Beauty

Beauty on A Budget! 5 Below Smoke & Mirrors Mermaid Glow Stick & Lip Gloss Review

September 28, 2017

Hey badass beauties!
I recently went to 5 Below with my boyfriend and as always, I checked out their makeup section.  I don't have a 5 Below where I live, so it's nice going shopping there whenever I'm staying with him. They have a wide arrange of products other than beauty as well, and the entire store is $5 & under(hence the name). Their makeup selection is a nice size and includes nail polish, contour kits, eyeshadow palettes, mascara, eyeliner, lipsticks, highlighters, & more! It's a real treasure, if you have a store near you. They also have a website where you can order online if there's not a store near you!
The two main products that caught my eye were the Smoke & Mirrors Mermaid Face and Body Glow Stick($3) & the Mermaid 5 piece Iridescent Lip Gloss set($5). I apologize but I cannot find the glow stick on their website.



I had never heard of the brand Smoke & Mirrors until I stumbled across these products in the store, but they were so beautiful I had to take the chance and buy them, and I was not disappointed.


The glow stick really reminds me of Milk Beauty's holographic stick. Perhaps it's a dupe? I cannot confirm this, as I unfortunately do not own the Milk holo stick.


I couldn't wait to use this, so it has been used in the photos above.

Unblended swatch.

Blended. Look at that iridescent blue glow!


Now onto the five iridescent lip gloss toppers. 

Without Flash

With Flash
These lip glosses are pretty sheer and hard to see on their own, so you'll have to try and build them up if you're wanting a lot of coverage on bare lips. A lot of the colors look very similar; however if you use them as a top coat over a lipstick the color really begins to pop, so I've included some swatches over a black matte lipstick.


From left to right: white, peach, pink, blue, & purple.

As you can see, the first three look extremely similar. They are in the order that they are in the box, so as you can see the white one does not look white, the peach one doesn't look all that peachy, the pink one looks more purple, the blue one looks green, and the purple one looks blue... SO CONFUSING. 
However considering it was 5 lip glosses for $5, I do think these are worth the money spent. 

For the price of both the highlighter & lip glosses, I believe these are a good addition to your collection! Besides, they're iridescent and sparkly, so that's always a plus.

I hope you all enjoyed this review. Do you have a Five Below near you? Have you tried any of their makeup? Let me know what you think in the comments below!
As always thanks so much for reading!

metallic matte lipstick

The Battle of the Metallic Matte Lipsticks

September 13, 2017

Hey badass beauties!
Metallic Mattes seem to have taken the beauty world by storm this summer, so I hopped on the bandwagon & purchased three metallic matte lipsticks from three different brands; Revlon Ultra HD Matte Metallic Lipcolor in HD Glitz, Maybelline Color Sensational Matte Metallics in Gunmetal, & NYX Liquid Suede Metallic Matte lipstick in Go Rogue. As you all know, I'm all about sparkle and standout shades, so I was very excited when I saw the trend of Metallic Mattes emerge. Who doesn't love a metallic lip?! All three of these shades are similar due to the fact that they all have a black tone to them, so I figured it would be a good comparison.


I purchased Revlon's HD Glitz shortly after the line just came out, because I saw the color and automatically fell in love. It was the most standout shade in the bunch & is definitely unique compared to the usual Revlon lipstick line because well, it's blue! HD Glitz is a blueish black color, Gunmetal is a black color with blue sparkle, and Go Rogue is a deep grey-black.


First up is Revlon Ultra HD Matte Metallic Lipcolor in HD Glitz.


As you can see, it's super glossy... nowhere near matte.



Revlon's Ultra HD Matte Metallic Lipcolor was sort of a disappointment, because the name Matte Metallic is very misleading. This lipstick is streaky, and it is not matte whatsoever. It does not dry down, easily transfers, and it honestly feels more like a lip gloss or lip topper than anything. It is difficult to build up the color as it is so patchy and sticky, but if you are able to reach a decent coverage it is a beautiful shade. I'm not sure if it's just this color since it is blue or if all of the line is like this, but this was a bit of a letdown for me. This one was definitely my least favorite of the three, because I was so hoping for a beautiful metallic matte blue. Considering this was the priciest of the bunch, it was definitely a bust for me as it is not matte & not really metallic either. The only pros to this shade are the color and the pleasant vanilla scent. I still give Revlon props for going daring & thinking outside of the box with creating such a standout shade compared to their usual lipstick line! If you'd like to try this lipstick out for yourself, you can purchase it at your local drugstore or wal-mart for $8.



Next comes Maybelline Color Sensational Matte Metallics in Gunmetal.










Maybelline's Matte Metallic is a decent Metallic Matte. It is not transfer proof, but it does have that matte feel to it while still feeling comfortable on the lips. It's a gorgeous blue black shade, and has a lot of beautiful sparkle to it so that's a total plus for me. The finish of this lipstick is very subtle, and is not a standout metallic. In fact this lipstick looks more frosty, like the MAC Frost Lipsticks. This formula unfortunately does crease in the lips, and you would definitely have to reapply various times throughout the day for a lasting effect. Overall, I was fairly happy with this lipstick. It applies easily and quickly builds up to full opacity, has great pigmentation, and it is a metallic matte like it claims. The two downsides are the metallic finish is quite subtle(although I'm sure some people would love the subtlety of it), and it is pretty easy for it to crease in your lips, but I'm not mad at it! I do like it a lot and will continue to wear it. You can purchase this lipstick on Maybelline's official website or at your local Wal-Mart or drugstore for $7.50.



Last but not least is NYX Liquid Suede Metallic Matte in Go Rogue.




Nyx's Metallic Matte has to be my favorite of the bunch. It is a beautiful shimmery dark grey/black & is one of the most matte lipsticks that I own. It goes on smoothly, & is transfer proof! It dries down completely, without being too drying. I also applied lip balm beforehand as I do with all matte lippies, so I'm sure that helped. You can definitely tell you are wearing it on your lips, but for me it's not an uncomfortable feeling. There's a nice metallic sheen to it as you can see in the picture, butthe picture doesn't even begin to do it justice. This happens to be the cheapest of the bunch and is by far the best metallic matte of the three as it is actually a true metallic matte. I cannot recommend this product enough! It is $7.50 on NYX's official website.



What do you guys think? Do you have any experiences with Metallic Matte lippies? I personally love them, but with how difficult it is to create a Metallic Matte, they are either a huge hit or a miss.
Let me know what you think in the comments below, and what you'd like to see next! As always, thanks so much for reading.





Beauty

Touch My Makeup & DIE Coffin Cosmetics Case Review

September 11, 2017

Hey, badass beauties!
I recently bought the Current Mood Coffin Cosmetics Case from Dolls Kill. I actually first found this bag on pinterest, & I automatically fell in love so I had to have it.
I received my item in 10 days and in some cute Dolls Kill packaging, unfortunately I didn't take a picture before I threw it away. :( The case is made from smooth vegan leather(definite plus!) and is 10.5" in height, 8" length, & 4" diameter. It has 5 elastic brush straps(or 10 if you have smaller brushes) on the left side of the case, and features the brand's Current Mood logo throughout the inside of the bag.
It is a decent size, however I apparently have way too much makeup(you can never have too much makeup.... right?), and all of my makeup will not fit in it.


Isn't it the absolute cutest?!


As you can see, it's as full as it's going to get.


I absolutely love this bag. My only complaint is I wish it was a little bigger but other than that it is made exceptionally well, easy to carry, sturdy, and it is so unique in comparison to the majority of makeup bags you usually see. 10/10 would definitely recommend to all of you! I hope you enjoyed this review, leave me a comment & let me know what you'd like to see next! 
As always, thank you so much for reading.


Beauty

Fall Inspired Look & Profusion Color Me Glow 12 Shade Palette Review

September 10, 2017



Hello my badass beauties! 
There's only 12 days until Fall and I am so excited. Fall is my absolute favorite season, so I got inspired to do a fall beauty look. My boyfriend recently gave me one of the 12 shadow Profusion Colour Me Glow Palettes, and it's actually a palette that I have been wanting to own but just never got around to buying it, so I was excited to try it out!

Here is the palette. It has so many shades that I love!

Swatches with flash.

Swatches without flash.


As you can see from the swatches, the first shade is very light and pretty difficult to see. These shadows were swatched without primer, and all of the shades gave great color payoff even without it. I do have primer on my eyelids in the photos below, so you can see the color and sparkle intensifies with it. There is a small bit of fall out, but it's manageable. Overall, I really like this palette! I can no longer find these particular 12 shade palettes on Profusion's website, but from what I've seen these retail for around $5-$7 on ebay. There are quite a few different color palettes to choose from, as well.


Now let's get onto the Fall inspired look I created with three shades from this palette. I did this look by blending the seventh & twelfth shades in my crease and the second shade on the lid, as well as a simple winged liner using Elf's intense ink liner on the top & the burnt orange shade as liner for the bottom.

The finished product.


I really like how it turned out. 


I also used Witch's Blood Matte Lipstick by Moon Goddess Market on Etsy, which is a deep blood red that looks black on the lips. I will be reviewing it soon so stick around for that. 









Unfortunately these two photos came from my phone and they aren't that great of quality, but here's two full face photos featuring my bat shirt that I thought would go great with this look. I apologize if any of these photos are hard to see.


I hope you all enjoyed this review, leave me a comment & let me know what you'd like to see next! 
Thank you all so very much for reading.

PS: Once I reach 100 likes on my facebook page for this blog, I'll be having a small giveaway. :) 

Beauty

MBA Cosmetics Lip Glaze Review & Swatches

September 04, 2017

Hey badass beauties! I purchased two samples of Etsy shop MBA Cosmetics Lip Glaze products a while back and never got around to swatching them until now.

These are in the form of gloss, so I'm hoping they're not too sticky like the majority of glosses that I've tried are.

Their samples come in cute little clam shell containers. 



The colors I bought are Cranberry & Kohl, and are described as having a pink sugar rush flavor.

Enough chit chat, let's get to the good stuff- the swatches!

Cranberry:
Cranberry is described as a deep, burgundy/wine shade. I feel mine came out a little lighter, but I may just not have put enough coats on.



Kohl:
Kohl is pretty self explanatory. It's a true, rich black.


The verdict? These lip glosses go on very opaque without having to build up much, and are easy to apply with a lip brush(unless you buy the full size, which comes in a dial up tube with brush to apply straight to the lips). The pink sugar rush flavor and smell is absolutely heavenly so that's a definite plus for me; if you're not a fan of scented lippies, these might not be for you as it is a little strong at first. 

MBA Cosmetics also has these colors and so many more in lipstick form as well. Their etsy shop is full of lipsticks, lip glosses, foundation, highlighters, soaps/body scrubs, & so many pressed glitters! You all will soon learn that I love anything and everything that glitters.

What do you all think about these? Are you a gloss gal, or are you more on the matte side? I definitely lean more towards mattes as I dislike the sticky formula of some lip glosses, but these weren't too sticky. 

Leave me a comment down below on your thoughts & what you'd like to see next! Thanks so much for reading.