Haul: IMATS 2016

Good Morning! How was everyone's weekend? It finally started feeling like spring in New York so of course I want to break out every floral item I own. ANYWAY, it's been a while since I've been on here, so let's get into this haul.

This was my second time going to IMATS and it didn't fail. The positive vibe were everywhere and worth all the long waits in line (which might explain why my body still hurts). It was great this year because the places that my best friend Emma and I did have planned we actually didn't go to. We went to a lot of different brands this year and even though we might have spent a little more over budget, I really believe we got high quality products for the discounted price. 

This is just a sampling of what I got. I did get Morphe brushes that aren't included and lipsticks from Lime Crime and Besame (photos are inserted below!) 

Dose of Colors/ Lime Crime/ Jouer: 

Sometimes you go to IMATS and you have a main focus. This year it was lipsticks and for some reason Emma and I felt like needed 10. Dose of Colors and Jouer had their liquid lipsticks for $15 when they're normally around $18. To my surprise, Lime Crime's Veletines were discounted to $16 (normally $20) and the unicorn lipsticks were also discounted to $8 since some are being discontinued. Plus with Lime Crime, you got a free lipstick with any purchase $18 or more so of course I had to make that quota because, free lipstick. Besame was one of the cutest booths at IMATS. The 2 girls that worked the counter were dressed in vintage 1940's style and called everyone darlin' (so adorable). They didn't have the best discount on their lipsticks (normally $22 on sale for $20) but I've been dying to get a red lipstick from them so I figured now would be the best time to finally get one. Finally Miss Adoro was a hit last year and they still had great prices this year. They're lipsticks I believe were $5. Of course I got another red and a purple berry color but in my defense, the colors were named "skinny dippin" and "i dare you".  I really do have ridiculous reasons as to why I buy these products.This is a brand I highly recommend with great quality products but on the affordable end and their customer service is fantastic.

Left to Right: Jouer in Papaye, Besame in Merlot, Miss Adoro in Skinny Dippin', Lime Crime in Chinchilla, Dose of Colors in Stone, Lime Crime in Pumpkin (I have a love relationship with this one), Lime Crime in Coquette, Dose of Colors in Brick, Miss Adoro in I Dare You, Jouer in Petale de Rose

All of the lipsticks no matter what brand it was, had beautiful packaging. It was another factor to my purchases. 

MBA Cosmetics/ Swirl and Sparkle: 

Out of all of the booths there, I feel like the majority of my money went to MBA Cosmetics. Although I was disappointed to not find their flavored chapsticks there, they still had a lot to offer. I was amazed by the wide variety of shadows they had including glitters which made me reconsider going to violet voss since that line was insane. the shadow pans I believe range from $4-$5. I also got one of their glitters which looks like unicorn amazingness. I also picked up a blush (hint hint will probably be in my favorites) and one of their highlighters that has huge impact. It looks like a highlight that angels made. I'm in love.

Finally, Emma and I met Marii Lang, owner of Sparkle and Shine  and she introduced us to a brush cleaner that she created. It's so convenient to use since the soap is already in the jar (awesome for travel). You just wet your brushes, swirl it in the soap and rinse it off. You can get a deeper clean by swirling the brushes in the diamond provided on the inside of the lid. I found this works really well with beauty blenders as well. I was slightly intrigue because Emma pulled me over to tell me this smells like "Toasted Marshmallow" even though originally I had no idea what the product was. I was just ready to buy the product anyway just for the smell. She has so many cute designs and different scents as well as different size options. She was such a sweetheart to meet and I really recommend checking her out. The small one I got was $15 and the bigger ones I believe were $30. It's people like her and great products that I never knew about, that make me love IMATS. That you're constantly learning but also making new connections with other people who genuinely care about their products. Definitely one of my favorite people I met this year.

But seriously get the Toasted Marshmallow one. It's heavenly.

Wolfe Face Art and FX:

Yes I did purchase a palette from an FX booth and I have no experience but it's a field that I really want to start getting into. I talked with the talented Matt Limbach towards the end of the day and he was incredibly awesome. He was explaining how this palette was a great beginner basic palette. You get 12 colors that are perfect to mix together but when apply them to the face, the color stays true to their tone without getting muddy with the other colors. He was very understanding when I told him that I just teach myself off of YouTube videos and that I wasn't a professional in any way. He was down to earth and you could tell he had a great passion for this. So I'm really excited to start using this palette especially during the Halloween season ( I just have a huge love for that season).

