My Picks: MAC Buy 2 Get 1 Free Lipsticks- Barbeque, Coral Bliss, and Mehr

L to R: Barbeque, Coral Bliss, Mehr

 MAC giving away product for free?? Must be dreamin' amiright? No need to pinch yourself, ladies and gents. MAC recently ran a superb special where you could buy any 2 lip products and get a third lippie free. I took advantage of this deal and got three lipsticks I have had my eye on for a bit.

 I chose 'Coral Bliss,' a pinkier leaning cremesheen formula, 'Barbecue,' a matte red with bright orange undertones, and 'Mehr,' a matte mauve a la Kylie Jenner lip craze.

All of these colors have quickly moved into my summertime rotation with Coral Bliss being my go to for an easy and bright lip look that goes with any outfit or makeup. Thanks to my friend from PT school Virginia for drawing my attention to this shade! Mehr will transition with ease into the cooler months and Barbeque will be reserved for when I want that stand out pout.

xxSJ

Smashbox Try It Kit: Best Sellers

Smashbox is a brand that I think is a bit understated. With its practical, non-flashy packaging and makeup designed to be professional level, I'm not sure who exactly the target demographic is. I love the brand's photo op eyeshadow trios a ton and so was so excited to get my hands on the Smashbox Try It kit filled with the brand's bestsellers in miniature travel sizes:

The kit comes with a photo finish foundation primer, a full exposure mascara, a 24 hour photo finish foundation primer, and a photo op eyeshadow trio. 

The eyeshadow trio is in the color 'Filter,' which is the most neutral of Smashbox's trio selection.  It comes with 3 matte shadows in an ivory, a soft brown, and a deep brown. The packaging on this little trio is pretty neat with a swing out disc, but these shadows are REALLY TINY.

Here is the mini trio compared with one of Smashbox's full sized trios for size comparison. Despite the tiny size, the pan size is large enough to dip a brush into easily and the colors are enough for a complete eye look. 

L to R: Vanilla, Sable, Sumatra

Smashbox's eyeshadows are buttery smooth and blend easily to create seamless eye looks.  I really enjoyed the eyeshadow primer under the shadows and felt it was just as good as UD Primer Potion or Too Faced Shadow Insurance. It has some slip to it which was the only thing I noticed as setting the Smashbox primer apart from other brands, but I didn't feel like it effected the way my shadows applied.

Using only eyeshados from the 'Filter' Trio

The mascara is concerning only because it isn't waterproof and my eyes get VERY watery through out the day leading to raccoon eyes up the wazoo. I've tried the foundation primer before and I do like it enough to use up the tube, however it doesn't change the way my foundation applies enough to warrant buying a full size tube of the product.

I like this product as a way to try out some hot items from a popular and, in my opinion, underrated makeup brand. It also was a way to get my hands on a travel size eyeshadow trio for a decent price. This kit costs $18 for $36 worth of product and is quite the steal in my opinion! 

Take a look at this product on Ulta's website Here!

I've reviewed some Smashbox products before!

My review of the photo op trio in 'Cover Shoot'

My review of the photo op trio in 'Headshot'

My review of the photo op trio in 'Multi-Flash'

xxSJ

Sephora Beauty Insider Birthday Gift 2015!

Every year Sephora gives members to their rewards program a free gift in their birthday month!   If you're not a Sephora Beauty Insider, what are you waiting for??? There's no catch to join (no credit cards, no nothin!) and you get a free gift every year while also racking up points on every purchase you make to redeem for deluxe samples later. There is also the highly anticipated 15-20% event for Beauty Insiders every Spring and Fall.  This year, the gift was two mini Nars lip pencils for Beauty Insiders and VIBs (and an extra eyeliner if you are a VIB Rouge!). 

The pencils come in sleek containers with the housed color displayed on the end. These minis are .06oz of product each compared to the full size which is 0.08oz of product (pretty close!). The pencils, just like their full size versions, are NOT twist up so require sharpening. 

The two colors that come in the birthday gift are Cruella, a cult favorite bright matte red, and Rikugien, a satin mauvey pink. 

Here is Cruella on my lips. It applies really easy and smooth though I would recommend using a similarly colored lip liner to get a really perfect outline. This one can be a little rough around the edges since it is such a large pencil.

