J.Cat Beauty First Impressions - Eyeshadow & Liner

Recently, while processing shipment, we found an exciting endcap display - looks like Ulta is going to start carrying J.Cat Beauty. You might know them as the brand that does the cheaper OCC Lip Tar dupes; I've heard of this brand for a while on YT and I was super excited to find out we would be carrying at least a few pieces from the line.

Hopefully we can expand the product range in the future because there are some other products that I plan on picking up (like the blushes...hello, I'm a crazy cat lady and those blush/bronzers are cute as hell) and it's definitely convenient to pick them up while at work.

This is not a full-on review. I've only had these products in my possession for around a week and I do plan on picking up more products from this brand.

FTC Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with this brand, nor am I being sponsored nor compensated for this post. My opinions are entirely my own and also do not reflect my employer. This post is entirely mine.

Eye Heart Tarte Eye Essentials - FIRST IMPRESSIONS

The 21 Days of Beauty is going on at Ulta right now, and they always bring out some great kits from a lot of the prestige brands. I don't know if I plan on picking any more up, but I did get my hands on the two I had really wanted (this Tarte one being one of them!) and I wanted to get this post up ASAP! This is not an in-depth review. If you're interested in a full review on these products (the liners and mascara; this quad is only available in this kit I believe) then let me know! I've tried Tarte shadows and the Lights, Camera, Lashes! mascara before, but the liners are new to me.

This kit retails for $34 through Ulta. It should also be available in stores! The total value is $71, so you save $37! Plus, through April 4th (WHILE SUPPLIES LAST AT YOUR ULTA LOCATION), there is a GWP going on with Tarte; spend $30 and receive a free deluxe Brazilliance Face Towelette and deluxe Lipsurgence Lip Gloss in Flush, which is a $20 value, which means you can potentially get $91 worth of Tarte products for $34+ tax!

FTC Disclaimer: All of the products mentioned in this post were purchased by me, with my own money. I am not affiliated with Tarte and all opinions are my own, as always! I am not being sponsored nor compensated for this post.

NEW AT THE DRUGSTORE - Maybelline Edition

So, I'm not even going to try to give some kind of lame ass sob story. Basically, I've been a terrible blogger, but I just bought a Macbook Pro AND a new DSLR so I'm planning on coming back with a vengeance. ANYWAY, have a new at the drugstore type of post! I knew about the new lipsticks from Maybelline, but I had NO CLUE about these products! Also found but not featured are several new shades of the Brow Drama brow gel, including a transparent shade, but I didn't pick any of those up. I purchased all of these things from my local Meijer, and I found them on an endcap display!

Note: this is not a review, this is basically a haul post. I haven't put any of these on my face yet!

e.l.f. Ariel Treasure Within Beauty Book REVIEW

One of the times I was questing at Walgreens (for the new Maybelline "The Nudes" palette, which I finally found at Ulta; review soon!) I spotted a display that caught my eye. Now last Halloween (or maybe two Halloweens ago) e.l.f. did a collaboration with Disney and had some gift sets based off of villains. This is a similar concept, except with Ariel!

Truth be told, I'm actually not a HUGE Little Mermaid fan, but the packaging and the concept suckered me in and I ended up with two kits; a lip set (review to be coming) and this "Treasure Within" Beauty Book. The packaging of this is GORGEOUS, can we just take a minute? I'm so in love with the aesthetic aspects of this palette. But how do the products inside stack up?

(I'll be including page anchors so if you just want to see swatches or read about just one part, you can skip to that particular part and not have to fuss around, since I can get...really verbose, especially when talking about so many products in one mega-post.)

FTC Disclaimer: All of the product(s) shown in this review were purchased by me, with my own money. I am not affiliated with e.l.f., nor am I being compensated or sponsored for my review. All opinions are, as always, my own.

