Sephora Haul

I don't normally do hauls but I went and picked up a bunch of stuff I'd never tried before, so I figured it would only be appropriate to let you guys know what I got! (Pardon the awful picture, I am by no means a photographer)

2 of them were things I'd had already and loved, being the Stila Stay All Day liquid liner in Intense Black, and a bottle of the Peter Thomas Roth AHA/BHA Clearing Gel that's not in the picture.
The liquid liner by Stila is by far my favorite I've ever used, it glides on really easy and the Stay All Day part is no joke. It takes an intense amount of makeup remover to get it to even budge. For some people that could be irritating, but for me, I'm super happy if I don't have to worry if my eyeliner is smudging/cracking/flaking/moving. The other thing that I love: typically eyeliner pens dry out really fast; I'd used the MAC Penultimate liner and it used to dry out in a matter off 3 or 4 months. My Stila pen usually lasts 7 or 8, and that's with daily use!
The Peter Thomas Roth clearing gel is a staple in my skincare routine; I was devastated when I ran out and I ran straight to Sephora to grab a new bottle. It's the only thing that keeps my skin clear...I've tried just about everything and this is the only one that leaves me smooth, oil-free, and feeling fresh, not dry.
NOW:
On to the products I'd never tried before...-drumroll-
I got my little birthday gift because my birthday is in October so they were giving out the "Libra" box, so it came with two Make Up For Ever products, one of their mascaras, and one of their lipsticks. I'm super excited to try these; I call myself a product junkie...I like to try everything I can get my hands on, but especially mascaras because I'm always concerned that my eyes will get irritated, so I try them like crazy trying to find my favorite. It's currently the Smashbox Full Exposure mascara, but we'll see how this one goes!
The lipstick I'm excited about because I'm always looking for something to add hydration and a pop of color...I've found that I really like Kat Von D's lipsticks, and I'm a big fan of just about anything from Bite Cosmetics. I'll let you all know how I like the Make Up For Ever one!
I picked up the Tarred/Feathered Lip Balm duo from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (which I will abbreviate OCC from now on) because I love to play with my natural lip color, but I would rather do it with something more natural (they're vegan!) and I'm so tired of nudes! I've never seen anything like this one before, so expect a review when I try it out!
I also picked up the Lip Tar in the shade Black Metal Dahlia. I got the idea for this one from Michelle Phan on youtube; I loved her grunge makeup look that she posted...especially the dark lip. I LOVE a dark, vampy lip for fall and winter. I think it makes your skin look bright and smooth, and it really gets me ready for nights out with crunchy leaves, (faux) leather jackets and boots, and cozy sweaters.
She used the shade Black Dahlia in her video, but when I got to Sephora they were sold out of that one, so I picked up their new formulation with a bit of metallic shine, which I'm okay with because I love a touch of glitter! I'm probably going to group a review of that one in with the review of the Tarred and Feathered duo.
Expect that one some time either this week or early next week! Until then, beauties, stay fabulous!

First Impression: Korres Lip Butter

Don't laugh at me, I added another lip product to my collection. I know, I have a problem.
Let me just give you some back story on this one: I had a makeup trial for a mother-of-the-bride this morning. I realized last night that I was out of disposable mascara wands. Every good makeup artist knows: DON'T DOUBLE DIP YOUR MASCARA. You can give someone conjunctivitis and that would be awful...so moral of the story is always carry disposable mascara wands.
Anyway, I had to run to Sephora late last night because the beauty supply store near me was closed. I know, great idea, Taylor, realize you need your disposables at 7:30 pm. But my mall was open until 9, so I jumped in the car and ran over there to grab the last package of disposables they had.
But me being me...you can't leave Sephora with just one thing! Especially when the Korres island is right in the middle of the store! Next to the brushes where my disposables were! So of course I went over.
I've been looking at the lip butters for quite some time now, but I told myself I would finish my collection before I bought one. I think we all knew that wouldn't happen. So I grabbed Guava, which is just the clear color. 

