ColourPop Cosmetics

ColourPop is a new 'made in the USA' cosmetics company that's affordable and animal friendly (they don't test on animals)! They have a unique shadow pot formula and really great lipstick and lip pencils (or Lippie Stix). Every shadow and lip product is only $5 with free shipping on any $30 purchase. So I had to buy a few things!

My first order included two shadows in the colors '3' and 'Amaze', both have a gorgeous metallic finish and the formula has to be one of the best I've tried. They come pressed with a into white pots with a screw on lid. They are bouncy and very soft/creamy to the touch. Apply the shadow with your fingertip and then blend with a soft synthetic brush. I have never experienced any fall out or creasing with these! I then purchased 2 Lippie Stix and 2 Lippie Pencils in the matching colors 'Lumiere' and 'Frida', both are gorgeous nude pink colors! 'Frida' is a brighter warm nude pink in a satin finish. 'Lumiere' is a darker cool dusty pink in a matte finish. The Lippie Stix work best and last longer when used with their Lippie Pencil counterparts.

The Lippie Stix twist up as you use it while the Lippie Pencils need to be sharpened as they are worn down. The packaging is solid and easy to take on-the-go.

Here are swatches in order from top to bottom: 3, Amaze, Frida and Lumiere (Pencil/Stix).

They are all really gorgeous colors! Very pigmented and creamy.

I liked everything in the first order so much and with the new matte shadows released on ColourPop's site, I had to try a few more things. I made an account on the site and received a $5 off coupon which I used to get one of the shadows shown for free. $30 for all of this was a really good deal!

-Swatches and photos taken in dim indoor lighting.

 ('Mittens' matte)

 ('Girl Crush' matte)

 ('Desert' matte)

('Hanky Panky' matte) 

('Cop A Feel' matte)

('Sequin' metallic) 

('I Heart This' metallic) 

Swatches shown in order from top to bottom: Mittens, Girl Crush, Desert, Hanky Panky, Cop A Feel, Sequin and I Heart This. Cop A Feel is almost invisible on my skin. All of the colors and finishes are beautiful!

Final Thoughts:

I am in love with ColourPop! Their products are animal friendly, affordable, great quality and made right here in the US. The company seems really nice as well, with both orders I received a hand written note saying thank you or offering a positive quote.

I look forward to seeing what new things come from ColourPop this year. (:

Coastal Scents Revealed Palette

I received this palette in my December Boxycharm subscription. Coastal Scents has a nice selection of affordable shadows. It's available here on the official Coastal Scents site for $19.95. 

The included shadows range from matte to shimmer in neutral shades. All of the colors shown are very pigmented and creamy.



Shadows and Swatches:

Shadows applied dry (no primer) on 01 pale skin and with indoor lighting.

I'm breaking the palette into 3 parts to better show the colors and how they swatch.

Swatched from left to right and top to bottom.

The first two shadows don't show up that well on me.

This photo is slightly overlapping with the above one. I'm only focusing on the last 4 shades.

The black is really velvety and pigmented!















Final Thoughts:

I'm really loving this palette! The colors look amazing, natural and go with all skin tones. The only downside is the large amount of fall out when using a brush. Even when using my fingers some of the colors would get all over the place. But they are pigmented and easy to blend so that's not a deal breaker for me.

Technical Issues

I'm having some problems with my iPhone 5S (what I take my photos with) so I will not be able to post up November/December things. It's unfortunate since my Disney photos and videos are also on the phone. Seems that something is corrupted. Aah well, no point sweating the small things. I have my memories for the holiday trip and what I posted up on my Instagram profile.

So I'm just going to start with January...and pretend like nothing happened in November or December.  <<

I have a few beauty products and subscriptions to review, so I'll have those posted up later today. (:

I hope everyone had a great holiday season last month and that 2015 is treating you well!

Small Update!

I've had a lot of personal things to deal with and haven't had much time to post reviews or experiences with products or subscription services the past month or so. I'm feeling better lately and I finally have some free time from work.

Better late than never!

I will have November posts up over the next few days for Wantable, Ipsy and Boxycharm. I will also update with December goodies as they arrive.

We've got a trip to Disney this holiday season. That means Christmas at the Magic Kingdom! The resort looks amazing and I can't wait to see all the holiday decorations, lights and trees. Will also be celebrating my 26th birthday while I'm there! I might make a haul with park things if I get anything worth mentioning (the only thing I purchased last visit was a pin). Not very familiar with hauls but it was suggested and requested by an online friend. So much to look forward to and be thankful for this month!

I've got Influenster to thank for giving me a push to post again and put myself out there a little more. It's a great thing for people that struggle with meeting new people, sharing and shyness. (:

October Beauty Subscriptions

Boxycharm October 2014

Not the best box but still a fantastic value!

- Palmetto Derma Collagen Booster & Restoration Serum  $48.00

- Coastal Scents Eclipse Concealer Palette  $19.95

- Cult/Commerce x Boxycharm 'shady' polish duo  $21

- Be a Bombshell Eyeshadow  $14

- Starlooks Ultra Gem Pencil  $14


Total box value = $116.95



The Palmetto Serum has an odd smell. It's not bad just unusual. I'm only 25 so I  don't really need to use any serums and I don't usually notice anything when I apply them.

Coastal Scents is a great affordable brand and I was really excited to see their concealer palette in Octobers box. Unfortunately the formulas are drying and hard to work with. I would suggest heating them a little with a blow dryer to allow them to apply and blend easier. I have really pale skin and all but three of the shades were too dark for me. So this will be gifted to my olive skinned youngest sister.

The 'Shady' polish trio is massively overpriced. The brushes are very stiff and don't apply the polish smoothly. They chip within 24 hours of applying without using a top coat. The packaging is also tiny. While the colors are Halloween themed, there are much better polishes out there for less money.

Be a Bombshell is a nice brand and their shadows tend to be very pigmented and smooth. The color I received was a very pretty autumn brass color. Unfortunately anything gold or orange looks terrible on me.

Starlooks Ultra Gem Pencil in 'Ultra Violet' is my favorite thing from the box and the only item I kept. It's a pretty blue jean lilac eye pencil with a slight shimmer. It applies very smoothly and is very blendable. I suggest wearing an eye primer underneath the pencil because it tends to wear off after a few hours worn alone.


While I can't use the majority of the items in this box, they will make great gifts for the holidays! Thank you for another great box Boxycharm. (:



IPSY October 2014

- Figs & Rouge Hand Cream in 'Mango Mandarin' $6.56
- MicaBeauty Mineral Eye Shadow in 'Harlequin' $?
- Starlooks Lip Gloss in 'Guilty Pleasure' (sample)
- Skyn Iceland Mini Glacial Cleansing Cloths (10 ct) $5
- ECRU New York Acacia Protein BB Cream Hair Beauty Balm (1 oz) $12




I'm not a fan of the hand cream. The cream itself is nice and moisturizing but the scent gave me a headache. It's a very sweet and fruity smell so if you like products like that you may like this lotion.

MicaBeauty is a nice cosmetics brand. I wish we had received a different color other than greens for this product. There's no way I can make this work, I look very bad with emerald eyelids. The eye shadow is very pigmented but messy.

The Starlooks lip gloss was fantastic! The color is a 'my lips but better' for me and I wear it everyday. I just wish we were given a larger size, the sample is tiny. Very creamy, pigmented and smooth. Not very sticky and kept my lips moisturized.

The Glacial Cleansing cloths are really great! I have sensitive skin and these worked wonders when removing makeup of just to refresh my face. The scent is very pleasant and fresh. The only downside is the $15 price tag for a 30 count cloth bag. But I feel it's worth the money.

The ECRU BB hair cream was something I had to get used to. The scent is pleasant and it does make my hair very smooth and silky.


A great value for this months glam bag! A little bit of a let down with the lotion and eye shadow but the bag is only $10. I can always gift away what I don't want to keep.

September Beauty Boxes

Since I've been really really lagging in the subscription box review department, I decided to do a larger basic post including Boxycharm, Ipsy and Wantable. After starting several medications for a string of health problems, developing a sinus infection and having to deal with some work issues..last month was pretty stressful.

I'm also just lazy and didn't want to take some images off of my phone and write up a review. I don't think anyone even reads them lol.


Wantable Makeup September 2014

I usually only purchase a wantable box every other month. At $36 (shipping included) they tend to be pricey but a really good value. The items are always full size and the value of the total box is always worth double or more than what I pay. If you have some money saved up and are looking to start to start or try new things than this might be a good service to try.

And I have somehow lost the paper that listed the prices.

- Vincent Longo stain in 'Liquid Kiss' $24
- Vincent Longo velvet riche lipstick in 'Indie Rose' $23
- MUD eyeshadow in 'Bronzed' $14.50
- Face Stockholm nail color in '#25?' $12
- MICA Beauty Cosmetics Kabuki $35

Total Box Value = $108.50 (Wow!)

Both the stain and lipstick are pretty colors, the stain looking the best with my skin tone and pigmented lips. The stain is very blendable while wet and once it dries it does tend to stay put all day with very little fading.

The shadow color is gorgeous and the product is very pigmented. It just looks terrible on me. My entire personalized quiz shows I am very pale, cool undertoned with blond hair so I have no idea why they sent orange gold to me. Is it because I have earthy tones chosen? I wish I could exchange the color for literally any other MUD shade.

The polish is a basic cream blue lavender color. It chipped after 2 days with a top coat.

I was very excited for the MICA kabuki brush! It has little to no bristle fall out. The brush is very soft but firm enough to blend face products well.

Aside from the odd shadow color I loved Septembers makeup box! I plan on giving my shadow away to one of my younger sisters since both have our mothers olive skin, which unfortunately skipped me.


Boxycharm September 2014

Boxycharm is my absolute favorite beauty sub box! At only $21 (shipping included) I always receive 4-5 full sized products from all kinds of brands and price ranges. The box is always an amazing value.

I apologize for the bad photos from this one. I was moving my room around again and couldn't use my regular photo location.

- tarte LipSurgence lip gloss in 'tipsy' $19

- Coastal Scents Go Palette in 'Moscow' $12.95

- NCLA Nail Lacquer in 'Model Behavior' $16

- Tarina Tarantino limited edition fleur de lash mascara in 'Black Opal' $19

- Hello by Harvey Prince fragrance 10mL $29

Total Box Value = $95.95 (Nice!)

I love love love everything in this box! They can continue to put Tarantino products in every box if they like, I absolutely love the products and packaging.

I'm also really happy with the Hello fragrance. I was actually thinking about purchasing the full size. But that price tag for a fragrance the size of a lip gloss was hard to justify. The fragrance notes are Meyer Lemon, White Grapefruit and Satsuma Mandarin. It's a delicate sweet scent.

The mascara is amazing. The bristles are evenly dispersed and thick so you can 'wiggle' the brush slightly while applying to get thick, but natural looking, lashes.

The tarte lipgloss is in clear packaging so the color applies exactly the way it looks in the tube. The formula is pretty thick and sticky but long lasting.

The NCLA polish is a black plum color and applies smoothly. But it will chip in under 24 hours without a top coat.

The product that everyone was really excited about would be the travel coastal scents palette! There were several color collections we might receive and I happened to get the 'Moscow' palette.

I have each color show in order from left to right and top to bottom. Shadows swatched dry and without a primer base.

I love many of the browns and reds, they look great with my skin tone and green eyes!






IPSY September 2014

Ipsy is extremely affordable at only $10 (shipping included) a month! You usually receive 4-5 full size or luxury sample size products ranging from skin care to makeup. The products range from name brand to drugstore.

- Hikari Matte Lipstick in 'Cabernet' $13
- Deluxe Infinity Shadow/Crease Brush $7
- Pacifica Water-Proof Liner in 'Fringe' (sample)
- Nourish Organic Moisturizing Cream Face Cleanser (1 oz sample)
- CAVIAR CC Hair Cream (0.85 oz sample)

Total Value = around $30 (samples estimated)

Hikari 'Cabernet' and Pacifica 'Fringe' swatched.

The lipstick is a really pretty dark pink. While it's matte it doesn't dry out my lips too much and is long lasting. I really like it!

And finally, a BROWN eye liner! Even brown liners show up dark on me. But it's much better than the tons of black liner samples IPSY and Birchbox have been tossing in boxes all year. It's fairly long lasting, blendable and does work fine on the waterline (although it fades after a few hours). I may purchase the full size since I really like how it can blend right into my shadows.

The duet brush works great! The bristles are soft but firm and I love that it has a crease and lid brush all in one. Great for traveling.

The face cleanser works just fine but it smells terrible. It's a nice enough organic cleanser if you can get past the Cucumber and Watercress scent.

The CC Hair product smells very nice and leaves my hair feeling very soft. It's supposed to be a 10-in-1 treatment that "provides moisture, shine, smoothness, softness, UV protection, manageability, strength, anti-breakage, heat protection and light hold." The full size is 2.5 oz at $25, so the 1 oz sample provided is very generous and worth somewhere around $10! However...I am losing my hair due to illness and it's becoming increasingly frustrating receiving hair creams in my bag (more than 3 hair creams in total). I change the quiz, I review the items..nothing has changed. After being a member for a year I highly suspect there is no real purpose to the quiz (or they rarely ever reference it) and the only reason for the reviews are to earn points.


Final Thoughts:

September was a great month for beauty subscription services! I usually only purchase Boxycharm and IPSY each month, Wantable had such a nice line up for September that I decided to un-skip and Ii'm glad that I did. Lots of products for myself, but most importantly almost half of these are being put away to go into Christmas and Birthday goody bags for some of my female family members. Ii can't wait to gift them. (:


And if you actually read all of that then you deserve some kind of reward. Like a cookie!

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

A really good supernatural murder mystery game just released this week on Steam for $20!

It's a story driven first person exploration game. You're character is trying to find a young kidnapped child before it's too late. You have a few 'gifts' that allow you to see what others cannot. You use these abilities to piece together the dark happenings in Red Creek Valley.

There was also a tentacle at the end of that trailer. I'm going to go ahead and say it...Cthulhu.


It's available right now for the PC and will be available for the PS4 in 2015. The graphics, elements and ports are extremely impressive for an Indie title. My hats off to 'The Astronauts' and 'Nordic Games' for a really interesting dark mystery.



I will update my post with a small review once I've completed the game and w-Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

Update (spoiler warning): Kind of a depressing plot twist ending. It's a great game, don't get me wrong. It's just one of those 'it was all a dream' kind of games that leave you feeling sad at the end. But that's just an opinion. Check it out for yourself, It may be something you like.