Makeup Monday: Glitz and Glam

Having obtained so much new makeup over the holidays, I decided it would be fun to try and do a themed day of the week to do some reviews. Welcome to Makeup Mondays! I’m new onto the makeup scene, as I used to be pretty set in my old drugstore ways. Hopefully I don’t embarrass myself too much here 🙂

Without further ado, I present Sephora’s 2013 Glitz and Glam set (I forgot to snap any pictures of the set, so I did a quick Google search and will credit theprettyvain.blogspot.com here for these shots):

As you can see, the products come in a pretty gold/beige clutch, and include the following pieces:

Urban Decay eyeshadow in Space Cowboy
Nails Inc. Kensington Caviar Gel Effect Plumping Top Coat
Stila HD Illuminating Beauty Balm
Sephora-brand false lashes in Celebrity
Too Faced 3-Way Lash Lining Tool
Lancome Hypnose Star mascara in Noir Midnight
Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelee in Pink Escape
Nars Lip Gloss in Gold Digger

My swatches (sorry, the lighting in my office is really poor):

Now onto the review*. Here is the order in which I applied my makeup, including a few outside pieces that are complimentary/needed to complete my base:

–Stila HD Beauty Balm*: the first time I tried this BB I was in love. It mostly does what any good BB does: it’s a moisturizer, primer, sunscreen, skin treatment, concealer, and foundation. Today was the second time I used it, and I was surprised to find that it went on much tackier than the first go. I’m not sure if I stored it incorrectly, it dried out, or if I had too much residual lotion leftover from washing my face last night. I will need to investigate as it was nearly impossible to rub into my skin. I succeeded, but found I had to use much more than I had the first time.

-Too Faced Eye Primer

-Urban Decay Naked2 Eyeshadow Palette in Suspect with Snakebite blended into the crease and outer corners

–Urban Decay eyeshadow in Space Cowboy*: this champagne-silver sparkle is a little much for me. I found it to be a little more sparkly than I feel comfortable wearing, especially in an office setting. It has a very translucent color which is why I used it as more of a topcoat than a base. While I love Urban Decay’s eyeshadows, this one just didn’t do it for me.

–Lancome Hypnose Star mascara in Noir Midnight*: I simply cannot understand how this is my roommate’s favorite mascara of all time. Quite honestly, I hate it! It goes on clumpy, it has been flaking off all morning, and I had to run a dry eyelash brush through it about 15 times to break apart the spider lashes. It’s miserable, and I got a second one from another variety kit! I will probably just give it away. I’m just going to leave it at that.

–Too Faced 3-way Lash Lining Tool*: this is a VERY cool liner. I love the idea of it. My hand is not steady enough to apply it at its best, but I will keep trying. I usually prefer felt-tip liquid liners, so this wasn’t a far cry. I borrowed this picture from makeupandbeautyblog.com:

I used the dotting feature on the bottom of my lashes, and the lining feature on the upper. This is a unique piece that everyone should own 🙂

–Sephora false eyelashes in Celebrity*: I didn’t even attempt to put these on. A. I’ve never successfully put on a pair of false eyelashes, though I am not against continually trying, B. I was already running late this morning, C. most eyelashes look too dark on me, D. these are much more natural looking than any others that I have played with, and are very soft.

-Benefit Cosmetics Gimme Brow in Light/Medium

-Sephora MicroSmooth Baked Luminizer powder

–Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelee in Pink Escape*: LOVE. This item is the creme de la creme in the set for me. I was probably the most hesitant about this product out of all the pieces in the set, but I absolutely love it. Josie Maran’s Cheek Gelee is the first non-powder blush I’ve tried, and I have learned that a little bit goes a long way! I usually don’t wear much blush if any at all, but this is just subtle enough to leave a pretty pink hue on my cheeks without making me look like a clown 🙂 I LOVE it!

-Tarte lip sugar scrub

–Nars Lip Gloss in Gold Digger*: I have to start off by saying, I want to try every Nars product, simply because the names are sexy! I may have said this before, but I am not a big fan of lip glosses, but I think it’s because I hadn’t found the right fit. This gloss (after scrubbing my lips with Tarte’s sugar scrub) actually wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t as sticky as several other glosses that I have given a go at, and the color is a pretty neutral hue that adds just a tinge of color to my normally pale lips. I still haven’t wiped it off after 3 hours of wear 🙂 That’s got to be a record for me.

–Nails Inc. Kensington Caviar Gel Effect Plumping Top Coat: Last night I started over on my nails with Marc Jacob’s nail laquer in Le Charm. I must say, I like it much better with the second coat and the plumping top coat. My nails feel a bit more resilient and smooth, and I think this is a combo I’m going to have to keep!

Overall, I am about half and half on the set. I am glad that I got to try all these products in a $54 set that was gifted to me by my sister-in-law, rather than paying around $190 for all the individual pieces! What a value 🙂

Lastly, I have themed my outfit for the day to go with the Glitz and Glam theme:

Gold-chain necklace: Forever 21
Black 3/4 sleeves blazer: Forever 21
Pink chiffon shirt w/ gold polka dots: Forever 21
Eggplant-colored skinnies: H&M
Nude heels: DSW