New Release: Anastasia Beverly Hills Maya Mia Palette (Limited Edition)

This week, a brand new palette was released from Anastasia Beverly Hills, and it is a collaboration between them and the Tanzanian makeup artist Maya Mia (maya_mia_y on Instagram), this is right on the heels of their Amrezy Palette Release last month. I notice familiar names between their latest palettes so let me delve right into my review of this palette.

The outer packaging and the cover of the palette itself are identical on top, the color choice is vibrant and frankly my favorite to date from Anastasia. I feel like their packaging has gotten more attractive and complex as their palettes have progressed over time.

The palette itself comes with the same dual-ended brush that was seen in the Amrezy palette and it is a very handy, usable brush (one side is a shadow packing brush and the other is a fine crease brush).

The back of the outer packaging includes a small preview, short explanation of the style of the palette, and details ingredients used.

Repeat colors from the Amrezy palette: Glisten, Vanilla and Caramel. 

Repeat colors from the Lavish palette: Sienna.

Unique colors: Nude, Deep Brown, Warm Taupe, Aqua, Fresh Peach, Gold Bar.

Out of the unique colors, the ones which performed best were Deep Brown, Warm Taupe, Gold Bar and Fresh Peach. I found that Aqua had to be packed on in multiple layers to get decent pigmentation, otherwise it just seems like a sheer wash of light blue. I really liked the impact of Deep Brown, it's a great shade to cut your crease with and darken your outer corner. I like that although there are repeats of colors in this palette range, the pops of color are unique, since those are probably the colors used least.

This palette included something extra special: 5 free look cards which detail how to achieve each look on the back - this is a great inclusion to inspire your daily makeup, especially if you want to do something extra special.

I used the first look card, it consisted of 4 shades: Vanilla, Warm Taupe, Sienna and Deep Brown. I chose to go with a less dramatic black winged liner, and this is the look I achieved:

Overall, I really thoroughly enjoyed this palette and I was able to pick it up from the Anastasia Beverly Hills flagship salon and store in Beverly Hills, close to Rodeo Dr. - which made it an even better experience for me! I also picked up a Contour Kit and am excited to review that for you soon (I have used it every day since purchasing it!)

Cleaning lint off your Hair Brush

Do you look at your brush and notice those pesky white buggers clinging on for dear life at the base of the bristles? Do you wonder if it's dandruff and, if so, what you should do about it? If you don't have a history of dandruff and it's not flaking all over your clothing, then don't worry, you don't have a severe case of dandruff. In reality, this is probably just some of your dead skin cells off your scalp, but mostly random lint that was stuck in your hair from your pillow or dust that has accumulated and gotten condensed and stuck down on your brush. This doesn't mean you have to throw away your brush either.

Some brushes we purchase can be extremely expensive, and if we were to throw them out every few weeks we got debris on them, we would be out a lot of money. So I'm going to give you a simple, yet effective, method for cleaning off your brushes completely; it involves a little bit of elbow grease and a basic solution.

- First, to get rid of the bulk of the debris, you should use a comb to take out any of the lint and hair from the bristles of the brush, all the way from the bottom to the top of the teeth. There are special combs designed for this purpose (such as the Scalpmaster Brush/Comb Cleaner) if you wish to purchase one.

- Then, you can either use a large bowl for this, or just simply the sink to fill about 3/4 of the way up and fill it with the hottest water you can get out of your tap. Pour some of your shampoo inside, about as much as you could fit in your palm and swish it around to make a lather, and do the same with about half a cup of distilled white vinegar (this is the regular, inexpensive vinegar).

- Place your hairbrush in the sink or bowl and let it sit there for about 15 minutes to soak so that your debris becomes moistened, softer, and easier to get rid of. After taking the brush out, use the comb again to remove what is left of the lint by pulling it the opposite way (pull it towards the base of the brush this time) because it will be on the top of the bristles.

You should do this every few weeks if you can, it will help get rid of all that stuff that makes your hair oily when you brush it, namely old gel residue, hair spray residue, flaked off skin cells and the oils from your hair that have accumulated on the brush. Try not to use the brush until it is fully dry because brushing your hair with a wet brush may cause it to cling to your hair and pull out pieces that should not have otherwise come out.

Remember to throw out your brush once the bristles start to break off or the protective covering fades away. You would be doing your scalp a favor because it would get irritated, red and the scratching could cause dandruff. If you maintain your brush by cleaning it and are not very aggressive, if it is of good quality, it could last for years. If you use a round brush while blow-drying your hair, you may want to keep in mind that the heat could degrade the quality of the plastic and you may have to replace it more often (as often as once a year).