Lip Love: NYX Butter Lipstick in Razzle

NYX cosmetics were 40% off a couple weeks ago at Ulta. This was the perfect time for me to try a couple of their newer products I have been eyeing.

I picked up a NYX Butter Lipstick because I have heard and seen so many people talk about these lipsticks. The shade, Razzle, caught my eye.

I am IN LOVE with this color! Razzle is a bright, Barbie pink shade that definitely draws attention to the lips. I just can't even talk enough about how much I love this color. The color payoff is so amazing and the lasting power is really great for a drugstore brand and a lipstick in general.

What I Got For Christmas 2013: Clinique Chubby Stick Whole Lotta Candy Set and Clinique Party Tips Nail Enamel Set

I know that Christmas feels like it was forever ago, but I thought some of you might enjoy seeing some things (mostly beauty-related) that I got for Christmas. 

I am going to do separate posts to break everything up, so today I will just show you the Clinique products I received. My boyfriend got me two different Clinique gift sets for Christmas: one for lips and one for nails. 

Whole Lotta Candy is a Chubby Stick set that includes smaller sizes of Pudgy Peony, Voluptuous Violet, and Two Ton Tomato. Both this set and the nail set I received were just around for the holidays, but almost all of these products are available separately in full sizes.

Look of the Day: Betrayal

The Vice 2 Palette is my most recent obsession. I cannot stop using it! My absolute favorite color in this palette is Betrayal. Partly just because it is purple and I love purple and also because of the uniqueness of the shade. It is a bright purple duo-chrome with a blue shift. I think this color sums up who I am.

For this look I wanted to kind of make Betrayal the center of attention. I also wanted to use my other new obsession, the Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Wild Orchid. These products and the rest of the products I used to create this look are at the end of this post.

Urban Decay Ocho Loco 2 Eye Pencil Set, Shadow Lockdown Duo, and Revolution Lipstick in Jilted (Swatches Included)

Urban Decay had their Friends & Family a couple weeks ago on their website, so I obviously had to buy things. I'm such a sucker for their products, especially their new stuff. I ended up buying the new Ocho Loco 2 Eye Pencil Set, the Shadow Lockdown Duo, and a Revolution Lipstick.

Let's take a look shall we?

First up is the Revolution Lipstick I bought in the shade Jilted. It is a bright pink with violet undertones. I love the packaging of these lipsticks and the lipstick itself. The wear is pretty good and I wish I could have gotten more shades, but maybe another time. UD's Revolution Lipsticks are $22. It's more than I usually spend on lipsticks, but I just love the color selection and the wear of these, so I am willing to spend a little more on these lipsticks.

Clinique Haul

Now that I work for Clinique and have to wear Clinique makeup to work, I realized I need more products so that I can have more of a variety of looks. Basically this means that I decided to spend some good money on Clinique products and now you all get to see the cool stuff I bought.

I have quite a few Clinique lipsticks, but none of the Chubby Sticks for lips. These are pretty awesome. They are like a big crayon that twists up. I find them super easy to use and fairly moisturizing as well.

I got two Chubby Stick Intense lip colors - one in Roomiest Rose and one in Grandest Grape. These are two of the Intense shades, which are a little more pigmented than the original Chubby Sticks.

Roomiest Rose is a soft, warm pink. I fell in love with this color the first time I tried it on. It looks nice with a lot of different looks. Grandest Grape is berry, violet-toned shade. This is a perfect color for fall!

Roomiest Rose and Grandest Grape

I also bought two Chubby Sticks for eyes as well. I have always been pretty skeptical of cream shadows or anything close to that because my eyelids are super oily and I have a problem with pretty much everything creasing on my lids. These, however, have worked pretty well for me so far. They are really easy to apply, especially if you're in a hurry. They can be worn alone or as a base for eye shadow. The two shades I got are Massive Midnight and Lots o' Latte.

These have a much rounder, flatter tip than the Chubby Sticks for lips because that makes them easier to apply. Plus, can you imagine trying to apply them with a more pointed tip? Ow!

Lots o' Latte is a taupe shade. It's a great base for almost all colors of shadow and it looks good alone too. Massive Midnight is a deep blue shade that I seriously love. I also want to mention that you can use these as an eyeliner too. Massive Midnight is a gorgeous eyeliner.

