The weather is just so nice today, I had to post something fall themed. I was helping a customer load her purchases into her car early this afternoon and it was so breezy and nice out that I didn't want to go back inside! I think the high was in the low 80's - if that - and the low is supposed to be in the 50's! I want to open all the windows in the house and bake a pie and burn all of my pumpkin spice candles...Okay, I'm getting a little carried away, but you get my excitement...right?

Because I'm feeling inspired, here are some of the palettes that I'm getting a whole lot of use out of as a whole this autumn.

And don't judge my messy palettes...

Hard Candy Top Ten Eyeshadow Palette in Green With Envy - I find myself drawn to warmer tones than usual in the fall and khaki and olive tones are very in right now. This has a great mix of both neutral and green shades and its great for a whole bunch of different looks! I have a review for this palette here. 

Wet N Wild Comfort Zone Palette - This one has the same mix of neutrals and green tones as the previous palette, but I find the formula of this one to be incredible. I get a lot of use out of this year round, but its definitely getting some extra love right now.

Too Faced Matte Eye Collection - While this palette has the least amount of warmer tone options than the others that I've chosen, I find this one very fall appropriate because of the saturation of the colors. Everything is subdued and not to bright and is really autumn appropriate. I particularly like the top row for a fall matte look.

Urban Decay Naked Palette - Obviously I wear this one all year round, but since Naked is much browner and warmer than Naked 2, I tend to pick this one up more often in the fall months. I've found myself reaching for Toasted, Darkhorse and Smog a whole lot already...and can we look at how sad Sin is? GONE.

Lorac Pro Palette - Again, with the Naked Palette, I wear this all year round. However, shades like Deep Purple, Sable and Garnet (everyone and their mother has been using this shade for fall!) really make for saturated, beautiful autumn looks! I reviewed this earlier this year right here. 

I think I'm down to three more categories - and two needing revisions thanks to new acquisitions! Keep your eyes peeled, because if this weather keeps inspiring me, those should be up in a jif! 

My Picks for Fall - Lipgloss!

I'm going to be real with you here - I live in Florida. It was about 90 degrees even today...and that's been the coolest its been thusfar this Fall. Fall and Winter are my favorite times of the year, but I feel cheated out of them.

However, as soon as September arrived I broke out the vampy lips, warm brown shadows and pretty much Pumpkin Spice, well, EVERYTHING. If the weather is nice and fall-y where you are, I ENVY you.

These are some of the glosses that I'm excited to rock this fall, regardless of the lack of cool weather!

I tried to break these up from lightest to darkest, for the most part!

Top Row, Left to Right - 

- MAC Deelight Cremesheen Glass - We all know I wear this all year round, everywhere and anywhere. Paired with a super sultry eye, it completes a great fall look. I had to include it, don't judge me...I have a problem. I've reviewed this here.

- Revlon Colorburst Lip Gloss in Sunbaked - I'm quite fair, so this is a darker nude on me than most. Its a good transition from my lighter nudes for summer to my deeper nudes for fall.

- Too Faced Glamour Gloss in Erotic - What a name, huh? This is actually a plumping gloss that I'm usually feeling more for Christmastime, but I find myself reaching for it quite a bit already.

- Buxom Big and Healthy Lip Polish in Dolly - Another plumping gloss. It has a really understated mauve tone that is really flattering on top of my natural lip color. I've reviewed this here.

- Rimmel Show Off Lip Lacquer in Galaxy - Can we just call these Apocalips here in the USA too? Soooo much cooler than "Show Off". Either way, this is a lighter mauve berry shade with incredible opacity and I'm just in love.

- Milani Crystal Gloss in Sheer Dark Honey - If I need to darken things up without a full on vampy lip, this is my jam. I love it. Very sophisticated, but still has a slight goth-y tone to it which I'm all about.

- Maybelline Color Sensational High Shine Lipgloss in Raspberry Reflections - I've had my gripes about the fragrance of these, but they really are great drugstore glosses as a whole...maybe why I keep buying them?? Raspberry Reflections is a "me" shade. Its not totally pink, but theres a good amount of purple to it. I've reviewed this here. Did I include this in my summer picks as well? Absolutely. Again, I have a problem.

Bottom Row, Left to right - 

- Clinique Full Potential Lips Plump and Shine in Voluptuous Violet - I received this in a kit a while back, which is why its double ended. Its a plummy shade without being too red.

