Day 33: November Boxycharm

Just as I had mentioned last post, I will be doing a post on my Boxycharm subscription, just so you can see what you will end up getting if you choose to subscribe. The subscription is $21 per month with the option of upgrading to BoxyLuxe as an addition for $28 per month, for only 4 times a month (the Luxe is one per quarter). With the BoxyLuxe, you get more items and of course they are high end, with a total worth of over $250 per box. Once I get mine, I will certainly blog about it!

Click the picture to get your own Boxycharm!

Let's get into November's box! This month's theme was 'Goal Digger' with all the items having a black and gold theme to them. I have cracked open almost all of them so you can also see my review under each picture!

Click the picture to get your own BoxyCharm!

First thing I saw were these beautiful Luxie Luminous Eye Set brushes. I've gotten several over the years with Boxycharm and these were dainty cute eye ones to add to my collection. They have gold sparkles on the handles and gold all throughout. I have used a few already and they are super soft and great for eye makeup. I think these are really great quality and having so many of them from over the years, I can say that I am really satisfied with them and do recommend them! The four piece set retails at $30 on its own, but I was able to get it for $21 in my whole boxycharm!

Click the picture to get your own BoxyCharm!

The next thing I got was the CoverFX glitter drops! They are a golden color with a lot of glitter in it. I think if you were to use this, it would be great to use on your cheekbones and then some powder highlighter over it to make it really pop. I've seen videos of people using it as their eyeshadow or in their lipstick or even in their foundation. These drops retail for $44 on their own.

The third item I got was this beautiful ACE Beaute Grandoise Palette with a pretty gold patterned cover all around. I think I'm more in love with this packaging than anything! The colors are all warm and super pigmented. I used just a splash of the Poppy color and it was too much because of how much pigmentation is in them, so I had to blend my life away to get that color smooth. I did a few swatches of the colors and I think it's just beautiful. If you're into warm colors, you'll love this! This palette is valued at $24.99 on its own.

Click the picture to get your own BoxyCharm!

The fourth item was a Jonteblu Glittering Star Eyeliner. This eyeliner is black with sparkles in it and it's quite beautiful. I used it as a waterliner and it went on great. It's not super pigmented but it did what I needed it to do. This is valued at $5 on its own.

Click the picture to get your own Boxycharm!

The final item I got was Lashaholic Lashes - Instagram False. These lashes are the cutest! They are not too big nor too small. They would be perfect to wear to any event or dinner. I think I'll whip them out during New Years since I hardly ever wear lashes, why not wear them for a special occasion?! These lashes are valued at $14.99 on their own.

There you have it! Those are my boxycharm items for November. In total, it is valued around $115 but I only paid $21 with free shipping! Click here or any picture above to get your own! You won't regret it!

Day 28: Ofra Cosmetics

If you haven't heard of Ofra Cosmetics, I can assure you that you've been missing out. This cosmetics line came to me from my Boxycharm and I seriously don't know how I've been living life without it.

I was able to get their liquid lipstick and omg- it is probably one of the best ones that I have. They smell like chocolate and last a long time on your lips! The color I was able to get was called 'Pasadena' and I swear it's just the perfect shade for fall. The texture is creamy and soft. It doesn't dry out my lips at all. My suggestion when wearing them is to put on some chapstick, wait about 10 minutes or so (put on other makeup) and then put the liquid lipstick on. (I suggest this same method for all liquid lipsticks so they don't dry your lips out). I received it probably about 2 years ago and I still have some left- although, I am running out. So, I decided to purchase another one and guess what! Ofra is having a sale today only! Their liquid lipsticks are $11 (normally $17) AND any purchase over $10 is free shipping! I was able to get Pasadena for just $11 shipped! (NO tax!)

Top: Pasadena ; Bottom: Verona

Click here to shop straight from Ofra's website or click here if you prefer to shop from Ulta with points. (Note: Ulta is not having a sale on their website for these liquid lipsticks)

Left: Verona ; Right: Pasadena

Left: Verona ; Right: Pasadena

Day 12: Naked

Although this post can be about how the natural side of life is nice, it's actually another post about makeup! Sorry to disappoint.

Recently, the first original Naked palette was announced to be discontinued. This pretty much broke my heart and pieced it together again because I love Urban Decay but there was no way I was going to pay full price for their eye shadows. The price of the original was $54 and it is currently on sale in select stores for $27. It was announced that they would sell at this price until they are sold out. I honestly don't know why they would discontinue it, but hopefully it's because they have something better in mind.

