[The Birthday!!] Makeup Lust List #5

February is my birthday month and so I've been keeping a list of wants and needs for makeup. For me, there's never enough makeup! Besides the Dose of Colors Eyedeal Duo that were released recently, I've been wanting these items for months but can't quite convince myself to get them yet.

1. Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Glastonberry // After falling in love with the formula, I've been planning what color I wanted next from the line. This color looks gorgeous on every person that I've seen wear it on every skin tone without looking too dark/vampy.
2. Dose of Colors Eyedeal Duo in Maple // I also want other colors, but Maple stood out the most to me. Whenever I venture into new brands (to me) / products, I always choose the safest color too. I love cream shadows and have been experimenting more with loose shadows as well.
3. Makeup Forever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Stick Foundation in Y335 Dark Sand // I wasn't a huge fan of the new liquid version because it make me look shiny by 3-4 hours, but I heard the stick version is so much better. I'm not super excited to at least try this version because I did love the original HD formula.
4. Burberry Wet & Dry Silk Shadow in Mulberry // If you've seen my review post for Pale Barley, I loved the formula but the color is a touch too cool toned for me. Mulberry is a nice berry color that I love and I feel like I would get a lot more wear out of that one.
5. Marc Jacobs Beauty The Sky Liner - Petite Highliner Gel Eye Crayon Collection // When this set was first released, there was nothing but bad reviews. They have since reformulated and fixed the packaging issues and so I'm back to wanting this set real badly. 
6. Becca Backlight Priming Filter // I don't use a lot of primers, but since every Becca product has worked really well to make me look glowy and beautiful, I'm hoping this one will do the same. I've been having some problems with foundation slipping off my face and with my face looking dull and so this primer seems like it would help with both issues. 
7. Sugarpill Cosmetics Loose Eyeshadow in Penelope and Lumi // I initially skipped out on Penelope when it first launched and then it got sold out soon after. I keep missing the restocks and so I've been very attentive to the Sugarpill IG to see when it'll come back. They've also been posting gorgeous looks using Lumi on the eyes, face, and lips and every look is beautiful!

My birthday is actually a week away on the 7th and I'll be turning 23. I can no longer sing 22 by Taylor Swift to annoy people anymore, but that's away. 

Let me know what is on your own wish list! I would love to hear about them to get some suggestions!

Review & Swatches: Tarte Tartelette In Bloom Palette

The Tarte Tartelette in Bloom Palette is the second edition of their bestselling Tartelette Palette, but it's more warm toned plus some shimmery shades thrown in. The original Tartelette Palette is all matte and is more neutral to cool toned, but it would look very cool toned on my warm skin. When the Tartelette in Bloom Palette was released early for Ulta Platinum members, I jumped on it right away! It has a row of cool, neutral, and warm shades and the three shimmery shades were such great editions to a mostly matte palette. The whole palette contains 0.636 ounces of product (9 mattes and 3 shimmery shades) and retails for $45.

For a comparison, the original Tartelette Palette is on the left and the Tartelette in Bloom Palette is on the right!

I was a fan of the mauvey tones in the Tartelette Palette, but everything just looked muddy on my lids if I used more than two shades and didn't blend together that well. I ended up not doing a review on this palette because I was so meh about it. I do sometimes reach for it though since a lot of the colors work really well as transition shades in my crease.

Favorites: 2015 Eye Products!

My last 2015 Favorites Post! Honestly, I'm so over these right now and will definitely just do one collective post and try to keep it under 20 or something. I probably won't do a January 2016 favorites post either since I'm so "Favorites" out for this month.

This last post is going to be dedicated to eye products though! My second favorite to lip products and it was equally hard to choose what I loved the most. There were some surprising favorites when I really got down to what I used the most and some that were obvious.

A super obvious choice was the Lorac Unzipped Palette. I got it around my birthday in 2015 and it's been a palette I would always choose for traveling or special events. I did end up depotting the shadows so that I could choose specific colors for weekend trips instead of the whole palette though. This would be my perfect palette, but I do end up supplementing it with some other matte shadows.

And speaking of matte shadows! I really fell in love with Blackbird Cosmetics after my first order. The colors I use the most from them are Fire Pledge, Ruca, and Beau but that's only because I love warm shades. The textures of these shadows are a bit dry compared to Lorac Matte Shadows, but they still blended out just as well and were easier to layer. 

