Upcoming Holiday 2015 Product Preview - Standouts!

Kat Von D - Mi Vida Loca Remix Palette - Sephora Exclusive ($59) available now

For me, this is the most exciting release of the whole year. Not for the faint of heart but definitely a hardcore makeup junkie's dream.

Arranged like a color wheel, this beautiful palette and accompanying sleeve are truly the work of a talented artist. I'm inspired just looking at the photo and it helps you keep in color theory in mind when pairing colored eyeshadows. For me this palette is an absolute must-have and I'm ordering it for myself! Kat Von D and Sephora have outdone themselves this time, especially during the holidays when almost every other company plays it safe with color selection.

With 17 vivid bright eyeshadow shades and 7 nudes & neutrals, you get 24 full-sized eyeshadow pans so this is a whopper of a palette. It's a great bang for your buck at just $2.46/eyeshadow. The quality has been reported thus far to be buttery-smooth with great color payoff.

Lorac - Mega Pro 2 - Ulta Exclusive ($59) available mid-October

Since last year, the world has been anticipating another Mega Pro Palette from Lorac and they did not disappoint. This year's Ulta exclusive palette promises to be in larger quantities than last so hopefully more makeup lovers can get their hands on it. Buyer beware, once these sell out, they're gone!

This year's Lorac Mega Pro 2 Palette boasts some cooler shadow selections than last year and is arranged in a similar fashion with 16 eyeshadows being matte (the top half of the palette) and 16 eyeshadows being satin or shimmery (the bottom half of the palette). The pan size has gotten significantly smaller than last year but it is not noticeable in the packaging (last year's contained 0.62 oz vs this year's 0.45 oz of product).

Like last year's palette and most Lorac Pro products, the shadows kick up a lot of powder and it is advised that you tap off your brush before applying the color directly to your eyes to avoid significant fallout. With that being said, Lorac eyeshadows are notoriously some of the best blending shades on the market so if you're a fan, it's definitely worth the money!

Too Faced - Le Grand Palais - Sephora Exclusive ($58) available now

This year's Too Faced palette contains 3 highlighting eyeshadow shades, 15 eyeshadows, 2 blushes (Stardust and Skyline), a Flush highlighter and a Sun Bunny bronzer. As extra goodies, Too Faced also included a deluxe-sized Melted Peony liquid lipstick, a deluxe mini Better Than Sex Mascara, and a deluxe sized Shadow Insurance eyeshadow primer.

This set is a good value (the website claims it is a $378 value) but if you were to choose the products yourself you probably would not have come up with this exact configuration, so take those values with a grain of salt!

Preliminary reviews of this palette have claimed that there are some very chunky glittery shades prone to fallout and the eyeshadow formulation is not as good as is usually typical of Too Faced powders. Most, if not all, of the colors, are fairly easily dupe-able and even seem repeated in Too Faced's own holiday palettes - since I have the one from last year, I'll be skipping it this year.

Too Faced X Vegas Nay - Stardust Palette - $45 - Ulta Exclusive, Now Available 

 My holiday purchase choice from Too Faced for this year was the Too Faced X Vegas Nay Stardust Eyeshadow Palette.

This kit comes with 12 eyeshadows (with phenomenal formulation across the board, I have not been disappointed by these) in slim travel and vanity friendly packaging, Nude Glamour Dust sample, deluxe mini Better Than Sex mascara, deluxe mini Shadow Insurance eyeshadow primer.

There is a good but wearable variety of color in this palette and I was drawn to it because of the inclusion of mauve/violet shades and burgundies which are a little harder to come across in palettes of this size. This is overall a warm-toned palette lovers dream and I highly recommend it - the quality seems far superior to other Too Faced Holiday 2015 releases.

Tarte - Bling It On Amazonian Clay Blush Palette - $44 - Sephora Exclusive, Now Available

For the third year in a row, Tarte has come out with an Amazonian Clay Blush Palette which is available at Sephora.

If these colors appeal to you, it is a great value considering each Amazonian Clay Blush single costs $28 at 0.2oz of product and each blush in this palette is 3/4 of that size at 0.15oz but you get 5 of them!!! You're only paying $8.80 per blush shade even though you get 75% of product in each blush. I don't know about you but I've never finished an entire blush shade so these would last me literally forever. I may cave and get this palette this year because the colors are beautiful and the packaging is slim (that's really what held me back last year).

The colors of blushes included are: Fetching, Dollface (light pink), Prim, Smashing, Beaming 

Bridal Makeup for Lover.ly Lavender Feather Dress

I've been wanting to show some bridal looks on my blog for awhile and the perfect opportunity came up! This relatively easy light smokey lavender eye makeup perfectly matches the Feathers dress by Kelly Faetanini on Lover.ly. If you want to take a look at the wide variety of wedding dresses featured on their website. I have also uploaded a Polyvore collage to show you how I would accessorize the dress for a Winter Wonderland Wedding, including everything from pumps to jewelry and a matching coat!

And now, since I know you're dying to find out what the wedding dress looks like, here it is:

Feathers dress - Retailer: Kelly Faetanini found on Lover.ly

This dress was an easy choice for me since the fitted criss-cross wrapped bodice accentuates curves nicely and is a very traditional look, but right below it is a spectacular avant-garde pop of feathers and color: ombre lavender! Purple just happens to be my favorite color of all so this dress was just a match made in heaven!

For the completed makeup look, specifically for the eyes, I wanted to pull in the ombre lavender of the dress which goes up and down the length of it. On my eyes, the ombre goes from the inner corner (where it is lightest) to the smokey lavender outer corner (where it is darkest), this effect very closely mimics the dress. The dramatic winged eyeliner and cut crease are reflective of the feather appliques of the gown. Since this dress undoubtedly flutters dramatically when the bride walks, I wanted to add some delicate false eyelashes for the eyes to flutter as well.

The complexion of my skin was kept snowy bright and I used a light pink blush for a natural flush of color but plenty of highlighter to reflect the light reflectivity and sheen of the dress' silk satin fabric. I wanted to use a more saturated (so my lips stand out), but still natural, lip color so that it doesn't compete with the color of the dress. The overall look is classic-elegant, with a slight twist of the unexpected pop of color.

Without further ado, let's proceed onto the makeup look:

I like to start clean makeup looks by doing my eyes and finishing it off with the face so I can achieve a flawless finish on my skin (so excuse the lack of face makeup and concealer at first!). I filled my eyebrows in prior to starting the eyeshadow look.

I used Essence Eye Sorbet as an illuminating pink hued base all over my lid (in shade 04 illuminating plum). As a transition base for my eyelid I used the Physicians Formula Quad in Canyon Classics using the bottom right-most terracotta shade in the entire crease, bottom left-most shade in the outer edge of the crease, and the off-white shade under my eyebrows.

I used an angled liner brush to apply a rough outline of the wing with the matte black eyeshadow from the LORAC PRO Palette. This is good for mapping out the location of your wing on both eyes before you go in with your favorite liquid liner, it ensures your wings will be even on both sides!

I created a faux cut crease shape above my natural crease to give my eyes a larger appearance, using the NYX Cosmetics Hot Singles Eye Shadow in Own The Night (dark smokey purple). I blended out that extra cut crease with a medium matte brown, specifically NYX Cosmetics Hot Singles Eye Shadow in Coquette. 

I also added a pop of shimmer and lightness to brighten the inner corner of my eye with Annabelle Mineral Pigment Dust in the color Prism but you could also substitute with the NYX Loose Pearl Eye Shadow in White Pearl. 

To create extra drama, I applied Ardell Lashes in 102 Demi Black and applied mascara. You can really use any mascara you'd like but I find that volume-enhancing mascaras do a really great job of camouflaging false eyelashes, so I went with the Rimmel Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara.

I also applied black liquid liner on top of my guidelines from the previous step to achieve a crisp look and carried the matte black eyeshadow into my waterline and right underneath my eye.

For my bottom lashes, I switched to Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! Mascara because I was looking for a lengthening and separation effect, to make my eyes appear wide open and larger. The synthetic, sparse bristles on the wand from Tarte's mascara is ideal for lash separation. 

To add some sparkle to the inner corner and in keeping with the Winter Wonderland Wedding frosty theme, I added a tiny amount of LORAC 3D Liquid Lustre in Diamond. I absolutely love the way this gives an elegant tiny sparkle rather than a large chunky glitter effect, it's perfect for the holidays and weddings (or any other classy special events in your life).

For lipstick, I chose to go with Essence Long Lasting Lipstick in Barely There! for a plum-leaning my-lips-but-better nude. I figured since I would keep the complexion relatively light (since it is wintertime and heavy tans are unlikely) and the dress is white on top, there could be some added drama in the eyes and lips.

I applied my foundation and did some basic contouring with the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Palette. Bridal looks tend to be more soft and subtle rather than highly contoured as you want to look as fresh and natural as possible. Avoid using contour shades that are too dark, a good rule of thumb is to use a powder that is 2 shades darker than your skin tone and apply contour to areas you want to send to the background of your face, such as the hollows underneath your cheekbones.

Try to use a foundation that doesn't have SPF as this causes a flash-back in photographs and can make your face appear rather ghostly on your special day!

I did my own makeup for my wedding day and I highly encourage you to do the same, because no matter how good of a makeup artist you employ, you will know your skin-type, eye shape and habits better than anyone else.

I also suggest trying to use false lashes on multiple occasions leading up to the big day so that you are used to them since they can feel rather "heavy" and potentially uncomfortable on the eyes initially until you get used to wearing them.

I hope you enjoyed my look and draw some inspiration from it for the holidays, your big wedding day, or any other occasions you may have coming up!

7 New Holiday Makeup Gift Sets (Tarte, Too Faced, bareMinerals, Smashbox, Clinique)

I wanted to do an update post about makeup items that have already been released for the Holiday Season. I won't be re-mentioning the ones that I have already posted about, so if you're interested in the Too Faced Everything Nice and La Belle Carousel sets as well as the Anastasia Tamanna palette, you can check them out in my previous posts.

The bareMinerals READY Convertible Eyeshadow Palette ($39) is an ingenious little gift. You can purchase this set and pop out the inner top third piece of the compact to take "to go" and the 12 eyeshadows are convertible so you can pop them in and out - thus you can create your ideal eyeshadow trio! This is a really cool idea, I like the color selection, and if the quality is anything like the regular READY eyeshadows, this would make a great gift set for the holidays.

The Smashbox On The Rocks Photo Op Eye Shadow Palette ($39) is another 12 eyeshadow palette, full of glorious shimmery gem-tones, a few highlight shades and some smokier shades. This is a great gift for a shimmer lover or someone who prefers bolder makeup. The pigmentation is smooth, the glitter isn't very chunky and I think this set is very reasonably priced, it is however much smaller in person.

For classic lovers of Clinique, try A Black Honey Affair palette ($36). This palette features 8 mauves, nudes and browns to create everyday looks. These shades were all inspired by the cult classic Black Honey lipstick shade.

Tarte's Brush With Destiny set features 5 bamboo brushes and a beautiful travel case ($44). Each set features the following brushes:

• contourtuinist bambo cream blush & contour brush
• the balancing act bamboo foundation brush
• the buffer airbrush finish bamboo foundation brush
• double-ended bamboo eyeshadow brush
• undercover lover bamboo concealer brush

Too Faced Beauty Wishes & Sweet Kisses set ($34) is an adorable bronze themed gift for the beauty in your life. It features 3 cocoa-infused eyeshadows from the Chocolate Bar Eye shadow palette, a matte Chocolate Soleil bronzer and the Sun Bunny bronzer as well as a deluxe version of La Creme Gloss in Naked Dolly (to be released Spring 2015).

If you're gifting someone who is a huge lover of Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes, you'll be happy to know there's a deluxe, limited edition set Chic to Cheek ($35) which includes the following colors:

• amour (candy pink)
• classic (soft apricot pink)
• prim (plum nude)
• daydream (rosy pink)

bareMinerals has yet another great value, the Magic Act ($39) set featuring 6 of their Ready eyeshadows, 3 blushes and a luminizer.

• Eye Shadows: Celebrate (yellow cream), Fortune (light pink), Shazam (pink), A-ha (brown champagne), Pumped (bronze brown), Foreshadow (brown truffle)
• Blushes: The Close Call (bronze taupe), The Natural High (gold peach), and The Indecent Proposal (plum)
• Luminizer: The Premiere

Stay tuned for my next post all about the Urban Decay Holiday 2014 new releases!

NYC Sunny Bronzer Review & Bronzer Comparison

I finally caved and purchased the NYC Sunny bronzer ($2.99), not because I needed another bronzer, but because I wanted to see how it compared to a lot of others I have and whether or not it is a dupe for a higher end product.

From top to bottom, left to right: Wet N Wild Ticket to Brazil, elf Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder (St. Lucia), NARS Blush/Bronzer Duo (Orgasm/Laguna), Too Faced Chocolate Soleil, tarte Park Ave Princess, NYC Smooth Skin (Sunny),  Physicians Formula Organic Wear Bronzer (Healthy Glow)

As you can see, I have quite a large variety of bronzers and I picked out some of the most popular ones to compare to. I like the compact of the NYC Smooth Skin Sunny bronzer, I think it looks a lot more high end than its $2.99 price tag.