- Hard Candy Lip Def in Midnight Strole - Yes, the spelling is driving me nuts as well. But we all saw this coming, right. Its purple. Perfect.

- Smash Cosmetics Lipgloss in Wine and Dine - These glosses are SUPER pigmented and I love the subtle shimmer this one has.

- Maybelline Color Sensational High Shine Gloss in Chocolate Lust - I'm REALLY feeling the brownish burgundies lately, so I had to have this one. It shines over a liner or lipstick.

- Victoria's Secret Sweet Pout Gloss in Love and Confection - Very similar to MAC Rebel in gloss form. Great pigmentation and cute packaging. Because that matters to me..

So if you thought that was excessive, wait until you see my lipstick post! Just like I did for the summer, I'm going to make this into a series - keep an eye out for my picks for Lipstick, Palettes, Single Eyeshadows, Blushes, Nails and Fragrances soon!

June Favorites!

So before I begin; My camera is on the fritz. For some reason my battery refuses to charge and I'm somewhat fearing that I'll have to replace it - so in the meantime you guys will be subjected to my mobile photos until I figure things out! GRR!

June basically flew by - I feel like I just posted my May favorites yesterday! Here goes!

Eyes:

Clockwise from the top left is the MAC Lady Gray Quad, Hard Candy Green With Envy Palette (reviewed here) and MAC Sumptuous Olive. A pretty cohesive group here, don't you think?

- MAC Lady Gray Quad - I found this at a CCO this month, and it was originally part of the MAC Me Over collection in 2011, so I'm kind of surprised that it was still available. The top two shades are All Races, which is a stunning matte, pale taupe that was a dream to work with and perfect for my complexion, and Tendersmoke with was a frost finish and a soft lilac. The bottom two shades are Lady Gray (the quad's namesake) which is a satin greenish cool toned gray, and Hazy Gray which is a veluxe pearl and a slightly olive toned taupey shade. I just love this quad. All shadows were soft and pigmented, and Hazy Gray definitely makes me want to try some more Veluxe Pearls (it was my first one!). 

- Hard Candy Green With Envy - 10 shadows. $6 Bucks. Infinite green possibilities. I was quite impressed with this one.

- MAC Sumptuous Olive - Are we sensing a pattern here? I've been wanting this for some time now, and despite its permanent status, I found it at a CCO for cheaper. Score!

Face :

On the left is Hard Candy Glow All the Way in Dollface, followed in the middle by MAC Immortal Flower (reviewed here) on top and Pixi Subtly Suntouched (reviewed here) on the bottom, with the Boots No. 7 Beautifully Matte Foundation in Cool Ivory on the right.

- Hard Candy Glow All the Way in Dollface - I purchased this for two reasons; the swatches looked quite similar to NARS Copacabana, for one, and just look at how much product you are getting for only $6! I've been using this a whole bunch and thanks to Dustin Hunter's video on the Armani Fluid Sheers and how to apply them, I've been using his technique with this and getting great results!

- MAC Immortal Flower - The only thing I hauled from the All About Orange collection. I was just really excited that this was repromoted after I missed it in the Tres Cheek collection last year. I really like the texture to this, and it has really great pigmentation.

- Pixi Subtly Suntouched - Its almost a bronzer, so it counts as me wearing bronzer right? This has one of the softest textures I've tried in a face product and was worth the splurge.

- Boots No. 7 Beautifully Matte Foundation - I tried this after it was noted by Lisa Eldridge as one of her favorite foundations to work with. I remember being interested after she explained the finish and amount of coverage. While I wish there was a tad bit more coverage, this keeps my face nice and matte for much longer than anything else I've tried.

Brushes:

On the left is the Target Up and Up Crease Brush and the right is the Real Techniques Buffing Brush.

- Target Up and Up Crease Brush - Who would have thought I'd be reaching to a Target brand brush almost every day? This can get a tiny bit scratchy sometimes, but the way it deposits color and blends is actually fantastic. I may get a couple backups for when this one is dirty!

- Real Techniques Buffing Brush - I may have featured this before, but I assure you that this time it is for a different reason. I've changed from using the Real Techniques Stippling Brush to this one for buffing in and blending my foundation and I feel like this gives me such a soft, airbrushed look. I LOVE it.

Lips:

From left to right, these are;

- Revlon New Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Super Natural - I think this is the perfect pinky nude gloss for my skin and I've been going to this whenever I wore a bright, bold eye look to tie everything together without putting too much color on my lips.

