5 Marsala Drugstore Blushes

So, you want to wear Marsala?

Marsala, the Pantone color for the year of 2015 is described as "a tasteful hue that embodies the satisfying richness of a fulfilling meal while its grounding red-brown roots emanate a sophisticated, natural earthiness". To me, what that picture looks like is a burnt red color, a strong brown undertone and variably, something of a deep berry with an earthy flavor. 

Being a big fan of deeper berry shades, I'm really excited about this color pick. I have always gravitated towards this range and so I know that I already have a few in my collection. 

The Monday Post #3

**Inspired by one of my favorite blogs, I write The Monday Post, aiming to bring a little bit of beauty inspiration during almost everybody's least favorite day of the week.** 

Favorite Beauty Read: I literally found this article today (from one of my all time favorite blogs) about different tools to use to track your blog performance. Over the past few weeks, I've been working really hard to reshape my blog. I've seen increase in traffic little by little and I'm so excited to get more things running. If you're in the same journey, I think this will be very useful for you too! PS. If you have any more helpful articles about blogging that you want to share, please let me know! 

Goal: I'm having so much skin issues lately. My face has been especially dry and my breakouts are driving me crazy. I can't tell what's causing them. I don't wear makeup most of the time and lately, when I do, I've been switching base products to figure out what has been causing the flare ups. It doesn't seem to be coming from my makeup so now I'm thinking, skincare. I've been using a really, really old clarisonic brush and I have an inkling that might be it. I've stopped using that and want to send my skin into 'reset' mode so my goal for this week is to keep my skincare routine as basic as possible. I'm only washing my face with 1 gentle cleanser and only a moisturizer. Does anybody have any recommendations on a gentle moisturizer for super dry skin?

Product Discovery: I totally forgot that I purchased the ELF Poreless Face Primer in Clear. This one is white, looks and feels like a moisturizer as opposed to the Mineral Infused Face Primer which I also love, that is actually clear in appearance and heavily silicone based. Both items though, are great at smoothing my skin and filling in my pores.

Beauty Lust: My lust list has been very much driven by Instagram lately. My recent find has been this Purple Bambu Set by Bdellium. Ugh. How pretty are those? I've been looking into investing in a nice brush set and these might be what I've been looking for. Has anybody tried any of their brushes? Thoughts?

Most Looking Forward to:  Grey's Anatomy and Scandal are coming back this week. *insert high pitched scream here*

Are we insta-buddies yet?

The Monday Post #2

**Inspired by one of my favorite blogs, I write The Monday Post, aiming to bring a little bit of beauty inspiration during almost everybody's least favorite day of the week.** 

Favorite Beauty Read: I've been super inspired about my blog plans and this post from Autumn Leaves totally pumped me up even more. All these blog tips articles are super helpful and motivating so I thought I'd share it with you in case you and I are in the same boat.

Goal: I'm proud of myself for accomplishing my goal last week which was to put up my 'Best of 2014' post so I'm going in to this week with that under my belt. I need to do a major brush cleaning and get my blog plans in action. I have so many ideas and I'm hoping to get started on the posts I have lined up.

Product Discovery: I'm on a self-imposed spending ban and so I've been 'shopping my stash' more. I've rediscovered my love for my It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Palette. I've forgotten how gorgeous this palette is! 

Beauty Lust: Holy Moly! Have you seen the new Hourglass palettes? Monochrome, Infinity, Exposure, and Atmosphere are totally going on my wishlist!

Most Looking Forward to: I think my Ipsy bag is coming this week so I'm looking forward to that. And also, like I've mentioned, I'm working really hard on planning upcoming posts and I can't wait to share those with you! I'm also on Instagram A LOT! So if you haven't yet, come check it out. I post tons and tons of makeup pictures! 

Hippiegypsy00 on Instagram

Happy Monday!

Best of 2014 - Make Up & Tools

Hey beauty junkies! How's 2015 treatin' you so far? We had our first 'real' snow fall for the season here in the DMV area. It was more than what most people expected. Work wasn't cancelled so, I had to trek out to the school and it was the most horrendous commute of my entire life. It was REALLY bad. My usual 30 minute drive turned into 2 hours of slipping and sliding on the streets. I'm just really grateful to be able to make it back home. If you're experiencing snow right now, too, or are expecting it the coming days, please stay safe! 

