Review: LORAC Pro Palette

I'm here to review the LORAC Pro Palette and I got this as a Christmas gift. I have been so interested in this palette ever since it was released but it just took a while for me to get my hands on it. 

Here is the packaging, I tried to use natural light but it came out too bright. However, the box is beautiful and it is all glittery which is a great touch. On the back it even offers tips for what colors to use together. 

For how thick the box was, I was astonished at how thin the palette was. It is maybe about an inch, possibly shorter. It is a rubber like outside too which is nice, and may get a little dirty but it is such a smooth surface that it is easy to clean. 

The palette comes with 16 colors, half matte and half shimmer. They are gorgeous! The above picture is in natural light. There are a few colors that are similar between the matte and shimmers but I like that not every color has a match. For example, the darkest matte color is black but the shimmer's darkest color is a slate blue. 

Here is the palette with lamp lighting, and I actually think it is more true to color here than in natural lighting. I will tell you right now, I am so in love with this palette. I will even go as far to say that I love it more than both Urban Decay Naked palettes! 

Above are the matte colors swatched on my hand and get this...without a primer! That white is incredible! The mattes are true to color and the color payoff is outstanding. 

Here are the shimmer colors and they are just as impressive. The shimmer is great and there is only one color with slightly chunkier shimmer. That color I believe is champagne, but it is easily worked with. 

This palette is hands down my favorite eyeshadow palette EVER. The shadows are so creamy and pigmented and while you do get a little dust from putting your brush in it it is worth every penny. It also comes with a small tube of the Mini Behind the Scenes Eye Shadow Primer (.17 oz). It has a slight skin tone tint to it but it is a pretty good primer. 

Each eyeshadow is .32 oz and something I love with this is that it has no parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, synthetic dyes, petrochemicals, phthalates, GMOs or triclosan! I did get that off Sephora's website but it is so nice to see a company do that with a product like eyeshadows. 

The palette sells at Sephora for $42 (a $110 value). 

Review: Mary-Kay Mini Nourishine Plus Lip Gloss Set

So I got this as a little gift and I thought it was completely adorable! As you guys know, I am not the biggest lip gloss fan because usually I find it very sticky. However, this is a beautiful set that just glides over the lips. 

Something that pleased me more was that it was by Mary-Kay, which we never hear about at all. My mom used to sell Mary-Kay and I would be her assistant (must be where my love of make-up started!). These colors are amazingly pigmented and I actually love the sparkle in it. 

The colors are swatched here on my hand, starting from bottom to top. 

The first color is called Beach Bronze and is a gold colored gloss with gold sparkles. It is a great color to wear to wear to blend into your natural lip color.

Next color is probably my favorite, it is called Red Passion and it is just what it looks like, red gloss with red sparkles. Perfect for a party lip or going out.

Next, is Pink Luster which is a more rosy pink with what looks to me like silver and pink sparkles. 

Then, is another favorite, Berry Tart, which has silver sparkles. 

The light pink color you see has the cutest name, Fancy Nancy, and it has gold sparkles. This is a great natural color. 

Finally, there is a clear gloss, Icicle, which has more silver/blue sparkles.

 There you go! I love this kit and will definitely use it, it really is a great thing to use all year round. You just can't go wrong with these colors. 

Each gloss is .5 grams but I couldn't find it on the website, so if you know someone who sells MK, be sure to ask!

Mini Beauty Haul

Hope everyone has had a great Thanksgiving! I spent last night after dinner building my new dresser from Ikea! It took me 2.5 hours but it finally is done. I'll put some pictures down below. On to more important things! 

I needed to run out and buy myself some Benadryl because I have these terrible red bumps and I'm incredibly itchy. So obviously, I picked up some make-up to go with :) 

I cannot seem to stay away from the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains. I bought a red one named "Romance", which is so perfect. I adore this color, it is the perfect red for going out during the day. It isn't too big of a statement. 

Now, I have been hearing for some time about how wonderful the Wet and Wild Eyeshadow Palettes are. I have been impressed by the swatches I was seeing too, so when I saw this one I decided to give it a go. 

Sadly, my local pharmacy only has about three or four of them and I know there are others out there. "Comfort Zone" definitely caught my eye though. 

Look at those colors! They are stunning, and I was so excited about the duo-chrome color on the bottom right. It is like a dark green/teal with brown/cranberry duo-chrome. All these colors no matter how you match them are incredible and so many new eye looks can be made!

Left side of palette top to bottom going from right to left

Right side of palette top to botton
 going from right to left

Natural light 

The applicator comes with a brush

....and a sponge side

If you notice, the above two pictures show the bottom right color as a totally different color. That is the duo-chrome in direct sunlight. 

The pigmentation of these are insane and I am sure they are 100 times better with a base. They are very soft and you just have to tap the shadow to pick up a ton of color. I would worry about some fallout because they are such soft shadows, but that is nothing a tissue or foundation can't fix. 

The Revlon Balm Stain was $9.99 and the Wet and Wild Palette was $5.49, both of which were bought with my own money :)

Frame of the dresser

Charlie's version of helping

Birchbox Beauty Haul

I am a little bit late on this post but I made an order on Birchbox because I had about 30 points saved up and that meant I could get $30 off my purchase! I didn't get a ton of stuff but I am very happy with what I did get. 

