MAC x Giambattista Valli

Hello, all.  I'm really excited about sharing this collection with you!

As I'm sure most of you already know, MAC came out with a collaboration with fashion designer Giambattista Valli which consisted of five colorful matte lipsticks and a crystal glossy glaze.

 Picture is from Huffington Post.

First thing's first.  I was extremely disappointed that the release date was changed very suddenly without any prior notice.  They were supposed to be released on MAC's website on July 2nd and in stores on July 9th.  Nordstrom was supposed to release them online at 12AM on July 6th, but they weren't.  They weren't released on MAC's website until July 9th at 6:00 am PST.  They don't release to the public what time the collections are available online, so you can either stay up all night until they're released or hope and pray that the items you want are still available when you wake up.  It's quite frustrating. 

That aside, all five shades are beautiful, but I only ordered my two favorites at the time: Charlotte and Eugenie.  I love that the packaging for each lipstick matches the lipstick shade.  These are absolutely stunning.

*Update:  I won a giveaway on Instagram and have received the shade Tats (the one I was kicking myself for not buying).  I'm so lucky and so thankful to mua.mariaarias (IG) for offering this in her giveaway.  I've added the pictures of Tats at the end.*

Packaging:

Charlotte

 Eugenie

I was once again given the choice between three complimentary products, so this time I chose the Strobe Cream.

Did you pick up anything from this collection?  Apparently Bianca B has been a hit for a lot of people, but it looks way too pale for me.

Tats

Thank you for stopping by!  Have a great week!  :)

*My nail polish in the pictures of Tats is OPI's This Color is Making Waves.*

Too Faced Soul Mates Blushing Bronzers & Becca Cosmetics x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Pop Highlighter

Hello, everyone!  I hope you all had an amazing weekend.  I spent Saturday browsing through our city's Saturday Market with my hubby and then we spent some time with family.  :)

On to this week's blog post, I know I'm once again last on board with these Too Faced Soul Mates bronzers.  I kept putting off picking them up, and then when I did go to Ulta to purchase them, they were no longer in stock or on Ulta's website (they are still available on Sephora's website).  They are also still available on Too Faced's website here.  They're $34 each but Too Faced had an offer for 20% off your entire online order when you signed up to receive their emails and it was free shipping.

Too Faced's packaging is always spot on (have you seen their new Love Flush blushes??  I die!), and the bronzer shades are amazing.  I'm a bit disappointed with the blush shades though.  They aren't very pigmented.  For the swatches, I had to go over them multiple times for the shades to even show up...and I'm fair skinned!  But I do like these for the bronzers.  Since the bronzer in the Carrie & Big duo is lighter I think that one would look better on me than the Ross & Rachel duo.  Both bronzers have a bit of shimmer in them, but it's not too much that it looks like glitter on your face.

Packaging:

 

Carrie & Big

Swatches:

Ross & Rachel

Swatches:

 

 

 

I also ordered the Becca Cosmetics & Jaclyn Hill highlighter in Champagne Pop.  I honestly wasn't going to buy into the hype on this product, but after seeing so many swatches of this I decided this was something that I needed.  This is my first Becca Cosmetics purchase.  The formula is so smooth and easy to blend.  It's a stunning shade for highlighting on a range of different skin tones.

Packaging:

 

Swatches:

 
Do you own any of these products?  What do you think about them?  I'm currently obsessed with the Becca x Jaclyn Hill highlighter!

Thank you for stopping by!  I hope you have a lovely week!  :)

Julep Maven June Box

Hello, everyone!  Last month I saw an ad for Julep in my Facebook feed.  It said that anyone with a birthday in the month of June could receive the June box with the special June birthstone nail polish (Alexandrite) for free (just pay $2.99 for s+h).  I've never tried any products from Julep before, but the June birthstone nail polish looked absolutely stunning so I decided to give it a go.  I received three nail polishes in the shades Ming, Shelly, and Heidi, and an eyeliner in the shade Smoky Taupe.

Heidi (the June birthstone shade) is a beautiful duo chrome nail polish of deep purple and teal.  You can't really tell that it's a duo chrome on your nails like you can in the tube, but it's still a gorgeous shade of purple.  (Picture shows color after two coats.)

Shelly is a nice mint shade.  It did seem to crack very easily on me however.  (Picture shows color after two coats.)

Ming is a very sheer purple shade.  I personally am not a fan of sheer nail polishes.  I like mine vibrant and opaque.  So this shade is a bit of a dud for me.  I'd probably only ever wear this shade when I want to wear nail polish but it isn't necessarily appropriate to.  (Picture shows color after two coats.)

One thing that I really like about Shelly and Ming is that on the top of each tube is a sticker where you can apply a swatch of the nail polish so you can see which polish is which in a drawer or box.  I just used a cotton swab to apply a swatch on each one.

I love this eyeliner.  It glides on smooth and it a beautiful taupe shade.  I don't have a shade like this in my collection, so I'm sure I'll be getting a lot of use out of this.

I'm not sure if I'll stay subscribed to this.  I'm really only excited about half of the products I received (the Heidi polish and the eyeliner).  The shade Shelly is nice, but I have similar shades that I like more.  I know I won't use the shade Ming.  This monthly subscription service is $24.99 per month.  For only liking half of what I got, I don't think I want to spend that much money each month for hit or miss products.

Have you tried any products from Julep?  What are your thoughts on them?  Thanks for stopping by!

Too Faced Country Nashville Nudes Palette Review + Swatches

Hello, everyone!  As you may have seen from my birthday beauty haul a few weeks back, I was given a gift card to Ulta and I finally picked up this Too Faced palette.  The shadows in this palette are stunning.  The only shade that I'm a bit disappointed about is the shade Y'all.  It's a beautiful color, but the texture is what kills it for me.  It is sooo chunky!  All of the other shades in this palette are smooth except for this one.  Which is a bummer because this was the shade that drew me to this palette.

Packaging:

 Swatches:

Overview

Cowboy Take Me Away

Y'all

Dolly

Famous In A Small Town

Paper Roses

Rhinestone

All American Girl

Nashville

Bluebird

Top Row "Day" Trio

Second Row "Classic" Trio

Third Row "Fashion" Trio

The colors that I'm most excited about are Famous in a Small Town, Paper Roses, Rhinestone, All American Girl, and Nashville.  What do you think about this palette?  What are your favorite shades?

Thanks for stopping by!