Review: One Direction Limited Edition Makeup Kits + Giveaway!

Hello, Beauties!

The lovely people at BrandBacker and Markwins International sent over some samples for me to Review and I have finally played around with these long enough to be able to deliver an honest review.

One Direction recently expanded into the cosmetics industry with a series of kits and added to the mix were these three shown below which happen to be limited Edition for the season.

Sold at Just $16.50 (each) These kits can be found at Macys, Dillards, Boscov's, Stage Stores, Beauty Brands, and Lord & Taylor as of November 15th!

The Kits Included are:
-Rock Me Nail Kit (3 Nail Varnishes and 3 UV Reactive Glitters)
-Electro Glam Mascara (Blue, Pink, & Yellow)
-LiquidLights Glow Gloss (3 Super Glittery Glosses, UV Reactive: Orange, Pink,light Red)

 I absolutely adore the concept behind these Mascaras! Yes, the retro lashes are coming back in style but I loved using these as temporary highlights in my hair. My sisters and friends made a night out of it, by glamming up our hair to our colors of choice. In case you were wondering these look AMAZING even on dark hair, and wash out without any hassle at all!

 The Glosses are EXTREMELY glittery which is fine for party season, but if you're like me and prefer mattes, you can still make these work.
Here's My tip:
-Apply a matte color of your choice as the base
-Add a coat of either one of the glosses
-Dab on some Translucent powder to minimize the glitter without taking it off, completely

At first the two pink-Red colors look virtually identical but applied on the lips they are clearly distinguishes.

The coolest part about these is that they glow in the dark, so don't forget to put one in your purse if you know you'll be running into some UV lights!

The Swatches of the nail varnishes shown above all demonstrate what the colors appear to be after 2 coats. Unfortunately, the most exciting color (Blue) was the hardest to work with as it appeared to be streaky, But after a few minutes it dried nicely.

The Pink applied like a dream as well as the Glitter which is surprisingly thicker than I originally thought.

If you're looking for the perfect gift for a fan girl, this is it. Although I do think that this was designed with a younger crowd in mind, I still enjoyed using the Mascara with my girls, the nail varnishes I will most definitely use, and the glosses as I stated earlier, can still be worked with even with the glitter issue.

One Direction and the Markwins team are also having a very generous giveaway so, if you fancy these kits here's your chance to win one for free!

ONE DIRECTION Makeup Giveaway direct link:
https://promosimple.com/ps/5bda

And to learn more about Makeup by One Direction as well as upcoming releases don't forget to checkout: https://www.facebook.com/MakeupbyOneDirection

FTC: The products shown above were sent to me By BrandBacker, and as always the opinions are 100% my own.

Hope this review was helpful!

All The Love, xxx

A Few Ways to Organize Your Life

1) Purchase a Planner/Day Runner

Something that I will always and forever preach about is investing money into a planner; whether it cost you $7 at Target or $50 custom made at an online shop I highly suggest you purchase one. I never knew the difference they would make in my life until one of my 10th grade teachers made it a requirement in her classroom and ever since then I can honestly say, that I haven't gone a day without one.

Inside my planner, I write down my work schedule for the week (for obvious reasons), my bills for that week, and any other miscellaneous responsibilities that I have to look forward to. I have built a routine for myself in which I separate my bills into two lists, one for the first paycheck of the month and the second for the other; This allows me to not get super overwhelmed, yet always keep track of what I can and cannot spend. Being a blogger is especially overwhelming because we tend to crave innovation, we're always looking for the next best thing which can be highly useful for our blog yet increasingly problematic for our wallets which is why I set up monthly allowances for strictly 'blogging' purposes.

Speaking of Blogging, Does anyone else consider this to be like the coolest job/hobby ever? This leads to my second tip:

2) Don't lose contact with what brings you joy for the sake of sticking to a schedule

Sometimes it's hard to find a balance between considering this a job or a hobby simply because in my head it's a hobby that I want to turn into a job. One of the most efficient ways of keeping my sanity is pre-planning the topics that I want to talk about but never pre-writing them unless I really, really have to. This helps me consider this a job due to my strict posting schedule of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday yet also consider this a hobby by continuing to serve the excitement that I feel every time I write up a new post.

