November BoxyCharm

It’s Boxycharm time!! There are some hits, some mehs, and some outright garbage.

Side note:

People are bugging out here in CT because the first (wimpy) snow is headed in this afternoon-but I welcome it. I’d much rather snow than 99 degrees with 98% humidity. Makeup melts off in that weather. No thanks.

Anyway, back to the box. The first item is Bodyography Brush Cleaner. It’s supposed to clean and disinfect them-you spray some on your brush, then wipe it on a paper towel til it wipes clean. It’s fine-nothing exciting, it’s useful. Retails for 12$.

Next, the Luxie Luminous Eye Set. It’s 4 eyeshadow brushes-looks like a pencil brush, blending brush, angled blender, and angled pencil brush? Not quite sure what the last one is.

They’re cute-gold, sparkly handles, which is different from the usual pink you see with Luxie. I really like Luxie brushes, and I can never ever have too many, so issa yes from me.

This 4 brush set retails for 21$.

Now, for the duds. I don’t know why Boxycharm continues to work with Jontebleu-their eyeliners are absolutely horrible. They’re wood pencil liners, which aren’t my favorite, but some are ok-these are NOT. The Jontebleu Glittering Star Eyeliner works in theory, not in practice.

The pigment sucks-if you try to put it in your waterline-just don’t. It hurts, and barely shows up.

I can’t describe to you how hard I had to press on my hand to get that payoff. Awful. This retails for 5$, but I wouldn’t pay .05 for it.

Last month, Boxycharm sent me an item that they’d sent me a few months earlier so they emailed me and said they’d send me an extra item for my trouble. And guess what they sent me?

A gray Jontebleu Eyeliner. Uh-thanks? It’s going in the trash.

I had to press SO hard, I actually hurt my hand to get this much color. Suck, sucky, suck. Seriously? That’s my extra item?

The CoverFX Glitter Drops in the shade Nova, however, are a win.

I’ve tried the Shimmer Veil, the Custom Enhancer Drops, and now these. The latter 2 I like-the Shimmer Veil not so much.

This is glitter, make no mistake, but it’s not at all chunky. It’s a pretty good shade with silver, pinky glitters-it can be used on your face as a highlighter, eyes as a shadow, mix it into foundation, or as an all over body shimmer.

These are Limited Edition for the holidays, so hold on to them-they retail for 44$.

Finally, an eyeshadow palette from Ace Beauté.

I wasn’t overly excited because I’ve never heard of this brand, and that can be a crapshoot. But this palette is PRETTY.

It’s warm palette number 457 this year, but they work, so…

I was shocked at how pigmented and creamy these shadows are. I wasn’t expecting much, to be honest, but wow.

Usual swatch method-bottom of the arm up-

Jasmine, Clove, Myrtle, Cinnamon

Patchouli, Rose, Poppy, Primerose (did they mean Primrose?)

Jasmine, Myrtle, and Primerose are shimmers, Clove, Cinnamon, and Patchouli are mattes, and Rose is a satin. I like that they have a satin finish shadow, and the mattes are pigmented AF. This retails for 24.99$, but in my opinion they could sell it for more and get away with it because the quality is that good.

And that’s it-November’s Boxycharm. Total value is 112$. Pretty decent! I’m waiting impatiently for Ipsy-I upgraded to the Glam Bag Plus, and it hasn’t shipped yet. I’m pretty stoked for that though.

How was your Boxy?

Talk soon Lovelies

Allie

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Is She Or Isn’t She?

Today, E! News is reporting Lisa Vanderpump is leaving Real Housewives of Beverly Hills after this season-however yesterday other outlets were reporting her departure and she tweeted:

So I don’t know if E! got something new or what-I believe she’s leaving. I think that after this season she’s had it-she feels betrayed, ganged up on, and isolated. I know it all started with Dorit, rescue dogs from Vanderpump Dogs, a kill shelter-and accusations of LVP selling the story. I find it really odd that the ladies are more concerned with who sold what story to who than the fact that Dorit was an irresponsible dog owner, didn’t give them back to LVP and one ended up in a kill shelter. Literally ANYONE could have leaked that story, and Dorit needs to be accountable for what she did to the puppies instead of deflecting onto LVP and a leaked story.

If it’s true and she’s leaving, I don’t blame her. I can see how things have deteriorated over the past few seasons, loyalties turn and I’m sure she’s got difficulty trusting people she thought were friends. She doesn’t need the show as much as the show needs her-she’s absolutely independently successful. If the rumors are true, I think she’s been treated terribly by some of her cast mates. For her own peace of mind and mental health it’s probably time she move on.

What are your thoughts on Lisa Vanderpump’s possible exit?

Talk soon Lovelies

Allie

Sephora/Ulta Haul Oct

I got these things a few weeks ago but I’m just getting to posting it now-sorry y’all. It’s been a busy few weeks. So here we go!

I sorta don’t love Morphe, I’ll be totally honest. I made an exception, however.

The Morphe Setting Spray is really, really good. The spray is perfect-not aggressive and not super perfume-y. I’m a fan, despite it being Morphe. I mean, if it’s good, it’s good.

I had never seen or heard of these until that day in Ulta. The Metallic Heat Metallic Eyeshadow is a limited edition, holiday 2018 release which explains that-

These absolutely knocked my socks off. The pigmentation is absolutely stunning-one swipe and they’re opaque, blinding, and beautiful. They’re reasonably priced-12$ for the 3.

The copper is called Fuego, the champagne is Flare, and the olive green is Ignite. I’m seriously thrilled with these and glad I discovered them.

We hit Sephora next-and that was a success as well.

I’ve been hearing rave after rave about the new Fenty Beauty Diamond Bomb in How Many Carats? and really had to investigate. The Sephora employee did her job well, because she added to the FOMO factor so I HAD to get it. But look at the packaging, even:

I mean…

The actual product packaging is to die for as well:’

Fenty Beauty knows what’s up. I gotta give them that.

I had the Killawatt Highlighter in Trophy Wife (I say had because I gave it away-I hadn’t used it in months, and I wanted her to go to a good home where she’d get some use) and that formula is very, very different from this one-this one being better in my opinion. Trophy Wife is more chunky glitter, and has a little drier texture. The Diamond Bomb is softer, less chunkiness.

The application is a bit more sheer than I expected-it can be used alone or as a topper (I put it on top of Colourpop’s Flexatarian and holy cat’s). Alone it’s buildable yet a beautiful, shiny, shimmery sheen with even light application.

If you’re looking for opacity this is not your girl. If you’re looking for a versatile, ethereal, shimmery look? Look no further.

Huda Beauty Obsessions Precious Stone Collection: Ruby

This one was kind of neat-it wasn’t part of the Huda display at Sephora. They had Topaz, Emerald and Amethyst out-Sapphire and Ruby were in the back and were sort of a secret, I guess? The saleswoman said they had them in the back but weren’t supposed to (whatever that means) so she brought out Ruby and Sapphire. They were both STUNNING, but Ruby spoke to me louder. I didn’t have anything like Sapphire in my collection so I was torn-but it worked out since Colourpop came out with a collab with Bretman Rock that’s a blue palette. And pretty. And coming to my house. 😜

Huda has really nice shadows-if you’ve never tried them, they’re high quality for the most part and this little guy is no exception. They’re soft and buttery, pigment is great, and they’re easy to work with.

Swatches:

None of the shades have names-nothing I could find anyway. So I’m starting with the top row.

The last shade in the middle row is a black-ish shade with gold shimmer in it-it almost looks dark green but it’s not. The first shade in the bottom row is a satin formula-it’s very different from the mattes and shimmers.

Finally! Dose Of Colors x Desi & Katy Friendcation Palette!!

After weeks of longing, I finally grabbed myself the Friendcation palette. It retails for 55$, but I used a 20% off coupon plus 8$ in Ulta points, so for 36$ she came home with me. Trust me, 36$ was way easier to swallow than 55$.

