EOTD: Smokey Brown Eye

     Today was a very lazy day.. I sat around with a good friend, baked brownies, played the sims, and chatted with her about going to college :)

     I got bored and struck inspiration for this look from a few wonderful Tumblr posts. This is a REALLY dramatic eye (for me at least) so this isn't very common for me... I just felt like going all out with some great brown shadows. ;)

    This is my first true EOTD, and I had a BLAST with it. I feel like I'm getting the hang of photoshop all over again.

Here it is!

Products I used: 

Primer:

ELF Eyelid Primer.

Eyeshadows:

(All over lid) MAC Eyeshadow: Soft Brown

(Outer Lid) Urban Decay Eyeshadow: Half Baked

(Crease) NARS Eyeshadow Duo: Cordura- Lighter color in inner crease, darker color in outer crease

(Inner Corner) Sassy from TheBalm's Nude 'Tude Palette

(Brow) Browbone color from Wet N' Wild's Walking on Eggshells Palette

Liners:

Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof liner in Black (winged, under eye, tightlined)

Wet N' Wild Coloricon Eyeliner in White (Waterline)

Mascara:

Model Co Lashxtend Black Lengthening Mascara.

I'd love feedback! Leave me all of your questions, comments, and tips.

Here's to many more EOTD's to come!

Izzy

January 2013 Birchbox.

Get your very own Birchbox here!

     This month's theme for the box is "Best Year Ever", and the card is basically just Birchbox HQ begging its customers to stay subscribed, because they have "...plenty of ideas for maximizing our individual happiness". Hmm. I've been contemplating switching beauty box services for a while now, to try something new. This box would have been a complete dud for me if it wasn't for the nice eyeliner I got.

My box upon opening- everything was upside down :(

What a neat little box-thing!! Must be something cool inside- SIKE! It's a perfume sample and a tiny sample of a hair serum.

Here's what I got:

• Embryolisse Lait-Créme Concentré- 24-Hour Miracle Cream- This is a nice sized sample for a cream. I'll be trying this on my face and hands ASAP; I'm a major sufferer of VERY dry winter skin, and I'm always down to try a new moisturizer. 
• Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner- This product saved my box for me. I was at first NOT thrilled at all to get this, because I was never a fan of liquid eyeliners, but using this product has completely changed me. It's perfect, and so easy to use. It's full-sized too, which makes me believe I got my money's worth this month :) Separate review for this eyeliner is definitely coming soon!
• Juicy Couture Viva la Juicy- I hate getting perfume samples. I never use any of them because I'm extremely picky about my scents. This just smells to overbearing and "girly" to me; it just reminds me of girls dousing themselves in perfume in my school's locker room and leaves me nauseous. This is the second Juicy Couture perfume sample I've received too, and so far i'm 0-2 with liking their range of products
• Ojon Damage Reverse Instant Hair Restorative Serum- There probably isn't enough product in that sad tube to even cover my ends. I'll use it one day though, but I'm almost sure it won't help my hair at all.
• Nuxe Beauty 24 Hour Moisturizing Body Lotion- This was my beauty extra this month. Two moisturizers in one box, and BOTH of them claim moisture for 24 hours?! I'm suspicious... It's a pretty small sample size, especially for a body lotion :/ we'll see if it keeps my skin soft for as long as it claims!

     The longer I receive my Birchboxes, the more I'm thinking about switching over to Glossybox. I'd much rather have larger-sized products every month, even if it costs a little more, just because I feel like I've never had a single month w/ Birchbox where I've been thrilled with everything I've received. Opening this box was kind of a letdown, even though the eyeliner made up for it in the end.

Try birchbox and form your own opinion here! :)

     Do you have Birchbox, or do you plan to subscribe to another similar beauty box? I'd love to know your opinion about these services!

Love,

Izzy

Sephora Haul

     I hope everyone is having a a good week! I was planning to post a FOTD today but my eyebrows look AWFUL (practically Wolverine status here, I'm not exaggerating) and I can't bear to post any pictures, haha. I'll get them done tomorrow and post a FOTD then, I guess!

     I got a lot of Sephora gift cards for Christmas, especially from my mom since she had no idea what to get me this year. I used some of them  right after the holidays when they were offering 20% off sale items. I can't beat a good bargain, so I picked out some things I've been wanting to get.

     One of my favorite things about shopping for makeup is all of the awesome packaging that the products come in. Everything is so pretty and it makes me want to buy more and more! 

Here's what I got:

• Kat Von D True Romance Eyeshadow Palette
• Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencil Duo; Ransom and Burbon
• Philosophy Have a Cherry Christmas High-Flavor Lip Shine
• Smashbox Studio Pop for Lips
• BareMinerals The Star Treatment Eyeshadow Palette

       I'm so excited about all of these purchases ;__; Everything I bought was on sale to begin with and 20% off, too, which justifies my splurging. This sale was a great way for me to explore some new brands and all of the stuff I got has been wonderful. I'll definitely be writing separate reviews for the majority of these products, because I'm impressed with all of it.