I would be lying if I said that on some Tuesday nights I don't sit on my bed, scratching my head, while trying to come up with SOMETHING for the following day because lets be honest, it happens. Something that has really helped me is planning topics ahead of time which requires writing them down in a list formation, and whenever I feel a little lost I can go to my notepad and pick something from the list that most excites me. If for some reason I don't feel particularly motivated to post then I just wont. I never want to give anyone something that I didn't think was 'ready' or 'good enough' and this applies to all aspects of life and career paths. Giving myself 'in-between' blogging days as well as weekends gives me time to refresh and come up with new ideas, I've been writing for enjoyment since I can last remember, believe me when I say that I know what writers block is and it ain't pretty.

3) You can't buy any more time, so be a little selfish and invest the one you've got in yourself

Yes, I understand that it's easier said than done but actually separating time for yourself is a big part of organizing your life. Remember that it is YOUR life, YOUR sanity, and no one knows your happiness or weaknesses better than you do. I am a strong advocate for pamper days/evenings- alone or with a close friend (but mostly alone). Use your time wisely by relaxing and meditating on your own persona, once you clear your own mind, you can tackle outside demons but it's hard to think straight with other things clouding your judgment.


                                                                                              4) Don't overwhelm yourself

It's really, really hard to admit that we CAN'T do something (especially as women) but sometimes we really just can't. I'd say it's actually within our nature to feel like we can conquer the world because I suppose that if we really tried we actually could but in reality we're all just human and if we couldn't beat a battle it doesn't necessarily mean that we lost the war. Admitting to ourselves our own weaknesses is a huge STEP to organizing our lives because we're weeding out all of the bad and simply trying to cultivate the good.

Obviously I'm no life expert and there's a million other ways to go about this process but through trial and error I feel as though the steps mentioned above are the ones that have worked best for me. The first one is obviously technical while the others focus more on inner peace and strength.

Everyday Work Makeup-Look | Tutorial

 

 

 

First off, this is technically my first time showing my bare face to a wide audience- so stay with me I know it's scary, But I wanted to show you all a step by step picture, makeup, tutorial- type of thing about my REALISTIC everyday workday makeup.

 

Yes I do realize that I did not use a primer or a setting powder because it's really easy to forget when you're rushing for work and as I stated above, I'm aiming for reality here.

 

First thing I do is apply a good foundation, especially if I know that I'm going to be at work for 8+ hours and I need something reliable. So today I used my Maybelline Super Stay Foundation in the color 'nude'. I hear that this is their most popular shade, because the range only has about 5-6 colors to choose from and this one is the most versatile. I completely agree, this blends into my skin beautifully covering up some imperfections yet still allowing my skin to breathe.

Second thing I do is tame my brows. I use a regular dark brown eye shadow- this routine changes constantly but my brows pretty much always end up the same. On occasion if I have an extra minute I'll go over them with Maybelline's brow gel.

For shadow I'm using a standard NYC eye quad that consists of neutral colors which are what I tend to lean on most when I have to go to work. These colors are not extremely pigmented but lately I've just been reaching for this palette like crazy because it just gets the job done.

To complete my eye look I trace my water line with a black eyeliner pencil from a company called 'Starlet' and then apply one coat of both Maybelline's Mega Plush & Colossal Mascaras.

A step that I barely ever miss is concealing/highlighting. Again, the concealer used to do this process changes all of the time but for the past couple of weeks I have been OBSESSED with Maybelline Instant Age rewind in the lightest shade. It gives me extra coverage AND highlights all in one.

Next, I bronze and color my cheeks with Benefit Hoola (I use this everyday and I still  have not hit pan on it, Amazing right? ) and NYX blush in Mauve.

Lastly, what I consider to be the most important step: my lips. I line a little outside of my natural lip line with MAC's Whirl and then fill them in with MAC's Cosmo. This lip combo is perfection and long wearing.

And, voila I no longer look like a corpse!

One Brand Haul | Rimmel

The other day I was out running errands and felt like spontaneously buying makeup but for once I decided not to venture out through the various isles and just focused on one brand. I'd never done this before so I chose to go with the brand that I knew least about which in this case was Rimmel. The way I went about it was buying enough products from the brand that could potentially create a makeup look and therefore give me somewhat of an idea as to what the overall potential of the brand is. I didn't buy eye shadow because that is the only product from Rimmel that I did previously own and I find it to be pigmented and long lasting although the shimmer in the eye shadows comes off to be too chunky therefore needs to be applied with a light hand.

