First Look Swatches - Rimmel ScandalEyes Eye Shadow Paint

Hello, everyone!  It is nearly the new year.  I hope that everyone has great plans to celebrate.  Me and my husband will be hanging out with friends and playing board games.  A pretty quiet night, but it works for us!

I had to make a quick stop in to HEB today and as always I made a stop in the beauty department.  I was happy to see new Rimmel displays!  The wonderfully pigmented Apocalips lip glosses have landed at HEB and I am excited to get a few more of them.

I spotted the new Scandal Eyes Eye Shadow Paints as well and was very excited to pick up a few.  They are rather interesting and I am curious how they will actually work in an eye look.  First though, the display!

There are eight eye shadow paints pictured, but in this display the ones on the far left and the far right are the same.  Because of this I believe there are only seven of these eye shadow paints.  I have closer pictures of each below.

Rich Russet and Manganese Purple

"Red" and "Gray"


Pink and Beige


"Bronze" & Rich Russet

The names in parenthesis are not accurate names, I know on the Bronze it said bronze on the packaging, but I failed to take pictures of the names.  Sorry.

I purchased four of these products.

All bottles have a doe foot applicator.  The product is very wet when it first comes out.  And from what I have seen a little goes a long way.  They dry to a lovely shiny finish and have so far been smudge proof in swatches.  You will need to wait thirty seconds to a minute to let the products dry on your eyes.

Here are swatches:

Beige (Yes it is a pearly white, not beige at all)

Rich Russet

Pink (It is hard to see on my skin tone in this light, but it is a lovely, shimmery pink)

Manganese Purple (this seemed to be the hardest to smooth out, it was also the first I tried)

With any luck, I will be able to report back soon with how they look in eye looks.  Has anyone else seen these?  What did you think?

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

Hello everyone and thank you for stopping by.  Sadly since Thanksgiving life has been very hectic around here.  I am hoping to come back in January with more frequent posts and swatches.  I hope everyone is having a fabulous holiday season and I look forward to seeing everyone in the New Year!

Spotted at Target: ELF Holiday Kits

Hello everyone!

Today while out at Target looking for some winter clothes (it is 38 degrees in Austin!), I noticed that they already had out the aisle displays for Black Friday.  These green cardboard displays have impulse buy items and are strategically placed throughout the store.  These are different items then the ones in the end cap display, so I thought that I would share them with you.

The first item I found was a three pack of nail polish retailing for $4.99.  There is an orange polish, a silver glitter polish, and a grey polish.  These are full size polishes.

The second item I located was also a three pack of nail polish.  It also retails for $4.99 and the polishes are full size.  There is a pinkish polish, a gold glitter, and an orange polish.

The next item is lip glosses.  They retail for $3.99.  There is a clear gloss, a pinkish gloss, and a more mauve or berry gloss.

And lastly, more lip gloss.  These are the longer ones with the brush applicator.  They also retail for $3.99.  There is a nude, a pink, and a berry or mauve color.

Have you spotted these items at your local Target?  Have you tried them out, what do you think of them?  I like ELF's nail polishes, so I will probably be picking those up soon!

Rumor - Urban Decay Naked 3 Launch Date

If you haven't heard yet, Urban Decay is launching their latest palette Naked 3 later this year.  The palette appears to be more rose gold and pink neutrals then past palettes.  The palette will retail for $52.00 and be available at the Urban Decay website, Sephora, and Ulta.

(Image from:  http://www.urbandecay.com/udemail)

There is already a review and comparison to Naked 1 and Naked 2 on Temptalia for you to peruse.  The palette received decent marks from her, so that is always a good sign.

Rumor has it that both Sephora and Ulta will be launching the palette on December 11th at 9:00 A.M.  Make sure you get in line for this one, as I am sure like a few of these palettes in the past, it is going to sell out super quick.

Happy shopping!

New Item - NYX Two Timer Kohl Pencil Liner & Felt Tip Liner

Hello everyone,

Today at Makeup Addiction on Reddit, NYX Cosmetics gave a sneak peak to one of the new items coming in 2014.  It is called the Two Timer, a double sided eye liner, one end is a Kohl Pencil Liner, the other a Felt Tip Liner.