Of my bronzers, the ones that suit my skin-tone best are probably Wet N Wild Ticket to Brazil, Physicians Formula Organic Wear Natural Glow Bronzer, and Too Faced Chocolate Soleil. So let's see how NYC's Sunny compares in the swatches below:

NYC Smooth Skin Sunny Bronzer was more smooth than the Wet n Wild Ticket to Brazil Bronzer and had no visible shimmer particles. I prefer bronzers that are more matte or satin, and I tend to stay away from overly shimmery products, which I why I sometimes opt out of wearing my Wet n Wild bronzer.

NYC Smooth Skin Sunny Bronzer appears to be a happy medium between my lightest shade (PF Organic Wear Bronzer in Natural Glow) and the Wet N Wild Ticket to Brazil Bronzer. NARS' Laguna is more cool-toned and taupe-like. Tarte's Park Ave. Princess Bronzer is more reddish and a deeper brown shade. E.L.F.'s St. Lucia Bronzer is definitely the darkest of the bunch (I almost never wear this one since it only matches my tone when I am very bronzed).

I highly recommend the NYC Sunny Bronzer if you're fair to light skin toned, I'm not sure how well this product could work for medium to deeper tones since it is a rather lighter bronzer. It definitely exudes a beautiful warm glow from the skin when applied, so if you are not a fan of warm tones, than this product isn't for you. I find that it's even useful for me to contour my nose with.

Do you have any of these bronzers? Let me know what you think about them and which one is your fav! Also let me know if you have any product suggestions for things I should try!

October Glossybox Unboxing - Byrdie Edition

I've gotten many requests to show my readers what's in the subscription boxes I get monthly so I figured I would start with October! I subscribe to Ipsy, Birchbox and Glossybox, so I will review all of those for you every month starting now.

The subscription: Glossybox

The cost: $21 US/month

Total product value: $76.57

Why is it unique? You get beauty products from Europe, Asia and everywhere else. Very high quality products every month, I have never received a dud and I've been subscribed since March 2013.

Every month, you receive substantial codes for some of the products provided in the Glossybox. This is quite customary for any subscription service. Here's a preview of the contents of my October box (usually these arrive in the mail near the end of the month). I was VERY excited when I saw the preview of the box with a full-sized Tarte Lights, Camera, Flashes mascara!

This month subscribers received a Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream in a generous deluxe sample size, (this retails for $42 at 1.7oz) we received the 0.5oz so the value of this product is $12.35. It smells just like what you would imagine a lotus to, very plant-like. I have been using it and it is quite moisturizing, but it's quite a pricey product that I don't think I would purchase on my own. This is a nice, luxurious sample to get.

I received a Renu Exfoliating Gel which retails for $42 at 50 ml and we received a 20 ml deluxe sample so the value of it is $16.80. Subscribers either received this sample or Sesha's Anti-Wrinkle Mask. This feels delightful on the skin, it really does feel like it's cleaning up the dead skin cells on my face, but again this is quite an expensive product, especially since it's a cleanser, so it's nice to receive such a large sample because I probably won't go out and purchase it.

Subscribers also received a deluxe sized sample of Bulgari's Eau Parfumee Au The Vert, which reminds me of a spring scent because it's made with "Green Tea" as the base note. However, this is the most adorable sample I have ever seen because it's in a miniature retro glass container. The full sized product is 1.33oz and retails for $62. The sample is 0.17 fluid oz so it is valued at $7.92. The scent is fresh and light, definitely not overpowering and I find that it takes on an even better smell on my skin.

balance Me. has provided every subscriber with their limited edition tinted lip salve that is 100% natural. The product received was the full size which retails for $16.50 at 10ml. You can see that it swatches to a much letter intensity than the pumpkin color inside the tube. It's an extremely liquid formula, not sticky or unpleasant to wear. The super soft beige color was created exlusively for Birchbox. The gloss smells like peppermint and emphasizes lip size, creating a bee-stung effect. Great product, I would definitely recommend trying this out.

And now the product we've all been waiting for, Tarte's Lights Camera Flashes Mascara!!! This puppy retails for $23 for the full size and that's exactly what Glossybox gave us! The packaging is magnificent, there is no funky smell like some other mascaras, and it lengthens and provides so much extra volume to my lashes that I can actually feel the difference. My lashes have never hit the skin above my eyelid, but with this, they definitely do and I love it! The applicator is easy to use, it's a silicone bristled applicator and I have an extremely easy time applying the wet formula with it. I highly recommend trying this mascara, in my opinion it's worth every penny.

