Underwear / Panty Subscription Service: Splendies & Volupties

Do you hate shopping for underwear because you think it's awkward, you never know how they'll fit and there's a million options to choose from? Because I sure do. I almost exclusively shop for my underwear online nowadays to avoid the indecisive nature of intimates shopping altogether.

I have tried a service called Splendies (the plus sized sister site is Volupties) which delivers 3 unique designs to your mailbox every month for just $12/month and free shipping. The first month is $8 with promo code "SPLENDIES"! I don't know anywhere else that I could get cute underwear for such a low price regularly.

If you're lacking shopping inspiration, this service is for you!

Splendies/Volupties ships to Canada for $7 and Internationally for $9.

If you don't like thongs at all, you can pay an extra $2/month to avoid getting any. You can also receive boyshorts, briefs, lace or cotton in a variety of different styles and colors from various brands.

Here's an example of what I received for the month of July 2014:

Brand: Pucker Up!

Fabric: 85% Nylon 15% Spandex

Style: Thong

Adorable design of orangey red sparrows on a creamy white thong. I really like the texture of these and they're going to be very comfortable.

Brand: Perfection

Fabric: Polyester Mesh

Style: Bikini

This isn't something I would choose for myself because the color is so bright but it can be fun to step out of my comfort zone once in awhile! That's the reason I got this service!

Brand: Pucker Up!

Fabric: Polyester Lace

Style: Bikini

The lace looks very cute but I don't typically wear lace that often because I find it to be a little more harsh on my sensitive skin. The bow detail with a little crystal is very cute!

I read on another blog that they recommended going a size up (so if you were Medium to get Large) since the sizes supposedly run small. However, I did notice that some of the panties in Large fit me perfectly and others were too big so I think I could have just chosen Medium. Regardless, I would rather be wearing something more loose fitting and comfortable than too tight but this is just a personal preference! You can always change your size on the website.

It's definitely worth a shot to try this service out for a month at $8 and if you have any issues you can always unsubscribe. Their customer service is amazing and if you have any problems they will take care of it for you.

Visit the Splendies website here.

Eyes of the Day: Mrs. Mia Wallace Look

Since this year is the 20th anniversary of the cult classic Pulp Fiction and Urban Decay has released a Limited Edition Pulp Fiction eyeshadow palette  (based on the iconic character Mrs. Mia Wallace), I decided to do an Eyes of the Day post about her iconic look using the new palette.


In case you've been living under a rock for the past 20 years, this is what Mia Wallace (aka Uma Thurman) looked like in the movie, she was the quintessential babe of the 90s (1994 to be exact). She is subtle and natural and yet so dramatic with her severe lips, haircut and perfectly groomed brows.

The eyeshadow look tends to be quite wearable and natural, the guide for this look are on an insert inside the Pulp Fiction palette packaging. You can add more drama by using a black liquid or cream eyeliner, but I opted for the original with the eyeshadow "Furious" from the palette.

How to get the look:

This is what the shadows look like (you can re-create this look even if you don't own the palette, something similar like the Naked Basics or Physicians Formula Matte Eyeshadow Quad in Canyon Classics would do the trick).

I absolutely love this palette, it's so cute and reminds me of the 90's, I'll do a review very soon on it!

Most Loved: Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette

Welcome to all of your childhood dreams of Willy Wonka chocolate bars. This Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette is something I *really* tried my hardest to avoid purchasing. At first, when it came out, the packaging was rather bulky and the tester in my local Sephora was so beaten up and abused by fellow beauty swatchers, that I really had no interest. Even when I saw the HSN promo for it, I was tempted but I held back... they even had an insane deal for the palette (regular retail is $49 at Ulta or Sephora). Alas, the packaging was too bulky and it would have taken too much space in my already over-flowing collection.

Cue the new, updated, summer packaging:

This packaging is literally half the thickness (girth?) of the previous one. My husband insisted on purchasing it for me when we were away on our summer vacation... and how could a girl resist, am I right?

And let me tell you... the scent... oh the smell is far better than you read or hear about. It's almost like a freshly opened truffle doused in cocoa powder. It's desirable and infectious, it makes opening this palette an absolute delight in the morning when I'm groggy, it wakes me right up in the most pleasant of ways!

The names of the colors are unique and ingenious, Too Faced is always very creative with their branding. I really did think that there would be duds in this palette in terms of pigmentation since I had heard from various blog/vloggers that Candied Violet and a few of the lighter shades were rather chalky or lacking pigmentation. I haven't noticed any product kick-up (though I don't typically go beast-mode hard into my shadows with my brushes) or patchiness upon application. I like that Too Faced decided to give us more of the highlight shades White Chocolate (matte finish) and Champagne Truffle (metallic finish), since these get used most frequently when creating looks.

