Anastasia Beverly Hills Self-Made Palette

When I first saw the pictures for the release of the Anastasia Self-Made Palette, I knew I had to have it. Anastasia's shadows are some of the most raved about, and at $30-$35, their palettes are a steal. I wasn't a huge fan of the previous palettes because the colourful shadows were ones I would rarely use. However, the Self-Made has a great balance of neturals and pops of colour. This palette contains 14 shadows for $35, where previously the palettes housed 12. Did I need more eyeshadows? No. Did I buy it anyway? Absolutely.

One thing to note, that most people have complained about, is that the palette is mostly satin and shimmery-metallic colours. Buttery and Hot Chocolate are matte, and Spirit Rock is a matte black with purple glitter. I have so many mattes in my collection that the lack here doesn't particularly bother me. But if you're buying this as someone who doesn't already own a lot of mattes, this isn't going to be a palette that you use alone if you prefer to use mattes. That was probably the most confusing way to say that ever. The shadows are also set up to use in quads, which is why the colours seem to be placed kind of randomly. But if you look at the four shades together it makes perfect sense!

The colours in the palette are beautifully pigmented (some don't show up very well on my pale arms sorry) and blend like a dream. I also tried to take some close up shots to show you the gorgeous sheen on the shadows, but seriously how do people take pictures of their own arm with a DSLR? They're heavy and evidently my auto-focus hates me. Anyway, I hope you can see what I mean because they are so pretty! Speaking on the quality, these are also some of the most long wearing shadows I've used. I always prime my lids so I do with these as well, but they last pretty much perfectly throughout the day, even once when I got stuck in a torrential downpour eek!

Have you guys tried any of Anastasia's shadows or palettes? Let me know what your favourites are!
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MAC Lip Liners

MAC Lip Pencils are probably my favourite liner, but I rarely buy them because they retail for $16.50 each now. However, we do carry them at the CCO and every now and again we'll get some REALLY good shades in. At my store the regular lip pencils are $11.25, so I snatched a few up when we got shipment.

I decided to get Subculture (one of my favourites), Soar, and Nightmoth this time around. Subculture is a slightly pink nude shade that I love to wear by itself just to define my lips, but it is also beautiful under other shades. Soar is the famous "Kylie Jenner" lip colour. I was kind of surprised by how pink it looks on me, but it does have enough brown in it to not look unnatural. This is really pretty under nude lipsticks. Nightmoth is a super dark plum and this is GORGEOUS by itself. I don't think I've ever gotten so many compliments on my lip colour. The awesome thing about wearing liners as lipstick is that they wear for a super long time and have much less transfer. You definitely want to have exfoliated and prepped lips, but MAC's liners are so creamy and comfortable.

Have you guys tried any liners from MAC? They have a million colours, which is your favourite?
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Nest Indigo

I haven't worn anything but Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black for almost a year. It's become my signature scent. I raved so much about it my friends learned the top notes. I have people asking me what fragrance I'm wearing on a daily basis. I didn't want to wear anything else.... Until I smelled Nest's Indigo perfume.

I was in the checkout line at Sephora trying to convince myself I didn't need any minis. There was a little sampler of three of these Nest fragrances sitting there but they were out of stock. I decided to sniff them anyway and I kid you not I almost fainted right there. This stuff smells heavenly. It's sort of similar to Nirvana Black in a way I can't describe, but I feel like if you like that you'll love this. Its notes are "Moroccan tea, Kashmir wood, and black cardamom; enhanced with hints of wild fig and bergamot." I think it's slightly masculine, but still very feminine which is the case with Black (and many Tom Ford fragrances). Fragrances are really hard to describe, but if you can find it in a store somewhere I implore you to smell this divine substance!

And can we talk about this packaging?! So so so beautiful. The botanical illustrations on all of the packaging are wonderful, but Indigo is definitely one of my favourites. The rollerball retails for $25 and contains 0.27 fl oz (Sephora says 0.28, but I'm going to trust the packaging) and the full size bottle is 1.7 fl oz at $68. It is not available in store at my local Sephoras, but definitely check yours!

I am still in love with Nirvana Black, but it's nice to have something new to switch it up. What are your favourite fragrances?
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H&M Cuticle Care

I've been thoroughly impressed by H&M's new beauty range and this little gem is no exception. The Almond Cuticle Care is a Vitamin E and Lemon oil and has been working wonders for my poor dry cuticles. When the seasons change my skin tends to freak out, and as it gets colder I get really dry hands. It costs $6.99, and for some reason is not on the website (that I can see?) but it is in the store! It contains sweet almond oil, lemon peel oil, and castor oil. It smells yummy but not too strong and it super moisturizing! I usually use an essie apricot one, but I ran out and it is slightly more expensive. This is a great alternative and I actually think it's more moisturizing!

Have you tried any of the new range?
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