matte

“Treat Yo’Self”

Courtney Salinger

What’s fresh at ULTA?!?! Spring is here! When seasons change, fashion and beauty looks change. When a new movie comes out, new makeup themed palettes are created. (Hint, Hint 😉) New products are being packaged and sold! The theme here is new, new, new! So, what did I buy for my latest ULTA Beauty haul? Let’s take a peak!

First off, we have Lorac’s newest collection; Disney’s Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Collection, which features the latest installment of the movie franchise. This collection features an eyeshadow palette, a cheek palette and dual ended lipsticks. I bought the eyeshadow palette and the cheek palette. The ULTA that I shopped at didn’t have the lipsticks in yet. The eyeshadow palette comes with 18 shades, a mirror, and a mini black eyeliner pencil. The cheek palette comes with 6 shades; 2 matte blushes and 4 highlighters. The cheek palette fits inside of the eyeshadow palette, in a secret compartment. I figured, I HAD to buy both of them. As a gift with my Lorac purchase, I received a mini sample of the Light Source Illuminating Primer. The eyeshadow palette runs for $52, whereas, the cheek palette is $30. Stay in touch for an upcoming review of this collection, coming up real soon 😊.

Next, we have a few new items from ULTA Beauty’s line of products. At the time of my purchase, ULTA had a sale going on; buy two ULTA Beauty products, get the third free. I took advantage of that and bought; the 3-piece liquid lipstick kit, the bronze gel eye liner, and the rainbow highlighter. The lipstick kit features three metallic liquid lipsticks; a red, a gold and a berry. This kit runs for $16. The bronze gel eye liner isn’t new, I just wanted to try it and was what I saw when it came to choosing three items for the deal. The eye liner is $10. The rainbow highlighter is really pretty. I have another rainbow highlighter from Forever 21 that’s comparable, but this one from ULTA swatches golden hues and is creamier. ULTA’s highlighter retails for $10.

Buxom recently launched limited-edition shades of their super popular lip-creams. I had never tried Buxom, prior to this purchase. As soon as I saw the diamond sitting on top of the bottle, I knew I had to have it. So cute! I bought the shade; “Blushing Margarita,” which is a pretty nude. Buxom’s lip products are known to plump lips. As soon as I put this on, my lips started tingling and looked fuller. I am so obsessed with this product, that I’ve been using it every day. This product sells for $21.

Tarte cosmetics launched a rose gold clay pot, which is an Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner. This product retails for $21. The pigment is super smooth and creamy, it swatches pink with silver glitter.

Too Faced Cosmetics introduced their newest collection; Natural Love, which features and eyeshadow palette, melted matte liquid lipsticks, highlights and brow pencils. I bought a melted matte liquid lipstick in the shade; “Wicked.” “Wicked” is a deep forest green shade. These lipsticks sell at $21 apiece.

Sun Bum creates sun care products. I’m obsessed with their lip balms! Each lip balm has spf 30, aloe vera and vitamin and ranges in different scents.  My favorite scent is Key Lime. These lip balms sell for $3.99 each.

Lastly, we have a Capelli New York set of 2 chokers. One choker features a string daisies, the other consist of white lace. These retail for $4.99.

As the saying goes; “treat yo’self!” Hauls don’t come often. It’s always fun and therapeutic to spoil yourself from time to time.

Blue Pouty Craze

Courtney Salinger

NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick “Little Denim Dress”

Lately, it seems as though one of summer’s hottest beauty trends is a sky blue matte lip. Whether it be provided by Kylie Jenner’s Lip Kits or NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipsticks, sky blue matte lips are on the rise. I have heard mixed reviews about the trend and decided to try it out. Here is how I first found out about the trend and my overall critique.

I first discovered the sky blue lip color from NYX because I follow them on Instagram. Then, through Snapchat, I saw that Kylie Jenner was launching “Skylie” a sky blue matte lip just before 4th of July weekend. When I first saw the products through social media, I thought, “Wow, that’s very bright, I wonder how I could pull this off.” I was skeptical about the whole thing because I had felt the brightness level of the blue was very high and it would be overpowering. I gave it more thought and was like, “You know what, let’s go for it… It’s summer time, I’m only young once, why not have a little fun!”

Yes, I’m still adjusting to my shopaholic ways and trying not to spend that much money. So I did a little research! I compared prices between Kylie Jenner’s “Skylie” Lip Kit and NYX’s “Little Denim Dress” Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick. Kylie’s runs around $29, whereas NYX’s is near $7. Which one sounds like a better deal, guys? Don’t get me wrong, Kylie’s lip kit includes both the lip liner and liquid lipstick, but better to save especially when you’re on a budget.

So, I went for NYX’s “Little Denim Dress” Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick. I drove down to my nearest ULTA and picked up one of two “Little Denim Dresses” that were available. When I first swatched the bright blue creamy lipstick onto the back of my hand, I thought, “ok, ok, this might actually work on me.” As it was drying on my hand, my interest grew more and more.

Blue Lippies

Blue Lippies

I decided to try it out during 4th of July weekend. I was getting ready for the day’s festivities and pulled out my newest makeup hopeful, “Little Denim Dress.” I had made up my face with my usual makeup routine, which consisted of, face makeup (moisturizer, foundation, highlighter, bronzer, concealer, setting powder), eye makeup (eyeliner for the top and bottom, mascara), and primer water.

I began to swipe “Little Denim Dress” onto my lips, in front of a mirror. Indoors, the color looked surprisingly pretty, I looked awake, which was a plus, though a little bit on the costume side, but I thought the color could pass.  In broad daylight is where I really had my “wow” moment.

I had walked over to the window in my room, which provides natural sunlight, and looked at myself with a handheld mirror. It was then and there where I fell in love! The bright blue actually made my skin look so healthy and clear. My eyes had looked brighter and were sparkling with delight. In that moment, I just felt alive. I was impressed.

Overall, I’m a fan of the bright blue lip trend. Yes, it is out there and risky, but who doesn’t like a good showstopper? 

See it in action: