If you follow my Instagram at http://instagram.com/miss_shelleh you probably already caught glimpse of the cheap prices I found on Wet n Wild at WinCo foods. If not, you're in for a surprise!

While I was grocery shopping yesterday I stumbled across the makeup section. Don't we all find ourselves wandering to that area because we just HAVE to check. Just checking, not necessarily buying, when suddenly....Wet n Wild Comfort Zone for $2.38? That's almost half off what I can purchase it at CVS or Walgreens for. Since I already have most of the Wet n Wild, I just snagged a 46 cent single of Brulee.

If you have a Winco near you and are considering purchasing some Wet n Wild, I'd highly recommend the Comfort Zone palette. It has a beautiful duochrome in it, as well as some stunning shades that are really great for everyday. They blend well and last well during the day. I would avoid the newer eyeshadows because they are not nearly as pigmented. I purchased the brown one and the gray one and have been immensely disappointed with them. It really took a lot to build them up on the eyes.

Anyway! Let me know if you have a Winco near you!

xoxo,

Shelly

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Posted by SealedwithaSwatch

Review: Tarte Mattenificent Palette

Awhile back I purchased the Tarte Mattenficent Palette. I honestly thought that I had already done the review for you all, but I just realized that I hadn't actually finished writing it up. Now seems like a great time since this palette is Limited Edition and will probably be sold out before too long.

The palette comes in this purple packaging that has a very colorfuly but earthy vibe to me. The outside box was nothing special or interesting and I promptly discarded it.

The actual palette is square and features that same purple design on it with the Tarte logo printed in Gold. I really like the gold touch of both the Tarte logo and the outside edge of the palette. I am really a fan of the packaging because it feels sturdy and would be ideal for traveling. That being said, I'm still not too crazy about the coloring. I'm not really a purple kind of person, so that may be why. The palette itself is very compact and features a large mirror that can stand up on its own. I find this very convenient!

The Tarte Mattenificent Palette features 6 eyeshadows, 1 blush, and 2 eyeshadow setting powders - all of which are matte. It's super rare for me to be attracted to mattes. I'm more of a shimmer girl myself, but these colors really stood out to me as something I could use for a lot of looks. This palette makes a great companion to the Laura Mercier Artist Palette due to the purpley undertones.

The palette also features a small brush, one side is flat for packing shadows and the other side is a blending brush. The blending brush does actually work in a pinch. It's not my favorite, but I did find that it worked for blending detailed areas due to its small size. The other end of the brush is not very dense, so I don't find it particularly useful.

Let me just leave a disclaimer here on the shadows: they have some weird overlay thing on them when you first use them. You have to get past that overly in order to get pigment! That being said, once you bust in past that, the shadows are very pigmented both on the arm for swatches and on the eye. They do feel very smooth and buttery. They do tend to kick up a little bit of powder in the pan, but it did not lead to any fallout problems for me. The shadows are less powdery than Lorac in my opinion.

I used both the shadows, blush, and black setting powder to create this look. I had no issues with blending any of them. The blush is definitely geared at lighter skin tones. I do not think it would show up on anyone who is too much darker than me (NC15). The blush color is very buildable, similar to other Tarte blushes. I do find the blush in this palette to be more powdery than other Tarte blushes. The formula of it almost seems softer than regular Tarte blushes.

Overall thoughts, I love this palette. I find myself wanting to use it a lot. I think that it is worth snagging up because it is all matte, is very pigmented, and is great for travel.

I give this palette an A -

xoxo,

Shelly

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Posted by SealedwithaSwatch

Tag : review

Review: Maybelline Color Elixirs

Today I have a review on the new Maybelline Color Elixir Liquid Lipsticks. I picked up the three shades that jumped out at me the most - Vision in Violet, Mauve Mystique, and Caramel Infused.

Maybelline's Website has this to say about the Color Elixir line:

"Fall under the spell of the elixir effect

Hyper-saturated color, ultra cushiony feel

The new hypnotic lip sensation."

