Eyes

Rose Quartz & Serenity: Pantone Colors of the Year 2016

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Rose Quartz is pretty, but aside from a pale blush, eyeshadow, I can’t see it in makeup. Sephora always does a collection of silly things that more often than not end up in their Sale section until, heavens, the following holiday season.

In fact, I’m trying to figure out this year’s collection…

Rose QuartzRose Quartz: Pantone Color of the Year 2016

Rose Quartz (via the Wayback Machine) lipstick is not reviewed favorably, with many buyers reporting sheer application, lack of pigmentation, and an inconsistent formula. I’m not seeing any reliable looks with it on its own; it needs to be married to a liner or other lipcolor to be remotely useful. Shame, considering it’s supposed to be a, “high coverage, pigment-loaded,” shade. At $18, nope.

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UD XX Vice Ltd Reloaded is Actually Pretty Cool

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I’ve expressed my boredom with the litany of Vice Palettes from Urban Decay, but I’m actually excited about their newest one, UD XX Vice Ltd Reloaded.

UD XX Vice Ltd Reloaded celebrates Urban Decay’s twenty (…what?!) years in the industry, and features a mix of vintage (read: discontinued shades that people pine for), bestselling, and new shadows. Check it out:

UD XX Vice Ltd Reloaded
UD XX Vice Ltd Reloaded

Of course, stock photos never do products justice. Regrettably, I don’t have one (and probably won’t be able to get my mitts on it) – but there are some sneak peaks from people who have already secured one or gotten a PR kit.

The $56 Ulta-exclusive UD XX Vice Ltd Reloaded features three new shades, five vintage shades (Gash!), five previous Vice-exclusives, and seven bestsellers (like Smog, Midnight Cowboy, Twice Baked).

The full complement of shades, according to Ulta’s site:

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2015 Favorites

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I’m approaching my annual favorites post a little differently than I did last year. Instead of breaking it down by section, I’m just going to slap all my 2015 Favorites together. I liked plenty of things, but these are what I liked most.

2015 Favorites

Naked2 Basics - Social

Naked2 Basics, $29 – has been my lifesaver. Even when I first swatched it and decided I required it, I didn’t imagine I’d come to use it as much or as often as I did and do. Personally, I think it is superior to its predecessor…but I don’t own its predecessor, so I haven’t run it through the gauntlet, yet.

elftickledpink

e.l.f. Studio Blush in Tickled Pink, $3 – is a very subtle, pleasant peachy-pink hue. I wear it the most of all the blush I own; it’s hard to overdo, and isn’t too much for work.

cremeinyourcoffee_bullet

MAC Creme in Your Coffee, $17 – Such a nice MLBB, it stays and wears away well. Reapplies easily, and has that lovely signature MAC lipstick scent. I will repurchase a billion of these.

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December 2015 Favorites

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December 2015 Favorites
December 2015 Favorites
1. Boots Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm, $7 / 2. Pointed-Tip Cotton Swabs, $5
3. Sephora Serum Foundation, $24 / 4.  Hot Tools Digital Titanium Flat Iron, $60
5. Urban Decay Moondust Eyeshadow in Space Cowboy, $21

Dear heavens how the hell is it 2016? WHAT IS TIME DOING. That said, it’s now the first Wednesday of January…so that means its time for my December 2015 Favorites. Meanwhile I’ll be working on my incredibly premature midlife crisis.

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Look Awake in No Time

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Today is my first day back to my day job since the day before Christmas Eve; an unpredecented holiday break (my employer has a use-them-or-lose-them vacation day policy) for me. So, as I’m sure anyone in a similar situation can imagine, this first Monday of the year is a molehill that feels like a mountain as I make my way through the motions of my workday. But hey – at least I look awake!

Professionals, students, and Moms, you can relate: Sleep is a beautiful, precious thing. Even though I find significant joy in makeup, one cannot get through the days as a functional human being on joy and/or a perfectly executed winged liner alone.

On a daily basis, I prefer more sleep over more time to primp. I am a Snooze Button fiend. In spite of my extra sleep, I often still look pretty tired and sleepy until my second cup of coffee (and even then, coffee doesn’t cure dark circles). I’m not always a fan of looking like death-warmed-over, though.

Fortunately because I find myself in this situation more often than I care to admit, I’ve become pretty good at handling it. Regardless of the reason we’re time-deprived, most of us have three minutes. Yes, three. That’s it. This isn’t a, “no makeup-makeup look,” that requires you spend more time than you’d ever expect. This isn’t a full blown morning routine complete with sun salutations and lemon water, though – this is JUST making your face look less exhausted without doing a full face. Give me three minutes and I can look like my cats didn’t wake me up three times last night or like I did more harm than good by thrice-striking snooze.

First, concealer, post haste. I still really love Maybelline Instant Age Rewind concealer, even though the packaging could be better. I’m cracking open my fourth tube, soon – and let’s face it, how often do we makeup fanciers repurchase something 4+ times? Yeah, I dig it. We understand each other.

Look Awake In No Time
Look Awake In No Time…with my highly sought-after diagrams /s

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Depotting

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I’m definitely pro-depotting when it comes to singles and duos, little things whose packaging takes up more space in your stash than it ought. I generally shy away from it for palettes, though. That said, something struck me a couple weeks ago and I decided it was time to reorganize my makeup storage/wannabe vanity. I got rid of the awkward brushroll that came with my Coastal Scents Elite Set because it wasn’t the best use of space for me (obviously the brushes stayed), played some Tetris, and decided I needed to pare down on the packaging where I could.

Too Faced Everything Nice (henceforth called TFEN) is fun, but frankly the packaging is huge considering its contents.

So I went at it with a nail implement I don’t use (not because there’s anything wrong with it, I just prefer other tools for the same tasks for which it is intended). Since TFEN is a cardboard palette, it was relatively easy to work with to pop the pans out; each pan is secured in its ‘well’ with some glue that comes up easily enough. I used a metal file to loosen around the outside edges of each metal pan, the slipped it under and slowly, gently (emphasis on those two!) pried upwards.

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