Book of Shadows Palettes by anothersoul: Halloween Designs

If you collect makeup like I do, eventually you get to the point where organizing all that product becomes important if you want to:

1. Actually see what you've got
2. Not get lost in a sea of palettes
3. Custom coordinate your colors
4. Give some love to those singles that might be languishing in a drawer somewhere

Potion palette

There are a variety of palettes available that allow you to store depotted eyeshadows, blushes, lipsticks, and the like. After browsing some of them, I decided to purchase two Halloween themed palettes from the Etsy shop Book of Shadows by anothersoul.  The variety of looks available was what really sold me, as I liked the idea of having something more whimsical and personal than the generic designs I was seeing from other brands. 

Inside of Ghost palette

I loved the Ghost print, they seem like such happy little fellows!  I was able to get 25 shadows into this one, including some of my beloved Korres singles (the nine largest shadows).  I also depotted a Smashbox palette from last season's holiday collection and two Clinique palettes.  Some of the shadows did get dinged in the process, but nothing too bad.  More amazingly, I lost no fingers:-)

Back of Potion palette

I haven't completely filled up the Potion palette yet, but it includes the rest of the Smashbox shadows, three stila shadows, some Lancome shadows I released from their palettes, and another Korres single shadow.  I haven't really arranged by color at this point, as I was more interesting in seeing how everything fit. 

The quality of these are really nice!  They feel sturdy, the covers have magnets to keep the palettes closed, and the base is magnetized to keep the depotted shadows nicely in place.  You can waterproof these as well, but I doubt I'll go that route as I store and put my makeup on outside of the bathroom.

These palettes are 7" x 4.5" x 1/2"H and retail for $13.99.  U.S. shipping is an additional $3.50, but if you buy 3 of the regular sized palettes there is a discount in the shipping.  There are some larger as well as some double sided palettes available as well.  I'm really happy with mine!

Disclosure:  I purchased these. 

October Eco-Emi: Happy Halloween!

If you are not familiar with Eco-Emi, it's a monthly subscription service where you are sent 5-10 eco-friendly products each month.  October's packaging theme was Halloween, with some cute little glitter black cats, witches on broomsticks, pumpkins, and stars and moons interspersed in the black and orange tissues paper.  Still a huge fan of Eco-Emi's packaging, it definitely adds to the experience!

As soon as I opened the box I smelled licorice, which turned out to be a soap.  There were 7 items in this month's box, with 4 of them being beauty/body care products.  I've put the approximate value after each item in parentheses.

• Maximum Curl Defining Cream by Shea Radiance ($4):  I don't have curly hair, but I'll probably try this as a conditioning balm anyhow, since it is supposed to nourish starved hair cuticles with proteins that moisturize and strengthen. Plus, it's supposed to resist humidity, which is in abundance here on the Gulf Coast!

•  Tea Tree Facial Cleanser by Zen Society Skincare ($4):  This is a holistic, vegan, and eco-friendly skincare line made by a master herbalist in Connecticut.    The cleanser is supposed to cool and brighten tired and dull skin as well as control excess oil.  I'm looking forward to trying this!

•  Copper Kisses Lip Gloss by The All Natural Face ($4.60):  This gloss features a super simple, all natural formula.  It's a light feeling gloss that gives a slight tint with lots of shimmer.  Pretty!

•  Star Anise & Coffee Handmade Natural Soap by Dew Puff ($7):  This all natural and coldpressed soap is handcrafted in Malaysia and smells wonderful!  The coffee is good for exfoliating and the scent makes this a good soap for taking away strong smells like garlic, onions, or fish while cooking.  

The non-beauty items were Vanilla Almond Granola by Ola Foods (66 cents), Basic H2 Organice Super Cleansing Concentrate by Shaklee (35 cents), and Organic Fruit Snacks by Tasty Brand ($1). The total value of the box was just under $22, by my calculation.

 Everything in this box will get used by me, so another good month from Eco Emi!

Disclosure:  I subscribe to Eco Emi for $15/mo.

stila In the Garden Palette: Review and Swatches

stila's In the Garden palette is a nice mixture of neutrals with a few pops of color, making it versatile and wearable for my needs.  There are 2 matte and 8 shimmer shades in In the Garden, making it a nice complement to the all matte In the Know palette I reviewed not long ago. Also included is a smudge stick waterproof eye liner in starfish.

For the swatches, we have:

• chinois:  a bone matte
• breeze:  a silvery oyster shimmer
• bark:  a neutral medium brown shimmer
• freesia:  a blue shimmer with purple undertones

• rosette:  dark reddish pink shimmer
• nectar:  beige matte
• honey:  golden topaz shimmer

• sage:  name pretty much nails it, a sage green shimmer
• moss:  dark brownish green with gold shimmer
• juniper: blackened blue-green shimmer

The starfish smudge stick is a pretty brownish green with gold shimmers, actually quite close in color to the moss shadow.  It can apply a bit patchy, so more than one pass is sometimes required to build up color.  The smudge sticks do have good staying power and I like them.

The consistency of the shadows is nice, nor were there any really problematic colors.  A look booklet is also included, and below is "simply romantic". 

Here is a similar look but using honey to warm things up a bit.

I think In the Garden will gets lots of use by me - I'm a fan!  It retails for $39 and I got mine from beauty.com.

Disclosure:  I purchased this.

Orofluido Shampoo and Conditioner

Orofluido is a brand that I became familiar with through my Birchbox monthly subscription box.  I was sent a sample of their Beauty Elixir, a hair serum that I promptly fell in love with.  Naturally, I decided I needed to branch out and try some of their other products to see if the love fest would continue.  I can be bit of a shampoo and conditioner snob, and for the past few years I've been primarily using Moroccan Oil products, with a few others interspersed in for variety. 

Fortunately, I was able to get the conditioner for free as part of my Ulta rewards and bought the shampoo so I could try both.  So what did I think?  Here are my pro's and con's for the shampoo and conditioner.

Pros:

• Smells just like the Beauty Elixer, so if you like that, you'll like these.  Personally, I like the amber vanilla scent.
• Both the shampoo and conditioner contain Argan, Cyperys, and Linseed oils, which help condition and protect hair.
• Packaging is pretty.
• My hair is easy to comb after using the conditioner.
• Hair is soft and shiny after use.

Cons:  

• Shampoo contains sulfates.
• Price (I'd classify these as mid-range, as they run about $15 each).

Ingredient Lists

Overall, I'm not wowed by Orofluido's shampoo and conditioner like I was the Beauty Elixir, but by no means are they bad performers.  They just aren't really standing out for me, other than enjoying the scent.  If the shampoo was sulfate free I'd probably be more enthusiastic, as I do color my hair and prefer a shampoo that will not potentially undo my efforts in that area.

Disclosure:  I got the conditioner as an Ulta member's reward and purchased the shampoo.

e.l.f. Diva HD Blush

Diva

Another e.l.f. HD blush to show you, this time in Diva.  Diva is a vibrant fuchsia pink.  Never fear, however, it's wearable on both your cheeks and lips as long as you use a light hand.  The HD blushes are so pigmented that the tiniest bit is all you need.  By tiny, I'm talking the top of a pin sized amount.

I put a small dot on my makeup palette and then take a stippling blush and dab it in the blush.  I smear the brush around on the palette, and then tap it on the apples of my cheeks.  I then take my regular blush brush and blend it in.

For my lips, I've been applying with my finger, but a lip brush will work as well.  I then top with a clear gloss.  Diva does have some small silver shimmer specks in it, but nothing too obvious or glittery.  The gloss I used below is Philosophy's Pink Champagne, which is a clear gloss with shimmer.

I really like these blushes!  They wear nicely, and at $3 a bottle, the price is fantastic.  There is one more color I'd like to get, Encore, but it's been sold out every time I've tried to order from e.l.f.  In fact, the only color currently available online is Showstopper, the darkest out of the five current shades.  I'm guessing lots of other people are enjoying these as well!

Disclosure:  I purchased this.

Beauty & Fashion Tech Saturday Blog Hop:

NOTD: Pumpkin Spice by Sally Hansen

Pumpkin Spice is by Sally Hansen and is one of two Halloween polishes that I own, although technically I don't think it was marketed as a Halloween polish.  I saw swatches of it last year, when it was released, and was fortunate enough to find one lone bottle at Rite Aid long after Halloween had passed.

Now, I use the word "pumpkin" in my vocabulary year round and quite often.  I use it as a term of endearment for my dogs, as in "hey pumpkin" or "come on pumpkin heads".  So, I should probably not reserve this polish only for Halloween and break it out more than once a year. 

This dark gray jelly with orange glitter definitely does evoke Halloween, but it's also perfect for fall in general.  It's burnished, glowing, and spicy!  It took 4 coats to get it to that point as, like most jellies, it's very sheer.  Application was painless, however, and it doesn't feel or look thick.  I topped with one coat of Seche Vite.

Disclosure:  I purchased this. 
The Nail Files weekly linkup:

DHC Head Oil: Sample Series v. 2

Hair oils are pretty popular these days, but DHC's Head Oil is different.  It's actually meant for both your scalp and hair and removes product buildup.  I've been curious about this for a while, so in my last DHC order I requested a sample of the Head Oil.  DHC is quite generous with their samples, as you can select four with each order, and if you get their print catalog, they send 2-3 each month in the catalog!

My current product buildup removal routine consists of using dish washing liquid.  Harsh, but effective.  I'd prefer something that doesn't have the potential of stripping color or damaging my hair, so this may be a good alternative. 

Source:  DHC

To use the head oil, you apply to your dry scalp and hair and leave in 3 minutes prior to washing.  The video on DHC's site features a customer who puts it in the night before and sleeps in it, which may be a good conditioning option as well.  I put it in and am now writing up this review, so it will probably be a good 20-30 minutes before I wash it out.

The oil itself looks and smells very similar to DHC's Deep Cleansing Oil, which is my holy grail oil cleanser.  I love this stuff.  As in, I'd marry it if I could.  I did a quick comparison of the ingredients between the two, and while they do contain some of the same ingredients such as olive fruit and rosemary leaf oils, the hair oil has some others such as panax ginseng root and arnica montana flower extracts.  So, I'm guessing I won't be able to get away with using the facial cleansing oil on my head:-)

Initially, I was concerned that most of the oil seemed to be on my hair as opposed to my scalp.  I rubbed it around as best as possible but short of an applicator with a needle nose, I'm not sure how to get most of directly on my scalp.  The oils are water soluble, so my hair did not feel particularly greasy, nor did it take more than my usual two sudsings with shampoo.

So, how did it work? Really well!  My hair is soft, shiny, and has that fluffiness that comes from no product buildup.  I may have to invest in a bottle!  DHC Head Oil is $23 for 1 oz.

Ingredients: olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, sorbeth-30 tetraoleate, pentylene glycol, phenoxyethanol, tocopherol, panax ginseng root extract, stearyl glycyrrhetinate, arctium lappa root extract, arnica montana flower extract, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil, quaternium-51

Disclosure:  I received a sample with purchase.

Melt Build Your Own Palette by Urban Decay

Today I've got the second of the BYO 4 pan palettes from Urban Decay that I picked up recently.  This one comes with the color Melt, and to finish filling up this palette, I added Urb, YDK, and Bender. 

Melt is a peachy beige shimmer and makes for a good all over lid shade.  It's a soft color and something that will be easy to incorporate into a lot of different looks.

Melt

Urb is in the vintage formula and is a pretty celadon green.  It does have glitter in it and there is some fallout as a result.  The glitter is rather subtle, however, so it comes across more as a sheen as opposed to glittery.

Urb

YDK is also in the vintage formula and is a rosy bronze shimmer that borders on metallic.

YDK

Bender is in the new formula and is a dark forest green shimmer.  Lovely color, good pigmentation, and applies smoothly!

Bender

The BYO 4 pan palettes retail for $18 and come with an exclusive shadow in each.  The vintage shadows do fit into these palettes, although they are a bit tighter fit than the new ones.  They do come out without too much of an effort, however, and with the sales that both Urban Decay and Sephora have had going on, make for a much more economical way to fill these up. 

Melt, Urb, YDK, Bender

Back of palette

Disclosure:  I purchased these.