April 2025 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. MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist 9 Artist Shadow Palette Vol. 2 Artistic: Passing on this palette comes as a bit of a shock to me because both the color selection in it and the quality of the palette are both extremely up my alley. That said, even though I love both those things, I feel like I have these shades in other palettes that I just think to reach for more often and I'd rather pass this off to a friend who'd get more use out of it. I also wish it had matte shades in it because all of them being metallic, in my opinion, makes it difficult to creature textural depth in eyeshadow looks.

2. Anna Sui Twinkling Eye Glitter (Eye Color) in 300 - Pink Parade: As pretty as this eyeshadow topper is, unfortunately on me it causes the eyeshadow underneath it to crease.

3. Makeup Geek Orange Crush, Olive You, Mother Nurture, Stormy, and Ocean Eyes Mini Palettes: I really thought I was going to hold onto these palettes because when I purchased them I really loved them. While I find that their quality is nice, I have these colors in other palettes that I'm much more likely to reach for so I've decided to pass them along.

Disclaimer: The MAKE UP FOR EVER palette was provided for testing purposes. The Anna Sui product was a gift from a friend.  I purchased everything else myself. All opinions are my own. 

April 2025 Arrivals

I thought for once we'd have a month without arrivals but my friend Jade came through with some belated gifts for me so here we are.

1. Anna Sui Twinkling Eye Glitter (Eye Color) in 300: This is a pretty purply pink eyeshadow topper with holographic glitter in it. 

2. Sugarpill Pressed Eyeshadow in Flurry: A lilac shade - I think this would be pretty both as an eyeshadow and as a blush as well. 

3. Nature Republic Aloe Vera 92% Soothing Gel: Frankly I've seen this product around for the longest time!  While I haven't purchased a tub for myself, I'm glad Jade got this for me because I get prone to either sunburn or irritated skin with the summer coming so this will be good to have for soothing purpose.

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

Disclaimer: The products listed above were gifted to me.  

April 2025 Favorites

 Hey folksickles,

Alright, all the goodies I've been enjoying in April :) 

1.ORLY Nail Lacquer in Crawford's Wine: I haven't used this nail polish in a while and I just absolutely love it! It's this gorgeous shade of metallic dark ruby red that looks so great on my skin-tone. I'm sure this shade would be really flattering on most peoples' nails though.

2.pop arazzi Movie Star Holographic Nail Polish: This is another one that I haven't used in a while and I just absolutely love it! Especially in the sunlight when the holographic effect is strongest and the fuchsia catches in the prettiest way, it feels very appropriate in time for spring.

3. pop arazzi Dragonglass Holographic Nail Polish: I just love this holographic teal and the way that it shines and sparkles when the sunlight hits it! What a beautiful polish color!

4. Demon Slayer: I feel like me talking about shows on here has become something of a rarity and that's because I don't come upon good ones as often as I once did! However, I started watching Demon Slayer in March and felt like I've been sleeping on it this whole time! Its themes of recovery after loss, found family, and the friendships one makes along the way are all so resonant. I really did start, in a way, to feel like these characters are my friends and now that I'm there, I'm not ready for it to come to an end!

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

Disclaimer:  I purchased the products mentioned above myself.

April 2025 Empties

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

1. Dove deep moisture body wash: I really enjoyed this body wash because they are very hydrating and thus made my skin feel very smooth and silky post-shave. I like to use this specifically for shaving because this lasts longer than shaving cream/gel and provide my razor with a nice, smooth glide so my skin feels soft and not irritated post-shave. 

2. Dove relaxing lavender oil & chamomile body wash: In a similar vein to the above, I like to use this in place of a shaving cream/gel. The reason I finished two bottles back to back so quickly is because I had this bottle with a tiny bit of product in it hanging out for a while since my eczema came back in the winter and I was using the deep moisture version instead.

3. wet n wild photo focus Dewy Foundation in Shell Ivory: As you all know, I love this foundation - it's very natural looking on the skin, but gives great coverage and is long-wearing. I like the healthy glow that the dewy finish one gives me.

