Along with color correcting (mentioned in my post yesterday), "highlighters of a different color" are trending like crazy for Spring 2016. Brands like Jeffree Star Cosmetics are releasing their own versions in the next couple months so keep an eye out. 

I love indie beauty brands. I find them inspiring, creative, and it feels great to support a small business. They put so much work and love into their products and it surely shows. Love Luxe Beauty is no exception. I heard about their highlighters through Etsy's suggestions and Coffee Break with Dani and I am so glad I did!

Each highlighter pro-pan retails for $10 without a magnet and $10.50 with a magnet. The pans are large, I would say about the size of a Melt eyeshadow pan maybe a little bit bigger. The consistency of every shade so far has been silky smooth with out of this world pigmentation. They apply with a "wet look" finish that glows so bright on the skin that it requires your friends to wear some shades when they look in your general direction. Now don't get me wrong, you can totally sport these softly. They blend really nice and not all shades are eccentric. 

Ethereal Greige is a classy taupe highlight with a silver sheen and Imaginary is a peach with pink shift (think sunset). If you are more of an adventurous type, Next Level is a white pearl highlight with purple shift with slight hints of  silver and Daydream is a blue highlighter with a pinky duochrome reflection. 

xoxo

If you haven't heard about Ben Nye's Banana powder (theee banana powder) then you probably live under a rock. But joking aside, Ben Nye cosmetics has been around since 1967 and is huge in the entertainment industry for its superbly made formulas for film, television, and stage makeup. His line has a range of outstanding face powders in shades anywhere from an olive undertone to pink, to pure white. 

Banana powder has been around for along time, but Kim Kardashian West made it a little more famous in the last couple years when it was said her makeup artist uses it to set and brighten her under-eye area. From then on it was all over Instagram, YouTube, you name it. 

I like to keep this in my kit as a highlight or corrector to cancel out blueish purple tones from veins, circles, etc. When color correcting you want to reference the color wheel, using colors opposite each other for neutralizing. Color correction is making a huge "comeback" this Spring. Pretty much every brand whether it's drugstore or YSL has color correcting kits, pens, creams, etc. Use shades of lavender, orange, pink, green, and yellow to correct and perfect your complexion for a special event or everyday glam. 

Here is a great post about color correcting and what shades do what!

When I first saw the shimmer powder I got super excited because I hadn't seen or heard anything about it so of course I had to order it. I love this one! I've used it just under my eyes for some glow or softly dusted all over my face and chest for a candlelit finishing touch. A little goes a long way just like it's O.G. sister so this jar will last forever. 

Find it here and here for about $25.

xoxo

If nudes are your thing or you just love a good affordable lipstick, NYX's new Lingerie liquid lip collection is worth checking out. They are priced at $7.00 a piece. NYX has promo codes on occasion too if you purchase through their website! The texture is super creamy and dries to a satin matte finish. 

I love the color selection in this line. There are 12 shades to choose from all with a softened romantic shade structure. As a whole, the collection ranges from the palest nude, to mauve, all the way to a softened rose, to fudge. The deeper brown shades are what drew me in. I love brown lipstick and these chocolate shades hit the spot. 

Sadly, I missed out on Kylie Jenner's Lip Kits (hoping to snatch them up when they are restocked). These shades from NYX looked like dupes for her kits, so if you are looking for something to fill that Kylie Jenner Lip Kit void, check these out!

Find them here!

xoxo

It's that time of year ladies and gents, holiday makeup collectors have arrived! Tarte has released a simply glamorous collection this year! As soon as I saw this palette case I knew I had to add it to my collection. 

If you are looking to try out Tarte's eyeshadows, blush, and bronzer then this is for you! If you are a glam glow getter, this is for you! And finally if you are a neutral loving mother, this is for you!

The texture of the shadows are buttery and smooth. The paler shades (swatched below) basically blend into my skin because I am pale (NC15 - NW20) but they are just as pigmented as the other shades in this collection. I love the variety of neutrals included too. You have everything you need right here, a navy all the way to a mauve. All the trending colors are included.

This retails for $59 and is limited edition. I purchased mine at Sephora. The set also includes a travel palette with six more eyeshadows, a highlighter, blush, and bronzer plus a deluxe sample mascara, a nice size mirror, and double ended eyeshadow brush. 

xoxo

Two obsessions of mine, neutrals and mattes. I love my Kryolan matte neutral palette. It is by far one of the best palettes I've ever purchased (post coming soon) so when I saw this Viseart palette I had to check it out. Because seriously, you can't have too many eyeshadow palettes full of neutrals or mattes. Duh :)

This brand is new to me. I only ever saw it on Sephora's website but I know now that they are available other sites too. It is definitely a splurge product at $80. So if you can, try and scoop it up during one of Sephora's sales.

I found the pigmentation to be good and I love the color choices. You have everything you would need color-wise right here in one spot. Eyeshadow primer is definitely a must when using this palette. Some shades do blend and have better pay off than others but over all I was pleased. I just don't know if it is worth $80. 

I will say is that this palette would be great for makeup artists who are building their kit. It is a very travel friendly piece that will make a fabulous kit addition. The way the shadows can be built up or sheered out is a great artistic aspect. Definitely a plus!

 

You all know how excited I was to see that Mac was coming out with two lipstick forms of two of my favorite Mac lip liners... Well here are the swatches of three matte lipsticks from their new release!

Stone is a grey toned brown. It matches its liner perfectly! 

Persistence is a medium rosy nude with hints of brown. It looks very similar to Whirl but Whirl is a little more plum toned. 

Whirl is a medium plummy rose with brown undertones. Like I said above, it's more plum than brown like Persistence. It also leans ever so slightly cool toned compared to Persistence. Again this lipstick matches the liner perfectly!

All three shades are perfect for that 90's lip look. They each have either a brown, grey, or plum base which adds that grunge appeal. I'm obsessed. Below I have a photo of the liners next to the coordinating lipsticks for reference. 

To me these eyeshadows are more of a mousse than a cream. They are definitely creamy but the texture is so light and airy. Glam shades whipped to perfection.

Summer time to me equals quick and glowy makeup. I find myself reaching for more cream shadows than anything else. A swipe of color and some mascara and you are good to go! Definitely check these gems out. I love the colors and the subtle but still eye catching sparkle they leave behind. Dainty is a mauve with silver shimmer, Elegant is a champagne with silver shimmer, and Tenacious is a tarnished bronze with gold shimmer. All three are seriously gorgeous. A little bit goes a long way so the pots will last forever. 

They retail for $26 each. So far Younique has released 4 shades and has plans to release even more as the year goes on. Find them here.

Miss Kat Von D has been a favorite of mine in the beauty world for a long time now. I love her products. From her full coverage (and I mean FULL) foundation to her buttery eyeshadow palettes they are all top notch. I have yet to pick up here Shade + Light Contour palette but I picked up her Shade + Light Eye palette and I am so happy I did. It is so gorgeous!! 

This palette is completely matte and every single shade is super pigmented. It has everything you need to contour and manipulate your eyes in one perfect palette. There are  total of 12 shades, 3 being larger for base and blending. The collection of shadows is separated into 3 sections, neutral, cool, and warm. I love the way she organized this. It makes application for a beginner or when you are in a rush a snap. She even included an instruction pamphlet for reference. It shows examples for a natural and a smokey look for each undertone. 

The selection of colors here is perfect. You have a black, a white, yellow ivory, a warm brownish red, etc. You have every matte neutral you will ever need in one handy and nicely sized palette. 

The one thing you might miss is an included brush. Kat did release a special eye brush at the same time as this palette but they are sold separately and there is no space for the brush inside the palette. I don't really mind as I bring a bunch of brushes when traveling anyway but I know some people will find that to be a bummer. Here is the link to her eye brush if you are interested. 

It retails for $46 and can be found here on Sephora's website. I believe at this point it is early release for VIB and ROUGE members only. If you aren't a member I recommend signing up as you rack up points and earn deluxe samples all for free!

After all the drama surrounding Limecrime, I know a lot of people out there are searching for dupes for their coveted greige Velvetine in Cashmere. I had heard about LASplash's Ghoulish being similar but I wanted to see for myself before I started telling people about it. I have to say, they are a perfect match color wise! The colors shift slightly depending on the lighting but overall they are a match. 

The formulas are a little different. Ghoulish has a thicker consistency and has much better staying power where Cashmere is thinner and does wear off with eating and drinking. The price is also a lot better, LASplash = $11.98 and Limecrime = $20.  

I threw in two other LASplash shades for comparison, Innocent Vixen which leans more nude/beige and then Charmed which has a slightly more pink undertone. 

You may or may not know that I have been having an obsession with the brand Colourpop. They are really being talked about everywhere from YouTube to Instagram and the reasons why are clear, the quality and the price! Their eyeshadows cost $5 a pop ( pun intended ;) ), their blushes are $8, and their lippie stix and lippie pencils are also $5 a piece. The brand has been doing collaborations with some beauty bloggers and such and this newer collection is a collab with the actress Isabelle Fuhrman. 

I thought this would be a perfect set to purchase (at $30) to help bring my look into the Spring season. Plus a nice way to try out some colors I wouldn't normally purchase by themselves like the coral/royal purple combo. The colors that really drew me in were of course the grey and burgundy plus that gorgeous tan. This set includes three lippie stix and a total of five matte shadows four of which are parts of duos. 

Have you guys tried Colourpop? What are your thoughts?

xoxo

Too Faced has created the perfect everyday palette full of mattes! It is actually the second matte palette in their line of cosmetics. The first being smoky, this one is all neutrals. From ivory to a mauve plum this palette is perfection. The pigmentation is what you would expect from the brand, creamy and not at all powdery. 

Many of these shades are probably ones you have in your collection but if you are a matte fan or just a Too Faced fan, than you will want to check this out. It's the perfect travel friendly companion in its metal magnetic closure case. And who could resist names like Sexpresso?

Find it here at Ulta for $36.

xoxo

As you have have probably heard either here or online elsewhere, Younique has released their blushes in pressed forms. The colors are bright and definitely statement making! 

So far I have the color Sophisticated which is a reddish coral shade with a neon undertone. The formula is matte and has definite staying power. It almost has a "stain" quality which is great for longtime wear but it also washes off at the end of the day with the rest of your makeup. A little goes a long way with this product so it will last forever!

These blushes retail for $29 and can be found here!

xoxo