Melt Cosmetics Smoke Sessions Palette Look

Hey folks, today I bring you a fun shimmery smoky green look.

Enough blabbering, tutorial time!

Products used: I applied the blush at the top right of the e.l.f. Beautifully Bare Total Face Palette using my Sephora Collection PRO Mini Airbrush 55.5. I also applied Chaos Makeup Highlighter in Technicolor  with my Sephora Collection #74 PRO Small Blush and Contour brush. 

As a base for my powder eyeshadows I applied the MAKE UP FOR EVER I-30 AQUA MATIC and blended it out with my Crown Pro C511 Brush. 

For the crease I applied the Kat Von D Nancy along with  Sour Diesel with my brush from the Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina Palette and Crown Pro C511 Brush, respectively. 

For the lid  I applied the Sweet Tooth (all over) and Blue Dream (center)  using my  brush from the Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina Palette.

To highlight the brow-bone and the inner corner of the eye I applied Kat Von D Melanie and Blue Dream using my no-name gigantic paddle brush from Crown and Crown Deluxe Precision Crease brush, respectively. 

For eyeliner, I went with the Clinique Pretty Easy Eyelining Pen, creating a thin wing with it... for drama :P. For the waterline I applied Stila Peacock Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner. 

For the lower lash-line, I applied Space Queen and smudged it out with Mean Green using my Bubbi Detail brush.

The look sans lashes. 

For lashes I used Eylure x Jasmine Brown Lashes in Jaybee along with House of Lashes Brush-On Lash Glue in Clear.

For lips, I applied the Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey (not pictured) and topped it with the NARS Audacious Lipstick in Grace.

Hope that you liked this! :D It was super fun for me to put together! Feel free to request particular songs, animals/nature scenes (I don't do insects of any kind though, sorry, little insect feet and wings creep the bejesus outta me), Pokemon, or Pokemon towns. :P

Please let me know if you have any comments or questions. 

Disclaimer: The  Sephora 55.5 brush, Clinique, and NARS products were provided for testing purposes. My wife got me the e.l.f. palette as a Christmas gift. I paid for everything else you see here myself. 

Melt Cosmetics Smoke Sessions Palette Review

Hello folksickles, today I'm reviewing a palette that I am SO EXCITED to own, a palette that... pretty much from the moment I saw swatches I knew I had to have because I love green and I love warm tones!

Availability: The currently retails at $48 and can be purchased at nordstrom.com and sephora.com along with their physical store locations (I'd recommend calling them to make sure it's on stock) as well as beautybay.com andmeltcosmetics.com.

Would I buy this again?: I think I would.

Notes: Now in terms of color variety, this is a spectrum of golds and greens; I would say the main things this palette lacks in order to make it a stand-alone is a highlight shade and a "blending out" crease tone which, ideally, you'll bring in from other palettes. While I do like palettes that can be stand-alones for their convenience I am such a junkie that I know I have other eyeshadows that I can pair this palette with. In addition, even if I were to travel I could always use my contour shade as a "blending out" crease tone and my face highlighter on my eyes so really I wouldn't need to bring anything additional with me if I wanted to bring this palette. 

     Quality-wise all the shadows have a soft texture, the metallics being VERY soft - as in a brush will create visible dents in them so a light hand is a MUST! They blend quite easily and are a texture that, although not everyone's cup of tea, I like working with because of the high blendability and color payoff.

Without further ado, swatchfest!

Gravity OG is described as a dominant yellow gold. I'd describe it as a true gold, I don't find it highly "yellow" with gold micro-glitter.

Grand Daddy is described as a high-grade olive gold foil. I'd describe it as a metallic golden olive.

Black Widow is described as a trippy olive shimmer. I'd describe it as a blackened olive with gold micro-glitter.

Sour Diesel is described as a potent gray olive matte. I'd describe it as a matte smoky charcoal-meets-olive. It's a very weird shade that teeters on being both warm and cool-toned. Quite a unique color!

Space Queen is described as a hunter green matte. I'd describe it as a heavily blackened green. It looks pretty much black on my skin-tone.

Mean Green is described as a pungent emerald with a loud green shift. I'd describe it as a softly blackened green with an emerald pearl.

Sweet Tooth is described as a jade shimmer. I'd describe it as a cool-toned dark mint green. 

Blue Dream is described as a crystallized mint pearl. I'd describe it as a minty micro-glitter. This shade is best used as a topper for other shades rather than on its own because while the micro-glitter in this shows up well, the base color is rather translucent unless you keep layering the shade on top of itself.

Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.

Disclaimer: I purchased this myself. 

Best of 2018 - Favorites

Hey folksickles. The moment when I award my favoritism to the products I used in 2018 that I would hands down buy again and recommend or buy for a friend. Are we ready or are we ready? I will say that I don't have photos of the products here because many of them I've used up and thrown away but... there's always Google and in the instance that I've reviewed a product, the product name will be clickable and you can take a gander at the review.

1.  e.l.f. Total Face Palette in Beautifully Bare - My wife gave me this for Christmas on account of it being too light for her and you know, me being ghostly it would probably work for me. Well it does and I LOVE it so much, I have been using this literally every. single. day. that I've worn makeup since I've received it. When she gave me it she'd just swatched it lightly but at this point I've completely used up both the highlighter and the bronzer and have hit pan on one of the blushes. I'm also using this as my makeup mirror as the compact I was using before broke. 

2. Femme Fatale Shadow Stair - This is an absolutely GORGEOUS soft, understated polish with a twist and I have to say I love that. It looks like a nice gray but has this beautiful pink shift and soft silver glitter particles. It makes me feel like I'm wearing a neutral yet getting away with having a bright on. Overall it's just a really beautiful, unique shade of nail polish and I like it a lot. I'm so sad that I'm all out of it!

3. Clinique Moisture Surge 72 Hour Auto-Replenishing Hydrator- This moisturizer has such a wonderful texture, which, I've noticed, happens to be my #1 deciding factor in whether or not I like a moisturizer, followed closely by scent. The reason I like this so much is because it's a very lightweight gel-cream that hydrates like a much more intense, heavy product. Now as someone with dry skin that, if I was to put a rich moisturizer on it pulls a "hey just so you know, we're not absorbing this, it's going to sit on top of the skin and feel like a sticky blanket of grossness" this is perfection. It hydrates so well given the aloe water it contains and it's "watermill" technology - it repairs the skin's natural moisture barrier and helps it to cycle moisture - hence the 72 hour claim. Truth be told I haven't been using it long enough to say that the watermill technology works for me but what I can say is that because it feels so good to put it on, I look forward to putting it on at night - I used a moisturizer with SPF for the daytime. Now, because of my OCD-ish habits, I will do my night-time skincare routine 99% of the time regardless of if I'm looking forward to it or not... but honestly looking forward helps. Also... I mean because it's not summer I have yet to get a sunburn... and obviously even in the summer I try and avoid being burned and becoming a target for skin cancer... HOWEVER, this feels so nice when applied that it's recommended for burns and I bet you it will help and feel really soothing on your burned skin. Allegedly it can be applied on top of makeup but I haven't tried, part of me fears it'll break down the makeup. 

4.  Korres Mango Lip Butter - This isn't the first time this has hit the favorites section but it just feels so good to apply that I can't help but want to add it again. The texture is silky and moisturizing yet lightweight and I like the slight hint of color it gives me. I wish they didn't discontinue this shade as I'd absolutely get it again.

5. Clinique Moisture Surge Hydrating Supercharged Concentrate - I've been using a sample of a far pricier moisturizing serum before I got to this and let me tell you - this makes a far more noticeable difference. It feels extremely refreshing when applied and hydrates without being heavy. I absolutely love the way it feels when it's being applied and the way it makes my skin feel. 

6. Nature Republic by Flower Jeju Jam Balm Tangerine Honey - This lip balm is incredible! It smells delicious - as the name implies - like tangerines and honey plus it leaves my lips super hydrated and pillowy soft. It's an absolute pleasure to use - I like to put this one on before bed.

7. Indie Lee Squalane Facial Oil - I've really been loving this oil lately and have been recommending it to nearly everyone that asks for a good moisturizer/serum product. Personally I like to mix this in with my serum and apply it that way. It leaves my skin glowing and baby smooth. Plus the price point is super approachable. I absolutely adore it!

8. Formula X For Sephora Latte Run Cupcakes and Cashmere Nail Color - An absolutely gorgeous wear anywhere, anytime nude polish. I feel like this makes my nails look so polished and great for absolutely any occasion.

9. Essie Nail Polish in Romper Room - Similar to the nail polish above, this is perfect for any occasion. A beautiful soft, whisper pink.

10.  Absolute Sailor Moon Blanket: You can pick one up here. I bought this on Look Human which I have to tell you, has some pretty gosh darn awesome merch, so if you want a blanket but this design isn't up your alley, there's plenty of others. This isn't a cheap blanket and I believe I bought the larger size option. That said, these blankets are fantastic, they're mega cuddly and don't get matted or gross after you wash them. They're lightweight. I like to snuggle up in mine to watch movies or to read but you could also snuggle up with a cup of tea or... it's just a really nice snuggly blanket and it's Sailor Moon so like... what's not to love. It brings me such comfort. :D This blanker will never NOT be in yearly favorites because it's just so great and worth every penny I paid for it!!!!

11.  Guerlain Lingerie De Peau BB Cream: This is super pricey but so worth it. I took this to Puerto Rico with me back in 2015 because I wanted something lightweight and hydrating but that would also have good coverage. I wasn't expecting much because in any case, this is still a BB cream so I wasn't expecting it to hold up too much in the heat and humidity and what really blew me away was that it did. That in and of itself is amazing, this covers well but feels lightweight, is hydrating, and gives the skin a gorgeous glow. Another thing that just keeps making it into favorites because of how good it is. It's all the things I've mentioned and it gives almost full-coverage too so my skin always looks fantastic.

