How much is your face worth?

I saw this tag floating about the beauty community, and although i'm a bit scared to see the grand total of how much i spend on my everyday makeup, i thought i'd do it!  Many of you will probably think this is an excessive amount of makeup for one to put on on a daily basis, but... yeah, i can't really think of an excuse to put here. :P  I do feel more confident & just better about myself after i've put some slap on, so i don't mind spending a little bit more money & time on doing so.

The only part of my routine that stays the consistent day-to-day is the 'base' category, with foundation & such.  Other than that, i wear more or less makeup & use different products in the other categories depending on my mood/what i'm doing that day.  The products included in this post are what i use on an average day & they make up a look that i've been wearing often recently.

Hope this is interesting to you ladies, i will now hold my breath while i add up the cost of everything! :O

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Base

Bare Minerals Prime Time - $21

Benefit Erase Paste - $26

MAC Studio Finish concealer - $16.50

Bare Minerals Original Foundation - $25

Bare Minerals Mineral Veil - $19

 Cheeks

Bare Minerals Warmth All-Over Face Color - $18

Sleek Contour Kit - $10

Clinique Powder Blush in New Clover - free sample size with purchase so i'm not counting it :)

 Eyes

Revlon Brow Fantasy in Dark Blonde -  $6.48

Too Faced Shadow Insurance - $18

Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow in RSVP - $19

GOSH Quad in Driftwood - £7.99, about $13

GOSH Velvet Touch Eyeliner in Black Ink - free with purchase of the quad :)

Clinique Brush-On Cream Liner in True Black - $15

L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara - $5.84

Lips

Carmex - about $1

Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Born With It - $4.97

Total

$218.79

Well, that is slightly appalling isn't it?!  To be fair, each of the products do last quite a while and i believe i get my money's worth out of them... Anyway, it's how i choose to spend my hard-earned cash.  Consumerism ftw. ;)

♥

Crochet & turquoise.

Still feel like a bit of a loon taking pictures of myself!  I think it's just that i feel a little pretentious knowing that i intend to post the photos in a blog post like "ooh, look at my face"... hence the "let's just get this over with" look in my eyes haha.  Why do i do these posts you ask?  Well, i do like seeing other girlies' faces of the day because they show the products 'in action', if you know what i mean.  Like, sure, you can talk about a product all you want, but it's always nice to see it put to use!  I also think it's nice seeing the different combos people come up with.  If i like, say, an eye look i see on someone, i steal the idea & try to incorporate it into my own makeup - i'm sure i'm not the only one who does this... that is the point of these 'face of the day' posts (in my opinion), isn't it? :)

This is basically how i do my makeup on a day-to-day basis, with different eyeshadow combos & such, but they are all essentially the same neutral kind of look!  I also tried out a lip stain that i got from CVS the other day for the first time - not sure what my thoughts are on it yet!  I toned it down a lot so it probably doesn't look like much.

I am in love with the top i wore as well, it a crochet sort of thing that is so breezy, yet still cozy.  I adore the length of the sleeves, and although it kind of hangs in all the wrong places, it's oh, so right!  It came with a tank top, but i just cut it out - much better this way, it was all polyester and cringey.  This was a little thrift store gem i found, but i know crochet is a big trend this season, so similar tops & such are out in stores atm!

I've also been loving little delicate necklaces lately & with the top, i wore this gold chain with a little turquoise stone in it - another thrift store find!

I wore this out to work & then out to a casual dinner at TGI Friday's with my girlies, so i just wore dark wash  skinny jeans on the bottom (rolled up into capris with flats for work & as full length jeans with sandals for dinner).

So here's my face/kind of-outfit.....

