The Makeup Monologues

I never ended up posting a July Favourites, even though there were some standout products in that month. I figured I'd just combine the two months of July and August into a Summer Favourites type of post! We're going to start off with eyeshadow palettes. I've got one for each month! July's standout palette was the e.l.f. 'mad for matte' palette, and August's was easily the Anastasia Modern Renaissance palette. The Modern Renaissance palette was one I wanted from the moment I saw it. It's got a ton of unique shades that are still very wearable. The pigmentation of these shadows is insane- I actually tend to spend a lot of time building my crease up because I prefer to use a lighter hand with pigmented shadows. They have a lot of kickup, very similar to the LORAC formula, but that's something I don't mind at all. All of the shadows work very well with one another, and I love that the mattes are all pigmented and soft enough to be used as ...

Here's a quickie post since I've been neglecting this blog as of late. Everyone loves a good highlighter, so I'm gonna swatch mine for you! Here they are, in all their gleamy glory. It's a bit much, honestly, even for me.  I divided the swatches into cool-toned and warm-toned highlighters. Here's the cool-toned ones. Top to bottom: -essence Aquatix highlighter shimmering pearls -Anna Sui Rose Cheek Colour in 100 -Stila All Over Shimmer liquid in Pink Shimmer -elf shimmering facial whip in Spotlight And the warm-toned. -theBalm Mary Lou Manizer -Buxom luminizer in Divine Goddess -elf shimmering facial whip in Lilac Petal -Illamasqua Gleam in Aurora Well, that's the post, folks! Short and sweet. Would you like to see any of these reviewed?

I've been wanting to review these babies since I got them a year ago! Without further ado, the elf studio line moisturizing lipsticks! (L-R) Velvet Rope, Flirty & Fabulous, Rosy-Go-Round I don't know why they have two different cases, as I ordered them all online at the same time. Both cases are nice, though. These lipsticks screw all the way down, too, which is something other value brands seem to have trouble with (cough cough wetnwild cough). The elf moisturizing lipsticks' finish is on the creamy-glossy side, and they are fully opaque. They have a subtle vanilla scent that I adore. (L-R) Velvet Rope, Flirty & Fabulous, Rosy-Go-Round Velvet Rope is a lovely red, almost incomparable in its colour. It's not very blue-toned, and could never be mistaken for pink. Flirty & Fabulous is a Barbie-fuschia that's on the glossier side. Rosy-Go-Round is my favourite lipstick colour ever. If bubblegum-rose were a colour, this would be it. ...

I had almost forgotten that I put these items in my shopping cart for my birthday e.l.f. Haul! So it was a pleasant surprise to take them out of the box when I received it in the mail. That's the only good thing about 25-day processing and shipping times- when you finally do get your hauls, it's like Christmas because you've forgotten what you ordered! In the few days I've been wearing them, I am SO satisfied with these balms. I am NOT a lip balm person- the only balm I've ever liked wearing is Burt's Bees lip shimmer in Raisin (a deep red). I was especially wary of the packaging- though very professional-looking and pretty, I HATE HATE HATE sticking my sore, cracked fingertips into pots of sticky gloss and attempting to smear it across my lips. Can you say ew? However, I found that I DO like the packaging! The square twist cap is so easy to open and close, even if you're wearing gloves or have sticky/greasy fingers. There's also no gu...