Marlena March marches on!  Makeup Geek Twilight is a muted shimmering taupe/purple.  It's one of those colors I did not have to think about wanting.

Twilight

It is very soft and buttery.  It has been compared to MAC's Shale.  MAC's Shale is of course $10.00 for a 1.5 g refill pan.  Twilight is $5.99 for 1.8 g.

Left to Right: MUG Twilight and MAC Shale

In terms of color, yes they are very similar.  In terms of quality?  There is no comparison.  MUG straight up kicks MAC where it hurts.  Shale is drier, waaaaay less pigmented, and just doesn't have the quality.

Left to Right: MUG Twilight and MAC Shale

If you're familiar with the colors you might wonder if you need Twilight and Unexpected.  They do look very similar on the site, but in person they are very different.

Left to Right: Unexpected and Twilight

Unexpected is more like a dusty mauve, it has more pink to the shade than Twilight.  It also is matte.  The compliment each other well with Twilight being shimmery and more purple and grey tones.

Left to Right: MUG Unexpected, Twilight, and MAC Shale.

Overall, I really liked the quality of this eye-shadow.  It's just very pretty and can be used for many different looks.

* I bought all of the eye-shadow shown.  The make up faeries didn't drop off pretty shadows for me to try for fun.

I know you were expecting another review on Makeup Geek, but were you expecting it on Unexpected?  I know, har har har.  Makeup Geek Unexpected is a pale dusty rose brown that is $5.99 for 1.8 g.

Kathleen Light uses it in this soft and pretty Feathery Lashes Romantic Mauves look.  Crisspy uses it in this Holiday Look: Dark Lips and Neutral Eyes.  Zabrina uses it in this pretty Green and Purple Eye Look.

Unexpected

This is such a pretty color.  I feel it would be flattering on many skin tones.  It is great for blending out other colors or as a matte crease shade.  It has a creamy texture.  It is pigmented, blends well, it can have some fall out.

I feel that this color would look good on warm or cool skin tones.  It might appear chalky on dark skin tones.  This color would have been right at home in the UD Naked 3 palette and might be a little better in pigmentation and blending.

I really did like this color.  I like to mix it with Barcelona Beach in the crease.  It just makes a perfect color for me.

I think this is a color you can't go wrong with.  This is a good buy.

*Makeup Geek does not send me eye-shadow to play with.  I bought these colors with my own, trust me, HARD earned money.

Ipsy is another $10.00 a month subscription bag.  You get about five samples in each bag.  Ipsy also has a point system, but their's isn't as good as Birchbox.  I got my first bag in September and my points are already expiring.  Yay -.-  It does come with a cute card about the theme, but it doesn't give you information on the products.

Ipsy does come in a bag and I usually think they have some cute ones.

Unfortunately, this is not one of those cute bags.  

Ipsy's theme this month was Floral Fantasy.  I like flowers.  I just find the bag looks like late '80s, early '90s bedding.  It's just not cute to me.

Okay, enough dwelling on the bag.  On to the good stuff!

Healthy Sexy hair

My first item was the Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Crème Oil.  It is supposed to speed up your blow dry time.  It's also supposed to soften and make your hair more shiny.  I'm not blow drying my hair a lot lately, but this will be good to have for those rare times I do.  It is $22.95 for a full size of 4.2 oz.

Mattifying Lotion

I really Dr. Brandt products.  I was ambivalent about Pores No More Anti-Aging Mattifying Lotion.  On one hand, I use matte foundations and really don't need to mattify.  I don't have large pores.  On the other, I am aging and summer is around the corner and it probably can't hurt to put this in my T zone at that time.  Or it could dry me out.  I dunno.  It is supposed to have apple stem cells that delay the ravages of time or something.  I certainly won't buy it, the full size is 1.7 oz for $60.00.

Nyx Butter Lipstick

I like Nyx Lipglosses.  I was excited to get a Butter Lipstick because I see them on YouTube a lot.  I just kept hoping I wouldn't get something warm toned.  Guess what?

