Tag Archives: makeup

Jul18

Violet Voss Le Macaron Palette Swatches Pt. 2

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Violet Voss Le Macaron Palette Swatches Pt. 2

Hi! Today, we are going to continue with our swatches from the Le Macaron eyeshadow palette by Violet Voss. I considered this ten shadow palette to be a steal for just eighteen dollars and have been very impressed while taking a closer look. Both the Rare Beauty and Le Macaron palettes that I purchased are metallic because it is my favorite type of eyeshadow to wear. For the most part, my makeup routine is fairly basic and metallic hues on my eyes add a fun pop with minimal effort. You don’t have to do too much to make eyeshadows this pretty look good! Check it out:

^^^ Since there are no names for these eyeshadows, I’ll do it! Let’s call the burnt orange “Flame” and the amethyst one “Bejeweled”.

Although there are a handful of colors in the Le Macaron palette extremely similar to those of Rare Beauty, a majority of them are new to me hues. Like the Birthday Cake eyeshadow we discussed yesterday, Flame was one of the selling points of this Violet Voss palette for me. Burnt orange reminds me of all things fall and Flame immediately brings a bonfire with friends to my mind. I can definitely picture myself rocking it come autumn!

If you recall, I wasn’t blown away by the Purple Haze swatch in yesterday’s post as the undertones of it were too warm for me. I wasn’t expecting much out of Bejeweled so I was pleasantly surprised when I ended up really liking it! I am not a huge purple fan, but the cool undertones of Bejeweled will pair so nicely with my pink hair and I live for the fairy princess vibes it gives me. ❤

Two successful swatches down, two more to go! Tune in tomorrow for the final post from the Violet Voss palette to take a better look at the second eyeshadow from the top right and the first shade on the bottom left. 🙂

What color are your eyes? Which eyeshadow shades compliment it best? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul17

Violet Voss Le Macaron Palette Swatches Pt. 1

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Violet Voss Le Macaron Palette Swatches Pt. 1

Hello! During my last Sephora Haul, I purchased two new eyeshadow palettes: Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez and Le Macaron by Violet Voss. I wanted some beginner level palettes to play with but I also didn’t want it to cost an arm and a leg, either. Rare Beauty was twenty-five dollars and Le Macaron was only eighteen! I was comfortable with these prices and the large amount of positive reviews made me feel confident with my online order.

Today, we are going to be taking a closer look at two of the eyeshadows in the Le Macaron palette. There are some colors that are similar to those in Rare Beauty so we will be bypassing them! Now, let’s get to it with the top left and bottom right shades:

^^^ There are no names for these eyeshadows so I guess I will do the honors. Let’s go with “Purple Haze” and “Birthday Cake”.

The only negative reviews I noticed on Sephora’s website for the Le Macaron palette were complaints on the pigment quality. Happily, I did not find that to be true in the slightest while swatching these shades. While the eyeshadow may have been drier in comparison to the Rare Beauty palette, which was quite creamy, it still applied easily and in a rich hue. You just can’t beat that for eighteen dollars!

I can’t say that I will be wearing Purple Haze very often because warm undertones don’t look the best on me now with my red and pink hair. However, I absolutely adore the eyeshadow in Birthday Cake and it was actually one of the biggest selling points of this palette for me. It reminds me of fairy tales, bubblegum, and all things sweet! Purple Haze is a swing and a miss but Birthday Cake is a definite home run. 😀

What is your favorite eyeshadow palette? What are your favorite makeup brands? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Jul11

Selena Gomez Rare Beauty Palette Swatches (Elevate & Trust)

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Selena Gomez Rare Beauty Palette Swatches (Elevate & Trust)

Hello! Today we are going to conclude our swatches for my new palette by Selena Gomez called Rare Beauty. I am so pleased with this purchase – everything from the colors and quality to the packaging and price (A mere twenty-five dollars!) made this the perfect beginner palette for me. I am not a huge makeup gal and didn’t want a palette with an overwhelming amount of colors. However, a little variety would be nice and I found it with Rare Beauty. Check out my final swatches and tune in tomorrow to see my turquoise and orange acrylics!

^^^ The silver eyeshadow is called Elevate, which makes the pink one Trust!

Originally, I thought I was going to really like the silver shade in Elevate because I assumed that it was going to be a pure silver metallic. Swatching it was an entirely different story, though, as it appeared very yellow on my skin. Because of this, I can’t see myself wearing just Elevate as an eyeshadow. But this is not to say that I won’t use it! I plan on applying Elevate to my tear duct and waterline for a little extra sparkle. I actually used to do this all the time with a similar shade but never repurchased it once I ran out so Elevate will work just fine.

