Favorite 5: Makeup Products

Today we are talking about my top 5 favorite makeup products! I buy a lot of beauty and makeup products and I'm going to share with you my favorites. I recommend all of these products. If you have any questions or comments, you can always put it in the comment section below! So let's jump right into it!

• Maybelline Fit Me Foundation

To me, this is the best foundation I have tried. It matches my skin tone near perfectly. I use the matte and pore less version and it keeps my face matte even though I have really oily skin. They don't have many good shades for Black women so they could improve on that but I still give it a thumbs up.

• Colourpop Notion Matte Lipstick

I LOVE this lipstick! It's my absolute favorite go to lipstick. I'd wear it everyday if I could. It's described as a 'deependend raspberry'. It looks completely different on me than it does in swatches I found online. On me, it looks more like a pure darkened red. It's basically the only lipstick I wear.

• Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner

I've had two of these glitters for about a year now. I have Glamrock (silver) and Midnight Cowboy (gold). It wasn't what I originally thought it would be so I didn't use it for a long time. I thought it would be more glittery and more pigmented. I found it to be hard to swatch because it's a clear base with glitter sprinkled in. I've been using it a lot more lately though to spice up my winged eyeliner. :)

• BH Cosmetics Gel Liner in Onyx

I originally ordered this eyeliner last year just because I needed to get to a certain price to get free shipping. I didn't really care for it because at the time, I was a liquid liner fanatic. I tried it one day just because and I fell in love. I don't ever want to touch liquid eyeliner again! Gel liner all the way!

• Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray

This is the holy grail of setting sprays! Now I am a drugstore makeup queen but this is one product I don't mind paying full price for. I originally received it as either a 0.5 ounce or 1 full ounce free sample early last year and it's been a staple product for me ever since. This the only setting spray I use now!

So what are your fie favorite makeup products? Let me know in the comments below!

Ipsy Glam Bag: June 2016

Okay so if you've been following my blog for awhile, you remember last summer when I tried out the Ipsy makeup subscription. If you're unfamiliar with Ipsy or those posts, you can check out the post in which I explained what Ipsy here.

Overall, I felt that my experience with the company was average. I wasn't impressed nor was I disappointed. I ended my subscription with the company simply because I took a financial hit last August and I had to cut back on a lot of stuff including my Spotify subscription. Ipsy still sent me emails every now and then but I finally decided to resubscribe in late May.

So since I received my glam bag yesterday, let's get right to the review!

So here's what I got: Colourpop Cosmetics Creme Gel Eyeliner in the shade Swerve, Urban Decay eye shadow in Lounge, Frank Body Original Coffee Scrub, Hey Honey 24/7 Day & Night Revitalizing Cream and Elizabeth Mott Show Me Your Cheeks blush in Peach Pink. Ipsy always includes one full size product. This month's full size product was the coffee scrub.

Colourpop Cosmetics Creme Gel Eyeliner: $5 full size
Urban Decay eye shadow: $20 full size
Frank Body Original Coffee Scrub: $14.95 fill size
Hey Honey 24/7 Day & Night Revitalizing Cream: $38 full size
Elizabeth Mott Show Me Your Cheeks blush in Peach Pink: $23 full size

Honest Opinion: I like this month's products. I'm a big fan of Urban Decay so I'm interested in trying out the eye shadow although the shade is strange. I've never tried a coffee scrub before so I like that product. I think this might be the most expensive products I've received from Ipsy totaling up to over $100 full price. I really can't wait to try out all of these products!

Overall Rating: 4/5

Here's how to get your own glam bag!

1. Go to www.ipsy.com
2. Sign up for the monthly glam bag using my referral code. It's only $10!
3. Take the style quiz
4. Wait for your next glam bag!

It should normally arrive around the 15th of every month.

Buy or Buh-bye! NYX Simply Red Lip Cream Review

Hey loves! I'm back with a new segment for you guys: Buy or Buh-bye!

About a month or so ago I purchased a Simply Red NYX lip cream from a higher end beauty supply store. I was originally going to get the Red Velvet butter gloss but once I swatched the lip cream, I was sold! The shade I have is SR 03. It's a bright candy apple/vixen red. Perfect shade if you're going for a sexy look. The coverage is perfect and the finish is creamy matte.



