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Hello loves!

I know I have been quite absent again lately; however, I'm hoping to be more present again.  I started a new job closer to home so I have more time to dedicate to my hobbies.  With that said let's get into some of the latest releases.  I'm going to scroll Ulta, Sephora, Trendmood, and Beauty News on Instagram and see what I can find.

The first thing I have dug up on the Trendmood Instagram is a post about the new Viseart single shadows.  It looks like they have released 50 new shades of single eyeshadows on May 6th.  The shadows are $12 each and can be found at Muse Beauty.  If you go to the website the graphic to the left is much larger and it shows what palette the singles are from.  In my opinion if you own a lot of Viseart palettes you obviously don't need to buy these singles, but if there is a shade you love and have finished this is an amazing move from the brand.  They are also offering an empty palette for $15.   I also want to mention that the Muse Beauty website has the 50 singles broken down into the different finishes for easier shopping.

Hey guys,

Welcome back to the project pan updates.  I wanted to share my updates for some of the products I shared a few weeks ago because the Lorac Pro palette has had some major changes.  The photo to the right is where I was at the last update.   You can see Cream and Taupe were completely gone.  Mauve was nearly finished and I had repressed it.  I was close to pan in Sable, Champagne, Gold, and Deep Purple.   My goals for last month were to hit pan in Gold, and Deep Purple and get some use on Slate.  Below you will see where I am now, and let me tell you it blows my mind how much use I got out of this palette!

As you can see White has major pan.  I have repressed this shadow once already this month, and I have hit major pan once again.  There is only a very thin layer left in the pan, so that will be gone soon.  I use white combined with other cream shadows to set my base.  Light Pink has pan now as well.  I have been mixing Light Pink with Birch from the ABH Sultry palette this week since that is the palette I drew from my spinner app for the week.  Light Pink has quite a bit of a thin layer so I should be able to expand the pan here easily.  Once I finish out white I will start using it to set my base because it doesn't have a ton of color to it.  Mauve is completely gone.  Sable has pan now and I have just been using this to deepen the crease.  Espresso I have expanded the pan by using it as a liner.  Black I have finally hit side pan because I use it to set my waterline.  Nude and Champagne I have been using as a highlight.  Neither one I enjoy for this but I want them gone.  Champagne is very glittery and I don't like it at all.  Gold is by far the best progress I have made this month.  I have been mixing Deep Purple, Gold, and Light Bronze with a ColourPop shadow to use all of them up and make a bit of an interesting gold shade.  I do the same thing with Slate, so I have only used slate a few times because I'm seeing more progress on Deep Purple.  Slate also seems to be more densely packed in the pan.

As you can see, I have repressed Pewter and I have only used it one or two times using the Beauty For Real Shadow Stx in Midnight Marathon.  I haven't had much progress on either of those because I have been focused on some other shades.  Garnet I have used several times and I have a pretty big dip in it.  Deep Purple has a very small pan in it now, and as I mentioned I have used Slate a few times.

Let me also touch on the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit.  I stand by my previous statement.  These powders are pressed so incredibly hard that it is going to take forever to get through them.  I have the most use out of the light peach powder even though I mix that shade and the banana shade every single day and use them under my eyes.  I have found that I really don't like yellow toned powders for under my eyes because my skin is a bit more of a pink tone and I tend to stick to neutral to pink toned foundations.  The two bronzers on the bottom left of the palette I use every single day with a fluffy brush and I haven't seen much progress in the pans, but they are being used.  I haven't touched the bronzer on the far right, and I haven't used the highlighter much because I have been working on my Becca mini that I will talk about in just a minute and I have been using Nude and Champagne from the Lorac Pro palette.

The Maybelline Color Tattoo in Just Beige is by far one of my more impressive updates for this month.  If you remember I had pan showing for the product right in the middle.  Now I have product cleared out all the way to the side.  I cannot wait for this stuff to be gone!  I feel like my transition shades are all oxidizing a bit and I think it has to do with this product.  As I mentioned above I always set my base down with shadows; however, I can't remember some of the shadows I was using in my transitions ever oxidizing like they have lately.  I also want to mention that this stuff is so thick that I have found it is not very fun to blend out.  I have been applying it from the container to my eye using various brushes; however, I have found that none of them are useful when it comes to blending this out nicely.  No matter what I do this is so thick that it sticks in one spot and when I blend it it completely goes away in others.

I am putting my mini Becca Moonstone highlighter away at this moment.  As I mentioned above I stopped using this one within the last week and I have been working on finishing Nude and Champagne from the Lorac Pro palette.  Let me mention that this is the first highlighter I have ever hit pan on, so I am really proud of myself.  If you remember at the last update I had stuck a pin in the center of the pan to see how deep the pan was.  It turned out that I was very close to hitting pan at that update, and I managed to hit pan with my brush a few days later.  My goal had originally been to just hit pan; however, I decided to see how far I could expand the pan this month.

Stay tuned because I'm going to be sharing the start of my project pan soon.  If you watch Kat and Hailey from Beauty News on YouTube, you know that they shared the #TeamProjectPan project yesterday I believe.  This project is a rolling project, so it will be happening all year long.  I am also pulling out the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette to pan this year with the Pan as Old as Time collab with the Pantastic Ladies so wish me luck.