This line features 20 different shades, ranging from deep reds to nudes. I was actually quite pleased and shocked at the color range. It's usually hard for me to find shades that I like in collections. I didn't have that struggle this time around.

Swatches:

These three swatches were done on bare skin using the applicator from the tubes. Swatches are over NC15 skin and were taken inside in natural light without a flash. Pigmentation was quite impressive on the Color Elixirs. I didn't have any issues getting the product to show up on my lips.

Caramel Infused

The first shade that I want to talk about is caramel infused. This pinky shade makes a great everyday color. It has a glossy finish that really seems to brighten up the face.

Here's a lip swatch of the color.

As you can tell, the color did not go on patchy at all. It was very smooth and surprisingly easy to apply. The color saturated my lips and did not bleed out of the lines at all.

I've included a full face shot of the color so you can get a better idea of how it looks. Caramel Infused is definitely a color that I find myself reaching for a lot. It just looks good with so many different eyeshadow looks.

Vision in Violet

I saw this shade on a girl on a makeup forum and I was blown away by how vivid the color was. It just really stood out to me as a unique shade.

Vision in Violet isn't a color that I'd use a lot, but it's a color I want in my collection. The application was easy and the shade was pigmented. That being said, it did take more swipes to get the full saturation compared to Caramel Infused.

Vision in Violet also lasts the longest of any of the shades. I was able to eat and drink with just a little bit of fading. The color stayed on my lips and didn't bleed onto the rest of my face. That's always a fear of mine when I'm wearing bold lips. I don't want my entire face stained purple.

Mauve Mystique

The final color that I picked up was Mauve Mystique. I have been really into mauves lately, so I thought it would be a good addition to my growing mauve collection.

Here's what Mauve Mystique looks like on the lips. You can tell it looks only slightly different than Caramel Infused. The color has a slight purple/mauvey undertone compared to Caramel Infused. The difference is hardly detectable once on my lips though.

Review:

Pigmentation: 9.5/10

These are incredibly pigmented for being a liquid. It doesn't take many swipes to get the pigmentation that you want. The colors are fairly true to tube as well.

Formula: 8/10

One thing I really love about the Color Elixirs is that they are not sticky like a gloss would be. They do become a little sticky after you eat and drink a lot. I'm not really sure why that happens though.

Lasting Power: 6/10

As with most liquid products, the staying power on these is nothing magical. They last longer than a lip gloss would on me, but they aren't crazy good at staying on. Vision in Violet definitely lasts longer than the other two, though.

Other Notes:

These do have a scent that is mild. They smell somewhat sweet and I find the scent to be enjoyable when I'm applying the product. The Color Elixirs are easy to reapply, which makes me reach for them quite often. They fade evenly and don't create a nasty patty mess on my face.

Would I recommend these?

Yes! I think they are a good product and for the price they are worth it. If you like the shine of a gloss but hate the sticky texture, these are worth looking into.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Posted by SealedwithaSwatch

Tag : review

My Smokey Valentine

Today is the finale of our Valentine's Week! I'm thrilled to show you all my final look, as it is by far my favorite. I went with a pink and gray/black smokey eye with my new favorite pink lip. I love how this look is fierce but also soft at the same time. It's exactly what I wanted for today!

I was actually really inspired by a look that the musician Pink was wearing in one of her videos from like the early 2000s. She had a rhinestone, so I wasn't about to put that in there, but I loved the inspiration for the smokey pink look. Hers was of course more flawless, but who's counting?

Products used:

Eyes:

Elf Eyelid Primer

Mac Paint Pot in Painterly

Urban Decay Naked 3 - Burnout, Limit, Mugshot, Darkside, Blackheart

Mac Fluidline in Blacktrack

Benefit Bad Gal Lash

Anastasia Dip Brow in Blonde

Face:

Bourjois Happy Light Matte Primer Serum

Bourjois 123 Foundation

Mac Blotting Powder

MUFE Full Cover Concealer

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil

Tarte Exposed

Mac Mineralized Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle

Lipstick:

Mac Creme Cup

I'll be rocking this look for my shift at work tonight! Let me know what you wore for today's holiday!

xoxo, Shelly

Friday, February 14, 2014

Posted by SealedwithaSwatch

Tag : FOTD

Laura Mercier Artist Eyeshadow Palette 2014 Information

While browsing my favorite subreddit on the website www.reddit.com, I stumbled across this photo of the new Laura Mercier Artist Eyeshadow Palette for the new year. It's part of the spring collection from Laura Mercier and can be found at Nordstrom and Nordstrom.com. The above photo is from Nordstrom's Website.

Let's check a breakdown of the colors inside the palette.

Noir matte eyeshadow
Deep Night matte eyeshadow
Coffee Ground matte eyeshadow
Café au Lait matte eyeshadow
Ginger matte eyeshadow
Buttercream matte eyeshadow
Diamond Pink luster limited-edition eyeshadow
Guava sateen eyeshadow
Sable sateen eyeshadow
African Violet luster eyeshadow
Violet Steel luster limited-edition eyeshadow
Rich Cocoa sateen eyeshadow
Mini Caviar Stick in Cocoa (0.03 oz.)
Mini Full Blown Volume Lash Building mascara in Black (0.2 oz.)

If you have read my review here on the 2013 Artist palette then you know that I am absolutely in love with the LM shadows. They blend easily, have great pigmentation, and last all day on my oily lids.

That being said, there are a lot of repeat colors in this palette. I'm not sure if it's different enough for me to purchase it as an additional palette. It would be awesome for those of you who missed out on the artist palette in 2013 or 2012. I'm definitely most interested in the Violet Steel color, which is limited edition.

This palette retails for $80, too, which makes it far more expensive than last year's model. It does come with a mascara and a mini caviar stick in the shade cocoa. I'm not really interested in those and probably wouldn't even use them. Oh well! Let me know if you are planning on buying this palette or not.

xoxo Shelly

Posted by SealedwithaSwatch

Tag : new release

A Flirty Valentine's Day Look

Our Valentine's Day Week FOTD is just about up, so I wanted to offer another flirty option. For this look, our lids will be gold and rose. I used Urban Decay Chopper and patted it on the middle of the lid. I used a fluffy blending brush (E25 by Sigma) to lightly blend Dust from the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette on both the inner and outer corners of the eye. Both the gold and rose tones really bring out a lot of different eye colors. I feel like it really brings out the lighter parts of my brown eyes.

To keep the look flirty, I paired the rose eye with a pink cheek and pink lips. The cheek color is Glisten by Tarte, which I think is just the perfect blusher color for Valentine's Day. Glisten lasts on my oily cheeks all day and it also blends super easily. I brought the blush a little closer to the apples of my cheeks today to give a more cutesy look.

Products Used:

Eyes:
ELF Eyelid Primer

Mac Paint Pot in Painterly

Urban Decay Chopper

Urban Decay Dust

Matte skintone from Tarte Mattenificent

Mac Fluidline liner

Benefit Bad Gal Lash

Anastasia Dip Brow in Blonde

Face:

Bourjois Happy Light Matte Primer Serum

Mac Pro Longwear Foundation

Mac Blotting Powder

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Luminous Light

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Glisten

Lipstick:

Mac Creme Cup

I'd love to hear what you think of this look down below.

XoXo Shelly

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Posted by SealedwithaSwatch

Tag : FOTD, makeup

Get to know me - 20 Beauty Questions

There's a tag on Youtube going around for 20 beauty questions. I thought this would be fun and a good way for you all to get to know me a little bit more!

What is the one product you'd grab if your house was on fire?

Laura Mercier Artist Palette. I'm not sure I could live without that and since it was LE, it would be almost impossible to find it again

Which beauty vlogger would you want to do your makeover?

Hollyannearee. I probably butchered her name but she's beyond gorgeous and always looks so put together

What celeb do people think you look like?

