Urban Decay Vice 3!

Hi lovelies!

How was your Thanksgiving? For those of you that celebrate it of course,  I hope you ate tons of food and slipped into food coma's, and for those of you that don't celebrate it I hope your day was wonderful and still full of good food!

My Turkey day was non-traditional this year, my mom and I made Eggplant Parm and Meatballs in marinara sauce. It was delicious!

In today's post I wanted to share with you my swatches and my thoughts on the Urban Decay Vice 3 palette! If you saw my most recent video on my YouTube Channel then you know I FINALLY got my hands on this beauty!

Ever since I opened this palette I fell in love with it. Hell I was in love with it when I saw all the amazing Beauty Youtubers talking about it, and then its all I thought about after seeing it in person in Sephora. Oh the things Sephora does to us! Am I right?

Lets take a look at the packaging.

The Vice 3 comes in this beautiful case that you can either keep your palette in or use as a makeup bag. I plan on keeping this as a carrying case for my palette, especially if I do any traveling I'll feel better about it being protected. Not that I do a whole lot of traveling anyway. The design on the case is just amazing it reminds me of a sunset or something from the 1980's but I can't put my finger on what it is.

And of course the actual palette has the same design which on the metal-ish/plastic casing looks just stunning. I could not stop staring. The Vice lettering is a lime green raised plastic, that I'm not going to lie, I ran my fingers over a few times because of the texture. Call me weird if you must.

The only downside that I found and I think a lot of other blogger did too was that the outside case is fingerprint city. I have a compulsive thing about the outside of the case looking nice and I know its a waste of time cleaning it off every time especially if I use the darn thing every day!

Look at all those gorgeous colors. Seriously you guys I didn't want to touch this palette when I first opened it, I didn't want to mess them up, but I didn't spend the $60 bucks on this just to stare at it.

So I dug in.

You get five columns of outstanding colors. Each of them in their own color family and giving you five potential looks. But I don't always go by that. I go for what I feel .

I'll get this out of the way now since I will be saying it about all the colors in this palette. The texture on these are buttery and smooth and just one circle around with your finger or a few dabs with a brush you will get lots of color. Especially with some of the darker shades like Bondage and Reign. There are a few colors that are too light or powdery, I found those to be Alien (too light), and Truth (too powdery).

Lets look at swatches.

 In the first column you have your matte/transition shades. Like I mentioned earlier Truth was the powdery shade. Obviously as a skin tone shade you don't need it to be pigmented but because its a matte shade its can be powdery so I mainly use it to blend out the edges of my eyeshadow to highlighting my brow bone.

Undone, Downfall, and DTF are great crease shades and transition shades that help when your using a ton of colors in one look.

 In the second row column you have some of the not so normal colors. I have never worn blue or green eye shadow before and yet Dragon is calling my name to be used some how very soon. I think my next afternoon off I'm going to be playing around big time.

 In the third column we have some lovely shades. I've used Vanity in my outer corner already. Its a nice change up to using a dark brown or black. In the palette it comes off pretty vibrant but on the eye its more muted.

 The fourth coloum is all the pinks and reds. Look at them, they are just so ugh unbelievable. I think part of my decision on buying this palette was based of of Sonic, and Alchemy. As you can see Alien (At the top) is that one shade I wish was just a little more pigmented. In the palette it has so much potential, it has this amazing gold shimmer to it just screams 'Oh yes come to mama!. On the eye its barely a sheer wash of color and you don't see any of the gold.  I've used Bondage quite a bit and create a lovely smokey eye with it. My co-workers enjoyed it too.

The last column we have one of my favorite shades Last Sin. Its just this amazing shimmery neutral shade that when you have a dark crease and outer corner it helps blend everything together on the lid. Even wearing this by itself is nice if your going for that, 'wearing makeup, but I don't want to look like it' look. As for the last three shades I haven't delved into them too much yet, I'll get there, I saw a really pretty smokey eye on Pixwoo's YouTube channel Revolver and Defy could be great for!

And there you have it my lovelies, my look and thoughts at the Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette. This Palette retails at Sephora, and on Urban Decay's website for $60. Amongst all the other holiday palettes out there I'm glad I got this one!

