Lorac Downtown Drama Eyeshadow Palette

Swatches & Review

Lorac Cosmetics Downtown Drama is the second palette that is also exclusive to Nordstrom Rack locations. Unlike Uptown Allure, the shades in Downtown Drama are supposed to be cool, while Uptown Allure has warm eyeshadow shades.

Downtown Drama's palette is in a silver packaging.

There are five shades in this palette and each shade contains 0.06 oz of product.

The eyeshadows in this palette does not have names so I will go from left to right.
1) Frosty White: This was smooth, but it was powdery when being applied, so there is a bit of fallout with this.
2) Frosty Silver: This was smooth and pigmented.
3) Shimmery Cool Grey: This is a cool grey and was the most pigmented shade in the whole palette.
4) Lavender: This shade has a matte finish, but it was very dry and chalky, so it does not apply as vibrant as the shade in the pan.
5) Dark Grey: This also has a matte finish & was also dry. I feel like this applies kind of patchy, which is disappointing.

I purchased this palette mainly for the two matte shades because I do not have much of matte lavender shades, or grey so I was hoping that they would be better, but they were disappointing because they were the only shades that were dry and chalky. Although mattes are known to be dry and chalky, I have tried many matte shades that are smooth, such as the ones in their Pro Palette so these were definitely disappointing. I feel like the two best shades in this palette are numbers two and three because they are pigmented and easy to apply. Although this is priced at $12, I feel like if I were to choose between this and Uptown Allure, I would choose that because the quality for Downtown Drama is not really there like it was for Uptown Allure. Skip!

Have you seen the two Nordstrom Rack exclusive palettes from Lorac yet? Have you picked one up?

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Lorac Uptown Allure Eyeshadow Palette

Swatches & Review

Lorac Cosmetics Uptown Allure palette is exclusive to Nordstrom Rack. On the box, Lorac notes this as the warm eyeshadow palette because there are two palettes they had exclusive to Nordstrom Rack, which the other notes that it is the cool eyeshadow palette for cooler shades.

The palette is packaged in red all over, which is just like the Sweet Luxuries palette, but in a different color.

When you open the palette, there are five warm neutral shades. Four of the shades are shimmery, and one has a matte finish.

These eyeshadows do not have names on them so I will go from left to right.
1) Frosty Beige: This was very smooth and easy to apply, but it is very very shimmery.
2) Frosty Champagne: This was also very smooth, but it was very shimmery.
3) Warm Brown: This had a golden shimmer to it. When I looked at it in the pan, it looked a lot more shimmery, but after being swatched, the shimmer is not very overwhelming. It was very smooth and pigmented.
4) Purple/Mauve: In the pan, this looked more purple, but when swatched, it's a gorgeous mauve shade. It had a shimmery finish, but it was also not too overwhelming, I really liked this more than I thought I would.
5) Dark Brown: This had a matte finish. Even though it was matte, it was not chalky and applied easily.

From this palette, shades one and two look very similar, and although there are slight differences between them because one is more yellow and the second leans more pink, I would have liked to see another shade in the pan instead of two similar colors. Since used cosmetics cannot be returned to Nordstrom Rack, I was a bit on the fence about these because some shades from Sweet Luxuries (Ulta Black Friday exclusive) were chalky, but after swatching these, I fell in love with them! They were all very smooth and not very powdery either, which is definitely good. The shade I did not think I would like was the fourth shade because I am not too big on purple eyeshadows, but it ended up being my favorite because it was more of a purple-brown, which makes it very wearable. I did not like that packaging that much because it feels very cheap, but for the price, I guess I can't really complain too much about it. If you missed out on the Sweet Luxuries from Ulta, I recommend getting this because the colors are a bit similar, and it is definitely a good deal.

This palette retails for $12 and each eyeshadow is about 0.06 oz in size, which pretty much a full-sized Urban Decay eyeshadow. When I went to Nordstrom Rack, they had a shelf full of these on the display (a bit more than fifty) so if you are interested, definitely call your Nordstrom Rack and see if they have it in stock.

What do you think about Lorac eyeshadows? Have you tried Lorac Cosmetics? What is your favorite neutral eyeshadow palette?

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Nordstrom Rack Finds

Lorac, Smashbox & Urban Decay

The last few times I went to Nordstrom Rack, they had the same items as when I went at the end of January. Today, I decided to stop by to see if there is anything new & to my surprise, there was!



