Urban Decay Glinda Palette Review and Swatches

 I'm gonna be honest, when the Oz the Great and Powerful Urban Decay palettes came out they didn't really call my name. After a while, seeing the palette and the swatches everywhere, I started to really want it. I didn't fall for it at first, but it just grew on me and I HAD TO have it! I thought it was gorgeous and it had to be part of my collection!

 So, when the 1 year anniversary with the bf came up(yay!), he said: "order it". Like, he made me order my anniversary present. His reason? He might screw up, I think it's sweet because he doesn't know the first thing about shopping on Sephora and probably wouldn't know how to find the palette, also he wouldn't know how to get me freebies or what freebies I'd like! Anyways, I talk about the "haul" that includes this palette, here. 

  Doesn't it just look super pretty? I mean, look at those colors! In my opinion, they are all super wearable. Then again- I do like dramatic eyes and I have no problem with color :) 

  

 These pictures are swatches from the top row of the palette. Left side is with primer and right side is without. From left to right, the shades are: Magic, Aura(two shades) and Tornado. 

Close ups:

No primer:

 Primer:

Magic: Gorgeous pink shade, with just the right amount of blue and red for my taste. It's hard to appreciate it's subtleties in the picture, but it has the most gorgeous golden shimmer. You can sorta see it on the close up with primer. This one doesn't have much fall out. It can be used in a really soft look on the crease or as an eyelid color for DRAMA! UD calls this one pinkish purple, but it's definitely a pink with a bunch of blue.

Taken from Ohnotheydidn't!

Aura: Both of these shades are iridescent and just to die for! The "white" one has the most gorgeous blue-purpleish iridescence. I've shared my love of purple before, so I just love this one, clearly! I confess, I'm a cat and I'm attracted to shiny objects! I literally was staring at my swatch for like a minute there lol! The "peach/cream" one has a pink iridescence, super super pretty! The "white" one is definitely more shimmery than the "peach/cream" one. Urban Decay says they are both white and that one has blue iridescence and the other one is red. I beg to differ, which is why I called them "white" and "peach/cream". They don't have much fall out either and would work on the brow bone, inner eye corner, or all over the lid. They are not the most pigmented shades in the palette though. But still, they are both just gorgeous!! 

Tornado: I won't disagree with Urban Decay on their description for this one, it is indeed a deep purple with shimmer. Super pretty. It's amazing on the crease! However, out of the top row, this one is the one with most fall out, which is not really a deal breaker for me, I don't care! It's too pretty to care! 

 Oh so pretty! This is the bottom row of shadows. Same as with the previous picture- left is with primer, right is without. From left to right, the shades are: South, Oz(two shades) and Illusion.

Close ups:

No Primer:

Primer:

South: UD describes it as: "warm pale gray shimmer with silver micro glitter" and I don't disagree. It's such a warm gray that it might even look a bit brown. It has a tiny bit of fall out, but not much really. This would work amazingly on the crease for a soft neutral look or even as an all over lid color for a brown smokey.

Oz: Gold shimmer with gold glitter and silver shimmer with silver glitter. The silver is super pigmented, the gold one is not as pigmented. The glitter flakes in the silver one look a bit smaller and really blend in with the shimmer, so it's hard to spot the glitter. The glitter in the gold one however does show up a bit more and the light might make it look silver on occasion. Both of these are the two shades with the most fall out in the palette. Definitely do your eye make up first, if you plan to wear these! They can work as a crease shade or an eyelid shade. 

Illusion: UD calls this a "pale peach satin" and I won't disagree with this one either. That description is dead on, that is exactly what it is and I couldn't call it anything else. This shade is really pretty, this is as well pigmented as Aura. It doesn't have much fall out. This shade could work as an all over shadow shade, on the brow bone or on the inner corner of the eye.

 

24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Rockstar: UD calls this beauty a deep eggplant and that's it! It's not just that, UD. It's not just an eggplant color! It's got a fabulous slightly shimmery shade too. This has been my go-to lower lash line liner for a bit now and I even tried it on my upper lash line. On both lids it doesn't move an inch! It's got staying power through sweat and tears, in tropical weather that is humid and hot! And that is pretty good if you ask me. It also looks gorgeous, it's so dark and pretty. I love it, lately I've been reaching for it on a daily basis.

Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Color in Glinda: You know how sometimes a product name is not exactly the same as a product color? The name is not 100% accurate on this one. Super-Saturated? Yup. High Gloss? Yup. On my lips, this looks like a "your lips, but better" shade. UD describes it as a "light sheer beige" and this is not a light beige at all. If your lips are not too pigmented, this will look more like a dark beige shade. Also, they don't mention the shimmer that this shade has. It is super pretty and I really like it. Thought I should mention this- this shade is just Naked renamed. It's a nice color, but the name doesn't describe it accurately enough.

