January 2018 Favorites & Empties Recap

It's been a couple of months since I've done a monthly favorites post. While this will be considered January's favorites and fails, this is really more like a "mid-Winter favorites" edition.


First, a quick note about my utter failure of the brand focus for January. You'll see the best of the best reflected here, but the concept is one I'm not loving. It turns out that the brand that I picked for January (Smashbox) doesn't excite me. I found a few new loves, but my new favorite product out of the bunch was a CCO pick which is discontinued.


Primers, Foundations, and Concealers:

1- Smashbox Photo Finish Primerizer (a new discovery), 2- Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer Pore Minimizing (rivals Benefit's Porefessional), 3- L'Oreal Magic Perfecting Base (does the job that I hope someday soon injectibles will take over), 4- Makeup Revolution Conceal & Define Concealer (a lovely drugstore concealer I've been reaching for), 5- Smashbox Studio Skin 24 Hour Waterproof Concealer (a fantastic discovery), 6- Guerlain L'Or Primer (is a HG, especially when paired with) 7- La Mer The Soft Fluid Foundation (I do love this, despite the price), 8- Kiko Skin Tone Concealer (is my favorite color corrector, sorry to see the local store closed), 9- Lancome Teint Idole Foundation (is too much on its own, but I've found an ideal mate in), 10- Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Oil (too much on its own but my new favorite mixing oil), 11- Too Faced Hangover Rx 3-in-1 Replenishing Primer and Setting Spray (perfect for winter), 12- Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer- Radiance (one of my new favorite discoveries, I just wish I didn't have so many radiance primers at the moment), 13- ColourPop No Filter Concealer (quite nice, just oxidizes a bit)


Powders:

1- Maybelline Fit Me! Loose Finishing Powder 05 Fair (the raves were real), 2- CoverFx Illuminating Setting Powder (is part of my project pan but I do like it under my eyes as it turns out), 3- Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Ethereal Light (my HG undereye powder), 4- MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural (my new HG)


Bronzer, Contour, and Brows:

1- Too Faced Sweet Peach Glow (the bronzer is outstanding on my pale complexion), 2- MAC Studio Sculpt Defning Bronzing Powder in Delicates (a new cool-toned favorite), 3- ELF Brow Kit in Light (multitasker-- I use the pomade on my brows and love the powder as a contour), 4- Benefit Browvo! Conditioning Primer (is something I love when I'm using it but always forget to repurchase), 5- Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Whiz in Medium Brown (no words necessary)


Blush:

1- Too Faced Sweet Peach Glow (has a lovely peach blush that leaves a healthy glow), 2- Smashbox Soft Lights in Prism (my absolute new favorite discovery and I'm gutted that the brand was foolish enough to discontinue it), 3- Physicians Formula Butter Blush in Plum Rose (a lovely nude blush only for fair complexions), 4- Clinique Cheek Pop in Nude Pop (one of my all-time favorites), 5- Chantecaille Cheek Shade in Blush (it's back in the philanthropy collection!)


Highlighter:

1- theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer (I'm sadly very late to this party), 2- Laura Geller Baked Highlighter in French Vanilla (a true favorite), 3- NYX Love You So Mochi Arcade Glam (a shockingly wonderful new discovery)

Eye Primers, Liners, and Mascaras:

1- Too Faced Glitter Glue (my go-to for glitters and shimmers), 2- Smashbox 24 hour Shadow Primer & Photo Finish Lid Primer (a wonderful duo of primers- one new, one an old favorite- that I've been enjoying), 3- Inglot AMC Gel Eyeliners in 77 & 78 (love these eyeliners and have been loving a teeny wing lately), 4- NYX Slide On, Glide On Eyeliner in Jewel (love this on the lower lash line with pinky looks), 5- NYX Metallic Eyeliner in Rose Gold (a great new Spring 2018 release), 6- Anastasia Beverly Hills Darkside Eyeliner (how did I ever live without this?), 7- Anastasia Beverly Hills Metallic Luster Liners in Liquid Silver and Liquid Gold (so lovely to use on a daily basis), 8- Urban Decay Subversion Lash Primer (my favorite lash primer to date), 9-Chanel Le Volume Mascara in Ultra Black (I'm so sorry to see my final tube done and gone. I love this so much)


