Makeup Bag Update/Refresh

August 4, 2019.Reading time 11 minutes.

So I posted a blog post a little over a year ago with my makeup bag essentials or my wedding makeup go-to’s and I have since updated what I carry around. Now I have also done a travel or To-Go beauty post and that can be subbed in as well if you don’t want to check a bag if you are flying to an event. Some of the things have remained the same, I am not that versatile but I have found new things over the last year or so that I have swapped older products out for and I think that a refresh on your makeup bag is necessary every so often. As seasons and styles change you need to move with them also it depends on what you are wearing to the event, I am going to say that usually I go for a neutral/natural look when it comes to eyeshadow when I am going to events that are more professional or even personal, I am not going to a club I do not need neon eyeshadow no matter how much I want to wear some acid green eyeshadow like the Tokidoki one I had back in the day, legit it was their shade called I think Soya and I remember loving that brand so much back in the mid to late-2000’s. I saved up for it so I could buy it at Sephora and I don’t know why I picked that shade because I didn’t wear it very often.

Seriously for events that don’t involve a lot of glitter avoid a lot of glitter!

So let’s dive right into the bag then, I am not going to talk about tools because those haven’t really changed and let’s be honest everyone uses their makeup brushes for what they want and they have their favorites so if you want to know about my tools, they are in my makeup bag essentials post.

I am going to start with base makeup, my foundation hasn’t changed it is still the Urban Decay All Nighter Liquid Foundation in shade 0.5, I really want to try their new Stay Naked foundation and eventually I will because I feel like Urban Decay is my go to for foundation and it has been since I started wearing makeup. (I like Makeup Forever as well but I haven’t used it since I was in college and I dropped it on the floor in my apartment. It went everywhere luckily the bottle was mostly empty.)

My primer also hasn’t changed I still use NYX’s photo loving primer in green to balance out the red in my face, though the All Nighter does cover the red really well.

The things that I have switched out are concealer and I have added setting powder, the setting powder I have is Coty Air Spun but for a makeup bag I use Tarte’s setting powder that I got in my May Glam Bag last year. I have used it in the past when I had no idea how to use makeup so it was a natural choice to include here.

My concealer game has changed, I still love my Naked Skin concealer but that is up in my makeup bag at my parent’s place, I have moved on to Tarte Shape Tape, like the rest of the internet. I will say this it does make my face a little tight in the application areas but it makes your skin look great. I also have been using Colourpop’s No Filter concealer and I have been absolutely obsessed because it is under $10 and it works so well.

On to face so blush bronzer and highlighter, my bronzer still hasn’t changed, I am still working with Hoola from Benefit because I don’t wear a lot of bronzer but when I do I put it on in all the wrong places and then look stupid.

Blush has changed though, I got an Anastasia blush trio last year and I have found that I like having multiple choices for blush or the option to mix two different shades and get a great look out of it.

Highlighter has also changed, I still would probably bring my Urban Decay highlighter quad but I also like the single pan options as well and I have Morphe’s highlighter in the shade Extra and Colourpop’s highlighter in the shade Might Be because I like them both and again like having options when it comes to my look.

Eyes is probably the area that has changed the most and that’s understandable because eye trends change so quickly and there are always new eyeshadow palettes and mascaras coming out.

Eyeshadow is one of those things that you can love one day and hate the next but I found that having a larger palette with a lot of neutral shades has done me really great so I switched to the Morphe Nature Glow palette because it’s 35 shades and you can add in pops of color from other palettes if you want or bring a few single pan shades from your favorite brands to add some variation to your look. I also usually include the Tartelette Toasted Palette as well because it is a smaller version of a neutral palette and I have been loving it for years.

Mascara, I still like to carry two around with me but this year it is too travel sized items, Doucce’s Maxlash and Benefit’s Bad Gal Bang which I found myself using a lot this year. Bad Gal Bang though takes longer to dry that I have noticed so be careful. Still wear glasses so I don’t wear eyeliner and also I don’t want to look like a death metal raccoon by the time I’m done trying to get the wings even.

Eyebrow products are still the same, I found Rimmel’s Born This Way years ago and I haven’t been brave enough to really try anything else.