(Picture from imgur)

(Picture from imgur)

NYX also included a sneak peak of new Butter Lip Sticks in various shades.

(Picture from imgur)

You can see more of the pictures on Imgur.  Including swatches of the eyeliner.

First Look Swatches - Laura Mercier - Artist's Palette for Eyes

I am a weak person.  Very weak.  I am the sort of weak person that sees the 20% off at Sephora for VIBs and can not help myself.  I had gone on Thursday and purchased the Tarte Off the Cuff Blushes and figured I was going to be done.  Then I saw all the posts about the Laura Mercier Artist's Palette for Eyes and I just couldn't help myself.  It is sold out online and I managed to snag the last one at my local Sephora.

Everyone, I can totally see why it is selling out.  Oh my lord, the swatches alone make me want to take off all my makeup and redo my eyes.  This is a wonderful little palette.  The shadows are nice and creamy without being too powdery.  They swatched smoothly for my purposes here.  I have not used the palette yet, but I wanted to get the swatches up for you.

The Laura Mercier Artist's Palette comes in a brown faux leather case with a magnetic closure.  It has a large mirror in the top and a magnetic closure.  The palette is heavy but not cumbersome.  There is a large mirror in the top of the palette that is the size of the top.

The Artist's Palette has 12 eye shadows with a mixture of finishes.  Each eyeshadow is .03 ounces.

(Top Row:  Sparkling Dew, Guava, African Violet, Plum Smoke, Kir Royal, Violet Ink 

Bottom Row:  Vanilla Nuts, Primrose, Fresco, Bamboo, Truffle, Espresso Bean)

The back of the box states that the colors African Violet and Bamboo are lusters.  The colors Vanilla Nuts, Plum Smoke, Violet Ink, Espresso Bean, Truffle, and Fresco are mattes.  Finally, Primrose, Guava, Kir Royal, and Sparkling Dew are sateens.

(From Top to Bottom:  Sparkling Dew, Guava, African Violet, Plum Smoke, Kir Royal, Violet Ink )

From Top to Bottom:  Vanilla Nuts, Primrose, Fresco, Bamboo, Truffle, Espresso Bean)

I can not wait to use this palette.  I can see myself using all of these shadows so very often.  

How did you do at the Sephora sale?  Any goodies out there I should keep my eyes open for?

Hope you're having a great weekend.

~Kratrina

Spotted - New Product - Chapstick Gingerbread Kiss and Candy Cane

While at Walgreens tonight, I found two new ChapSticks for the holidays.  They were on a endcap stringer in the beauty department.

I present ChapStick Gingerbread Kiss:

And Candy Cane:

First Look Swatches - Revlon - Lacquer Balm

Hello everyone!  I hope that you had a lovely week.  I am so very happy that it is Friday.  The week seemed to go by so fast, but today dragged on and on and on.

Today I am bringing you a quick first look review at the new Revlon Lacquer Balm sticks.  These are the ones with the glossy finish to the container.  They are currently being sold in a display with the matte lip balms (which I have now bought five of... I know, I know).  I have picked up three of the Lacquer Balms now.

The colors are Enticing (#150), Demue (#105), and Coy (#140).

I just picked these up, so I have not had an opportunity to play with them.  Hopefully in the next few weeks I will be able to give a better review and swatches.  I do find that the balms are nice and creamy with a glossy shine.

I have included a swatch of the colors for you below.  Enjoy!

Swatches - Revlon Colorstay Shadowlinks

Hello everyone!

Today I wanted to do swatches on the Revlon Colorstay Shadowlinks eyeshadows.  These new eyeshadows retail for $.299 and are a new product by Revlon.  Each item is a single eyeshadow that can be mixed and matched.  Each eyeshadow is in packaging that will link with other eyeshadows from the line.  The eyeshadows come in several different finishes and range from bright colors to metallics to neutral mattes.

I purchased eight different shadowlinks of various finishes while they were on sale at Walgreens.  In the following swatches, I swatched them over Benefits Stay Don't Stray eye primer, bareskin, and NYX Milk.


The first three, in order are, Oyster (a metallic), Blush (a matte), and Candy (a pearl).

The next three are Plum (a matte), Taupe (a satin), and Java (a pearl).