I bought it for the sake of figuring out if I liked the texture, so I didn't want to grab a color that I could potentially become partial to but dislike the texture. It says "ideal for chapped lips" on the packaging though, so let's see how it goes!

So my actual first impression?
I put it on my lips about 5 minutes ago for the first time. Personally I'm not a huge fan of the packaging, it's a little chunky for my taste. I feel like there's way more plastic than there is product. However, it's very buttery. Not sticky at all, which is nice. I adore my A Great Kisser from Soap and Glory, but I tend to feel super sticky. It's smooth and luxurious, definitely, and the scent is gorgeous. It's almost peachy, but a little bit more melon-y...all in all, I like it! I'll do an update soon when I determine how I feel about it overnight.

Until next time, beauties!

Fall Trend 2014

I know, I know, it's only August right now. BUT it's important to look to the future! I know we're all being told to live in the now, and while I agree with that...I believe we should be living with our brains focused on upcoming beauty trends!
Wait...maybe I'm giving bad advice...
The colder weather is coming, which means we'll be drawing inspiration from our surroundings. Reds, golds, and browns are always popular in the fall months, and that is no different for this year!
I'm always a big fan of metallics moving into the colder months; it reminds me of the beauty of the snow and the magic that is Halloween and Thanksgiving. Hence why so many runways were seen using metallics, from Rodarte to Armani to Issey Miyake.
This trend can be done many different ways- my personal favorite is a subtle pop of metal in the inner corners of the eyes to brighten them up. Try doing this with a shimmery gold or silver, like Stila's Magnificent Metals Foil Finish eyeshadows in Metallic Dusty Rose or Comex Platinum.
Metallic Dusty Rose is a pinkish (just like it sounds, a muted rose color) and Comex Platinum is a beautiful opalescent white.

Dusty Rose is on top and Comex Platinum is on bottom. These photos were from Google (don't wanna take credit for what isn't mine)
Pop these on the inner corner of your eyes or just beneath the lower lash line and they'll pop beautifully! Pink and opalescent colors are flattering on just about everybody.
Also, I constantly recommend Stila products because I absolutely adore their quality. If you have never tried their Kitten products (their signature color), I promise you, try it once and it will forever change your life.
Happy glittering, beauties!

IMATS New York Haul!

This year I had the privilege to go to IMATS New York. Since I'm in school as an esthetician and I'm now a certified makeup artist, I knew it would be imperative in continuing my education to go to a huge trade show like IMATS to get the experience...okay who am I kidding? I was just so excited to go and grab some new makeup!

Here's the overview of what I got- I haven't used all of it yet but I can give you the general overview.
The first thing I picked up was my new Dinar airbrush machine- I'm addicted to airbrush after learning how to do it in school. It's so fun, easy and natural looking that I knew I had to add one to my kit. Here's a closeup of my beauty...

I wanted it in black or the opalescent white that they had, but being that I went on Sunday rather than Friday or Saturday, they were sold out of most of the colors, so I went with the hot pink! My other options were lime green and highlighter yellow and those were so not me.
So I tried this baby out for the first time yesterday- I was trained on a machine that my teacher manufactures so it felt a little bit different. The only difference, to be honest, was the compressor. There wasn't a dial to control air flow, it was all one strength so I didn't have to turn a knob like I do on the Dinair, but I'm totally fine with it. I got used to it really fast. I airbrushed my mom before she left for work and she loved it, and when she came home it was still on looking even and fabulous. Needless to say, I love it!

The next thing I bought was the concealer palette from Make Up For Ever. I didn't have a concealer palette in my makeup artist kit yet, so I grabbed the one that I'd heard the most about, and that had the most universally flattering colors. It has a purple concealer that is especially great at concealing yellowness in the skin, but it also has 4 very neutral shades that could work on almost any skin tone. It might be a little light for darker skin tones, but my next investment is a bigger concealer palette with more colors. You'd be surprised how hard it is to find one...the only one I've found is by BH Cosmetics.
The palette I got is for "Asian skintones" according to the Make Up For Ever website, but I have very pale skin with a reddish undertone, while my neck is a little yellowish, so if I want to correct I would need a more yellow concealer. I think it could work on just about anyone, I really, really dislike that that's how they describe the colors.

 

My next purchase was of course an IMATS hoodie because I know I'm going to wear it everywhere. If there's one thing I can't live without, it's a good hoodie.

And then my favorite and final purchase of the day: the Naked Cosmetics pigments. Goodness gracious, I did not expect to absolutely fall in love with a brand or a product the way I did with Naked. They explained to me that they're some of the most pure pigments imaginable, the color has no additives to dull the color or shine or the payoff of the shade. I bought two sets (the pigments come in stacks, as you can see in the top picture) and you can only buy them that way- no single color purchases. At least not at IMATS.
What I found coolest about all of these pigments was they offered multiple mixing mediums and bases. They offered a clear nail polish so you could turn your pigment into a polish, a base to turn it into a shadow, and then they showed me using them wet with just some water to make a beautiful cream shadow or liner.
The pictures I'm posting of the colors I bought are off the Naked Cosmetics website, I'm not very good at giving the colors the justice they deserve like the website did.
I picked up the Desert Sunset collection:

And the Twilight collection:

Clearly I bought a warm and a cool. Both are so highly pigmented and stunning- I had the girl at the counter test all of the colors on my hand and I so wish  that I had kept swatches to show all of you. Maybe I'll do a separate review some time in the near future!
If I had to pick a favorite color it's in the Twilight collection- see that third color in the top row? Looks unsuspecting, right? It's PINK when you put it on. It's a muted grey with a PINK GLITTER. Stunning. Just so stunning.
I would love to buy some more of these, but they run $60 a collection. They were running an amazing deal at the show, though, 2 collections and the base were $60. We'll see, I'm probably going to end up ordering more because I love them so much.


I hope you enjoyed my haul, guys! If you went to IMATS, let me know what you picked up! Until next time, beauties.

Update: Where have I been?!

Hey there beauties!
So as always here I am to apologize for going MIA for a while again. I'm in school for esthetics and actually just got my certification as a makeup artist, so I'm really working towards the dream I've always had.
I go to school full time, so it's 5 days a week, and on top of that I'm still working at LUSH 4 days a week. I've been freelancing with makeup on occasion; I just worked on set for my friend's student film and then had a mother-daughter makeup gig for the daughter's bat mitzvah.
Needless to say it's been a very busy time for me.

So here's the deal:
I want to get back into blogging. Badly. I can't really make a schedule, however I can promise one post a week rather than two like I was doing before. Also, I'm going to be doing a lot more reviewing. I wasn't getting much feedback on my series posts that I was doing (such as ingredient spotlight), so I'm going to stick with what I really love to do, being trying new product! I just went to IMATS NY on Sunday so I'm going to be doing a little haul on that later in the week.

For those of you that have stuck with me this whole time, I appreciate your patience and I'm so, so glad to be back!

Best Eyeshadows for Your Eye Color

We all want to accentuate one of the most captivating features of the face: the eyes! There are plenty of ways to do it, like playing up the shape of the eyes with your liner, the placement of your eyeliner...the list goes on. But one thing that will absolutely make your eyes pop is wearing colors that brighten them up! In turn, this will brighten up the whole face and make you look more awake.

If you have blue eyes:
Try colors that have an orangey base, like terracotta colored shadows and neutral browns. The warmer the color, the brighter your eyes will look because blue is naturally a cool color. You can use anything in the champagne, gold, bronze and copper range!

 

If you have brown eyes:

Tons of colors are universally flattering on brown eyes. Just like brown shadows look lovely on blue eyes, try a blue shadow on brown eyes! The contrast will make your natural color shine through. Eggplant will also bring out any natural greens you may have, and golds and coppers will warm up the eyes and the face. Brown-eyed girls and guys have plenty of options when it comes to flattering colors!

