Review: Lancome Grandiose Wide-Angle Fan Effect Mascara

Hello everyone! Today I have a mascara review today, and it's the Lancome Grandiose Mascara. I've been hearing some pretty good reviews, along with a few indifferent reviews. I've tested it out and I'm ready to give my thoughts!

The description that I found on the Sephora site says:

What it is:
A first-of-its-kind mascara that provides access to all lashes for bigger, brighter eyes.
What it does:
This revolutionary, Swan Neck™ Wand Mascara provides exceptional length, lift, and volume to all lashes. It features Lancôme's first patented wand, which works with the shape of your face for the easiest application, and the curve of the wand mixes the mascara with each twist open, allowing for formula that stays fresh longer. The specially designed, elastomer-molded brush perfectly deposits formula on each lash, while smaller bristles effortlessly coat even short lashes from root to tip for ultimate volume. The ultra-black, smudge-free formula features Lancôme’s rose cell extract, which nourishes and smooths lashes while providing infinite buildability. This high-gloss, clump-free mascara leaves lashes fanned out with maximum length, and it is designed with long-wearing, flexible polymers, which allow for easy removal. 

I have to say, the packaging of this mascara is just beautiful. I love the shape of the tube, and the rose detail in the cap is amazing. You can tel they put some good thought into packaging, but what makes it unique is the wand itself.

As you can see, the wand isn't in the typical straight form, it's got a neat curve to it. It's supposed to help with the ease of applying mascara and getting the hard to reach outer and inner corner lashes. It's a rubber bristle brush, which I particularly like. I find it helps to coat my lashes more evenly.

Now for some pictures of my eyeball!

I did a very neutral eye look so that you could see my lashes. As you can probably see, my lashes aren't that amazing. I wish I had Tiffany D's eyelashes so bad, but hey, that's what mascara is for! My lashes have a bit of a natural curl to them, but they're very light and barely noticeable. 

This is with one coat of mascara on non-curled lashes without primer. I'd say there's a big difference here! The mascara curled my lashes really well and deposited color evenly. When using the brush, I do find there's a bit of a learning curve to it as you do have to turn the wand different ways to get all the lashes. I do still struggle a bit with getting the very outer corners of my lashes without getting mascara everywhere, but I get that with every mascara I use. I do feel like this gave me really nice length but maybe not the best volume.

Overall, This mascara is a winner in my book. I'm alright with not having a ton of volume as long as there is length. It doesn't get flaky on me but I do notice a few smudges by the end of the day, but I attribute that to my oily skin. It also removes very easily with makeup remover. This mascara costs a whopping $32, but like I said in the beginning of my post, I got it at a discount because of work. I've honestly never really been so excited for a mascara to come out until I heard about this. I find it to be so unique because of the wand and the packaging is really just beautiful. It also only comes in one color, black, but it's very dark which is great. You can find this mascara at Sephora, Lancome's website and department stores where there is a Lancome counter.

What do you think of this mascara?

October 2014 Ipsy Bag

Hey everyone! My Ipsy bag came a little late this month, this past Friday actually. I was just busy all weekend and I can now get to showing you all what I got! I have to say, I'm impressed this month!

For the actual bag the products come in, I love the color! Teals are beautiful. I'm just not a fan of the pattern. I don't really see myself using this bag for anything honestly. The products are what's important!

The first product I received is the Ecru New York Acacia Protein BB Cream Beauty Balm for Hair. I've never heard of this brand before but I had heard of bb creams for hair. I'm definitely looking forward to trying this since I colored my hair a burgundy/auburn color and I want to maintain the health of my hair. 

Next up is Epice International Purifying Exfoliant. I can always use a good exfoliant and with the colder weather coming up, this will come in handy. 

Then I got a Starlooks Lip Gloss in the color Gulity Pleasure. I think the color is great for Fall and compliments my fair skin nicely. When I swatched it however, it did feel a bit sticky. I haven't tried it on my lips yet, but I hope the stickiness isn't too bad once applied. 

I also got a Jessie's Girl Mineralized Baked Shadow Powder in the color Plum Frost. When I swatched this, I was surprised at how pigmented this shadow was. I know this brand is sold in the drugstore, but I was pretty impressed. It's definitely a beautiful color that I can see myself using.

Next up we have a Figs & Rouge Hand Cream in the scent Rose Berry. I have heard of this brand before and it comes out of the UK, which is pretty neat. I'm glad I got a little hand cream because I can take it to work with me and have it not take up too much space in my work bag. It does smell very nice too but I have yet to test it out on my hands. 

