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.

Morphé is a smaller company out of Burbank, CA they sell their single shadows for $2.00 a pop.  That's pretty amazing.  They decided to collaborate with Jaclyn Hill and create a palette with her favorite Morphé colors.  I first heard about this from Kathleen Lights.  I was curious as I hadn't seen this from Jaclyn yet.  So, I watched what MannyMUA had to say.  

I was sooo torn.  As I have mentioned, I wasn't in love with the Gerard Cosmetics lip things.  They weren't bad, but I don't think they're worth the price.  I had just purchased the Too faced Semi Sweet Palette.  Did I need another palette?

I kinda forgot about it until January 1st when I was on Twitter.  OMG.  The ever loving hate.  People were so mad and flaming the site.  I was sort of shocked at how mean some people were being.  Yes, I understood the frustration, but there are real people behind the brand.  Plus, Morphé is a small company.  Apparently, it was a pain to get through and purchase the palette.

So, I had to give it a try.  From what I read, Firefox was the way to go.  I had it open on both my phone and pc.  Like everyone else, I kept getting booted and had to reload.  I would almost get there and then reload.  At some point it was like I just had to have it because I had been trying and I had become invested in winning and getting the dratted thing.

Yup, Jaclyn broke the internet without having to oil up.  Well, I don't know, maybe she did oil up, I haven't been stalking her.  

After hours of trying I did end up getting it.  I had thought the site had crashed on me again after I had entered my debit card info.  Luckily gmail alerted me a confirmation of the purchase and I didn't accidentally buy more.  I wasn't sure when it would ship, but a couple days ago I received notice that it had shipped.  In a later video, Jaclyn did say that they did sell out in two and half days, they will restock in February, and that the issue with the site is that is was hacked.  It was a DDOS (distributed denial of service) or DOS (denial of service) attack.

Then, BAM it arrived.

My box.  I got peanuts! Yay! 

Okay, for real, the moment of glory.

The back had a description by Jaclyn, herself.

My super nifty box.

The box was thin plastic.

The packaging felt kinda cheap, but I wasn't deterred by that.  How many times had I held a package and wondered how much of the price was due to the packaging?  I'm looking at you, Urban Decay Book of Shadows.

The excitement was building, how freaking pretty!

I knew the palette would have a lot of warm shades, because that's Jaclyn and Kathleen had already told me so.  I was sort of worried because that's not my thing, but what I love about palettes is that you are forced out of your comfort zone.

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

• ES4 (off white frost) feels very creamy.  It blends beautifully and is a great brow bone color.
• ES54 (peachy sheen) is also very creamy and blends so well.  It is also a great brow bone color.
• ES6 (nude sheen) is creamy, blends well, and would be great all over the lid or as a high light.
• ES76 (peachy shimmer) isn't quite as pigmented as the others.  The site calls it a shimmering beige, but mine is definitely not beige.
• ES64 (warm brown matte) is nicely pigmented and is a perfect transition color.
• ES14 (matte orange) is wonderfully pigmented and super blend-able.
• ES75 (metallic copper) is freaking gorgeous.  This is a shade that most eye colors can rock.  It's very pigmented and like the others, blends well.

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

• ES67 (pink brown pearl) isn't very pigmented, but it is great for transition, and blends so well.
• ES13 (soft warm brown matte) is very pigmented, very blend-able, and is also great for transition.
• ES62 (matte taupe brown) is buttery, has good pigmentation and blends easily.
• ES63 (mid toned brown matte) is pigmented, blend-able, and is probably the darkest true brown in the palette.
• ES20 (metallic golden brown) would have knocked my socks off had I been wearing them when I swatched this.  It seriously swatches like a liquid.  It's buttery, richly pigmented, and blends easily. 
• ES47 (frosted golden tangerine) is beautifully pigmented, blends well, and is just a pretty color.
• ES66 (matte coral) is decently pigmented, blends like a dream, with a slightly drier feel.