Upon first sight of Trust, I also felt like I was going to love it and my instincts were right! The metallic watermelon pink is oh so sweet and I think it is an ideal summer eyeshadow shade. While I wasn’t crazy about Elevate, I thought it looked awesome paired with Trust. This palette purchase is all about being able to experiment and I can definitely see myself attempting a combination of the two in the future. Will it look good? Maybe. But I’ll never know if I don’t try!

Despite a few misses in terms of color (And that is just my opinion!), I still highly recommend the Rare Beauty palette by Selena Gomez. It will not break your bank and will give you the opportunity to play around with the different shades as they all pair well together, for the most part. The quality and pigment of these colors for the price is excellent too!

What is your favorite eyeshadow palette? How do you learn different makeup techniques? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul10

Selena Gomez Rare Beauty Palette Swatches (Gutsy & Strong)

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Selena Gomez Rare Beauty Palette Swatches (Gutsy & Strong)

Hello! During my recent Sephora Haul, I purchased my first eyeshadow palettes. Today, we are going to continue discussing Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty palette with swatches in Gutsy and Strong and will finish up with the remaining two shades tomorrow. Be sure to keep it posted because there are still many a swatches to come from the Le Macaron palette by Violet Voss too! Now, let’s get to it:

^^^ The bronze shade is called Gutsy, which makes the gold one Strong!

As you all know, Lil Red loves a gold metallic eyeshadow and it is the main color that I use in my three shade rotation lol. I have been running low on my gold eyeshadow from The Body Shop so it was a must for whichever palette I chose to have a gold option that I could get behind. Don’t tell TBS, but I think I like Selena Gomez’s gold more! When I use eyeshadow, I apply it wet to get a deeper pigment. It simply blows my mind that the Rare Beauty shadows provide such a high quality of color with a mere swipe of my finger – no water needed.

Ever since I began experimenting with makeup as a teenager, I have always liked metallic eyeshadows the best. Metallic hues offer a great pop of color and you don’t have to do much to make it look good, either, which makes it the perfect choice for me. So, of course, I am loving the bronze shade in Gutsy too. I haven’t worn bronze eyeshadow in a while because the ones I have in my makeup collection are ancient so I know I am going to get a lot of use out of Gutsy, as well.

Purchasing the Rare Beauty palette by Selena Gomez was an easy decision to make as it has some of my Old Faithful shades and new favorites too. I absolutely adore the chartreuse shadow and am happy to have higher quality gold and bronze hues. Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of the Rare Beauty palette with swatches in the silver and pink (Elevate and Trust)!

What is your favorite color from this palette? What is your go to eyeshadow shade? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul9

Selena Gomez Rare Beauty Palette Swatches (Boost & Will-Power)

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Selena Gomez Rare Beauty Palette Swatches (Boost & Will-Power)

Hi! Ever since getting my makeup professionally done for my wedding, I have become more interested in experimenting with makeup. Shocking, I know, considering all I do is alternate between three different eyeshadow colors lol! I have never bought an eyeshadow palette before and, at twenty-seven years old, it’s better late than never. While online shopping with Sephora, I purchased two eyeshadow palettes in lovely metallic hues: Le Macaron by Violet Voss and Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez.

The Rare Beauty palette boasts six beautiful and highly pigmented shades and we are going to be discussing two per day, starting with Boost and Will-Power. Check it out:

^^^ The chartreuse eyeshadow is called Boost, which makes the sparkling sapphire Will-Power.

While browsing through the palettes on Sephora’s website, I was immediately attracted to the Boost color. I absolutely love to wear green and now that my convertible hair has cooler undertones, I thought that the chartreuse shade would look striking. When my hair had ultra warm undertones, I could never get away with a color so light as it would wash me out!

I can’t say that I have ever worn blue eyeshadow before and, to be honest, I don’t plan on using the Will-Power shade often, if at all. It is just a bit too loud for my liking. However, Boost and Will-Power together make for the ultimate mermaid combination which might be fun to try. This palette purchase was all about experimenting, after all.

The Rare Beauty palette by Selena Gomez seemed like the perfect one to try for a beginner. Most of the colors would pair well together, eliminating the guess work out of finding the best combination. This palette was very reasonably priced at twenty-five dollars, which made me a bit nervous for the quality. I am glad I took the risk, though, because these shades are incredibly pigmented. I hardly needed any eyeshadow to make the swatches on my hand and the texture was rich and creamy, providing for easy application.

Although we are only two swatches into the Rare Beauty palette, I can already say that I completely recommend it. I know that I will be using each color but Will-Power and that makes the purchase well worth it. Tune back in tomorrow for more swatches in Gutsy and Strong!

