A Fall Transitional Lippie: Sephora Luster Matte in Coral Luster | Review & Swatches

Sephora Luster Matte Long-Wear Lip Color in 'Coral Luster'

Hello, and happy October!  It wasn't until after I had edited and uploaded these pics that I realized that whoops, this particular shade may not be available anymore! Lo and behold, upon looking at Sephora's site, though, I heaved a small sigh of relief to find that this shade is still available! It is, however, one of the steeply discounted shades in the line (it's $7 as of right now, originally $16) so it's probably on its way out the door soon. Grab it while you can, because it's a beauty! 

Acquisitions | MAC, Sephora, & Drugstore + Mini Reviews!

     Hello dolls!  After the course of some thorough research, I have been experimenting with different products, not to mention a few different brands that are completely  new to me, trying to get a better idea of what to incorporate into my freelance kit. As you can see, a good majority of my findings were drugstore, or at least drugstore price (post disclaimer: these were all purchased by me).

Clearance Finds, Baby!

     Good day to you all!  Well, I must say, it is a rare occasion that I get suckered into clearance beauty buys, with me being the healthily cautious person that I am. Just being real here, because in so many cases, those products are just sitting there on the shelf with molested safety seals and peeled plastic labels with a clearance sticker barely hanging off the side, yet holding on for dear life in the mere hope that someone may come along...and, I just can't...in most instances.

     However, I know for a fact that none of my local Targets have carried NYX until just recently, probably within the last few months. So, when I saw an entire display right in front of the pharmacy, of exclusively  NYX Butter Glosses, and  that half of the shades were already on clearance (only a dollar and some change off of the regular $4.99 price, down to $3.87 each or something close to that, but I digress), let me tell you, I couldn't snatch them up fast enough, because I realized at that very fateful moment that I didn't have a single red or bright violet gloss in my existing collection.

     It's been a long time that I've been meaning to try Sephora's Formula X nail polishes, and when I stopped in my local Sephora and saw that some of the Xplosive Top Coats and Electrics were in the sale section, I may have squeaked a little. Those are further down in the post. 

NYX Butter Glosses

(L-R): Devil's Food Cake, Raspberry Tart, Red Velvet

Celebrity Inspired Everyday Makeup: Kendall Jenner

     Hello everyone!  I was perusing my Pinterest makeup inspiration boards today, and saw this beautiful picture of Kendall Jenner's makeup. Her bronzed skin is flawless, eyes kept neutral, lightly defined and brightened, flushed cheeks, a soft highlight, and her whole look is topped off with a blotted matte coral-y red lip. So, I'm coming at ya today with this celebrity inspired look (recreating the look in a way that I myself would wear it, and adapt it to my skintone and features, as a she-glows-in-the-dark-she's-so-pale Irish girl). Here we go!

Image of Kendall from Google Images

A Review: Sephora + PANTONE UNIVERSE Elemental Energy Eyeshadow Palette

     Hi all!  Today I thought I would finally do my in-depth review of the Sephora + Pantone Universe Elemental Energy Eyeshadow Palette, which is a product that is still available on Sephora's site (you can get it here), and is on sale for $25. I got this a couple weeks ago, and I have to say first that I am quite new to Sephora's eyeshadow formula. I don't know if the formula of these Pantone shadows is similar across the board to the other shadows they have to offer in their brand, but my overall first impression of this palette was that of pleasant surprise, as many of the shadows in this palette seemed nicely pigmented and the quality seemed to be there. I've had some time to play around with these shadows, and hopefully this review will answer some questions for someone who is contemplating on whether or not to purchase it. Swatches will be towards the end. 

Sephora + PANTONE UNIVERSE Elemental Energy Eyeshadow Palette

| Eyes of the Day | featuring Sephora + PANTONE UNIVERSE Elemental Energy Eyeshadow Palette

     Hey everyone!  Wow, I can't believe spring is finally  here! I'm definitely going to the park today to enjoy this beautiful weather, but I wanted to get this posted while I could. I have been playing around with this bad boy eyeshadow palette from Sephora + PANTONE. My review of this palette will hopefully be up by tomorrow!

Sephora + PANTONE UNIVERSE Elemental Energy Eyeshadow Palette

       Here is the back of the palette (both pictures match the quadrants' positions; top (L) green-toned quad is 'Earth,' top (R) barely-there quad is 'Air,' bottom (L) burnished copper and pink quad is 'Fire,' and bottom (R) aquatic blue quad is 'Water'

Until the review, here is a soft, subdued neutral look I created with this palette! (Please excuse my unruly brows; the closer up they are, the more apparently bad they look; I could pluck them and shape them to the end of their days but they would still grow back full and mad-looking a day later. Haha oh, genetics) 

I didn't restrict this eyeshadow look to one particular quad, or element, rather, but I did use 2 shades from the Earth quad (Gingersnap and Pebble), 1 shade from the Air quad (Murmur), and 1 shade from the Fire quad (Dawn). More details about shadow placement are in the product breakdown below. 

Evening Pastel Eye Makeup

     Hi all!  I haven't the slightest clue what is up with me and bright colors lately, but I've certainly been wearing the heck out of them! Well, this look is more of a pastel mint smokey eye with some purple and black in the crease. So, not quite bright, I suppose. As you will see, the focal point here is the eyes, so I didn't try to work a little longer to try out a 'beat face' to go along with the eyes. The sun was setting and I wanted to get good natural lighting from my balcony window before dark. I also don't think I could create a 'beat face' just yet without looking like a clown. So, everything else is toned down and minimal. A nude lip with a touch of blush. I saw a few things about this look right off the bat that I would've done a lot differently, but I think it looks pretty good, with it being my first time trying it out. 

     Like my previous posts, this is just going to be a breakdown of the products used, and I'll be going into more detail about what was used on the eyes rather than my base skin face products. Oh, and I also wanted to mention: This is not one of the Sephora Pantone Elemental Energy palette looks that was promised. I will be getting those up soon! I did incorporate one of the shadows from that palette into this look, but it was just to layer over the mint shade (the shade called 'Murmur' from the Air quad, to be exact), so definitely not worthy enough to have 'Pantone Look' title in the post.

Itty Bitty Haul (Sephora and TheBalm)

       Hi everyone!  Hope you're having a great day! So, the products in this post are actually the only non-drugstore acquisitions I have made within the past few months. I wanted to get this posted while the Sephora palette is still available to purchase on their website. The Sephora Pantone products just arrived in the mail today (about an hour ago, if we're getting exact here 😋), but the other items were purchased at an earlier date.

| 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!