Another favorite palette that I depotted was the theBalm Nude 'Tude Palette, but I mostly use Sleek, Serious, Seductive and Sultry. I usually use Sleek and Serious to line my eyes or to soften / smudge out eyeliner. Sultry is also a great midtone brown shade for my skin tone and I like to use that as a transition shade. Seductive is also my favorite bronze shadow because of the golden wheat tones to it. I actually really wanted Burberry's Pale Barley to be like Seductive, but it ended up being more on the taupe side.

Another amazing eyeshadow that I used a lot was the Makeup Geek Foiled Eyeshadow in Grandstand. It's similar to some of the pinky shadows from the Unzipped Palette, but the formula feels a bit creamier and looks more metallic on the lid. I personally love to just pop this in the center of my lids s to give my eyes more dimension.

I started using brush tip liners like the K-Palette 1 Day Tattoo Eyeliner in 2015 and they're definitely the best kind of eyeliner for me to use for a great winged liner look. I've also tried other brush tip liners like the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper, but the K-Palette one lasts longer on me.

For tightlining, the Marc Jacobs Gel Highliners in Blacquer works the best and stays on the longest for my dry and somehow watery eyes. It doesn't irritate my contacts either. I have some other colors from the same line, but Blacquer is the one I repurchase the most since I use it almost every day to line up my upper waterline.

Cream shadows have always been a favorite, but the Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon Morphing Eyeshadow Pencils in Amber Haze and Bronzed Garnet are some of the best I have ever tried. The Mally Evercolor Shadow Sticks are also great, but I find most of the colors lean more cool toned on me for some reason. Amber Haze and Bronzed Garnet work incredibly well alone all over the eye and also as bases to make shadow products last all day.

Speaking of bases, the two I used the most are the Wet N Wild Fergie Take On The Day Eyeshadow Primer. I believe this was reformulated and brought back out with new packaging, but I haven't tested the newer version out yet. This primer is a bit thicker than the Urban Decay or Too Faced primer, but I kind of it like because it wasn't as oily feeling on my lids. For more shimmery shadows or those prone to fall out, the Darling Girl Cosmetics Glitter Glue is fantastic. It's thin and not as tacky as the LASplash Splashproof Eyeshadow Sealer and Base. It holds onto more troublesome products really well and can make my shimmery/glitter products look a million times better.

 The mascara favorite that beat out my beloved Maybelline The Rocket Waterproof Mascara is the Lash Sensational Waterproof Mascara also from the same brand. I feel like the formulas are pretty much the same, but the wand for the Lash Sensational mascara is more curved and fits my lashes a lot better. 

& that's it! I'm all done with my 2015 favorites!

Let me know what your favorites were! I would love to hear about them so that I can get more ideas for my own collection (:

And I also wanted to belatedly say Thank You too everyone who has stopped by to read and/or comment on my blog. I don't have that many real life friends that I can talk to about makeup and so reading the comments and blog posts from other bloggers is really so much fun for me. Thank you!

Favorites: 2015 Colored Face/Cheek Products!

This was a pretty easy post to do since I almost never wear blush and calmed down on contouring. I struggled a bit on choosing highlighers, but one of my absolute favorites has been discontinued (you will forever be in my heart, Wet n Wild Shimmer Palette in Rose Champagne Glow).

The Milani Powder Blush in Romantic Rose was one of the blushes I constantly reached for when I get it in 2015. It is a beautiful rosey browny nude color and it is so flattering. It is neutral enough that I could wear it with everything, but it still gave my face some life even when I wore it alone. 

The other two blushes that I used a lot were the Clinique Cheek Pop Blushes in Fig Pop and Cola Pop. The color of Cola Pop is definitely out of my comfort zone, but the formula makes it easy to wear. Both blushes look very natural on my skin and give me a very beautiful non-shimmery glow. 

Becca Cosmetics can really do no wrong with highlighters. They're all super shimmery and reflective, but can also be sheered out. I took pictures of the Shimmering Skin Perfectors in Opal (liquid and pressed), but I also love using Champagne Pop. I have the full sized of Rose Gold and mini sizes of Pearl and Topaz from the Champagne Glow palette, but I don't reach for those as much since I have to be more careful on the rest of my face to color coordinate. 

When I want a highlighter with more color, the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Sunset Pink is my go to pick. I can use it as a highlighting blush and eye shadow. Mixed together, the stripes create a gorgeous warm bronzey pink shade that makes me so happy. I do have to be careful though since my cheeks can look metallic if I put on too much.