Lips are easier for me in a way because I just pick a few nude shades and run with it, one of them I just got but it has already found its way into my makeup bag and that is the Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour liquid lipstick in shade ‘?’ it came exclusively in the summer mystery box and I am obsessed with it. The other shade is Eddie Funkhouser Twisted Kisses in the shade Kiss Me Twice and I got this one in my November Glam Bag last year. I also carry around a lip scrub and I have one from Tree Hut Beauty that I have been loving for the last year so it was the natural choice.

Last is setting spray, I have two or three that I use but this is a travel size of the All Nighter setting spray from Urban Decay and it so good. Believe the hype, it’s great if you want a matte look all day. Colourpop’s All-Star is also great if you are looking for a more budget friendly option!

So that’s my update, my refresh, and my current makeup bag collection.

Do you have any holy grail products that never leave your makeup bag? I would loe to know about them!

I will see everyone about mid-week with another post!

-MJ

My New Makeup Set Up

July 31, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

The title tells you exactly what this post is about I promise, I moved two weeks ago today which is crazy to me and I have been trying ever so desperately to get my life back together in a new apartment. The one thing that I lost in the move was storage space, like 75% of it. I went from a bunch of kitchen space to almost none so I have been figuring that out first and foremost. The other space where I lost the most storage was bathroom so that meant that my makeup could no long be stored within the space that it had been in previously. (As I am writing this I am tired and I think it sounds like I am trying to get over the word minimum for a university paper or you know Kronk from The Emperor’s New Groove “the poison, Kuzko’s poison, the poison for Kuzko” and all that.) In losing that space though I had to come up with a new system and that meant going back to the system that I had when I was still living with my parents.

This post into going to be super long just because it doesn’t need to be, you can deep dive into my makeup posts to see a boarder view of my collection in several posts which I will link in this section here before we get into the meat of it. My Top five fave eyeshadows, more eyeshadows, and the newest; eyeshadows I’m digging right now. If you are more into other things you can check out my blush, bronzer, highlighter, and contour round up, my top five fave mascaras, and my go to lipsticks. I might do some updates on some of those as well in a single post format soon but I don’t know yet because some of those categories have been expanded or my tastes have changed.

On to the set up though, now I have had this three tier cart for several years now and I used it originally for makeup so it was no stranger to being loaded down with eyeshadow palettes; the top is solely dedicated to them after all. The second basket has blush, bronzer, contour, and highlighters as well as some tools and some extras that I didn’t know where to put but use frequently, the very bottom is also extras but they are more replacements for things I already have as well as other things.

That is one half of my new set up the other is a good sturdy table that my great uncle built in the late nineties I think, according to the stamp on the bottom it was built in 1999 so it’s almost as old as me, I was about 7 when it was finished. It was my TV stand in my old place but it made more sense in the new place to use it as a vanity table instead. On the table is my brushes, still in their flower pot, my mascaras and lip liners, still in their beaker, and my vast assortment of lipsticks, mostly liquid and about half of them are NYX, I also have my foundations, concealers, every day applicators, and setting powder and spray as well as my lip scrubs. I wanted to keep the space mostly clean so I could sit and experiment with makeup once I get a better mirror or rather any mirror at all.

It’s a new set up with a new learning curve so I am still perfecting it and tweaking it as I go but for now this is what I have and this is what is working for me. Like I said, not a long post; unlike most of my others.

Do you have any small space set up tips?

I will see everyone over the weekend with a new post and I hope everyone has a great close out to our current week.

-MJ

Jeffree Star Cosmetics Summer Mystery Box, Was it Worth it?

July 28, 2019.Reading time 13 minutes.

Hi, how are ya? (Yes those are my opening remarks and I am sticking with them!)

So I have been a Jeffree Star fan since the MySpace music days, I know that he can be a bit controversial but I have never really seen him that way, I was in middle school when I found out who he was and somehow it was totally okay with my mother for me to listen to him no matter the content of the Plastic Surgery Slumber Party album. I have been coveting his makeup brand for a few years now and I finally pulled the proverbial trigger and got one of his mystery boxes. He has done a few mystery box launches this year and I have been holding out on it. I decided that as I moved into a new place and a new chapter in my life, same book, feel like the same chapter some days, but I am trying to be positive. I decided it was time to dive into a mystery box and hope that I would love whatever I got since I have no products of his and I have just been watching launches go by and drooling over every single one.

It took only a week to get here and that was such a great turnaround time even with the sheer volume of orders that I can almost guarantee came through their warehouse in that span of time, God Bless the warehouse team, you guys are rocking it.

So what mystery box did I get? I got the deluxe, you know go big or go home right? That was the largest box and according to his Twitter and Instagram those sold out in 15 minutes, I was cleaning my old place so I set an alarm and waiting until they went live, like I was anxious about it, seriously.

I was really interested to see the mystery box exclusive liquid lip stick that was in the Deluxe and the Premium boxes and I can for sure say that it does not disappoint. The shade is just called ‘?’ and I kind of love that. It adds this air of mystery that I love about the mystery box trend. I am going to say this right here right now; I love the color. It is stunning and I am a huge fan of pinky nude shades and so this one is right up my street. One of these days I will purchase one of the crazy shades from his collection because they are just really nice shades and I love the formula.

So in total it was a lot of lipstick, which I was expecting and I wasn’t upset about it because it meant that I got some really interesting shades to add to my lipstick hoard. I did swatch them all with their color names, that’s right your girl swatched and is posting it on a blog instead of just saying “I swatched it” and then nothing, I am getting better at this, I promise.

Next shade I got was Mannequin, it is a really nice taupey nude shade and it is a nice shade for more autumnal look, I like the shade because again, I tend to lean toward more nude shades when it comes to lipstick so having another one in my collection I am not upset about.

Third shade was Diva and I think this was the shade that was named after his dog, Diva, I am such a sucker for dogs and the Pomeranians are so cute, like I watch his Insta Story and love seeing the dogs every time they are on. Back to the lipstick though, I love the shade it is beautiful and pink so I am excited to have a reason to wear this, or no reason at all besides I feel like it.

Final lipstick was Poinsettia and I think besides ‘?’ this was my favorite shade I got, I love a metallic lip and this shade is amazing, I didn’t know it was metallic until I opened the packaging and I just grinning for a solid thirty seconds because it was so pretty. This for me is also a more autumnal and winter shade and let’s be real, I will be wearing this shade a lot this fall and winter because it is so pretty.

Last swatch on there is a lip pencil in the shade Allegedly, I have about five lip pencils and I will say I think this one is my favorite, not only because the component itself reminds me of Sailor Moon or a magic wand but because it is so creamy going on, it is soft but it was also traveling across the country during like the hottest week so I can’t complain. If it supposed to be that soft then cool, it’s beautiful.

So that was it for the lipsticks, I also got a Supreme Frost highlighter in Hypothermia and let me tell you, it’s so cool, really glittery and has a really nice purple/green shift in the glitter with a copper undertone or base and I was digging it, it would probably look a lot better on a full face of makeup instead of just on my hand so I decided against posting that picture.

I also got a Velour lip scrub in Strawberry Gum, I am going to confess something; usually I hate the smell of artificial strawberries but this didn’t bother me, I have actually opened it up a few times just to smell it and that for me is a rare occurrence with anything that smells like fruit and isn’t the actual fruit and some perfumes. I did try the product and my lips felt really smooth so it did its job.

Okay so beyond makeup what did I get? I got some accessories as well beyond the makeup and I really do wish that there would have been a star mirror involved somewhere in the box because that would have been amazing.

I got a tee-shirt which is so soft and so cute, I love it and I could have ordered a size down, it’s the signature “Hi, how are ya?” In a florescent yellow with the logo on the front so it looks subtle from the front and then turn around and bam! Really cool back to the shirt.

I also got a Popsocket in just about the same shade of orange as the box which was really cool, I would love to see the swappable Popsockets come out like this though because I wirelessly charge and my case doesn’t allow for charging without a swappable Popsocket. It’s really cute though and I can’t wait to be able to put it on my phone at some point. It’s not in the featured picture because I put it under some things while I was taking pictures and I couldn’t find it for like an hour.

There was also a metal straw as well, now I have been using metal straws for almost a year now and I eventually want a Final Straw so I can whip it out at restaurants and maybe save one turtle. I love the fact that it is a bent straw though and it feels really cool, almost matte and I love the Jeffree Star signature pink color.

