Urban Decay Vice LTD: Review and 3 looks

Hi everyone!

It was recently announced that the limited edition Vice LTD palette will be available at Ulta so I picked back up and started playing with mine again.

The Review: 

It is a very pretty palette and I remember being excited when I did swatches for an earlier post but then I tried to use it on my eyes and it just did not work well for me.

Things to consider:
1. It is very cool toned and only has a a few warm toned shades so if you prefer warm shadows this might not be the palette for you.
2. You might need a base for them. I have pigmented and oily eyelids and theses shadows are quite light and shimmery so they did not stay on my lids. I finally got them to work by using very creamy bases. Mac's paint pot in painterly did not work really well for me. I found that the Maybelline color tattoos and the ColorPop super shock shadows worked best for me. Once I started using those, I was able to create some nice looks with it.

Overall, I don't think this one is a must have.

Look #1

I used: 

Urban Decay PP

ColorPop Super Shock shadow in Girly 

Last Sin all on the inner half of the lid 

Backdoor on the crease 

Hodoo on the outer half

Laced above the crease to blend out Backdoor

Anonymous as a browbone highlight 

Look #2

I used: 

Urban Decay PP

ColorPop Super Shock shadow in Girly 

Crystal all over the lid 

Nameless on the crease 

Perversion on the outer v

Laced to bled out upper crease 

Look #3

I used: 

Urban Decay PP

ColorPop Super Shock shadow in Girly 

Chase on the middle of the lid 

Disco all over the lid (over Chase)

Deeper on the crease 

Perversion on the outer v

Laced to blend out crease 

Anonymous as a browbone highlight 

I am very happy with the looks I was able to do, so I am keeping the palette. I was able to do wearable looks appropriate for my work environment but also a fin look. 

Let me know if you have any questions!

xoxo Cynthia 

* I purchased all mentioned products. There are no affiliate links and this is not a sponsored post. All thought and opinions are my own. 

Urban Decay Vice LTD palette: Swatches and First Impressions

Hello all!

I was recently able to pick up the limited edition Urban Decay Vice LTD palette at the Newport Beach flagship store. You can pick it up for $58 at urbandecay.com

The palette: 

I have to say that the packaging is beautiful and much better than the Vice palette this year (just my opinion, sorry). I love the lime green color!

You get 20 eyeshadows and a double-ended brush. I know some people don't like the brushes that come with palettes but I always find a use for them :)

The Swatches: 

All shadows were swatched on my NC42 skin, without a primer. It's a rare cloudy day in Souther California, so a did have a light on but they are showing up true to color. I will name and describe shadows top to bottom. 

Chase: a satin gold 

Provocateur: a shimmery pink 

Crystal: a unique dual chrome light blue with gold

Nameless: a satin golden brown 

Last sin: a shimmery champagne 

Hoodoo: a satin lavender 

Goddess: a satin blue (swatches powdery)

Backdoor: a matte dark brown 

Roadstripe: a satin which with some pale pink in it

Freakshow: a satin purple (it looks like it might also have gold glitter)

Vaporize: a dual chrome, it looks like a taupe on the pan but it has brown and green and I am not sure what else. It reminds me of Girly by Too Faced. 

Deeper: a vibrant brown w/ gold shimmer 

Anonymous: a matter light peach

Junkshow: a satin pink 

Floss: a deep green with glitter 

Disco: shimmer gold

Laced: A matte light brown (blends into my skin tone)
Blitz: A shimmery yellow gold

Perversion: a matte black/gray

Heat: a shimmery orange/gold 

The Review: 

There are 4 matte colors , the rest are shimmery and satin so that it something to consider. There are a few blending shades and I am not sure how they will work on my skin tone. However, there are some really great unique shades. Only two shades swatched poorly: perversion and goddess. I will wait and see how they perform on the eyes but it's only two shades so it won't ruin the palette. I will play with it and come back with looks and a full review later in the week but over all I am pretty excited to play with this palette.