The last two are Cocoa (a satin) and Gunmetal (a satin).

I am not impressed with these eyeshadows.  The color payoff is not there at all, even over primer or milk some of them are hard to see.  In the pan, each eyeshadow is hard and this causes the eyeshadows to be incredibly powdery when using.  Even the more pigmented shades, like Plum, are hard to use and have a lot of shadow fall out.

In my opinion, save your money and take a pass on the shadowlinks.  They're a novel ideal, but the color payoff and the powerdiness of the shadows make them a poor purchase.

Hope you enjoyed these swatches and the review.

~Kratrina

First Look Swatches - Revlon Colorburst Matte Lip Balms

Hello everyone!  After reading several reviews on the products, I decided to pick up the Revlon Colorburst Matte Lip Balms.  The formula for these lip balms is amazingly creamy.  The colors are all highly pigmented and apply smoothly.  The lip balms also have that minty tingly taste, so if you don't like that, beware!  If you do not mind the taste, I would totally recommend these to everyone.

The packaging is sleek and looks like the other Revlon Colorburst lip balm products.  For these lip pencils, the packaging are all matte.  In two separate trips, I purchased four colors.

I have done a quick swatch so that you can see the colors I have purchased.  In the next few days, I will get some swatches of the products on the lips.  The four colors pictured below from top to bottom are Sultry (#225), Elusive (#205), Unapologetic (#210), and Striking (#240).

I really like the feel of these lip balms and I highly suggest them to anyone that likes the matte lip look.  Currently, these are retailing for approximately $8.99.  Walgreens has an in-store coupon for $2.00 off all Colorburst lip balms, just look in the November coupon book.  Remember, Walgreens allows coupon stacking, so if you have any printable coupons or clippings from the paper you can use those and the coupon book coupons together.

Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

First Look Swatches - Profusion Twinkle Twinkle 5 Color Eyeshadow Palette in Purples

Hello everyone,

Today while at my local Walgreens I found the new $1.00 Profusion palettes that are being released for Christmas.  I purchased three different ones, one with shimmery browns, one with greens, and one with purples.  The first one to be swatched was the purple palette.  This is just a first look quick swatch.  A more in depth set of swatches will follow in the next few days.

I found the eyeshadows to be slightly powdery but nicely pigmented.  I used two swipes (dip in pan, rub on skin, dip in pan, rub on skin ... all swatches with no primer) to get these swatches.  From just the quick swatch, I found that the lightest purple color appears to be a grey to purple duochrome.  I will play with this a little more in the coming days to see if I still agree with that assessment.

Until next time.  Have a Happy and Safe Halloween!

~Kratrina

Texas Girls - HEB Deals

I'm bringing back an oldie but a goodie today.  Texas Girls - HEB Deals!!!  HEB is a grocery chain in Texas that has better deals then the drug store.  When I can, I try to purchase my beauty products from HEB since it will save me a few bucks.  HEB releases their new ads and coupons on Wednesdays, so I try to get as many of the beauty deals as I can and round them up here for you.

As a heads up, HEB no longer allows coupon stacking on 'B' coupons.  So what you see is what you get unfortunately.  With that information, always check if your deals are better at HEB then the coupon stacking that is allowed at CVS or Walgreens.

With that said, let's get to the deals:

$2.00 off Simple Face Care Products (Excludes Travel/Trial Size, 1.7 oz)
$5.00 off EverVescence Eye Cream, 1 oz., Face Serum, 1.7 oz., or Moisturizer, 2 oz.
$2.50 off EverVescence Facial Scrub or Clay mask, 2.5 oz., or Cleanser, 6.8 oz
$5.00 off $15.00 or more purchase of Garnier Skin Care Products
Buy one CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Polish, Get 2nd Free! (Excludes Glosstinis)
$5.00 off $15.00 purchase of L'Oreal Cosmetics (Excludes skincare and haircare)
$0.50 off New York Color Cosmetics (excludes nail polish)
$2.50 off Almay Cosmetics valued over $3.50
Buy one Essence Cosmetic, Get 2nd 50% off
25% off Maybelline Cosmetics
$2.00 off Revlon Cosmetic or Beauty Tool valued over $3.50
Buy any one Sally Hansen Hard as Nail or Xtreme Wear Color, get 2nd Free.
Combo Loco:  Buy any Orchid Professional Nail Lacquer, get Hill Country Essentials Nail Polish Remover, HEB Triple Size Cotton Balls, and Makeup Bag (retail value $1.00)

There ya go.  Happy shopping everyone!!!