So overall, would I suggest it? Yes, I would if you are just starting out your collection or wanting to grow your collection and you have the money it is worth it. Some people may disagree and would I have loved to have seen a palette or a mirror in here? Yes, I would have but that’s the fun of a mystery box, you never know what you are going to get. Like I said above I have been a fan for years but have been holding off on purchasing the makeup and now that I have some of the Star cosmetics in my makeup collection there is a good chance that I will purchase more or at least more mystery boxes as they come out in the future.

If you could get a mystery box from any brand what would the brand be and what would you really like to see in the box?

I’ll see everyone at some point around mid-week with another post. I hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend and a great start to the week!

-MJ

November Beauty Haul

December 2, 2018.Reading time 10 minutes.

What do you mean it’s already the end of November, are you sure? You are, right so the first 9 months of the year went by at a snail’s pace and now it’s suddenly December, that can’t be possible. I saw on Facebook someone saying that the Olympics were this year and I had to stop and think about it. “Was that this year?” Yes, it was and I cannot believe that. This year has been so weird you guys, so weird. Craziness, though I am going to move straight into the products because otherwise this is going to turn into a long winded discussion of how time is a weird construct and I do not have the energy right now to even start that discussion with myself let alone anyone who is reading this post hoping for makeup and beauty, sorry. Welcome to my brain, it’s a madhouse in here.

Too Faced Life’s a Festival palette

Okay so when this palette came out I liked it well enough but not to purchase it at the full price price tag. There are only two matte shades in the palette and a lot of shimmers so to me this will be more of a palette that I dip into for not a fell eye look. It’s a cool palette I love the packaging and the shades are really pretty. Too Faced never disappoints in their packaging and their quality. Y’all can have a different opinion but I tend to like the product a lot more than I follow the drama around the brand.

Like mermaids and unicorns were so in this year, I do genuinely wonder what the trend will be next year, can it be Dragons? Like seriously, dragons. That would be a great theme if companies were still going to go down the path of mythical creatures. Needless to say but I will say it anyway, I am excited to see the beauty trends next year and next year isn’t even here yet.

Too Faced Peach Kiss Matte lipstick in Doll Face

So I didn’t know there was some controversy over the packaging that I got until I was trying to find a picture of it online to make sure that I had it right. Wow, okay. I mean I like the product its’ a nice color and the packaging is really nice. I am a huge fan of nude shades, if you have read my Go-To Lipsticks post you will know that, I also don’t have a lot of nude crème lipsticks. I have several liquid lips that are a nude shade but very few crème long wear lipsticks and I like the idea of not having to take a liquid lipstick with me places. This lipstick is heavy, it has peaches embossed on the lipstick itself and I still that is so cool. I remember getting the Sweet Peach palette which is one of my favorite eyeshadow palettes and it smelled like peaches and I lost it. My mom did not understand my fascination with the fact that the product smelled like something recognizable.

I don’t understand the need to lawsuits between brands, I understand that if you have some sort of packaging that you really like and your brand is the only one on the market that has it, that’s cool. Isn’t imitation the sincerest form of flattery or whatever they say? I also know that the beauty industry is really cut throat and I am concerned that my normally light hearted haul post is turning into my realizing that I have found the seedy underbelly of the beauty world. Can I just rewind and not know anything besides, “wow that packaging it cute/the product is really nice/wow this brand is so cool!” On everything because I don’t want to focus on the controversies and the drama within the community of beauty brands.

Kylie Lip Kit in Koko K

Let me preface this, I do not “Keep up with the Kardashian’s” beyond what I see online. I, like the rest of the country knows who the Kardashian’s are, of course, if you don’t know who they are I applaud you for that. I do however like the Kardashian’s when it comes to beauty products and of course when Kylie Jenner came out with Kylie Cosmetics a few years ago I coveted the lip kits but I never got one. Then a few months back Ulta announced that they would be carrying Kylie’s lip kits and I was excited. I own one lip liner and that is a NYX liner that I got in a set. I did end up going for a lip kit though instead of just the liquid lipstick because I want to try lip liner. I was on the phone with a friend and she said “do you need more than one lip liner?” Yes, because normally it only corresponds to a few shades at most, my deep red lip liner would not go with the more pinky shade of Koko K. The packaging is simple and I love it, it’s one of those things that has permeated our society so much that if you say “lip kit” if the person you are talking to knows anything about makeup they will probably associate the name Kylie with it.

