Buxom Customizable Eyeshadow Bar Palette: Review and Swatches

Hello!

My birthday was at the end of June and my best friend got me an amazing gift! I told her to surprise me and she definitely did! She bought me the new Buxom Customizable Eyeshadow Bar Palette and picked out 6 shadows she thought I'd like. First of all, this is the most expensive palette I own now. Secondly, she did a perfect job at picking out colors for me!

Here it is in all of it's glory:

The case is a hard plastic and it has a removable insert to put in the 6 shadows of your choice, which snaps back into place. It has a high quality, decent-size mirror and a double ended mini eyeshadow brush (which is actually not that bad!)

Here are Buxom's claims: "Featuring primer-infused technology to help keep color locked in place, Buxom Eyeshadow Bar Eyeshadows have a powerfully-pigmented formula that glides onto lids—delivering intense payoff with an ultra-luxe, powder-to-silk feel."

After using these shadows for about a month I can honestly say that I completely agree with this description. I have used these without a separate primer and they have lasted all day without giving me an oily crease. The shadows themselves are pretty hard, but once on your skin they blend beautifully, giving that silky feel. All of my colors are very pigmented as well.

Now here are swatches of each individual color:

First up is Satin Seduction, a peachy-champagne color.

This one I use all over my eyelid and brow-bone as a base/highlight. I use it almost every day.

Next is 24 KT Stilettos, a very shimmery yellow-gold.

I haven't used this one yet but it is so pigmented and silky, I love it!

Here is Haute Couture, a cool-toned shimmery brown.

This one is great for the outer V, or placing right underneath the waterline for depth.

Next is Patent Leather, a super glittery silver-purple.

Very glittery, very beautiful. 

Then there's VIP, a pretty much matte magenta-purple.

This has very sparse shimmer in it that doesn't show up much when swatched. It looks more matte than anything else. It also is the chalkiest eyeshadow of the bunch; it is initially very powdery but blends out very nicely. A great "radiant orchid" shadow.

Last is Backstage Pass, a cool-toned dark pearlized denim-blue.

This is my favorite, hands down. I've been looking for a pigmented deep blue that looks almost navy. I love how this looks; even just adding a little in the outer corner looks gorgeous.

Here are all 6 swatches:

As you can see, I love these shadows and highly recommend them. If you pick up the empty palette along with 6 shadows it ends up being much cheaper than buying shadows separately.

What a great gift!

XOXO,
Alyssa

Review and Swatches: Sephora Rouge Infusion Lip Ink (and some extras!)

I've been to quite a few different Christmas/holiday events in the past couple of weeks and wanted to share some of my looks with you as well as a review on Sephora's Rouge Infusion Lip Duo that my bestest friend bought me for Christmas. This set was exclusively sold for Christmas so I don't think you can find it anymore but they sell the full sizes of both of these colors for $14 each at Sephora. 

 The packaging was super cute, one deluxe sized lip ink and one full sized lip ink were included with a description on the back.

 The colors I got are Fuchsia Concentrate (full size) and Red Essence

 She also bought me a color I've been lusting after forever. I haven't worn it yet but I already know I love it. It's Kat Von D's Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in A-Go-Go and it's a bright matte orange. I'm in love.

 Here are the swatches of all three lip colors she bought me:

 As you can see the lip inks do not dry to a matte finish like the Kat Von D lipstick does. The truly are an "ink". They are lightweight and spread out evenly on the lips, but they are quite slippery and their lasting power isn't the greatest. They look amazing for pictures, though. The scent is indescribable and very unusual to me...but not necessarily bad. Here is Red Essence:

(Sorry about the iPhone quality)

 And here is Fuchsia Concentrate, my favorite of the two:

Overall, I absolutely love this gift. Here are the full makeup looks from both nights:

XO Alyssa

Favorite Matte Red Lip: Stila Beso

My friend bought this as a gift for my birthday during the summer and I am literally in love with this color. It feels soft, lasts forever, and makes my teeth look whiter! It's super matte so I don't recommend wearing it with dry lips, but it's a great Christmas/holiday red. Also a great gift for any matte lip lover. To be honest, I would never spend $22 on a lip product but, as a gift, it's perfect!

XO Alyssa

Gift With Purchase Review: Sephora Bright Night Out

Last week my friend told me about Sephora giving a free gift with purchase for Beauty Insiders after spending $25 (online only). I bought the First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser for $20 and a Nails Inc. Polish that was on sale for $5. I've been wanting both of those items for a few months now so I figured this gift with purchase (GWP) bag would be a good idea. I got my items including the "Bright Night Out" GWP (there were 2 other GWPs you could choose from) yesterday and I am beyond happy to share with you my thoughts on the sample products and makeup bag that were included:

 The makeup bag: pretty small but I love the color and I'm going to use this to store all of my samples I get when I online shop!

 The giveaways: Pharrell Williams GIRL perfume sample and Marc Jacobs Lust for Lacquer Lip Vinyl in Kissability. I know I won't really reach for these since I don't wear gloss often and already have a bunch of perfume samples, so these are going to be stocking stuffers for a friend or family member.

 Chloe Eau De Parfum: I've been wanting to try Chloe for so long because I love the way it smells at the store. I don't wear perfume often because I break out in hives if fragrance touches my face. I tend to go for lighter scents to spray on my body for special occasions. So this is actually a nice size for me since I already own so many mini/sample size perfumes.

 Lancome HYPNOSE Drama Instant Full Body Volume Mascara: I love Lancome's mascara samples and this one has such an interesting applicator. It's a slightly twisted bristle brush. This is in Excessive Black.

 Smashbox 24 Hour Photo Finish Shadow Primer: Now, I'm all about my $1 ELF shadow primer, but I figured I would give this one a whirl. It's a pretty decent size for a sample as well.

 Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencil: I've been wanting to try this for so long and I'm happy it's in the color Black Velvet! I have watery eyes so my eyeliner tends to go from my waterline to under my eye pretty quickly.

 Philosophy Loveswept Body Lotion. Great size for travel and a soft, light, perfume scent.

 Kat Von D Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick in Bachelorette: This is the reason I picked this GWP over the other 2 options. I've been wanting this product in A-Go-Go and Bauhau5 for so long but didn't know if the super matte formula was worth the money or looked good on my lips. Finally I get to test it out.

 Here's my naked face with some Maybelline Babyskin primer (~$6)

 Then some of that Smashbox Photo Finish eye primer (full size: $20, GWP size: free)

 I used the shimmery mauve shade and highlight shade from my Tarte Rainforest After Dark Palette (Limited Edition- no longer available but I think it was around $36 when I bought it) on my eye lids

 Added some of that UD 24/7 eye pencil to my tightline and waterline (full size: $20, GWP size: free)

 Then 1 coat of the Lancome mascara (which was amazing, by the way, just compare this to the before picture above) (full size: $27.50, GWP: free)

 Then my normal face routine: Loreal True Match in W2 and W3, mixed together (~$8)

 My favorite setting powder and brush combo: EcoTools Buffing Brush ($6.99) and Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder ($3.99)

 Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser ($6.99) for my under eyes and any other red spots on my face.

 Aw yiss!

 Favorite everyday blush: Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso (~$8)

 I adore this blush for fall/winter! It gives the perfect color to my cheeks!

 Kat Von D Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick in Bachelorette: Unscented, gorgeous reddish-pink, and truly matte. I put some chapstick on first to make sure there wouldn't be any application problems. The one thing I did notice is the tackiness of the lipstick after it dries. Not sticky, just slightly tacky, like the back of scotch tape. (Full size: $19, GWP: free)

 Finished look! After this I put on a shirt and did my hair. I babysat for a couple of hours and then came back home and had dinner:

The makeup stayed put! After eating chicken, broccoli, and ice cream for dessert of course there was some fading and smudging of lipstick. But the lasting power impressed me! It didn't leave a stain on the glass when I drank water and the color is still vivid enough where I didn't feel like a re-application was necessary. Also, the mascara kept it's curl and nothing leaked around my eyes.

All in all I think this was a great set of samples that will probably last me quite a while since I have a lot of makeup. Mini things are just adorable anyway. Hope you liked this very detailed post!

XO Alyssa