Neutral Eyeshadow Palette Comparisons ~ The Original Naked Palette

I'm sure you're all familiar with this lovely little palette, so all I really want to touch on are some of my favorite shades:

Virgin: The far left shade - you can tell this is a favorite, I'm almost out! It is the most perfect brow highlight I've ever used, light and shimmery but not overly frosty!
Sin: Right next to Virgin is my second fave - again, I've majorly hit pan! This is a pinkish champagne shimmer, really fantastic to just sweep over the lid!
Half Baked: A classic shade in many Urban Decay palettes, this one is still a winner no matter how many times I see it - a fantastic gold shimmer that goes amazingly well with a ton of looks, from brown neutrals to smokey blacks to purples!

XOXO,
Ally

Money-Saving Beauty Tips!

Who doesn't love to save money? Personally, there's nothing I love more than a good deal, especially when it comes to buying new beauty products! Here are a few of my top tips for looking your best without breaking the bank!

1. Cross check coupons with drug store sales! If you spot a beauty coupon online or in your weekly newspaper, make sure to check the sales at your local CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, or other drug store! That particular brand might already be on sale, and you can normally stack manufacturer's coupons with store deals!

2. Use reward points to get more points. Stores like CVS and Walgreens offer reward programs where you can get money back to spend in store after buying certain items or spending a certain amount of money. If you use these bucks to score other deals that will also give you reward points, you can keep earning money back while spending only a little out of pocket.

3. Find multi-tasking items to start out your makeup kit. If you're a makeup newbie, instead of buying a huge variety of products all at once, stick with just a few that can be used all over the face. Bronzer and highlighter can double as eyeshadows, and lipstick can be used as blush. Or, find a makeup palette with some bronze and pink shades in it, so you can use it on the eyes and face! Then, slowly stock up to grow your collection!

4. Research, research, research! This is a biggie for me - I rarely buy any beauty product without doing a quick Google search first. That way, I have a better idea of how a product works, and I can better decide if it's worth buying or not. It can be really hard to tell if you're going to like a product just by starting at the packaging, so doing a bit of research first can save you from buying a dud!

XOXO,
Ally

The Balm Betty-Lou Manizer Swatches

It's hard to decide if this product should be classified as a bronzer or a highlight - it's a dark bronzey shade, but it's also super shimmery. If you like shimmery bronzers, this would definitely be a product for you! But if not, this is best saved for a summer highlight for those of us with paler complexions. If you have a darker skin tone, this would probably look beautiful as an everyday highlight for you!

As long as you're expecting the shimmer, this product is great! I personally don't like using it all over my face, because that's a bit too much shimmer for me - but if that's your look, go for it!

Another thing to keep in mind is that this product would actually make a beautiful shimmery bronze eye shadow!

(Ignore the burn on the bottom of my hand, guys - #curlingwandproblems)

XOXO, 

Ally

Neutral Eyeshadow Palette Comparisons ~ Part 1: Introduction

As much as I love colorful eyeshadow, I have to admit that neutral palettes are way more practical, even for me! Recently, there have been a ton of different neutral palettes put out, so I wanted to snap a few pictures of the palettes that I own, to give you guys a better idea of what's available!

I'm gonna be posting about each of these five palettes next Monday - Friday, one per day. Luckily, the prices range from drugstore to high-end, so there should be something for everyone! And of course, let's hope for some dupes in there!

XOXO,

Ally

wet n wild Fergie On Edge Longwearing Eye Liner Swatches!

I picked up these eye pencils in the shades HyperSky (the blue) and Ex-Stacey (the pink) the other day at Walgreens, and they were too pretty not to swatch right away! I love brightly colored liners like these, they add such a fun touch to any makeup look!

Fantastic pigmentation on these! They were very creamy - almost a little too soft, in some cases - and smudged pretty easily, but I'm not sure how they would fare on the eyes because I haven't worn them yet. But I'm sure I'll find a fun way to wear both of these for a pop of color!

XOXO,
Ally

CVS/Walgreens Drugstore Haul!

I did a bit of prowling around the drugstores this weekend, looking for new Halloween displays, sales, and anything else that seemed exciting! Here's the total damage:

And read on for details and close-up shots!

wet n wild Coloricon Bronzer, Reserve Your Cabana - This is way more of a highlight than a bronzer, but it's one of my absolute favorites....I actually dropped and broke mine a few months ago, and I've been missing it so much that I needed another! Out of everything I purchased, this is the one thing I would 100% recommend, because I've used it before and it is lovely!

