Ipsy April 2015 - Beautifully Bohemian

Anddddd as usual, I'm super late on posting the Ipsy bag.  This one is actually from April and the theme was Beautifully Bohemian.  Let's just get right to it, shall we?

Olive Lips balm

Olive Lips balm:  I have actually tried this lip balm yet since I have so many already, but I'll give it a go, and if it doesn't work out then I'll give it to my friend.

Oval Concealer Brush

Oval Concealer Brush:  this is a brush from Crown Brush and I have yet to use it.  I've received a brush from them in the past and liked it a lot, so I'm sure this will be good as well.

JulieG Nail Color

Nail Color in 'Damsel':  this is a hot pink nail polish from JulieG.  It's not a color I would wear, so I think I'll have to pass this along.

The Balm Eyeshadow

The Balm Eyeshadow in 'Flirty':  plum brown with strong gold sheen.  This is a beautiful duochrome color that's hard to come across in mainstream cosmetics.  I also love the packaging and it's very cute, so I'm definitely keeping this one (sorry friends!).

Pink Carnation Blush

Pink Carnation Blush:  warm medium pink blush.  This is a blush sample from Pandora's Makeup box.  It was packaged really cutely and is super pigmented.  I liked using this blush as well because the sample pan was big enough to actually fit my blush brush into.

Flirty and Pink Carnation

- Jolie ♥

Ipsy November 2014 - Girl Meets Glitter

Hey everyone!  I have the November Ipsy bag for you guys today :)  The theme is Girl Meets Glitter, but I only had about two glittery things in my bag - including the bag.  My bag had pretty silver glitter all over it, but came with a tear on the other side.  After contacting Ipsy, they're sending me out a replacement with no hassle at all.  Their customer service is pretty great!

Wet n Wild Halloween 2014 Collection - Swatches and Review

Hey everyone, I have a huge review for you today!  I bought the whole limited edition Halloween collection from Wet n Wild.  The collection comes with five 5-pan palettes, three new MegaSlicks lip glosses, three MegaSlicks Balm Stains, six MegaLast lipsticks, six MegaLast nail polishes, and one MegaRocks glitter nail polish.  All of these things are new and limited edition except for one palette that I will touch up on later.

Pictures taken under daylight bulb and swatched over ELF Essential Primer (click to enlarge)

Notoriously Morbid Blood Countess Collection - Swatches and Review

Welcome back!  I know it seems like I'm churning out these reviews like crazy, but that's only because I've been completely behind schedule in posting them.  Today I have Notoriously Morbid's Blood Countess collection for you.  This collection is inspired by history's most infamous female serial killer - Elizabeth Bathory.  The packaging of this collection really impressed me.  It came in a little decorative paper bag and when I dumped out the contents (instead of taking them out like a proper lady), a few fake rose petals fluttered out as well!  I really love how much care and love was put into the packaging to tie the theme together.  Not only does this set include three eyeshadows, but it also features a blush, lip gloss, and nail polish!  Without further ado, lets get on with the review :)

Sweet note from Carrie - I love supporting you as well!

Pictures taken under daylight bulb and swatched over ELF Essential Primer (click to enlarge)

Visions

Visions:  light orange with strong green and yellow shimmers.  This was one of the free samples I received that was also a sneak peek to the upcoming (now released) Winchester Gospels.  That collection is inspired by Supernatural and this is a color based on Sam.  It's very beautiful and glowy, but I would really suggest using a white or cream base underneath to really make the color pop.

Wet n Wild Fall 2014 Limited Edition LA Street Style Collection - Swatches and Review

Wet n Wild's fall collection is now in stores now!  I'm actually a bit late posting this as they've been out since the beginning of the month, but I spent the whole month taking pictures and reviewing these goodies.  This fall collection is called LA Street style and has four 5-pan palettes, four MegaLast lipsticks (which I love), and six MegaLast nail polishes (which I love as well!).  Now I was extremely excited about the lipsticks and nail polishes because they're supposed to be all matte, as evidenced by their rubberized cats and tubes.  However, I was a bit hesitant to pick up the palettes because I heard bad reviews about their permanent 5-pan line.  I was enticed by the beautiful rose shades which seemed to be similar to Urban Decay's Naked 3 palette, so I bought all four palettes.  This post will be EXTREMELY picture heavy, but it's worth it, I promise.

Pictures taken under daylight bulb and swatches over ELF Essential Primer (click to enlarge)

Melrose at Night

Dolly's Autumn 2014 Nail Polish Swatches and Review

Hey everyone, I have something new for you today!  If you frequent my blog, you would know that I don't do nail polish swatches very often.  The reason of this is because I don't think I'm very good and I'm usually afraid my camera doesn't have a good enough macro function to showcase the details.  However, someone recently posted on /r/IMAM asking for bloggers/swatchers to swatch their new polishes.  The first 5 people to respond would get chosen and obviously I jumped at the chance.  I've always been interested in indie polishes but never bought because they're a bit expensive for me and I can never finish a whole bottle.

Fortunately, I was one of the first 5 responses and the owner, Angie, emailed me shortly after.  Her shop, Dolly's, would be releasing their Autumn collection soon and wanted some opinions.  After I gave her my mailing address, she sent out the package shortly and I received it a few days later.

I noticed that the company is based off a place called "Bear Trap", which I think is a cool name.  (Btw, I don't actually condone trapping bears.)  When I opened my packages, I was so excited to see all those Halloween goodies tumble out!  The mini foam things and Pixi Stix really made me feel like a kid :D  There was also a really cool Jack-O-Lantern stamp on the envelope but I didn't photograph it because there was a big ole shoeprint on my package >:(   I might just cut it out anyway because it's really, really cool...

Wet n Wild LE Summer 2014 Collection - Summer Festival Swatches and Review

Hi everyone, is it just me, or did the summer go by really quickly this year?!  I found it a bit odd when my favorite drugstore brand, Wet n Wild, didn't release new summer shadows like they did last year.  However, they actually did and I was just very, very late to the game!  I noticed the empty displays in late August and basically rushed to find the whole collection before stores ran out.  After much traveling, I finally got everything, which included 6 eyeshadow trios, 4 nail polishes, and 2 new balm stains!  The collection is called "Summer Festival" and looks very similar to last summer's "Pop Art Craze" collection.

Without further ado, let's get to the pictures.

Product pictures are taken under daylight bulb, swatches are done over ELF's Essential Primer and taken under daylight (click to enlarge)

Eyeshadow Trios

Sun-Set to See

Sun-Set to See:  matte cream (soft and silky); satin finish tawny; matte pumpkin orange with faint silver shimmer

Wet n Wild Summer 2014 MegaLast Nail Polish - Swatches and Review

Hi everyone, I know this is super crazy late as summer is almost ending!  Since I've recently gotten my hands on some limited edition summer collections, I'll try to churn these out before it hits September.  Today, I have swatches of Wet n Wild's Summer 2014 MegaLast nail polish collection.  I don't believe this collection has a name; it's comprised of 6 beautifully bright summer shades.  I found these awhile ago and have just been sitting on this review, I apologize.  

Pictures taken under daylight bulb (click to enlarge)

Beat of a Generation

Beat of a Generation:  hot pink crelly (creme-jelly).  I like this shade a lot and it's opaque after 2 coats.

Ipsy July 2014 - Sensationally Sunkissed

I have a review of my July Ipsy bag today.  I actually received this a few weeks ago, and honestly, it was so disappointing that I really put off doing a review.  We're asked to take a personal preference quiz, to ensure that we won't get a lot of products we wouldn't like.  However, in this bag, they sent me some things I definitely did not check off.  The theme of July's bag is "Sensationally Sunkissed", and the only thing that I liked was the bag itself.

It's pretty cute and made from sturdy faux leather.  I love receiving Ipsy bags for organizational purposes.

Notoriously Morbid Vanishing Cabinet July 2014 - Out to the Black

It's time for Notoriously Morbid's monthly Vanishing Cabinet again!  I'm so excited for these since it means more NM, more often!  This month's collection is called "Out to the Black" and it is inspired by sci-fi lovers' favorite show - Firefly, and by extension, the movie Serenity.  Firefly was a great show about a crew travelling through the universe visiting several different planets.  It's a lot better than I'm explaining, I swear.  Each product corresponds to a character in the crew and it also marks the first appearance of NM's first nail polish (Morbid Mani), cosmetic glitter (Phantom Glam Glitter), and the second appearance of the lip gloss (Lipcraft Glosses).  

Everyone who had snagged up an order got a choice of the Morbid Mani or Lipcraft Gloss.  Because of international shipping rules, the Morbid Mani was not available for anyone outside the country and they automatically received the gloss instead.  For US residents, we got a choice and I decided on the Mani even though I would use the gloss more.  I figured I HAD to try their first nail polish and I was hoping to pick up a lip gloss if/when there are extras leftover.  Good news:  there were glosses leftover so I picked one up and I will update this post with swatches when I receive it!

The cabinet came in a white envelope this time.

