Colourpop Goodies (I Should've Posted this in February. . .)

Hi there! Yes, I'm still alive on this 'ere blogosphere! At this point, I think it's pretty obvious that my sliiight obsession with Colourpop isn't going anywhere, at least not anytime soon...

Most of these products were from their Valentine's Day collection (plus their Flexitarian Supershock Highlight, which I purchased in the same order along with the V-Day collection) - as far as the limited edition Valentine's collection, a beautiful mini 6-pan palette of lovely cool toned eyeshadows, and three new shades from their lineup of Supernova Liquid Shadows. So since I bought these products back in February, I think I've had more than enough time to test them out, and I have a better idea of which ones I would recommend! So yesterday when I looked back on the Colourpop online shop for the first time in eons, I realized that, lo and behold, most of these products were still available to purchase on their site! So, naturally, here we are with a blog post and swatches! 😄

Supernova Liquid Shadows

L-R: From the Valley, Prelude, Over Again

     Ahh, my very first foray into the Colourpop Supernova line...so, all in all, I do quite enjoy the look these give once applied, but getting to that place of application is rather tricky. I find that putting the applicator directly onto my eyelids makes for a rather streaky application, and entirely too much applies when I use the applicator to apply them to my lids. Whenever I transfer the liquid shadow straight from the applicator to eyelid, they would dry down, and would instantly add a bunch of crepey texture to my eyelid, and the color would flake off entirely within the next hour. If I tried to blend in any way before they set, so much product was applied, that they would just look even more streaky, so blending afterwards was a no-go, when I used that method. 

     The way I opt to apply these is by simply dispersing some product onto my fingertip from the applicator and applying and blending them out in that way, so I have more control over how much product goes onto my eyelid, y'knows? In fact, that's the only way I've found to apply these so they look nice throughout wear and don't flake off. Beautiful duochromes in this lineup, but I always have to layer them over a colored eyeshadow cream or powder for them to really give that desired wow effect, as they are a bit sheer and much of that huzzah! factor is lost when they're applied to a bare primed lid. So the formula could definitely be tweaked a bit with these...

Colourpop Pretty Much Pigment Palette, $12

Swatches L-R: Ya Bish, It Me, NVM, OTP, Neither Do I, Cool It

     This little pocket-friendly number has a pretty lovely array of some beautiful berry pinks and purple tones, mixed with a couple cooler toned neutrals and a nice dose of a bronze shimmer. However, I find that the pink and bronze shimmers in this palette are a tad bit crumbly, and are quite flaky and dry, and take a little more work than I expected them to, as they need to be packed onto the lid to show up (which, I must say, is quite uncharacteristic and very unusual of Colourpop's quality as far as their pressed shadows go - maybe my palette was a fluke with those two shades, but I was left pretty disappointed, nonetheless), and although the mattes in the palette blend out fantastically and near flawlessly, I find that the only matte that is unique to my Colourpop collection is the matte taupe in this palette in 'NVM'. The other two mattes, 'Neither Do I' and 'Cool It,' are near identical to the mattes in my Fem Rosa palette, so this palette is just a bit repetitive for my needs.

I would wager that if you don't own the Fem Rosa palette, this might be a nice addition if you like the tones. However, if you own that palette already (or have similar tones) then this palette may be a bit superfluous for you, as it was for me.

Penny for your thoughts? I'd love to hear them! Sound off in the comments and tell me: As far as Colourpop palettes, what different color stories/combinations would you like to see released in their pocket sized palettes?

My Valentine's Day Makeup: Glowy Skin, Sparkly Red Eyeliner & Matte Red Lips

Happy Thursday to everyone, and oh! Better yet: happy post-Valentine's Day! Hope you had a wonderful day with all your loved ones! Now bust out ya chocolates and ya makeup brushes, everyone! It's a V-Day makeup look! Eh, one day late, no less, but...nothing wrong with that! After taking priority of practicing Seitz' Concerto No 2 Op 13 yesterday (and today) over blogging my V-Day look I wore yesterday... phew, at long last, I'm getting this posted! Before I went out today, I was able to catch the sun and get better lighting for better pictures of the products I used. 😀 

This post will be a breakdown of the products I used for this quick and simple, somewhat effortless Valentine's Day look! If you'd like a wee bit of a spoiler, most of what I used is Colourpop. 😊 A gorgeous red winged liner paired with a warm hazy caramel-toned eye makeup and a plush bright matte red lip (yeeeaaah, I was going to take pictures on my Canon, but I'm so out of the blogging loop, that between my last blog post and now, I've since somehow managed to misplace my SD card, and had to use my phone to take all of these pics. Thus, the eye makeup looks a lot muddier than it would have if I had taken the pics with my actual camera).