- Nivea Lip Butter in Vanilla and Macadamia Kiss - Everyone and their brother has been raving about these in the blogging community, so I tried it out. This repairs my chapped lips like a dream and has a nice, sweet, nutty fragrance to it that isn't overbearing.

- MAC Lipglass in Docile - If you didn't already guess, I found this one at a CCO this month as well. It was originally part of the Fabulous Felines and Jeanius collections. Its a pale, pinky lavender with a opalescent quality. The color is what sells it for me, as the formula is mediocre (sticky!!) for me. Fashion over function right? For something so pretty, I'll deal with a bit of stickiness. 

- MAC Viva Glam II (reviewed here) - My perfect matte (ish), nude, "my lips but better" and "I can wear this with anything" shade. I never thought a shade like this would flatter me, either. Now I'm in love!

Fragrance:

On the left is;

- Bath and Body Works Cherry Blossom - I've been wearing this fragrance for YEARS and they just discontinued it. Needless to say, I stocked up, but it also rekindled my love for it in the process.

- Bath and Body Works White Tea and Ginger - If it's tea, I'm sold. I love this fragrance because its not something that I encounter a lot of people wearing, so I feel like it sets me apart. And you know, it smells like tea, and thats a total plus.

Hair:

- Garnier Fructis Pure Clean Finishing Paste - Since I chopped all of my hair off recently, I've been using this to accentuate my layers and make my ends "super flippy!". It isn't sticky in the least and dries down to an undetectable finish. And it smells like citrus. YUM.

Garnier wins the award for most DIFFICULT Website to navigate. Take a look - what a pain in the butt!

So there they are, folks! A lot of CCO finds, and a lot of Youtube recommendations! What were you all loving this month?

Review - Hard Candy Top Ten Eyeshadow Palette in Green With Envy

For me, shopping at Walmart is pretty much only on a "if I have to" basis. My local Walmart locations are beyond gross - and if I'm being completely honest, sometimes the lowest prices that the company boasts are not enough to make me willingly walk through those doors.

Occasionally I'll suck it up, and venture - hand sanitizer ready to go - into that big blue building. Usually it's for something I can't find elsewhere, like the brand Hard Candy. Hard Candy has been a brand that has surprised me in the last few years. The quality oftentimes exceeds the lower price tag - which is always an awesome feeling. I've been looking to try their eyeshadows for some time now, so I found the perfect opportunity when I found this palette - which comes in 5 color options total - for a mere $6!

Don't be fooled by the photo - the palette itself really isn't that giant. Its about 2/3 of the length of the Urban Decay Naked Palette and a little over half of the width. The lace accent is only on the lower half of the top lid, and does arrive with quite an indent because of the way the brand packaged the included eyeliner along with it. The lid itself is tough - its definitely not going to fly open on you, but it can be a pain to open. 

Green With Envy contains 10 eyeshadows - which are somewhat organized by shade, as the more neutral shades are on the left and the greener shades are on the right. There is also a half mirror on the lid. 

Starting at the left end of the palette, the shadows swatched from left to right are;

- An opalescent pale taupe. This shade bears a good similarity to Urban Decay YDK, but may be a bit more gray. It was a little too gray to be a brow highlight, but made a good overall base. Good pigmentation.

- A light brown with neutral tones. This was a good allover lid to browbone shade and had a shimmery finish without being too frosty. Pretty, pigmented, but not all too unique.

- A warm medium brown. This one had pretty great pigmentation and made a great lid shade. Minor shimmer.

- A deep, espresso shade. Like the one before it, this shade has only a minor bit of shimmer, and wasn't really frosty at all. This shade made a wonderful crease shade and blended very well.

- A dark chartreuse - This one goes back to the super shimmery, almost frosty finish. It was actually pretty darn easy to work with and made a great base for a super gradient green look. I was surprised that this shade was flattering on me, as I normally can't do something so yellow toned. 

- A metallic emerald shade. This one had great pigmentation and the sheen was still quite pronounced on the eye. Again, though, quite an easy to find shade.

- A dark sage green with silver microglitter. I was a bit wary about this one because of the glitter, but when applied with care, the shade itself is really pretty. It also only caused a small amount of fallout - like the one stubborn particle of glitter that would not leave my left cheekbone!