I got the color Little Susie.  It's so pretty.  It's creamy, feels comfortable on the lips, and has about three hours of lasting time.  It's almost wearable for me.  But it's just a hint too salmon and I know it won't work for me.

I think this might be full sized and it's $6.00 for the full sized.  Which really isn't bad.

Chella

My next item was something I was excited about from the preview.  A highlighter stick?  Yay!  I so wanted to use it for the brow bone thing.  The Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter Pencil can be used as I thought, or under the eyes, down the bridge of the nose, on the Cupid's Bow, to keep lipstick from feathering or on the inner corners of the eyes.

But it's formulated for light skin.  On me it looks like I drew yellow lines on my skin.  I double checked my Ipsy and I'm listed as fair, so it's like it was set up to fail.  I do think this would be great for light to medium warm skin tones for a highlighter, it's creamy and blends well.  Or for people who are light skin toned and get blue circles under their eyes. It's just a terrible color for me.  It's $18.00 for the full size.

Marsk Mineral Eye-shadow

At this point I did not have high hopes for my last item.  Marsk is based out of Sydney and London.  It contains all natural, certified organic, ingredients and is Quality Assured Cruelty Free.

I got the Marsk Mineral Eye-shadow in the color Lucky Penny.  It is a darken copper with a metallic shimmer when swatched but when applied with a brush with a light hand isn't extremely noticeable.

Sifter makes it a little less messy.

If you pat it in with a flat brush?  It is very pigmented and you can see how metallic it is.  You don't need to wet your brush with this, but I did anyways, because you know, why not?  It makes it a tiny more shiny, but nothing too different from how it goes on dry.  As usual with pigments or loose eye-shadow, it's a good idea to do your eye makeup first.  That way if you get fall out, you can use moisturizer or makeup remover to wipe away.

This is a quality product.  However, it is $22.50 for 1.2 g.  You really don't need much, so this will probably last a long time.

At this point, I think you've already figured out who won this month.  Birchbox was pretty awesome this month and Ipsy really let me down.  I'm annoyed at getting products that aren't suited for my skin when I fill out that information.  I can kinda forgive the boxes for sending me warm toned things, but why isn't that on the questionnaire?

We'll see what happens next month!

So, the score is Birchbox : 1 Ipsy : 2.

* I also buy my Ipsy boxes with my own money.

It's that time again!  Birchbox vs Ipsy!  In case this is your first time hearing about Birchbox, it's a monthly subscription box that sends you five or more samples a month.  The women's box is $10.00 a month and the men's is $20.00.  Men get cool things like mahogany ear buds, super soft cooling tee shirts, and things like beard grooming stuff, moisturizer, shampoo.

They have a points system that works pretty well and I have used my points and found it to be easy.  Their customer service is also very good.  It contains a card that tells you the items in the box, a description, and the price of the full size.

Okay!  Box time!

My coffee attacked my poor box

I love how cute the boxes have been lately.  It does make you want to keep them and do something useful with them.

As usual it's well packaged.

I sneaked a peak as you can do the 10th of the month and I was excited about a few of the items in my box.

Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser

My first item was the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser.  Liz Earle is a British company that is Cruelty Free (yay!) and they like to focus on quality products that use natural ingredients.  It came with a .5 oz cleanser and a muslin cloth.  The cleanser is thick and creamy.  The whole process felt very luxurious and cleansed very well.  I can see why this is such a popular item and why it has won so many awards.  The full size starter with a muslin cloth and the cleanser is $25.50 for a 3.3 oz.

Elite Therapeutics

My next item was Elite Therapeutics Rosemary Eucalyptus Body Crème.  It is thick and creamy.  It isn't greasy and absorbs rather quickly.  It smells strongly of eucalyptus and rosemary.  The strong scent does die down rather quickly.  I do like both scents, which is probably odd because I hate lavender so much.  I'm not going to try to understand that too much.  It isn't tested on animals, is made from 70% organic ingredients, doesn't contain pthalates, or silicone.  I really love the story of this brand.

