Saucebox + Batalash Eye Shadow Palette

I've recently been on an eyeshadow kick when it comes to buying cosmetics. This Saucebox + Batalash Palette is one of my favorites so far, so I thought I'd feature it on the little old blog.
Saucebox is a company that is known for their humongous eyeshadow pans, creamy formula, and their customize-able palettes. Batalash is a YouTube group of gals-- Samantha, Angela, and Dominique; their styles range from edgy and colorful, to soft and neutral. This palette definitely reflects their unique style. You can find out more about Batalash here on their blog and here on their YouTube channel.

Saucebox + Batalash Palette

Saucebox + Batalash Palette

The entire top row of shadows are matte finishes while the bottom row is all shimmer/sheen/metallic. The mattes are a tad on the chalky side for me while swatching, but when applying on the eyes, they blend beautifully and easily, even with a tackier primer. I captured some of the chalkiness in the shade Vanilla, pictured below. As you can see, the shimmer shades swatched very smooth and silky, with true pigmentation. That's one thing I noticed with Saucebox shadows, is that what you see in the pan is completely true to what translates on the eye.

L-R: Top Row: Vanilla, Winter Brown, Cinnamon, Lace Noir
Bottom Row: Enigma, Electro, Popper, Nova

Saucebox shadows in comparison to LORAC Pro 2 shadows

Maybe this wasn't the most hygienic thing to do, but I really wanted to show you the difference in size with these shadows. If you're familiar with the LORAC Pro palettes, you know their shadows are definitely tiny. The Saucebox + Batalash Palette retails for $60 with shipping of $6 in the US. With each pan containing 4g of product, with a total of 32g in the palette, these shadows only go for $7.50 a pan (not including shipping cost) which is an excellent deal. 

Saucebox has a few more palettes and single shades available, so with all their palettes being magnetized, traveling with a lighter load of shadows is easy. You can shop their store here.

Would you ever considering purchasing products from companies that collaborate with YouTube personalities? Have you already?
As always, thanks for reading. Please leave me a comment so I know someone is reading! Haha :)

New Routine Staples

Just a quick update on life:

I have a new PC now, so posts should definitely be more often! I've purchased quite a few items over the month and I can't wait to share my thoughts on them with you. I'm recently engaged so I've been upping my makeup researching so I can find the most perfect combination of products for the big day. Which is not til next year, so I have time!

Now to the makeup...

I've been mostly buying eyeshadow palettes lately which I can discuss in another post-- so it was a bit hard for me to find some other items that I could easily introduce. A few things are fairly new to me and others I've been continuously using for quite some time, but they haven't left my routine!

e.l.f. Smudge Pot in Crusin' Chic:
I feel like this photographed a lot more bronzy in the above photo, but in my line of swatches you'll see the true color; it's more of a taupe-y bronze. e.l.f. has been surprising me a lot lately as you can see with all the featured e.l.f. products. This is a $3 product and I feel that the texture, the color payoff, and the longevity of this product outdoes other higher priced cream shadows. When I add the Sonia Kashuk bronzer on top, the look won't budge all day.

Colourpop Super Shock Shadow in Downtown:

This brand is about a year-old and much talked about on YouTube. I won't go into the brand as a whole at the moment, but I am intrigued by it and willing to give them more of my hard earned cash for their products. This color is a matte finish, ashy dark brown shade. It could almost be used as a brow shade as well (which I haven't tried yet). The texture of these shadows is outrageous, almost impossible to explain; after all the reviews I read explaining the texture, I didn't know it would feel the way it felt until I got my hands on it. I can go into more detail comparing shades/finishes at a later date, but lately I've been really loving this shade.

Sonia Kashuk Chic Luminosity Bronzer/Highlighter Duo:

Target carries two different kinds of these, I believe with the same bronzer and a peachy pinky shimmery blush color, and this champagne/peach highlight. I was initially attracted to the highlight but the bronzer has stole my heart! I've used the bronzer as an eyeshadow which is beautiful, and as a bronzer. It looks scary to dust on your cheeks, but the shimmer gets really diffused and it translates as more of a glowy warmth. 

L-R:  e.l.f., Colourpop, Sonia Kashuk bronzer, Sonia Kashuk highlight

Bronzy eyes and glowy skin. e.l.f. Smudge Pot and Sonia Kashuk Chic Luminosity Bronzer/Highlight Duo (on cheeks and bronzer on eyes)

^This photo is from my instagram. Check it out here! 

e.l.f. Acne Fighting Foundation in Ivory:

I think I've showed this product before but oh. my. goodness, I love this stuff! The finish is demi-matte and flawless. It applies like a dream with either a buffing face brush or a beauty blender (or knock-off!). This foundation doesn't break apart on my skin, (besides a bit on my nose, but I'm an absolute oil-slick and nothing stays on my nose lately) lasts all day through humidity, and is comfortable to wear. This is an absolute full coverage foundation, I only need concealer under my eyes, as I don't apply foundation under my eyes, and to highlight areas of my face. I don't really need concealer to hide blemishes because this foundation covers it! The only downside is this is the lightest color and it's a bit too dark for my fair/light skin, but I make it work! So for $6, you really can't beat it. Try it and let me know what you think!

