Anastasia Self-Made Palette Review

November 12, 2015 in Makeup

Just when I thought I had enough eyeshadow to last me a lifetime, the Anastasia Beverly Hills Self-Made Palette was released. And I caved. I thought it had the perfect mix of neutrals and more fun colors for an eyeshadow-noob like me - the pops of pink, purple, and mint green were just enough for me.

I had never tried Anastasia shadows but had always heard raves, so I went in with my hopes high. I was not disappointed. They're so soft and creamy, I'd say possibly even more so than Urban Decay. Actually, they remind me a bit of the Charlotte Tilbury eyeshadows in how they feel and how well they last. Absolutely everything will crease on me without a primer, and some things still do even with a primer. These last the whole day and still look perfect at the end of the day, which is honestly a first for me. They're stunningly pigmented, though it's not so much that you're overloaded and unable to blend them - it's no wonder why so many makeup artists I've seen on Youtube and Instagram lately have been using them. And I don't go too crazy with packing on the color, but I haven't experienced any fallout so far.

I've seen some complaints about the color selection in this palette, and some people say they don't understand why these colors were chosen and why they're arranged the way they are. I don't go all out with eyeshadow so as long as I could picture pairs of two I could wear together, I was fine. But I saw in Sam from Batalash Beauty's October Favorites that this palette is actually set up in quads, and suddenly I'm feeling so much more adventurous with the looks I put together. I've actually been using four colors at once! My favorite combination so far has been Treasure, Hot & Cold, Self-Made, and Metallic Plum. Twelve of the fourteen shades have some level of shimmer in them and two, Buttery and Hot Chocolate, are matte. If you're not into shimmery eye looks, then this might not be the palette for you, but for me the shimmer isn't too over the top. I haven't been able to reach for any other eyeshadow palette lately, and I really think it's one of the most versatile palettes I own.

Have you tried the Self-Made Palette or Anastasia shadows in general?

Fall Favorites Tag

November 10, 2015

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. Although I don't like cold weather, I do love that everything starts feeling a bit cozier. I was recently tagged by Beti to do the Fall Favorites Tag, and the questions were so fun to think of answers to that I just had to do it!

Favorite Candle: I think my all-time favorite fall candle is Yankee Candle's Macintosh - such a classic. Right now though I haven't been able to get enough of Cider Lane from Bath and Body Works. It was from last year so I'm not sure if they still have it, but sometimes they re-release scents under different names. I love this one because it smells like apples, cinnamon, and caramel - it's so good.

Favorite Lip Color: This fall I've been all about the Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Bond Girl. I'm obsessed with neutral lipsticks, and this one is especially perfect for the fall season because of its slight berry tone. The formula of these are also so lovely. But any time I want a bold lip, I've been reaching for the NARS Audacious Lipstick in Audrey - it's just a stunning berry red shade.

Favorite Drink: I'm not a huge Pumpkin Spice fan (shock horror), or a big coffee drinker, but I love me some fresh apple cider. Every year I make the trek to a (not-so) local farmer's market for their hot cider and cider donuts.

Favorite Blush: My cheeks tend to go quite rosy in the fall because of the heating being turned on, so I go for netural, mauve-y blushes if I wear any at all. My go-tos have been the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Mood Exposure if I want something glowy and the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Exposed if I want something matte.

Favorite Clothing Item: This fall I've been on a quest to buy all the turtlenecks. I'm not sure if they're the most flattering thing I could wear, but they're so cozy and nice. My favorite has been this one from H&M.

Favorite Fall Movie: This has to be a tie between Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Believe it or not, I didn't actually see Nightmare Before Christmas until I was 19 or 20 but now I absolutely love it. And Hocus Pocus is just brilliant. Bette Midler is my queen.

Favorite Fall TV Show: This is hands-down The Walking Dead. This is pretty much the only TV show I keep up with in the fall, to be fair. For someone who's terrified of scary movies, this doesn't scare me at all. This season has been wild so far, with a cliffhanger at the end of every episode.

Favorite Thanksgiving Food: Is it cheating to say all of it? Thanksgiving is only a very close second to Christmas for my favorite holiday. I go to my grandparents' house every year, and my grandma is just the most amazing cook ever. If I had to pick one thing, I think I'd eat her mashed potatoes for the rest of my life.

Favorite Halloween Costume: For my whole life I've kind of always felt like I had pretty lame costumes. I always liked them in the moment when I picked them, but then they seemed so inferior compared to my friends' costumes at school. I think I peaked at age 2 when I was Baby Bop from Barney and Friends - check out that hat.

This was such a fun tag to do! I tag Jasmine, Mollie, and Mika to do this tag next, but if you want to do it feel free - and be sure to tag me, of course, so I can see!

Shopping My Stash

November 07, 2015

Back in my Tips for Getting Out of a Rut post, I talked about how if you’re in a makeup rut (as I was), one idea was to change up your look. This inspired me to root through my beauty drawer, as I usually just live out of a makeup bag, to pick out some old favorites. I’m incredibly passionate about my beauty stash and love collecting more, but I need to remind myself to be better about not forgetting older things in favor of shiny new ones.

Starting with base products, the first thing I pulled out of the cobwebs was the Too Faced Hangover Replenishing Face Primer. This is actually the only primer I own, as I’m quite picky about them - if I’m not careful, they break me out in those awful under-the-skin bumps. This one is perfect though - it’s quite nourishing and leaves the skin with a nice, dewy glow without any shimmer. It really does make my makeup last longer, so with the problem I've been having lately of my skin sucking up my makeup within a few hours, I’m definitely going to be relying on this again.

The other base product is my formerly beloved Diorskin Nude Skin-Glowing Makeup (every shade is currently out of stock, so I'm hoping they haven't discontinued it!). I got this last year and became utterly obsessed with it, but my more recent penchant for all things BB/CC/Tinted Moisturizers has it gathering dust. I think this is really where my love of “your skin but better” bases began, though. It leaves a lovely skin-like finish, is not too dewy or too matte, and gently evens out the complexion without looking caked on.

I have so many different eyeshadows and palettes that I forget about many of them quite often. The one I’m most mad at myself for not using more, though, is the NARS Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow in Himalia. It’s a beautiful taupe-y bronze shade that’s exactly the kind of thing I go for on a day to day basis. I love the formula of these, and now that I’ve got some MAC Fix+ in my collection I really want to try applying it wet. If it’s as amazing as I’ve heard, it will definitely be making an appearance during the holiday season.

If you remember my Highlighter Roundup back in the summer, you’ll know that I have way more highlighters than is necessary for someone with only one face. The one that I’ve recently been getting back into using is the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade. I have a review on it here, because it really is such a stunning shade. And since I have quite dull skin from time to time, I’m going to test this out as a setting powder, using a much fluffier brush than I would to wear it as a highlighter.

I think I’m pretty good at rotating through my collection of lip products, but the one thing I just don’t wear much anymore is lip gloss - I’ve dropped it in favor of lipsticks, lip liners, and tinted lip balms. Every time I clean out my makeup there’s a few more lip glosses to give away, but the one I just can’t let go of is the Urban Decay Naked Ultra Nourishing Lipgloss in Liar. People went wild over these when they came out, but now no one really speaks of them anymore. It’s probably one of my favorite gloss formulas (behind the Clarins Natural Lip Perfectors of course) because they’re quite moisturizing and not sticky at all. The shade Liar is a lovely mauve-y pink (surprised?) that looks just as good paired with a bold eye as it does with a pared-down minimal look.

What products have you been dusting off in your collection lately?