Nyx Haute Model palette swatches

I saw this palette from Nyx in a video on Youtube and really liked it. There were 3 others on the display I saw and this was my favorite out of those. Nyx's website has more, though. The best part is that they are only $11 for 10 eyeshadows.

MAC Fall Colour swatches

I picked up a few things from MAC's Fall Colour.

Loreal Project Runway swatches

I found the Loreal/Project Runway "Colors Take Flight" collection at Walgreens this week. I'm pretty sure that it's available at other places too, but I've only seen it so far at Walgreens. That's a good place to get it this week anyway because they were buy 1 get 1 half off.

Something to note is that they were on two separate displays. The Watchful Owl and Audacious Amazon products were on one and the Sultry Raven and Charming Cockatoo were on another. I went to two different stores before I realized this.

Watchful Owl's Gaze

Urban Decay Mariposa palette swatches

The Mariposa palette from Urban Decay is the Sephora exclusive holiday palette. It has 10 eyeshadows and comes with a mini eyeshadow brush. I'm glad it comes with the brush. I'm tired of getting zero liners and mini primer potions.

Too Faced Sweet Dreams palette swatches

The Too Faced Sweet Dreams palette is a Sephora exclusive from their holiday collection. It's got 15 eyeshadows, 2 blushes, a bronzer and a highlighter. It also comes with a regular shadow insurance.

September Birchbox

I meant to cancel my Birchbox subscription last month, but I forgot... so I got September's box today.

MAC Posh Paradise swatches

I got a few things from MAC's Posh Paradise collection. These are my first paint pots.

The Balm swatches

I've always wanted to try The Balm, but have never had the chance so when I heard The Balm was available at TJ Maxx I took a trip out there to get some. Out of the three TJ Maxx stores I went to, only one had a good amount of makeup. They all had a lot of the Time Balm skincare. I went a little crazy and got the stuff they had because they were all discounted by about half the regular price.

Tinted Moisturizer in light/medium

Sleek swatches

I've wanted to try Sleek for a while, but shipping from their website to the US is really expensive. Finally, I decided to check out ebay and found a seller that had tons of stuff with much cheaper shipping. I only got a few things to try.

Nyx Slide On eye pencil swatches

Ulta finally had the Nyx Slide On eye pencils. They have a huge variety of colors and seem pretty similar to the Urban Decay 24/7 liners but at half the cost. I got 3 because I wanted to try them.

Azure, Pink Suede, Golden Olive (top to bottom)

Urban Decay Book of Shadows IV swatches

I had not planned to get the new Book of Shadows from Urban Decay. It is big and bulky. But when I saw it sitting there at Ulta, I picked it up anyway. My favorites are Baked, Lost, Bender and Hijack.

 I got a sample of the Afterglow Cheek Tint, too.

Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers Stencil Kit swatches

Surprisingly, I found these Wet n Wild Fantasy Maker stencil kits at Ulta. They've never had Wet n Wild before, but I saw these and an endcap of regular Wet n Wild products, so I guess they are carrying it now. Anyway, there were several of these- maybe four or five- but they were $5.99 each so I only got two.

They are a creamy base with a lot of glitter. Some were very chunky and others were smoother. I haven't tried them on my eyes yet to see if they crease. The liner is the same black Color Icon liner that is in every Wet n Wild kit that has a liner, so I didn't swatch it this time.

Lime Crime Lip Noir swatches

I ordered the three lipsticks in Lime Crime's new mini-collection, Lip Noir. While I was ordering, I also picked up the magic dust in Nymph. Shipping this time was really fast... I placed the order Wed night and got it Tues.

Out of the three, I think Chinchilla is the best. It went on really well. Styletto is the worst for me out of the three. I had such a hard time trying to make it look even and opaque- even my picture isn't that great.  So I definitely recommend Chinchilla if you want to get one, then Glamour 101 (it's pretty but not as unique) if you want more. Unless you're just dying for Styletto (once permanent, now LE), I might opt for a cheaper black.

 New shipping box since the last time I ordered.

Books of August 2011

I didn't get a lot of reading done this month. I was actually in the process of closing the used bookstore that I owned so I didn't have that much time. But it's over now, so I can get back into it in September.

Clean by Amy Reed - Sometimes I like to read books about the underbelly of teen life. This book followed five kids through a rehab program. My own teen years were far from this, so I have no idea if it is accurate... but I do think it's interesting. Personally, I preferred her other book, Beautiful, but this one was interesting as well. 3 out of 5

The Lying Game by Sara Shepard - Review Here 4 out of 5

Never Have I Ever by Sara Shepard - The plot thickens in the second volume of The Lying Game. Emma is convinced she knows who killed Sutton and now she had to try to save herself. I thought this book was better than the first one. The mystery gets deeper and it ends on an interesting cliffhanger. If you liked the other one, this one will be no different. 4 out of 5

Wake Unto Me by Lisa Cach - I'm not quite sure how I feel about this book. There were parts that I thought were really good, but it got strange in parts. I guess that's to be expected when you have a love story where the guy is from a different time. I kind of figured out how the love story would play out in the end, though. I also thought the end was strange and Caitlyn's reaction to the headmistresses manipulations was very lackluster. I think this book could be one people like or dislike. I did enjoy it overall. 3.5 out of 5

The Witches of Santa Anna 1-7 by Lauren Barnholdt - This was a bind up of 7 very short ebooks. It's a very common plot so far (the story isn't over and there are at least 13 books so far) with the new girl in school falling for the popular guy that is the object of the mean girl's obsession. In this case, the mean girl is a witch who wants to destroy the new girl. The story got interesting once you get past the need for some editing and the stilted beginning. 3.5 out of 5


I Was a Teenage Fairy by Francesca Lia Block - This is one of my favorite books and I read it every so often when I want a urban fairy tale. 5 out of 5