This one is not as well organized as the Vice palette this year and has more light tones shades. This worries me a bit. However it also has some fun and exciting shades that swatch with more dimension that they appear to have on the pan.

** All items were purchased my me. I have never been paid for a review or been sponsored and there are no affiliate links

xoxo,
~Cynthia

Tarte Away Oui Go Portable Palette and Collector's Set

Howdy everyone,

My Ulta order finally came in and the palette/set I was most excited to play with was this Tarte set. It is $48 exclusively at ulta.com. There is a separate limited edition Holiday palette and set at Sephora but I was most interested in this one.

The Set: 

It is a gorgeous set with 16 shadows and 4 blushes plus 3 sample size maracuja lip glosses and a Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara. 

The shades all have French inspired names, which I love!

The Swatches: 

The set is divided into 4 different sets that can be removed and taken to go so I swatched every set individually. 

 From top to bottom on the swatches: 

Marvel at the Mona Lisa (matte)

Tea for Two (satin)

Café for Crème Brûlée (matte)

Private Chateau (matte)

Blush: Irresistible (matte)

First Impressions: There are gorgeous shades! They are pigmented and soft textured, the blush will be perfect for lighter skin tones but will also go with a natural look on those of is with darker complexions. 

 From top to bottom: 

Art in Montmartre (satin)

Kisses Under the Arc (satin)

Champagne & Chocolat (shimmer)

Macarons For You (matte)

Blush: Envisioned-light pink/brown with some shimmer

First Impression: This is the only quad that I have used on my eyes. Macarons For You blended (matte) a bit too well into my skin and was not very noticeable as a crease shade but it is gorgeous. They rest of the shades are shimmery but are not glittery, the texture is more of a satin. They look really gorgeous on the eye. It worked great as a natural eye look with some shine. The blush is a very natural light color but does have some shine. It still worked on my skin. 

From left to right: 

Champs-Élysées Shopping (matte)

Stargazing on the Seine (shimmer)

Eiffel Tower engagement (matte)

Secret Soiree (satin)

Blush: Limitless-peachy matte 

First Impressions: This shadows swatched so beautifully, I am especially excited about using Secret Soiree 

From top to bottom: 

Liaison at the Louvre (matte)

Midnight Stroll (matte)

Navigating the Metro (satin)

Snow Angels (shimmer)

Blush: Intrigue-pink matte 

First Impressions: I am most excited about the blush in this palette and of the shades Midnight Stroll looks like a gorgeous matte purple/mauve. They all swatched beautifully. 

From left to right: 

Paris-depper pink

Cannes-light pink 

Nice-nude 

 First Impressions: The glosses, I actually likes despite not usually liking glosses. They are sticky but they settle comfortable on the lips after a few minutes. They are all pretty sheer so don't expect too much color but I do still think they are worth it. 

Over all: 

I think this is a great set. The travel aspect of it is a bit of a gimmick but The eyeshadows and blushes are beautiful and I was even impressed with the glosses. Again the glosses are not very pigmented but they do give the lips a nice wash of color and feel very comfortable. The shadows on the other hand are very pigmented and beautifully textured. I did not but the set that was very similar to this one, from last year, so I can't compare it. The whole set is bulky and I wish the shade names were printed on the actual palettes. They are printed on the back so that's better than nothing but I prefer them printed where I can easily see them. However, I do think that this set is very worth it. 

Let me know if you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them!

Parting thoughts: 

-Full review and looks coming soon!

-I hope everyone is having a great week. 

*I purchased this set with my own money and all thought and opinion are my own. 

September Ipsy bag

Howdy all,

I received my ipsy bag late last week and have spent the weekend playing with my goodies so that I could write first impression reviews. Spoiler alert: This is one of my favorite bags so far.

The goods: 

Sally Hansen Miracle gel nail polish in Redgy and the top coat

Cailyn Art Touch tinted Lip gloss in 09 Basic Instinct 

Be a Bombshell smooth criminal powder

Pacifica eyeliner in fringe 

Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair! deep conditioning mask 

The reviews 

I've been eyeing the Sally Hansen gel polishes fro a while and now I don't have to buy them to try them :) The color I got is perfect for my taste and I think it works as a good color as we transition into Fall. 

The Be a Bombshell powder works great as a setting/finishing powder and has actually done a great job of controlling my oils. It has been better than the powder I have been using. I am so impressed and while I won't need a new powder for a while, this is my go to right now. I want to add that I live in Southern California, where it is really hot and humid and this powder still held up. 

The Pacifica eyeliner takes some time to build up to the intensity that I like but it stays on all day without melting. This is extremely important to me and the fact that it is cruelty free, is a huge plus. 

The Briogeo hair mask is great! I actually bought the full size a couple of weeks ago and I am super happy to have a nice one to travel with :) 

The Cailyn lip gloss is the one product giving me the most trouble. The first time I tried it, I hated it. I just didn't like the consistency of it or the way it feathered. However the second time was not so bad and I just tried it yet again and it's not so horrible but still not something I think that I will be reaching for. 

Overall, I am very pleased with my bag!

Parting thoughts:

- What did you all get in your ipsy bags? How do you like them? 

- I hope everyone is having a great start to the week! 

- If you are going through a rough patch, remember that you are not alone and don't be afraid to lean on friends and family. 

xoxo Cynthia 

It Brushes for Ulta Review: Your Beautiful Basics Airbrush Set

Howdy all,

I was so excited when I saw that It Cosmetics was releasing a line of brushes for Ulta. Before this, I had two brushes, one that came in a set and one I purchased on its own. On every visit to Ulta, I love touching the It Cosmetics brushes, they are just so soft and gorgeous.

It Brushes for Ulta come in three different collections but they can be a bit pricy so I started out with a set: Your Beautiful Basics Airbrush 101 5 pc Getting Started Set 

The set is $58.00 at ulta.com and comes with:
-Airbrush Powder Brush
-Airbrush Foundation Brush
-Airbrush Concealer Brush
-Airbrush Shadow Brush
-Airbrush Crease Brush

The goods: 

You might notice that I actually got 2 shadow brushes and no crease brush. I would return it but I actually love the shadow brush so I'm going to keep it and maybe purchase a crease brush separately. 

The Review: 

I actually love these brushes. My two favorites are the shadow brush (of course) and the powder brush. You will notice that the powder brush looks like a bunny's tail :) and I have found it to be the perfect size for setting my under eyes and for placing setting powder all over my face. It is super soft and I've noticed helps prevent the cakey look that can happen. 

My second favorite brush is the shadow brush, which is perfect for outer corner shadow placement and for crease work. I really love it for both of these things, which is why I actually prefer having two of them. 

The foundation brush is good. I've used it with both liquid and powder foundations and it works great. I do wish that it were bigger and not as soft... yes I know this is weird. 

The concealer brush is really great as well, I usually use my Tarte concealer brush but this one is just as great at blending concealer in and making it look beautiful :) 

So over all, I think this is a great set! It is pricy but for me worth it because I have been using these brushes non stop for two weeks. One downside is the handle, the handle is not as expensive and luxurious as the handles on other It Cosmetic brushes. I have notices that this is the case with the It Brushes for Ulta sets. On the other hand you are not paying as much as you would if you bought them individually.  Finally, I want to add that these brushes as not indispensable but if you have the money they are worth it. 

** I purchased all products mentioned with my own money and all opinions are my own. None of the links provided are affiliate links. 

Parting Thoughts: 

-I bought a couple more brushes one from the Velvet Luxe line and one from the Live Beauty Fully Inspired Collection. Reviews to follow :) 

-Have you purchased any of the brushes? What do you think? 

-I hope everyone is having a great week!