- A subdued, dark emerald. Not really my favorite of the bunch, as it was just a little..blah. It was a touch sheerer then the rest of the bunch and had a soft shimmer to it. It did, however, work well as a transition crease shade.

- A blackened emerald teal shade with a shimmery finish. This shade reminded me a bit of UD Loaded, but a little more blue. I wore this in the crease and it was super pretty.

- A medium golden olive. This shade, surprisingly, was my favorite of the bunch. Its in the same shade family as MAC Sumptuous Olive, and would probably pair quite well with it. It has a shimmery, almost metallic finish and was great allover the lid.

What surprised me is that there really weren't any duds in this bunch. There were a couple dupable shades, but other than that there was pretty great quality across the board. I didn't encounter any issues with sheerness or chalkiness, and all were more or less easy to apply. The more metallic shades, however, fared very well with a flat brush versus a fluffy one. The wear time of the shades in this palette were also quite good. Over just primer I had at least 8-10 hours before I noticed any kind of fading - and they never really faded away or creased, but rather just became a touch less vibrant.

For quick testing purposes I broke this palette up into only two looks (so I could get it tested quicker) - wearing the first four shades on the left along with the last shade on the right in one, and the five remaining greener shades in the other. The great thing about this palette, is that since these shades work together so well, its going to be pretty easy to get a whole lot of different looks out of this. My biggest complaint is the lack of a browbone highlight. If its a one and done palette, it needs a brow highlight - In my opinion - so if this is something that you are looking to travel with, you may want to throw a single highlight shade in your bag with it.

Overall -

Pros:

- Good pigmentation across the board.
- All shades worked well together, many possible looks.
- Longwearing

Cons:

- Needs a browbone shade.
- Could use a better range of finishes.


I'm quite pleased with this palette - at a $6 price tag for 10 pretty great eyeshadows, I can probably deal with having to lug around a separate eyeshadow for a browbone highlight - yes, I'm really that stuck on it! I've yet to try any of the other four color options, but Green With Envy is a go!

8/10

Review - Hard Candy Flat To Fab Mascara

Even despite all of my precaution and Vitamin C I've been pumping into my system, I've managed to catch the cold that is going around my place of work. That brings the grand total of times I've been sick in 2013 to three! Which is crazy, because I basically never get sick. I need to start carrying Lysol with me or something. (Man, I wish that was socially acceptable!) Either way, I'm sniffley and all around icky. Not fun.

In unrelated news, I actually received this Mascara in my Easter Basket this year - yes, I'm 22 and still enjoy the childhood joys of the Easter basket. =p Candy and makeup; could my mom - erm, I mean the Easter Bunny! - know me any better?

Hard Candy does well on the packaging front. The mascara is housed in a cylindrical tube with the brand's iconic girly touches.

Flat to Fab is a behemoth of a mascara; its big and purple, which actually kind of helps me find it in my makeup bag on a daily basis. (Since there are 4 mascaras floating around my daily makeup bag right now. 4! I seriously need to do some organizing!)

The brush on this bad boy is actually pretty big. However in this case the big brush is not synonymous with difficult to use. I found that the brush itself, which is kind of a hourglass shape in a way, applied mascara quite evenly on my lashes across the board. There was no clumping, which was one of the claims of this product (gotta love it when brands deliver on their claims!) The very tip of the wand is slightly rounded so I'm able to get my lashes toward my tear duct. 

The formula of this mascara is actually something that I really like; it dries down nicely without clumping (I don't like wet formula mascaras; they always clump on me) but does not not turn flaky. The formula is meant to be both volumizing and curling. While it isn't the most volumizing formula that I've run into, it gives my lashes good definition and length. On the curling front, it actually does hold a curl quite well without having to curl my lashes, which I often neglect (another claim delivered!). It doesn't curl quite as much as The Body Shop's Big and Curvy Mascara - reviewed here, but it does it's job an has a much more palatable price tag - $18 versus $7.

My only complaint is actually partially strange. This formula actually kind of stung my eyes when it accidentally touched my eye. I'm normally not too incredibly sensitive to mascara, but it could be that I just don't poke myself in my eye very much.

Overall - 

Pros:

- Delivers on two major claims - Didn't clump and curled my lashes without a curler.

- Cute packaging

- Brush is easier to use than it would seem

Cons:

- Formula stung my eyes a bit.

I try so many mascaras a year; I never feel the need to repurchase one because there is constantly new to try. However, this is most definitely added to my "good" list.

8.5/10