Superdrug quickie haul!

England is amazing, and one of my favorite things about being here is Superdrug. I can finally check out all those amazing makeup brands that I've heard about online but was never able to buy over in the states...starting with Barry M!

I was in the mood to paint my nails, so I picked up three really pretty nail paints by Barry M...the one in the middle is called Teal and it applies beautifully after two coats! The other two are called Peach Melba and Mint Green, and they're gorgeous colors, but I had to apply three really thick coats to get the color to be opaque. 

I also picked this up totally randomly...it's a limited edition champagne-flavored Vaseline lip balm. It was around $4 (converting from pounds to USD) which I think is a little pricey, so this is definitely a splurge item. But I've been using it a lot and it tastes really awesome, and my lips feel great!

Hugs and kisses from England!

XOXO, Ally

Travel Europe with me!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to share some exciting news with you - in two days I leave to study abroad in Bath, England for a few months! I'm really excited, and I set up a second blog to share all of my experiences with the world!

Check it out by clicking on the banner below!

XOXO,
Ally

CoverGirl Liquiline Blast Eyeliner - Violet Voltage Swatches

Hey guys! Today I have a quick swatch of the CoverGirl Liquiline Blast Eyeliner in Violet Voltage!

This eyeliner pencil promises "liquid-like intensity" from a pencil liner, and comes with a smudger tip on one end.

In the second picture, I used the smudger tip to smudge out the end of the line. Personally, I found the tip to be a little too stiff, and I could see it being a little harsh to use on the eyes. I also felt like when I smudged the liner, it lost a lot of its intensity. I don't normally use the smudgey tips on liners, but I wanted to at least see how it would perform in a swatch for you guys. I like the color of this liner and when I swatched it, it was definitely pigmented and creamy. I don't know if I would call it "liquid-like intensity," but the color payoff was still good.

Until next time!

XOXO,
Ally

My last haul of 2012!

Dude, it's 2013 already! I seriously can't believe how 2012 flew by...it feels like just yesterday that I was getting 2011 and 2012 confused, and now we have 2013 to throw into the mix!

I wanted to share my last haul of 2012 with you guys - I picked up some things from CVS before visiting some friends for New Years, mostly travel-sized stuff and some CoverGirl products because I had a coupon.

CVS cleansing and makeup removing wipes (travel size, pack of 5) - these worked really well! I love using makeup removing wipes especially for traveling, but I didn't have any at the time so I figured a tiny pack would be perfect for me!

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion - I don't know if this is technically a face moisturizer, but it was the only travel sized lotion that they had...it was definitely too thick for my face, so I'm guessing it's more of a body cream. It was nice, just not for my face.

CoverGirl Liquiline Blast in Violet Voltage - I haven't tried this out yet, but I have swatches coming up!

An exciting toothbrush case in red. Functional and necessary.

CoverGirl LashBlast Clump Crusher Mascara - I haven't tried this either, but I love LashBlast so I have high hopes for this mascara!

And that's all! I hope everyone had a great New Years and I wish you all a happy and healthy 2013!

XOXO, Ally

Wet 'n' Wild Shimmer the Night Away (Holiday Limited Edition) - Review & Swatches

Wet 'n' Wild has stolen my heart with their incredible eyeshadows and super low prices, and they're always at the top of my list when I'm checking out drugstores. So of course, I was going out of my way to search for these limited edition holiday palettes when I first heard about them online. The collection is called Where's the Party? and features three palettes: Drinking a Glass of Shine, which is a re-release of the I <3 Matte palette, Sparkle 'til Morning, which is mostly neutral shades with a pop of blue, and Shimmer the Night Away, the one that I picked up, which is blacks and silvers along with purple and blue shades. Shimmer the Night Away seems similar to Petal Pusher, but the two are definitely not identical. Shimmer the Night Away had more black, silver, and blue shades, while Petal Pusher has more light purples and pinks in it.

Each shade in this palette is marked with the area of the eye that it should be used in - each side contains a browbone, lid, crease, and definer color. Of course, this doesn't mean that you have to use these colors in the way that they specify, but if you're just starting out with makeup it may help you learn where to apply certain shades.

The left side of the palette contains a shimmery white highlight shade, a silver lid shade, a shimmery black color for the crease, and a black shadow with glitter for the definer shade. All four of these colors swatched really vibrantly on bare skin, and were super pigmented. The two blacks were rather similar so I don't quite understand why they both needed to be included in here; the crease shade is a little lighter and more shimmery than the definer shade, but I would have liked to see a gray or another type of color instead of two blacks.

On the right side, the highlighter shade is a light dusty pink color, the lid shade is a gorgeous magenta with purple shimmer, the crease color is a lilac shade with a slight shimmer, and the definer shade is a really pretty rich blue shade. The highlighter shade seemed to be the least pigmented, although that might not be a problem if you're looking for a light browbone application. I really liked the bright pink/purple lid shade - it reminded me of MAC's Stars 'n' Rockets or Urban Decay's Fishnet.

