First Impression: Makeup Monsters

March 12, 2015March 12, 2015 / Kayla Hutchison / Leave a comment

Hey lovelies,

I have a first impression up on my channel with my honest thoughts on a newer indie brand of makeup.
If you’re in the market for new liquid lipsticks after the Lime Crime scandal (don’t get me started on that one…already trashed my one little velvetine) then watch this video and maybe my other one on Pretty Zombie Cosmetics!

I love doing lipstick reviews and swatches, and I’m always seeking out new brands and colors to try.

My overall thoughts on this particular liquid lipstick is that it’s really nice! Not too drying, not sticky and the color is very opaque. It’s not super long lasting like my LaSplash lipsticks, but I don’t always want that kind of lasting power all of the time.

Make sure to subscribe to my channel to watch more of my videos! Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!

First Impression: Body Shop Honey Bronzer

December 17, 2014December 17, 2014 / Kayla Hutchison / Leave a comment

I will probably be doing a few mini/quicker reviews this week since this time of the year is very busy for me (and many others). However, I did want to talk about this little gem that arrived in my mail the other day.
I’m not a huge bronzer fanatic, mostly because most bronzers tend to make me look orange. I think this is a problem for many people with very pale skin. However, I’ve seen Essie from EssieButton talk about this bronzer a million times, and when I finally found it for 50% off and with free shipping on The Body Shop’s site, I decided to give it a try.

I got the shade light (duh) and it is indeed very light and very matte. That’s right, there’s no shimmer in this baby and that’s downright amazing. I applied this after I contoured my face using Nyx’s blush in “taupe” and this bronzing powder did not look orange, and it did not turn orange throughout the day. I went to a dinner/baking party last night and when I left 5-6 hours later I noticed my face still had a pretty nice (but very subtle) bronze glow to it.

I now see why Essie raves about this product so often.

Pros:
-Very suitable for pale skin
-Decent amount of product (11 g total)
-Beautiful packaging and presentation
-Long lasting
-No orange/red tones
-Matte

Cons:
-Price. It’s $20 regular price, which is higher, but the body shop has sales so often that it would be easy to catch it at a great price.

Overall, I’m very happy with this product and will continue to use it as my go-to bronzing powder for now during the Winter. I would definetely reccomend this to any other pale friend out there that struggles to find something that doesn’t look orange on their skin.

Thanks for dropping by and make sure to follow me if you want and talk to me and stuff 🙂

Review: Lioele BB Cream

December 12, 2014 / Kayla Hutchison / 1 Comment

Another item on my (getting shorter) list of things I’ve been searching for is a nice BB Cream that actually matches my skin tone. Many lines of BB Creams will say “Light/Medium” but lean more towards medium skin tones and have very warm undertones. Which is fine, but I am extremely pale.
So, I started reading reviews and watching videos and decided to give the Lioele Beyond the Solution BB Cream a try since I didn’t see too many negative things about it. I have never ever tried any line of Asian skin care.
I ordered it off prettyandcute.com for 30% off, but this can also be found on Amazon for around $14-16.

It comes with a pump, which is fantastic. I am all about face products with pumps. When I first pumped this onto my hand I noticed it is very thick. Not at all like a normal BB cream texture, which is nice if you like full coverage like myself. If not, this might not be an ideal product for you.

I don’t know if this product changes to match your skin tone, but I added a pump of manic panic dream tone just in case. I applied it with a damp real techniques sponge and it applied very easily and blended very well into my skin. The color was spot on, and it seems to have a very neutral undertone instead of a warm one, which was also nice. The only thing that bugged me was it has a bit of a floral smell at first (I thought) but once I applied it I couldn’t smell anything anymore.

This BB Cream lasted very well on my face and did not look cakey or anything as the day went on. That’s always a fear of mine with anything that is fuller coverage that I’m trying out for the first time. It felt light on the face as well. It also did not change colors throughout the day as well. I wore this for about 10 hours the day I tried it, so it is long lasting.

