September 2015 Favorites

October means that Fall has begun! The leaves are falling already here in Minnesota. This year has been going by so fast, its crazy! This month I had a few favorites: some new and some old.

Too Faced Stardust Palette

I thought that I could skip this palette craze until I saw the swatches! This palette has some crazy pigmented shadows! This palette is by Too Faced which is one of my favorite makeup companies. They recently paired with the popular makeup artist on Instagram named Vegas Nay. I honestly did not know who she was until they came out with this palette.  This palette is an Ulta exclusive and sold in-stores and online. Since this palette is Limited Edition I am not sure how long it will be available (or if it still is). The third row is my least favorite because the first 2 shades in that row are too much alike and are also lacking pigmentation. My favorites shades include: Showgirl, Jackpot, Millennial, and Golden Nugget. Another shade that could be a little more pigmented is #selfie. This palette allows me to make a gorgeous bronzy look perfect for Fall which keeps me reaching for this palette.

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

When this mascara first came out I decided to give it a try and got the full sized version. I hated it! Since then I have gotten samples of mini versions of that mascara. This makes me wonder if I had a faulty mascara when I originally tried it, because it was so messy and just horrible. You can see that original review here. I got a recent sample with the Too Faced Star Dust set that was described above. I actually really like this mascara. Do they put something different in their mini mascaras? It makes my lashes the blackest of blacks. It is super easy to remove which is very important to me. It does not last all day on my lashes which is a con, but I have never really had good luck with mascaras lasting all day (I want to be able to get it off at night). So was my first experience with this mascara faulty or is the full sized formula different?

Too Faced Kabuki Brush

I swear I use more than Too Faced, but I loved quite a few of their products this month apparently. I got this Kabuki brush a few months ago and this month I have been loving it. It is a retractable kabuki brush so it is perfect for traveling. It feels amazing because of how soft it is. The brush is cruelty free which is a big pro for me. I use it both as a powder brush and a blush brush. All I need to do is tap this brush in my blush and it places the perfect amount of blush on my cheeks. I really want to try their brush set, but it is way too expensive.

bareMinerals Well Rested

Dark circles have always been a battle for me and I think that it will always be a battle. Sometimes I laugh when people who make beauty videos on YouTube comment about how terrible their dark circles are. Yeah…you have none to hardly anything…that is what I am thinking while watching beauty videos. I use 3 products to cover my dark circles and sometimes I can still see them. The first product I use is by Becca and it is the under eye brightening corrector. I then add the Urban Decay Naked weightless complete coverage concealer. Then I add this Well Rested product on top. I feel like this product has helped hide my panda eyes quite a bit. It is very smooth powder and is very blend-able. It is very easy to apply as well. I am so glad that I got this sample and will plan to buy the full sized product once I run out of it.

It Cosmetics CC+ Radiance Ombre Blush in Sugar Plum

I got this blush at my most recent Ulta haul awhile back. This blush has a beautiful ombre effect that caught my eye while at Ulta. It starts out as a light highlight shade and goes into a deep plum shade. When I swatched this blush, it was love at first sight. This blush is absolutely gorgeous! Wearing this blush gives the skin a gorgeous glow. I mix the colors together and apply it on the apples of the cheeks, but you can also wear them separately too. What I love about this blush is that it gives the look of a highlight too, but without wearing the highlight. It is pigmented, smooth, blend-able, and easy to apply.

Swatches starting from the lightest shade and going to the darkest, the last shade is them all mixed together.

That concludes this months monthly favorites! Let me know what you loved this month! Have you tried any of these products?!?! What are you looking forward to in October? Any plans for Halloween?

Getting Back into Blogging and some Beauty Hauls

This year has been super busy for me that I have been very neglectful to my blog. My neglectfulness started once I started a new job last year. I was used to the hospital with doing 12 hour shifts and then I could work on blogging during my days off as needed. With having a full time job that involved a lot of computer charting, I just didn’t have motivation to come home and stare at a computer. That job just left me feeling defeated and I needed something new. I started a new job with all normal hours about 2 months ago! I am a nurse at a clinic now. Now, I feel like I am less stressed out and that I can get back into blogging little by little. I don’t want to go months at a time without a post ever again! So why not start out with showing you all my latest hauls. I got these items over the past 5 to 6 months or so. Some of them I got recently, but hey we don’t need to explain ourselves right?!?…we are all beauty lovers here.

