Lorac Finds at Nordstrom Rack!

I had some time to kill today while waiting on my husband to get off work, so I decided to drop by my local Nordstrom Rack.  Lately when I have gone to the store I have been out of luck.  Expecting that I would find the usual NYX stuff, I did not go in with high hopes.  Lord was I surprised, when I saw what the clerk was putting out.

2014 Lorac Christmas sets!!!

They had several of the sets, including eye shadow quads, lipsticks, and face products!!  I haven't seen these since right after Christmas, so I was excited to find them here.

I saw the Lorac Royal Full Face Collection for $29.97.  I think that is a heck of a steal.

Have you had any interesting finds at Nordstrom Rack?  Has this deal popped up for you?  Let me know in the comments!

Swatches - Elf - Disney's Snow White - Fairest of Them All Collection

A few nights ago, I regrammed a picture of the new elf and Disney collaboration for the new Snow White collection.  Tonight I was lucky enough to find the collection at my local Walgreens before any of the pieces were missing.  There are several pieces to this collection, just like it's predecessor the Ariel collection.  I spotted makeup bags, the beauty book, an eyeshadow palette, a lipstick trio, a brush set, and a face powder (or blush/contour).  I picked up everything but the brush set and face set, though the packaging was pretty enough I may end up rounding out the set.

A quick aside about the brush set though.  The brushes appear to be from the $1.00 elf line.  They are not the best brushes in the world.  It retails for $9.99, which isn't bad, but I wouldn't pick up the set thinking that you were going to get MAC quality brushes.  Elf brushes are hit or miss.  I would pick up the brush set because the brush holder looks so awesome, not for the brushes.

I am actually quite happy with the purchases I made.  The packaging is gorgeous.  I personally like it better than the Ariel set, but I'm a sucker for red, white, black, and gold.  There is just a timeless, classic look to it. This is Snow White we're talking about, it is meant to be timeless and classic!

Here is what I got:

Look at that packaging.  Beautiful!

Let's start with the bag.  This was not the only bag in the collection.  It was the largest and had a different design than the others.  The other bags had the black and white style.  The picture is adorable and the inside of the bag has a design similar to the one on the other makeup items in a deep blue.  The pictured scene is also one of my favorites from the movie.  I couldn't help not getting it.  It's large enough to be a good carry bag for my makeup or my brushes.  Suffice to say I'm excited about it!  This bag retailed for $9.99.

(Outside of the bag)

(Inside of the bag)

There is a lip trio in this collection.  Red, red, red.  Very red.  The lip gloss is an elf Essential Shimmer Lip Gloss in "Ruby Kiss".  The lip stain is named "Crison Crush".  That is not a typo, but what the sticker on the bottom of the tube states.  A quick look at the elf website does show that this should be "Crimson Crush", which is a permanent shade by the brand and can be found here.  Lastly, there is a elf Essential Lip Balm tint in "Berry".  This is part of the permanent range as well and can be found here.  I have heard pretty good things about the lip balm tints, so this might be worth it to try.  The lip set retailed for $4.99 and is pictured below.

Next there is the eyeshadow palette and mascara.  The eyeshadow palette has six colors, while the mascara is the standard black.  I was surprised by the way the palette swatched.  These shadows were pretty smooth and swatched nicely without primer.  The clear miss is the darkest shade, but with a primer it will probably be workable.  All the shades appear to have shimmer, not a matte in the bunch.  The eye collection retails for $4.99.

Last, but not least is the Snow White story book.  Again, I am very taken by the artwork on the front.  And surprisingly, I am not completely disappointed with the quality of the products on the inside.  The eyeshadows were not quite as great as the one in the eye collection palette, but most of the shades are workable.  The darkest shade, again, was lackluster, but the rest would work well with a primer.  Beyond the eyeshadows, the story book includes a lip gloss, eyelid primer, a black eyeliner, and a pinkish/coral blush (which I could not get to photograph without it coming off completely orange which was not the true color at all).  The story book retails for $9.99.

There we go folks.  The Snow White collection by elf.  What do you think?  Will you be picking up any of the products?

YMMV - Target Clearance - Maybelline Eyeshadows

Hello, everyone!

While at Target this afternoon, I took a quick stroll through the beauty department.  It is that time of year where they are starting to clearance out a lot of the beauty goods.  I was prepared to leave with an arm full of goodies or, as often happens at my Target, in disappointment.  I was not prepared to see what I did see, which was all Maybelline Eyeshadows being put on clearance.

I am sure by now we are all aware that the old Maybelline quads, trios, duos, and singles are going away for the new slimline boxy packaging.  Those  are being clearanced at almost every store across the country.

(Left: New, Right: Old)

This afternoon I noticed something totally odd.  The entire Maybelline eyeshadow display was pretty much empty.  Including the Eyestudio quads.  These quads normally retail for $7.99 and have been marked down to $5.48.

Flabbergasted and thinking this was a mistake, I took a few of the ones I did not own to the register and sure enough they rang up for $5.58.

I ended up with four eyeshadows for $17.75.  I don't know if this is going on all over, but it can't hurt to check it out.  The Maybelline Eyestudio quads are some of the best quality eyeshadows at drugstore prices right now.  Good luck and remember, your mileage might vary!

Spotted - New Physicians Formula Products - Shimmer Strips and Sexy Eyes

Happy Saturday!  Today I bring pictures of a new display I found at CVS.  I saw this among the other new Physicians Formula displays that are out there.  This display includes new Shimmer Strip and Sexy Booster eyeshadows and eyeliners.

I was getting odd looks while taking pictures, so I left off the third eyeliner on the right.  My apologies.  I did get pictures of all the products though.  Let's see what we have.

Sexy Booster Ooh La La Sexy Eyes Trio

Sexy Booster Oh So Sexy Eye Shadow Quad

Shimmer Strips Nude Palette in Natural Nude

Shimmer Strips Nude Palette in Warm Nude

Shimmer Strips Eyeliner Trio in Warm Nude Eyes

Shimmer Strips Eyeliner Trio in Natural Nude Eyes

Shimmer Strips Eyeliner Trio in Brown Eyes

Shimmer Strips Eyeliner Trio in Green Eyes

Shimmer Strips Eyeliner Trio in Blue Eyes (sorry this is blurry)

The new Shimmer Strips Eyeliner Trios all state that they're shimmery and have silver sparkles on the eyeliner packaging.  I own some of the old Shimmer Strips eyeliners and they do not have the sparkles on the packaging.

Has anyone else seen these?  Tried any of the products?  What do you think of them?

Swatches - New L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows

Hello everyone!  I hope you are all well.  It is almost Friday!  Can't wait to get into the weekend.

Today I stopped by my local HEB and picked up two more of the L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadows in the new colors.  I had purchased shade 756, Always Pearly Pink, late last year.  To add to my collection, I picked up 758 Purple Priority and 759 Burst Into Bloom.

These shades are very pretty and very shimmery.  They are very smooth, almost creamy to the touch.  They are lovely in their pigmentation as well.

Always Pearly Pink

Burst Into Bloom

Purple Priority

These colors came out great in swatches.  Purple Priority, the deep purple color, came out a bit more flakey than the other two, but it appears that it will be workable.  I'll take it just for the color.

Here are swatches.

I have not tried these on the eye yet, but Temptalia did a review and an eye look with these three shades, so I wanted to link to her here.

Have you tried the new L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows?  What did you think of them?  Any others in the set I should try?

Have a lovely Friday everyone!

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?

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!

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

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