My overall review:
Pros
-Fairly affordable (not drugstore, not high end)
-Easy to Apply
-Long Lasting
-Neutral toned
-Does not break my skin out, and it did not dry my skin out
-Comes with a pump

Cons
-Smells a bit weird at first
-Still not my exact shade, and I need to use Manic Panic dream tone with it

This isn’t a pro or con so I didn’t know where to place it, but this BB Cream is very thick and is a medium/full coverage. This could be a pro or con depending on the person. I do like this BB Cream though and have used it several times since my initial application.

BH Cosmetics Dark Rose Palette

December 11, 2014 / Kayla Hutchison / 2 Comments

This was actually a cyber Monday treat that just arrived in the mail today. BH Cosmetics was having a sale where this palette was $8.95 + I found a 10% off code and I got back 15% through ebates. This is a limited edition palette, so when I was able to get it for that price I was very happy! I love BH Cosmetics to begin with, and everything about this palette is so alluring to me. The colors and the packaging…it looked perfect.

Shipping was a bit delayed for BH Cosmetics, but they did say on the website before ordering that shipping could be delayed, and that was fine. However, when this came in the mail I seriously opened it up before anything else and immediately started admiring it and playing around with it. The inside is so beautiful! This palette is pretty big, and there’s a pretty decent amount of product in it. There are 12 eyeshadow colors, 3 blushes, and 1 liquid eyeliner that come in this set. I was excited that this came with a liquid felt tip liner instead of a pencil. I tend to just throw pencils away or gift them. I’m a liquid/gel liner kind of gal.

These are swatches of all 12 eyeshadows. The glittery ones aren’t as pigmented, but for the most part they are all very smooth and pigmented! Very impressed with the quality of these shadows. I’ve had my eye on this palette since it came out, but didn’t buy it in fear that the colors might have been too random. However, once I saw the review that Dani from CoffeebreakwithDani did and the look she created I was sold, and from there I knew that it would go on sale. EVERYTHING on BH Cosmetics eventually goes on sale for 50% off or more…just wait. That’s my friendly brand tip of the day.

Anyway, once I started playing around with these colors on my eyes (one look for one eye and another on the other eye, duh) I realized all of these colors truly do compliment each other, strangely enough. I absolutely love the brown shades and plum shades in this palette.

These are the swatches of the 3 blushes that come in the palette. I love that there are both warm and cool options in terms of blushes. I wear cool toned blushes myself most days, so the third mauve type color will probably be the one that gets the most usage from me!

This is a look I created using the palette. The only color I didn’t use from the palette was the tranisition shade which was “creme brulee” by makeup geek. That’s my only con to this palette…there’s not a true transition shade unless you lightly use one of the matte shades as one. Anyway, I used the shimmery champagne shade all over the lid and on my brow bone as a highlight, the darker matte brown in the crease well blended and the shimmery dark brown shade in the outer v blended into the crease as well. I used the matte purple shade on the bottom lash line as a “pop” of color to the look. I have the matte mauve shade on my cheeks (it’s not very pigmented) and I used the liquid eyeliner to create a cat wing. It was very easy to use, surprisingly. Overall, I’m very happy with this palette and can’t wait to play around with it some more 😀

Swatch Sunday: Random Lippies

December 7, 2014December 11, 2014 / Kayla Hutchison / Leave a comment

I have quite a few lipsticks that I have bought over the past few weeks that are beautiful and blogworthy, but I didn’t buy enough of each line to really justify doing a whole post about each. So, I’m doing a lipstick swatch “dump” of sorts.

First up, I bought 3 LA Girl Creme lip colors to try them out. These retail for $4 each on average.
As you can tell, the packaging is a bit cheap and can get pretty messy. However, for the messy packaging the product itself is very creamy and applies smoothly. The colors are opaque. I normally don’t like many creamier formulas, but these are nice.

Left to Right: Promise, Amour, Kiss & Tell
I’ve been reaching for Kiss & Tell a lot over the past week. It’s such a beautiful brown with red tint to it. It looks superb paired with a dark red lip liner.

This is a photo taken the other day of me wearing “kiss & tell” with a deep red underneath. Love this combo.

