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 :)

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.

March Ipsy + reviews and swatches

 I already knew what was coming in my Ipsy bag this month and wasn't too excited about it, to be honest. I changed my mind about certain things once I got them, but others I still didn't like.

  

The bag this month is super cute and I won't deny that. You can't tell by the picture, but the blue bled out into the white in mine, which is kinda meh.

That looks like there's so little, compared to other bags, it's the same amount of items though, but it looks so small lol!

Glam RX - Mini Freestyle Palette: Estimated price: $10-12, full size has eyeliner, concealer, shine eraser powder and tinted lip balm and goes for $16.50. This is a fun mini palette, it fit my deluxe sized Hoola and Bella Bamba (bronzer and blush both from Benefit). Sadly, it didn't fit anything else. This was cute, though I kinda wish it was a tiny bit bigger, but oh well, still nice.

Yaby - Eyeshadow Refill in So Vein and Sand Dune: $6.30 for 2 full size refills, $3.15 each. I loved So Vein, it could be more pigmented, but then again maybe I'm just greedy for pigment. It looks super pretty on the lid or smudged on the lower lash line. Sand Dune is so close to my eyelid color that you can barely tell it's there. Both are not super pigmented and even a bit chalky, but they weren't hard to work with. I liked these shadows, won't be buying anything from Yaby, because their shipping is just outrageous!($11 no way!). 

Swatches:

Look:

I applied the cream shade from the Wet n Wild Night Elf palette to my brow bone and inner eye corner, Sand Dune all over my lid and blended So Vain into the crease.

LA Fresh - Travel Lite Makeup Remover Wipes: $1.49 for 8 wipes, full size is $19 for 48 individual packages. I tried these last night, lately I've been removing my makeup before washing my face, my cleanser does the job, but I do this just so it doesn't take me as long to wash my face. These wipes are supposed to be able to remove eye makeup, well that didn't work too well and left my lid with a burning sensation, really unpleasant. Also, after trying to remove all the makeup on my face it left this weird oily feeling on my face, so I decided to use my go-to makeup remover wipes(Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes Hydrating), just to see how much makeup these LA Fresh wipes had removed, I was shocked the Neutrogena wipe came out full of makeup! These wipes removed barely any makeup and left my skin feeling oily, kinda sticky :S I do not like them, at all! Maybe your experience with them will be different, I definitely hope so, but for me they just don't cut it. 

Juice Beauty - Hydrating Mist: $3.3 1fl oz/30ml, full size is 6.75fl oz/200ml and goes for $22. I wanted to like this, I really did, but the scent is something I just can't deal with, it kinda smells like lilies and I'm allergic to them, like I-want-to-throw-up-from-this-horrible-headache allergic. Sadly, I won't be able to try this out because of the scent, oh well, not really their fault.

Value and overall review:

   The value of my box is: $23.09, which is good, considering you only pay $10 for the box and shipping is included there, so pretty decent in my book.

   This month was  kinda of a "meh" month for me, not that the box is not good, it's just not the greatest for me specifically. I get what they were trying to do with this box and that's pretty cool, sadly it didn't work for me.

   I like the eyeshadows they sent, they are really pretty, I will use the bag and will definitely use the mini palette. I don't know what I'll do with the wipes, maybe I'll keep them for emergencies, but I don't like them one bit. The mist thingie will go to a trade for sure.

   I hope next month is more exciting than this one and by that i mean I hope for more makeup, because, there's never too much makeup. Or maybe skincare stuff, like a nice mask or a hair mask, or some cute hair accessory. Either way, can't wait to see what next month holds.

   I still like this sub and I still think it's worth it, I mean, you get plenty of goodies for $10! I definitely recommend it if you want to try different stuff each month.

If you want to subscribe to Ipsy, you can click here. Or copy and paste this link onto your navigation bar: http://www.ipsy.com/

What was your favorite product in this month's Ipsy bag? Mine has to be the mini palette, though I'm greedy and would want a bigger one.
 

 Disclaimer: I purchased this with my own money, and this is my own personal opinion :)

Birchbox March 2013 + review

 I was super excited when I saw the products that Birchbox was sending in their boxes this month. Really wanted to try the MAKE products and the Incoco Nail Apliques. But, ever since I saw how heavy my box was 0.39lb, I knew things were not going to be as I expected. When I picked my box up after getting it in the mail, it was super light, which  is not a sign of good things.

This can't really be sports related, because it's a beauty box, but either way I couldn't care less about basketball! 

I opened my box I saw this, so far it wasn't exciting. The only thing that looked nice was the Wish product, though later I discovered it wouldn't work for me.

Inside the pouch I got a Twistband and Evologie Serum. Doesn't this box look kinda sad? D:

Madewell for Birchbox Nail Emery Board:$5. This is JUST a nail file, I mean, they come in handy, but it's just a file, nothing else. I have a crystal file (that I stepped on and snapped in half, but I still use it), so I don't really need a file. $5 seems like just too much for a file, I guess because of the "brand" they can just price stuff however they want, lame... Of course I wasn't trilled by this, even if it looks cute, because, well because it's just a file!

Wish Shave Crave Shaving Cream in Blueberry: $2.93 for 22ml/.75fl oz, full size goes for $20 and is 150ml. When I got my box I could smell this without even opening it. A lot of people said they were excited to get it and it has a decent review on the Birchbox site, but the scent is just way too strong for me, so sadly I won't be able to use it. I could risk it, but when I get a headache or get dizzy from a scent it takes forever to go away, so I better just pass. If it would've been unscented or with something more subtle, I would've loved to try it out. Oh well... By the way, the Blueberry scent is a Birchbox shop exclusive, you can find other scents like Pomegrante, Lavender and Almond on the Wish website.

Twistband Headband: $3.16, Birchbox sells a pack of 6 for $19. Mine is silver and really cute, sadly I must have a gigantic head, because this doesn't stay put, like ever! Also, I get a major headache because it tries to squeeze my brain! Which of course will not stop me from wearing it because it's cute! I sported a princess roll over the weekend and got a bunch of compliments, it's an easy do and really cute. You can learn how to do it here. Now, just because I like it, I don't like the fact I got it in my box, it's just some pretty elastic, that was tied at the end and branded. I can get 1 Yard for $1.99 at Joann.

Benefit - Stay Don't Stray: $6.50 for 2.5ml/0.09usfloz, full size is 10ml and goes for $26. Now, the reason why I hate this is not Birchbox's fault. I've tried this, I got it in a kit that I reviewed here. And it just doesn't work for me, this is the only primer that I have tried that makes my eye shadow crease, it's sad. That's the point of primers- to prevent creasing and this one does the opposite for me, lame! Now, how could they know that I don't like this, or well that it doesn't work for me? They couldn't, so it's not really their fault.

Evologie - Intensive Blemish Serum: $1.425 0.17floz/5ml, taking the value from the price of the full size, this would be $11.66, BUT Evologie sends a sample of this and the Stay Clear Cream for $2.85 and they are both the same size as this one. Now, I don't know why Birchbox only sent one part of the duo, it would've been nice to get both, it's still a tiny sample, but oh well. I already had this, I didn't get this month's Glossybox, but I still wanted to try some products, so I ordered this from the Evologie website and paid the $2.85. They sent it super quickly and I got to try it out. The serum is not the greatest and it didn't work better than any other spot treatment, but I did like the cream, it was OK. Now again, Birchbox couldn't possibly know that I already had this, so not their fault that I got a dupe.

Value and overall review:

 The value of my box for this month is: $19.02

  

  I'm honestly, not happy with my Birchbox this month, out of all the 5 items, I get to use one, maybe two(the headband and nail file) and the worst part of it, is that the ones I will use are the "lifestyle extras". They couldn't have known about me trying out the Benefit and the Evologie and not liking them, so I can't blame them for that. But I have to admit even without trying them it's a really boring box! 

  I still hate the fact that some people get 6 items and some get 5, so far I've only gotten 5 and I pay the same as the rest, I think that if they are going to send 6, so just send them equally so everybody gets the same amount of points to review.

  There were so many cool products sent out this month, I guess I just got the dud. Will I unsubscribe from Birchbox after this? Nope, not at all! I know this can happen, I know I can be "hated on" by Birchbox one month and maybe surprised next, so I hope April brings better things! 

  In spite of getting a bad box, I still recommend Birchbox, it's still fun and cheap! It's nice to get a box full of goodies at your doorstep, specially when it's a surprise! This month, I didn't know what I was getting at all, so it was all a surprise, a little bit disappointing, but a surprise.

 What was your favorite product this month in your Birchbox?

If you want to subscribe to Birchbox, you can click here. Or copy and paste this link onto your navigation bar: https://www.birchbox.com?raf=58jbc

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