To update you guys, my no buy is starting in a few days.  I recently ordered the Give Me Glow Cosmetics Grunge Palette at the restock because I had been eyeing it for a long time.  I am also waiting on an order to come in from Bleach London that I made back on black Friday, so who knows when that will get here. 

How are your projects going so far?  Are you joining any project pans this year?  Let me know below!

Hello loves,

I have decided to officially introduce an official "no buy" into my life.  That's right, I have decided to lay off of purchasing beauty products for a year unless I completely run out of that item in my collection.  What I mean by this is if I completely run out of concealers in my collection that I will purchase that item.  I went a little too crazy on Black Friday this year and I have definitely realized I have run out of space in my storage.  I am planning on sharing all of my panning progress, and projects on here (possibly even in video format) in a throwback form to several years ago when I got involved in the panning community. 

If you have been around here for a minute you will remember that I attempted to pan the Lorac Pro palette several years ago; however, I gave that up after making quite a dent in the palette because I felt that I was neglecting all the other palettes in my collection.   This time around I have decided to continue panning the Lorac palette along side using my other palettes in my collection.  I will be adding the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette to the daily rotation in January because I have joined the Pantastic Ladies group on Facebook and the Pan That Palette challenge for 2019 is "A Pan as Old As Time".  The oldest palette in my collection is definitely my Urban Decay Naked 2 palette, so I will be working on panning that palette as well. 


The photo above is the current progress I have on the Lorac Pro 1 palette.  I don't have a photo of where I left the palette in 2015 when I stopped focusing on panning the palette; however, I know I was fully out of Cream, and Taupe.  I had pan on several other shades as well. 

I want to quickly mention that I am not a huge fan of the colors Deep Purple, Gold, and Slate, so I have been working on panning those at the moment.  I have found that I prefer layering Gold over Slate or Deep Purple to create more of an old gold color.  The color Gold in the Lorac palette on its own is a bit too brassy for my every day preference, and Deep Purple is just too deep and doesn't really come off purple at all on me. 

Today I hit pan on Espresso which I use as a liner almost every day, and I have been gradually expanding Black this month by doing the same thing.  I have discovered my tastes have changed since the last time I tried to pan this palette, and I have found that I actually like Garnet all over the lid.  Previously I absolutely did not enjoy trying to use this shade, and now I actually don't hate it.  As you can see I have had to repress Mauve and I fully expect it to be completely gone in a few days.  I hit pan in White this week, and I use it to highlight the inner corner of the eye and I mix it with other powders to set my base.  I remember back in the day I would use Nude or Champagne to highlight the face as well as on the lid; however, I am working on panning a highlighter so I haven't been reaching for either of these shades yet.  I can tell that I am about to hit the pan in Gold, Champagne, and Light Pink so my goal by next month is to hit pan and expand the pan in those.  This is a really easy palette to pan, so I am happy to leave it out on my vanity and rotate another palette along side.


Now let's talk about the other products I have been working on panning recently.  I have pulled out the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Palette.  This is the original contour palette configuration from ABH and I had barely touched the palette from when I purchased it years ago.  I have several other contour style palettes in my stash; however, I found that I never ever contour.  I will be the first to admit that I only bronze on a daily basis, so I have been mixing the two shades on the bottom left of the palette (Java and Fawn) to bronze every day.  I have been using the two matte powders at the top (Vanilla and Banana) to set my under eye concealer every day.  I was inspired to pull this palette out of the drawer after I saw so many other people panning these powders.  These seem to be so hard pressed in the pans that it amazes me to see the progress other people are having in their palettes, and I don't know if I'm just not aggressive enough in these pans, but I know that I am going to feel so great when I finally do hit a pan in these. 


The base I have been working on for my eyes is the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Just Beige.  If you are questioning why my pot looks completely busted it's because I recently mixed the product up because I felt that the cream was starting to dry out.  I mixed the cream up about two weeks ago, so I have since hit pan again and I am starting to see significant progress in the pot.  This is fantastic because I have too many of these things in my collection. 




Next up is my mini Becca highlighter in Moonstone.  As you can see there is a massive dip in the center of the pan.  Part of this is because I have always focused my brushes in the center of the pan, and I have been using really fine brushes to highlight my inner corners.  I have to admit I also stuck a pin right through the center of this dip just to see how deep the pan was, and ever since then I have been focusing the brush right on top of that little spot.  My fingers are definitely crossed to just hit pan in this highlighter by the end of the year.  Once I finally hit pan I am going to move along to another highlighter (possibly the one in the Anastasia Beverly Hills palette). 


Let's chat about the three stick products I am trying to pan.  The Bite Lip Cream in Glace is a deluxe sample size from a Sephora birthday gift, and as you can see I have just a tiny bit left.  I'm hoping to have this gone in the next few weeks.  I tend to only apply this lippie first thing in the morning because I just forget about it.  However I am hopeful that it is going to be gone soon.  The next stick product is the Flower Beauty Hydrasilk Ultimate Lip Butter in Rose Petal, which you see has so much product left.  This lippie is incredibly deceiving because I thought it would be so easy to pan.  The product is so soft and creamy; however, it is taking forever to see any progress!   The final stick product I have is the Beauty For Real Shadow Stx in Midnight Marathon which is a cream shadow that came in a subscription box ages ago.  I have such a love hate with this product because I find that it isn't very punchy; however, it is great for days that I don't really feel like slapping a bunch of stuff on my face.  I have been using it when I travel and on the weekends for several weeks now, and I am most likely going to use it with the Lorac Pro palette and see how far I can get with it.  There isn't a ton of product left in this, so I have no doubt if I just buckle down and focus it will be gone quickly. 

So welcome to my no buy year!  I'm hoping to really share my progress through the year with other project pans and I want to share some "shop my stash" type of posts around here where I'm going to shop through my own products to see if I can create the vibes from the new releases that I have been drooling over. 

Are you a project panner, or are you doing a no buy year?  If so let me know down below because I would love to show you some support through the year! 

Hey guys!

I hope all is well with everyone!  I'm back with another quick (not so quick) update of the new items and a few updates for the makeup and beauty world!   If you remember in my previous post I stated that I am on a low buy, and I'm happy to report that so far I have only broken that to buy a new fragrance and some Sunday Riley skin care.  My wallet isn't incredibly happy that I bought those two things, but technically my makeup collection hasn't grown (see my logic here?).   Anyway, let's get into these releases, shall we?

Her Mannerisms Lucid Dreams Eyeshadow Palette $35 on the Her Mannerisms website

First I want to mention the Her Mannerisms Lucid Dreams Eyeshadow Palette.  This is a fifteen pan eyeshadow palette that is retailing for $35 on the Her Mannerisms website.  I personally own the Lucid Dreams Loose Pigment Palette, and absolutely love it.  The loose pigment palette is exactly what it sounds like, and the packaging definitely made me feel like I was getting sent a big PR release.  The packaging on it is definitely bulky but it helps me keep the powders all contained in my collection.  I'll have a review of the Loose Pigment Palette soon, and if you are interested in it Her Mannerisms is taking pre sale orders for it currently.  Now back to the Lucid Dreams Eyeshadow Palette.  As you can see from the photo on the right, the palette is a fifteen pan pressed eyeshadow palette.  In my opinion, there isn't really a theme with the shades included, but the palette does contain several shades that can be used to create an everyday look or you can go wild with color.  I personally almost broke my low buy to buy this one myself for the shade "Circadian Rhythm" alone, but held off for the moment.   According to Her Mannerisms, the shade "White Noise" is an iridescent glitter color with reflections of white, blue, and purple.  The brand also states that the palette is cruelty free and vegan.


Next on my list is a limited edition item that have already been released by Fenty Beauty, the Fairy Bomb.  The Fairy Bomb is a glitter pom pom that was released in April by the brand and it can be found at Sephora and on the Fenty Beauty website.  Personally this is a hard pass for me, because I'm not into the body glitter.  However, if you are then this one retails for $42 and comes in the shade "Rosé on Ice" which the brand describes as a "glimmering rose gold".  Overall I love the color of the glitter highlight that is in the packaging.  I also saw that Fenty Beauty was releasing liquid highlighters called Body Lavas in what appeared to be two shades; however, I can't seem to find any information on these now.

Fenty Beauty has also shown a summer collection called "Beach Please" featuring three Killawatt foil highlighter duos ($36 each), two lip gloss trios ($32 each), and two "2-in-1 liquid eye shimmers" ($26 each).  The collection also appears to include the Fairy Bomb, and the angled kabuki brush.  The collection is currently available on the Fenty Beauty website.

The next item on my list is the limited edition Petal Metal collection by Smashbox and Vlada.  First I want to say that I love the packaging and marketing images for this collection.  If you are unfamiliar, Vlada is a makeup artist based in LA that has the signature dripping lip art.  Seriously if you haven't heard go check

Photo from Vlada's Instagram

out her Instagram page!  As you can see in the marketing images, the collection includes three pressed highlighters that have a beautiful rose with Vlada's signature drip.  In my opinion these three highlighters are the standout products from the collection; however, I know the three shades won't work on me but I almost bought them in Sephora when the collection released.  We happened to be in the store as they were unboxing the collection and my friend wound up purchasing the eyeshadow palette.

The collection also includes a Photo Finish Primer that is a "metallic primer" ($39), a Petal Metal Shimmer Spray ($39), the Petal Metal Covershot Eyeshadow Palette ($29), two shades of the Petal Metal Shimmer Drops ($32), three shades of the Always On Liquid Lipsticks in metallic shades ($24 each), three shades of the Be Legendary Liquid Lipsticks in metallic shades ($24 each), and a metallic liquid liner in 24K Gold ($24).  The collection is available at Sephora, Ulta, and the Smashbox website.  Keep in mind this is a limited edition collection.

