Kat Von D's Mi Vida Loca Palette swatches and review.

Ever since I laid eyes on this palette, I wanted it. After getting my heart ripped out by knowing I'd never get to own the limited edition Wet 'n' Wild Palette I <3 Matte, I squealed when I found this. The colors drew me in instantly and the packaging only made me want it more. It was beautiful and I wanted to just hold it in my hands.

After a few weeks of fawning all over this palette, I finally bought it, texting my boyfriend about how happy I was for it to be here. I could help but stare at it and admire the bright colors and sturdy packaging. It was a dream come true.

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Swan Song is an appropriate name for this color. It's whitish with a hint of pink to it or it's a super light pink. It also has a slight shimmer/sheen.
Marya is a light frosty pink.
No Regrets is that awesome pink with a slight sheen and some glitter specks.
Drama For Yo Momma made me weep. That beautiful purple I fell in love with is hard to deal with. It doesn't want to blend, it doesn't want to go onto skin, it doesn't want to stay. I hate it. It was everything I hope it wouldn't be. ):

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Mad Max is such an awesome matte blue. It stays on and does everything it should. That and the green are my favorite colors in this palette,
Dublin is a bright green. Mixed with the blue, they create the best bright eyelid ever! Well, for me at least. I just drool whenever I see them together.
Sparklehorse is a lovely yellow-gold. It's great quality, but I haven't actually played around with it yet. Shame on me.
Altruism is a great name for a shadow. It's super fitting for the color I think. So far I've used it for my browbone and inner eye. It complements the colors nicely.
The last line we see there is the liner these shadows come with called Wonderchild. It's a dark purple/blue (indigo, I guess) and I haven't used it yet. I have no idea about the staying power (Although when I was wiping my arm off, it didn't want to come off!). Sorry. I'm pretty much married to my black eyeliner for bright colored eyes. Maybe one day...

Crappy picture of what it looks like at the end of an 8-hour work day!

Overall, I love this palette. Even with the crappy purple, I would rebuy it again. If they replaced the purple with a better purple, I would never leave this palette ever. If you were as obsessed with staring at this palette as I was, just buy it!

June 2012 Glam Bag Review

So, for the month of June, I was excited to find out I was able to get a Glam Bag! I've been getting the Birchbox for a while now, but I was thrilled to get a Glam Bag too! Today, it finally arrived in a pink envelope.

Cute, right? So I already knew what was in it because I looked at the website. It's not a secret like the Birchbox. Plus, everyone gets the same thing for now (minus the different colors for certain products). I think that can be both a plus and a minus. I like getting things catered to me, but sometimes, with the Birchbox, I get envious of what other people got.

Anyway, I opened up the package to get all my goodies out. The Glam Bag itself was a cute little gold bag and inside was a NYX Round Lipstick, philosophy take a deep breath, Living Proof frizz Nourishing Styling Cream, and a Marbella Permanent Eyeliner Pen.

The first thing I checked out was the NYX Lipstick. It's a full-sized lipstick that retails for $4. It comes in a variety of colors so not everyone got the same color. I got the color Iced Honey which is a frosted pink champagne. It's not a color I would choose myself, but it doesn't look bad on me. I may wear it alone, but I know I could mix the color and really like the outcome.

The next product is the philosophy take a breath oil-free energizing oxygen gel cream moisturizer. Yeah, that's the full name. This one was a typical sample size of .4 fl. oz. The 2 oz. sized, the full-sized product, retails for $34. So this size product is worth about $6.80. That just paid for my Glam Bag with my first two products! Anyway, product feels nice, doesn't really have a smell, and is oil-free. Although it doesn't have SPF, I will be using this product. Can't hate on moisturizers. Well, unless they break you out or mess up your skin...

The next product I received is the Living Proof frizz Nourishing Styling Cream. This is a deluxe sample (but also available for sale in this size) of 2 fl. oz. It's worth $15. Awesome. I am so ok with this. I really was excited for this item too. I have curly hair that loves to frizz so I knew I would be getting use out of the product. It feels like some of my other anti-frizz products. The only downside is the smell is super strong at first. It dies away pretty fast, but that still kind of sucks. Won't stop me from using it though.