I don't contour as much anymore, but the ones I use the most are the Burberry Light Glow Blush in Earthy and Benefit Cosmetics Matte Bronzer in Hoola. I'm starting to notice that there is a slight rosey undertone to Earthy, but it still gives me a natural shadow when I use it as a contour. Hoola is also a great choice for me because of the slightly yellow-y undertone. I have tried a lot of grayer toned contour powders, but I have to be a bit more careful with those just in case they make my face look too ashy. Both of these powders are soft, blend well into my skin, and never look cakey.

What cheek / colored face products did you love in 2015? Do we have any matching favorites? Also, please give me blush tips because I struggle so hard in that area!

Favorites: 2015 Lip Products!

Lip products are probably my favorite makeup category slightly above eye products. It was probably the first category I was interested in and reds were, and still are, my favorite. It was only in 2015 that I started to branch out to more rosey mauvey nudes. I also love a good purple/plum, but those aren't as easily wearable. 

I tried my best to choose my favorites, but it was pretty hard to narrow down and there's still a lot more that I didn't really want to include since they were limited edition and now no longer available.

In no particular order -

1. MAC Viva Glam I and See Sheer - These two lipsticks are probably my two oldest MAC lipsticks and they're very loved. These two lipsticks were my go - to shades for the longest time and I still recommend them to anyone looking into MAC Lipsticks.
2. NYX Slim Lip Liners in Cabaret and Mauve - Most lipsticks wear well on me without feathering, but it's always handy to keep lip liners on had just in case. Cabaret is what I wear under almost every red to help me get those crisp lines as well. Mauve is also a go-to, but when I want to look more "natural." The NYX liners aren't my absolute favorite lip liners, but they're inexpensive and come in such a huge variety of colors that they're the ones I tend to buy the most of. 
3. Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Lolita (third edition) - Despite what people say about this edition being a touch too brown for them, I really love it. There's enough rosy undertones to it that it makes it ultra flattering on me. I also have Lolita II, but that's too orangey (or terracotta-y) for me to wear everyday.
4. Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour Liquid Lipstick in Unicorn Blood - This shade is what I wear when I want to be more vampy. It also helps that it stays on so well without smearing everywhere. 
5. Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Bond Girl - I feel like such a fancy adult with this lipstick. It's probably from the price tag, but the color makes me look and feel really put together. As you can see from the other lip products in this post, I prefer mattes and this lipstick has one of the best matte formulas I've tried in bullet form. I do prefer liquid matte lipsticks, but this one is a lot more comfortable to wear.
6. Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Beso - Another red! What a surprise! I've actually had this deluxe mini sized lipstick for about 3-4 years. Even though I love Viva Glam I and Unicorn Blood, Beso is the red I wear when I want to be brighter and have that "classic red" look.
7. Maybelline Color Sensational Creamy Matte Lipstick in Touch of Spice - This lipstick is pretty similar to the Charlotte Tilbury lipstick and was one of my go-tos for interviews and presentations. This lipstick pretty much started my whole love affair with rosey mauvey MLBB lipstick shades too!
8. The Saem Eco Soul Tint in Oil Lip Gloss in PK01 - I don't wear a lot of glossy products in general, but I started to really get into lip oils that tint your lips every since I tried the YSL Volupte Tint In Oil's. I ended up finding a lot of Korean brands that also did tint in oil's and bought sooo many of them. The Saem Eco Soul Tint In Oil's are probably my favorite right now though since they're so much more moisturizing. The glossiness isn't over the top too and the color it brings to my lips is just perfect. 

All of these products are in regular rotation in my handbag and my travel essentials. I am missing some pinks and corals, but I haven't found any that look really great on me yet. 

What were your favorite lip products in 2015? What are your favorite colors to wear and in what kind of formulation (liquid, bullet, etc.)?

Let's Play: Dual Toned Eyes ft. Makeup Forever Studio Case Eyeshadow Palette

I think I might start a new "series" on my blog called Let's Play. I'm still deciding if that's going to be the permanent name but it is inspired by Jkissa's Play Date videos where she plays with some of her newer products. This series is going to be similar, but I wanted to do this so that I could have an excuse to go out of my comfort zone. I usually do neutrals and play it safe, but that leaves most of my collection untouched. 