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nail Color, 660 Indi-glow - It's hard to see in the picture, but this is a pretty purple/indigo jelly polish with green/gold glitter. SO stunning in person!

Maybelline Baby Lips Crystal, Crystal Kiss and Pink Quartz - The Crystal line of Baby Lips is the only line that I haven't tried yet, so I figured I'd give a couple of shades a try! I LOVE the pink glittery packaging!!

wet n wild Eyeshadow Brush and Angled EyeShadow Brush - these were both only $.99! Not sure how great they'll be, but for a buck each, I have no problem giving them a chance, Plus, if nothing else, they'll look cute with my other brushes!

wet n wild Megalast Nail Color, Rouge 66 - This is a matte red shade that I actually used to paint my toes yesterday! I like it a lot, the color was very opaque and the matte texture is extremely pretty! It's not quite as matte as I would have thought, there's still a little shine to it, but a matte topcoat would fix that if you want it as matte as possible.

e.l.f. Snow White "The Fairest of Them All" Eye Collection - I just had to have this set for the cute Snow White themed palette. I think this is a situation where I was suckered in by the packaging, but for just $5, I don't even mind! The palette is completely darling!

e.l.f. Ariel "Under the Sea Eyes" - Again, the cute packaging won me over! That burgundy/purple shade in the bottom duo looked like it would be nice for fall, so I have some high hopes for this one!

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nail Color, 770 Copa-Banana - This glitter was just too fun to pass up! I haven't used it yet, but it seems a little sparse, so this may be a polish that requires a lot of effort.....hopefully it's worth it!

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nail Color, 930 Mind Your Manors - This chunky glitter is a mix of pink, green, and blue, and looks simply amazing!

wet n wild Fergie Longwearing Eye Pencil, Ex-Stacey and HyperSky - I couldn't pass up a bright pink and blue liner! I love to incorporate color into my eye looks, so these are practically made for me!

wet n wild Megaslicks Balm Stain, 2AM Call Time - I think this product is a part of the Halloween limited edition collection, because it has a "limited edition" sticker on it - don't quote me, though!! Either way, the deep purple shade is great for fall!

e.l.f. Beauty Book, Class of 2014 - I'm not sure if this palette has some sort of official name other than "Class of 2014," but either way, when I saw it at Walgreens I had my heart set on getting it! I just graduated college, so the class of 2014 is very special to me, and I love having little things to commemorate that!

Sinful Shine Nail Polish, Nouveau Purple - I tried a blue shade of these polishes, and the shine was incredible! I thought this shade would be a nice fall color to work with.

Sinful Colors Glow in the Dark Nail Polish - Honestly I'm not sure if this will even work, but I think glowing nails are sooo much fun, so I thought I'd give it a go!

wet n wild Coloricon Palette, Daring Downtown - Again, one of the limited edition items, this palette has five dark and shimmery shades, perfect for Halloween or just a fun smokey eye!

And some closer shots....

Can't wait to review and swatch some of these things for you guys!!

XOXO,

Ally

New MUA Makeup Academy Line at CVS

So I got this little pamphlet in the mail today - CVS sure does know how to get a girl's attention!

Makeup Academy is a new line of lip products, brushes, and lashes, coming to CVS. Though this line uses the same logo/name as the British MUA makeup brand, these products are completely new, formulated just for their release at CVS. They are not the same products sold at Superdrug stores in the UK. You can read more about this new line at Happi.com!

I definitely want to test out some of these new lip products for you guys, so hopefully I can put that $2 coupon to good use! Since these products were newly created for CVS it's hard to know what they'll be like, and the prices for the lip products are around $8 - a little pricey compared to the UK brand!

I'm hoping to spot one of these displays at my local CVS soon! (I'll snap some pics if I do!)

9/15 Update: And here's the display!

The lip products look really interesting, not too sure about the brushes - they were a little on the pricey side but they did seem like nice quality!

XOXO,
Ally

It's On Us

It's On Us:

To RECOGNIZE that non-consensual sex is sexual assault.

To IDENTIFY situations in which sexual assault may occur.

To INTERVENE in situations where consent has not or cannot be given.

To CREATE an environment in which sexual assault is unacceptable and survivors are supported.

Please visit itsonus.org to learn more and take the pledge yourself.

Look of the Day: Smokey Eye for Errand-Running

I love wearing more dramatic makeup looks when I don't have work,,,,today I was just running some errands around town, so I did a bit of a smokey eye (nothing too dramatic though, I still worked with more neutral, brown shades). I know that dark makeup isn't always appropriate, which is why I love to experiment when I have some free time!

XOXO,
Ally

Easy Tip for Wearable Glittery Eyes

One of my favorite ways to spice up my eye makeup and add a touch of glitter (while still being totally wearable!) is to use a black glitter liner! This one is by Collection, and has black glitter as well as some sparkly silver flecks. On top of a black liner, it adds a beautiful touch of glitter without being too over the top. I just apply my liquid liner as I normally would, and then once that dries, I go over it with the glitter. If you're a glitter lover, this is definitely a tip you should give a try!

XOXO,
Ally

Look of the Day - Goodbye Summer!

   

I know it's mid-September, but I really wanted to do a fun and rather colorful summery look.....I mean, technically it is still summer!

For this look, all I did was apply a shimmery champagne shade to my lid, use some light purple in the crease, and then lined my eyes with bright blue on the bottom! I finished the look off with an orange/coral lip. Really simple, and perfect if you're already missing those warm summer days!

XOXO,
Ally

Clinique Chubby Stick Swatches

I was shopping around Sephora the other day, playing around and swatching some things, and I really enjoyed these different Clinique Chubby Stick products! I haven't used any of these, so I can't necessarily recommend them based on how they apply/wear, but I can give you guys a couple thoughts based on how they swatched!

 

Listed starting from the top (ignore that unrelated swatch on the left haha!):
Chubby Stick Baby Tint Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm in the shade Flowering Freesia: This is definitely more of a balm than a lipstick, so it swatched very lightly - I was hoping for something a little more vibrant!
Chubby Stick Shadow Tint For Eyes in the shade Two Ton Teal
Chubby Stick Shadow Tint For Eyes in the shade Grandest Gold
Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm in the shade Pudgy Peony: This one was much more pigmented, and a beautiful shade!

Chubby Stick Shadow Tint For Eyes in the shade Plush Periwinkle

Chubby Stick Shadow Tint For Eyes in the shade Oversized Orchid

All four of the eye shadow tints swatched really nicely and were exceptionally pigmented - I had these on my hand for several hours as I shopped around the mall, and they lasted the whole time! I can't say that that means that they'll last just as long on the eyes, but they do have promise!

I was snapping these pics of my hand as I waited in line at Sears - the cashiers probably thought I was losing it haha!

XOXO,

Ally

Look of the Day: Glittery Smokey Eye with Fall Colors!

Since I didn't have work today, I wanted to do something a little more exciting with my makeup - I still think this is a very wearble look, but the glitter and bright pink/burgundy colors make it more interesting than a regular neutral eye! Since there were some pink shades in the eye, I actually applied only bronzer and highlighter to my face, skipping the blush, so that the pink tones wouldn't conflict. A peachy or wine shade would look lovely with these eyes, though!

This look was actually not too difficult to achieve, and you can use a variety of products to get a similar look! I started out with some shimmery white cream shadow in the middle of my lid, to intensify and lighten the burgundy color I was going to be using later. Then I took some brown shades and smoked out my crease area, starting with a light matte shade and working up to darker colors. I concentrated some of the dark brown in my inner and outer corner, as well. The shimmery white shadow actually looked really nice in the center of the eye by itself, but to make this look more fall-inspired I used L'Oreal's Glistening Garnet Infallible shadow on top of it, and topped that off with a neon pink glitter liner from NYX. Finally, I smoked out the bottom lashline with some black on the outside, and brown on the inside. I finished things off with black liquid liner, mascara, and super nude lipgloss.

XOXO,
Ally

e.l.f. Pink Passion Studio Blush Swatches

Is there really anything better than a $3 blush? This bright pink shade from e.l.f.'s studio line may look like a crazy neon shade in the pan, but it actually starts out quite pale, so you can build up the shade to whatever intensity you like.

This product was actually pretty hard to photograph because it's so bright, but with a little color adjusting I got it to look pretty accurate on screen!