Dr. Schewe was an oncologist and this was his brain child after seeing what cancer and treatment does to the skin and hair.  He wanted components that would first work on the surface quickly and then continue to work on a cellular level.  I like that the website breaks down the ingredients and how/why they're used.   This product is $19.00 for a full 8 oz size.

Jelly Pong Pong

One stroke.

Blended.

My next item was Jelly Pong Pong Glow Getter Highlighter.  The color on the packaging initially sent me into the "oh nos."  It looked like it would be far too dark for my glow in the dark skin.

Jelly Pong Pong (a name they know sounds funny) was created because they wanted to celebrate the uniqueness of all.  They wanted products that were fun and different.  They have some really adorable packaging.  Like this Lip Orchid, it's perfect for a vanity.  Their products are also Cruelty Free.

The Glow Getter is made without Pthlalates, silicone, mineral oil, and the full size is $12.50.  It has an easy to use brush and feels almost like a gel consistency.  It's a little too glittery and just a touch too dark for me.

Roloxin Lift

My next item was Roloxin Lift Revitalizing Face Masque Treatment.  It's a mask that is supposed to instantly reduce the appearance of wrinkles.  It is very thick and you feel it tighten as it dries.  It doesn't get uncomfortably tight.  It is a jaw dropping $110.00 for 10 sachets.  I didn't see enough difference to justify that price for me.

It's a 10!

My last item was the It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Product.  It was the product I picked when I had a chance.  I love their hair mask, their shampoo, and their conditioner.  I have been wanting to try this!  A 4 oz bottle is $18.00 at Ulta and a 10 oz bottle is $36.00.  It is supposed to repair dry and damaged hair, add shine, smooth and control frizz, be a thermal protector and so much more.  I really like this stuff so far.

I think Birchbox did a great job this month.  Ipsy is going to have a tough time competing with this box!

* I buy my own Birchboxes with my own well loved debit card.  You can use my code to join and it does give me 50 points when someone joins.  My Birchbox invite.

Makeup Geek Barcelona Beach is not a color I would have chosen for myself based on the description.  It's supposed to be a matte medium sand color.  The reviews made this seem like the world ends if you don't own this shade.

Amanda Ensing uses it in this pretty Smokey Grey and Champagne look.  Kathleen Lights uses it in this Simple Taupes & Purples look.

As per usual, Makeup Geek Barcelona Beach is $5.99 for a 1.8 g pan.

Makeup Geek Barcelona Beach.

When I saw this in the pan, I was like, yes.  This is a gorgeous transition color. Then came the swatch.

It is kinda of soft, but sort of chalky.  On a brush it's even worse.  It does not have the best pigmentation and can be powdery.  I should love this color, but I don't.  It's kinda disappointing after all the Youtube hype.  It doesn't have the best lasting power.  It's just...eh.  It's not horrible.  But it is in no way a must have.

I'm calling this one hype.

* I bought Barcelona Beach with my own money and no one asked or even wanted me to do reviews on this product.

I'm sure you're ecstatic about the continuation of Marlena March. One of the colors I was unsure of when I finally made my eye-shadow choices was this one.  I chose many of the colors that are in the Makeup Geek Ultimate Eyeshadow Palette that sells for $159.00 on her site.  I felt that those would be highly purchased colors or colors people would be interested in.  In her Neutral Makeup with Pop of Blue tutorial, Marlena describes it as a silvery taupe.  Sound like my kind of color?

On the website Homecoming is described as a cool-toned buckskin.  This color is 5.99 for a 1.8 g pan.  In her Top 10 Makeup Geek Shadows, Marlena, herself lists Homecoming as one of her favorites.  She calls it a taupe in the video.

Homecoming

This color can do no wrong for me.  It is like silk to the touch, soft and creamy.  It swatches sooooo pigmented and is a metallic taupe/bronze on me.  It's freaking gorgeous.  Can you tell I'm definitely not calling this one hype already?  If that's all you need, no, this one is worth it.

There were a few blogs that called this a dupe for Mac Patina, no.  It's not.  Makeup Geek doesn't list it as one, they actually list this one as one with out as a dupe.  It's dupeless.

