NEW NARS Solstice Collection ~ Is it worth buying? Swatches and Review

  *Purchased by me*

Who am I? Like seriously!? I was never the one to jump on the NARS wagon and order a new launch as soon as it drops... NEVER! NARS is one of the brands that do have exciting launches but I mostly wait till they are on sale before I spend my hard working paycheck.

I really have no idea why I just  fell instantly in love with the new collection. I really have no idea what sold me. LOL I think the overall look of both palettes was so beautiful and something that I needed to have asap. Spoiler alert: they don't disappoint! 

Summer Solstice Eyeshadow Palette - LE- it's a perfect warm and rich summer palette. There is a mixture of shimmers and metallics, alongside two matte shades. The color story is very me and I think the golden,  brozy, reddish looks are so summery. The shadows itself feel and work amazing. They are pigmented, you get full opacity with one stroke of a brush or like in my case finger. I will always say and stand by that shimmers and metallics formulas best performed when applied with fingers. Apparently the vivid warm shades are formulated with the brand's Pigment Power Suspension, which delivers ineradicable color payoff thanks to pigments suspended in an innovative liquid bidding system. Like I said, they are really a pleasure to work with. Also they can be sheared out for a perfect wash of color on the lids. I personally am really impressed with this palette and I hope to see this formula more.

I almost forgot to mention the packaging on this palette. I am amazed at how stunning it is! The textured sun rays?! Hello Summer!

Swatches below: Stunning right?

Next is the beautiful but a bit over priced bronzer and highlighter duo

Summer Solstice Cheek Duo - LE - When you get a cheek duo that is the same price as the palette it has to be good. This duo is made up with highlighters called Ibiza and bronzer Laguna.  These two are NARS best selling bronzer and highlight. I knew of Laguna being super popular but not about Ibiza. When getting, please note that the bronzer has an over-spray that will be gone once you dip your brush in. Now how do I like it? Well I love them. Especially when both are mixed together, they give such a wonderful summer ready sun-kissed glow on my light skin. Both are so pretty on their own as well but I like to just go in and swirl my brush between both. Also I notice a very nice almost tropical scent, which I'm not mad about. I think it suits the duo a lot! The packaging on the cheek duo is the same as on the palette, it has the same sun rays texture design but instead of being gold like the eyeshadow palette, this one is copper. 

Swatches:

Final thoughts: I LOVE IT. I have never been head over heels about NARS but this collection just opened my eyes and I can't wait for new launches :) 

Have you guys picked it up? What do you think about this summer must-have? 

Patrick Ta Monochrome Moment Velvet Blushes ~ Swatches

 *purchased by me*

HI Loves~ Welcome back. I got a fun and blushy post for you today. And I am talking about no other then Patrick Ta. I been dying for his blushes for quite some time now. I can't even tell you how many times I been in and out of Sephora just swatching the blushes. I mean each and every time I stop by his blushes and I was telling myself that one day I get my hands on it. The on;y question was to ask was "which shade will I pick up"? Fast-forward at least a year later and here I am with not one but three blushes! All thanks to IPSY. 

IPSY recently (February) launched a new tier in their subscription and its called Glam Bag X. I was lucky enough to get off the wait list and I got my first amazing box in February. And in that box, you guessed Patrick Ta blush. One down two more to go! IPSY had three shades to offer in boxes and after looking around Facebook pages I was able to purchase two more. 

Patrick Ta is world know makeup artist, and his makeup line is absolutely beautiful. Definitely my type of aesthetics, with gold, rose gold packaging and beautiful shade selection. For now I only have these 3 blushes but rest be assure it will grow overtime because I have few items on my wish-list. 

Monochrome Moment Velvet Blushes are just like the name suggest, velvety. These are very subtle and can be build up to desired color. They give natural look without being right in your face. Sometimes you just need to tone down your blush and these babies come in handy. Brush picked the powder up with easy and blends nicely on the skin. The pan of it its quite large so you won't hit "pan" that fast. 

Shades I have are as follows:

* She's Adorable

* She's Passionate

* She's Seductive 

Laneige Brings a Gummy Bear Flavored Lip Sleeping Mask and Lip Balm - You need try it!

 *pr sample*

Hi loves! 

If you like a gummy bears then continue reading this post and well add new Laneige products on your wish list because you will go crazy for it. 

I been fan of Lainege lip sleeping mask for years now. And when I saw spoilers of them launching a new gummy bear flavored lip sleeping mask and lip balm I screamed! I love love love Gummy Bears and the Happy Cola gummies by Haribo. Yum! Do you guys like it too? If you do then this duo is right for you. 

