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!

New at the Drugstore for Spring 2018: Physician's Formula's Latest Launches

While the temperatures in New England are still below freezing, it appears that Spring has arrived in the beauty world. Over the past couple of weeks, brands all over have been dropping the first of their 2018 launches, gearing up for what will surely be another epic year in beauty. While I'm currently on a no-buy for January, I did manage to pick up a few of Physician's Formula's latest releases to test out at the end of last year. The new Healthy range includes a foundation and a liquid lipstick, both with wider shade selections than any other product I've seen previously from the brand. They've also expanded their insanely popular Butter range with the addition of the Butter Highlighter - a cream-to-powder formula that sports the same heavenly tropic scent. After about a month of playing around with these products, I've got some thoughts to share. 

Wet N' Wild Pro Brush Collection for Holiday 2017

*Affiliate links used

Friends, I have absolutely no reason to add more makeup brushes to my collection. And yet, this new set from Wet N' Wild for the holidays was so darn pretty and such a ridiculous value, I couldn't resist picking it up to review for you. The new Wet N' Wild Pro Brush Collection contains 10 beautiful, cruelty-free brushes for only $30, and contains just about everything you need to create a complete makeup look. Having used them now for a couple of weeks I'm finally ready to report back and let you know what I think! So let's jump into things and I'll show you exactly what's in this set.

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!

Maybelline Color Sensational Shaping Lip Liner Review

 *This post was sponsored by Maybelline. All opinions expressed are my own.

In the world of beauty, there are lots of myths and preconceived notions about certain products. Foundation does not, in fact, have to feel like a mask. Those with a natural flush to their cheeks can look beautiful wearing blush. And if the first image that pops into your head when you hear the word "lipliner" is that whole let's-rock-a-liner-10-shades-darker-than-my-lipstick trend, I am about to give you a whole new perspective.

As a self-proclaimed Lazy Girl it's true that applying a liner under my lipstick is not always something I make the time for. However, ever since Maybelline sent me their new range of  Color Sensational Shaping Lip Liners to review, I've been reminded how worth it that extra step can be. A great lipliner will not only give your lip look extra precision and wear time, but it can also open up a ton of artistic possibilities. Whether you want to create a custom lip cocktail, or a perfect ombre illusion, the world of lipliner is your oyster.

MODA Prismatic Face Perfecting Kit Review

*Affiliate links used

Considering today is Valentine's Day, I thought it might be fun to tell you a love story. Once upon a time I was scrolling through my Instagram feed, idly double tapping through the endless parade of pretty pictures when something stopped me in my tracks. Now, I have absolutely no idea how many makeup brushes I own (spoiler, its a lot), or that I've made googley-eyes at over the years, but these...these were different. These brushes were jewel-toned, ombred little pieces of art, and I knew right then and there that I needed to have them in my life. My heart was even happier to find out that they were part of Royal & Langnickel's MODA collection, a super affordable yet quality brush brand that's sold online or in Walmart stores. Not only was this wonderful news for my wallet, but I also knew that the brand would be part of Generation Beauty LA, and would possibly have them for sale. Much to my delight they had a very limited stock at their booth, and this beautifully little set flew home with me that weekend.

Of course, when it comes to love at first sight I've always been a bit of a skeptic. Attraction at first sight, sure. But love is one of those things you have to build over time as you get to know one another. And so there's always a little piece of me when going on a first date that fears I'm going to suffer the fate of getting super hyped over how cute someone is, only to be let down by how boring, arrogant, or generally jerky they turn out to be. No one likes being disappointed, be it be by a potential SO, or their makeup brushes, and I was feeling extra trepidatious as I pulled this set out of the packaging. Would all that hype be for nothing? Or would this be the start of a beautiful relationship?

What's New at the Drugstore | Winter 2017

Hey there, friends! Is anyone else as excited at I am about all of the new launches from the drugstore? After months of feeling not very enthused by anything in the affordable makeup realm, the shelves of Walgreens and CVS have essentially exploded in the last couple of weeks with products I could not wait to try. Over the past week on my YouTube channel I've put together a couple of videos sharing all of my new loot and putting it to the test for you guys. Curious to see how everything worked out? Keep on reading!

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

*Affiliate Links used

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!

$5 Makeup Challenge!

Guys, this post was the definition of a labor of love. I've been planning this challenge for months, and was so excited to finally go out, shop, film and put it all together for you. If the title hasn't already given it away, today I'm going to be showing you how to create a beautiful smokey eyed makeup look using all products (AND tools) that cost $5 or less. I love incorporating budget-friendly makeup into my everyday routine, and I thought it would be fun to challenge myself to find really great, super-affordable products that I could recommend to you all.

So I plan, I set everything up, I film last weekend, edit my photographs...I was feeling pretty on top of my A-game. I knew I was going into New York on Wednesday and decided I could use my 2 hour ride each way to edit my footage. Everything seems to be going swimmingly until I'm on the train, on my way to Manhattan when I realize that a 10 minute chunk of my footage is missing. Just GONE. My memory cards are both wiped clean, and I am an unhappy panda.

