Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam Palette Review

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If you haven't already met the latest addition to the Anastasia Beverly Hills family of eyeshadow palettes, let me take a moment to properly introduce you. The Soft Glam Palette is Anastasia's homage to the season of special occasions - from proms, to cocktail parties, to showers and weddings, this collection of essential neutral shades has everything you need for a classic, elegant look. The overall response to this palette launch has been pretty polarized by the beauty community. Some people are head-over-heels in love with the shade selection, while others find it to be one of the most boring debuts of 2018. Considering the fact that I made the decision to add this palette to my collection you can probably guess which side of the fence I'm on.

To me, Soft Glam is a timeless palette that can just as easily create an everyday, work appropriate look as a sultry, smokey eye. It doesn't have the most earth shattering or unique combination of colors, however that's exactly why I think I was drawn towards it. While there are seemingly countless options of neutral palettes on the market, not all of them deliver on quality the way that ABH does. This particular shade selection, paired with Anastasia's fantastic eyeshadow formula, was all the convincing I needed.

Fresh for Spring: The New Pixi Pretties Collection

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If you were to ask me what beauty brand exudes springtime, I don't think anyone could top Pixi. From their pastel green packaging, to their glow inducing, rose-infused skincare, to their soft, ethereal makeup, Pixi's products are basically the cosmetic equivalent of frolicking in a field of flowers. Sweet, feminine, and effortless, Pixi Beauty is the perfect brand for more minimal makeup lovers, and is one of my go-tos whenever I'm craving a lighter look.

As we're FINALLY starting to see the signs of Spring here in New England, the timing is perfect to start playing with some fresh, new makeup. Earlier this year, Pixi released a new range of products to their Influencer-created Pixi Pretties collection. Last year's offerings, such as the It'sEyeTime Palette and Double Cleanse, were some of my most treasured products of 2017, so I was incredibly excited to see what new collaborations Pixi had in store for us.

New at the Drugstore for Spring 2018: Milani Eyeshadow Palettes

Friends, I've got another ridiculously exciting spring makeup launch to share with you! Milani is releasing not one, but two eyeshadow palettes that may just rival what you're used to seeing from high end brands. Most Loved Mattes is a collection of 12 matte shadows in everyday essential neutral tones, while Bold Obsessions has a mixture of mattes and metallics perfect for creating your next glam look. As soon as they appeared in the displays at my local Walmart I knew I needed to pick them up to review for you. So let's take a closer look!

Winky Lux Kitten Palette Review

Happy New Year, beauties! I know it's been a while since I've posted here, but I'm hoping to get back in the swing of things for 2018. For those of you who aren't already aware, I've been spending a lot of my time as-per-late creating videos for my YouTube Channel. It's been a really fun and refreshing change of pace to sit and chat to the camera, but I don't ever want to completely abandon my blogging roots.

And what better way to get back to blogging than by sharing a good ol' review of one of my favorite things on the planet? I've never been shy about my love for eyeshadow palettes, and this one, friends, is really a gem. The Winky Lux Kitten Palette is something I received a few months back in a Boxycharm (which, on a sidenote, has quickly become my favorite beauty subscription service), and totally blew me away with its quality. Winky Lux is an up-and-coming, Cruelty-Free makeup brand with a super fun, feminine aesthetic, and a very reasonable price point. This palette, for example, is only $25 and contains 9 beautiful, buttery matte and metallic shades that strike a perfect balance between being colorful and neutral.

Jouer Skinny Dip Ultra Foil Shimmer Shadow Palette Review

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If there is one makeup trend that I can't seem to get enough of lately, it's an intense, shimmery eye. Yes, I've always been one of those girls that oohs and ahhs over anything shiny, so it's entirely unsurprising that I'd fall in love with putting sparkles all over my eyelids. But for a while there I had avoided the trend all together. Having grown up in the 90s, I made some pretty strong associations between glitter and looking cheap or tacky (if you ever purchased Claire's makeup as a tween, you might understand what I'm talking about). For years that meant avoiding makeup with anything other than a slight shimmer or sheen.

But then cosmetics companies started doing something wonderful. They began to create stunning, glittery makeup that still managed to look sophisticated. Where glitter was once chunky and unappealing, it has now become micro-fine, brilliant, and elegant. And one absolutely perfect example of this transformation is the Jouer Skinny Dip Ultra Foil Shimmer Shadow Palette. These eyeshadows are an absolute dream to work with, and leave your lids with the most gorgeous, glittery, foiled effect. So if you too are a glitter lover at heart, but have been unsure of whether or not you've outgrown the days of wearing it, perhaps this palette will be a game changer for you as well.

