Red & Purple | Review

Today I was sifting through my makeup for an idea on what makeup products I wanted to talk about, review, etc., and I pulled out these two eyeshadow singles for no apparent reason. I thought about it for a second, and realized that to me, personally, both of these eyeshadows are very eye-catching. The packaging, the color, the little golden sheen in both - they're truly very beautiful, and I love them for that reason alone.

But, I decided to go a little deeper and review both of them. Eye-catching and beautiful doesn't always mean good. They can be chalky, not pigmented, so glittery that you get none of the color and all of the glitter. So, what about these two? Are they worth it? Let's check it out!

First up is a NAR's single in the color 'Strada.' This is one of the first eyeshadows I ever bought, and honestly I got it because it was gorgeous. It also swatched very prettily, as you can see - it's a dusky purple with gold glitter, and I was so taken with those gold glitters. I believe this cost about $20, maybe more, but after playing around with it at home I realized that I should have picked another shade (or been smart and checked the reviews!). While it swatches so prettily, it's SO difficult to work with on the eyes. If you pat it on the lid very thickly as the primary color, it will go on pretty well but it faded for me very fast, even with a primer, and mostly the glitter was left. If you blend it too much, it becomes rather muddy looking and it's practically unfixable. It's a very difficult shadow to work with, though I find it works best used sparingly, so it's not a total loss. I like to use it on the lower lid sometimes for a pop of subtle color. It's not terrible, but it's not great. Definitely better purples out there.

Now this one I actually ordered online. It's from Style Nanda's makeup brand, 3 Concept Eyes. This is the color 'Saturn.' I was intrigued by that vibrant red online, and when I got it in the package, I was so pleased with how it swatched. As you can see, it swatches a beautiful fiery golden-red color. It seems to have a gold duochrome in it, which is just beautiful. I was also very happy to find out it was pretty lovely to work with. Patting it all over my lid produces that gorgeous red color, which fades slightly throughout the day but still looks lovely. It's also a great lower lid accent if you want something more subtle. Overall, I was so happy with this eyeshadow, especially because reds can sometimes be a little disappointing. It costs 11,000 won, which is about $9.50.

I've really been getting into wearing more colorful eyeshadows lately, so hopefully I'll be able to review more for you guys soon!

Dear Younger Self

I never really saw myself writing one of those "advice to your younger self" letters, but it was mostly because I had no idea what to say to my wayward teenage self. As I grow older, though, I'm discovering the things that I would tell myself, and the things I wouldn't. If given the chance, yeah, I would probably give my younger self some sound advice and save myself a world of trouble and nerves. There are some things better left to experience, and learning the hard way, but there are just some things that I'd want to avoid at all costs. So, past me, let's get started:

1. Don't try so hard to get people to like you. Some people just won't like you, and that's fine. Don't waste your feelings and energy on them. Some of those people will realize that you want them to like you, and take advantage of that. They will use you. Be aware.

2. Keep drawing and painting, and don't let anyone stop you. You will regret that you didn't keep going, and you will regret that you let the negative things get to you.

3. Wash off your makeup before you go to bed! Isn't this something we would all tell ourselves? Seriously, do it.

4. Don't feel bad about staying in and not hanging out with your friends when you don't feel up to it. Those nights will be precious. Don't let your friends make you feel bad for wanting time to yourself.

5. I would say make better friends, but it's good that you learned how to tell the difference between good and bad friends. 

6. Stick to journaling, and writing down your experiences. Years later, you will love reading those entries and remembering everything that happened. Your memory will erase much of it. Keep records.

7. Don't waste your time on romantic pursuits that you're not interested in from the beginning. Don't waste their time, or yours. Don't let your friends guilt trip you into accepting advances from people you don't like. "Oh, but they're nice" doesn't mean anything. It's just better for everyone in the end.

8. Don't laugh at sexist jokes to fit in. You felt uncomfortable for a reason, but you laughed so no one would call you "too serious" and tell you to learn to take a joke. Your existence, and other women's existence, is not a joke, girl. You don't have to jump into an argument with them, but don't laugh to validate their poor excuse for humor.

9. Don't be afraid to get into makeup earlier. I know people, mostly boys, around you will try to shame you for liking makeup, but don't listen! You'll enjoy it so much, and just imagine what getting started earlier will do for you.

10. Please, don't lose your love of reading. You will be so sad that it's gone, and can't even concentrate on a full chapter of a truly good book. Do everything you can to not burn out, and lose that love. It gave you such life.


What are some things you would tell your younger self?

Photo from pcwallart.

Blog Change!