It Goes On and On and On....Colourpop Orders from Holiday Sales #ColourpopHaulage

Well, hello there! Happy new year to ye! 

Since this was the first Christmas I've not been able to spend time with family, a lot of my time lately has been mostly comprised of studying, working, playing violin, visiting art districts and different landmarks, forever finding a professional music instructor, watching entirely too much of Supernatural on Netflix and history documentaries whilst dealing with the flu (twice), and upon getting better, proceeding to eat absolutely too much of Chicago's Pompei Italian (ok, I've only been there twice, but it seems like I've been there more, simply because their portion sizes are massive) check it out next time you're in Chicago! It's an incredible Italian food restaurant based in downtown, and I live not far from it, so...eh, 'tis the season for tons of carbs, deliciousness and empty calories, I guess! They are quite wonderful empty calories, nonetheless 😉). 

Alright, long time, no blog! However, I thought that these last couple of purchases I made from Colourpop's site were substantial enough to be consolidated into a blog post! I know so many of us go entirely too click-happy once we get an email about yet another sale on Colourpop's site...or is it just me? Ah, well, (scratches head)...alrighty then! And there were many things I wanted to try, and both orders I made were during a couple of huge sales they were having. I'm now at the point where I think I've had my Colourpop fill...for now. 😁 Seriously, it's one of the only brands I've been purchasing for color products for a hot minute, as well, I simply enjoy their quality that much!

Some of what the sales included: 30% off certain Super Shock Shadow kits and singles, a new holiday collection of exquisite, deep rich Liquid Matte Lipsticks, more sales on lip products, half off of pressed eyeshadow palettes, single pressed shadows for $2.80...must I go on about my evident lack of self control for this brand?

My first order/hurrah contained all of what you see above. I was able to snag the You Had Me at Hello and All I See Is Magic eyeshadow palettes on sale. The holiday collection matte liquid lippies were something I did pay full price for (I ended up loving all three of them, upon first impressions! I got them in Snowfleek, Cloudscape, and Fragile Things), and pressed shadow singles were on sale for $2.80 a pop. 

As you may tell, some of the pressed shadows I bought remained in their packaging until I could find a place for them (my MAC empty pro palettes hadn't gotten to me just yet when I took these pics). Just to note, those 4 other shades were Snake Eyes, Take it Slow, So Jaded, and a backup of Play by Play.

Super Shock Shadow Kits in 'Dusk 'Till Dawn' & 'Phase Me Out'

Dusk 'Till Dawn Supershock Set - Swatches L-R: Half Light (my personal favorite), Goodish (my least favorite), Slay Bells, Babykins, New Magic, Stargirl

Look...the shine! The bling! Best part? These swatches were done without primer or base! This Dusk 'Till Dawn set definitely became a fast favorite of mine! I've already put to extremely good use the sheer iridescent white with the blue flip, New Magic, as an eyeshadow sparkle-topper for at least three looks I've done. It is nothing short of mesmerizing on the lids. Goodish is a rather faint lavender, and, like New Magic, is meant to be an eyeshadow topper - however, with this shade, I was disappointed that there was little to no base color, the lavender is very faint (faint is a couple notches below what I would call sheer) and the base is a bit of a satin/almost matte finish at that, so it just doesn't give a very strong look when layered over more pigmented shadows, and the glitter is very fine and yields a nice texture, but it's an odd mixture of gold, peach, aqua, and purple sparkle, and it just falls flat, due to the base color not being strong enough in finish or in opacity, and sadly, all that shows up is this odd smattering of multi-colored glitter over a matte faint purple base, and it honestly cheapens my eye look a bit, whenever I use it. Just doesn't give the impact I'm accustomed to seeing with these SSS.

Other than that one Goodish shade being a bit of a flop, all the other shades in this set are absolutely divine, and are dense and saturated enough to be worn on their own! I never experience creasing with any of my SSS, and they last on my eyes all day without fading! There was only one dud in this set, and for that, I'm a happy camper! 