Crochet top & necklace - thrifted

Eyes

Barry M Dazzle Dust in Tan

GOSH Quad in Driftwood - medium brown in crease/darker brown in outer corner

Urban Decay e/s in Polyester Bride - highlight

Clinique Gel Liner in Black

L'Oreal Voluminous mascara in Carbon Black

GOSH Velvet Touch Eyeliner in Black Ink

Revlon Brow Fantasy in Dark Blonde

Face

Bare Escentuals Prime Time

MAC Studio Finisher concealer - on blemishes

Benefit Erase Paste - under eyes

Bare Minerals Original Foundation

Bare Minerals Warmth - bronzer

Sleek Contour Kit

Clinique blush in New Clover

Bare Minerals Mineral Veil

Lips

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain in Passion (faded a lot)

♥

Bagology

I've seen a few posts on this already, but i thought i would share with you all my own 'bagology' reading.

I'd never heard of such a thing before Hayden from Sudocrem emailed me a couple weeks ago.  Bagology is the process of understanding someone's personality & character traits simply by the contents of his or her bag.  I've always loved watching and reading the "what's in my bag?" videos and blog posts, so reading some of the analyses of some lovely ladies' bags has been intriguing!  Obviously i was quite interested in hearing an analysis of my own bag, so i posted a photo of my bag & its contents on their Facebook page and awaited my reading. :)

Bag: H&M

Contents, top to bottom, left to right: wallet, Clinique pressed powder

Forever 21 sunglasses, hand sanitizer, pen, water bottle, Victoria's Secret "Kissing in Paris" in a travel size bottle

Lolita (current read :), iPod, phone, eyelash curlers

Kleenex, Barry M Lip Gloss Wand in Strawberry Milkshake, MAC lipstick in Creme Cup

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"Good evening Laura - I had to read your bag tonight as I love your bag and just wish I could identify the brand!  Into your reading... For you at the moment I sense that planning is key!  You seem to be logical, organised and someone who enjoys having a level of control in life.  It feels like you are someone who loves to set goals, or life plans.  You seem to be kind and tactful as a person.  You also have a quiet power in your nature.  Maybe this lies in your pragmatic 'no nonsense' 'fix it' attitude?  Or maybe you simply enjoy being 'hands on' when you see you can be useful.  I think it is good for you to spend time hanging out with people who have similar interests, hobbies, values or outlook.  I think you are someone who is a 'self starter' and can 'pick yourself up' and refresh when you need to.  Finally, the words courage and beauty spring from your bag.  These seem to be important aspects of life for you.  I imagine you enjoy lovely landscapes, outdoor walks or furniture!  Finally, I think it is important for you to have loyal friends and supporters around you and to be able to feel that the loyalty is real, almost something to touch.  I have found your bag quite unusual and the reading is a little different from others I've done.  Thank you!  It was a pleasure for me.  Debbie@handbagtherapy.com"

Overall, i thought this was actually quite accurate!  Especially the bit about enjoying lovely landscapes, outdoor walks, and furniture and the part about the need to have loyal friends & supporters around me and that it needs to be shown.  I hate to admit, but the 'no nonsense' attitude is kind of something i have...i try not to be so snappy/bitchy about it though!  About setting goals & being organized, i love doing things like making to-do lists and such (yes, i'm a dork) and i at least attempt to be organized, so that's pretty accurate as well.

If you're interested in having your own 'bagology' reading done, i definitely recommend it!  All you have to do is 'like' SudocremTube on Facebook (link here), snap a photo of your bag & its contents and post it on their wall, then await your reading.  Simples.  They're holding this little bagology reading until the end of the month so you still have a bit of time.

Thanks so much Hayden for letting me know about this and Debbie for doing all the readings!  You're both lovely. :)

♥

Gosh & Sleek Loving.

Haven't done one of these 'face of the day' type of posts in a while, i'm sure you can see why. ;)  I feel a bit vain posting pictures of my mug up for the people of the internet to see to be honest, haha.  I figured i'd do one anyway to show some of the products i got from my trip actually put to use.

I've absolutely been loving the Gosh eyeliner and Sleek Contour Kit, they are both new staples in my collection.  The Gosh liner totally tops Urban Decay's famous 24/7 one in Zero like it's nobody's business.  If you can get your hands on it, definitely try it out!  And the contour kit was a total bargain, don't think i'll be able to live without it from now on!  Makes the skin look gaaaaaawgeous and hasn't broken me out, which many drugstore products seem to do *knocks on wood*.

