Backpackin' it in the Winter

Army Green Pants: H&M

Chunky Boots: H&M
Color-blocked Turtleneck: Tjmaxx  Same one at Macy's
Backpack: Tjmaxx here are some similar styles that I like
F21 Romwe YesStyle Target

This outfit is giving me major Kim Possible vibes. But instead of a croptop I was working a turtleneck. I am obsessed with this backpack that I got at tjmaxx for around $20. I'm not sure of the brand but it's a faux leather and I linked some similar backpacks above. I also bought my sweater from tjmaxx but I linked the same one from Macy's and it's on sale for $21.99, which is around what I payed for it. My army green pants are $20 from H&M and my chunky heeled boots are also from H&M. This is an easy outfit for class. Not a lot of layers it's just an quick winter outfit.

15 Makeup Favorites of 2015

These are my top 15 makeup products of 2015. I love all of these product and they always look great. They are fool proof and I would highly recommend. 

  Pixi Correction Concentrate

I love this product, it has a nice peachy shade that is perfect for color correcting my dark circles. I focus this in my outer and inner corners of my eye because that is where I get most of my darkness is. It just cancels out the darkness so well without being overbearing. I'll blend it out and I always apply concealer over this product and it never peaks through. You can purchase Pixi at Target and this cost $12.

Clinique Acne Solutions Foundation

This year I have struggled with acne more then ever before. Thankfully my skin has cleared up a lot by the end of year, due to my skincare regimen and I got on acne medication. I may do a post about how I cleared up my acne, once I am to the point I want to be at. When I wanted to wear foundation I felt good about putting this on my skin because of its high grade ingredients. I never felt that it clogged my pores. This foundation looks good when my skin was doing poor or much better. It has a natural, more matte finish and has great coverage. The coverage is build-able but I would say more medium to full. This foundation is $27. If you are interested in it I would recommend going to a Clique counter and getting color matched and a sample before you purchase it.

Elf HD Undereye Setting Powder

I use this product every single day to set the concealer under my eyes with the real techniques under-eye setting brush, or contour brush. It stops the concealer from creasing, helps it last all day, and brightens my under-eyes. Plus, it's only $3.

 Milani Rose Powder Blush

This product easily has the cutest packaging of 2015 in my eyes. I have it in the shade 01 Romantic Rose. Its a great matte everyday blush. This blush is around $7.99, depends on where you buy it, at Walmart vs Walgreen's.

 Lorac Perfectly Lit Highlighter

I picked up highlighter up at Tjmaxx for under $10 and I love it. I believe it is discontinued but if you can find it there or somewhere I would highly recommend. I personally am not a big fan of the super chunky highlights i.e Mary-Lou Manizer from theBalm, I find highlighters like that too glittery for my skin. And feel that they show all of the texture to my skin that I would rather not have highlighted. But this highlight is subtle but still gives me a glow. I will apply this with a fan brush for a lighter look or if I want to pack on more at a time I will use the Elf blush brush.

 Rimmel Exaggerate Waterproof Eyeliner

This is the best inner rim eye brightener. It is such a good shade and it stays all day. This eyeliner is around $5 and is twist-up. I much prefer twist-up packaging over anything I have to sharpen. 

 Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Color

I have the deluxe-size of this product in the shade 'rose gold' and I love it. I will do the same thing with the previous product and run this along my lower water line. I will use this one if I want more a glittery eye catching look and the other more matte subtle look. I will also use this as an all over eyeshadow base. Also you can't beat rose gold in my eyes. 

 Covergirl Super Sizer Mascara

This is my favorite mascara right now, they are other mascara that I have used and liked in 2015 but this is my top. It's around $6 and it works so well for so many different types of lashes. Even though the wand doesn't look like much it separates your lashes so well while also building them up. I'm a big fan, plus I got it in the limited edition Star Wars packing! 

 Lorac Pro Palette 1

This is my all time favorite palette. I think it's fantastic and I have a full review here: Lorac Pro Palette vs. Smashbox. Also this palette use to be $42 and I noticed it's now $44. They did raise their prices.

This is another palette that I loved this year, sadly it is no longer available. They do have other palettes out that have some of the same shades and other beautiful shades. ABH Artist Palette, ABH Self-Made Palette They also sell their shadows individually. ABH Single Shadows I paid $30 for this palette and her single shadows are $12. So unless there is a shade that you really love, I personally think it's a better value to buy a palette. 

  BareMinerals Eyeshadow Duo

This Duo is 'The OverAchiever', which contains metallic 'Schmooze' and matte 'Get Ahead.' I loved this duo because it creates a great eyeshadow look on it's own. I would just use my face highlight in my inner corner and brow bone and I had a full look. Both of my favorite palettes from this year are very warm toned, so this created a nice cool toned look.

Nivia Kiss of Moisture

 This is my favorite lip balm. It deposits a lot of the product on your lips, and moisturizes so well. It works great under lip products and it also looks great on its own, it has a good gloss to it. It's just the best.

 Too Faced Perfect Lipliner

I'm counting these two lip liners as one product. I love these liners, they are so creamy and they have twist-up packaging. My favorite shade is 'Perfect Spice,' I will even wear this product all over my lips as lip color. I also like the 'Perfect Red' liner.

Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick

I'm also counting these lipsticks as one product in my list of 15. I love this lipstick formula so much, It's matte but not drying on the lips at all. Matte lips were definitely a big trend of 2015 and I found this to be the most comfortable while still long wearing. 'Touch of spice' is my favorite shade. I also love to put some of 'Nude Embrace' on the center of my lips with touch of spice surrounding it for a nice gradient effect.  At target it is just under $6.

Jouer Lip Gloss

This is in the shade 'Mirage' and it's a great everyday shade. Jouer has my favorite lip gloss formula that I have ever tried.  It's not sticky at all, They describe it as a moisturizing gloss, I would say it's just that it. It's comfortable and pigmented but not too pigmented. It is originally $22 but I have purchased them in value sets for cheaper. They also have some shades on sale on their website for $11

I'm Crushin' for Blush

Booties: Target

Blazer:H&M

Blush Pants: American Eagle

Windowpane Top: Forever 21

This outfit incorporates my favorite color and print, blush pink and windowpane. The geometric structured top pairs nicely with the boyfriend-fit blazer. Proportions are key, if you are wearing something boxy on top wear something more fitting on bottom. So I wore my blush skinny's from American Eagle, which are currently on sale for $20. This outfit is finished off with my current obsession, these booties from Target. They were on sale for $14 and the only pair left was in my size, fate. 

-C

2 Drugstore Eyeshadow Palettes Worth the Money

Today I'll be reviewing the Sonia Kashuk Eye Couture Eye Palette - Eye On Neutral 2 and Wet n Wild Color Icon Collection Eyeshadow Set in Comfort Zone. 

The Sonia Kashuk is an all matte palette that is $20. The Wet n Wild is an all shimmer palette and costs $5. There is a big price difference between these. The reason I am comparing them together is because they are both considered drugstore makeup. They also pair great together. 

Sonia Kashuk is on the Target cartwheel app from time to time, so you can get it discounted. This palette has a great balance of neutrals, as the name would suggest. You can create whole looks with this palette, they will obviously just be matte. The orange tone is an awesome transition shade. There are shades that I use to fill in my eyebrows and some that could even be used to contour the nose. Black can add depth to any look or be used as eyeliner. This is a very versatile palette.  

The shadows are very pigmented. I would describe these as more of a stiffer shadow. I like how these build and layer as well as the fact that they are extremely blendabIe. I like all of the shades in the pallete. 

This pallet has a great selection of shades. They are wearable but there still is color. All of the shades in this palette are shimmery.  I think you can create anything from easy daytime looks to dramatic night time looks with these shadows. I do however think it's necessary to bring in at a matte shade into any look using this palette because too much shimmer can be overwhelming. I think even just a matte bronzer through the crease helps bring balance. 

This picture shows the one swipe-swatches. The colors can be built up more than this picture shows. These are such soft and creamy eyeshadows, unlike the previous pallete. My least favorite shade is the black 'Crease' shade. I think it's doesn't blend very well and should be more pigmented. I do however like all of the rest of the shades in this palette. The blue/red brown 'definer' shade has a nice duo chrome affect. I think it is the most unique shade in the pallete. 

I love both of these palletes and think they are both worth their price. I found that these two palettes pair together very well and combining the two can create a great look for day or night. It works well to have matte and shimmer to balance out any look. There aren't a ton of great matte shades at the drugstore so the Sonia Kashuk pallet is worth the money to me. And as for The Wet n Wild one you really can't beat a $5 eyeshadow pallete with soft build able eyeshadows.