Thursday, December 16, 2021

ColourPop Smoke N' roses Pressed Powder Palette Review

Today I bring to you the ColourPop Smoke N' roses Pressed Powder Palette.

AvailabilityThis is exclusive to colourpop.com where it retails at $34 for 30 eyeshadows. 
Would I buy this again? Yes!
NotesOk y'all I haven't really bought many palettes this year and caved when I saw this - I still blame my best friend for getting me into pinks and reds but what I love about this palette is the variety it offers from creating very soft, neutral looks to more intense colorful, and smoky looks. I'm also personally really blown away by the shadow textures here as they all feel super velvety when I swatch them and have lovely pigmentation.
Thorn Apart is described as a metallic warm ivory, I'd say this is a metallic white champagne. 
Attraction is described as a matte peachy ivory, I'd agree with their description. 
Every Rose is described as a metallic cool peachy pink, I'd say this is a soft metallic pink shade with a cool-toned gold pearl.
Faithfully is described as a metallic icy pink, I'd say this is a very beautiful icy pink with golden micro-glitter . 
I Luv is described as a metallic soft taupe, I'd agree with their description.
Like Heaven is described as a matte pale taupe, I'd agree and add that this has a warmth to it.
Kickstart is described as a matte neutral pinky nude, I'd say it's a soft matte pinkish brown.
On Call is described as a metallic pale peach with pink pinpoints, I'd say this is a metallic light pink shade with pink, silver, and gold micro-glitter.
Say It's True is described as a matte soft pink,  I'd agree with their description.
Alone is described as a matte cool pink, I'd actually say this reads more warm in the palette and on my skin than it does in these photos, it's almost got this salmon-y tone to it.
Best Shot is described as a matte mauve, I'd say this is a soft warm mauve-y brown. 
Foolin' is described as a metallic pinky taupe, I'd say this is a metallic mauve-y taupe.
Love Hurts is described as a metallic pinky gold, it's a soft metallic pink champagne with a white pearl.
Part Time is described as a matte mid-tone warm pink, I'd agree with their description. I'm not sure why but I really love this color.
Romance is described as a metallic peachy pink with gold pinpoints, I'd say this is a metallic rosy pink with a gold pearl.
On The Edge is described as a metallic cool-toned pink with silver and blue pinpoints, I'd agree with that description.
Heartbreaker is described as a metallic icy lavender, I'd say this is a darker, slightly more mauve version of On The Edge.
Wild Side is described as a matte warm mauve, I'm just going to give whoever wrote the shade descriptions the benefit of the doubt that they are probably tired during this busy holiday season. To me this is a metallic rosy mauve with gold, silver, and pink micro-glitter.
Look At Me is described as a matte warm mid-tone pink, I'd agree with their description.
Speechless is described as a metallic pinky bronze with silver, I'd agree with that description. 
Pretender is described as a matte warm rose, I'd say it's a rose with just a kiss of terracotta.
Angel Eyes is described as a matte cool pink, I'd say it's a matte berry tone.
Is This Love is described as a metallic deep plum with silver pinpoints, I'd describe this shade as more of a metallic cool-toned mauve with blue, gold, and silver micro-glitter.
Metalhead is described as a metallic gunmetal with silver and pink pinpoints, I'd say it's a metallic taupe with just a hint of pink.
Twin Flame is described as a matte warm brown, I'd say it's a metallic reddish plum with gold micro-glitter. An absolutely beautiful shade!
Spun Around is described as a matte red deep brown, I'd say it's a matte dark auburn. 
This Guy is described as a matte maroon, I'd say it's a matte red wine shade.
Whisper is described as a matte charcoal, I'd agree with that description. 
Tonite is described as a matte deep plum, I'd agree with that description.
Smoked Out is described as a matte blackened charcoal, I'd agree with their description yet again.

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

DisclaimerI bought this myself. 

Monday, December 6, 2021

November 2021 Departures

Ok folksickles. Departure blogs will contain items that aren't empties but that are going to be given away for one reason or another. I'm working hard to curate my makeup collection and want it to include only the products that I think truly work well, that I reach for often and do what they're supposed to do.

1.  Trader Joe's Berry Lip Mask: This, unfortunately, just isn't hydrating enough for my lips so I will be passing it along.

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

Disclaimer: I purchased this myself.

Friday, December 3, 2021

November 2021 Arrivals

 Ok folksickles! Look at me for a change, pretty much only buying essentials. 

1. Trader Joe's Mini Haul: So I figured I'd pick up a few things I needed seeing as how I've been hearing good things about Trader Joe's skincare. I picked up food too while I was at it but I won't include it in this list as I don't feel it's relevant to this blog. Anyway:
Supreme Hydrating Eye Cream - I feel like I'm going to be out of eye cream soon so when I spotted this one I decided to pick it up.
Pumpkin Overnight Face Mask - Frankly, despite being a pumpkin lover, I had no intention of buying this particular mask. I wanted to get their regular sleeping mask especially because I'm concerned I might end up over-exfoliating my skin given that this mask has pumpkin enzymes in it. That being said, I didn't see the regular sleeping mask at the location I went to so I figured I'd give this a try.
12 Days of Beauty Advent Calendar - I picked this up on a different trip to Trader Joe's and in fact I picked one up as a gift for a friend as well. It's just that I tend to buy these for others and never for myself so I figured I'd give them a try and see if they're even all that as gifts. The box includes:
Grapefruit Ultra Moisturizing Hand Cream
Hair Mask
Cucumber Green Tea Sugar Cube Scrub
Toasted Marshmallow Body Butter
Winter Citrus 3-in-1 Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash (personally I highly doubt it'll hydrate enough to stand in for Conditioner but I shall try it in my hair at least once just to see what happens)
Frosted Cranberry Body Butter

2. Neutrogena Rapid Clear Stubborn Acne Spot Gel: Given that I ran out of my other spot gel and I heard good things about this particular one, I decided to pick it up and give it a try.

3. Marshall's Mini Haul: So I was in Marshall's getting a flour sifter for my mom and holiday presents for friends and really needed to stock up on lashes anyhow so these were the ones I got
ProBeauty Essentials Faux Mink Wispies x5
Eylure London x Jasmine Brown in Jaybee - you might remember that I had these in the past and really loved them!
Cala 3D Faux Mink in Whisper
Kara Beauty Fabulashes in 51

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

Disclaimer: I purchased everything listed above. 

Thursday, December 2, 2021

November 2021 Favorites

Hey folksickles,

Alright, all the goodies I've been enjoying in November :) 
1. Soap & Glory Original Pink The Righteous Butter Body Lotion: This seems to be that magical product that keeps both the soles of my feet (although I wish it was just a TINY bit more hydrating there) and my legs feeling soft. It also just, to me at least, smells absolutely incredible! It has quite an intense sweet floral scent that I really happen to enjoy.
2. A Place Further Than the Universe: It's been a while since I've talked about what I've been watching and, well, this was a re-watch but I've never talked about it here so, why not? I feel like, personally, during the holidays especially, but usually always, I like to watch shows that are action-y but also wholesome and this really fits the bill. To sum it up, this show is about the girls in the show poster above going on a trip to Antarctica, the challenges several of them overcome in order to even be able to make the journey in the first place, as well as the challenges they face when there. Overall the show may look kind of random and whatnot at first glance, but it's really inspirational in a YOLO kind of way, which you know I love, and does a beautiful job of covering themes like friendship, loss, and striving toward your goals. 

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

Disclaimer: I paid for the product mentioned above myself.

Wednesday, December 1, 2021

November 2021 Empties

 All my monthly trash on display for you to see. :P

1. Kiss Lash So Wispy Lashes in Pompadour x2: These are a pretty, voluminous wispy lash. They're very lightweight and fairly easy to apply which I appreciate.

2. Bumble and bumble Bb Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Heat/UV Protective Primer: I love this product so much! It's great as a lightweight leave-in conditioner, a heat/UV protecting spray as its name suggests, and a hydration booster for dry ends, or to add a little extra hydration and smoothing on humid days. In my personal opinion, it smells really fantastic as well! I'm sad to have finished it up.