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

• ES33 (baby pink pearl) is so very buttery and pigmented.  It blends like a dream.  It's super pretty.
• ES68 (metallic raspberry) is beautifully pigmented and blends well.
• ES16 (blushed brown matte) is decently pigmented, great for crease, and blends fairly well.
• ES15 (orange brown matte) is buttery, well pigmented, and blends like a dream.
• ES61 (mid toned brown matte) is buttery, nicely pigmented, and blends very well.
• ES24 (matte deep red brown) is creamy, richly pigmented, and though it does blend well, it needs more work than the others.  
• ES74 (metallic deep copper) is insanely pigmented, buttery, and blends very well.  It's super pretty.

At this point, I really liked the palette and was pretty impressed.  Then I hit the last row...

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

• ES11 (metallic burnt copper) is richly pigmented, buttery, and blends beautifully.  It's pretty stunning and I'm not into the orangy colors.
• ES59 (matte magenta) is very pigmented, a little on the drier side, and blends nicely.
• ES38 (lavender pearl) seriously reminds me of a lavender akoya pearl.  It's just so freaking pretty.  It is a little dry, but is beautifully pigmented and blends well.
• ES53 (plummy magenta frost) is almost metallic in it's glory.  It's very hard to describe this color, but it's spectacular.  I was already in heaven over the previous color.  With this I almost melted into a puddle on the carpet.  It is a little dry, gloriously pigmented, and very blend-able.
• ES48 (blackened plum shimmer) caused my puddle to steam and it was ecstasy.  It's creamy, dazzlingly pigmented, and blends like heaven.
• ES71 (deep maroon matte) just finished me off.  It's creamy, intensely pigmented, and blends so beautifully.  Why had I waited to try these shadows?  Why?!
• ES19 (jade shimmer) is the odd one out.  It seems pretty random but it very pretty.  It is buttery, pigmented, and blends well.

I adore purple.  For years I have lamented the MAC purples and how there are so many misses.  To be honest, I was afraid this palette was going to be like most inexpensive palettes and be "good for the price."  Which, we all know means that it's okay but not great, but we didn't pay much so it's works out.  These shadows are better than my Urban Decay, Tarte, Too faced, and MAC.

When I wore these to work, people kept commenting on how beautiful my eye-shadow was.  They talked about how I should do make-up for a living.  I really think the quality of these shadows was to blame for that! They talked about how the purples made my eyes pop.  This palette is a green eyed girl's dream.  I'm obsessed.

The blending and pigmentation is a lesson to my higher priced shadows.  I cannot believe I had thought "pass" so many times.  I seriously thought this would be another case of hype.  When you blend these colors out, you don't lose the colors.  Morphé, I tip my hat to you.  Note to self, get a hat.

The only problems with this palette are the lack of a true outer V color.  For the more dramatic looks I found I still had to look for Urban Decay's Black Heart or a matte black or a very deep brown.  The green did feel a little lost, but does work well for a pop of color if you play with the golds, coppers, or browns.  The packaging is cheap and rather large for storage, but the quality of the shadows makes up for this.  It also makes me sad that they are always out of stock on the colors, however, it is a smaller company that totally got blown up faster than they probably expected.

I also bewail the fact that it so hard to get.  Yes, I have worked sales, I understand supply and demand.  I know that part of what will make this palette sell so well is the limited quantity.  However, I think that this palette is pretty amazing and will sell even if it is no longer limited edition.  

It will be released again in February.  I highly suggest getting your hands on this.  If you cannot, the colors are all part of their regular collection and you can buy them individually.  For $27.99 it is definitely worth the price.  Jaclyn has the code JACATTACK to get 20% off.  Which makes it an even better value.  If you buy the individual shadows, they are $2.00 each and a great value.  You can use her code for those as well.  If you are on a budget, I hope this gives you notice to SAVE the money to get the palette.

