Tarte Aqualillies Palette: Review

Recently I decided to go on a bit of a makeup buying binge. I had not purchased any "high end" makeup in a couple months and I needed my fix. (I realize I'm addicted. It's fine. I've accepted it and that's the first step, right?)

Anyway I was surfing the Sephora website looking for a new cheek color and I stumbled on this little beauty. I looked up reviews and was sold. It's the Aqualillies for Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Eye and Cheek Palette. Holy wordy title, Batman. 

Here it is in all it's gorgeous, summery beauty. Note the ridiculously pretty and sturdy packaging. I'm in love. Here are the colors swatched.

These are all the eyeshadows.

From left to right they are, Poolside, Sundeck, Parasol, Barefoot, Bikini, and Hammock. 


Now. There have been a few reviews that say some of the colors are slightly chalky with low pigmentation. In my opinion they are pretty solid eyeshadows. They aren't up to the caliber of Urban Decay, however Tarte is a much more natural brand that doesn't use any parabens or sulfates. I think they're pretty great especially considering that fact, plus they are very buildable so you can do a sheer wash or a high intensity color. They're very smooth and are good shadows overall which I enjoy using. I've used them all a ton save for Poolside, which I will have to build up my courage to use this summer, probably just under the eye as a pop of color or lightly in the crease.

The highlighter is "Champagne", the bronzer is "Park Avenue Princess", and the blush is, "Captivating"

These are the real stars of the palette to me. The blush is a gorgeous dark coral pink. The bronzer is known to be one of their best products, it's a nice matte, neutral bronzer that works even on my pale as the moon skin. The highlight is a gorgeous champagne highlighter that offers a nice sheen without sparkle.

Overall I am extremely happy I got this palette. I don't know yet if it's waterproof but I know these products pretty much stay on my face until I take them off with makeup remover at the end of the day. It's a perfect palette for travel and you can pretty much create an entire face of makeup with just this palette and a lipstick. The colors all go great with my pale, neutral toned skin and I think they would look great on pretty much anyone's skin. I've thoroughly enjoyed the palette and would recommend it to anyone. It's a great deal at $38 for all these products.

I hope everyone is having a nice beginning to their Spring. I'm finishing up my Junior year and I'm pretty much drowning in homework so this is probably my last post for a week or so. I'll be sure to post much more regularly in the summer. Talk to you guys later and thanks for reading. :)

The Day my Lips Accidentally Matched my Nails

You may be thinking, this is a random post. And yes, by golly it is. But I found this coincidence too funny not to document it. 

This reddish coral hue has become my favorite color for the awkward time between Winter and Spring. It's not too dark to be considered a Fall or Winter color and it's just bright enough for me to feel like it's sunny outside even when it's 40 degrees and sleeting. (Thanks, Michigan weather) 

The nail polish is OPI's "Red Lights Ahead...Where?". It's a great bright red with a hint of coral. I find OPI to be consistently great as far as consistency and application. It's probably my favorite brand in that aspect and this is no exception.  I have three coats on here but two would have been suffice.(I compulsively over polish) The lipstick is sadly discontinued, but it's one of my absolute favorites; Revlon Matte's "Strawberry Suede". It's the same bright coralish red as the nail polish and lasts for hours on end with minimal re-application required. If you can get your hands on this online snatch it up. I know I'll probably be repurchasing a backup because it may be my all time favorite lipstick.

I hope everyone is having a good week, I know mine has been way too stressful. I can't wait to go home and hang out with my family, whilst also writing my final research paper draft for my hardest class. Ahh, the glamorous life of a college student.

The Holy Grail of Lavender Nail Polishes

As you can see from the title, I have found my holy grail in a particular hue of nail polish, lavender.

Now, it is taking every ounce of my self control not to make a "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" reference here, so I'll abstain. But people, go watch that movie.

Anyway, back to my newest favorite nail polish. This color is from Essie's Spring 2013 collection, and it's entitled, "bond with whomever". What that means, I really couldn't tell you, but I know the polish is pretty spectacular. It's a gorgeous neutral, true lavender color. I have tried just about every lavender color out there from just about every brand that doesn't cost over 9 bucks for a bottle of nail polish, (Butter London you're killing me),and none of them compare to this beauty. Most others lean more pink or purple but this one is right in the middle.

It's a cream finish that is pretty much opaque in two coats, however being the OCD person that I am when it comes to my nails, I put on three for good measure, along with a top coat. The nail polish finishes pretty shiny on it's own, it's no gel polish but it's a nice shiny finish as are most Essie polishes that I have.

I obviously really love this polish, and I may have to go get another one as a backup before it disappears from the shelves. It's limited edition so if you're interested go pick it up!

I hope everyone has a nice week, I should be posting again soon. Thanks for reading!

Face of the Day #3

As the title suggests, this is another face of the day. I know, I know, I've already done a couple of these but I've been bogged down with school work, (Who let me double major? Why did I think this was a good idea? Someone tell me!), and so this is one of the easiest posts that I can make. I've still been pretty slow with posting so I figured it was okay that I show you what I wore the other day on my facial region.

These are the products that I used along with a picture of the whole look.

So as you can see I went for a taupe, shimmery eye look along with one of my favorite Spring lipsticks. For face I did my normal routine which I'll do a post on all by itself soon.

 I started by priming my eyes as always and then applied the shimmering taupey gray color in the bottom left corner, called Sandy Rose, from this palette all over the lid, then applied the matte counterpart, called Hot Stone, from the upper right corner into my crease just for some definition. Then I used the white shade on the top left under my brow and in the inner corner of my eye for a bit of a subtle highlight. I got this palette over a year ago and it's the Bobbi Brown Sand Tortoiseshell Eye Palette. I don't think you can get it any more but you could use any taupe shimmery shade and get the same effect.

To finish off my eyes I used a new mascara that I have, the MAC In Extra Dimension Lash mascara. I hated this mascara at first but now that it's aged a little and dried up a bit I love it so much more. Apparently I'm a dry mascara formula kind of girl.   Unfortunately that means I need to get another new mascara soon. I'm thinking the Make Up For Ever Smoky Lash? Maybe? We'll see.

Moving on to cheeks, I went for a pretty natural and neutral pink blush, Benefit's Hervana Blush.

I truly love this blush and wear it basically every other day. It's the perfect neutral pink that goes with just about any eye and lip combination without ever overpowering either of those things. I also highlighted my face with my Mac Cream Color Base in "Pearl". This baby doesn't look like much in the pot but it's perfect for day to day use. It's a gorgeous cream shade with a pearl that gives my skin a nice dewy glow without any obvious sparkle or chunks of glitter.

Once I was done with all of this jazz I got to my favorite part, the lipstick. I didn't fully appreciate this lipstick when I first got it, but recently I've been reaching for it all the time. It's a great transition color for this time of year, when it's still cold (at least in Michigan, we're still in a deep freeze with no signs of thaw) but you still want to have some more color and brightness to your face. It's Mac's "Speak Louder" lipstick.

As you can tell this lipstick is a great dark, reddish pink. It's a creamsheen formula, which isn't my favorite most of the time, but in the Spring I do appreciate the extra moisture that this formulation provides. Here's the whole look!





So there you go, my third face of the day! I will be posting more in the next week or so, so keep a look out. Thanks for reading, I hope everyone is enjoying the madness that is March, and Go Green!

The Best Cream Eyeshadow, Ever (REVIEW)

Okay, first of all I'm sorry it's been almost a month since I posted last. After only about a month of being healthy I got really sick again. The combination of three illnesses at once along with being busy with schoolwork kept me out of the blogging game for a while. But I'm on Spring Break now and I actually have the time to breathe and do something I enjoy. Thus, this post.

So I have a real love for cream eyeshadows. They're a super simple and easy way to make it look like you've put a lot of effort into your eye makeup without actually putting in the effort, which is key to me for life in general. Plus, they tend to stay on a lot longer than powder shadows. All these reasons mean that I've tried quite a few cream eyeshadows. Whether I've owned them myself, tested them on my arm at Sephora, or used a bit of one that one of my friends has, I've tried just about every cream shadow out there in search of the best one. I think I've found it.

These are two of my holy grail product, MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Cream Waterproof Cream Color.

I currently have two of the colors, numbers 13 and 15.

Number 13 is a shimmery, champagne color. It has more pink in it than similar products, like Mac's Paint Pot in Bare Study. This is a gorgeous shade that I use all the time, as you can see by the sizable dent I've put into it. It's perfect for every day use, both underneath other shadows and on its own.

Number 15 is a taupey bronze shade. This is perfect for the days that I really want to look like I put a lot of effort into my makeup look but don't have the time to use four shadows from four different palettes. If you put this all over the lid and into the crease it gives great color and dimension that lasts hours.


Here they are swatched. #16 is on top and #13 is below it.

Now that you know what colors I have, here's my rave. These shadows are amazing quality. They are creamy and incredibly easy to blend. They give a subtle shimmer but have no chunks of glitter in them, unlike some of the other cream shadows I've used. They last as long as you want them to and I've never had a problem with them creasing on me. They can be used as bases or as shadows on their own. They are over all a fantastic product.