Anyhoo, as promised, I wanted to talk about my picks for favorite beauty products of the past year. I listed down categories and thought about which products I really used and would recommend to others. I ended up not having a pick for every category as I wanted to only pick products that I absolutely love. For each one, I asked myself, "If this was the only one [for each category] I'm allowed to use for the entire year, would I still like it?". If I even had to take a minute to second guess, out of the list it went. I wanted to make sure that I'm only recommending the best of the best that had worked for me in 2014. I also didn't want this post to be forever long so I'm keeping my descriptions as short as possible. I'm sure you already know about most of these but please don't hesitate to ask me if there's anything else you want to know about a specific product. 

Let's get started!

The Monday Post #1

**Inspired by one of my favorite blogs, I write The Monday Post, aiming to bring a little bit of beauty inspiration during almost everybody's least favorite day of the week.** 

September Favorites

A favorites post that makes it up on the blog in the actual month? Why, yes, yes, thanks for noticing. Anyhoo, this is the part where I tell you about my favorite products of the month. 5 of my must-haves, if you will.

Let's start with the skin care things, shall we?

I was on a mission this month to finish all my sample/ trial size moisturizers that I got from subscription boxes and that's how I came across this heaven sent! The Pur-lisse Hydra-balance Mosturizer's hydrating powers is very reminiscent of my holy grail moisturizer for the past couple of years, the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. This Pur-lisse Moisturizer leaves my skin very, very hydrated but does not feel heavy at all. My favorite thing about it is how it absorbs very quickly on the skin but still leaves me feeling like I just put it on. I had random dry patches on my face earlier this month and it's all disappeared or at least been kept to a minimum since using this product consistently. It is on the pricier side but it's honestly worth it in my opinion. I've placed an order for a full sized one as we speak and can't wait til I see how this baby works for me during the winter months. I'm also dying to try out their brightening serum! Has anybody tried it before?

Another skin care favorite is the Soap and Glory Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser. I got this from a swap I did and it has been a complete game changer! I've heard Essie (Essiebutton) talk about Soap and Glory a lot and I've been wanting to try out the brand. This particular cleanser is made with panthenol, sweet almond, orange and lavender oils. I only use it every time I have a full face of makeup (because I don't want to use it all up to quickly!) and it's so, so, so good at breaking down makeup, even the waterproof ones. I just gently massage it on my face, leave it on for a minute and then wipe it off with a warm, wet Muslin Cloth that it came with. The process feels so luxurious and just so purifying! I went on the S&G website and apparently, this has been redesigned into Ultimelt and is sold for about $16. I don't know if it works the same as the Fab Pore one. Does anyone know? Either way, if you can pick this up in the old packaging, I highly, highly recommend it!

As for Makeup favorites, I've really been enjoying the Milani Bella Eyeshadow in 03 Bella Cappuccino. It's been my go-to crease color for simple, everyday looks and it's also great for using on the crease as a transitional shade for more colorful eye makeup. It's a warm brown with a satin finish. I would say it has a little bit of sheen to it but it's very muted when you put it on. 

I've also found my favorite mascara in the Lorac Pro Thickening and Lengthening Mascara The pointy tip on the wand grabs on the tiny eyelashes on the inner and outer corner. I also must say that I didn't think much of this mascara when I first use it but as I keep using it and the more dry it gets, it works better and better. It doesn't give crazy, long eyelashes but it definitely helps with volume. The formula is very black and it does not smudge.

Last on my favorites list is this humongous sunglasses that I got here. Every other person in my life thinks it's clownish and ridiculous but I love it. I have a round face and really puffy cheeks which I sometimes get self conscious about. I find that most sunglasses, even oversized ones hit me right on the cheek and just doesn't fit right. I love this pair and just purchased another one in black! It's so inexpensive but looks so chic and stylish!

hooray for car selfies!

How about you? What products have you been loving recently?

My ELF Must Haves Giveaway!

Hi Beauties! 

In case you missed it, I wrote about my favorite ELF products last week! Read about my must haves here (Eyes & Lips), here (Face), and here (Tools).

In line with this, I've decided to giveaway some of my favorite ELF products to one lucky winner!

This giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY and will be open from September 6, 2014 until September 20, 2014.

Winners will be announced on September 22, 2014 on my Instagram.

Winner will receive the following ELF products:

some product photos c/o of ELF website

• Studio Blush Palette in Light
• Studio Blush Palette in Dark
• Essential Custom Eyeshadow Compact
• 3 Essential Custom Eyes Refill Pans (Peach Fizz, Wheat, Taupe)
• Baked Blush in Passion Pink
• 3 Smudge Pots (Ain't that Sweet, Cruisin' Chic, Back to Basics)
• Essential Long Wear Lip Liner in Bitter
• Essential Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick in Coco Loco
• HD Blush in Gotta Glow
• 2 HD Blushes (Encore, Showstopper)
• Essential Shimmering Facial Whip in Lilac Petal
• Studio Matte Lip Color in Praline
• Studio Powder Brush
• 2 Essential Eyeshadow Brushes

Good Luck! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Best ELF Products (And What to Skip) - Tools

Welcome to the last part of my Best of Elf series. If you would like to check out my top picks for Eyes and Lips products, then click here. If you're interested in Face products, then check this out.

Let me start of with the only non-brush pick, for this category, the Lip Exfoliator ($3). I don't think there's any other good lip exfoliator at this price. My favorite part about it is that it comes in lipstick form which makes it so convenient to use. I absolutely hate the taste of it when I inevitably get it in my mouth but I think that's a small price to pay for the wonders this thing does. It leaves my lips feeling smooth and plump. I try to use this twice a week to buff out dryness, chapping or product build up I may have.

Best ELF Products (And What to Skip) - Face

Hey there!

This is part two of my ELF collection roundup where I tell you about the best ELF products and a couple of things to skip. If you're looking for eyes and lips products, then check out my previous post here and click here for my favorite ELF tools.

FACE

If ELF has got one thing right, it would be their blushes. Different ones, from different lines. 

Let's start with the newest ones, the Studio Blush Palettes ($6). These come in two sets, dark and light. Both are equally beautiful! Even the packaging is so slick and well-made that this palette is definitely more than a bargain. All the shades are so pigmented and I love the variety of colors!

Best ELF Products (And What To Skip) - Eyes and Lips

If ELF had an award for somebody who has the most items from its whole line, I feel like I will be a top contender. I've been using ELF ever since I first gotten into makeup (which wasn't too long ago. 2 years to be exact. But I've made up for lost time, trust me). I genuinely feel like it's one of the best lines to go to if you're a beginner at makeup or even a seasoned one who would like to play with colors without breaking the bank. With products ranging from $1-$8, ELF is definitely under every makeup lover's radar.

What I love most about the brand is how great the quality is for most of their products. I can even name a few things from the ELF line which, I swear, is as good as, if not better than some of the higher end pieces from my collection. If you're new to ELF, choosing which products to get can be pretty overwhelming, especially now that they're coming out with more and more products.

Being the proud Elfette that I am, I have gone through my entire ELF collection and did the work for you! Here are my top products from ELF by category. It was really, really hard picking only a few favorites but I did it! I also included one product per category that did not work for me and I wouldn't recommend. In this post, let me share my picks for EYES and LIPS. (Also check out my picks for face and tools)

This is gonna be a long one so let's get started!

A Closer Look At The Sonia Kashuk 15 Year Anniversary Limited Edition Brush Set

If you are at all interested in beauty stuff, then you have probably seen these brushes floating around instagram or the blogosphere. 

Sonia Kashuk, brand exclusive in-store to Target, celebrates 15 years of award winning brushes by coming out with a collection, including this beautiful 15 piece brush set. I have debated writing about them since they're pretty much gone. They've been so hard to track down for a lot of people but if you're lucky, I know some Targets still carry them. Rumor has it though, that they will be restocked and released, at least in the Sonia Kashuk website.

I figured that I would still write about them in case you were in the fence and they're still available in your area or, if you missed it, then you can still have a closer look at them!

-------more after the break---------

The Monday Post

**Inspired by one of my favorite blogs, I write The Monday Post, aiming to bring a little bit of beauty inspiration during almost everybody's least favorite day of the week, Monday.** 

[more after the jump]

Friday Favorites # 1

Spotlight on the 5 Best Products of the Week

DETAILS: [From bottom left to right, then up]

Vampy Diaries [Lipstick Talk]

Hey friends!

The other day, I was browsing through an old magazine and I saw an article on dark vampy lips. This got me excited because I've been into bold, dark lips lately. I got inspired to look through my things and pick out the ones that I've been gravitating towards lately. I decided I'm gonna do a post on my most reached for statement lipsticks. All of my picks are from the drugstore with the exception of one from Elizabeth Arden and one that you can only get online from BH Cosmetics.

Here are my picks! (Swatched together at the end of the post)

The [First] Monday Post of 2014

**Inspired by one of my favorite blogs, I write The Monday Post, aiming to bring a little bit of beauty inspiration during almost everybody's least favorite day of the week, Monday.** 

Need Help Spending Your Gift Card? Sephora Sale Alert and Wishlist 2013

Hey you!