The Two Faced 'Illuminating' Shadow Insurance in Candlelight is totally new to me, i hadn't heard of it until my sister gave it to me (i think she got it as a 500 point perk at Sephora).  I really do quite like it though!  It's not as opaque as the Urban Decay primers are (ie. Sin), which i actually prefer.  It's just as good as the original staying-power-wise and it does brighten up the eye area to help make it look like you actually got your 8+ hours of beauty sleep - hence the 'illuminating' bit - without making it look like you have packed a ton of product on your eyes (like i have below haha ;).  Mac's Shroom looks amazing over it btw. :)

Hope you're not too offended by this little 'mug face of the day'!

Said Sleek Contour Kit & Gosh Eyeliner

Eyes

Too Faced Shadow Insurance in Candlelight

Mac Shroom e/s all over lid and inner corner & brow bone highlight

Mac Satin Taupe e/s in crease

Barry M Dazzle Dust in Chocolate in the outer corner

L'Oreal Linear Intense in Black - winged out with a bit of Urban Decay's Oilslick e/s on top to set

Gosh Velvet Touch Eyeliner in Blank Ink

Clinique High Impact mascara

Face

Benefit Erase Paste under eyes

Mac Studio Finish concealer on blemishes

Bare Minerals Original Foundation

Sleek Contour Kit in Light

Clinique Pressed Powder blush in New Clover

Bare Minerals Mineral Veil to set

Lips

Carmex :)

Hair & outfit

Will do a little post on the hair at some point. :)

top - New Look, earrings - Primark

♥

11 most reached-for products

As some of you may or may not have noticed by now, i am quite the fan of tags.  This will be my 21st tag (and counting) post that i have on this here blog - some most of them may be a bit pointless (the "personal" ones), while the other beauty-related ones, like my old favorite "8 Things Tag", may be of more use to you lovelies.  Well, i'm sure many of you will be relieved to read that this is one of the beauty-related tags. :)

I was catching up on my Youtube subscriptions and came across one of Allison's newest videos, her 11 Most Reached-For Products tag, if you couldn't already tell by the title. ;)  I figured i would hop on the bandwagon myself & give my own two cents worth.  Just as Allison explained in her video, i'm leaving out my everyday foundation/face routine since that doesn't really change much for me.  For the most part, i'm just putting in products that i go to without much thought, that i know will look good & that i will still like by the end of the day.

Here are my 11 most most "reached for" products, in no particular order ♥:

1. MAC Studio Finish Concealer

This one of my first MAC purchases & it lasted me for a long, long time.  I use it to cover my blemishes (i find it's too drying for my under-eye area), and along with a bit of mineral foundation over top, it provides really nice coverage.  I find that my skin will break-out or be irritated by a lot of face products of various brands, but this doesn't cause my skin to react in anyway.  Will definitely have to buy a new tub of this!

2. Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow in RSVP

I've already done a review on this, which you can read here.  This has been my go-to eye base/primer as of late.  It's so quick & easy to just slick on and it's quite versatile as well.  I wear it by itself with liquid eyeliner & mascara, with MAC's All That Glitters eyeshadow over it, MAC's Satin Taupe in the crease, & Twinks in the outer v, or just by itself & a light-medium brown shade in the crease (or Twinks in the outer v, blended into the crease).  As you can tell by that previous, unsightly sentence, it looks good so many ways!  It's love.

3. Clinique Brush-On Cream Eyeliner in True Black

This is one of the newer additions to my makeup collection and i don't know what i've been thinking in regards to liquid/cream eyeliner for all this time!  It has incredibly long lasting power, which i find to be perfect as my eyes are unnaturally watery/teary all the time haha.  It may take a little more time in the morning, but it's worth it for me.  May do a full, in-depth review of this eventually!

