BH Cosmetics 120 Colors Palette: 3rd Edition

I purchased the 3rd edition of the 120ColorsPalette fro, BH Cosmetics during December when they were having a bunch of their sales. This is one of the reasons I like BH Cosmetics so much; they have some of the best discount sales I've ever seen! It's worth signing up for emails from them just because of the amount of discounts they do, most of which only last for either one week or 24 hours. Of course, it also helps that the quality of these eyeshadows is pretty damn impressive too. 

I already own the 2nd edition of the 120 palettes, which has far more vibrant, colourful shadows. This one I decided would be a good investment because the colorful shadows they have are more pastel than vibrant, so are different from the colours I already own. 

Top Tray

The bottom tray of this palette comes with far more earthy, neutral shadows. I really loved this because of all the green and blue shades they had, none of which I have real dupes of. Any blue that I have tends to be far more bright and harder to use for the everyday looks I tend to go for. 

Bottom Tray

As usual, all of these shadows are a mix of shimmers, glitters, mattes, and satin finishes. From what I can see, this edition has a less glittery shadows than the 2nd edition, but I haven't looked closely to compare them yet. All I know is that any matte/satin shadow I've used from this edition has been beautifully pigmented, which can be so hard to find. 

I've been using this bottom tray since I got the palette and have been loving it. It honestly works so well for the type of daily looks I like to wear, and I can't help reaching for it everyday. I recommend any of the 120ColorsPalettes to anyone looking for a good beginners palette, but especially this one because of all the neutrals it has. This kind of palette is a great option because it has so many non-brown, but still natural, colours.

You can get it here: 

https://www.bhcosmetics.com/products/eyes/120-Color-Eyeshadow-Palette-3rd-Edition/

It isn't on as great of sale as when I bought it, but it's currently 10% off of the original, already really cheap price, of about $35. Now, I believe they do ship internationally, but I've found that the best way to order any American product to somewhere in Europe (for example) is to find a contact in America, ship it to their house, and then have them send it to you from their house. This way you often avoid customs and having to pay taxes on it. And no, that's not illegal, haha! 

If I know you personally and you'd like to have this palette (or anything other american product), send me an email and I'll see if I can help :) 

Kat von D 'True Romance' Eyeshadow Palette

SEPHORA! Yes, I went yesterday finally. It's one of the things I've been waiting to do since I got to the US. Pretty pathetic. Anyways, I finally went and got a present for a family member, some skincare, and the Kat Von D 'True Romance' palette. There were some by the check out, as well as by the actual Kat Von D section. I don't have a ton of money to spend this Christmas, but I saw this and because it wasn't too expensive ($20) I figured I could get it as a little present for me. 

Palette

Without Flash

With Flash

Without Flash

With Flash

Without Flash

With Flash

Without Flash

With Flash

These shadows are all very shimmery/frosty, but don't have a lot of fallout which is really nice. You don't have to put a lot of to make the darker colours pigmented, but the two lighter colours go on kind of sheer. Luckily though, they're easy to pack on to make bolder, or blend out to make more sheer. I think they're worth the money, especially because I don't own a colour like 'Rad Purple'. 

The packaging is perfect for me. It's perfect to take in a purse (which is something I'm always looking for) and with the four colours you could easily make an everyday look or a night-time look. Overall, with the small size of the packaging, the quality of the shadows, and the price, I definitely recommend this. 

Inglot Shadows

So finally I'm updating my blog again! I've got some time now to do it and I'm taking advantage of that. Let me being by saying that having a good internet connection makes a huge difference! Rather than 30 minutes, it took me about 5 to upload all the photos for this post. Needless to say, that saves me a hell of a lot of time and makes it far more pleasant to post! 


These are the five Inglot shadows I got when I went to the London store. I've been using the light brown non-stop for almost every single look that I've done! They are incredible! Although I have no photos of the colours swatched, they don't need anything. These colours (minus the brown) look exactly like they do in the palette as they do on my skin! 

I got a 5-shadow Freedom System palette. I had originally wanted more, but I was more than happy with these colours! One day, if I get the chance to shop there again, I'll buy some more :) 

Pearl 414

(More accurate photo of the colour in the picture just before this one). This colour is a dark, shimmery, mossy green. It can be blended out to give a beautiful, pearly sheer colour, or packed on to look more pigmented. 