Colourpop Deux of a Kind Highlighter Duo

Colourpop is a pretty new brand in my world and I love it so much. (Wow MJ you love a lot of things. Yes, I do; if I did not love it why would I be buying more? A conversation with myself as if I am someone reading this while I babble about everything but the makeup that I want to talk about.) Back to Colourpop, well my Ulta just started carrying it in the store it used to be that the closest one was about half an hour away and I was not making that drive to a mall that I have never been to and would spend an hour wandering around and getting myself and my credit card into trouble. I really like Colourpop though, they come out with so much product that if I could afford it I would buy a lot more than I have so far.

These are pretty soft highlighters to the touch and one is a lot more drastic than the other, the shade Might Be has a more copper tone to it and it is beautiful but it is a lot more out there and in your face than the shade Lunch Money which is a more champagne gold tone. Lunch Money for sure is a much more natural highlight than Might Be so if you are going for a more natural look that is the shade to go for. So far I am a fan of the Super Shock highlighters from Colourpop and I would like to try a few more shades as my Colourpop collection grows.

Did you get any new products this month?

-MJ

Go-To Lipsticks

November 17, 2018.Reading time 12 minutes.

I feel like I am going through my makeup collection slowly but surely through my blog and I am not really all that upset by it because it is giving me an excuse to go through my collection with more of a critical eye and maybe downsize (okay that’s funny) a little bit, though to be honest I have already downsized this year and I don’t think I want to do it again at the moment.

I have been thinking about the lipsticks that I gravitate toward no matter the season as well as the lipsticks that I only reach for seasonally and I have a feeling that is how this post is going to be split up. Year-round and Seasonal.

Per usual all opinions are my own.

Year-Round

To be honest this section is mostly just NYX Lip Lingerie shades because most of the time if I am just reaching for a liquid lip or a lip at all it is usually a nude shade because nude goes with everything. I have pretty fair skin so most of my nudes have a pinkie hue to them and I have found some that are just too pink for me so these are what I reach for, someone with a different skin tone may not reach for them ever because they are the wrong shade of nude for them to wear.

(From left to right)
Shade 1: Lip Lingerie 03 Lace Detail
Shade 2: Lip Lingerie 07 Satin Ribbon
Shade 3: Lip Lingerie 11 Baby Doll

Seasonal

Like the last section it’s mostly NYX lipsticks because I find they aren’t super expensive so they don’t break the bank and they have a pretty good quality to them. Granted for me a few touch ups during the day is a norm so I don’t really take into account the long wear properties with an everyday application like I would a long day or a formal event. Granted I have worn NYX lipstick to formal events and guess what; it lasted the whole time without a lot of wearing (this is what happened to me, it may not be the case for everyone.)

Spring:

If fall and winter are made for berry and deep shades spring is made for pink! (in my book anyway).

Shade 1: (NYX) Liquid Suede 09 Tea & Cookies

It’s pink, it’s pretty, it’s springy. I feel like I am an infomercial some days but I really do like this shade and it is just the right shade of pink for a nice spring day with a nice neutral look.

Shade 2: (NYX) Liquid Suede Metallic Matte 33 Buzzkill

A bit daring for spring, I will say that. I love this metallic pink though, it is the closest thing to what I consider to be a “Barbie” pink that I own and with the metallic tone to it, it makes for a great lip color with a not so daring eye look.

Shade 3: (NYX) Soft Matte Lip Cream London

A tanner neutral for those days when it is half between winter and spring and you don’t want to really go too much too quick as the seasons change.

Shade 4: (NYX) Soft Matte Lip Cream Milan

Another lighter toned pink that has more of a red undertone than tea and cookies that has an almost white undertone, this is a great shade and yes I do have it in a tiny travel size, I just haven’t gotten around to getting it in a larger size, if that even exists.

Summer:

The bright and the bold, with some classic shades thrown in.

Shade 1: (Soap and Glory) Sex Mother Pucker Rosy Chic

So I am a huge fan of Soap and Glory when it comes to skin care and I have seen some reviews online that their makeup just does not hit the mark, I beg to differ on this shade. Their lipstick isn’t too drying and it looks beautiful.

Shade 2: (Rimmel) Lasting Finish Lipstick 070 Airy Fairy

I still go for the neutrals and the pinks in the summer because you will probably not find me out at night because it is so hot and makeup just melts off down here y’all. I still reach for the lighter shades for that reason. I love this shade and since it is a crème lipstick it does provide some protection to your lips against summer.

