Sabrina's Perfect Palette Tag

Now, I don't have the most massive collection of palettes as I have returned some, found better homes for others and thrown out ones that were no longer safe for contact anywhere near my eyes. While looking through my makeup collection the other day, I realized how much I really like the edit of palettes I have at the moment and I don't feel any need to go out and buy the newest and latest thing or lust over something that has been around and raved to death (but if someone wants to gift me an Hourglass Modernist palette, I won't say no). I've omitted a couple questions from the original tag because they were repetitive, but my collection includes some palettes you might need just one more review on, as well as some that probably aren't too widely known.

Spring Makeup Shakeup

Hello again friends it's been so long! For this post I'm going to share some thoughts on spring-related makeup with some recently released items, as well as some older stuff. Everything mentioned here is from my gratis, which is basically a beautiful bag of free beauty products I get from companies at work. I receive these goodies to test and familiarize myself with what they do so that I can assist customers with questions and make recommendations AND IT IS GLORIOUS.

Review | Urban Decay Naked Basics 2

One of my first major makeup investments was the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette almost two years ago. Never having been one to successfully blend shadows together and create art on the eyelid, most palettes scared me because they offered way too many colors and I couldn't figure out which shadow would go on the lid and which belonged in the crease. This was clearly when I was still in a newbie eyeshadow phase (not like my skills are much improved tbh) so the less intimidating, the better. Naked Basics also appealed to me because of all the love surrounding the Naked Palettes online, with claims that the shadows were pigmented and easily blendable, all good things for a beginner. Urban Decay's latest release of the Naked Basics 2 also seemed right up my alley as it was more cool-toned and had hints of taupe and reddy-brown, two flattering shades for my lighter skin tone and brown eyes. I held out on buying it because I didn't need another palette and there were other ones ahead of it in line, but my extremely generous friend Amanda gifted me the palette for Christmas, so now I couldn't feel guilty about having it in my collection.

Urban Decay Naked Basics (left) and Naked Basics 2 (right)

2014 Beauty Faves

2014 is still fresh in our minds, right? Right! So it's totally okay for me to post this mid-January, right? Right! I'm really excited because the blog celebrated its first birthday on Jan. 11th and because I have been blogging and "doing research" (watching beauty vlogs and buying things I can't afford), I have really branched out with my beauty regimen, application methods, looks and most importantly - the products! I've broken this post down into different categories and yeah, okay I cheated a bit and broke the lip products into six sub-categories but it was hard to choose just one and we all need options! The only thing I wish I could have found this year was a standout foundation, but as my skin has been changing a lot, I don't feel it's fair to select any one foundation at this point. I am however crossing my fingers I find a fave in 2015! Also, happy new year!!!

#essiebuttoneffect

Beauty blogging is a special thing because within the community, one person's rave of a product makes its way around the blogosphere and before you know it, a hyped-up product has been born and everyone wants to get their hands on it. I don't believe there's such a thing as "copying" within the beauty blogger world, despite that so many of my fave beauty gals use the same products. The repitition serves as a sign that the product is phenom and I HAVE to have it (usually). As I see so many of the same products put to use and raved about, I always feel confident about my purchases and rarely ever buy something without researching blogs and watching YouTube videos to form an opinion of the product. My go-to-gal for all things beauty is the one and only Estée (or EssieButton). Estée and I have a similar taste, and most of the time I love everything she's raved about and I've tried. Below is a round up of my #essiebuttonmademedoit purchases, each with a mini review. It took everything in my power to not adopt a greyhound and include him in the post, but I can't make any promises for the future. Also, this is a long one but you get so many products reviewed!

Little Mix Move video makeup tutorial: Leigh-Anne Pinnock

HELLOOOOOO!

The time has come to end our Little Mix 'Move' music video makeup tutorial with the naturally beautiful Leigh-Anne Pinnock!

This look is very natural and really works to subtly define the eyes and bring a pop of color to the lips - so versatile! I think this is the perfect look for somebody who is either new to makeup or who likes the more natural look. Also, this is a great way to introduce yourself to bold lips (you can of course opt for a less potent shade if this one is too bright). Read on for product details and scroll to the bottom for the video link!

Beauty box first impressions: Birchbox and Ipsy Glam Bag

Three words every beauty product addict loves: beauty box subscriptions. Yes, I finally signed up for the Netflix of the beauty world with Birchbox and the Ipsy Glam Bag and the experience has been equal parts interesting, frustrating and fun.