I was never too terribly happy with the blog name I chose for this place. I just sort of piggy-backed off an old blog I had, and didn't know what else to name my little space. After some deliberation, I finally decided to go with another old tag I had created years ago, one that still resonates with me and feels more "me," you know?

It's pulled from a quote from my favorite movie in the entirety of ever, Velvet Goldmine. I couldn't tell you why I love that movie so much, I just do. 

I'm hoping the little name change is agreeable with you all as well! 'Big Fluffy Cats' just wasn't quite me, no matter how much I love actual big, fluffy cats. I'll see you all soon. :)

"Put out the torches. Hide the moon. Hide the stars."

11.18.15

It's getting so much colder here lately, and I know one day I'm going to wake up to a little snowfall. In fact, I just ordered some "winter" boots for the heavy snow this year. When I moved here n January, even though I had bought lots of clothing for snow, I was still pretty unprepared. Coming from an area where it gets relatively cold but never snows, I was just not ready to be thrown into thick, constant snow days.

This year I'm going to be a little more prepared. I've already started buying some sweaters, eyeballing scarves and gloves, and hunting down my thermals. I'm ready for you, snow!

I'm also in such a journal-y mood lately. I've been working through my journal some, but I also just love writing on my own blog rather freely, just like this, chronicling my thoughts. There's something very calming and soothing about it, especially during the winter months. I like keeping the content on my blog kind of all-over-the-place, because honestly, that's me! I'm everywhere. I love makeup and beauty but I also love writing, and soft pretty things, and whimsy. And there are more things I could push onto this blog, but I definitely don't want to overwhelm it, and no longer find in joy in it. I like the little niche I'm carving so far. It suits me just fine. :)

Holiday Beauty Wishlist

Every holiday all the big beauty brands try to out-do themselves with gorgeous holiday sets that usually feature a mish-mash of products, either new or a "best of" kind of thing, and beautiful packaging. I'm a sucker for packaging, and the holiday sets never fail to make me start salivating. I thought I would throw together a few of my top picks that I either hope to get this season or WILL be getting.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette - I know a lot of people have complaints about the size of the pans compared to the price of this ($80), but I don't have much of a problem with it. I'm very curious about all of the powders, and don't think I'd have trouble going through the powders too fast. I feel like despite its size, I'll still get plenty of use out of this, and more than my money's worth. Plus, what better way to jump into Hourglass's products than to get six of them at once!

Tarte Light of the Party - Speaking of money's worth, this massive Tarte compilation is only $59. You get that lovely palette up there, a mini mascara and a brush, and yet another palette with more eyeshadows and blush and bronzer. I'm so sold for this palette, and I WILL be getting it. I already love Tarte as a brand, and when they release things like this, they really just...make me so happy, you know? I'm so happy.

Marc Jacobs The Sofia - This is more of a "yeah, I'd enjoy that" type of thing, and I probably won't end up getting it, but it would be nice to try five Marc Jacobs lipsticks at once. They're small, sure, but I haven't gotten through a lipstick yet. The color range is pretty sweet, and the best part is that it's only $45 (you get that leather case too!).

Peter Thomas Roth Mask-A-Holic Vault - At $190, this is definitely on my "wishful thinking" list, but I am indeed a mask-a-holic, and I've heard a few amazing things about the PTR masks. Maybe one day I'll feel brave enough to justify the price of just one of these masks, but until then I'll eyeball this gift set and pass it up over that magical Tarte palette that's a much more reasonable price.

That's all I've got for today. Let me know what your favorite sets that have come out this year are!

Tarte Lights, Camera Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara | Review

(I'm afraid I'm still not very good at taking pictures! I need a good background..)

Okay, so, this was a mascara that everyone in the beauty community was in love with like, last year. And I know everyone has moved on to the Better Than Sex mascara, which I personally don't like a whole lot. But I finally used up ALL of this mascara (yes! all of it! that never happens) and I can safely say it is definitely one of my favorite mascaras out there, drugstore or high end.

I've been trying a few new ones out since using this up, and so far the next best thing for me is the Urban Decay Perversion mascara, which looks nice but is very hard to remove. What I liked about Tarte's little tube was that it made my lashes look nice, it didn't flake off ever, it didn't clump, it didn't smudge, and it was relatively easy to remove at the end of the day. It was everything good in a mascara that I liked, and I was honestly just never not tired of it. 

I'd say my only not-so-favorite thing about it was the packaging. It's a little awkward, but the purple and gold looks really nice. But, hey, I can get over packaging if the formula is amazing. And it is. 

I will say this is the 4-in-1 kind, I know they had a few different "types" of this mascara so I don't know what the others are like. This one, however, is getting a repurchase once I use up my sample mascaras. Big thumbs up, Tarte!