There are a few bad aspects to this product. First off, the packaging is plastic. This seems like a small detail but for the relatively hefty price tag, about $26, it would be nice if the packaging was glass, a la the Mac Paint Pots. My other qualm with these is the smell. They have quite a strong "cosmetic" smell that while I can't describe, because I'm awful at describing scents, I can surely tell you it isn't pleasant. You can smell it while you're working with the product until it dries on the eyelid. It's not awful but I would have preferred a nice vanilla scent as I usually prefer my makeup to smell almost good enough to eat. (I have an obsession with food, whoops)

Even though there are a few small problems the actual product is amazing. I intend to pick up some more shades at some point in the future.

I hope everyone is enjoying this (slightly) warmer weather that has settled over the midwest. If you're somewhere that is already warm or is always warm, I'm super jealous considering I'm still huddled under my heated blanket. Thanks for reading, gave a great week, and I'll definitely post again soon!

Face of the Day #2

Today I had enough time before class to play around with my makeup and make myself look presentable so I decided to show you guys what I came up with. This is a pretty neutral, peachy toned look that I've recently really enjoyed wearing. Most days I enjoy wearing a full on red or purple or bright fuchsia lip color, but not every day. So this is how I rock a more neutral look.

 First of all, here's an awkward picture of my face and then one of all the products I used!

For my base I just use the Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer in "Fair" under my eyes then my MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in "NC 15" on my blemishes and any other redness. I finished it off with a dusting of the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder and that was that.

For my eyes  I have the MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in "Vintage Selection". I used this as an allover color on my eyelids. This is a new product for me, as in I've owned it three days, and I'm completely in love. It's a gorgeous peachy taupe color that I especially love wearing with a pink or peach lip.

After that was done I used two colors from this Smashbox Photo Op Eye Enhancing Brown Eyes Palette. I used the purplish taupe color from the front left in my crease, then I used the light color right above it as a highlight both on my brow bone and the inner corner.

I finished my eyes off with my MAC In Extra Dimension Lash Mascara. Then I moved on to my cheeks. I decided on a peachy shade that was actually limited edition. It's MAC's blush in "Immortal Flower". It's a nice color but it's really sheer so I built it up quite a bit.

To finish off my look I just wanted a simple lip so I went with my new Maybelline Color Whisper Lip Balm in "Pin Up Peach". If you want to see swatches of this one refer to my most recent post!

So there ya go. This is my version of an easy, neutral, yet polished look. Cue my slightly awkward facial expression.

I hope everyone is having a nice Wednesday!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! To all my fellow single people out there, remember that tomorrow isn't just about romantic love. Just tell your friends and family that you love them and eat a bunch of chocolate, I know that's my plan. Oh and a lot of cuddling with my puppy. 

Talk to you soon! :)

Maybelline Color Whisper Lip Balms (REVIEW)

So recently I ran into Meijer to get some printer ink and naturally I ended up roaming the beauty aisles. I ran across the display for these little babies, and decided to grab a natural pink shade. Now, I don't normally love tinted lip balms. If I want a color on my lips I generally go for an opaque lipstick. Even knowing this I have tried a few other drugstore lip balm type products, including the Lo'real Color Riche balms, and was never extremely impressed. That all stops now.

These are the Maybelline Color Whisper lip balms. After trying these and wearing them for just one day, I went back and purchased three more. Yeah, I have a problem.

This first color is "Pin Up Peach". I had to go to three stores to get this shade (I repeat, I have a problem). It's a beautiful, neutral peach shade that could go with just about any makeup look. I can already tell it's going to be my go-to daily color.

This one is "Pink Possibilites". It's a beautiful light candy pink type color. It's definitely more warm toned than cool toned and will be great in the summer.

This is my first purchase, "Rose of Attraction". It's a gorgeous pinky rose shade, much more pink than I was expecting, but it's still a beautiful shade that adds a nice amount of color without being overpowering.

The fourth and final one that I purchased is "Mad for Magenta". It's a purplish pink color that will be perfect for spring and summer. I've been obsessed with wearing plum toned lipsticks all fall and winter so this will be a great warm weather alternative. 

Here are all of them swatched!

From left to right it's Rose of Attraction, Pink Possibilities, Pinup Peach, and Mad for Magenta

 Overall this is a beautiful product. They give off a sheer, but pigmented color, that's true to to the color that you see in the tube. They're not nearly as pigmented as the Revlon Lip Butters, but they're also significantly more moisturizing. They're perfect for adding a bit of color to the face when I can't be bothered to take the time to apply a real lipstick.

They're also really cheap, from 5-7 dollars. I highly recommend that everyone give these a shot.

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. I know I'm spending my Saturday night watching college basketball then snuggling up with my computer and a cup of hot cocoa. I know, I lead an exciting life. :) Talk to all you gorgeous people soon!