Palette Comparison - ABH Modern Renaissance, MUR Newtrals vs. Neutrals, Lime Crime Venus

I recently bought the new Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette, and I'm really liking it! I wanted to compare it to a couple of similar palettes I have in my collection - the Makeup Revolution Newtrals vs. Neutrals palette, and the Lime Crime Venus palette. There are a few similarities between the three, so you may not need all of them (but no judgement if you do...) Prepare for a lot of pictures!

Hello Waffle *sigh* and Marsala Swatches and Review

Hello Waffle is one of my favorite indie brands. When Christine (the owner) puts out something new, I usually jump on it. I've had these sitting around for a while, so it's time I finally share my thoughts!

Marsala is a deeply tinted lip gloss. Marsala is 2015's color of the year (decided by chooser of arbitrary colors, Pantone), and this is Christine's take on it. I was hoping for something more of a wine shade, and this leans more brown. The gloss is definitely pigmented though, one swipe deposits plenty of color on the lips. I don't find the gloss overly sticky. The gloss comes packages in a plastic tube with a doe foot applicator. The gloss itself has an inoffensive "lip product" scent. The gloss isn't the most wear proof product (it IS a gloss!) but it leaves a slight stain behind. I didn't have any issues with bleeding or feathering.

Marsala lip gloss (limited edition) - $8.15 for 10 mL

Review - 3/5 (I dig the formula, though not the shade!)

*sigh* is a tinted product that would arise if a tinted balm and a lipstick had a baby. It's not as sheer as a tinted balm, but not as opaque as a lipstick. The shade is described as "a deep burgundy red lip balm," but I find it to be much more pink than red. The formula is not as soft as some tinted balms, and I need to apply a little pressure to get it to apply how I like. The packaging is a twist up lip balm tube. Mine is in a chubby tube, but these have recently been switched over to slimline tubes - same concept, more compact. This one also has an inoffensive scent. Since it's a hybrid lipstick/lip balm type of product, it does wear off, but more gradually and leaves a slight stain behind. I didn't experience any drying or feathering while wearing.

*sigh* lip color - $4.93 for 0.07 oz

Review - 4/5

Marsala was limited edition, and I'm not sure if it'll be making a return. *sigh* is still available, however, and I highly recommend it!

Corvus Cosmetics Mini Haul and Swatches

So a little while back I decided to put in a mini order at Corvus Cosmetics. My first order was great, so why not go back for more? (I may or may not have a third order with stuff from the new collections in the worlds. No ragrets.)

I picked up two shades from the Westerburg collection, based off of the movie Heathers. I was also given a sample shade of Urania, from the Mouseia collection.

Is That Pâté? is described as a "slightly shimmery warmer-toned taupe." Over bare skin, the sparkles do not really blend well into the shadow and are loose. Over primer, the sparkles blend in with the pigments, really creating the shimmer in the description.  

MTV Video Games is a "bright yellow-toned lime green." Over bare skin, the shadow is not as vibrant as in the jar. Over primer, the color is more amplified.  This shade of green definitely leans more yellow for me. There was no big sparkle to it, which was a nice change of pace. 

Urania is a "near-black navy base with a strong blue and turquoise shimmer, with gold and silver sparks." I am not a huge fan of black based shimmery eyeshadows, but this is near black. Over bare skin, it just does not perform that well at all. The dark base is patchy and the sparkles are everywhere and this is why I am not a fan of dark base shadows! Over primer, though, the shadow unites and looks lovely. The sparkles come together to form a beautiful shimmer, and the near black base amplifies the blue. I used this as a liner, and it really brightened up.

Always happy to order from Corvus, and I can't wait to see what comes in the mail from the latest collections!

Corvus Cosmetics Haul and Swatches

So a few months ago I picked up my first few eyeshadows from Corvus Cosmetics. I originally swatched them right away, but I was having the worst swatching day of my life. So I set them aside to be dealt with another day - and that day is here! I picked up five eyeshadows from the Kinder-und Hausmärchen collection inspired by Grimm's Fairytales.