If you have grey eyes:
Blue-greys and dark browns are your friend, grey-eyed beauties! The coolness of your eye will be accentuated with more cool tones. Although grey eyes aren't typically as celebrated as other eye colors, I know I would love to have some grey eyes! They're beautifully mysterious, so play it up with dark colors and smokey eyes!

 

If you have green eyes:

This is my area of expertise. I personally have green eyes, and I've worked really hard to find what works for me. Purples make the eyes look insanely bright, and the brighter the purple the better. My favorite shadow for green eyes is Stars and Rockets by MAC. Other colors that make the eyes pop are pinks, olive greens, and neutral browns. The cooler colors tend to work a bit better with green eyes, so try some of those!

If you have hazel eyes:

Colors that remind you of fall will do the best at accentuating your hazel eyes. Browns, coppers and neturals (think Naked Palette from Urban Decay!) will make the eyes look bright and stunning. Warm browns and eggplant colors will also make your eyes look warmer. Olive greens can work too, however it is typically pretty similar to the color of the eye which can look a little awkward. Try out those browns, though, you'll look fabulous!

 

Birthday Haul!

Hi beauties! It was my birthday on Monday the 21st, and what was on most of my list was makeup and skincare (of course), so I thought I would share some of the stuff I got with you. I'm going to be reviewing these products as I use them, so stay tuned for that too!

1) Urban Decay Vice 2

I'm so excited to try this one out, I have the first Vice palette and I really like it. Some of the colors are a little chalky in the first and I didn't swatch the second yet, so we'll see how it goes. I love Urban Decay, 99.9% of the time the quality of their products is amazing.

2) Anastasia Catwalk Palette

I've never tried Anastasia's products before, but I fell in love with that deep maroon/purple second from the left in the top row and that's what ultimately made me ask for this...little did I know I'd love all the colors! I just tried this palette today and loved the quality of the shadows and how they wear throughout the day. I should have taken a picture to show you guys, but I was in a rush out the door on the way to work and then totally forgot :/

3) Stila All Over Shimmer Liquid Luminizer highlighter

I've been in dire need of a good highlighter- I was considering buying Feeling Younger from LUSH but for some reason decided against it, however I'm kind of glad I did. (Sorry, LUSH, I still love you!) I fell in love with the pink shimmer of the luminizer, and I'm really excited to try it out under my brows, on my cheekbones, and on my cupid's bow!

4) Stila Color Balm Lipstick in Bridgitte

I'm always looking for new lip balms, and I was dying for something in a nice wine color for fall. This one looks perfect, and I'm hoping to really get the full effect of a lipstick with the moisturizing effects of a balm! Fingers crossed

5) Urban Decay Glide On Lip Pencil in Ozone

This thing is awesome. I haven't tried it with lipstick or any color yet for that matter, but it claims to work in the same way as a lip pencil/liner. But it's clear. That's right, when you apply it you can't see it. Crazy, right? I'm hoping it doesn't mess with the color of my lipsticks, that's the ultimate goal. Usually you can see the outline of my lip liner because I try to be really precise with my lipsticks, so I don't always go to the edge of my lip liner with my lipstick in the hopes that nothing will feather. Again, fingers crossed!

6) Lorac 3D Liquid Lustre

I'd swatched this about a year ago at Sephora and fell in love but never found a practical use for it...so I figured I would ask for it for my birthday! I can't wait to put this over my eyeshadows around the holidays, glitter always makes me feel festive! 

As far as beauty products go, that's what I got for my birthday this year! I'm hoping to put up some reviews of these products soon, let me know if you've tried any of them and how you feel about them! Until next time, beauties!

Your Best Lips for Fall

Hi beauties! How many of you get chapped lips the second any weather below 75 hits? I know I do. So here's my favorite routine to get stunning lips for fall, using the most popular fall color this year: oxblood!

