Petite Panoply

Soon after I moved into my new apartment, Jennifer from Modern Map Art reached out to me about reviewing one of their super cool, printed-in-the-USA map prints. Particularly the Athens, GA print , which is a perfect addition to my Atlanta apartment when I'm missing my college town. I immediately was drawn to their black and white, minimalist map designs because they pair perfectly with just about any home decor.  If you enjoy map prints, you should definitely check out Modern Map Art. It seems like they have just about every city you could think of! I was really impressed with how well they shipped the print in a tough cardboard tube and the shipping time was very speedy as well (and free for U.S. customers), considering they create the prints to-order. I honestly think I need to get an Atlanta one soon to pair with my Athens print!  These would make awesome gifts for a wedding or birthday too. I put mine in a cheapo poster frame I bought on Amazon but you could d...

Good morning! Today I'm pleased to introduce you to fantastic local Atlanta business, Cameoko , which is a line of handmade resin jewelry. Camille reached out to me after finding my pictures on Instagram and asked if I would be interested in trying out and styling some of her jewelry. I'm so glad she found me because now I know about this gorgeousness! (I already told Matt I want more Cameoko jewelry if he decides I need a pretty present sometime. Too bad my birthday is all the way in October.) I love how unique, yet versatile Camille's pieces are. They can be worn on super casual days or when you want to be fancy. You can tell she puts a lot of care into her work with the quality of the jewelry too. I don't have to be worried about anything breaking and the materials are high-quality and don't irritate my ears. Seriously, the surgical steel backs are wonderful. Not to mention Cameoko jewelry is affordable! Always a huge plus!  Pictured: (top) turquoise...

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...

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...