4. Maybelline Color Sensational lipstick in Pink Please

If you've read my blog for a while, you know i have so much love for this lipstick.  I wear this most everyday & it is always in my makeup bag.  It looks really nice with just about every look & adds a lovely bit of color to my otherwise pale face & lips!  Read my really old review of it here. :)

5. OPI nail polish in Got a Date To-Knight

If i ever finish a bottle of nail polish in my lifetime, this will definitely be the one!  This color is such a lovely, baby pink that i find is really flattering with my skintone no matter what time of the year.  I wouldn't say this nail polish is particulary long-lasting, and it also takes quite a few layers to build up the color, but this is by far one of my favorite shades i own.  Whenever i'm a bit indecisive of what color to paint my nails, i choose this one 99% of the time!

6. Clinique High Impact Mascara in Black

I used to be quite the Covergirl Lash Blast fanatic, although that was great for volumizing my lashes, i found it didn't do too much for length.  I'd had samples & even a full-size tube of High Impact before, but never really appreciated it until recently.  It both lengthens & volumizes, and it quite a deep black as well.

7. Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Sin (called Drink Me, Eat Me in this palette)

This is by far one of my favorite all-over-the-lid colors and actually even one of my favorite eyeshadows i own.  It accentuates the eye very nicely - with a complimentary crease & outer v color, it's perfection.  It's also quite long lasting, and with a base it lasts for even longer.  I find it's really versatile as well, it looks so good with so many different combinations.  When in doubt, i almost always go for this shadow with Too Faced Shadow Insurance or Benefit CCS in RSVP on its own for a lid color.

8. Clinique Soft-Pressed Powder Blusher in New Clover

I've mentioned this product in a few monthly favorites, but i just had to add it to this list.  I don't have an immense collection of blushes, and generally just use up the sample-size blushes i get from usually Clinique, but i find that i reach for this shade just about everyday of the week.  It gives such a natural flush to my cheeks and looks really flattering & pretty on my fair skintone.

9. MAC eyeshadow in Satin Taupe

Satin Taupe was one of the first MAC eyeshadows that i added to my collection, and it is one of my must-haves.  Along with many of the products on this list, it is very versatile.  It looks really lovely in the crease with just about any champagne color on the lid.  I usually wear it in the crease & built up in the outer corner (or Twinks in the outer corner instead) with Benefit's RSVP, but it looks great with just about any combination.

10. Revlon Matte Lipstick in Pink Pout

This is probably the second most-used lipstick in my collection, after Maybelline's Pink Please.  :)  On me, it shows up as a lovely baby pink.  As you can see, it's a bit messed up...it actually broke the day i got it & i just had to stick it back in the tube in order to use it.  It's a bit drying as well, but it lasts quite a long time & has a nice matte finish.

11. Sigma E25 Blending Brush

This travel size brush came free with a Sigma order i made around Christmas.  It's supposed to be a dupe for MAC's 217 brush, but i have to say i actually prefer this one to the 217.  My 217 actually became quite fluffy over time & doesn't apply eyeshadow to the crease as well/as clean as it did when i first got it.  Maybe it's because i haven't had this for as long as i have the 217, but it applies crease colors SO well & i'm in love!  Quite the nice surprise to see this came free with my order. :)

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What products do you find yourself reaching for the most?

♥

january favorites

I haven't done a monthly favorites post in what seems like ages, so i figured i'd try and start doing them again. Not making any promises though! ;)  These products are either newer ones that i've just discovered & have really liked or old favorites that i've rediscovered over the past month.

What have you been loving this month?

♥ Dove Heat Defense Therapy conditioner.  This is one of the products i've rediscovered.  I used to use this everyday but i realized that it was contributing to the product buildup in my hair.  I put off using it for a long time, but have come back to it.  It makes my hair smooth & helps protect my hair from the heat.  I generally use this on the days i blow-dry my hair (i usually shower at night & leave my hair to air dry).  This is the old packaging of this conditioner, but this stuff is still available!