L'Oreal Cherry My Cheri Eyeshadow Palette Photo: L'Oreal website

Next I want to talk about a couple L'Oreal collections that have been released.  First is the Paradise Enchanted collection.  This collection includes four blushes that are various warm tones, and a warm toned palette all scented like peach.  Personally I will be passing on this collection for a few reasons.  I have struggled with L'Oreal eyeshadow palettes in the past, but that is because I prefer an eyeshadow that has a lot of pigment in it that I don't need to dig my brush into.  The second reason I'm passing on this particular collection is that the artificial scent of peach makes me feel a bit nauseous.  If you are interested in this collection it appears to be available on Amazon.

The second L'Oreal item I am going to mention is the Cherry my Cheri eyeshadow palette.  The layout of this palette, and the Paradise Enchanted palette remind me of some of the palettes NYX has been releasing in the last few years.  The Paradise Enchanted palette contains warm shades including some peach toned shadows, the Cherry my Cheri palette is leans a bit more neutral with pops of cherry reds.  The Cherry my Cheri palette doesn't appear to have a scent according to the reviews on the L'Oreal website though the brand claims that the shadows are cherry scented, and the palette contains 16 shades whereas the Paradise Enchanted palette contains 12 shades.

Morphe Babe In Paradise ($29) Photo: Morphe Website

Next let's breeze through a few highlighting palettes that are releasing.  As we all know glowing skin is in for the summer, and highlighting is still a huge market at the moment; however, I have plenty in my collection so these next few mentions don't particularly excite me.  The first one I want to address is the Cover FX Gold Bar Highlighting Palette ($39) which is a standard trio of highlighters in a set.  The three highlighters in the palette are 24k Gold (gold), White Gold (natural pearl), and Rose Gold (soft metallic pink).  Next is the Morphe Babe In Paradise palette, a collaboration between Morphe and Bretman Rock.  This six pan palette contains the new "High Impact Highlighters" according to Morphe and retails for $29.  The six shades in the palette are Behbeh Gurl (pearlescent pink), Vaygation (iced champagne sheen), Mahu (gilded gold), Get Lei'd (peachy pink sheen), Cheehoo (soft rose sheen), and Shady Bitch (golden coper luster).  Honestly the six shades of this palette interest me a bit, but they are still fairly common colors that I have in my collection other than Cheehoo and Shady Bitch (bottom row, last two shades).  Cheehoo is a stunning shade, but it definitely wouldn't work for me as a highlight.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dream Glow Kit Photo: Anastasia Beverly Hills Instagram

The last highlighting palette is by far the most exciting of the three, though I personally won't be grabbing it.  I already have several of the Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kits, so I can honestly say that they are amazing.  The brand released the Dream Glow Kit on May 22 for $45, and the palette appears to be right up my alley.  The Glow Kit contains six shades that range from pinks and peaches to purple, yellow, and even a really interesting shade that changes depending upon the light it is in.  Magic has appeared to be a taupey silver in the swatch above, but it also looks like a mint green in the palette.  Wish (the taupey silver) is by far the most interesting shade in the palette, and I almost want to drop the cash on the palette for this shade alone!

Kylie Cosmetics x Kris Jenner Collection Photo: Kylie Cosmetics website

The next order of business on my massive checklist is a few updates from Kylie Cosmetics.  First I want to mention the collaboration with her mom, Kris.  The collection was a release for Mother's day 2018 that included a 12 pan eyeshadow palette, a lipstick, an 8 piece mini lip set, a face palette, and a lip liner.  Currently most of the collection is sold out, but I wanted to quickly mention it since the eyeshadow palette, and the lipstick are both still available, not to mention I am in love with the packaging.  Overall the eyeshadow palette looks pretty similar to a Sigma palette I have in both layout and some of the shades; however, if you are interested the palette it is on the Kylie Cosmetics website for $42, and the lipstick is $17.

The next thing from Kylie Cosmetics I want to mention is the Bronze Extended palette, a 12 pan eyeshadow palette full of lovely warm brown eyeshadows for $45.  The palette is in the same packaging as the Royal Peach palette, so hopefully the issues they had with the scent of the glue from that palette have been solved.   Kylie Cosmetics has also released three shades of pencil eyeliners (black, brown, and deep bronze) for $10 each.  All of these shades are standard, but it is just the brand providing more staples in their line, and I would look for the brand to expand on the Kyliner line in the future.

BH Cosmetics Eyelights (Festival Collection) Photo: Trendmood1 via Allure

BH Cosmetics has released a collection of festival inspired makeup that includes six shades of cream eyeshadows ($7 each), a colorful 20 pan eyeshadow palette ($18), and a ten piece brush set ($24).   The Festival collection was released at the perfect time, right around the time of Coachella, festival season in general, and of course in time for summer in the northern hemisphere.  The twenty shades in the Weekend Festival Shadow Palette include ten various colorful shades to perfect a colorful festival look along with the six fun Eyelights in the collection.  Out of the entire collection I personally am considering snagging a couple of these Eyelights, especially PSYCH (third swatch from the left).

Now I'm going to mention a few eyeshadow palettes that have recently released.  First up is the KKW x Mario palette.  Mario Dedivanovic is a celebrity makeup artist that is most well known for Kim Kardashian West's look.  Mario also collaborated with Anastasia Beverly Hills several years for an incredibly successful palette and now he has collaborated with Kim's brand for a ten pan eyeshadow palette that includes an array of nude eyeshadows with a stunning blue shade.  The palette retails for $45 on the KKW Beauty website. 

