Ipsy Glam Bag - March 2016

Hello again!

My post this month is a little late because my bag shipped late this month. I can only assume that it shipped late because I redeemed some points and every time I do that my bag always seems delayed. So weird. 

Anyways, this month the theme is Hello Spring. 

 I must admit that the choice of bag isn't particularly my cup of tea but I think it's awesome that there were multiple variations in colors that you could receive. 

On to the goodies...

First up I received the Margaret Dabbs London Super Shiner Buffer. It's nice to have but honestly I can get one of these anywhere for just a couple bucks and I really don't use buffers all that often. 

Next up is the Dead Sea Wash Off Mask. I really like the fact that this is a resealable foil packet. I can probably get two uses out of this. It is made with salts and minerals from the Dead Sea and is a mud treatment that is supposed to draw out impurities and restore elasticity in the skin. This is also safe for all skin types.  I'm pretty exited to try this out.  

Then we have the Starlooks Luxe Longwear Eye Pencil in Jet. You can never have too many black eyeliners. This one is very smooth and creamy and extremely black. Hopefully it holds up well in my waterline. 

I also received the Mellow Cosmetics Powder Blush in Bronze. This blush is a warm bronze color and is very smooth and creamy to the touch. I absolutely love this shade and see myself getting a ton of use out of this during the spring and summer months ahead. 

And lastly, I received the NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in Soft Spoken. This is a gorgeous liquid lipstick in a brown based mauve color. I am so pleased with this product. It is so opaque and creamy and it dries down fairly matte. It does transfer a little but it is so comfortable to wear. Another bonus is there is no scent. Normally I love a vanilla or cake batter scent in my lip products but I prefer no scent to a bad one. I tried this out already and I got about a 4-6 hour wear out of it. I absolutely love this product and want to get it in another shade. 

**BONUS ITEMS**

I thought I would share the items I redeemed points for. 

I saw that Ipsy was offering the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water and had to try it out. I am so excited to see if this works out for me. I know a lot of people either love it or hate it. I hope I love it. Have you tried this? Let me know your experience with it. 

I also saw that they were offering the Jessie's Girl Eyeshadow Primer. I have heard good things about this primer and wanted to give it a whirl. Normally I use the Urban Decay Primer Potion but I'm ready to try something new. If you have any suggestions on good primers for oily eyelids please let me know. I'm interested in trying some of your faves. 

Alright so that wraps up this month's Glam Bag. It was pretty well rounded and I got some great loot. What did you recover in yours? I love hearing what other people received. If you haven't yet joined the Ipsy bandwagon and are interested you can sign up here. It's only $10!

Until next time. 

XO,

Megan

Ipsy Glam Bag - April 2016 Spoiler!

Hey guys!

Ipsy has released the first spoiler for the April 2016 Glam Bag! 

• Tarte Lip Surgence Lip Creme
• Benefit They're Real! Tinted Primer
• Buxom Wildly Whipped Liquid Lipstick

What are you excited to receive in your Glam Bag next month? I would love to try the Buxom liquid lipstick!

If you haven't signed up for Ipsy yet then what are you waiting for? It's only $10 a month! You can sign up here.

XO,
Megan

ColourPop Review

Hi guys!

Today I am bringing you a very exciting review. It is on the Colourpop Cosmetics Lippie Stix and Ultra Matte Lips. 

If you have been on Instagram or watch YouTube then I am sure you have heard the buzz around Colourpop Cosmetics. They are a relatively new company based in Los Angeles. They sell eyeshadows, blushes, highlighters, lipsticks, liquid lipsticks, eyeliners and now brow products. All of their products range in price from $5 to $8. In a world where the prices of cosmetics are on the rise this company has made a name for itself in providing quality products at very affordable prices. I have heard all the hype around this brand and wanted to try some products out for myself. 

When visiting the site for the first time it can be a little overwhelming. They have so many products in every color imaginable. I recommend looking up swatches of anything you are interested in. I ended up picking out all lip products because that is what was intriguing me the most. 

I picked up two Lippie Stix and 3 Ultra Matte Lips. I have been testing these out for a few weeks and have pretty solid thoughts on them.  

First up I have the Lippie Stix. On the left is Lady, a cool toned dirty burgundy.  On the right is Grunge, a cool toned plum brown. Both of these have a matte finish but are surprisingly comfortable to wear. They do not dry out my lips and last incredibly well on my lips. I can easily get a 5-6 hour wear out of these even while eating and drinking. They are not budge proof and will transfer but color still remains on my lips. And that's all that matters to me. 