I got the Makeup Forever Studio Case Eyeshadow Palette around November 2015 and haven't really touched it since. This palette sold out immediately when it was first released and so I jumped on it when I saw that it was available at Sephora. There are some neutral colors, but most of them were not the normal browns. I don't think I'll ever really do a review on this palette since it is sold out again, but please let me know if you would like a review on specific colors!

JKissa also inspired this look since she often does dual toned eye looks. I wouldn't wear it out, but I thought the final outcome was very pretty and fun!

Eye products used -

• Makeup Forever Studio Case Eyeshadow Palette 
• My Right Eye 
• D-236 Lagoon Blue in the inner third of the lid and lightly blended out to create that inner corner shadow / contouring. The matte brown from the Marc Jacobs palette was also mixed in to tone down the blue. 
• I-218 Indigo Blue on the outer 2/3rds of the lid and lower lashline
• D-236 and I-218 was also used light in the inner corner of the brows in hairlike strokes
• My Left Eye
• D-826 Fig in the inner third of the lid
• ME-828 Garnet Black on the outer 2/3rds of the lid and lower lashline
• D-826 and ME-828 were also used in the brows in the same way above
• M-100 Matte Black was used on both eyes and was concentrated on the outer third of the lid and lower lashline to create that winged out look. This shade was used on the brows but was focused on mostly the tail and any sparse areas. 
• ME-122 Snow was placed in the inner third of the lower lashline for both eyes
• Marc Jacobs Gel Highlighers 
• Midnight in Paris as a base for my right eye and to line the outer half of my lower lashline on the same eye
• (Plum)Age to line the lower lashline on my left eye 
• Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon in Bronzed Garnet
• Applied as a base under the purple eye look. I wanted to bring out the red tones in D-826
• Maybelline Lash Sensational Waterproof Mascara in Very Black
• Marc Jacobs Style Eye-Con Palette in The Lover
• Mostly pulled this out to use the midtone matte brown shade and the shimmery coppery brown shade
• The matte brown shade was in the crease for both eyes
• The shimmery coppery brown shade was in the inner corner for the left eye look (the purple one)
• Sugarpill Pressed Eyeshadow in Pumpkin Spice
• Applied lightly in hair like strokes in the inner corner of my left brow
• L'oreal Brow Stylist Plumper Brow Gel Mascara in Medium to Dark
• To set and darken my brow hairs

I'm trying so hard to be concise and help pinpoint what products went where, but it just looks like some kind of essay outline.

Face Products

• Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in #54 Beige
• Cover FX Custom Cover Drops in G40
• Burberry Light Glow Blush in Earthy 
• In the hollows of my cheeks and under my jawline
• Makeup Forever Artist Eyehshadow in ME-122 also on the cheekbones
• Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder in Translucent 
• To "bake" and clean up the contour area under my cheekbones
• I should've "baked" higher, but it was my first time placing it in that area and I didn't want to go too crazy
• Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Bond Girl
• and classic Hao... I forgot to take a picture of at least one product

Whew! That's a lot more products than I realized.

What do you think of dual toned looks? Which blogger/instagrammer/etc. do you look to for inspiration?

and last but not least... Please tell me some constructive criticism for these kind of posts! Bullet point lists help me the most as a reader, but it's not the most aesthetically pleasing style for this.

Favorites: 2015 Skincare Products

I was going to move that cup... but decided to keep it in as a "these products Exterrrminate! my acne." I used to be a pretty huge Doctor Who fan but anyway...

1-2 years ago, I probably had the worst breakouts of my life and so I spent the end of 2014 and the whole of 2015 really refining and splurging on my skin care routine. It was a lot of trial and error and then I noticed that these products were the only ones I was constantly repurchasing and stocking up on because I never wanted to run out.

The Body Shop Moisture White Shiso Make-Up Cleansing Oil is what I use to take off almost all of my makeup every night. It breaks down everything and never dries out my already dry/dehydrated skin. The Camomile Cleansing Oil also came out the same time as this product, but the claims from the Shiso line stood out to me a lot more. The line is supposedly helps fade acne marks and lighten/brighten up your skin, but that claim is kind of hard to test for this cleanser since it's not really on the skin for that long. The only thing I might have trouble with in regards to this cleanser is waterproof mascara but that's where the next product comes into play!

The Eucerin Sensitive Skin Gentle Hydrating Cleanser is part two of my two step cleansing routine. The cleansing oil pretty much gets everything, but I like to use the Eucerin cleanser as well because it also takes away any left over traces of stubborn makeup. This cleanser also works really well in cleaning my BeautyBlender and other makeup tools!

I didn't take a picture of it, but The Body Shop Camomile Gentle Eye Make-Up Remover is also great at taking off leftover mascara. I also use it when I mess up on my eye makeup since it doesn't leave any residue on my skin. I haven't been using this as much lately and so it's been bumped to a runner up product, but it's always handy to have.

I've never been that much of a toner lover, but the Pixi Glow Tonic is one of the best skin products I've ever tried. It's definitely made a difference in regards to my hyper pigmentation. I used to use the Mario Badescu Glycolic Acid Toner, but it doesn't work as well as the Pixi one. I stopped using this toner for about a week when I went back to my hometown and my skin looked and felt more clogged up. I'm so glad that this product came to the US last year and I honestly hope it never goes away.

The Fresh Seaberry Moisturizing Face Oil is also another product I started using last year and I've used up two travel sized bottles and finally bought the full sized one. I've switched to using thinner products like essences, serums, and emulsions and using a facial oil as the last step really locks everything into my skin. I know this product is too heavy for some people (which is totally understandable!), but it's helped my skin look so much better in general that I can't stop recommending it to everyone who will listen.

The last product that I always need on hand is the Nexcare Acne Care Dressing Pimple Stickers. There are many different brands that carry this kind of product, but they're basically hydrocolloid bandages. These stickers are targeted for acne, but it's mostly because of the size. Bigger versions also help with blisters and I've even tried these on cold sores and they helped so much. It took me awhile to get used to this product, but you pretty much wait till the head of the blemish appears and you can lance it (or slightly prick it with a sanitized needle) and put the sticker on top. The prick just helps the blemish drain out easier and by the time you wake up, the swelling and bacteria has been sucked out. This product is definitely an acne prone person's best friend!

What were your 2015 skin care favorites? Have you tried any of these products?

Favorites: 2015 Base + Brows

My first 2015 favorites post is going to focus on base and brow products! Just as an intro for the rest of the posts as well, I'm going to do my favorites in general that I also used throughout 2015 and not just new releases from 2015. To me, I would rather see the same products in yearly favorites because it just shows how much it stood apart from all the newer releases. 

Brow products were super easy to decide on. Ever since the L'oreal Brow Stylist Plumper Brow Gel Mascara in Medium to Dark launched this year, it's been my favorite! I switched between an Etude House, Benefit, and Maybelline brow gels and the L'oreal one stood out the most. It's more liquidy than my second favorite from Benefit, but it does the job at a really affordable price. It's also a pretty neutral medium brown color and so it'll go well with any brunette.

I started using the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in 2014 and it continues to be one of my favorite brow products to define the lines a bit more. I use the L'oreal brow gel every day because I prefer a natural brow look but the Brow Wiz helps me define the edges more when I know I'm going to have pictures taken of me. It also helps when I haven't plucked my brows in awhile to make them look more clean. My favorite shade is Soft Brown, but Medium Brown and Taupe both work well for my coloring. The Nyx Micro Brow Pencil is also an alternative, but I find that it's a bit dryer.

I've switched up my foundation multiple times throughout the year, but my favorites would hands down be the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in #54 Beige and the Cover FX Custom Cover Drops in G40. I have an oily t-zone and dry cheeks but the Bourjois foundation worked really well in both areas. In the summer, my nose did get shinier but nothing a light dusting of powder wouldn't fix. The Cover FX Custom Cover Drops also work with every base I have to increase the coverage and shift the coloring to fit my tone a bit more.

For my undereye area, I mostly used the L'oreal Studio Secrets Magic Lumi Highlighting Concealer. It's not heavy duty enough to cover dark (think purpley blue) under eye circles, but I'm fortunate to just have slight discoloration when I'm lacking sleep. There's a slight shimmer going through it and it helps reflect light to make my eyes look brighter. I've used up 2 tubes and want to repurchase my third, but that darn no buy is telling me to use up my highlighting concealers from Physicians Formula and Clarins first. 

To set my undereye area, I really love the NYX HD Finishing Powder in Banana. It's pretty much translucent blended in but the yellow in it does help look more natural on my golden / warm skin. Finishing powders are usually more thin than setting powders and so it doesn't look as powdery. This powder also worked well lightly dusted all over my face. I'm even starting to see some pan and it's so exciting to me!

