AitU♔

Legendary makeup artist Pat McGrath is known for her iconic, impeccable artistry and influence, and now, she's expanded even further, creating her very own luxe, innovative beauty products. Her newest is the freshly-released Skin Fetish 003- a trio of highlighters and a brush to boot. There are two sets; Nude, which is quite muted, and Golden, which definitely has stronger gold tones. Having very fair skin, Nude looked to be a better choice.

I love jars. Maybe it's being Southern, maybe it's being an OCD makeup hoarder. I keep pretty much all of the boxes and containers from high end (and extra pretty low-end) makeup. There's several reasons:

1. They're gorgeous! You're paying for high-end, so might as well find a use for those gold YSL boxes and Kat Von D's hand-drawn designs.

2. In case I need to return something. I keep all the boxes and baubles in jars or an old Sephora shipping box, and the receipts all in one little Sephora bag.

3. In cause I decide to resell something after the 90 day Sephora limit has passed. I find that things sell quickly and customers are super happy when the original boxes are included and have been kept intact.


This is super easy, fun, and inexpensive. I got the massive jar at Wal Mart for about $11. The cylinder was from Michael's and was a bit more. I'm up to four jars from different places.

Time to get out those boxes and flex your Tetris skills.



It's a matter of choosing which boxes you want to be visible, and which ones you want to stuff in the center to keep everything in place. Start at the first row at the base; work between stacking and placing your outer boxes while also bracing them from the center so nothing falls over. Keep going, checking every angle to make sure you like how everything's going. You'll find you can get really crafty with finding boxes to fit in gaps!

I have these two on a shelf in my home office, and another two in my bedroom. They would look great on a vanity or in a makeup room!





xx,
       Charity

I'm definitely not a connoisseur of hair, but I am picky about what I use, especially since I went and stayed blonde about a year and a half ago. Another thing about my hair is that I'm about sixty years oldschool; I usually wash my hair every 5-7 days. No, it's not gross. My hair is pretty healthy for being bleached and toned every few months, and the color stays great, too. There's no way you're going to keep a great color for more than two weeks if you wash your hair daily. That's a whole different blogpost though!

   I like products that make my hair silky and smooth without making it oily and flat. Luckily I've found a shampoo and conditioner that seems to do both, as well as supporting products that help it out even more.

In another life, I was probably Mary Poppins... or just a crazy old lady who carried around a bag full of junk. I think I manage to keep it pretty compact; I hate schlepping around a huge purse. Yet I still manage to usually have anything anybody needs. Maybe the government should hire me. But then again, I'd rather not become their top experiment. I'll keep my trade secrets to myself.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm definitely a bit picky when it comes to products. Rather than just having a massive collection of makeup, I like to have quality products I actually use and that work for me. I'm not going to keep around a palette or lipstick that doesn't make me feel confident when I wear it--whether it's patchy shadows, a cakey foundation, or sticky lipgloss. I hate having to return things to the store, but my rule is if it's over $15, I most likely will if I don't like it. And if I don't, I'll probably resell it on an app later. Here are some of the products I have or have had and just couldn't keep.

To my best knowledge, every year in the spring and fall Sephora has a sale for its beauty members, ranging from 10% to 15% off depending on your membership tier. This year's spring sale began April 7th and ended the 13th for VIB Rouge, which I became end of last year. I stayed up the night of the 7th until it was 3 a.m. here (midnight in Cali, the timezone they base it on) to make an order since I was paranoid haha! I then got a few more things on the 10th when I visited the store for samples. Doesn't that always happen?? Just take my money, Sephora. I'm not even mad.

Something that I am particularly particular about is blushes--certain colors, textures, and formulas. I don't buy them often because, like many products, I prefer to find a few I really like versus just collecting them up in heaps. I find myself drawn to one particular shade, so it can be hard for me to veer from it. Here is what I've picked up in the last two months and really loved.

Prenup

 I recently picked up one of each of Nyx's eyebrow pencils during a BOGO 50% sale on Ulta's site. I originally wanted the Anastasia Brow Wiz, but swatches showed that the Nyx Micro Brow is a bit more cool-toned, which is my main focus. I also saw that Nyx has a pencil in gray- like, totally grey! Perfect for platinum or silver hair. My current hair isn't grey enough for it, but layering a bit of it over the Micro pencil cools it down a bit even more.

There's been a lot of talk about MUG lately, and being on an eyeshadow single testing quest for my Z Palettes, I gave them a try. I chose a variety of finishes as well as what caught my eye.

Colourpop is a brand born, raised, and managed right here in the states, in L.A. and are cruelty-free. They have branched out from eyeshadows and lipsticks to liquid lipsticks, brow products, highlighters and blushes, and beyond. They're known for their great prices, unique products, and fun colors.


   I got several eyeshadows from them last year and was instantly in love. Recently I got in another order in which I decided to dabble in more of what they've come out with since then.

I finally got my hands on this dreamy palette and couldn't wait to share about it!