What is your favorite eyeshadow palette? How do you learn new makeup application techniques? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul7

Sephora Haul

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Sephora Haul

Hi! During my birth month of June, I love taking advantage of all of the free birthday gifts from the various rewards programs that I am signed up for. Between mine and Johnny’s double birthdays and our wedding this past month, I had all but forgotten about getting my freebie on until it was almost too late. While I missed out on the day of my birthday freebies, I placed an order with Sephora just in time to receive my gift from them.

I was in desperate need of more Better Than Sex mascara and I also bought two eyeshadow palettes to play around with. The palettes are absolutely fabulous so be on the look out for swatches soon! Equally as fabulous, is the fact that I also got five free items with this order. 😀 Check out my Sephora Haul:

The Haul:

  • 2 Better Than Sex mascaras by Too Faced
  • Le Macaron palette by Violet Voss
  • Rare Beauty palette by Selena Gomez
  • LANEIGE birthday gift set (FREE!)
  • Innisfree Pore Clearing Clay Mask (FREE!)
  • GlamGlow BrightMud exfoliating treatment (FREE!)
  • Volition Snow Mushroom Water Serum sample (FREE!)
  • Korres Pomegranate Resurfacing Mask sample (FREE!)

It took me a while to get hip to Sephora and I could never justify buying anything from there while shopping in store because they never have any promotions. Online shopping, however, is a totally different story! Sephora offers free shipping with purchases over fifty dollars, two free samples per order, and promotional freebies with purchases over twenty-five dollars. I don’t order with Sephora very often but I make the most of it whenever I do, as you can see!

Multiple free items per order make me feel like I am getting way more bang for my buck and I cannot wait to pamper myself with all of my new face masks. I am also very excited to test out my new palettes. After getting my makeup done professionally for my wedding, it inspired me to be more adventurous with my makeup. It will be fun to try colors that are way different than the three that I alternate between (lol) and I know my sister will be proud because she always makes fun of me for that. 😀

Tomorrow, we are going to take a closer look at the LANEIGE birthday gift with three test size products. Then, it will be onto Face Mask Festivities and eyeshadow swatches galore! Keep it posted. ❤

Which store offers the best online promotions or rewards programs? What are your thoughts on any of the products above if you have used them? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Jun15

Wedding Makeup

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Wedding Makeup

Hi!! I have never gotten my makeup done professionally before so that was a huge treat for my wedding. I went to Carol Martin Salon and my makeup artist knocked it out of the park for both my test run and wedding MOTD. Take a look at some never before seen pics from my test run, wedding makeup, and after party celebrations and let’s discuss further:

While I enjoy wearing makeup, I wouldn’t say I’m necessarily “good” at applying it and pretty much wear the same look every day. My sister loves to razz on me for it but if it’s not broken, then don’t fix it lol! Because I’m not very familiar with makeup, I left a lot of my wedding MOTD up to my makeup artist with a few vague instructions of “champagne eyes” and “Bratz doll lips”. The end result was exactly what I had pictured in my head but didn’t quite know how to vocalize and I left Carol Martin Salon on my test run and wedding day feeling like a billion bucks.

I am very excited to return to the salon for our October reception and I even feel inspired to purchase new makeup for myself so I can experiment more. I don’t think I ever realized just how fun makeup can be until having an expert beat my face and I definitely feel a trip to Sephora happening in my future!

Do you have a must have makeup? What is your preferred way of learning new makeup techniques? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr30

*Way* Early Birthday Gift!

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*Way* Early Birthday Gift!

Hello! When it comes to gift giving occasions, I always can’t wait to give my giftee their presents and am notorious for buying gifts way ahead of schedule. Johnny’s birthday gift, for example, was purchased four months before his actual birthday! I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t constantly asking people to give their gifts early and Johnny is, normally, pretty good about waiting till the day of the occasion. This past week, however, was a totally different story.

Unbeknownst to Johnny, I had arrived home before him after work and errands and was there when he walked in the door with a huge gift wrapped box. Because I had already seen my early birthday gift, he agreed that we could open presents a month and a half prior to our birthdays and I was gifted with the following:

For one of my early birthday gifts, Johnny got me a huge standing makeup holder for all of my must haves that are maybe always cluttering the bathroom! Not only will it be perfect for all of my lipsticks and glosses that I feel like I am misplacing constantly but it will also provide a safe space for my makeup brushes, eyeshadows, and highlighters which I have had to replace before from water damage.

This gift was so thoughtful because Johnny told me he remembered how much I liked it while he was browsing through additional storage options for our apartment. I had, honestly, forgotten about it and love my new makeup holder so much because it is something that I wouldn’t buy for myself. Rather, I’d probably end up buying more makeup lol!