Metamorphosis Quad by Coffee Break with Dani

Coffee Break with Dani is one of my most watched YouTubers. She has such a sweet bubbly personality in her videos. She got to team up with ColourPop Cosmetics and make this amazing quad of shadows. She put a ton of thought into the meaning and the shades of this quad. This is Limited Edition-so it won’t  be around forever. I plan on doing a review on ColourPop shadows sometime in the future.

Too Faced Haul

Too Faced came out with a lot of new products recently. It feels like yesterday these products came out, but it has been a couple months already. I really wanted to try their new foundation Born This Way-I sadly got the wrong shade (note to self never buy foundation online). It looks too yellow on me, but I do like the formula. The palette is gorgeous! I will do a review on it coming up soon so stay tuned for that one! The kabuki brush had amazing reviews so I wanted to try it out. So far I am loving it! It is perfect for travel which makes sense since it is retractable. They also came out with new blushes. They’re so adorable with the heart shape and the cute bunnies inside. I will do a review on that blush as well.

Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye Palette and Eye Brush

Lately I have been really impressed by Kat Von D and her makeup line. I’ve heard rave reviews on this palette so I picked it up to see what all the fuss was about. It has a nice array of neutral matte shades. Although, I sometimes like to add a shimmery ColourPop shadow on top when I use this palette because well…this girl loves her shimmer. I also got the eye brush which is super soft and perfect for travel.

The Body Shop Body Butters

These are my holy grail body butters that I use for moisturizing my body. I got these during a trip to Mall of America. These are super moisturizing and smell amazing! I decided on a variety of them-I think I only have 2-3 left of these. Ignore my ugly carpet in the picture.

Some Ulta Goodies!

Urban Decay is one of my favorite brands as well so I decided to pick up their new Smoky palette about a month and a half ago. I also got the Lorac Contour Pro Palette at that time as well. Recently, Too Faced came out the Star Dust Vegas Nay palette. This is my most recent purchase! This palette is simply gorgeous!

Click the link below for a photo on Instagram of a few more items I got. I got the Stila mascara and primer, and an eyeliner. I also picked up some The Balm products from Kohls.

My makeup haul! They now have The Balm at the closest Kohls that I live by so I had to check it out and even got a free eyeliner. Got a pair of lashes as well at Kohls. Went to Ulta and got the Stila mascara primer and cushion eye liner but they were out of the mascara. Stopped at Sephora and got the mascara and a 100 point perk from tarte. #stila #stilacosmetics #stilafallcollection #tarte #tartecosmetics #thebalm #thebalmcosmetics #kohls #katyperrylashes #blush #blusher #bblogger #bbloggers #makeup #thebeautydeputy

A photo posted by Brittany (@thebeautydeputy) on Aug 2, 2015 at 7:38pm PDT

That concludes this huge makeup haul! Like I said this was over 5-6 months. Yes, it is still a lot, but that comes with the territory of being a makeup enthusiastic and beauty blogger. It feels good to be back to blogging! I hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know what recent beauty purchases you have made and if you have tried any of the products that I talked about in this post!

Sephora +Pantone Universe Color of the Year Palette Review

I blame this purchase on Coffee Break with Dani! If you don’t know who she is, you need to check her out! Well, I watched one of her videos on this palette, and yeah, I had to get it! I got this palette during my huge haul a couple months ago. I know, you’re probably thinking, Brittany, another palette? Yes, palettes are my favorite makeup item and this one is totally different from anything that I have!

Each year Pantone Universe decides on a color and gives it the crown of being,  “the color of the year.” They then team up with Sephora and make an exclusive beauty collection dealing with that crowned color of the year. Some examples include: eye shadow palettes, blush palettes, lip products, and nail polish. This year, 2014, the color of the year is radiant orchid. I am in love with this color! It is a favorite color of mine. I think it would make a perfect bridesmaid dress shade. I’ll have to keep that is mind.

This palette is available at some Sephora stores and online. You can find it online here. The Sephora that I go to already is sold out, so I suggest ordering it right away if you want it! Remember it is exclusive and a limited edition!

 OUTER PACKAGING

The outer packaging is quite big, but the palette itself is quite big as well. That just means a lot of eye-shadows! 😀  I even got a big Sephora bag for this purchase! The outer sleeve slides off,  then there is a spot to place the finger to take the palette out of the package.