Eyeshadow Palettes:

1- NARS Wanted Palette (Admittedly, this was an impulse purchase but the roses and pinks just called my name. Look for a full review from me soon), 2- LORAC California Dreaming Palette (this is new to me- I put it away, unused when I was able to nab it on sale. This seemed to be the perfect month to pull it out, and I'm thrilled), 3- NYX Love You So Mochi Palettes (these are the shocker of the spring for me so far. So, so good!), 4- Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette (I've been feeling rosy looks, so this came out to join the mix)

Lips:

1- NARS Audacious Lipstick in Anita (I was on a pinky nude kick this month and happy to pull this old favorite out), 2- Clinique Pop Lip Color- Nude Pop (this is in promo packaging but this is a lovely nude for daily wear), 3- Shea Moisture Luscious Lipstick in Tea Rose (one of my all-time cool-toned MLBB favorites), 4- Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick in Primrose (my best discovery of the month), 5- Butter London Sheer Wisdom Lip Oils (Ballet Blush pictured but several shades are stunning), 6- By Terry Baume de Rose (any version- I used the original potted, original gloss, and tinted glosses), 7- Hourglass GIRL Stylo in Creator (another lovely pink), 8- NYX Butter Lipstick in Root Beer Float (my favorite discovery from the Holiday 2017 kit), 9- bareMinerals GenNude Liquid Lipsticks in Smooch and Slay (my two favorite shades of the line, this shows the types of colors I'm into this time of year), 10- NudeStix Intense Matte Lip & Cheek Pencil in Belle (finally, a great discovery from the Macy's box!), 11- Smashbox Always On Liquid Lipstick in Babe Alert (my favorite of the line), 12- Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb in Fenty Glow (this ended up on my lips just about every day. I'm obsessed)




Now, a quick note on my empties. I've been tracking my personal Project Pan on Instagram, but here's some analysis on the regular products I've used up- and the dollar value.

This didn't include any decluttered items, so it's shocking to see my monthly total over $900. I've decided to track these stats this year with the hopes of making my future spending conform with it. I know the bath/body will diminish once it gets warmer.

What have you loved or used up?

ColourPop Supernova Shadows in Moonlit and Walk of Shame

I'm sorry to be bringing you one of my big disappointments. I try to find the positive in most products (even if I pro/con them honestly), but these... they're better than the other liquid shadow that injured me, but that's a low bar.

After some mixed experiences with the Stila Glitter and Glows and loving the Wet n Wild liquid shadows, I (like half of the internet) pretty much fell over myself when ColourPop launched their new Supernova shadows ($7, 0.17oz/4.7g). I threw two of these into my most recent order.

Let's get into this.

Walk of Fame is a gorgeous nudey gold that has some serious bronze and silver sheen. It's rich and beautiful. I had all sorts of dreams on how to use it.

Here's a good look at the applicator on these. However, I don't use applicators with liquid shadows- I transfer the product to palettes and use little eye brushes.

Swatched, this looks stunning. I did these swatches before I tried them on the eye and I felt like this was promising.

I loved my testing look upon application, but I'll get into my issues with this product after showing you the other shade I picked up.



I'm a sucker for purples, despite being mentally scarred by another purple liquid shadow in the past.

Moonlit is a stunning, shiny warm purple. It reminds me of a certain other shade, without the p damage to my skin.

This is such a perfect color, in my opinion. I love how gorgeous it is, and it looked just like fall to me.

And here's both of these swatched together:

Now that we've all oohed and aahhhhed over just how beautiful these shadows are, let's talk about my experience with them.