♥ Favorite mascara combination.  I've been loving super thick, dark lashes this past month (well, every month really!) and these two products together help achieve the look.  Clinique's High Impact mascara is my favorite mascara i've ever tried, but in tandem the sample of Lancome's Definicils mascara, it's even better.  I probably won't buy the full size of the Lancome mascara as i'm not made of money haha, but i'll enjoy the little sample while it lasts :)

♥ Favorite eyeshadow combination.  I've been finding it hard to get out of bed & putting the effort into looking super done up this past month.  But to prevent looking like a total mess, finding a quick & easy makeup routine in the morning was an essential.  Benefit's Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow in RSVP (review here) was something i ordered from Sephora a little before Christmas and MAC's Satin Taupe eyeshadow is an old favorite of mine.  I put two layers of RSVP all over my lid & into my crease (as a base & lid color in one) and using a MAC 217 brush, i put Satin Taupe in the crease & build it up into the outer v.  Both quick & easy, but it looks nice and put together.

♥ MAC 129 & Sigma E65 Small Angle brushes.  One of the first things i ever purchased from MAC is the 129 Powder/Blush brush.  I love using it for blush, it applies & blends the color with ease.  Since it's getting quite old, it's getting a bit scratchy unfortunately but it's still nice.  I got a few Sigma brushes for Christmas and i have been absolutely loving them.  One of the eye brushes i got was the E65 Small Angle brush.  I love using this to apply eyeshadow on my lower lash line & i'm hoping this will work well for my recently purchased Clinique cream eyeliner.  We'll see how that goes!

♥ Yes to Cucumbers Facial Towelettes.  This was one of the products i purchased in my recent skincare haul & since then, i've been able to try them out for a while.  Many of you commented on that post saying you loved these and they didn't disappoint!  These are really gentle on my skin & get my makeup off really well.  The towelettes are actually pretty big & since i'm quite cheap i cut them in half and find that's enough to do the job!  I use these to remove my makeup when the day's done, before i cleanse my face.  If i'm feeling particularly lazy, i'll just quick wipe my face with these, apply a bit of moisturizer, and go to bed!  Love these.

Three to follow: Morven, Kerti, Kelly.

♥

viva glam gaga lipstick.

When my sister asked me what i wanted for Christmas (within reason of course), i didn't really know what to say.  At the time, i decided that i wanted to start building up my MAC collection so i finally just said "anything from MAC".  She knows i love Lady Gaga & that she had a lipstick out at MAC, so i suppose she landed on this for my gift!  I know i'm a bit late to the whole Viva Glam Gaga collaboration, but better late than never i suppose?

If you didn't know, Viva Glam is a program MAC started to "support men, women, and children living with and affected by HIV/AIDS globally.." (taken off the MAC website).  100% of the proceeds goes to these people - to help give them food, afford doctor's visits, provide them with tools to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, among many other things.  To learn more about that, you can click here.  I think this is such a great cause & no matter what one may think about the lipstick itself (although they do have gorgeous shades & formulations), this is such an easy and beautiful way to help those in need.

Last year, Cyndi Lauper and Lady Gaga collaborated with MAC & came out with their own lipstick and lipglass shades under the Viva Glam range.  Cyndi Lauper's shade was a gorgeous red color, while Lady Gaga's was more of a baby/bubblegum pink color.  As i said before, i got Viva Glam Gaga :)

This is the second MAC lipstick i've ever tried, but the first lustre finish i've ever used.  The lipstick goes on really smooth, but it's not too long wearing.  I find that after a little while, the product actually settles in the crevices of my lips - not a good look!  The color itself is really nice, but i don't think it would suit a lot of skintones unfortunately as it is such light, but bright shade.

To be honest, i don't find myself reaching for this too often.  But even if i bought it with my own money & if it wasn't a gift, i wouldn't have regretted purchasing it as the money goes to such a great cause.

On my lips (i swear it looks less scary IRL!) & swatched on my hand - with no editing
You may also notice i've dyed my hair...

Above i have swatched it on my lips & on my hand - it looks kind of scary on me in that photo for some reason!  My lips are pale, so the lipstick comes out quite true-to-color on my lips.

I've just checked the MAC website and unfortunately both the Cyndi & Gaga lipsticks are sold out, but the lipglasses are still available.  I'd maybe stop by your MAC counter/store & see if they have any left in stock!

I've heard that Lady Gaga (maybe Cyndi Lauper too, i'm not sure!) is collaborating with MAC again this year for another Viva Glam lipstick, i'm excited to see what the new shade is going to be!