The back of the outer packaging shown below. Continue reading for the description on the back of the packaging. “Lush, modern, feminine-and irresistibly versatile. This year, Sephora + Pantone forecast beauty’s most convertible color. Radiant Orchid, a deeply flattering flush for eyes, lips, cheeks, and nails. Setting a hypnotic tone for the seasons ahead, this limited edition Color of the Year Collection unfolds every dimension of its vivid appeal, from petal-sheer luminosity to widely rich pigments. Go boldly, tint softly, shade your appeal. Let its ravishing glow excite your artistry and exhilarate new looks in 2014 Define your femininity with Radiant Orchid.”

“Learn the most captivating ways to wear it on eyes-from smoldering strokes to blushing accents-with makeup luminary Aaron de Mey’s six styles of the moment. Designed by the master artist himself, each exclusively curated palette and shadow look plays up a different nuance of this potent hue. Shade, blend, explore. Let these radiant ideas inspire your artistry and exhilarate your beauty in 2014” (Also, found on back of outer packaging.)

• Made in the USA
• Net WT. 0.059 oz x 24, 0.11 oz x 1/1.7 g x 24, 3.1 g x 1
• Ingredients: Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Kaolin, Mica, BHT, Octyldodecanol, Myristyl Lactate, Myristyl Alcohol, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Microcrystalline Wax, Cetyl Palmitate, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Beeswax, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tocopherol, Retinyl Palmitate. (From Sephora’s website here. Also, on back of packaging.)

 

PALETTE PACKAGING

I am in love with the packaging! I love the shade and I love how it has an ombre effect. The palette is very sturdy and sleek. Since it is a bigger palette, storage may be an issue. But, it doesn’t bother me because one day I will get the Alex 9 drawer and this palette will have a perfect home! The first time I opened this palette I thought I broke it! I looked further and noticed little knobs sticking out (I’ll post a photo below.) It does make a clicking sound every time this palette gets closed. All in all, love the packaging!

A picture of the knob that I was talking about.

The back of the palette is nothing special. It shows all the color names, amount of eye shadows included, etc.

The palette does include a huge mirror which I love! Also, the palette’s mirror does stay up which is a big pro! This palette comes with a loose clear sheet with the color quad names and the shade numbers. I have a few problems with how they did this. First of all, it would have been nice if they actually printed the quad names and shade names on the actual palette in little writing. But, instead the names of the quads and the numbers are on that clear sheet and the color names are on the back of the palette. My problem with that is now I need to keep that clear sheet because the quad names are not included on the back of the palette. Not sure why, but it just annoys me that the names can’t all be in one place. But, that is just me being nit-picky.

THE PREMISE OF THIS PALETTE

So this was a big selling point for me when buying this palette. This palette included 6 different quads and a radiant orchid shade on the bottom of the palette. The idea of this palette is to incorporate the color of the year shade into all of the 6 quads. This palette came with a look book as well to help get ideas. I really like all the ideas in this look book. When I saw this on Coffee Break with Dani, I knew I had to have it. The idea book has a lot of cute ideas and fun ones too! Although, all the ones below were of  my own creation.

THE QUADS & SHADES

Aren’t the colors gorgeous?!? Love it!

Here is a picture of all the shades, except without the clear name sheet and with some use.

*In all the looks that I created with this palette, I incorporated the color of the year into it, just like the premise of the palette.

CREAM DREAM

This is the lightest quad of them all. It makes for a very soft look. This is my least favorite quad, but all in all, it has a good array of shades.

Pink Champagne: matte nude
Peach Whip: shimmery peach
Almost Apricot: apricot shade with glitter
Fairy Tale: pale matte pink

RARE EARTH

This is a very neutral looking quad with a good variety of shades to make a complete look.

Dawn: matte light nude
Rose Cloud: rose pink with shimmer
Camel: matte chocolate brown
Rain Drum: shimmery medium bronze-brown

BIRD OF PARADISE

This is probably the most shocking out of all the quads, but it is my favorite! I think that it is super fun! I am in love with the shade Glacier.

Glacier: iridescent shimmery mint green-aqua blue
Blue Spruce: deep frosty forest green
Cendre Blue:  medium shimmery ocean blue
Ensign Blue: deep midnight blue

VENUS RISING

This quad has a nice array of shades. It isn’t a favorite of mine, but it is still wear-able.

Sheer Pink: matte off-white
Fudgesickle: maroon brown with shimmer
Vineyard Wine: matte wine shade
Mulberry Purple: a purplish-blue frosty shade

PRIMAL FLOWER

The is my second favorite quad, because I love the shimmery gold shade. I also love the look that I created with this quad.