Did you get a Sephora Gift Card for Christmas? Did you know they're offering a 20% off additional discount on all their sale items? Well, lucky duck, let me save you some scrolling time and show you my suggestions on what to get! Their sale section is dwindling down so I wouldn't wait long if I were you. AND I also did the math so you know exactly how much you're paying with the sale price. 

Subscription Haul and First Impressions: Ipsy/ My Glam September 2013

Today, I bring you the September Ipsy (My Glam) Bag. If you didn't know yet, Ipsy is a beauty subscription service headed by one of YouTube's most successful beauty people, Michelle Phan. It's for $10/ month and you get about 5 products (mix of sample size and full size). This month's theme is Classic Beauty.

I'm really happy about this month's products so without further ado, here they are:

Jesse's Girl Liquid Eyeliner (Retail: $6.99) - This is one of the products I'm really excited about. I haven't had any luck finding a felt tip pen liner that I really love so I have high hopes for this one. I've only tried it on the back of my hand and so far so good. It writes a very fine line so it's perfect for subtle eye liner looks.

Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm in Big Apple (Retail: $19.00) - This lip balm has the same exact packaging as the gel eye liner I got a couple month's ago from Ipsy (see here). I really like this as it has a more opaque color payout than a regular lip balm and the lasting power (at least when I tested it on my hand), is pretty impressive. 

Nyx Eyeshadow in Cryptonite (Retail: $4.50) - This is my first single eyeshadow from Nyx and I now understand the rave about it. The pigmentation is beautiful! This particular color is a very nice grayish black with green and gold sparkle.  This would make a really pretty smokey eye look. I think Nyx is one of the best inexpensive makeup brands and I'm happy to add this to my collection.

It's So Big Volumizing Mascara from Elizabeth Mott 4ml (Retail: $19.99/ 10ml) - I'm looking forward to trying this out. This is from the same company that brought us the Lash Card that I also got from one of my Ipsy bags that I honestly never used. They're just in a drawer, chillin'. Anyway, the mascara looks really black which is what I prefer. The wand isn't shaped in a particularly exciting way, just your regular, good old straight wand with a little bit of a skinnier middle. 

J. Cat Fantabulous Lipstick in Honeycrisp (Retail: $2.49) - For this last item, I have to give a special shout out to the Ipsy Customer Care Team! My lipstick came in damaged and so I emailed customer care to get a replacement. I received a reply less than 48 hours later and my replacement was shipped a couple of days after. Fantastic service! Anyhoo, This lipstick is a nice, creamy, nude color - as in erase my lips kind of nude. At first I was like, "Meh. I don't think I'll ever use this." but then I realized that it's prefect for layering over a brighter, bolder color for that papow! my lipstick in your face! effect. It's super creamy and the color pay off is really nice. I love that a lot more inexpensive lipsticks are coming out with the quality that is way beyond their price point.

Overall, I'm really, really pleased with this month's bag. There's not one item that I don't like or I'm not excited to try out. I have to say, I think Ipsy has been getting better and better lately.

Here's the coupon codes for this month if you're interested:

Jesse's Girl: 20% off your purchase with code IPSYSEPT2013 (valid through 10/15/13)

J.Cat Beauty: 25% off your purchase with code FABIPSY (valid through 10/15/13)

Nyx: 30% off eyeshadow bases and HD eyeshadow bases with code IPSYPRIME (valid through 10/15/13)

Elizabeth Mott: 50% off your purchase with code IPSYBIG (valid through 10/30/13)

Cailyn: 30% off your purchase with code IPSY30 (valid through 10/15/13)

So, what did you think of this month's bag? Anything you're particularly interested in?

The One With The Monday Post (September 23, 2013)

Inspired by one of my favorite blogs, Will Work For Makeup, I'm doing The Monday Post.

Turns out, I'm not the only one who's not crazy about Mondays. Tiffany's on point with writing a Monday post to help us all get through the week. Here's to a little beauty motivation and some inspiration!

Favorite beauty read/ viewing: Of course, this week, it would have to be Will Work for Makeup. As someone who just very recently gotten into makeup, I appreciate helpful blogs like Tiffany's. I LOVE reading her reviews and hauls. She makes me want to experiment with makeup more!

Beauty Goal: Wear orange lipstick for my day look at least once this week. As I've mentioned, I'm very new to makeup and beauty so I'm still easily intimidated by wearing color outside my room! I'm slowly getting into bolder lip colors and I think an orange hue lipstick is an unexpected but nice twist for a fall everyday look. 