3. Shea Moisture 100% Virgin Coconut Oil Daily Hydration Crème Coffee Scrub w/ Coconut Milk & Acacia Senegal: Honestly I really liked how hydrating this exfoliator is but I also found it to be more lotion-like versus scrub-like. The gritty bits in here are dispersed in this lotion-like fluid and thus aren't as consistently gritty as I personally prefer. I felt like I ended up applying too much of the product hoping to get the exfoliation that I was after. This also has a scent that I'd describe as being odd, it smells super toasty but isn't distinctly coffee or coconut which, frankly, is disappointing because I really love coconut coffee especially as cafe cot dua.  Overall it was alright, especially for providing hydration but I wouldn't get it again.

4. Odacite 552M Argan+Coconut Shampoo Bar: Honestly I really enjoyed having this shampoo bar. It lasted a long time, I want to say maybe around 6 months of me using it regularly. This has a delicious lemongrass scent and leaves my hair feeling clean, lightly hydrated, and very shiny. It foams absolutely beautifully despite being soap free which I'm sure can be attributed to the sodium cocoyl isethionate that is contains and is an alternative to SLS. 

5now essential oils in 100% pure lemon: I really love this lemon essential oil for my diffuser - it has a nice, sweet, uplifting lemon scent. 

6. Trader Joe's Toasted Marshmallow Body Butter: I enjoyed this body butter - it has a nice thick, yet not overly heavy, texture that is very hydrating and nourishing to my skin. It has a soft, sweet scent that I would say does have a hint of toasted marshmallow but is mostly just sweet and sugar; due to its softness it's not an overpowering fragrance, a quality which I personally like.

7. Trader Joe's Exfoliating Sugar Cube: I honestly wish this was a permanent body scrub in their lineup because I liked it so much! This has that nice scrubby, gritty sugar texture that I enjoy and also has a really nice green tea fragrance. 

8. Fourth Ray Beauty Face Milk in Matcha: Honestly I found this to be just ok. It does an alright job o of being a lightweight moisturizer that still provides enough hydration for my dry skin. That being said I was hoping it would have a prominent matcha scent and that just wasn't the case. 

9. Virtue Curl-Defining Whip: Overall I found this mousse to be a disappointment. Now, it did define my curls but I found that it left this plastic- feeling residue in my hair. The residue would wash out in the shower but my hair just felt weird with this in it. In addition, the mousse dispenser just completely died on me, there's still maybe a quarter or even a third of this bottle full of product (I'm guessing just based on how it feels) that I cannot get out because it simply will not dispense out. Given its price point of $36 I genuinely feel like those issues shouldn't have existed in the first place. Overall I love Virtue and I'm sad to be saying unpleasant things about one of their products but I feel like a lighter weight formula might be able to solve both those issues.

10. AMNH Skincare Unicorn Dreams Whipped Body Butter: Unfortunately this was just way too heavy for my skin. Its base is mostly coconut oil and Shea butter so as you can imagine, in colder conditions, this would solidify and was a bit of an effort to spread and worked a lot better when my bathroom happened to be warm. That being said, this was still too heavy for my skin and just sat on my skin without really absorbing. The only spot on my body that this was genuinely helpful on was, yes, the soles of my feet. I feel like there needs to be some sort of compromise though where a body butter or lotion works well both on my legs and on my feet. This smelled really lovely, it has a sugary sweet-tart type of scent. 

11Addison & Gates Lemon Verbena Soap: One of my friends gave me this and honestly I really loved using this. It has a lovely lemon verbena scent, felt hydrating, and produced a nice lather.

12. m-61 PowerSpot Clear: Alas I have finished the last of my backups of this. As I've mentioned many times I really liked this spot treatment because it really brought up all the gunk to the surface and helped clear up acne and its associated inflammation, irritation, and overall bumpiness and redness.

13. COSRX Aloe Sun Soothing Cream SPF 50 PA+++: I loved this sunscreen because it's lightweight, absorbs quickly, and provides my skin with moisture adequate enough to where I don't feel like I need additional moisturizer. As someone super pale, I appreciate its high SPF. 

14. Dove refreshing cucumber & green tea nourishing body wash: I've mentioned many times that I really like these to shave with and I have to give it a shoutout that when I had an eczema flareup in my groin region and was trying to use another body wash to shave with - I felt like it irritated the eczema whereas this soothed it. That being said, it's probably ideal to use the fragrance free one on eczema patches and avoid shaving the eczema-afflicted area altogether. In my personal defense, body hair really bothers me and makes me itchy, I shave it all the time for myself because I personally prefer feeling smooth and I feel like eczema treatments can better take care of my skin without hair interfering and acting as some weird barrier between the cream and my skin.  