Cornsilk: a shimmery yellow gold
Toasted Almond: matte tan shade
Red Violet: shimmery cranberry
Deep Taupe: metallic deep brown taupe

MIDNIGHT ORCHID

What is a palette without a black shade? This quad you could make a light look with and you can make a darker look as well. I went for the darker look as you can tell in the picture.

Snow White: matte white
Silver: metallic silver
Quiet Shade: metallic gunmetal silver
Caviar: matte black

RADIANT ORCHID

Of course, the lovely color of the year has the biggest pan, which makes a lot of sense! 🙂 I really love this shade and think it is a perfect radiant orchid. I would describe this shade as a matte raspberry with a slight frosty finish.

FORMULA

This is my first time using Pantone Universe shadows and I am quite impressed with them. I love the softness and the blendability of the shadows. Since they’re super soft, the shadows do have some fall-out. The shades are super pigmented, especially the shimmery and frosty shades. The matte shades are also pigmented, which is a good thing!

OVERVIEW

I am in love with this palette because it’s so versatile. I can make a multitude of looks. Just because shades are in quads, doesn’t mean they can’t be mix-matched. With this palette, I have pinks, purples, greens, blues, and neutrals. I have mattes, shimmer, and frosty shades. If you have noticed, I love the premise of this palette 🙂 ! It is a ton of fun to incorporate the color of the year shade, radiant orchid, into the large array of quads shades. This palette can put people out of their comfort zone, because it is taking a shade that you might not necessarily pair with other shades, but believe me it is worth it. If they bring out another palette like this next year, with the color of the year for 2015 (aaah 2015, I’m getting old?!? Well, we’re all getting old-er!), I will definitely be picking it up!!  Remember, that this palette is a limited edition, so if you want it make sure to hurry up and add it to your cart!

With that, I really hope you enjoyed this palette review! Let me know if you have tried any of the color of the year products. Let me know what you think of this palette? Would you buy it if you saw it at Sephora? Did this review tempt you to buy this palette? Comment and let me know! I love hearing from you all! 😀

Elsa Inspired Makeup from Disney’s Frozen!!

People who know me may know that I am in love with Disney! I may be 25 next week, but I never think I will be too old to love the amazing movies that Disney creates. I love the creativity behind them! The most recent Disney movie that came out is called, “Frozen.” I did love this movie! I thought it was very well done with the animation and I loved the story line. But, on a makeup lover’s perspective I noticed that wow…these characters have really amazing makeup. So I decided to do a inspired makeup look. If you don’t know much about this movie. It is about 2 sisters, one named Anna and the other named Elsa. Well Elsa has this ability to turn things into Winter or ice. This ability causes a lot of issues between the sisters. She becomes what they call, “The Ice Queen.” I’m not going to tell you more than that because I want you to see it for yourself. Also I love the music in this movie too! Anyway back to the makeup look. Anna has a neutral look, whereas Elsa has a very pretty look with the color purple which right now is my favorite color.

First off I am going to start off with some pictures of what Elsa looks like.

Here are a few more photos of Elsa and the rest of the characters.

Sisters: Elsa and Anna!

Rest of the main characters!

As you can see she has a purplish pink style makeup on her lid with a orange/brownish color in her crease. I just think that her makeup is gorgeous!!! Don’t you agree?

Well here is my attempt on this look.

What did I use to get this look?

Products used…

Eye Shadow Base: Sigma Eye Shadow Base in Pursue

Lip color: Tarte LipSurgence lip tint in the color believe

(I got a sample size in a holiday box I got at Sephora)

Eye Shadow Palette: Stila In The Moment

Liquid Eyeliner: The Balm Schwing

Pencil Eyeliner: Em Cosmetics Waterliner in Black Night

Mascara: Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara sample

Eyelash Curler: Tarte Picture Perfect Eyelash Curler

Blush/highlight: Urban Decay Naked Flushed

How I got this look? 

Well I am going to post another picture of the palette so you can see the pictures and then the swatches.

I used the colors: impulse, glance, improvise, whim, and desire to create this look.

The swatches: impulse, glance, improvise, whim, and desire.

Well onto the steps! If you don’t have the Stila in the moment palette or the Sigma eye shadow base that is fine! Just find colors that are close. Use what you got!