The Packaging

The outer carton is nice, just a gold box, nothing too crazy. The actual palette is where the magic happens.

Sooooo pretty. It’s textured, blingy, sparkly-everything I love.

I’m seriously enamored with this packaging. The palette itself has good weight to it-it feels luxurious.

The Palette

Just wow. Everything I’d hoped and more.

It’s 10 pans-for 55$ that’s preeeetty pricey, but Dose has amazing shadows if we’re being honest. They really do.

Swatches:

The top row is first, the usual method of from the bottom up.

A Moment, Dirty Money, Necessary, Chen’s, Basic.

Game Over, Churro, Girl Bye, Just A Kiss, Try Me.

Performance:

The mattes are absolutely fabulous. The pigmentation is ridiculous, and they’re so beautifully blendable. I’ve used it once, and the shades I used were A Moment, Necessary, Just A Kiss, and Cheens. The only thing I’d recommend would be to possibly use a glitter glue with the shimmers. They’re blinding-but tend to wear off and lose their shine if you just use a primer/concealer. I’d heard complaints about fallout but I honestly didn’t find that to be an issue whatsoever. The shade Churro isn’t very opaque, but makes a gorgeous topper or inner corner highlight. That blue-Basic-is anything but.

I’d definitely recommend this if any of the shades speak to you-they yelled at me. It’s not cheap, but the quality is really really there.

Talk soon, Lovelies

Allie

When Plastic Surgery Goes Too Far: Body Dysmorphia?

I bring you Kim Zolciak.

This is from her Snapchat yesterday. Too my knowledge, it hasn’t been altered.

Girl. Stop it.

Kroy? Are you seeing this? Get your wife some help, man. This is beyond the realm of normal.

Talk soon Lovelies

Allie

Sunday Riley Blue Moon Cleansing Balm

I got this gem with my Charms with Boxycharm-it’s a 55$ product, and I paid nothing but charms for it. That just can’t be beat.

You can use this to remove makeup or just cleansing, it melts as you rub it into your skin-however, there are these little balls that don’t melt? I think they are to help exfoliate-they’re not rough or hard, it’s an overall gentle cleansing balm.

This is some nice shit. The scent is light-I think I detect vanilla maybe? I’m not good at identifying what’s what with scent, but I can tell you it smells good. It’s not heavy. I was surprised at how big it is-3.4 ounces, which is pretty large for skin care.

I loved the Sunday Riley Tidal Moisturizer I got in Ipsy, and this is on par. Would I actually spend the cash on it? Probably not-but that doesn’t speak to the quality, it speaks to my cheapness. I’m thrilled Boxy offered this in the Charm Shop. If you can try it, I’d recommend it-if you don’t mind spending 55$ on Cleansing Balm, I’d recommend it.

And there you go.

Talk soon Lovelies

-Allie

Colourpop Haul. Again.

Can’t….stop…..buying….Colourpop..

I don’t even have an excuse. I blame Colourpop for sending me BOGO and 20% off offers, really. What an I supposed to do, say no? Ha!

What really brought this on is the new stick foundation. I really REALLY wanted to try it, and with 20% off? I can always use concealer-and while I’m at it, a darker one for contour would be cool-that’s my internal dialogue-you get the picture.

So to start, I got the No Filter Concealer in Medium Dark 38

No surprises, I’m very familiar with the formula and performance, so it is what it is.

No Filter Concealer in Fair 06

No Filter Stix Foundation in Fair 27N

Colourpop foundations/concealers are tough, I find them to be WAY lighter in person than they are on the website. It’s really hard to get a good match if you aren’t aware of that.

Lux Lipstick in 27

Love the Lux formula-it’s creamy and just really good. This shade is so pretty in person.

Jelly Much Eyeshadow in Foxes

I still can’t get over the pigmentation of this shadow. I just lightly touched the cap and got this kind of payoff-it’s insane. I can’t wait to use it.

