Review: em Michelle Phan's Holiday Life Palette - "Ice Bunny"

Health Update: Real quick update on my health from my last post. I had a step backwards this weekend, but I'm slowly recovering. It's been a bit tough trying to clear my sinuses and the congestion throughout the upper half of my body; part of that is just the time of year (it's rainy season here and a little chilly) combined with allergies and the rest of it is this flu I'm still trying to fight.

I am reviewing the "Ice Bunny" palette today from em Michelle Phan that was part of the holiday collection. I had planned on reviewing this much earlier, but as I said in a previous entry, there were many things that prevented me from being able to do that and now with this recent flu attack I have had even more delays! So, without any further delays let's get on with the review!

The palette came in a box exactly like the New Year's Countdown edition, which was a carton-like box. It's cute and features Michelle herself.

The palette itself opens up to show 6 eye colors and 2 lip colors surrounding the 1 cheek color. The palette is shaped, designed, and looks just like the New Years Countdown palette I reviewed before. The palette is based mostly on the cooler side. - As far as the structure of the palette, I really enjoy it. It is exactly the same as the New Years Countdown. I know a lot of people will not like the heaviness of the palette, but I find it gives protection and durability. I enjoy the big mirror too for on-the-go application and touch-ups.

Here are the swatches from left to right (going backwards on the palette):

• Snuggle Up Beach: This is the blush/cheek color. It is a warm peach color with sparkle. I personally like this blush for every day or special occasions, especially if you have a matte face and want to add a little glow or shimmer. If you're not a fan of sparkles you probably won't like it.
• Black Pumps: This is the darkest color of the palette. It's a charcoal black and it is a bit on the powdery side, and you can kind of see that in the pic. I do like this color for lining and shading and it is matte.
• Winter Chill: This is a matte charcoal color that comes off much litter than Black Pumps. It can be layered to be much darker and look truer to color, but just first applying it comes off almost brown and a little on the lighter side.
• Bundle Up: This is a shimmery taupe color and I find this a very practical color for everyday use.
• Ice Bunny: The namesake color of the palette. It is a bright, cool toned silver color. It takes a little work to get this color opaque, but it's a very nice color and pretty unique to what is on the market now.
• Snow Day!: This is a coppery brown color that is cool toned. It looks a lot like "Bundle Up" in the picture, but in reality it is lighter and has a coppery tone to it.
• Avalanche: This is a shimmery pink color. I enjoy this color, but it does not apply 100% smoothly on it's own. It works a little better over other shadows.

Like the other holiday palette, I did not swatch the lip colors. They were just too light to even show up. I do not consider them lip colors, I consider them glosses. They perform decently. They were the most disappointing part of the whole palette, besides the brush that comes with it that is similar to something you get in a Wet N' Wild palette.

Overall, I give this palette a 4/5 rating. I actually thought I would end up hating this palette by the pictures I saw, but I ended up getting it only because the Black Friday sale was "Buy 1, Get 1 Free", so I just purchased this as my "free one". However, this palette is much more practical for every day use and the colors go well with my other palettes from other brands, so I actually use this palette more than the New Years one. I like the strong, durable case and the big mirror it comes with. The colors are nice without being over the top in sparkles. I do wish the lip colors were actually that, but the glosses make more sense in this palette than in the New Years one, so I give it some slack. This was $29, but is currently on sale for $25. If you're interested I suggest getting it, because it is limited edition and will be gone once it is sold out.

Any questions or comments just leave them below! Also, if you have a review of your own on this palette I'd love to see it!

Review: em Michelle Phan's Holiday Life Palette - "New Year's Countdown"

Ever since Michelle Phan released her make-up line in August 2013, I have wanted to get my hands on something to try, but I was a little put off by the prices. The costs are a bit much for something that people could not get their hands on to first test and try, so I was a little hesitant. Some beauty gurus received Life Palettes to test out, but the reviews were not overwhelmingly positive; the general consensus was positive, but there were also criticisms and like I said before- no one was really raving over them. Even the gurus were off put by the prices. 

