You had to know there was no way I was just trying one new Lippie Stix, right?  Not with this addiction!

I bought Bound in both the Lippie Stix and the Lippie Pencil.  Because I needed another nude pink in my life.  You really can't have enough nude pinks and ColourPop has that whole Pringles thing going on.  Once you pop....

I'll stop now. But really, for $5.00 each?  How could I not?  Don't insert logic here.  It won't work on me.

The cute boxes.

I tore into these boxes, I was so excited.  Funny story though, when I first did my swatches, I somehow grabbed Lumière.  I told you I was obsessed with that one lol.

Lippie Stix on the left, Pencil on the right.

The pencil appears dark but it really works for this Lippie Stix.  As usual, I love the smell.  The liner has a creamy application that glides over your lips.  The Lippie Stix smells like vanilla and also glides onto your lips.

This combo lasted quite a while on my lips.  About 7 hours and then the pencil was still there, but needed a lipstick touch up.  It did dry down, but remained fairly comfortable through out the day.

As a neon white skinned person I do have to be careful with not looking like a zombie with nudes, but this one is very pretty and not a concealer lip.  It's just a pretty pinky nude.  It's fairly opaque.


I have another one coming, there were some issues with that one, but you'll get the story later.

*ColourPop has no idea who I am, except maybe their billing department who processes my payments.

After I tried the ColourPop color that Kathleen Lights came out with, Lumière, (the review is here) I kind of fell in love with it.  I have been wearing it a lot lately.  I really like how long it lasts and at my job there isn't much time for touch ups.

I also loved the price and that they are cruelty free.  I decided to make another order.  Lumière was a winner and I thought I would try another one of their collaboration colors.  It was $5.00 for the Lippie Stix and $5.00 for the Lippie Pencil.

This time I chose Frida, the color created by CoffeeBreakwithDani.  It came out in October of 2014.  Yes, I know, I'm not exactly with the late breaking news there. ColourPop is a new thing for me!

Dani's very peppy.  She is a stay at home mom who does videos.  She named the color after Frida Kahlo.  Dani felt that Frida was "tenacious" and always "followed her heart."

The name rolls off Dani's tongue in a way that would fall flat if I tried it lol.  It's a warm nude pinky peach with a satin finish.  She wanted a pigmented lipstick that wasn't too drying.

The Lippie Stix are in a roll up stick.

The color is warm, and not my erm...cup of coffee for every day.  But I think in the spring, this might get more wear.  It's not horribly warm though, where I look in the mirror and go "Ahhh!"

The pencil and the lipstick are very similar in color,

If you like warm colors and peachy pink is your thing, this will be a good every day color for you.

 I really think this would look great on tan people, or people with darker skin than me.  Or people with a warm skin tone.

It applies smoothly with both the pencil and the lipstick.  The formula is opaque and it is creamy.  It feels great on the lips.  It has good lasting power and does matte down after a little while.  It has a nice scent, sort of vanilla, but not MAC vanilla.  It doesn't have a cheap lipstick scent.

She has a lot of positive thought behind the color, which I will try to remember when I wear it and hope I can bring that into my day.

For $10.00 for both, this is a great price and can help your make-up addiction hurt your wallet a little less.

* ColourPop only sends me Lippie Stix and Pencils because I pay for them.

I obviously need another palette, because I haven't bought enough of them lately.  While I wasn't in love with the Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar Palette from Too Faced, it did make me curious about the original Chocolate Bar Palette.  Especially since it popped up in sooo many YouTube 2014 Favorites videos.  Like here and here and here and here and here and here...  Very very popular this year lol.

So, I finally sucked it up and ordered it.  This is after a year of visitation rights at Sephora and Ulta.

Adorable packaging!

The back of the cutest package ever.

I really love how they package their products.  It's just super cute.  Is it necessary?  Probably not, but it's too cute for words and I feel bad throwing it out lol.

The actual package looks like a dark chocolate bar.

Unlike my Semi Sweet palette the magnet on this works very well to keep this closed and it doesn't feel so flimsy.  It's not as secure as the Naked 2 and 3, but it's also not quite so clunky.  It's pretty nice.  I would protect it if I were traveling with it though.  It feels metallic and the nibs and lettering on the package are raised.

It does come with one of those instruction sheets for ideas on how to use the colors.  Which some people love, I like to toss those and just play lol.

The color names are on a sleeve rather than printed on the palette.

