Tartelette 2 In Bloom Palette|Review & Swatches

Tarte just came out with a brand new Tartelette palette called the Tartelette 2 In Bloom for their Spring 2016 collection and it is beautiful! It hit the shelves online at Ulta this past Sunday, and as soon as it went live I placed my order. I did not buy the original Tartelette palette because it is a more cool toned palette and has a lot of purple shades, which is kind of out of my comfort zone. As soon as I got the email that Tarte had made the Tartelette 2 In Bloom palette, and once I saw pictures of it, I knew I had to have it. I posted a review video on the Tartelette 2 In Bloom palette on my YouTube Channel in case you’d like to check that out!

The Tartelette 2 In Bloom palette retails for $45.00 and is available only on Ulta.com, and will be available in stores on November 29. It has twelve shades just like the original Tartelette palette, but instead of all matte shadows, it has three shimmer shades with nine mattes. The original Tartelette palette was cool in tone, and the new Tarelette 2 In Bloom palette is more warm toned.

The packaging is absolutely adorable! I love the floral design with the gold print. It looks like it would be in a metal or tin container, but it is packaged in a very nice quality plastic, making it perfect for travel. When you open the palette, there’s a giant mirror that takes up an entire half of the palette, again making it perfect for traveling and doing your makeup on the go. 

Charmer, Jetsetter, Rocker, Smokeshow

Flower Child, Smarty Pants, Firecracker, Activist

Funny Girl, Sweetheart, Rebel, Leader

The twelve shades in the palette are not only stunning to look at, but the quality, texture, and pigmentation are top notch. The only shade that seems to be formulated differently, and that has a different texture, is the shade Funny Girl. Funny girl is still very pretty and pigmented, it just isn’t as soft and smooth as the other shades. The matte shades in the palette are very creamy, and blend really easily. They are a bit powdery when you dip your brush in them, similar to the Lorac Pro eyeshadows, but as long as you tap your brush before applying them to your eyes, you won’t have any fallout. The shimmer shadows in the shades Rocker and Firecracker are very silky and metallic.

I haven’t been very impressed with many palettes lately, but I am really impressed with the Tartelette 2 In Bloom. It is a beautiful eyeshadow palette that will be appropriate to wear all year round, and can create an endless amount of looks from soft and natural, to smokey and sultry. If you are looking for a palette to ask for for Christmas this year, I highly recommend asking for the Tartelette 2 In Bloom. You will not be disappointed!

xoxo,

Casey

Favorite Fall Lipsticks 2015

Fall is one of my favorite seasons! The weather gets cooler, the clothes get cuter, my hair looks great all day, my makeup stays on, and the warmer/darker colors come out to play. Here in Texas, the weather is just now starting to cool down, making it finally feel like Fall is here. I figured since the air is getting a little crisper, I would go ahead and share with you my Top Fall Lipsticks for this year. I posted a video last year with my 2014 picks, so I will link that HERE in case you are interested in checking that out. I still have a really enjoy all of last years picks. I have a whole new round of shades this year, so if you are interested in seeing those in action, you can check out this years video HERE!

Last Fall I was really into dark, vampy lip shades. Don’t get me wrong, I still love a dark eggplant or oxblood lip, but as I was getting my lipsticks together, I noticed that I’m definitely gravitating more towards the dark browns, nudes, and grungy lip shades this season. I have a good mix of both high-end and drugstore lip options, so there’s definitely something in here for everyone depending on color and budget.

Maybelline Clay Crush, ColourPop Beeper, MAC Twig, MAC Spirit, Kat Von D Lolita, Charlotte Tilbury Very Victoria

I’m going to start with the nudes first. First up is a lipstick from the drugstore and it is the Maybelline Matte Lipstick in Clay Crush. This is a really soft and creamy, warm nude shade that I think would look beautiful for Thanksgiving. Second is a liquid lipstick by Colourpop and it is in the shade Beeper. Beeper is a matte, taupey-brown shade that is definitely in that grungy, 90’s lipstick family. I got this lipstick because I really wanted Kat Von D’s Bow & Arrow, but that has been sold out for months! I was doing some research and looking for dupes when I saw swatches of Beeper. They are incredibly similar, so if you have been wanting to get Bow & Arrow, I really suggest checking out Beeper. The next two lipsticks are both by MAC and they are both Satin finishes. Twig is one of my favorite lipticks of all time. It's a gorgeous dark nude with a berry undertone. It is very universally flattering, so I really think it would look great on anyone. Next is the shade Spirit. Spirit is a dark nude that is very similar to Velvet Teddy. If you like Velvet Teddy, but want something about two shades darker, I would definitely go with Spirit. I have another liquid lipstick, and this one is a cult favorite that has been popular for some time now, and that is Kat Von D’s liquid lipstick in Lolita. Lolita reminds me a lot of Twig by MAC because it’s a dark nude with a berry, or reddish, hint to it. The last nude I have to share is the most expensive and luxury out of the bunch, and that is the Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Liptick in Very Victoria. Out of all the browns and nudes I have, this is more on the cool toned side and it’s not as opaque and pigmented as the rest, which I am perfectly ok with. I can definitely appreciate different finishes and formulas, and this one is really great. 

Milani Black Cherry, NYX Transylvania, Bite Beauty Truffle

Moving right along are my darker shade picks of oxblood reds and eggplant purples. The first one I have is a drugstore lipstick by Milani called Black Cherry. Milani is one of my favorite lipstick brands from the drugstore, and my favorite drugstore line for dark colors. This shade is a dark oxblood red which is absolutely stunning and perfect for Fall. Next I have another drugstore pick, and it’s the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in the shade Transylvania. NYX is another great line from the drugstore, and the soft matte lip creams are awesome. They are a liquid lipstick, but they are much more comfortable to wear compared to most liquid lipsticks. It doesn’t last as long as the Kat Von D liquid lipsticks, but they have a huge shade range and are much more affordable. The last dark shade I have is one by Bite Beauty and it’s a Matte Cream Lip Crayon in the shade Truffle. It is a dark eggplant shade that is really similar to NYX’s Transylvania, but it is much more creamy and has a really nice sheen to it.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Vintage - Smashbox Vivid Violet

I decided to include two lip glosses because I think these are great Fall lip options as well. The first is the Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Gloss in Vintage. It’s a mauve, neutral pink shade, similar to the popular "Kylie Jenner" lip shade that is still very popular. This lip gloss is highly pigmented. It is not the kind of lip gloss that you add as a topper to add a hint of color and shine to your lipstick. This shade will cover up anything you put on your lips that is similar in shade or lighter. The second lip gloss is the Smashbox lip gloss in the shade Vivid Violet. This is not as pigmented as Vintage, so it’s the ideal lip gloss to add on top of your favorite dark, vampy lipstick to add lots of shine and just a hint of color. This is also really nice to wear on it’s own if you’re wanting a dark berry lip, but want something really glossy and a little bit sheer.

Swatches L to R: Maybelline Clay Crush, ColourPop Beeper, MAC Twig, MAC Spirit, Kat Von D Lolita, Charlotte Tilbury Very Victoria, Milani Black Cherry, NYX Transylvania, Bite Beauty Truffle, Anastasia Beverly Hills Vintage, Smashbox Vivid Violet

Those are my 2015 Top Fall Lipstick picks! I hope you guys enjoyed it, and be sure to let me know what your favorite Fall and Winter lipsticks are in the comments below.

xoxo,

Casey

KathleenLights “Where The Light Is” Eyeshadow Review|ColourPop Cosmetics

Hey ya’ll!! I recently made my first ColourPop purchase and decided to try out the “Where The Light Is” quad that KathleenLights helped to create. I’ve seen tons of YouTuber’s talk about ColourPop for a while now, but never personally tried anything. When I saw a few reviews and swatches of the “Where The Light Is” set, I decided that it was time I bite the bullet and try them out.

Top Shades: Glow & Cornelius - Bottom Shades: Blaze & KathleenLights

I have been loving cream eyeshadows lately, and these ColourPop shadows are right up my alley. They are very affordable ($5.00 each) and are comparable to the Loreal Infallible Cream Shadows. They are a cream to powder formula and are very pigmented. They are really soft and smooth, with a bit of a bounce to them, similar to the Bouncy Blushes from Maybelline.

Left to Right: Glow, Cornelius, Blaze, KathleenLights

The set retails for $20.00 and comes complete with four shades, two matte and two shimmer. The first matte shade is called Glow and is a creamy white shade, great as an all over lid color or brow bone highlight. Next is Cornelius which is a soft brown that is a perfect crease shade; it’s not too warm and it’s not too cool. The first shimmer shade is called Blaze and it’s my favorite shade in the quad. It’s a toasted bronze with lots of glitter and shimmer. Lastly is KathleenLights, which is a shimmery golden bronze. It’s an exact dupe for the shade “Unleashed” from the Lorac Unzipped Gold Palette, which happens to be my favorite shade in the palette. If you like the shade KathleenLights then you would really enjoy the Lorac Unzipped Gold Palette.

All four shades wear extremely well with zero fading or creasing. I wore them on top of the Urban Decay Primer Potion for a good 12 hours and they held up perfectly. If you are a fan of cream eyeshadows, and have not tried any of the ColourPop shadows, I really recommend them. Shipping is fast, they are affordable, and the quality and pigmentation are awesome. Next up on my list to try are the ColourPop Lippe Stix!


xoxo,
Casey

Review: Kat Von D Shade & Light Eye Palette

Hey ya’ll!!

Today’s post is an exciting one on the brand new Kat Von D Shade & Light Eye Palette! I have been really enjoying the Shade & Light Contour Palette, so of course when I saw that Kat Von D was coming out with a Shade & Light eyeshadow palette I knew I had to have it.

The palette retails for $46 at Sephora and on Sephora.com (the same price at the contour palette). Another similarity to the Shade & Light Contour Palette is the packaging. They are pretty much identical except for the foiled accents. On the eyeshadow palette, the foil is gold, and it is silver on the contour palette. You also get an outline of the palette on the back of the packaging with the names of all the shadows.

The top three shades in the palette: Laetus, Lazarus, & Ludwin, are the same size as the highlighting powders in the Shade & Light contour palette (.08 ounces). The other nine shadows in the palette are .04 ounces each and are vary comparable in size to the shadows in the Urban Decay Naked Palettes (.05 ounces each). All of the shadows in this palette are matte, there are no shimmery shades in this palette. There are two shades however, Lucius & Latinus, appear to have a little bit of a satin finish.
There are three different sections to the palette: neutral’s, cool tones, and warm tones. That’s what makes this palette so amazing, ANYONE can use this palette no matter what your skin tone is, because there’s shades in here for everyone. The different sections in the palette are perfect for beginners, because it helps take a lot of the guess work, and confusion, out of trying to decided which shadows go together. But of course, there are no rules when it comes to makeup. All of the shades can be used interchangeably, and can be mixed and matched to create your own perfect, individual, look.

All of the shadows are super soft, buttery, blendable, and pigmented. I have been trying out every shade, and coming up with different combinations, and they all perform beautifully. The combinations you can create using this palette are endless. You can create natural eye looks, soft smokey eyes, and really intense smokey eyes.

This is a very high quality palette with amazing shades. The only “downfall”, or negative, I have noticed is that the shadows are very powdery and there’s a lot of fall-out. It’s particularly noticeable when you go to apply them with a brush. Fall-out isn’t a deal breaker for me personally, but I do know that there are people out there who aren’t a big fan of shadows that do that. A tip to dealing with fall-out from powder products is after you have picked up the product with your brush, tap it off lightly, and then apply it. When you tap your brush, all the excess product will fall off, which then decreases the amount of fall-out onto your face.

I hope you all enjoyed this review and found it informative and helpful! I definitely recommend this palette to anyone and everyone. I would have to say that this is a MUST-HAVE palette. If you are looking for an eyeshadow palette with all matte eyeshadows, check out this little beauty. It’s absolutely stunning and the amount of looks that can be created with it are endless. I really enjoy the Kat Von D line. Everything that I have tried from the brand has been wonderful. Be sure to check out my video below to see the Shade & Light Eyeshade Palette in action! :)

xoxo,
Casey