The items I saw at my local Nordstrom Rack were:
Smashbox Blush Rush Blush in Gingersnap & Bare: $12.97 (retail $24)
Smashbox Cover Shot Spring 2012 collection: $34.97 (retail $60)
Smashbox Studio Pop Eye Palette: $24.97 (retail $49)
Lorac Visual Effects Mascara: $9.97 (retail $20)
Urban Decay Stardust Eyeshadow: $8.97 (retail $20)
Lorac Couture Shine Lip Gloss: $13.97 (retail $28)
Lorac Eye Candy Eye Pencil set: $11.97 (retail $28)
Lorac Sweet Temptations Eyeshadow Collection: $17.97 (retail $36)
Lorac Eye Candy Full Face Collection: $27.97 (retail $59)

I thought the Lorac Sets are an amazing deal. They were recently on Hautelook as well (I'm not surprised it's at Nordstrom Rack since Hautelook is owned by Nordstrom), but I would much rather get it from Nordstrom Rack so I wouldn't have to pay shipping & use my Nordstrom card for it.

What do you think about these sets? :)

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Revlon Deal at Rite Aid 03/03 - 03/09

Deal Alert!

Last month, Rite Aid had 40% off Revlon Cosmetics TWICE in a month! Today is the last day for their 40% off, however, starting tomorrow (&throughout the week), Revlon Lip and Mascara items will all be $4.99!

I know a lot of Revlon's Lip items such as their Lip Butters and Balm Stain has been out for a while, but with the sunnier seasons coming up, I definitely recommend some of the bright shades from their Balm Stain because they are super pigmented & long lasting! The balm stains normally retail for $8.99 at Rite Aid locations, so $4.99 for it is almost half off!

Another good deal is at Target, where coupons.target.com has a coupon for $3 off a Revlon facial cosmetics item.

I have previously reviewed Revlon's Nearly Naked Foundation & I love it! The Nearly Naked foundation retails for $7.49 at Target and with the $3 off coupon, it comes out to be $4.49, which is an amazing deal for foundation! It is perfect if you have been wanting to try it.

Another coupon that has been up for a while from Target is $1 off a Maybelline cosmetic item. I have reviewed 3 Maybelline Vivids & I have been loving them as well. They retail for $5.49 at Target & with $1 off, it makes it $4.49, which is not bad for an amazing vibrant lipstick for Spring & Summer!


The coupons on Target will be on their site until all coupons are claimed & the Revlon deal at Rite Aid will begin tomorrow and will last until next Saturday! :)

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Nordstrom Rack Finds

Anastasia & Butter London

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I last posted a review & I will be reviewing something soon. My laptop has been weird on me throughout half of break and having it left at the Apple Store does not help at all! Now that I have my laptop, I'm back in school! D:

Anyway, when I went to Nordstrom Rack today, I saw two new items I have not seen the last few times I went. They had two Anastasia sets from their Holiday collection, and the Butter London Olympic Heavy Metal collection.

The Anastasia sets are:
Kisses On My List Vol. 2
& Want You To Want Me palette set.
They are both marked as $14.97, which is pretty much a bit more than half-off the original retail price!

The other Butter London set, like the ones from the Holiday collection has three nail polishes in it. I do not know what the colors are, but it is also marked as $14.97, which is a good deal considering one Butter London itself is $15.

Have you shopped at Nordstrom Rack since my last Butter London post? What do you think about these sets? :)

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Butter London at Nordstrom Rack

Deal alert!

I went into Nordstrom Rack today and spotted some Butter London holiday sets with a discount!
The items I saw were:

The Holiday Remover collection: $8.97

Rosie Lee, Fairy Cake & The Black Knight

Shambolic, Jack the Lad & Scuppered.
Both of the Holiday Sparkle Sparkle collection: $14.97

The Sparkle Sparkle Lippy Collection: $14.97

I think the Holiday Nail Lacquer is definitely worth it because each nail polish on its own is already $14, so a set of three for $14.97 is almost like buy one get two free! These are available at Nordstrom Rack.

What do you think about these? Are you thinking about getting them?

(this is the full post, the click more button still remains even when there is nothing else).