1. Take Sigma’s eye shadow base in pursue and put that all over the eyelid, but not on the crease

2. Take the color impulse which is a pale shimmery lavender color and add that to the inner part of the eyelid and take that color in about 1/3 of the eye

3. Take the color glance which is a violet with shimmer and add that color to the rest of the eyelid

4. Blend the colors impulse and glance together to make a nice transition into the darker color

5. Add the color whim which is a soft reddish-orange brown with some shimmer into the crease

6. Take the color improvise which is a dark plum into the outer V to add dimension and blend that color into whim

7. Add desire which is a soft matte light pinkish tan as a highlight below the brows

8. Add the color glance to the bottom lash line, stop half way

9.  Make sure everything is blended nicely

10. Add Schwing liquid eyeliner to upper lash line

11. Add Em Cosmetics waterliner to waterline

12. Curl lashes and add Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

13. Add Urban Decay’s Flushed blush (a rose toned pink) to the apples of the cheeks and to the tip of the nose. If you look at a photo of Elsa she has a red nose which makes sense because it’s Winter!

14. Add Urban Decay’s Flushed highlighter (pink-champagne)

15. Add Tarte’s LipSurgence in the color believe to the lips (a berry colored lip)

16. Ready set go! Look into the mirror! Smile! Go enjoy the world!!

Anyway I hope that you all enjoyed this post! I really do love my Disney movies! Maybe I will do more posts like this in the future. Comment down below on what you thought of this look. Also let me know if you saw the movie Frozen and what did you think of it?

Xoxox

Brittany

The Beauty Deputy

My Cyber Monday The Balm Cosmetics Haul!

If you have been reading my posts I’m sure by now you know that I love the cosmetic company, “The Balm.” I honestly think they have the best blushes and eye shadow palettes. I do love my Urban Decay eye shadows too! But, The Balm wins on the packaging! You may also know that I love packaging. If I had my own cosmetics company my packaging would be colorful and amazing! It would also be cruetly-free. The Balm is a cruetly free company so that is also a reason why I like them. Well so Black Friday comes around and I didn’t get anything, but then Cyber monday comes around and everything on The Balm’s website is 40% off! I had a hard time passing that up. So anyway it took me forever to decide what to get and these are the products that I chose. Just an FYI: sorry for the horrible picture quality. It gets dark so fast these days! Sun come back!!!  Hope you enjoy!

1. The BalmShelter Tinted Moisturizer

I got the color light because according to some reviews this product does oxidize so the color becomes a littler darker. So I would normally get light/medium but since it oxidizes I got the color light. I read good reviews on this tinted moisturizer and that it gives good coverage for what kind of product it is. Of course it won’t be like foundation coverage, but I don’t use much foundation anyway.

http://www.thebalm.com/cosmetics/balmshelter.html

2. Powder to the People Blend a Hand Brush

I love the Powder to the People brush collection. I decided I wanted to get this brush because I wanted a brush to help with blending foundation and concealer. I also think the handle of this brush is adorable!

3.  Balm Jovi Rockstar Face Palette

I think a lot of people who follow my blog know I love palettes, well with the 40% off I couldn’t help myself. I think the packaging is adorable! I plan on doing another full in depth post regarding this palette later this coming week. I also plan on doing a couple upcoming eye shadow palette reviews including my NuteTude palette.

http://www.thebalm.com/cosmetics/balmjovi.html

4. Schwing Black Liquid Eyeliner

I’ve always wanted to try this eyeliner because I have trouble with getting a precise line at times. Hopefully with this I can improve on my eyeliner skills. I think this is a perfect eyeliner to try. Also the packaging is super adorable and the tip is very thin and precise when I swatched it on my hand.

http://www.thebalm.com/cosmetics/schwing.html

5. Time Balm Concealer

This concealer states that it is a full coverage concealer for dark circles and spots and I am hoping that it helps cover my dark under eyes. I have pretty good skin so I don’t have that many spots to cover up, but those dark under eyes are super noticeable in my opinion. Those overnight shifts at work don’t help too much! I think that the outer box packaging is cute, but the concealer packaging itself isn’t that spectacular especially when I compare it to their other products. Also this product does come with a makeup sponge which I won’t use.

http://www.thebalm.com/timebalm-concealer.html

6. Overshadow in the color, “Work is Overrated”

http://www.thebalm.com/cosmetics/overshadows.html

This color is a shimmery pink champagne and it is meant to put over an eye look to add some shimmer.  I thought it looked gorgeous on the website! It is also gorgeous swatched! It will be nice for the holiday season to use to add some shimmer to an eye look.