Omg.  Opening it and getting that delicious whiff of cocoa just makes me happy.  It takes you away from the disappointment of not having the colors printed on the package.  It is wonderful that the high light colors are very large and has one matte and one shimmer.

It has a good balance with mattes, shimmers, and frosted colors.  It has six matte colors, which is really good.

Did I mention that this smells like chocolate makeup heaven?

From Left to Right: Gilded Ganache, White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Black Truffle, and Triple Fudge.

• Gilded Ganache (shimmering olive brown) is incredibly pigmented, buttery, and blends well.
• White Chocolate (matte cream) is soft, pigmented, and blends well.
• Milk Chocolate (matte light brown) is creamy, decently pigmented, blends out well and is great for a transition color.
• Black Forest Truffle (frosted plum wine) is gorgeous.  The second I saw this color I wanted to play with it.  It is very pigmented, creamy, and blends nicely, but can be a bit powdery.
• Triple Fudge (matte dark brown) is pigmented, kind of patchy to swatch, it's more dry, but applies well and blends okay, it's probably the most eh eye-shadow in the palette.  It isn't the best matte brown ever, but it's nice.

From Left to Right: Salted Caramel, Marzipan, Semi-Sweet, Strawberry Bon Bon, Candied Violet, Amaretto.

• Salted Caramel (matte warm brown with orange) is a great color for transition or crease.  It's buttery, nicely pigmented, and blends well, it may turn a bit powdery.
• Marzipan (pink champagne shimmer) holy mother of eye-shadow, this baby is pigmented, it's buttery, and blends very well.  
• Semi-Sweet (matte mid-toned brown) is pretty ordinary as far as pigmentation, blend-ability, but is somewhat creamy.
• Strawberry Bon Bon (matte bright baby pink) is creamy, nicely pigmented, turns a bit powdery, and blends well.
• Candied Violet (frosted violet) is another color I knew I wanted to play with since the first time I saw the palette.  It's on the drier side, a little more sheer, builds well, and blends nicely.
•  Amaretto (copper brown sheen) has a slightly dry texture, is nicely pigmented, looks almost metallic, and blends well.

From Left to Right: Hazelnut, Crème Brulee, Haute Chocolate, Cherry Cordial, Champagne Truffle

• Hazelnut (golden medium brown shimmer) is buttery, beautifully pigmented, and blends nicely.
• Crème Brulee (metallic dark gold) is a rich color, is buttery, and blends well.
• Haute Chocolate (frosted mid brown) is buttery, has great pigmentation, and blends nicely.
• Cherry Cordial (burgundy brown would have been matte with pink sparkle) is dry, with decent pigmentation, and blends well, but is a bit powdery.
• Champagne Truffle (white with a pink tinge shimmer) is a great inner corner color, it's slightly dry, nicely pigmented, and blends well.

I'm not going to lie, I was so smelling my arm while doing the swatches.

This palette is $49.00 which is cheaper than the Urban Decay Naked palettes (those are $54).  It is more consistent with the quality than the Semi-Sweet Palette, which followed this palette sequentially.  It's really hard for me to say, because I do love my Naked Palettes, but I think this one is a little better.  I also think that if you can only afford one new palette this year, this one is the way to go, out of the Nakeds or the Semi-Sweet.

I think it's a great neutral palette but it has pops of color that keep it from being boring.  Like Urban Decay, Too Faced is cruelty free, which is great!

Overall, this is a solid palette.  It's not going to change your life (although the smell of chocolate to start your day may put you in a better mood, which may put other people in a better mood and that may spread lol) and I wouldn't skip any bills or speed over to Sephora to get it.  It's a permanent product, you're safe.

The cocoa powder is supposed to help against aging because of the anti-oxidants, but that boils down to how much does it have and how much do you need before it's effective and since it doesn't say, I'm not using that for a basis of decision making.

I think this product has earned its position in the Book of Hype.  Of the neutral palettes that I have tried, this one is the winner (in no way do I think the Morphé palette was neutral, I think that was a better palette but the dratted thing is LE).

* Too Faced hasn't decided that I should try their products for free.  I bought this product myself from Sephora and I used Ebates.

Okay, ipsy is also a $10.00 a month subscription service. Referring someone is 250 points. ipsy comes in a cute bag vs the box of Birchbox and you get roughly the same amount of samples.

ipsy came a few days after my Birchbox.  I was looking forward to the bag, as usual.



The bag was fresh looking, blue on one side, white on the other and coral on the inside.  As usual, ipsy doesn't come with a price chart, so you do have to look up all the products.