12. One Love Organics Skin Savior Multi-Tasking Wonder Balm - I love this product so much because it's not just labeled "multi-tasking" it ACTUALLY PERFORMS all its tasks so well. The main thing to note with it is to use as little as humanly possible - like a rice grain as a moisturizer or lip balm (well, a bit less for the lips) or about two rice grains to remove makeup with - anything more than that and it feels heavy and gross. The good news is this will last forever given how little you need! I'm sure it functions well as a split end mender or cuticle balm but I haven't used it for either of those things. It also smells absolutely incredible - like orange pound cake! Yum! Plus it's completely organic so you can feel good about smothering yourself with it although... I would avoid smothering because you just need so little!

13. Bath & Body Works Scented Candle in Hot Cocoa & Cream - I just adore this candle for cold and/or rainy weather - it's so cozy! It smells like really good quality hot chocolate with just a hint of salt topped with whipped cream. Perfect for the chilly season!

14. Inglot 353M:  I use this so often I think it's kind of unfair to it to not get a shoutout. My favorite matte highlight for the brow-bone, utter perfection. I love it so much, I've had it for years and I still haven't hit pan (this remains accurate).

15. Takaokaya Shizouka Houji-Cha: I absolutely adore this hoji tea, it's very cozy - a roasty, almost caramel-like green tea. I love hoji any time of year but I feel that its characteristics fit autumn and winter really well.

16. Odacite Gl+L Green Tea and Lemongrass Radiance Effect Serum - This serum smells absolutely incredible and leaves my skin with a beautiful glow.

17. Trader Joe's Salted Caramel Flavored Hot Cocoa - Friends, this stuff is INCREDIBLE! It tastes so good - you can taste the salted caramel and hot chocolate notes individually, it's got a nice thickness to it - even if you just use water to make it.  I drank a lot of this when I was feeling under the weather and it made me feel infinitely better. I love it so much, in fact, that I bought  a second tub of it. :)

18. Ito En Oi Ocha Hojicha Tea - I've raved about my deep love of Hojicha tea in the past and that hasn't changed. This tea has a very roasty flavor to it, almost honey-like, which I adore.

19. Juvia's Place Palettes - There's no particular palette and the ones in the above photo are all the palettes I own. I just got into Juvia's Place during Black Friday in 2018 as I've been hearing so many good things about the quality and pigmentation of these palettes. Reviews will be up most likely in the spring as I'm very back-logged with all the reviews I've intended to do - all the looks I'll put up using these palettes were done in December. That said, these are absolutely AMAZING and I was so happy to play with them. I found that using them really brought back the creativity and overall fun I used to have with color when I first started wearing makeup and I'm happy to be back in that place of play and wonder.

16.  Eylure x Jasmine Brown Lashes in Jaybee - These are beautiful lashes that manage to be fluttery, flirty, a bit wispy, spiky, and voluminous all at once. I received a lot of compliments when I wore them and just absolutely adore them!

17. Sephora Collection Black Magic Makeup Remover Cloths - This is very similar in action to the Makeup Eraser but I actually prefer this because it's slightly less expensive (for a pack of 2, no less) and feels so cuddly on the face and eye area, it's like nuzzling a teddy bear that removes your makeup. What's fantastic about both of them is they actually remove long-lasting liquid lip products very easily with minimal pulling or tugging, leaving your lips feeling soft and comfortable.

19. Foreo: So my Clarisonic finally died and I bought a Foreo Luna Go model to replace it. Holy heck folks - this cleanses just as well, is far more gentle (I got the one for sensitive skin), and doesn't have to be charged as often; nor does it need replacement parts! A good investment!

Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.

Disclaimer: I paid for all these items with the exception of the Guerlain, Clinique, Indie Lee, and One Love Organics products which were provided free for testing purposes. The e.l.f. palette was a holiday gift from my wife. Some of the Juvia's Place palettes were Christmas gifts from my wife. Each individual palette review states which were gifts and which I bought myself. The Odacite was a sample.

Love It Or Leave It; Review 2.0: Tarte Make Believe in Yourself Palette

Hello folksickles. As a makeup junkie and blogger you may have realized that I review a LOAD of eyeshadow palettes and I like to think of myself as being largely an eyeshadow junkie. In order to de-clutter a bit  I've decided to pick out a palette or series of eyeshadows for the month and have that be my monthly selection for those instances where I'm not doing a tutorial for the blog. Every month I'll do a recap on the eyeshadows - how I feel about them and whether I'll be keeping them or giving them away (and why :P) as well as if I think it's worth its price tag.

Tarte Make Believe in Yourself Palette

Here are the looks I created this month:

So as you can see I created a bunch of very versatile looks with this palette - colorful, neutral, smoky, glam, soft... a bit of everything. After months of having my monthly palette land in the departures section I am coming to you with a palette that was so fun to use. Versatility and uniqueness are what I look for in palettes and I love that this palette provides some fairly unique shades - the purple and blue with gold shifts and this funky muted olive green - and that the shades are all versatile enough to create a variety of different looks. The shadows are well-pigmented and blend together easily. I love the highlighter in the palette too! My only criticism is the stark imbalance of metallics to the one matte shade. I wish there were more mattes in here!

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Disclaimer:  I bought this palette myself.