Sample Item: Juniper Oil-Free Face Moisturizer 

If you look at the photo above you can see a sample. Well funny thing is that is actually the face moisturizer that I use. I love this moisturizer! I plan on doing a skincare routine post sometime in the future if you’re interested.

http://www.thebalm.com/skincare/juniper-oil-free-face-moisturizer.html

One last thing…I get a lot of these products from Hautelook which puts products on their website for a well discounted price. I can say for a fact that I have never paid full price for any of my The Balm products! Check out this site because other cosmetic/skincare companies are featured on this site too such as Urban Decay, Stila, and much more! The only thing about this website is that shipping takes forever! My personal invite is http://www.hautelook.com/short/3Q2x3. (Don’t worry everybody who signs up for Hautelook gets one of these links, Refer a friend, get $10 credit type thing)

So that ends my The Balm Cosmetics haul for Cyber Monday! Let me know if you have tried any of these products. Even if you haven’t let me know what you think of the the packaging. Make sure to come back to my blog to read my upcoming 3 palettes posts from this company. I also might do some follow up reviews on the other products too!

Xoxox

Brittany

The Beauty Deputy

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Pur Minerals: Untamed glamour 3-Piece Collection

Pur Minerals is a cosmetics company that I recently heard of and when I saw this set I knew I needed to check them out. Well, this cosmetics company recently teamed up with National Geographic Wild and came out with this Untamed Glamour Collection.  They have a week called, “Big Cat Week” that is coming up.  According to their website, “Nat Geo WILD presents a week dedicated to nature’s fiercest felines—big cats—creatures of magnificent strength, ferocity and beauty that are rapidly facing extinction. With visually stunning and powerful stories from around the world, get closer than ever before to lions, tigers, cheetahs, panthers and more as you share in their triumphs, defeats, and epic struggles to survive.” Big Cat Week kicks off on Friday. More information is listed below on the link if you’re interested!

Well anyway, Pur Minerals is an animal friendly and cruelty friendly cosmetics company so what better company to team up with for Big Cat Week.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/wild/big-cat-week/?gclid=CKPGu4WggbsCFa9DMgod7jgAYQ

http://www.purminerals.com/bigcats

Untamed Glamour 3 Piece Collection comes with (according to Pur Minerals website):

• Limited-Edition Leopard Print Mineral Glow (full size)
• Liquid Precision Eyeliner in Cat Eye (full size)
• Big Blink Mascara with Argan Oil

With this collection you can create the perfect cat eye weather it be a tiger eye or a cougar eye or whatever you please.

The outer packaging! Which I think catches the eye!

Shows how to do a tiger eye or a cougar eye. What the box states: “inspired by the majestic felines featured on Nat Geo WILD’s annual Big Cat Week, Pur is proud to introduce this limited-edition cat eye collection that will have you catwalk-ready in no time. Complete your look with a purr-fect smile, knowing that a portion of the proceeds goes to the National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative, dedicated to halting the decline of big cats in the wild through conservation and awareness. “

The whole collection!

The Mineral Glow Bronzer which I also used as eye shadow.

Has a nice mirror,. This bronzer has very sturdy high quality packaging and I’m very impressed with it!

Love the Cheetah print!

A swatch of the bronzer which I think is a really nice color!

Just a little information on the back of the bronzer.

Cat Eye liquid liner

The tip which makes application pretty easy because it is a nice and sturdy felt tip applicator.

Big Blink mascara

The wand

A close up of the brush!

I just wanted to share this post in time before the start of Big Cat Week. Make sure to check out the link before Friday above for more information regarding Big Cat Week. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this post. I am a big animal fan so I thought that this was an awesome collection and I always like when my money goes to charity!

Xoxox

Brittany

The Beauty Deputy

Makeup brand review: Em Cosmetics by Michelle Phan

How many of you have heard of Michelle Phan? Well I’m sure most of you know who she is. She is famous for her makeup tutorials and reviews on YouTube. Go ahead and type in her name on YouTube and I guarantee that you will be drawn into one of her videos. I recently started watching YouTube videos around springtime, and I had no idea about how popular YouTube was for cosmetics and all things beauty. Michelle Phan recently came out with a new makeup line called Em Cosmetics. Em she states is, “a reflection of me.”

Here is a link to her video on the meaning of the name http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhvqGcwpRvc&feature=c4-overview&list=UUuYx81nzzz4OFQrhbKDzTng

Shipping and packaging
Everything came wrapped up in pink tissue paper with an Em Cosmetics sticker which added a nice little touch. Also there was a lot of extra packing to help protect the products from moving all around during shipping because nobody likes broken eye shadows or eyeliners, etc.