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Free Zoya Nail Polish 2013

Beauty News:

For the past few years, Zoya does a promotion in January where you would be able to get their nail polishes for free if you pay for shipping. Last year, it was 2 bottles free and the year before, it was 3 bottles free. This year, it is 3 bottles free.

Image from ZoyaNailPolish.blogspot.com This year, the shipping for it is $10, but you get 3 bottles, which makes it a good deal considering one bottle itself retails for $8. It excludes the newer collections, such as Lovely Spring & Pixie Dust, but there are other amazing colors as well. I have previously swatched their Fall collection AND their Ornate collection, so if you are interested, you can definitely check out some of my swatches!

A few of my favorites from Zoya: Storm
Blaze
Aurora
Song
Reva
Kristen
Arizona
Tracie
Wednesday
Fei Fei
Daul
Paloma
Frida
Zuza
Breezi

There's more, but that's just to name a few of my top picks!

For more information, check out Zoya's Blog (here).

The promotion begins next Monday, January 7, 2013 and ends Sunday January 13, 2013.

What do you think about this promotion? Are there any shades you might pick up?

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Tarte Amazonian 12-Hour Clay Blush: Exposed

Swatches & Review

Tarte's Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed blush is a nude blush. After hearing many good things about Exposed, I decided to finally buy this since I have been loving neutral blushes lately.

In the pan, it looked like a muddy light brown shade when I first looked at it, but in different lighting, you're about to see the pink-ish tone to it.

Initially, I thought Exposed would be kind of like a light bronzer, but when swatched, it is a gorgeous pink-nude, so it does not look like a bronzer at all!

Overall, I think this is a nice neutral-pink blush shade as an everyday blush. It is pigmented, but this will not easily give you clown cheeks like Flush would, since it is more on the neutral side.

Also, Tarte is currently running their Friends and Family sale, which is 30% off their site so if you are interested in trying their blushes, you should definitely order now! Their Holiday sets are also included, such as the 4-piece blush set that I have reviewed in the past (link here). The code is FFDEC and is valid from today through the 13th of December at tartecosmetics.com

What do you think about neutral blushes? Are there any that are you favorites? What is your everyday blush?

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Milani News Flash

Swatches & Review

Yesteday, I posted up some sale items I saw at CVS. From the sale, I purchased four Milani items (I wish I bought more) & News Flash Lip Flash was one of them.

News Flash is a burgundy/dark maroon with pink, violet & blue shimmer.

When News Flash is swatched on the arm, you can see the shimmer, but once it is applied to the lips, the shimmer does not show up as much. It applied on very smoothly, but the first swipe was a bit sheer. After two swipes, it was the perfect maroon color for fall! I really liked that it applied smoothly, but it also applied kind of patchy. I wish these pencils were twist-up because for these, I would need to sharpen them & the product itself is so smooth, it might be kind of hard to not get it all over the sharpener. Overall, I really like this shade. I have been looking for a dark-ish lip color for the cooler weather & this is perfect for it!

With this being 75% off, I picked this up from my local CVS store for $1.99! There are some cons to this, so I probably would not have paid full-price for it, but for $1.99 these are worth it!

What do you think about Milani's Lip Flash? Have you tried them? Are you thinking about picking any of them up from the CVS beauty sale? :)

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CVS Beauty Sale: December 2012

Beauty News:

CVS normally runs beauty sale on select items twice a year & since it is now December, it is time for their Winter beauty sale!

I have taken pictures of some items from the sale, but not all because the sale associate was kind of weird about it, so keep in mind that there are more items.

Almost the whole Kardashian NOPI collection is on sale for 50% off. They normally retail for $7.99, so it should be about $4 after the 50% off.

The older line of Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure is on sale for 50% off, along with some Salon Effects.

The whole line of Milani Holographic finish nail polishes is on sale for 75% off, making them around $1.40 each.

The whole line of Wet N' Wild's Wild Shine is 50% off, which makes them $1.50 each since they normally retail for $2.99.

The two sets of Physicians Formula gel liner sets are 50% off.

All of the Wet N' Wild's single eyeshadows are 50% off, which makes them $1 each.

All of Milani's Lip Flash are 75% off, which makes them $2 each.

The whole line of Milani Lipsticks are 75% off, which makes them about $1.70 each.