I'm thinking I might have to try their brushes as well.

* Morphé did not send me this palette and didn't care whether or not I reviewed them.  I paid for them myself after waiting to buy just like everyone else.

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.

I love eye-shadow palettes.  I think they're fun and they can be a great way to try colors I might ordinarily not even try.  I own all three Naked Palettes.  My favorite is the third one.  I don't even like pink and it's just...mmmm.

I keep meaning to try the Original Chocolate Bar.  I see it at Sephora, I sniff the ever loving heck out of it.  I make others smell it.  I put it in my online cart.  I take it out.  Then I saw that Too Faced came out with the Semi Sweet Chocolate Bar Palette.  I decided to purchase it because I knew it would be all over YouTube.  I also saw a video with MakeUpbyTiffanyD using it and it looked so pretty on her!  I don't even like blue eye-shadow.  Bye bye $49.00.

I also saw this Teni Panosian look and she used Rum Raisin and it was so flipping gorgeous, I wanted it.

And the prize for the most adorable box ever goes to.... 

Already I'm amped.  Packaging like this makes me think of something I learned when I was an apprentice jeweler.  You don't put quality stones in crap metal.  I thought that the cute box HAD to have a quality product inside.  A gem if you will.

Back of the box.

The packaging feels like a tin.  Much better than a cheap cardboard one.  I was so ready to dive in and get a big whiff.  The first thing that got me was when it opened too easily.  The magnet on this was super weak.  I would never put this in a bag without further security.  It just flops.  I thought that I was just spoiled by my Naked 2 and 3 palettes.  It's not fair to judge this palette by those, right?

The lettering is raised.

The colors in this palette are infused with cocoa.  It's supposed to be loaded with anti oxidants and be good for your skin (not good if you're allergic to chocolate).  When you open it, you get this warm wash of heaven wafting from the tin.  Chocolate.  Mmmm. Personally, by brain starts humming happy thoughts the second I smell this.

Mmm Chocolaty Goodness.

The colors did appear pretty.  I prefer cooler tones, but this does have some.  It also has quite a few (seven) mattes.  It actually has more than the Naked Palettes.  Which is good.  I have come to love a good matte.  Licorice, Coconut Crème, Nougat, Truffled, Puddin', Peanut Butter and Mousse are all matte.

From Left to Right: Licorice, Coconut Crème, Nougat, Truffled, and Hot Fudge.

• Licorice (matte black) is an okay color.  It is kind of patchy and isn't as pigmented as I would like.  
• Coconut Crème (matte ivory) is very pigmented.  It's nice that they did such a large size on the highlighter shades.It feels almost buttery.  
• Nougat (matte nude pink) is decently pigmented and blends very well.  Great transition color.
• Truffled (matte warm brown) has good pigmentation and blends well.  
• Hot Fudge (dark brown sheen) is buttery, pigmented, blends well (sometimes a little too well) and is one of my favorite shades.  In the pan it appears to have micro glitter but blends out to have a sheen.  

From Left to Right: Cocoa Chili, Pink Sugar, Puddin', Blueberry Swirl, Peanut Butter, and Frosting

• Cocoa Chili (sparkly warm mid range brown) is also quite buttery.  It has okay pigmentation.  The glitter flecks are pink, green, and gold.  It surprised me how much fun this color was.
• Pink Sugar (sheer pink glitter) is a shade that people will either love or hate.  It can add a fun wash of glitter.  But it's not super glittery.  It doesn't glitz up your eyeball wet or with glitter glue.  It's like a subdued glitter.  Applied wet, more copper tones find their way through. 
• Puddin' (matte mid-dark brown) feels quite buttery but is on the sheer side.  
• Blueberry Swirl (sheer blue sheen) is very sheer.  You definitely need a base to make this color pop and even then you may have to pack it on.  
• Peanut Butter (matte terracotta) is buttery, has about average pigmentation, and blends like a dream.  This is the color I thought I would like the least.  But when you use it to warm up your crease blend (between the transition and the brow highlight), it just has an oomph that steps up your look. 
• Frosting (warm metallic golden brown) applies beautifully, blends well, and applied wet?  It's definitely a pretty shadow. It can be easily sheered down.