Now this sixth product is one that I had used my points for and it's the Eyetini Eye Cordial Cream Shadow Tint & Base. I wasn't too happy that I didn't have many choices when picking out what I wanted, but I had some points expire and I didn't want to lose any more. Believe it or not, I actually really like this product! I used it as a base under eyeshadow and it looked pretty, had good pigmentation, and also made my look last all day! 

Swatches of lip gloss, eyeshadow & eye base

Overall, I'm highly impressed this month! The last couple months were a little meh, and I did consider cancelling my subscription. This bag has totally redeemed itself for me as it has a nice mix of skincare and makeup. 

If you want your own Ipsy bag, use my referral link here! It's only $10 a month, plus shipping for some, and you get a good range of products sent to you every month!

Small(ish) Beauty Haul

Hi guys! Today I have a few beauty bits to share with you all that I've purchased recently. I placed a small Sephora order and also bought something from Amazon, and it's pretty exciting!

First up is the Sephora order. All this month on the Sephora site, they're having this little memory game challenge, where you can gets codes for either 1 of 3 deluxe samples, an extra 150 beauty insider points, or 10% off your order. I tried for days because I wanted the 10% off code and I finally got it! I decided to buy the GlamGlow Gift Sexy Mask kit. It comes with a full size of the Thirstymud mask, and two smaller containers of the Supermud and Youthmud masks. This kit did cost $69, which is typically the cost of one mask by itself. I've been loving the Thirstymud mask so much and wanted the full size, so I was glad to see this set and with the extra 10% off, I'd say it was worth it. 

I also decided I wanted to get the Urban Decay Pulp Fiction palette. As you probably know, Urban Decay is probably my favorite brand of eyeshadows, and their palettes are amazing. At first I didn't want this palette because it's a basic neutral, which I have plenty of. I then saw TiffanyD's tutorial on YouTube using this palette, then I wanted it. When I purchased this, it was actually marked down to $16 from the original price of $34. I think it is still available, and if I can find it, I'll link it in this post. It is definitely a basic neutral palette, but I think it looks really nice. 

*Angels singing* I got the Lorac Mega Pro palette!!! I saw so many teasers of this, and thought that the colors were gorgeous but didn't need it since I have the Pro 1 and 2. However, the day it came out, Lorac was posting that it was selling out super fast and it had only been released for a couple hours, but Amazon still had their stock. I then thought, "Okay, I need this now!" So off I went to the Amazon site, and placed my order. 

This. Is. Stunning! At a whopping $59, I was cringing a little after I bought it, but once received in the mail, that went away. These colors are just so gorgeous, and are the same great quality of the Pro 1 and 2. The first two rows are matte, and the bottom two are shimmer. I've already done some looks with this, and have gotten quite a few compliments as well. Definitely money well spent here! Also, this sold out in I think about 4 hours on the Lorac site as well as Amazon, and Amazon only restocked it once and that sold out super fast.

Let me know if you want reviews of anything! I'm not sure if I want to review the Mega Pro palette, only because it's completely sold out and limited edition. If anyone wants a review though, please let me know!

Review & Swatches: Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette

Hey everyone! It's been a while, I know. I don't really have a good excuse for being away, but life happened so I took a bit of a break. Anyways, I'm back with my review of Urban Decay's Vice 3 Palette, which I've really been enjoying alot lately!

I have to say, the packaging of this palette is flipping beautiful! The color scheme is nice and to me it just looks cool. On the back of the box it comes in, it shows all the colors with their names along with a description of the palette. 

It also comes with this nifty cosmetic bag, that only can really carry this palette. Unless you use it for other things, which you certainly can. I think it's nice they added this so if you travel, it can really come in handy. 

Once you open this palette, you can see the array of amazing colors, from your basic neutrals on the left, to your bright jewel tones in the center, and your smoky shades on the right. Inside, it also comes with a double-ended shadow and crease brush, which is decent quality, and has a huge mirror (sorry I didn't picture it!). If you have either the first or second Vice Palette, both of those mirrors cover the entire lid. 

 Onto the colors!

-Truth: Pale pink-nude matte. I like this shade for highlighting because it's pretty close to my skintone and helps with blending out harsh edges.

-Dragon: Bright metallic green shimmer. This shade swatches pretty well, but I have yet to try it on my eyes. Definitely a beautiful shade for the upcoming holidays!