Sugarpill Charmy vs. Hello Waffle Lumps - Comparison Post

Whenever I swatch indie products, I always end up reminded of another product in my collection. This time around, I was swatching a sparkly pink shade - Hello Waffle Lumps eyeshadow, and was reminded of Sugarpill Charmy Chromalust loose eyeshadow. I decided to make a post to see how they stack up side by side!

Sugarpill Charmy (left) and Hello Waffle Lumps (right)

Sugarpill Charmy is listed as "sweetest babydoll pinky peach with iridescent fuchsia reflects." It's a very soft, girly shade. Hello Waffle Lumps is a "peachy-pink shimmer with subtle purple sparks." Both eyeshadows have peach, both have pink, now let's swatch them out!

With no primer, Charmy leans more peach, with Lumps leaning more pink. Since there is no primer to keep the sparkles in check, both shadows have their sparklies going every which way. Lumps has more of an iridescence to it.

Here is the swatch over primer! (I used Too Face Shadow Insurance.) Sugarpill Charmy is much more peachy than Lumps, which is much more of a satiny ballet pink. The sparkles are now in check, and they blended nicely with the shadows to create lovely satin shadows instead of glitterbombs. Though the eyeshadows looked very similar in their containers, they are very different on the skin.

Sugarpill Charmy is $13 for 0.14 oz of eyeshadow. Hello Waffle Lumps is sadly discontinued, but was apart of the Adventure Duo offered earlier this year. 

Lit Cosmetics Naturally Lit Trio

Last month when I went to IMATS NY, my first stop was the Lit Cosmetics booth. By now, if you've been reading my blog, you should know that I love to sparkle and that Lit is my favorite glitter brand. I picked up a ton of glitter at the show, including the show exclusive Naturally Lit trio - a set of three "nude" glitters that will compliment a range of skintones. All three of the glitters are size 2, meaning you can easily incorporate them into an everyday look for a hint of sparkle. The three glitters are all solid glitters, which means that they will reflect their solid color only - no holo or rainbows here. This helps keep with the idea of the "nude" glitter.

Unfortunately, the trio isn't available online for order yet. But I'm going to provide some swatches now so that when Lit does have these up for sale, you can decide which is the right one for you! (Which is all of them.)

Lit Cosmetics glitter - Size 2 vs. Size 3

I love glitter. I love using it on my nails, on my eyes...I really dig it. Lit Cosmetics is probably my favorite glitter brand. When I first bought their glitter, I had no idea what I was doing. I was going for a specific type of look, and I got my glitter, and I was super pumped. But...it looked all wrong. The glitter just looked bad. I later found out that Lit sells different sizes of glitter. I had picked size 2, which is a pretty fine cut. Now that I know better, I prefer size 3. All of my glitter in my Lit collection is size 2 or 3, and I think it would be handy to show the difference. I happen to have two sizes of the same shade, Cher. (Cher was my first glitter, that I got in the wrong size, by the way. Now I have what I need!)

According to Lit Cosmetics, size 2 is a "small cut," and size 3 is a "medium cut." The above picture has the two sizes side by side, and you can sort of tell the difference in size from what's in the sifter. it offers four sizes in total, with size 1 being a "micro cut," (I can't imagine how teeny that is!) and size 4 being a "large cut." I also took a shot using the macro setting to hopefully capture some more detail on the glitter size.

With the macro shot, size 2 looks like some silvery, sparkly sand. Meanwhile, size 3 looks like actual piece of glitter! Size 2 is much much smaller (it's actually half the size of size 3!) What will really help show the difference between the sizes is a set of swatches.