The next palette I want to mention is the Lorac Pro 4 palette.  I have no information about when the palette is gong to be released, nor do I have photos of the actual palette but I can say that I have seen a few grainy images and it looks like it's going to be along the lines of the Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam palette.  Obviously the palette is in the standard Lorac Pro format of 16 shades, and I would say it is just like the rest of them where the palette will have a row of matte shades and a row of shimmers.  The next palette I want to breeze by is the Urban Decay Bleached palette, an 8 pan eyeshadow palette that is retailing for $34.  The palette is actually really stunning with two blue eyeshadows, and two red toned shades paired with four other shades of brown and creams.  Honestly if I didn't have a massive collection of shadows I would go for this one as well; however, I own several Urban Decay palettes and I think I can find all of these in those palettes.  Not to mention the palette looks quite a bit like a smaller version of the Naked Heat palette with the addition of a couple blue shades to take it into the next trend.

Devinah Cosmetics Harmony Collection Photo: Devinah Cosmetics website

Remember the Trendmood x Ciate palette collaboration, you know the one that has been in the works for a few years?  Well Trendmood finally posted a statement on her social media sites explaining that the palette has now been scrapped and they will not be continuing the project.  Honestly I don't believe that the palette would have been a very big success if it had gone all the way to market because the swatches and shades that were last showed in the process were not the ones that the fans had voted on. 

Next I want to mention Devinah Cosmetics Harmony Collection which is a set of 12 eyeshadows and 2 highlighters that were put together after Tarte's big April Fool's joke (that went against them in many ways).  After everyone started stating that they wished Tarte, or any large brand really, would release a palette like the one that Tarte made as an April Fool's joke, there have been a few indie makeup brands that have put together a set similar to this Devinah set.  If you are looking for a set of blues and greens, then this is the set for you.  This set is still available on the Devinah website for $64 and is a set of shades that already exist in the brand's line.  Devinah has also announced that they are releasing another Harmony set called Pink Icing which is in their shop as of May 25th.

Makeup Geek Power Pigments Photo: Makeup Geek Website

Makeup Geek has released ten Power Pigments which the brand claims to be a highly pigmented eyeshadow that will maintain its vibrancy on any skin tone.  The collection contains ten shades which you can buy individually for $9 a piece or a set of all ten for $70.   As you can see from the photo to the side, the shades are all vibrant colors.  If you are looking for some vibrant shadows for your collection, these would definitely be a wonderful addition.

Kat Von D Super Brow Pomades Photo: Kat Von D Beauty Instagram

Moving right along, Kat Von D Beauty has released a bunch of brow pomades.  The brand released 16 various shades including 8 various "normal" shades like blonde and brunette; however, the launch also includes 8 colorful shades which you can see to the side.   I love the idea of this release because there aren't that many brow products on the market for people with wild colored hair.  Also if you can't find the perfect shade in the collection, you could always mix your own color to get the shade you want.  Personally I'm passing on these for now but that's because my brows are crazy thick (I'm also incredibly lazy when it comes to brow products); however, you could always use these as an eyeliner.  There are also seven new brow powders (all in normal hair colors), and seven new precision brow pencils. These products are all available on Sephora, or the Kat Von D website.

Lime Crime Venus 3 Palette Photo: Lime Crime website

There has been quite a few releases from Lime Crime recently, so I want to mention those.  I know that people are still put off by Lime Crime after the big controversy years ago; however, I have purchased a few times from them in the last year and haven't had any problems.  The first release from Lime Crime that I want to mention is the Venus XL palette which is an 18 pan palette full of romantic pinks that are really stunning.  If I wore more of the pinks, or I didn't already have the Modern Renaissance palette in my collection I would definitely drop the $56 on this palette.  Lime Crime has also released the Venus 3 palette which is a six pan palette that is essentially a smaller version of the Venus XL palette with two stunning purple shades.  I own the Venus 1 and Venus 2 palettes, so I am definitely interested in picking up this palette for my collection eventually.  The last release from Lime Crime that I want to mention is the Wet Cherry Gloss collection.  The collection contains 14 cherry scented lip glosses that are in two finishes, juicy sheer and sparkly sheer for $18 each.

The last updates I want to mention are coming from Melt Cosmetics.  First up is the less exciting release from the brand; however, that's because I'm not a big blush person.  Melt has recently released three blushes and seven blushlights.  Essentially the blushes are matte, and the blushlights are shimmery blushes, or blush toppers.  As I just mentioned I'm not a huge blush fan, and I'm really not a fan of overly shimmery blushes because I have large pores on my cheeks.  Out of the two formulas I am definitely more interested in the matte blushes, but I have tons of the colors they have released already in my collection that I don't use so I'm passing on the line at the moment.  However, I expect that Melt will expand this range over time.  If you are interested, the blushes and blushlights are all $22 on the Melt Cosmetics website.  Now on to the most exciting release from Melt.  The Gemini palette is a ten pan eyeshadow palette, and the first actual palette format from Melt Cosmetics.  The brand did an early launch on the palette yesterday, May 25, and the palette sold out of the early stock rather quickly.  I managed to grab one for myself and I am rather excited to play with it along with the Dark Matter Stack that I went ahead and added to my order.  The palette is full of interesting swampy greens, and mustard yellow shadows which is completely different than the other palettes releasing at the moment, and it is definitely different than the palettes in my stash.  The palette will be officially released on June 2 at 12 PM PST for $58, and I would expect it to sell out quickly again.  From what I understand, the palette is a limited edition item but I have a feeling this is just the first of many from the brand. 