So I ordered 4 products, 2 of those products are eyeliners, a lipstick palette, an eye shadow palette, and I also got a free eyeliner for being an Ipsy subscriber which was a nice little gift to receive. Here is my impression of each of the products that I received!

I might also add that shipping was fast!! I ordered online on 8/18/13 and on 8/19/13 received my email that my package shipped. I then received my package on 8/23/13. That is pretty fast shipping!!!!

Product #1

Shade play artistic eye color palette in shanghai lavenders 

Price: $38.00
The reason I decided on this palette was because I loved the colors. Also, with every palette, there is a tutorial online and I was impressed with the tutorial on this palette.

This is what the outer box looks like. I feel like they put a lot of work and time into creating the look of these boxes. They are so colorful! I definitely love this packaging! But, I never put my palettes back into their boxes any way. However, it does grab your attention.

This is what the front of the shade play eye shadow palette package looks like. The case does seem sturdy and well made. It is an acrylic case. In my opinion, I do feel like the packaging isn’t that spectacular. I don’t get the wow factor. It does look modern and sophisticated though, but the packaging isn’t my favorite. Maybe that is because I’m a big fan of color and I find the packaging a little boring. You can’t see in the picture, but there are a bunch of engraved words such as: esteem, empower, embellish, emerge, emotion, etc. I do think it would have been cool to have those words in a color for a little pop of color and then it would make the words stand out more.

So this is what the palette looks like. As you can see, there are 3 different sizes of colors: one very large sized pan, 2 medium sized pans, and 3 small sized pans.

If you look at the picture below, it shows numbering, so I am going to describe the colors using that numbering system. I knew that picture would come in handy. How Michelle Phan describes how to use these colors on a video on the website: http://www.emcosmetics.com/shade-play-artistic-eye-color-palette/3605970515027.html

Line: 1 & 3
Color: 2 & 6
Coutour: 5
Highlight: 4

But, honestly you can use them however you want and make a multitude of looks. I am not the best at describing colors so I swatched them on my arm for you. Numbering goes from right to left.

1. Very dark charcoal taupe with hints of glitter. The glitter has a pinkish/red tone to it. This color is gorgeous. I feel like this color would make a good color to use on the outer eye or outer V. You can also use it as a liner.
2. My absolute favorite color. It is absolutely gorgeous. Michelle was smart because she knew that color would get the most use. I use this color on the outer eye also or on the inner eye dependent on what kind of look I am going for. I would describe this color as a shimmery mauve taupe. I also feel like it has an iridescent effect to it, which I love.
3. This color does have some shimmer, but not as much as the previous 2 colors. There is some glitter in this color also. I would describe this color as a purplish mauve.
4. This color seems to work best for a highlight color. It is very light. It does have some shimmer.
5. This color I describe as a matte light lavender. It looks gorgeous paired with color number 2 and 6 with this color on the inner corner.
6. This is also another one of my favorite colors from this palette. It is gorgeous. I feel like its a good color to add to the outer V and the crease. It is a shimmery color. I would describe it as a medium taupe.

Here are the brushes that come with the palette. It includes 1 double sided brush and then 1 regular brush. I like that they included brushes instead of foam applicators. I don’t have a great review on these because I switched to my regular brushes during makeup application. But, these definitely would come in handy during travel if all you wanted to bring with was that palette.

Here are a few pictures of looks I created with the palette. I also used the black eyeliner and the gold eyeliner that I will be describing below in these looks.

              The first time I used the palette.

A close up of the same look.

Hours after makeup application

The second time I used the palette.

Overall I do like this palette. The eye shadows are pigmented and the colors are a nice combination to have in a palette. The formulation is more of a powdery shadow compared to Urban Decay’s shadows which are a little more creamy and buttery. I do feel like the blended nicely. The eye shadow look seems to fade a little throughout the day, but it wasn’t bad at all. I didn’t see major fall out. It is also nice that it came with a good sized mirror. The mirror also actually stays up instead of falling like some other makeup palettes. The thing that got me was price. I do find it expensive for what you get. The price was $38 so that would make each shadow a little over $6. Comparing it to the Naked 2 Palette ($50: 12 shadows at 4.16 plus a double sided brush) and the Lorac Pro palette ($42: 16 shadows at 2.63 per shadow).
I know the colors and sizes of the shadows aren’t the same but it is just to give you a general idea. I think that $20-$25 would have been a better price.

