Simply Irrestistable: Smashbox Love Me Eyeshadow Palette (Image- Heavy)

FTC Notice: These items were received from the company in a giveaway.

     Earlier this year, Smashbox was running a sweepstakes in which they were giving away sets including one of their Love Me products and one of their top-selling products to several entrants.  I was very fortunate to be one of the winners, and within 2 weeks of notification, a box with Smashbox's Love Me Eyeshadow Palette in Entice Me and travel-sized Full Exposure Mascara in Jet Black arrived in the mail.

I love the sticker on the packaging!

My kitty was excited, too! :)

     The Love Me Eyeshadow Palette in Entice Me features five shimmery and sparkly neutrals, including sparkling purple, purple taupe, icy pink, icy blue, and deep sparkling navy (color descriptions courtesy of Smashbox's website).  The compact itself contains artist Curtis Hulig's iconic "Love Me" heart design, which is featured throughout the entire Smashbox Love Me series.

Without flash.

With flash.

         ...but there's more to this shadow than meets the eye.

     The "Love Me" logo flips up, further revealing the colors!

Without flash.

With flash.

     The colors are highly pigmented and are incredibly soft and smooth to the touch.  This made application a BREEZE!  I did not use any brushes- simply my fingers for application and blending. I used all the colors in the palette and they went together so nicely. The only disappointment I have is with the sky blue shade- for some reason, it did not want to stay put at all. It was the second color I applied to my lid, and then I reapplied it onto my lid last because it was no longer detectable. It still did not want to stay put after that. I had no problems, however, with the other colors. The next time I use this palette, I plan on using a mixing medium and different base just to see if I'll get a different result.  If you do plan on purchasing a Love Me Eyeshadow, check out the back of the box. There's a peel-off sticker that includes a how-to guide for achieving a look incorporating all the colors. It is a bit discrete, and I did not notice this until after I used the palette for the first time:

  The Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara is good for achieving nice, polished lashes without going over the top.  The applicator is a bit thicker and larger than the typical brush, with the classic, slightly tapered shape. While I strongly disagree with Smashbox's claims of the product's ability to volumize 104% and lengthen lashes 32%, I can't vouch for how it would work on others since not all lashes are created equal. However, clumping is minimal and this is an ideal mascara to use with false lashes.

     

     The following are photos incorporating both the Smashbox Love Me Eyeshadow Palette in Entice Me and the mini Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara in Jet Black.

    The lipgloss is Smashbox Lip-Enhancing Mega Gloss True Color in Celebrity and was also from a previous giveaway (just had to answer a quiz on their Facebook page and sign up for it that given day!) for a full-sized tube. If you haven't already, I think it'd be a great idea to "like" them on Facebook just to keep an eye on the giveaways they have! 

    Overall, I was really impressed with the Smashbox's Love Me Eyeshadow. The shadows are much more gorgeous in person, creating such a romantic, feminine look. You can purchase Smashbox's Love Me Eyeshadow Palettes in Entice Me or Admire Me for $34 and .38 oz. of Full Exposure Mascara for $19.50 at Ulta, Sephora, Smashbox.com, or Amazon.

Disclaimer: I was not endorsed by Smashbox to promote this post.  The content expresses my sole, personal opinion without influence from the company.

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Glamour Doll Eyes March OTM- Dreamboat is Peachy Keen!

     The OTM's always leave me guessing, and I was a bit stumped on this one. I automatically wanted to think green would be the monthly color in honor of St. Patrick's Day, but figured it would be out of the question since it was already featured in January.  Vee's hint with the name Dreamboat a few weeks ago only made me think of water- a blue, perhaps?  I sure was proven very wrong, but now have another unique color added to my pigment collection in Dreamboat.

     When I opened the package, I was greeted with one of the satin drawstring bags that every OTM comes in; this one was a soft peach. Honestly, it is by far my favorite bag in terms of color- just so soft and feminine. It kind of reminds me of ballet slippers. 

     I continued to open the bag, and to my surprise, my face appeared on the March OTM card! I literally squealed! 

Photo from my "Vampy Valentine" look!

     Vee had asked for head shots from customers to use for the OTM card, and I honestly did not think I would be selected. Thank you again, Glamour Doll Eyes! You have made me one very happy girl. :) Vee is still looking for faces to put on two months' worth of OTM cards, so if you are interested, visit the Glamour Doll Eye Facebook page for more information.

The contents.

     To match the pastel springy theme, there were also pastel packaged candies included in the bag.  Peach was definitely the theme of the month, because Dreamboat turned out to be a spring-forward color. As described on the OTM card:

"A light peach with green sheen. Safe for eyes, lips, nails, face."

     The pigment appears bright orange-yellow in the jar, but actually has more of an light orange-gold color once applied. I love the fact that is has green hints in it as well, because it works really nicely with green pastels. (See look further down for the color combination).