Melt Cosmetics Gemini Palette Photo: Melt Cosmetics Website

• Luna - Honey Beige
• Gemini - Vermillion duo chrome with a gold shift
• Lorelei - Classic Mustard 
• Polkadot - Warm Tawny Brown
• Cupcake - True Brown
• Mochi - Olive Mustard 
• Fire OG - Olive Green
• Goalz - Golden Lime Metallic
• Leo - Army Green
• Bonnie - Black

I feel like I need a nap after all of that!  What are the releases you are keeping on your radar?  As I just mentioned, I have the Gemini Palette on the way, so I will get some swatches up as soon as I can on it along with my thoughts on the palette! 

Hey loves!

I'm back with a review for you guys.  I have been meaning to work on this one for quite some time now, and I'm finally getting around to it.  I have put myself right on a low buy list, so pretty much everything I'm going to be reviewing on here will be things that are already in my collection.  My plan is to get back into project panning that way I can work through my massive stash (only to go on another spree around Christmas).  I know I can't resist all the releases that happen around Christmas, but until then I'm going to shop my stash as much as I can.  Of course I'll still be keeping up with new releases, and if something really catches my eye I might just go for it.



Like I mentioned above, I have had this post on my list for quite some time.  I actually placed my order from Bleach London last summer, in June I believe, when the brand launched their makeup line.  I heard about the brand launching the makeup line prior to the launch since I follow Lou Teasdale, the celebrity hair and makeup artist, behind the launch of the makeup side of Bleach.  If that name sounds familiar, the you may be a fan of One Direction.  Lou was the hair and makeup artist for the boys through the entirety of the band, and she will occasionally work with Harry Styles these days.  Her sister Sam Teasdale, and friend Alex Brownsell founded Bleach London with their focus on hair color, and if you check out their website you will definitely see their adventurous color line. 

Quickly I'm going to mention a few things I remember about the launch of the makeup line.  I definitely recall the website taking quite a bit to load, but once I was able to get through things ran fine until I went to check out.  I was able to add everything I wanted to my cart; however, once I got to the point where I would need to put in my card information nothing would load so I just quit trying after a few attempts.  At the time, international shipping from the UK to the states £20, so I went ahead and added a bunch of different items so I would be able to get a good handle on the brand.  Not to mention their prices are rather affordable.  I was able to get through on the check out the next day without any issues.  The other thing I remember about the website was how confusing it was to order their eyeshadows.  Since the website was being rather glitchy, and images and descriptions weren't quite showing up correctly I was having to guess on colors I wanted which isn't exactly the worst thing in the world.  In the end I ordered two matte shadows, one metallic eyeshadow, three highlighters, and two lip kits.

Remember how I mentioned that I ordered in the summer?  I knew shipping would take a bit since the items were coming from London, and since the brand was new; however, I never imagined how long it was actually going to take.  I received the two lip kits in August after I received an email from the brand needing my address because of a system error.  After that, I had to wait around another month for the rest of my order to arrive; however, I am happy to state that everything I ordered arrived in once piece.

Let's talk about the lip kits first, shall we?  You can see the packaging of both of the kits above.  I have to say that I love this packaging the most from the brand.  Each box has an image of lips that are wearing the color of the kit.  The lip kits are currently available in 8 colors for £12 each, and each of those kits come with a small lip pencil and a liquid lipstick which match.

As you can see to the left, the two kits I purchased were "I Saw Red", and "Rosé".  "I Saw Red" is a vibrant warm red that I saw on Lou Teasdale and immediately wanted it on my lips.  That is such a strange statement for me since I really don't reach for bright reds very often, but when I do I want one that is going to stay in place.  As for Rosé, I was expecting to be a little less pink, but regardless I wanted to try out a color I would be more likely to reach for on the daily.  The formula is far from the worst I have tried; however, the pencil is definitely on the stiff side and the liquid lipstick can lean a bit on the dry side.  I wasn't really surprised by any of these things, since liquid lipsticks always dry my lips out.  I'm also terrible about exfoliating my lips before wearing them so they will definitely show every flaky bit on my lips.  One thing I realized while I was looking around the website to write this post is that Bleach London also offers hair dyes in some of the same shades, such as "I See Red".


As I mentioned above, I also grabbed three of the four highlighters offered by Bleach London.  The highlighters, or "Legal High Lights", from left to right in the above photo are Blullini, Rose, and Berwick Street Floor.  As you can see Blullini looks white in the pan, but when it is applied to the skin it is actually a pink highlighter.  Of the three highlighters Blullini is definitely my favorite because the other two are full of a chunkier glitter.  I believe the fourth highlighter offered is a gold version that is similar to the other two I purchased, and Blullini is the only one offered by the brand that is a finer powder.

