Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in 'Double Dare' and 'Lovesick'

 The liquid lipstick trend has hit the beauty world hard and I don't think its going anywhere any time soon. I decided to hop on this trend after thorough research on what I thought the best liquid lipstick formula would be for my dry, depraved lips. I settled on trying out Kat Von D's Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks due to their reputation of having a long-lasting and very comfortable formulation.  I settled on picking two neutral colors to try this trend out.

R: Lovesick, L: Double Dare

 I picked out 'Lovesick,' a mauve pinky nude, and 'Double Dare,' a dusty rose mauve. The products come housed in a slender plastic tube with ornate black designs on it. I like the sleek packaging a lot, and the slimness may make it seem like you get less product, you actually get 0.22oz of liquid lipstick which is double what you get in an Anastasia Beverly Hills liquid lipstick. The applicator is a standard doefoot applicator which I found very easy to use to get a relatively perfect application.

Top: Double Dare, Bottom: Lovesick

I love this product a lot.  I am someone who LOVES lipstick to death but can't be bothered to reapply it through out the day when it fades. I also have a profession that doesn't allow me to look in mirrors often or take frequent restroom breaks for touch ups so I tend to avoid putting on lip products at risk of fading or smearing in an unflattering way. I think this product solves this issue for me as I get a full 8 hours of wear time out of this lipstick with no touch ups needed. This stuff lasts through eating and drinking and best of all, it doesn't make my lips feel uncomfortable. I definitely wouldn't say that this lipstick makes my lips feel moisturized while I wear it, but I'm certainly not bothered by it.

As an added bonus, I noticed in the morning following wearing this product my lips always looked and felt very refreshed. After some light investigating I discovered this product is infused with Vitamin E and sunflower seeds which my lips apparently respond really well to!

I'm in love with these lipsticks and will surely pick up more shades in the future. It's a beautiful product that works and costs the fair price of $20 per tube. Its not cheap, but its not going to break the bank if I hold off on my normal Starbucks purchases for the week!

Find these liquid lipsticks HERE!

xxSJ

Lorac 'Unzipped' Palette

My boyfriend surprised me this Christmas by giving me the Lorac 'Unzipped' palette. I have never mentioned this palette to him (and my long term lusting after it), but he said after much research, he decided this palette was the most 'Steph.' So sweet :) The guy has got a point though! The Lorac Unzipped palette is a no-fuss palette filled with rosey and warm pinks, browns, and burgundies.

The packaging is sturdy cardboard which closes with magnets. The palette is super thin and includes the 10 shades with no wasted space for a brush I'll never use. My one gripe is I think the mirror inside the palette could be a bit bigger! 

Undercover is a matte white with pinky tones to it. It is really pigmented and easy to place all over the lid and as a brow highlight. 

Unbelievable is a deep satin rose gold with purple smoke to it.

Undiscovered is a pure pale gold that shows up great on the lid for some sparkle.

Unreal is a gorgeous shimmery pink.

Unattainable is a satin mauve color with a taupey hue to it.
Unconditional is a mauve matte color that I've been using mostly as my transition in the crease.
Uncensored is a satin brown color which is warmer on the skin than it looks in the pan.
Unspoken is a matte brown color, nice for deepening up the crease.

Unbridled is the superstar of the palette in my opinion. It is a deep matte burgundy with crazy pigmentation. 

Untamed is a satiny brown with purple undertones and lots of sparkle.

Swatched on my arm above are the colors from left to right, top row first, then bottom row. The colors all are buttery soft with excellent color payoff. 

Here's a look I did using only shadows from this palette.  This is a more dramatic eye with thick black eyeliner, but I also used this palette to create softer eyes and pushed 'Unbridled' into my lash line for some soft smokey liner.

This palette is so gorgeous and great for anyone looking for a pink-hued neutrals palette. I think it is similar to the Naked 3 palette but I find more inspiration when looking at this palette than I do at the Naked 3. This palette is $42 for 10 very wearable eye shadows and can be purchased on Amazon, at Kohl's, Ulta, or loraccosmetics.com.

Check it out on Amazon Here!!

xxSJ

Review: NYX Lipliners in 'Rose' and 'Sandy Pink'

As I'm getting more and more into wearing different hued lipsticks, I realize that my tried and true 'Dervish' lipliner from MAC isn't cutting it for every lip color! I thought I'd try out some affordable lip liners in my pursuit for a pretty pink pucker:

After doing some research I discovered that NYX's lipliners have excellent reviews, particularly the color 'Rose.' For $2 a piece, I had to give these a try! 

'Rose' (left) is a medium toned beige pink that I thought would look nice under my lighter pinky beige lipsticks to bring some color to a nude pout. 'Sandy Pink' is a brighter medium toned blue pink I thought would look great paired with my new lipstick fave, NYX 'Blush.' The packaging is shiny black casing with white writing. Because of all the writing, these don't necessarily look as sleek as MAC lipliners, but their appearance doesn't effect their quality!

Swatchy swatch! These lipliners are super smooth which I love. I don't like having to warm up a liner on my hand to make it glide smoother. The color is also the perfect amount of pigmented, leaving a nice line of color on the lip. 

Here are pictures of the lip liner alone and then paired with lipsticks I think make good matches:

Overall I think these lip liners are fantastic! They rival MAC lipliners in wear time, ease of application, and pigmentation but for a fraction of the cost. I'm definitely going to pick up some darker colors for the fall!

You can purchase NYX cosmetics on their website or at Ulta. Look out for BOGO deals!

XxSJ

Julep Maven Unboxing and First Impression

I've been researching monthly beauty subscription services for a while now and am just really not sure if I want to commit. Recently I read that you can get an introductory box from Julep (nail polish!) for only ONE PENNY just so you can try out the service and see if its something you would like to do monthly.
I decided to try it out and my box arrived today. I wanted to share with you all what the presentation was like!

The box is a small 6x6 black box. It arrived about 4 days after it was shipped.

Inside there was a welcome card (I love how these services are all 'so excited' that you've joined!!) and underneath that:

The card describing my style profile.  You take a quiz on red carpet fashion and accessories and receive one out of (I believe) 5 styles. I got 'Classic With a Twist'. What you get your first time determines the color nail polish you get in your intro box, but after that you are free to pick whatever style you like as your monthly subscription from  month to month (which is nice that you have SOME say in the products you receive).

The items came packaged up in a little pink paper bag wrapped in black ribbon. And look! Little toe separater pedicure guys! (I'll never use em but hey, they were exciting!)

Here is the lovely pedicure cream (sorry *creme*) and then the two nail polishes were wrapped in bubble wrap (I'm going to have some serious fun with that later) to ensure a crack free voyage for the little guys inside!

Here are the colors I got : Kate: a soft white pearl, and Rose: juicy watermelon red creme.
I haven't tried the colors yet (or the 'pedi creme'....and yes I'm going to call it that when I'm feeling snooty) but I'll review them when I do.

So there you have it! This is what a penny will get you! If you want more details about what being a monthly subscriber would entail then visit the website but the basics are as follows:
AFTER YOUR INTRO BOX:
-it's $20 for over $40 worth of products per box
-on the 20th of the month you are sent an email with the sneak previews of what every style box has inside
-you get to pick whatever style box you like best (so if I subscribed I would NOT have to get the classic with a twist box every month if I fancied other colors more)
-you can skip a month free of charge if you don't like the color selection as long as it is by the 27th
-shipments go out on the 28th and you should get your box at the beginning of the month

We'll see if I stay subscribed! It depends on the quality of the nail polishes when I try them out.

Are you subscribed to any beauty subscriptions?