This swatch is actually several layers of color to show you guys how you can build up the intensity - you can definitely get a subtle look with this blush if you just apply a tiny amount! Totally versatile!

XOXO,

Ally

Sleek i-Divine Oh So Special Palette Swatches

Sleek Makeup has some really fun and affordable palettes available at UK drugstores - and for the US fans, products can be shipped internationally from sleekmakeup.com. Today I swatched the Oh So Special palette, which is a mix of pinks, warm browns, and a few cooler toned shades as well.

I swatched all these shades without a primer to see how well they showed up on their own - the lightest shades were the least pigmented on their own, but would definitely make amazing highlight colors! The shimmery shades swatched extremely well and had a gorgeous frosty look, and the black shade was super intense!

(Click the pictures to enlarge them!!)

And yes, the shade Glitz was broken in my palette, but I'm almost positive that's because it was traveling in my luggage all the way from England to the US, not because of any product mishandling!

I love this palette because it's such a fun twist on typical natural palettes - the colors are pretty neutral, but shades like Ribbon and Glitz really add a more colorful touch, without being overwhelming. The only downside to this palette is that the shade names are written on a plastic insert, so if you throw that out, you'll have a hard time figuring out which shade is which!

XOXO,
Ally

L'Oreal Glistening Garnet Infallible Eyeshadow Swatches!

L'Oreal's Infallible Eyeshadows are one of my favorite eye products out there - they've got an amazing frosty shimmer to them, and give the eye so much dimension, even if they're the only shadow you're wearing. Glistening Garnet is a deep burgundy red color, with a hint of a purple undertone.

Like other similar pressed-pigment type shadows, this eyeshadow comes with a little plastic stopped on top of the actual shadow, to keep it from drying out.

This shadow has the most amazingly smooth texture, and the color payoff is fantastic! I swatched it without a primer, and the color is super vivid and pigmented with just one swipe. These are already very long-wearing on their own, but with a primer, you'll get even more wear! And this is definitely a product I'd recommend if you want to bring a little more fall color into your makeup this September!

I can't wait to try out even more shadows from this line!

XOXO,

Ally

Wishlist of the month: September!

Fall is finally here, which means new fall collections, and, if we're lucky, lots of fall sales! Here are a couple products that I can't wait to get my hands on!

OCC's Unknown Pleasures Lip Tar Collection: Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics has created an amazing formula with their lip tars, and stunning deep purple shade called Pagan is to die for!

Too Faced Sweethearts Blush: I fell in love with this blush as soon as it came out over a year ago, and I still haven't gotten my hands on it! There are three shades to choose from, and I have to be honest--it's hard to choose!

Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics: This one's a no-brainer! I love nudes, especially taupe shades--and I actually don't own the Naked 2 palette, so this mini version is the perfect thing for me?

What's on your radar this fall - old favorites, new releases, or a little of both?

XOXO,
Ally

Back-to-School Drugstore Eyeshadow!

Check out my top picks for back to school eyeshadow singles and palettes - all from super affordable drugstore brands!

Palettes:

Physicials Formula Shimmer Strips Palette, Nude: Not only are these shades all super shimmery and neutral, but they're not too pigmented - normally I wouldn't consider that a plus, but if you want just a touch of a nude color across your lids, a less pigmented palette might be perfect for you! Also, how cute is that packaging??
Jesse's Girl 9 Pan Eye Shadow Palette, Tickled Pink: This is actually one of my favorite palettes to work with, especially in fall - as you can tell, my case is rather well-loved! The lighter pink shades are totally school appropriate while still bringing a bit of fun color, and the darker purples and burgundies are perfect if you want something more dramatic or to take a look from day to night!

Singles/Duos:

e.l.f. Essentials Duos: This particular duo doesn't have a name on it (I believe it came in a set), but the colors are light enough to wear to school - and since you get two shadows, you can switch up your look each day!
L'Oreal Infallible 25 HR Eye Shadow, Iced Latte: This shadow is probably my absolute favorite in this post - the formula is amazingly smooth, it lasts all day (perfect for school!), and the light cream color is also super shimmery, meaning you get a really nude color but a ton of shimmer to catch the eye! I recommend all the shadows in this post, but if you're only going to pick up one, this would definitely be it!

Wishing everyone a happy school year - and I hope your makeup looks fabulous all year!

XOXO,
Ally