4. Ardell Professional Active Lash in Speedy: I really like how soft and natural these lashes look, they add a little length and volume without being over the top. That said, similar to many other pairs I have issues with, they really like popping off at the inner corner and it's a bit of a fight to get them to stick on there. I wish they were like a centimeter or so longer because what causes issues is how difficult that inner corner is to grab onto and adjust.

5. Colourpop Party Proof Eye Primer in translucent: I LOVED this primer, the tube itself lasted forever - I believe over a year! I like the translucent shade because it doesn't really have any color in it, so it doesn't interfere with whatever eyeshadow you place on top. Additionally, this gave me a smooth canvas on my eyelids and my eyeshadow was vibrant and crease-free until I washed it off at the end of the day.  

6. Kerastase Paris Chronologiste Youth revitalizing hair mask: When I got this sample, I honestly wasn't expecting anything special other than hydration. That said, I was wrong to think so! My hair felt so silky and healthy in a way it hasn't felt since I was a child! This sample packet actually had enough for 2.5 uses (I say 2.5 because the last one I did have to add a little extra of a different hair mask into my hair), which I am grateful for. This mask also smells delightful -it's got this really sophisticated perfume to it which leaves my hair smelling fantastic. That being said, at $75, this mask is crazy expensive and I'm unsure as to my likelihood to ever actually purchase it for myself. 

7. equate Shea Sugar Scrub in Coconut Hibiscus:  As I've noted many times, I love how gritty these shea sugar scrubs are. They really make my skin feel smooth and are invigorating to apply. This one in particular has a sweet, tart, fruity scent that I really enjoy. 

8. SENKA Perfect Whip Beauty Foam: I love this cleanser because it has a very nice, rich lather to it and leaves my skin feeling very soft and smooth after I wash it off. 

9. Milani Make It Last Original Natural Finish Setting Spray: I am so sad that I've run out of this and my nearby CVS no longer carries this so I can no longer get it on sale (nearby anyway), I loved buying the jumbo bottles of this spray because they lasted forever and helped my makeup stay on. I also love using this setting spray to apply metallic eyeshadows onto my eyelids to give them more intensity.

10. Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer in Light Bronzer: My issue with this bronzer is that this light shade felt a hint too light for my skin-tone, and overall the shade range on these is very warm-toned. I do love how silky the formula is, but I feel like the shade range only works on light-to-medium warm skin-tones and not very fair or very deep skin-tones.

11. COSRX Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence: I'm so sad to have run out of this as it is a staple item in my skincare collection. This keeps my skin feeling supple, hydrated, and bouncy. I feel like if my skin ever starts drying out, this always brings it right back so I like to have it on hand just in case my skin gets irritated.

12. Bath & Body Works Pocketbac in Passionfruit & Banana Flower: This hand sanitizer smells really nice and I guess it gets the job done? Being a germaphobe I always have hand sanitizer on me and I like that these have a nice scent. They don't have that heavy alcohol scent that standard hand sanitizer tends to have. 

13. equate Shea Sugar Scrub in Tropical Mango:  As I've noted many times, I love how gritty these shea sugar scrubs are. They really make my skin feel smooth and are invigorating to apply. This one in particular has a sweet, tropical fruity scent that I really enjoy. 

14. deal worthy Fresh Scent Body Lotion: I like that this lotion is fairly inexpensive but it feels hydrating and does a great job making my legs feel soft post-shave. It smells nice too, fresh but not overpowering. 

15. wet n wild Loose Setting Powder: Even though I have backups, I'm sad that this ran out because it's a great setting powder. This doesn't cling to any dry patches I have, it makes my skin look very smooth and I don't need a lot of product to create that velvety, natural skin finish I like. 

16. berkley jensen baby wipes in Green Tea & Cucumber: I like using these to wipe down surfaces, wipe swatches off my skin, and to wipe my makeup items off with.

17. Ardell Demi Wispies: Not only do I love these lashes but I'm convinced all others should be similar to them. I say that because I don't need to trim them to fit my eye shape and the bands on them are so thin and flexible that it's easy to sit and adjust them so they're right at the lash-line.

The following lippies all smell off so I'm letting them go:

18. Clinique Pop Lacquer Lip Colour + Primer in Lava Pop: 

19. NYX Butter Gloss in Sugar Cookie: 

20. ColourPop Ultra Matte Lip in Bad Habit: 

21. ColourPop Ultra Satin Lip in The Rabbit: 

Disclaimer: I purchased all of the products mentioned above with the exception of the Kerastase hair mask which I received as a sample.  All opinions are my own.

Love It Or Leave It; Review 2.0: MAKE UP FOR EVER 9 Artist Shadow Palette Vol.2 Artistic

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 declutter 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). 

MAKE UP FOR EVER 9 Artist Shadow Palette Vol.2 Artistic

These are the looks I created this month:

The following look (just the one) also features Anna Sui Twinkling Eye Glitter (Eye Color) in 300 - Pink Parade & Sugarpill Pressed Eyeshadow in Flurry:

So as you can see I created all sorts of colorful looks with these shadows. I personally have found that these shadows are easy to blend, and the pigmentation on them is fantastic. All of them work really great in my experience! I really thought this palette would be a keeper because its quality is incredible, however, I will be passing it along. The reason being I just know for a fact that I have these colors in other palettes that I'm more likely to think of reaching for. I haven't really played with this since I got it years ago and I feel like I'll end up forgetting about it again. 

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

Disclaimer: This palette was provided for testing purposes. I am under no obligation  to mention it on this here blog. All opinions are my own.

Anna Sui 300 Twinkling Eye Glitter & Sugarpill Flurry Pressed Eyeshadow Look

Hey folks! Today I bring you a soft, smoky colorful look. 

Enough blabbering, tutorial time!

I  applied YSL Babydoll Kiss & Blush in Orange Fougueux as a base for  Hourglass Blush in Sublime Flush with my Sephora Collection Pro Mini Airbrush 55.5, respectively. I also applied ColourPop Super Shock Cheek in Perilune as a base for Sugarpill Pressed Eyeshadow in Flurry using my AOA studio F19  Highlighter brush.

As a base for my eyeshadow I applied NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk and blended it out with my Crown Pro C511 brush. 

For the crease I applied MAKE UP FOR EVER I-872 along with MAKE UP FOR EVER S-924 with the Sonia Kashuk Essential Blending Crease Brush No. 273 and Crown Pro C511 Brush, respectively. 

For the lid I applied Sugarpill Pressed Eyeshadow in Flurry wet using wet n wild Rose Addiction Photo Focus 3-in-1 Primer Water with my Elizabeth Mott All Over Eyeshadow brush and smoked out the outer corner using MAKE UP FOR EVER ME-930; I also topped the Sugarpill shadow with  Anna Sui Twinkling Eye Glitter (Eye Color) in 300 - Pink Parade.

To highlight the brow-bone and the inner corner of the eye I applied Colourpop Lux and MAKE UP FOR EVER I-872 using my no-name gigantic paddle brush from Crown and Crown Pro C528 brush, respectively.

For eyeliner I applied the Physicians Formula Eye Booster Waterproof Ultra-Fine Liquid Eyeliner just at the lash line to not take away the smoking out that we did but give the lashes definition; I also applied NYX Professional Makeup Baby Powder Faux White Inner Eye Brightener to the waterline.

For the lower lash line, I applied MAKE UP FOR EVER ME-302 using my Bubbi Detail brush.

The look sans falsies. 

For lashes I used Ardell Professional Active Lash in Speedy along with the Duo Quick-Set Brush On Strip Lash Adhesive.

For lips, I applied Colourpop Fresh Kiss Glossy Lip Balm in Watermelon Sugar, YSL Babydoll Kiss & Blush in Orange Fougueux and lune+aster Quickstick Lipstick in Double Booked.

Hope that you liked this! :D It was super fun for me to put together! 

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

Disclaimer: The Sephora Collection 55.5 brush, YSL, MAKE UP FOR EVER, Colourpop ,and lune + aster products were provided for testing purposes. The Anna Sui and Sugarpill products mentioned were gifted to me by a friend. I paid for everything else you see here myself. All opinions are my own.