2016 Declutter and Empties

Hello again readers!

It's that time of year again. The time of year where I went through my entire makeup collection, and just went crazy with purging. If I didn't love it, or use it, it went out the door. If it was old/smelled bad/dried up or was used up, it was purged. It was a long process, and it was exhausting, but I'm so happy with the progress that I made this year. I cut my collection down by a lot, and now I have room to expand with products that I'll actually use.

Blackbird Cosmetics Subtract Sculpting Powder Sample – Empty*:
I love this sculpting powder as a contour. I already bought a full-size of it for my collection.

Shiro Cosmetics Alkehestry Eyeshadow Sample – Depotted*:

I ended up having two of these in sample forms, so I combined them into a little jar. Much easier to use that way.

Notoriously Morbid Necromancy Blush Sample – Empty*:

Another product I really love for contouring. I bought a full-size of this product too, and I love it!

Mario Badescu Healing & Soothing Mask Sample – Empty:

I really hated this mask. It didn't do anything for my skin. It didn't sooth any redness, it didn't help my skin heal, and after using it, it felt like it did the opposite because my skin felt dehydrated. Boo.

Nivea In Shower Body Lotion Sample – Empty*:

I need to get a bottle of this for my shower, because I loved this. I really hate applying lotion to my body, so I rarely (if ever) do so, but this just makes it so ridiculously easy I don't have a reason not to.

China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat – Empty*:

I'm going to buy another bottle of this eventually, because I'm an impatient person when it comes to my nails. It dries so quickly and I can go back to doing whatever I want to do, and I don't have to worry about my nails smearing all over the place. The downside is that it gums up towards the end of it's life and gets really stringy and gross.

ELF Eyeslash Glue – Old:

This eyelash glue sucks really. I don't even know why I held onto it, because it doesn't keep your lashes on.

DUO Dark-Tone Eyelash Adhesive – Old*:

I need to buy a new bottle of t his, because I really do love it. I always wear eyeliner when I wear false lashes, so having a lash glue that dries down to a black color to blend in with that eyeliner? Holy grail status right there!

ELF High Definition Translucent Powder – Empty*:

I don't ever like being without this product in my collection, it's a recently appointed Holy Grail status product for me.

Wet n Wild Coverall Foundation – Fair – Old:

I might consider buying this foundation again, because I remember always liking it when I wore it, but I have other foundations I have to go through before I consider trying this one again.

Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation – Ivory – Old:

This is another product that's been discontinued, and I really wish it wasn't. It had such beautiful light to medium coverage, and lasted all day on me. Such a shame.

L'Oreal True Match Foundation – Alabaster – Old*:

I want to try this in the Neutral shade, because while I liked this product (I think?), I hated how pink it was on my face!

Maybelline Color Tattoo – Gold Rush, Barely Branded, Inked in Pink, Silver Strike, Pomegranate Punk, and Lavish Lavender – Old:

All old, dried up, and shades that I just never reached for that often. At least not enough to warrant me to repurchase them.

Sephora Cream Eyeshadow and Liner – Blue Night – Just awful:

It was patchy, it took forever to get opaque, and it would transfer like nobody's business. Such a shame because it was such a beautiful blue.

Smashbox Jet Set Waterproof Eyeliner – Teal – Just awful:

I wasn't wild about the color, and the formula, pigmentation, and staying power were just disappointments across the board. No wonder Smashbox discontinued it.

HIP Gel Eyeliner – Teal – Old*:

I love this shade like no other, it's such a unique shade, but it just didn't work for me. It would transfer like crazy, and would smear all over the place on my oily lids. Such a shame, because if it worked better i have no doubts that I would have used all of it.

ULTA Extreme Wear Gel Eyeliner – Dublin – Old*:

I need to buy a new one, because I love the darkened hunter green. Reminds me of my Dublin hoodie, and therefore it reminds me of my second home. Very fitting name.

ELF Eyelid Primer x2 – Old:

These aren't bad for starting off, but I'm past that point. Plus, I got these in makeup kits, so they weren't that special to me.

Milani Infinite Liquid Eyeliner – Forever – Old:

I really like the idea of gold eyeliner, but I just never really reached for it. It ended up getting all gummed up and disappointing me. Shame.

Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eyeliner – Blackest Black – Old:

An eyeliner that I remember loving to death in high school, that revisiting shows me how much I've grown in my makeup game. It just wasn't what I needed in my collection, and it wasn't as special as I remembered. It was pigmented, but hard to make wings, but easy to make just simple lines. It wasn't transfer proof, wasn't waterproof, and wasn't smudge proof, so within a couple of hours it'd be smudged and faded.

ELF Liquid Eyeliner x2 – Midnight – Old*:

These eyeliners are such a good investment. They're about a dollar, super pigmented, and incredibly easy to apply. The only downside is that they're not smudge-proof or waterproof, but even then they still last all day! It's incredible.

Stila High Shine Liquid Vinyl Eyeliner – Royal Blue – Old:

I loved the color so much, but this was such a disappointment. It cracked, it flaked, it dried out my eye area. What a shame.

Hard Candy 1000 Lashes – Black – Old:

I wanted to like this so much, because it made my lashes look so fluffy and full. Of course, the trade off is that I would have little black fibers and flakes raining down my face and into my eyes. Not a fan.

Milani Ultrafine Liquid Eyeliner – Sparkling Turquoise and Prismatic Purple – Old:

Both of these were just so streaky, and they both left stains. I wasn't reaching for them often anyway, and I didn't like these at all. Which, wasn't a surprise, I wasn't a fan of the black eyeliner either.

Hot Topic Blackheart Beauty Smokey Eyelid Primer – Old:

The idea of this product is awesome, but it ended up just... not working out. It has such a beautiful grey shade that would be perfect as a base, but the formula was drier than I was expecting and it was always a streaky base. Blending it out was a nightmare, and it was also a little sticky, but in a bad way. It made shadows stick to it and impossible to blend, but it didn't hold onto shadows to save it's life and left my lids in a creasy mess. Boo.

Hot Topic Blackheart Beauty Eyelid Primer – Old:

I only used this once or twice, because it was awful. Hell, the $1 ELF primer is leagues better than this one. It didn't hold onto shadows at all, it was a hell to blend, and just... overall awful.

NYX Eyebrow Gel - Blonde and Brunette – Old*:

The only reason these went bad, is because I only managed to use up half of each of them. So... technically I used up a full size. I really liked both, but in a twist, I prefer the blonde. The blonde in this formula is actually build-able into a dark tone that I enjoy for my aesthetic, and it can be sheered out for a more traditional blonde look. The brunette was amazing, but I found that if I was heavy-handed that day, I would walk away with perfectly sculpted drag eyebrows, which was much too heavy for everyday wear.

ELF Medium Eyebrow Kit – Old:

This used to be my favorite. Hell, this was the second one I used. I don't enjoy it nearly as much as I used to, becuase it's much too warm for my brows, and I have many other products I reach for far more often.

NYX Micro Brow Pencil – Ash Brown – Empty*:

This is a new Holy Grail product for me. I love how incredibly easy it is to fill in my brows, and they end up looking decently natural. I go through about one every two months or so, which means I go through these fairly quickly, but I can manage to get two for $15, so it ends up being WAY cheaper than the Anastasia version by far.

Revo Sugar Cookie Lip Balm – Old:

I never reached for this, because I was expecting a light, sweet, vanilla flavor and scent. What I got was a vanilla monstrosity that had an edge of mint. I wasn't sure what to expect, and it definitely wasn't that. I hate mint so much, so it ruined this balm for me. The good news is that the Revo balms DO moisturize the lips, so at least there's that.

ELF Lip Color – Maleficent – Old:

I held onto this for so long, just because of the name. It's not a bad gloss, but I'm not a fan of reds.

Profusion BB Balm – Strawberry – Just Awful:

I used this once. Just once. The pigmentation was streaky. The balm did jack diddly. The flavor was definitely NOT strawberry (it was a gross, chemical flavor with a bland aftertaste of an attempt at strawberry). It was just a huge failure.

EOS Vanilla Lip Balm – Old:

This was a lot better than the popular egg version of the EOS balm, this actually gave my lips some moisture. It wasn't amazing, and not worth the money, but it wasn't awful. It ended up being hard to use because the more you use up, the more it moves in the tube ... I prefer just classic Chapstick.

NYX Circle Lipstick – Blush – Old:

Didn't like the color, so I barely used it.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick – Wink for Pink and Primrose – Old:

Wink for Pink was a color I sort of reached for, but just never loved. Primrose started out strong, but I soon discovered that it wasn't very flattering on me, and left me looking unattractive. What a shame.

Wet n Wild Just Peachy Megalast Lipstick – Old*:

I'm getting rid of this because with the new formula of the lipstick it's a much more flattering. This version was a white-based peach, and it just looked awful.

ELF Moisturizing Lipstick – Pink Minx – Old:

I didn't mind the color, but soon found out that I don't really like pink shades. It was a nice warm pink, so it was flattering and wearable, but I prefer nudes.

Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lipstick – Nude Delight, and Let's Get Naked – Old:

I almost used both of these up, because they were nice nude lipsticks. I'm not going to repurchase them, because I hate the perfume scent/taste of Rimmel lipsticks. What a shame, they're pigmented and moisturizing, they just taste bad!

L'Oreal Eva's Nude, and Jennifer's Nude Lipstick – Just Awful:

The pigmentation was sheer, which is good for a neutral lipstick. My biggest issue with these is that they're expensive at about $8 a pop, but they're just ... not great. The formula is a little drying and the scent is god-awful. It smells like old, musty, floral perfume. I'd prefer no scent at all to that. The scent made these completely unwearable for me and just a waste of my money, no matter how beautiful the shades were!

Primark/Penny's Beauty Pink Lip Gloss – Old:

It's a beautiful, non-sticky gloss but the color wasn't for me so I never used it. I should have passed it on early on in its life so that someone else could have given it love instead.

Sally Girl Pastel Purple Lip Gloss – Old:

I went through a phase where I was super into lilac/lavender shades for my lips. I had SO many of these. This was my last tube, and I never got around to using it up. I would have, had it not turned on me. What a shame, but they were like 15 cents when I got around to buying up the last of them so I'm not going to cry about it.

Hourglass Canvas Liquid Lipstick – Old:

Ah, now this was a product I assumed that since it was expensive (this little tube was $10!!) it would be amazing. That's not the case. It dried down to like a satin matte, it transferred, it cracked, and it flaked. It was a nice color, and it suited me, but the formula wasn't anything to write home about, and I've used better, CHEAPER products that don't disappoint me.

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I was SO impressed with myself, and this was only the stuff that went right into recycling/the garbage! I got rid of so many other things that I handed off to my friends. There was just so much, that it was almost scary, but it's now such a rewarding experience because all of that stuff was just weighing down that I felt obligated to hold on to, because I bought it.

In the future, all empties posts as well as my favorites will be featured on my Tumblr, so this blog will only be hosting reviews and swatches.

*Asterisks show backups, or plans of future purchases.

Thanks for reading!

L'Oreal Infallible Pro-Matte Foundation and Pro-Last Lip Color Review

Hello again readers!

I tried out a couple things from the L'Oreal Infallible line and I was really excited to get back to you on my thoughts on the products. I gotta say that I wasn't the most impressed with either of them.

I was really happy to see the launch of the new L'Oreal Infallible Pro-Matte foundation. I'm a sucker for good foundations that help with the grease-ball that is my face, and I'm always pretty impatient to try out new ones. Especially when reviews started popping up claiming that this range leans more yellow-toned, I was definitely excited about that! I picked up the shade 101 Classic Ivory.

The pricing varies from $10–$13, which makes this foundation a little steeper, depending on where you purchase it. I'm used to buying foundations that are under $10, but if it works out, then a small splurge would be worth it.

The packaging is plastic, with a squeeze-tube dispenser. They're pretty much my favorite way to have foundations packaged (at the same level of foundations with pumps!) as they're hygienic, and easy to get product out of the container. However, this packaging is almost too easy to get product out, because I find that I squeeze out too much on some occasions.

The coverage is amazing, it's a medium coverage that can be built up to a full-coverage look. It dries down to a semi-matte that ends up looking more like my real skin than I've been wearing foundation, making this a very good every-day foundation to reach for. It ends up clinging to dry patches (thank you acne for being a jerk!) on the skin, and it's very apparent if you're having any issues with dry skin, which is a shame. It also doesn't last anywhere near 24 hours. Heck, if I can make it to 12 hours it's been a good day, because I start getting really oily around the 8 hour mark (even WITH powder and a good primer!) and the foundation starts breaking up on my nose and my chin especially.

