The Great And Powerful Oz: Theodora

Hi beauties,

Once I read about, and saw the promotional images from Urban Decay's The Great And Powerful Oz palettes, I just KNEW that I needed these! I remember how popular the Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palette was, so I knew I needed to make a quick decision on whether to purchase them or not. Well..as you can probably tell, I DID purchase both, and wanted to share my initial reaction and swatches with you. This post will focus on the Theodora palette, and the Glinda palette will have its own post.

As you probably already know, each palette comes with 6 eyeshadows (2 duos per palette), a 24/7 Glide-on eye pencil, and a Super-Saturated High-Gloss Lip Color. They also include a "get the look" card which explains the steps to take to recreate the makeup worn by Mila Kunis in The Great And Powerful Oz.

First of all, the packaging is BEAUTIFUL, as has come to be expected with Urban Decay products. The Theodora description on the back of the packaging says "Fiery, strong-willed and spellbindingly beautiful, Theodora is the type of witch we want to conspire with. The six BRAND NEW  Eyeshadows (including two never-before-seen 'duo-shades') in this enticing palette give you everything you need to create her captivating look, along with countless others." The palette is the same style and tin-feeling material as the Urban Decay Build your own palettes. I personally like the packaging, because not only does it include a huge mirror, but it feels sturdy and compact.

The pigmentation is wonderful as usual, however I could definitely see the possibility of the "Spell duo" having some significant fall out. The Theodora palette is full of such earthy toned eye shadows, and I can't wait to play with them! The 24/7 Glide on eye pencil in Zero is Urban Decay's most basic black eye liner. It is a staple in my makeup collection and stays put all day long. I have really enjoyed the Super-Saturated High-Gloss Lip Color, because not only is it a gorgeous bright blue based red, but it is so smooth and glossy, and isn't drying. It fades evenly and leaves behind a nice stain.

My description of the colors included in the Theodora palette:

Broken: a neutral bone color
Beware: a matte muddy brown
Bewitch: a chocolate brown
West: a metallic brown
Spell duo: yellow gold, and black with chunky glitter
Jealous duo: a light green and a dark forest green

Did any of you guys pick up the Theodora palette? Any eye shadow combinations that you've tried? 


xoxo,
Erin

A Cheeky little MAC purchase. Archie's Girls Edition

I'll start this post off by saying that I am currently supposed to be on a self appointed makeup buying ban. It lasted four days. That's it. I just really couldn't help myself! I LOVEEEE MAC Cosmetics, and absolutely love collection products from their collections with limited edition packaging. (I'm still kicking myself for not catching anything from the Marilyn Monroe collection before it sold out!)

Last Thursday, I received a MAC Cosmetics text update that said that the "Archie's Girls" collection had launched online. Of course I rushed to their website and quickly added my two "must have" products to my cart. Yes, I was on a buying ban, YES I should have resisted the urge to purchase, but I didn't, and I'm not sorry whatsoever. HAHA

After looking at the pre-launch photos and descriptions on Temptalia, I knew that I wanted the two blushes. 

The Veronica "Prom Princess" blush is described by Temptalia [link] as "a darkened, cool-toned pink with a barely-there sheen." I would agree. It looks intimidating in the pan, but blends out to an absolute beautiful flushed cheek color. 

The Betty "Cream Soda" blush is described by Temptalia [link] as "a light neutral coral" I would also agree, although I definitely feel like this blush pulls more to the orange side of "coral". It is absolutely gorgeous though! 

 I wore the Cream Soda blush today, and loved how natural it looked! Did you guys pick up anything from the Archie's Girls collection? Any suggestions of additional items I should check out?

xoxo
Erin
 

The Subscription Box Dilemma

As a beauty blogger, I have heard an absolute TON about beauty subscription boxes. Of course, I love trying out new products just like the rest of you beauty product obsessed bloggers out there, but I wasn't sure where to start. A simple google search of "beauty subscription boxes" brought an overwhelming amount of subscription box options, but which is the best? Here's a round up of the boxes I've researched. I'd LOVE to hear your take on any of these boxes and any recommendations for beauty subscription boxes that you may have tried! (I haven't purchased any of the boxes yet, because I'm still researching the best option!)

Beauty Army was a box that I found mentioned on several subscription box review websites, and they gave them great reviews. The website says that you "Take the profile- Complete the beauty profile to reveal your 9 personalized products, choose up to six, skip the month any time." I went ahead and took the beauty profile quiz, just to see what kind of products I could have chosen from, and was honestly underwhelmed. The nine products were Ruddy Water Blushed Fragrance Pouch, Yes To Super Rich Body Butter, Lash Card 2 Mascara shields, Olive Natural Beauty Lemon and Lavender Bar Soap, Whip Hand Cosmetics Medal of Honor Loose Pigment Eyeshadow, Bath and Body Works Sweet Pea Shower Gel, Emani Foundation Primer, Enspri 5 Minute Facial, and Mark Hook Up Lip Gloss. I could have chosen 6 of the 9 offered products. PRICE: $12 monthly

Beauty box 5 is also highly rated among subscription review websites. Saying that for the price, you get some really great deluxe samples. Brands include: Model Co., Skyn Iceland, Cetaphil, Becca, It's a 10, Blinc. PRICE: $12 Monthly.

 

Beauty Fix is a beauty subscription box run by the popular website Dermstore. Similarly to Beauty Army, you complete a beauty profile, and then choose 8 products from a list of products that the panel has recommended. Some of the products offered that are listed on the website include, Skylark Lipgloss, SpaRitual Nail Lacquer, Jane Iredale 24-Karat Gold Dust, as well as products by Vichy, DDF, and Murad, among many others. The products do seem luxurious, but only receiving 8 products, and the box being priced at $49.99 seems a bit on the pricey side. 