15. Fourth Ray Beauty White Peach Body Milk: This body moisturizer smells really good but, in my opinion, it isn't hydrating enough. It's alright for my legs in the summertime but other than that I personally prefer something with a thicker, more hydrating, consistency. 

16. dermalogica redness relief essence: Unfortunately I didn't find this to have much of an effect on my redness. It boosted my skin's hydration nicely, which I appreciate, but I don't feel like it has its intended effect on my skin.

17. No 7 Laboratories Line Correcting Booster Serum: I really enjoyed the hydration boost that this serum gave me as well, but again I don't feel like its intended purpose was served here. I don't have much in the way of facial lines (thankfully!) so I can't say how well it would work on someone with significant lines going on.

18. Trader Joe's Frosted Cranberry Body Butter: Now this is an amazing body hydrator. This smells so good and has a wonderful texture that leaves my skin feeling hydrated, smooth, and silky. I wish they sold this in full-sized tubs.

19. Laneige Multi Cleanser: I think this is a really good basic cleanser if you're a fan of creamy, foaming cleansers. That being said, I personally like something with just a touch more hydration to it so while this did the job and I'm not mad at it; it's also not my favorite cleanser ever.

20. Garnier Whole Blends Repairing Shampoo - Honey Treasures: Frankly, when I don't do anything special to my hair, this shampoo can be a little bit heavy. That being said, when I had bleach in my hair I find that this really gives my hair the hydration it craves. I also find its scent warm, sweet, and comforting.

21. beauty 360 Original Nail Polish Remover Pad: Personally I wish that this was more saturated with nail polish remover but overall it worked really well and stayed moist enough for me to remove the nail polish from both my feet. 

22. Trader Joe's Peel-Off Charcoal Face Mask: I really wish this wasn't a peel-off mask because it has really good anti-inflammatory ingredients in it. That being said, this being peel-off really irritated my skin.

23. e.l.f. Halo Glow Setting Powder: I really wanted to love this powder, especially because I heard that it was a dupe for the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders but, unfortunately, I just can't say that I agree. It looks nice on the face, like I'm not mad at it, it gives the skin a subtle glow. That said, I really wanted this to work well as an under-eye setting powder and it just creases like no one's business even when I use the trick of using a sponge sprayed with setting spray to keep it under my eyes. If anything, that trick makes this crease even worse. 

24. beauty 360 Strengthening Nail Polish Remover: This nail polish is nothing to write home about but it does the job. I realized that I personally prefer using straight up acetone because it really isn't more drying to my skin than any other nail polish remover but makes much quicker work of removing nail polish. 

25. now essential oils 100% pure tangerine: This oil smells wonderful and like a tangerine rind but unfortunately it really stains my diffuser orange. Just a heads up for any of you diffuser users out there.

26. Mario Badescu Rose Body Soap: This body wash smells so delicious! It has a rose scent that's a nice balance between floral and sweet. It did a good job of cleansing my body. 

27. Ariose Monde Ocean Bliss Bath Salt: This is a rather grainy bath salt and I don't super love its scent but it worked ok in my foot soaks to soothe and relax my feet.

28. Colourpop Hourglass Blending Sponge: I was really not the biggest fan of this sponge. It's easy to hold on to but it's not the best shape for blending makeup in my personal opinion, it's very hard to work around the eye area with this sponge.

29. Trader Joe's Chai Shimmering Body Wash: I have to start by saying that thankfully this body wash didn't leave me glittery in any way. It has a subtle chai scent that almost reminds me of spiced apple cider, without the apple note. Almost gingerbread-like. I think it smells yummy but it's not a scent that I personally want to smell like, so I appreciate that it's subtle. This foamed up nicely and left me feeling clean.

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

Disclaimer: I purchased all of the above with the exception of the Bumble and bumble, OdaciteAddison & Gates, dermalogica, No 7 Laboratories, Ariose Monde, and AMNH Skincare products.