Small Sephora Haul

I went to Sephora last week and got a small haul from Too Faced.

L to R:  Amazing Face Foundation SPF 15 in Warm Vanilla, Exotic Color Intense Shadow in Poison Orchid, and Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Perfect Black Orchid (blackened Plum).

Swatches in the same order.

I love the color of the shadow!  It's SO Shimmery and a beautiful purple!  The liner goes on very velvety smooth and creamy!  It's a lovely color too but I'm up in the air on how waterproof it is. I do have watery eyes though and have only worn it once.  You can read here my opinion on the foundation, as well as a comparison of it and NARS' powder foundation.

Anniversary Haul...

My 16th Anniversary was Yesterday!! :D  But last Weekend I went shopping for a haul for my gift.  I chose some Urban Decay things because well...it's their anniversary too, though theirs is their 15th!

Here's my anniversary haul.  The 15th anniversary eyeshadow palette and three of the new 24/7 liquid liners....Retrograde (purple with purple glitter), Perversion (deep black) and Siren (TEAL) and I'm thrilled with these....I can't use the 24/7 pencil liners anymore due to the gluten in them, but these are gluten free!!!!  And they're GORGEOUS....I already have a number more on my list!

The eyeshadows pull out of the box, and underneath is a purple velvet keepsake box!  The silver gunmetal top fits over it too, and it all fits down in the protective velvet outer box.

Here are the colors!!

First row, top to bottom:  Midnight Rodeo, Midnight 15, Vanilla, Flow, Chase
Midlle row, top to bottom:  Tainted, Junkshow, Omen, Evidence, Deep End
Last Row, Top to Bottom:  Deeper, MIA, Ace, Blackout, and Half Truth

These swatches are in the same order they are in the palette.

This weeks theme was my new Urban Decay eyeshadows!  I didn't get pics of Friday's look though....ARGH....Forgot as I was in a hurry to get out the door.

Have you tried any new Urban Decay products recently?

Meow Christmas In July Haul....

I took advantage of Meow's Christmas in July blowout where she pulled out all the Christmas LE colors to sell for a weekend.  :D  I had some that I hadn't gotten that I had wanted so I picked a few up.  I got free shipping too!

I LOVED the pouch this order came in!!!

Top Row:  L to R:  Fairy, Vision, and Nutcracker.  Bottom Row L to R:  Bustle, Office Party, Drunken Relatives.  The bottom is two free samples, Fortune Teller and Toucan.

Swatched on UDPP in Eden.

Top L to R:  Fairy, Vision.  Bottom L to R:  Nutcracker, Bustle.

Top L to R:  Office Party, Drunken Relatives.  Bottom L to R:  Toucan, Fortune Teller.

I actually gave the samples to my oldest to appease her...she wanted to run off with my full sized shadows.  LOL....She's a total makeup junkie too!  And she does a great job at applying it.  ;)

Anyone else take advantage and grab up some new Meow recently?

Silk Naturals Haul....

This is my little Silk Naturals haul that came in the mail on Monday.  I am totally in love with their products!  I use their skincare as well as their mineral makeup.

First is the skincare I got in this order.  I got another hemp moisturizer (I was nearly out!!) and a Beta Hydroxy Acid toner.  The toner has been a LIFESAVER, helping me to make some strides with my pore size and blackheads and I'm starting to see my skin clear.  And it doesn't bother my sensitive skin either!

Next are the lippies!

L to R:  Damsel, Heirloom, and Centerfold.

Swatches:  Top Left is Damsel, Top Right is Heirloom, and bottom is Centerfold.  Damsel is VERY sheer....I'll probably be using it more over top of other lippies than alone but it's a very pretty color!

Next are the remaining things...all are shadows.  The first two I bought and the last two were freebies.
L to R:  Gasp, Jean Queen, Sizzle and Duct Tape.

Swatched over UDPP in Eden.
Top Row:  Left is Eden (over black cream shadow), Right is Jean Queen
Bottom:  Left is Sizzle and Right is Duct Tape.