So there it is. The Jelly Much is probably the most exciting thing-it’s gorgeous. Stay tuned because you already know I’ve got more coming.

Talk soon Lovelies

Allie

Me And MaggieMoo

Well, my visit with Maggie Moo has come to an end and what an amazing time.

She’d never been this far north, and since it’s fall in New England and the leaves are at their peak, I had to take advantage of that. More later.

She got in on Sat, I took her to her hotel, she checked in-I’d made a “Welcome to CT” bag for her. We went grocery shopping, then to my house where she met the fam, and we ordered pizza. She had to try CT pizza, you know.

Then on Sun we hit Christmas Tree Shops-they don’t have them in Pensacola and I thought she’d like it-then of COURSE Sephora and Ulta. Duh. That haul is coming soon…

On Monday I took her for a drive thru CT and then to an apple orchard-pics below:

It was so pretty-she tried apple cider, and got some apple butter for her parents.

We went back to my house for dinner, I made meatball grinders and apple pie, then brought Mags back to her hotel.

Tuesday I had to catch up on house stuff, made banana bread for Maggie to bring home, then went to her hotel-we got Mexican takeout and I crashed at her hotel because she had to be at the airport at 430am.

We had such an amazing visit. Maggie is beautiful, guys-the tiniest thing with icy blond hair, gorgeous features, and the cutest southern twang. She’s funny, kind, thoughtful, generous, and sweet as the day is long. My whole family fell in love with her and I can’t wait til she comes to visit next. Hopefully in the spring-and I’m going to take her to NYC to see Wicked. It was so nice to spend quality time with my best friend.

That’s the visit update! I plan on going to Pensacola eventually as well…

Talk soon Lovelies

Allie

A Busy, Happy Weekend

Tomorrow, my best friend in the entire world is coming to visit until Wednesday. Why is this blog worthy, you’re probably asking?

Because I met her through this blog.

We started emailing back and forth in January 2017, shortly after the blog began, and discovered we had so much in common, have been through so many of the same things-emails turned to texting (I finally convinced her to upgrade to this century with an iPhone) all throughout the day, and now she’s coming to visit.

She’s never been this far north so has never seen New England foliage, had real apple cider, never felt those super chilly CT fall mornings (I’m sure she could live without THAT) so it’s going to be fun.

She’s been such a good friend to me these almost 2 years, and I’m so excited to finally meet her face to face!

I’ll post photos 😉

Oh, and it’s MaggieMoo.

Talk soon Lovelies

Allie

Bad Habit Luna Palette Review

Bad Habit Beauty is a “dupe” cosmetics company-they make affordable palettes that dupe high end palettes-I know there’s a lot of controversy about dupes, I see both sides of it, and I bought it. Sue me. 😉

The Luna palette is a dupe for Anastasia Beverly Hills’ Norvina palette-

Luna ABH Norvina

The set up is obviously different, and the shades are really pretty close. I wanted the shades that Norvina offered but not the 45$ price tag. 16$ was definitely more like it. The mattes are pretty exact, the shimmers aren’t quite as vibrant as Norvina’s, but a little spray on the brush and it’s better.

Swatches (the usual format, left to right/up the arm):

Crescent, Waxing, Apolune, Penumbra, High Tide, Waning, and Aphelion.

Eclipse, Meridian, Mare, Half Moon, Basalt, Supermoon, Darkside.

The mattes are seriously pigmented, almost on par with ABH to be honest. They are a little powdery and there is some fallout but it’s nothing unbearable. I’ve purchased 2 other palettes from Bad Habit Beauty (both Huda dupes) and they were good quality as well. I feel like if you aren’t opposed to purchasing dupes, this is a great option.

I did add onto this eye look some Colourpop Super Shock Shadow in Bow Down:

I just wanted an extra kick of depth and glitter. It worked out. 👀

The Dose Of Colors Review is coming soon…

Talk Soon Lovelies

Allie