Before cancelling my IPSY subscription I received a full size Pillow Plush from EM in 1 of my bags. While this product is not the best thing ever, it is pretty good and encouraged me to try more from this company.

Quick review: This is a balm and the company boasts that it gives sheer color while giving your lips an extra boost. I do like this balm, mostly because it is long lasting on the lips and fights against drying conditions. It is a bit stiff though and in my opinion it takes a few coats to get to my liking. I find it works well under lipstick too. The color is very sheer though, so do not expect lipstick-like appearance. It is $15. This is the color "Strawberry".

When the holiday season rolled around, EM had excellent deals! On Cyber Monday they had Buy 1/Get 1 Free on everything! I couldn't resist getting something! I had my eyes on the limited edition palettes that were released for the holiday season and decided to pick them both up since 1 of them would be free! Shipping was free too! I paid $29 for 2 palettes + tax.

Today I bring you a review of the Holiday Life Palette in the "New Year's Countdown" edition. This palette is a limited edition palette released for the 2013 holiday season from em Michelle Phan (em Cosmetics). This palette is the on the right in the picture above.

Side Note (If you already know about em Cosmetics then feel free to skip this part): The "Life Palettes" are the staple of this cosmetic line and what sets them apart from other companies. Michelle Phan did not just simply put out a product line with make-up, she actually took time to create products that went together and they focus around The Life Palettes. These palettes are $79 and feature themes for different situations in Life. They come with multiple eyeshadows, blushes, and lip colors. The company also has made "Shade and Play" palettes that only include eyeshadows and are based on color themes. - The "Life Palette Moments" are a combo of both The Life Palettes and Shade And Play palettes; they contain eyeshadows as well as lip & cheek colors. 

The packaging was nothing special to really show. Just a box, but it did come with a little card.

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Michelle Phan thanks your for trying her products and gives you a little message on the back of the card.

The New Year's Countdown palette comes in a cute box and is definitely eye catching.

The carton-like box the palette comes in opens up to reveal the palette and has a little message about tutorials that are available for this palette. - As you can see the palette comes with a brush. The brush is the only disappointment in the product. The eyeliner part of the brush is decent and thin, so it's okay if you are traveling or on-the-go and need an eyeliner brush, but it's not great. The other end, which is the shadow part, is just okay, but I really do not use it. I feel there are better inexpensive brushes out there you can use that do a better job.

Here is a look inside the the palette! The eyeshadows are from the gold color on the top left and the next 4 shadows. The dark charcoal color is a liner shadow. The last 2 colors are actually the lip colors. The big color in the center is the blush.

As you can see from the picture there is a mirror that comes inside the palette, which really helps if you're on the go and it is a nice size. The other thing I'd like to put out there is that this palette is a bit on the heavy size. If you read my previous review then you'll see I'm a fan of heavy palettes because they = durability. A lot of people complained in their reviews about how the heaviness of these limited edition palettes, but it does not bother me all too much. I will say- I was a bit shocked at the weight of the palette; for such a small palette it is does have a bit of weight to it.

Here are the swatches and color reviews. Starting the review from Left to Right and working backwards on the palette. (I know my most recent reviews have gone counter clockwise on the palettes and I will work hard not to do that anymore in the future!) - One thing I really liked about the palettes I received is that all the colors have names! I feel like a lot of companies lately come out with multi-use palettes and do not bother naming anything, which I personally think takes away from the product and is lazy. It makes reviews, tutorials, and recommendations so much easier when companies put names/labels on their products!

• Countdown: This is the first color on my arm (starting left) and it is the blush color. This is a rosy wine color and it has a bit of a shimmer to it that gives your cheeks a little glow, but nothing too shiny. The color is nice for evenings out and parties, but definitely not for everyday use.
• Clock Strikes Midnight: This is a dark charcoal color. This color is a little on the powdery side and and is the hardest to blend of all the colors, but like I said before it is more of a liner color than an eyeshadow. It takes a few layers to build good capacity.
• Happy New Year!: This is a very deep dark brown with sparkle. Unless well blended out and put on lightly, it otherwise appears black. It does have a lot of sparkle to it, so not for you anti-sparklers. 
• Cranberry Cocktail: This is a cranberry color that shimmers and applies nicely and blends well.
• Couples Gold: This is more of a coppery gold with shimmer and it also applies nicely and blends well.
• Good Cheers!: This is a peachy tan color with a lot of sparkle to it. It takes a lot for me to get it to really show up on my skin. I tend to use this color in the inner corner of my eyes or just for sparkle.
• Sequin Dress: This is a pale gold foil-like shadow. It is very sparkly and you will experience some fallout with it, so make sure to tap your brush off before applying! Like I said, it almost goes on more like a foil then a shadow and is definitely more for adding sparkle or decoration to your look then being just a shadow.

I did not even bother swatching the lip colors, but neither showed up well enough on my skin when I tried to photograph them. The darker color is "Sparkling Punch" and the lighter color is "Stroke of Plum". Both are more like glosses then lipsticks and provide only sheer color. I recommend them over lipsticks. I did see many people say in reviews before I bought mine that they were a little disappointed in the opacity of the lip colors and for this palette here I have to agree. This set of colors is suppose to be seductive, sexy, and festive and therefore I feel darker and opaque lip colors would have been better suited for this palette.

Overall, I would give this palette a 4/5 rating. My only personal complaints really are the brush that comes with it and the lip colors being glosses and not lipsticks. I feel that the products perform well and that they have lasting power. I personally like the durability and the protection that the case provides, although a lot of you will not like the weight of the palette. For evenings out, special occassions, and holidays, I feel this palette is great! It is not for everyday use though. If you do not like sparkle I would probably stay away from this palette. Based on the products I have tried, I recommend em Michelle Phan. This palette is currently on sale for $25, instead of the original $29. If your'e interested I suggest swooping this up, because I have a feeling once it's gone, it's gone for good.

Any questions or comments, please leave below. If you have your own review of this palette or EM products leave your link!

Review: Urban Decay Vice 2 Palette

Today I'm reviewing the Urban Decay Vice 2 palette that was released this past holiday season (2013 holiday). It was available nationwide at Sephora, Ulta, Macy's, Urban Decay's website & counters, and pretty much anywhere that sold Urban Decay. It's very hard to get your hands on now unless you go to the actual Urban Decay website. - Above is the packaging/box that the palette comes in.

One good tip for people out there- Check your Sephora inside JcPenney's! When all of my Sephora's around me were sold out and Sephora online was sold out, I found it at Sephora inside JcPenney! This tip has helped me more than once! I know this option is not available for everyone. When I lived in Tennessee there were no Sephora's inside any JcPenney round me, but if you do happen to have 1 check them out! I have found exceptional service from them, better than some actual Sephora locations.

The back of the package lists all of the colors and names that come in the palette so you can see before you buy, but almost every place I went had the palette on display for you to test and try. The ingredients are listed on the very bottom. On the top, the package reads:

If eyeshadow is your vice, here's the ultimate fix: 20 BRAND-NEW shades, plus a double-ended Good Karma Brush. Experiment with insanely cool brights, not-your-average neutrals and sexy hits of smoke, all in our decadent, revamped formula. Even the presentation is luxe, with the touch of a button, the jewel-inlaid case opens slowly, seductively, to unveil all that gorgeous eye candy. Ah, sweet addiction. 

Urban Decay made a beautiful purple marble case and put a 3D crystal-like logo in the center -you can't help but be impressed! The case is made of plastic and as you can see it is on the thick side. The large size of the palette and the thickness makes it heavy, which a lot of you might not like, but the dimensions also make it very sturdy. Personally, I like palettes that are on the thicker side, because of the durability. To me, durable palettes means less of a chance for damage of the actual product inside, especially when traveling. I do travel quite a bit and especially when I fly, go long distances in a car, and are away from home for quite some time then I find that damage in some way will be done and the best protection are cases that are hardy. Alas, I know most people out there do not like toting around heavy beauty products and for everyday use I can see that, but for real traveling it's not one's best friend. 