-Undone: Pink-beige/matte-satin/tonal pearl. That's a long description of the color! I find this to be a great transition color for the crease and it blends out beautifully

-Freeze: Metallic medium blue/multidimensional micro-glitter. This color is beautiful in the pan but I feel it doesn't swatch as well compared to other UD shadows. I haven't tried it on the lids yet, but I'm sure with a primer, it will be better.

-Downfall: Warm light matte brown. This is another great color for the crease and also blends really well. 

-Heroine: Deep navy blue/tonal pearl. This colors looks alot lighter pictured in the pan than swatched. It really is a deep navy color that I have yet to try but it's incredibly pigmented.

-DTF: Taupe matte/pearl. I love this color! Aside from the dirty shade name, it's an awesome color again for the crease, and it's just beautiful.

-Brokedown: Metallic golden brown shimmer/gold micro-glitter. Another stunning color that's really pigmented with one swipe. Haven't used this shade on my eyes yet, but I'm very impressed with the swatch.

-Vanity: Smoky metallic eggplant/multidimensional micro-glitter. This is another color that comes off lighter in pictured pan, but in the swatch it's a very pretty dark purple color. This one swatched pretty well too.

-Alien: Pink-peach/golden shift. This is the one color I was very disappointed in. It feels very chalky to the touch and to me, it doesn't swatch very well either. I had to do a few layers for it to show up.

-Last Sin: Champagne shimmer/silver micro-glitter. This is a pretty lid shade but I feel it's not as pigmented as I'd like personally. This will be good if you want just a sheer wash of color/shimmer on the lids.

-Lucky: Metallic bronze. LOVE this shade! The swatch in the picture is just one swipe and I was highly impressed by the color payoff. For my fair skin, I think this is a bit warm for me, but I want to make it work since it's so gorgeous.

-Alchemy: Deep fuchsia satin. Swatched, this color isn't too great. On the lids though, it's really pigmented! I feel like this shade along with some others work better over a primer. 

-Angel: Light taupe/silver micro-glitter. Again, this is another pretty lid shade but I feel it doesn't swatch as nice as it looks in the pan. I haven't used it on my eyes, so I can't say how it looks yet.

-Reign: Rich brown satin. This color is gorgeous with a single swatch. It's so dark though so I feel like I need a super light hand to control it. 

-Bondage: Deep, smoky burgundy/shimmer. I'm obsessed with this color too. I love purples though since it brings out the little bit of green I have in them. Love this shade!

-Defy: Smoky taupe satin. This shade is quite pigmented and is good for an outer corner color.

-Bobby Dazzle: Metallic white/pale gold micro-glitter. I'm not a huge fan of this shade. It's alright as maybe an inner corner highlight, but there is way too much shimmer as a browbone highlight.

-Sonic: Metallic red-copper. Another gorgeously pigmented shade! I actually really like this color, and I recently colored my hair a dark auburn so I feel like this shade will look nice with it. 

-Revolver: Soft black satin/ iridescent pearl. There is honestly nothing special about this shade, but it will be nice for those smoky looks when you don't want a harsh, dark black color going on. 

Overall, I'm a fan of this palette. Aside from the few colors that aren't as great, I feel like I can get use out of this and will be good for the colder weather. I love how there are a bunch of matte shades to work with and all of those are pretty good quality. The one big downside to this is it has a whole lotta fallout. You really have to make sure to tap your brush after you pick up color. It also kicks up alot of powder as you take your brush to a color. 

This palette costs $60 and I purchased mine from Sephora, but you can also get it on Urban Decay's website and Ulta. 

What do you think of this palette? Will you buy it?

Ulta Haul!

Hey everyone! I did some shopping at Ulta recently, online and in-store. I picked up a few goodies so I wanted to share them with you!

These products are purchases in-store when I went shopping with a friend a couple weeks ago. The first thing I picked up is the Organix Quenched Sea Mineral Moisture Surge Treatment. Now, you know I love the Coconut line within this brand and alot of their products were on sale. This jumped out at me since I'm trying to take better care of my hair more. I hadn't really paid attention to this particular line so I did look it up online after I purchased it, and it's gotten some bad reviews. I'm still going to try this out, but I am wary now. Luckily it was on sale for about $5, so hopefully it won't be a huge loss if I don't like it. 