Product (Re)discovery: This weekend, I was finally able to fix my Mary-Lou Manizer highlighter from The Balm. I got it early this year and it came in the mail broken. I've been meaning to fix it but it's been sitting at the back of my drawer for the longest time! It's finally ready now and I'm pretty excited to use it. 

Beauty Lust: Tiffany wrote about her Nars blush collection and I've been dreaming about Mounia ever since. Unfortunately, it's discontinued but I'm hoping that it will come my way somehow. I'm also really liking Sin. I don't have anything Nars in my collection yet but I'm definitely looking at these two!

Most Looking Forward To: Writing a few beauty posts this week! I have a couple more haul posts of my subscription boxes (read about Beauty Box 5 here) but I also have a Fall season blush list coming up. I've already taken pictures and just need to do the write up. Yay! 

Isn't The Monday Post such a fun idea? Leave me your links if you decide to do it too and I'll come visit! And of course, all credit goes to Will Work For Makeup. :)

Cheers to a good week ahead!

Subscription Haul and Review: September Beauty Box 5

So this is it. I have decided and acted on cancelling my Beauty Box 5 membership. If you've been following my hauls, you'd know that I have always been on the fence about this subscription. For $12 a month, the products I have been getting have been hits and misses and lately, it's been a lot of misses. I've been talking about cancelling but always felt like I needed to give it a chance. After about a year (I think), I've finally cancelled my subscription. Just like the past few months, this month's box has just not been my cup of tea. I'm just not impressed especially if I compare it to my Ipsy subscription which I've been loving lately. Noting that the Ipsy subscription is also $2 less.

So here it is, my last Beauty Box 5 Haul. Read til the end for the coupon codes that you can use for this month's products.

First we have this 4-PACK OF ELASTIC HAIR TIES FROM FLY TIES (Retails $7.95 for 4-pack) - Ever since the original ones came out, I've been irritated at how companies have been selling these at ridiculously high prices. You can easily DIY this for about 24 cents a piece! I'll give it to whoever first came up with using fold over elastics, it's a great idea. It doesn't dent the hair and they hold up pretty well. This has been mostly all I've ever used since I started making them. What I don't appreciate though is the insane markup when you put a brand name on it. These ones aren't even singed! And let me tell you, making sure that the ends are nicely done plays an essential part on making sure that you can keep these babies for a while!

.08OZ BELLA PIERRE COSMETICS CELEBRATION SHIMMER POWDER (Retail: $15/.08oz) - This is a really pretty rose gold loose shimmer powder. I imagine it would look fantastic over eyeshadow. I'm not a big fan of loose powder because of how tricky it is to work with but I'm definitely keeping this in my stash for when I need a dash of fancy!

3ml SKIIN SOOTHING & SMOOTHING EYE CREAM (Retail: $49.95/ .5oz) - There's also this teeny tiny sample of an extremely expensive eye cream. I'm continuously on the hunt for good eye creams but I don't get excited about really small samples like this because I don't think I can't really tell if I like a product based from a tiny amount. This packaging is also very unappealing. It reminds me of medicine and I don't think it's meant for more than one time use.

5-PACK EVERY BEAUTY MAKEUP REMOVER PADS WITH ARGAN OIL (Retail: $6.99/ 50ct) - I love trying out new make up remover pads. This one is pretty interesting since they're dry and you just add water to activate it. I'll try this out tonight and see how it goes. I'm hoping to get good results since it's promising Argan oil properties and since winter is coming, I need hydrating properties from as many products as I can get!

Last is a BODY DRENCH LIP DRENCH LIP BALM (COCONUT LIME) (Retail: $4.99/ .15oz) - I'm a big lip balm hoarder and this one's pretty decent. It's hydrating but I'm not keeping it only because I cannot stand coconut flavored products. I'm passing it on to my sister. 

There you go. I think out of the 5 products, the ones I like are the shimmer powder and the makeup remover pads. The lip balm to if it was a different flavor!

Did you like anything from this month's box? What are your thoughts?

Ooooh, but before I go, let me share with you this month's coupon codes!

Bella Pierre: Use code beautybox5 to get 50% off Get the Look Kits (exp. 10/15/13). Check out the Purple Storm Kit! So pretty!

Fly Ties: Use code BB20 to get 20% off site wide (exp. 12/15/13). I don't think I'm Boho-chic enough but if I was, I'd totally get this feather accessory.

Skiin Shop: Use code BOX5 to get 30% off site wide (exp. 10/5/13). This Skin Tightener and Line Filler's intriguing.

See you next time,