Life has been crazy lately. It's been so crazy that it was almost a week after my 10-year anniversary with my fiance that I actually remembered that it was past our anniversary, and that was only because of an NCIS episode that had a couple in the opening scene celebrating their 10-year anniversary. Yep...crazy. Thankfully neither my fiance nor I put a huge emphasis on things like that, so it wasn't really a big deal.
This weekend was actually slow enough though that I'm getting around to a couple of things I've been meaning to do. The first thing was publishing a Facebook page for this blog. I created the page back in the spring, but I never actually got around to doing anything with it. It is finally visible to the public, and I made a couple of posts on it today. You can find it here.
I'm also going to officially mention that I have a Twitter account for my blog. The only thing I've really used it for up to this point is entering giveaways, but I want to start using it more now that I have it on my phone. My Twitter name is @beautybabbling.
My question for all of you is what sort of things do you like to see on Facebook pages and Twitter accounts for blogs?
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Saturday, September 29, 2012
NYX Eye Shadows - Flamingo and Tryst
I'm a bit late on the bandwagon here. I didn't have very good access to NYX until recently when an Ulta opened in a town about an hour from me. Hooray for living in the middle of nowhere. Since then, I've picked up a few random NYX items to try out, and I have to say that I've been loving them.
In this particular post, I'm going to talk about two eye shadows, one from their regular line and one from their new Nude Matte line. Both shadows retail for about $5.
When I originally bought Flamingo, I thought it was a flesh-toned shade with a pretty sheen. It took me a couple of uses to realize that it is actually a light pink shade with a lot of gold shimmer. Either way, I love it. It's a great lid color that adds a gorgeous sheen to the eye. It has a soft, easy-to-blend texture and nice pigmentation.
I've been a bit obsessed with matte eye shadows lately, so I was excited to give a NYX one a try. I ended up getting the color Tryst, which is about the same depth as Urban Decay's Buck, but it is cooler in tone. It isn't quite as soft in texture as Flamingo, but it is still nicely pigmented and blends out well.
The two shades together make a good everyday eye look. I just have to add my standard cream highlight and a brown liner, and I'm set for the day.
Overall, I'm thrilled with the first two single eye shadows I purchased from NYX. They are really good quality for the price and are an even better deal when you can get them on sale.
Do you own any NYX eye shadows? Are there any must-have colors I should check out on my next shopping trip to Ulta?
In this particular post, I'm going to talk about two eye shadows, one from their regular line and one from their new Nude Matte line. Both shadows retail for about $5.
 |
| From left to right: Flamingo and Tryst |
I've been a bit obsessed with matte eye shadows lately, so I was excited to give a NYX one a try. I ended up getting the color Tryst, which is about the same depth as Urban Decay's Buck, but it is cooler in tone. It isn't quite as soft in texture as Flamingo, but it is still nicely pigmented and blends out well.
 |
| Swatches were done without primer |
Overall, I'm thrilled with the first two single eye shadows I purchased from NYX. They are really good quality for the price and are an even better deal when you can get them on sale.
Do you own any NYX eye shadows? Are there any must-have colors I should check out on my next shopping trip to Ulta?
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Products I Threw Away
When I did my last post about products that I finished, I also took pictures of products that I am going to throw away. Notice that I didn't say that I have thrown them away. They have been sitting in a box in my office ever since. Maybe if I do this post, I'll actually let them go in the garbage.
Clearly Natural Essentials Lilac soap - I think my main problem with this soap is that I let it sit for too long. I had it for over a year before I used it. When I did start using it, it didn't smell like lilac anymore (if it ever did). I tried using it, but I finally just gave up.
Meow Snarky blush sample - I normally throw samples like this into my swap box, but due to some stroke of brilliance (please note the sarcasm), I dumped it all into a swirl bowl before I decided that I didn't really like how the color looked on me.
ELF lipsticks - I got these in a swap. I don't really wear lipsticks, and these are starting to look funky around the edges. I would be scared to use them. I never tried them, so I can't comment on the formula.
Everyday Minerals Soft Bronzer - This pulled too orange on me. Again, I had decanted it into a larger jar than it originally came in, and it would be too much work to get it back into a container that would be good for swapping.
Revlon Grow Luscious mascara - This mascara felt tacky to me long after it dried. It drove me nuts.
ELF mascara - This was either a terrible mascara or it was so old that it had pretty much dried up by the time I used it. I could barely get any color on my lashes, let alone any length or volume.
Urban Decay Supercurl mascara - It's been a while since I used this, but I think this was another mascara that felt tacky all day.
Neutrogena Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizer SPF 50 - I didn't like this and stopped using it so long ago that the SPF had expired.
Jordana Squeeze n' Shine gloss in Lollipop - This gloss looked gorgeous in the tube, and I bought it on clearance. Unfortunately, it felt really goopy on the lips.
Got2b Playful cream pomade - I have no idea how long I've had this stuff. I don't use anymore, and I'm tired of having it sitting around.
Aromaleigh Color Infusion Botanical lipstick in Sassy - This was another item I got in a swap. I got it a couple of years ago, so it's time for this to go away.
Everyday Minerals Lavender pressed eye shadows - This pressed palette smells like crayons, which is an indication that it has gone bad. I might keep the compact around for potential future pressing.
Everyday Minerals Fairly Light pressed foundation - This doesn't have the crayons smell, but I've had it for about as long as the pressed shadows. I got it in a swap, and it's too dark for me. Again, I might keep the compact.
ELF Cream Shadows - I got these last year through a deal on Target.com. I think I spent $2 total for both compacts (with free shipping). When I ordered them, the site description said they were cream liners, so I was surprised to see that they were cream shadows when they arrived. They are useless. They crease in two seconds (maybe 5 with a powder shadow on top).
While this doesn't make a noticeable dent in my makeup collection, it's nice to get getting rid of products that I don't use. I need to pull more things for swapping as well. I'm one of those people who tends to keep things around thinking that I might figure out some way to use it in the future, and I rarely do.
Are you good about cleaning out your stash? Do you regularly throw out, swap, or give away items that you don't use?
Meow Snarky blush sample - I normally throw samples like this into my swap box, but due to some stroke of brilliance (please note the sarcasm), I dumped it all into a swirl bowl before I decided that I didn't really like how the color looked on me.
ELF lipsticks - I got these in a swap. I don't really wear lipsticks, and these are starting to look funky around the edges. I would be scared to use them. I never tried them, so I can't comment on the formula.
Everyday Minerals Soft Bronzer - This pulled too orange on me. Again, I had decanted it into a larger jar than it originally came in, and it would be too much work to get it back into a container that would be good for swapping.
Revlon Grow Luscious mascara - This mascara felt tacky to me long after it dried. It drove me nuts.
ELF mascara - This was either a terrible mascara or it was so old that it had pretty much dried up by the time I used it. I could barely get any color on my lashes, let alone any length or volume.
Urban Decay Supercurl mascara - It's been a while since I used this, but I think this was another mascara that felt tacky all day.
Neutrogena Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizer SPF 50 - I didn't like this and stopped using it so long ago that the SPF had expired.
Jordana Squeeze n' Shine gloss in Lollipop - This gloss looked gorgeous in the tube, and I bought it on clearance. Unfortunately, it felt really goopy on the lips.
Got2b Playful cream pomade - I have no idea how long I've had this stuff. I don't use anymore, and I'm tired of having it sitting around.
Aromaleigh Color Infusion Botanical lipstick in Sassy - This was another item I got in a swap. I got it a couple of years ago, so it's time for this to go away.
Everyday Minerals Fairly Light pressed foundation - This doesn't have the crayons smell, but I've had it for about as long as the pressed shadows. I got it in a swap, and it's too dark for me. Again, I might keep the compact.
ELF Cream Shadows - I got these last year through a deal on Target.com. I think I spent $2 total for both compacts (with free shipping). When I ordered them, the site description said they were cream liners, so I was surprised to see that they were cream shadows when they arrived. They are useless. They crease in two seconds (maybe 5 with a powder shadow on top).
While this doesn't make a noticeable dent in my makeup collection, it's nice to get getting rid of products that I don't use. I need to pull more things for swapping as well. I'm one of those people who tends to keep things around thinking that I might figure out some way to use it in the future, and I rarely do.
Are you good about cleaning out your stash? Do you regularly throw out, swap, or give away items that you don't use?
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