Product #2

Shade play lip color mixing palette in mix it up roses

Price: $28.00

This is what the outer packaging looks like. A lot like the eye shadow palette but just a different color scheme. I do like this packaging, but who honestly keeps all the boxes.

The packaging for this lip stick palette is the same as the eye shadow shade play palette so you have to either open it up or look on the back to distinguish what palette you are holding. I wish that there was a little something that set them apart. Once again, I find the packaging boring.

So this is what the palette looks like. It has the same set up as the shade play eye shadow palette but this palette comes with a place to mix colors which is really smart. They are pigmented but they are more for the natural lipstick fans. I would recommend choosing a different range of colors if you like big bold lips. I do like more of a natural look so that is why I chose this palette.

Here are the swatches of the colors included in the palette. There are 3 sizes of pans included in this palette: one very large pan, 2 medium sized pans, and 3 small sized pans making for a total of 6 colors. I am not the best at describing colors to I swatched them on my arm for you. Numbering goes from right to left.

1) Matte dark mauve
2) Shimmery pink with glitter. You can tell in the pan that this color is the most glittery and it is the biggest one. You can add this color onto the matte colors to give you a shimmery look.
3) Shimmery coral
4) Shimmery sheer pink
5) Matte rosy peach
6) Matte rose
7) This is just an example of a color I created mixing a few of the colors.

Overall I think this lipstick palette is good, but not great. The colors are gorgeous. I think its a great idea. I just feel like the lasting power is pretty good but will fade a little throughout the day. You will need to bring this palette with to reapply throughout the day so it is more bulky in your purse than an actual tube of lipstick. But, I thought it was fun to come up with my own creation of colors. The lipstick feel itself feels good on the lips. It isn’t sticky and I like the brush that comes with it and thinks it applies the lipstick nicely. I think this is a tad pricey. I think that $20 would have been a more reasonable price.

I am wearing colors 2 & 6 together and I am also wearing Ro’s Gold on my waterline which will be explained below.

Product #3

Waterliner: Intense color eyeliner

$20.00

I got 3 eyeliners, 1 of the eyeliners was free from my Ipsy subscription. The packaging is just like a normal eyeliner, nothing spectacular, but it is cool that there is a smudger and a built in sharpener like in the photos below. These eyeliners are a twist up so it doesn’t even need to be sharpened.

Here are swatches of the colors. From right to left.
1) Turquoise: I think this color is gorgeous. You could use this color for a pop of color with a neutral eye shadow look and it would look amazing.
2) Ro’s gold: a very pretty gold color. This color looks very nicely as a waterliner because it helps open the eyes. With all of my looks above I used this waterliner in my waterline.
3) Black night: just a basic matte black color. I also used this color in the first two looks above.

Overall, I do like these liners. They do apply nice to the waterline and they don’t tug on the eyelid. They come in a wide variety of colors. I am not a fan of the smudger. I wanted a softer effect but I felt like the smudger just ended up taking the eyeliner off too much while tugging on my eyelid. Ro’s gold stayed put for quite awhile on the waterline but I don’t have much to compare it too because I usually don’t wear eyeliner on my waterline. I do feel like they are a tad pricey, I think that $15-16 would be a more reasonable price.

The Life Palette 
Em cosmetics also has the palette called the, “Life Palette” which comes in many different variations: beach, career, night, party, day, and love and it basically is a very large palette. This is a big focus of her makeup line. The price is steep though which is $75. The palette comes with a tool so you can take out shadows and put them into a more smaller palette for travel purposes. Apparently the smaller palette comes free with the price of a Life Palette at this time. I feel like $50-60 would have been a better price especially for someone who is just starting out their makeup line. But then again you get 24 eye shadows, 8 lip shades, and 4 cheek shades, so you do get a lot of product. I did not get one of these because there was a wide range of colors and I wasn’t sure what one I liked and I just loved the colors in the palette that I decided to get. But, it probably would have been smarter to get one of those palettes instead of the lip stick palette and the eye shadow palette because the Life Palette is like having 4 mini palettes. There are tons of reviews on YouTube on these palettes if you want more information.

Overall experience with Em Cosmetics
In conclusion I was impressed with her makeup line, but I was not wowed. I do like all the products I got. My favorite product is the eye shadow palette simply because I do love my purples and lavenders and I do feel like they’re pigmented and stay well on the eyelid throughout the day. I say good job Michelle on making your dream come true.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my review on Em Cosmetics by Michelle Phan.
xoxo,
Brittany