Urban Decay Smoky Palette Review & Eye Look

Let me preface this by saying I apologize for the long delay in posting!  This review should have gone up weeks ago as you can see I didn't even have my bangs cut in the pictures below.  But I wanted to let ya'll know my thoughts about the Urban Decay Smoky Palette.


When I first heard about the smoky palette coming out, I was skeptical.  I thought it would be dark colors that would only be wearable for a smoky eye or night on the town look, so not something that I could wear day to day at work.

I was pleasantly surprised.  The colors were much lighter with a single swipe on the lid than they led me to believe.

Courtesy of peekandponder.com

Some shades perform better than others, I loved Smolder but couldn't always get High to perform as well.

Here is a look that I wore to work and out several times.

Yep, my shirt says Genius!!

In this look, I used Whiskey and Combust as my blending shades above my lid, Smolder on my outer V and DirtySweet on my mobile lid.  This is a lighter version of the look, but adding more color and blending more quickly darkens the look!

Overall, this is a great palette for fall.  Colors are on trend and will go into the winter months well.  If you are a fan of the other Naked palettes then you will love this one.  There were some negative reviews that I came across but as long as you are using a good primer then the staying power of these shadows should be fine.  Also, if you start out with small amounts of color then they should not be muddy when applied.

Great purchase and no regrets here!!

Did you run out and get this?  What are your thoughts?

Stay tuned for my thoughts on the Chanel Perfection Lumiere foundation!

Let us know in the comments below!

Have a great day!! xo

Upcoming 2015 Beauty Releases

Happy Friday Ya'll!!  Today I really just want to do show and tell.  I've come across some amazing products that some of will be releasing as soon as the end of this month!!  And believe me when I say I want all of them!!

First up is Benefit's They're Real Push Up Liner!!  As soon as this product came out I prayed that they would be releasing more colors than black.  And they heard my cries at night because not only is the liner coming out in 4 new shades but so is the mascara.

Another one of my favorite brands, Kat Von D.  These colors are gorgeous and if you have used them then you know how they don't budge from your lips.

Urban Decay is coming out with a 4th Naked palette, a Naked Smokey Palette.  

Lorac!!  Two new eye shadow palettes!!  One is all MATTE!!  Beautiful!!  And their own contour palette.

Mac's matte lipstick line.  This one is currently available on their site.

Glam Glow has done it again........Flash Mud......this is a brightening treatment mask.

Givenchy eye shadow palette....look at this packaging.  Who cares what is in it? :)

So now you can see why I am over here drooling away and maybe some things that will be on my birthday wish list (yes my birthday is in October and so what lol).

Which product are you most excited about??  Let us know in the comments below!!  And thank you to +TrendMood for always keeping us current xoxo

Have a great day!! xoxo

January 2015 Product Favorites

Welcome to the future!! 2015 has arrived :) Truth be told, I was expecting my beauty boxes this month to be filled with fabby new trendy items or new twists on old classics but nothing really blew me away.....BoxyCharm was my number one box this month.  Read the unboxing HERE.

SO let's talk about my favorites this month.

First up is Urban Decay's DeSlick Setting Spray.  Since I started using MAC's Studio Sculpt, read about it HERE, I haven't been as dehydrated looking in my face.  Translation-a bit oily!! I was looking for something that would not only set my makeup but help reduce unwanted shine.  Ya know, there are some times where you just don't want a powdery, finish on your face.  Urban Decay has a few setting sprays but this one was what I chose and I am very pleased with my choice.  It sprays on like a dream, a nice even misting application.  My face is set all day until I decide it's time to come sliding off ;) My advice when spraying a finishing spray on your face is to sit still for about 10 seconds or until you feel that it is dry. Don't make any facial expressions and let it do it's thing :)

Next up is Too Faced's Melted Liquified Lipstick in Fig.  I got a sample of this a long time ago in a light pinky color. I wasn't a fan.  And it all came down to the color.  I never gave the product a chance.  Recently Too Faced came out with a ton of new shades for this line.

When I saw this picture, I lost my mind and knew I had to collect pretty much all of them :) But I started with Fig.

The color truly doesn't translate as well as I had hoped in this picture.  It is a gorgeous muted purpley shade that even the most conventional people can wear.  It is so pretty.  As for the product itself, the first use is a bit messy.  It comes out a bit watery, but it dries to a matte finish.  Use a good lip exfoliator prior to wearing any lippies, especially in the winter. I recommend elf's lip exfoliator for a no hassle one or DIY with some sugar (white or brown) and some oil (olive or coconut).  I will be sharing my recipe for my own lip balms coming up on the blog :)

And here are the newest shades released for this Spring!  Melon has my name all over it!

Courtesy of BeautyPointofView

Next up is Sigma's E40 Tapered Blending Brush.  I know it is a $16 eye brush.  BUT if you have a discount (which you will at the end of this post!) it is worth it. If you have hooded eyes, it is also WORTH it! This brush is great!! It fits into the hooded crease of my eye perfectly where as other brushes don't.  If I can find a cheaper alternative I will but for now it is a great score.  Plus these brushes are known to last forever.  It blends like a dream and picks up the perfect amount of product. Also, the product comes right off the brush.  Meaning, I don't have to wipe each color off after I have used it.

And lastly, my product favorite for the month of January is Smashbox's Contour Kit.  I prefer a cream contour but I like this because it is all in one kit and the contour color is an actual contour color. And the bronzer is a bronzer color. I started out contouring using bronzer as my contour but realized what a difference it makes when you use two colors.  The contour color is a nice cool color that creates the shadows I want and the bronzer offers a nice healthy, warm glow.  The highlight doesn't really provide enough color to highlight my skin so I use the powder to set my concealer.  Since it is a tad yellow it works perfectly!  This kit comes with instructions on the mirror and are perfect for beginners.  FYI-I had tried the IT Cosmetics contour kit last year and returned it. There was zero pigmentation and nothing showed up on my skin.

And there ya have it!  Have you used any of these products? What are your thoughts?  Fall in love with any products yourself this month?  Let me know in the comments below!!

Use MISSYOU10 on your order at Sigma for 10% off your order!

Also, don't forget I am having a giveaway!!  There are only 5 days left to enter!

Click HERE to enter and good luck!!

Have a great day!! xo

December 2014 Product Favs

Don't even get me started on how I can't believe the holidays are over and 2015 is almost here. I mean, we are in the FUTURE people!!  At least in high school, I thought this day was so far away.

Usually I show ya'll my favorite products from my monthly beauty boxes, for the most part.  Well this month I want to share gifts and purchases over the last month.  Now, these are all what the beauty world considers high end and not drugstore but I am showing you these products because they are worth it.  These are quality products that have fabulous payoffs.

First up is Urban Decay's Vice 3.  This has been around awhile but it is brand spanking new to me and I am in love.

Look at these colors.

courtesy of chloeash.com

I will be doing a post with different looks from this palette and I also have my eyes on Vice 2 for next month.  The pigments on these shadows are incredible and since I am a shimmer girl, there are only a few matte transition colors in here so it is perfect.

Keeping with Urban Decay, their eye shadow primer potion is by far the strongest eye primer I have found to date.  It keeps my shadow on all day without creasing.  In fact, if I make a mistake while getting ready for work, it is a pain in the butt to fix :) I actually have received samples of all four of their formulas to try so I look forward to that!

Next up is the NARSissist cheek palette.  This is actually no longer on the market so I am glad I snagged it when I did.  The colors all work so well together on my winter skin but they are too light for when I have a tan unless I use a very heavy hand.

This is all I need to contour and highlight my face.  The highlighter (devotee) is a perfect shade for all skin tones.  The blush (orgasm) is a cult favorite.  It is a peachy shade and I love corals more than reds or pinks.  And the bronzer (laguna) is not a dirty brown but similar to Too Faced's chocolate soleil bronzer (which was also one of my favorites a few months back).

courtesy of makeupandbeautyblog.com

Next is the Real Techniques buffing brush from the Core Collection Set.

Now I love this entire set of brushes, I actually use the domed one for my NARS bronzer, but the stipple one makes my Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation go on with an airbrushed finish and they are so easy to clean and I have never had a problem with shedding. They are actually on sale at Target right now so grab them while you can!

And last but not least is Kat Von D's foiled love lipstick in F.T.W.

This color is so pretty and my only complaint is the smell.  It is kind of chemical like.  It is no longer available at Sephora (insert sad face here) but the link I included will take you to Amazon.

And there ya have it!  My December 2014 product favs.

Do you use any of these? Are you just as in love as I am?  What were your product favs this month?

Let me know in the comments below!!

Have a great day!! xo

BirchBox VS Ipsy Throwdown-August 2014

It's that time again!!  Time to have Birchbox and Ipsy face off!!  See who won last month, HERE.  Since my post last month, I have gotten several more of my friends to sign up to Birchbox so let's see what this month does!!

Actually, I have to give Birchbox big points right off the bat, because my box came before the shipping email even did! I never look at my shipping label and I regret it this month because I guess they did something special and gave everyone a really neat title, like Marvelous or Vivacious! I wonder what mine was.....Probably not Babbling, which is what I was called in high school ;)

Okay, moving on, here is a first look at both of them.

Here is Birchbox and this month's theme is Lighten Up. Here's to keeping cool and laughing our way into fall! Ummm, for me, it will be crying as I LOVE SUMMER!! :)

And here is Ipsy, and their theme is Beauty Schooled.