Juvia's Place The Saharan Eyeshadow Palette Review

Friends, if you haven't yet heard about Juvia's Place, and you consider yourself to be a lover of eyeshadow, I am about to blow your mind.

There have been few makeup brands that have impressed me as much as Juvia's Place has. If you want unique, high quality, cruelty-free eye shadows for an insanely reasonable price tag, and to support a female-owned brand designed with Women of Color in mind, you need, yes NEED to check out their products.

While they have certainly garnered popularity after NikkieTutorials started singing their praises last year, Juvia's Place is still relatively unknown by the average person. As a smaller indie brand you won't find their products on the shelves of Ulta, Sephora, or your local drugstore. Instead you'll have to head on over to their website, or get lucky like I did and manage to snag their products from Hautelook when a sale comes around. Yes, there is something to be said for putting your faith in an online purchase without having the opportunity to swatch and play with it in person. But I promise, this eyeshadow palette does not disappoint.

Motives Mavens Element Color Box Review

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As someone that's tried hundreds upon hundreds of beauty products and that spends an embarrassing amount of time reading reviews and keeping up on the latest launches, it's a bit of a shock to come across a well-established brand that I've never heard of. While my immediate response is to feel like I've been living under a rock, I think it also goes to show that the world of beauty influencers is pretty heavily biased. Everyone always seems to be raving about the same big name brands carried at Sephora and Ulta, to the point that you can forget there's a lot of fantastic stuff going on outside of their doors.

By a matter of happy coincidence I was introduced a few months ago to Motives Cosmetics, which with over 2 million Instagram followers, is certainly not your small indie startup. In fact, they've been around for almost a decade under the umbrella of internet marketing and product brokerage giant Market America. They've got a pretty extensive range of products, have been featured by tons of magazines and websites, and have still managed to totally fly under my radar.

Of course, as is the case with any die-hard beauty fan, my curiosity was immediately piqued. What are their products like? Is there a reason no one is talking about them? Or was I about to stumble upon a beauty gold mine of underrated goodies? The only way to find the answer was to get my hands on some Motives products and find out for myself!

Morphe 35B Color Glam Eyeshadow Palette Review

If there is such a thing as a color bug, I've been bitten by it. Either that or it's just all of the amazing colorful looks that I've seen while scrolling through my Instagram feed. Either way, I've had a hankering for putting bold bright shades on my eyes as per late, and had been looking to add something to my collection to give me a little more variety than what exists in all of my neutral palettes. At first I spent a fair amount of time hemming and hawing over the new Sephora Pro Editorial Palette, but spending $68 on something that I would only use for creating looks to film or photograph seemed like a bit of an unwise investment.

But then, I made a discovery. While prepping my shopping cart to purchase the Morphe x Jaclyn Hill collaboration, I noticed a palette that was EXACTLY what my heart desired. The Morphe 35B Palette had 35 stunning ridiculously colorful shades and retailed for only $19.99. Paying $68 for an artistic palette when you aren't a makeup artist is iffy, but $20? $20 I can justify. Surprisingly, I had never tried anything from Morphe before (the Jaclyn Hill palette was to be my first purchase) and I decided that this was a wonderful opportunity to explore the brand. So I snatched that baby up along with a few eye brushes that I thought would be helpful for getting my inner MUA on, and am here to report back on my thoughts!

How to Curate Your Dream Eyeshadow Palette

If you're an average, non makeup-obsessed person, there are probably a lot of makeup junkie habits you could give the serious one-eyebrow-raise to. Are those ten nude lipsticks really all that different? Is it actually necessary to set your face with a different powder from your under eyes? And what the heck is with this contouring business? Trust, as much as I love the stuff, I will never tell you you need to own more than a single cosmetic bag's worth of makeup (or any makeup for that matter, you do you boo). But if there is one thing us makeup junkies have unlocked the secret to that I think the average person should totally get on the bandwagon with, it's building your own custom eyeshadow palette.

Am I getting the eyebrow now? Just hear me out. I know it may seem intimidating and potentially expensive, but I promise the investment is so totally worth it.

Save or Splurge? A Comparison of the Too Faced Sweet Peach Palette & Makeup Revolution New-Trals vs. Neutrals Palette

Friends, I'm not even going to try to contain my excitement. I am SO jazzed for you to read this post! Not only is Save or Splurge one of my favorite series to write, but the palettes we're going to chat about today are SO amazing and SO hyped that I've basically been bursting at the seams wanting to talk about them since the moment they both ended up in my possession.

If you're new to these parts and wondering what the heck I'm talking about, here's the general scoop. With all of the beauty products I've tried over the years, I've found that time and time again a price tag is not always an indicator of how great something will perform. Yes, some luxury products are totally worth the investment, but there are plenty of budget-friendly drugstore alternatives out there that work equally well and can save you a ton of cash.

As you're already well aware, today's post is a throwdown between the Too Faced Sweet Peach Palette and the Makeup Revolution New-Trals vs. Neutral Palette. Now, I will say this right of the bat - these two palettes are in no way exact dupes of one another. The shade ranges each have their own unique offerings, and if you're a die hard makeup junkie like myself, that may be the justification you need to purchase them both. But with all the drama around the Sweet Peach relaunch and its almost $50 price point, having a super affordable alternative to get your warm-toned neutrals on might just be exactly what you're looking for.

Maybelline 24K Nudes Palette Review

This post is sponsored by Maybelline. All opinions expressed are my own. For more information regarding my affiliations and disclosures click here.

Happy New Year, loves! Is your mind also blown that January is already here? I know this can be a rough month, what with all of the fun and excitement of the holidays behind us, but I do have one piece of good news to lift your spirits. A new year means that a TON of beauty launches are on their way, so you can at least look forward to having plenty of pretty new makeup to play with if you're cooped up indoors.

One of the things helping me get through the post-holiday slump is this Maybelline 24K Nudes Palette ($11.99). Maybelline was kind enough to send it to me to review along with some other fun eye makeup goodies to complete my look. It's got some really beautiful on-trend colors that I'm super excited to show you!

Makeup Revolution New-Trals vs Neutrals Palette Review

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Friends, this review has been a long time coming. This palette has been sitting on my Ulta wishlist for months, and by an act of sheer willpower I've held out on buying it until now. Yes my makeup collection is totally OTT, but I do honestly try to exercise some restraint when it comes to shopping for new beauty products. And while I've got an especially weak spot for eyeshadow palettes, I'm actually pretty good about not going out and splurging on every single one that catches my eye.

So for the better part of 2016 I've hemmed and hawed about buying this bad boy. Did I really need it? Probably not. But the colors were SO gorgeous and the price was SO great that eventually I gave in to my undying curiosity. So what is this magical little beauty? The Makeup Revolution New-Trals vs. Neutrals Eyeshadow Palette, of course!

Too Faced White Chocolate Chip Palette Review

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If you're a die hard beauty lover, you probably have an understanding of the insanity that revolves around super limited edition releases. Some collections sell out within a matter of minutes, which means that if you want in, you've got to commit to hitting that checkout button the second it goes live. Depending on where you live, that might require staying up until 3 am (or some other ridiculous time) because waiting until the morning will likely mean missing out on whatever product you've got your eye on.

Now, I personally am way too lazy and laid back to find myself being one of these people. Don't get me wrong, my love for beauty is strong, but I think there are SO many great products out there that I just don't get that emotionally attached to any one particular release. If I miss out on this one, there will always be something else to get excited about.

So where am I going with all of this? Somehow, with very little stress or effort, I managed to snag a super hot ticket item over Thanksgiving weekend. I honestly almost feel guilty about how nonchalant the whole process was when I know how much drama this little palette stirred up. If you're confused, here's the quick recap.

Holiday 2016: Wish-List Worthy Eyeshadow Palettes

Now that Halloween has officially past, I think it's safe to admit that the holiday shopping season is in full swing! If the rest of the year is any indication, the weeks between now and Christmas are going to absolutely fly by, which means you have way less time to get everything on your shopping list checked off than you think. If you're feeling a little lost and uninspired, don't you worry. I'm going to be posting tons of awesome beauty-related (and maybe some non-beauty related) gift ideas over the coming weeks to help get you started.

In true Lauren fashion, I'm kicking things off with perhaps my greatest weakness among makeup products - the eyeshadow palette. There have been SO many incredible launches this year it was hard to narrow down my list of recommendations. But after having spent a slightly embarrassing amount of time researching what's new, what's hyped, and what might be a hidden gem I think I've got a pretty solid list for you to check out!

Kat Von D Beauty MetalMatte Eyeshadow Palette Review

With the holidays fast approaching, the beauty world has completely exploded with exciting new releases. Gift sets, limited edition palettes, and blinged-out packaging can be found just about everywhere you turn. And while its tempting to want to run out and review everything for you guys, I'm a firm believer in being selective about my purchases. Even though my passion for product is pretty intense, I'm also not one to buy into hype. I always consider my current stash, my style, and the feedback of my fellow beauty addicts before I invest in something. Sure, once in a while I'll take a gamble and try something out on a whim. But for the most part, I like to do my homework.

Sometimes when I'm researching what's new and interesting and I'll come across a product that totally blows me away and realize no one is talking about it. Maybe it's a personal preference thing, or maybe its just that certain brands are more likely to get attention, but either way, it never fails to surprise me.

This palette is one of those products.

Guys, when I say this palette is unbelievably good. I mean, this is like a "if I could only use one palette for the rest of my life I would probably pick this one" good. I want to profess my love for its buttery, beautiful, shimmering goodness from the rooftops. Just...just wait until you see the pictures. And then you will understand.

NYX Avant Pop Eyeshadow Palette | Surreal My Heart

Confession. I'm a total eyeshadow palette junkie. If you've been following my blog for any length of time, you're probably already well aware of my obsession with sparkly metallics, matte neutrals, and everything in between. Even if most days I keep things fairly simple, I love having the option to go colorful or full-on glam at a moments notice. And like any true beauty enthusiast, even though I've already got a pretty bangin' collection of palettes at home, that doesn't stop me from wanting to try and discover new ones to recommend to you guys.

Enter, my latest find: the NYX Cosmetics Avant Pop Shadow Palette in Surreal My Heart. Inspired by the bold, colorful feel of Pop Art paintings, the Avant Pop Palettes are designed to help you unleash that inner Makeup Artist! Each palette contains a selection of vibrant, unique shades while also providing you a few softer, more subtle options if you'd prefer to tone things down. Ever since these palettes launched last summer I've heard nothing but good things, and I've been dying to give one of them a try. My general pragmatism has held me back so far ("Lauren...do you REALLY need more eyeshadow?") but a 5X points offer for NYX from Ulta gave me that final push to say "No...BUT I'M GONNA DO IT ANYWAY!"

One Year Z-Palette Update

Oh, the Z-Palette. I have to admit, I didn't realize how fun (and addicting) putting one of these together would be. Collectively its the most pricey makeup item I own, but it's also one of the things I reach for the most whenever I'm sitting down to create a fun new eye look. I had held off on starting a palette until last year, when I treated myself to this Extra Large Z-Palette ($28) for my birthday. A few weeks later I sat down and attempted to de-pot products for the first time with relative success, and have been adding to it ever since. Since we're about to hit the year mark, I thought it'd be fun to do a little update and share with you guys all the pans I've depotted and purchased, as well as a few makeup looks I've created with this palette. If you love eyeshadow swatches, get excited, because there's about to be a lot of them!

LORAC Pro 3 Palette Review

Hello there, lovelies! If you've been following my YouTube channel (and if you haven't, I highly recommend getting on that. I've got some fun things going on over there) you'll have already seen me swooning over this latest launch from LORAC. The Pro 3 Palette is finally available for purchase online from Ulta, and will be coming to stores on June 26th. I managed to snag mine during a Platinum exclusive presale (#ispendtoomuchmoneyonmakeup) and filmed my very first impressions and a little tutorial when it came in. I was totally blown away by how pigmented and buttery soft these shadows were, and promised a full review after I had a little more time to play with things. And thus, here I am! We're going to talk pros and cons, swatch things out, and even take a look at how these translate to the eyes. Excited? I know I am.

Makeup Revolution Ultra Blush Palette Review

Today's post marks another eventful happening in my ongoing quest to explore cult beauty brands. Based in London, Makeup Revolution is well known to my friends across the Atlantic for their affordable, yet quality makeup. I've read many a rave review about their eyeshadow palettes, and how they are incredible dupes for the Urban Decay Naked Palette series. Unfortunately their products are a little harder to come by over here in the states, so I'd never made much of an effort to try anything out. However, with a little nudge from a 20% off coupon and a BOGO sale at Ulta, I finally decided to push the "order" button and add a few of their products to my collection. As much as I love eyeshadow (and you all know how much I love eyeshadow), the drugstore is brimming with affordable neutral palettes, and I wasn't all that excited to try another one. Then I laid my eyes on the Makeup Revolution Blush Palettes, and my mind immediately thought a resounding YAS!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Self Made Palette Review

Dear Sephora, I love you, but you are such an enabler to my beauty addiction. Hearts, Lauren.

I had been eyeing this palette for weeks. Months, probably. Longing from afar to play with its rich, buttery shadows. All the while I resisted, knowing that I have more eyeshadow palettes than a girl needs in her lifetime. Alas, when my $20 VIB reward card showed up in my mailbox, all of my willpower magically vanished. And now that I have it in my hands, I'm even more in love than I could have expected. This eyeshadow palette is so. good.

SO GOOD.

If you're the kind of person who wants easy, neutral, no fuss makeup, this is probably an entirely unnecessary addition to your collection. However, if you enjoy playing with colors and textures, and appreciate the process of experimenting with different eye looks, this palette is basically a dream.