There are some lovely colors on Silk Naturals, go check them out!

My first Spectrum Cosmetics Haul!

I'm VERY excited to be posting this one!

Spectrum Cosmetics is an Indie Mineral Company on Etsy.  The owners name is Erica.  She carries a variety of products including soaps, mineral makeup, and lip products.  She carries samples of a lot of things as well as sets:  As a matter of fact, part of my order was a set of 10 shadows in 3 gram jars, my choice of colors for $25.  She has 3 gram jars and 5 gram jars of her shadows.  The pigments are multi use, and one thing I like is that she clearly states on the label what you can and can't use them for!

It's a little hard to read, but under the name of the color it lists that each product is either safe for eyes, lips, face and nails, or not lips, or not eyes.  Her colors range in price anywhere from $3 to $6 (WONDERFUL prices, more colors for me!) and she also has the package deals and sets.  Shipping is a flat $3 in the US that's it.  Her customer service is OUTSTANDING.....She shipped so quickly and I already have the goodies in my greedy little paws!  Let me just say that I've been buying minerals for a long time, and I know quality when I see it.  While I have a variety of products in my collection, Indie cosmetics still are my first love.  These colors are HIGHLY pigmented.  They are SO SHIMMERY....I can't wait to play with them!

Everything was safely and well packaged, safely wrapped and taped in bubble wrap.  The sifters have stickers over them.  She incoluded a handwritten note (Thanks Erica!) and a free sample of French Vanilla Soap also!  (thanks for that one too!)

Here are the colors I got!

The first grouping are the ones I bought seperately.  All are in 3 gram jars, and they were $3 each.

L to R:  Coral, Flamingo, Sinner, and Spring Fling.  I got these mostly to use as Blush and Lip Colors.  Flamingo is the only one that is not approved for use around the eyes.  The others are approved for use on the eyes, lips, face and nails.

Swatched:  Top Left is Coral, Top Right is Flamingo, Bottom Left is Sinner, Bottom Right is Spring Fling.

The rest were the set I got.  All are 3 gram jars.

Top Left is Siren, Top Right is Peacock, Middle is Manic, Bottom Left is Tiny Bubbles and Bottom Right is Dragonfly.  Siren and Tiny Bubbles are approved for use on the lips as well (I CANNOT WAIT to use Siren as a lippie, it's a gorgeous deep purple) but the others are just eyes, face and nails.
















Swatched:

Top Left is Siren, Top Right is Peacock, Middle is Manic, Bottom Left is Tiny Bubbles, and Bottom Right is Dragonfly.  The color in this pic is very close to IRL but this doesn't do the shimmer in them (except tiny bubbles which is matte) justice.

The next grouping are the irridescents.  These are INCREDIBLE....I still have them swatched on my hand because I can't stop looking at them!  I'm a sucker for anything that's duochrome or color changing in any way that's for sure!

Top Left is Ice, Top Right is Fairy Dust, Middle is Shooting Star, Bottom Left is Nebula, and Bottom Right is Hydra.  Notice they're all white in the jar with differing tones to them but they're very subtle this way.

Swatched over black cream shadow (indelible cream shadow in carbon):

L to R:  Ice, Fairy Dust, Shooting Star, Nebula and Hydra.  This picture was the best of the bunch and STILL doesn't do these beauties justice.  However if you go here you'll be able to see them in all their glory.  I'm sure you'll see a lot of them in the coming week!  There's 5 of them....one a day perhaps???  They are all approved for use on the eyes, lips, face and nails!  I can't wait to use them over lipsticks too.

Sigh...that's the end of my first haul.  I'm planning on getting more....she has SO MANY lovely things!  Head on over and check out Spectrum Cosmetics on Etsy....and tell Erica that Thia sent ya!  :D 

Friday Haulin'

Today I went shopping at Sephora to pick up a few things that were on my list.  I've got a number of high end on ground companies I can purchase from now, as well as online companies and mineral companies, so I've got plenty of choices!  :D  Choices are good when you're a makeup junkie like I am.