Cyber Monday Sales

So as most of you know, today is the day the internet gives something back and gives us Cyber Monday in repayment for sucking the lives out of us the rest of the year. I've scooped out the best beauty deals for you and thoroughly researched the web for deals. You will want to take advantage of these sales because cosmetics products only go on sale when an item is being discontinued, is old, or a store will no longer be carrying that brand... it is very rare that they just have a great sale, usually the sales are fairly bogus. The best deals I can find thus far are:

- Stila's warehouse sale where things are up to 80% off can be found here. They make fabulous eyeshadow and lipgloss

- E.L.F. has a 50% off any purchase over $25 (code 50wide) offer or you can get free shipping over $25 (SHIP25) at their site here - it's unfortunate that you can't have both offers, though

- Cherryculture has 20% off your entire purchase on their website, they have great NYX products and most of their stock is inexpensive to begin with

-  Clinique gives you 3 deluxe sized samples (which means bigger than sample size but smaller than the full product) for any purchase on their website, this is a great deal because the items they have as samples can be amazing: such as blush, eye creams, lipsticks. So I suggest you pick up something you love by them and would use up even if there was no free offer (I get the De-Puffing Eye Massage Serum).

- Elizabeth Arden has 25% off any order and free shipping with code BF2 here and a free 9 piece deluxe gift set with any order over $40.

- Tarte has a pretty lame deal of 20% off up to $100 and then you get $30 off, the code is CYBER and you get a free full-sized gift here

- Shiseido (which almost never has a sale on anything) has a gift of deluxe samples including a primer, translucent powder and satin face color in a cosmetic pouch for purachases of over $50.

- Bath&BodyWorks has an amazing deal of 25% off your entire order with the code CYBER2011 and when you check out anything in the Holiday Traditions Body Care selection you get buy 1, get 1 free for double your order!

- The Body Shop has any 3 single items in the online store for $30... that's right, even if the one item you chose was over the total price, it will still only be charged as 3 for $30. You also get free shipping with any purchase. If you add the code JOY10, you also get 10% off your order. So 3 items end up being $27, when usually just one would run you higher than that. Plus you get the free shipping... this is an amazing deal for night-cream and moisturizers.

Happy hunting everybody!!!!

Tarte for True Blood eyeshadow palette review

If you know me you know that I have a very profound love affair with eyeshadow palettes, whether they be Urban Decay, Estee Lauder, Tokidoki, or any other brand under the sun. Just the concept of so many brilliant color combinations with endless customization and room for individuality makes me a giddy girl. I've never purchased anything else from Tarte so I didn't know the quality of their products beforehand, this review is going to be completely unbiased, I don't have stock in the company and I'm not a long-term lover of their products. Truth be told, I bought the Tarte for True Blood palette because it had beautiful shades that I wanted for my wedding day and I'm a huge fan of HBO's hit True Blood!!!

First glamoured impressions
I was thrilled with the packaging, the cutesy miniature drawer that slides out to reveal a miniature mascara, eye primer and black eye liner (which is remarkably amazing and slides on as smooth and easily as butter) and the fact that you're getting 17 eyeshadows for $52. While the mascara and primer are nothing to write home about, they're great filler bonuses that are much appreciated, the company could have just given 17 eyeshadows and not included that adorable drawer with its perks.


Upon further fanged inspection
The colors that you find in this palette are anything but the radical tones you would expect from this goth-inspired packaging. The pigments are surprisingly neutral and very blendable, they are silky in texture and very smooth on the skin. Some have matte finishes, others have a mild sheen, and a few even have sparkles inside!

I have swatched the shadows so you can get a clear view of the color payoff on the skin of my hand, but keep in mind that this is without a primer or base and the photos were taken with a flash on because the lighting was poor. Therefore, the colors are far less saturated in reality. I particularly love the most neutral shades from the top two rows of the first swatch set (such as Fairy, The Light, Dusk, Dawn, and Waitress). 'The True Death' is a medium silver tone that is one of the most accomplished shades of gray I've seen in any makeup line.

The true death-verdict
I would recommend this palette to anyone who is considering starting an eyeshadow collection because it covers a lot of the basics (neutrals, blacks, matte.shimmer... you get base, highlight as well as contour shades). You also won't be making too many mistakes because the formula is very forgiving and easily blendable. If you are a collector, then definitely do not miss out on this limited-edition beauty. It has made me consider Tarte as one of the makeup brands to watch.