The Magical Place that is Ebates

I am still shocked by how many people have no idea what Ebates is! Basically from certain stores, when you buy something online you can get a percentage back from your purchase and Ebates will either mail you a check or directly deposit it into Paypal.  No joke, I have gotten over $60 cash back so far! My mom who shops online like crazy has made at least triple that.  Its seriously so amazing and magical, and requires absolutely nothing on your part besides remembering to activate the cash back. There is an extension for Chrome and Firefox that makes it very easy to see which sites have cash back and how much they are offering. 

With people doing all their holiday shopping this site is absolutely necessary. If you are already going to shop online, why not at least get some of it back?

Some examples of my "winnings" include:

10% cashback from Sephora meaning I got the $50 electric palette for only $45

8% back from BH Cosmetics meant I got a pretty nice discount on the galaxy chic palette

5% cashback from Thinkgeek meant I should have gotten $2.50 but I was an idiot and forgot to activate cash back...DON'T FORGET.

The cash back percentages can vary, as sometimes websites will offer double cash back, I usually watch for these specials and make my purchases then.

Anyway, here are some other sites I have successfully gotten cash back from:

Ulta, Sephora, Thinkgeek, Bhcosmetics, Walmart, Ebay, and Michaels.

There are obviously many many more but these are the ones I've bought from so far. I know my mom earns most of her cash back from LOFT.

They pay you four times a year and only send out a check of $5 or more.  Therefore if at the end of the first quarter you have only earned $3 cash back, you will have to wait until the next quarter to receive your payment. Its pretty sweet going to make a paypal purchase and being informed you suddenly have $11 in your account.

They also usually have a free gift for signing up.  I know when I started they mailed me a free $10 Target gift card. 

Also if the site you purchased from is being slow about giving you the cash back, just send a "where's my cash back?" ticket to ebates with your order number and proof of purchase and they will instantly add the money to your total. However, I feel like this is only necessary if a quarter payment is coming up, usually the sites will post your cash back to ebates within a week or two of purchase, so just be patient.

I Just can't say enough good things about this site.  Its awesome. Seriously.

Try it out here!

Purple and Teal Graphic Liner FOTD

When I put my favorite flannel on this morning I got the urge to do an eye look to match.  I'm not sure how I got there but I ended up doing a graphic liner of sorts.  I don't have too much experience doing this kind of thing but I still liked how it  came out.

To start I covered my upper lid in Urban from the Electric Palette.  Then I took Blackout by Urban Decay on a small brush and carefully outlined a wing and in my crease.  I only had to use my makeup remover pen 10 times to get this to look decent...Regardless, I then blended Blackout into the purple which looking back I probably should have used a different brush for.  Blending with the flat part of my liner brush was not a good idea.  I finished the look by taking Shiro Cosmetic's Maiden Queen and lining under my eye.

Lip is Mary Kay gloss in Berry Tart.

Ipsy Glam Bag November 2014 Review

I hope everyone has a nice Thanksgiving, whether you're spending it with your family or working to make that sweet holiday pay. :)

So anyway I have to say, this is probably my least favorite bag in quite a while.  Mini rant time.  I sometimes wonder if the review actually does anything.  I keep saying I hate browns, bronzes, highlighters, and bronzers, but yet they still come and I just keep hating them. Sigh. Don't get me wrong, I love Ipsy but it's definitely a bummer opening a bag and receiving a 5th brown eye shadow that will never get used.

Anyway onto the review!

This month's theme is Girl Meets Glitter, which is definitely an adorable theme, however I sort of thought this would have been more fitting for December when houses are lit up with lights and tinsel decorates the trees. Regardless, the bag is super cute and will make a perfect bag for a Christmas gift!

1. Be a Bombshell Cosmetics Eye Base in Submissive

"This eye base is a highly pigmented, long-lasting product that can be used as a single cream color or used as an eye base to build color. "

2/5

The only reason this is getting a two is because the bronzy color is actually kind of nice when paired with olive...otherwise I dislike everything about this.....The staying power is pretty weak, it was creasing and fading after only an hour or two and I even wore it over eye shadow primer. It's definitely worthless as an eye shadow base which is kind of a shame considering that's its purpose.  I am pretty sad considering I usually like Be a Bombshell products...

Here it is on my eye lid.  I have to admit I don't hate the color. The bronze isn't too overpowering and it adds a nice subtle pretty shine to my lid. However, it made my crease shadow harder to blend.  When and if I use this again I will only be putting it on my eyelid to avoid it ruining everything. Please excuse the random dot, I had trouble with the liquid liner...as you'll soon learn.

Where to buy: Beabombshellcosmetics.com

Price: $14

2. Elizabeth Mott You're so FINE Eyeliner

"It’s not just any liquid eyeliner. With you’re so FINE’s micro-tipped brush, you can control your strokes to create dramatic, and sharp cat eyes! This brush is so control friendly that creating precise, symmetrical lines is ridiculously easy, so it’s perfect for first time liquid eyeliner users too."

2/5

I LOVE liquid liner.  I use it every single day.  Even thought I prefer marker style pens I still use some of the lid and brush kind.  However this stuff would just cooperate.  The brush isn't very thin so its hard to get a small line and a sharp point, the sparkles barely show up on the eye, its goes on streaky, it takes forever to dry, and gets all over my crease.  It gets a 2 because I can still use this as a travel emergency liner.

As you can see my wing is crappy compared to what I'm usually able to achieve with my Jesse's Girl liner, which is less than half the price.  I also had to put it on super thick because I could not get a thin line to save my soul.  If you look super closely you should also be able to see the weird streakiness.  It's not as noticeable from far away but when I was applying it, it drove me crazy!

Where to buy: Elizabthmott.com

Price: $18

3. J-Cat Beauty Wonder Lip Paint in Red Potion

"For invincible color and impeccable wear, the Wonder Lip Paint serves justice! With the twofold blend of endurance and delivery of intense pigmentation, this will become your heroine of lip colors. Paint your lips to perfection for your day and nighttime adventures! "

5/5

On to something good! Hands down this was my favorite product this month.  I'm obsessed and I will be buying more of these! Pigmentation, staying power, non drying...it has everything, including an affordable price.

Since these are obviously made to be drugstore versions of OCC's Lip Tar, I thought I'd do a quick tube comparison.  As you can see the packaging is almost identical except J Cat 's is a bit longer while OCC is fatter and shorter. Both contain 10ml of product.

Here it is on my lips.  I love love love love when Ipsy puts fun lip colors in the bags, it's why I keep my subscription and why I canceled with Birchbox.  These offer everything Lip Tars do except for a quarter of the price.  They last hours and through meals, they fade evenly, they go on easily with a lip brush (which was not included), and they offer great pigmentation with only a small drop of product.  I am just absolutely enamored with this product. <3

Where to buy: jcatbeauty.com

Price: $5

4. Marc Anthony Oil of Morocco Argan Oil Hairspray

"Get extra volume, shine and hold with this dual purpose hairspray; nourishing and styling in one! This argan oil, keratin and grape seed oil infused hairspray gives you strong and flexible hold plus deep nourishment, strengthening and conditioning as you style. 

"

5/5

I literally have no complaints with this product.  The packaging is bright and attractive, it smells amazing, for me it reminds me of pineapples...however I have read that some people hate the scent so my love is not universal apparently,  it has great hold, and an aerosol dispenser.  Basically its everything I look for in a hairspray. <3

I will definitely be buying a full size of this when my current spray runs out.

Where to buy: Ulta, Walgreens, marcanthony.com

Price: $9 ($3)

5. Temptu S/B Highlighter in Pink Pearl

"A cult favorite of makeup artists around the globe, TEMPTU S/B Highlighter is the perfect product that goes on sheer for an overall illuminating and contouring effect. Light-reflecting and transfer resistant, S/B Highlighter glides on effortlessly for a brilliant complexion boost that contours to highlight your best features."

1/5

This gets a one because there is not a single thing I liked about this....first of all I do not use any highlighters that aren't  matte white eye shadows.  I hate my skin being shimmery or sparkly or anything, it makes me look sweaty and I feel disgusting, I've told Ipsy this via reviews time and time again.

The product actually looks kinda neat on the skin, its a pink pearly substance.  however it is very runny and annoying to work with.

You can see my disdain for this product reflected in my face.....it turned my skin red as soon as I started applying it, I also had a difficult time blending it into my foundation because of how wet and liquidy it is....I just can't. I have no idea what to do with this.