Left to Right: MUG Homecoming and Mac Patina

Let me just say that Patina is one of those Mac shadows I adore.  It's a golden taupe that looks very pretty on so many skin tones.  You can use this for everything.  Well, not everything, but it's nifty.  Mac Patina is $10.00 for the pan.

But Homecoming lives in its own ballpark.  It doesn't have the swatch versus brush discrepancy, even with a brush, this applies so beautifully.

Left to Right: MUG Homecoming and Mac Patina

 As you can see, they are similar but in no way dupes.

I love this shade.  It has great pigmentation, blends like a Morphé shadow, and lasts 8+ hours.  I have no regrets with this shade and will repurchase.

* No one sent me Makeup Geek or Mac to try for free.  I bought Homecoming with my own hard earned pennies.

Marlena March continues with one of the more popular eye-shadows by Makeup Geek, Shimma Shimma.  It is only $5.99 for a single 1.8 g pan of this.

If ever there was a color hyped and loved by YouTubers, it's this color.  It's probably in every MUG favorite video and so many tutorials.  It's in this Makeup Geek Favorites by Young Wild and Polished.  This Top 5 Makeup Geek Shadows by Amena.

Shimma Shimma

At first glance this looks very much like an ordinary peachy shade.  Almost the color that MAC's Grain looks in the pan.  When you swatch it, it's a highly pigmented metallic champagne peach.  Most places compare Shimma Shimma to the very popular MAC Shroom.

Left to Right: Shimma Shimma and Shroom

When you swatch them, Shroom feels more gritty and is less pigmented.  Shimma Shimma is buttery and intense.

Left to Right: Becca Moonstone, UD Virgin, UD Sin, MUG Shimma Shimma, MAC Shroom

Sorry for the picture, it's definitely winter light with snow when I took these pictures.

Left to Right: Stila Kitten, MUG Shimma Shimma

Of all the highlight shades I compared it to, I felt it was closest to Stila Kitten.  They both have similar levels of pigmentation, are champagne shades, and are similar in texture.  Kitten leans a little more pinky.  They are both more shimmery than glittery.  They can both be dangerous if you apply too much, but I feel Stila Kitten is a little more forgiving on aging eyes.  Shimma Shimma sinks into cracks and lines and needs to be blended out so you don't look insane.  However, Kitten is so soft that it falls apart in the pan.  It will crack and then it's all over.  Even if you are very careful with it.

Stila Kitten is $19.00 for .09 oz and Shimma Shimma is .064 oz.

I'm torn on this shade.  It's almost too pigmented.  Shroom is more flattering on my skin.  Kitten is also more flattering, by a small amount.  However, in price, Shimma Shimma beats both.  It also holds up better than Kitten and doesn't leave you with a crumbly mess all over your counter and sink if you want to use it.

If you use your powers of shimmer wisely, this is a good shadow, although easily duped.  There is a color like this in almost every eye-shadow palette I own.

If you have young eyes you may wear this on your lid.  If you do not, stick to using it in the inner corners, brow bone highlight, Cupid's bow, or even cheek bone highlight if you're feeling dramatic.  I really do love this as a cheek bone highlight.  It actually shows up on my skin!

If you do have aging eye and decide to use this, go carefully and remember that blending is your friend, or dab on with a finger.  It works even for very pale people like me.

* All eye-shadows shown were purchased by me for me.

For Marlena March I had agonized over my list.  You have no idea how many times I revised my cart.  I pulled shadows out and put them back.  But Beaches and Cream was one of the ones that went into the cart and did not come out.

One thing I've learned from being obsessed with YouTube is that even if you're doing a cool toned look, a warm transition color makes the look.  It helps finish it and make it look alive.  MannyMUA is the one that sold me on this color.  It was this video, which I was watching to learn more about the Jaclyn Hill Morphé palette.  He does a tutorial at the end (somehow I missed the tutorial when I first watched it, no idea what was up with that) and in it he just sounds so forlorn about not having his Beaches and Cream.  I knew the color had to be that good.