♥

products i'm loving!

Something very exciting (well, for me) has happened since my last post - i (FINALLY) signed up for driver's ed and have already completed my first week of it.  I'm going to be 17 in March, so i'm way past due to drive.  Really can't wait to just get behind the wheel (am a bit nervous tbh) & be able drive myself places instead of having to rely on other people all the time for rides.  Unfortunately this means i am gone from 7:00 in the morning to 6:00 at night, so i have absolutely no proper lighting to take photos for my blog, resulting in less blog posts :/

I've also rearranged my blog a bit, i tried to go for the two-column layout since it would be a lot easier to see everything on my blog and such, but it just messed everything on my blog up & i just couldn't seem to make it look ok!  So the three-column layout might be here for a while!

I have been really loving certain products lately, so i thought i'd share them with you all.  There's a combination of some things i got for Christmas, as well as some products i've recently gotten that i've been wanting to try out for a while.

♥ Too Faced Shadow Insurance eye primer.  Now i've been a long time fan of the famous Urban Decay Primer Potion, but i can honestly say that i prefer this to it.  The product itself & the job it does is essentially the same as UDPP, but it's incredibly easier to use and so much easier to get the product out of the tube.  Although i love the bottle on the Urban Decay Primer Potion, it's just not ideal & a lot of product is wasted.  If you love UDPP but have the problem many people have with getting all the primer out, i recommend trying Shadow Insurance out.  You get a tad bit more product with the Two Faced Shadow Insurance & it's the same price as UDPP.  Will definitely be repurchasing this when i run out!

♥ Sigma F45 Buffer brush.  I asked for a few Sigma brushes for Christmas and this is one of them.  I don't know why i waited so long to try out their brushes, but i'm honestly so glad i did.  One of the brushes i asked for was this kabuki, the F45 (F standing for face).  It's incredibly soft and blends my blush & contour perfectly, as well as applies my setting powder (which will be discussed below!) amazingly.  I don't have a MAC kabuki brush to compare this to, but this is by far the softest & best buffer brush i have tried.  Highly recommend trying this one out!

Sorry for the dirtiness!  Need to wash my brushes :)

♥ Sigma F40 Large Angled Contour brush.  This is another Sigma brush i asked for on my Christmas list & was the one i was most excited to try out.  This brush definitely did not disappoint, and it immediately became one of my favorite makeup brushes!  I love using this brush with my Bare Minerals All-Over Color in "Warmth" (or any bronzer) to contour my face.  It's dense & super soft, and applies the product super well.  A lot of people also use this to apply blush, but i haven't tried that yet since i already use it to contour.  I'm honestly considering just getting another one of these for blusher :)  Haha.

♥ Sigma E25 Blending brush.  This brush came free with the order.  It's a travel-size (short-handle) brush, which i'm actually happy about - the less room my makeup takes up in my suitcase, the better! This is supposed to be the equivalent to the MAC 217 brush, which i do own (which i love - you really can never have too many blending brushes!).  I don't prefer one over the other really, but since the Sigma version is less expensive than the MAC one, i would recommend opting for the Sigma.  I use this to apply color in the crease & the outer corner, as well as blending my eyeshadow out - does the job nicely :)

♥ Bare Minerals Mineral Veil.  I've been using this since i first started using Bare Minerals, but i've only recently really appreciated Mineral Veil.  I apply this over my foundation, blush, and contour with my Sigma F45 (as said above :) & it's honestly just a dream to put on, as stupid as that sounds!  It leaves the most gorgeous finish to the skin - not at all oily or sparkly.  It just gives a lovely sheen to the skin, making it look younger & more fresh.  Love.

Top L-R: Shroom & All That Glitters.  Bottom L-R: Satin Taupe & Twinks.