I'll talk to you all soon! <3 Nicole

Urban Decay Cosmetics Naked 3 Palette!

Hi guys! Its Monday again, but that means its also new blog post day!!

I apologize for my post going up so late, but we all know real life can get in the way. I so wish that blogging was kind of my full time job.. I love it so much!

Today I bring you a post that I have been putting off because I think its my favorite one yet, and if you saw the title then you already know where this is headed.

Back in March I placed a Sephora order and bought myself the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette. I did this after much consideration of other eye shadow palette from other companies. I literally did research for months on what palette I wanted.

How important is doing research on a beauty product you want to purchase?

So in the end I'm pretty sure that I made the right decision, I have used this palette almost every day since I got it and now after a couple months of using it I want to tell you what I think.

 
First off, the packaging... I have said over and over I am a sucker for anything rose gold... and this makes no exception. I love that its a metal case that snaps shut so you don't have to worry about it opening up during travel. Its slim so it will also travel nicely as well. Its not as thin as my LORAC Pro Palette but its compact enough. I like that this palette has a texture top to it, I think it adds a little something extra that we don't always see.

All these shadows for the most part are warm rose toned shadows. I'll be the first to admit I never wore much pink eye shadow when I started playing with makeup with I was a kid. I always thought it washed me out. Turns out I was just using to pale of a pink.

Formula wise these are all soft and easily blendable. I found them all really easy to work with except Dust which is a little too sheer for me. 


Lets take a look at swatches:  All swatches are photographed in sunlight with no primer underneath.

Here we have the first three shades, Strange, Dust and Burnout. Strange is a shade I use most definitely for highlighting. Its not a complete matte, more of a satin finish. Dust is a very light shimmery pink, its a nice color but too light for me and it doesn't really show up on my eyes. Burnout is slightly darker than Dust, and I love using this as an all over lid color and blend it out with a nice light brown in the crease for a wearable look for work.

Next up we have Limit, which is one of the two only matte shades in this palette. I like using it as a transition color when I'm working with some of the darker colors. Next is Buzz again a medium pink that is kind of like Burnout but a little less pigmented, I still like it as an overall lid color. Lastly in this set is Trick. Trick is one of my favorite colors in the palette. Its a warm peach, color that is super shimmery/glittery and its just looks like foil on the lid, ( at least for me it does). I would beware the fallout with Trick, when I tap off any excess I can see the glitter go everywhere!

Now we are getting to the darker side of the Naked 3. We have Nooner, Liar, and Factory. Nooner is the only other matte shade in the palette. I like to use it as a crease shade when I don't want a smokey eye or to use a brown. Its a nice change of pace when I need a different look. Liar is a rose gold shade that I just can't believe I never used earlier.

I can successfully say I have used all the shades in this palette at the time of this post! I have aways been fearful of darker colors for fallout and the fact I suck at blending darker shadows without getting it everywhere.

Factory is a mid tone brown shade that I used on my outer corner most of the time.

Finally we have the last three shades, the ones that are the most pigmented, Mugshot, Darkside, and Blackheart. Mugshot and Darkside are darker brown shades that have a pink undertone to them, once again I use these as outer corner colors and in my lower lash line. Blackheart is a really dark brown with red shimmer running throughout. The red shimmer doesn't transfer to the eye as well though. That doesn't bother me so much but if its something you look for you can always add red glitter on top to bring it out more.

You can see even without primer these shadows can pack a punch, but sadly they don't stay long on my lid without primer. When you purchase the Naked 3 ( It retails for $52 at Sephora, and $54 on Urban Decay's website) you also get a four pack of UD Primer Potion samples. You get original, Sin, Anti-aging, and Eden which is a long wear primer. You don't necessarily need the UD primers to get the shadows to strut there stuff. The Hard Candy long wear primer does just fine.

You also get a double ended brush with your purchase. It's just as adorable as the palette. One side is a small paddle brush the other a larger fluffy blending/paddle brush. The smaller paddle brush is not my favorite, it's stuff and I have a hard time packing on color. The fluffier end however is amazing for blending out color and placing color in my outer corner! 

Overall I love this palette, I get pretty much everyday use out of it, and I never get tired of pairing it with other eye shadows I have. The price point is a little iffy for me. I never spent $52 bucks on make up before. I can see why now though, you definitely get what you pay for!

If you are looking to purchase the Naked 3 you can do so at Sephora stores or online and I'm sure they have it at Ulta, and also on UD's website! I hope maybe this review swayed you on whether or not you wanted to purchase it or not!

I'll talk to you all on Wednesday! <3 Nicole

Sephora Event Entry Palette

Good Morning my fellow beauty lovers!!! Spring has finally made its way to New York! It was 60 degrees yesterday and about the same today! It feels so good not to have to wear a heavy jacket outside!

Today I have to show you a palette I got in my Sephora order I placed at the beginning of March. When browsing Sephora one can definitely say that sometimes Sephora suggest products and you wind up getting suckered into buying them. Honestly thought this palette was well worth the...wait for it.. FIVE DOLLARS I paid for it!

This is the Sephora Event Entry Palette. Its cute and sleek, oh and did I mention glittery??? I would show you the outside but its kind of got some make up on it from me using this so much. Originally this palette was $11 but when I got it, it was on clearance for $5.

You get eight eye shadows and these eight shadows can create a great neutral look or a smokey with the use of only a couple of shadows.

These shadows don't have names so from top to bottom in the photo above we have a satin cream shade that's great for a highlight, next is a shimmery peachy nude, (I love pairing that shade with one of my Maybelline Nude Color Tattoos), Next is a shimmery medium brown and the last is a matte dark brown. I love using the browns in my crease and outer corner to create a work appropriate smokey eye.

In the second row of shadows we have a shimmery silver, next is a slate color and then you have two blacks, one that is shimmery and one that is matte. I have used the matte black as a liner but I haven't yet created a look with this row of shadows.

These shadows are super blendable even if they are a bit powdery without primer. Using a primer or a cream base really helps the color pop out and stay put for a long time. Without the primer sadly these shadows do not last long on my oily lids.

I can see myself using the palette a lot when I go on vacation or travel. Its about the size of my palm and can be tucked easily into a small makeup bag or purse. It also has a magnetic closure so it stays shut. The only thing I wish maybe Sephora had put into this palette was a small mirror.

I hope you guys enjoyed this look at the Sephora Event Entry Palette. At the time of this post the Event Entry Palette is not in stock and I don't know if they will ever re-release it. But who knows they may always come out with something better!

I'll see you all next time! <3 Nicole

Soap And Glory: Butter Yourself: Five Fruits, Super Rich Smoothing Body Cream.

Good Sunday morning!! I hope you all are having a great weekend and if you are celebrating St. Patricks Day early I hope you are doing it responsibly!

Today I bring you a review of a product that I have been using since I got it back last year in July! I know its been a long time coming but I wanted to make sure I absolutely loved it. That's a good excuse right?

I am in love with the brand Soap And Glory, they are a U.K based brand but have been brought over here to the U.S. I believe first through Target, and then they went over to Sephora and that's where they have stayed.

I first discovered Soap And Glory when I saw someone here on the Internet talk about Hand Food, which is their famous hand cream that smells AMAZING! I think it might of been through Fleur De Force's blog. If I can find the post I will link to it. I immediately thought I had to get my hands on that stuff so when I did I was introduced to a whole new line of body care.

I have had my fair share of body lotions, especially from Bath and Body Works, and their lovely but one thing I look for when I used a body lotion/cream/butter is that A. It moisturizes well, that it sinks in to my skin without leaving a residue, and that if I accidentally skip a night of using it, my skin won't suffer, and B. is that the scent lingers on my skin for more than the time it took me to apply it. I noticed with the BBW lotions was that they were nice but just not cutting it for me. Hence I don't really buy them much. So I took a chance buying a $20 body cream praying that I would get my moneys worth.

And let me tell you... The Butter Yourself Five Fruits Super Rich Smoothing Body Cream  (holy mouthful!) is totally worth it.

This stuff is amazing! The texture of this body cream is super smooth and not too thick. It is super absorbent, my skin eats this stuff up! Now my skin is not normally too dry but I like to be extra preventative in the winter with all the cold dry air around.

Here are a list of some the ingredients of the Butter Yourself Body Cream. It contains exfoliating AHA's, orange waterjuice, shea butter, peppermint oil, and fruitliquid fig. On the top lid it talks about the Fruitgo Fragrance, that contains, notes of frozen yuzu, orange oil, green fig, and jungle pomelo essence. Here on the Soap & Glory website you can check it out all for yourself and even find products in the similar scent family!

I wish there was a way to let you guys smell this body cream. To me it smells like a tropical fruit smoothie. I know thats a horrible description but its true. If you don't like super fruity fragrances then this might not be up your ally.

Here you can see that I have used quite a bit of this 10oz tub but fear not I have quite a bit left. A little goes a long way with this stuff! And now to the one main thing that I LOVE about this and why I will repurchase this when I run out: besides making my skin feel smooth and moisturized, my skin becomes super soft and the rough bits on my elbows and knees are no more! Its like a baby's butt! Also the scent... oh my gosh the scent... as I write this I just took a shower about almost 6 hours ago and I can still smell the lotion like I just put it on! How awesome is that!! That is the top reason why I will always buy Soap And Glory!

 If you want to get your hands on any Soap and Glory Products you can check out their website which I linked above or check out Sephora's websites and stores!

Talk to you guys soon! <3 Nicole.

Benefit Cosmetics: Rockateur.

Hey all! Happy Wednesday, and happy 10 days until spring! I am so excited for spring, I have had enough of the snow!

Today's post is going to be a review on a product that purchased in my latest Sephora order. Now I don't get to order from Sephora often, usually its once to maybe twice a year when I get my tax refund or if I have a little extra money. Its kind of turned into this yearly thing for me where I can stock up on my favorite body products and splurge on some high end make up!

I have never been able to try anything from Benefit Cosmetics before, I have always seen YouTube videos and blog post about some of their amazing products, and now I am so glad I finally own one!

The Rockateur blush was something that I heard a lot about in the beauty community. I heard how pretty it was, how it was a natural rose gold blush that all my favorite gurus were using. I am a SUCKER for anything rose gold. I have at least 5 nail polishes that are rose gold in color from all different brands and I will totally buy more when I come across them. Rose gold, whether its in jewelry, makeup, clothing, or nail polish it seems to suite a multitude of skin tones which is awesome.

So when I heard about Rockateur it became a lemming of mine that is now finally squashed.

I like the packaging on Rockateur, its girly with the lace yet a little edgy with the fake snake skin and black square studs. I'll be honest I couldn't really see the studs at first and thought something was on my blush!

Upon seeing the blush I thought wow this is really tiny! The Internet sure makes things look bigger! But that doesn't mean this blush won't pack a punch, a light natural looking punch but a punch none the less.

Look at all that rose gold goodness! It is so beautiful I almost didn't want to use it! As you can see it cut off there is a decent size mirror with the packaging, this also comes with a brush but I don't usually use them. This blush is scented, its a nice floral scent that doesn't bother my nose at all, but if you are not a fan of scented makeup then this might not be for you. You can smell it when you apply it to your cheeks but thats about it, you definitely do not go throughout the day smelling the blush.

As I said above this blush is made to give you a natural flush. I have never been huge on bright blushes so this was right up my ally.

Here is a concentrated swatch of Rockateur. I still can't get over the rosy goldness of this blush. I literally have used this every day since I got it!

The price tag on this beautiful piece of makeup is $28, even though I was doing my annual Sephora splurge don't think that I didn't research this blush till I was blue in the face.  I think I took it in and out of my shopping cart 10 times before saying 'screw it you only do this once a year!" Although to someone who doesn't have extra money all the time,  it is pricey but then again it is high end.

I hope that maybe this review gave you an insight to Rockateur amongst the other hundreds of reviews out there. Whether it sways you one way or another that's up to you but I love it and am glad it has a place in my makeup collection.

Until next time!
<3 Nicole

A lil bit of nail art and a story.

Good morning! I hope you all are well!

So this new year isn't starting out the best for me. About two weeks ago I got sick, which you guys know took me out of commission for a week. Now something else happened that took me out of commission this past weekend.

I had my cat Binx  since I was about 11 years old, she had been my constant companion. Back in May she got sick and had to have emergency surgery which was an hysterectomy , we never had her fixed because she was an indoor cat, she survived the surgery and I thought all was ok. After her surgery she had a major personality change, she became mean and would attack your feet if you crossed her and she lost the part of her that showed any affection. This made me sad and I always played the 'what if ' game, (its not good to do that b/c you just make yourself crazy). Binx had always had some sort of neuroses about her since she was a kitten but now it had just gotten worse, she started to pace all the time walking from one end of our apartment to the other, or just sleeping.

 On Thursday I noticed she was different, she was pacing a lot more than normal, she wasn't sleeping at all and her walk was off. My mom could even pet her and pick her up and there would be no fight from Binx. She was also trying to hide throughout the day, which I know is a signal from a cat saying that its almost their 'time'. Thursday night I laid Binx in her cat bed and she didn't move for a couple of hours, when I got up in the middle of the night I saw she wasn't anywhere to be found. At that point I came to terms that if it was her time to go it was okay and I would accept it. Friday morning when she still didn't make an appearance we found her stuck behind some boxes just standing there, its like she didn't know how to get out. I thought maybe she was going blind but her eyes were fine. When we got her out from behind the boxes her equilibrium was way off she could barely walk. We took her to the vet imeditetly. The vet told us that there was definitely something bothering her nervous system, but her one ear was clogged with wax and it could be an inner ear infection that was causing it all. Upon further check of her eyes, that's where we saw the problem and that maybe this wasn't going to be an easy fix. When the vet brought his hands close to her face she had no reaction and when they shined a light in them her pupils didn't dilate like they should when a bright light is shined in them.

The vet told us to give it 24 hours and see what would happen, they gave her an injection of steroids and antibiotics and some ear drops. I think that the vet was trying to give me some ray of hope that Binx would get better, because if there was no change then it was something with her brain or the brain stem. At that point there wouldn't be anything that we could do. So as Friday went on we watched Binx deteriorate, she started walking through her food and water and just never stopped walking around. We had to keep her in carrier just to get her to calm down. Friday night my family and I decided to bring her back to the vet Saturday morning. In doing so the vet saw how much worse Binx had gotten, at this point Binx was shaking and panting and not even responding to touch anymore. The cat I had grown up with was gone, and as much as it tore my heart apart we had to do what was right for her and end her suffering her suffering was tearing my heart apart even more. Sadly we had to put her to sleep. It was the hardest most heart wrenching thing I have ever had to do in my entire life. As I write this I am fighting back tears.

*** I APOLOGIZE TO ANYONE I JUST MADE CRY BY READING THAT STORY***

So that explains my absence from twitter and here on the blog this weekend. But I am back and ready to continue on.

Today's manicure was inspired by an outfit I bought my niece, I purchased a onesie for her that had a cupcake on it and said "I take the cake" because my niece is a little chunky monkey I so desperately wanted to write on it with fabric paint, "and eat it too".

So my nail art was inspired by that cupcake on the outfit.

I started off by doing a gradient on each nail with L'Oreal Royalty Reinvented and Nicole By OPI Selena. The L'Oreal polish is really good for sponging, the NOPI not so much, it didn't stick to my white base well and I had to go over it many times, and if I dabbed too much with the make up sponge it took the polish off. It was so friggen frustrating. Once I got the gradient the way I wanted it I started on the cupcake on my accent nail.

I used:

Sally Hansen Celeb City for the cupcake 'tin'

Pure Ice Superstar for the frosting

Pure Ice Stunning for the sprinkles

Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby for the cherry on top

Sinful Colors Black Striper for outlining the tin.

Once I finished the cupcake I did add Sephora Chaotic to the rest of my nails to help the gradient look better.

So I hope you guys liked today's post except for the beginning part. I will talk to you all soon with a brand new post. I'm thinking also about doing a post on my nail care routine!

Talk to you all soon!
<3 Nicole

Sephora X Nail Polish: Chaotic

Hello lovelies!

Happy almost weekend!

Today I have a polish to show you that I was very excited to get my hands on. I first saw this polish when Jen from The Polishaholic featured it on her blog about a month ago I want to say. Sephora created a new line of nail polishes called Sephora X, they have a ton of different colors and finishes, this polish is a part of collection called 'The Toppers'.  It is a black and white glitter polish! How cool is that? I know that some of the best B&W glitters come from all the amazing indie nail polish brands out there, and I do hope to get my hands on some of them one day, I just have to set up a PayPal account, which I always forget to do!

So this Sephora Polish is called Chaotic, which I feel its name does suit it. It does look like it creates chaos on the nail when applied over certain colors. Over other colors it just looks freaking awesome.

The glitter make up of Chaotic consist of small round black and white glitter, black bar glitter, medium hex black and white glitter, and large black and white hex glitter in a clear base. I think I would been a little bit more happier if they had put a bit more white glitter into the mix, especially white bar glitter.

Application is fairly good, the small standard brush can get stuck with some of the big pieces of glitter in between the bristles which can make glitter placement a little clumped together. Dry time is good and the finish is glossy but a little rough to the touch, not so rough that its annoying to touch it though. A good coat of your top coat makes it all better.

In the two pictures above I used chaotic over China Glaze Loves A Beach from the Summer Neons Collection,( I will have a full review of Loves A Beach soon) I also used it over Essie Mint Candy Apple, (full review to come of that soon as well). I think Chaotic over MCA makes it look like mint chocolate chip ice cream, anyone else think so?

Anyway the availability of Chaotic is pretty good, if you cannot get your hands on one of the many awesomely amazing  B&W  Indie glitters then this can help you get by until you do. Most Sephora Anchor stores have the Sephora X line, if you only have access to the Sephora's that are located in some JC Penny stores then you won't find it there and you will have to order it online through the Sephora Website. This polish retail for $11.50 each, which is pretty steep price tag for only a 10ml bottle but hey it is Sephora after all.

Until next time!
<3 Nicole

Nails Inc. Sprinkles Topping Lane.

Good afternoon!

Hope you all are well! Today I bring to you the second of the Nails Inc. Sprinkles Collection, Topping Lane!

Topping Lane is a pink jelly base that personally I would like to see Nails Inc put out on its own; that is filled with small round silver, fusica and purple glitter. I know Nails Inc. says its a different color but to my eyes it's a deep purple which I like a lot!

Once again two coats is the perfect amount to achieve opacity. I definitely feel like I have dipped my hands in pink frosting and then matching sprinkles. Speaking of sprinkles this polish also matches the sprinkles and candy coating I bought for the cake bites I will be making next week for my sister/BFF's baby shower. Maybe this will be my baby showers manicure.

Ok before I get to pictures I wanted to let you guys know I will be do a nine week summer nail art challenge! I will be doing it alongside Adri from Moriesnailart, and Lindsey from Polish and Diamond! I think I will do a separate post tomorrow to give you all the details!

Ok now for pictures! All picture are two coats with top coat in natural sunlight!

Hope you enjoy!

Nails Inc. Sprinkles: Sugar House Lane.

Hello!

Today I have one of four polishes I was super excited to get my hands on. I finally placed a much needed first ever online Sephora order.

I have only been to Sephora on a couple of occasions but never bought much. Sephora is slightly out of my price range. But after hearing a lot about the Sprinkles collection from Nails Inc. I knew I had to get them!.

I had a little bit left on a gift card from Christmas so I figured I would use that and get two of them. But Sephora sucks you in by teasing you. How? Well once you add a product to your cart a little note pops up saying if you spend x amount of dollars more you qualify for free shipping! The minimum purchase for free standard shipping is $50. So I got sucked in and bought the rest of the collection and a Soap and Glory shower gel.

I can complain though I'm enjoying every bit of what I ordered plus the samples!

So here it is Sugar House Lane. Its not my favorite of the four but I like it for work. It definitely came in handy yesterday when our specialist from corporate was around.

The polish is a beige jelly base that I can tell wants to mimic milk chocolate frosting with sprinkles like the little cupcake picture on the bottle. The glitter is small and round, colored black and silver that does look white in some instances.

The formula is amazing! Two costs and I'm good to go! You do need more than one coat of top coat to even it out. The pictures below show Sugar House Lane in natural sunlight and the last one is with a flash.

Until next time!