Packing Makeup for Long-Term Traveling! Which Products Made the FINAL CUT?

     Salutations, and happy and beautiful Sunday to you all! I have finally gotten to the "settling down" stages of my Chicago move, I wanted to make a roundup post of all the pretties widdled out of my self-perpetuating sea of beauty products to fit into my carryon bag. These products were ultimately selected to come with me to my initial hurrah of my trip, before I could go back to my home city to get the rest of my stuff. I managed to get through two months using just these products! 😁😌 The only casualty of my trip was, indeed, the Sleek eye palette that I was raving about in the video. I hadn't even had it that long...ah well.

                                 

                         View from Merchant Mart! Chicago, IL

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

Queen Of My Heart | Limited Edition Wet 'n' Wild Mega Glo Highlighters!

Wet 'n' Wild Mega Glo Highlighting Powders in 'Lilac to Reality' and 'The Sweetest Bling'

     Hello there!  A couple nights ago, whilst teetering precariously in the makeup aisle on the edge of a possible limited edition impulse purchase, trying to decide between what to get (and what not to get - story of a makeup enthusiast's life, right?), I found myself, once again, standing and gawking at the new Wet 'n' Wild line-up of kitschy adorable heart-shaped products for their limited edition Queen Of My Heart Collection. Upon gawking, I remembered what I had said in one of my last videos on my channel: how I had been rather intrigued by these cute little powder highlights! Well, originally it was just the lilac highlighter that peaked my interest, but upon second glance at the pink one, I had an inkling that both were coming home with me!

Wet 'n' Wild Mega Glo Highlighting Powders
Left: 'Lilac to Reality' | Right: 'The Sweetest Bling'

My Wet 'n' Wild Mega Last Lipsticks | Speedy Swatchfest, Try-On & Overview!

     Throughout my years of acquiring these highly affordable and beautifully long lasting Wet 'n' Wild Mega Last Lipsticks, I've actually used up a couple shades I've owned, I've pitched some in the bin, and some, well, I have even repurchased a time or two, for different reasons! These are some of the lowest-priced lipsticks on the market today, at a solid $2 a bullet. There may be a small deviation from that price depending on where you purchase, that company's rewards/points systems, BOGO's, and such may have an effect. I've learned to overlook the less-than-functional packaging and staining some of the shades seem to produce, and just enjoy them for what they offer: a satin finish, affordability, the fact that they are indeed cruelty free, and the overall ease of application. The highly saturated pigment is uniform across the board for these, so that doesn't hurt, either! 

Limited Edition Wet n Wild Color Icon Matte Liquid Lipsticks | Review + Swatches!

Wet 'n' Wild Color Icon Matte Liquid Lipstick

     Oh, Wet 'n' Wild, how could you constantly tease us like this? I have come to the conclusion that, out of all drugstore brands, they can singlehandedly claim the title of being the temptress of them all. :) So, while these lip products are still somewhat available, yet scarce (as well as bits and bobs of the rest of the collection), I figured I would go ahead and post this review, just in case they decide to make them permanent in the future.

     The Wet 'n' Wild Autumn Lush Collection for 2016 includes 4 newly launched limited edition shades of their new Color Icon Matte Liquid Lipstick formula. I only have two of the four shades they have to offer: an insanely bold, saturated fiery red called How Fleek Is Your Love, and a vampy deep burgundy with heavy brown nuances called Don't Be a Plum-Plum. Best part? They retail for $2.99!! Say whaaaa?? That's the bee's knees!

Wet 'n' Wild Color Icon Matte Liquid Lipstick swatches, 2 passes of the applicator

My Eyeshadow Collection | Loose Pigments & Glitters

     Hello loves!  I thought it was in due time to create a post on the inventory of my relatively moderate collection of eyeshadow pigments, as well as the few glitters I own. It was originally in the works to declutter some of them, but ultimately, I decided not to part with any of them just yet. :) I like to pull them out occasionally, when I want a bit of added pizazz, and some depth and dimension to a look. I have no qualms with the quality of any of the ones I currently own, and don't think I will be purchasing any more, as I much prefer the look of pressed powder shadows, as well as the ease of application, y'know? Hmmm, I have noticed, though, that I may have just one too many purple shades here, so yep, I may have to rectify that somehow in the future. 😆

Anyway, please let me know if you would like a video of swatches, and I will upload one! For the time being, they will be sorted by brand in a list below. Here we go!

Wet 'n' Wild Spring 2015 Silver Lake Collection: My Picks + Swatches

     Honestly, these Wet 'n' Wild collections appear and disappear like little Houdinis....there's now a new Venice Beach Eyeshadow Collection  that came out right after this one that I'm now on the hunt for, and I was contemplating whether or not to even create a post for this Silver Lake collection, since it was released back in the spring, and may be a bit difficult to find now. 

     Then I realized that geographic location is quite different across the board when it comes to the availability of drugstore limited edition collections in general, and I didn't even see this collection anywhere near me until about two months after it was released, so.....ladies, there's still a chance you may find it! If you do, I think it's highly worth checking out, as the textures, formula, and overall quality of these products is really quite lovely. Read on for more pictures and my thoughts/first impressions on these beautiful products!

Drugstore Makeup: Soft Pink Eyes & Lips

     Hello there!  Well, this is definitely a Wet 'n' Wild kick I've been on lately, especially here on my blog. Wet 'n' Wild released their well-rounded Spring 2015 Silver Lake Limited Edition Color Collection a couple months ago, which features quite a hefty collection of brand new 6-pan eyeshadow palettes (with the most punchy, vibrant and aesthetically pleasing color schemes, I might add), and a few blush/bronzer/highlight trio disks.

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. 😃