I used a few of the shadows to do a smokey purple and blue eye look - the colors blend really well and last a long time, and were super smooth as well. I honestly didn't have an issue with any of the shades, and for only a few bucks at the drugstore, this palette (like most of the other Wet 'n' Wild eyeshadow palettes) is definitely worth a shot. Makeup beginners in particular may appreciate this palette because you're getting nice quality shadows for a bargain price.

If you like purples, blues, and smokey eye looks, this is a must-have! You can create an endless amount of looks from this one palette, or you could use the pigmented black shade to darken up any eye look, or the bright blue to add a pop of color to a more neutral look. This one was definitely a hit for Wet 'n' Wild!

Rating: 5/5

XOXO, Ally

MAC Viva Glam Nicki Minaj - Review & Swatches

I'm not even gonna try and build up the suspense here guys - I am IN LOVE with this lipstick! If I were designing a shade of lipstick it would be exactly this color, and as soon as I saw pictures online I knew I had to have it. And there's also the fact that I love Nicki Minaj...

This lipstick is $14.50 from MAC, and 100% of the proceeds go to the company's AIDS fund - so you can buy makeup and feel good about raising HIV/AIDS awareness, too! Plus, how awesome is it that MAC actually donates 100% of the sales to charity - so often you see brands donating 5% or 10% from the sale of a certain item to charity, and while a donation is always good, no matter the amount, it's nice to see brands donating more...I mean, they definitely can afford it!

Viva Glam Nicki

Viva Glam Nicki

Anyway, Nicki's lipstick shade is a bright pink with a slight yellow undertone - it's definitely a warmer-toned pink, which is part of the reason I love it. It's a satin finish and feels really smooth and creamy on the lips; the only issue I can think of with this lipstick is that you made need several layers if you have very pigmented lips, but that's probably the case with most lipsticks (I have pretty pigmented natural lips, so I always have to be careful with my lipstick application)!

Viva Glam Nicki

This shade is definitely a hit for me, and the fact that I'm contributing to a good cause by buying it basically makes it irresistible!


Rating: 10/10 - yup, I adore this lipstick!

XOXO, Ally

Review & Swatches - New CoverGirl Eye Enhancers 4 Kit Shadows

Hello hello again! Have you guys seen these new quads from CoverGirl? The packaging has been totally revamped, and I think the new gray packaging looks so much sleeker than the old blue packaging. I only have one CoverGirl quad in the old packaging, and I've had it for ages - I bought it back in high school when I first started wearing makeup and as obsessed with bright shadows. I like it, but I never felt like the pigmentation or texture was anything impressive.

Super old and super dirty!

 CoverGirl Eye Enhancers 4 Kit Shadows in Tropical Fusion - old packaging

Shiny and new!

CoverGirl Eye Enhancers 4 Kit Shadows in Sugar Coated - cool new packaging!

I saw this quad in Sugar Coated and the deep, peacocky colors just called to me! I like the combination of neutral and more colorful shades, and I like that you get a quad that consists of mostly darker shades - it seems that palettes these days seem to lean towards the "full eye look," where you get a lid, crease, and brow shade, but I actually like palettes with shades that don't always work together. I feel like it forces me to be more creative with my makeup. Anyway...

Shiny and new!

CoverGirl Eye Enhancers 4 Kit Shadows in Prima Donna

This quad has some gorgeous neutral colors in it, and I think you could definitely use all four shades to do a complete look. Prima Donna is probably a little more "wearable," if you will, than Sugar Coated, although personally I'd use both these quads in an everyday look.

Sugar Coated

Prima Donna

I swatched these shadows on bare skin without primer, and I wasn't necessarily blown away. I never actually wear shadows without primer but in order for me to consider an eye shadow outstanding, I think it does need to be able to perform spectacularly on its own, and these just don't. They're not bad shadows by any means, especially in terms of pigmentation, and considering the fact that they're at a drugstore price, there's no reason not to pick up one or two if you happen to fall in love with certain shades. But I wouldn't say that the gold is the best gold I've ever used, or that the blue is the best blue I've ever used.

I think these shadows would work best as a wash of color over the whole lid - some of the shades are actually pretty shimmery and mulch-dimensional, so they give you a nice look without needing to use a ton of different colors. When I blended these shadows out with other shades they lost a little bit of their pigmentation and became a little too blended, to the point where it was hard to distinguish individual shades. So keep in mind that you'll need to pack on a lot of color with these, or you'll risk blending them away completely.

My consensus on these is that they're nice, but nothing spectacular. The new packaging is probably the most exciting part of these new CoverGirl quads, the rest of the quality is just average.

Rating: 7/10 - pretty average all around.

Until next time!

XOXO, Ally