Necklace Haul!

When to a few thrift stores locally, and also some local vendors at an Oktoberfest event...

First (and FAVORITE) find:
                         

Vintage brooch turned necklace. I found this at a little store called "The Hidden Pearl" which was filled to the ceiling with Vintage/Antique clothes, jewelry, and trinkets. I love this necklace, and I really think it has the potential to pull an outfit together. I got this necklace for $9.50. 

I adore this necklace, mostly because it reminds me of a necklace my grandmother gave everyone in my family. I normally hate cheesy saying, but this one is so discreet I think it works well. I also love the pop of color! I got this necklace from a vender for $10. 

And last, I got this beautiful handmade peacocks necklace from a local vendor, she had so many things I wanted I had trouble choosing. She definitely had a lot of trendy cool choices, but I really just loved this piece. I also can't wait to wear it for Christmas with the red and green. I got this for $15. Her work is available on Etsy: pandorascreations.artfire.com

OVERALL:

                              

Hair Horror

When I wake up 30 minutes early to curl my hair... and it pours down rain.

It's like:


Guess I should have checked the weather...

E.L.F. Sales at Target

Went to Target to pick a couple of things- and, of course, I walked out with more than planned.

 But, how could I pass up on some awesome E.L.F. sales??? Exactly, I couldn't.

 First, Mascara Collection ($6.80, org. $8):
 

I got this 4 pack of mascaras, that retails $2.20 a mascara. This is my first time using these products, and I'm curious to see how thy perform. I personally never buy high-end mascara's, I think drugstore brands, generally,  do the job perfectly! 

Ultimate Lip Collection ($6.80, org. $8):

 

 I love love love my natural lipstick from E.L.F. so I was super excited to try there different shades and lip products. I also was very curious about the lip exfoliant. It was super tingly and fun to try, but I didn't feel or see a huge difference. But, for $2.20, it was fun to try. The other glosses are a little sticky feeling, but nothing unbearable and very pretty colors. The lipstick is a little darker than I was hoping, but still pretty and long-lasting. 

Eyeshadow Palette ($8.50, org. $10) 

This palette comes with 100 eyeshadows in a huge variety of colors. It is a beautiful palette, but, the pigmentation is not great- which is understandable for less than 9 cents a shade! This is similar to the Coastal Scents palettes, where the quality is okay, but the reason for purchasing it is more for the chance to try to new colors and combinations. 

OVERALL: 

Love a good deal!
 

Lorac Pro Palette: UPDATE

UPDATE: This just in... well, from 2 days ago.
 When I did my first look with the Lorac palette, I almost had to start over because it was SO PIGMENTED! The colors were super bold, and because I like more subtle looks- I freaked out a little when my entire lid was bright gold! But, with a litttle blending of these gorgeous shadows, I think it turned out pretty nice. I am SERIOUSLY impressed by the pigmentation, and the ability to blend so beautifully. It also takes barely any product to cover your lids, which makes it a good bang for your buck! 

OVERALL:
 

Hot Rollers: Remmington

First try using hot rollers... got them at Target ($34.99)

It comes with 2 roller sizes and heats very quickly (4 minutes)- in my opinion,  like I said I don't know a lot about rollers.

 I didn't do a great job with setting the rollers... it took me about 5 minutes, and was fairly easy for someone with no experience (although, I obviously missed some strands of hair). I left the rollers in until they felt cool (9 minutes, maybe)- but, I wish I had left them in longer so they could set longer, since I wasn't in a hurry. 

I loved the way the curls turned out, and it was very low maintenance for curls. I'm terrible when it comes to styling my hair, and it has never come natural to me. 

Unfortunately, I lost the curls really quickly, but my hair just doesn't hold a curl well- and I didn't have any hairspray which probably played another large part. Overall, I think I will definitely use these curlers all the time in the future for a glam look, and hopefully it will hold better with hairspray. 

OVERALL: 

Loved the curls, but I need to find a way to keep them intact longer. 

If you have any advice on how to hold a curl let me know! 

                       
                       

Coastal Scents: Eclipse Palette (Concealers, $14.95)

Blemishes: one of the worst things you can wake up to. 

It's like: 

                                 
So, of course we are all the search for the perfect concealer and a way to magically erase all of our imperfections. Well personally, my favorite has been my Mac studio finish concealer, but at times I wonder if it clogs my pores causing additional breakouts. It also retails for $18 for a small amount of product. I've also grown to love Maybelline Instant Age Rewind concealer/dark spot eraser. But, as my makeup collection grows, I would like to try new things- whether it be top of the line or more affordable. This Coastal Scents Eclipse Concealer Palette ($14.95) contains 15 different shades that conceal all sorts of imperfections and also has colors that can contour/highlight your face as well.

When I opened the package the plastic seemed a little flimsy, but it will definitely do. I love that they included the yellow, green, and purple neutralizers you can use to hide redness and dark circles- I used the yellow shade to hide dark circles under my eyes. I also, tried using the green to neutralize the redness of my pimples, but I didn't put on to much not wanting to build up too much product. It also felt a little sticky and not super smooth. 

 ROW 1:

 ROW 2:

 ROW 3:

There is a large variety in colors, so you are able to blend and experiment to find your perfect color. 

 

This concealer did not cover up all imperfections, but it definitely did the job well enough. 

But, after a several hours the product began to cake up, and became displaced on my face. I was not too pleased. 

Overall: 

                         
Not that impressed. I'm happy to have all the shades and I will definitely use the highlighter, yellow neutralizer for dark circles, and possibly contour with the darker shades. But, I don't see my self using the concealer on a regular basis. I could have seen myself using this product, but the caking is what ruined it for me, not only is it not as long lasting but it is really visible on your face.
                 

When my boyfriend suggested I throw out my old brushes since I had my new Sigma brushes...

 

SIGMA

First Sigma set ever!!!



'Nough saidddddd.... More thoughts soon to come!


 

First Impression: Coastal Scents Warm Palette

Coastal Scents: Warm Palette ($19.95 originally, on sale for $13.95)

I was so excited to buzz the UPS man up into my apartment complex, and nearly had a heart attack looking through my peephole to see my package thrown on the ground I was worried to say the least....

 

The package is packed lightly, and since the product is inexpensive I figured it would be a box full of those terrible eyeshadow crumbs.
LUCKILY, only two of the shadows were loose (I'm guessing it was because of the delivery- not the product). But, none the less I had to glue them back in, which is super easy to do with a little superglue.

.

The palette is made from a fairly cheap black plastic, but it feels sturdy. I wouldn't be afraid to pack it in a suitcase, as long as it wasn't bumping around too much. Coastal Scents is a great company and has many things to offer to people just starting out using makeup. I bought my first large brush set from them for under $40 for 22 brushes- and I've loved almost every brush. You can get huge palettes with an array of really well pigmented shadows. This gives you the opportunity to try several looks and styles without going broke. So, I say WIN-WIN!

 
 Anyways,

 

 This palette comes with 88 shades, many matte and shimmer colors- looking I would guess there are more matte colors. I mostly use shimmery eyeshadows, because they catch my eye, so I was happy to expand my matte collection. I also like that there doesn't seem to be a lot of glitter chunks in the shadows.

 


 I also like how the colors are organized, with the colors getting progressively darker. I also like that the palette comes with a large mirror. Here are a few of the shadows that intrigued me immediately

The colors are very pigmented, but do take a couple layers to get the best color. But, for less than 25 cents a shadow they are awesome!!!


Overall: Super excited I bought this palette! While it isn't super high-end quality, I still think I will use a lot of the colors often... and will hopefully inspire me to use different blends of colors.