This palette was originally named Naked because of the neutral warm colors. Nude in makeup world is usually a similar to your skin tone color. So with this palette, it varies from very light colors to dark colors. The pigmentation is literally out of this world. It swatches beautifully and stays on for a long time. I swatched a color at the store and I mistakenly took too much because I had to keep wiping it on my arm to get rid of how much there was. It also stayed a long time - for about 4 hours just on my arm.

I am obsessed with Urban Decay's foundation and have not been disappointed with anything else in their line since. I've tried their eye shadows, primer, and concealers and I stand by my word - they are an amazing cosmetics company! This eye shadow is nothing less than perfection! Even though they are discounting it, I assure you there is nothing wrong with the color and they are most likely wanting to promote their other products. So far, I've been using the matte colors first as a foundation and then the shimmer shades on top to really make it pop. I find that these colors stay on a long time, even without any primer. But, if you choose to buy the Urban Decay eyeshadow primer, just be prepared for this to stay on your eyeballs a long time! It is probably the best primer for eyeshadow that I have used and will continue to use. Like I said up above, I stand by this company and love all their products!

Day 7: Tarte Shape Tape Concealer

Concealer. Used to conceal... imperfections? Umm, let's just say those dark circles and blemishes. We are all naturally perfect, obviously.

I have used concealer probably for only special occasions, like going to dinner with my BF on Friday nights, and even then sometimes I forget. I use to be that crazy person that wakes up like 2 hours before I have to leave the house just to do my makeup. I know it sounds ludicrous, but I love makeup and would wake up at anytime for it. Lately, I've gotten lazy and not gotten up early and have not been using it. I have made it a goal to get up early and do my makeup and maybe even my hair, because it's something I truly enjoy doing. If I am happy in the morning, the rest of my day will make me happy, at least that's how I see it.

I normally use concealer to brighten up my undereye area so that way I don't look so exhausted, which to be honest, I always am so I should probably start using it more frequently. But anyway, my routine is usually primer (Hangover RX), foundation - whatever one I feel like using that day from my drawer, and then concealer. The one I have been loving lately is Tarte Shape Tape Concealer, which is available at Ulta and I'm sure many department stores. It's actually on a 25% sale right now on Tarte's website,which ends TODAY!!

I have been loving this concealer because it just blends so nicely and a little bit goes a long freakin way. I had watched some beauty gurus on YouTube use it and they would make the triangle shape underneath their eyes so when I first got it, I did that too and oooo girl that was WAY too much. It look me forever to blend it out and by the end, my whole face was covered in concealer. Do not make the same mistake that I did and use just a tiny dot or two under your eye. Trust me, that is way better than looking like a ghost. If you need to add more after you blend that out, you can certainly do so but I'm just giving a fair warning that you don't need a lot of it. This is actually a good thing because for the price of it and the amount that you get, using it will probably last you a year, if not more. I would recommend using a beauty blender to blend it out, but if you feel that a brush does a better job, you do you girl. This concealer covers a lot in just a little bit of use. I have seen my undereye go from dark to flawless just by using this product. It will cover what you need it to cover but also brighten. I don’t know if I would necessarily recommend this as a blemish cover because the concealer color you want to get is usually a shade or two lighter than your foundation/skin color, but what you can do is use it before foundation, cover the blemish, and then use foundation over it and it won't look bright or standing out. I would say this product does exactly what I need it to do and would recommend it to anybody needing a great concealer. It has great coverage, a little goes a long way, and the quality is amazing. I've heard that their foundation in the line is also pretty good, but have yet to try it. Please let me know if you have and if you would recommend it!

Day 1: Hangover RX

I don't drink, but I do love me some Hangover RX! It's literally my go-to makeup primer and I'm so happy I finally found it because I'm not a fan of primers whatsoever. In fact, I don't like primers so much that I usually just put makeup on without any primer beforehand. I am very thankful that my skin is okay with this because I know most girls would have blemishes pop up everywhere if they didn't prime their skin beforehand.

I was able to get a sample of it and I totally fell in love. It was very smooth and more liquid-y than most primers. My favorite was that it has a coconut scent to it. I will admit that at first, I was not a big fan of it, just because I was use to primer being thick, but once I started using it more frequently, it became my go-to primer. I would even go to the extent to say that it is also a moisturizer because it really refreshes my skin once I put it on.

If you're unsure about this being applied on your skin, I highly recommend heading over to Sephora and asking them for a sample. If this is something that is truly not for your skin type, having a sample to test it out first will help you out tremendously. For me, when I put it on, it seems to really seep into my skin instead of just having a thick layer lay on top of my skin. If that's something that you're into, I don't recommend this product, but if you're wanting to explore, I recommend to try the Hangover RX!

Lightening Conditioner

Recently as some of you may know, I have gone blonde!! Ok ok, not FULL ON blonde but my hair is extremely lighter than what it use to be. I’ve always had darker hair and when it would lighten, I would color it to darken it even more but this time I’ve decided to gradually go lighter and see how I like it. Who knows, maybe I will go back to having dark hair!

Anywho, I recently received a coupon in the mail for the Garnier Whole Blends collection and decided why not, let’s try it out. I drove myself over to Walmart, found it and guess what! I forgot to use the coupon! UGH. This is never happened to me before. I’m totally a coupon lady but for some reason I totally forgot and just bought it full price.

Anyway, I went and used it and thought if I liked it, I can use the coupon next time. And guess what! I loved it!! Since I have been wanting my hair to go lighter, it does the trick! I was out of conditioner so I used my coupon on only that. I actually have not tried the shampoo yet but I’m sure it’s just as good!

I’ve noticed when I want my hair to be a little brighter the next day, this conditioner does the trick! I go through my normal routine of shampooing my hair and then put this conditioner in for about 5 minutes (I’m sure you can do longer – I just get bored in the shower waiting) and then rinse it out. It made my hair smell really good. It was super shiny. It also brightened it a lot. I know that there is a trick to use tea to brighten your hair but I never really did it since I didn’t want to go through the hassle of making tea, waiting for it to cool, and then pouring it on my hair. This conditioner is a gem! It was only like $5 for a big 22 fl oz container. I honestly have fallen in love with a conditioner!

Amrezy

Amra Olevic, also known as Amrezy, has been modeling and posting her different outfits all over instagram for a while now. She even was given the opportunity to make her own pallet collaboration with Anastasia Beverly Hills in 2014 and of course I had to get her palette. (Balkan girls gotta stick together!) My review of this palette is that it's absolutely fantastic! I actually have been very careful not to really use it since it was a limited edition. I know that if I end up using it, I won't have the option to buy another one.

I obviously love using 'Glisten' because it's a soft pink but not overpowering and it's a shimmer. Topaz is another favorite one because it's a dark beige color and also glittery. I do use Caramel and Morocco as transition colors because they are matte and blend out beautifully. I have also used LBD (little black dress) when I need a dark black for a good smoky eye. The colors Legend and Vanilla are really pretty for the brow highlight. I will say out of the whole palette, i have not used Emerald or Iridescent Purple and that's only because I like to stick to warm colors - red, orange, browns - so I have yet to expand out of my color zone. I will say that even though I haven't used all the colors on my eye lids, they do swatch very beautifully and are very pigmented colors.

Although I aboslutely loved the Amrezy x Anastasia collaboration, her highlighter was not particularly my favorite. It's actually very pigmented and has a very beautiful color. The only thing I disliked is that it's glittery. I am so use to my Champagne Pop (Jaclyn Hill x Becca) highlighter that I didn't realize how much glitter it didn't have when trying Amra's highlighter. I was very disappointed and kinda wished I swatched it in the store before purchasing it. (I also am a big fan of Nicole Guerrero on YouTube, but didn't end up purchasing her highlighter collab since reviews stated that it was glittery). I did have the option to return it but felt the need to keep it should I ever want a glittery highlighter. I have been putting it on my eyelids to use as a highlighter in my inner tear ducts and that I seem to really really like.

I guess my overall opinion would be a LOVE for her eyeshadow palette but just an OK for her highlighter. If you prefer to have glitter in your highlight, then I strongly recommend to purchase hers. It's a very beautiful golden color that picks up very well on any brush and also swatches beautifully. It's extremely pigmented so a little bit goes a long way!