Lip Sleeping  Mask - I think at this point every one knows and tried this products. I tried many sleeping mask in the past but this one on par with Bite Beauty, I been using constantly. The formula is easy to apply. The new one comes with applicator (wonder if the other ones comes with applicator as well coz I don't remember seeing it in the box), that makes scooping out much more easier then just going directly with a finger (guilty!).  This to me smells like a grape gummy bear. I guess that's why they went with the purple packaging for both. 

I used to use this mask both night and day time. Now since I also got the Glowy Lip Balm I use that in the day. The Glowy lip balm comes in a squeezey tube. It feels lighter on the lips and seriously a little goes a long way. Don't go to crazy or the product will "goop" up on the lips and trust me you don't want that. Flavor is same as with the Sleeping Mask -  grape gummy bear. 

Let me know if are planning to pick these babies up! 

Sephora VIB Sale Haul - did I get all products I wanted?

*purchased by me*

Finally ! I got all my packages and now I can show you all what I was able to get from the Sale that Sephora had by the end of April. This will be a shorter post, just showcasing my haul. Any reviews and swatches will be posted after I get a chance to play with the products. 

If you remember before the sale I posted my wish list and I was trying to stick to it and buy what I wanted but we all know that's not the case hahah

Here is the link to my wish list post. 

and here is my haul :) I am crazy coz I spend a lot of money! and even after the sale was over I went ahead and purchased Tom Ford palette and 2 Marc Jacobs lipsticks (they won't be included here tho). 

• Marc Jacobs See-Quins Glam Glitter Eye shadow in shade Glamethyst and Copperazzi. 
• Farsali Unicorn Antioxidant Lip Mask 

• Tatcha Liquid Silk Canvas
• YSL Touche Elcat Blur Primer 
• Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Palette
• Too Faced Born This way Natural Nudes Palette

• Marc Jacobs Air Blush In the shade Night Fever&Hot Stuff
• Marc Jacobs Steeletto Eye Shadow Palette 

• Hourglass Ambient Metalli Strobe Lightning Palette
• Natasha Denona Metropolis Palette 

So as you can see I kinda stuck with my list. The only "addition"were the last two: Hourglass and Natasha Denona, and ND palette being the most expensive. I added both last minute tbh. I wanted Hourglass palette but it was going in and out of stock.. finally one day I found it to be in stock so I added in my cart along with Metropolis Palette ($130 reg price but with discount it dropped to $112 just for ND palette). 

My damage during this sale was $463.27 😥  ($102.34 for Tom Ford and MJ lipsticks not included)

Natasha Denona - LOVE Eye Shadow Palette and LOVE Glow Cheek Palette

*Purchased by me*

Both palettes have been out since beginning of February and there is so many good and bad reviews on this. I picked up my palettes from Sephora, last month.

I know there  biggest issue that every one have with this palette is the quality of shadows. ND overall quality is always a topnoch... But people find issues with this particular palette. 

My palette was fine. Shades I used when I was playing with it worked quite well. I was and still am pleased with the quality and performance of the shadows. Like I said I have not used them all, but majority.
This is my first bigger palette that have more then 5 shades. I already own Cranberry and two minis - Lila and Glam.


LOVE PALETTE 

I ordered this palette as my pre birthday gift. It was either this collection (eye palette and face palette) or new Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk. I was going back and forth with my decision and finally I opted in for ND. It was V-Day edition so I thought it might be gone next month you know? But now I read it  that this is a Spring 2020 collection so it might stick for a while.
As for the CT hopefully my unemployment money rolls in fast + the federal  checks so I can get it :) Right, screw rent and bill and give me my CT :)
But all jokes aside I will eventually get the Pillow Talk. Now back to Love palette because it is the main reason you guys clicked on the post.

Love palettes comes in a pink (super cute) plastic component. The shadow size is a bit bigger then her minis, that how I see it when I put them side by side. You have  a bigger mirror on the inside and your gorgeous shades. Mainly main focus is on pinks, mauve's and purples with pops of gold, silver and browns.  Colors complements each other. There is a nice mixture of mattes, shimmers and satin's.
The quality of the shades I tried was good. Mattes blend nicely and shimmers were shimmery. But can't tell much as I don't won any of her larger palettes as the formula on those is amazing, or so every one say it is :)
The mattes I used were Heartbeat, Trust, Soul and Intense - all preformed good, I was able to blend them with no problems.
Shimmers I played with - Lifetime, Pure Love, Giving and Blind - again not much of an issue. all worked pretty fine.
Shades and swatches:

First: Peachy beige creamy matte
Lifetime: Warm gold (sparkling)
Heartbeat: Deep maroon creamy matte
Transparent: Nude pink ivory (sparkling, perhaps satin?)
Trust: Deep plum creamy matte
Heart: Crimson red creamy matte
Giving: Coral with a pink duochrome finish (sparkling topper)
Pure Love: Warm plum with blue reflects and a duochrome finish (sparkling)
Commitment: Deep eggplant cream to powder
Blind: Silver (foiled)
Soul: Deep dusty rose creamy matte
Passion: Deep burgundy with pink sparkles (sparkling)
Intense: Warm pink creamy matte
Valentine: Baby pink creamy matte
Dream: Iris violet cream to powder

For my personal opinion I think this is a nice palette. But it is up to you if you willing to spend $65 on it.


