Get The Look: MELT COSMETICS Eyeshadow Stack ‘Dark Matter’

** I’m not a pro makeup artist. But I like to dabble.= ) But practice makes perfect and I plan on practicing a lot more in the future!

Transition: Unseen (Dark Matter stack)
Lid: Enigma (Dark Matter stack)
Inner Corner: gold (Sephora + Pantone Marsala palette)
Bottom lash line (middle): Enigma
Bottom lash line (outer corner): dark purple (Sephora + Pantone Marsala palette)

MELT COSMETICS Eyeshadow Stack ‘Dark Matter’ Review With Pictures + Swatches on Chocolate Skin

I have just recently gotten into Melt Cosmetics (read: this was my first purchase), but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been enthusiastic about the brand for months. When I heard about the release of their new eyeshadow stacks, I figured it was time to get my hands on something that said ‘melt.’

I ordered the ‘Dark Matter’ eyeshadow stack on Sunday evening and it came Wednesday afternoon. Talk about fast! Especially for a smaller cosmetics company. I was really impressed. There were two stacks released earlier this month, but I decided to only purchase the more neutral stack because I like to play it safe!

Like a lot of other people, I was impressed by the pan size. Each stack is $48 so that works out to $12 per pan. To put that into perspective, the Anastasia Beverly Hills eyeshadow singles are $12 (not in a compact) and the MAC singles are $15 (in a compact). The packaging is … innovative. I’m not sure how comfortable I would feel traveling with these. The magnets seem very strong, but one small slip and your entire eyeshadow could be exposed to whatever else is in your makeup bag.

Surprisingly, my favorite color was ‘Enigma’ (the red shade). Of course the red was my favorite color when I said I bought this stack for the neutrals LOL. It blended nicely with my skin tone and didn’t seem as bright/clownish on me as other reds. I loved this and will probably use this up first. It would be great if Melt could sell these separately in the future for repurchasing. However, the black shade, ‘Dark Matter’, was the smoothest of the four. It blended beautifully and if you have a heavy hand on the first swipe, you can really work with it to get it how you want it. But it is really pigmented so you don’t need a lot!

Overall, I feel that this stack would be better suited towards the light to medium skinned ladies. Unseen is literally “unseen” on me. You can’t see it at all! Blurr is a little too light/pigmented to use as a brow highlight. When I tried to use it other places on the lid, it made me look a bit ghostly. Enigma and Dark Matter are the only two shades that I can actually utilize and I don’t think I would pay $48 for two shadows. That’s just not in my budget for this year.

What are your thoughts? Will you be purchasing? Have you already purchased?

First Impression: DOSE OF COLORS Liquid Matte Lipstick ‘Berry Me’

While I am rarely on trend with the cosmetic products I purchase, liquid lipsticks are the exception. I ‘oooh’ and ‘aaah’ at every company that introduces a “new, revolutionary” formula in the liquid-to-matte craze. I have been eye-ing the DOSE OF COLORS liquid lipsticks since their release and was happy to see the brand had restocked all their colors right before Christmas. So, naturally, I picked one up right after the holiday. =)

I have been seeing their colors EVERYWHERE. Instagram and YouTube were full of people complementing the long lasting formula and the intense pigmentation that came wit just one swipe. One of my favorite YouTubers, Desi Perkins, tested out the color ‘Berry Me’ and loved it so  much that it ended up in one of her monthly favorites videos. She not only listed the item as a favorite, but wore it in the video! The video was informative, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the color! I basically watched a 10-minute video just for the lip color which I think is totally permissible.
‘Berry Me’ seems to be a chameleon color, meaning it changes color based on skin complexion and natural lip color. On Desi, it looked more muted neutral, but turned out to have a more pink base on me. I don’t mind the hints of fuchsia and I actually liked the color even more once I put it on. The color lasted throughout a meal and while it could have used a little bit of touching up, I decided to just ride it out and see what it would look like at the end of the day.

My only complaint about the product is the longevity. Now, you are probably thinking, what in the world!??! Why wouldn’t I want it to do its job and last all day?! Well … it’s great that it lasts all day, but the LAST THING I want to do at the end of the day is struggle to take off my lip color. I swear there was a fight between my Makeup Forever makeup remover and this product. It took me about 10 minutes and three cotton pads of remover to get the majority off. After several hours of wear, the color had quite a bit of time to settle into the lines in my lips making it almost impossible to get all the way off. I ended up having to use a lip scrub to get the color out of those lines. My lips were still pretty stained, but at least I could say I tried my best.

It would be great if the brand could come out with a lipstick remover. I would invest as long as I didn’t have to spend all that energy trying to get it off. I’ve heard that the product doesn’t react well to oily foods, so maybe some vitamin E oil would have been helpful in the removal process.

What do you think about the Dose of Colors liquid lipsticks? Anyone else struggling to get it off?

Sephora + Pantone Universe Color of the Year Palette 2015

It took me three of four tries to type ‘2015’ in the title! My brain is still stuck saying ‘2014’! Anyways, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I am truly excited to see what the new year will bring. I can’t wait bring some innovative content this blog! My first beauty purchase of 2015 was the Sephora + Pantone Universe Facets of Marsala Multi-Finish Eye Palette. I walked into Sephora today with intentions of buying the Kat Von D Monarch Palette, but came out with this instead. Why?

Well for starters, the Kat Von D Monarch Palette has 12 different shades. The Pantone Universe Eye Palette has 24. I’ll take the 24. The pans on the Kat Von D palette are much bigger, but sometimes bigger isn’t better. Today I wanted a little more color variety and so I didn’t care too much about the pan sizes. Also, let’s briefly talk about the price. The Monarch Palette comes in at $46 and the Marsala Palette is $39. Again, the latter wins the battle for my cash!

Now I will probably go back another day for the Kat Von D palette. I own practically everything she puts out. The items last forever and the pigmentation never fades. I know the quality of her work. I have never used a Sephora + Pantone Universe product, so I am gambling on the quality and longevity of today’s purchase. I did do some swatches in store and was impressed by most of the colors (ESPECIALLY the shimmers and the duo-chrome colors). The matte ones were just ‘ehhh’. But again, there were just so many colors, I was prepared for a few duds!

For now, I am excited to began using my palette and I hope I don’t regret my purchase!

First Impression: CoverGirl QUeen Colorlicious Glosses

Ok, so yes I was feeling myself after I did this look! LOL

Normally, I might take a picture with my phone if I try on a new lipstick or use a new eyeshadow. My point-and-shoot camera might get some play if I put on a full face. But this time I brought in the big guns with my DSLR because I was SO impressed with how these new products performed. I wanted to be able to capture the true colors I used with the best lens I had. I took these pictures when the sun was going down and the lighting is just coming from the backlight on my laptop below my face (I was sitting at my desk taking selfies!)

I got a chance to use some of the products that I purchased over the holidays as well as some old favorites. Some of these products are part of brand new collection roll-outs for 2015 and some products are just new to me. Now I am NOT a makeup artist. I am not a beauty professional. I just like makeup! But I really feel that many of the products I tried on my face today made it easy for me to feel like I knew what I was doing! For me, that is one of the best reviews I could give an item.

Product Breakdown >>

Favorite item: Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick

  • This will blend and blend and blend some more. And then blend itself. It was so creamy, but remained pigmented without looking harsh.

Least favorite item: City Color Slim Eyeshadow Compact

  • I didn’t even list this item in the product breakdown because when I went to put on some of the shadows, they wouldn’t show up. Swatched on my arm they were beautiful, by my eyelids weren’t having it.

Biggest surprise: City Color Sunlight Bronzing Stick

  • City Color redeemed themselves with this creamy highlighting stick. It adds just enough shimmer to highlight, but it didn’t clash with my matte foundation and contour.