As for the button, which is the black rectangle you see in the middle of the bottom; I wouldn't say that it's "slow" opening, but it doesn't spring open either. 

Here's what the inside of the palette looks like. Beautiful shades and all nicely displayed. -This was before it was touched. 

I'm not a fan of double-ended brushes, but you take what you get and I do think Urban Decay's brushes are well made, durable, and apply nicely. This brush is no exception!

Now for the swatches! I did my best to capture the true color with my camera, but I personally feel it's never 100%. All swatches are with no primer on my bare skin.

Top Row / Left to Right (On the palette this is from the bottom left and going to the right and up.)

• Dupe: A pink nude shade with shimmer. I find myself using this a lot has a highlight color and in the inner corner of my eye. Not the most notable shade, as I feel there are similar colors out there from UD and other companies, but still a nice one.
• Toxic: A pink bronze color with shimmer. Very nice, but again very similar to what it out on the market right now, especially with this Rose Gold trend. Performs nicely though.
• Habit: I did my absolute best to try to capture this color! Depending on the screen you have, you may not even be able to see it, but it almost blends right into my skin. I actually layered this one several times, but could not get it to show up. I use this has an all over color and a blending color. One of my favorites.
• Ambush: This is a brown shimmer. Nice color, but nothing too unique.
• Rewind: A matte brown. Another color I use a lot for shading and blending. It's very smooth and applies beautifully!
• Radar: This is a dark brown shimmer. This has a lot of glitter/sparkle to it. If you're not a fan of glitter then I would ignore this color.
• Damaged: A dark green shimmer color. This has a black base with a dark green shimmer tint. I like this color and it's pretty unique. This was 1 of the colors that originally made me want the palette.
• Voodoo: A deep purple glittery color. Again, this has a lot of sparkle to it, so if you don't like sparkle you won't like this color. I think it's pretty neat and has flecks of bright purple in it.
• Betrayal: An iridescent purple. I love this color! Another color that made me want to buy the palette. 
• Derailed: A cool-toned brown with shimmer. It has the typical smooth, easy application from a UD shadow, but nothing too unique.

Bottom Row / Left to Right (On the palette this is continuing from on up from the bottom, going left to the right and then up.)

• Prank: This is a deep, dark blue with iridescent sparkle. I feel in love with this color first when I tested out the display at the Urban Decay counter. If you don't like sparkle this is another shade you won't like, but I do love this! 
• Madness: This looks a lot different in the palette then when it is applied. It actually doesn't even look the same in the picture as it does in real life. This is a blue-grey color with green and iridescent sparkle that applies a bit darker then you'd think. This is the 2nd color I fell in love with and was my deciding factor in buying this palette. I've used this quite a bit. Very unique to me.
• Strike: This is a light gold shimmer that really shimmers in the light. I like it a lot.
• Stash: A brown gold shimmer with sparkle. I don't find myself using this color, but it is kind of unique to me compared to what is out on the market now.
• Poison: A charcoal color with a lot sparkle. I think this is nice for a night out, but definitely not for those who are anti-glitter/sparkle.
• Smokeout: Deep brown shimmer. This is 1 color that is a little bit more difficult to blend then most of the colors. It's not horrible, but just isn't as smooth as most of the shades in this palette.
• Lovesick: Black with a lot of glitter. This color is really not that different from Poison. It's a bit darker, but layer on Poison a bit and you have Lovesick. I personally feel that both of these colors were not necessary to put in the same palette, so you can't help but be disappointed by 1 of them. Poison is a little more on the powdery side. Lovesick applies a little lighter at first. So if you're looking for more glitter and less color, I'd go with Lovesick. If you're look for equal amounts of color and glitter I'd go with Poison.
• Shellshock: This is a silver shimmer and is very opaque. This is the smoothest and creamiest powder shadow I own! Very nice and applies like a dream! Great for those special occasions!
• Coax: Dark pink with shimmer. I use this color a lot too. Very pretty and also goes with the Rose Gold trend.
• X-Rate: Another color I use a lot. This is a matte pink. A little on the powdery side, but nothing that one can't work with.