Overall review:

 I definitely love this palette, what can I say? Most shades are full size, they work well and I love the colors. Most of the time when I review a product it's something that I actually like. I definitely see myself reaching for this palette a lot. I think the value is great and the colors are really easy to work with. All the products are good, it's a good palette! I regret saying what I said when I saw it come out, I said it was boring, now that I have it- I love it!

 On a dropsey note (the way the bf calls me)- this palette is pretty sturdy! How do I know? Because, I already dropped it, of course! And nothing happened! So it's dropsey proof!

 One thing I might disagree with is the "get the look" card it came with. The "look" isn't Michelle Williams' look in the movie, it's too dark for the character even. I mean, it looks cute, but it's not Glinda. That doesn't really matter, I'm just venting.

 Hope you enjoyed this review as much as I enjoy my palette!

 Disclaimer: I didn't purchase this with my own money, my bf gave it to me as a present and this is my own personal opinion :)

Weekend Haul March 8th & 9th

 I definitely needed to stock up on some "essentials" over the weekend, also I was hunting down the new limited edition Wet n Wild 8 pan palettes. My search was just a huge waste of time, but I did buy a couple of things besides that, so I'm happy.

 We also had to run some errands and pick up stuff at our local asian store, of course we came out with bags full of candy and sweets!!

Meiji - Hello Panda: LOVE these things, they are insanely delicious! They are chocolate filled cookies, I adore them! Not too sweet and just delicious! They have different flavors, but this one is my favorite.

Hi-Chew - Fruit Chews: First time trying this out for me, they are delicious and not sticky at all(bf editing: they have a nice texture). I hate those chewy candies that stick to your teeth, these don't do that and are super tasty!

Kasugai - Melon Gummy Candy: Delicious gummies, these definitely taste artificial, but they are not too sweet and are super juicy!

Marukawa - Melon Gum: Really tasty melon gum, not too sweet, sadly the flavor fades away super fast!

 After stopping by the asian store, we rushed our way through a local Christmas Tree Shops, because I know they carry Wet n Wild there, I couldn't find what I was looking for, but picked up a few goodies.

 I had no idea they carried Real Techniques brushes! I was planning on ordering some from Ulta, but I'm glad to have found them here, that way, I don't have to pay for shipping!( I hate paying for shipping!)

Neutrogena - Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover: I'm about to run out of my Sonia Kashuk Eye Makeup Remover, so I picked this one up. I have no problems with non oil-free makeup removers, but I picked this one up, because I also picked some new lashes up and I need to clean them with Oil-free eye makeup remover.

 Ardell - Demi Wispies Fashion Lashes and Brush-On Lash Adhesive: I have a set of falsies from ELF, but the glue sucks! So, I decided to try out the Demi Wispies, because everyone raves about them and pick up some glue too!

Almay - Oil-Free Makeup Eraser Sticks:I picked these up not long ago, you can read about it in this Drugstore haul post. It seems like I'm really prone to screw ups and I already ran out of these! I quite like them, they come in super handy when I mess up, they don't irritate my eyes one bit and they remove make up amazingly well!

Real Techniques - Blush Brush and Lash-Brow Groomer: I broke my Lash/Brow Groomer, so I needed a new one. When picking up one of these- I recommend the ones with metallic precision comb, because the plastic one is a bit prone to breaking. I picked up the Blush Brush to try it out, will let you know what I think later on.

ELF - Small Precision and Contour brushes: My favorite crease brush is falling apart, so I picked the Contour one to use it for my crease. I wanted to try the Precision one to try it out, because it looks tiny and perfect to line the lower lash line with some eyeshadow for a pop of color!

Eco Tools - Buffing Brush: I've seen lots of people raving about this brush and I've been looking for it everywhere! Who would've thunk I'd find it at Christmas Tree Shops!?

 After cruising around several stores during my hunt for the Wet n Wild palettes, we had to pick some stuff at Walmart, so of course I walked out of there with some more stuff!!

 Goody - Ouchless Ribbon Headwraps: I've been loving the princess wrap hairdo lately, so I got a few more headbands, just in case I lose mine.

Goody - Stay Tight Bobbies: 90 count, because we all know how bobby pins love to get lost! And well I only had 4 left!

Goody - Toni Barrettes: I've had these twice already and have none left! I just seem to lose hair accessories way too easy!

Hard Candy - Nail Polish in 633 Little Hottie and 631 Little Bo Pink: Saw some swatches of these around the interwebs and loved them, so I had to have them!

  BonBons - Dark Pink Nail Polish: I bought this because it reminds me of my teens and it's just so cute!

Before you freak! No they don't sell OPI at Walmart, there's a beauty salon at my local Walmart and they had BOGO 50% off on OPI, so I had to have some, because I don't have enough, right?! LOL!

OPI - Polka.Com: I LOVE Polka dots, so I had to have this!

OPI - The Impossible: I already have Can't Let Go, but this one is just SO adorable!

 So that's it, that's my small weekend haul, as I said, just a few essentials! I hope you liked this post :)

March Beauty Army Review+Swatches

  If you don't know what Beauty Army is, it's a monthly subscription service that lets you choose up to 6 luxury beauty samples for $12 and also some full size products, your samples will be based on your beauty profile and then you will be able to grab 6 samples out of 9 listed. Their products could be: make up, hair care, skin care, body, fragrance, nails and men's samples.

  I was stalking my mail box all day, because I knew I was getting my Beauty Army today!(Yesterday, the 14th). Only 8 days after I chose my products!! My window opened on the 5th, but I forgot about it and logged in super late to find no samples at all and by that I mean, no samples I actually wanted. So, I logged on the 6th at 9:00 PST and found a bunch of stuff! I was shocked to get my box so quickly this month, that's the only thing I don't love about Beauty Army, the company they use to ship, *sigh* slow Newgistics. Anyways...

Blah blah spring, well if it is indeed spring, why is it still so damn cold!? Don't be teasing me with spring, Beauty Army. It's still super chilly in upstate NY, it even snowed today -.-'

Enspri - Moisture Duo, Sheer Ceramide and Beyond Moisture: $4.08 for both samples, $2.65 for the Sheer Ceramide, $1.43 for Beyond Moisture 0.068fl/2ml. Full size of Sheer Ceramide is 1fl.oz and goes for $39, full size of Beyond Moisture is 2fl.oz and goes for $42. The Sheer Ceramide serum is a bit oily, you just need a little, because it goes a long way. The Beyond Moisture moisturizer felt really nice on my skin and got absorbed quickly. Both left my skin feeling super soft and moisturized. I liked this, but not enough to buy the full size of it. Nice thing to try though.

Grand Central Beauty - Skin Perfecting Polisher: $6.46 0.17fl oz, full size is 1 fl oz and goes for $38. I tried this out today and it's a great alternative to exfoliate your skin with a non abrasive method. I liked it and will use it up, but I wouldn't buy the full size. I can use an abrasive type of scrub and there are way more affordable options out there for that. Nice to try it out though.

Ineke - Hothouse Flower: $1.9 0.05floz, full size is 2.5floz and goes for $95. I've seen so many people raving about this perfume and that's why I picked it this month, but it's just not my thing, oh well now I know that, at least.

Skinn Cosmetics - Color Touch Eye, Cheek and Lip Glow (Teen Tone): Full size $17. I swatched this on my arm and it has a really pretty peachy pink shade, but on my lips it looked like a nude shade, interesting! I will definitely wear this.

Swatches:

Skyn Iceland - Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels: $3.75 for one pair of eye gels, full size is a pack of 8 pair and goes for $30. I tried these out and did see a bit of a difference, then again my eyes are not super puffy, unless I cry. I won't be buying a full size of these because I don't really need it much.

New York Streets - Dry Shampoo: Full size, $17.99. Tried this out today too and it worked pretty well, it didn't leave any white residue on my hair, it smells nice, but not too overpowering. Definitely added volume and controlled the oil on my scalp, it worked really well. This might take the spot of my new favorite dry shampoo.

Value and overall review:

The value of my box this month was: $51.18, really high value when the box is $12 and some change.

 I really liked my Beauty Army box this month and will definitely use everything up. I hope they keep on adding new products to the selection, so I can keep on trying new things. 

 I enjoy this subscription and love the fact that I choose what I get. If you play with your profile the right way, you'll get great samples and awesome value. Though, at the end of the day, in my opinion, if you enjoy the products, the value doesn't matter that much.

 I definitely recommend this subscription, the good thing is that you can't really blame anyone, but yourself if you don't enjoy the samples you picked, if there's something in the store you don't want and there aren't enough samples for it to be worth it for you to get a box, you can always skip.

If you want to subscribe to Beauty Army, you can click here, or just copy and paste this link on the navigation bar:https://beautyarmy.com/account/registration/?referral_id=4ac4804c5a82a5427d88b75ca6031bcc  

Disclaimer: I purchased this with my own money, and this is my own personal opinion :) Link is a referral link.