So anyway, I got a few more things from Too Faced and Urban Decay.

These are from Too Faced:  Lip of Luxury Lipstick in Centerfold and Shadow Insurance Glitter Glue.

Here's a lip swatch of Centerfold.

I'm excited to try the Glitter Glue!  I still have issues with fallout a lot, even when I use TFSI or UDPP or my Smashbox Photo Finish.  It's kinda annoying.  The closest I've gotten to perfection is Stick 'Em from Silk Naturals.  I really wanted to test this with the two most difficult shadows I have to work with....both are NARS shadows.....the Purple shade from Eurydice, which has GORGEOUS blue reflects in real life that don't show up EVER on the skin, and Tropic which is matte teal with some silver glitter that falls out.

Here are swatches of them over the glitter glue.

OMG you can see the reflects in the Eurydice finally!!!!  The swatch for Tropic didn't turn out so well, but the glitter stuck to it MUCH better than usual.  I'm planning on using them very soon in a look to test them out.  I'll probably apply the Eurydice with my finger, as I tried it already with a brush patting it on with no luck.

Next up:  Urban Decay.

I got the Black Palette, which has six blackened shades of shadow in it, as well as a zero 24/7 liner.  It also came with a mini Eden SI.  The lone shadow is Shattered.

Here are all the shadows.  L to R, top row:  Black Dog, Barracuda, Jet.  L to R, Bottom Row:  Sabbath, Cobra, and Libertine.  I didn't know if I'd like Cobra or not, but swatched it's GORGEOUS and I'm planning on using it very soon.

Here are the swatches.  Top L to R:  Black Dog, Barracuda, Jet.  On the Far Right is Shattered.  The bottom row L to R is Sabbath, Cobra, and Libertine.  It's the same order as the palette itself.

I can't wait to do some things with these!!!!

Feeling a little better and a haul....

So I'm feeling a bit better now.  Each day is a little easier.  Hopefully by next Tuesday when I go back to work I'll be up to par.  ;)  I have several looks to catch up on as well as answering your comments...so sorry I haven't gotten to them yet!

Today I did a little vacay shopping.  WOO HOO!!   I went after my doc's apt.  I went to get established as a new patient at an office about 2 mins. from my house.  Instead of over an hour, where I was going before.  It went well...my bp wasn't bad even though I was there.  I had a little bloodwork....a cholesterol test, blood sugar test, and finally a celiac panel.  We'll see how all that goes.

Afterwards I went to Ulta.  I called a few other high end companies to find out which of their products were gluten free.  I have recently called Benefit (NONE?!?) Too Faced, and Urban Decay.  Too Faced and Urban Decay were kind enough to email me lists so I could go off of them when I shop.  So I picked a few things up.

I'm a sucker for pretty packaging!  This is ADORABLE....this is the Too Faced Lip of Luxury lipstick...all the shades are gluten free.  The pink tube is shiny and has a diamond like crystal on the top of it.

Here are the swatches, over Too Faced Borderliner in Clear.  The Top one is outside, and the bottom is inside.

Too Faced Metal Eyed Liquid Metal Liner in Blackout.  It's a gorgeous metallic black.

Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Liner in Spandex.  Try as I might I could NOT get the swatch to work well.  I did use it in a look that I'll post in a bit.

Urban Decay Sustainable Eyeshadow Palette.  It came with a mini original UDPP.  The cover is bamboo (and is GORGEOUS) and the top slides off like this.

Colors L to R:  Top Row:  YDK, Flipside, Grifter, Uzi, Twice Baked.
Colors L to R:  Bottom:  Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, Flash, Oil Slick, Kiddie Pool and Half Baked.

Swatches of the top row:  Top Left YDK, Top Right Flipside, Middle is Grifter, Bottom Left Uzi, Bottom Right Twice Baked.