You can see the swatches of the three "Legal High Lights" I purchased to the right, and yes I know I spelled Blullini wrong in the photo.  As you can see in the swatches, and like I mentioned above, Blullini is a color shifting highlighter that appears white in the pan, and pink when the light hits it.  Rosé is by far the most wearable shade for me since it is a beautiful rose shade that has a golden shift with the glitter, and Berwick Street Floor is an orange tone with a golden shift with the glitter in it.  I love to use Berwick Street Floor as an eyeshadow for myself; however, I feel that if you have deeper skin than me I think that it would look fantastic as a highlighter.  All three of these highlighters along with one other shade, Golden Shower (appears to be a gold highlighter similar in texture to Berwick Street Floor, and Rosé) are all available on the Bleach London website for £4.50 each.


Above you can see the three eyeshadows or "Louder Powders" I ended up purchasing in my little haul from Bleach.  Two matte shadows, and one metallic.  Overall I'm incredibly happy with the three shades I ended up with considering I was essentially shooting blind on what I was going to end up with.  The matte brown eyeshadow on the far left is "B 3ma" which is a shade I personally love to use as a transition shadow, or even by itself when I am having a particularly lazy day.  The second shadow is "ISR4sh" which is a color I don't have a ton of in my collection.  I don't really wear red eyeshadows very often, but I do like to have a pigmented red when I go for it and this one definitely fits that bill.  This shadow, and all other products from Bleach London, is a vegan eyeshadow.  Now if you know anything about red eyeshadows, typically the red pigment comes from carmine which is not a vegan product.  Sometimes it is hard to find a pigmented, vegan red eyeshadow so it is great that this is an option on the market. 

The last eyeshadow I purchased was "GP4me" which is a metallic "Louder Powder".  You cans see in the swatch to the side that it is a deep taupe-grey that has a multicolored shimmer through the shadow.  I love the look of this shadow all over the lid with just a bit of the brown shade through my crease for a quick look that really looks like I tried harder than I did.  The fallout from this shadow is really just upon initial application for me, so I pack a little bit more powder under my eyes before I apply the shadow and wipe away the fallout with the excess powder.  As for the other two shadows, they are densely packed in the pan and don't have much fallout, or powder kickup when you run your brush around the pan but pick up just fine and apply well and blend easily.

Bleach London Small BYO Palette £8 holds 9 eyeshadows (photo: Bleach London's website)

The "Louder Powders" are available in 33 different shades for £3 each, and the "Metallic Louder Powders" are available in 6 shades for £5 each.  You can purchase a magnetic palette from Bleach London's website as well, and fill it with the shadows.  The large BYO Palette is £10 and fits 28 eyeshadows, or the small BYO Palette is £8 and fits 9 shadows. 

Overall I love my products from Bleach London, and love the branding of the company.  Even with the crazy shipping time, and wondering if my order had gotten lost I completely understand since it was an initial launch of this branch of the brand and there had been a ton of build up and excitement leading up to the launch.  I eventually received all of my products and they were all in one piece so I am completely happy.  Bleach London sent out the products as they were available, so I received my products in two different shipments a few months apart.  Be sure to check out Bleach London's website for some really great, affordable products for hair and makeup.  If you are in the UK you can book an appointment right from their website, and check to see if their products are in a shop near you. 

I hope you guys found this useful.  Like I mentioned above, I have placed myself on a low buy for this year because I went so crazy buying things around Christmas last year, so many of my reviews on this blog are going to be of products I have hanging around (if I'm honest it's products I have been meaning to review for a long time).  Have you tried anything from Bleach London?  If so let me know your favorites! 

Hey loves!

I have mentioned it in the past, but I have decided that I am going to work on a weekly or biweekly post of all the new products in the beauty and makeup world.  Some weeks there will obviously be more to share with you guys than other weeks; however, I am going to do my best to keep this up.   I know I personally am on a low buy because I went on a bit of a spree at the end of 2017, but I love to keep up with the new releases and I will be sharing a few thoughts of the new items coming out.  Like I mentioned a second ago I am on a low buy and I have plenty of palettes and items that I will share swatches and thoughts on over the next several months.

With all of that said, let's get on to some of the new releases!


Anastasia Beverly Hills has several new releases this spring including a new palette in their line called the Soft Glam Palette which is retailing for $42.  While this palette screams my name as something that I would reach for every day, I am going to have to pass on it personally.  I love Anastasia's shadow formula; however, many of these shades are repeats from other palettes or I already have in the single form.  I know that Tempera and Burnt Orange were both in the Modern Renaissance palette, and I personally own Burnt Orange in a single pan as well.

Hello again loves!


I ordered the Fall 2016 bundle of nine shadows to try out the brand Feather River Body (now Sydney Grace) back in the summer, so I have had the shadows in my collection for quite some time now.  As I write this post, I am waiting on another order of two of their bundles to arrive in my mail, so I will have another post coming soon on those.

