Marc Jacobs Twinkle Pop Eye Stick in Volver- Review & Swatches

Hello Beautiful Ones!

It's that time of year when beauty lines are releasing their new fall goodies! There's always so much to choose from and so much to try! It can send any makeup junkie into sensory overload real quick! One of the new items that I couldn't get out of my head as soon as I saw it was the Marc Jacobs Twinkle Pop Eye Stick. These little sticks retail for $28 at Sephora.

As you can see the packaging for this product is stunning. But would we really expect anything less from Marc Jacobs? The end of the stick is slanted so that it can be applied as either a shadow all over the lid or as a liner. All of the twinkle pop eye sticks have a slight shimmer to them. I chose the color Volver (402) which is a peachy/champagne that can also look a little golden under certain lighting. Here is a swatch of the color:

I swatched it using both the wide side of the stick and the thin side so you can get an idea of the kinds of lines you can get. I've found that the stick makes application super easy. So far I've only used this on my lid, but I think it would work great as a liner as well. This color would be beautiful lining the inner rim. The first thing I noticed when I spread this over my lid was the gorgeous creamy texture. Seriously, it glides on like butter! The pigmentation is beautiful and the lasting power is good. I've worn it on my lids over primer all day long a couple of times now and I haven't had any problems with creasing or rub-off. 

The bottom line: this one is a keeper! I can't wait to grab it in more shades. Let me know what fall beauty products you're most excited to get your hands on!

XO- Brittney

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Summer Skin Favorites!

Hello Beautiful Ones!

It's no secret that summer is by far my favorite season (sandals and sunshine never fail to put a smile on my face)! Unfortunately though, my naturally pale skin doesn't always agree with my intense love for the heat and sun of summer. For the last several years I've been turning to Jergens for all of my bronzing/summer skin needs. So here are my current summer skin favorites from Jergens:

I've been using Jergens Natural Glow for a long time now. If you are looking for an easy, natural looking, light glow for summer you NEED to try Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer. I use the Fair to Medium formula, but if you have a naturally darker skin tone (or you just want an extra bronze boost) you can get the medium to tan formula. Over the years they have tweaked the natural glow formula to improve the scent. It has a very light smell that is pleasant and not overpowering which is refreshing for a bronzer. I start using this at the very beginning of summer, sometimes even in the spring. I apply the Natural Glow after I get out of the shower. Make sure when you are using bronzer you apply a little extra to the spots that may be a little drier like your knees and elbows so that the color applies evenly, also don't forget to wash your hands when you're done so you don't get orange hands! I've never had any problems with streaking from this product. This is a tried and true favorite that I recommend 100%.

Now on to a new favorite that I have discovered just this season: the Jergens BB Body Perfecting Skin Cream. Again, this cream comes in two different shades: All Light Skin Tones, and All Medium-Deep Skin Tones. Obviously I'm using the light one because I'm painfully pale. This cream is advertised as "a total body breakthrough that instantly hydrates and illuminates, and in 5 days evens, firms, and corrects." Now that I've built up at least somewhat of a glow from the Jergens Natural Glow I've been using this one to sort of even everything up. I tend to get terrible bruises all over my legs and I really feel like this helps to make them a little less noticeable. The texture is really creamy and lovely, the scent is light and fresh, and it's super moisturizing. This will help you even up your skin tone, but it doesn't necessarily bronze. I may have just found a new year-round favorite! 

Let me know if you've tried either of these, and I  hope you all are having a lovely and glowy summer! 

XO- Brittney

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Fab or Flop?: Hard Candy Glamoflauge Lite

Hello Beautiful Ones!

Today I'm going to start a new series called Fab or Flop? I think this one is pretty self explanatory... but basically I'm going to try out a new product and let you know if I think it's a Fab or a Flop! As I was browsing the makeup aisle at Walmart (and you know internally trying to convince myself that my obsession with makeup is not that bad) I came across the Hard Candy Glamoflauge Lite Blendable Concealer Duo.

I'm going to be honest with you, I was a little hesitant to try this one because I've used the original Glamoflauge in the past (after I had heard wonderful things about it) and I just wasn't impressed. But as a big fan of stick concealers I decided to give it the old college try!

I picked up the shade Ultra Light. You can get this concealer duo for $6 at Walmart. The duo is double ended so that you have two colors you can blend together to make the perfect concealer. You're supposed to use the lighter shade first to cover blemishes, scars, tattoos, or whatever you want and then blend the darker shade over the top.