From Left to Right: Rum Raisin, Mousse, Caramel, Bon Bon, and Butter Pecan

• Rum Raisin (sheer taupe sheen) is such a disappointment for me.  I love taupes.  Kind of a thing for me.  I was sooooo excited about this color.  It is so sheer :( You really have to pack it on for the color to appear.  It does do well when applied wet though and becomes a lovely metallic taupe.  
• Mousse (sheer matte warm light brown) is a good transition color.  It is sheer, but it blends very well.  
• Caramel (metallic/sheen warm gold) this is buttery, has decent pigmentation, blends okay, turns into a lovely metallic bronzed gold when applied wet.  
• Bon Bon (metallic/sheen warm rose) is  buttery, decently pigmented, blends well, and is very pretty applied wet.  
• Butter Pecan (peachy cream sheen) is decently pigmented and blends well.  It again is a highlighter shade and is in the larger pan.  

I like that they changed up the packaging and printed the names on the packaging.  I think the packaging is cute, but again I'm dismayed at the quality, it's not secure at all.  I like the range of colors.  I don't like the inconsistency of the pigmentation.  I will be keeping this, but mostly because I've worked customer service and now hate to return things.

As for whether or not this is hype I say yes and no.

If you have many eye-shadow palettes and love to play with color this probably won't be for you.

If you prefer a soft look and generally don't like heavily pigmented eye-shadows, this is good for you.

If you need a palette for travel, this is not for you.

If you just love the smell of cocoa in the morning, keep a tin of Hershey's Cocoa in the bathroom and stay happy for much cheaper.

* Too Faced does not think they should give me samples of chocolaty goodness.  I paid with this myself from my own much appreciated Christmas gift-card.

If you've watched YouTube AT ALL in 2014 you've seen YouTubers over the moon for the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfecter Pressed.  We're talking full on la petite mort.  Gushing and going straight up gaga.

I want to go orgasmic over a highlighter.  Who doesn't?  I mean, what a way to start a day!

They have it in Moonstone - which is pale gold, more of a champagne color, Opal - golden pearl, Rose Gold - rose gold, and Topaz -golden bronze.  As we have previously discussed, I belong to the group of people who glows in the dark, so I ordered Moonstone.

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I was very excited for this to arrive.  The outer packaging is nice.

Alien space craft container.

Not so into the actual container, it looks like something that might abduct me when I'm alone on a Friday night or something.  I was prepared for the package, because I watch way too many videos on YouTube.

On the nails is China Glaze Ruby Pumps.

It looks like a nice highlighter.  It is soft and almost creamy on the skin.  It is very pigmented and a little will go a long way.  Maybe that's how we try to justify spending $38.00 on a highlighter?  I wanted to have my Herbal Essences shower moment with this.  Maybe it was the videos I watched, but I just wasn't blown away.

Left to Right: Well People, Temptu, Stila Kitten eye shadow, MAC Shroom eye shadow, and Becca Moonstone.

It applies well, but if I have eye shadows that can make more of a KAPOW for highlighter, why should I spend $38.00 for this?  The size is decent, but you don't need a lot of highlighter.

Sadly, I'm saying this is hype.  I wouldn't run out and buy this again.  If you live in highlighter, you may find this worth the price.  If you're darker than me, you may like this.  It is is very pigmented.  It didn't have any real scent, which is good. I didn't find it to break me out (unlike the Temptu which actually gave my arm hives o.O).  It lasted for several hours. But I just don't think it's going to be the end of the world not to have.

* I bought this with my own money.  Becca didn't give me samples or send me products.