N.Y.C. HD Color Trio in "Long Beach Sands" REVIEW

So, I've already failed my NY resolution, bummer! But Bloguary is not totally dead; I just need to stop being a lazy asshole. Let's get this started! This review is going to be on a trio from New York Color, or, N.Y.C. This is a drugstore brand with costs similar to Wet N Wild. However, while WNW has vastly improved their range and has put out products with impressive textures and quality, N.Y.C. has...not. They're known mostly for their matte bronzer in "Sunny", but their eyeshadows have been underwhelming for a long time.

These new trios are supposed to be an improved "HD" formula. They're still pretty cheap and easily accessible; only $2.99 at pretty much any drugstore and they come in 12 different color options, all of which are on the neutral side of the spectrum, mostly bronzes and taupes, with a few color options like plums and olives.

FTC Disclaimer: This product was provided for review purposes through the Influenster program. I am not affliated nor sponsored by New York Color, nor am I receiving any compensation for this review. If you're interested in joining Influenster, I do have a couple of invites left, so leave a comment! I've done a post on Influenster before; click here. I've also reviewed a couple more N.Y.C. products FROM Influenster before; glitter liner and lip gloss.

Wet N Wild Fergie Centerstage Collection Photo Op Eyeshadow Palette in Maldives Sky REVIEW

So while I actually have access to a computer, I figured it would be pretty dang smart if I just typed up a couple more blogs. So here's a review I meant to do ages ago. I just never got around to it. BUT this stuff is permanent, not LE like I had originally thought. The WNW Fergie nail polishes are available pretty much everywhere, but the Fergie Centerstage Collection is found only at Walgreens, so if you're interested in checking it out, you won't be able to find it elsewhere, sadly. At least, that is my general understanding, haha. There are four eyeshadow palettes in this collection, but I only have two of the four. Originally, I was going to review both of them at the same time, but I like the other palette so much better so, yeah...haha.

I have another review on some of the lipsticks from this collection, which you can read here, if you're interested!

I'm pretty sure that these palettes are about $4.99 but that might vary depending on location. Now, WNW does offer 8-pan palettes for the same price but I actually like these better. I know the 8-pan palettes are everyone's favorite, and if they work for you, that's fantastic. They're so powdery and chalky and fall-out prone. I'm not crazy about the high level of shimmer those shadows have either. For the most part, the frosty shimmer is pretty cheap looking on me. It looks amazing on other people though! In fact, I'm incredibly jealous, haha. So if those shadows work for you, I'd go for it. These palettes only have five shadows, versus the eight in the other ones.

NYX Love In Rio Eye Shadow Trio Review

It's going to be an exciting time on my blog if you enjoy NYX products. A lot of new products have come out and Ulta recently had them on sale, so I bought a bunch of new stuff to try. I've been doing a lot of lip product reviews lately so I wanted to get back into the whole eye makeup scene, so you'll have to wait for the Butter Gloss review, sadly!

I have two of the new Love In Rio eye shadow trios to talk about today. NYX has always been known for their eye products - pigmented shadows and a huge color range. I lump NYX in with drugstore makeup, so when you consider the sheer number of products and colors they come in, it's no wonder everyone freaks about this brand! Their old trios are still up on NYX's site. To be honest, I was never really blown away by the old trios (the ones with the round pans) or some other palettes by NYX, so I wasn't expecting miracles from these little guys.

Sugarpill Pressed Shadows Review (Pt. 2.5)

Originally this post was going to go in my main review of these shadows but it was already pretty long and I didn't want to make it SO obnoxious to read so this is the pressed shadow review Pt. 2.5, which just looks at the actual shadow colors themselves. I've gone through and swatched any shadow I owned that could be considered a dupe, from high end to low end and, well, the results speak for themselves. For my initial thoughts regarding Sugarpill in general, click on the second picture of the Burning Heart quad. For the review on the shadow quads themselves, click here.