Phase Me Out Supershock Set - Swatches L-R: Itty Bitty, Going Rogue, One by One, Flipper

I bought these 2 Supershock sets when I placed my second order. I believe they were both on sale (my recall tells me that I may have paid full price for the Phase Me Out quad, though, but I am 100% certain that the Dusk 'Till Dawn set was on sale for $21 when I bought it).

Ultra Matte & Ultra Satin Lips

Along with the Supershocks, I also ordered most of the liquid lipsticks during my second Colourpop Holiday Hurrah! Let me say, that since these were all on sale, it was of utmost difficulty for me to restrain myself! So far, I'm happy with every single shade I picked up, and have worn each one at least once. Here are the shades I picked up, listed in order as to how they are pictured above, left to right:

Calypso (Ultra Satin from Up & Away Bundle)

Love Bug (Ultra Matte from Up & Away Bundle)

Mama (Ultra Matte from Up & Away Bundle)

Mess Around (Ultra Satin)

Littlestitious (Ultra Satin)

Little Weapon from Alexis Ren Collection (Ultra Matte)

Bare Necessities from Alexis Ren Collection (Ultra Satin)

Oh, no, honey, this haul is not yet complete! You know I had to pick up a backup of my 💗, the Ultra Matte Lip in Fresh Cut, as my current vial of this shade is about half-way gone, as it is well-loved. 💞 (Cue in mini-review): Fresh Cut was close to being the only lip color I wore for a couple months straight when I first moved to Chicago - the perfect medium pink that stands out on my complexion, and it packs a bit more of a punch, because it's a wee-bit brighter than most mauve pinks we see because it's not really that purple, nor is it neutral, nor is it a cool-toned 'powder pink.' It doesn't lean too blue-based either. So, what is this shade, exactly? Actually, I don't have a pink that's quite like this. It definitely leans towards more of a mid-toned rosy pink on me with just a slight mauve undertone to keep it cool, but it also has a nice tinge of berry in it, and shockingly, I see a hint of warmth in this shade as well! Though I can detect no coral or orange tones in it! It's very strange, and dare I say, a result of sorcery at Colourpop headquarters? 😆 And it's not what I would call an understated color on my skintone, but it's just bright enough to stand out, and the hue is perfect enough to be my perfect everyday color! It's definitely got something special in the shade that makes it a unique shade to my collection. Not a pink shade (or mauve shade, though I wouldn't call it a mauve) that I'm used to seeing! I'm not usually a fan of most mauve shades, either, so you know this one is bringing something different to my life! It brightens up and warms up my complexion (which, again, I've never experienced with a cool-toned color lol) even when I'm not wearing much makeup at all, and I can make the color more natural on my lips when I'm just rocking a bare SPF face, only apply a bit of Fresh Cut Ultra Matte, and throw on some balm over it to give it a nice satin finish, and just.....ugh....beautiful. If they will release a Supershock or pressed powder blush in this exact color, I would be up on that shit sooo quickly lol. I love this that much, and will never be without it! 😁

More swatches to come, and I will be doing reviews as I get a chance to try out these products more! I'm wearing Snake Eyes eyeshadow in the picture below, though you can't see much of the lid space it's occupying. It's quite possibly my favorite of all the pressed shadows I picked up, so you'll definitely be seeing it in another makeup look in the future! Take care, lovelies! Peace & Blessings 

😄 Love, Cailee

Maple Holistics Sweet Almond Oil Skincare Review | A Cruelty-Free, All Natural Brand!

It's true - once you experience the immensely soothing skincare benefits of almond oil, you never go back. This small almond oil obsession of mine is getting to be a bit real. . . 

Disclaimer: This product was kindly sent to me by Maple Holistics for testing and reviewing purposes.

Aquatic Navy Sparkle | New Wet 'n' Wild Midnight Mermaid Collection! + YouTube Video + Swatches!

Good morrow! How dost thou?  This is one of the most excited I've ever been for a Wet 'n' Wild collection to hit brick-and-mortar locations! If you want to be a mythological creature (or just err on the side of dressing up like one for the day 🌠😁), Wet 'n' Wild is showing all of you lotsa love with collection upon collection inspired by mythological, fantastic beasts, creatures from land and from the deep blue! First was unicorns, and now...mermaids! 

If you can think of a character like, say Mrs. Lovett from Sweeney Todd as a mermaid, she would definitely wear colors like these. So, steampunk inspired jewel tones, with a whimsically aquatic air of mystery, is my view of this collection in a conch shell! 😉

🔍If you would like to know what I used to get this Aquatic Navy Sparkle look, please watch the video and check out the description bar for all products used! A tutorial is coming soon!

⚓⚓ Wet 'n' Wild Haul + First Impressions Video! ⚓⚓

🔎 ⇨ Watch on YouTube ⇦ 🔍

My Choosings from Wet 'n' Wild's New Fall Collections!

Behold . . . Swatches! ✨

Wet 'n' Wild Catsuit Matte Metallic Liquid Lips in 'Sea Seduction' and 'Coral Crown'

Wet 'n' Wild Metallic Liquid Eyeshadow in 'Aquatic Prism' and 'Moonlight Majesty'

Wet 'n' Wild Limited Edition Fantasy Makers Palette in 'Neutrals'

Wet 'n' Wild Limited Edition Fantasy Makers Palette in 'Metallics'

Note: These Wet 'n' Wild Paint Palettes are labeled as ❌unsafe for use around the immediate eye area.❌Yes, that doth suck tremendously for those of us with sensitive eyes, but there are many more awesome ways these can be used as cream bases for other face powders and pigments for costume/Halloween/Cosplay makeup! Wet 'n' Wild is giving us the chance to channel our creativity and form something we may not have previously thought possible! Just use your imagination!

What are you planning on getting your hands on in these new Wet 'n' Wild collections? Stay tuned for a tutorial of this aquatic navy look! Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

✨Love , - Cailee

Rimmel 'Midnight' Stay Matte Liquid Lipstick | Reviewed & Swatched!

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Lip Color in 'Midnight'

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Lipstick in 'Midnight,' swatched

Hiya everyone!  Obviously we are fast approaching the conclusion of August, and this has been a month of much lip color experimentation for me, and now that the leaves are about to change, the mild change in temperature is indicative that those crisp days are on the horizon, bringing with them the annual bearings that associate themselves with seemingly almost every blogger's favorite season. 😃 Many like myself, have an insatiable interest for deep, vampy colors, regardless of season or Sun's relative position to Earth in any given time of day. If the mood strikes, I wear whatever I please, so I figured I would test out a deep plum color that was introduced in this insanely affordable new liquid lipstick formula that Rimmel launched not too terribly long ago: behold, their Stay Matte Liquid Lipstick in 'Midnight'.

🔍 Read onto the review 🔍 to see if I would recommend the Rimmel Stay Matte formula to anyone, or if it's a hard pass! You be the judge! 

Karrueche X Colourpop Fem Rosa 'She' Eyeshadow Palette | Simply Swatches! + First Impressions!

Ciao, erryone! Well, guess this is my first actual Colourpop post! I'm a bit late to the Colourpop party, I know, but in all seriousness, can we just discuss this $16 limited edition Colourpop She Palette for a minute - the newly released Fem Rosa lineup of products are quite the hot ticket items from our beloved crazy-affordable, high quality colourful brand, Colourpop - and for good reason! This will be a pretty succinct post with the main focus being on swatches, as I haven't had the chance to play with more than 4-5 of these shades on my eyes - hardly enough experience with this to do a review. Hence, why I usually do not like featuring (or even purchasing) limited edition products. Once they're gone, they're quite gone. 

I do have a first impressions video of this palette up on my channel! You can check it out here. 

Spring Forward: A Small Haul + Some First Impressions!

     Spring is now officially upon us, it seems! Rain is aplenty, but those cloudy days haven't been overriding the days with sunshine, thankfully! Over the course of the past couple of months, yours truly has been scavenging Ulta drugstore sections and various other places for some spring beauty pick-me-ups (or, ahem, I guess cheap thrills is more like it). Bright vivid eyeliners, a poppy red lipstick (or two!), along with some neutral matte lipsticks, and some nice sweet-smelling balmy lip treats are the results of my attempt to change my makeup game a bit this season with some colors that may (or may not!) veer a little outside of my comfort zone! I've had the chance to try some of these items out as well, so you bet that some of these will include first impressions! Let's begin!

What's In | Affordable Korean Skincare

     Happy Tuesday!  Imagine my surprise when I was making a visit to Ulta after work one day, and realized that they had added Skinfood and Tony Moly to their skincare selections in the U.S.! I rewound back and remembered when I bought a cleanser when they had the entire Tony Moly brand at steeply discounted prices a while back, so I thought that some Ulta's were phasing the brand out to make way for a new one. I'm so glad that I was wrong, and that they now have a revamp and an even larger selection of the brand! 