Flat doe-foot applicator

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Cover Concealer in Light Warm:

This concealer has taken over my life. This particular shade has a yellow tone which really helps with highlighting the skin and covering purplish/bluish under-eye circles. If you've read my blog before, I'm sure I've mentioned that I have pretty terrible under-eye circles. This covers them nicely with little to no creasing, long-lasting coverage, and non-drying finish. I just set this with my Bare Minerals Well-Rested Concealer Powder and I'm good to go. This has taken over my MAC Pro Longwear Concealer as my favorite concealer in my collection.

Now to the boring part...Brushes!

e.l.f. Mineral Powder Brush (left) and e.l.f. Ultimate Blending Brush (right):

Brushes are boring to talk about for me but I can't not mention these two. They're both e.l.f. yet again, I know, but for $3 and $6 respectively, these are a total steal. You can't really tell in the picture, but the "mineral powder" brush is the perfect size to get right in your hollow of your cheeks to contour-- which is what I use it for. It's also nice for concentrated blush application. The blending brush flawlessly blends any foundation I've used lately. Because of its more rounded shape, I feel that blending out seamlessly is much easier than if it were a flat-top brush. Both brushes haven't shed on me and have kept their shape through multiple washings. I definitely recommend these!

Okay, so these have made their way into my daily routine and I'm not sure they'll be leaving any time soon. What are your favorite everyday staples? Let me know in the comments! Also just comment to say anything, I would appreciate any communication on this blog!

Office Beauty Break

I've been gone for a long time. It's mainly due to moving house (7 months ago :/ ), and the decline of my beloved college laptop. Uploading and editing photos is a complete nightmare on that relic and my office computer doesn't have an SD card slot.

I've purchase quite a few new items in this recess so I've been aching to share them with you! I've decided a quick few snaps from my phone should suffice. I'm also planning on doing a 'Office Beauty Break' post every so often just to show you what's in my bag. I love peeking into people's makeup bags and I hope you do too!

Sonia Kashuk bag from Target

This little bag is the perfect size; it's very deceiving from the outside because the inside is extremely roomy. I have a few hair ties and clips in there but they weren't that pretty to show!

NARS Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow in Himalia, NYX Green Tea Blotting Paper, Coach Poppy Rollerball, and EOS lip balm in Sweet Mint (I think!)

My skin has been extra oily given the changes of temperatures (although today is quite chilly) so my blotting papers come in handy big time. I should probably use them right now. The NARS eyeshadow is mainly in my bag because of it's miniature mirror inside and overall cuteness. I love switching perfumes for the seasons as I'm sure most of us do, and this Coach Poppy scent is definitely giving me some warmer weather vibes. And as always, lips need hydration so I picked up this EOS balm sans ball packaging. I like the sleek design and could do away with how grubby the ball packaging gets!

Let me know what is currently stashed in your purse makeup bag in the comments!

Long Time, No Blog

It's been quite awhile since I've posted on my little blog. I'm not too sure I have any actual readers so I'm sure I'm not breaking any hearts. 

These past couple months have been extremely busy so my priorities have shifted more towards necessities rather than makeup. But now, I'm getting back into the swing of picking up new items and testing them out. 

This particular product was from my December ipsy bag. If you haven't heard of ipsy, it's a monthly subscription service. You pay $10 a month for a small makeup bag and 5 samples inside. This month, one item stood out quite a bit and it's the NYX Butter Lip-Balm in the shade Marshmallow. Originally on ipsy's website, they had 3 shades that you could possibly get and Marshmallow was the one I definitely did not want. I was disappointed at first but gave it a go anyway and I'm glad that I did. 

I really love the texture-- it's creamy and hydrating, and comfortable on the lips. It has a good amount color pay-off. This lip balm gives me the perfect nude look without being thick and heavy. I also like that instead of lightly running my lips over with foundation as I sometimes do, I can just pop this on and not have to worry about the possible white-ish lines you can get from foundations wearing off your lips. Also, it's easy to apply as it's more of a balm consistency.

Overall I took my disappointment and turned it into a lovely surprise.

NYX Butter Lip-Balm in Marshmallow

NYX Butter Lip-Balm in Marshmallow

NYX Butter Lip-Balm in Marshmallow

Have you tried these NYX butter lip-balms? Would you try Marshmallow? 
As always, thanks for reading!

Benefit's They're Real! Push-Up Liner

Benefit's They're Real! Push-Up Liner

I picked this up a few days ago and have been wearing it everyday since. I think that's enough wear for me to form an opinion, but if things change I will always update you! So jumping right in, the description on Sephora reads: "the first fool-proof and budge-proof gel liner in a pen. A gorgeous way to open up eyes, this matte black gel formula won’t dry out, and its cutting-edge tip ensures a precise line every time." It boasts an innovative, flexible tip which they call the AccuFlex tip. 

AccuFlex tip

I'm not a big gel eyeliner fan; I don't think that any pot of gel liner and brush will ever give me a clear, sharp, defined line, so the allure of a gel formula liner in a handy pen was strong. Now keep in mind that my main love is liquid liner with a tiny brush tip. I've just about mastered that type of eyeliner so this completely different formula and packaging was quite daunting.

This product has a twist off cap which is nice to keep this product from really drying out. I swatched it in store and found the formula to be incredibly creamy and smooth, and I could smudge it right away. If I let it dry, it was virtually budge proof. Since I was out and about and had this big smudge of eyeliner on my hand that soap wasn't clearing up, I put a bit of hand sanitizer on the line and it just about completely dissolved it off. Now obviously I'm not recommending using sanitizer to take it off your eyes, but there is a way for it to come off! 

If you've seen any promos for this product, you'll know they came out with a They're Real Remover. After using my Clinique Cleansing Balm as usual, it seemed to come off easier than my liquid liner in the shower. I had less of a panda eye when I got out. I just used my normal Maybelline eye makeup remover and that did the trick just fine which makes me feel like the Benefit remover isn't completely necessary. 

Maybelline Clean Express! Makeup Remover

Just holding the cotton pad with remover on my eye. No wiping.

Almost all of the eyeliner came off with no wiping.

fool-proofness:
Using this product for the first time, I had bare eyelids. So no primer, no shadow, nothing. The line I created was a bit thick for my taste but quite sharp for a gel liner. Then I went ahead and did a simple eyeshadow look with eye primer, a neutral shade on my lid, and a darker neutral in my crease. I found the ease-of use to be a little harder, as having a shadow makes it tug a little more than a bare lid. The same was true for a more intensive eyeshadow look-- harder to glide a clean line. Now using primer and a cream shadow, I had a bit more success. It was easier to create a cleaner line, but it did end up being way too thick for my taste. I also have to tug on my eyelid more so that my skin is a flatter smoother surface for the liner to glide over. If you don't like doing that or have sensitive eyes, you might not like this.

Too much product, but you get the idea

cat-eye precision:
I found that the first time I used this product on bare lids, I got the most precise cat-eye flick. It was much harder the more shadow I had on the lid. When I first clicked the product out of the pen, it formed in a little bead shape at the bottom of the opening of the AccuFlex tip. This to me, helped create a better cat-eye, since the product was free to taper off at the end-- if that makes sense. Now that I've used it, the product has taken the shape of the tip opening which is shaped like an angled line. You could basically stamp the cat-eye line on your outer corners, but I feel that the formula is too dry to do that cleanly. My wings have ended up being quite fat and not so wing-like. Today I actually used a liquid brush eyeliner over the They're Real liner to end my wing in a sharp point.

Me tugging at my eyelid. This eye turned out better than the other.

Overall draggy sort of dryness

Not a precise wing. It was too thick that I could flake a chunk off.

opacity:
Since, with use, I feel that this liner is a bit dry, the line is kind of foggy which also means that it's not a deep dark black right away. I do have to go over the edges again, which leaves room for error. I ended up building it up too high, and having to fix the foggy edges so much that my line became too thick. Some days I've been lucky enough to get it right on the first try, while others I haven't. The color, once you get it on right, is very very black. I also prefer a matte finish and this is definitely matte. But with any matte formula, there's always a chance of dryness.

VERY black and matte! Exactly what I like.

Dryness

longevity: 
I absolutely hate when any eyeliner transfers to my eyelid when I blink. This did not transfer. As we know, I have oily eyelids. When I used this on bare lids and with a cream shadow, I saw a bit of transfer. With shadows I didn't really see any transferring. I rubbed on the line gently after it had set and had no smudging. If you build this product up too much, I did notice a bit of flaking. I also saw that it wore off slightly in the inner corner; I always end up touching that area because of eye gunk (ew) or itchiness so eyeliner always ends up wearing off here and the They're Real liner did the same thing. 

Here's how it turned out. Thicker than I like. I also cheated and fixed the wing point with liquid liner.