Step 1:
Exfoliate your lips. This is going to help soften your lips and get rid of any of the excess dead skin that builds up (I know, it sounds gross) which will eventually lead to chapping. The excess of dead skin on the lips is what causes that flaky look, and no one wants that with lipstick on, am I right?
I use LUSH's lip scrubs, my personal favorite is Mint Julips which has jojoba oil and sugar to moisturize and exfoliate, and it's chocolate-mint flavored! Who doesn't love thin mints on their lips? Oh and it's edible, so when you're done, instead of wiping, just lick it off! It tastes like candy.

If you're not into that one, plenty of brands make lip scrubs! My first was from Sarah Happ called "The Lip Scrub" and comes in flavors such as vanilla bean and brown sugar. Mmm. This one isn't edible though, so don't go licking this one off.

One more lip scrub I'd recommend is the Fresh Sugar Lip Polish. It's a little bit pricey, but this one has shea butter in it, which is a super nourishing butter for the lips that will keep them hydrated.

Step 2:

Condition, condition, condition. This is a pretty easy step, just take your favorite lip balm and slather it on. If you can, leave it on over night. If you're doing all of this in the morning before you put lipstick on, do it at the beginning of your makeup routine before you do anything else, that way the lip balm has a chance to absorb completely.

You all know my current favorite that I raved about in a review: Soap and Glory A Great Kisser lip balm that you can now get in 3 flavors: vanilla bean, juicy peach, and peppermint! I have all 3, they're amazing.

If you're not into that one, I also suggest Hurraw! Balm, which is a raw, vegan-friendly brand that makes amazing smelling lip balms. My current favorite is their chai lip balm for fall! They have ridiculous amounts of flavors, so get a bunch at a time. When I ordered, they even included an adorable little note on my receipt.

Step 3:

Blot off excess balm. If you're putting lip color on, leaving any excess balm is going to cause slippage all over your face, and no one wants that! Take a piece of toilet paper or a tissue and just blot off any moisture that's still on your lips. Don't wipe, that will wipe away all those nutrients, just pat your lips with the tissue until they don't feel slippery anymore.

Step 4:

Lip liner! To get my favorite oxblood look, I line my lips with Sephora Collection Nano Liner in Pleasant Plum. I fill in my lips completely, but you can just line them if you would rather do that. Lip liner keeps your lipstick from smudging all over your face and feathering, which is a total plus if you don't want to have to touch up your lipstick during the day.

Step 5:

Lipstick! Use your favorite oxblood shade, and you're all done!

Let me know how this process works out for you, beauties! Until next time, stay fabulous!

Get to Know Me: Beauty Blogger Tag!

Hi beauties! I decided to throw a tag into the mix amongst all of the reviews I've been doing; I'm a little stuck with my cruelty-free beauty series I had going on because I'm not getting much feedback on any of my posts so I don't know if I should continue it or not. If any of you would like to vote either way, that would be awesome and please do so in the comments section of this post! Also, if there are other topics you'd like for me to write about, don't hesitate to ask. I would love to cater to all of my readers, and I want to get to know all of you!

I got this tag from Citra's beauty blog which is absolutely stunning and you should all definitely check it out. So here's a little bit about me!

1. Is your hair natural curly or straight?

So curly. Obnoxiously curly.

2. Do you dye it yourself or go to a salon?

I used to go to the salon to have it dyed chemically, but I switched to henna and now my mom and I do it together because it's definitely a 2 person job.

3. Do you wear the same style everyday, or do you change it?

I change it up; I work at LUSH so my dress code is typically black and white with accessories in any color if I want...but I tend to forget how to wear things that aren't black and white. Summertime I'm told I look like a hippie, wintertime I wear (faux-)leather boots with spikes and beanies. It all depends.

4. Do you do your own mani/pedi or go to a salon?

I get major anxiety when my nails chip and I have to take it all off no matter what so I tend to avoid having my nails done...I wash my hands a ton on a daily basis so they'd chip in like 15 minutes. I'll usually just do it myself so I can fill the color back in as they chip.

5. How often do you change your nail polish?

Like once every two weeks.

6. Do you polish your toes in the winter or just in the summer?

Mostly summer.

7. How long does it take for you to put on your makeup?

On a good day, between 15-20 minutes. On a bad day where my cat eye won't even out or I get glitter on my face around 35. -sigh- Those days aren't fun.

8. What do you do first? Face or eyes?

Face! 

9. Do you collect makeup or just buy what you need when you need it?

I don't ever really neeeeed any, it's just a matter of "OH MY GOUHSGOUHFIHBSG I DON'T HAVE GLITTER IN THIS COLOR YET"

10. How often do you wear false eyelashes?

Pretty much never, I think I only ever have once. My eyes are super sensitive, they don't really like them much.

11. Do you do a full face of makeup everyday?

Nope, I usually just do a BB cream with SPF. :)

12. Do you wear makeup when your home alone, or with family?

When I'm alone pretty much never, when I'm with family it's usually just mascara unless we're going out somewhere together.

13. Will you leave the house without makeup?

I do pretty frequently lately, actually. I'll come home from work and take it off but then decide to go out later, and I try to give my skin a break so I'll just leave it bare.

14. How many high-end products do you have?

I used to have more MAC than anyone I knew, but with them being owned by Estee Lauder who has a pretty icky policy on animal testing, I gave it all to my sister because ethically I was getting upset using it. So right now my collection is pretty small, I'm working my way back up with Tarte and Stila!

15. Do you plan your OOTD every night or decide when you are getting dressed?

LOL I don't even remember the last time I planned an outfit the night before! I always pick my outfits while I'm getting dressed.

16. How often do you change your handbag?

Probably like once a season, maybe twice if I'm feeling adventurous.

17. What time do you wake up and go to sleep?

I've been waking up at around 9ish lately, not later than that, and I usually fall asleep around midnight. Maybe a little later if there's something good on tv. 

18. How often or when do you workout?

I try pretty hard but I lose my motivation so I try to around 3 times a week.

19. Left handed or right handed?

Right!

20. How tall are you?

5'6" approximately. Haven't measured myself in a while!

21. Do you speak any foreign language?

I'm almost fluent in Spanish :)

22. How many pets do you have?

Two if you count the one that's my sisters, we share a dog and she has a rabbit.

23. How often are you on blogger?

Oh goodness at least an hour a day.

24. Do you read comments posted on blogs?

If I got any on mine I would :(

25. Do you keep a list of products to try as you see other posts?

I have a Stickie note on my computer!

26. How did you come up with your Blog name?

I love glitter and I love feeling fabulous! I used to be glitterazziandkisses which was half inspired by Ingrid on youtube, and half inspired by a Jeffree Star song that has the phrase "glitter and kisses" in it. He's my go-to for makeup inspiration. 

27. What kind of camera do you use for your photographs?

...Samsung Galaxy S3 ohhhh yeah. I'm saving up for a real camera. Maybe Christmas!

28. How often do you clean your house?

My room gets cleaned daily, and so does my corner of the bathroom!

29. What’s your favorite color?

Pink or black...or mint...or silver as long as there's glitter...

30. Do you swear?

If I need to. It usually just slips.

31. What are you doing with the rest of your day?

It's kind of late right now, 11:34 where I am, so I'm probably going to catch up on my youtube videos that are piling up in my subscriptions page, then going to bed!

I tag all of you to do this along with me, then give me a link in my comments so I can check out all of your answers! I'd love to know what you all have to say!

Stila Magnificent Metals Foil Finish Eyeshadow Review

Hi beauties, I have another review for you today! There's a lot of controversy over the price and quality of the Stila Magnificent Metals Foil Finish shadows, and I figured I would try it out to form my own opinion.
I have a very mixed opinion about these. I have two shades: Metallic Lavender and Metallic Dusty Rose. I have both swatched below, with and without the primer they tell you to use them with...

The yellow star is what the colors look like when mixed with the primer. The swatches without the star are the ones that were just applied with my finger and nothing else.
They recommend that you don't use brushes with these because they are a really strange consistency; they're like a crunchy cream shadow, if that makes sense. It doesn't feel dry, it doesn't feel wet, it doesn't feel smooth but it also doesn't feel like you're putting chunky glitter on...I have to say you have to feel them for yourself to decide what you think it feels like.

So here's how I feel about Metallic Lavender:
I absolutely adore this shade. I have to say, it isn't really a lavender, it's more of a gunmetal grey with some purple undertones. In the packaging it looks much more purple than it does when you put it on.
You can see from the first swatch without the primer it looks like a shiny, fabulous grey that would be awesome for wearing out. I wore it to work and it got quite a few compliments because it's really, really sparkly. I put my usual Sephora brand primer underneath and just applied it with my ring finger (PAT, do not rub) and that's how it came out. I was so happy!
Then when you add the primer, you get a gorgeous opaque silver/gunmetal with more of a shimmer than a sparkle. I haven't worn this out yet, but I do love how it looks on my hand!

Here's how I feel about Metallic Dusty Rose:
No.
I actually really hate this one. The shade itself is stunning; it's a beautiful champagne pink with gold shimmer/sparkle. It reminds me of a MAC eyeshadow I had a few years ago and I can't for the life of me remember the color, but it was a part of their Halloween collection and they had gorgeous baked eyeshadow duos. *If anyone remembers the name of this collection please please please let me know!* It was my favorite eyeshadow in the world and it went with absolutely everything, it was so naturally colored but the shimmer made my eyes pop...I could go on for days about how much I adored that eyeshadow.
Anyway, this one is SUPER chunky. Like depressingly, foil falling in my eyes chunky. With and without the primer. So all in all, I'm incredibly disappointed. I don't know if maybe I got a bad one or something, but this color is gorgeous, just the quality and opacity of the shadow itself was not so great for me. There's such a significant difference between the look and feel in the two shades that I bought, and this one reminds me of your cheap first eyeshadow that came in some cheesy kit you got when you were 9. It flakes, it smudges...-sigh- I'm so sad.

So I'm incredibly torn about these, I may buy just one more to solidify my opinion. We'll see. I don't really want to spend another $30 on an eyeshadow but...for the sake of beauty! And you!

Let me know about your experiences with these, I would love to know how they've been working out for the rest of you!
Thanks for reading guys!

Cruelty Free Beauty (Stila edition)

Segment number two in our search for beauty without bunnies! Today's focus is Stila Cosmetics.

Stila is a cosmetics company that prides themselves on high quality products, and I can vouch for them when I say they do a pretty awesome job of making products that can be used for special occasions, every day...the works.
You can get Stila pretty accessibly, too, I know personally I can get it at the Ulta that's around 7 minutes from my house. However if you can't get to an Ulta or Sephora, Stila has a great policy: free shipping and handling for their website on orders over $50! (and I guarantee with the products they have, you're going to want to order well over $50)
So let's talk about some of their products that will help you achieve incredible amounts of fabulousness without the disappointment of knowing it was smeared on one of our furry friends first...
They have just about any makeup product you could ask for, from skincare (such as foundations and concealers) to waterproof mascaras and eyeliners, to shimmering and matte eyeshadows.
Their eyeshadows from my experiences are beautiful and highly pigmented, and range from crazy brights to neutrals. No matter what you're looking for, they're going to have it for your eyes. They even have a primer called the Prime Pot, very similar to MAC's Paint Pot! (just a bit stickier; I've found it works better for me than the Paint Pots do).
And now for the face: Stila offers BB and CC creams, as well as foundations, primers, concealers, you name it.
They even have lip and cheek tints in a handy pen-like package! Talk about convenient, right?

I'm going to pick up one of their "Magnificent Metals foil finish" eyeshadows tomorrow- I'll be doing a review of that some time in the very near future! Stay tuned for more cruelty-free beauty brands, as I'll be posting hopefully at least once a week. :) stay beautiful, everyone!