Petite Panoply

Now that we're getting toward mid-August, I thought I'd share some of my favorite products of this past summer. These all happen to be beauty/skincare related but this type of post can be expanded to other categories in future seasons! Read on to see what I've been loving the past few months. Bath & Body Works Malibu Heat shower gel  and ultra shea body cream - $12.50 / $13 (I got them on sale) - This scent has been my go-to this summer. It's fruitier than most of the other Bath & Body Works smells I own, but I've been enjoying the pineapple-y, sweet, coconut, ocean scent. It almost has a hint of bubblegum in there too. It's definitely a summery smell and will need to be put away for another summer once I can convince myself fall is sort-of on the horizon. The packaging is super pretty too!

Although you can't always see my eyebrows since I have bangs, I assure you I do still fill them in regularly because wind exists. Influenster sent me the new Maybelline Brow Drama Pomade Crayon in a couple different shades, Auburn and Soft Brown, to try out and share a review with you. The eyebrow crayon is supposed to be an all-in-one, one-step brow product. So essentially it's color and rogue-eyebrow-hair-taming wax in one stick. Overall: it did a good job! The product is very pigmented, soft, and really does keep my eyebrows in place.  Cons:  The crayon doesn't give the most precise application. I think it'd be perfect for people who already have pretty intense eyebrows, but mine aren't that thick and I definitely had some issues keeping the outline sharp on the tail end of my brows. I'm going to try applying with an angled brush for a more precise application. I recommend combing the color through with a spoolie brush to distribute the color mor...

Did you miss out on the Kat Von D Lolita Lip Duo? Don't feel like spending $20 for a full sized Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in the shade Lolita, the highly coveted rosy brown shade that's so popular this year? Sad you can't get ahold of Lolita 2 yet? No worries! I found dupes of the two colors in my ridiculous Wet n Wild Megalast Lip Color collection. I was actually surprised at how similar the shades were. Who knew I already had those colors in my possession? Left to right: Kat Von D Lolita from the Lolita Duo, Wet n Wild Mocha-licious, Kat Von D Lolita 2 from the Lolita Duo, Wet n Wild Sandstorm They are, however, different formulas. The Kat Von D is a liquid lipstick that dries to a matte finish and the Wet n Wild Megalast formula is a regular stick lipstick in a demi-matte finish. Both are comfortable to wear, but I'm not bothered by matte finishes. The wear time is similar if you factor in eating and drinking while wearing them, but the Kat Von D doesn...

I can't get enough of new lip products so I buy quite a lot of them, especially those in the drugstore price range. New formulas are particularly exciting to me! These Intense Butter Glosses by Nyx are a new addition to their line as of this spring and I'm a fan! They come in 12 shades in a great range of color. I think their regular Butter Gloss is nice, but these are great for those of us who tend to like more pigment in our lip products. I'm usually a lipstick type of girl - not gloss - but these are so super pigmented I don't feel like I'm missing my lipstick. They're almost like a gloss/lipstick hybrid. Sometimes a glossy finish is fun, and on those days I'm reaching for my Intense Butter Gloss! You can see quick swatches of the six shades I own below and my un-photoshopped, close-up mouth region. (Huzzah!) Funnel Delight

Today I have a review of my most recent makeup purchase, Covergirl Lip Lava in the shades Lychee Lava and Lava-nder. I haven't seen a whole lot of information on these, so I thought maybe this could be helpful for any of you who come across these at the store. It's strange because they're not even being advertised on the main page of Covergirl's website and they're brand new! Here they are though.  These are under the "lipgloss" section on the Covergirl website but they're really a strange lip gloss/lipstick hybrid. They apply like a gloss but they're super pigmented. They're incredibly sparkly in a way that almost comes off as being metallic! The ultra-sparkly goodness was the main reason I was interested in these. Plus I saw one YouTube review that showed just how opaque they are.  Now you can look at some too-close-for-comfort swatches of the colors on my lips! Lychee Lava is a coral shade with pink and gold shimmer....

Happy Wednesday everyone! BrandBacker and Markwins Beauty sent me over a new Makeup by One Direction set for me to review for you. Now, I'm not particularly a One Direction fan and can maybe tell you one song they've sung so you'll know my view of these products isn't blurred by fan love. I was still excited to check out a new, affordable makeup line. I'm a fan of a lot of Wet n Wild products and Markwins owns them so I had high hopes for this line. They have three collections and I was sent "Midnight Memories" which is the smokier night-out set in the group. They also have a more natural collection, "Take Me Home," and a set with fun shades of blue and pink, "Up All Night." Below you'll find a look I created out of this set, an overview of each product, and swatches! The packaging for these collections is pretty neat because they come in reusable tins. The One Direction sleeve comes off and then it's just a brick pr...

You know I love nail polish so I was very excited to try out the new Sally Hansen Miracle Gel polish sent to me for testing by Influenster . They sent me the color Redgy to review. You apply two coats of the color over no base coat and then add the top coat. The formula was easy to work with and self leveled well. The unique thing about this product is that you get the long wear and shine of a gel polish but you don't need a UV light. I'm particularly happy about that because I'm wary of the unnecessary UV exposure needed for regular gel polish to cure. I'm not usually someone that requires ridiculously long wear on a manicure since I like to change my nail color at least once a week. I was intrigued by the claim that this polish lasts up to 14 days though. I went ahead and tested it over my trip to Las Vegas because I knew I wouldn't have time to paint my nails while I was there. Overall I wore it for 10 days and I was amazed by how durable it was. Af...