Now you can definitely see the difference between the two! Size 2 looks like a very fine sparkle, while size 3 looks like some serious glitter. I find that size 2 is a little more tricky to work with sometimes, because the fine cut sometimes clumps up if you use too much adhesive, or if you don't work fast enough at spreading what you have on your brush. I prefer size 3 because the pieces of glitter are larger, and I feel it looks better for things such as glitter liner. Size 2 glitter looks great for more subtle looks, as the sparkle will gently catch the light, instead of shouting HEY LOOK AT THIS GLITTER! like size 3 would. 

It's important to notice what size the glitter you're buying is, especially if you have a certain look in mind! I'm happy that I know the difference now, and will usually pick something in size 3 if available (or something along those lines if I'm not buying from Lit.) 

Lit Cosmetics Glitter Haul and Swatches

Anyone who talks to me about makeup knows that I love glitter. I add it to my eye makeup, I add it to my nails, I use it as liner - I'm all about adding a touch of sparkle. My favorite glitter is Lit Cosmetics glitter, and I love placing orders with them because they're fast and their customer service is tops. I recently placed an order and here's what I picked up!

Wet n Wild Silver Lake Collection Palettes

I will admit it - I'm a bit of a makeup snob. I usually wouldn't look twice at a Wet n Wild collection. But when I saw the Silver Lake collection for spring, the California Roll palette really caught my eye - I HAD to have it. Of course, I saw it like two months after it came out, and I ran around to a ton of drugstores trying to find it. I finally lucked out at a Rite Aid near me, and of course then I saw full displays at my local Wegmans. But I digress. I found the palettes for this collection to be super cute, so I picked up two!

Bourjois Haul and Swatches!

When Boots has 3 for 2 deals and your friend in the UK offers to mule some things over for you, you jump at the opportunity! Here's my recent Bourjois haul:

I had been wanting to pick up the Healthy Mix Foundation for ages, so I made sure I got it! I got the lightest shade 51 Vanille Clair. I also got two of the new Aqua Laques, which are from the Rouge Edition line. I picked shades 01 and 04. 

The Aqua Laques are really interesting - they're not as pigmented as a Glossy Stain, but they are very glossy, which I like! The foundation looks neutral enough to be a match, I hope it works out. Be on the lookout for reviews soon!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in Lovely vs. Fyrinnae Lip Lustre in Ocelot

It's been a while since I've done a comparison post! I decided to go for liquid lipstick formulas this time, since they're currently super popular. The Anastasia formula is still pretty new, and I had one in my collection that looked quite similar to Fyrinnae Ocelot.

ABH Lovely (left), Fyrinnae Ocelot (right)

In the tube, the two products look pretty similar. The description for Lovely is "rosy pink." Ocelot is listed as a "warm dusty rose-pink."

ABH Lovely (left), Fyrinnae Ocelot (right)

Here is where we can really see the shade differences. It's worth noting that the ABH formula is a liquid to matte lipstick, but the Fyrinnae formula is not a fully matte liquid lipstick. Fyrinnae's formula is more of a mushed up lipstick that is spread on with a doe foot applicator with a comfortable wear, with more of a demi matte finish.

Outside of the tube, Ocelot really lives up to the warmth in its description, it is a warmer and lighter pink than Lovely. Both are definite rosy pink shades - Lovely dries down to a darker, completely matte finish due to the different formula. I wouldn't say that these are dupes of one another, though if you applied Ocelot over a darker lip liner, you could come close to matching Lovely's deeper pink shade.

It is also worth noting that Fyrinnae currently does not have the mini sizes of their lip lustres on their site, so I feel a little bit bad using mine for the product shot. But the product is definitely worth the full size if a fully matte lipstick is not your cup of tea!

Spotted at Sephora - New Kat von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Palette

The new Kat von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Palette is on the Sephora site as VIB only, but check your friendly neighborhood Sephora/Sephora inside JC Penny - it may be waiting for you there! I was browsing and happened to chance upon it today!

The palette on display.

Swatched out over bare skin.