 I stepped out today for a few hours in the morning and decided to apply all of these products and really test them out in the dry Florida heat and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.

I applied the primer all over my face concentrating particularly on my T-zone, cheeks, and chin - placed the concealer under my eyes and on the places where I wanted to highlight - then patted the Stay Matte powder all over. This is something that I wouldn't do if I were going to work or out somewhere for several hours but I would use these steps if I were just running errands like I did today or going off to my college classes.

Afterwards, I applied the Kohl eye liner that came along with the mascara on the outer part of my water line not reaching my inner corner and applied two coats of the mascara. I find that the Lash Accelerator reminds me A LOT of Benefit's "They're real" which is awesome considering that there's a large price difference.

I lined my lips with the "070 Enchantment" lip liner and filled it in with the Kate Moss lip stick in "107". I can tell you right now that I am OBSESSED with this lip combo; I've worn it two days in a row (Last night, and this morning) and it is just so beautiful it makes my lips look juicy and plump and totally ties the whole look together making up for the lack of foundation and blush- which by the way I think Rimmel is the only brand I've seen at the drugstore that does not have blushers. How weird is that?

Top Swatch is the Kate Moss lipstick in '107'
Bottom Swatch is the lip liner in '070 Enchantment'

I'm enjoying testing out this mascara, the formulation is a bit wet but it's something I can get used to considering the volume and length that it adds to my lashes.

I was really impressed with this eye liner when I first swatched it because as you can tell it is very black and the formulation was smooth- I didn't feel it tug my water line.
But when I wore it today I realized about three hours after applying it that it had completely disappeared. It didn't smear anywhere or form those little black spots on the corners on my eyes but it literally just vanished, all that was left was my mascara! I'm upset hat it didn't last but I'm impressed that it didn't smear. Make sense?

Overall I think that this brand is affordable and reliable, the Stay Matte powder along with the primer prevented my face from looking oily, The concealer did not crease, the lipstick did not budge until I ate in the afternoon, and the mascara looked flawless up until a few hours ago that I washed it off with ease.

I plan on doing more hauls like this one both drugstore and high end because it persuades me to try different products from the same brands! It was a lot of fun trying to figure out which products I should buy and I look forward to doing it again really soon :)

Review + Swatches of the Divergent Multi-Piece Collectors Kit

So, granted this palette is no longer available on the Sephora website because it sold out within days, I actually bought mine in-store so if you are highly interested like I was, I would suggest calling all of the local Sephora's around you!
or you can try and get one on eBay or Amazon!

This palette was extremely raved about and being a die hard Divergent fan I justified buying this huge case for the love of Tris and Make-up.

With that all being said, If I remember correctly the Palette was around $60 and it contains 3 eye shadow palettes, 1 cheek palette, 4 glosses, and a duo sided blush brush and crease brush.
The neat thing about the entire kit is that it literally screams Divergent the moment you see it and once you see the colors within the palettes you realize that a lot of time and thought was put into them.

The eye shadow palettes are named after the factions: Dauntless, Erudite, and Abnegation and it is insane how each palette resembles the colors that they are portrayed to have in the books.
The Dauntless Palette is more on the darker side, with stormy blues, and greys.
The Erudite Palette is more of the earthy tones with greens, and satin beige.
The Abnegation Palette is completely neutral.
These palettes also include a transformer shade, which looks like compressed glitter and can be used wet or dry. I personally think that the most pigmented transformer shade was part of the Dauntless Palette and the other two are best to be used wet.
These palettes are amazing quality with brilliant color pay off. They are also so easy to blend and don't crease on my eye lids even without a primer!

The Cheek Palette includes two blusher shades (one satin, and one shimmer), a highlight, and a bronzer. I have really been enjoying this, I took it on my cruise last month and it was so perfect for every look, and the bronzer did not look muddy at all. I think that the only down side would be that the highlighter shade is not as pigmented as I would like it to be.

The glosses are all on the neutrals side, and I would say that they are not very opaque and long wearing but they do have a minty feel on the lips that makes them nice to just throw on if you're going to be out of the house for a little while.

The packaging of the kit and the palettes overall is very unique and captivating to the eye, the way they incorporated the Ferris wheel was brilliant considering it was such a huge part of the books/movie!

Here are the pictures+ swatches: