Tarte Rainforest After Dark Palette - Review + Swatches!

The Tarte Rainforest After Dark Palette was a limited edition release, for the Tarte Fall 2014 Collection. It is an all in one, eye and cheek palette. It was brought back in 2015 because of popular request, but is still a limited edition product. It started off to retail for $38, at Sephora, Ulta and the Tarte website. Where it is available online and in-store. Now the price however has been pushed up to $40. And is still available at all three places. I bought mine at Ulta, for $38 and used $6 off when you've spent $200 at Ulta. Making my palette for $32.

The palette comes with a plastic sheet inside, naming the shades in the palette. There are six eyeshadows (0.035 oz each), one highlighter and one bronzer (0.14 oz each) and one blush (0.21 oz).

The eye shadows are:

• Bare to explore
• Make a mauve
• Plum away with me
• Up to no gold
• Tan-gled up in you
• Down Turn a-brown

The blush, highlight and contour are respectively: 

• Unleashed
• Champagne
• Park Ave Princess 

The pigmentation on the palette is beautiful, aside from the blush which swatched rather poorly.The eye shadows blend beautifully as well as the cheek powders. The palette does come with a rather large mirror which makes it even better for travel, and touch ups. The feel of the palette is sturdy and is compact, which also makes it great for travel. 

The swatches are taken in indoor lighting, with one swipe of each product, I did not want to build up the product so that the pigmentation can be seen properly. From the swatches above you can see that the blush has quite weak pigmentation and is slightly patchy, the rest however is beautiful.

All in all, I really like this product, especially for on the go. It has a great variety of eye shadows for quite a few looks and has you covered for cheeks powders as well. The Park Ave Princess bronzer is one of my favorites, because its a very neutral contour powder that can work as a bronzer as well as a contour powder. I think this palette gives you a bang for the buck, and if you live in the United States and are purchasing online, you can sign up for Ebates and get cashback when ordering for free!

Hope this review was helpful! What are your thoughts about this palette? :)

Bite Beauty ~ Bite Mix and Mingle lipstick Duo - Fig & Date, Review + Swatch!

Hello everyone!

Today I'll be reviewing a holiday release by Bite Beauty, a lipstick duo. The one I'm reviewing today is of last years' holiday collection, in the shades: Fig & Date. These duos retail for $14 at Sephora stores and online. I don't know of any other store or website that carries them, there is a bite beauty blog, but no retailing website. This year Bite Beauty has also released it's duos for the holiday. Last year, as far as I recall there were only two to choose from, however this year there are five! And are very fall appropriate!

The shades Fig and Date are available for purchase separately, in full size. The full size lipsticks retail for $24 a piece. And the duo is a $24 value kit. The sticks are pretty thin, and I did have a little problem with that. As you can probably tell in the picture, the more nude type of shade on the right broke off, even though I didn't apply much pressure. That is one drawback, however I did fix that with a lighter. So I guess that's not too big of a deal.

I wanted to give a little size comparison of the duo with a regular Maybelline lipstick, just for an idea. Because when I got the duo, it for some reason seemed pretty tiny to me. Not a bad thing, just wasn't expecting it to be so small. I have never tried bite beauty before this, so I think it's a nice way to try their so hyped about formula for a fraction of the price and you do get to try two shades. The quantity isn't much, but then again, it is a high end lipstick.

L-R: Fig - Date

The shade fig is a more rosy, neutrally undertoned shade. It isn't too warm, but isn't too cool either. I think it's a beautiful everyday color and would suit a variety of skin tones. The shade date is a more nude, pinky brown. Which too, could be a great every day color for a lot of people. It isn't a nude shade that washed me out at all, and had quite a punch of color. The forumal is extremely creamy, and I don't really need to wear a balm under these because of how creamy they are. They do have a decent time of staying powder as well, and stayed put even after me having meals. Though the inner parts of my mouth did loose some color. The lipstick doesn't have any odd odor either, and is very comfortable on the lips.

Overall verdict, I'm really happy I bought this. I really love the formula, and fell in love with the shade fig so much that I have to get the full size. The formula is very creamy and is relatively long wearing for a creamy lipstick. So grab yourself a duo from this year's holiday collection before they go! Also, you could sign up for Ebates and save 4-8% whenever you shop online at Sephora, or even other stores, for absolutely free.

What are your thoughts on Bite Beauty Lipsticks? Share in comments below! :)

Urban Decay Ammo Palette - Review + Swatches!

Hello lovelies!

Today I'll be reviewing the Urban Decay Ammo Palette, which retails for $34 at the Urban Decay official website and $38 Sephora. Luckily, it is currently on sale for just $16, at Sephora as well as the Urban Decay (UD) official website! I got mine last year around the same time, as a gift from a very dear friend. There are some minor differences in the palette of last year and this year, which I'll mention, but the shades are the same in both palettes. It is a little confusing however, on Sephora this years palette seems a little different than the one I have of last year, where as on the UD website it's the same.