Other sales that I have seen that are not posted are:
Revlon's Age Defying Foundation 75% off - $3.49 each after sale
Wet N' Wild's Bronzer in Princess for 50% off
Wet N' Wild's Pressed Powder for 50% off, which makes it $2.50 each
All of Wet N' Wild's line of Foundation for 50% off
Selected shades from Covergirl lipsticks for 50% off
L'Oreal's Magic Smooth Souffle Foundation for 50% off - around $8.50 each after sale
Select Revlon nail polishes are 75% off (from what I remember, Minted was one of them)
Revlon's Mineral Blush are 75% off
Select Physicians Formula eyeshadow palettes & pressed powders for 50% off
The whole line of Revlon's Colorburst Lipstick (black quilted caps) for 75% off - $2.65 each

Those were most of what I remember from the sale, but there are a few more left. If you are interested, you should definitely check out your local CVS. Some items are not marked on sale, but you can always price check it at the scanner to see if it is on sale!

What do you think about CVS's Beauty Sales? Do you usually get anything from their sales?

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Sephora Beauty Insider Reward Card

Information:

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving & a very good day of shopping for deals! :)

Every year, Sephora sends out a "gift card" to their Beauty Insiders and VIB's. It normally comes the first Thursday of December, but since November is a long month this month, I hear that they are starting on November 29 this year.

This is how the card came in the e-mail for the past 3 years:

2011: $15 off $50 (Beauty Insiders)

2010: $15 off $40

2009: $15 off $35

I heard some of my friends already received their invitation from the mail (in the East Coast). So this year, the promotion will run from November 29 - December 10. Since it is coming via snail mail, it probably wont get to me until the day before it starts since I am in the West Coast. This year, the card is like last years, depending on your Sephora Status (BI or VIB) you will either receive a $15 off $50 if you are a Beauty Insider or $20 off $50 if you are a Very Important Beauty Insider. So get your wishlists ready!

What do you think you are going to buy? Are you going to take advantage of the Holiday Gift Card from Sephora? Any wishlist items? :)

If you are planning to purchase online, you can always go through Ebates* to get some percentage back from shopping at Sephora and other online retailers, such as Nordstrom and beauty.com. To access Ebates, you can click here*.
*This is a referral link.

& I still have two giveaways running! If you are interested here are the links:
OPI DS Original
Models Own Purple Blue.

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Want: Urban Decay 30-Shade Eyeshadow Vault

*droooool

In the past, Urban Decay's eyeshadow vaults were only available with their giveaways. Today, I noticed that they have listed their 30-pan eyeshadow vault on Sephora.

Image from Sephora.com

If this came out a week ago, I probably would have purchased this with my VIB 20% off. I really really want this, but I really do not need it considering I already have all the colors from all the palettes that I have collected from them. However, this is a really good deal for those who do not own a lot of Urban Decay, or for those who just want it (like me because it is so pretty & I would love this on my desk). It has all their newer formula of eyeshadows, which retail for $18 each.

Image from Sephora.com

The retail price of this is a bit steep at $270, but it is a good value considering it has 30 eyeshadows bringing each shadow to $9 each, which is 50% off each eyeshadow if you were to get them individually.
The eyeshadows included are:
Cobra
Oil Slick
Loaded
Peace
Psychedelic Sister
Gravity
Gunmetal
Blackout
Mildew
Evidence
Rockstar
AC/DC
Midnight Rodeo
Mushroom
Baked
Flash
Last Call
Woodstock
Midnight Cowboy
Verve
Smog
Stray Dog
Snatch
Fishnet
Virgin
Maui Wowie
Secret Service
Chopper
Freelove
Bordello

From what I know now, it seems that this set is exclusive to Sephora.com.

What do you think about this Vault Set? Are you thinking of buying it?

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Sephora VIB Weekend & Urban Decay

November 8 - 12

Remember I talked about VIB weekend being in November last month (here)? It is this Thursday! So if you are a VIB, get ready to stock up on items you want & gifts!

I got this from Sephora's e-mail If you are not a VIB, but know a friend who is, you can definitely ask to see if they have one for you because each VIB has a card to give to one of their friends to use (with a one-time use code). However, the code for VIBs are universal and can be used multiple times within the 5 days, which is CELEBRATE

On another note, Urban Decay is offering free shipping over $25 today only. The code is VOTE. I have also noticed that they have put their deluxe eye-shadows on sale, as well as putting some shades back in stock for their lipsticks!