Without Flash:

Left: With Control Freak and Foil Me
Center: With Control Freak
Right: Dry

With Flash:

Left: With Control Freak and Foil Me
Center: With Control Freak
Right: Dry

     Vee also does bonus months, where she includes additional products in the package. This month, she also added a sample jar of Petticoat, a highlighter from Kiss My Sass Cosmetics. Following the theme, it is another peach color. I found this to be more on the pinky side.  

Without Flash:

Applied dry.

With Flash:

Applied dry.

     Even though it's a highlighter, I applied it along my cheekbones and found that it added a really nice touch of color to my face. It was very natural looking for a healthy glow. 

  The following pictures were taken with a flash. Petticoat was used on the browbone. Dreamboat was applied onto the lid, Mackinac (pronounced Mack-in-NAW) in the outer-v, June Bug in the crease, and Sparkler in the center of the lid and edge of inner lid. Pink Cadillac from the discontinued Eye Lights collection was added to the bottom to further soften the look. All of the GDE colors excluding the OTM and Pink Cadillac are a part of the permanent Blogger Collection. If you are new to Glamour Doll Eyes, I would suggest the Blogger Collection as a great starter set due to its nice variety of colors.

Taken without flash, to show the overall look and slightest touch of color Petticoat adds to the cheeks:

     This month's pigments really challenged me to put aside the darker colors and go softer.  I'm really excited to try out this color with a few other pastels I have, in addition to some other brighter pigments and see how they work with one another! Since it's lip-safe, I also think Dreamboat would look amazing dabbed on top center of another lip color for a little peach punch.

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Glamdourdoll Eye's February OTM: Nothing Sour About "Toxic Grape!"

      I have to admit, I was secretly hoping that January's OTM was going to be purple, but I had a strong feeling that it was going to be this year's go-to emerald color (and don't get me wrong, Flourishing was NOT by any means disappointing!)  On top of that, I've been experimenting with a lot of purple shadows lately (my original favorite eye color) as I'm rediscovering all the beautiful different finishes.  Fast forward to today, I couldn't help but smile when I saw the color name Toxic Grape and opened the lid to the OTM jar which revealed another additional shade of purple for me to play with! :)  It was created by Chelsea, (she does amazing eye looks) who I remember initially asked Vee about a shadow idea back in the summer, so I'm really glad she was able to make her own color.  
     The OTM card describes Toxic Grape as:
"A deep purple with light pink undertones and gold & blue sparkles. Safe for eyes. Nails. Face."

Without flash.

The entire set.

    Going along with the Valentine theme, Vee included a bag of candy conversation hearts with the order. As a bonus this month, she personalized the bag into one for you and one for a friend, consisting of a bonus bag of candy and sample of the February OTM!

Awwww. :)

The set for a friend.

Sample baggie. Taken with flash.

     The best way to describe this color is that it is a pure purple with sparkle.  It's on the warmer side and looks like it will go well with a lot of different colors.  I did notice as soon as I washed the swatches off that the one applied with Control Freak took more time to clean off. It did leave just the faintest stain on my skin-good news for eyes; just be careful around clothing!

With Foil Me             With Control Freak      Applied Alone
(No flash).

With Foil Me             With Control Freak      Applied Alone
(Flash).

Toxic Grape on lid, Calypso on outer "v' and outer crease, Grease Lightning on inner crease, and Lexington on brow bone and inner corner highlight. Control Freak was used as a primer, while Foil Me was mixed with Toxic Grape. All eye photos taken with flash.

     If you're an OTM subscriber, what do you think of the color this month?

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Valentine's Series: Classic Romantic

     

     Hello everyone!  I hope all is well!  For this look, I wanted to create a soft, sweet, romantic look. I used Too Faced's gorgeous Romantic Eye Palette and I Candi Cosmetic's Limited Edition CHAOS Vie En Rose Palette (created by makeup artist Megan Martinez). 

Too Faced Romantic Eye Palette

I Candy CHAOS Vie En Rose Palette

     First, I applied Control Freak primer from Glamourdoll Eyes onto my entire eye area.  I started off with the Too Faced Romantic Eye Palette. Next, I used my finger to apply Soulmates onto the brow bone and Bouquet Toss onto the inner corner as a highlight.  With an angled eye brush, I applied Cut the Cake onto the lid and used Glamourdoll Eye's Foil Me to apply it onthe outer half of my bottom lash line.  Next, I took the I Candy palette and applied the pink shadow with Foil Me onto the lid. I used Too Faced's I Do on the outer "v" and upper part of the crease. I blended it upward toward the brow bone and reapplied Soulmates for added drama. Next, with an angled eye brush I took Honeymoon, a golden shimmery color, and applied it across my upper lash line and the inner half of my bottom lash line.  After applying mascara and eyeliner, I finished the look off with elf glitter liner in Stardust.

Without flash.

With flash.

