To the point - Review: Nars Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base

Oh the many gasps at my wandering away from the Urban Decay Primer Potion. Insert understanding nod here.

Okay, now that we have that out of the way.... hehe. I must tell you - the first day I used the Nars primer, I received 3 compliments at work that night on my eye makeup. No really, it's not every day I do a poor job of blending (ha, ya right). Blending has always been my biggest makeup hurdle. I always thought that the more practice I got, the better blended my shadow would become. However, from this discovery of a new eyeshadow base, I have found myself sickened by the UDPP.

"Why?" you may ask. Well, as an unskilled makeup lover who blends horrendously, I've discovered that using the Nars primer makes it a lot easier for me to blend my eyeshadow. And, you see, this was actually the reason why I never repurchased a full size UDPP. My intention was to use up all the mini's I acquired through Urban Decay palettes or samples and then try a new primer.

And I have found holy grail material here. Truly, Christine (Temptalia) has the right idea for using this primer. She was actually my inspiration to get this as I trust her judgement for primers (considering how many eye looks she does and pulls off gorgeously).

My favorite thing about this primer is that once on, my eyelid feels like silk. It glides on effortlessly - unlike UDPP that started drying up halfway through the bottle. I even started using the Michael Todd eyeshadow base with the UDPP to help it spread more easily on my eyelid.

To some it may not be a review without a picture of my makeup as evidence - but I have yet to find the best way to take a picture of my own eye with my camera. *sad shrug* All in all, I'm very satisfied with the Nars eyeshadow base. And I have a feeling I'll enjoy the packaging a lot more than the UDPP, but that's a given ^_^

Upcoming review - Nars Smudgeproof Eye Base!

I'm excited to review for you all the Nars Smudgeproof Eye Base! Want my take on it? Then check out my review I'll be posting this week!

I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving and a fun-filled Black Friday. I didn't go shopping this year - but I did drool over some great online deals. Some of them I'm kicking myself for not taking advantage of, but my wallet thanks me. I'm sure my husband does too!

After the Nars review, I'll be posting a bit of a haul on what I received and bought for my birthday - as well as some giveaways I won and a swap I did. Hope you're excited too!

Birthdays, family, and hauls galore!

So in the last few months I had my birthday, so I took my first trip to Ulta and browsed leisurely to take it all in. Lucky are all of you who have an Ulta close by - my nearest one is an hour and a half away! I was amazed at the variety they offer. I think I found my new addiction - YIKES!

All I can say is the trip was definitely worth it!

I've been spending a lot of time with family - i.e., today was our family reunion! It was so much fun and I can't wait for next year.

Onto the beauty stuff!

So as I said, I took a trip to Ulta and bought several items as a birthday gift to myself. Yeah, that's how I roll ;) My husband's gift was amazing, as well as my dear friend Bethany's gift. They know me so well, haha.

Not only that, but between now and then I've made several trips to Walgreens and CVS. I even took advantage of the Sephora Friends & Family sale (which came with a huge shipping error that I'll explain in my haul post which will be coming soon).

The next thing coming up is the Sephora VIB 20% off sale - hopefully I can get something there as well.

I'm sorry I've been lost in my own little world of "work-a-lot" but I'm so excited to get back into blogging.

How have you all been?! Anything you'd be interested to see from me?! I'd love to hear! :)

Where have I been? My own little world

I can't thank you all enough for sticking around with me, even though I've been absent for a few months. Sometimes, as I'm sure you've all felt, work can get very busy and distract you from what you enjoy. Well, that is at least part of it.

The main reason I haven't posted anything new is that I haven't felt inspired to write or blog lately. Also, I'd rather not give you half the effort in a post. I want it to be all from the heart! But as I said, thank you for sticking with me.

I'm going to try to start writing again - hopefully I'll get a post up the start of next week. It's been a rough week for my husband's family, so I can't guarantee anything.

Is there anything you all would like to see? :)

It is no lie that I have been painting my nails like nobody's business - so maybe I'll do a post on favorite nail polishes for the summer. Sound interesting? Yah? Nah?

Review: Urban Decay Naked Palette

I know there are many reviews about the Urban Decay Naked Palette, but tonight I felt inspired to write, so I hope you enjoy this post! :)

My boss actually bought me the Naked Palette as a thank you for helping her out during a transition time at work. I was SO amazed at her generosity, and so excited to actually have the Naked Palette on the way to my house!

I've had it for about a month now, and I must say - the shadows are like butter. In my eyes, they blend a lot easier than MAC eyeshadows. Now don't get me wrong, I do love MAC shadows. But there is something about Urban Decay shadows - blending is a dream!




I love that it's felt, but I am bit paranoid to have my hands covered in shadows when I'm around it. Ha, I'm a bit of a klutz sometimes. I'm sure eventually I'll end up smothering the felt in random shadow bits.



Conveniently it comes with a travel size of the original Urban Decay Primer Potion. Currently, in order to make the UDPP easier to smooth on my lid, I've been mixing it with the Michael Todd Eye Shadow Base. I've been finding that to help a lot.









The beautiful shadows! I think the only down side for me is how soft the shadows are. Crazy, right? It's just that when I swipe my brush, there are bits that scatter all over the place.

Here are some close ups of the shadows...










Now... swatches galore!!




One of my absolute favorite shades. I love using Virgin on my inner corner to brighten it up. Or lightly on the brown bone. One of these days I'll try it on it's own all over the lid for a soft day look.








Sin is an equally gorgeous shade that I think would also work for the inner corner and all over the lid. I'm slowly starting to use the colors in this palette that would be out of my comfort zone ;)









Naked is one of few shades in this palette I haven't used. Not to say it's not usable - I think it could work the same way as MAC's Soft Brown.








Sidecar is the only shadow in this palette I could do without. But if Urban Decay would just remove the chunkyfalloutexpected glitter, then it would be a beautiful and well used shadow. Ah well. Here's hoping.








Buck is the other one that I haven't used yet. I'd imagine this would work for subtle crease color for work or daytime.











I wore a touch of Half Baked today over MAC's Quite Natural paintpot. I loved it! Such a gorgeous color.









Smog I wore under Half Baked all over the lid today, over MAC's paint pot Quite Natural. It went on smoothly and blended like a dream.









I absolutely ADORE Darkhorse in the crease or outer v! I've worn this almost every day.











Toasted is one of my favorites. I like to put it in the crease for a soft every day look with Virgin all over the lid. I love the sheen in both of them :)










On days when I want a little bit more definition in the crease, I'll throw Hustle in over Toasted, which I think looks fabulous.











Creep is your standard black shadow, but as I've said a million times already - these shadows blend like a dream, and this one is no exception.









Gunmetal is the also in the category of the ones I haven't used. Gosh, I need to jump out of my comfort zone already! It's a gorgeous color - what a waste if I don't use it, right?! Right!





The last thing to mention is the brush it comes with. Now, I'm sure I'm the only one who feels this way, but I actually don't really care for the brush. To me it doesn't pick up enough product. Maybe I'll test it out more to see if I can find a use for it. But as of right now, I'd much rather use my MAC 239 brush.



Was this post helpful? I hope it was! I'm happy to finally have posted again. It's been far too long, but it felt so good writing this :)

So sorry I've been away!

Hey everyone!

I'm so sorry for the lack of posts - life has been so crazy this past month. Work got so busy, I got so exhausted, my husband and I moved, and this past week I went on a week long trip to visit my friends and family. I'll be back home tomorrow, so I hope to get up some posts this next week.

Thank you so much for still following me - it means to the world :) Hope you all are well! Have you had a great February? :)

Review: Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme

About a few years ago, I had received a Burt's Bees set from a friend as a gift. In that set, there was a small container of Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme. It ended up just sitting in my desk drawer for quite a long time. I didn't really paint my nails ever, nor did I pay attention to the condition of my cuticles.

But finally when I started to become interested in makeup, I saw a video by MissChievous on doing an at home manicure. In the video, she used the same cuticle creme. So I dug out my little tin, and used it that night. I woke up the next morning with soft, smooth, and tame cuticles. It was amazing! I had no idea that I was storing a little treasure in my desk! :) After a while I had used it so much, I had to buy a new one (the tiny one was getting hard to get the product out with my long nails).

I have also found another fantastic use for it.
I am no fan of vaseline. It's not so much that I don't find it useful, but it's the smell. And this creme - it smells delicious! So last night, when I got home from work, I was putting some lotion on my hands, and I noticed that the side of my right hand was burning. I looked at it and I was bright red. When I touched it, it felt SO dry. I realized my lotion wasn't doing the trick, so I grabbed my Burt's Bee's Cuticle Creme and started to put on thin layers slowly. In about 3-5 minutes, the burning had gone away, and the skin there was no longer tight.

I was SO impressed with the quality of this product! I mean, I know it says "cuticle" creme, but I felt that since it was so thick and moisturizing to my cuticles, it would do the same elsewhere.
I definitely plan to use this creme when my skin gets really dry - I think it's perfect for winter! What other uses do you find with this product? :) Do share! :)

My makeup storage

I can't tell you how many plastic storage units from Walmart I've gone through. It's true that each time they get larger and larger. So on Thursday, after becoming quite frustrated with my storage unit and how flimsy it is, I was determined to acquire a new unit that is more sturdy.

Ya know what I mean - when you continue to use a plastic drawer and want to place items on the top, it begins to sink down and inhibit the drawer from pulling out smoothly. Drives me wacky, I tell you!

So I knew that Walmart had a set of drawers - the best way I can describe the material is a very sturdy cardboard. It is a huge improvement from the plastic, as the new drawers hold plenty of items on top without sinking down into the drawers. Interestingly enough, I could not find the same items or anything like it at Target, TJ Maxx, and I was planning to look at Bed Bath and Beyond, but forgot. Ah well - Walmart is closer! ;)

Okay, enough chit chat and on to the units!

Currently my makeup is being stored on my dresser, as this is the only vacant counter space I have at the moment.

The glass vase I got at Jo-Ann's Fabric and Crafts, as well as the tiny beads. I bought 2 bags of the beads and put 1 full bag and then half of the other into the vase (in case you were wondering!). I really love it to hold my eye brushes, but the vase started getting cramped, so the Saturday before Christmas my sister in law invited me to go shopping with her.

We ended up going to TJ Maxx (at my request!) and I found the cute little "lazy susan" type storage item. I find it perfect to hold my larger brushes as well as items I use daily (i.e. Flowerbomb perfume roller, eyeliners, brush guards, etc).

In the spray bottle is my MAC brush cleaner - I got the spray bottle at Sally's on Thursday.



This is just to give you an idea of how much can fit in the drawers and the size comparison.



I got the item on top of the drawer at Walmart as well [sometimes I like things to match ;)]. I think it's perfect to store my MAC palettes, as well as my other 2 spray bottles (Alcohol in one, water in the other).
Behind that I'm keeping a clear cup to hold my cotton pads, makeup remover, toner, and Fix +.

My favorite thing about this setup? The storage drawers do not sink under the weight of the things on top - no matter how much I put on top of them! :)

This was just to show how I store my makeup, of course in no way to show off in any way or brag (had to get that out of the way) :)

Thank you so much for stopping by, and I want to say a delayed thank you to everyone who has chosen to follow my blog. It means the world to me, and I appreciate it so much! I love the interaction and feedback - so keep it coming! ^_^