Matte 387

This is the only matte grey of this colour that I own. It's a deeper, more visible grey than others I've seen and looks best when packed onto the lids. I like to use it as a crease colour with lighter greys or silvers. 

Pearl 447

This colour isn't so much pearly as it is frosty. It's a very pretty, light silver and is a nice change from other silvers I own that are flaky and thick with glitter/frost. 

Matte 390

Now, this colour is the one I've been using the most out of all my shadows lately (if I do a favourites post, I'm sure it will make an appearance!). It's the only shadow out of the Inglot ones that I own that doesn't actually show very well on my skin. However, that's in no way the shadows fault; this colour is far more similar to my skin colour than I thought it would be, so when I use it, it tends to blend into my skin and not show up too much. I love this about though, as I prefer to wear more natural colours shadows for everyday looks (a darker crease colour and very sheer lid). So this is perfect when paired with another matte, darker brown. It's also great to blend out the edges of other looks to take away harsh lines. 

Matte 367

This baby blue has the chalkiest texture of all five shadows. It doesn't come off super blue, instead showing up as more of an icy white. However, I bought a matte gel liner in the same colour specifically to use with this shadow as a base. This will make the colour pop. I've been waiting for a good opportunity to wear it! 


These shadows stay true to the Inglot quality that people are so crazy about. I've been loving using them :) 

Naked Palette 2! (XSparkage)

http://www.xsparkage.com/?p=4113#more-4113


I was completely unaware Urban Decay were going to release a new edition of the Naked palette. This makes me want it so bad, but I can't justify buying it :( 


Check out XSparkages post comparing the two palettes and showing swatches! 

Hiatus

Right, so my blog has been a little neglected this month. I've been extremely busy with packing all my stuff up for my move to the US. I'm living in England now, so this is a pretty big move for me (not that I haven't done it before in my life). I thought I would have more time to edit and post the videos that I had filmed, but I ended up being much busier than I thought I would be. 


Once I get to the US, I'll have a faster internet connection, so posting will be a lot easier for me than it was here. I just so happen to live in the neighbourhood that is notorious for having the worst internet connection in practically the entire UK. But my family in the US have a much better connection, so hopefully that will encourage me to post more! 


I doubt that I will ever get to editing the videos I had filmed on my hauls anytime soon. If I do they will be pretty late, so I apologise ahead of time for that. I'll also apologise for not getting a November favourites up (possibly at all) again due to moving. If I get it up, I would expect it around the 10th of December or later. 


Hopefully y'all will stick with me and my blog. I promise to have more tutorials up once I'm set in my new home, as well as a more regular posting schedule. So be patient! I'll have more posts up soon! 


-Marisa

Inglot & MAC Haul

So, I finally got to shop at Inglot, which if you've followed me for awhile, then you know I've really been wanting to go there. I was so impressed with the shadows I got from my mom when  she had gone (especially the matte shadow!) that I knew I had to buy some more from them.


Normally I wouldn't make a special trip all the way to London because the train ticket is so ridiculously expensive, but I had to go down to the Spanish Consulate in London anyways. Therefore, it made sense for my mom and I to combine the two things.


Going into the store was really fun. There were so many shades of lipstick! I've never seen so many colours of lipstick before. But I was there for the eyeshadow. It was fun to walk around and be able to make my own palette, swatch all the different colours, etc. I would have loved to have had enough money to buy the giant matte shadow palette! So pretty.


I wasn't too impressed with the help though, partially because there were just two girls working, but partially because the girl who did help me spoke very quietly and had a difficult accent to understand. The combination of the two made it hard for her to help me out, but that's entirely my own fault :P I wish they would have had more people working to truly be able to help everyone in there. The girl who helped me was multi-tasking and I felt pretty bad for her.


After I spent all the time I needed to at Inglot, I went to the MAC store they had there and bought a couple things from the Glitter and Ice collection that I had been eyeing. I'm extremely tempted to go back and buy some more stuff! I usually don't get too impressed with MAC collections, but something about this one caught my eye.


I'll have a video of these products (along with one or two others) as well as accompanying blog posts up within then next few days. I can't promise they'll all be up since I'm in the process of packing my stuff to move, but I'll do my best!

Peeling Polish!

I was wearing China Glaze's 'It's Alive' and dreading how long it was going to take me to get the polish off. I was messing around the edges of one of the nails where it was chipped, and the whole polish came off in one go! I tried it with a couple other nails and the same thing happened! Saved me a hell of a lot of trouble taking the polish off! Looked really creepy though.

As a side note, may I add that my nails are STILL stained from my favourite Nubar polish! It's taking forever for them to grow out and be normal coloured again! Any tips on how to regain normal colouring? 

China Glaze 'It's Alive' Pictures

China Glaze 'It's Alive' 

China Glaze 'It's Alive' 

I love 'It's Alive'! It's such a perfect colour for Halloween and reminds me exactly of a lizard/monster. It's hell to get off of course, because it's super chunky pieces of glitter. The glitter is a dirty, green-yellow, on a black base. So cool!

China Glaze 'Ghoulish Glow' 

The 'Ghoulish Glow' polish is awesome. It's very noticeably glow-in-the-dark when you see t in the bottle. So far, I've only tried it on top of China Glaze's 'Haunting', which is a black polish. On a dark colour like that, the glow didn't show up almost at all. I'm guessing it would show up far better on a lighter surface, which I will be trying next!


Keep an eye out for the comparison between OPI Black Shatter and China Glaze's Black Mesh!

China Glaze Haunting Collection

Swatches of 'It's Alive' up in the next post!

Brown & Bronze + First Real Tutorial!

FIRST REAL VIDEO TUTORIAL IN 6 MONTHS!
If you can even call my half-assed attempt at a tutorial from 6 months ago a proper video at all haha! I don't think it even counts.

So I decided to go ahead and film a tutorial for once because, let's face it, a lot of people prefer to see videos than have to read a lot. So I'm going to be trying this out once in awhile. I can't promise that it will become a regular thing (especially since I'm never alone in the house and I would rather nobody be there to hear me talking to myself lol) but I will definitely be doing a video here and there. As long as these are well received and not completely dumped on!


So! Here's the look!

I'm very sorry the quality of the photos isn't very good, but my lighting (or lack of) wasn't cooperating. So my computer webcam is going to have to do for now.


Product List: 


Primer: 
Two Faced Shadow Insurance


Shadows:
MAC Paint Pot in 'Constructivist'
Urban Decay's shadow in 'Chase'
Inglot Matte #
Inglot D.S. #


Eyeliners:
Stila Smudgestick in 'Stingray'
Urban Decay's 24/7 Liner in 'Corrupt'


Mascara: 
L'Oreal Telescopic Waterproof


Blush: 
Benefit's Face Powder in 'Dallas'


Lips (applied before video):
ChapStick (Apple flavoured!)

Inglot Colour Numbers

I finally found a tool to get my eyeshadows out of the palette! Yay!
I was trying to use tweezers or nail files and couldn't get the shadows out of the palette without ruining them. But I finally found a nail file that was thin enough to get into the corner of the palette and can now tell you what the colours are :)

White: D.S. 496
Black: AMC 65
Yellow: D.S. 474
Brown: Matte 329


So, if any of you liked these colours from seeing them in previous posts, now you can finally know what the numbers/names are!

Nails of the Week!

With flash.

Without flash. 

This is such a plain but awesome colour! I don't know why I like it so much, but it's been on my nails all week! Which may explain why it isn't looking so fabulous in the photos! Oops!

October Favourites

Yes! I'm ahead this time with my favourites post! Or at least, not nearly as behind as I was with my September post! I won't go into as much detail with the products as I did last time (I said I would do a video, but I'm far too self conscious for that haha) so it should be much shorter.


BH Cosmetics 120 Palette 2nd Edition: 
I've had this for quite some time, but have only really used it this past month. Though I've used it before for one shadow in the palette, I haven't seriously based my looks off of the colours that are in it. This month however, I have, and I'm definitely pleased! This is a great palette and the quality it good, especially considering how cheap it is!


Prevage Anti-Aging Eye Serum by Elizabeth Arden: 
I've never used an eye cream/serum before, but I figure now's as good a time as any to start using anti-aging products, if only to get into the habit of using them. I can't say I would buy this product (this was a sample) because I know I can get just as good creams for cheaper, but it has been fun to use. My eyes are really soft as a result :)


Inglot Shadows (White & Brown): 
I still haven't found out how to get these shadows safely out of the palette! Help! I've been using the white shimmery shadow as a highlight colour for every look I've done since I bought it! It's perfect for the job and helps fade out colour really well also. The brown I've been using in my more neutral looks as a crease colour and I feel like I would be lost without it :) I can't wait to get more Inglot shadows when my mom and I go before I move!


Clinique Clarifying Lotion for Combination Oily Skin: 
I don't usually like toners that have high alcohol content in them because they dry me out and make my nose peel. Both this and previous toners I've used from Clinique are really good for my skin as long as I avoid the nose. If I do use it on my nose, I do it at night and use a very intense moisturiser afterwards to make sure my skin won't peel.


MAC Brow Crayon in 'Lingering': 
I don't tend to fill in my brows, but I've been trying to match the shapes of mine for quite some time. My left brow has a little gap between the hairs where nothing will grow. I'm using this pencil to fill that gap in to see if leaving the area for longer will eventually give hair time to grow. I just don't feel like walking around with a bald patch on my eyebrow! :)


China Glaze Nail Polish in 'Haunting': 
I am in love with this colour! I can't explain why, since all it is is black with light silver sparkles, but somehow I really like the way it looks on my nails. I'm waiting on some more of the China Glaze Haunting collection to arrive at my house and in the meantime, this is all I've  been wearing :)


Those were my favourites this month! Hope you enjoyed :)

Happy Halloween!

Now, Halloween is one of my favourite holidays. However, this time I have no parties to go to and nobody except my mom to celebrate (I'm moving in a month and don't know anybody here!). So this year, rather than dress up completely for no reason, I decided just to do an orangey eyeshadow. I did end up putting on a black maxi dress and will add some black lipstick later for the benefit of the trick or treaters though :) I'll vaguely resemble a witch haha!


Here is the look!

It's simple because obviously I'm just staying at home, but I didn't want to do nothing!


Face: 
Garnier B.B. Cream
Benefit powder in 'Dallas'


Shadows:
Two Faced Shadow Insurance
Urband Decay's shadow in 'Flow'
BH Cosmetics 120 Palette 2nd Edition (most of the oranges from the 2nd row)
Inglot eyeshadow in a shimmery white


Eyeliner & Mascara: 
MAC Fluidline in 'Blacktrack'
Urban Decay's 24/7 eyeliner in 'Midnight Cowboy' and 'Corrupt'
Stila Smudgestick in 'Stingray'
L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara in 'Waterproof'


Most of the orange shadows I used were just to make sure the colours blended out nicely, no necessarily for their actual colour. It's simple, but I hope you enjoy it :)

September Favourites

September Favourites 2011

I know, I know, I'm extremely late on this post! But I don't remember doing an August favourites so I really didn't want to miss this one. I've been very busy the past couple of weeks and haven't been able to blog hardly at all. I'm back now though and should have some posts coming out regularly! 

On to the favourites! (From left to right):

Benefit Face Powder in 'Dallas': 

'For a natural, fresh glow lightly sweep this dusty sunset plum powder across cheekbones and chin, or anywhere you want look to linger (avoid eye areas).' 

I originally bought this to use as a contour colour and have been loving it for quite some time. Only recently did I start to use it as a blush when I wear darker looks on my eyes. I don't own very many blushes (including this one, I have three!) and the ones I have besides this are very light pinks. This one has a deeper, really nice plum colours which suits the brown colours I've been wearing for eyeshadow lately. 

This has a great, light shimmer and lasts pretty much all day (in my opinion, not many blushes last allllllll day). It's also very subtle, which is the main reason I love it! 

MAC Paint Pot in 'Constructivist': 

I am absolutely in love with this product! I use it with practically every look I've worn all September and all October (so far). It works great as a base for other shadows, but can be used on it's own just as well. If I'm using it as a base colour, I'll usually apply it with my fingers and spread the colour on in a thin layer. If I'm using it for an actual shadow then I'll apply it using a fluffy brush. 

This is my first cream shadow ever and I can't wait to get another paint pot! These are great! It doesn't crease at all, lasts all day, and I'm pretty convinced that if I went swimming with it then it would last really well (unless I wiped it with a towel, duh). 

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector (B.B. Cream): 

I wrote a tiny little review on this in a previous post (http://ziggybitter.blogspot.com/2011/09/battle-of-tints.html) in which I talked briefly about the texture of the product. Now that I've had more of an opportunity to actually use the product, I can say that I really like it! 

I still prefer my Origins VitaZing moisturiser, but this is a good replacement for it. VitaZing here is around £20 something. It's a little pricey. When I get more cash on my Debenhams Beauty card (which means I have to buy other stuff...grrr) then I can purchase the VitaZing for a lot less. But in the meantime, this is great replacement. 

The only downside is that it's not nearly as moisturising as VitaZing is. However, as long as you make sure to use a good night-time moisturiser, you should be fine :) 

Armani Code Perfume: 

I love this perfume! I've been wanting it for over two years! No kidding! One of my best friends used to wear it all the time and although I really loved it, I didn't want to smell the same as someone I spent so much time with! Plus, it's more expensive than the rest of the perfumes I own...put together. My perfumes are cheap! I finally bought it when I was at the Belfast Airport since it was so much cheaper and...come on...I've been wanting it for two years! 

Here's a good description of the scents if you're interested. I'm horrible at scent descriptions! To me it smells citrus-sweet? Haha! 

http://www.theperfumeshop.com/fcp/product/womens-fragrances/giorgio-armani/armani%20code/2832

EcoTools Travel Powder Brush: 

This came in a set of other travel-sized brushes (I love them all!) and I'm amazed at the quality! It was under £20 for all of the brushes (I believe there were six) and they are nothing like I thought they would be. This brush is super soft and applies powders like a dream. They have full sizes and I may just have to purchase those at some point too! 

That's all! I forgot to take a photo of the Urban Decay 15th Anniversay palette, but because I reviewed that already (http://ziggybitter.blogspot.com/2011/09/urban-decay-15-year-anniversary.html) I'll just say that it definitely has earned a spot in my September favourites! 

Phew! Super long post! Hopefully it gives you all the information you could want. Next time I think I'll just do a quick video instead of all the typing :P 

Inglot

If any of you are into makeup and watch makeup gurus on YouTube, you'll have heard about Inglot. They are known for their incredible colour pigmentation and their overall great quality. They also have really good palettes as well that have magnets to hold several palettes together. 

For a long time they didn't have an online store, so I wasn't able to order any of their products from the London store and haven't been able to get down to their store in person yet. However, my mom went down their the other day, saw the store, and bought me some eyeshadow :) I had to tell her what colours I wanted over the phone, so it was sort of a guessing game in that sense, but I'm really happy with what I got. Let me just say, I am definitely pleased with the products and seriously need to get my ass down to the London store to play with makeup! 

Packaging

I think this may be my favourite kind of palette. It's simple, it's portable (in this size) and it provides easy protection for the eyeshadows. The only thing I can say that is bad about it is that once the shadows are in, they are kind of difficult to get out. I chipped the edge of the yellow one attempting to find out what colours they were (they are numbers, not names, and I failed but will totally find out what colours they are!). 

Packaging without the lid. 

Eyeliner Gel Matte

Gel liner smudged and lined, shadows. 

The shadows are definitely pigmented and swatch beautifully. The liner is very creamy, which I didn't like as much. I prefer the texture of the MAC Fluidline better, but this can work nicely as a base for an eyeshadow. It did take me forever to get the liner off though and it kind of stained my hand a little bit. 

Overall, these are incredible. I love them! I'm so desperate to go to the actual store and get to choose more stuff. They lived up to my expectations and I'm so excited to actually use them, especially that matte brown! 

Go and get some Inglot products!