As I've said, I tried to have an open mind with this product even though I had had a bad Glamoflauge experience in the past. Unfortunately, this one didn't do anything for me either. I tried to use it to conceal a few small blemishes and I literally had to wipe all of it off my face before I continued putting on my foundation. I just didn't find it blendable at all. The lighter color was way too thick and creamy, and when I tried to blend the darker color over the top it just made it worse. I ended up with a big gloppy mess that drew way more attention to my blemishes than it did conceal.

I'm sure you can probably guess what my final verdict on this one is: FLOP.

I've tried other Hard Candy products in the past with great results, but this one just isn't for me I guess. I have heard that Glamoflauge is great for covering tattoos so maybe it is better used for that than blemishes. Let me know if any of you have tried this and what you think!

XO- Brittney

P. S.: I'd love to see all of your sparkly faces on Twitter!

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Friday Favorite #3

Hello Beautiful Ones!

It's that time of the week again... FRIDAY! (I don't think all caps is inappropriate here). Last night I went and saw the country duo Thompson Square in concert and it was AMAZING. They sure know how to party! The point of this story is that I'm a little draggy today, but I'm due to share with you another one of my absolute favorite products so this week's Friday favorite is... Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion.

This one might not be a big surprise to some of you, but I just felt like I had to talk about it. This is by far one of the best eye shadow primers I have ever used. I never used to use primer for my eyeshadow (I was convinced that I didn't really need the extra step in my routine), but as soon as I tried this one I was completely hooked!

You can get this primer at Sephora, I like to buy the mini size (0.2 oz. for $12) because it's small and portable plus a little goes a long way. I've used this on everything from high end shadows like the Urban Decay Naked eyeshadow palette down to drugstore shadows and I've had great results with all of it. With this primer my shadow stays put, end of story. If you struggle with shadow sliding off your lids, or rubbing off by the end of the day I highly recommend trying this one out. I've tried a few different shadow primers but I just always find myself coming back to this one!

You can also get the primer potion in other formulas like anti-aging or eden which is a matte primer. The original goes on sheer nude and has a really great creamy texture. I like my primers to be a little thick for some reason, I just like it better than a lotiony texture.

The Primer Potion is great for the summer time when we all might be a little bit sweatier that normal (Shhh don't tell anyone!). This stuff will keep that eyeshadow on your lids where it belongs. Let me know if you've tried this one!

XO- Brittney

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Beauty on a Budget: Maybelline Color Tattoo Leather 24 Hr. Cream Gel Eyeshadow

Hello Beautiful Ones!

There's a lot of new and fun things to find in the drugstore right now! I'm really excited to try and review some of the new stuff for you guys. One of my favorite summer staples are cream shadows. I love cream shadows for a lot of reasons: they're easy to apply, light for summer, and usually long lasting. The maybelline color tattoos are what I consider to be the cadillac of drugstore cream shadows so I was excited to try the new leather collection. I picked up the Maybelline 24 Hr. Color Tattoo Leather in Creamy Beige ($5.24).

And here is a shot of the outside packaging:

The leather collection includes five matte shades of their awesome cream shadows. I decided to go with the shade creamy beige because it's closest to the color family I usually gravitate towards. I really want to try to push myself outside of my color comfort zone (believe me that's easier said than done!). Even though I picked my normal beige/brown color I'm still going outside of my normal realm a little because I usually go for shimmers. With that being said, I'm really loving this matte shade!
Here is a color swatch:

The color is a gorgeous chocolate brown. The formula is extremely creamy and very longwearing, just as I expected from a color tattoo. I've been wearing it all day with little to no smudging. I wore it all over my lid today but it would be a really pretty crease color too!

Bottom line: this is a must have! I'm excited to try more colors. Maybe I'll really go nuts and try the lavender shade! :) Let me know what new drugstore products you're excited to try.

XO- Brittney

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Why I Love Makeup

Hello Beautiful Ones!

This one is a little different today, but it's something I just couldn't get out of my head so now you have the pleasure of experiencing my inner-most thoughts (lucky you!). As someone who spends a lot of time both writing about and applying makeup it's very easy for me to get a little caught up in all the sparkle. What I mean by that is being too concerned about the vanity of it all. With that being said though, I think it's extremely important to take a step back and examine why we are wearing the make-up (that's my psychology brain coming out). All of these thoughts were stirred up by a video I watched from the crazy genius John Green. In case you didn't know John is the author of several books including this summer's blockbuster: The Fault in our Stars, but he also has a Youtube channel he shares with his brother Hank called Vlogbrothers (confession: I'm a Youtube junkie and a Nerdfighter).