Next, these teeny Kat Von D lippies were my second Black Friday snag while shopping online on Sephora. I didn’t need them, but I have a weakness for MINI things I couldn’t help it.
There’s not much to say about these because I already own two of the studded lipsticks and an everlasting liquid lipstick. I love the formulas of both of these lines. Both of these were $10 and for Kat Von D anything, that’s a steal. Even though I didn’t need these, no regrets. No regrets

Berlin is a matte darker rosy shade. I will probably be reaching for this come Spring and Summer. Lolita is a matte brownish nude shade. I own Lolita in the liquid form as well and it’s my favorite color of life.

Last, I have a couple Nyx lippies. I have “Whipped Caviar” from the Matte line (Kylie Jenner dupe, supposedly) and “Pops” from the butter line. I love the formulas of basically any Nyx line of lipstick. Super affordable, super opaque, super super.

Bottom swatch is Whipped Caviar (matte) and top is Pops (butter)

I will say that the matte one wears very comfortably on the lips as well as the butter one. The butter lipsticks seriously apply like…butter. Can you tell I am all about the brown/mauve nudes right now? I am stocking up while there are so many out because this is my go-to shade all of the time. If you’re very fair, I would suggest trying out the mauve/darker nude trend because I find it to be such a flattering way to wear a nude without it washing me out. That’s a totally personal opinion though and I can understand why some are tired of hearing about the “Kylie Jenner” lip.

I’m honestly ready to start finding some Marsala shades in my collection right about now. I’m not ever one for trends, but the last few color trends have been shades that I love already and work with often on an everyday basis.

I hope you all enjoyed my quick swatch sunday post with all of my random lippies. Have a gorgeous day!

Online Haul: Part One (With Swatches)

November 29, 2014November 29, 2014 / Kayla Hutchison / 2 Comments

Ah, it’s that time of year again. The time of year my bank account dreads.
I’m not one to fight crowds. I worked at Target for 4 years and I do not want to participate in that mess. If you do, fine, it’s just not my jam. However, I have been on the lookout for the best online deals the past 1.5 weeks for my kids, and a bit for myself (moms deserve presents, too) and found a few amazing deals. I wanted to share a few of the things that I received in the mail on Friday because I am SUPER excited to try them out. When I get new makeup in the mail I have to open it up and play with it right then. Swatch it, apply it, put it all over my face. Okay, maybe not that last one.

Anyway, my first major score was the Coastal Scents Revealed Palette. If you’ve been following me for a bit you’ve probably seen me mention the Revealed 2 palette a lot. It’s my baby. I am in love with that palette and reach for it more than I do my Naked palettes. So, of course I’ve been wanting the original Revealed palette for awhile now. I know that these palettes are old news to many, but they’re new to me and I’m obsessed. I ended up getting the Revealed palette for $5 + shipping which is incredible! I almost squealed.

I just love these stickers that Coastal Scents sends in their packages. So adorable. The palette comes in a thin, cardboard case and there are 20 shades total. I will say that a con of these palettes is that there are no names on them. I have no way of knowing what the exact names of my favorite shades are in case I hit pan.

These are the swatches of all 20 colors on top of a primer. The first two shades did not want to show up on my alabastor skin, sorry. There are a few matte shades in this palette, but not many. I love how cool toned this palette is though. I wear a lot of cool toned makeup since it compliments my complexion and I wear mostly cool/blue toned lipsticks.

The second part of this haul came from Ulta. They were running a one day deal where you could get $5 off a $10 purchase and get free shipping on any purchase, no minimum. I will say that I made two orders just so I could use the coupon twice…shhh. The second part of my purchase is going to be a part of a video first impression though, so be on the lookout for it 😉 I’ve been wanting to give the brand Essence a try, so I picked a few things out. I got two of the lipsticks and a blush.

Bottom to top: lipstick “On the Catwalk,” lipstick “Barely There,” blush “Autumn Peach”

The lipsticks feel very creamy and applied very well and evenly on my arm. I can’t wait to try these colors out! The blush is just a very peachy blush, and honestly the picture on Ulta made the blush seem darker than what it is. It’s a lovely color, just now what I have been looking for. I have several colors like this already. I’ve been looking for a darker peach with an almost red tint (if that makes sense) if anyone can recommend one. I want a color like that for winter to give me a “flushed” look without looking like I have wind burn.