Where to buy: Temptu.com

Price: $27.50 for 1 oz ($2.75)

I only really liked two out of the five items this month which is way lower than usual, however those two items I liked I absolutely loved, so I guess there's that! They were also the two cheapest, which shows that price does not always equal quality.

This bag came out to about $43 which is the usual.

Click here if you'd like to start your Ipsy adventure for only $10 a month!

MAC Rocky Horror 3D Black Glitter and Its Various Uses

Because the MAC Rocky Horror 3D Black glitter was so insanely pretty I had to snag it!  However I didn't really think about the fact that I have never used loose glitter before. Luckily my mom had a lash glue she wasn't a fan of so I've been using that to apply it, but I've since ordered Urban Decay's Bondage which works much better. Anyway, I've been experimenting with some different things and wanted to share my crazy antics! These techniques can easily be used with any loose glitter out there, doesn't have to be this one. Enjoy!

Here is the glitter in all its awesomeness...so pretty.  It has black, silver, green, red, blue....you name it, it will shine that color depending on how the light hits it.  I love it!

First up is simply using it as an eyeliner!

If you do this BE VERY CAREFUL. You do not want glitter in your eye it will suck very badly.  Just please be careful when using glitter around your eye....

This glitter can really glam up an eye look in an instant. So fun! However I think it prefer it under my eye rather than above. To do this I put glitter adhesive on my winged liner and patted the glitter over top with a small brush.

I find it much safer to use the glitter as an eye liner under the eye to minimize the chances of a spec damaging the cornea.

Next I'm going to use it as an eyeshadow enhancer.

I picked up Urban Decay's Bondage in order to use this glitter more effectively and discovered that it also works fairly well to create an all over sparkly eye shadow effect. I'm sorry I didn't do any close ups for this but up close it just looks...strange.  From a normal distance covering your eye lid in this glitter creates a super enchanting look.  However getting up as close as my camera does it looks very strange. 

To do this I lightly coated my entire eyelid with Bondage using the brush in the lid.  I was able to put it right on top of the eyeshadow I was already wearing and it didn't mess it up at all. Next I took a eye shadow brush and lightly dipped it in the glitter then carefully patted it onto my eyelid.  It suck really well and didn't budge until I took it off with makeup remover!

This glitter can seriously glam up an eye look in an instant. So fun!

Moving away from the eyes, next up is glitter lips!

A little less practical...but super fun nonetheless. Just be careful not to eat too much of it.  I did not put a lip gloss on top but if I ever wore it out I probably would in order to keep the glitter from going in my mouth or on my chin.

Mmm look at those sparkles.  To do this I put the 3D Black over NYX's Simply Vamp Lipstick in Temptress. To apply I simply patted the glitter onto my lips with my finger. This may be more practical if you use less glitter with some lip gloss.

And finally the last use I have for my glitter is as a nail polish.

This is super easy to do and the results are amazing.  I love my nails right now. To keep with the theme I put the Rocky Horror glitter on top of my Rocky Horror nail polish in Bad Fairy. 

To do this simply mix the glitter and a top coat or clear nail polish on a piece of plastic, then paint away!  I would recomend doing this with a cheap clear polish as you tend to have to use a lot, it also wastes some glitter, but there is so much of it in that jar I'm not really worried.

I hope you now have some fun new techniques to try with your loose glitter.  Have fun and don't get it in your eye!

Jesse's Girl Cosmetics Pure Pigment Eye Dust Swatches

I recently placed an order at Jesse's Girl cosmetics because Ipsy was offering a coupon code and I NEEDED another liquid eyeliner.  I should do a review of that liner because it is seriously my holy grail liquid liner.  Anyway with my order I received a bunch of little sample baggies from their new eye dust collection which I will now share with you!

Here they are! I was so stoked because it was almost like receiving a Shiro Cosmetics order.....except these aren't as awesome as Shiro shadows but we will get to that.

Here is every shadow with its respective name and number. After swatching I was especially drawn to Rogue Flambe, Sunset Blvd, and Ultra Violet so those are the colors I ended up doing a look with.  These were all fairly easy to swatch and as you can see some of them look a lot better over primer than they do alone.  However after walking around with these on my arm the colors faded alarmingly fast except for Brown Sugar which was the least sparkly of the bunch.

Close up of Pixie Dust (gold shimmer), Starshine (silver shimmer), Sunlit Cactus (interesting yellow with slight green shimmer), and Sunstone (orange shimmer).  The first two sound like they could be the names of characters from My Little Pony.

Brown Sugar (brownish orange), Rogue Flambe (rusty red), Sunset Blvd (pink with gold shimmer)

Ultra Violet (purple shimmer), Troublemaker (cyan shimmer), and Majestic Green (green shimmer)

Here is the look I created with Sunset Blvd on my lid, Rogue Flambe in my crease, Ultra Violet on my lower lashine, and Starshine on my inner corner. I love Sunset Blvd it is probably my favorite shadow of the bunch just because of the unique color the gold shimmer adds to the pink.  If I make another online order I think I'm going to pick it up.  Rogue Flambe however is not that great.  It was difficult to get good pigmentation even over primer.  As you can see even though it's supposed to be red it looks way too similar in color to the pink on my lid. Ultra Violet was nice but I already own a million purple eye shadows.  Starshine was INSANELY shimmery.  I will not be using this as a highlight again, it's just too intense, it will have to be a lid color from now on.  I sent a selfie to my boyfriend and he thought I was crying. Anyway, I did not put primer on my lower lashline to compare wear.  After about 2 hours the purple was almost completely gone but the red and pink looked great until I took it off about 8 hours later.  So wear these over primer or else they will not last at all.

Overall these are nice but with so many Indie brands like Shiro offering loose shadows with longer staying time, better pigmentation, and more unique color options these can't compare.  However if I get the chance I would pick up Sunset Blvd, the most unique of the bunch.  There are about 3 times as many color options online.

Where to buy: Jessesgirlcosmetics.com, savemart, rite aid

Price: $4.99

Happy Ruby And Sapphire Remake Release Day!

Happy November 21st!!! What's so special about today?  Well it just so happens to be the release date for Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire in North America! Gen III holds a special place in my heart because Sapphire version was the first Pokemon game I ever bought with my own money.  I also remember being completely blown away by the Game Boy Advanced graphics.  Now I am eagerly awaiting my copy of Alpha Sapphire to arrive in the mail so I can disappear for the next few months in Hoenn.  I apologize in advance to my poor boyfriend. 

Anyway in celebration of the release of the gen III remakes I did an eye shadow look based on Kyogre, the legendary in Sapphire.  Sorry Groudon fans but I have always been a Kyogre kind of girl.

To get this legendary (heh heh) look I started by applying NYX Milk everywhere around my eyes and blending it out with my finger.  Next I packed Chaos from the Electric Palette onto my eyelid, blending it into my crease.  Next I took Aphrodite from the Galaxy Chic palette and lined all around my eyes, finishing with a wing because Kyoge has those pointy side fins.

Finally I applied extra Milk under my eyes and blended downwards while also flicking it up under the red wing for extra wing action.

I attempted to give my best "I'm sick of your shit, Team Aqua" face.

I also attempted to draw Kyogre...it went okay.

I hope you all enjoy your new adventure!

Sally Hansen Nail Wraps in I Love Lacey

So I was moderately impressed with the NCLA Los Angeles nail wraps I reviewed a few weeks ago but after trying Sally Hansen's I am now extremely impressed.  My mom let me use two of her Sally Hansen nail wraps which matched a dress I wore to a dance.  I was expecting something similar to NCLA's....oh was I wrong.  I guess sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

I used these in the shade 480 I Love Lacey which is honestly a very beautiful pattern and did match my dress very well.  My issue was with the application and the longevity.  Because I put these on when I went home and therefore didn't have my good camera I couldn't take these pictures until 4 days after application and the wraps were already starting to chip at the end of my nail.  NCLA's lasted over a week without any chipping at all and that was even after washing dishes and cleaning my apartment.  As far as application these were much flimsier than NCLA's so I had a hard time controlling them in order to line them up over my nail. They were also much larger meaning they went over my nail and onto my skin on both sides making it very hard to clean up the edges, while NCLA's fit perfectly on my nail. I would never buy these over NCLA's because of quality and longevity, the frustration just isn't worth it. My mom will be going to a nail wrap party, I think Jamberry, so look forward to a review of those as well.

