AitU♔

Urban Decay's nod to the newest Alice film is a hypnotic whirlwind of pattern and fun. It has all the whimsy of Wonderland, from the bright colors of the Queen of Hearts, to the beautiful blues and shimmers of the White Queen, to the Hatter's mix of neon and old antique neutrals. Beautiful packaging holds an eclectic collection of colors and textures.

   I love this palette! If you already have neutral shimmer palettes, this isn't super new, but if you're looking for one, definitely give it a try! The shade selection is great; I wish there was a black, but I can't complain. The dark brown goes pretty dark if packed on. There's two light shades, one matte and one shimmer, and several mid browns in different tones. You could go very warm or slightly more cool. The formula is very smooth and consistent throughout the palette. There isn't a chalky or odd-textured shade. My one qualm is the one thing I find with Tarte shadows; if you layer too many, they get muddy and you lose depth. It's better to choose one mid-tone shade to put all over, one dark shade, and then keep a light shade just in highlight areas.

   So far I have used it for a nice natural look with a soft lip, and a darker look paired with bold lips. It's very versatile. Use a good primer if you have hooded eyes!




xx,
        Charity

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 overpack, overworry, and overmakeup. Will I need seven lipsticks and a neon palette? Who knows. But they're in the bag.

My main concern with makeup while away is keeping everything on my face in place. I wouldn't leave my hotel room unless I was loaded with powder and setting spray. I either use matte liquid lipsticks or super matte bullets. Especially in the Florida heat. Here's what I packed for a recent weekend trip down to Orlando.

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.