Above is Cruella compared to some other cult classic red lipsticks! 

Rikugien is very similar to Cruella in terms of application, but it is far less pigmented since it is a satin instead of a matte finish. I like how natural this pencil is and I think it is a great everyday lip color! 

Above is Rikugien compared to some other mauve tones I have in my collection.

The wear time of these lip pencils is pretty good at 6 hours, but you have to reapply after eating and drinking. Cruella does not wear off in a flattering way and leaves a red rim around your lips so make sure to bring the product with you for reapplication during a night out on the town.

Overall, I love that NARS included a bold statement color (and a fan favorite), along with a wearable everyday color. The value of this set is about $39 and it is COMPLETELY FREE if you are a Sephora BI!

No, its not a trap, I promise!
xxSJ

Light Brown: Comparing Transition Shades

A transition shade is a color you place in and a bit above the crease of your eyelid to make blending easier and the transition between all your eyeshadows smoother. The most popular transition shade is a matte light brown color. That being said, there are SO many to choose from and so many that are proclaimed 'must-have' colors by makeup gurus and companies. With so many to choose from you'd think picking one would be easy but wading through all the choices can be a tad daunting! I thought I'd share all the matte light browns I have to give you an idea of how more popular ones compare and my thoughts on some of my faves!

Let's get started from left to right! First up are the two matte browns from the Naked 1 palette, Naked and Buck. These colors are great because they layer beautifully on top of one another, meaning you can dip your brush in both of these, buff them into your crease and effortlessly add some great dimension to your eye look. MAC's Soft Brown is the next color and is a great shade if you're looking for a warmer brown that leans peach. It is really similar to Makeup Geek's Creme Brulee and Stila's Wit (from Eyes are the Window 'Mind' palette).  I like these colors if I'm going for a warmer eye look. I think they all perform comparably to one another though I prefer MAC's Soft Brown slightly because I think it is slightly less powdery and blends with other colors a bit better because of its satiny feel.  Next I have the NARS eyeshadow duo in 'Portobello.' These colors are SO amazingly buttery and soft and yet don't kick up a bunch of product when you dip your brush in or are blending them. The color on the left is unique as it has a bit of green in it and the color on the right in the duo is so rich and adds gorgeous depth to any eye look. I highly recommend this little compact if you're looking for some unique and gorgeous colors for your collection that you can get a TON of use out of. Lastly I have the matte brown color from the Dior 5-Colour palette in Grege. Unfortunately I don't think Dior sells this palette anymore which is a shame because it is gorgeous (find my review of it HERE), but if you have it, here is how the rich matte brown in it compares with some other popular browns.

I hope this post was helpful for anyone looking for comparisons of these popular colors!

xxSJ

New Favorite: Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

When I bought the bulk of my eyeshadows in my collection I was all about the glitter and shimmer! I have a TON of pretty shades but not a lot of matte shadows that will create a pretty, sophisticated, and basic look. I thought the least expensive and quickest way to get me a nice array of shadows would be to purchase the Naked Basics palette by Urban Decay. 

This little palette was so perfect for what I needed! It was $28 at Sephora for 6, 1.5g eyeshadows (for reference that is the same size as Urban Decay single pot shadows, the shadows in the Naked palettes, and MAC single eyeshadows). 

The colors from left to right are Venus, the only shimmery shade in the palette that is a great highlighter; Foxy, a yellowy bone-toned highlighter; Walk of Shame, a beigey pink shade; Naked2, a  taupe gray shade; Faint, a deep brown color; and Crave, a blackest black charcoal color.

All of these shades are buttery soft to the touch except for Crave which feels like a piece of charcoal. I don't mind it, though, because I think the texture helps make it so inky black! These shadows work so wonderfully on their own for an all matte, sophisticated look, and they also work fantastically to begin a look which you can add shimmer or colors to later.  This little palette is a seriously amazing addition to my makeup collection because I feel like I can just use this little guy for a work or school-appropriate eyeshadow look.  No fuss of reaching for a bunch of different palettes since everything I need is all in one place!

I highly recommend this little palette for its practicality, quality, and affordability.

xxSJ