My first item was a day moisturizer.  I thought it was lotion and squirted out enough to use on my arms >< lol.  So yeah, it reminded me of being in school and having that beginning of the year thing the teachers would have (every year) where the first line told you to read all the instructions first.  By the end you just had to put your name on it.  I totally needed to read all of the instructions first!

The La Fresh Group eco-beauty good day day moisturizer comes in an eco friendly container.  I liked this waaay better than the foil packets.  It can be reused easily!  They make their products with little water and to be used with little water.  I found this to be very rich and moisturizing.  You don't need a whole heck of a lot. The full size is in a tub and is $40.00.

My second product was another Manna Kadar. This was the sheer glow lotion.  It's nearly invisible on my skin.  When mixed with my foundation this gave me a lovely glow that just made me look fresh and glowing.  It was a really nice thing to try.  It's $29.00 for the full sized product.








My next item was a Hikari eye-liner in the color Storm.  Hikari was founded in the belief that great cosmetics should come at an affordable price.  That's something I can get on board.  Unfortunately, I found it hard and very dry.  As it is a mechanical pencil and plastic goes all melty when you take a lighter to it, I won't be able to try that to make it work.  I might try using the blow dryer though.  At $13.00 it's not as much as an Urban Decay liner, but only by a few dollars, and Urban Decay liners are just....drool.




My next item was the Pacifica Natural Mineral Coconut Eye-shadow in Treasure.  Pacifica is a natural beauty company that is supposed to be cruelty free.  The eye-shadow is infused with coconut oil.  It's a shimmery bronze.  It was better than  I expected with a soft formula and a sheer build-able color.  It is very hard to find this color though and might be available in a set for $14.00







Malin + Goetz is skin care for sensitive skin.  They don't use synthetic fragrances and they are family owned and operated.  The Mojito Lip Balm has no color, is lightly mojito scented/flavored, and has a gel texture.  It sinks into the lips.  I did really enjoy this product.  The full size was $12.00.

The only product I didn't like was the eyeliner.  So, I think that means that ipsy wins this round.  I really liked the moisturizer and liked the sheer glo in my foundations.  The lip balm was my favorite item in the bag, in the winter, you really can't have too many good balms!  It works well under lip sticks too!  But only if you use a small amount.  I probably wouldn't buy the full size though because my cheap stuff works just as well if not better.

I probably wouldn't buy the Manna Kaddar because half the time I forget to put it in my foundation, well more than half.  Like 90%.

I might buy the moisturizer.  $40.00 isn't horrible for a moisturizer.  The full size is 17 ounces which is a pinch over a pound.  Might.  I'm not definite, but it is a decent moisturizer.

Let's Do This!

This month with my Birchbox subscription I didn't see anything I really wanted as far as the early pick item.  So, I didn't pick anything.  I let Fortune spin her wheel of destiny and beckoned what was to come.

Quickly, in case one doesn't know, Birchbox is a month subscription box for men and women.  The men's box is $20.00 and the women's box is $10.00.  You can get points for referring friends (my link would give me 50 points if you use it), for doing reviews, and various other things.  You get five or so samples and they have started letting you pick one item.

My Birchbox came first this month.  The box was very pretty this month.  They have said that we should save our boxes this year.

Last month was a fail for both boxes.  Let's see how this month goes.

As always it's very pretty inside!

It was well packaged and I love how every month feels like my birthday!


I was pretty excited about this, because who doesn't need a dry shampoo once and a while?  Klorane is a brand that focuses on "protecting plant heritage and the environment."  They appear to be part of Pierre Fabre Laboratories in France.  The full size is $19.50.  It is tinted a weird beige color which is better than white, I suppose, but didn't blend well into my almost black hair.  As far as performance goes, it was okay, but there are cheaper that do as well.

I had crossed my fingers and hoped I wouldn't get this.

Since I was really hoping I wouldn't get this, it obviously meant that I would get this.  I absolutely LOATHE lavender scented things.  Essentiel Elements is part of Gilchrist & Soames.  They do not use synthetic oils, mineral oils, or artificial colors.  This scent does wake you up.  Like it smells so freaking bad it about knocked me out of my skin.  It's like a lavender bomb went off and I was the target.  If you like lavender, this might be a plus for you.  It did absorb well and wasn't greasy.  The scent faded after a bit.  The full size of this is $19.00.

Yay!  A mask!

