lipstick in 'Rose Taffeta' | Maybelline Color Sensational Creamy Matte Lipstick in 'Touch of Spice' | Clinique Butter Shine Lipstick in 'Berry Blush' | MAC Viva Glam V Lipstick | Too Faced La Crème Lipstick in 'Pink Chocolate'

Evening Makeup: Purple Smoke & Nude Lips (A Pictorial)

     Hello there! How are you all doing today?  So, this is my very first attempt at an eyeshadow pictorial. All eyeshadows used for this look are from ELF's new and limited edition palette: their Essential 18-Piece Eyeshadow Palette. I used this palette in my last FOTD so that you and I could see exactly what the warmer neutral shades in this palette have to offer. For this pictorial, I decided to play with some of the cooler more colorful shades for a glammed-up look that's perfectly appropriate for those evenings out. (And, y'know, also for those evenings at home, dog-sitting and eating mint moose tracks ice cream? Yes? Maybe? Ok 😊). 

     This palette, being mostly neutral, also has a gorgeous matte mauve-lavender and deep matte navy shade, which I really wanted to incorporate into this look (which, yes ma'am, I did). The pigmentation on these mattes ended up surprising me, in a good way. For this post, I will be focusing mainly on the color cosmetics, and not the base skin products. 

'Fantastic Five' Series: Top 5 Lip Balms/Treatments

     Hello, good day, bonjour!  This post is all about my top lip balm picks, and I know a bit of time has passed for this follow-up post since the first post I wrote for my first blog series, 'Fantastic Five'. In this series, I will be showcasing my top 5 products in any category. Well, here's post #2 in the series! Lip balm isn't exactly a superfluous makeup product like other types of products, so, naturally, I'm always trying new ones, therefore it was difficult for me to choose only five.

Things I Bought: ULTA & Milani Cosmetics

       Hey everyone!  In my neck of the woods, life has been pretty crazy as of lately, and my schedule for my blog posts has been pushed back, as I'm in the midst of packing up and moving (the news for this, which is actually good news, came to me out of nowhere). Therefore, due to inadequate lighting and settings, I haven't had the opportunity to take any pictures, and am now working with what pictures were already uploaded onto my computer, before the moving began. Alright, I think I've blabbed enough, yes? You already know what this post is all about! Now let's get on to the pretties!

| PURPLE DIAMOND |

     Hi everyone!  I decided to recreate this look today after being inspired from a few purple smokey eye techniques I've come across in the past. I adjusted the techniques and shapes to my own eye shape, as I have quite hooded eyelids, and also incorporated a touch of glitter to give it more of an edge. I thought that it would be the perfect compliment to this frigid, chilly weather in the northern U.S. where I live. I can honestly say that I've never wanted so badly to sit out in 90 degree weather and just roast in the sun (ok, maybe a bit of an exaggeration) in a bathing suit by the pool. Ah, summertime...

     Nonetheless, with this look, in my head I was going for more of a monochromatic result than what it actually turned out to be. I was going for a more defined lip that was more of an apparent purple, but I still like the way it turned out. This post is just going to be a product breakdown for the eyes and lips, and I'll lightly touch on the actual color products (not necessarily the base and skintone products) that were used for the skin. Alright, let's go!