Needless to say I had to wait until after work last night to come home and refilm the missing footage so I could finish editing my video and still get it posted (albeit very late) on Thursday night. Posting consistently has been one of my blog goals, and I was DETERMINED to stick to my schedule, even if that meant losing a few more hours of sleep.

So, after much frustration, but a lot of love and hard work, I'm finally able to actually show you all some really great, budget-friendly makeup that you can add to your collection! Let's get this challenge started.

Revlon PhotoReady Eye Art Review

As a beauty blogger there's seriously nothing more exciting than stumbling upon a product you've literally heard nothing about, taking it home, and discovering its a total gem. It's like getting to play beauty archeologist. You know, instead of uncovering the bones of what could be a new species of dinosaur you're scouting out products that might be the next big craze.

A few weeks ago I was perusing the makeup aisles at CVS, struggling to decide what I wanted to spend my Extrabucks on. It's funny because earlier this year I had the opposite problem. There were so many new launches hitting the shelves, and I had to seriously restrain myself from buying everything. But by now I'm sort of over the hype, and most trips to the drugstore have me feeling uninspired. I was on the verge of giving up and buying some toothpaste or whatever else I might need around the house when something glittery caught my eye. At first glance I assumed these duos were nail polish, which I wasn't all that interested in, but then I noticed that the picture next to them was of an eye.

An eye? I did a double take and walked over to further investigate. No, these weren't nail polishes at all. Before me was a rainbow of cream eyeshadow duos called the Revlon PhotoReady Eye Art. I was in serious disbelief that I had no idea these things existed. With glitter and metallic shadows being so in right now, how was it possible that people weren't talking about them? Was I just late to the party? Or had I stumbled upon one of those amazing underground bars only the locals know about? Either way, I was intrigued and after a long debate about which shades to buy, I picked two to take home.

NYX Lip Lustre Try-On and Review

Fellow beauty junkies, let me know if you understand this struggle. Life lately has been kind of bananas. After being in Iceland for a week and spending last weekend at Gen Beauty, I feel pretty behind on life stuff and have had tons of errands and such to run. Needless to say, the giant bag of beauty loot I took home with me last Sunday (or should I say, bags) has been sitting neglected in my bedroom, waiting patiently for me to come and play. It reminds me of when I was a kid, and my parents made my brother and I wait until AFTER church AND breakfast to open our presents on Christmas morning.

Ugh, TORTURE.

Thankfully though, I finally got some time this weekend to stay home and dive full-on into all things blog related. One of the things I was most excited about was sitting down to film a lip swatch video of the new NYX Cosmetics Lip Lustre Glossy Lip Tints ($7). I've never done something like this before on my channel, but it actually ended up being a lot of fun! So if you want to see what the deal is with this fun new launch, just keep reading!

Save or Splurge? Another Drugstore and High-End Beauty Showdown

*This post contains affiliate links.

Anyone who's been around these parts for a while knows that when it comes to beauty products, I appreciate having a healthy mix of high-end and drugstore options. Sometimes the quality of a product merits the extra cash, sometimes the budget friendly option performs better. It's one of the things I love about beauty blogging. The more I try and review, the better able I am to compare and contrast so you guys can reap the benefits!

I know I'm not the only one who loves searching for a good dupe. It looks like my original Save or Splurge post has been getting a lot of attention lately, which made me think it's about time I did a follow up! Over the past 7 or 8 months I've been keeping an eye out for potential pairings, and I think I've now rounded up a nice little selection of products to share with you guys.

Today I've got four of my favorite high-end beauty products to talk about: a cult favorite liquid lipstick, an iconic brow pencil, the perfect summer blush tint, and the super glue of eyeshadow primers. Are they worth the splurge? Or should you save your money and opt for these budget friendly drugstore options instead? Let's take a look!

Spring 2016 Walmart Beauty Box Unboxing

Happy Friday, friends! I am SO ready for the weekend. Just need to get myself though one more work day (lots of coffee may be required) and I'm home free. Today I've got a quick and fun little video for you all. My Walmart Beauty Box arrived a week or so ago, and I wanted to unbox it and show you what I got! If you aren't familiar with Walmart Beauty Box, it's a seasonal subscription that only costs $5 and contains a variety of new finds and old classics from the beauty and personal care aisles of Walmart. Most of what you get a nice travel-sized samples, but sometimes you'll get a full sized product thrown in there, too. If you'd like to check out some of my previous boxes, you can view all of my older posts here.