FOTD will be coming soon, my lovelies! Cannot wait to get my brows back into shape :)

Love,

Izzy

Drugstore Haul- Wet N' Wild Nudes

     The last time I stopped in at Rite-Aid I went to apply for a job. They're hiring cashiers and I have that kind of experience so I was excited to be interviewed! Unfortunately they don't hire anyone under eighteen. It seems like I'm not going to be able to find another job until my birthday.. -_-

     Anyways, I gravitated to the Wet N' Wild section (of course!) and picked up a few products. The lip products were buy one get one half off so I got the lip gloss for a buck :)

     Afterwards I went to Target and got the brushes shown below, but I'm going to wait and review them separately so I can give a fair opinion about them.

Here's what I got:

• Megalast Lip Color in "Bare it All" (It's a dupe for MAC's Viva Glam II- I reviewed and swatched them here!)
• Megaslicks Lip Gloss in "Sun Glaze"
• Idol Eyes (See what they did there? haha) Cream eyeshadow pencil in "Pixie"
• ColorIcon Eyeshadow trio in "Walking on Eggshells"

Not included in this post: ELF Eyeshadow "C" brush and Target branded crease brush.

Onto the Eye products! :)

     I picked up the cream eyeshadow on a whim. I figure that this is Wet N' Wild's dupe of NYX's Jumbo Eye Pencils and since I don't really have an Ulta close to me I figured I'd just try this one. it's a gorgeous color anyways.

     I've wanted "walking on eggshells" for the longest time (isn't it THREE MAC dupes or something crazy like that?) because the reviews I've heard are awesome. It definitely didn't disappoint in the swatches:

From top to bottom: Shadow pencil, Browbone Color, Crease Color, Eyelid Color.

     How BEAUTIFUL are these colors?! I love them all so much, especially the crease color- it's SUCH a rich shimmery brown that I love using with my new crease brush :) I can see all of these shades being extremely versatile, especially because I've been drawn to nude colors so much lately. These shimmery colors, mixed with some matte shades, can most definitely be used to make eyes really pop.

      The shadow stick is gorgeous, too, and I swatched it next to Makeup Forever's cream shadows (since I had been to Sephora that day). There's honestly no difference in the quality between these two products, in my opinion, which completely makes this stick worth the $1.59 price tag! ;)

Lip Products!

     I'm surprised with how well these work! I was expecting crap because they were so cheap. But WNW isn't going to let me down! The lipstick, in the shade "Bare it All" glides on the lips, and even though it can highlight imperfections it has a beautiful finish and it's extremely pigmented. 

     "Sun Glaze" is just as pigmented, smells like vanilla and stays securely on my lips without being overly sticky. It has a beautiful frosted sheen to it that adds extra volume to whatever look I wear it with. I'm having a love affair with both of these products, honestly.

Megalast Lip Color in "Bare it all", Megaslicks lip gloss in "Sun Glaze"

 From Left to Right: "Sun Glaze" over "Bare it all", "Bare it all" alone, and "Sunglaze" alone

     Wet N' Wild is not only affordable; they are against animal cruelty and don't test any of their products on animals, which is rare to find in many drugstore brands. WNW is definitely a go-to for beautiful makeup on a budget! I can't wait to try out more of their products.

     What are your favorite WNW products, and drugstore brands? Anything specific you'd like me to review? Let me know in the comments down below! :)

Love,

Izzy

$1.99 Dupes- MAC Viva Glam II

I found this dupe entirely on accident. I was shopping and reached for nudes without thinking about it, and ended up with a Wet N' Wild shade that almost matches MAC's infamous Viva Glam II.

Mac Viva Glam II vs. Wet N' Wild Bare it All 902C Megalast Lip Color 

From Top to Bottom: Viva Glam II, Bare it All

From Left to Right: Bare it All, Viva Glam II

Wet N' Wild's lippie seems a little bit darker than Viva Glam, while the MAC lipcolor seems a truer nude with more of a light pink undertone that seems to match my skin color better. I adore both of these shades though!

So, Which do I buy?

Hey man, you can't beat a lipstick that's two bucks and almost exactly matches a MAC shade!! This lipstick is creamy, non-drying, long lasting and SUPER pigmented. Not to mention Wet N' Wild is a cruelty free brand. You're not sacrificing any kind of quality in the product for the price (even though the packaging is a little less stunning :P) If you have the money and want to buy a MAC product that donates to charity, though, be my guest!

Wet N' Wild can be purchased at Rite Aid (that's where I got mine). When I picked up this lippie there was an offer to buy one lip product and get the second half off, so I got some lipgloss for a dollar too :)

I'll be posting about what else I picked up at Rite-Aid (and Target too) in the morning!

Happy duping!

Love,
Izzy

Update: Life has been insane

Hey guys. I'm so sorry I haven't updated with the posts I said I would. This week has been one of the hardest I've experienced in a very long time. Long story short: My grandpa has been in and out of the hospital all week and we've been waiting for test results for him, and my aunt who has been battling cancer for the last two years passed away. It's been unbelievably stressful and sad and to be honest, I just didn't feel happy enough to write about anything. But I've spent the last few days going to the wake and funeral and hospital and spending time with both sides of my family and even though times have been tough, it's not worth it to stay depressed and dwell upon all of the terrible events that have happened. My family and I will all get through this together. We're all healing (slowly), and we all have each other to lean on. So I'll be trying my best to stay positive, and the best way to stay optomistic about life is by talking about makeup, of course!

A beauty related post will be up tonight, I promise! I just thought you guys deserved an explanation for what's been going on. I'm not flaking on this blog already, I swear. <3

Love you all :)

Izzy