I do want to give a special shout out to the Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder but it does give me a white cast of I use too much / take flash photography. I love using it all year round but it's especially great for keeping my shiny nose at bay during the summer. The NYX one is an every day kind of powder but the Tarte powder keeps my skin looking smooth and perfect if I'm out all day.

What were your favorite base and brow products in 2015? Do you prefer overall favorites or more "released in 2015" kind of favorites for annual favorites posts?

Review & Swatches: Burberry Wet & Dry Silk Shadow in No. 102 Pale Barley

The Burberry Wet & Dry Silk Shadow in Pale Barley is one of those products I feel like every beauty blogger talks about. And now I'm going to be one of them! I wanted this during the Sephora VIB sale, but wasn't able to get it until weeks after (there was an unfortunate error and then went out of stock). Burberry claims that their Wet & Dry Silk Shadows are "ultra-blendable, super-soft and weightless with an intense colour pay-off." This eyeshadow contains 2.7 grams / 0.09 ounces of product and retails for $29. While the price is pretty hefty, it does contain about double the amount of product compared to most powder eye shadows. 

Favorites: December 2015!

December was such a rush and I would've just slapped on very basic makeup everyday, but I wanted to feel fancier because of the holidays. I like dewy looks in general, but I bumped it up even more with some of my December favorites!

I like painting my nails, but I'm very boring. I recently got an Essie holiday nail set and my favorite shades are Cocktail Bling (a cream grey blue) and Rock At The Top (a gold glitter top coat). Something about Cocktail Bling is very winter-esque and Rock At The Top is always fun. I've been using Rock At The Top on my accent nail but also on all of my nails to make my hands stand out even more.

The Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector is one of the most talked about lip products in the beauty blogging world. I got #6 Rosewood Shimmer and it's a slightly warm mauvey brown with shimmer. In my pictures, it does look more orange but it is more neutral than that though. I don't like lip glosses, but this product feels so smooth on the lips and doesn't feel sticky at all. It even does feel moisturizing on the lips and so I do use this as a lip balm in a pinch. The shine isn't intense either and so my lips never feel like they're shouting "LOOK AT MY VINYL PLUMP LIPS." Yup.

The Etude House Play 101 Pencil in #71* (review here) is now one of my favorites for life. It has the perfect amount of shimmer to brighten up my lower waterline and it's just beautiful on the center of my lids to catch the light. There's a slight pinky undertone to it as well and so it looks natural on the waterline instead of a matte nude or white.

I loved the pressed powder version so much that I had to also try out the Becca Liquid Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal. I like to mix a little bit into my foundation and my favorite "mixture" right now is this product, a bit of Glossier's Priming Moisturizer, and two drops of Cover FX's Custom Cover Drops in G40. There's just a slight glow all over my face and the shimmer is more subdued. If I want even more glow, I will apply it directly on my cheek bones and then dust the tiniest bit of the powder version on top.

What were your December 2015 favorites? Have you tried any of these products?

*The Etude House Play 101 Pencil in #71 was sent to me as a PR sample.

By the way, I'm actually going to post my 2015 favorites soon, but it's going to be spread out in multiple blog posts. I wanted to separate it into different categories and I tend to blab on and on and so I just wanted to do shorter posts so that they would be easier to read.

Review & Swatches: Etude House Play 101 Sticks in #4, 11, 13, Contour Duo and Stick Brush [Pink Bird Box]

The second Pink Bird Box Etude House sent me included the new Play 101 Sticks! I'm a huge fan of the Play 101 Pencils and so I couldn't wait to try out the bigger/chubbier versions. These sticks can also be used on the face, eyes, and lips. The foundations are between 1-4 and the lips/blusher/eyes targeted colors are from 11-15. With the gap between the foundations and colored products, I'm kind of hoping that they're going to bring out more foundation shades. There's also a contouring stick that can help create some shading. Each stick contains 7.5 grams / 0.26 ounches and retails for $14.40 on the global Etude House website, which can be found here! 

Along with the launch of the Play 101 Sticks, Etude House also brought out the Play 101 Stick Brush which is a dense slanted buffing brush. It's the perfect size to take along with the Play 101 Sticks on the go and retails for $7.61.

Haul: New Drugstore Lip Products ft. Maybelline, L'oreal, and Milani

I do realize I posted this right after my "no / low buy post" but I swear I bought these before that post!

L'oreal and Maybelline have had liquid lipsticks in the past, but they recently brought out new liquid to matte lipsticks! I used to have a liquid two-step process lipstick from L'oreal and it was not great. The second step was a clear balm that made the liquid lipstick more comfortable, but it felt and looked like some kind of vinyl. I'll just say right now that these are definitely better liquid lipsticks, but they're not as budge proof (in a good way!).

Milani also released some new lip products including making their liquid lipsticks permanent, but I wasn't able to get one of those to try out. They did release some lip oils though that I was able to get! From what I can see, they're supposed to be similar to the Clarins lip oils but I don't have the Clarins one to compare. 

Maybelline Color Sensational Vivid Matte Liquid Lip Color in Fuchsia Ecstasy & Berry Boost 

Both colors feel very comfortable on the lips, but there's a strong fake rose smell that lingers on the lips. I'm not that sensitive to smells, but these did start to give me a headache. True to their name, these liquid lipsticks are Vivid even with a darker color like Berry Boost. Even though Berry Boost and Forbidden Kiss look very similar in the tubes, Berry Boost does look more vivid. 

L'oreal Infallible Pro Matte Gloss in Forbidden Kiss and Nude Allure

The name "matte gloss" bothers me, but it somehow does it make sense. They have a slight slip that makes these liquid lipsticks super comfortable to wear. The finish isn't quite matte and more like a suede? There's a slightly fruity scent to it and it is a lot more pleasant than the Maybelline ones. It also disappears very quickly. 

I did wait a few minutes after doing swatches to make the finish more true to life (i.e show that suede finish) but it photographs a lot glossier on my arm. On the lips, it does show more matte like the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams. 

Milani Moisture Lock Oil Infused Lip Treatment in Repairing Primrose

I was originally going to get the Grapefruit scent, but my dry lips from winter were calling out for the Primrose scent. I also realized that they're pretty much clear and so I convinced myself out of getting another one. From my first impressions, I do really like it so far and so I might pick it up when I go back to Walgreens / CVS to look for Milani's liquid lipsticks. 

What new drugstore product are you most excited for? Did you pick any of these up?

New Year's (Beauty) Resolutions for 2016!

I hope you all had a great New Years / New Years Eve! I'm actually spending my New Years Eve writing blog posts and webcamming with my boyfriend (I'M SUPER FUNNNNN). The only excuse I have is my work place gets super stressful at the end of every month, quarter, and year. 

I don't really do New Year's Resolutions, but I decided do some for my beauty / shopping habits. I kind of justify my purchases by saying it's for my blog, but the majority of the things I buy are never reviewed. Limited edition stuff always seem to pop up and I would way to buy those too. Then I end up pushing previously purchased items from permanent lines to the side... and then ultimately never reviewing them. 

My makeup collection has gotten larger and larger and that brings me to my first resolution -

1. Go on a no / low buy | I don't want to outright say I'm going on a no-buy because that strangely feels like a lot of pressure. I'm going to minimize the amount of money spent on makeup and maybe buy one or two things a month at most or buy a bigger purchase once every few months. 

2. Clear out my collection | I have a lot of things that don't work on me that I just keep around. I sometimes say that I'll use it for duping or comparisons, but that's just another excuse. I feel guilty throwing stuff away but some of stuff are really old anyway. What you see in this post is the majority of my collection and there's another drawer filled with mascara backups and samples. 

3. Rotate / "Shop" the stash | I read on Reddit that some people designate a palette or product(s) that can be used for one week and can't be used again until they've rotated through all of their stuff. I also realized that I was ignoring a lot of my older favorites due to constantly buying new things to test out. 

4. Write more varied posts | I tend to mostly stick with writing reviews but I think I should probably start adding more into my posts. To document #3, I might post more FOTD posts or something but I might not be able to do that until spring/summer when the sun is out all day. Right now, I mostly do a lot of my pictures during the weekend for about 1-3 hours. My window is at an awkward spot and so the sun doesn't really stay consistent for me. "Top ____ Products" posts are also interesting to me and so I might do more of those as well. 

5. Figure out my new camera.... | This isn't fully beauty related, but I did treat myself and got the Sony A6000. I have no idea how to use it and tried to do some shots for this post. This was just a trial run to test some things out and I'm doing terribly. If you have this camera, please let me know if you have some tips and tricks on how to use it!

What were your New Year's Resolutions? What kind of posts do you like to see? Were you also boring like me on New Years Eve.....