I purchased the two available quads - the Sweet Heart quad and the Burning Heart quad. There are nine total pressed shadows available, so the only one I didn't purchase is "Bulletproof", which is the matte black. I really like the NYX single shadow in "Black"; in fact, I like it so much that I purchased a backup when NYX was on sale at Ulta. That, and I have MAC's "Carbon" in both the Pro pan form and in a pot from the Venomous Villains collection, so...I really don't need another black shadow!

Sugarpill Pressed Shadow Review (Pt. 2)

Okay, we're getting into it. I apologize that everyone had to wait for this stuff. I'm vaguely neurotic about things like this. I had to try these shadows over primers, w/o primers, and various other random tests to fully do this review, hence why it took so long. For general overviews of packaging and prices and fun stuff like that, click the second picture for my Sugarpill overview. This is Part 2 of my Sugarpill reviews/ravings, but there is a bit more information at the Initial Thoughts post I did.

Basically, I am really fond of these quads. I purchased the two available quads - the Sweet Heart quad and the Burning Heart quad. There are nine total pressed shadows available, so the only one I didn't purchase is "Bulletproof", which is the matte black. I really like the NYX single shadow in "Black"; in fact, I like it so much that I purchased a backup when NYX was on sale at Ulta. That, and I have MAC's "Carbon" in both the Pro pan form and in a pot from the Venomous Villains collection, so...I really don't need another black shadow!

Anyway, let's get on w/ it, right? (For a color-by-color product breakdown, click here!)

SUGARPILL! INITIAL THOUGHTS! (Very picture-heavy, FYI.)

Okay, so I don't know why I haven't typed up this post until now. It's 11 PM and I got the package at 2 PM and I had the pictures for this post edited and uploaded by 3 PM. And then I just sat around and did other things, like play the Sims on FB and pet my cat. But, okay, let's get down w/ it. This is going to be one of those ridiculously long posts from me...which is why I've divided up my reviewing into three posts. As you can tell by the overly excited title, this is a Sugarpill related post. I know, I know. Sometimes, you see a certain product or brand hyped up sooooo much and it just makes you doubt as to why it's so popular - because it's really hyped or because it's actually good.

Well, here's the thing - this isn't hype. Sugarpill is really that good! Okay, admittedly, I can't attest to staying power as of yet...I had an problem actually making myself use and swatch these products. Why? If you've ever gotten something you REALLY wanted for a long time, you probably understand this feeling. I didn't want to actually use them, haha. I wanted to just sit there and stare at them because they are just so damn pretty! (Warning - you may read the words "pretty" and "cute" numerous times in this post. I will try to restrain myself.) This post is just an initial thoughts type post. For an actual review on the pressed shadows, click here. If you want a color-by-color breakdown of the pressed shadows, click here. My review on the loose shadows I purchased will, hopefully, be up before the end of the week!

Eye Studio® Color Explosion™ in 10 Amethyst Ablaze & Master Drama™ Cream Pencil in Midnight Master Review

While on a recent shopping trip, my eye was drawn to an endcap. I usually always glance over endcaps to see what is new or if there are any BOGOs or products w/ an added gift, but this time my attention was drawn to a new Maybelline display. They had shadow palettes and new eyeliner pencils. I love eyeshadow and I love automatic liners PLUS I was armed w/ coupons AND there was a BOGO50% so obviously these new products were going to be mine.

I love greens but usually of the bright or neon variety...forest greens aren't my piece o' cake. There was a palette of greens but most of the colors didn't scream out to me. I am not super huge into blue shadows and the pink one was okay. I imagine I'll end up buying the neutral palette eventually. I ended up getting 10 Amethyst Ablaze, which had some really fun purples. I also picked up a Master Drama™ Cream Pencil in 405 Vibrant Violet.

The liner was around $7.99 and the palette was $9.49 before tax. They are new products, however, so I expect that the price will drop. I imagine you'll be able to find these palettes and liners in any drugstore that stocks Maybelline. I am assuming they are going to be in the permanent line but as of right now stores appear to only have a couple of each color in stock.