Pictures taken under daylight bulb and swatches done over ELF Essential Primer (click to enlarge)

Free Samples

Morpheus

Morpheus:  shimmery light purple taupe with red and silver shimmer.  This is actually a sneak peek color into next month's Vanishing Cabinet.  I wrongfully guessed The Matrix so that makes me even more excited about the true inspiration!  I'm thinking something Greek myth related so I will definitely love it even more.

Wet n Wild Spring 2014 LE Street Art Nail Polish Collection

Wet n Wild has another limited edition collection out!  It's the Spring 2014 Street Art collection that consists of mainly nail polish.  I believe the collection is supposed to be inspired by graffiti, hence the colorful shades.  As with other Wild Shine nail polishes, these are all just $1/each.  There are two jelly polishes out of the six and the rest are creme formula.

Wet n Wild Spring 2014 The Style Award Goes to... Collection - Review and Swatches

Today I have a pretty long overdue review for you!  It's the limited edition Spring 2014 collection from Wet n Wild called, "The Style Award Goes to..."  I actually got this whole collection awhile back, but was waiting almost a month for my nail wheels to arrive here for nail polish swatches.  This collection has two 8-pan palettes and six MegaLast nail polishes.  Both the 8-pan palettes and Megalast polish formulas are usually loved by everyone, so it's exciting.  The overall theme of this collection seems very pastel and wedding like.  One of their palettes seems to be inspired by the Pantone color of the year, Radiant Orchid.  

February 2014 Ipsy - The Look of Love

Here's the Ipsy February bag, the theme is "The Look of Love".  I was pretty excited to receive this because I do like getting into the spirit of Valentine's day and I enjoy getting reds.  I didn't get any shipping or tracking information this month though, so that was weird and a huge surprise when the bag finally came.

December Ipsy - Celebration Bag

I'm finally posting an Ipsy bag sort of in time!  The theme for December is celebration and it's my favorite bag yet.  When I say favorite bag, I only mean the bag and not the contents haha.

November Ipsy Bag - Glam It Up

Once again I'm late for an Ipsy post :/  The November theme was Glam It Up and included six products.  

The bag is a gold faux crocodile skin bag that can double as a clutch.  Very cute!

Kiss Ever EZ lashes

Halloween 2013 Fantasy Makers Eyeshadow Duos

Here I come with another late post!  These are the Halloween makeup sets from Fantasy Makers who are also made by Wet n Wild.  I know it's way past Halloween but I was so caught up with work so I'm churning them all out now!

I was excited to get my hands on these because I love the quality of Wet n Wild eyeshadows and these are by the same company.  There are four makeup kits from this collection.  They include an eyeshadow duo, a set of false eyelashes, a mini nail polish, and a sample-sized Megalast lipstick.

October Ipsy Bag - The Art of Beauty

I'm finally caught up on Ipsy posts!  For the month of October, the theme was "The Art of Beauty".  We got a white bag with the words, "Love of beauty is taste.  The creation of beauty is art."

E.L.F. Haul!

So it's been awhile since I ordered from elf...maybe because I branched out a little bit and started ordering Coastal Scents.  But I realized that with all the mystery boxes I've been getting, I needed a place to put those individual Hot Pots into.  I immediately thought of elf's Custom Compacts that only cost $1 and hold 4 pans; so I started filling up my cart to get enough for free shipping haha.  I also needed to try some new concealers because the All-Over-Cover Sticks were creasing under my eyes.

As you can tell, I didn't actually get many new things, just things I was sort of interested in trying out.  

I got:

Cream Eyeliner in 'Black' ($3/ea) - the one I had before dried out beyond saving so I had to get a new one

Studio Blush in 'Blushing Rose' ($3/ea) - for my medium skin tone because lighter shades weren't showing up

Studio Lip Exfoliator ($3/ea) - backup

2 Custom Compacts ($1/ea) - for my Coastal Scents Hot Pots

Shine Eraser ($1/ea) - for my boyfriend who wanted to try it

Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzer in 'St. Lucia' ($3/ea) - I was interested in the hype and I really needed a bronzer that would show up because Elf's Healthy Glow Bronzer in 'Matte Bronze' was NOT doing the trick

Nail Polish in 'Skinny Jeans' ($2/ea) 

Tone Correcting Concealer in 'Light Beige' ($1/ea)

Brightening Eye Color in 'Nouveau Neutrals' ($1/ea) - free sample

Clarifying Pressed Powder in 'Apricot Beige' ($1/ea) - the other ones I had gotten were too dark, so I went a shade lighter and this is perfect for me :)

Cover Everything Concealer in 'Light' ($2/ea) - yet another concealer I wanted to try in case the Tone Correcting one didn't work

2 Triple-Tipped Waterproof Eyeliner Pens in 'Black' ($2/ea) - I ordered a second one by mistake :(

I have tried and swatched almost everything the minute I opened the box.  Just so you know, Coastal Scents Hot Pots do NOT magnetize with Elf's Compacts, but at least it's a nice, safe way to store them.