The last thing I ordered was just a Nyx concealer that I needed to get because mine is almost out. In all, that order was $9 shipped and I got cash back on ebates since they were doing double the cash back for many places all week long. I am very pleased with this small haul! Anyone else score any amazing deals this week??

I’m going to be doing a no buy in the month of December (possibly longer) to focus solely on Christmas and getting a few things done around our house and such. I need to do a no buy period.
I hope you all enjoyed this post even though the products I bought are old news. I ordered some super exciting limited edition things on Black Friday though that should be here next week that I can’t wait to share and play around with and create looks. If you’re doing most of your holiday shopping online, make sure to look into ebates if you haven’t already to get cash back!

Lip Monthly Review

November 23, 2014November 23, 2014 / Kayla Hutchison / Leave a comment

For anyone interested, this is my very first video about my Lip Monthly bag for the month.
Please subscribe to me, and if you have a beauty channel let me know and I will for sure take a look at yours as well ❤

This is a huge step for me, and I know my video isn't the best. I'm going to pretend that most vloggers don't have great first videos haha.

Beauty MP (Makeup Pump) Review

November 21, 2014November 26, 2014 / Kayla Hutchison / Leave a comment

So, for my birthday I decided to treat myself to a high end foundation. I went with the Estee Lauder Double Stay (Cool Bone) because it seems to be a favorite for many, and I love heavy coverage foundations in the fall and winter. I can’t wear full coverage in the spring and summer in Tennessee. The humidity is awful and will cause makeup to melt even with setting sprays.
I was so excited to get this foundation the mail, and then the first day I used it I found myself feeling guilty because I felt like I was pouring money out onto the back of my hand. I normally despise foundations without pumps, but I made an exception for this one. I realize now that I will always hate foundations without pumps, but have no fear! I found a solution!
After a bit of research, I saw a blogger post about a company that makes and sells pumps that fit popular brands of foundations.
I had to check it out. The site is beautymp.com. The “MP” stands for makeup pump, and they do indeed sell quite a few pumps fit for different foundations that typically don’t come with pumps. Most of the pumps they sell are for very popular foundations such as the Revlon Colorstay, Mac foundations, Maybelline etc.
Pumps are great for foundations for several reasons.
1. You waste less product
2. When you waste less product, you waste less money. Hell yeah.
3. Pouring foundation out can turn your foundation into a home for icky bacteria, and that can cause breakouts.
4. No one likes a breakout. Hella uncool.

From what I saw, most of the pumps retail for about $6.99 or a bit more and shipping is around $4, but there is a 20% off code that I found that worked like a year ago, and still works now. The code I used was beautybuzzhub, but there’s also one of the site as well for 10% off.
I figured that investing in a pump would help me actually use this amazing foundation without feeling so guilty, and if I repurchase I can probably clean and sanitize the pump and use it again.

Does this pump make my foundation look as high end as the gold cap they normally come with? No. It does make my foundation more practical and easier to use, and I don’t buy makeup to not be used.
I would go into a review on the foundation itself, but there are SO MANY reviews on this foundation already, that I feel like there’s not anything I can say that hasn’t already been said. It’s wonderful, full coverage, and actually matches my very fair skin very well once it settles.

I hope you all like this mini and quick review. Have a great day and Happy Thanksgiving to those that celebrate!

