The Best Palettes Under $30 - Your Wallet Will Thank You

Best Palettes Under $30 by redlipgloss 

As you all know, I am a palette-aholic.  Yes, it's a problem but one I can't resist because palettes are just WAY too cute.  You get all these great products in one handy-dandy little kit that you can pack into your carry-on for travel OR sneak into your purse for going out.

Of course, most of the palettes I own are not small enough to fit into my bag, let alone a carry-on suitcase, but they are still a great collection of items at a usually great price.

The ones on this list, though, go beyond any good deal you could even imagine.  I own almost all these palettes myself and can say, without a doubt, that they are a great deal for the money and are so budget friendly, that you MUST go out and get them all.

1. ELF Spotlight Ready 50 Piece Palette (15 USD): This palette is amazing.  It's two full layers filled with shimmer and mattes shades to complete your holiday look.

2. BH Cosmetics 39 Color Special Occasion Palette - Eyes and Face (7.50 USD):  I love this palette as it has every color needed to create the perfect smoky eye in whichever tone you are wanting.

3. Maybelline Gilded in Gold Palette (15 USD): This palette not only has a highlighter, shadows and a blush, but it also comes with a lipgloss and an eyeliner.  So handy.

4. Beauty Gems Shimmer Shadow Kit (5.99 USD): Beauty Gems is a hidden gem of a brand.  Super cheap, quite pigmented for the price and minimal fall out.  Seriously, you have to get this palette.

5. NYX Wicked Dreams Palette (15 USD): I bought this palette for the beautiful gem tones and I am so happy I did.  Love the purples and blues.

6. ELF Artistry Eyeshadow Palette (20 USD): SO this is one of the palettes I don't have but want so badly.  You must get it as ELF sells out of this all time.

7. Clinique A Case of the Pretties Palette (30 USD): First off, anytime you can get a Clinique palette for under $30 you have to buy it.  Clinique has great pigmentation and is very long lasting (as long as you have a primer on).

8. NYX Butt Naked Eyes Makeup Palette (25 USD): Of the three "Butt Naked" styles, this one remains the best.  The colors are beautiful but the blushes are amazing.

There you have it ladies.  The 8 best palettes under $30.  What's your favorite?

    

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?

    

BH Cosmetics: Huge Palette Haul

I've heard of BH Cosmetics for a long time though never actually tried the line before.  I know, strange.  A friend and I decided to place an order and FINALLY give the line a try.

I, of course, ended up with 4 new palettes and some lipstick because that's how I role.

I purchased the Special Occasion Palette, the Glamorous Blush Palette, the Forever Smokey Palette, the Forever Nude Palette and Creme Luxe Lipsticks in Coral Escape, Berry Bite and Te Amo.

The Special Occasion Palette contains 39 colors in divided between blush (9 colors) and eyeshadows (30 colors).  All are absolutely lovely.

The Glamorous Blush Palette is the reason I placed the order though.  It contains 10 fabulous colors that can all be blended together to make your perfect shades.  Love it.

The Forever Smokey and Forever Nude palettes were on "Buy 1 Get 1 Free", hence why I got both.  Here's the Forever Smokey Palette which contains 2 blushes, 2 lip glosse,s 1 highlighter and 6 eyeshadows.

The Forever Nude contains the same amount as the Forever Smokey Palette, just in more muted shades.

Last but not least, check out the lipstick colors,  They are beautiful and rich.  I've been rocking the Coral Escape almost everyday since receiving them!  From left to right the colors are Coral Escape, Berry Bite and Te Amo.

What are your favorite BH Cosmetics products??

    

Fall Haul from Sephora

For those that don't know, I have a MAJOR palette obsession.

Truly, it's bad.  There's something so special about a little kit that has EVERYTHING you need to create a beautiful smoky eye, or a kit that contains everything you need for a trip abroad.  I've tried to explain this obsession to my husband, Allan, and for some reason he just doesn't get it.  He doesn't understand why I need specific palettes for each look or why I have lip palettes and eye palettes and palettes that are lips and eyes combined.  So, I've stopped telling him that I've bought a new one and instead, hide it under the bed for a week or two and then slowly rotate it into the mix.

My recent Sephora haul consists mainly of, you guessed it, palettes and a couple other neat things I found.  I got the Sephora IT Palette (aka the Color Spectrum Eyeshadow Collection), the Sephora Spring in Soho Eye, Cheek and Lip Palette, the Buxom Lip Polish in "Christina" (how fitting) and the Pinch Minimergency Kit for Her.

Check these things out!

The Sephora IT Palette is gorgeous.  The colors inside are vibrant, bold and stunning.  I find myself drawn to jewel tones and when I saw this one on sale for 50% off, I knew it was destined to come home with me.

Inside, the palette has a highlighter and a base on the left hand side.  The colors from left to right (top row) are Rich Chocolate, Radiant Pink, Brilliant Yellow, Magnetic Aqua.  From Left to right (bottom row) are Bold Bronze, Prismatic Purple, Iridescent Green and Blue Crystal.  The black and white on the far right are the two eyeliners in the package.  Along with a few brushes, this palette is perfect for creating tons of different eye looks.

The Sephora Spring in Soho is awesome because it's small enough to keep in your purse AND has two different levels.

The first level is full of your eye shadows and brushes.

The second level, contained in a slide-out drawer, are the lip colors and the blush.  Too cute.

For those of you that have not tried a Buxom lip gloss, you have to go out right now and get one.  They are magnificent because they aren't sticky, they have amazing staying power and the have a lip plumping agent in the gloss.  I love that tingly feeling especially if it's because my lips are looking more full.  I grabbed my namesake gloss and absolutely love it.

Last but not least, is the Minimergency Kit by Pinch.  This little kit contains all of the following items: a bandage, a safety pin, earring backs, a deodrant towelette, nail polish remover pad, stain remover, clear elastics, lip balm, an emery board, a tampon, hair spray, clear nail polish, dental floss, a mending kit, breath freshener, double sided tape and some aspirin.  And the package is so tiny (hence it pictured next to my lip gloss container.)  I like it so much that I am petrified to use anything in it!

What items have you been buying recently?  Any great palettes?

    

My Phenomenal Palette Giveaway

***************Closed May 27th at 11:59 PM PST *********************

Before I get to the good stuff, I just wanted to give a big shout out to all my followers. Thanks again for all your amazing comments and advice. You guys are awesome! Now, on to the info you really want. Since I just recently hit 200 followers AND have been raving about palettes lately, I thought it's time to giveaway a few of my new ones....

This giveaway includes:

Sephora Color Play - 5 in 1 Limited Fashion Edition Palette (check out pics here)
ELF Studio Mini Makeup Collection (check out pics here)
Mark It Kit Trend Color Compact (check out pics here)
Marcelle Wet & Dry Eye Shadow Quad in Teal Chic (check out pics here)

Now for the long-winded babble. Please ensure that you are over 18 OR have your parents permission to enter this giveaway. Also, only one comment per person. (It can be very difficult to add up entries if you are leaving multiple comments). I should probably mention that this giveaway is open to everyone (International friends included). Here's how you enter:

- Follow me publicly through Goggle Friend Connect (1 entry)
- Follow me on twitter, tell me your twitter name and tweet about this giveaway (1 entry)
- Follow me on bloglovin' (1 entry)
- Add this post to your sidebar using the picture above and link back to my blog (2 entries)
- Write a blog post about this giveaway, link back to my page (2 entries)

In your comment be sure to include your name, your google friend connect name, your email address, your twitter name (if applicable), your blog post link and sidebar link (if applicable AND so I can check that you've actually done it) and, the most important thing, what your favorite lipstick is...

**Random.org will be used to determine a winner and this giveaway is open until May 27th at 11:59 pm PST.

Good luck my fellow beauty junkies!

Cheers

Palette Love

I, literally, have a major compulsion with buying palettes.

I don't know exactly why this is BUT it probably has something to do with the multitude of colors and beauty products combined in a cute, portable (even purse-sized) compact. As I'm sure you can tell, I adore palettes hence why I have over 20 different types.

Here are a few of my faves occupying space on my vanity table:


Sephora Collection Color Palette - I am a huge fan of the Sephora Collection for numerous reasons but the main one is the price. This palette was only $30 and is well-worth that small investment because it contains 32 eye shadows, 16 lip colors, 3 blushes and 1 shimmer bronzer.


Lancome Absolu Voyage Makeup Palette - How handy is this cute little thing right? I got this at the duty free shop about 5 months ago and am still surprised that it was only $66. The palette contains a concealer, powder, blush, 6 eye shadows, a black kohl liner, mascara, a lip liner and 3 lipsticks.

Tarte "The Jewelry Box" Palette - I've mentioned this palette before on my New York recap post here but this palette deserves quite a bit of praise. I purchased this when I was on my trip for only $58 and, for those that know the Tarte line, this is a wonderful deal. It contains 32 shimmer and matte eye shadows, a bronzer, a highlighter, 8 lip glosses, 5 liners and a gold necklace (not shown here).

Sephora Loves Canada Minibag Palette - This palette is super tiny and actually fits right in the palm of my hand and best of all, it can be tucked into a small clutch bag when out for an evening. It contains 9 eye shadows, 4 lip glosses and 1 blush that are all either pink or nude tones. A huge bargain at only $18


Tarte's Ten Limited Edition Collector's Palette - I wanted this palette for eons and finally purchased it on Wednesday with a gift card. I will say this palette is a bit expensive ($57) but again, if you're familiar with the Tarte line, than you know the shadows are long lasting and created without parabens, sulfates, and synthetic dyes or fragrances. This palette is gorgeous as all 10 shadows are limited edition shades and the palette also has both a brown/black duo eyeliner and a mascara sample.


Dior Travel Studio Makeup Palette - I blogged about this already a while back as Allan picked this palette up for me as a surprise but I can't sing its praises enough. This palette is light-weight and contains everything you need to create your perfect look. It has a foundation, 3 eye shadow duos, 3 lip glosses, one mascara, 1 eye liner and 1 lip liner.

Last but not least, the Spehora Collection Color Flip - As you can see, I only paid $18 for this bad boy. It's a very well designed palette as each level contains something new and you flip back and forth between the levels you need. It contains 8 eye shadows, 8 lip glosses, 1 blush and 1 bronzer. I am so in love with the turquoise color from this palette and can not wait to wear it!

I should probably mention that my next giveaway will include a selection of different palettes, following this theme so stay tuned ladies! On another note, what do you think of these palettes? Have you used any of them before?

Ciao

Mark's Amazing Customizable Palettes

Well, my friends, I've done it.

I've found the greatest customizable palette ever!

mark, a trendy, subsidiary company of Avon, recently launched a line of eye shadows, blushes and trio shadows with magnetic bottoms. (To be specific, there are 31 eye shadows, 11 blushes and 4 color trios to create your perfect look.) These new products fit perfectly in mark's Snap To It Custom Color Palettes, which are not only nice and slim BUT come packed with a mirror and matching brushes. These exceptional palettes come in three sizes:

mark Mini Custom Palette - fits either 2 shadows or 1 blush

mark Mezzo Custom Palette - fits 4 shadows, 2 blushes or a shadow/blush combo

mark Mega Custom Palette - fits 8 shadows, 4 blushes or a shadow/blush combo

Because I'm utterly obsessed with palettes AND couldn't decide between colors, I ordered two palettes: the Mini and the Mega.

My Mini is filled with two shadows, Corset and Night Owl.

Night Owl (left) is a gorgeous deep shimmery blue and Corset (right) is a charcoal with silver slivers.

My Mega palette, though, is filled with some of my faves: Gioia, Java, Minx, Plum Velvet, Star Glo and Hush Baby.

From top left to top right: Java (a shimmery chocolate brown), Minx (a sparkly beige), Plum Velvet (a shimmery dark purple) and Gioia (a very sparkly bronze.) From bottom left to right: Star Glo (a beautiful baby pink blush) and Hush Baby (a multi-faceted shimmery blush/bronzer)

I am completely blown away with this line and have been singing it's praises for the past few weeks. Not only are the colors extremely pigmented, long lasting AND abnormally large in size but the line is really inexpensive. The Mini palette is a whopping $6 while the Mega palette is only $10. The shadows are $6 a piece while the blushes go for $9. Seriously, it's a fantastic deal.

Have any of you ladies tried out this line, or these products specifically, before? What's your favorite customizable palette?