     For my face, I used Too Faced's Kiss the Bride as blush, and then applied the lightest color of the I Candy palette (a pearly, iridescent, creamy pink shimmer) over the blush and as a highlight for added shimmer. For my lips, I used 

EOS Organic Lip Balm Sphere in Strawberry Sorbet as a hydrating base and then applied the pink I Candy pigment on top, with the lightest color in the quad in the center of my lower lip for dimension.

   The Too Faced Romantic palette is rather affordable for higher end cosmetics at  about $36.  It comes with nine colors and is great for achieving soft, natural looks, or heavier nighttime looks.  I Candy Cosmetics sells very high quality, cruelty-free pigments that can be found online here.

Products Used:

     Face:

elf Glow Bronzing Powder in Sun Kissed 

Tarte BB Tinted Treatment Primer in Light

Hard Candy Glamoflauge Heavy Duty Concealer in Light

Too Faced Romantic Eye Palette in Kiss the Bride as blush

I Candy Cosmetics CHAOS Vie En Rose Palette (lightest pigment as highlight)

    Eyes: 

Glamourdoll Eyes Control Freak Primer

Glamourdoll Eyes Foil Me

Too Faced Romantic Eye Palette in

        Soulmates

        Bouquet Toss

       Cut the Cake

       I Do

       Honeymoon

I Candy CHAOS Vie En Rose Palette in pink and lightest pigment

 elf Glitter Liner in Stardust

Nyx Waterproof Retractable Eye Liner in Black 

Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara in Jet Black

Wet n Wild Color Icon Brow & Eye Liner in Taupe

    Lips:

EOS Organic Lip Balm Sphere in Strawberry Sorbet

I Candy CHAOS Vie En Rose Palette in pink and lighest pigment

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Valentine's Series: Anti-Valentine: Blue Valentine Featuring Glamourdoll Eyes

     So, I wanted to have a little variety and include something more artistic.  As I was working on it, there were some things I would have changed, but this was my first time creating a darker-themed look.

     I started off by using a eye brush to pat Nymphette from the Blogger Collection onto my lid, crease, and outer "v."  Next, I used my black Nyx rectractable eyeliner and drew across the crease.  I used my finger to smudge and blend it outward.  This was a rather messy process, so I used a large fluffy foundation brush to clean up fallout and applied concealer underneath my eye and along the outside of my eye at an angle from the edge of my lower lash line to the tip of my eyebrow.  Next, I took Corpselike from the 2012 Halloween Collection and placed it onto my brow bone and blended it slightly with Nympette.  I then took Foil Me and mixed it with the Fierce Eye Lights (unfortunately, the Eye Lights are discontinued :( , but you can find glitters at several other companies) and applied it onto my lid.  Using a foundation brush, I applied Corpselike all over my face to achieve a pale appearance.  Using Foil Me once again, I pat it underneath my eye area.  I then used an angled brush to apply Ahoy Sailor in streaks.  I smudged the area, and reapplied the pigment is some areas.  I then dripped a very small amount of water onto my face to further achieve a smudged appearance. With the angled brush, I lined some areas with concealer as well as eye liner to enhance the streaks.  Again with Foil Me, I used Eye Lights Fierce and Pink Cadillac for a subtle feminine effect.  When I lined my eyes, I applied a generous amount of liner on my lower lash line and smudged it.  I really love the big, dramatic lashes from the Maleficent elf Disney Villains kit, so I used them.

Without flash.

With flash.

     For my lips, I used EOS Organic Lip Balm Sphere in Strawberry Sorbet as a moisturizing base, and applied Spider Sense from the Super Shadows Collection onto my lips in a bee sting fashion. The remainder of the lips were covered with concealer. I used a dark red lip liner in for an enhanced effect (I used the darker liner from elf's Maleficent Palette).

     I had a lot of fun with this look because it was so different for me, but I certainly hope that everyone has a much better Valentine's Day than this!

Products Used:

     Face:

elf Glow Bronzing Powder in Sun Kissed 

Tarte BB Tinted Treatment Primer in Light

Hard Candy Glamoflauge Heavy Duty Concealer in Light

Glamourdoll Eyes pigment in 
    Corpselike (Halloween 2012 Collection)
    Ahoy Sailor
Glamourdoll Eyes Eye Lights in
     Fierce
     Pink Cadillac
Nyx Waterproof Retractable Eye Liner in Black  

    Eyes: 

Glamourdoll Eyes Control Freak Primer

Glamourdoll Eyes Foil Me
Glamordoll Eyes pigments in
      Nymphette (Blogger Collection)
      Corpselike

Nyx Waterproof Retractable Eye Liner in Black 

Wet n Wild Color Icon Brow & Eye Liner in Taupe

elf falsh lashes from Disney Villains Maleficent set

    Lips:

EOS Organic Lip Balm Sphere in Strawberry Sorbet

Glamourdoll Eyes pigment in Spider Sense (Super Shadows Collection)

darker lip/cheek stain from elf Disney Villians Maleficent set

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