You can really achieve a very subdued look or a more glamorous night-time look... you can even do a dark, goth look if you're feeling in the mood! So whether you're a bronze goddess or a child of the night, this palette really does have it all covered, the only caveat is that the shades are mostly warm-toned with the exception of Gilded Ganache, Triple Fudge, and Candied Violet.

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette Swatches (No Primer, Ambient Lighting)

Matte: White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Triple Fudge, Salted Caramel, Semi-Sweet, Strawberry Bon Bon
Matte with Fine Glitter: Gilded Ganache, Black Forest Truffle, Cherry Cordial
Pearl with Fine Glitter: Candied Violet
Metallic: Marzipan, Amaretto, Hazelnut, Creme Brulee, Haute Chocolate, Champagne Truffle

I'm so happy with the pigmentation of these shadows, they perform very well, have great color payoff and I don't feel that I need to pack on too much of the shadow to get full opacity. There's such a good variety of matte, satin/shimmer (metallic) and more glittery shades. Salted Caramel is an absolute brilliant color for warming up the crease and transitioning darker shades. Candied Violet performs a lot better than I expected, and I really find that the glitter isn't too intense once you blend the shadow out. I think the most unique shade of the bunch is Cherry Cordial and I don't have anything else in my collection that looks similar to it (that's saying a lot!)

I highly recommend purchasing this if you apply eyeshadow on a daily basis and need to come up with wearable daytime or nighttime looks. This palette will be your best friend if you want a neutral palette with a little extra oomph. I reach for this palette more than I do my LORAC Pro, Kat Von D Saint palette, or my Urban Decay Naked 1, 2 and 3 combined because it's fun and I get the added bonus of a unique color selection and a waft of cocoa when using it!

Kawaii Chocolate Bar by Rooshoo, Click here.

Product Review: Victoria's Secret Metallized Eye Shadow & Eye Shadow Duo

I walked into a mall a couple of weeks ago and came across the Victoria's Secret VS Makeup Clearance section. Now, I know VS discontinued their makeup line but I'm sure you can still find these online and in select stores where they haven't yet cleared out. I purchased mine at the reduced price of $3.75-$4.00 each (I believe they were 75% off).

I did have high expectations for these shadows because, although I hadn't tested them myself, I have read many beauty blogs that claim that VS makeup was phenomenal and it's an absolute tragedy they have stopped producing it. They... were... right!

I managed to get my hands on an Eye Shadow Duo in "Flirty & Fierce" and Metallized Eye Shadows in "Buzz", "Major" and "Gold Card".  The honeycomb pattern and finish on the Metallized Eye Shadows reminded me of the MAC Extra Dimension eyeshadows and I was very intrigued.

These shadows are absolutely huge with the Metallized Eye Shadows being 3.5g/.12oz and the Eye Shadow Duo being 3.2g/.11oz (which is strange because it appears so much larger!) whereas a single pressed MAC eyeshadow is only 0.05oz. The Metallized Eye Shadows are 2.4x the size of a MAC eyeshadow and the Eye Shadow Duo is 2.2x the size!!! Talk about getting a great bang for your buck.

I was so thrilled with the pigmentation of these, specifically the smooth texture and buttery finish of the Metallized Eye Shadows (Buzz, Major and Gold Card). The only downside to the Eye Shadow Duo (Flirty & Fierce) was that the glitter can be a little chunky and therefore causes the texture of the overall eye shadow to suffer.

If you can manage to snag these shadows, do yourself a favor and get them! You'll be so thrilled, especially if you can find the Metallized Eye Shadows! My absolute favorite color is Buzz because it looks like a burgundy, mauve brown and I think it's incredibly versatile for an all-over wash of color or as a crease shade.

New Product Alert: Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadow

Everyone brace yourselves! Milani's new Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadows are showing up in your local drugstores (my CVS now has them in stock)! I was so excited to pick up a few of these to review. These retail for $3.99-$4.99.

The packaging is Milani's signature gold compact, similar to their baked blushes which came out in late 2013. The formulation is a soft, smooth and richly pigmented powder. These eyeshadows, despite their name, do not have a gel-like consistency, nor do they feel like the Maybelline Bouncy line, rather they remind me more of MAC's baked eyeshadow consistency (the "gel" claim is because Milani states the formula starts as a gel and is then baked to a powder eyeshadow).

