A Week of Swatches - Day 5: E.L.F.

It's rare for me to find E.L.F. products that I actually am in love with.  Occasionally, there will be a lipstick or an eyeshadow that I'm made about but most of the time it's hit or miss.  The great thing about the line is that if you hate something, you aren't out a lot of money AND you can always find a diamond in the rough if you look hard enough.

I'd been reading about their Bronzer and Blush quads for quite some time and picked them up for about $6 a piece.  I also snatched up a Mineral Lipstick for about $5 and a Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadow for $3.

The colors of the blush palette look gorgeous out of the box.  I chose the "light" version as I am quite pale and love pale pinks on my cheeks.

For a $6 palette, the colors aren't too shabby.  I am really taken with the coral color though the matte bronze/beige is not good for me.

Out of the box, I am completely appalled with the bronzer palette.  Seriously, the colors are all the same, only one has any shimmer and the rest are matte and quite dull.

There isn't too much to say about the swatches except that I will not be using this quad at all.

The Lustrious Eyeshadow in Festivity is a nice shimmery purple.  What I love most about the product is how easy it is to blend and apply.  I adore the creamy texture and am actually quite impressed with the pigmentation.

It's super pretty, actually.  After looking at the color more, I feel that it might be a dupe for a higher end product line.   More on that later!

Last but not least, the Mineral Lipstick.  I ordered it as it was called Beautiful Berry and had a nice berry red sticker on the side of the box.  I do have to say the shade is a lot more on the pink side than red but still not too shabby.

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A Week of Swatches - Day 4: NYX

I've recently become quite addicted to NYX products.  I don't know why it took me so long and what exactly made me jump on the bandwagon but, man, I am so glad I did.  I am in love with their concealer and mascara and recently began liking SOME of their eyeshadows.

I say some because not all their palettes are pigmented or long lasting.  I am very lucky to say that the two palettes I bought recently are both of these and more.  The top palette is called Bon Voyage and the bottom one is called Wanderlust.  (Based on the names, I'll give you one guess why I bought them...ha).

Bon Voyage is the darker of the two palettes with more jewel tones and colors needed to make a crisp, smoky eye.  I am completely taken with the green and purple colors.

As you can see, the pigmentation is actually quite good.  Some of the shadows are a bit flaky but again, what can you expect for the price.

Wanderlust is gorgeous but definitely not my favorite of the two.  It's more of a nude meets shimmer kind of palette.

I think these colors really pop, though, once on.  The second color (reminds me of a pair of my ballet slippers) is just stunning.

Not swatching these two BUT wanted to show you what I picked up for less than $10 a piece.  The top palette is called Wicked Dreams and the second is called Boheme Chic.  I am addicted to these bidding sites on facebook and I scored big time on these two beauties.  I am in NYX heaven!!

What is your favorite NYX palette?  Have you ever used either of these ones before?

    

A Week of Swatches - Day 3: Sephora

As I'm sure you're noticed, I'm slightly obsessed with palettes.  I will begin by saying that almost all my palettes have been purchased with discount codes or during sales, as I am TRYING my very hardest to be a budget beauty enthusiast.  These next two are no exception.

I searched high and low in Canada to find these two but Sephora was sold out, everywhere.  Instead I found them in the states for about $12 a piece.  Really good deal if you ask me.  The IT Palettes came in either Nude or Smoky.

Smoky is by far my favorite and it also had the most types of eyeshadow.  The top left had corner is a highlighter (which I didn't swatch) and the top right had corner is an eyeliner.  The rest are shimmer eyeshadow goodness!  The palette also comes with a dual ended brush (eyeliner and shadow) and an eyeliner pencil.

I am all about the glittery eyes.  Loving the purple and blue shades!

The Nude palette is still gorgeous but much more muted than the Smoky palette.  The lower left hand corner is a primer and the one beside it AND top left are both highlighters.  The top right and lower right hand colors are both eyeliners.

The gold-copper shade that's first in the row of swatches is absolutely stunning.  All in all, a great set of shadows.

What's your favorite palette of these two?  Have you tried these before?

    

A Week of Swatches - Day 2: BH Cosmetics

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I adore BH Cosmetics.  In fact, whenever I think about buying makeup, I instantly pull up the BH Cosmetic website and see what amazing palettes they have on sale.

Reasons I adore BH: Their palettes are inexpensive, they have fantastic variety and the shadows and blushes are extremely pigmented.  All in all, if you've never shopped on their site before you absolutely have to.

As you can see, I have a few BH palettes to speak of.  The first one I want to share with you is the Glamorous Blush palette.  Gorgeous colors, hey?

Though the red blush colors might be a tad on the bright side, they all blend extremely well and I adore the little bit of shimmer a few of the colors have.  FYI, it's on sale on the site right now for $9.

There is NO WAY I can swatch all these colors for you but had to share how gorgeous this one is.  It's called the Special Occasion palette and it has 30 eye shadows and 9 blushes.  They are super pigmented and you literally have every color you need here to create the PERFECT look for a night out on the town.  Also on sale on the site for $9.

The Blushed Neutrals palette.  One of my most recent purchases.  I love the mix of shimmer and matte colors all in great fall colors!

As you know we'd be here FOREVER if I swatched everything so wanted to show you the row above the blushes.  The first four are shimmer while the last 3 are matte.  I seriously can't wait to use that purple color!

Last but not least is the Smoky Eyes palette.  All the colors you need to create your perfect smoky eye.  Just look at all the deep purple and blue tones.

I swatched the Blue and the Grey row for you.  Both rows are great, though I do think the blue has much more pigmentation than the grey colors.

For all Red Lip Gloss readers, BH Cosmetics has offered a great deal!  Buy any two products and get 10% off. Click the link below to get your own fabulous palettes!
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A Week of Swatches - Day 1: H&M Beauty and MAC

I have a major problem when it comes to palettes.  Seriously, I could be considered a palette-junkie.  I can't seem to buy enough or have enough palettes.  I especially love Christmas because almost every beauty product line comes out with a special holiday blockbuster.  I am literally drooling over all the palette goodness.

The past few months I've been looking for cheap palettes because I'm on mat leave and trying to keep my extra spending down.  I've found some really great bargains and some NOT so great ones.

First on my list of swatches is Measurable Difference Desert Nights Palette and Hard Candy High Intensity Eye Shadow Duo in Lost & Found.

From left to right, we have the Purple and Pink from the Hard Candy duo.  The purple is stunning but the pink is definitely not a color I would ever wear.  The Measurable Difference palette starts with a grey metallic shimmer, a nude beige (WHICH you can't even see), a silver metallic, a matte burgundy and a metallic burgundy.  I was given the Hard Candy from a friend but picked up the Measurable Difference palette for a whopping $5.99.  I will say that I created a stunning burgundy smoky eye from this palette the other day which I will show you at the end.

I was so excited to get my hands on these two items especially since H&M just re-branded and reformulated their makeup line.  I read about both of these in a magazine so literally squealed in delight when I found them.  However, that's where the excitement ended.

The palette is broken into sections - This is a swatch of the upper row which are the metallic shades.  They almost all look exactly the same.

These are the shimmer shades which is the middle row.

Last but not least, the 6 shades in the middle are the matte row (last) of the palette and then the top and bottom colors are the two blushes.  The matte shades are the only ones that have a shade difference and even then, it's very subtle.  This palette is, unfortunately, going in the garbage.

The blush and highlighter quad is okay.  I will say that the colors are fairly nice but definitely not pigmented enough for me.  Sigh.

So, I've been having dreams about this MAC palette for about 2 months.  Honestly, I am beyond obsessed with burgundy shades and knew this palette was MADE for me.  It's called Burgundy Times Nine and MAC was sold of it for a long time....I did however grab one this past weekend.

There are about 4 shimmer shades and the rest are matte but the greatest thing about this palette are the shades.  They can all be mixed and matched to create your favorite burgundy eye look.  I am over the moon that this palette belongs to me!!

I am LOVING the Measurable Differences palette.  Check out my awesome burgundy smoky eye!!

    

The Week of Vampy Oxblood - Day 5: The Look

My adorable new Kenneth Cole cross-body bag in Oxblood

I sometimes wonder if a "like" becomes an "obsession".  This week has been spent looking for fabulous lipsticks, glosses and of course, shadows and clothes all in this vampy oxblood color.  I literally can't stop!

It's best for us NOT to tell Allan how obsessed I've become.  Let's especially keep all the lip products I've bought a secret....okay?

However, my latest obsession with this trend?  Eye shadow.  What's funny is I don't even own a burgandy, jewel tone for my eyes but man, I can't wait to get my hands on some.  In the meantime, here are some fabulous pictures of people sporting this look.

Kristen Stewart's eyes look fantastic here 

I am so loving the blending on each of these looks.  Because this trend is literally making me more excited than anything, here are three palettes I am absolutely adding to my wish list for this year.

The first one is MAC Burgandy x 9.  Now, most of you know I'm not quite taken with MAC products however I can NOT pass this one up at all.  Look at the colors....sigh

I can't stand how gorgeous this palette is, seriously.  Look at that beautiful burgandy shimmery shadow?  I have never owned a Coastal Scents palette before I want this one so badly.

So there you have it, glossers, a week of Vampy Oxblood.  What are your favorite trends right now?  What colors were your favorite?