♥ Favorite MAC eyeshadow combination of the moment.  As you may have seen in my recent MAC haul & updated palette post, i picked up a few neutral shadows - Shroom, All That Glitters, and Twinks - and i have been loving using them all together, along with Satin Taupe (which i already had in my collection).  I use Shroom as an inner corner & brow bone highlight - All That Glitters all over the lid - Satin Taupe in the crease - and Twinks on the outer corner/outer v.  I then apply black liquid liner on the upper lashline and either brown or black eyeliner to the waterline, as well as a black mascara, and it creates a gorgeous daytime/neutral look.  These four eyeshadows will probably be the four i take in a quad with me when i go traveling - unless i find a different combination i like instead of course :).  If you don't want to go buy all four but still want the same sort of look, you could probably go without Satin Taupe & just blend Twinks into the crease and then build it up in the outer v.  Will hopefully do a face of the day with this combo soon :)

♥

mac haul & updated palette

I had a Macy's gift card to spend from Christmas, so i thought i'd pop by the MAC counter to buy myself a few things!  I ended up getting three eyeshadows, to fill up my palette.  I was quite unsure as to what i should get exactly, so i referenced the "starting a MAC palette" post i did when i first got the empty palette, as well as a few Youtube gurus & i decided on these three!

L-R: Shroom, All That Glitters, Twinks

Shroom (satin finish): I figured i'd get at least one highlight shade (not the most exciting of purchases, but necessary in my opinion!), so i landed on this one.  It's not stark white, which is good - it's more of an off-white with zero sparkle, but gives a nice sheen.  I'm curious as to whether or not people use this all over the lid with something like Satin Taupe in the crease, instead of a stark white like Blanc Type.  I'll have to try it & see how it looks!

All That Glitters (veluxe pearl finish): This shadow was by far the most recommended, i'm not sure if it's because Elle (AllThatGlitters21) made it extremely well-known within the beauty community, or because it's actually a nice shade & product.  All That Glitters is a champagne color, with a kind of pink/peach reflex.  I was afraid that this would be very similar to Urban Decay's eyeshadow in Sin (which i love), but it seems a bit darker and not as frosty.  We'll see how it goes!

Twinks (veluxe pearl finish): This one isn't quite as popular as Shroom or All That Glitters, but it's still one of the more well-known shades from MAC.  I needed an outer corner/crease color, so instead of going for something like Woodwinked (i'm not a big fan of gold-browns & i think it would be too orange-y on my skintone), i chose Twinks.  Twinks is a deep brown, with plum undertones.  It's super pretty, my only concern is that it would be very dark against my super fair skin & blue eyes.  I did hear it's very easy to blend & it's kind of forgiving, so yeah.  I do have high hopes for this one, again - we'll see how it goes :)

I then spent this afternoon depotting the three eyeshadows i got so i could put them in my palette - as shown above haha.  If you're wondering how to depot your MAC shadows, here's a video tutorial - that's where i learned how to depot mine :).

Here's my MAC palette so far:

L-R: Shroom, All That Glitters, Sable, Satin Taupe, Twinks

I'm think of also getting a quad palette (holds four eyeshadows instead of this one that holds fifteen), so when i travel i can just tote that in my bag, instead of taking up some much needed space with this palette!  Both the quad and the fifteen palettes are available at MAC stores & online - not counters unfortunately - if you're wondering :)

I'm always looking for recommendations to build this palette up - what eyeshadows do you like pairing with any of the five shadows i have? ♥
PS. Thanks for the super lovely comments on my last post, you ladies are amazing :)

♥

Fab Friday 002 ♥.

Welcome to the second ever Fab Friday ladies!  Here's the first one if you missed it :)

This week has been kind of all over the place for me.  It started off pretty well, lots of laughter & fun times to be had.  As the week progressed, the days just seemed to get longer & the work load just seemed overwhelming.  I'm already getting behind in a lot of classes :/.

I want to apologize for being so MIA blogging-wise lately :/.  School has honestly just taken over & i really need to focus on that, which i hope you'll all understand ♥.  On to the post!

01. Ombre hair attempt II & The Scarlet Letter ♥

As you may have read in my previous Fab Friday, i was considering ombre-ing my hair & i even bought the dye.  After all your comments telling me to go for it, i finally did!  Well, maybe it just didn't put enough on, or maybe it was the dye itself, but it didn't do much at all.  I just went to Walmart today & bought a different dye - this stuff is scary, i must admit o_o.  Frost?  Eeeeep...worth a try anyway!