You HAVE to buy: CoverGirl Queen Colorlicious Glosses

  • Super pigmented and will look beautiful on all skintones. Only $8 at Walgreens. You can’t go wrong!
Face —

  • Primer: ELF Mineral Primer, NYX Pore Filler (under my eyes, up my nose)
  • Foundation: Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay In Place Liquid Foundation 6W1 Sandalwood
  • Under Eye:  NYX HD Concealer 07 Tan ( to highlight after foundation), Rimmel Stay Matte Powder (to set undereye highlight so I don’t get oily during the day and turn into a mess!)
  • Blush: MAC Fever
  • Bronzer: City Color Sunlight Bronzing Stick (uh-maze-ing), Black Radiance Artisan Color Baked Blush in ‘Toasted Almond’
  • Contour: Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick 10 Espresso
  • Shimma Shimma: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish (MSF) in ‘Scene to be Seen’

Brows —

  • Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in ‘Dark Brown’ (all over) & DipBrow in ‘Dark Brown’ (on the tail end)
  • Benefit Cosmetics Gimme Brow Tinted Gel in ‘Medium/Deep’

Eyes —

  • Primer: MAC Prep + Prime Eye in ‘Medium Dark’
  • Shadows: NYX Single Shadows in ‘Showgirl’ (transition shade), Maybelline Color Tattoo in ‘Improper Copper’ (all over lid), Maybelline Color Tattoo in ‘Barely Brazen (inner corner of eye), Revlon ColorStay Shadow Link in ‘Cocoa’
  • Eyeliner: NYC Liquid Liner
  • Mascara: Maybelline Great Lash
  • Falsies: dollar store find/no name/great to play with full lashes

Lips —

  • Liner: Jordanna in ‘Cabernet’
  • Gloss: NEW CoverGirl Queen Colorlicious Gloss in ‘Million Dollar Mocha’ (all over the lips) & ‘Lush Lavender’ (in the middle of the lips)

Holiday HAUL!

Happy HAULidays! I wanted to share some of my most recent purchases. I basically used Christmas as an excuse to buy new goodies! Read till the end for a special BONUS item that is super hot this season!

BONUS!
An extra special package that came in today! I CANNOT wait to try this color out to test its durability during a normal day of wear-and-tear.

ColourPop Cosmetics To Drop New $5 Matte Eyeshadows

You can’t deny that ColourPop Cosmetics has had a GREAT year. Their “Lippie Stix” (an innovative new name for lipsticks) and Color Shock Eyeshadows have been popping up in loads of Instagram posts and YouTube tutorials. What’s next for the fun-filled company? A collection of matte eyeshadows.

ColourPop Cosmetics made a Christmas morning announcement that puts Santa to shame. Fans of the brand will be clammoring for a collection of 14 all new matte eyeshadows dropping TONIGHT at 12AM PST (3AM EST). Known for their unique “is it gel? is it powder” consistency, ColourPop has made huge strides in the beauty world this year. These affordable, high-quality products are a must for your post-Christmas shopping list. What will you be buying?

MAC Bao Bao Wan

MAC is bringing out some pretty vibrant tones with this collection. Get ready for royal blue, deep purples, and elegant golds.

MAC’s collaboration with Chinese socialite and jewelry designer Bao Bao Wan is bringing us color! The collection appeared on MAC’s website earlier this year in one of a series of online collection release glitches experienced by the company. However, the items with a March 2015 release date have completely redesigned, limited edition packaging. So even if you were lucky and got it the first time, you might want to get a backup this time with the LE packaging. Check out more sneak peeks below!

KATVONDBEAUTY.COM is now a thing!

Previously only found at Sephora, this new launch allows beauty lovers to explore the world of Kat Von D like never before. From the woman who brought us the go-to ‘Kylie Jenner’ liquid lipcolor, Lolita. And one of the best full coverage foundations on the market … and concealer … and lipstick. Pretty much everything Kat Von D puts out is gold.

I have been patiently waiting for the expansion of Kat Von D’s beauty line for months. Since her collaboration began several years ago with Sephora, I have purchased Lock-It Tattoo Concealer after Lock-It Tattoo Concealer. I go through those like butter and eggs! Until now, there has been more supporting website separate from sephora.com for the brand.

Today, Kat Von D launched a brand website called KATVONDBEAUTY.COM. While beauty lovers cannot shop directly from this website (it redirects to sephora.com for purchases), you leave the site with a far better picture of the brand beyond the stark white and black color scheme sephora.com offers.

The site is also interactive and features Instagram-user tagged pictures from some big names in beauty blogging wearing Kat Von D Beauty products. There are also some tutorials (mostly old ones) from Kat Von D herself on how she uses her own products. My favorite one is her eye tutorial using the Star Studded Palette. If you are interested in the look, check it out below!