~Krat

It's time for another ELF Treasure Hunt

Every year ELF gives us a treat by doing 75% off certain items.  Here is a round up for everyone:

Studio Matte Eyeshadow - $1.65 - All Colors
Essential Beauty School Eyeshadow Book - $2.25 - Nude
Essential Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara - $0.70
Studio Eyebrow Kit - $1.80 - Light
Essential 5-Piece Get the Look Eye Set - $2.25 - Purple
Essential Beauty School 5 Piece Eyeshadow Set - $1.75 - Night
Studio Kabuki Face Brush - $4.20
Mineral Revitalizing Mist - $4.20
Studio Shimmer Palette - $1.80
Studio Contour Brush - $2.10
Studio Lash & Brow Comb - $0.75
Essential 4-Piece Nail Polish Set - $3.00 - Trendy
Essential 3-Piece Nail Polish Set - $1.80 - Mysterious

So as you can see this is a very small list.  With orders over $35.00 you can add on free shipping.  Compared to some of elfs better deals, I think your money might be better saved.  But if there is something on this list you have been waiting for, you have 28 hours from this post to do it in.

Happy shopping!!!

~Kratrina

Milani Limited Edition Shadow Eyez - Purples, Silvers, While, and Black

Hello everyone!  I wanted to share with you a new Limited Edition Shadow Eyez set by Milani.  I shared these photos with G. over at Nouveau Cheap and you can see her blog post here.  There are six new colors, one of which is a dupe for NYX Milk.  I purchased three colors today.  A white called Snowy White, a metallic purple called Plum Amour, and a metallic silver called Lovely Frost.  They are all super creamy and long lasting.  I had to scrub to get the swatches off my hand.  I'll leave a link to my instagram below and you can check out Nouveau Cheap's post for more details.


Hope ya'll have a fabulous week!!!

Get it While You Can : Disney Collection - Ariel Compact at Sephora

Oh, Sephora, how you make people just a little bit crazy.

The day these items went out, people ran out and bought three or four of them to resell at crazy prices.  $20.00 mirrors going for $30, $40, or $50, sometimes even more.  The storylook palettes go for crazy amounts as well.  Sadly, the storylook palettes are already out, but what does appear to still be up are the Ariel "Set the Mood" Compact mirrors.  The compacts are of good quality and can hold up to being thrown into and jostled around in your purse.

The compacts will only be available for a limited time.  So get them while you can here.

Sinful Colors 2013 - New Halloween Collection

Hello everyone!

Halloween is upon us!!!  Walgreens and HEB are starting to display the new Halloween items, which is always very exciting.  My Walgreens seems to be a bit slow on the uptake this year, as they have only one small endcap dedicated to Halloween.  That is okay though, it means I can spread the purchases out over time instead of buying it all in one mad dash.  Check out more about the new Sinful Colors Halloween polish here.





While at my Walgreens today, I was disappointed that the Sinful Colors corner display was not out yet.  This cardboard haunted house cutout has the Halloween polishes (mostly re-promotes) as well as the previously discontinued nail stripers.  You can read more about that display at Nouveau Cheap here.  What I was very happy to see was a small display of Sinful Colors for Halloween.  This is like most Sinful Colors collections as it has 7 - 9 different polishes displayed.  I forgot to take a photo of it, but I will return and add one later on.

The collection is mainly re-promotes, including Inkwell, Black on Black, Let's Talk, and Courtney Orange.  A return favorite from last year is the glitter polish Pumpkin Spice.  I did a blog post on it last year, which you can see here, when it was part of the Bewitched Collection.  The new color this year is Black Magic, a orange and greyish-black glitter polish.

(Sinful Colors Black Magic 1134)

Black Magic has a beautiful sparkle to it.  The base is a slightly tinted black and the shine comes from the mini glitter in silver and black.  The orange glitter is placed evenly throughout the product and a good coverage of it comes out when you use the polish.  I did some swatches of the polish one over Courtney Orange, one over Black on Black, and one without a base.

Personally, I think it looks best over the black though I may try it over a grey as well.  

Hopefully there will be some more new Halloween products soon.  I am hoping to get my hands on the China Glaze Halloween collection.  Is there anything in particular that you guys are looking forward to for this Halloween?

~Kratrina

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Ulta - Butter London Sale

Hello everyone,

We are at the end of the first week of Ulta's 21 Days of Beauty.  Today's deal is something everyone should check out.  Butter London, a fabulous nail polish brand, is on sale for $10.00 marked down from the $15.00 that they are normally.  There is a quantity of 2 limit, so get them while you can.  The collection can be found at their website here.  There is free shipping at Ulta on orders of $50.00 of more.  Sadly, you can not use the $3.50 off coupon on this deal.

Hope you have a great weekend!

~Krat

Sale Alert! Ulta 21 Days of Beauty is Back Again

Just a heads up for everyone.  The Ulta 21 Days of Beauty are back again.  This year they are having their regular sales, plus online only "beauty steals".  For example, on Day 17 you can purchase Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer for half off, but online only.  The Lorac Pro Primer has been proven by Robyn over at The Brightest Bulb in the Box to be the best, longest lasting primer for your money.

Happy shopping!

Review - Flower Beauty - Face the Grey Eyeshadow Quad

Hello everyone,

I recently purchased, prior to the no-buy, the Flower Beauty Face the Grey Eyeshadow Quad (EQ1).  Flower Beauty is a new product line at Wal-mart created in part by Drew Barrymore.  You can see their website here.  The packaging states that the product is "proudly made in the USA" and that the company "never tests on animals".

I really like the cute packaging on the Flower Beauty products.  They are light but sturdy, and not cumbersome to hold.  The rose gold detailing is a pretty extra.  The eyeshadow pans are large, so for $9.98, you are getting a good bit of product.  I like the magnetic closure on the quad as it feels like if I were to throw it in my makeup bag it won't open and spill eyeshadow everywhere.  The quad does not include a mirror.

Face the Grey has four colors, a shimmery light purple, a matte light grey, a shimmery dark pink, and a dark matte purple.  All shades have a nice texture, but I felt that the shimmery shades had a great deal of fallout.  All the colors swatched wonderfully.

I would certainly suggest using an eye primer when applying these shades to the eye.  Without an eye primer the matte grey was very light and did not appear on my eyelid.  The colors popped when I used an eye primer with them.  The shimmery colors wanted to travel a bit, so I found glittery bits on my cheek and on my nose as the day passed.  The palette works well together and I found the colors to be quite blendable.

A Challenge for the Month of June

Hello everyone,

It has been quite some time since I have blogged.  I apologize for that, but I am hoping to get back into the swing of things with more posts and a challenge for June.

You see, over the last few months I have amassed quite a few drug stores products, samples, and other items that I have not been using.  It has been a tale of "oh, that looks pretty" followed by "I only have enough time to do my normal makeup routine."  Due to this a lot of my purchased products have been sitting unused, much to my husbands dismay.

Last night, I had an idea thanks to one of my favorite YouTube/Bloggers.  Every Friday, Emily Noel at Beauty Broadcast does an article called "Shop My Stash" where she uses goes back through her stash to find products that she loves, but has not used in a while.  I love the thought of this, because I have so many products, especially lipsticks and eyeshadows, that I could "shop" my products and always try a different look.

So for the month of June, I am going to attempt to do a no buy.  This means I will try not to buy any beauty products (including nail polish, makeup, or hair care) and just use the items that I have on hand.  Trust me, I am in no way going to run out.  I will still post about deals or cool sightings, but hopefully (fingers crossed) at the end of the month I will have no purchased anything, but will have a good idea of items I should or should not be using.  Also, I think that if I can do this and save the money, I may buy myself the Lorac Pro Palette that I have really been looking at getting.

As I go through my journey, I will be posting reviews of the products I use and possibly some looks.  I hope everyone enjoys it.

It does leave me with a question though.  Has anyone else put themselves through a no-buy?  How successful were you in it?  Do you feel that you would do it again or that it was worth it?

Have a happy weekend!