I was very excited to see this big 'ol container with a mask in it.  It wasn't as full as I'd hoped but it will still get many uses.  Innarah products are supposed to work with your skin's biology.  The texture of this was a slightly fluffy clay if that makes sense.  It is supposed to hydrate and oxiginate.  It worked like a normal clay mask.  I truly didn't notice much hydration or anything.  It's a holy mother load...$125.00 for the full size.  Holy carp!

When I get BB creams, I tend to feel some trepidation as they are often too dark for my skin and give me a lovely orange cast.  I was happy to see this was tinted and only slightly too dark for my skin.  It works into the skin well, gives good hydration.  Dr. Jart+ is a brand that works with science to get better products.  They have lots of dermatologists on staff.  I did feel this did help brighten the skin.  I like it as much as my it Cosmetics CC cream!  It is $39.00 for the full size.




The last item was a Manna Kadar Lip Locked product.  Manna is pretty inspiring.  She basically started in business at 16 and believes in empowering women to go after their dreams.  She is involved with quite a few charities.  Kinda makes one feel good about using her products.  It had a cute crystal on top.  applied creamy, lasted for a decent amount of time, wasn't especially moisturizing, and on the lips it wasn't really my color, the one I received was All of You.  It was sort of a warm rose nude with some peach.  The full size retails for $24.00.



This wasn't a bad box.  I did like the Dr. Jart+ BB cream.  The shampoo would have been better for a person with lighter hair than me.  The lotion would have been good if lavender didn't repulse the heck out of me.  The gloss might have been better on someone with a warm skin tone.  The mask was nice but $125.00?  Is it made of mud blessed by unicorns in a spring created by a leprichan's pot of gold and gathered by faeries?

We'll see how ipsy did next!

Morphé Brushes have popped up on YouTube lately.  It's mostly because Jaclyn Hill brought them up and was aux anges about their brushes and eye-shadows.  She was pumped at the quality for the price.  Other YouTubers jumped on the wagon and have generally said that the single shadows are "the bomb.com." However, the big palettes are kinda eh.

My box.  I got peanuts! Yay!

The box was thin plastic.

The excitement was building, how freaking pretty!

From Left to Right: ES4, ES54, ES6, ES76, ES64, ES14, ES75

From Left to Right: ES67, ES13, ES62, ES63, ES20, ES47, ES66

From Left to Right: ES33, ES68, ES16, ES15, ES61, ES24, ES74

From Left to Right: ES11, ES59, ES38, ES53, ES48, ES71, ES19

I love masks.  Even more than masks, I love do it your self masks because I love being able to control the ingredients I'm slapping on my face.  As a teenager I used to pour over books on the subject and now in my doddering thirties, I still love them.

My favorite is one of the simplest, my mom and I have used it for years.  It has two ingredients and can really rescue your skin.  One time, after a cold I had this redness on the edges of my nose that should have put me up on some intervention show.  No joke, it looked bad!  Putting cosmetics on it wasn't happening because it burned like he...ck.  It was also so dry that it just looked like cracked lizard skin.

I slathered this on my face and within days I was healed.  Obviously, if you have an allergy to either of the items, don't try it.  It will result in a sad panda moment.  Puppies will cry.  Don't make puppies cry.

I prefer a full fat version for masks, but go with what you have.

The first ingredient is about a 1\4 cup Greek yogurt.  The lactic acid in the yogurt can help dissolve dead skin, it can be good for break outs, can help even skin tone, can be soothing for sunburns because it contains zinc, and adds a nice creamy base to the mask.  If you do not have Greek yogurt, grab some plain yogurt, a strainer, and a coffee filter. Put the filter in the strainer, put the yogurt in the filter and let the liquid drain out.

I bought the honey at Sam's Club for like $8.00.

The second ingredient is 1 tsp - 1 TBL honey.  I like a raw honey for this and I really do like that Sam's sells local honey.  I adore honey.  I thank goodness that bees were brought to America and if I remembered, I would probably drink it daily.  Honey is so good for so many things.  Thinking about what's happening to the bee population truly makes me sad.  I think it's cool that there are actually hotels down town that have bees on their roof and are growing their own honey (Brown Palace and Warwick - that I know of).

I'm sure you don't want me to wax on about how amazing honey is, so I'll just mention why honey is important for this recipe.  Honey is a natural humectant, it's great for cuts and blemishes because it's also antimicrobial, it's good for sensitive skin, like lactic acid it has a mild bleaching agent (this is why people use it in masks for blonde hair) and can help even the skin tone, it can help slow down aging because of the antioxidants, and can help unclog pores.

Put the honey in the yogurt, mix.  Gently smooth into freshly washed skin.  Leave on your skin for at least twenty minutes.  Rinse with warm water and finish with cool water.  Gently press your favorite moisturizer into your skin and enjoy.

Your mask will keep up to three days in the refrigerator if you don't use it all.

Colorado in the winter is tough on your skin.  It's dry, the temperature varies wildly, we have high altitude, and we can get some fun wind to add to the skin disaster.  So, Colorado girls learn how to take care of our skin in the winter, because otherwise we look like some alien lizard people and age like ten years.  It's not pretty.  I'd show you pictures, but then I'd get nastygrams from people who haven't slept in days because those images were burned in their brains.

Random sunscreens I had laying around.

The first tip is to not forget about sunscreen.  Just because it's not 90 degrees F out doesn't mean that you can't get sun damage.  If you've ever gone skiing or snow boarding, you know that the snow reflects the sun light and this can help you get an awesome sun burn.  If you're in higher altitude areas this is very important as UVR is more intense.  As any pale person knows, just because it's cloudy doesn't mean there isn't a chance for burns.  So, don't add to your dry skin woes by adding a fun burn to the mix.

Harsh scrubs.  One even has cinnamon ><

The next tip is to avoid harsh scrubs in the winter.  You do want to use a scrub as it will help remove dead skin and allow your moisturizers to sink in better, but don't over do them as that will dry out your skin worse, and use gentle scrubs.

The hair mask that saved me after I went blonde.  Not a good look for me.

Don't forget about your hair.  A weekly hair mask is very important so your hair doesn't turn into static straw.

Your scalp can get dry as well.  For healthy hair, it's important to take care of your scalp too and one of my favorite ways is this recipe I found from watching Carli Bybel.  It's great for growing long lashes and thickening up your brows, but it works for your hair too and just feels amazing on a winter scalp.

I bought the Castor Oil  on Vitacost and you can get 4 oz for  $3.59.  I also got the Avocado Oil there for $11.59.  That is my kitchen Coconut Oil but you can get Coconut Oil from Vitacost for like $8.79.  All of these oils will last you a while and you can use them for multiple things.  Like coconut oil to shave your legs in the winter.  You'll thank me later.  It's also great for your hands and feet.  Soak them in oil after a bath or shower, wear socks or mitts, and let the oil soak in.  I would use caution with the Castor Oil though and make sure to keep it away from pets.


Dry oils are great for hair at this time, especially if you are finding that the masks or heavy conditioners are weighing down your hair.

The cheapest one here is my favorite, Aquaphor.

Your lips need loving too.  Licking your lips will dry them out and can lead to cracking and bleeding.  That isn't the holiday red lips people go for.  If you're going to be outside, you may want the added benefit of a lip product with SPF.  Some people can be sensitive to that, so you'll have to try and see what works best for you.

Drink plenty of water.  You might not feel like you're sweating a lot but you are losing moisture.  Plus when we're cold our blood vessels shrink, our blood pressure goes up, our kidneys make more urine, and out goes more fluid.  You may also be drinking more coffee and there goes more hydration.

Next, I'm going to break some hearts.  One big mistake people make in the winter is the nice hot shower.  It dries out your skin.  Sorry friends, but if you want soft, supple skin in the winter, you're going warm. A cool rinse also helps make your hair shiny, so hey, bonus!

Be gentle.  You're skin might be a friendemy sometimes, but you should try being more friendly to it.  When toweling off your skin, don't scrub your skin off.  Press off the moisture.  The same with washing your face or body, massage it into your skin.  When you put on your moisturizer, gently press it into your skin with your finger tips.  Use your ring fingers to gently press in your eye cream.

 Please don't forget about your neck and chest.  That skin needs love too!


Use a gentle cleanser to avoid stripping out important moisture from your skin.  This may also help reduce break outs because your skin won't have to push more oil out to compensate for the moisture loss.  Wash with warm water and finish with cool water to help maintain your moisture.


Your skin is more absorbent within the first few minutes after your shower or  washing your face.  Be sure to use your moisturizer within three minutes of that.  While your face is absorbing your favorite moisturizer, lotion up the rest of your skin, do the oil for your feet and hands if you're heading for bed, and enjoy making the most out of your products.

I hope this helps some people have better skin this winter.  I'm always being asked what I do to make my skin look so healthy in the winter and this is my advice to you.  Taking care of your skin will make the rest of the make-up look better as well.