Dollar Shave Club

So if you don't know me very well, just know that I love to save money. I am that person that uses a razor until the very last blade has sprung out because my motto is, if it works, why fix it? Well, recently I started getting A LOT of razor bumps (& some ingrown hairs) on my legs. I am the type of person that just wants to be in and out of the shower with no time to mess around shaving my legs for 46 hours. Naturally, I started picking at the bumps and couldn't stop obsessing over how gross it looked and realized I needed to do something. The obvious answer was to get a new razor. I also could look into waxing - but that's also time consuming - or getting it lasered off - but i'm not spending that kinda money. I saw a facebook friend post about the Dollar Shave Club and became interested in it. I started doing my homework and looking at reviews online to see what others were saying about it before I decided to commit. The starter package was only $5 (free shipping!) that included the executive razor handle, 4 cartridges, and a sample pack of your choosing. I decided, what the hay, let me just get it and if I hate it, it's only $5.

Well. Let me tell you. I LOVE IT! To be honest, I think this is really a men's shaving club but I can honestly say that these razors work beautifully on women too! My choice was the executive razor, the 4 cartridges, and the sample pack of the prep scrub, shave butter, and post shave dew lotions. The razor handle is actually quite heavier than any women's razor I've held and it's very flexible for all our curves.... ladies. The prep scrub is basically an exfoliant and has microbeads to get into pores and prep the skin by removing any old dirt or dead skin. The shave butter is a smooth lotion-y type of shaving cream, where a little will go a long way so don't use up all of it. I only use a pea size. The post shave dew is also a lotion substance and will go on smooth. I haven't read the directions on how to use this one but my assumption is after you get out of the shower so it helps your skin.

The actual razor blades are super sharp so be careful shaving for the first time. I made the mistake of going too fast so my legs ended up bleeding a lot. Don't be afraid to use it but don't be doing at fast speeds. They are really durable and can last up to 5 or 6 shavings. I'm sure you can stretch it out even more but the blades do start to become dull the more you use it, like any other razor.

Once you use these in the shower, ladies, I am tellin you, you will feel like a new woman. My legs have not been this smooth since middle school. I don't know what kind of drugs they put in this stuff but it is amazing. Now, the DSC (Dollar Shave Club) recommendation is to get new razors shipped out every month but at the rate of $9 for 4 cartridges. This does not include any other sample packs or the razor handle, but strictly the razor blades. To me, I thought shipping new blades every month was excessive, (which i'm sure many people do) so they have a plan where you can request to have it shipped every 2 months instead of every month. You also have the option to skip a month if you don't need them. You will not be billed nor have anything shipped. So for those No Shave Novembers, you don't gotta worry about it! It's a win-win! They also have the option of cancelling any time. How fantastic is that?! You have total control, which I LOVE.

If you're wanting to try a $5 shipment, click here! 

Purple Shampoo 💜

This post is for all my wanna-be blondes out there! Let me tell you that the struggle is real when it comes to brunettes wanting to go blonde. (Especially if you have previously dyed your hair) It takes about 73 million years to go from all the dark shades down to the platinum or close-to super blonde hair. You have to be careful not to damage your hair too much and not go too frequently or else your hair will break easily. My hair is naturally thin but takes very well to bleach, meaning my desired shade could be done in under 1 hour total, however, because it's thin, it dries out my hair quicker, causing it to be very straw-like. Now I know some of you also pay to get to that shade, but will sit at the salon for several hours longer than me, which is totally fine too. I'm not here to tell you what to do with your hair, but I personally want my hair to have as less damage as possible throughout the whole process. With that being said, I waited a whole 8 months, and with the help of a bet with my boyfriend, before I did anything to my hair. This might not seem like a lot but I was dying because I was so use to getting my hair done every few months. I finally got my hair done and I was a little disappointed. I wanted a balayage blonde look, but I ended up getting a lighter brown with only the top half of my hair lightened.

Left was what I showed to the hair stylist ; Right is what I got after the visit

The color I had was orange. No, not blonde.. Not even close to blonde. It was orange. I was really upset and wanting to go back to the salon to let them know but instead I took a deep breathe and told myself that it will be okay because I have the best purple shampoo ever, Fanola No Yellow Shampoo. I swear this shampoo is a lifesaver. I actually bought this when my hair was brown because I was preparing it for when I did go blonde and didn't have any of this orange in it. But because the stylist used an orange toner, it all came back. Poo ☹ I bought the 350ml for $16.90, but the price has since gone down to $10!!!

This shampoo is really dark purple and works amazingly. I take about a quarter-size into my hand and put it through my roots and then another quarter-size and massage it through the rest of my hair. Be very careful because this will stain your hands and get purple all over your bathtub, but don't worry, the stain on your hands will go away less than a day and it will not stain your tub. I leave it in my hair for about 5 to 10 minutes depending on how long I want the purple to sit and then rinse and condition it out with It's a 10 hair mask. I finish up showering and then rinse out the conditioner last. When I get out, I use It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Product and spray my hair while it's still damp and then brush it through. I use a Wet Brush to brush my hair since it's so thin and let me tell you - It's freakin amazing. It combs right through my hair with very little knots and no pain.

Left is before - in the car right from the salon ; Right is after - 1 wash with Fanola No Yellow Shampoo

I did the shampoo once and it got SO MUCH brassiness out of my hair that I couldn't believe it. Usually purple shampoos are drying to your hair but this one isn't at all. I have also tried the shimmering lights purple shampoo as well as the Sally's off-brand one and can say with full confidence that this one blows them out of the water. The only place I've seen it and bought it is from Amazon and you can click the picture above to get one yourself. Trust me, you won't regret it.

Left is before ; Right is after

More Jeffree Star Cosmetics

As many of you may have seen that I did a blog post reviewing the Jeffree Star velour liquid lipsticks. It was my first time ever trying them and I absolutely LOVE them. (Again, I am not a fan of his, I don't follow him on social media, nor keep up with anything he does). I am a huge fan of the velour liquid lipsticks that I decided to purchase 3 more when he was having a sale on December 28, 2017. In fact, I love them so much that I even set an alarm on my phone to be sure to purchase them on time. The liquid lipsticks are normally $18 a piece, but the sale allowed for a select few to be sold at 50%, which would then be $9 a piece. I ended up purchasing Rose Matter, Redrum, and Doll Parts.

Rose Matter is a coral shade of pink. When I first swatched it, I thought it was a pink color on its own, but swatching it next to Doll Parts, you can tell that it's more of a coral pink, than a true pink. I think this one goes well when I am wearing orange shades or anything with orange undertones. I actually tried to coordinate it with a pink outfit and in my opinion, it did not match well.

From top to bottom: Rose Matter, Redrum, Doll Parts

Redrum is a cool toned red. I have always been in the market for a good truly red color and I would say this is a great one. The wonderful thing to cool toned reds is that they do not make your teeth look yellow! I know sometimes (even with pearly white teeth) your teeth can look yellow if you are wearing red lipstick. The trick to that is to get a red lipstick that is cool toned, not warm toned. The warm toned color in the lipstick will want to draw out other warm colors (yellow & orange), while the cool toned color will want to draw out cooler colors (blue & green). This isn't saying your teeth are blue or green, but more so the neutral or cool tones of your teeth. Just trust me. It works. It's science. (haha!)

From top to bottom: Rose Matter, Redrum, Doll Parts

Doll Parts is a cool toned pink. The color reminds me a lot of Valentines Day. According to Jeffree's website, it's suppose to be a pink similar to the shade in Mean Girls and I would have to agree. The pink is such a soft color that it's not overpowering nor super light that you can't tell it's on you. I would pair this with a 'Mean Girls' pink outfit as well. I would recommend the true pink colors, rather than the pinks with purple or red undertones.

Overall, I am still a very happy customer. These velour liquid lipsticks are super amazing and I still highly recommend them to everyone. They stay on all day and look absolutely great. There's no cakey look when you wear them and they don't come off easily. 5 out of 5 stars!

Watch out for me, I'm about to glow!

You thought this post was about metaphorically glowing in life? Well, you're wrong. I mean, I could do a post on it, but we will save that for some other time. Today, we're talking about makeup! I love using highlighters and making myself glow as much as I can, but I wanted to share one little bottle that I use that really enhances my glow and helps me achieve that. It's called Cover FX Customer Enhancer Drops in the color Moonlight.

This little guy helps a LOT if you are wanting a glowing or dewy look. I, personally, am into matte's 24/7, but I mixed a little bit of this into my foundation one day and I was glowing. I looked really dewy but not oily. It was absolutely amazing. What I first started to do with it, was put it on top of all my makeup when I was finished and highlight it on my cheekbones. I would then blend it out with a damp beauty blender and pat down with a highlighter, usually the Jaclyn Hill Champagne Pop highlighter. I would then blend it out with a beauty blender again to make sure it has set in. You can still do this method and I can assure you, your cheekbones will be poppin.

What I have started doing more recently was mixing it with foundation on the back of my hand and then putting the mixture on my face. I have found that this really brings out the dewy look. I only do this sometimes, as this little guy is $46 and it is quite a small bottle. It probably is a little bigger than my palm, so I try to use as little as possible. Also, a little bit goes a long way. If you overdo any of the drops, your face will end up being sparkly and not dewy. Trust me, I've done it.

I recommend this product and would purchase it again if I could. I chose Moonstone, just because it seemed to be the most universal color, but you can go through and pick through 10 different colors to see which one will look best on you. If you are wanting to use it, I caution you to use very little at first and then you can see how it looks and add more to your liking. This product is very well put together and is of really great quality, so that's why the price is so high. To be honest, this is absolutely unnecessary if you already use a really great highlighter, but if you are wanting to get an even more glow, this is the product I would recommend for you.

DIY Makeup Brush Holder!

As I started collecting makeup, my brushes were stored in a small bin that I kept on top of my makeup table. I soon realized that I wanted them to look nicer and instead of having them just lay in a bin and get dusty, and possibly a higher risk of infection, I made my own makeup brush holders. Most of the supplies are right from the dollar store and cost little to nothing. 

You will need:

1 candle holder. I think this one would be perfect. You can also use this one that is more open or even a square one. Just keep in mind how long your brushes are and how long the container is. I know the square one is quite short in height so if you have tall brushes, I wouldn't recommend getting that one.

1 bag of filler. You can use this Ashland Diamond Filler from Michael’s or the Colorful Mini Decorative Accent Pebbles from the Dollar Tree. You can fill your brush holder with anything you want or not fill it at all. It's up to you.

Couple spools of ribbon in the color of your choosing. I chose white and pink but you can chose whatever colors work best for you.

A hot glue gun

Decorations such as Ashland™ Diamond Acrylic Fillers. I cut up a bracelet and put it as a bead in the middle

Optional: Candle stick holder to give height to your brushes. I did this for one of mine, that is square shaped, and I ended up using it as my q-tip holder, instead of a brush holder.

What to do:

1. Clean and dry your candle holder out thoroughly because you never know who’s used it last.
2. Take your ribbon and measure it once and glue it around the middle of your candle holder.
3. (Optional) Measure about 10 inches (give or take) of a different colored ribbon and make a bow. Glue your bow to the ribbon already on the candle holder.
4. Glue your decorations to your ribbon. I chose 1 diamond bead in the middle. You can make yours all around or just in the center, how I did.
5. (Optional) Glue your candle stick holder to the bottom. If you plan on having many brushes in one, I don’t recommend putting is underneath but it’s up to you.
6. Put your filler in your candle holder and fill your brushes!

Contour, contour, contour.

When I was in middle school, the only makeup girls would wear was eyeliner.. and LOTS of it. I had 1 eyeliner and used it on my waterline and that's it. As I grew older, I started experimenting with more and more makeup and now I have about 10 drawers full of makeup along with a counter top, as well. I remember when I first started using makeup, I use to get bronzer and put it all over my face so that way I would have more of a tanned look. I'm about 99.9% sure that every other girl did the same thing. Then, I discovered the beauty of YouTube, where a beauty community was slowly starting to grow. Many years later, I have become in love with makeup and want to learn and use new things every day. One of the things I found important was contouring. Contouring is basically going in depth where the shadows of your face are. If you do it correctly, it can make your face look skinnier and your makeup more professional. Kim Kardashian is well known for her use of contouring. Here is an example of how it would look before and after you contour:

Now, I'm not saying you're gonna look 20lbs lighter, but it does add structure to your face and make your face pop. I mostly use mine right underneath my cheeks so my cheek bones can look sharper. I wanted to share the contour kit that I use because I'm absolutely in LOVE with it.

I have been reading reviews on the KAT VON D Shade + Light Face Contour Palette for months and watched several YouTube videos that I decided that I should just get it. OH MY GOODNESS. I am so glad that I did!!! This is probably the best contour palette that I've ever had. The colors and so beautiful and cool toned. Sometimes I get colors that are warm toned and look orange on me but this one does not have the slightest hint of orange in it. The top three shades are used for highlighting the peaks or highest points of your face. I use the middle one - Lyric - and sometimes I will use the farthest one to the left - Lucid - because my skin is so light. To be honest, I have been really lazy and usually don't use the highlighting parts of this pallet because if I do concealer, I will just use my Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder. But again, that's once in a blue moon cause I get lazy with concealer. (Maybe I will do a later post on my highlighting routine) As far as the contour/bronzing colors at the bottom, I always start with the lightest one - Sombre - and use a small definer brush to sculpt in the lines in my face and then blend it through. I then go in with the middle color - Shadowplay - and really make the color deepen. I will sometimes even go in with the last color - Subconscious - and make it even darker but that's when I want a heavy makeup look, otherwise it's not used often. I've already hit pan on Sombre and Shadowplay and am close to it on Subconsious. I've had this palette for about 2 years now and I still have enough color left to continue using it. I think it's a wonderful contour palette and I highly recommend it. The palette will last you a long time and the colors can blend so nicely on your face so you don't have to sit there for 10 years blending. A little goes a long way so if you pick up just a little bit, you will have powder on your face immediately. The colors are pretty creamy and very pigmented. I think Kat Von D did a great job with this palette and she actually revamped these so the individual colors can be removed and replaced, instead of buying the entire palette.

I also wanted to mention that lately, these palettes have been spotted at Marshalls and TJ Maxx for only $19.99!!! (Compared to $49) So if you're wanting this and don't want to spend all that money, hit up your local Marshalls or TJ Maxx to see if they have it. Since I've hit pan on 2 colors I decided to browse around and actually found only 1 at TJ Maxx and bought it on the spot. I've heard that other ladies have seen like 10 of them at their stores so don't be discouraged if you don't find it, check every week and maybe you just might!! Keep in mind, these are not the replaceable colors so if you hit pan, unfortunately you won't be able to remove the colors individually. I think it's still worth it though. :)

Makeup Brush Cleaner

So I've recently been a part of a makeup group on facebook that has a bunch of ladies who have the same makeup obsession and give tips and tricks for different makeup techniques and such. I stumbled across a post which showed one gal who posted about using the soap 'ZOTE' for cleaning makeup brushes. Being the type of person who's willing to try out makeup tips, I decided to go and buy it and try it for myself. I made the mistake of looking in the body wash/soap isle and couldn't find it. I later found out it's actually in the detergent isle and only in Walmart. So I lugged back up to Walmart and finally found it. It was hidden on the very top shelf in a corner. It's a fairly large size, almost as big as my hand, so I found a sandwich size plastic bag to put it in, when I would be done. Coming back from my California trip, I had a perfume that cracked and spilled all over my makeup bag so I decided that it was time for my brushes to be cleaned and so nothing gets into my skin that shouldn't be. I bought myself a medium size black towel, a little basket to carry all the brushes, the ZOTE soap, and my pink brush cleaner mitt from Ulta. I actually saw that Walmart also has this mitt but I don't have a link to share because it's not online. Check your local Walmart because you might find the same or similar mitt.

Zote soap for cleaning brushes

I first wet the brush a little bit with regular water. I then went into the Zote soap and swished it around a couple times to pick up the soap and then used the cleaner mitt to thoroughly clean it and then layed it down to dry on the towel. I did this with all the brushes that needed cleaning. (I have around 50 brushes but I didn't clean all of them, just the ones that I used the most and needed to be cleaned.) At first, it was a little difficult because I had to break in the soap but once I got it, the cleaning process was a lot smoother. I can successfully say that the Zote soap cleaned my brushes and beauty blenders very well and they all came out great! Even the little spots on my beauty blenders were gone. I've had some beauty blenders for years and the spots would not budge, no matter how many times I tried, but with the Zote soap, they came off easily and with minimal effort. I recommend this product to anybody who's looking for a good brush cleaner! I left my brushes and beauty blenders to dry overnight on my black medium sized towel and they were in perfect shape the next day. Nothing was shedding or frizzy. The only thing is that the brushes I started at the beginning with were not very clean, but that was my fault because I didn't swish them in the soap as much as I should have. If I had gone back over the first few when I was done, they would have been just as clean. I would still say this soap did a pretty good job.

Do you know of any other good brush cleaners?!

A few of my brushes that needed to be cleaned. (Don't worry - I have a lot more lol)