Overall, I truly like this palette. I give it 5/5 rating and I think they did an outstanding job on presentation and performance of the product. If you don't like sparkle or glitter, stay away though. Most of these shades are heavy in the sparkle or shimmer at least.

Hope you enjoyed this review! Leave any questions or comments below. If you have your review or looks with this palette leave links to your blog!

RiRi MAC Holiday Collection

When I first started getting into make-up seriously I only bought MAC for the most part. I owned Juicy Tubes (from Lancome) and I had skin care from Clinique, but my real make-up came from MAC. I also had some friends who worked for Estee Lauder, so I owned a few things from there, but it was more for me helping them out with their sales than actually being a fan of the company. Then a couple years later I discovered that there were brands just as good as MAC and in some cases better. So, the past few years I've been building up my make-up collection with brands like Make-Up Forever, Urban Decay, Too Faced, and most recently Tarte. This past year I've focused a lot on drug store products too (which I'm sure you've noticed on this blog), because again it was like a discovery for me to find out that you can find some really good things in the drug stores. 

When I heard about the RiRi Hearts MAC Holiday collection, I knew I had to get my hands on it! I honestly didn't pay much attention when they first released RiRi Woo, because of my avoidance of MAC. Then I saw swatches and reviews of it and I was really intrigued by the retro matte formula and the color. I missed out on the RiRi Hearts MAC Fall collection that came out for the fall. I went to the MAC store the day it was released, but I went after work and by the time I arrived it was pretty much sold out. So, my quest for the holiday collection began! 

I stalked the internet for the release date. The online release date came first and I had the lipsticks in my cart, but when I went to process my payment it said it had sold out and there was nothing in my cart. I guess I just wasn't fast enough. So, then I saw that the MAC stores and counters would have the collection Thursday, December-12. With all of the demand for this collection I decided to look up the best way to get it. I also went and talked to my local MAC store and Macy's (which also carries MAC) to get any advice I could from the associates. Well, my luck happened to be that Macy's opens an hour before the regular MAC store, so if I didn't get the collection there, I would have a chance to try and get it from the actual MAC store. I read online that most girls waited about an hour for the last collection and that most stores only received about 6-8 of each lipstick. Since the lipstick was what I really wanted I decided I would go wait at Macy's at 8am -an hour before it opened. My fiance was sweet enough to go with me, as he was going to help me get what I wanted and pay for it. (I know, I have a keeper!) He thought I was crazy going an hour early, but obliged. It was a little hard getting him out the door that early though and we actually arrived at the mall at 7:55am and he thought I was buggin' as I was telling him to hurry up to get to Macy's. Well, I wasn't completely crazy! When we arrived at Macy's I was 6th in line and although we did wait an hour I was able to buy everything I wanted. They also did sell out of the lipsticks before I paid for mine.

From left to right: Superslick Eyeliner in "Cockiness" and lipstick in shades "Pleasure Bomb", "RiRi Woo", and "Bad Girl RiRi".

The packaging features a Rose Gold theme look and it is very pleasing to the eye, although MAC's packaging never really disappoints me.

Here are the lipsticks live and in color! From left to right: "RiRi Woo", "Bad Girl RiRi", and "Pleasure Bomb". You can see the lipsticks themselves have "RiRi" etched into them.

Here are swatches of the lipsticks. From left to right: "RiRi Woo", "Bad Girl RiRi", and "Pleasure Bomb". I tried to separate RiRi Woo so you could see it is Retro Matte and it a little more matte than the other 2. Bad Girl RiRi and Pleasure Bomb are regular mattes. All beautiful shades though.

Here is a swatch of "Cockiness". A lot of people gave negative reviews of this before the collection hit stores about these liners being not very pigmented and too sparkly. Well, I love sparkly and I love glitter, so that part did not phase me at all. However, I was a little worried about the pigmentation. This may not be as dark as some people like, but it is pretty opaque and I like it. It's very nice for the holiday season as well. My picture did not capture the sparkle very well, however. My only downside to this is that I felt it took a little long to dry. It stays put pretty well after drying, but you gotta give it about a good 15-20 seconds, which can seem like forever when you're applying make-up. - The only reason I passed on "Pisces Persuasion", is because I didn't feel it was that unique and I was concerned about it being opaque from the reviews I saw.

Up unit now, I have never waited in line to buy make-up. I've had to hunt for collections before, but never woke up early and stood in line. My exerpience was good though. About 5 minutes before 9am, Macy's consultants came out and handed us pieces of paper with numbers on them; the numbers were what held our spot in line should we want to shop more once we were inside the store. On the paper they had a list of the items and we were allowed to check whatever items we wanted, but were only allowed 1 of each. This would ensure a first-come-first-serve system. Everyone at my location seemed to be pleasant and no one cut or did anything real hostile. As I was paying for mine 1 of the girls that was ahead of me was complaining that her friend didn't receive 1 of the lipsticks, but I left before I saw how that ended and honestly I really didn't want to deal with any drama. I got what I wanted and got out. I saw and heard from a lot people online that they were disappointed and upset with MAC and how things were handled, but all the locations where there were disappointments were actual MAC stores and not Macy's or counters inside of department stores. I saw people online who posted and bragged about getting every lipstick in stock from their MAC store and then you can imagine the complaints from others. I personally did not experience this, although I do feel bad for those who are fans and did not have a chance of getting what they wanted. I'm not sure how to make the system fair, other than for those certain locations to be reprimanded for their wrong actions.

I'm very interested in seeing what other people bought and to hear your story, so please leave a link to your blog if you have a RiRi Mac story!

A Christmas Tale: "A Girl and A Few of Her Favorite Things"

In the spirit of the holidays, I would like to share a story about a girl and her quest to get her hands on "A Few of My Favorite Things".

With all of the holiday palettes, sets, and limited edition items that cosmetic companies come out with this time of the year it can be hard to choose what to get and what you'll pass on. -At least for me it is.

I narrowed down what I wanted pretty fast and when I finally decided exactly what I was going to get with the money my mom gave me to specifically spend on a treat for myself (thanks, Mom), I found that Sephora was sold out online with the Too Faced limited edition palette entitled "A Few of My Favorite Things", which is an exclusive to Sephora only. Bummed out for days, I finally decided that I would go to Sephora after work, last Friday. While I was sitting on break I thought to myself- What if they don't have it and you waste that time going there? And since there were multiple Sephora locations around, I could end up driving all over just to try to find it. Then that genius-part of me finally came through and said, "Kaitie, call the stores to see if they have it in stock." So, I called the Sephora location closest to me and not only did they say they had it, but they would hold it for me! (Apparently, this holding thing is common at Sephora, but I had no idea they would do that.) So, now you can imagine how excited I was for the rest of the day!

After work, I drove down to the mall and walked into Sephora. I walked up to the counter and when the girl asked what I wanted, I told her that they were holding a Too Faced palette entitled "A Few of My Favorite Things" and she started looking for it. 

She couldn't find it. -Trying not to get worried.

A second girl approaches and the first girl explains what she's looking for, and then they're both looking and cannot find it. -I'm worried now.

They ask me if I came to the correct location, which I knew I did, and even asked to see the # on my phone to confirm it is their store, which it was. -Ladies, please! I know who I called!

They get a third girl involved now and she can't find it either! -Now I'm just upset. Feeling like I wasted time and I'd been standing there for a good 15 minutes or so and no progress is being made.

Finally, a fourth girl comes over and they all explain what is going on and this new girl says, "Are you sure you have the right palette, because we've been sold out of it since last week." -Now, I'm raging inside, because I feel like I've wasted 20+ minutes and I called ahead, and all my happy feeling was being stabbed and shredded.

So, the first girl then says she will call other Sephoras to see if they have it. -I do not want to drive all over after this nonsense. 

