Urban Decay Cannonball Mascara: Pros and Cons Product Review

Quick Results: Yes, I love this mascara and I would repurchase.

Price: ~$20

I set out for a mascara for my college graduation. While I was happy as could be that I was graduating, I knew there would be some tears. I saw the the name, cannonball, and immediately thought, “well that better work.” Yes, I fell for marketing, but I don’t regret my purchase. I paid about twenty dollars at my local Ulta for this mascara.

I do not own this image. I searched for it on Google. If this is your

image and you would like me to take it down, email me, and I will

do so immediately.

The wand is fairly standard, but it is small enough to get inner and lower lashes. The formula is fantastic, it’s not prone to clumping and is easily build-able.

The mascara also held up so well to crying! There was no ugly mascara streaks or flakes sprinkled around my face from crying. My lashes looked fine (my eyes were a bit red), not as perfectly fanned out as when I first applied, but other than that, my lashes looked as good as they had before the tears. I will definitely be reaching for this mascara whenever I go to a wedding, or other tear filled event.

Keep in mind, that a waterproof mascara will be harder to remove, but with a good and gentle remover, this mascara can be removed.

What is your favorite mascara?

Maybelline The Blushed Nudes Palette: First Impressions & Naked 3 Dupe

So when I saw this palette my hands tossed it in my basket before my brain registered what I had even grabbed. I use my Maybelline The Nudes Palette at least 3 or 4 times a week so I had to pick this one up.

The first thing I noticed was its striking similarity to Urban Decay’s Naked 3 Palette. Perhaps you will agree with me:

So yeah, if you had your eye on Naked 3, but don’t want to (or can’t) spend the fifty something dollars, for around ten you can have this palette. Here are swatches of The Blushed Nudes:

And just for fun, here are swatches from Naked 3:

The verdict:

Blushed Nudes is a really good palette. The shadows are soft and blend well. I’m definitely glad that I go it. I do believe that it is comparable to the Naked 3, the biggest difference is that Naked 3 is more pigmented. It really all depends what you want to spend your money on when it comes to make up.

Personally, my Naked 3 is my favorite palette, so I can’t imagine passing that up for the Maybelline. But I can’t deny the similarities. 

Washing a Beauty Blender (or a Dupe)

So you have finally given in to the beauty blender craze ( I know I resisted for a long time). You use
the sponge, and no matter what your feelings on the application, you are now left with a dirty makeup applicator that needs to be cleaned. But how? You can’t just wipe it off, and there aren’t any bristles like on a makeup brush.

Read on if you want to see how I clean my Beauty Blender.

First, I must stress, that if you want your blender to stay in good condition for as long as possible, you must be GENTLE.

What to wash it with?

-I use a mixture of Dawn (original formula nothing extra added) and coconut oil.

I know coconut oil is solid in its normal room temp state, but you can get a liquid coconut oil and I have also seen little bottles of liquid coconut oil in Sally’s.

-I put about equal amounts of each into a container.

-Then I mix the two liquids,

-Using water that is about room temperature, I run my beauty blender under the faucet until it is damp. I then dip it into my clean mixture and gently work it in. I do this by squeezing the beauty blender and running it under the water.  I continue gently squeezing until I don’t see any more dish soap suds coming out of the sponge. I continue dipping and rinsing and squeezing under the running water until I have gotten all of the makeup off and out of the sponge. This will take time, but if you are gentle, your sponge should come out pretty much like new when you are done. At some point it is only natural for stains to occur, but you will know your blender is clean when the water you squeeze out of the blender is consistently clear.

*The image is not mine, I got it from a Google search, If the image is yours and you would like me to take it down please message me and I will gladly do so.*

Let's Meet Marsala

So by now I'm sure you have heard the buzz about this years' Pantone Color of the Year, Marsala. While I am a big fan of "wear whatever makes you feel great no matter the trends", I figured I would still take a look at Marsala.

The best way I have heard Marsala explained is as an earthy red. Last year's color, Radiant Orchid, was a lot easier to pin down. Ever since Marsala's debut I have seen many variations of the shade. But since Pantone is the one who chose the color, I'm going to stick with the swatch they supplied:

I decided to shuffle through my makeup collection to see what I could come up with.

 Below I have created some swatches of drugstore Marsala shaded goodness:

Some Marsala toned Lippies. 

Top Row- Left to Right: Kate Moss for Rimmel in 08, Revlon Matte Balm in Elusive, Revlon Matte Balm in Sultry, Maybelline Matte Lipstick in Lust for Blush, Covergirl Jumbo Gloss Balm in 225.

Bottom Row- Left to Right: Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner in Ravish, Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner in Obsession, Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in Bordeaux, Revlon Lip Butter in Red Velvet, Maybelline 14hr Lipstick in Wine and Forever, Almay Liquid Lip Balm in Just Plum Good.

Underneath the lippies I swatched Maybelline Color Tattoo in Pomegranite Punk (left) and the wine color from Maybelline's Designer Chocolates Palette.

Maybelline Wine and Forevernail polish:

Ideas of how to wear Marsala:
If you want to add Marsala into your makeup look there are two ways to add it into a look without being overbearing, and everyone can do it, even if they aren't super skilled in makeup, or their schedule doesn't allow for lots of makeup time.

1. Pop of Marsala: Use a little bit of a marsala shade into your crease.
2. Lipstick statement: Keep your eyes simple with just some mascara and eyeliner and use a marsala lipstick as a quick and trendy statement.
3. Marsala manicure

Do you plan on giving this color a try?

Physician's Formula Mineral Pearl Highlighter Review

So I have been using my highlighter from Physician's Formula for about a year now and I will definitely be repurchasing it. That said, I know that this highlight is now going to be everyone's (please forgive the cliche) cup of tea. Without further ado, I will talk about the properties of this product so that you can decide for yourself.

If you do decide to head in the direction of this product, please use a light hand, unless that is the look you are going for. This product is very pigmented, so a little goes a long way. With a light hand, I can get a nice glow going. With a medium hand, I can easily become a disco ball. And with any more pressure than that, this highlight becomes an opaque pearly white later of pigment. When I first swatched it, I saw the intense pearl pigment and got nervous. I'm so glad I stuck it out though, because I love it. It's kind of like a build able highlight. From subtle to editorial- whatever you decide. I love that versatility. 

The only thing that I think will put some people off is that there is some glitter/sparkle to it. With a light hand it is subtle, but if you aren't careful it can look like you dumped glitter on your face.