Nobody really. I've never heard anyone say I looked like a celebrity.

What beauty product do you save for date night?

I don't think I have a specific product. Maybe Russian Red lipstick since I rarely wear red lips out

Which of your guy friends takes longer than you to get ready?

Not a guy friend, but my boyfriend. It's not that he spends a lot of time getting ready per say but he stops in the middle and sits on the computer, which makes it take him forever to get ready!

If you could create your own miracle beauty product, what would it be?

A primer so strong and fantastical that you couldn't see my gigantic crater pores at all

What's your best beauty tip?

Beauty tips....hmmm....Tightline with Mac Fluidline and set it with a matte shadow. It makes a load of difference

What beauty products do you love to splurge on?

Eyeshadows. I consider buying an expensive eyeshadow palette a splurge, like Laura Mercier, UD, or a lot of Inglot at a time. I can't do drugstore shadows anymore. They just don't compare.

Which beauty vloggers would you bring on a shopping spree?

Emily Noel! I just love her!! I would also consider bringing xsparkage because I love how excited she gets about products!

What is your signature scent?

I don't think I have one. I'm not a perfume gal.

I am on an endless quest for the perfect _________.

Everyday lipstick color. I have a lot but just can't find one that I'm super in love with.

How many beauty products does it take to get you ready?

I'm too scared to count. Over 10 for sure though.

What lipstick/lip gloss is in your purse right now?

Mac Hautecore and NYX Mega shine lipgloss in Beige

Who is your celebrity beauty icon?

Jennifer Lawrence. Her smokey eyes!

Name the beauty brand you'd most love to be a spokesperson for?

INGLOT

What's your current nail polish?

Some hot pink by the Ulta brand

Fave mascara right now?

Benefit Bad Gal Lash. It does like to clump, but you can brush out the clumps

The last thing you bought at Sephora?

Tarte Mattenificent Palette

I try never to be seen without wearing _______.

eyebrows. They make such a huge difference

What's one beauty product you'd always recommend?

Inglot eyeshadows

Let me know what your answers are down below!!

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Posted by SealedwithaSwatch

1 Comment

Tag : tags

Another Valentine's Day Look Featuring New Products by NYX

We are yet another day closer to the most romantic holiday of the year. I'm continuing onto the third day of my Valentine's Day FOTD challenge. Today's look is also a very wearable one that you could wear out to dinner on V-day, or could even wear during your work day.

I could easily see myself wearing this out to dinner with my boyfriend. UD's lipstick in Rapture that I'm wearing here doesn't really move that much when you eat, so you can rest assured that it isn't going to get all over your face during Valentine's Day.

I also decided to switch up the colors and go with some purples on the eyes. Ok, so I mostly did purple because I was dying to try out my new NYX Baked eyeshadow in Violet Smoke. I swatched it in store (thank you Ulta for putting in testers!) and immediately fell in love with the color. It has a really nice sheen to it that really photographs quite beautifully. I'll be sure to do a full review on it soon. I also used a new Nyx Baked blush in Chiffon. I went for a really soft, light application and applied the baked blush dry instead of wet. This really helped the attention stay on the eyes and lips, rather than the cheeks.

Products Used:

Eyes:

Elf Eyelid Primer

Elf Liquid Liner

Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara

Nyx Baked Shadow in Violet Smoke (purple lid color)

Nyx Glam Shadow in Soprano (inner corner)

Tarte Mattenificent Palette (the pink and dark purple mixed with the brown)

Mac Fluidline in Blacktrack (tightline)

Anastasia Dip Brow in Blonde

Face:

Bourjois Happy Light Matte Primer Serum

Mac Pro Longwear Foundation

MUFE Full Cover Concealer

Mac Blotting Powder

Mac Emphasize Highlighter

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil

Nyx Baked Blush in Chiffon

Lips:

Urban Decay Revolution in Rapture

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Posted by SealedwithaSwatch

Tag : FOTD, makeup

Review: Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette

We all have a color family that we tend to gravitate towards - whether it is greens, golds, pinks, purples, or whatever else really. That color family for me are rose golds. I'm a huge sucker for them, as I find that they really compliment both my NC15 skin and my brown eyes. When I found out that there was going to be a rose gold palette, I immediately felt the urge to buy it. I was hesitant at first because Urban Decay does not always make the best eyeshadows. I tend to get fallout a lot, which is something I prefer to avoid at all costs. The fallout aspect made me shy away from the palette on launch day.

I would say I was a little slower to warm up to this palette, I even pondered returning it at times. I'm really glad that I didn't because I actually find myself reaching for Naked 3 a lot. Let me just show you what I mean.

Outside Packaging: 9/10

I found the little box that the palette come in to be cute. It features the Naked 3 logo printed in a shiny gold. It also shows the shadow colors on the box, which I think is pretty helpful. Nothing more to really say about the box, I'm afraid.

Palette Packaging 10/10

I've always been a big fan of tin packaging that snaps closed. I think it's more secure and durable than any of the other palettes I own (other than Naked 2 of course!). The packaging gives me peace of mind with traveling, which means that this puppy will travel with me on probably every single trip that I go on. I like that there is room to put a brush, even if you choose not to use the brush from the palette. I'm not super crazy about the waves in the packaging. I wish it was just flat, but that's more of a nitpicky thing.

The shadows:

Naked 3 features 12 shadows that all have a rosey undertone to them. Some are more rosey than others, such as Buzz and Burnout. Other shades like Factory are less rosey. The palette only features 2 mattes, which I find a little disappointing. I think UD makes good mattes, but they never want to put them into palettes. If they made a matte rose gold palette, I'd scoop that up so fast.

It is important to point out that there is one complete dud shadow in this palette, which would be Dust. I get little to no actual color pay off from that shadow. I will get some glittery fallout, but the actual color is lost. I have heard that some other people are able to get color pay off, so I'm not sure if I just received a dud palette or not.

Swatches:

I've decided to show off three different photos of the swatches to make sure that you all get a good idea of what the colors actually look like.

Let's start with this photo taken inside of the swatches. All of these swatches were taken on bare skin without any base or primer. I swiped my finger 2x in each of the shadows. It's interesting that you can see some color pay off with dust in the swatch because it does not transfer well to the eyes at all. Only the glitter really transfers.

This set of swatches were taken outside with no flash. I like this photo because I feel like it actually shows off the undertones of the shadows really well. You can really capture the shine to the shadows as well.

And last but not least, this photo was taken indoors with flash. I think taking one with flash is a good idea because it shows how well the shine will pick up on camera. Mugshot (third from the right) has a really good shine to it that this photo really captures.

Pigmentation: 9/10
The reason why Naked 3 loses one point for pigmentation is that Dust is really a dud color for me. The actually shadow has very little colored pigment to it once applied to the eyes. The rest of the colors are incredibly pigmented and transfer very well to the eyes for me.

Blendability: 9/10
I think that these shadows all blend pretty well. Sometimes when I blend Blackheart, it can really get messy fast and not show up as vibrantly. The rest of the colors have no blending issues for me.

The Bottom Line:
If you want a rose toned palette with good color payoff that you will reach for a lot, I'd highly recommend this palette. The colors are gorgeous on pale skin and really allow you to create a gorgeous everyday look.

xoxo,
Shelly

Posted by SealedwithaSwatch

Tag : review

Valentine's Day Take 2

It's time for our second Valentine's Day look in our weekly challenge leading up to the big holiday. Today's look had to be interview appropriate, as I had an interview for a full-time job at my current place of employment. I think the interview went well to be honest, and I felt really confident rocking this makeup look.

The lids feature a rose gold pigment by Mac, which is one of my all time favorite rose gold products. I applied the pigment with a damp brush to really pack on the color. I wanted to deepen up the outer corner with Blackheart in the Naked 3 palette. This helped to add some dimension to the eye, without making the look too bold for the interview.