Last product is the Marbella Permanent Eyeliner Pen. This is the only product brand I hadn't heard of in my bag. I was really excited for it though. This is a full-size product that retails for $19! Yay! I love black eyeliner so I was stoked to test this product. I made 3 test marks (Just to note, they are a bit darker in person). Top is one swipe. Middle is two. Bottom is a couple of swipes. It bleeds slightly into the lines in my skin, so that might be a concern for some people.

The eyeliner is slightly misleading with the name. It's not permanent. At all. It's not smudge proof, nor is it water proof. Not that is claims either, but I wouldn't call it permanent. That will be a problem for some people. If you have oily lids or do a lot of activity, this product is not for you. If you're like me and most eyeliner stays on, you're good!

So, for my first Glam Bag, I will say I am in love with it! I got some great products to try out that I would have paid at least $44.80 dollars for. I will get use out of all my items and can't wait for next month!

Nicka K Absolute Perfect Twelve Eyeshadow in Studio swatches and review

Someone on r/makeupaddiction had made a post about a palette they had by Nicka K. They said it was super cheap and had really good pigmentation. Me, being the palette queen that I am, ordered some. I ordered both the 18 palette ones and the 12 palette one. The colors just looked so bright and pretty! I couldn't say no.

The first thing I noticed about this palette was it's actually pretty big. I have big hands so it's impressive to see how much of my hand it covers. But it's still really compact in size. Easy to travel with. I couldn't wait to try out the colors.

LOOK AT HOW BRIGHT THEY ARE! I know these are only flashed (and the layout in kinda wonky on my arm, sorry!), but this is how they look in person, I am serious. I had the pictures that had no flash to them, but the colors looked dull and nothing like how they look in person. 10 of the colors swatched were perfect, buttery, and smooth. The only two colors I had problems with were the black and the middle pink. Not a problem with me though. This palette was $2.49! Completely worth the money. Shipping is like 7 dollars though, so buy a few products and enjoy how awesome this palette is!

e.l.f. Studio Conditioning Lip Balm SPF 15 swatches and reviews

I picked these up on a whim because I was interested in looking for more lip colors. They had decent reviews so I decided to get them in Blissful Berry and Nice & Natural. I was surprised at how big the packaging is. I thought it was going to be tiny. Nope! These aren't exactly travel sized.

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As for the product itself, the texture is pretty smooth, but it has sort of a weird smell for me (almost, spicy?). It also has a weird taste. Not a bad one, just weird. It feel pretty nice on the lips and lasts long enough, but I can't get over the smell and taste. Huge turn off. The colors stand out well enough, though.

I am currently keeping both. I am keeping Blissful Berry to mix with other colors (It's a nice color for me) and Nice & Natural to use as a base (it make my lips super light for a good base), but I will not be buying these products again unless they change the smell and taste. They were a disappointment.

e.l.f. Essential Luscious Liquid Lipstick swatches and review

While the name implies these products are a lipstick, they're totally more of a gloss. Either way, they are one of my favorite e.l.f. products! I currently have them in 5 colors (picture below in order): Baby Lips, Perfect Pink, Bark,  Maple Sugar, and Brownie Points.

Baby Lips is a nude pink color. It really just gives the lips a hint of color, and some shine. I really like it to downplay my lips. It has some shimmer, but it's not in your face.
Perfect Pink is sort of a slightly darker bublegum pink, slightly less pink than what's in the picture. It's really nice to give a pink pop to your lips, but it's not overpowering and you can wear it during the day, even with a strong eye.
Bark is my favorite color. It's a sheer light plummy color and matches my natural lip color very well. So when I just want a natural look with a little bit more pop, this is the color I grab. If they ever decided to discontinue this product, I would stock up on this color.
Maple Sugar is a bit like Bark in color, but darker and with a frostiness/shimmer to it. It also has better pigmentation. This is more like a lipstick. I personally didn't like this one
Brownie Points is like Maple Sugar with the shimmeryness to it. It also has the better pigmentation to it as well. It's like a mixture between Bark and Maple Sugar.

The consistency with these aren't too sticky, which is awesome. The smell is normal, albeit, a little minty. The taste is pretty neutral with the slightly lip gloss taste. Totally expected with any lip product. These give a beautiful glossy sheen wit ha hint of color. Although they don't last super long, they are completely worth trying for a dollar and something you may fall in love with too!