SO overall I like the dark blackness of this liner once you get it right and the matte finish. I don't like how it's a bit too dry to get a ridiculously sharp line, and I don't like how hard it is to get a nice clean cat-eye flick, because we all know I'm about that cat-eye! I like the AccuFlex tip and it's obvious flexibility, and I do love how they found a way to stick a traditional pot and brush product that is gel liner, and put it in an easier package.  I also think, in my opinion, that I cannot by any means get a precise line every time, nor do I believe that this product does not dry out. I'm not going to give up on this product! Once I get fully used to it, I'll be able to master it, but it is in no way a fool-proof beginners eyeliner.

If this review has helped you, or if you have tried it and want to share your thoughts, please comment below! I'd love to hear your experiences and opinions. What's your favorite eyeliner? What's your least favorite? Is it impossible for you to get a clean cat-eye?

As always, thanks for reading!

A Quick Update...

Hello all! Or all of you that actually read my blog!

I'm in the process of accumulating some new items and trying to use them religiously for awhile so I can do some in depth reviews. When I was exploring Madison over the weekend, I was lucky enough to be able to pop in to both an Ulta and Sephora. Here's my mini haul (mini in quantity, not price! :/ )

The Brow Wiz is a replenishment of my old one so this isn't new. But I will give you all an update on how I feel about these products very soon. I hope you all have a fabulous Fourth of July Weekend!

Thanks for reading!

What's In My Bag: On-the-Go Personal Care Essentials

Whenever I know I'll be out all day, especially wandering the streets and walking around out in the sun, I absolutely have to bring a few essential items with me. I always say I'm not a real girl because I don't ever carry a whole pharmacy in my bag, I'm lucky if I remember lip balm! Anyway my brother is a part of a summer field show band (that I was a member of in my day, but that's a whole 'nother story!) and my mom, dad, boyfriend, and I love leaving the house for a bit and travel out to see his shows. He'll be performing around the Madison area this weekend so we thought we'd book a hotel! I've been to Madison before, but only on the UW campus area so I'm excited to explore, walk around, and take in the sights. 

Naturally when it's summer I need a few extra beauty products in my routine to keep me fresh. Here's a look at what's in my on-the-go, must have, emergency type products.

What a beautiful mess!

Monistat Smoothing Care Powder Gel

I've mentioned this product before (here) as a primer but I do in fact use it as intended! If you are like me and your thighs are best friends, they're always in touch, then you need this life saver, especially if you're going to be wearing shorts, skirts, or dresses in the heat. It saves my skin from painful chafing so it's definitely a must-have!

MDSolarSciences Mineral Sunscreen Stick SPF 40

I was in the market for a sunscreen in stick form, because if you've read my Random Ravings post, you'll know I like my products in stick form! Anyway I saw this one on Sephora with no ratings or reviews so I thought, what the heck. Also, the packaging is so cute so I couldn't resist! I haven't gotten good use out of it yet since this weekend trip is the first time I'll really need it (my foundations have spf, and Wisconsin is finally warming back up again after some June gloom) but I'll get back to you on this! I'm going to try it out over my primer but under foundation (for extra protection) and also later on a bare face when I take my annual trip to the Dells. 

MDSolarSciences Mineral Sunscreen Stick

BandAid Friction Block Stick

Yet another stick product! I love this because when you're walking all day, your heels tend to take a beating, even if you've chosen your footwear with care. Bottom line, this has saved me from a few blistered feet.

Roller ball perfume
I love roller balls! I take them over the big bottle because a. they're cheaper, and b. they're way less expensive; you can try different scents at a better cost. Anyway I like to smell nice (who doesn't?), and while it's not ideal to pop some on in the sweaty sun, as it cools down I like to use this just in case! This particular scent is Ralph Lauren Midnight Romance.

NYX Green Tea Blotting Paper

I get oily and these help! Any oil blotting papers will do, really.

Maybelline FitMe Concealer in 15 Fair/Clair

I have mega dark eye circles and sometimes I need a touch up. This particular one is low priced and great for on-the-go. 

Ban Total Refresh Cooling Body Cloths

Having long hair and greasy tendencies, it's nice to clean up my upper back, shoulder, and decollete area. No matter how clean my hair is, I still feel a bit oily. When I saw these it was the answer to my prayers! These are meant to freshen you up, after the gym, after a long summer day, in a hurry, or just because. The scent slightly reminds me of that Off bug spray (the one that actually smells really good!--to me anyway!) but it's so light that it's non-offensive.

Not the prettiest of packaging...

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Stick

I mentioned this here and here so you'd know by now that this is perfect for lips, or dry areas on the body- plus it's a stick!

EOS Berry Blossom Hand Lotion

I'm not a huge fan of the scent of this, but it keeps my hands hydrated and that's all I really ask for!

I didn't add any medication or prescriptions because that's a given. Have you tried any of these products? Anything you can recommend to me before I leave? What are some or your essential on-the-go items? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Thanks for reading!