I don't recommend them to anyone.

That pains me to say because I've been liking the ColourPop products that I've tried lately. And these are so beautiful. Here's what happened to me all of the times that I tried them, no matter the base. I've tried these on a bare lid, over a cream shadow, over a powder, and over Glitter Glue.

Across the board, these are flaky. Dangerously flaky in my opinion. Just don't mess with items that fall into your eyes- you have one set of eyes and taking care of them is incredibly important. It was such a mess every time that I wore it that I think it's the formula.

ColourPop Lippie Stix in Poppin'

Yes, I'm taking a day between holiday posts again. Please forgive me. I've run out of pre-written posts, and this has been one of those weeks for which adult beverages were invented. Although I have a ton of housework to do, I'll do my best to get a few more posts done today. I may even get an extra post up later today.

I'm all for giving credit where credit's due. I became totally and utterly obsessed with this shade after watching one of my favorite YouTube channels destroy it.

Enter ColourPop's Lippie Stix in Poppin'.

I've tried quite a few of these, but this is the first MatteX one to enter my collection since I generally stay away from matte items.

Let's break this down. For your $5, you receive 1g/0.0352oz of product. I'm flagging this because that's about 1/3 of the size of a normal lipstick.

Poppin' is  described as a "vibrant raspberry."

I know I have other things like this in my stash, but it's creamy and lovely on the lips.

With a primer, this works well. I'm looking forward to wearing this all winter long (my favorite season for raspberry shades).

Have you tried Poppin'?

Stay tuned for some more holiday later today... hopefully.

New ColourPop Shadows for Fall 2017

I'm sneaking in a second review today because I still had one more Fall 2017 collection to review- ColourPop. I purchased five of the new shadows that the brand released (one Super Shock and four Pressed Powder Shadows).

Let's start with ColourPop's classic formula- the Super Shock Eyeshadow (2.1g/0.074oz). 

I picked up shade Come Clean.

It's a bright yellow gold- something I've been wanting in my life, and the type of shade I wanted to re-acquaint myself with the formula with. These retail for $5 on ColourPop's website- and you need to be careful to keep it sealed so it doesn't dry out.

These swatch so well, and are the perfect lid shades. I don't see myself picking up a ton of these since I've decluttered so many of the ones I had when they dried out. That said, I love a good gold!

I also picked up four of the Pressed Powder shadows. This is a great formula- at a good price. These retail for $4 per pan, or $5 with a plastic package for a 1.5g pan.

There are already a zillion reviews, so I won't get into this in-depth. I think these shadows are really nice.

Now and Zen is the lightest shade.

ColourPop calls this a light gold. I'd concur- it's a white gold shimmer that I thought would be dynamite in the inner corner.

Once the onslaught of new eyeshadow slows, I look forward to testing this all over the lid. It's such a great, glowy shade.

Two Birds is up next.

ColourPop calls it a warm gold- I'd call it a warm golden peach, to be honest. 

This is a nice, smooth shade- no visible glitter. It's nice either blended on the lid or along the lower lashline.

Rose all Day has an interesting name.

ColourPop calls it a vibrant chartreuse, I'll buy that, although I'd just call it olive.

This is another smooth metallic that's lovely on the lid or on the lower lash line. AKA- another consistent ColourPop shade.

Glass Bull is the final shade.

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It's an interesting texture- as you might be able to tell from the pan, post-swatch. According to ColourPop, this is a duochrome lavender icy blue. I'll buy it.

This is a lid-only shade to be used with a tacky primer. It's one of those nearly wet-feeling metallics that flakes. It's lovely though.

Here are the four new fall shades:

I'm continuing to be impressed with ColourPop but these are my favorite pressed shadows that they've released to date.

Have you purchased any of these singles?

ColourPop x My Little Pony Collection

Confession: I have a weakness for My Little Pony.

This isn't holiday, but I wanted to sneak in this review before ColourPop sold out of the entire collection. This is fun and colorful- and perfect for an 80s kid like myself. My mother has tapes of me somewhere playing Ponies as a toddler. Apparently I had different voices for them all.

No wonder I ultimately ended up learning how to ride horses...

Sorry for that digression- let's get back to the collection. In full disclosure, I haven't put this through the normal rigorous testing that I do behind the scenes before posting this- I'm overwhelmed with trying to rapidly test and review the holiday products. I actually see this as more of a January-February-March collection for me. I have done a couple of different looks, but I didn't put it through all of the paces.

I picked up three of the products from the ColourPop x My Little Pony Collection.


 Let's start with the Pressed Powder Face Highlighter in Trickles ($8)

The outer box is stunning- and a collector's item itself! WOW! Now, let's look at the product inside.

Not quite your average ColourPop packaging. This was the first product I unboxed initially, and this made me feel really good about the collection. It's clear that ColourPop spent some serious money after getting the My Little Pony rights- that bodes well for quality products inside.

Before we open up the compact, let's just chat. That $8 gets a single pan that contains 6.5g of product. The packaging itself is a lilac plastic but it feels very secure and doesn't seem cheap. Well done!

OK, let's look at the pan:

Wait. There's a mirror! OK, ColourPop, I see you. I'm feeling you on this.

OK, back to the pan:

Trickles is a pinky lilac shimmer that flashes a lot cooler on the skin. ColourPop says it's "lavender with pink opal duochrome flip." I see the pink more in the pan- but that's my complexion doing that I suspect.

This is strangely really wearable, and I adore these types of shades. So far, we're 1 for 1 with this collection. Despite it looking unicorn-esque, it's wearable on my skin M-F.


Next up, the Super Shock Shadow in Cherries Jubilee ($5)

I have an unrelated story to tell about why I want to pick up a few just to keep for nostalgia reasons. As a child, we had this custard stand in my hometown that had different flavors every day. My favorite flavor of all time? Cherries Jubilee.

So I had to buy this shadow. It's a combination of My Little Pony (a childhood favorite) and my favorite frozen custard of all time. To be honest, it could've been crap and I'd love it.

ColourPop really kept the excellent packaging up, even with this small box.

For $5, you get 2.1g/0.07oz of the unique creme to powder eyeshadow texture that made the brand famous. And this has the same lilac packaging as the highlighter.

According to ColourPop, this is "opalescent pink with hot pink glitter."

My camera didn't pick up the pink shift in the pan- but it's prominent in person. I found one place in the swatch where you can see it subtly- but it's not subtle.

This is a true glitter topper. It's not normally my cup of tea but as I already conceded, I love it no matter what.

Next- and finally- it's the My Little Pony Eyeshadow Palette ($16)

That same packaging continues through in the box, and the shade names are given on the back of the box:

Let's take a look at the palette. This is different packaging than the others- it's cardboard.

I know this is an odd angle, but it's to show off the color shift in the decals on the front!  The back of the palette more clearly shows the shade names:

Although I've tried the pressed powder eyeshadow formula before, this is the first palette I've purchased from ColourPop. That $16 gets you 12 pans of 0.85g each- slightly more than half of their usual 1.5g pan size.

No mirror, but that's no problem. Let's take a closer look at the colors.

And now, the swatches.

Row 1:

I was surprised with how pigmented Butterscotch is, and Bluebell is a totally wearable everyday lid shade.

Row 2:

Skydancer is one of the main reasons why I bought this palette. I'm in love.

Row 3:

Firefly and Snuzzle are nighttime shades for me- I can't wait for a reason to pull them out.


Certainly after Subculture, I tend to look more closely at the post-swatch pans:

No problem here.

If you use the warmer neutral shades, a work-ready look can be made from it. I can't wait to dig into more of the brighter shades.

I highly recommend checking out this collection before it's gone for good!