I also picked up two of the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponges. Real Techniques was BOGO 50% off that day, and I love these beauty sponges alot so I picked up two. I think these are honestly really nice dupes for the Beauty Blender, although I do use both. I figured I'd just buy some more of these since they were on sale. 

The last product I bought is the Tree Hut Shea Sugar Body Scrub in the Coconut Lime scent. This little jar was at the checkout area and it was just so darn cute, plus it smells like coconut, so I couldn't pass it up. 

Ulta recently had a 40% off sale on a few of their brands they carry, so naturally I had to buy some things online. I got a good deal on these too. I had a bunch of points to use toward this purchase, plus I had a $3.50 off a $10 purchase and there was free shipping at $25. After all the discounts and everything, I only spent just over $20, including tax! Woohoo!

Anyway, the first product I got was the Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Custom All-in-1 Nude Palette for Face and Eyes in the shade Natural. I've heard some pretty good things about this little palette and I think I'm mostly going to use it for eyeshadow. I have pretty oily skin, so using highlighter on my face typically doesn't look too good after a couple hours. 

I also got a Sexy Booster Sexy Glow Bush, also by Physician's Formula, in the shade Rose. I honestly thought the packaging was adorable and it was only about $7 on sale, so I thought I'd try it.

An Ulta haul would never be complete without buying some Nyx Butter Glosses. I picked up the shades Cupcake, which I've wanted for ages but is usually sold out, Peaches and Cream and Red Velvet. I love these glosses so much, they're probably my favorite glosses in the drugstore. Also, at only $2.99, who can pass up a deal like that?!

I added another Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain to my collection and the color I got is called India Intrigue. It's a really pretty berry/pink color but I have yet to try it out. 

Let me know if you'd like reviews of anything here! Also, have you bought anything lately?

September 2014 Empties

Hi guys! It's time for some empties and this will probably be a long one because I used up a decent amount of products. Here we go!

First up is a can of Batiste Dry Shampoo, and this is the one with a hint of color for light and blonde hair. I didn't mind the color of this, which was a light yellow. It rubbed into my hair fine and left no strange color. I love my Batiste and will always repurchase, but probably not this one.

The next product I used up is the Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge Fortifying Shampoo. I didn't use up this whole bottle myself, I had the help of my husband. He's not picky with shampoo, but I did like this. It definitely made my hair feel really clean and it smelled really nice too. I always like shampoos and conditioners from this brand so I'll always repurchase at some time or other.

Next up is a conditioner I've been tying to finish for probably a year or so, and it's the Pantene Sheer Volume Complete Therapy Conditioner. I don't know why this took so long to finish, but I didn't need alot at all to make my hair feel hydrated. This definitely made my hair feel so nice and less tangled. Worth it for how long it lasted, but I was so over it when it was gone!

I also used up the Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Conditioner that also took me ages to use up. This conditioner is really good stuff. It's very thin and liquid-y though so at first I thought it wasn't going to work well. Boy was I wrong! This left my hair feeling so soft and made it smell so darn good! I would repurchase once I use up my stash. 

Oh look, mascaras! I gotta admit, alot of these were just dried up and I couldn't use them. The two Buxom Lash mascaras I've had for I don't even now how long, so they gotta go. The Benefit Badgal Lash I used once, but it seemed off to me. I used it before and liked it, but this tube just wasn't the same. Funny story about the Fresh Supernova mascara. The first time I went to use it, I got one eye done and loved how it turned out. Then the wand proceeded to fly out of my hand onto the carpet. Needless to say, it had hair and dust all over it so I had to toss it and find something else to use. I absolutely hated theBalm's What's Your Type? mascara in "The Body Builder". It did nothing for me at all. I was so in love with the Sephora Atomic Volume mascara and I got a good 3 weeks of use out of it before it started to dry out and not work as well. 

The next product Is actually one I'm throwing away because the color is hideous and it's the Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Ultra Lipstick in the color Brick. It's a horrible brick red color that makes me look so sick. This came in a gift with purchase so I'm not worried about throwing it out.

Then we have a Jouer lip gloss and the color is called Birchbox Pink. This obviously came in a Birchbox, but I haven't been subscribed to them in about 2 years, plus this smelled funny, so out it goes!

The bareMinerals Prime Time Eyelid Primer was pretty nice, but my shadows creased on me most days I used it. It wasn't terrible, but enough to be annoying. I did finish all of this and got a little over a month's worth of use out of this little sample. 

I'm just throwing away the J.Cat Beauty Sparkling Cream Palette. This glittery creamy mess is just not good and no one should ever use it. 

Onto some random bits. First up is a foaming hand soap from Bath & Body Works in the scent Coconut Cove. I absolutely loved this scent, obviously because it's coconut. I have about 20 different scents of these soaps because I always stock up during sales. 

Next up is my favorite contact solution, Renu Fresh. I know I've said before, but this is the only brand that doesn't burn my eyes when I put my contacts in, so I can't really buy anything else. This stuff isn't cheap either, so I'm learning to wear my glasses more just to conserve a bit.

I was sad using up this Crest Sensi-Relief Toothpaste, because it was so good! This has to be one of the best toothpastes that have helped my sensitive teeth and gums. This isn't cheap either and I did buy it at Walmart when I had a $1 off coupon to use. Normally I think it's a little over $4, which to me is high. I always feel like I shouldn't pay that much for something like toothpaste. I will repurchase eventually if I don't find something better, or cheaper.

I used up the Body Shop's Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner, which I've been a fan of for years. I love this stuff in the Summer especially, because it's awesome for oily skin. It keeps my skin clear and fresh and I feel it helps with my breakouts. 

I used up my first EOS lip balm and I think the scent is either strawberry or raspberry. It never says on the packaging what scent it is, so I really am guessing. In my truly honest opinion, I think this stuff sucks. I didn't find it moisturizing at all. If anything my lips were drier making me use it constantly. I do have a few more of these lip balms in my stash, but I don't know if I want to just throw them out or not. 

Next up is another product from The Body Shop, the Elderflower Unperfumed Eye Gel. I loved this so much in the Summer because it felt so cooling and nice on hot days. It really has no scent either which for me is nice since I tend to have sensitive eyes. 

I was really sad when I used up this little sample of the Jouer Lip Enhancer Conditioning Lip Treatment. I think I got this in a Birchbox as well, but this seemed good to use. I absolutely loved what this did to my lips. It made them plump and feel so hydrated and lovely. I'm tempted to buy a full size of this honestly but I have plenty of lip balms/treatments to use up first.

The last product I used up is the Almay Oil-Free Makeup Remover Towelettes. I'm on the fence with these. I liked them but I didn't love them. They did seem to remove my makeup well, but they left a bit of a film on my skin and stung my eyes occasionally, which was odd. 

Phew! That was a doozy! If you made it til the end, tell me what you all used up last month! :)

September 2014 Favorites

Hello everyone! It's the end of yet another month which means it's favorites time! Let's see what I was loving in September.

 

The first product I've been loving is the Apothecary Extracts 100% Pure Australian Tea Tree Oil. I wrote up a review if this here, and basically it's amazing! I mentioned in that post that I was using in mixed in my shampoo, and I'm convinced that it's helping with dandruff and itchiness. I also have been using it mixed in the baby shampoo I use to wash my makeup brushes for some extra disinfection.

My next favorite is the Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette. I did a first look type of post here on this, though I will end up fully reviewing this palette in the coming weeks. I love this palette so much. There are a good mix of neutrals and bright colors, and there are also an impressive amount of matte shades. Overall, I'm very impressed. Definitely stay tuned for my review!

Next up is another Urban Decay product and it's their Naked 2 Basics Palette. Check out my full review of this here, but in a nutshell, I love it! I've been more into matte shadows lately and I think this palette is great of you want neutral shades that are more cool than the first, but not so cool to where only a few people can use it. These shades blend like a dream and I have gotten good use out of it. 

Now we have the Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara in the color Jet Black. I think this may have come in a kit of some kind but I honestly can't remember. I was looking for a mascara to use because I had used up the other one I was using but came across ones that were so dried out, they weren't usable. Once I decided on this one and used it, I was pretty impressed with how nice my lashes look. They give decent length and volume, but don't look spidery or clumpy. 

My last favorite of the month is the Tarte Clean Slate 12 hr Smoothing Primer. I've been trying to use up some of my eye primers because 1. I have a ton and 2. I don't wanna use up all of the Urban Decay Primer Potions I have. That stuff is my ultimate favorite so I'm saving it! This little tube came in a gift set of different Tarte primers and to be honest, I actually really like this! It feels so different though, like lotion. I wasn't sure I'd like it because of the thin texture, but this stuff really makes my shadows last longer. Not UDPP long, but longer than if I didn't use primer at all. 

That's everything! What have you been loving lately?