NOTD: Essie 'After School Boy Blazer'

I haven't spoiled myself with buying a new nail polish since I moved to NY for school because an $8 or $9 polish simply doesn't fit into my budget. However, when I saw this polish at Target, I HAD to have it. It is Essie's 'After School Boy Blazer,' a creamy, super deep, navy blue.  This polish is nothing like I own and is so attractive to me for the fall and winter. I've worn it a couple times since I've purchased it and I am so pleased with how it looks! It has a great formula (opaque in only one coat!) and lasts for days with out a single chip. This type of fuss free polish is exactly what I look for during the holidays where I'm so busy and the last thing I need to worry about is touching up my nails.

xxSJ

Too-Faced Natural Eye Palette: An Unsung Hero

This Too-Face Natural Eye palette is one of the first palettes I ever owned. I find myself rotating through palettes quite frequently and every time I pick this one up after stowing it away for awhile I'm always in awe by the ease of use and quality of shadows inside! I thought I'd do a quick post highlighting why I love this thing and why it will always be an old faithful for me!

The color selection in the palette as the name suggests is very neutral. This palette includes my very favorite highlight, 'Heaven.' This matte soft white highlight is just so perfect to add some dimension to the eye. Particularly when mixed with this shimmer heavy palette, the matte highlight is the perfect touch.  I also LOVE the gray/beige crease color 'Velvet Revolver.'  It is a warm gray color that works as the perfect transition color for every one of the colors in this palette. 

The shadows are all a variety of textures with the upper row being mattes, the middle row being shimmers, and the bottom row containing chunky glitters. The negative I have to say about this palette is that the darkest browns are quite similar to one another. They only differ slightly in tone.

No matter the shadow combination you choose with this palette, it will create the prettiest, brightest fool proof neutral eye. I recommend this palette for beginners over the Naked palette simply because you can't mess these shadow combos up! Other palettes can be a bit overwhelming because of all the shadow combos you can create. With this small palette, you will create a pretty eye, every time. 

I always feel so pretty when I use this little palette and I usually get compliments on my eye makeup when I wear this stuff! This palette is $36 for 9 eyeshadows and is the perfect size for traveling. Trust me when I say this is the perfect set of shadows to add to your arsenal for a standby pretty eye. You'll feel pretty. You'll feel fabulous. Everyone will notice.

xxSJ

How to Wear Mint: Using NARS Habanera Eyeshadow duo

I received this NARS eyeshadow duo in the color 'Habanera' awhile ago as a gift and it has been taunting me from my makeup drawer ever since! With out a doubt this is my prettiest eyeshadow I own... just look at that mint green! And who would have thought that purple would compliment it so beautifully?? Today I decided to go for it and attempt to make a wearable look using the mint green shadow as the focus. 

Here's the result: 

I used a light nude color (MUG Beaches & Cream) and buffed it into my crease up to my brow bone. Then I used MAC's Soft Brown to further deepen the crease area. These two colors work great as transition colors and make blending SO easy.

Then it was time for the mint! I packed that gorgeous color all over my lid up to my crease. I made sure the color was nice and opaque across my lid. Finally I used the purple color in the duo and very carefully tapped that color into my crease. I did this last step slowly adding layer by layer to make sure it didn't get muddy!

Overall I love the way this look turned out! I think this look is multi-seasonal since you can play up the pastels or iciness of the mint or you can deepen it up further with the rich purple.

Color can be scary but there's usually a way to rock it with out being too 'out there.'  Just work with what you've got and be confident!

xxSJ

Review: Bite Beauty Luminous Creme Lipstick Duo

Bite Beauty is the current hot name in all things lip related. Bite Beauty is a pretty pricey prestigious brand that touts lip products that are made from all edible ingredients! I think that's pretty cool for something we're slappin' on our mouths everyday! I decided to try out the brand by purchasing the Luminous Creme Lipstick Duo.  It is a small double-ended stick that has two mini lippies on either side. I got the more neutral duo in 'Musk/Lychee.'

Keep in mind that this lippie is really TINY! Granted, that makes this lil' guy fantastic for toting around in your purse, but I'm sad that this won't last very long since there is so little product.

This lippie is pretty interesting because the colors look SO similar in their tube form. But swatched you can see that Musk is deep brownish pink color while Lychee is a lighter warm pink color. 

The top picture above is my bare lips, the middle picture is with 'Lychee' and the bottom picture is with 'Musk.' These lipsticks feel really moisturizing! I don't find they get that long of wear time when I'm eating and drinking, but I love that they fade evenly and don't leave lines or rings of product on your lips.

Overall I love this little product and it has led to me asking for a full size bite lipstick for Christmas this year! I really like the thought this brand puts into their ingredients and product as a whole. This double-ended lipstick actually isn't the best value when you look at price per ounce of lipstick, but it is certainly a great way to try out two different lip colors and for only $12 it won't break the bank completely. A full size luminous creme lipstick from Bite Beauty will set you back $24 for 0.15oz of product (for comparison sake a MAC lipstick houses 0.10oz of product).

Get your own here!

Nature Box! Snack Review and is it worth it???

 I spent the month of October munchin' on my snacks from my very first full-sized Naturebox and let me tell you...I'm in love! I chose a 5 snack box for about $19 and I'll tell you right, now I definitely think this service is worth it. Here are the snacks I received and some quick thoughts on them:

 The Coconut Cashews are by far my favorite thing in this box. These little drops of heaven are seriously so good and are the perfect blend of coconut and sweetness.

 The Sourdough Cheddar Pretzels were Lucas' favorite thing in the box. They had a pretty strong beer taste to them and were quite good! The serving size was also quite large which made these a filling snack.

 The Santa Fe Corn Stix are seriously delicious but I was at first kind of thrown off by how small these sticks are! I realize now though that along with being a great snack on their own, these sticks would be a great addition to a BBQ chicken salad or some chicken chili!

 The Pistachio Power Clusters were a bit of a miss for me. These small squares are really dense and a bit hard to chew and at first have an overpowering nut flavor, then have a sweet aftertaste. They are also pretty high calorie as well.

This French Toast Granola is so delicious! I've been using this granola to top my yogurt in the morning and it is the most perfect crunchy addition! It isn't too sweet and is lightly spiced with cinnamon to get that french toast flavor.

All in all I love NatureBox so far. I haven't finished any of the snacks since I'm trying to practice some self-control, so I don't think this is something I will need every month. I think the price is right, however, and you can't beat the convenience of having food delivered right to your door!

Here's how Naturebox works: On the Naturebox website after you sign up, you can go through all of the snacks and pick out ones that interest you to go in your 'pantry.' These are the snacks that will be delivered to you! If you prefer a little mystery to your life, you don't have to add any snacks to your pantry and you can let NatureBox pick a variety for you. There are also options you can select for if you have specific dietary needs such as gluten-free, low sugar, low carb, vegan, etc. 

The price breakdown is as follows:
3 snacks for $13.95
5 snacks for $19.95 (this is the default box!)
10 snacks for $29.95 (this box has two each of 5 different snacks so its good to split with someone)
20 snacks for $49.95 (this box has 4 each of 5 different snacks so its great for a family)

This subscription service also allows you to cancel really easily with just a click of a button from your profile settings, or you can simply skip a month if you just want to put your snacking on hold!

Click here to try NatureBox for yourself! : http://fbuy.me/bfpFE

Happy Snacking! 

xxSJ

Review: Nars Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow 'Europa'

Soooooo I may or may not have treated myself. Whatcha gonna do about it? Armed with a Sephora Friends and Family 20% off discount, I bravely went on the Sephora website with a limited wallet size and Christmas shopping in mind. I decided to get a little something for myself after all was said and done since I haven't bought any makeup in ***gasp*** about 2 months. I decided to try out NARS' new dual-intensity eyeshadows.

These single eyeshadows are $29 a pop which is pretty steep for a single eyeshadow... you get 1.5g of product which is a bit more than your standard pot but still... this stuff ain't cheap! The packaging is well worth the steep price tag as the shadow comes packaged in a beautifully perfect square with magnetic closure and the NARS logo emblazoned boldly on the top. For size comparison's sake, here is the shadow next to an eyeshadow duo:

It's so little I could just die!!! These shadows are sleek and compact which allows me to give the packaging a deserved A+. Now for the color, I selected 'Europa,' which is a 'gossamer pink-peach.' The color in the pan is truly beautiful as you can see some peach and even purple holographic reflects. The design stamped into the shadow is also quite lovely!

Also, NARS gets a million points for adding the world's tiniest mirror to this compact! Just look at it!!!!

Swatched on my hand you can see that this shadow is indeed pink and has a pretty satiny finish to it. The shadow applies pretty pigmented and opaque when dry but applies with extra shimmer and metallic sheen when applied wet (hence the 'dual-intensity' name!). 

Overall I'm extremely pleased with this eyeshadow and have been wearing it quite frequently to create neutral eye looks incorporating pink onto the lid rather than a boring beige or soft brown color. The only thing stopping me from examining some other colors in this collection is the steep price tag. I would say splurge on this makeup item! Swatch some colors in store and find one that speaks to you! It's always fun to have an extra special makeup product lying around that makes you feel extra special when you wear it!

xxSJ