Happy Saturday everyone! It's time for a new YouTube video! You know I love my makeup so I figured I'd share my favorite affordable lipstick lines with you. You don't have to spend a lot of money to have a collection of awesome lip colors! All of the lipsticks mentioned can be found online and I'll list them below the video (with approximate prices) so you can check them out.  Thank you for watching these little videos of mine and if you haven't please subscribe to my channel !  Nyx Macaron Lipsticks  - $6 Covergirl LipPerfection Lipcolor  - ~ $6.74 Revlon ColorBurst Balm Stain  - ~ $6.49 Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids  - ~ $5.60 - $7.99 Wet n Wild Megalast Lip Color  - ~ $1.99 Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter  - ~$5.99 - $7.49

Happy Tuesday everyone! I've decided to introduce a new feature for Tuesdays since my Tuesday Tunes weren't the most well-loved part of my blog. That's not to say I won't feature music videos here sometimes, but this opens up Tuesday for other videos, including my own! If I've uploaded a video, it'll always be shared here on Tuesday whether it's featured in its own post or not. Plus I can include other fun videos I enjoyed. Hopefully this new feature will go over well. I, however, will not guarantee it being a weekly feature. It may be bi-weekly, but I'll let you know. To start out, here is my first ever haul video. I know some of you enjoy those and I like seeing what new things other people pick out too. I bought stuff from Lush, Sephora, and Forever 21 last Thursday. You can watch it to see what I got (and also see me talk awkwardly and be distracted by people walking around inside the house). Don't forget to check out the end for an outtake w...

I was so excited when I found out Nyx Cosmetics was coming out with a line of non-traditionally colored lipsticks. Finally some different colors from an affordable brand! Once I saw they were available to order online I made sure to pick up a few. Most of them are currently sold out on the Nyx website but they'll probably be getting more in. Some might be available at Ulta stores too. These lipsticks retail for $6 a piece. They're incredibly creamy and comfortable to wear. I found most applied with few coats. Pistachio required the most coats to be opaque and Blue Velvet & Violet required the least. Wear time is about average but if you eat or drink you'll probably have to reapply.  Left to right: Pistachio, Blue Velvet, Violet, Lavender, Rose, & Orange Blossom I swatched the colors I bought (which are half of the collection) with very quick applications so please don't judge them too harshly. Also I really don't have the lips for lipstick swatc...

Since it's just about holiday time I figured I'd gather some present ideas for you guys in a series I'm going to call " Present Picks " (because I'm super sick of hearing the phrase "gift guide"). These are a few ideas if the person you're buying for is really into makeup - particularly makeup of the eye variety. Or you may just decide you want to buy these for yourself. (I don't judge). I own 3 of these already, so I can personally recommend them to you and your makeup-inclined friends.  (pictured left to right, up to down) Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette  ($52) - This brand new palette is sold out at the moment but these rose-colored neutral eye shadows are so pretty. These pink-y shades would compliment blue or green eyes really well.  (I already have Naked 1 and 2 but I'd love to have this one too. See some swatches of the shades here !) Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Portable Palette Set  ($48 only at Ulta) - This set is s...

It's been a while since I did a makeup post, so I decided to put together a fall look using my new Urban Decay Vice 2 palette. There are a ton of fall-appropriate colors in that palette and I've been enjoying using all the pretty colors. There's such a great mix of neutrals and color in this palette. I'm so glad I bought it for myself for my birthday! This eye makeup is really appropriate for school or work because it's not overly dark. I even used a brown liquid liner to lighten it up even more. I'm really loving this OCC Lip Tar in Memento as a natural-looking pink shade too.  I achieved this eye look by patting Strike (a light gold) in the center of my lid and then shaping Stash (olive green) in the inner and outer corners of my eye and in the crease. I blended the olive green out with Toxic (goldish rose) and patted a little bit of Damaged (deep green) in the outer corner. Then I lined my top lid with E.L.F. liquid liner in coffee and my bottom ...

Happy Wednesday everyone! I wore this outfit last week when we had a very strange cool snap. It was actually cool enough outside to wear jeans so I was very excited to be able to wear my new Levi's. Here I am wearing my sailor top again too. I'm really interested in finding more ways to make jeans look non-boring once the weather cools down. Sometimes it's nice to mix it up and wear pants once in a while! Though I'm really looking forward to breaking out my tights! Can you tell I'm ready for fall already? jeans: levi's - macy's | top: forever 21 | flats: xhileration - target | belt: thrifted | bracelet: vintage I did some purple-y sunset-ish eye shadow that day too. Hooray for colorful eye shadow! I feel like outfits that are skinny on the bottom with more volume on top (like this) really emphasize my sort of boyish figure, but oh well. I won't let my lack of hips dictate what types of outfits I try out. I work with what I have. I...