He used it again in another stunning tutorial and now I think I need to add Cocoa Bear and Bitten to my list.  I wasn't going to because I thought they're too warm, but what the heck.  Warm looks are the thing right now, it seems.  Crisspy used it in this tutorial.  Pin Up Beauty used in this pretty cranberry look.  Diana Ottenwalder used it in this cut crease look.  It just seemed like one of those utility shades.

Like the other Makeup Geek eye-shadow pans, Beaches and Cream is $5.99 for 1.8 g.

Beaches and Cream

Beaches and Cream is a matte sandy peach.  It is very soft to the touch.

It is decently pigmented but is a tad bit powdery.  It does work well for a transition and blending out dark colors.

One of the other MAC eye-shadows I use sparingly because it one of my loves is Grain.  I never thought I would like Grain.  It looks like nothing.   But TiffanyD totally made me purchase it.  It has been a dream for the same purpose I would use Beaches and Cream.  They are not dupes, just the same bread and butter type of shade.

From Left to Right: MUG Beaches and Cream and MAC Grain. 

Left to Right: MUG Beaches and Cream and MAC Grain

As you can see, Beaches is definitely more peachy and is matte.  I don't think that Beaches will replace Grain, but it does have a softer texture and better pigmentation.  It is powdery though.

Overall, it's a decent shadow.  It lasts fairly well.  It is nice for warming up a look without being too warm.

Oh and just a quick note, the Jaclyn Hill Palette is still listed as sold out on the Morphé website.  They said it will be back March-April 2015 and to follow them on Instagram to get updates.

* I bought all of my MUG and MAC shadows myself.  I was induced by many YouTube videos to purchase them.

It was hard to know where to start with Marlena March.  I bought a bunch of the Makeup Geek eye-shadows and have been testing them.  I wasn't sure which color to review first or if I should just pile them together.  I decided that I would break it up so if someone wanted to know about one color as opposed to another, they wouldn't have to read a bunch of junk they didn't want to.

After that the chore was trying to decide which color first.  So, I thought about my favorite MAC eye-shadow.

Satin Taupe one of my favorite MAC colors.  It's a gorgeous plummy/grey/taupe.  I love taupe.  It is frosted, but not in an annoying way.  With my decision not to buy more MAC products, this color was one of the two that I have been going slow with because I don't want to run out.

Enter Prom Night.  Jaclyn used it in this pretty cool toned smokey eye.  She said it was a silvery plum with a shimmery finish.  Really, I was sold.

They come in very similar packaging to MAC.

When I was researching the shades I wanted to buy for Marlena March, most people said that Prom Night was a dupe for Satin Taupe and I thought, why not?  It would save me from having to not use my favorite shade!   Why not start there?  Plus, I remembered Jaclyn's video and it was in the shopping bag.

So, MAC Satin Taupe is 1.5 g for $10.00 in the refill pan and $16.00 for the one in the container.  Makeup Geek Prom Night is $5.99 and comes in a pan like the refill pan.  It is slightly larger at 1.8 g.

Prom Night

When I received it, I was very excited.  That is my sort of color!

Look, Twinkies! Left to Right: MUG Prom Night and MAC Satin Taupe

As you can tell, I have loved my Satin Taupe.  To the touch, MUG is softer, more creamy.  It has more pigmentation.  The MAC felt dry in comparison.

Left to Right: MUG Prom Night and MAC Satin Taupe

The Satin Taupe may appear darker, but I was layering in more color to get it even with Prom Night.

Satin Taupe has good application and blends well.  But Makeup Geek was better.  It could have fall out because it is so pigmented, but a tap to your brush should solve that problem.  Both were about equal in shimmer.  When applied with a brush it does lose out on some of its pigmentation.  It's good, but didn't blow me away.

For this color I am saying that the MUG slightly beats the MAC in quality.  It's also slightly bigger and cheaper.  MUG is also Cruelty Free which is bonus kitten points.  Fluffy kitten points makes a win!

This eye-shadow is good.  $5.99 is more reasonable than $10.00 for a single eye-shadow.  However, if you aren't loaded, this is still something you will have to buy slowly so your wallet doesn't experience sudden pain.