Where to buy: Ulta, Sally Hansen, and Target

Price: $4.99

Urban Decay Pressed Pigment in Jilted from the Electric Palette on my Lips

Ok so this is hands down my favorite shadow for use on the lips.  Just wow, its so freaking gorgeous.  I wish the Revolution lipstick in Jilted looked this awesome.  The blue shift is so much more pronounced from the shadow and it goes on like a dream!

This color is intensely pigmented and pats on the lips very evenly.  Put on a gloss on over this and it looks so fabulous especially for fall.  I can see me reaching for this shade a lot for use on my lips way more than on my eyes.

Pink and Purple Neutral Eye

I don't always wear neutral eye shadow, but when I do I almost always have to spice it up somehow.  This neutral eye has quickly become my  favorite and I'm so sad that my camera was not able to do this look justice because it just looks amazing in person. The little bit of pink seriously pops but doesn't overpower!

To do this look I....

1. Put Prometheus from BH cosmetics galaxy chic palette all over my eye lid

2. Put Jesse's Girl Plum Frost baked eye shadow in the crease.

3. Darken outer part of crease with Darkside from Naked 3

4.  Accentuate outer corner and teh lower lashline with Blackheart from Naked 3

5. Pat and blend Ever in Your Favor (super beautiful pink) by Shiro Cosmetics in between Prometheus and Blackheart on the lid.  

6. Highlight inner corner with NYX Whipped Cream

7. Do eyeliner, mascara, and all that!

I'm in love with this neutral eye <3

On my lips is Castle by NYX

Flormar Long Wearing Lipstick in L33

This will be my last Turkish makeup post as I have now shared everything I bought. This last item is my favorite as far as color but unfortunately my least favorite as far as performance.  This was the only lipstick I picked up from Flormar and it is seriously a huge disappointment....

Lilac Gloss or L033 is a very beautiful lilac shade with awesome opaque coverage.  It is from their Long Wearing lipstick collection, which is an absolute joke.  This lasts less than some lip glosses I own.  I can get an hour, maybe two at most from this lipstick.  The formula is so insanely creamy that it just melts right off, even when put over a lip liner. The plus is that when worn over the Flormar No. 218 lip liner it fades decently to a pretty lilacy plum color, I would never risk wearing this alone. Because it is so creamy it is extremely moisturizing and not drying whatsoever. However, if I ever went back to Europe I would not be getting another one of these lipsticks.

Where to buy: Flormar.com

Price: 15,90 TL (about $8)

NYX Studio Liquid Liner in Extreme Purple

I tend to not like liquid liners that are not in a marker/pen type of format but the colors of NYX's Studio Liquid Liners are just too awesome to let that stop me from using them! Today I am sharing the color Extreme Purple, an awesome metallic deep purple.

These things seriously do not budge! Once they are on, they stay on.  I even sometimes have trouble getting them off with makeup remover!

I love using these over a dark eye shadow because the color is really opaque and covers perfectly.  For this look I put Bruise by Detrivore cosmetics all over my lid, crease, and lower lashline.  Then I painted a large wing with the NYX liquid liner.  Its that easy!

Where to buy: Nyxcosmetics.com, Ulta, drugstores

Price: $4.50

MAC Rocky Horror Nail Polish in Bad Fairy

This is the second nail polish from the limited edition MAC Rocky Horror collection, Bad Fairy. I. Love. This. Color.  I never want to take it off its so gorgeous.  Depending on the angle it can look pink, red, or orange and it's just so insanely beautiful. Of course this is the one not in the permanent line. :(

Look at that duo color deliciousness.  This goes on a lot better than Formidable, building up to full opacity in only two coats.  So far it also seems to last longer.  I will definitely be using this a lot as its dark enough to wear in fall but also light enough for spring and summer wear. The versatility and uniqueness is just awesome.  

As if it wasn't already awesome enough I think it looks absolutely amazing when paired with purple, my favorite color..  That color combo...so lovely...

I want this color as a lipstick and eye shadow please...

If I don't stop now I'm going to gush about this polish forever.

Flormar Lip Liner in No 218

While in Istanbul I picked up a few Flormar makeup items.  Today I wanted to talk about the lip liner I bought.  As you probably know I have an insatiable purple lip addiction so of course I bought the plum lip liner in Stylish Lilac No. 218. 

