Sunday, September 25, 2016

Tarte Grav3yard Girl Swamp Queen Eye & Cheek Palette Review

Hello! 

Long time, no see. 

Today I have an extremely late review of the Tarte Grav3yard Girl Swamp Queen palette. I bought this palette when it initially launched on Ulta's website and I have been using it consistently for the past few months and I definitely have solid thoughts on the palette. 

Tarte collaborated with YouTube sensation Bunny from Grav3yard Girl to create an all-in-one face palette. The palette retails for $45 and I am still finish that is available in my local Ulta and Sephora stores. Bunny also included two Tarte Lip Paints within the collection and I was unable to get my hands on either of them. 


Let's get into the packaging. I absolutely love the rustic, old west vibe of the outer box and palette. The wood grain detail embossed into the box and palette is a fantastic touch. The palette is very sturdy and of good quality, especially for being cardboard. The inside of the palette is a gold plastic. There is a large mirror included with the quote, "Believe in yourself. Love yourself. Embrace your individuality" imprinted onto it. There is also an eyeshadow shader brush included in the palette. And can we please talk about the alligator with wings on the front? So cute! I really get a feel of Bunny's personality through the packaging and honestly I can't get enough. 


Onto the makeup inside the palette. The palette includes 9 eyeshadows (3 sets of trios), 1 bronzer, 1 blush and 1 highlighter. There are only two shades that are completely matte, all of the others have varying amounts of sheen to glitters. The palette has a soft vanilla scent that completely disappears once the powders have been applied to the skin. 

On to the swatches! I do not swatch over primers of any sort, I want to see how they perform without the extra assistance. Let's start with eyeshadows. 

First we have #SFS, Natural Peaches and Dogman. 

Next we have Big Baby, Sassy Bun and Sippy Sippy. 

Lastly, we have Haunting, Uncommon and Mancat. 

The shadows are absolutely stunning and have strong pigmentation that show up well on my cool toned, medium tan skin. Although, I do with there was a bit more punch to the shades #SFS and Haunting. Sippy Sippy is a great dark brown but the chunky gold glitters in it fall all over my face, which I am not a fan of. The texture of the shadows is soft and I notice some powder kick up from the shades Haunting and Uncommon. The shadows blend nicely, although Dogman was incredibly difficult for me to blend nicely. 

Now for the face products. 

We have the bronzer in Sweet Tea, the blush in Does This Thing Really Work? And the highlighter in Gatorwings. 

The bronzer is very warm toned, I have to be extremely careful with it or I can look orange. However, since there is a lack of a mid-toned brown eyeshadow, this works perfectly in that capacity for me.  The blush has a completely different texture than what you may be used to seeing from Tarte but it is a nice coral-pink tone that lasts quite a long time on my oily skin. Lastly, the highlighter. There is no arguing that Gatorwings is the most beautiful and intense highlighter pretty much ever. However, for me the chunks of actual glitter in the product emphasizes every pore, fine line and texture on my skin. I will continue to use it as a inner corner highlight on my eyes. 

I think that this palette was very well thought out and nicely executed. Bunny has done an amazing job with the palette and everything from the packaging to the shades she picked for the products just scream her. 

I think the price point for the product you get is completely fair. And the quality of the products is nice. If you are a makeup beginner and have fair to light medium skin I believe this palette would be great. 
If you are looking for an everyday palette I would definitely recommend this. 

XO,
Megan

Friday, July 1, 2016

Ipsy Glam Bag - July 2016 Spoilers #2

Hello again! 

Today I have the latest spoilers for the Ipsy Glam Bag this month. Let's dive right in. 


The theme for June 2016 is Hot Summer Nights. Very appropriate, especially here in California. We have been having hot mornings, hot afternoons and hot nights. Basically, it's just hot. 


Here's a look at the bag. What do we think?