LOVE GLOW CHEEK PALETTE 

I could not order the eye shadow palette and love this beautiful face palette behind now could I?
Now if only ND team decided to make eye shadow palette in the same packaging! I mean its addicting and mesmerizing! Gotta love move it around and see how all the glitter and confetti floats inside. At first I was not convinced but the more I look at the palette the more I said to myself I need it.

It comes in the same pink colored plastic component. It is more on a bulkier side tho so be mindful about it.

There is 4 cheek products inside :

* Glow Cream Base - glowing warm cream pink with the hints of magenta blush.
* Super Glow Blush - vibrant warm coral shimmery blush
* Diamond Powder - vibrant cool pink shimmer with gold flex
* Glow Impact Powder - golden champagne gel powder highlighter

Like the name suggest this a glowy palette and if you don;t like shimmer or glow in your makeup or life you won';t like this palette.
I only used Super Glow blush (the coral one) but more as a topper rather then going heavy with it on my cheeks :) I'm extreme but nit that extreme hahaha. It look pretty layer on top of matte peachy/ coraly blush. It did give nice glow but not overpowering. Second product was the highlighter :) It tiny bit darker then I usually like but once I really blended in it looked really good.
This little palette retails at $55 so price wise its up there :) But its ND so you do pay for an amazing quality in which this cheek palette delivers :)

Hope you enjoyed this little post :) Let me know if picked up any of the mentioned products or are you planning too:) 

I tested three Drunk Elephant products and here are my thoughts

*purchased by me*

Drunk Elephant,I know everyone and their grandma heard about them. Of course it took me forever to try their products, because as you know they are super pricey. Like really pricey.

All Drunk Elephants products are formulated for all skin types.

My first two products were in birthday gift from Sephora (2019 gift , these year I don't like any of the sets). It contained mini size of famous and fan fave Protini and Jelly Cleanser.
Bestie No. 9 Jelly Cleaner - this is a fantastic gel cleanser. I know I got tiny sample of it but a little goes a long way with this guy. I use it right after I double cleanse (usually its the Physicians Formula Matcha Oil Balm). It is really gentle on my sensitive skin. It cleans up all the leftover makeup and leaves my skin really clean and balanced at the same time.  There are mixed reviews on this cleanser. Some love it some hate it. As you can tell I'm in the first group. I feel that it really is a good product. Sometimes when there is many mixed reviews I usually go and buy product to see how my skin reacts to it. So if you interested go and buy it.  If you getting it in USA Sephora no worries if you didn't love you can always return it. I am done with my sample size and I really want to get a full size next, but whats stopping me you ask? I have sooooo many more cleanser to try and use. I might take few month to go through them all hahah! But at some point or sale I will be picking it up :)

Protini Polypeptide Cream - its a gel like moisturizer that is super refreshing. Can be used both morning and night time. It is an absolute fantastic cream and really a staple in my night time routine. Again I have small sample but a little goes a long way. Once applied to the skin it goes on smoothly and sinks right away without leaving greasy or sticky residue.  I been using this tiny container for so long now. I swear only tiny bit goes a long way. After one night I notice my skin felt so good. After a week of using the Jelly Cleanser, Fresh Rose Toner and Protini moisturizer my skin beautiful. Sometimes I get acne or rash spots on my right cheek, it happens once in awhile and no matter what I do it won't go away. When applying foundation it leaves yucky texture and gosh I hate it. But hear me, after using that magnificent trio (yes Fresh Rose Toner review will be up soon I promise) I notice a dramatic difference. Even my co-workers notice and asked what I been using ? I was using it for around three weeks straight and my skin never felt better. This is a beautiful moisturizer that should be in any skin care routine. If you struggle with wrinkles, fine lines, dullnes it will help! I  read may reviews and saw before and after and wow truly amazing. I really want to get one jar for my mom but dang this is costly! Firstly I need to repurchase myself one and then I will get one for her.

TLC Sukari Baby Facial - this is really hyped up product that is actually good. So yeah I get the hype and why people love it so much. The Sakari Baby Facial is a face mask that contains 25% AHA and 2% BHA. It a great peel that sometimes my face needs it. It great for breaking down dead skin cells, clearing out pores, brightening and even out skin tone and texture.When I applied it first time it tingled a bit, but it was not too bad. As longest it didn't burn I am good. It is recommended to leave it on for 20 min but I can't do that I feel like it will burn my face so I usually keep it 10 min , 15 the most. It washes of without any issues and it really does leave skin feeling soft, firm and radiant. For the first time when I got it I used it once a week for two weeks and after that I use it every two week or when I feel my skin needs extra boost :) Overall I feel like this product is worth every penny. You pay $80 for bottle of miracle instead hundreds for in spa facial. I never had a SPA facial done but I have TLC so I don;t need it. Plus when I feel like I want to pretend to be in spa I simply can wrap myself i crisp white towel, put TLC on my face and play calming music, viola ! Hello Home SPA.
Let  me also say that baby facial contains AHA so you should follow your next day routine with SPF products and try avoiding any products with acids in them.

wait one more thing, I heard that this pairs really good with DE Marula Oil !?! When is Sephora Spring Sale? I will be getting few DE products :)

Let me know if you would like to see review on any other products by Drunk Elephant. I don't mind spending ..ummm investing my money in it.

Game of Thrones inpsired makeup collection by Urban Decay

*purchased by me*

I been holding off this review, because I wanted to get lipstick and eye liners.  They been sold out since launch and I am not sure when they will be back in stock.

I am kinda tired of waiting tbh.But what can I do? Not sure when it will be back in stock,so for now I will show you swatches and write few words on the eye-shadow an highlighter palette. 

As a huge GOT fan I knew I will get this entire collection :) I passed when it was released on UD website,coz girl I need my points either at Sephora or Ulta. Finally managed to grab 3 palettes and highlighter palette at Sephora during VIB Sale. Yes I got 20% off :) Woohoo. 

 If you think why did I buy two palettes? One was for me and one for my bff as her birthday gift :) 

So far this is the best launch this year. The eye shadow palette is definitely the star of the collection. And I am surprised its not sold out yet. Overall the palette is insane! the cover is a zoomed Iron Throne,which is wickedly awesome.

Inside you will find very nicely sized mirror.Also there is a map of Westeros and quote from Dany.

 
  Underneath the quote, hidden is the replica of Iron Throne.

 This is basically the whole reason I spend $65 on this palette.I got my own Iron Throne :) I can't sit on it but still its all mine! Also in front the throne is another quote, this time from Tyrion Lannister. 

Eye shadow palette itself is hidden in the sleeve.So reminds more of old schools VHS tapes! Who remember those?  I know I know its so bulky and for some the packaging might not make sense but come one its so freaking cool! 

Eye shadow palette contains 20 eye shadow and its divided into three main Houses and another group represents North,Beyond the Wall and White Walkers. 

Lets start from the top: shades that represent Free Folk,White Walkers and Nights Watch - cool and icy shimmers

* Frozen North - deep teal with iridescent micro-shimmer

* Free Folk - metallic silver

* Take The  Black -jet black with blue/silver shimmer

* White Walker - shimmer light blue

* Hardhome -transformer shade, sparkling white

Next is House Stark - it contains smokey mattes and neutral shimmers:

* Weirdwood Leaves - satin deep plum

* The Sight - metallic emerald green, with iridescent micro shimmer

* Nymeria - matte warm terracotta shade

* Winter Is Here - dark brown with iridescent shimmer

* Winterfell - transformer shade,antique gold.   

Next Is House Lannister and Targaryen

Next up House Lannister - mattes an neutral shimmers

* House Lannister - matte peachy shade

* Lannister Red - matte chestnut 

* Red Keep - metallic warm copper

* Casterly Rock- metallic dark bronze

* Kings Landing - transformer shade- pale gold shade

And finally we have House Targaryen - contains jewel toned shimmers:

* Dothraki - metallic gold

* Bend the Knee -  shimmery lilac 

* Stormborn - metallic purple

* House Targaryen -  metallic pale  rose gold

* Bay of Dragons - transformer shade- sparking pink 

 So what do you think so far? This palette, as you can see is shimmer heavy.I like shimmers so it is my cup of tea :) You can create look by group Houses or just mix and match from the entire palette. 

Let me just say that UD eye shadows are one of the best on the market. This palette is totally worth it,if you are the fan of both GOT and UD.If not then would you still buy it? 

On the side note I want makeup brands to do more this sort of collection. You know how fun would be Supernatural collection?or Friends? 

Lets hope!

Now second product I bought was the Mother f Dragons highlighter palette. Palette includes 3 highlighting powders each named after a Dragon form the series:

* Drogon - frosted cooled toned pink
* Viserion - metallic golden nude
* Rhaegal - metallic bronze.

My fair skin can pull out only first 2 shades.Rhaegal can definitely be used as an eye shadow. Aside from beautiful colors can we appreciate the design of the box?The 3D looking dragon scales are wicked! The design is truly breathtaking.

 Inside there is a nicely sized mirror and your three highlighters with dragon egg embossed on top. Powders are finely milled and blend really nice and give beautiful glow on the skin.
This little palette retails for $36.00

What do you think of this collection? will you be buying anything?