All of the swatches shown were over bare skin, two or three swipes using the sponge applicators provided for swatching at the store. Most of the shdaes are pretty pigmented and smooth, a few seemed to be powdery (check on the palette, it seemed quite new.) That black shade is lacking, though. I already have my matte neutral palette bases covered pretty well in my collection with the Urban Decay Naked Basics 1 and 2, as well as the Saucebox Etude palette, but if you're in the market, this may be a great item to pick up, especially with the upcoming Beauty Insider sale!

Scaredy Cat Cosmetics Haul and Swatches

I think my winter depression is starting to pass and I'll be back to updating regularly. I hope so, at least, as I have a backlog of things I want to talk about! I am happy to be reviewing another indie company, Scaredy Cat Cosmetics! I ordered five of their Trial Vials. The turnaround time was great, and received them about a week later!

Trial Vials, Left to Right; Flounce Cat, Rose Gold, Phoenix Tears, Sakura,
Bacchus

Haul and Swatches - Sugarpill Chromalust eyeshadows

I really meant to write up this post a lot sooner...but life happened. I got my hands on two of the new Sugarpill Chromalust loose eyeshadows (of course, one of which is limited edition...) and I am excited to show them off!

Sugarpill Chromalust loose eyeshadows in Pastille (left) and Mint Soda (right)

Sugarpill Pastille swatches  - left over bare skin, rightover
Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy

Sugarpill Mint Soda swatches - left over bare skin, right over
Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy

Sugarpill Pastille is a "pale carnation pink with sparkling flecks of gold." Worn alone, the description fits perfectly. Over a sticky base, the shade transforms into a lovely pinky rose gold. I also wore the shade wet, and it took on the gold foil effect that the sticky base also had. I recommend wearing this shade over the sticky base, as when wearing just wet, the sparkles migrated into eyelid creases throughout the day.

Sugarpill Mint Soda is a "radiant metallic mint with sparkling gold sheen." I feel that the green is more of a lime-ish green than a mint, I picture mint to be a more bluish shade. This shade did not deliver as much as I'd have liked, but over a sticky base it looked great. I think this shade will really need to be layered over a white base for it to really stand out.

Unfortunately, Pastille was a limited edition shade that was sold at IMATS LA this year, and a small amount of stock was released online with the other new shades. I look forward to picking up other shades from the new release of the Chromalust eyeshadows!

Life's Entropy Cosmos Lipsticks Haul and Swatches

Once again, a post that is late to the game. However, this time it is not my fault! I ordered the Life's Entropy Cosmos lipsticks as soon as the shop re-opened back in January. I just received them at the end of last week - my order took the full stated turn around time for the shop. I don't fault Jane, the shop owner, though - these lipsticks were selling like crazy! No wonder the turn around time was up to 20 days! This was my first order with Life's Entropy, and I am super pleased with everything I received.

My order packaged nicely.

My lipsticks came wonderfully packaged in gold wrap with a Life's Entropy "wax seal" sticker. I love when companies hand wrap orders, it feels more like a gift than a purchase! Especially when the shop is as busy as Life's Entropy has been, it really adds that extra special touch. The package I received in the mail was intact and nicely padded. I also received an eyeshadow sample, which is not pictured in this post. But yay samples!

Life's Entropy Cosmos lipstick in Milky Way 

Life's Entropy Cosmos lipsticks sample pans.
Clockwise from top - Supernova, Blackbody,
Flux, Plasma

I had a hard time deciding which colors to buy - I had told myself one full size, and then samples. Since I had such a tough time, I decided I'd get all the colors no matter what - but debating the full size was an issue. I settled on Milky Way - a color similar to others I had in my collection that I wear often, so I know it was a color that would work for me.

The full size lipstick is packaged in a plastic lipstick tube with a Life's Entropy sticker. The tube was very light. I know the tube style had changed due to overwhelming demand and a need for an emergency reorder - it's just really neat to be getting a hand crafted indie lipstick in an actual lipstick tube. The sample pans came in small baggies, and each pan was labeled with the shade.

A complaint has been heard about these lipsticks - they arrived sweaty. My lipstick did as well, along with the sample pans. I was able to dab off the sweat from all of them without harming the actual product. I'm not sure what is causing the sweating, but I know that it has been quite cold in the Northeast lately, and since Life's Entropy is shipping from New York, I would not be surprised if temperature changes are causing the lipsticks to behave like this. Either way, the sweat cleaned up just fine.

Milky Way swatch

Sample swatches, top to bottom - Supernova, Flux,
Plasma, Blackbody.

All of the lipsticks swatched beautifully. The formula is smooth and very creamy, with a bit of slip. When I wore Milky Way it felt very slippery, and transferred a lot onto the cup I was using. However, I did not experience any bleeding or feathering, even without a lipliner. I did have to reapply throughout the day. I did not find the formula drying, which is a big plus - though I paired with lip primer, as always.

I know that a lot of people missed out on these, so I am hoping that Jane decides to bring the Cosmos lipsticks back for another limited edition run - or maybe even as a permanent item! Should she decide to release more shades, I will definitely be ordering samples at the very least.

Review - ColourPop Lippie Stix and Pencil in Bull Chic

I have been lusting after black lipstick for a while. I have no idea why, as I'm not likely to wear it to work, or even out of the house. Even so, I've been keeping an eye out on any and all black lipsticks. My friend Anna knew this, and got me ColourPop's Bull Chic lipstick (I am sorry, I refuse to say "lippie stix") and liner as a gift!

ColourPop Lippie Stix and Liner in Bull Chic

Bull Chic Lippie Stix (left) and liner (right)

Bull Chic lip swatch

I really do like the twist up packaging of the lipstick. The liner, however, appears that it will need to be sharpened, but you can't really complain at the price point of $5. The lipstick had a pretty heavy vanilla cake scent that faded after application. Application of both liner and lipstick were smooth. However, both were not as pigmented as I was hoping, as evidenced in the swatches. The lipstick has quite a bit of slip, even after blotting. ColourPop claims that the lipstick is matte, but it is far from matte. not even a demi matte or satin matte. It's just not matte, at all. I'd go with more of a creme formula than matte.

The formula isn't drying from what I found. It does, however, transfer very easily, even after blotting. The liner doesn't seem to do too much in giving the lipstick something to "stick" to. I did not eat with this lipstick on, but I can see it smearing easily. I was able to remove the lipstick easily, and it did not leave much of a stain.

Unfortunately, I like how the other ColourPop lipsticks and liners in my collection wear. Fortunately, black is a shade that is going to be used sparingly, so a perfect formula isn't exactly necessary. The Bull Chic lipstick and liner get the job done.

Pros:

• Smooth application
• Non drying

Cons:

• Lacking pigmentation
• Transfers easily
• Heavy scent
• Not matte in the least.

ColourPop Lippie Stix in Bull Chic - $5.00 for 0.0352 oz

ColourPop Pencil in Bull Chick - $5.00 for 0.0352 oz

Review - 2.5/5

Glitter Injections Haul and Swatches

I've been on a total glitter kick lately. I decided to place an order with Glitter Injections for three shades to see what they had to offer. I had seen them being used a lot on Instagram, and I wanted to see what was up!

Glitter Injections top to bottom - Black Rainbow,
Mystic Butterfly, Vintage Chic

Glitter Injections top to bottom - Black Rainbow, 
Mystic Butterfly, Vintage Chic

Mystic Butterfly swatch over Lit Cosmetics Glitter Base

Vintage Chic swatch over Lit Cosmetics Glitter Base

Black Rainbow swatch over Lit Cosmetics Glitter Base

I ordered three shades - Black Rainbow, Vintage Chic, and Mystic Butterfly. I didn't receive shipping confirmation or tracking, but the glitter was in my hands in less than a week! Everything was nicely packaged in bubble wrap. I was intrigued by the "injections" packaging. On the site the claim is that the injection is a "lot less messy." Apparently I was mistaken in thinking the point of the glitter injection was to actually use the "injection" portion. After trying to unstick the tip of the syringe, I realized you're supposed to pull out the plunger. (At least I hope that's right...)

I'm a little disappointed in Black Rainbow, as there doesn't seem to be much rainbow sparkle like the photo on the site! However, I'm definitely going to try and use it as a liner and see how it looks. I'm really excited about Vintage Chic and Mystic Butterfly - I am really looking forward to using these on my nails and in eye looks! My only issue is that all of the glitters seem to be a very fine cut, with no option of a chunkier glitter on the site (unlike Lit, who offers different sizes.) 

Overall, I'm pleased with my first purchase from Glitter Injections. Each "injection" is 5 grams of glitter, for $6.99. I can't wait to play with these!

Performance Colors Haul and Swatches

I'm happy that I get to be writing about another great indie company today - Performance Colors! I received my first order from them over this past weekend, and I got a chance to photograph, swatch, and test out a couple of the items. Performance Colors has been around for a few years (the Etsy shop was opened in 2011) so I'm a little late to the game here, but I'm really excited to finally be giving these products a try!

I ordered a little bit of everything - a trio of pressed eyeshadows, cream shadow sticks, and lipsticks. Turn around time was great, I received my order in less than a week. Everything was packed nicely in plastic bags with labels for each product, in a bubble envelope for protection. Just a head's up - I did have a coupon code for this order, but I did purchase everything with my own cashmoney.

Everything I ordered!

Baroque Cosmetics Haul and Swatches

For the last year or so, I've started dipping my toes into the world of indie makeup. Makeup meaning cosmetics, bath and body, fragrance - you name it, I'll buy it. There's a super helpful subreddit that I like to frequent, /r/indiemakeupandmore, that is a great place to start if you're new to the world of indie makeup, mostly because of the helpful community that can point you in the right direction. (If you're reading this from here, hi guys!! :D )

The owner of Baroque Cosmetics announced her new collection based off of the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim last week, and as soon as I had some available funds, I snapped some of the eyeshadows up (as well as a couple from her other collections!) She shipped them out that day, and they were in my eager little hands two days later. Talk about a killer turn around time!! I've documented the packaging and everything for you, along with some swatches!

Disclaimer - I did receive a blogger discount on these. However, I did pay for the product!

So nicely wrapped!

All unwrapped.

Review - NARS blush in Almeria

I made sure to pick this up during the VIB sale, since I was unsure whether or not this blush would stick around past the sale. I'm glad I ordered it, because it was not on the shelves at both the Sephora locations I visited. Checking the site, Sephora lists this as "permanently out of stock."

NARS Almeria blush in Limited Edition packaging.

NARS Almeria, opened.

Wrist swatch of Almeria, no base.
Concentrated, then blended out.

I've always loved NARS' blush formula. As always, the product is finely milled, non powdery, and highly pigmented. Since I'm pale, I used a light hand and the NARS Yachiyo blush to apply to my cheeks (the swatch above was done with an eyeshadow brush, and blended out with a Hakuhodo J210 blush brush.) The blush is highly blendable, which is visible in the swatch above. 

This shade is described as a "tan rose," but I would describe it more as a plummy rose. When applied, there is a slight amount of shimmer on the skin left by the blush. However, in the pan, the blush appears to be matte. I'm really happy that for their LE Holiday shade, NARS went with a very versatile color that will play nice on a large range of skintones - it can be blended down for pale ladies like myself, but will be gorgeous on darker tones as well.

Pros:

• Highly pigmented
• Finely milled
• Blendable

Cons:

• Limited Edition

NARS blush in Almeria (Limited Edition) - $30.00 for 0.15 oz

Review - 5/5