Image from Urbandecay.com

Is there anything that interests you on Sephora or Urban Decay? :)

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Wet N' Wild Bare It All

Swatches & Review
This week, CVS is having a buy one, get one free sale on Wet N' Wild products. I went to several CVS locations to look for their new Holiday 8-pan palettes, but the stores I went to were either all sold out, or did not have them in stock yet, boo! :( After going about 8 locations, I ended up purchasing two lipsticks to make me feel a bit better. I have never actually tried Wet N' Wild's Megalast Lip Color before and since it is currently buy one, get one free, it's like paying $1 each!

After hearing so much about Bare It All, I decided to get it as one of the two I have purchased. I was originally going to get it since almost all my lip colors are in the nude range, but I just had to get it since it was so cheap!

Looking at it, I thought it would be more of a light beige nude, but after swatching it it seems more like a pinky-brown nude. Normally when I wear nude lipsticks, it totally washes out my skintone so I am very picky with my nudes and go for a darker brown one, this was a surprise because it does not wash my skin out at all. It actually looks quite natural.

Overall, I like this shade, It has a matte finish, so if your lips are kind of dry, it will make it look very flaky so it is best to exfoliate before using it. It does also get drying after a while of wearing it so putting a lip balm on before using it will help as well. On my swatch, I only used one swipe. Yes, it is THAT pigmented! It is a bit darker on the skin than it looks in the tube, but I like it! What are your thoughts on nude lipsticks? Do you own a lot of nudes, or do you prefer brights? :)

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Spotted at TJ Maxx: OPI

Yesterday, I went into TJ Maxx since I was near one and I spotted some OPI sets. One of them are the OPI mini's from their Nicki Minaj collection that was released earlier this year. The other set was a set that was released last holiday for their Christmas sets, which contains the shade in Designer... De Better! which I have reviewed here last winter. I actually have the lip gloss from that set too, from buying it last year and although I like the nail polish shade a lot, the lip gloss just was not for me since it had a strong scent to it. It made me feel nauseous after wearing it for a while, but if you don't mind the scent, it's not bad at all! Both the sets I saw retails for $7.99 at TJ Maxx.

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Philosophy at Big Lots

Since I heard news about Philosophy being at Big Lots, I have been trying to find them for the past week. Little did I know, the two closet Big Lots to me closed down! I did not find out until I arrived & it said a "for sale" sign on the building :( Anyway, I went to a few away from where I lived and the first few I went to last week did not have any. One of the ones I went to last week only had three items left. I went home and looked them up and I was pretty pissed off people were already selling a bunch of them on eBay for $13+, but oh well, it happens to every deal. I decided to go check out another one today since my boyfriend was giving me a ride (because I do not have a car) and I spotted a TON of them! I was surprised. All their items are $3 each, so if you have a big lots near you, call first & then check it out! Here are the pictures I was able to get of it.

Anyway, have any of you been able to get anything from Big Lots from the brand? Let me know! :)
*Pictures are mine, please do not use.

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CVS Haul

Nooooo, my blogger homepage changed. I don't like it, since I have been used to the past blogger homepage for years now. Anyway, today I went to a CVS and saw some Wet n' Wild items on sale. The sale is 2 for $3, which is totally worth it, especially if you're going for their more expensive items, such as their gift sets or their 8-pan shadows. I have never used drugstore eyeshadow before. I remember when I first got into makeup, I jumped into it with making a big purchase off UD. Anyway, I was surprised to see at the CVS that there were still so much items left since it ends after tomorrow. I was able to pick up their 8 Pan Palette in Comfort Zone and a gift set in Flora. I don't know if I should keep it or not considering I already have colors that are like them, or similar to them, so I might just gift them away to friends. If you have never tried WnW and wanted to, check out the sale at your local CVS! Remember it ends Saturday!

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Sephora V.I.B. Bonus

I just received an e-mail from Sephora that states that with a online purchase that is over $25, you are eligible for their special promotion if you are a VIB. The code is VIBFINISH and it consists of deluxe sized Mascara, Pretty Amazing Lip Color & their Mineral Veil! If you are a fan of BE, I guess it's time to make a purchase now! :)

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