Remember this?
I hope so, I shared its unboxing last week. That was exciting and all, but more exciting (in my opinion) would be looking at this limited-edition mega-palette in a bit more detail.
Let’s just jump right into the Too Faced Everything Nice Palette Swatches and review!
Starting with the top row of shadows:
Too Faced Everything Nice Swatches
November 2014 FavoritesBlah blah, November went sooooo fast, etc. You know the drill. November 2014 Favorites!
But before the jump, have you entered the EcoTools Eye Enhancing Duo Brush Giveaway? Open until December 16!
I listed the limited edition Everything Nice Palette from Too Faced in my 2014 Prestige Makeup (Holiday) Gifts. Fortunately, my awesome husband not only got it for me, but gave it to me early (we’re kind of bad about that). I’ve had a few weeks to play with it now, and I have a ton to say – but for now, we’ll just unbox the Everything Nice Palette to avoid TL;DR.
Here’s the box, front (left) and back (right):
Let’s crack it open. It says, #own your pretty. Or is it #ownyourpretty?
The glittery, hot pink clutch is safely tucked in along with a deluxe sample tube of Too Faced Better than Sex mascara.
Get rid of those and lift the flap…bingo!
“That’s what pretty girls are made of,”
Everything Nice Palette by Too FacedGlorious makeup, out of its box. Twenty shadows, two blushes, a bronzer, a highlight, three brushes, and an impossibly glittery clutch.
For cheap tools included with a value palette, the three included brushes aren’t bad. It includes a shader, an angled brush, and a flat face brush.
And here’s a closer, top-down view of the Everything Nice Palette, opened:
Although the Everything Nice Palette is similar in format and color scheme to last year’s Too Faced mega palette (which was Too Faced My Favorite Things), it is different enough to be worth buying if you have last year’s edition (I do not have it). Retailing exclusively at Sephora, it goes for $56 in stores and online (when it isn’t sold out)! I’m curious to see if it will linger after the holidays for a little while as its predecessor did.
Review and swatches to come soon!
We interrupt this Wednesday’s regularly scheduled programming in favor of a review of my recent Ulta Salon visit experience. Monthly Favorites will run next Wednesday.
A couple years ago, a stylist did a shoddy job with some layering work – they were way too short in comparison to my overall length, placed awkwardly, and not at all the cut I sought despite showing pictures. I spent two years growing them out, ending up with hair past my waist for my wedding, getting trims here and there (surely not the recommended 6-8 weeks) to even it up. Shortly after the wedding, I hacked about four inches off (it was heavy and more hassle than I cared to deal with) but it was still veeeeeeeery long (middle of my ribcage). Although I like my hair long, I still found myself at odds with it at this length – drying took forever, styling was a joke, etc.
I had been wanting another cut for a while and decided to take advantage of a 30% off offer from the nearby Ulta Salon – I set an appointment for after work and scurried right over over. I was greeted by an Ulta employee who let my stylist know I was there; the same woman offered to take my coat and get me a coffee. While I waited, I checked out the Spa Ritual polish display that sat in front of the salon area.
My stylist led me back to a chair and asked what I was looking for. I presented her with the above photo and explained that I was looking to:
ck one mascaraThe Ulta Rewards member birthday gift for 2014 was a full-sized tube of Calvin Klein’s ck one mascara. I ran through my last test subject, Guerlain Maxi-Lash pretty quickly and this one was next in line.
Available exclusively at Ulta, ck one mascara features a wand that can be adjusted via a twist of the cap depending on what effect you wish for your lashes – definition or volume. Before actually opening it, I was under the impression that when the cap was twisted that an additional set of bristles would protrude from the wand; I was intrigued by what I perceived to be a cool meetup of engineering and beauty. When I opened it, it was the first thing I examined.
Because I have yet to find my unicorn when it comes to shampoo and conditioner, I am on the hunt. I decided to try an offering from Neutrogena, recently, their Triple Repair line.
I am a fool, though, because when I skimmed the ingredients list I somehow missed that this line does include protein treatments. The clue-in should’ve been right in the name, “repair.” Alas, many, “repairing,” products fortify the hair with protein…but as I mentioned before, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
Things were smooth sailing for two weeks and then took a dive; my tresses went psycho again, rife with dryness and tangles and rage.
When your hair is lower-ribcage length angry snarls are seriously no fun. I’d brush my hair our before bed, wake up with a horrific knotted mass (that is not normally the case for me).
The lightbulb flashes, I went to the bathroom and scoured the labels of the shampoo and conditioner, already realizing what I’d done. The conditioner…
Water, Cetyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Stearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Behenyl Alcohol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Dimethylpabamidopropyl Laurdimonium Tosylate, PPG-1 Trideceth-6, Hydrolyzed Lupine Seed Extract, Amodimethicone, Cetearyl Alcohol, Polyquaternium-37, Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Fragrance
Noooooo. My suspicions were confirmed; I made a mistake. My unreasonably protein-sensitive hair was having a tantrum again due to this innocuous-seeming ingredient. Not even halfway through the tubes!
The shampoo contains some oat and wheat components, which typically do indicate protein. As far as I know it is okay with wheat stuff (I really loved the Aveeno Nourish and Soothe [now discontinued]), unsure about oat though.
No sass about the products – they cleaned well, and were kind to my scalp. My hair was shiny, soft, and had an almost, “fluffy,” quality before it decided it was over the protein. Just a heads-up in case your hair is sassy like mine and doesn’t care for protein – pass this one up.