The Ammo Palette is a collection of the 10 best selling shades of UD, compiled in the form of a palette. They range from pops of color to neutral shades. The shadows are arranged in the form of vertical duos, shades that compliment each other when paired together. I would mention however that there are no matte shades in this palette. The quality of the eye shadows is on point, UD never disappoints in this regard.

First row, shades from left to right; Smog, Mildew, Oil Slick, Last Call, Chopper.
Second row shades from left to right; Maui Wowie, Shattered, Polyester Bride, Grifter, Sin.

I'd also like to mention that the shades Smog and Sin are both present in the UD Naked 1 palette. Also, the shade Chopper is present in the UD Naked 2 palette.

Shade description;
Smog: Deep coppery bronze.
Maui Wowie: Sandy sheen.
Mildew: Shimmering metallic green.
Shattered: Bright iridescent aquamarine.
Oil Slick: Black with rainbow glitter.
Polyester Bride: Sheer white shimmer.
Last Call: Iridescent plummy purple.
Grifter: Sparkling pale purple.
Chopper: Shimmering fawn with glitter.
Sin: Light shimmering champagne.

Top row L-R: Smog, Mildew, Oil Slick, Last Call, Chopper.
Bottom Row L-R: Maui Wowie, Shattered, Polyester Bride, Grifter, Sin.
(Swatches are without primer)

The shades are extremely buttery and pigmented. I feel though I did have to pack on shattered a little more than normal, which I guess is cause of the intense shimmer in it. Though that doesn't bother me, and a little spray of Mac Fix Plus on the brush fixes that. They are very long lasting, especially when paired with the primer potion (that came along with the palette), which is to the right of the shadow swatches. It's the original eye shadow primer potion, which is skin colored.

Final verdict, I very much adore this palette and absolutely love it. I think it's definitely worth the price, and especially on sale. So I'd say grab it before its gone! The shadows are soft, buttery and nicely pigmented. Which can be seen in the swatches above, there's so much pigment even without primer. And they last all day! Also, you can sign up for Ebates and earn cash back when shopping online, hence saving more money.

I hope this review was helpful! What are your thoughts on the UD Ammo palette? Share in the comments below. :)

BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector - Champagne pop (Jaclyn Hill)

PC: Jaclyn's Instagram

Hey everyone! I first want to apologize for being MIA since so long, but the good thing is I am back and will be posting regularly. I recently bought the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in the shade Champagne Pop, which is a collaboration of Becca Cosmetics with the famous makeup artist Jaclyn Hill. It is a limited edition product and is currently available, exclusively at Sephora. It retails for the same price as the permanent skin perfectors at $38, and holds the same amount of product (0.28 oz).

The packaging of the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfectors is pretty sturdy, it has a metal lid, with the rest of the body having a soft plastic type feel, similar to that of the Nars compacts. On the website its described as "soft white gold with pinky peach undertones", which I very much agree with. The Becca Highlighters are definitely one of the best I've ever tried, they're very buttery to touch and last an impressively long time. Jaclyn Hill created the color of this highlighter, and described it as a color to suit a wide variety of skin tones. I would describe the color just the same as its described on the website, it's a gold with pink and slight peachy undertones. It isn't completely warm undertoned or cool, but is rather a perfect mix.

I absolutely love this highlighter, especially for summer but I'm not going to stop wearing it in the winter either just because of how much I love it and how beautiful the color is. It is very intense and pigmented though, so you need the slightest bit to get a very beautiful highlight. Which means you're getting a lot for the money you pay, as the compact is quite generous itself. Jaclyn Hill did create the color of this highlighter, but did not change the formulation of the Becca highlighters. This is the first Becca product I've tried, and I'm very much impressed, will definitely try more.

All in all, I think this is a great product and an awesome job done by Jaclyn Hill. To me it's definitely a must have and I think I should get a backup because of how much I use it. I think the color is beautiful, the texture and the staying power is great too. If you're a highlighter junkie like me, you definitely need this. It is definitely in my top three favorite highlighters.

Hope the review was helpful! What are your views on Champagne Pop? Share in the comments below..

Skin Food Good Afternoon BB Cream: Honey Black tea & Apple Cinnamon - Review + Swatch!

Skin Food is a Korean brand, that has makeup and skin care products with more natural and organic ingredients. It is available on Ebay as well as Amazon. Good Afternoon is a relatively new line, in which five new BB creams were released, with different tea flavors for different skin types. The two I picked up were in Honey Black tea SPF 20 PA+ and Apple Cinnamon tea SPF 36 PA++. The shade range is limited, with only two available shades, shade 1 being the lighter one and shade 2 the darker one. I have both in shade 1. The packaging is cute, as you can see above, the box the BB cream tube comes in is shaped like a packet of tea. With the tube being simply packed, and convenient.

Good Afternoon Honey Black tea BB SPF 20 PA+ contains moisturizing honey and skin firming red tea extract to keep skin soft and supple.

Good Afternoon Apple Cinnamon tea BB SPF 36 PA++ contains skin-brightening apple and detoxifying cinnamon along with clinically proven skin lighteners to promote a more even and brighter skin tone.

The tube contains 30g and has very cute drawings on the tube front, depicting the flavor of the tea. I have been using the apple cinnamon one lately, because I'm combination skin, and its summer, so I don't need that much moisturizing. The consistency of both BB creams is similar, I do however feel that the honey black tea one is more moisturizing and hence slightly heavier. The apple cinnamon too though is moisturizing, but not as much. The smell of both is true to their name, and more truer for the honey black tea one. The honey black tea one has a strong scent of honey, but it disappears after 5-10 minutes of application. The apple cinnamon one is however mild, but does have a very faint smell of apples.

Though both of the BB creams are in the shade 1, they have a very slight difference in color. The apple cinnamon one being slightly more yellow than the honey black tea one (not sure if it's too visible in the swatches above). They are however a good match for my skin tone, despite the slight difference. Both are light to medium coverage and don't cover acne scars or under eye circles, but do even out my skin tone. They don't cling to dry patches and are moisturizing. The lasting power of both is decent as well.
Final verdict: Well, to be honest I've been using the apple cinnamon BB cream everyday since I got it. I absolutely love it and it's probably been the best drugstore BB cream I've used. I haven't used many though, other than the Garnier BB creams and the Rimmel Matte BB cream. It's moisturizing with enough coverage and decent lasting time. And is available at affordable prices, ranging from $5-11 on Ebay and Amazon.
Hope the review was helpful!
Have you tried any Skin Food products? Share your thoughts in the comments below. :)

L'oreal Mega Volume Miss Manga Mascara - Review!

I haven't always been a mascara girl, cause I don't like getting all raccoon eyes when I have to wash it off. Especially since I already have bad eye circles. But recently I've started to love mascara, it's one thing that can really brighten your face and make you look alive. Today I'll be reviewing the L'oreal Miss Manga Mascara, which isn't new, but it's one that I've used a lot.
The mascara retails for $7-9 depending on where it's bought from, and is available at most drugstores, as well as the L'Oréal It comes in a variety of colors including blue and and purple. The one I have is in the shade blackest black. At first when I opened the mascara the product was slightly more runny, but within a few days it became normal and easy to use. It also clumped a little more when I just started using it. The mascara has a cone shaped 360 flexor brush to allow precise application. The flexor part looks like this:

To be honest, I don't know if I really like the whole brush turning thing. I think it's just a way to market the product, since it didn't really help me at all. Neither would the mascara wand really stay in any definite position, instead it kind of got lanky if anything. The cone shape though is nice, in separating lashes that might be clumping together, and also getting to the itsy bitsy lashes in the inner corners.

I have the non-waterproof version, since I find it too tiring and hard to remove waterproof mascaras on a daily basis. And about how much volume the mascara gives is quite a decent amount, it might not be too explosive sort but I think it's great for everyday and adding an extra coat really does boost the volume. I might not call it the best, but it's certainly one I frequently go back to and really like.
Overall, I really like the Miss Manga Mascara and is one I use on a daily basis. I hope the review was helpful! Which drugstore mascaras do you like or use? Please comment below. :)

My First MAC Lipstick : MAC Angel - Review + Swatch!

I remember not long ago I was a total lip gloss girl, I could never even imagine using lipstick. It seemed like those old women things, and something I couldn't get along with. And then one day the lipstick fairy came and cast a spell on me, ever since then I've been a total lipstick girl and have been on the mission of building my collection. A recent addition to my collection was my first MAC lipstick in the shade angel. Which is also one of their best sellers, and is popularly known as one of Kim Kardashian's favorite lipstick. It was a gift to me by a very close friend, and yes I love it.

Whether MAC lipsticks are worth the hype and price is something I'll discuss at the end, so getting on to the review.. Angel is a frost lipstick, which means it has bits of very fine shimmer. It is a pale blue-toned pink, which I don't think has too strong cool undertones, but yes they are there. It comes in the standard MAC lipstick bullet sort of packaging. And has a faint vanilla sent, which is present in all their lipsticks.

Angel is an everyday sort of color, and goes great with a smokey eye as well as minimal makeup. It doesn't apply as smooth as a regular cream lipstick would, probably because of the shimmer present in it. It isn't matte but isn't too creamy, and the frost gives the color dimension and shine. The lipstick is quite long lasting, and lasts probably around 4-5 hours on me.
MAC lipsticks retail for $16, and are available at Macy's and MAC outlets. Whether MAC lipsticks are worth the price tag is very honestly a personal choice. I do however think that there are instances when you fall in love with a color and can't find an exact dupe, then definitely yes they are worth it. And I think MAC has beautiful colors which are hard to find, and I plan on trying out new ones!