Shade 3: (NYX) Soft Matte Lip Cream Morocco

Probably the brightest shade I own, it takes a lookto go with but when you have that look and a nice place to go it works. It is an orange toned red so it is not a true red and I think that’s why I love it. Whenever I put on a red lip I channel my inner Sanderson.

Autumn:

Shade 1: (Rimmel) Lasting Finish by Kate 107

I went to like eight stores looking for this lip color because it was so popular when I bought it, I used it twice and smashed the tip of the lipstick into the top of the bottle, it is a beautiful color and if I am going out in the fall there is a good chance I have it in my purse.

Shade 2: (NYX) Liquid Suede Metallic Matte 30 Bella

Copper is one of my favorite shades but I will say this; it takes a certain look to pull off, I can only do it with certain eyeshadows and because it is a metallic shade you have to be careful if wearing it during the day, it is for sure more of an evening shade for me personally.

Shade 3: (NYX) Cosmic Metals Lip Cream 08 Speed of Light

This one also takes a look because it is a metallic and shimmery copper, I love it so much and it was the first shade I bought in the Cosmic Metals line because I loved the shade. It is a really cool color especially for more Halloween looks and I would recommend it.

Shade 4: (NYX) Liquid Suede Metallic Matte 39 Modern Maven

Another deep red shade, sense a pattern here; warm tones. I love this color as well it is not too red and it is one of those shades that works with so many looks.

Winter:

Still reach for the Autumnal shades above but a few more get added as time goes on.

Shade 1: (Butter London) Lippy Lip Crayon Ruby Murray

The nail polish of the same name is also my favorite this crayon is no longer on their website and I think that it has been sadly discontinued. You can still get the lipstick and the liquid lip though, maybe that will be a purchase in my future.

Shade 2: (NYX) Cosmic Metals Lip Cream 15 Retro Harmony

For parties and beyond!

Do you have any go to lipstick faves?

-MJ

October Beauty Haul

November 7, 2018.Reading time 13 minutes.

How is it already November, but really also how has 2018 lasted for six and a half years? I swear it feels like this year flew by but also has been going in reverse. October was pretty good for makeup even though I didn’t get all that much. Still one of my favorite posts to write each month because I am apparently a makeup hoarder and I need help.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Blush Trio in Pink Passion

Okay so I put this in my Blush, Bronzer, Contour, and Highlighter Round Up so I have already talked about it. I do not have enough blush in general but when I saw this, at TJ Maxx, maybe I should change this to “MJ walked into a discount store and went a little crazy” or “MJ blacked out in Marshall’s and walked out with six things he didn’t need: a series.”

With that tangent laid down in front of me I must say, I love the colors in the trio and I am looking forward to actually using them as winter sets in and everyone is just pale. Spoilers, I am usually really pale so this might help or it will make me look like I am in stage makeup, one of the two and no in between.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in Pure Hollywood

I have also discovered that I am a lipstick hoarder along with eyeshadow palettes, those are clearly my weaknesses when it comes to what my makeup collection is made up of. I need more lipstick storage, that is the conclusion I have come to in the last several weeks as I do not have enough slots in the storage area to hold all of the lipsticks that I own. Someone send help.

This color is really nice I love a good nude lip and this nude liquid lip shade has an almost pinky but also slightly rosy undertone (I am writing this sentence while half asleep so if it doesn’t make sense, I’m sorry.) For the most part most of my lipsticks are nude shades but I will say I also love a good pop of color.

Colourpop It’s a Princess Thing eyeshadow palette

I have been waiting for this palette since someone shared it on Facebook and I went on Colourpop’s website and entered my email to be notified when it was available. I have swatched this palette and I am in love with it. I am so pleased with the first Colourpop product that I have ever bought even though I have been a fan of them for a long time but finally took the plunge to purchase something from them and I will say this with absolute certainty, I will be purchasing from them again. The colors are highly pigmented and very pretty. I am a sucker for packaging as well as color names and I must say this one has some great ones. I love the breakdown of the palette with the number of shades that are matte, metallic, and glittery. There are some palettes at are too metallic heavy for me but this has a really nice balance that can be used to create a number of stunning looks.

The one drawback of this palette is that it doesn’t have a mirror, now I have other palettes that don’t have mirrors and it’s not a big deal but this palette is nice and compact so having a mirror with it for traveling purposes would have been nice.

I think that you can still snag this palette on Colourpop’s website and it really is worth the price point that it is at.

Colourpop All Star Setting Spray

Okay this was a purchase to get my order over the threshold for free shipping because I am a terrible person like that but to be honest I have been seeing so many beauty gurus talking about “setting spray” for months now. Full disclosure, I have only used setting spray once and that was at an outdoor wedding in June of 2017 in the very south of Louisiana and I didn’t want my face to melt off. I don’t even remember what brand it was because I borrowed it. I like the idea of setting my face so everything stays in place because in the last few months I have learned a lot from beauty guru’s and sharing some of their wisdom when it comes to my makeup routine makes me feel at least a little useful.

Love the packaging, nice and summery even though we are facing toward the bleakness of winter, it’s simple and I am looking forward to actually having a reason to use it to actually test it out.

Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray

Look! More setting spray! This was a sample and I have been seeing so many people using this setting spray but to be honest I didn’t want to drop that much money on a spray bottle full of…I don’t actually know what’s in setting spray, if it’s like hairspray I still think it is just mostly aerosolized glue and there is a part of me that doesn’t like that.

I am again really excited to see if this product works for me like it works for so many others. If I like it who knows maybe I will buy a full sized bottle in the future, we’ll see.

Too Faced Beauty Daydreamer Holiday Gift Set

Holiday packaging! Too Faced is one of those brands that I get every year around the holidays and I have been for something like four years now. This is where I get my travel sized Better Than Sex mascara every year because it is still one of my favorites and something that I always reach for and take with me in my makeup bag. Their holiday packaging seems to get better and better every year and this year with the Beauty Daydreamer set it was a palette with 16 eyeshadow shades and four cheek shades as well as a travel Better than Sex mascara and a Bunny Kisses lip gloss. I am normally not a fan of lip gloss but this one isn’t too bad I have tried it I have swatched it and granted it is a little sticky is it nothing like some of the glosses of my past. It is a nice nude shade that I feel like would look good on a wide range of skin tones and I can’t wait to actually get a chance to wear it for a longer length of time than just seeing what it looks like on.

Let’s talk about all of the things you get in this separately. Again I am a palette hoarder, no I am not throwing the word hoarder around loosely I have a lot of palettes and I continue to buy more even though I really don’t need them. Palette first though, the first color that caught my attention was “Resting Grinch Face” I laughed out loud in the Ulta, people looked at me funny. I love the shades, for me I have never had a problem with Too Faced products and I continue to love them with every new item that I add to my collection.

The bag has bunnies on it and I absolutely love it, I am a sucker for makeup bags as well if you check out any of my ipsy posts you will know that. It is nice and I think that Too Faced is stepping up their holiday packaging more and more every year. Kepeign it fresh and all of that.

Coty Airspun Transparent Loose Face Powder

Okay so I started watching a beauty guru on YouTube and when I get interested in someone’s channel I tend to binge their videos and I found myself two days later with a list of makeup I needed to buy, though your girl cannot afford some of the really high end stuff no matter how much she dreams about it. I can still window shop even though I can’t afford $100 foundation or really expensive makeup products. My mom remembers using this powder so I feel like is a good barometer of their quality. Now I walked through Walgreen’s for five-eight minutes looking for this and not asking for help because I wanted to prove to people that I don’t need help…I needed help because it was in a place in the makeup aisle that didn’t make any sense to me, it was by the lashes. Now on first impressions, I actually really like the smell of it, I don’t know why there is just something really nice about it. I like the smell and for some reason it’s kind of nostalgic. I don’t know where I have smelled it before but I am a huge fan of it.

Again beauty guru’s told me that I need to set my concealer, I have never done that before and I am still trying to figure out why, I get it; it’s to make sure nothing moves and nothing creases. When I first heard someone use the term “baking” I was so confused because you don’t “bake” anything in the traditional sense with or on your face. It took me months to figure out why people were “baking” and what it actually was as well as its benefits.

Two more months in 2018 you guys, we got this!

Is there anything that y’all got in October that you are loving? Is there anything that you are super excited for as the holiday season rolls around? Let me know in the comments!

-MJ