Goodies from Bubbe!

Hey guys!

You know how whenever you go to your grandparents' house, they always want to give you stuff?

I was up north over my winter break visiting family and got a bunch of stuff! My bubbe (grandma) always buys a ton of expensive makeup and never ends up using it all. I mean, this woman will not buy makeup unless it is from the department store or Macy's. She spends a lot of money and then she'll decide she doesn't like something or doesn't know how to use it.

One day I had spent the night at her house and she was showing me all the makeup she uses. She always compliments me on my makeup, especially the way I do my eye makeup.

So then she pulls out a whole shoebox of Mac and Lancome makeup. She says to me in her charming little French accent, "I don't know how to use this. Jessie, you are the expert."

I guess this is like a "haul" post, except I didn't buy any of this.

Estée Lauder Matte Perfecting Primer: makes my skin feel really silky but I don't know if it prolongs wear

Estée Lauder Double Wear Light Stay-in-Place foundation: a decent foundation

Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Flawless Wear concealer: I really love this concealer! Great full coverage

Mac Eyeshadows: (L-R) Beautiful Iris, Brûlé, Haux, Mythology, Naked Lunch, Scene, Shale, Carefree (Pro Longwear eyeshadow)

Lancôme Color Design Eye Brightening All-in-One 5 Shadow & Liner Palette in Mauve Chérie

L'Oréal eyeshadow quad in Summer Dusk (these shadows are GREAT for my brown eyes!)

Brushes (L-R): Sephora Professionnel 45 mineral powder brush, Bobbi Brown blush brush, Sephora Professionnel 40 powder brush, Chanel 10 brush (angled blush brush that I've been using to contour)

Have you guys used any of these products? Love them? Hate them?

August/September Favorites!

Hey guys!

August was another one of those months where the end of the month crept up on me, but I am including those favorites in this post as well.

So, in no particular order...

WetnWild Megalast nail polish in On a Trip

If you follow me on Instagram, then you've probably already seen this picture. The color is gorgeous and the formula is perfection. The best part is that this nail polish is only $1.99. I want them all.

 

Sleek Oh So Special Palette

I got my shipment of Sleek palettes at the end of August (haul post coming, I promise!) and I can honestly say this was the best beauty investment I have ever made. With my Sleek palettes, I couldn't possibly want any more in life. 

This palette, though, in particular has become a staple. I wanted to focus on one palette at a time and figure out new looks but I'm still working on this one. The colors are pigmented, gorgeous, blend easily, and truly enhance my natural beauty. 

I could go on and on... This palette is my one true love.

Sephora Day to Night Wear Eyeliner in Black Flame

I bought this when I just so happened to be at Sephora picking up my birthday gift and saw this for only $2. It is soo amazing! I've never had an eyeliner show up so well on my water line! (I'm too cheap to get an Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner). You can barely tell there's shimmer in this, so it's just a great smooth & pigmented black eyeliner crayon (it's the twisty kind).

American Apparel nail laquer in Passport Blue

I bought this a couple years ago at an American Apparel in Orlando (although I do have one in my hometown). I haven't used it much, and recently I decided I was in the mood for a darker color. I love this so much! The formula is pretty good. Yes, I know my nails are chipped. I will fix them - I just wanted to show the color.

And yes, the color is almost exactly the color of a US passport! (Even more so in real life - the picture is skewed by the sunlight)

Liplicious Cupcakes lipgloss in Pink Chiffon

This is one of those LE lipglosses you can get around the holidays at Bath & Body Works. I got this probably a year or two ago. I have a huge collection of these glosses and this happened to be one of them. 

This is a gorgeous light pink shade with fine glitter. It smells great and just looks really lovely on. I put this in my little wristlet where I stash my university ID and room key, so it's handy to put on throughout the day. Added bonus: it's moisturizing and leaves my lips feeling like I had on chapstick!

Maybelline Perfect Pastels eyeshadow quad in Velvet Crush

This is a quad I was given my bubbe. She never used it that much, but I've gotten some good use out of it! It looks great with my glasses because it really brings out the gorgeous brown in my eyes (rather than the poop brown haha). The colors are not the most pigmented and there is some fallout, but the colors blend beautifully and just look nice when I'm not in the mood to put too much effort into my makeup for the day.