If there’s one thing Lil Red loves, it’s organizing and I really enjoyed arranging my jewelry boxes and wall hangers just so for easy access to all of my favorite accessories. I expect that my makeup holder will be no different and am looking forward to setting it up to my liking. I also think I am going to end up finding tons of products that I forgot I even had so it will kind of be like shopping in my own apartment. 😀

After mine and Johnny’s super early gift exchange, we played video games and listened to records for hours and it was the best month and a half early birthday celebration ever! I can’t wait for more festivities with my fiance on our actual birthdays in June. ❤

How do you keep your makeup or accessories organized? How early do you like to shop for gift giving occasions? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr23

My Wedding Glam Squad

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My Wedding Glam Squad

Hi! Johnny and I will be having a very small wedding that literally took no planning for accommodations for our ceremony. It will be short, sweet, and simple – exactly how we want it. However, preparing our wedding looks was a totally different story and a lot of thought went into it so we can show out on our big day. I am so thankful to have the ultimate wedding glam squad tending to me and am honored to be able to showcase their talent at my wedding. I have a very specific look in mind and it would not be able to be achieved without the genius of the following:

Anna:

Anna has been my hair stylist since I was eight years old and absolutely no one but her is allowed to touch my hair. She is also one of the few people who has seen part of my top secret wedding look – that’s how much I trust her! I live for my time spent with Anna at the salon and I can’t believe almost twenty years later she will be doing my hair for my wedding. Time and time again, I will use the word “nontraditional” to describe my wedding style and my hair is no exception. In fact, the suggestion Anna made was something that I didn’t even know existed, so we are all in for a treat!

Katie:

My makeup test run with Katie was beyond what I was expecting and I had never felt so beautiful. She took every vague idea I had, ran with it, and came up with the results I had in my head but couldn’t quite put into words. I have never had my makeup done professionally before and it felt like Katie was painting the most gorgeous picture as she airbrushed away. I cannot wait until my wedding so she can do it all over again. 😀

Gabby:

Gabby is my go to girl when it comes to my nails and I already know exactly how I want my claws to look for the big day. It took me a long time to find the right nail tech for me and now that I have found her, I could never imagine anyone else sharpening my talons to perfection. I recommend her to everyone who compliments my nails and I love seeing her work on my friends who go to her now too.

Emily:

Other than four tattoos, all of the rest that I have have been done by Emily and I will most definitely need a touch up session before the wedding. I am so proud to be a walking billboard for my dear friend and her amazing talent and cannot wait for my tattoos to pop in my wedding dress. Emily is, easily, one of the best tattoo artists in my area and her work blows me away – especially her work on myself!

I cannot wait to share in my wedding day with my favorite gals because they truly make up the ultimate wedding glam squad. I know that I am in the best hands with all of them and having my wedding appointments scheduled in their books eliminates any stress for my big day. ❤

Who was a part of your wedding glam squad? Who is your go to person for your hair, makeup, or nails? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr21

Wedding Makeup Sneak Peek

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Wedding Makeup Sneak Peek

Hi!! Ever since Johnny and I announced our engagement, we have been not only flooded with well wishes but So. Many. Questions. about what we are going to be wearing! We are so thankful for everyone’s kindness and support and are tickled by how invested people are in our wardrobe choices. Our outfits are top secret so expect a grand reveal the day of our nuptials but I can give you all a little sneak peek of my makeup for the big day! Check it out:

This past Friday, I went with my sister, Kristen, to Carol Martin salon to get a test application for my wedding makeup. I was really excited to have Kristen with me because she is a makeup queen and I knew that she would help me better vocalize what I was wanting. It was also so nice to have her opinion and reassurance because the test run was the most makeup I have ever worn in my life!

I chose my friend, Katie, to be my makeup artist and I felt confident that she would be able to deliver the look I was going for. I wanted a bold, two toned lip because I love the Bratz doll makeup trend with fresh, dewy skin and champagne eyeshadow. Katie took my ideas and ran with them and my completed MOTD was even better than what I was imagining.

I am completely obsessed with my fashion doll lipstick, glamorous false lashes, and sparkling champagne eyes. I felt like a million bucks and then some the day of my test run and was so sad when I had to take it all off that night. I cannot wait for Katie to be a part of my big day and am simply blown away by her talent. I definitely plan on going back to her when Johnny and I host a reception later this year. 🙂

My makeup test run was so special to me because my sister came with. Johnny and I are having a small and quick ceremony so we literally have nothing to plan for. Be that as it may, I still wanted my mom and sister to be with me on the odds and ends errands and am so happy to have had this time with Kristen and getting my dress measurements taken with my mom. The makeup test run makes my upcoming wedding seem even more real and I cannot wait for the big day! ❤

What was your wedding makeup like? Did any of your loved ones help with your wedding preparations? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah