Bare Minerals Flawless Definition Waterproof Mascara

             Hello Everybody! I've been meaning to pick up a waterproof mascara for awhile, as it's now summer time and about a thousand degrees outside. I didn't want my makeup to melt off and I hated going to the pool or the beach with zero make up on. So whilst at Ulta, I picked up the Flawless Definition Mascara for $18. I've been using Bare Minerals products for years, but only ever powders. I've got countless foundations, blushes, bronzers, and mineral veils, but I've never looked twice at their other products. So, when I spotted this, I thought I'd give it a try.
             The packaging is very well made. It's not a work of art, it's just sleek and pretty. The brush has short, plastic bristles (Are they bristles if they're plastic?) That get longer towards the end. I have quite a few brushes shaped like this, but I usually steer clear of plastic brushes. They scare me. However, I was pleasantly surprised. It's easy to get through your lashes and keep clumps away.

Excuse my chipped nail polish!

        This mascara stays on all day, even when I'm swimming and the like. It comes off at the end of the night, though. It's not one of those mascaras that will absolutely not come off. Just swipe on some eye make up remover and you're good. It separates and lengthens extremely well. I will say, though, if you build it up too much, it will start to clump. It's a great every day mascara but it won't give you the fake lashes look, so if that's what you're looking for, this is not the way to go. It's a great daily mascara. It's not revolutionary, but its a nice mascara. If you've got the money, I think its definitely worth buying, but it's not the be all and end all.

Too Faced Natural Eye Palette Review

Hello everyone! Today I'm going to be reviewing the Too Faced Natural Eye Palette! This palette retails at $36 and can be purchased on the Too Faced website, Ulta, and Sephora.

I purchased this palette about seven months ago and the packaging has since been revamped. You can see the new version here. Three of the shades have also been changed, which I'll get to in a mo. I'm really not a fan of the old packaging, which is still used on five of the too faced palettes. It's made out of a card board material and I find the eye on the front sort of cheap looking. It displays the shadows, but it also looks like something you'd buy off of a shady website that's based in China. It's durable and it's not bulky but it's not the prettiest. I think the new packaging is gorgeous, it's made out of metal so it will last better and it's very sleek. Definitely an improvement.

On to the shadows: The palette comes with nine shadows, three larger base colors, three crease colors, and three for the outer corner. It comes with three matte shades and six shimmery shades.

Left to right: Nude Beach, Silk Teddy, Heaven

Heaven is a great base, just a plain white shade that won't crease. I adore Silk Teddy. It's a really beautiful pinky gold shimmer color that you can just swipe when you're in a rush. It's also one of my favorite inner corner colors. Heaven and Silk Teddy are both in the updated version of the palette. I get very little use out of Nude Beach. It has big chunks of glitter in it, which fall down and get in my eye and it's just a bit of a mess. Luckily, Nude Beach was replaced by a matte camel colored shadow called 'Nude'. 

Left to right: Velvet Revolver, Push-Up, Honey Pot

Velvet Revolver is a fantastic crease shade. It's also a really good shade to fill in my eyebrows. However, Velvet Revolver has been replaced by the slightly darker and slightly warmer 'Cashmere Bunny.' When using the palette, I thought what it was missing a brown shade in between Velvet Revolver and Sexpresso, which, with the addition of Nude and Cashmere Bunny, Too Faced  really did. I wouldn't put it anywhere near my eyebrows though. Push-up is a pretty shade, but it's not much of a stand out. It's just not my thing. Honey Pot is probably my favorite shadow in this palette. It's incredibly pigmented, as are all of the shadows, and it is just beautiful, It's really fantastic. I would buy this palette again even if I hated every other color just for Honey Pot. 

Left to right: Sexpresso, Erotica, Cocoa Puff

I probably use these colors least. They're good shadows, though Erotica and Cocoa Puff have relatively big shimmers in them , which I'm not a huge fan of. Sexpresso is my go-to outer corner shade. It's matte and simple and I love it.

Basically, It's a pretty rad palette. The shadows are incredibly pigmented, the price tag is a bit high, but definitely worth it. Too Faced Palettes are a fantastic alternative to Urban Decay palettes. They have fewer shadows the the Naked Palettes (minus Named Basics) but you get more product and it's just great. I would 100% recommend this product and would repurchase it in a heart beat, especially with new packaging and shadows. 

Highlighting and Contouring: What to Buy

Whether you're new to countouring and highlighting, or you just want some new product recommendations, sometimes we could all just use a tidy list, and I am here to give you that.
Alright, first things first: Bronzers.
You'll need a bronzer, preferably a matte one. You're creating shadows, after all, so you don't want to much shimmer reflecting light.
A good drugstore option is the Rimmel Natraul Bronzer. It's not too dark, or too orange, and it's only $4.99. A great high end bronzer is the Bare Minerals Faux Tan. It can get a little messy, since its a loose powder but it really is amazing. It's also a bit more pricey, at $19.
Other options are the Sleek Contour Kit ($9.99) and the much raved about Nars Laguna ($38!)

On to Highlighters!

Great, albeit pricey, options are High Beam and Sun Beam from Benefit. High Beam is very cool toned, while Sun Beam is very warm. They both retail at $26. Another high end option that is absolutely beautiful is Nars Albatross. I want this product desperately, but have yet to test it, due to the price tag. $38! I have, however swatched it many, many times at Sephora and it is probably one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. So if you can afford it, go for this so I can live vicariously through you! If you're looking for a much more affordable option, the e.l.f. Studio Baked Blush in Pinktastic (It only has fleks of pink, despite its name.) can be used as a highlighter and its only $3. Hard Candy (sold at Walmart) also has pretty good dupes for the benefit highlighters. Glamazon Bronze is warmed toned and Doll Face is cool toned. Not quite as nice as their high end counterparts, but it shaves $18 off the price, at only $8.

And last but not least, Brushes
You can either use a fan brush or a powder brush for contouring. A fan brush gives a much more precise line, which you'd then blend out with a powder brush or a kabuki. It's a bit neater, but definitely not necessary. If you already have a powder brush, just use that!
I use the Real Techniques Powder Brush ($10) and Ecotools has an excellent and very affordable Fan Brush (6.99).
For highlighting, go for the Sigma Tapered Highlighting Brush ($21). Its a bit more expensive, but it's definitely worth it. Makupforever sells a larger highlighting brush ($37).  You could also just use an angled blush brush or squeeze a powder brush  to make a more precise line and use that.

Comment below your highlighting and contouring must-haves!