Clinique Beyond Blusher in Peaches

This is just a gorgeous peachy blush I used a lot throughout August. It gives me a nice, natural glow.

ELF eyeshadow quad in Brownstone

These colors aren't shimmery, however they're not completely matte. I used these a lot throughout August. This palette is perfect for a classic and classy neutral eye, especially only at $1! 

Have you guys used any of these products? Loved them?

What are your favorites from the past two months? Let me know in the comments!

!שבת שלוֹס

(Shabbat shalom)

I hope you all have a wonderful, fun, and safe weekend! :)

Recent Sephora Haul!

So I've been very very busy working hard and getting near perfect grades at school. I just finished up the first quarter of my senior year and have three out of four of my college applications submitted. For all of this, I decided I should treat myself. This is the first time I've actually bought myself from Sephora and it was a very exciting moment.I spent a little more than I should have, but I deserved it.

I had been eyeing some things from Lorac and Stila. I decided to get the Lorac Close Up: Real Life To Red Carpet Natural To Dramatic Face Tutorial, Lorac Ooh La La Lace Palette, and the Stila Travel Palette in Haute in the Hamptons. They just came in a few days ago. I've barely had the chance to use them, so once I have, I'll be writing some reviews. For right now, I just have some pictures and swatches.

In this palette you get a light off-white shade with a teeny-bit of shimmer called Sand, a shimmery gold shade called Linen, a dark gray-brown with shimmer called Route 27, and a shimmery true-blue shade called Blue Skies. There's also two blush shades. The bottom one is supposed to be a bronzer, I believe, but it's too pink to be a bronzer. The top one is just a hot pink called Hydrangea and the bottom is more of a coral, but still like a hot brightish pink with gold shimmer, called Montauk Highway. I'll do a review on this later.

The Lorac Ooh La Lace Palette :) This was the one I was most excited to get. It's got the sexiest packaging ever! I can't wait to review  this one.

Here are the shadows inside :) There's also a big mirror. Aren't these colors just so gorgeous!?!

This is the shadow trio inside the set that I got by Lorac. The color is called LORACStar.

These are just so pretty! It's the first time I'm trying out anything by Lorac and after swatching them and wearing them once, I can say they're simply amazing.

This is the blush that came in the set. It's in the color Soul. It looks kind of dull, but it's got just the right amount of sparkle and oomph to create the most beautiful glow.

Here it is again. I'm sorry for the poor picture quality :(

This is the mascara that came in the set. Lorac is really on target with their packaging. It's just so pretty!

This is the liquid liner the kit came with. I read the most amazing reviews before it came and I was so excited to try it. I'll leave the rest for my review ;)

The gloss from the kit. It's in the color Trendsetter. It's an absolutely gorgeous color.

The applicator is a brush rather than a sponge, which I LOVE.

Now time for the swatches...

The black line is the Lorac Front of the Line PRO liner. To the right of that are the colors from the Lorac shadow trio in LORACStar. And then right under the brown shadow is the Lorac blush in Soul.

This one is without flash.

Same swatches with flash

Here's the swatches from the Stila palette Haute in the Hamptons. The first two are the blushes. And then on the right side are  the four shadows.

This is with flash.

Same swatches without flash

And the lovely, sexy shadows from the Lorac Ooh La Lace palette. These are simply amazing. So smooth and pigmented. And of course these were meant to make a sexy bedroom eye look :)

This is without flash.

And with flash.

I also got samples, as is customary with any Sephora order. I got two perfume samples, some Clinique skincare samples. I got a free Buxom mascara sample with a code. And for reaching +100 Sephora points, I got a Laura Mercier mascara sample.

So here they are:

The brush looks amazing! I can't wait to try it out.

And the Laura Mercier. This is the Long Lash mascara.

I didn't read the best reviews on this, but I'll post my opinions when I try it out.

As I would expect with a lengthening mascara, the brush is very small and skinny.

So that's it from my Sephora haul. I'll be posting reviews soon.

My next post will be a look I do with the Ooh La Lace palette.

Feel free to post comments, any suggestions for looks to post, and follow me on Twitter @jessiefrancaise