So let's talk a little about the company.  I discovered Feather River Body on Instagram.  I was scrolling through my feed, and someone had posted some very nice looking swatches and I proceeded to try to find the brand.  According to their Instagram post announcing the new brand name, Sydney Grace, the brand began by selling girl's accessories. The owners had made soaps with their mom while they were growing up, so to expand the brand they began making soaps and other bath products.  Steadily by playing with colorants in the soaps they began to develop and interest in making makeup.  They began selling on Etsy, and eventually opened their own website.  Like I mentioned above the brand changed their name in the last few months to Sydney Grace, apparently a nod to the owner's children and in the transition you may be receiving the old packaging as the new is phased in.



When I decided that I wanted to try the brand, I came across the Fall 2016 bundle of eyeshadows and immediately put it in my cart.  I wanted to gather a decent amount of their eyeshadows to swatch and play with before sharing my opinion.  This bundle contains four pressed pigments, three mattes, and two shimmers.  All of the nine shadows come in the sleeves pictured above, but they come as just the pan.  You will need to buy a palette for these to stick in, otherwise you can leave them in their sleeves.  Sydney Grace offers an extra large palette that you can fill with shadows; however, there are plenty of other places across the internet offering these same magnetic palettes.  All of the shadows are hand pressed, so there are some slight imperfections from pan to pan, but that doesn't bother me.

According to the Sydney Grace website, the Fall 2016 bundle is still available; however, you will have to pre-order it.  The bundle is $34 for nine shadows making each shadow approximately $3.78.  The matte and shimmer shadows are regularly $5 each on the website, and the pressed pigments are $6.  Each shadow is 1.8 grams which works out to this bundle weighing approximately 16.2 grams.


The first four shadows in the bundle are below:

• Sunset - Matte - "Red Orange" shadow in a 26mm pan.  This shadow is really pigmented and blends out nicely, but I found it works best when using only a small amount at a time.  If you try to blend out too much of it at once, it tends to be a bit difficult to blend.  
• Blushed - Pressed Pigment - Rose Gold shadow in a 26mm pan.  The finish of this shadow is absolutely gorgeous.  Highly metallic and applies best with a wet brush, a finger, or a foam applicator to keep that foiled finish.  
• Saturn - Shimmer - "Purple base with a pink shimmer" shadow in a 26mm pan - Purple shadows are so hard to press, so it's not all that surprising that this one will require a bit of building and patience.  This particular shade is a gorgeous purple that doesn't end up being so dark that it looks black like many other purples of this tone.  The color in the pan on this purple is the shade that you can build this shadow to.  
• Chocolate - Pressed Pigment - This is a warm toned rich brown color in a 26mm pan.  This shadow is listed on the website, and in the bundle on the site as "Chocolate Bar" so I was a little confused trying to find more information on this shade, but if you are looking for it search "Chocolate Bar".  This shade is a staple shadow that I use on the outer half of my lid to deepen that area.  This shadow is not as metallic as the Blushed pressed pigment, so you won't have to worry about using a damp brush or your fingers with this one.  The sheen in this particular shadow is more along the lines of the brand's "shimmer shadows". 

The next five shadows from the collection are below:

• Dark Chocolate - Matte - this is a dark matte brown eyeshadow in a 26mm pan.  This is the type of shadow that I like to use as a liner, to set my liner, or just in the outer corner of the eye.  This particular shade, like the others in the collection, only requires a little product.  It's easiest to take just a small amount of the shadow on a brush and build up the color to your desired pigmentation for an easier time blending.  
• Peach Crush - Matte - I actually couldn't find this on the website; however, it is listed in their Etsy shop in a single 26mm pan and in one other bundle (the "bundle similar to the Just Peachy Matte Palette").  This peach is light enough that I can use it as a very warm transition shade.  I just have to use a small amount on a fluffy blending brush and build the color slowly, but the shade blends out smoothly.  
• Queen of Hearts - Pressed Pigment - This shade is a gorgeous metallic ruby red shadow in a 26mm pan, and it was the one that caught my eye the most when I opened the package.  The name is absolutely fitting for this shadow, and it is such a smooth formula.  It will blend out smoothly and evenly if you wish to have a less intense shade.  If you want the intensity of the shadow you should apply the color with your fingertip, a foam applicator, or a wet brush.  However, if you are like me and like less intense red shades, you can blend this shade out easily.  
• Elegance - Shimmer - This shade is a gorgeous cream that is incredibly smooth and silky.  The shadow comes in a 26mm pan, and makes the perfect subtle highlight for the brow or inner corner. 
• Laura's Memory - Pressed Pigment - "Orange Bronze" shadow in a 26mm pan.  This is such a gorgeous metallic amber color that I reach for often.  The shade really works well on my blue eye, and I really love the metallic sheen this particular shadow gives.  If you want the intense metallic finish it is best used with a wet brush, a finger, or a foam applicator.  If you want a less intense finish, this shadow does blend out nicely.  

As I mentioned at the end of my previous post I have so many new posts planned, and I am really excited to share them all with you!  As I write this I am waiting on several packages to arrive in the mail, and believe me I will be swatching, playing, and reviewing all of them in the coming months!  I am also planning on doing a weekly, or bi-weekly post of the upcoming releases in the beauty world.  With it being close to Christmas, there are so many things releasing that the posts could get rather lengthy.