First Impression: Hair Products

November 18, 2014 / Kayla Hutchison / 2 Comments

My first impression post this week is some hair products I have been testing out from an Ulta sale. I am not very into hair products per say, mostly because I have 2 kids and I have to pick between glorious hair and doing my makeup (makeup wins, obviously). However, I do like to take care of my hair since it’s very long and black.
Ulta had a sale a few weeks back where a hair product each day, and I waited until a specific day to get everything pictured. I waited for the day when the Healthy Sexy Hair leave-in conditioner was $7.99 because it’s normally $18, and I have actually tried that product once before. I loved it. It made my hair feel very soft and healthy after showering, and it made brushing it out way easier. I have very thick and naturally curly hair, so combing through it can be a nightmare at times. I will say that if you have thin or very straight hair this product may weigh your hair down a bit. It weighs mine down, but in a good way for my hair type. I want my hair to lay a bit flatter, especially if I plan on straightening it. The smell of this product is also phenomenal. I don’t know if I could ever bring myself to pay full price for this product, which is why I bought it on sale and got way too excited when I saw it was only $7.99 at Ulta.
The Psssst! products were also on sale at Ulta for BOGO free, so I decided to try the dry shampoo since I had seen a few other bloggers say it was amazing. I have to say, it’s a pretty decent dry shampoo. Very light scent, doesn’t leave a ridiculous amount of residue on my roots. I hate when dry shampoos leave a ton of residue behind, it makes my scalp feel weird and itchy. The point of dry shampoo is to refresh hair between washes, not weigh it down and make me feel gross. This dry shampoo doesn’t though. It retails at about $8 alone, and I do feel it is worth that. It works better than some of the cheaper brands I have tried, and better than a few higher end dry shampoos I have tried as well.
I went out on a limb and decided to try the clarify and shine scalp treatment even though I didn’t have high hopes. This product claims to “melt” product buildup out of your hair before showering to rejuvenate your scalp and give it shine. I do use a lot of dry shampoo and hair spray in my hair between washes, so I figured this might be worth a shot. This product definitely exceeded my expectations! I sprayed and massaged it into my scalp and let it sit for 3 mins before showering. My hair seriously felt so soft the next day and had a healthy shine to it. I would recommend this product to anyone that uses a lot of products in their hair. I guess our scalps just need a bit of treatment at times to get all of that product buildup out. I am so happy that this was not a flop like I expected, and I will for sure be re-buying this product in the future once I run out.

What are some of your favorite hair products?
Now that my hair is longer (middle of my back) I need some things to keep it healthy and strong.

First Impression: Ben Nye Powder

November 13, 2014 / Kayla Hutchison / Leave a comment

My first impression today is about a powder that I am constantly hearing about that I decided to finally try. I have heard from several beauty bloggers that Ben Nye’s luxury powder in “Cameo” is the perfect undereye and setting powder for very pale skin.
I got a 1.5 oz container of this powder off a trusted seller on ebay for $12 shipping included. Sounds like a lot for 1.5 oz, but a little bit of this powder goes a long way.
Let me just say that I am in no way affiliated with this brand before I begin…this powder is AH-MAI-ZING. I put this on over my under eye concealer and it legitimately looked like I was blurring my imperfections out.
You know that photoshop technique where they “soften” faces to make them look a bit blurry and make pores magically disappear…yeah…this powder does that. I am not even kidding.
Ben Nye is a brand that sells a lot of theatrical makeup if I’m not mistaken. So, it would make sense that their powders would blur imperfections a bit since stage performers are sometimes in very harsh lighting.
Like I mentioned earlier, a little bit goes a long way with this powder. My favorite way to apply it is to sift a bit into the lid (yes, it’s a sifting type powder) and put my damp real techniques sponge in it and dab it under my eyes and a little on my face to set everything. You could also use a brush, of course. I like to apply powder with a damp beauty blender because it blends everything together and doesn’t make my skin look cakey, which can be a problem with skin types that tend to dry throughout the day rather than get oily.
It unites my makeup together? It blurs and it unites. Makes sense, right? I’m trying, folks. It’s hard at times to properly describe a powder in words because it’s not a color like pink or red. It’s just a powder.

This shade is for pale skin. I know that Ben Nye “banana” has been talked about forever now because of Kim Kardashian, but banana shaded things will not look right on pale skin, unless that’s the look you want. If that’s the look you want, rock it, but if you’re looking for the shade meant for pale skin then cameo is it. It’s white. Like…white. It doesn’t look white on my skin (or maybe I am just that pale) but in the container it is white, but it’s not fully translucent on the skin.
This powder did last all day and did not oxidize at all! I am so impressed with this powder, and probably will not be buying anymore for a long time. If you find a great thing, stick to it until something prettier comes along, right?
I would recommend this powder to anyone that is struggling to find a setting powder that won’t oxidize, but don’t want to spend loads of money trying out new powders (I kinda did…oops).