The Milani Bella Eyes shadows can be used wet or dry. This eyeshadow range consists of 30 colors (of which you should be able to find all of them in your drugstore displays) and comes in 3 finishes: satin matte, shimmer and iridescent metallic.

The colors that stood out to me were originally Bella Mandarin and Bella Violet (since it reminded me of Urban Decay's Grifter, which is my favorite eyeshadow color of all time). Bella Mandarin is an ideal color to blend out or warm up any crease color of your choice, specifically it works well for browns and taupes.
I picked up Bella Champagne because I watched a couple of video reviews which stated that the Shimmer-finish was superior in pigmentation and color payoff to the Satin Mattes. I do think that the least pigmented of the bunch I have is Bella Violet (which incidentally is also a shimmer), so it may have to do with the color selection as well as the finish.

Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadow Swatches

The consistency appears to be good for these shadows, they all perform decently thus far in swatches and on the eyes. I haven't noticed any creasing or fading (but let me disclose that I always wear eyeshadow primer or concealer underneath any eyeshadow). I would definitely recommend purchasing the colors that stand out to you as you won't be disappointed.

I don't think one must own the entire collection because a lot of the colors are dupe-able or very similar (Bella White, Bella Ivory, Bella Diamond and Bella Chiffon are only marginally different from one another and I'm not sure that you would notice much of a difference once blended out, same with Bella Rose and Bella Pink).

Not sure which colors you want? For great swatches of each color in the range, check out Vampy Varnish's very comprehensive blog post.

Eyes of the Day: Amrezy Palette

Eyes of the Day look with Amrezy Palette - Natural Light

Today's featured look of the day consists of neutral eyeshadows with a pop of emerald green from the Anastasia Beverly Hills Amrezy Palette. I was so excited to play with this palette, I just couldn't wait to create a look!

Eyes of the Day look with Amrezy Palette - Ambient/Indoor Light

This look was easy to create and the green is meant to appear as a pop of color so I didn't try too hard to blend it with the lid color. I was extremely drawn to the Emerald eyeshadow and Caramel ended up being a lot more tangerine than I was expecting, so I was glad I didn't choose Morocco... these shadows are very pigmented! The photos don't even do this look any justice, the bright sunshine of the day really makes for a dramatic, impactful combination.

Here are the quick steps to re-create this emerald glam look (using the Anastasia Beverly Hills Amrezy Palette):

• Caramel all over the lid
• Glisten on the inner corner of the lid
• Emerald in the crease
• Blend out Emerald with Vanilla as the highlight between it and the brow
• Line the lower lash line with Emerald
• Physicians Formula 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner + Serum in Ultra Black (review coming soon!) to create winged eyeliner
• Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara in Extreme Black to gently define lashes (this mascara will separate and darken lashes but not volumize or lengthen but it is very lightweight and easy to wear throughout the whole day)

Physicians Formula Matte Collection Eyeshadow - Canyon Classics

The Physicians Formula Matte Collection Eyeshadow Quads always receive rave reviews and, after hearing and reading about them for so long, I finally caved and purchased one in "Canyon Classics" from Ulta. These seem, upon first glance and swatch, to be good dupes for some of the colors of the Naked Basics palette (specifically W.O.S., Naked 2, and Faint).

I am very impressed with the buttery smoothness of this palette and the richness of its pigmentation. Matte eyeshadows are difficult to formulate and are generally known to be more chalky than their shimmer counter-parts due to the finish. 

A matte eyeshadow typically has high color payoff and always consists of a no-shine matte finish. These are generally thought of as being chalky (dry, powdery and patchy) so they should be used with a good base and packed on the eye area with a dense flat brush - when used properly these can give a flawless, airbrushed look!

These eyeshadows were of much higher quality than their $6.99 price tag, and I would definitely encourage the usage of these over the Naked Basics palette or other neutral palettes if you are on a budget - they appear to be very finely milled and therefore you won't experience much flaking or chalkiness, and I noticed no patches either.

The Matte Collection eyeshadow quads are also available in 2 other color variations, Classic Nudes and Quartz Quartet. 

Physicians Formula Matte Collection Eyeshadow Quad - Classic Nudes

Compared to the Canyon Classics collection I reviewed above, the Classic Nudes is warmer toned with more rust-tones and Quartz Quartet is cooler toned, featuring mauves and violets.

Physicians Formula Matte Collection Eyeshadow Quad - Quartz Quartet