The New Beauty Test tube is one of the subscription "boxes" that I have heard a lot about, and I'm really interested in trying it out. According to the website the program is described as "
TestTube is an exclusive, one-of-a-kind sampling program enabling members the opportunity to try a variety of the best beauty products before investing in them, and then share their feedback about the products. Every three months, for just $29.95 (plus shipping and handling), subscribers receive a TestTube filled with deluxe and full-size samples of coveted, high-performance luxury products and the latest issue of NewBeauty magazine." For some reason I thought that this test tube cost much more than $29.95. (I wonder if it previously was more expensive?)

BirchBox is another subscription service that I have heard a ton about. Many many MANY beauty bloggers and youtubers are subscribed to this beauty box. It was the first subscription box that I ever heard about, and the $10 price tag was something that I felt was reasonable and great value. I have heard however, that over time Birchbox has become less and less impressive, and that many longtime subscribers have cancelled their subscription.

The box that I am probably most interested in is Glossybox. I remember hearing about it from one of my favorite youtubers Maxine Cassidy, and I was also hoping that one day it would be available in the United States. It costs $21 per month including shipping, but I have heard nothing but great things about Glossybox!

Before researching beauty subscription boxes, I had never heard of "Look Bags", which as you can notice is $12.95 per month with free shipping. According to their website, "
The Look Bag is a monthly beauty sample club where, for $12.95 per month, Look Bag members receive at least 2 full size and 3 deluxe sample size beauty products every month! Look Bag members receive makeup, skincare, haircare, fragrance, or bath and body samples from both well-known and emerging beauty brands." The Look bag receives mixed reviews on subscription websites, so I'm not sure whether to try this out or not. Has anyone tried the Look Bag?

Those are the subscription beauty boxes that I found and researched. I would absolutely LOVE if you let me know if you've tried any of these beauty boxes, as I am really dying to try one (or more..ha!) Which ones did you like/dislike? Has anyone tried Glossybox? Does it live up to the hype?

Hope you guys have an amazing evening. Thanks for reading!


xoxo
Erin

Face of the day: ELF Smokey eye book

What I'm Wearing:
FACE:
-Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Anti-Sun-Damage Daily Moisturizer
-Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation 120-Vanilla
-Revlon Age Defying Concealer in light
-Almay Smart Shade Concealer in light
-MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light/Medium
-Benefit Hula Bronzer
-Wet-N-Wild Color Icon blush in Berry Shimmer
EYES:
-MAC Paint pot in Lets Skate
-ELF Beauty Eye Book: Smokey
-Maybelline Line Stiletto Liquid Eye Liner
-Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Eye Pencil in Flipside
-Revlon Grow Luscious Plumping Mascara
LIPS:
-Dior Creme de Rose Lip balm
-Maybelline Color Sensational lipstick: Plaza Pink
-Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss: Pink Afterglow

xoxo,
Erin

I ♥ Drugstore Makeup TAG

I have seen the I [heart] Drugstore Makeup Tag going around Youtube and the blogosphere for quite some time now, and have really enjoyed reading/watching posts and videos dedicated to strictly drugstore products. I have a love/hate relationship with drugstore makeup, because while some of it is really fantastic quality, I find that some are overpriced, and under pigmented. I recently watched EssieButton's I heart Drugstore Makeup Tag, Link [here], and found myself wanting to make a tag video myself. Of course as a completely journalism obsessed former Communication major, I had to do an accompanying blog post! (I'll link MY video when it is done uploading! :))

The Questions:
1.) What's your favorite drugstore makeup brand?
2.) What are your favorite face, cheek, and lip products?
3.) What is your least favorite drugstore product?
4.) What is the best makeup bargain?
5.) What is your favorite underdog product? (Something you love that often gets overlooked)
6.) What drugstore product do you feel is over priced?
7.) Show your best drugstore dupes
8.) What is a drugstore product that isn't worth the hype?


HERE WE GO!

1.) What's your favorite drugstore makeup brand?

 
 I cannot choose between Maybelline and Revlon! I love Maybelline's lip products, and really love Revlon's foundation and mascara.

2.) What are your favorite face, cheek, and lip products?

 

3.) What is your least favorite drugstore makeup product?

     This has chunky glitter, gives a patchy application, and leaves a glitter trail behind even after you wash off your makeup. Not a fan.

 

 4.) What is the best makeup bargain?
     
    I would say the best makeup bargain at the drugstore would be the Wet N Wild Color Icon range. I really like the eyeshadows, especially in the trios, and also the blushes. They are extremely cheap (I haven't ever seen the trios or blushes priced at over $3.99), and are highly pigmented. They also have a great lasting power while still being blendable, and make for a very smooth application.

5.) What is your favorite underdog product? (Something you love that often gets overlooked)

I would say drugstore skin care in general is typically overlooked and something I would consider an underdog. I use ALL drugstore skincare products, and have for years!

6.) What is a drugstore product that is over-priced?

As a whole, I feel like Physicians Formula is generally over-priced. I only have three products, and they were all over $10, which I think is pricey for drugstore products.

7.) Show your best drugstore dupes.

 

8.) What is a drugstore makeup product that isn't worth the hype?

     

    I have to say Revlon Lip Butters, I know they are really popular among beauty blogs, but I have super dry lips and find the lip butters to be a "high maintenance" product, because I have to exfoliate, apply lip balm, and then the lip butter, so for all that trouble I might as well just wear a lipstick. I will admit however, that the color pay off is amazing.

 

Those are all the questions in the I heart drugstore makeup tag. I tag anyone who wants to do this tag, as it's always interesting to discover new drugstore products.

Happy Saturday!
xoxo
Erin