My biggest issue with this product is how easily it rubs off. By the end of the day, I had stains all over my fingers and my hands. My hoodie and shirt had stains all over it. I ended up just rubbing it off because I was so disappointed. I have worn it on multiple occasions and it happens every time. That is the only real issue that I have but that's enough to not make me buy it again.  I've seen some videos about how to stop that so I'm going to try some of those techniques and hopefully it'll work out.

I'm wearing it here as a part of my Halloween costume!

There is also a Simply Vamp and a Simply Nude line available.
    

Overall Score: 3/5*
Final Verdict: Buh-bye!

*I like to rate my makeup products. It makes it easier for me if I decide to purchase again. I rate based on coverage, texture, kiss tests, consistency and how long it lasts.

August: Ipsy Glam Bag

My August glam bag just came in! As usual, it comes in a pink bubble wrap envelope (see last months post) with the glam bag tucked inside. This month's them is called the prep school bag! Isn't it cute?

So this is what I got this month: Marc Anthony Nourishing Argan Oil of Morocco Oil Treatment, Trust Fund Beauty nail polish in Elegantly Wasted, Pencil Me In Eye pencil in Boysenberry, Hikari Cosmetics lip gloss in Merlot and Dermalogica Clear Start Matte Moisturizer

Full Price:
Dermalogica Clear Start Matte Moisturizer $12-25 full size
Marc Anthony Nourishing Argan Oil of Morocco Oil Treatment $6.99 full size
Hikari Cosmetics lip gloss in Merlot $13
Pencil Me In Eye pencil in Boysenberry $6.99
Trust Fund Beauty nail polish in Elegantly Wasted $15

Honest Opinion:
I am in LOVE with the Hikari lip gloss! The color is perfect and the consistency works well. I can easily see myself wearing this gloss regularly. I tried the matte moisturizer but I don't have much to say about it. I don't really care much for moisturizers anyway. I'm not a fan of eyeliner pencils so I'm putting off using that right now. I prefer liquid eyeliner over pencils. I think as a whole, I'm very happy with this months glam bag. I can't wait for the next one!


Overall Rating: 4/5
I really can't wait until my next Ipsy bag comes! I decided I would give it three months before I gave my final decision on Ipsy as a whole. So far, I'm half and half. My first bag was some crap. This bag was so much better so it all comes down to next months bag. Let's see how it goes!

LaSplash Liquid Lipstick Review

So my latest obsession has been liquid lipsticks. Or any lipsticks for that matter. My ultimate goal is to be a lipstick junkie and change my lip color every day! I currently have about 8 or 9 products now including lipsticks, lip glosses and lip tars but I'm looking to expand. I won't be happy until I have at least 15 or so.

I recently purchased LaSplash liquid lipstick from someone online via an app I have called Poshmark. Poshmark is a app that allows their members to buy and sell items from their own closets. As a member you're able to list all types of items such as clothes, shoes, and accessories. I use it mostly for makeup which is how I came across this lipstick. The shade I am reviewing is called Sirius. I couldn't find this exact shade on the website but I found another shade that they carry that looks almost identical to it. This shade is called Deadly Nightshade.
 
I learned later that Sirius was a part of a special line of liquid lipsticks by LaSplash inspired by Harry Potter. The line has been discontinued but I was able to find some pictures online for you! LaSplash normally goes for about $14 so they're pretty affordable as well.

 See how Sirius and Deadly Nightside are almost identical? I think they cheated with that one! :)

Here's me wearing Sirius. In photos online the color looks much more blue but once I put it on, it looked much darker. It was almost black.

I like the formula. It's very smooth and it does not dry too quickly. A few other people who own liquid lipsticks by LaSplash talk about their odor. I admit, they do have a slight paint smell. It doesn't bother me. It's barely noticeable especially since it lasts for such a short period of time. Once it dries, the smell goes away so it's not something that you have to constantly worry about.

Sirius stayed on my lips for hours! I first applied it around 9 in the morning. I ate lunch around 1:30ish and it stayed on perfectly! I reapplied around 5:30. I did not do a kiss test but I think it's safe to assume it would pass. The only thing that was a problem for me was water. At work, I like to eat a lot of ice so it caused my lipstick to come off. What I found strange was how it came off. The formula chips off into little tiny pieces. I kept seeing them floating around in my ice.

This is what it looked like after a couple of hours.








It looks pure black in this photo doesn't it?








Bottom Line: I would definitely recommend LaSplash to a friend and I would certainly buy from them again!