I'm reading The Scarlett Letter for English, and i actually really like it.  It's so beautifully written & is super intriguing, it's definitely a book that i would even pick up on my own.

02. Floral flyaways & hand-me-down computers ♥

Showin' my floral cardigan-sorta-thing from Charlotte Russe some love :) - love this thing!

It was recently my mom & dad's 25th wedding anniversary, and my dad gave my lovely mother a new, pink laptop, so i got her old (crappy...ahem) one!  Better than nothing i suppose.

03. Satin Taupe & b-liv skincare ♥

This past week, i did another MakeupAlley swap & this time i recieved MAC's Satin Taupe eyeshadow - it's soo lovely & smooth.  I'm actually wearing it atm :).  It feels so good adding eyeshadows into my MAC palette!  Although i only have two so far, i feel so proud hehe :)

I was kindly sent some lovely skincare products from the line b-liv by Cellnique, and i'm genuinely enjoying them so far.  A full review will be on it's way once i test 'em out for a few more weeks.

04. Random bits :)

This will never get old.  NIN forever ♥.

Anyone buy anything from MAC's Venomous Villans Collection?  I feel the need to make a purchase from the collection as i absolutely adore Disney, but i can't decide!

Ask me anything / Tweet tweet!

♥

Fab Friday: Ombre Hair, Outfit, & First MAC Addition!

It was whilst washing my hands ten minutes ago that an idea for today's post came to mind.  I've been wanting to do a weekly series on my blog for a while now, but i wasn't sure what day it should be on, or what i'd even call it!  Although "Fab Friday" may just be a one-time thing, i thought i'd give it a go anyway.  This Fab Friday, (and future Fab Fridays, if i continue them), will be my thoughts for the day & this past week, about beauty & fashion, but about non-beauty/non-fashion things as well!

Well i'll just jump into it... :)

01. Ombre Hair!

Ombre hair is a big trend this season, amongst celebrities (Ashlee Simpson, Drew Barrymore, & other beauts), as well as bloggers (Lily at LLYMLRS, Rumi at Fashion Toast, & Zoe at Zoella)!  With all these gorgeous 'dos, i was tempted (of course) to try it myself!  I'm soo chicken to do anything with my hair - even a trim gets me panicking, the most experimenting i've done with my hair is full bangs & semi-permanent dye! - so i hope this isn't just another thing i'll totally chicken out on :P

I mentioned ombre-ing my hair on Twitter, and a lot of people are saying i should go for it!  I even picked up the bleach/dye/whatever yesterday!  Now i'm totally overthinking it, thinking that maybe it'll be TOO light!  What do you girls think?  Should i go for it?! ♥

02. First MAC Palette Addition :)

As you may or may already know, i participated in my first MakeupAlley swap this past September & got to add my first shadow to my MAC palette!  It came in a pot, but i ended up depotting it (talk about mess!), placing magnets on the back, & popping it into my MAC palette :).  I did a look with this shadow already, which you can see here!  Already have another swap is already in progress :)

03. School & Grades.

I've been struggling like crazy so much this year, especially in math.  I used to think i was somewhat decent at math, but last year & this year i've just not been able to wrap my head around everything we learn - it's incredibly frustrating.  I don't have too much homework this weekend, but i did get assigned a paper in English, a three page paper talking about one of the themes of the play The Crucible.  The themes we have to choose from are ridiculous, i have no idea how i'm going to talk about them for a minimum of three pages!  FML.

So yeah, i'm getting a C in both English & gym, and a D in pre-calc...just great.

04. Outfit of the Day & Harry Potter.

I wore my school bag as a messenger bag, instead of it's usual position of shoulder bag lol.  Also bared my legs & showed off my fave red cardigan today!

I have a day-by-day Harry Potter calendar, and this gave me a little chuckle haha :).

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What do you ladies think about these weekly posts?  Is it worth continuing?  Let me know!

Happy October by the way!  Ohh, soon it'll be Halloween, then it'll be Thanksgiving, then it'll be BAM Christmas :D ♥

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♥