I enjoyed the blush immensely; it actually gave me color on my cheeks.  The duo blush & bronzer actually impressed me a little bit because I didn't expect the bronzer to actually show up.  Many reviews will advise you to use a light hand with the bronzer because it is so pigmented, but I had no problem with it, probably because I'm a little more tan.

The two concealers I got worked well; I put one under each eye to kill two birds with one stone.  I didn't use any setting powder over them and they didn't crease at all throughout the day.

Don't worry, if this is a little too much to take in, I definitely plan on posting reviews of most of these products, so stay tuned!  (And as always, feel free to comment below if you have any questions or comments.)

- Jolie ♥

E.L.F. Nail Polish in Red Velvet

I decided to try out Elf's Red Velvet this week; it seems like more of a holiday color because of the color and shimmer, but I'm still on vacation so why not?

Red Velvet isn't sold on elf's website anymore, but it came in the 14-piece set that I purchased a few weeks before.  As I have mentioned, the nail polishes in the two sets I bought are not that great.  Elf may have a new and improve formula for the full-sized bottles, but I don't think they use the same formula for their sets.

The color is a very beautiful light shimmery red color, it almost has a pink hint to it.  It reminds me more of Dorothy's ruby slippers from Wizard of Oz than it does a red velvet cake.

 Red Velvet with flash (looks more rich red than it actually is)

Red Velvet without flash (captures the light red/pink color better)

The color itself was very beautiful, and I got many compliments on it.  However, the formula itself was a mess.  It applies quite thick and dries a little quicker than expected; if you try to put multiple coats before it dries, it turns extremely goopy.  The only good thing about the formula is that, even if it applies unevenly, it will even itself out on your nail.

Bottom line: Thick, goopy formula.  Beautiful color, but I recommend finding a dupe for the color.

- Jolie ♥

Wet n Wild Wild Shine Nail Polish in Blue Moon!

Whew, that title sure was something!  My friend had told me my blog was something more of an elf endorsement and I should try some other brands.  I feel that way too, but I'm unsure of other drugstore brands and nothing beats elf's prices!  She recommended me some similar priced nail polishes that required less coats for opacity and were also long-lasted.

So I set out to my nearest drugstore to find some of the brands she mentioned.  She had recommended Wet n Wild polishes first, and described a specific bottle but I can't remember.  Among others she named Milani, Sally Hansen, and OPI.  I looked through the makeup aisles at my drugstore and decided to try Wet n Wild first because it was the cheapest.

I bought other things alone with the nail polish, as you can see.  I also purchased Wet n Wild's Megalash Clinical Serum and NYC Skin Matching Foundation in "687 Light to Medium".  The Megalash Clinical Serum is supposed to make your lashes grow longer and more voluminous in 4 weeks.  I'm on my first week so I will do a separate review when I'm done.

I also tried the foundation and found that it matched my skin tone, thankfully.  However, it didn't spread as evenly and stuck on to spots where I had dry skin.  I supposed I should have exfoliated beforehand or applied face primer but I'll experiment more and maybe review later.  It also provided light coverage and felt like a tinted moisturizer instead.

The nail polish was $1, lash serum $7 and foundation was $4.  Pretty good steal, assuming all of them work.

I bought the color in Blue Moon, it's a gorgeous deep blue with green glitter.  At first, I thought it was a regular dark shimmery blue polish, but as I held it up to the light, it gave of a green sheen.  It was so beautiful I knew I had to get it, and why not for a dollar?

As you can see, this is the from the Wild Shine collection; there was another Wet n Wild polish called the Fast Dry, but that was $2 and I didn't see any colors I liked.

It only took one coat of this to achieve opacity.  I'm hoping you can see the hint of green from the picture, but it does not do this color justice.  It looks like a plain dark blue in person, but in an area with good lighting, you can see the blue-green and it's mesmerizing.

The formula was decent and applied easily.  I have nothing bad to say about this polish so I recommend you to try this out.  The only downside was the slow drying time, I feel like it took at least 15 minutes, which was surprising.  But I'll definitely be trying out more Wet n Wild polishes in the future so stay tuned!

Bottom line: Good, inexpensive polish.  Good formula and color pay-off.  Takes long to dry, but would still recommend.

Have you tried any other drugstore polishes?  If so, do you have any recommendations for me?  

- Jolie ♥