The color match is less-than-stellar. It's far too dark, and it leans more orange than yellow. It's such a shame, because in the tube, it looks like it's going to be perfect, and once I blend it out, it's clear that it's not the right match for me. To make matters worse, it oxidizes within an hour, so I look like I've been messing with a self-tanner and made a terrible mistake.

In order for it to work for me at all, I have to mix it with a fair amount of Manic Panic Dream Tone foundation to make it wearable. I have to use an extra pump (4 pumps for every helping of L'Oreal), which makes it look like it's going to be too light for me, but since it oxidizes so quickly, it ends up matching up perfectly afterwards.

It's a hell of a foundation to work with, because if you work with it enough the initial application is flawless. However, it does have quite a few issues. If you're willing to shell out the money for it (and if you're like me, the money to shell out for a foundation mixer) then more power to you, because it's a very gorgeous foundation, and worth giving it a try. I have other foundations I prefer, and other foundations I want to play with, so I don't see myself buying this one again any time soon.

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L'Oreal Infallible 2-Step Lip Color in Neverending Nutmeg was a lip color that I was dead-set on buying. It looked to be the perfect color with just the right amount of color, and the right amount of grey-tones in it to make it my favorite everyday lip. If it manages to last through the whole day, then that would have been a bigger bonus for me, right?

Each 2-Step Lip Color retails anywhere from $10–$13, which is pretty steep for just one liquid lipstick at the drugstore level. It's a pretty nice chunk of change, but once again, if it works, it should be worth it.

The 2-Step process works like this: you apply the lip color, then you apply the balm on top.

The lip color is applied with a doe-foot applicator, with a longer shape. It makes it incredibly easy to apply the product to the lips, making sure to hit every nook and cranny. Though, an issue I had with this product, is that it would apply, but then it would be picked up again with the applicator. It was incredibly frustrating, because I'd have to do at least two layers to make the lipstick look opaque, and sometimes I would still find patches.

The balm is amazing; it smells like cotton candy, it's moisturizing, and it helps keep the lips from being uncomfortable. The downside is that there is barely any balm included! The picture above is all of the balm and I used quite a bit during my testing period, so it just didn't work out for me at all! I was hoping it'd go deep within the cap but it just didn't.

Now the left is the color when you just slap on a lot at once. The right is the lip color when you use the applicator properly, where it sheers the color out. It was frustrating because I wanted opaque coverage and it just didn't want to work with me.

The biggest issue I had with this product is that it was all around awful. The pigmentation wasn't that great and once it dried on the lips it was incredibly uncomfortable unless you were constantly applying the balm (which you don't get that much compared the amount of lip color so you'd end up running out of the balm way before you run out of the lip color!) and if you weren't adamant in applying the balm, it would dry up and flake right off your lips – and not just the insides of your lips, the entire lip area – so you'd have to take it of and apply it again.

The other issue, is that it wasn't long-lasting at all. It of course came off if I ate something greasy, but it didn't last all day even if all I had was something to drink through a straw! It came off just by talking a little bit. It was crazy how easy this lip product came off!

This product wasn't worth the time or money I put into it and I just hated it so much. If they come out with like an individual balm, I would buy that because I enjoyed the balm, but the lip color was a great disappointment.

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Thanks for reading!

Makeup Revolution Palettes

Hello again readers!

I am delighted to bring up these beautiful Makeup Revolution eyeshadow palettes. Shout out to my good mate Jess for being such a wonderful friend, and agreeing to doing a swap with me while she visited the states! I just had a few things I wanted to try out, and she was gracious to take the time to do the shopping for me, and sent me such a beautiful package (the wrapping paper even looked like reptile skin, she is a GODDESS).

There were so many that I really wanted to add to my collection, but there was two that really stood out above the others that I was hardcore lusting after for a long while now.

I <3 Makeup I Heart Chocolate Palette

The packaging of this palette is pretty cute; It looks like a half-eaten chocolate bar that's starting to melt on the edges! It's very cute, but it makes it a little harder to store because it's not a flat surface.

The shadows are a mixture of neutrals with a few pops of color to keep it from being too uniform and bland. This can be used as an every day palette, as well as shaking it up to make a variety of night-time looks as well.

You Need Love: Cream Nude Matte

Piece Me Together: Olive green with gold glitter. On the lid it looks more muddy brown.

