June 2015 Top 5

I hope everyone had a fantabulous June! Let's get into some favorites.

L'Oreal La Palette Nude 2

This was going to be a surprise product but it's just an all out favorite for the month. When I mentioned this palette in my Product Play post, I wasn't all that thrilled by it. I was like ok just another palette to play around with for the month. I ended really liking it. Between this and the Maybelline Nudes palette, the L'Oreal palette is much better. I still like the Maybelline palette but the pigmentation and quality are fantastic with the L'Oreal palette. I liked this palette so much that I picked up the La Palette Nude 1 palette from CVS. I had a 30% off coupon and $5 CVS bucks. So if you're eyeing these palettes, I say grab them but get then at a discount. If you're reading this before July 4, L'Oreal products are currently 40% off at Ulta. The palettes are currently on sale for $11.99!

Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick in HD Gladiolus 

I remember seeing these lipsticks in various haul videos on YouTube but I never picked any up. In the last Target Beauty box this lipstick was included. I got the shade HD Gladiolus. It's a pretty warm red shade. It's the perfect red for summer. It's going to be my go to red for the rest of the summer. I wish they would have launched these first instead of the lip butters. The formula is so much nicer. They are moisturizing, feel super comfortable on the lips and wear nicely throughout the day. I do have a gripe with the packaging. It seems that no matter what, when I remove the cap, I nick the lipstick *shrugs*. Other than that, If you're looking for a summer red then check this one out.

Urban Decay Afterglow Powder Blushes

I got many hands on these blushes after I got back from San Diego in May and I have been using them ever since! These blushes are flipping fantastic! They are pigmented, not chalky and easy to blend on to the skin. I'll say it again, these jokers are PIGMENTED. So there is the potential to get carried away. So keep that in mind. Slowly build up the color. These blushes are right up there for me with Tarte blushes. I have the shades Bang (bright orange-red), Quiver (medium red) and Bittersweet (bright purple). I have my eye on Rapture (deep mauve) which I will probably pick up with a 20% coupon from Ulta or Sephora. When I do pick it up, my plan is not to pick up any blushes for a while. Famous last words right?

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes

Speaking of Tarte blushes, I got two more from an auto delivery set from the Q. I could have mentioned them last month but forgot. I have probably had them in my rotation for the last two months or so. They are two perfect everyday shades. Cherished is a pretty rose bronze color that to me comes off more as mauve shade and Deserving is an awesome golden coral shade. Both are nicely pigmented and not chalky. I really don't want to put these two away. I may keep them out.

Mally Evercolor Endless Eyeshadow

I randomly pulled these out but hadn't used them for part of the month. Then I got lazy when it came to my eye makeup. I would do my face makeup and when I got my eyes, I couldn't be bothered doing anything. These were the perfect solution. They are a two-step eyeshadow system. At the end of the product you have a cream shadow. There is a brush at the top. Then you unscrew the middle portion and there a spring loaded applicator with your powder shadow. Sounds complicated but it's super easy to apply. I have 3 shades Sunglow, Twilight and Delish Plum. I  got these from QVC, probably in a set. I don't see them on QVC or Mally's site. I did see an eBay listing. You can wear them on their own but I would take a darker shadow and run it quickly in my crease and outer corner. I'm thinking about taking these with me for my next work trip at the of July.

And there you have it. Short and sweet.

On to July and mah birthday month!

#ManicureMonday Cult Nails Swanbourne

Happy Monday!

Excuse the jacked up pic. I always picture my left hand since I polish better with my right vs my left. But I broke my middle finger nail and had to trim down my thumb nail. I tried taking a pic of my right hand but it jut wasn't working. #firstworldproblems :D

Today I'm wearing Swanbourne by Cult Nails. It's described as a "deep, alluring brown creme laced with flashes of golden shimmer.” The shimmer is very subtle. It's more apparent in the bottle than on my nails. I actually may throw this on my toes since I prefer dark color on my toes. This is probably better suited for the fall/winter but y'all know I don't care lol. To be honest I could wear dark nail polish all the time and be happy. I've already pulled out what polishes I'm going to play around with for July. I promise they are more "festive" for the summer season.

See you next Monday!

#ManicureMonday Cult Nails Faded

Happy Monday!

Today I'm wearing Faded by Cult Nails. It's described as “light grey with subtle blue undertones.” It's unique and I don't think I have a similar grey in my stash. I think it's good all year round shade.

There you have it. Short and sweet.

See you next Monday!

#ManicureMonday Cult Nails Time Traveler and Dance All Night

Yes we are a few days from the "official" start of summer and I'm wear dark blue nail polish #kanyeshrug. I told y'all I wear whatever whenever. The glitter polish helps liven it up a bit.  Time Traveler is described as a "deep royal blue jelly" and Dance the All Night is described as a "mixture of green and turquoise glitter with duochrome yellow-orange micro-glitter suspended in a clear base". I digs it, especially the glitter polish. I'll have to pair it with other blue and teal polishes.