I wanted to keep the skin really glowy, so I used Mac's highlighter in Emphasize on my chin, nose, forehead, under the eyes, and on the top of the cheek bones. This really brings light to the face, without making you glittery. It's one of my favorite highlighters!

For the lips and eyes, I went for complimenting shades of pink. This keeps the look really feminine and airy.

Products Used:

Eyes:

Mac Rosegold Pigment

Urban Decay Naked 3 Nooner and Blackheart, Dust on lower lash line with factory

Elf Liquid Liner

Benefit They're Real Mascara

Elf Eyelid Primer

Mac Eyebrow Pencil

Rimmel Scandaleyes Nude Eyeliner

Face:

Bourjois Happy Light Matte Primer

Mac Pro Longwear Foundation

MUFE Full Cover Concealer

Mac Blotting Powder

Mac Emphasize Highlighter

Tarte Glisten Blush

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil

Lips:

Mac Sunny Seoul

Friday, February 7, 2014

Posted by SealedwithaSwatch

Tag : FOTD, makeup

Valentines Day FOTD

Hello readers! I've decided to challenge myself to do a different Valentine's Day look everyday from here until the big holiday! It's going to be tough for me to find enough interesting looks to keep it going, but I'm certainly going to try my hardest.

For the first look, I wanted to do something a little less wearable but still really fun. I decided to keep the eyes very white and airy, so the look wouldn't seem too much with the bold lip and red hearts. To do the little hearts, I used a red lip liner by Prestige. I simply drew a diagonal line and then another diagonal line going the opposite way to create a little heart shape. I definitely spent some time practicing on my hand before I tried to put it on my eyes.

Make sure you tightline your eyes when you're working with red near the eyes. If you aren't careful, red can make your eyes look sickly and tired, which is a big no-no. I also made sure to apply a generous amount of Bad Gal lash mascara.

Products Used:

Eyes:

Elf Eyelid Primer

NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk

White from Lorac Pro

Prestige Lip Liner in Red
Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara

Mac Fluidlinein Blacktracks

Mac Eyebrow Pencil

Face:
Rimmel 25 hr Foundation

Bourjois Happy Light Matte Primer Serum

Mac Dessert Rose Blush

Mac Emphasize Highlighter

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil

Lips:
Mac Hautecore

Mac Russian Red

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Posted by SealedwithaSwatch

Tag : FOTD, makeup

FOTD: A Very Minty Spring

Spring is calling my name. It's all like "Shellllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy." That's how it seems to me at least because I'm really finding myself gravitating towards Spring colors. I just can't help it! I'm not really into the whole cold weather thing, never have been. It's kind of odd since I'm from Washington though. I should be more used to the cold weather by now, but I guess I'm not. It might have something to do with the fact that I always get sick in the winter. Who knows.

What I do know is that I've always loved mint eyeshadows. I love the color mint in general, but I really love how soft it shows up on the skin. This one by Inglot is opaque enough for me to be happy. I think mint and purple really play well off of each other too. The purple brings a kind of depth to the eye that is needed with such a soft lid color.

Anyway, I'll go back to sipping my chai tea and watching the snow fall.

Products used:

Eyes:

Mac Paint Pot in Painterly

Inglot #24 on lid, #33 in outer corner

Urban Decay Cosmetics Woodstock (crease)

Tarte Mattenificent Palette (Dark purple in outer corner and light skin tone to blend)

Elf Liquid Liner in Black

Benefit They're Real Mascara

MUFE Aquabrow in #25

Face:

Bourjois Happy Light Matte Serum Primer

Bourjois 123 Foundation

MUFE Full Cover Concealer

Mac Blotting Powder

Mac Emphasize Highlighter

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil

La Femme blush in Purple Passion

Lips:

Maybelline Color Whisper in Pin Up Peach

Posted by SealedwithaSwatch

1 Comment

Tag : FOTD, makeup

FOTD: Seattle Seahawks