One More Piece: Soft warm brown matte

Love Torn*: Burgundy with silver glitter

Stolen Chocolate: Deep cool-toned brown

Thank Friday*: Warm matte peach. Perfect for a transition shade.

More!: Light copper shimmer.

Pleasure Girl: Warm brown matte.

Meet Chocolate: Pale blue-toned pink. This was the chalkiest shade in the entire palette, and I won't ever reach for it because it's so hard to load up on a brush and the fallout is atrocious.

Unforgivable: Violet grey-toned blue.

 Love Divine: Brown Shimmer.

 Smooth Criminal: Copper Shimmer.

 Chocolate Love: Warm gold shimmer.

You Need More: Chocolate Brown shimmer.

What a Way to Go*: Deep matte burgundy.

Endorphins Ready!*: Pale pink ice shimmer.

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Well, it's no surprise that this palette is a supposed dupe for the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette, being called "I Heart Chocolate" and all. The palette doesn't really have much of a scent. It's like they attempted to add fragrance to the palette but they couldn't dream to match the delicious scent of the Too Faced shadows.

Most of the shades in the palette were pigmented, easy to work with, and blended beautifully. There were two shades that stood out as just plain awful for me, those two being; Piece Me Together, and Meet Chocolate. They were the biggest disappointments and really dragged the quality of the entire palette down. Comparatively, I can assure you that the Too Faced shadows are better quality (and the price reflects that). It's been shown that the colors are dupes, but since the Makeup Revolution products are cheaper in quality, they need a little more TLC to show as much impact as the Too Faced. Some days I'm willing to work that hard, but most days if it's not going to work with me, I don't want to work with it!

I just have so many browns already in my collection, that I wasn't blown away with this palette. This makes me extremely happy that I didn't go ahead and purchase the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette, because while I do enjoy the burgundy shades and the matte neutrals, I just don't reach enough to warrant the price of the Too Faced version.

If you're already thinking of getting the Too Faced palette, go ahead and invest in it. If you're like me, and you like the shades but don't see yourself reaching for them often? Go with the Makeup Revolution palette.

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New-Trals VS Neutrals Palette

This palette is a sleek black plastic. It's almost ridiculous how easy it is to store and travel with it, and it protects my shadows from any harm without being too over-the-top or fancy.

The shadows are a beautiful array of warm shades, from peaches, to oranges, to reds! There are also some beautiful cool-tones and a variety of neutrals so this palette isn't too out-there with the color range.

Bias: A pale yellow shimmer.

Neutral*: Warm matte dusty-rose.

Personal: Salmon pink shimmer.

Vogue*: Orange shimmer.

Trend*: Matte burnt sienna.

New-Tral*: Warm-toned matte red.

Tone*: Cool-toned matte red.

Custom*: Matte chocolate brown.

Cool*: Neutral cream. The best to set my eye area to make the shadows easier to blend.

Style: Pale pink glitter. +

Partial: Rose glitter. +

Mode: Copper glitter. +

+ All of these shadows had the most god-awful fallout imaginable. A single tap with a brush caused powder and glitter to get all over the place. They look beautiful on the eyelids, but at what cost?

Adapt*: Neutral brown. This is a perfect crease shade.

Buff: Brown shimmer.

Suit*: Taupe brown with a sheen.

Strong*: Violet glitter in a matte black base.

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This palette was by far my favorite of the two. Now, it's supposed to be a dupe of the Lime Crime Venus palette, but it's that and SO much more. It hits those shades, while offering you a larger variety. Frankly, I don't support Lime Crime, and I'm fortunate that I never spent any money on their products (though I will admit, I've been tempted a few times). I'm so pleased that Makeup Revolution provided a better alternative.

The shades are to die for, and while they're not the most office-friendly shades out there, they're just right for someone like me who prefers "bloody" alternative looks.

With the exception to the more glittery shades, the shadows were pigmented, extremely easy to work with, and blended with minimal effort – a far thrown from the I Heart Chocolate Palette. It was almost ridiculous how easy these shadows were to blend together, they were MADE for each other. A match made in heaven ... in a factory.

This is the first larger palette that I fear I may just run out of the colors, I've been reaching for them like a nut!

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*Asterisks depict my favorite shades.

Thanks for reading!