See you next Monday!

#ManicureMonday Cult Nails You're My Dandy Lion

Hellllooooo yellow! I was in the mood for something bright since the weather here has been rainy, cloudy and gloomy. Excuse the mess around my cuticles. Why are yellow nail polishes so hard to work with? The first coat is always like WTH?!? With the second coat, it starts to look fine. I did do a third coat for giggles. *shrugs*

See you next Monday!

Product Play June 2015

A little late getting this up due to adding a ton of stuff at the end. Oye vey. Here's what I'm playing around with this month!

Palette Play

I had toyed around with getting Urban Decay's Electric palette. It's pretty do not get me wrong but then I was like how often will I really use it? If it ever went on sale for like $20 then I might pick it up. Keyword being might. When it comes to color shadows, I have a good mix as is in my stash. So it's really now a want or a need. A friend was nice enough to give me the BH Cosmetics Take Me to Brazil palette. It's a cheaper alternative to the Urban Decay palette and a nice mix or colors with nothing too crazy. Well maybe the yellow shades *insert strong side eye* I wanted to play around with color again this month.

Another friend passed the L'Oreal La Palette Nude 2 palette to me. I've already done a look with some of the brown shadows which I really liked and it lasted on me ALL day using Urban Decay Primer Potion and a Mally shadow stick in Trailblazing Brown. Color me surprised. This really wasn't on my radar to pick up. Seems that every brand has come out with their version of a neutral/natural/naked palette. So I feel that L'Oreal is kind of late to the game. Plus the price is kinda pricey for drugstore. Of the two palettes, this is the one I would purchase. So we'll see how I like it.

I'm also going to add into the mix what's left of the Bare Minerals Ready eyeshadows that I kept after my last big makeup purge. I have 7 of the 8.0 palettes, 6 of the 4.0 quads and 5 of the 2.0 duos. I tempted to purge what I have left but I need use them before I decide. So I'll use them over the next few months or so in addition to whatever other palettes I pull out to use.

I recently went through my shadows and I  pulled the majority of my Wet n' Wild and Black Radiance shadows. I just wasn't reaching for them. I did keep Wet n' Wild's The Comfort Zone and Black Radiance's Downtown Browns. I kept two of the 6 Wet n Wild 6 pan palettes in Vanity and Lust.

Polish Play

I ended up ordering 8 nail polishes from Cult Nails. I know, I know...my no more buying nail polish went right out the window. But at the time that I ordered, they were going out of business. So they had a sale going on to get rid of remaining inventory. I didn't use the two Cult Nail polishes I pulled out last month. So I'm going to add them what I ordered. I hate showing these since they can no longer be purchased. If a color interests you then I recommend checking out Temptalia's blog. She has swatched a lot of Cult Nail polishes and also listed various alternatives.

Faded, Enticing, You're My Dandy Lion, Swanbourne

Inescapable, Center of Attention, Dance All Night, Walk of Shame

Out of My Face

I have FINALLY used up quite a few products from previous posts! Woohoo! I used up the Black Radiance primer, Bath &  Body Works Cashmere Glow shower gel and H2O+ eye makeup remover. I also used up some other items too that I didn't list. So May was used it up month. I still am working on the two philosophy bath products. I'm making an effort to reach for Senorita Margarita, so I'm sure I'll get it used up this month. The Living Grace body scrub, who knows when that will be done.But I'm getting there. I'm going to add some more things to the mix and I think this may carry me through the end the end of the summer. We shall see. These are items that are almost done that I need to make a little more extra effort to use or items that I'm ready to be done with. So they gotta go! Here's what I'm adding to the mix!

• MAC Heroine lipstick
• Christie Brinkley 3-piece Age-Defying Skincare Regimen (Complete Clarity Daily Facial Exfoliating Polish, Recapture Day + IR Defense Cream, Recapture 360 Night Beauty Treatment)
• Perlier Hemp Cuticle Oil
• St. Ives Even & Bright Pink Lemon & Mandarin Orange Scrub 
• Freeman Sweet Tea & Lemon Peel-Away Clay Mask
• Wen Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner
• Alpha Hydrox Retinol ResQ
• Korres Mulberry Vanilla Shower Gel
• Bare Minerals Bronzing Mineral Veil

Phew! This is enough stuff! Let the fun begin!

#ManicureMonday Chanel Black Pearl

Today I'm wearing Chanel's Black Pearl. This was the last polish from last month that I had yet to wear. I don't make it a habit of buying high end nail polishes like Chanel, Dior, etc. This one however was so unique that I said well ok lol. It is teal shimmer with a black base but then it also depends on how the light hits it too. Shoot it's just hard to describe. It's very pretty and I have yet to stumble across a cheaper dupe for it. If Chanel ever re-released it, I would definitely purchase another bottle.

See you next Monday!