Ipsy Glam Bag Review | December 2016

2016
Hey everyone! I got another Ipsy glam bag in the mail a week ago. I started subscribing to Ipsy last month- you can read my November glam bag review here. If you don't know already, Ipsy is a beauty subscription box that sends you 4-5 beauty products each month for $10. If you decide to try out Ipsy for a month, you can use my referral link- http://bit.ly/2gQa9jx. 

M Y   B A G  I N C L U D E S
-Hanalei Lip Treatment (5mL) // http://bit.ly/2gVGGR6
-Beau Gâchis Concealer Brush (1oz) // http://bit.ly/2hTjSDd
-Aurora Eyeliner (1mL) // http://bit.ly/2hOfesK
-Ofra Highlighter (4g) // http://bit.ly/2gVxcVO
-Tarte Maracuja Oil (7mL) // http://bit.ly/2hOcegi
Here's the card that came in my glam bag. All the products in the bag are based around the holiday season and are perfect for any holiday party. 
H A N A L E I  L I P  T R E A T M E N T
I've already used this product so much and I really love it! It is super moisturizing and is great for hydrating your lips after you exfoliate them with a lip scrub. It doesn't have a smell and is a thick consistency. It is also great for wearing overnight so that you wake up with lips that aren't chapped.

B E A U  G A C H I S  C O N C E A L E R  B R U S H
I usually use a sponge to blend out concealer, but this brush is nice if you need to blend a small area. It works well and blend nicely. 

A U R O R A  E Y E L I N E R
I usually don't wear liquid eyeliner because it can get really messy. I think this liquid eyeliner is really easy to use. I normally will apply it to my eyes and then wait for about 30 seconds to let it dry. Once it's dry, it does not budge at all which is great! I received this eyeliner in blackberry which is a dark black color. 

O F R A  H I G H L I G H T E R
This is a highlighter/eyeshadow in the shade bliss. It comes in a magnetic pan that can be put into a magnetic makeup palette like a Z palette. The color is extremely pretty and very versatile. It is also extremely pigmented as you can see in the picture above. I love that you can wear this as an eyeshadow and a highlighter! 

T A R T E  M A R A C U J A  O I L 
I've heard great things about this oil so I was excited to try it out. You can do so many things with the oil, like put it on nails, hair and skin or use it as makeup remover! You could also use the oil as a highlighter too. It comes with a dropper so you don't have to pour out the oil on your hand and waste product. 

My favorite product from the December Ipsy glam bag is the...
OFRA HIGHLIGHTER

Remember to check out my last Ipsy glam bag review here. 
If you're interested in subscribing to Ipsy, you can sign up here. 

Thanks so much for reading!

Thea
xx

Ipsy Glam Bag Review | November 2016

2016
Hey everyone! Today I am going to be sharing with you what I received in the November Ipsy glam bag. I just recently subscribed to Ipsy, which is a beauty subscription box that sends you 4-5 products a month for $10.  I only bought the November bag, because I wanted to try it out first before I committed to a whole year. Once you sign up, you fill out a questionnaire that will determine the kinds of products that will be sent in your bag each month. I think it is such a great idea, because the bags are personalized and customized just for you. 

I did some research before I bought the bag and compared it to other beauty subscription boxes like Birchbox. I decided on Ipsy because they focus more on makeup products, while Birchbox focuses more on skin and hair care. 

Another thing I enjoyed about Ipsy was that you can earn points by reviewing products you have received or by referring friends. You can click here to use my referral link if you'd like- http://bit.ly/2gQa9jx. You can use these points to redeem extra products in your next glam bag.

M Y  B A G  I N C L U D E S
-Benefit POREfessional Primer (3.0mL) // http://bit.ly/2gfSleE
-VERB Ghost Oil (17mL) // http://bit.ly/2geTBPu 
-LAQA & Co. B’lighter in Peacher’s Daughter (2.7g) // http://bit.ly/2gfRPxs
-The Balm Mad Lash (2.5mL) // http://bit.ly/2gaSsa0
-Skone Brow Wand in Chocolate (.3g) // http://bit.ly/2geSe3k
B E N E F I T  P O R E F E S S I O N A L  P R I M E R
I already have this primer and I really love it. It's great at smoothing over pores and imperfections. It also makes your skin makeup look flawless and makes it easier to apply foundation and concealer. This product was a trial size which is perfect for makeup beginners so they can test out a new primer. 