1: The Balm Cosmetics Eyeshadow 

2: Thrive Cosmetics Infinity Waterproof Eyeliner

3: Tre'Stique Mini Highlight Stick

4: BareMinerals Gen Nude Matte Liquid Lipcolor

5: Benefit Cosmetics Ka-Brow!

6: Luxie Beauty Small Angle Eye Brush

Looks like some good products are in store for us this month. 

If you are interested and haven't yet made the jump in getting your own Glam Bag then you can join here

Until next time. 

XO, 
Megan

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Walmart Beauty Box - Summer 2016

Hello again.

Today I wanted to share something exciting with you. I received my Walmart Beauty Box for Summer 2016!! Woo!!

This beauty box is only $5 quarterly. Yes, you read that correctly. $5!! And it is jam packed with awesome goodies that you can find in your local Walmart store. Let's get in to what you came here for..

These are the Incoco Coconut Nail Art Strips. Can you believe I have never tried nail strips before?I'm pretty excited. 

There is a sample of Lady Gaga's Fame Black Fluid perfume. Normally I am not a fan of celebrity perfumes but this one isn't bad. It has a sexy, musky and slightly sweet scent. I kind of like it. I appreciate that it is a spray sample and not one of those that you have to dab on. 

We got the Schwarzkopf Essence Ultîme shampoo and conditioner for color treated hair. It's a very generous size and it's good for travel. Plus it smells nice too. 

This is totally a blast from the past! The St. Ives Apricot Scrub. Man, I used probably 10 bottles of this stuff in high school. I was obsessed. Now I know that this scrub is waaaay to harsh for my skin so I will probably be giving this to my man to use but it was nice to see this in my box. I can't believe they still make this stuff! 

Here's another oldie but goodie. The Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs in Medium. I have a trip coming up very soon so this will come in handy for sure. I know we already received this a few boxes back but it's nice to have again. 

I have extreme desert hands. Seriously. I think it is because I wash them so much but my hands are always dry and cracked looking. I am so glad to have the Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Repair lotion to throw in my purse. It is unscented and sinks quickly in to the skin without making you a greasy mess. 

Lastly we have the Arm & Hammer Truly Radiant toothpaste. Well... Like I said, I am going to be traveling soon and this will be handy to take with me. 

They also sent come coupons but that's boring to look at so I spared you from it. 

I must say, this quarter the box is not what I have come to expect from the beauty box. Normally they give beauty products like lipsticks or nail polishes and this month it was mostly health and body products. Most of this stuff will be useful but I was really hoping for something fun. 

Are you subscribed to the Walmart Beauty Box? If not check it out here

Until next time. 

XO,
Megan

Friday, June 24, 2016

Ipsy Glam Bag - July 2016 Spoiler #1!

The time has come again to reveal next month's spoilers for the July 2016 Ipsy Glam Bag. Are you ready?

1: Make Up Forever Excessive Lash mascara

2: Too Faced HangoveRX primer 

3: BareMinerals (lipgloss? lip cream?)

4: The Balm Meet Matt(e) Trimony eyeshadow in Matt Moskowitz or Matt Kumar

5: Benefit Ka-Brow! 

What are you most excited for? If you haven't joined Ipsy then check it out here

Until next time. 

XO,
Megan

Play! by Sephora - June 2016 Review

Hello!

I recently received my Play! by Sephora box for June 2016 and I can't wait to share what was inside with you guys. 

This month's theme is The Minimalists. 

Everything can wrapped all pretty in this little bag. I honestly don't know what to do with these bags, they aren't really useful but they are cute. If you have any suggestions of how to repurpose these bags please let me know. On to the good stuff.

Let's start with the Tocca EDP in Florence. This perfume packs a punch. It smells like sunshine and flowers on a warm spring day... times 20. It's nice but very strong. And it is not a spray sample. I spilled half the bottle trying to open it. Not fun. 

I am always down for sample sizes of mascara and Benefit's They're Real! is one of my faves. I have probably 2 or 3 of these in sample sizes already and I ain't mad to get another. 

Bumble and Bumble's Don't Blow It (h)air styler seems interesting. It is a cream for fine to medium hair to use on no heat, low fuss days. It smells amazing. I have very fine, wavy/curly, oily hair so I'm curious as to what this will do to it. 

I'm intrigued by the BareMinerals BareSkin Sheer Sun liquid bronzer. The fact that it is a liquid absolutely terrifies me. Maybe it will be nice to mix in with some of my lighter foundations this summer. 

I have recently been looking for a good facial sunscreen that won't be greasy on my already oily skin. Sephora came to my rescue and now I can try the Tarte Tarteguard 30. Yay!

The Becca Backlight Priming Filter is my favorite product this month. I have tried this in the past and absolutely LOVE IT! Yes I have oily skin and yes I still love this  primer. I really find that it doesn't make me look more oily. It just makes my skin look pretty and gives life to my super matte foundations. It also helps my foundation last a lot longer than they normally would. 

I really feel like Sephora knocked it out of the park this month. All of the products were great and I wasn't disappointed in the least. Hopefully they keep up the good work!

Are you excited about the products this month? Are you excited for next month's box?

Until next time. 

XO,
Megan 

Ipsy Glam Bag - June 2016

Hey guys.

I just received my Ipsy Glam Bag for June 2016 and I'm just gonna get right on down to the nitty gritty... This month was pretty awesome. Let's jump in and see the goodies. 


I must say that I am not thrilled about the actual bag this month. Just not my style. 

First up is the Japonesque Solid Brush Cleanser. This is a goat milk cleansing balm that smells absolutely divine. I can't wait to try it out. 

Next is the Elizabeth Mott Show Me Your Cheeks blush in Peach Pink. I love the tone of this blush. I think it will be great to use during the summer months. As you will see in the swatch, it doesn't look like much but on the cheeks it gives a nice flush. 

I am so excited to see the Urban Decay eyeshadow in Lounge. It. Is. Stunning. There really is nothing else to say except that this is my favorite product this month. 

The Jouer highlighter in Tiare is a gorgeous cream highlight. It's so beautiful. Jouer is one of my favorite brands and I'm so happy to see one of their products in a Glam Bag. 

Here are some swatches of the eyeshadow, highlighted and blush. So pretty. 

Lastly, I received 2 BioRepublic sheet masks. I am obsessed with sheet masks and I hope I love them. 

What do you think of this month's bag? Did you get different products? Let me know. If you would like to join Ipsy you can check it out here. It's only $10 a month. 

Until next time. 

XO,
Megan

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Ipsy Glam Bag - June 2016 Spoilers #2

Hi guys!

Today I have the Ipsy Glam Bag - June 2016 Spoilers Round 2!

This month's theme is Rebel Rebel. Here is the first look of what the bag looks like for June 2016 from Ipsy's Instagram.  

What do you think? Cool? Uncool? Let me know in the comments below. 


Mirabella Beauty Magic Marker Eyeliner in very black. 


ColourPop Cosmetics Creme Gel Liner in Get Paid. 


Dirty Little Secret Cosmetics Illuminating Baked Highlighter in Bellisima. 


Be A Bombshell Cosmetics Pout Potion in Secret. 


ColourPop Cosmetics Creme Gel Eyeliner in Swerve. 


Doucce Boombastic Lash Volumizer Mascara. I'm assuming this is in black..


Jouer Highlighter in Tiare. 


Okay, if the pink mailer that the Glam Bags ship out in has the cute little "Rebel" graffiti marking on it I will squeal with joy.

Check out my previous blog post for the Ipsy Glam Bag - June 2016 Spoilers #1 to see a few the items that each Ipsy subscriber will be receiving this month. 

Are you excited about this round of products? What are you hoping to receive? If you haven't joined Ipsy yet, what are you waiting for? For $10 a month you get 5 samples (sometimes full sized products) and the value of the bag is always well over the price you pay.  If you are interested in checking it out you can do so here.

Until next time. 

XO, 
Megan