New In: Drugstore Lip Loves & Loathes

In true Lauren fashion, I've added way more lip products to my collection recently than is probably necessary for anyone ever. In my defense, the drugstore basically exploded with new products in the past three months, and as your resident beauty expert I feel compelled to stay on the up-and-up for you guys. Fortunately I'm all about that coupon life and was able to snag all of these products at a crazy discount as a result. Seriously. If there is one thing I want you to take away from reading my blog, it's that you don't need to spend a small fortune on beauty products. Part of the reason I love writing reviews is because it affords me the opportunity to take some of the guess work out of the shopping process for others. I want you all to shop smart. To have your cake and eat it too (or in this case, have your lipstick, plus another lipstick, and still have money for your morning coffee run).

So let's chat a little bit about what's new and good in the world of drugstore lip products. L'Oreal, Maybelline, Revlon, and Burt's Bees all had some promising launches that I've put to the test for you. Spoiler alert, some are pretty great, some are all right, and at least one is kind of awful. Have some guesses as to what's what? Let's see if you've got some beauty mind reading powers.

Colourpop Forever Freshman Super Shock Shadow Collection

When it comes to cult beauty, I feel like I'm totally slacking by beauty blogger standards. There are so many brands I hear great things about on the daily, and for one reason or another haven't got around to trying yet (I still don't own a single MAC product. Not a one. *Sigh*). That's not to say that I haven't put my fair share of products to the test, cause let's be real, my collection is sort of ridiculous. But for the most part I stick to my same old drugstore brands and reliable Sephora and Ulta favorites. In 2016, though, I'm ready to branch out, to put some beauty blogger cult favorites to the test and finally understand what the hype is all about.

My first endeavor of the year was to get acquainted with the super trendy, often cheeky, and ultra-affordable LA-based brand Colourpop. As their name would suggest, Colourpop is primarily focused on color cosmetics, so you won't be finding any foundations or concealers amidst their offerings. However, if you want a badass lip color, or an intense metallic shadow, your options will be plentiful. They've done some awesome blogger collabs (including KathleenLights, who I think is just THE most adorable) and are known for putting out amazing quality products at drugstore prices.

As much as I wanted to place a massive order and just try everything, I decided to be a little bit more reasonable and narrow things down to a single collection. Of all the Colourpop products I'd heard about, their Super Shock Shadows really piqued my interest. The formula is super unique, and the pigmentation in every swatch I saw was unreal. And thus, I ultimately decided to order the Colourpop Forever Freshman Collection, a set of 6 gorgeous shadows in a range of matte and metallic finishes. With everything I'd heard I knew the bar would be set high when they finally arrived at my doorstep. And oh.

Oh they did not disappoint.

New in: Drugstore Beauty for Winter & Spring 2016

Guys, the temptation to haul drugstore beauty right now is real. Have you seen how many amazing new launches hit the shelves for the new year? From on-trend makeup to rival hyped high-end brands, to all-natural skincare goodies to make any green beauty lover swoon, there's something for pretty much everyone to get excited about. I'm not gonna lie, I've already picked up a few things that I just couldn't resist trying out for myself, but there so much more out there I'm dying to get my hands on. Here's just a few of the latest products to appear in the drugstore this season that I think are worth checking out!

NYX Prismatic Shadow Review

Eyeshadow. It's the one product that I can never seem to get enough of. Really though. The colors, the textures, all of the possibilities for creating beautiful makeup looks. What's not to love? Unfortunately, finding quality powder shadows at a reasonable price is not always an easy task. Sure, there are countless amazing palettes on the shelves at Sephora, but sometimes a girl needs to stick to a budget. Needless to say, when I discover a truly fantastic eyeshadow at the drugstore I want to shout from the rooftops

PEOPLE OF THE WORLD, YOU MUST TRY THIS.

If you haven't already guessed where I'm going with all of this, today's review is on a product that I cannot say enough good things about. The pigmentation is crazy, the finish is amazing, the texture is creamy and buttery soft. And it is only $6.

SIX DOLLARS PEOPLE!

So what is this miraculous pot of metallic wonderment? None other than the NYX Prismatic Shadow.

MUA Professional Smokey Eye Shadow Palette Review & Tutorial

Happy Monday, friends! I don't know about you, but my weekend went by insanely fast. I had a ton of blog related work to catch up on, as well as stuff to do around the house, and somehow that combination of activities basically created a time vacuum where you can blink and 6 hours have gone by. Such is the story of my life. Anyway, after all my hard work I've got a ton of awesome posts planned to share with you guys that will hopefully go up over the course of the week.

To kick things off I've got this sexy little number to tell you about. Now, I have to admit that my impression of Makeup Academy as a brand wasn't so great prior to my purchasing this palette. I had only ever tried one product from their entire range (a makeup brush), and it sucked so hard that I just didn't have all that much of a desire to try anything else. Alas, Tati and her magical powers of persuasion got me to give them a second chance after she raved about their eyeshadow palettes. From what I can tell, there are three different varieties to choose from - a Nude Palette, a Metallic Palette, and this little beauty, the Smokey Palette. I knew I didn't really need another palette of nude shades, and the metallic palette, while pretty, had a lot of colors I probably wouldn't wear often. This one, however, found a perfect middle ground (a very Goldilocks-esque situation, I realize).