Its a fairly basic plum color that goes on very easily and pigmented.  For the price I think this is a really great addition to my makeup collection.  However because of the somewhat uneven coverage I would not wear this alone.

Where to buy: flormar.com

Price: 3,95 TL (about $2)

Red and Black Dark Glittery Eye

I went to a formal charity dance with my boyfriend and his family.  When I found out that it was royalty themed I of course started panicking because I'm not a person that has princess gear lying around.  While home I rummaged through my closet and found a dark red and sparkly vampiresque dress I wore to my 9th grade homecoming.  Luckily I started counting calories recently because by god it fit! I wanted to do a dark red and black eye to match the dress but also wanted to glam it up to make myself look more like a royal vampire instead of just a goth girl in a fancy dress.  I wanted a tiara to really push the royalty theme but I kid you not I searched Walmart, K Mart, Dollar General, you name it and could not find a single freaking tiara!! Its before Halloween...seriously?? Bah.

This is my trial run look for the dance.  I can't show you high quality pics of the  look I actually did because I won't have my professional camera with me.....Anyway, I put NYX's gel liner and smudger in my crease and blended it out with my finger.  I may use a black eye shadow for the actual dance...I just didn't have one up at school with me because I'm an idiot.  On my lid is Aphrodite from the BH Cosmetics Galaxy Chic palette. I also smudged this color on my lower lashline. After adding a simple wing I brought out the MAC 3D Black glitter.  I may make it a little less thick towards the inner corner of my eye later but alas.  Using a lash glue wand dipped in the glitter I lined under my lash line leaving a slight space under my wing because....drama? On my lips is Mary Kay's Whipped Berries. Overall I like it and can't wait to wear this with my dress and jewelry.  

Earlier in the day I had put the glitter a bit below my eye and added some accent dots.  However I felt from a bit further away I looked very strange so I moved the liner closer to my lashline.  My boyfriend told me he liked the dots so they may make a return for my final look. 

And here are actual pictures from the dance taken on my phone! Yay!

Us being dorks

A some what decent shot of my dress.  We both looked smashing and dominated the dance floor. ;D

These are the best pictures I could get of the actual dance makeup.  I really like how it turned out :)

Since my UD Bondage came in the mail I applied it under my lashline then dipped a thin brush in the glitter and painted it on over the adhesive. I think it worked much better as I was able to get a much thinner line.

I had a really really great night :) <3

Urban Decay Pressed Pigment in Savage from the Electric Palette on my Lips

Here is yet another Electric Palette shadow on my lips.  This time its Savage a much more natural (at least as natural as the electric palette goes ) and wearable shade.  Overall this was fairly easy to apply and even though it looks a bit patchy in the close up, from a bit further away it looks perfect. If I ever wanted to wear a matte pink lip I would definitely reach for this.

This color makes me feel so bubbly and cute! It will stain the lips when taking it off though so prepare yourself for that.  Stay tuned for me to eventually finish the palette...I think I officially have the top row done! Yay!

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Jilted and Anarchy

I've had these two Urban Decay Revolution Lipsticks for quite some time but only recently realized I never swatched them....then I started to swatch them and forgot again.  I'm bad at life.  Anyway I received a sample size of Anarchy in an Ipsy bag and was so in love I had to buy another! I am definitely a huge fan of these lipsticks.  I love the formula its very creamy and opaque and only starts getting dry after a few hours, but I'm always willing to trade dryness for super long wear! I think they are worth the price unlike some other high end lip products that do not perform near as well but sport the same price tag.

First up is Jilted. This is a very pretty deep pink with a blue shift.  The lipstick goes on very creamy and lasts for hours.  I feel that it is very versatile as it is bright enough to be worn in summer but yet still deep enough to be pulled off in fall as well.  

And here is Anarchy a very intense hot pink! I know...this picture looks so different than the other...I took them a month apart in different locations of my apartment because I forgot I was working on getting these swatched...oops!. Anyway the formula for this one seems about the same however for whatever reason it lasts twice as long.  And by twice as long I mean I have yet to ever reapply it while out.  I've eaten multiple meals and this lipstick just keeps on trucking.  If you are looking for a high quality hot pink this lipstick may be your holy grail!

Where to buy: Ulta, Sephora, Urbandecay.com

Price: $22