Now when I do my breakdowns, I like to try to compare the items that are the most similar to each other from each bag and this month it is going to be hard to do that.  But let's try :)

First up from Birchbox is Marcelle BB Cream in Golden Glow.

I chose to review this first as I had considered purchasing this before I bought my Becca Foundation.  Read that review HERE.  But in my experience, BB cream's don't really have much coverage, so I did not.  I am happily surprised with this BB cream!  It offers coverage and isn't just a tinted moisturizer!  In fact, the description says it is a universal shade.  Plus it gave my skin a nice healthy glow, not an orangey tan glow.  If you use the code MARCELLE at checkout at Birchbox, you will get a free lux gloss :)

Here is my face with only the BB cream :) and yes, I am still sick :(

I really like it a lot!!

Ipsy gave me Dr. Brandt's Pores No More Pore Refiner.

I actually had this product in a sample (and for the life of me cannot remember where my sample came from) already. The closest thing I can compare this primer to is POREFESSIONAL.  And I do that with caution.  It is the same color (nude tone) but goes on a little bit thinner and oilier for me.  I had no idea that the full size product of this was $45 either.  That being said, it does make my pores seem much smaller and some of them completely disappear so I will be using this up for sure.

I have to give the point to Birchbox.

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Ipsy-0

Next up, from Birchbox is, LAQA and Co. Sheer Lip Lube Pencil in Menatour.

I am IN LOVE with this color!! My only other experience with LAQA and CO was with another lip lube I was given in a light pink color that makes me look sick so I have never used it after I swatched it.  Boy, did this change my mind!

It goes on a little pinker but is gorgeous and long lasting.  Also, if you turn the end of it like a dial, it gives more product so you actually have more then it looks like you have :)

Ipsy gave me Jersey Shore Sun Lip Conditioner in Mongongo.

This is an all natural, oil based, anti aging lip conditioner.  But after seeing how excited I am over my purple lip color, who do you think won this one??  I did read the reviews on it and it does not go on waxy and that is a huge plus.  Look for this in one of my giveaways!

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Next up, Birchbox gave me a sample of Atelier Orange Sanguine Cologne.

Although I was unable to review it online and get my Birchbox points, I did email them so I know it will be resolved soon.  This smells really nice.  It is orange (thank you Captain Obvious) and earthy smelling, due to the Sandalwood.  I am not a huge fan of fruity smelling perfumes but I liked the way this one smelled on me more than in the bottle.

Ipsy gave me Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk.

Okay here is the funny part.  I have been a HUGE fan of this since Birchbox sent it to me as a sample and it is now the only dry shampoo I use.  And I always buy it from Birchbox!!  But now that Ipsy sent it to me and I can get a discount, that is where my next purchase will be made!  If you use dry shampoo, you HAVE to try this one.  It changed the way I looked at dry shampoo.  It not only gets the oil out of my second day hair but it refreshes and brightens up my hair.  It has a great fresh smell, too.  Some dry shampoos actually make my hair feel dirtier after using them but this one is a game changer.

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Birchbox gave me Acure Brightening Facial Scrub with Sea Kelp.

And mama likey!!  I like the way it exfoliates my skin and I like the herbal smell.  I do wish it was a larger sample as I don't think I am going to get that many uses out of it.  Because of that, I don't know that I will be able to notice if it brightens my skin.

Ipsy gave me J. Cat Beauty Eye Shadow in Half Naked.

Hmmmm, so this is a peachy color.  It appears to maybe have some shimmer but I wear bold colors so at most, I would use this as a highlighting shade.  This will also be going in my next giveaway.

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Last up from Birchbox is Supergoop Forever Young hand cream.

I love Supergoop but I have been getting an abundance of mini mini samples from them.  This was a rich moisturizer but I would have only gotten one use if I had used it on my hands, so I used it on my cuticles.

Ipsy gave me Urban Decay's Perversion Mascara.

Funny enough, I won this before it's release and included it in my first giveaway so I never even got to try it!So I am excited that I got it again.  I love a good dark black mascara as much as I love my colored ones, so I hope this lives up to the hype :)

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TA DA!!  Birchbox won AGAIN!!  Thanks so much for another great month of beauty products!

The other thing I wanted to mention is each month, Ipsy gives you a reusable makeup bag.  This is the one I got this month.

This one is super cute and vinyl and I love me some polka dots!  :)

Birchbox usually doesn't send anything extra but this month they included a really pretty postcard with the perfume.  I know who I am mailing it out to already :)

I hope ya'l' enjoyed this month's battle of the boxes between these two!

What was your favorite item in either your Birchbox or Ipsy this month?

Let me know in the comments below!  Plus, click on any of the highlighted links for either box to sign up today to get your box ASAP! :)

Have a great day!