Swatches of the bottom row.  Top Left Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, Top Right Flash, Middle is Oil Slick, Bottom Left is Kiddie Pool, Bottom right half baked.

The shadows blend well and are VERY pigmented.  I loved the texture of the lipstick as well.  The eyeliners are AWESOME....I loved everything I got!  I should get to do a little more shopping over the next few days. Back to Ulta I'll be going!!!

Wet N Wild haul and a mostly drugstore LOTD....

In keeping with my gluten free, saving money by buying drugstore to get more for your buck recent philosophy, I got a few Wet N Wild Products today.  Then I used my new ELF and Wet N Wild stuff to see how the color payoff would be, as well as to test out my uber sensitive skin and eyes with the more affordable products, and to see how the coverage would be in general.  So here's what I got...

This is the Wet N Wild ColorIcon Palette in Pride. It was $4.99. There are several colors in the palette that are supposed to be dupes of MAC colors.  The two MAC that I had that are supposed to be comparable are next to the palette shades.  The green is Steamy, and the blue is Deep Truth.  The matte white is supposed to be similar to MAC's Gesso, but I don't have that one.

Here are side by side swatch comparisons on bare skin.  If you notice, the Wet N Wild side is the more pigmented!  THAT one surprised me.  The green imo is DEAD ON Steamy, but the blue is a bit brighter and more shimmery than Deep Truth.  They're close though.

Wet N Wild ColorIcon liner in Turquoise and Wet N Wild Mega Last Lipcolor in 902C Bare It All.  The liner was a whopping $0.99 and the lipstick was $2.99.   LOVE the shimmery, glittery color of the turquoise!  It was a little thick, but once it warmed up it worked pretty good.  The lipstick is one that you're either going to want to apply over a balm or with a gloss.  I've used it both ways now and like it both those ways.  I ate after doing my LOTD with this and the ELF gloss in Sweet Salmon and my lips look the same!

Swatches of Bare It All and Turquoise.

OK, so now for the LOTD.  First I'll let you know what I used, then I'll let you know my thoughts so far.

Those were taken with flash indoors.  The following were in natural lighting.

Eyes:

ELF Eyelid Primer all over
ELF Cream eyeliner in Ivory as base and under lower lashline and in inner corner
Wet N Wild Pride Palette Matte White on browbone
Wet N Wild Pride Palette matte green on inner 1/3 of lid
Wet N Wild Pride Palette Shimmery Green on outer 1/2 of lid and inner 1/2 of lower lashline
Wet N Wild ColorIcon liner in Turquoise to line
Wet N Wild Pride Palette Matte Blue in inner 2/3 of crease
Wet N Wild Pride Palette Shimmery Blue in outer 1/2 of crease and outer V, and outer 1/2 of lower lashline
Maybelline Define A Line Black in lower Waterline
ELF Mineral Infused Mascara in Black

Both those were indoors with flash; here is outside.

Face:

Monistat Gel as Primer
ELF Eye concealer/highlighter duo under eye area
ELF Studio Line Tinted Moisturizer in Beige
ELF Mattifying translucent powder
NARS Orgasm Blush

Lips:

Wet N Wild Mega Last Lipcolor in 902C Bare It All
Elf Glossy Gloss in Sweet Salmon

I was pleasantly surprised today!  Never would I have expected the color payoff, feel, and coverage of all the products I used today.  I will say that the tinted moisturizer will not be used daily, as I could feel the sunscreen in it.  I want to try the Elf mattifying powder over my NARS Sheer matte foundation, possibly tomorrow.  My eyes are a little itchy, possibly from the Elf primer, but it could also just be allergies in general, as they're acting up on me atm.  I'll just have to continue playing it by ear.

However, with the color payoff of the Wet N Wild products, I'm sure I'll be picking more of them up as well. Gotta get some more MAC dupes.  And at these prices, I can continue to purchase some things here and there.

What do you think of Wet N Wild?  Have you tried any of their dupes?