* I bought Prom Night and Satin Taupe with my own money.  No one sent me samples of beautiful plummy/silvery/taupe goodness to slather myself in.

Whew!  Sorry it has been a while since my last post, but I found I really had to do some testing.  Plus, you know life, it's a bear.

So this review will be on the Ardency Inn Modster Smooth Ride Supercharged Eyeliner.  Ardency in is supposed to give you the feel of the New York music scene.  It's supposed to be easy to use and allow one lots of creativity.

I love my Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner. I am wearing one color or another pretty much daily.  When I saw Jaclyn Hill talk about the Ardency Inn liners in so many of her videos, like her December Favorites and this gorgeous double wing look to name a few, I knew I had to try it.

The Jaclyn Effect is a real thing.  She mentions something and you need it in your life.  I think it has to do with her knowledge, enthusiasm, and skill with make-up.

The Ardency Inn Modster Eyeliners are $19.00 a piece.  The black is nearly always sold out on the Sephora website.  Like I said, but it might need reiterating, the Jaclyn Hill Effect is real thing.  I really wanted the trio.  It comes with the black, a blue, and gold for $29.00.  But when I made my order, it was sold out.  So I went for the travel duo.  It came with a bright blue and the black for $15.00.

I was very excited about this.  From what Queen Jaclyn said, this stuff was "amazeballs."

This is the back of the box.

I did feel that blue and black were great colors to test.  Black is a staple.  I love my black liner.  I think I look weird without black in my water line.  It takes some effort for me to try other colors.  But blues have been a fun pop of color.  Plus I do love golds and bronzes and greys.

Isn't that blue gorgeous?

I think the packaging is cute.  I was excited about how bright that blue is.  How Spring/Summery is that?

From the Top: Ardency Inn, UD Perversion, and UD Zero.

 I liked how smooth and pigmented the application was.  It was on par with my Urban Decay Glide-On Eye Pencils.  My Urban Decay pencils are $20.00 each.  At this point that this might save me $1.00 each on eyeliner, which can add up if you have an eyeliner addiction.

Oh yeah.  That's a purdy blue.

I loved the color of the black.  It's right between UD  Perversion and Zero. I can't wear Perversion in my waterline because it's so pigmented that it irritates my eyes.  Something I learned from VintageorTacky.

My first day I tried it, it was snowy and my eyes were watery (plus the harsh lighting at work does not help).  I have issues with that sometimes because of my contacts, I think.  It created something like a film and my vision would occasionally be blurry.

I had recently unwittingly slept in my contacts after years of not doing so.  It was an accident, I was just worn out from work.  I know, I'm burning in contact wearers hell right now.  I felt that my results could be skewed because of this.  I trashed those contacts.  I wore Zero in my waterline to see if it was the weather. Zero wore fine.  I tried the Ardency Inn one again.  The weird film came back.

On my next day off, I wore Zero (waterline) and Perversion (on the lid as liner) and all Ardency Inn on the other eye.  I found that the Zero pencil started to wear fastest, but it was slow and even.  When the Ardency Inn wore, it was more patchy.  After about 6 hours they were worn about the same.  I didn't have watery eyes that day and there was no film/blurriness.  It wore about the same as the Perversion.

So, this is hard.  I think it's pretty much on par with Urban Decay.  If you do not have issue with watery eyes you may really like this.  It is the perfect black.  But with it just being a dollar difference from my <3 UD, it making my vision blurry when my eyes do water, and the similar performance, I won't purchase any more of this.

Another thing, Ardency Inn isn't Cruelty Free.  I really like that Urban Decay is.  I like that even though they had a chance to make more money by opening their market and having a 3rd party test on animals, they refused.  I won't get into all my feelings on that, but if I have a brand I love that doesn't test, I'm not going to switch to a brand that does test.

Both products are made in Germany.

I'm not quite calling this hype.  It is good in some ways.  But it just doesn't quite do all the things I want.

* Neither Urban Decay nor Ardency Inn gave me products to try.  I bought all of this with my own money.