V E R B  G H O S T  O I L
This hair smoothing oil smells nice and makes my hair feel smooth and shiny. I like to use it on the ends of my hair. I also use it on any spots that are frizzy. 

L A Q A  &  C O .  B ’ L I G H T E R  I N  P E A C H E R ' S  D A U G H T E R
This is a creamy gel pink highlighter. The color is really pretty and looks nice on tan skin. It is perfect for highlighting cheekbones and can also be used as blush. It gives a nice healthy glow to the skin.

I really love this mascara! The wand is great for lengthening and volumizing your lashes. The small bristles are also good for separating the lashes so they don't look clumpy or give a spidery effect. 

This is one of my favorite products from this glam bag. The shade matches my brows nicely and the brow wand is dual-ended. On one side is a brow pencil and on the other side is a spoolie to comb out your brows. The brow pencil doesn't make my brows look too harsh and the product is very easy to blend out to give a more natural look to you brows. 

My favorite product from my November glam bag is the...
SKONE BROW WAND IN CHOCOLATE

I resubscribed to Ipsy for the December glam bag because I really loved my November bag. If you're interested in receiving a glam bag of your own, you can sign up here. 

Thanks so much for reading!
Thea
xx



Benefit First-Class Faves Review + Makeup Look

beauty
Hey everyone! I wanted to do a review of the Benefit First-Class Faves travel makeup set that my mom gave to me. My mom got it at the airport at one of the Benefit machine kiosks. This set comes with 6 travel sized makeup goodies. It includes a travel-sized POREfessional primer, Roller Lash mascara, Dandelion Dew, Cha Cha Tint, Dandelion Brightening Blush and Total Moisture facial cream.
Here is a picture of me with the new makeup on. I applied the Roller Lash mascara to my eyelashes on my left eye, and no mascara on the right eyelashes. The mascara is super lengthening and it holds a curl really nicely. I used my new Morphe 35T palette for my eyeshadow. I will do a review on this palette later! Here are my thoughts on all the makeup in the Benefit travel set...

P O R E F E S S I O N A L  P R I M E R
I really love this primer! A little goes a long way. I find this this primer does a nice job at blurring away any imperfections and smoothing them over. I don't have huge pores, so I didn't see a huge difference there. I also think this primer makes putting on face makeup a lot easier and makes your foundation look a lot nicer. I think the POREfressional primer is very similar to the BareMinerals primer.

R O L L E R   L A S H  M A S C A R A
I've been using this mascara so much lately, because it's extremely lengthening! It also separates the lashes very nicely. It isn't super volumizing, so I usually pair it with my Maybelline Volum Express Colossal mascara or my Essence Lash Princess mascara. If I want a more natural look, I will just apply the roller lash mascara. This mascara isn't waterproof but it still holds very nicely. It's also super easy to remove since it isn't waterproof.

D A N D E L I O N  D E W
I usually don't wear blush, because I think too much can look really unnatural. However, I really like how this gives a nice pinky glow to the skin. Since it's a creamy product, it looks very natural and it also smells really good. It blends very well and is very subtle. I also think it would look good on any skin color.

C H A  C H A  T I N T
This tint can be worn on cheeks and lips. It's a darker color than the dandelion dew and blush. The tint lasts long as a lip color and acts like a lip stain. The tint applies nicely and looks good, but I prefer to use the lighter dandelion blush and dew, because it looks more natural.

D A N D E L I O N  B L U S H
This blush is the same color as the dandelion dew but it's a powder instead of a cream. I think the dew lasts longer than the blush but the blush is nice is you have really oily skin.

T O T A L  M O I S T U R E   C R E A M
This facial cream smells super good and is very moisturizing! I am definitely going to use it more in the winter when my face gets super dry. 

Thanks for reading!
Thea 
xx

Gamiss Lookbook and Review

accessories
Hey everyone! Today I am going to be doing a clothing review of clothes I received from a website called Gamiss. Gamiss contacted me at the end of August and was kind enough to send me some clothes to review! 



In these pictures I am wearing a taupe colored sweater. It is super soft and comfortable! I got a size large because the reviews of this website said that their clothes ran pretty small. The large fits perfectly and I like that  can roll up the sleeves. It retails for only $11.18 which is such a good deal! I decided to pair the v-neck sweater with a bralette from Urban Outfitters,  black jeans from Macy's and maroon boots from Forever 21. I think this is such a great look for the Fall because it incorporates darker colors and will keep you warm! You can purchase this sweater here- http://www.gamiss.com/sweaters-cardigans-5/product16610/?lkid=1254


I also received this really pretty turquoise bracelet. Even thought it isn't really a Fall piece, I think I will still wear it a lot in the Spring and Summer! I love turquoise and I also think accessories with stones and gems look great for a classy but fun look. This bracelet only costs $2.73 which is so cheap! You can also bend the bracelet a little bit to make it fit to your wrist. Here is a link to purchase this bracelet- http://www.gamiss.com/bracelets-162/product92664/?lkid=1254

The last thing I received were these black shorts, which unfortunately did not fit me. I got a size medium after reading the size charts and reviews. My normal size in bottoms is 4/6, and these fit like a 00/0/2. I wish these fit me though, because they are soo cute and I've ben looking for black ripped shorts for a long time! These retail for $9.95 and you can click this link to buy them (just make sure to size up!) - http://www.gamiss.com/shorts-11150/product133385/?lkid=1254

Overall I am very happy with the sweater and bracelet that I received (I wish the shorts fit)! I would definitely go up at least one size when purchasing clothing from this website! Also, the clothes took over a month to ship and the tracking information did not work for me. If you would like your clothes sooner, I would pay extra for the expedited shipping. 

Thanks so much for reading! If you have any questions or comments, leave them below!

My Favorite Bronzer, Contour + Highlighter Makeup Products (Review & Swatches) ♡

animal cruelty free

Hey guys! Today I am going to share with you my favorite bronzer, contour and highlighter makeup products, as you can see from the title of this blog post obviously. I love using bronzer during the summer to give my skin a nice healthy glow. I also love the contour and highlighting trend that's going around. I don't think of it as changing the shape of your face, but more as enhancing your natural face shape. 

You're probably wondering why there is a picture of foundations and eyeshadows when this is a post all about bronzer, contour and highlighter. Keep reading to learn more about how I use things like eyeshadows and foundations for bronzing, highlighting and contouring!

Shop this post



I picked up the Covergirl Nudes TruNaked Palette a few months ago during an Ulta shopping trip (read full review here). I think the eyeshadows in this palette are absolutely beautiful. They are extremely easy to blend and are super pigmented. I noticed that the shades not only work as eyeshadow, but also as highlighter!

There are a combination of matte and shimmery shades in this palette. I use the shades buff and champagne in this palette for highlighting. These shades are shimmery and give a beautiful glow to the skin. I use the shade mink sometimes for bronzing my face, but it could also be used as a highlight if you have a darker skin tone.

Buff and champagne are both cooler tone shades in my opinion and mink is a more warmer tone shade. I mostly use champagne for highlighter. I just like to dust it on the tops of my cheekbones with a small little eyeshadow brush. If you have any light colored eyeshadows, you can make always try using them as highlighters! That way you'll get more use out of them and won't have to carry around and buy more products than necessary.


I bought this contour palette from Marshalls a few weeks ago and fell in love with it. First of all, the packaging is just the best thing I've ever seen. It comes in a gold tin case and the words are in a matte black. I've looked on the Profusion website for this palette, but they don't seem to sell this particular one anymore. I did find a similar one on Ebay. I got this palette in the shade medium and it came with a small mini contour brush inside. 

This palette not only comes with shades for contouring, but also has powders for highlighting and bronzing as well- the perfect trifecta! The powders are very blendable and easy to work with. This palette really makes contouring and highlighting easier and faster!

I usually use the shade highlighter and vanilla for highlighting because they give the perfect glow. The shades nude and caramel are good for bronzing your face or for contouring. I usually use caramel for contouring my cheeks because it's just a hair darker than my skin color, so it looks very natural. When I want to make my contour more intense, I'll go in with the shade expresso very lightly. I definitely recommend this palette to basically anyone!!!



I recently picked up the sample size of the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer at Ulta. I also just did a review on this product that you can read here. One of the main reasons I love this bronzer is because of the smell. It smells just like chocolate, but it's not an overbearing scent. It's very subtle and sweet. 

The shade I have is medium/deep which is just a little bit darker than my skin tone. Since this is a matte bronzer, it's great for contouring and sculpting out your cheekbones. 

Here is a swatch of it on my arm. This is definitely a pricier bronzer and if you want to spend a lot of a nice, expensive bronzer than go for it! I think that there are many drugstore matte bronzers out there that will do just the trick- however bear in mind that they won't smell as good. 

Bobbi Brown Bronze Shimmer Brick

This is one of my all time favorite makeup products, because I think it is so versatile and can be used in many different ways. The Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks are handmade in Italy have 5 shades in them. 

You can use the shades in this compact as eyeshadow, highlighter or bronzer! I like to use an eyeshadow brush and sweep it into these shades individually as eyeshadow. When I use this compact as highlighter I like to run my brush through the top two shades and pat the brush on the tops of my cheekbones where natural light usually hits. When I want to bronze my face, I use the bottom 4 colors and apply them on my cheeks and around the high points of my face. 

Here are swatches of the colors in this palette, starting from the top color and working down to the bottom color. This is my go to compact when I want to look really glowy and bronzed up for the summer. 

Wet n Wild Color Icon Bronzer

I have this bronzer in the shade 739 Ticket to Brazil. I also did a review of this product here. This is a great drugstore bronzer that is extremely inexpensive. This isn't my favorite bronzer, but I like to use it when I want a more natural look that isn't quite as shimmery and glowy.

This bronzer looks pretty matte at first, but as you can see by the swatch below it is actually shimmery. I don't reach for this product very often, just because when I do decide to wear bronzer I like to go all out. This product is very pretty though and can also be used as eyeshadow.

Here's the swatch of the bronzer! It looks very gold and shimmery in this picture, however when applying it to the face it doesn't look this vibrant.

Elf Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder

I heard pretty good reviews about this contouring blush and bronzing powder duo online so I picked it up awhile back in the shade antigua. I did a review about it here. The packaging of this product reminds me of the Nars packaging, because they are both matte black. This product is very affordable and easy to use. I don't use the blush in this duo because it is way too pink for me and I'd probably end up looking like a clown. I used to use the bronzer a lot before I had other bronzers, but I don't find myself reaching for it quite as much now. 

As you can see, these powders are extremely pigmented- like crazy pigmented! Pigmented to the point where you have to be careful about how much you apply on your brush. They do blend easily though, which is great. The brown shade can be used for bronzing or contouring. It has the smallest amount of shimmer too it, but it's barely noticeable. This shade is a bit too dark for me so when I use it, I use a slight hand blend a lot to make it look more natural.

Wet n Wild MegaGlo Illuminating Powder

This product reminds me of the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick that I have, but way more affordable. One of the downsides of this product is that it cracks and breaks easily... as you can obviously see. It's the main reason why I never use this product anymore. The top twists off and powder always spills out everywhere... it can get pretty messy. I have this illuminating powder in the shade 348 starlight bronze.

Here's a swatch of these powders. They aren't quite as pigmented as the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick but they are still beautiful colors. I would swirl all these colors together to make a nice shimmery bronzer. You could also use this product as a highlighter if you focused on the tops of your cheekbones.

The Body Shop BB Cream + Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation

I have the shade 04 in the Body Shop BB Cream, which matches my skin perfectly in the Summer when I have a nice tan. However, during Fall/Winter/Spring my skin is much lighter so this BB cream doesn't match my skin anymore. It was annoying that I could only use this product when I was tan, but then I discovered strobing. It's basically contouring and highlighting with liquids. I apply this BB cream on the hollows of my cheeks where I would normally apply contour powder. I find that using liquid products will make the contour and highlight last longer! 

I have the Rimmel Lasting Finish foundation in the shade 203 True Beige. If you want to read my full review of this product than click here. This product is the exact opposite of the BB cream. It matches my skin great during Fall/Winter/Spring. It's too light during the Summer though, so this works great as a highlighter. It works differently than a powder highlighter does. Instead of adding a shimmery glow, it brightens and lifts your undereye area. 

Here is a swatch of the foundation and the BB cream. It's hard to see the BB cream because it matches my skin pretty well right now. I definitely recommend to use foundations that are too light or dark for you for strobing! That way you can get more use out of the product!

I hope you all enjoyed this post! What are you favorite bronzer, contour or highlighter products?

Thea ♡ 

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