Lots o' latte and Massive Midnight

I picked up three of Clinique's new All About Shadow in the colors Rock Violet, Graphite, and Pacific Coast. These are better pigmented than their old eye shadows and look amazing on top of the Chubby Sticks for eyes.

Pacific Coast is a teal shade that is pretty vibrant. Rock Violet is a gray-violet that photographed more pink that it looks in person. Graphite is also a gray-violet but much darker. It also didn't photograph very purple. 

Pacific Coast, Rock Violet, Graphite

The last thing I bought is Clinique's Acne Solutions Clarifying Lotion. I love this stuff and if you want to learn more about it, you can read my blog post about Clinique.

I went to Ulta this week for one thing and came out with several things, so I will have some more stuff to show you as soon as I get a chance to photograph them all. Stay updated by following me on one or more of the sites I'm on, which are linked in the sidebar.

Lancôme Fall 2013 Gift With Purchase

It's that time yet again! Lancome has their fall gift with purchase at Younkers, Carson's, Bergners, Herbergers, Boston Store, Bon Ton, and Elder-Beerman and you should definitely consider getting some things to get this one! To get the gift, you need to spend $35 or more.

Here's the scoop on this awesome gift:

Cosmetic Bag - Like most gifts that cosmetic lines have, this gift come with a makeup bag. However, Lancome is all about choices, so you can choose between a black or a berry-toned pink bag. The signature Lancome rose is on the bag in a soft, velvet print.

Skincare Trio - The next choice you get to make is which skincare trio you would like. There are three options and each comes with a serum, eye cream, and moisturizer. Each "set" is based on what your main skincare concern is. I choose the trio that has Visionnaire, High Resolution Eye Refill-3X Cream, and High Resolution Night Refill-3X Moisturizer.

Color Design Lipstick - You also get a choice between three of the Color Design Lipsticks. The options are Red Stiletto, Vintage Rose, and Pretty Burgundy. Vintage Rose (a dusty pink) was in one of Lancome's previous gifts that I received. I already own Red Stiletto, which is a bright, true red, so I picked Pretty Burgundy. It is a beautiful plummy red violet shade.

Hypnose Drama Mascara - The gift comes with a sample size tube of Hypnose Drama Mascara. I really like this mascara because it adds a lot of volume to my lashes and makes them stand out, hence the name "drama".

Cils Booster XL Primer - This lash primer also comes in the gift and it's amazing. It really helps mascara go on better, stay on better, and stand out better and saves your lashes a bit from the harshness of applying and removing mascara everyday.

Another added bonus to this gift is if you spend at least $70, you get some other extra goodies. Here is what those extras are:

Bifacil Eye Makeup Remover - This makeup remover is super awesome. You just put some on a cotton ball, hold it on you eyelid for 10 seconds and wipe. It works amazingly.

Definicils Mascara - This mascara is also part of the extra items. Another great mascara from Lancome. It is actually the number one selling mascara in the world.

Juicy Tube Lip Gloss - Last but not least you can choose to either receive La Base foundation primer or one of three different shades of Juicy Tubes. I have La Base primer already and it is a great primer that I would recommend trying. I also have two of the three shades offered in the Juicy Tubes. Moulin Rose (a bubblegum pink shade) and Magic Spell (a pretty rose shade). Both. I ended up with Tickled Pink, which is a nude, rosy pink. 

This gift goes through October 6th, but I would recommend getting yours ASAP because there are limited quantities, especially with the extra "step-up" gift.

August Favorites

Sorry for not posting anything for over a week. I've been pretty busy getting back into the groove of going to school.

August was a great month! I saw Taylor Swift in concert, I got a new job at Younkers as a Beauty Consultant for Clinique, I started my senior year of college, and I turned 21.

In the midst of all that excitement, I managed to rediscover a couple products and use some other ones that all became my favorites for the month.

Urban Decay Naked Palette - I was so excited when I got this palette a couple years. However, I was disappointed with the selection in it and only found myself using not even half of the shades. I have kind of re-discovered this palette in the past few months and used it a lot in August. I have expanded my use of the colors. My favorites are Sin, Naked, Half-Baked, and Toasted. There are a lot of possibilities for subtle and bold eye looks with this palette. You just have to play around a little.

Left to Rgiht: Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar

Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse

Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal

Maybelline Color Whisper Lipsticks - I really like these lipsticks because the coverage is pretty sheer, but it is also build-able. You can layer it depending on how much color you want on your lips. The wear on these is decent. I have to reapply them every few hours. They are great to keep in your purse or backpack. I have the Color Whisper Lipsticks in Petal Rebel, Pin Up Peach, Coral Ambition, and Rose of Attraction.

L to Right: Petal Rebel, Pin Up Peach, Coral Ambition, Rose of Attraction

NYX HD Photogenic Concealer in Yellow - I use this under my eyes to help hides dark circles. Since I almost always have dark circles under my eyes, this baby has been my best friend this month and will continue to be my buddy throughout the school year.

Bath and Body Works Sweet Pea Shower Gel - This shower gel has Shea butter in it and is really moisturizing. The scent is floral and sweet. I use this shower gel to wash my body and to shave my legs because it doesn't leave my legs feeling dry or irritated later on.

Hair Claw Clips - I had been meaning to buy some of these for quite some time. I had a few when I was younger, but I'm not sure what happened to them. These are awesome. Sometimes I just need to pull my hair out of my face, put it up quickly, or add a little style instead of just wearing my hair down. I like to wear my hair half back a lot, but I have to use a lot of bobby pins and I hate when they stick out or don't work they way I want them to. These clips make it easy to just pull back some of my hair and clip it. They hold really well and don't hurt.

Men's Ralph Lauren Polo Red - Okay, so I don't actually wear this on myself, but my boyfriend does. This was still one of my favorite products this month though. It has become my new favorite cologne.. The scent is fresh but manly. I can't get enough. Check this out if you are in the market for a new cologne.

I want to try and start doing some video tutorials this month (or at least ONE). What do you all want to see? I like the idea of doing tutorials based on a theme or a series of looks, but maybe I'll start out small and work my way up. PLEASE let me know in the comments what you want to see!

Keep yourself updated with my blog by following me on one or all of the various sites I'm on. Links are in the sidebar!

Clinique Gift With Purchase

FREE MAKEUP. As a makeup junkie, those two words are just about my favorite thing to see or hear.

Clinique's fall gift with purchase at Bon-ton, Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's, and Younkers has started and all you have to spend is $25 to receive 6 free products and a makeup bag.

Check out what's in the gift!

Makeup Bag - This bag in particular gives off a real 70's vibe. If you have so many makeup bags that you don't know what to do with like I do, keep in mind that they make great gifts and can be used as a "gift bag" for small gifts for someone.

Liquid Facial Soap in Mild - This cleanser is step 1 in Clinique's 3 step system. Make sure you remove any face makeup before using this product to really get a benefit from it.

Take The Day Off Makeup Remover - This makeup remover is awesome! It can be used on your lids, lashes, and lips and removes even waterproof makeup. Just hold a cotton ball on the area you want to remove makeup for a few seconds and wipe it all away.

Lash Doubling Mascara - This mascara is both volumizing and thickening. I love the brush on it because it is skinny on top and gets gradually thicker. This makes it easy to coat all my lashes.

Different Lipstick in Surprise - This shade is a golden brown with hints of violet. It might look like a kind of scary bronze shade in the tube, but it is a pretty plum shade when swatched. I like this shade because anyone can make it work. If you think the color is too bronze/brown on your lips, try a different shade of lip liner underneath or a lip gloss on top.

 Soft-Pressed Powder Blush in New Clover - This blush shade is probably the most universal shade Clinique has. The soft violet color looks good on almost all skin types. You can dust the color on lightly or build the color to be a little more vibrant.

Even Better Liquid Foundation - This gift is a little different than what Clinique usually does for their gifts. It comes with a deluxe sample one of four shades in the Even Better foundation. This foundation evens skin tone, is oil-free, and has SPF 15. The four shades are 02 Fair, 03 Ivory, 04 Cream Chamois, and 05 Neutral. Be sure to get matched to one of these shades for the gift to make sure you are getting the right color for your skin.

Make sure you check out my two-part brand review of Clinique I did a couple of months ago to learn more about Clinique products.

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