BLOG SALE! Tons of Blush and a Naked Palette!!!

SO! I've finally decided to try and thin my collection a bit...we'll see if I can bear to do more later but for now this is it...things that I paid good money for but barely touch. I like to feel like I have any shade for any occasion but I am now realizing that all I ever use any more is my high end stuff (Chanel, Dior and Burberry mostly) so having all this excess feels even more wasteful! Also I want to get more high end stuff haha. 

Click To Enlarge:

Pricing:

Tarte blushes - $20 each (Sold: Peaceful, Tipsy, Natural Beauty)
Milani baked blushes - $5 each, $20 for the set
Armani lipstick - $25
MAC blushes - $15 each
Sula blush - $5
Lovely:EX blush - $7
Blush w/ pouf (Japanese) - $7
Canmake cream blush - $10
Naked palette - $40
Stila color changing blush - $15

Email me at grimrock @ gmail.com (remove the spaces) for any questions about shades, pricing, etc. as well as regarding shipping. I'll ship anywhere in the world.

Everything is in barely used condition, some of the Tarte blushes don't even looked used (though they all were at least once). I don't have anything here to sterilize them and though I promise I used them hygienically I suggest using some sort of sterilization method when you receive the item.

Burberry Rosewood Eyeshadow Single

I think I have found the perfect everyday, nude eyeshadow and her name is Burberry rosewood. Just the right amount of shimmer, not too light not too dark...a beautiful cooler taupe with a subtle hint of rose to it. Applying it was so nice, it was so smooth and soft...I just wanted to apply it all day! Of course that would be silly and wasteful, but it sure did feel nice going on! 

This eyeshadow is a must have because it is a no brainer for days when you want a nude look or just don't know what eyeshadow to go with. Aside from using it as an overall lid color it's great for my favorite "safe" way of adding color to my eye look. I just use a taupe base and put a bit of the colorful stuff on the outside corner, a touch of color to make things interesting, but I don't feel like Mimi from the Drew Carey show!

Although this shadow is pricey (well, it is Burberry after all) I don't think the value is too bad because this color is just so useful that it won't go to waste gathering dust in the back corner of your makeup storage. Also, it's a bit larger and only a couple bucks more than say, a NARS single...so even though it's fancy shmancy it's not really too over the top price wise. Not to mention the quality of the compact vs. NARS, whereas NARS' compact is a black matte plastic this is a VERY reflective (and surprisingly not very fingerprint attracting) gunmetal. It's metal too, not just painted plastic and has a generous mirror. It also has a nifty magnetic closure that isn't too weak and isn't too strong, it feels very secure but you won't pull anything opening the thing. Like most high end cosmetics it also comes in a cute velvet sleeve, printed with the same signature Burberry tartan as the powder and the top of the compact.

I can't wait to try more colors in this range, pretty much everything is mature and wearable! My only wish is that they'd come out with some palettes some day, it's pretty painful to have to pay for a bunch of singles here. I'm really starting to get addicted to the Burberry beauty range, I've tried the lipglosses which I also love and next I want to try a blush! I really can't recommend this line enough, especially for girls and women who want a more sophisticated/refined look or who work at a conservative job but still want to hoard everything in site! 

My only wish is that this would be easier to get, as it's only at 8 Nordstrom stores nationwide, but never fear the collection is online as well with free shipping and returns! It sucks you can't swatch things in store, but at least if you don't like it you can just pop into your Nordstrom and return it easily enough (or send it back if you don't live near any Nordstroms).

Dior Spring 2012 Garden Party Eyeshadow Quints

Initially I wrote off these eyeshadows as being too colorful for me, but boy was I wrong. I mean, they are pretty colorful but they are not over the top and are perfect for Spring. I know some people are sick of pastels, but I am certainly not one of them. I got Garden Roses first and fell in love and had to get Garden Pastels even though I don't usually wear most of those shades. The colors are just so pretty and feminine that  although I usually stick to neutrals/taupes I just couldn't resist these palettes!  I love all the colors, but I think each palette has it's "star" color. In Garden Roses it's the purple in the middle, which is the perfect shade and has a lovely blue sheen. In Garden Pastels it's the blue-green with the golden sheen.

The finish is just so pretty, it's a shimmer of course, but it looks like a delicate sheen rather than sparkle city. But if you hate shimmer then these still really aren't for you at all. I love the formula for these shadows, very thin/soft yet pigmented so it "melts" right into your skin, and you only need to use a bit to get full opacity.

The only downside is that eventually with use the pretty embossed rose design will disappear, thankfully the colors are beautiful anyway so it's not that bad, and the rose design is pretty high so it will take a while before they disappear completely.

The bottom line is that if you like the colors and you like an interesting and unique shimmer you'll be needing to pick these up. BOTH of them.

Garden Roses

Garden Pastels

Stila E! Live From The Red Carpet Breathtaking Beauty Palette

Anybody who is anywhere near a Nordstrom Rack needs to get themselves there ASAP and pick up this Stila Breathtaking Beauty palette for something like $9.75 (or maybe all of them, why the heck not the price is right). It comes with 6 decently sized neutral eyeshadows (in cinema, best picture, film, academy, theater and drama), 1 all over shimmer in Kitten (aka a full size eyeshadow, it's not much good on the face) and 1 convertable color for lips/cheeks in Breathtaking. 

I haven't tried any of Stila's normal non-palette eyeshadows yet, but I understand that these are better quality than the $14 Travel Girl/Beach Girl sets, possibly as good as the normal Stila eyeshadows. The deal on this palette just keeps getting better and better as the convertable color is amazing AND the palette even comes with a full size Lip Glaze in Guava. The lip glaze alone is worth $22, although it is thinner and longer than the only other lip glaze I own they both contain the same amount of product. 

I really like these eyeshadows (I am including Kitten as an eyeshadow here), they are silky and have minimal fallout. The liners are a bit dark and sparkly for me though so I haven't used them yet and I am not sure when I will. Also the convertable color is just wonderful, I can see myself using it apart from when I want to use the palette. The lipgloss is sheer and I realized too late that it was probably meant to be worn over the convertable color on your lips...oh well, I'll try it that way next time :). 

Maybelline Haul (Walgreens 40% Off Sale)

Last week Walgreen's had a very generous sale on Maybelline products. Usually I opt out of BOGO 1/2 off because I feel it's not that great of a deal (BOGO Free is good, if I want even numbers of items), but when there is just x% off I tend to jump at the chance to partake in a good deal...it's got to be at least 40% though because less than that and it's gotta be something I really really wanted and not something I am trying out. Also I know how I am and I know I'll reach for my high end or mid range makeup items much more often than my drugstore items, so I don't want to pay too much for drugstore items.

In the case of these products they were things I heard were nice and just wanted to try out! I am very glad I did too, they are all very nice products for drugstore brands! I had heard the Maybelline EyeStudio collections were very similar to Japanese eyeshadows, especially the Color Explosion line (which happens to be my favorite). Now, I haven't gotten any Japanese eyeshadows myself because I am not really big on eyeshadow and so I couldn't justify the price...however at the price of these Maybelline shadows I didn't mind at all! I am glad I can experience the Japanese formula, even though it's not truly from Japan. 

My favorite products out of the bunch are the EyeStudio Color Explosion eyeshadow quints (more like quads when you take into consideration the pan at the top that is pure glitter), silky smooth, pigmented and long lasting (over primer, I never wear eyeshadow without it). It's a little hard to get your method of application into the "liner" pan (the darkest colors that is the thin V under the glitter), but it's not too bad. Other than that really no complaints...my favorite out of the 2 I got is Caffeine Rush because it's the most useful for me as I gravitate more towards neutrals on a daily basis, and generally when I wear brighter colors it's just on the outside corners of my eyes with a neutral on the whole lid. 

All the Color Explosion palettes are very shimmery, but not really over the top unless you use the glitter as a wash. They had very minimal fall out, which was impressive. There are only 5 sets out right now and I really hope they make more, in more muted colors, so I can get some more...even the pink which doesn't seem as bright as the others is too bright for me to use on it's own. 

My second favorite item is the blush I picked up from the new Fall 2011 collection, Ravishing Rouge, which is a gorgeous brick red with minimal shimmer. It's supposed to be a dupe of the red Chanel, which is pretty but I knew I wouldn't use this color much so at that price that would have been insane. At $4ish after the 40% discount it was the right price to have just to have, or if I feel like experimenting. It's VERY VERY pigmented, so it's pretty hard to apply, you really have to use the tiniest amount and even then you will probably have to cover a bit with a translucent powder to tame it.

Lastly I'd heard that the EyeStudio Color Plush Silk Eyeshadows were also nice and similar to Japanese eyeshadows, I don't know if the one I got (Strut it Suede) is just subpar or what but I just didn't like it as much as the Color Explosion series. Also the glittery shades were just a bit too glittery for me...it was still leagues above most drugstore eyeshadows though, in my opinion. Very silky and soft, just like the name illustrates :). 

I guess out of all of these though my only MUST HAVE item is the Color Explosion in Caffeine Rush quint. The other items are all nice too though, and I can absolutely recommend them if they tickle your fancy!

Maybelline EyeStudio Color Explosion in Pink Punch (in dusky sunlight & direct LED light)

Maybelline EyeStudio Color Plush Silk Eyeshadow in Strut it Suede (in direct LED light)

Maybelline EyeStudio Color Explosion in Caffeine Rush (in direct and indirect LED light)

Maybelline Blush in Ravishing Rouge (in 'normal' bulb light)

Blush & Eyeshadow Hiatus

I've come to a realization that I can only have so much blush and eyeshadow. I have 3 things on my wishlist right now, 2 of which are blushes. I think after I get those I am going to have reached critical mass on blushes. Yes, I use blush every single day but I also have like 20 of them that I've hoarded in a pretty short amount of time. There are really only several colors of blush I can pull off: pink, rose, peach and coral. How many shades of that do I need? They mostly look similar being worn anyway. I have a wonderful coral already (Milani Corallina) but I still need a nice peachy one which are the last 2 I want on my list. I think after that I'll have PLENTY of shades of blush to choose from. Heck, I already do.

Then since I got the Urban Decay Naked palette last night, I honestly don't actually need more eyeshadow. I only really wear neutral colors now, and I use such a small amount of brighter colors that my existing collection should really cover it. So really, how many neutral colors do I need? I even have plenty more neutral colors than in the Naked palette that I had previously. Similarly with the blush, how many variations on a theme do I need to have?

Anybody else feel like that too?

That's not to say that I won't still have beauty related things to post, I just think I need to cool it on the hoarding for a while! I'm also not saying I'll never buy another eyeshadow or blush again of course. So stay tuned~.

EDIT- Ok, maybe I will stick with blush a little longer, but I am holding my ground on eyeshadow for now. If I get another one it'd have to be AMAZING and I can't really say what would be that amazing now that I have plenty of neutrals... I just feel that sometimes I have too many things on my want list that I just forget about the things I already got. And I am not rich, I can't just buy and buy, I want to be a little bit more frugal while still getting things I want.

Urban Decay Naked Palette

Ok, I know I am super late to the game on this one, but I finally picked up the Urban Decay Naked palette last night at Macy*s. I just couldn't bring myself to spend so much (although technically a very good deal) on neutral eyeshadows before. However, lately I've been playing around more with eyeshadow and realized that neutrals are better for me in the whole scheme of things. Also bright colors make me look stupid and clownish and I feel like Mimi from the old Drew Carey show, yuck!

Mostly blue does this to me, however the bright eyeshadow I want to wear most of the time IS blue or teal, so this makes me just want to give up on bright colors. I think I can pull it off with just a hint of color on the outside V of my eyelid, but no more than that and it has to be a neutral for the base. So this palette is a good idea for me even if I do decide to wear a little color. Only thing I feel it's missing is pink, which I love. But I have other pinks so it's not really a big deal at all...it'd just be nice to have one in there is all.

The only thing is that there are so many colors in here I don't even know where to start! I mean, I managed ok but I am interested in what other people have done with this palette.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potions

On Friday I was at Sephora browsing their Urban Decay section since I was curious how similar Sin was in the Eyeshadow Primer Potion and the regular Eyeshadow...swatching them both on my arm I found out that they were indeed identical and thus silly for me to buy the eyeshadow. The only difference is that the primer was harder to get off (not very hard though).

Anyways, the SA asked me if I'd known about the primer in Greed. Somehow I hadn't heard of it so I swatched it on my arm and instantly fell in love. I already am a HUGE fan of Sin since it's what's on my lids 90% of the time (mostly alone instead of eyeshadow) and I didn't think it'd be possible to love another product as much but I think I love Greed even MORE. It's such a pretty shimmery gold~. I haven't used it as a primer yet, but as a shadow it's divine...I've never had a decent gold shadow which makes this even better. I just love it....I'll let the swatches speak for themselves though.

Not in direct artificial light.

L: Greed, R: Sin

In direct artificial light.

L: Greed, R: Sin

I think that Sin (which is described as champagne) is best for a more natural but still pretty shimmer, but Greed ("24k" gold) is a much glitzier color and not as natural looking...but it's not overbearing either and a perfectly good daytime color. I love it.