IMATS this year was somehow better than the first time I went. I think I constantly want to go there because you keep continue to learn something new every time you go. You get to meet these people that have the same passion as you do and understand that all makeup is unique and different. It was nice branching out to other brands this year that I wasn't think I was going to like. It's worth the long waits in line, the traveling and waking up at 4am. So it's safe to say I'll probably be purchasing my ticket for next year's trip. 

Birchbox: March 2016 Review

This is my first ever subscription box service and I'm really pleased with this box. This month it's based off of being "Ready For Anything".  Of course, you get 5 deluxe size products ranging from hair, skincare and makeup that nice for travel and portable.

Parlor by Jeff Chastain: This is a smoothing blowout spray that I've really enjoyed this month. It has a light citrus scent but not like a household cleaner. Not only did this smooth out my hair and tamed fly aways, but It also didn't feel heavy on the hair which I really liked. I'm not an avid hair product user just because I always feel like it settles and feels heavy, but this product just really great for a light weight blowout especially with the summer coming up. 

MILK Studios Lip color in C.R.E.A.M: Despite that I wish the sample size was a little bigger, I did enjoy this product. I know MILK is a recently new cosmetics brand so I'm really happy that it was included in this box. The color is a peach nude that has a mostly matte finish. Pigmentation was excellent it was very comfortable on the lips. I would compare this to my Burt's Bees lip crayon in how they are comfortable to wear, easy to maintain but still have enough color to make it seem you put yourself together a bit.

Smashbox Photo Op Eye Shadow Trio in Filter: By far my favorite product in this box. The photo op shadows from smashbox are outstanding and this sample size it perfect. Pigmentation is very much there and you don't have to pick up too much from your brush. But these shadows blend so well into each other without getting muddy. I love how portable and simple this trio is. Sometimes I'm always so eager to get the next big palette that I forget how simple and easy it is to use trios since occasionally I'll find myself overwhelmed with bigger palettes. You can't really mess up with 3 neutral, matte colors. Simple and easy. 

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream: And for second favorite product in this box would be this. This is a great winter moisturizer. It's very hydrating for the skin but settles into the skin without it feeling tacky on the face. I could see this being a really nice night moisturizer as well since it's a thick consistency. I'm really intrigued to try their other products and possibly reconsidering to purchase this for the winter months.

Wilma Schumann Hydrating Collagen Eye Pads: Probably my least favorite product in the box. It wasn't horrible but it wasn't amazing. It did feel very relaxing and cooling. I kinda wish I refrigerated mine to get a little but more of that cooling sensation. It did give a little bit more moisture to my under eyes but other than that, not too much of a difference and not a necessity in my routine. 

As I said overall I really do like my first box. I will be doing a review on the April box so keep your eyes peeled for that (kinda excited because the box is Rifle Paper Co. and I'm obsessed with their floral designs.) It's really fun doing these subscription boxes and getting these little goodies once a month. Sort of a "treat yo self" but for $10 a month and 5 different mini products. Not too bad huh? 

Have you tried any other subscriptions boxes? I'm really curious to know which ones you like or what some of your favorite products were from other subscription services 

B♥

March Favorites 2016

Warm and cozy was essentially the theme for this past month. March was pretty good.  I turned 24 and had a great birthday weekend with great people. But other than that, not much has happened and has been an "okay" month.  I have consumed more red wine this past month. Not sure how that happened...

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I was really trying for a no-buy in March since IMATS is coming up but, these products kinda slipped in. Here are my top 8 for the month of March. 

Too Faced Peanut Butter and Jelly Palette: I'm considering this a March Favorite even though I've only used it for the past 4 days. Considering it came out around my birthday, it smells like peanut butter chocolate, and it's limited edition, I had to treat myself (treat yo self - Parks and Rec fans anyone?) The shadows are incredible and match with Too Faced's notoriety. It has the pigmentation and the shadows blend perfectly together without it looking "muddy". Plus the added peanut butter chocolate smell is just divine. Surprisingly, I actually loved the "Jelly" color more than I thought. It adds a great pop of color to the lower lash line. Overall, I love Too Faced in general but I love that they create these "dessert like" palettes for people, like myself, who are obsessed with food and perfected palettes with outstanding shadow performance. Well done Too Faced. 

e.l.f matte lip pencil in Praline: I have 2 lip colors that I've been going for this past month. This is 

for the matte, browny nude, color that has been on trend. I love how subtle this comes out on the lips but gives a little hint of the brown color. I find that these aren't too drying for a matte lipstick, but if you do feel that you need a little extra added moisture, I find that the burt's bees chapsticks work pretty well (been using up my pumpkin spice because again, food related smells are just what get me), Added bonus, this is $3 (why I love e.l.f as possibly my favorite drugstore brand) Definitely intrigued to try the other variety of colors they have.

swatches: left to right- fresh sugar balm in honey, e.l.f matte lip color in praline

fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Honey: (this is from the Bare Beauties duo set):  this is my lighter peach color but still has some brown undertone to it. I got this in a duo set which is essentially cheaper since you're buying 2 different colors for the price of one. It worked out so well because I torn between these 2 nude shades since I wanted to get one and appreciate so much that they put it in a limited edition duo set. These will be smaller deluxe sizes however I think these sample sets are worth it if you definitely want to treat your lips but also have a bit of tint. Sometimes it's just easier to only maintain a chapstick on certain days and this is when this comes in handy.

e.l.f Eyebrow pencil in neutral brown: I realized the importance of "having eyebrows" to a makeup look. Luckily, I don't need too much filling in with my eyebrows but if I ever do need it just to pull the whole look together, I will bring this out. This is perfect for those that don't need too much filling in and is forgiving when doing light strokes. This isn't going to be as thin as most eyebrow pencils but isn't so big that you can't fill it in. I wouldn't say this is ideal for shaping but instead best for those that just need a little fill in to define them just a bit. Also, it's $2....of course you can take my money.

Urban Decay Primer Potion: I have not tried the anti-aging one enough to give a full review, but the primer potion itself, my god. I can see why this has a huge cult following. I originally got a sample at Sephora since I never tried it. Your shadows will not move. Ever. I have slept with my shadows on my face (bad move on my part) and the color and placement of the shadows were still there in the morning. I was impressed and I kinda got addicted to this formulation. I know I lot of different brands make similar formulations to this one but I did stock up at Nordstorm Rack for the smaller travel size tubes for around $5 since the dofa applicator replaced the old packaging. Still even for the travel size, I think that's a great deal since you only need a little bit so I'm all set for the next couple of months.

Urban Decay Naked Concealer in Light Neutral: Another Urban Decay product yes, but this is worth mentioning. If you need serious covered for something that's going to stay on all day and is lightweight but looks natural, this is your concealer. I was a little iffy about this since the price tag just didn't seem reasonable for a concealer (again I suggest to wait until Sephora as their Beauty Insider sale probably around April). However, I'm impress with how little you have to use to get full and spread out covered which makes me consider that it's worth the money. If you have the chance to try this or get a sample, definitely give it a shot.

Bdellium tools Pink Bambu 944 Tapered Contour Brush: This brush I got last year from IMATS and haven't started using it until now. First for starters, The people at the Bdellium booth we're so nice and helpful with all of the products. Just for their customer service alone, I would go back. They had such a wide variety of brushes for already affordable brushes that we're also eco-friendly. To keep it short and sweet, this has become my favorite brush for finely milled highlighters. It picks up enough product but not too much and applies a glow that looks perfected. I've had no problems with shedding or a lose handle when I washed it (always hang it upside down since this is a bamboo handle and you don't want water getting into it). It's definitely a brand to check out if you're looking for new brushes that won't break the bank but still maintain a high quality. 

Maybelline Super Sizer Mascara: I finally understand. This is an addicting mascara. This is, as many people have said, holy grail mascara. This makes voluminous, false looking, lashes and I can't believe it's from the drugstore. This is the perfect layering mascara especially for those mascaras that just need that "extra help". It stays put for the whole day that the only down side to it is that it can be difficult to take off at the end of the night (*whips out the coconut oil*) Excellent product that I hope Maybelline will continue to keep in there collection. Definitely look out to get this on sale (when CVS or Walgreens does BOGO 50% off)  or maybe using one of Ulta's $3.50 off $10 coupons.

8 products overall for my first favorites post. Too much? 

How was March for you? And what we're some of your favorites from this past month? ♥