She calls the Sephora inside JcPenney at the same mall they are located in and they assure her they have it and will hold it for me with my name on it. So, I dash out of that Sephora and make my way down to JcPenney.

As soon as I arrive inside JcPenney they ask me if they can help me. (Of course they can!) I tell them I am here to pick up the Too Faced palette on hold for me. The girl goes into this big draw where all of these products with names on them are in AND........she can't find it. -WHAT?!

She looks in another draw with items on hold. Can't find it. -ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

She double checks both draws and takes everything out, and cannot find it. -OMG! WHY ME?!

And then she looks around the register and cannot find it there. -Heart sinking.

She looks in the draw where all the back stock of Too Faced is kept. It's not there. -They're sold out too.

She then asks me if I'm at the right location. -Not this again.

A manager came over and asked what was going on, and after explaining everything she walked over to the registers, pulled up some papers and said she had left it there. -RELIEF!

I not only walked out of the store with the palette, but also with a goodie bag that the girl put together for me. I don't know if she just felt sorry for me or what, but I'll take it! The bag was just one of those reusable bags that you usually buy for groceries, but it is a little better made than most (the ones I have gotten from the Disney Store & Bath and Bodyworks are not near as sturdy as this one).

The Sephora bag came with a Snowglobe from Disney that features Mickey Mouse with "2013" printed on it; Lorac's "TANtalizer" sample; and a plastic pouch of goodies.

Most of the samples in the pouch were repeats. I received foundation, primer, and perfume samples. I'm not complaining. It was all free and I'll take what I get.

The packaging features a very eye-catching chevron print and as you can see in the background- it comes with a make-up bag that holds everything, including the palette; a deluxe size of their "Better Than Sex" mascara; and their Lip Injection Color Bomb in "Bee Sting", which is an exclusive color to Sephora.

The set contains 20 eyeshadows, 2 blushes, and 2 bronzers, along with what I already mentioned.

And when you open it up, you are just simply taken with it! Even though it took me about an hour to get my hands on it, it was well worth it. I will be posting looks that I do with this palette soon enough, as I plan to use it on some upcoming events I am attending. If you would like swatches I suggest checking out these blogs:

• xsparkage
• Dulce Candy
• Makeup Geek

With all these blogs out there who have already swatched these, I feel like there's really no need for me to do so. The 3 blogs I listed did a great job and swatching and explaining the colors, and there are many more out there!

I hope you enjoyed my story and if you're still trying to get your hands on one then I suggest trying the Sephora inside of a JcPenney's if you're lucky enough to live near one. I know when I was living in Tennessee there was no Sephora inside any JcPenney around me, so it's not an option for everyone else. Otherwise, your only choice is Amazon or eBay where these babies are going for an average of $100, which the initial price is $56. 

***Don't forget: If you're a Sephora Insider you have $15 to use by SUNDAY. They expire after that!

Drugstore Nail Polish Haul #1

I picked up a bunch of nail polish this week and thought I'd share what I bought. Everything is drug store! The top row is the limited edition Crystal Crush collection by Sinful Colors. I thought I had missed this collection all together. I saw it posted on Nouveau Cheap almost a month ago and had seen no sight of it anywhere around here, thus leaving me to believe that somehow I just missed it all together and the whole collection had exited my mind by now. I was so excited when I saw it at Rite Aid this week and even more delighted when I realized the display had been completely untouched! There was no price on the display and I wasn't sure if these polishes were going to be more than the regular $1.99, so I went and asked the sales associate and she told me they were $1.99. I was so excited, I picked up 6 of the 8 shades, which is what you see in the picture above! However, when they rang up $2.99 at the register I was really disappointed. The cashier was so nice that once she confirmed that the sales associate had messed up, she called a manager to make sure I could have them for $1.99 and so I got a lucky break on that collection.

Colors from left to right: 

• #1370 Purple Gleam
• #1367 Treasure Chest
• #1365 Ruby Mine
• #1368 Emerald Envy
• #1366 Face The Facets
• #1364 Got A Blush On You

There are 2 more colors in the collection; one is an orange shade and the other is a blue shade with purple sparkle in it. I was not interested in either of them and decided to skip them, even though the hoarder in me told me to take them anyway to complete the collection. -I over came the urge! If you're still trying to get your hands on this collection then I say don't give up just yet! Like I said, I just spotted this at my Rite Aid this week and I know they were also available at Walgreens and I have yet to see them at the Walgreens around my home, so there's still hope! The funny thing is that I was so excited to move out to the West Coast, because they always seemed to get things first. It seemed for the most part, the West Coast spotted things first, followed by the East Coast and then it all just sort of trickled inward from the bottom. Now that I'm out here, I'm finding that most collections come out quite late around here.

The second row in the picture is from the the limited edition Wet N Wild Fergie Heavy Metal collection for the holiday season this year. I found this display at CVS, also untouched! How lucky, right?! I scanned my card at the kiosk when I entered and not only did I get a coupon for $4 off a $12 beauty purchase, but I also had a 30% off all regular priced items coupon! There was no sale on Wet N Wild this week, so I basically bought 4 polishes and received 2 free. Pretty good deal.

Colors from left to right:

• #34269 Titanium Crush
• #34268 Mountain High
• #34267 Emerald Rock City
• #34266 Mazel Toy Madness

There were 2 other colors on the display I was not interested in. One was a bronze color and the other was a clear polish with silver sparkle pieces. I felt neither of those were unique or anything I didn't already have/couldn't buy on a regular basis.

Ready For Winter - Mini CVS/Revlon Haul

I know most people get annoyed when winter/holiday/Christmas things start to roll out earlier than November. Personally, I love seeing this stuff come out in October. I've always been an earlier shopper/planner when it comes to holidays, birthdays, and celebrations. I had a coupon for $5 off of $25 at CVS a week ago and picked up a few things.

Items from left to right:

• Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter - "Provocative" [limited edition]
• Sally Sugar Coat - "#210 Royal Icing" [limited edition]
• Revlon Photoready Primer, Shadow + Sparkle - "#540 Muse" 

Of the entire Opulence collection from Revlon (which is a limited edition collection released for this holiday season), the lip butters were the thing I was looking forward to the most. I thought I had completely missed this whole collection, since it came out around the time I moved and I hadn't seen it anywhere around here. I was so happy to spot it at CVS the other week! Unfortunately, I could only get my hands on 1 of the 2. There was so much talk about the blue shade, but when I finally found this collection, only 1 of each shade was left on the display and the blue shade had been opened and a chunk was taken out it. I asked a sales associate if there was anymore, but with most limited edition displays what was out was all they had.

The purple shade, "Provocative", was the only one I could buy and even if it wasn't blue I was still intrigued by it. 

I did my best to photograph it, but whether I used flash or not it was really hard to capture what it really looks like. It's basically a clear gloss or "butter" with purple sheen and sparkle. I feel for a party or a night out it will really set the look.

Let me just say- I'm not afraid to show my naked nails. I have not been putting polish on all the time, because I have been dealing with a peeling nail and have been more focused on treatments and nourishment. Anyway, as you can see (for the most part) this is an ice blue color with purple sparkle in it. For any of you who don't know- the Sugar Coat polishes are textured and limited edition.

Here are swatches of the eye shadow palette. This palette is not believed to be limited edition. I have read from a few other sites/blogs that this is the only part of the collection that is not limited edition, however I have yet to see it on a regular display. All of the shades have a ton of sparkle in them, even though it's not so easy to see it. I feel the shadows are decently pigmented and I have another one of these palettes from the same line and really enjoy it, so I have a good feeling about this one. The lightest color is the primer and it is my favorite. I look forward to the high intense sparkle it'll add to the look. FYI- I have never really found the primer shade in these palettes to really be a primer or replace a primer you would use before applying your shadow.

So, that's it for this little winter haul. I'm hoping to pick up more goodies from other holiday collections. Let me know what you all have or want!