John's video is titled "Why I Love Make-up." In the video he discusses how he wore a lot of makeup during his press tour for The Fault in our Stars and how during that time he realized something: that he loves wearing makeup. He said that he "loves the way he looks" when he wears it. He also discussed how he used to be one of those people who said "you don't need makeup to be beautiful" but after wearing makeup himself he realized that makeup can be about making you feel good not making yourself desirable to others.

For some reason this really struck me. It made me step back and think: "why do I love makeup." I mean clearly love is not too strong of a word when it comes to makeup because after all I do have an entire blog dedicated to all things sparkly but I had never taken the time to answer why. So before I bore all of you with my crazy ramblings I'm just going to give you my list of reasons why I love makeup:

1. This one might be weird but I'm a sucker for routine. Getting up in the morning and applying my makeup makes me feel like I'm ready to take on the day.
2. I'm going to steal one of John's main points and say that makeup just makes me feel good. I like how I look when I wear it.
3. I can match my makeup to my mood. Some days are sparkly shadow days and some days are thick eyeliner days.
4. There's a never ending supply of new makeup to try. I love variety what can I say?
5. Makeup allows me to enhance my favorite features like my eyes. Not change them, just make them stand out.

I'm sure there are probably more things I love about makeup but these are the ones that are currently floating around in my head. I would encourage all of you to think about why you love makeup too! And please check out John's brilliant video below:
http://youtu.be/ijG6Tc431hQ

I hope you didn't mind this rambly mess too much, and that you all have a wonderfully sparkly 4th of July!

XO- Brittney

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June Favorites!

Hello Beautiful Ones!

It's that time again... a new month! But before we all fire up the grills and (safely) light off the fireworks, I'm going to share with you my favorite things for the month of June.

These products have been some of my prime summer staples this last month. I just can't get enough of the warm weather!

MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow Duo in Spiced Metal- $22
This has been my go to summer shade lately. The duo has a light champagne color and a darker rusty/bronzy (not sure if that is even a word!) brown. Both shades are shimmery and gorgeous. I've been wearing the lighter color all over my lid and then the darker shade on the outer crease for a really pretty and summery look. Here is a swatch of the color in natural light:

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream in Light/Medium- $8

I've pretty much all but ditched my foundation during these hot months, instead I've turned to this little baby. BB creams are all the rage right now (you probably already know this but BB stands for beauty balm), and you can get them from a lot of different brands. I've really been enjoying this one from Maybelline. It basically acts as a tinted moisturizer, but you could also use it as a primer for your foundation if you want a little more coverage. I just like that it is light and simple for the summer!

Hard Candy All Glossed Up Hydrating Lip Stain in Tickled Pink- $5

I've written about this one before... Basically it's just a really pretty gloss stick. I love the color and it gives a really nice shine. It's not super long lasting though, so be prepared to re-apply. I like to throw it in my purse for touch-ups during the day.

Benefit Girl Meets Pearl Liquid Pearl Luminizer for Face- $30

Disclaimer: I don't actually have the full size of this product, but I got a travel sized one in a benefit sample box I recently bought from Sephora (you can find it here) and I have been LOVING it. Basically it's a liquid highlighter that gives your skin a really pretty shimmer. I usually apply it to my brow bone just below the brow and on the top of my cheek bones. Summer must have!

Jergens BB Body Perfecting Skin Cream for all Light Skin Tones- $12

I've been using the Jergens Natural Glow bronzing lotion for years now, so I got really excited when I heard that they were coming out with this new BB body cream. Jergens says that the BB Body "hydrates and illuminates instantly and evens, firms, and corrects in 5 days." Personally I don't use this every day, more like every other day. It's definitely not a miracle cream, but so far I've been liking it. It is very moisturizing and I do feel like it evens out my skin tone. If you're really going for the bronzer look I would stick with Natural Glow, but if a moisturizer is more your goal I would definitely give this one a try! As a bonus the smell is good too, not gross like some of the bronzers can be.

Sinful Colors Professional Nail Color in Mint Apple- $2

Sinful Colors is one of my absolute favorite drugstore nail polish brands because they are really inexpensive, long-wearing, and they have a large selection of colors. I love this minty green for the summer. It's just really bright and pretty, plus mint is really in season right now! Here is a color swatch:

Floral Hair Barrette 

I love my long, thick, and curly hair, but during the summer months it can get a little hot and heavy. This little hair clip has really come in handy, and I just love the cute floral print!

Owl Ring

I bought this little ring at the start of the summer, and I've been wearing it so much. I just love how it's cute and a little bit quirky. It's big but not too bulky, perfect to wear on my index finger.

These are just a few of my favorite things this month. Let me know what you were loving in June!

XO- Brittney

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