Skinfood and Tony Moly are fairly affordable Korean skincare brands that both have origins in South Korea. I was familiar with Skinfood for their salmon corrector (which you have seen on this blog since the very first post I published back in 2014 - this concealer is truly my holy grail!), so I was excited to delve into their skincare! My experience as of yet with their fares consists of a shea butter lip balm and their Moisture Foam Cleanser. 

Skinfood Egg White Pore Mask, $10.50, Tony Moly Bamboo Cool Water Soothing Gel, $9.50

As is probably obvious, the packaging is what ultimately won me over with these items!

3 Pampering Body Care Essentials for Late-Winter

   
     Welcome back!  Well everyone, we have reached the time of year where the inconsistent weather patterns and climates can really begin to wreak havoc on our skin and affect it in many ways, whether it's a cold and dry climate or hot and damp - skin changes along with the weather. That's why it's essential to take care of your skin and keep it well-hydrated and exfoliated, especially during the cold-weather months! Here I will showcase a few products that can battle the winter and keep dry, parched skin at bay, replacing it with soft, radiant, and nourished skin!

A Cleanser You Should Try! Lumene Finland Bright Touch Cleansing Foam

     Welcome back! How are you all?  Oh yes, I have a mid-week skincare review! The Lumene Skincare brand is an affordable Finnish brand of which most ingredients are plant and mineral based (and 80% are located within the Arctic Circle, how sweet is that?), and this brand has been all over my radar lately with their increasingly accessible targeted lines of skincare! They have anti-aging benefits with many of their products, some of which are marketed for all skin types, such as the one I'll be reviewing today: the Bright Touch Refreshing Cleansing Foam (formerly Radiant Touch in a squeeze tube instead of Bright Touch in a bottle w/ pump).

Drugstore 1st Impression and Swatches | Hard Candy Top Ten Satin Eyeshadow Palette in 'Rich & Famous'

      Hello everyone, and happy Monday! So, would anyone like to see a stunned makeup enthusiast's first impression on an insanely cheap palette? Because that's what I'll be doing in regards to this Hard Candy Top Ten Satin Eyeshadow Palette in 'Rich & Famous.' Ahem, now people, this is a $6 palette...just let that sink in, and let those swatches further down do the math for you. 😉 I know, I know, it's mathematically impossible to do that, but - I digress!

The Crème Shop Makeup Blending Beauty Sponge Review | They Look Delicious! But Do They Work?

     Everyone feast your eyes on these recent finds from Marshall's! I found these blending sponge sets a couple weeks ago, was intrigued, and....well, you know the rest. Since then, I've had time to put them to the test! These beauty blending sponges from The Crème Shop  (an LA based brand that I've never heard of before, and according to their website, they're indeed cruelty free!) are inspired and shaped similarly to those delicious sweets that you'll find gracing the shelves of almost any French patisserie!

My Picks from the After-Christmas BH Cosmetics Sale + First Impressions!

     Ah, we have approached a new year! I have decided to do a small change of background in my photos, and am just testing it out for the time being. Let me know how you like it! Anyway, reverting to the topic of this post: remember that sale I was telling you all about in my last post? Well, let me just say that I try my absolute best to not order from mass-produced private label cosmetic companies anymore, such as Coastal Scents, Morphe Brushes, so on and so forth. I'm slowly starting to become more conscious of the ingredients I put on my skin, and neither of those aforementioned brands have claimed cruelty free status, and they do have some pretty questionable ingredients, to say the least. 

     Although I find myself overall disappointed to find, upon receiving my order, that BH Cosmetics still has parabens and talc (just rechecked my palette sleeves, and they are actually paraben-free! Sorry for the mixup, I was doing research on two different brands in the same day) in their color products, they are indeed cruelty-free, Leaping Bunny certified (this is according to the Leaping Bunny website, the products' packaging are sans the bunny logo, hopefully that changes!), and....some of their brushes are even vegan! And they certainly seem to be rocking to the beat of their own drum in regards to that. Whether or not I'll order from them again, at least in regard to color cosmetics, is to be determined. I just assumed wrongfully that since they were cruelty-free, none of those ingredients would be present. Ah well, logical fallacy on my part. And just a matter of being misinformed on consumer products and regulations.

So, enough blabbing! Here's what I bought from the sale! 

Foil Eyes 28 Color Eyeshadow Palette, $12
Modern Mattes 28 Color Eyeshadow Palette, $10

Sculpt & Blend 10 Piece Brush Set (Version 2), $20