So sorry for the horrible swatch!

Next up we have the Ultra Matte Lips.  On the left we have the shade Teeny Tiny, a deep greyed out plum. In the middle we have Beeper, a warm mid-toned taupe. And on the right we have Chilly Chili, a muted plummy brown. These are, like the name implies, ultra matte. I suggest exfoliating and moisturizing your lips before even thinking about putting on of these suckers on. They dry down to a completely budge proof and smudge proof finish and feel almost powdery on the lips. These will last you through a hurricane. They are fantastic!

As you can see I wasn't very adventurous and got very neutral shades, but to be honest most of what I wear are neutral shades. I will definitely order outside of the neutral color range when I make my next purchase. Also, I suggest looking up swatches because some colors can look extremely similar on the lips. 

I am so impressed with all of these lip products! Especially for being so affordable. I have been recommending them to anyone who will listen. If you are looking to try out different lip colors or different finishes then give Colourpop a try. My favorites so far are the Grunge Lippie Stix and the Beeper Ultra Matte Lip. If you have tried Colourpop products then what are your favorites? 

XO,

Megan

Sephora Beauty Class - Correct and Conceal

The Did you know that Sephora offers free beauty classes? Yes, that's right I said FREE! Each class is centered around a beauty concern or technique. The classes last just under 2 hours. I have been to a couple of these classes and they are great. You can sign up to attend a class on Sephora's website here. 

This week the Sephora in my area held a class addressing Color Correcting and Concealing.

When I arrived to the class I was asked by the instructor if I would like to be the model that she showed the steps on. I said yes, of course. First she asked me what my complexion concerns were. For me, I have redness in my cheeks and in between my eyebrows and I have extremely dark circles under my eyes and on my eyelids, this is genetic and no anount of sleep or water will solve this. 

Next she asked me what my skin type is. I told her that my cheeks are extremely oily and the rest of my skin feels normal/dry. 

Step 1 - Prep As always you want to start with a clean face. You want to moisturize your skin and use an eye cream. The Murad Oil Control Mattifier SPF 15 PA++ (here) was used as my moisturizer/sunscreen. This was used to help control the excess oil in my T-Zone and to moisturize the other areas on my face while providing sun protection. The Fresh Rose Hydrating Eye Gel Cream (here) was used for hydrating my under eye area and also applied around my lips. And lastly, the Laura Mercier Hydrating Primer (here) was used to prime my whole face. 

Step 2 - Correct To correct my complexion the Sephora + Pantone Universe Correct+Conceal Palette in  Medium/Dark (here) was used. This palette comes in 2 types and contains 15 shades to correct and conceal. To correct the redness in my cheeks a yellow toned cream was used. This is because on a color wheel the shade opposite to red is yellow. To correct my under eye circles a combination of peach and orange tones were applied to cancel out the purple tones I naturally have. Just in applying these correctors I really saw a complete difference in my skin. 

Step 3 - Conceal The Lancôme Effacernes Waterproof Protective Undereye Concealer in Honey (here) was applied very thinly on top of the correctors under my eyes and on my eyelids to conceal the darknessand to prime for eyeshadow application later. Instantly I looked more awake and even toned. This concealer is wonderful. I have not heard anyone talk about this concealer and I don't know why. The coverage is amazing and I have noticed no creasing even without setting it with a powder. If you have dry skin underneath your eyes I highly recommend this concealer.

Step 4 - Foundation The new Nars Velvet Skin Tint (here) in Cuzco was lightly used to cover the yellow corrector used on my cheeks and in between my brows and was feathered out towards the perimeters of my face. This was not used all over my face but just in the areas that were corrected and lightly blended out around the areas for a very natural and wearable look. This skin tint is oil-free and contains vitamins C & E with an SPF of 30. This dries down to an almost powdery, soft matte finish that will ultimately help control oil throughout the day.

Step 5 - Set The Laura Mercier Invisible Loose Setting Powder (here) was used to lightly set my face makeup. This super light powder has micro-refined silica to diffuse light and create a soft focus look to the skin. This was not used to set my under eyes. If you are using a concealer that creases terribly then I would recommend setting it with a light powder. 

This was my face after the whole shebang. My skin looks even and smooth. My skin does not look or feel cakey even though I do have a few products on my skin. I believe that is from the technique used to apply the products and not using too much product. Each layer was very thinly applied and this technique really makes your skin look flawless. 

I learned so much in this class and I love the individualized attention that is given to each person attending. If you have some time I recommend checking out the website and enrolling in a class. 

XO,

Megan