I have been getting really into black liquid liner and I just love the way it looks and I've been on the search for the perfect brush and formula. I've been using the 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner by Urban Decay and as much I love it the brush has started fraying. So this time, I decided to try Stila's Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner. I adore this it is a marker not a brush you take out and this is perfect. It makes the sleekest lines and the formula has the best staying power I've seen. Even an oil based make-up remover had trouble getting it off my hand!

Then I picked up my all time favorite face towelettes by the Yes To brand. These are the Yes To Blueberry cleansing towelettes. They are the age refresh kind and it has apple and lemon peel in them. I really do not like blueberries and their smell but I love these! They don't leave that gross residue that so many do and they are so soft on your skin. This is a holy grail item for sure. 

Now this is hands down my new favorite product. I have been eyeing the stila eyeshadow palettes for a while. There are about four of them - there is the In The Garden, In The Know, In The Moment, and the one I bought was the In The Light palette. 

It comes with a small booklet with a few different eye looks you can do with the colors. It also came with a waterproof smudge stick eyeliner in the color damsel which is a beautiful chocolate brown.

I am in love with these colors. They are all so versatile and there is a mix of matte and shimmery colors.  First row: Bare (matte ivory) Kitten (shimmering nude pink) Bliss (matte nude) Sunset (copper shimmer) Sandstone (matte neutral brown) 

Second row: Champagne (pale gold shimmer) Glided Gold (bronze with gold shimmer) Luster (deep gray with gold shimmer) Night Sky (slate blue with silver shimmer) and Ebony (matte black)

I put swatches down below so you can see how pigmented they are. This is a must have palette if you like neutrals. I really think I have to go get the other three palettes now. It is a little pricey at $39 but well worth it!

Get the look! Purple Smokey Eye

I'll show you the items I used to get this smokey purple eye! 

Face/Eye Primer: Both from Too Faced. The Face Primer is the Primed and Poreless and the eye primer is the Too Faced Shadow Insurance. 

Foundation: Make-Up Forever HD in Sand 125 - this stuff is amazing! My new holy grail foundation and I'll be writing a real review soon on it. 

Concealer: Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda Concealer Palette. - This is one of my staples, if I am not using the Bobbi Brown concealers then this is what I'm using.

Eyeshadow: The Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette. I love this palette because it just has so many colors and you could create any look with this. 

The colors with red dots on them are the colors I used. 

The very top left - highlight on the brow and inner corner

The two browns in the first column - in the crease

The three pinks - mixed together on the lid (more of the lightest pink)

Dark Purple in the fourth column - outer corner and crease

Eyeliner: Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Eyeliner in Black

Blush: Tarte's Amazonian Clay Blush in Dollface

Bronzer: Hoola Bronzer by Benefit in the hollows of my cheeks and then I contoured my nose a little with it. 

Eyebrows: Clinque Superfine Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown

Mascara: Clinque's High Lengths Mascara on lower and upper lashes

Fall 2012 Wishlist

Fall 2012 Wishlist by jennifersmeriglio featuring bvlgari perfume

Lorac
sephora.com

Bvlgari perfume
sephora.com

Beauty product
sephora.com

Stila beauty product
sephora.com

Stella McCartney Stella
sephora.com

Lancôme Trésor Midnight Rose
sephora.com

September Birchbox!

Ready for another Birchbox? I sure am, it feels like I'd been waiting forever for this next one. The box is a sort of welcome to fall/fashion week so I think it is pretty appropriate especially because the weather has been cooling off quite a bit. 

It came with this cute booklet or their version of the fall fashion mags haha

First item is the La Fresh Nail Polish Remover Acetone-Free pad. I've seen these around on YouTube so I'm excited I will get to try this out. I haven't been doing my nails lately (I don't have enough time to let them dry!) but I just painted my nails tonight so when I switch colors I'll give it a go!

I am super excited about these teas by Mighty Leaf. I love tea and when it is cooler out it is the perfect drink. The three flavors are Vanilla Bean (yum), Green Tea Tropical, and Chamomile Citrus. 

This is an enzymatic face rejuvenator by Vasanti, not a brand I have ever heard of, but I am always willing to give new stuff a chance. Plus my skin has been pretty decent lately, so I can afford to branch out a little. 

This is what I was most excited about, however I think the sample could have been a lot bigger than .07 ounces. At least give us a full ounce! This is the matte moisture tint by Jouer. I put it on and I am in love! It has amazing coverage! Like this is truly closer to a foundation. It is amazing and it isn't too matte which is nice because this is when my skin starts getting really dry. 

This is Twirl by Kate Spade, and I have smelled this before and love it so I was so happy to see this in the box. I feel like I enjoy it enough to buy it, but I don't know if it is really a fall/winter scent. However, knowing me I'll probably buy this and a few others because I think I've loved all but one or two samples so far.

This is the big loser for me in the box. I watched the video for the month preview by Birchbox and they introduced the line of nail polishes by Color Club dedicated to social networking. This is the one color (Tweet Me) I did NOT want to get. It is described as a creamy Chartreuse and honestly, this picture makes the bottle look too yellow and not enough green. However, when it is on the nail it is streaky as hell and the color is puke green/yellow. I would have preferred any of the other three to this one. 

Finally, I was amazed to see this because I LOVE Madewell and J. Crew. Since I need more cold weather clothing I will be using this up right away. Thanks Birchbox!