April Sephora Play! 

~ SeriouslyStyled ~ 4 Comments

I know, I know I just posted a follow-up on my bag from February and haven’t even mentioned March yet (things slip your mind when you’re fighting for the job you want right before graduation; spoiler alert I got it!). Anyway, here are the contents and my first impressions of my April Sephora Play bag.

The bag itself, I think is pretty ugly. Lmao. I don’t know how to say that kindly, there’s nothing inherently wrong with it, it’s just not my style.

First things first, the perfume. Almost always this is the “whomp, whomp” of the bag BUT Marc Jacobs Daisy is my holy grail fragrance so I was pretty stoked to get this because I will use it and love it!

Next, I got a Makeup Forever Aqua XL pencil. It’s just a black eyeliner but wow is it smooth and creamy. Love that!

Then, a Smashbox face primer. I’ve tried this before and think it’s okay, I don’t hate it but don’t like it enough to buy the full size. However, Smashbox has a silicone based 24 hour eye primer and that bad boy is worth every penny if you’re in the market. This was a meh sample for me.

Now moving on to skincare (as this was a pretty skincare heavy month).

Sephora collection eye makeup remover: I’m excited to try this, as one of my favorite youtubers (prettypistol86 aka Cherish) loves this stuff and I trust her opinion! // *Edit* I tried it, I hate it. Ugh. It’s so oily and even on my dry skin it’s too much. *sigh*

Finally, I have Peter Thomas Roth and Kate Somerville. Two brands I was pretty freakin’ excited to see, as they’re more luxurious skincare brands and I already really love the PTR face masks. // *Edit* I love love love both of these! The exfoliator is gentle and minty smelling and is doing great things for my acne and the cloud cream is so luxurious on my skin.

Aurora glow kit review 

~ SeriouslyStyled ~ 6 Comments

As soon as I saw the first images of this glow kit I knew I had to have it! Everything about it is beautiful the packing, shades, layout, names, etc. I’ve also become a big fan of the Anastasia glow kits over the last year falling in love with first the sun dipped and then the Nicole Gurrerio glow kits. I never picked up the moon child (I probably will in the future because that baby gets raves) so this is my first experience with Anastasia’s highlighters in the square pans. 

This kit is $40 and when you buy on the Anastasia website you won’t pay tax or shipping so it’s a flat $40 which is fantastic! There are six shades in this kit:

Eclipse; a peachy orange

Luna; an iridescent silver 

Spectra; a cool tone lilac with pink shift 

Helia; an iridescent cool tone green 

Orion; an icy baby blue 

Lyra; a warm honey with gold glitter 

There’s not too much to say about this; it performs beautifully overall. However, Lyra does have quite a bit of glitter in it that leads to fall out and will emphasize texture/look chunky unless it is foiled onto the skin. I have lots of texture on my skin already so I avoid Lyra if I’m running low on time. The rest of the shades are smooth and stunning; silky and long lasting. I am obsessed with this, just as I am with all of my other glow kits! 
My skintone is probably the third shade in every foundation range I use and I would describe it as fair-light but I think these would be even more stunning on complexions deeper than mine. 

These are also very pretty over lipsticks and to make eye looks pop! After I took the following photo I topped my lipstick with Orion. 


Here you can see spectra as my face highlight in my nose and cheeks! I decided to go full unicorn with the blue lips. 🦄 
Overall, I highly recommend! It’s fun, functional and so pretty to look at! 

February Sephora Play! Bag; Final Thoughts

~ SeriouslyStyled ~ 10 Comments

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It’s been about a month (err a little longer) of having these products so I thought I’d share my thoughts on what I received in my February Sephora play bag.

Sephora Lashcraft Mascara– I LOVE this. It adds beautiful length and volume, I will be using this sample to the very last drop and adding this to my to-buy list.

Origins GinZing Eye Cream- This smells nice, feels nice but I notice no special results with it.

Bite Beauty Multi-Stick in Cashew- This is pretty, a bit of a cream to powder consistency. The shade is nice and the product smells lovely, as Bite products tend to but I am so glad I never bought a full size one of these because despite it being a good, pretty product I am just not drawn to it and often let it sit to the wayside.

Tom Ford Neroli Portifino Perfume- I actually really enjoy the smell of this both in the bottle and on me but I can and will not pay $225 for a bottle of perfume unless I become a millionaire overnight, then who knows maybe I’ll have a ~crazy~ shopping spree.

Too Faced Lip Injection Glossy in Milkshake- This plumps my lips beautifully and has a nice shade but burns the hell out of my lips. I do really like the end result so I’ll continue to use the product but I don’t know that I’d purchase a full size at this point.

Clinique Pep-Start Hydro-Blur Moisturizer- I’ll admit, I’ve only tried this on my hand (this is the result of hoarding too many beauty products) but it has a nice scent and a blurring effect really reminiscent of Benefit’s Professional. I will report back once I’ve tried it on my face but so far no irritation on the skin, which is one of the reasons I seem to always love Clinique skin care.

Fiancé buys my makeup

~ SeriouslyStyled ~ 3 Comments

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A few weeks ago I was watching YouTube and I found some videos of watching YouTuber’s boyfriends buying their makeup. It seemed so fun and maybe a way to try things I wouldn’t have picked up otherwise. Whilst I don’t have the budget to let my fiancé go ape wild at Sephora, so I opted for CVS and this is what he came up with.

Maybeline Master Prime Blurring Primer

L’Oreal Magic Lumi Foundation

Maybline Spider Effect Mascara

Maybeline Master conceal concealer

Physicians Formula Murumuru butter blush in Plum Rose

NYX Noir eyeliner

Rimmell Lipstick in Listen Up (Because he knows I love bright lipsticks)

Milani Brights Eyeshadow Palette

I ended up paying about $115 for everything my fiancé picked out. I went home and created this look:

 

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I didn’t have the best lighting at the time, so bare with me. At fist application I was over the moon for the mascara, blush and contour palette and that lip color!

Upon further use I am obsessed with the primer and concealer he picked out, quickly becoming some of my favorites. They eyeshadow palette is nice but not my choice for everyday makeup and I tend to reach for my Kat Von D tattoo liner over this NYX liner, though it is nice it’s harder to control.

Also, the foundation he picked is my new holy grail, as a dry skinned girl it just applies beautifully! It was honestly such a fun experience for a different kind of date night (we went to a pizza buffet then to the drugstore then he edited photos while I put on this face and let him tell me his final thoughts). I love that he supports my hobbies and it was something we could do together. So, if you’re thinking about it, it’s totally a fun challenge to work with all new products and you could even find new holy grails!

Hopefully in the future I can save a chunk for us to do this again at Sephora!

 

XO

Amanda

Too Faced Sweet Peach Glow-Review

~ SeriouslyStyled ~ 6 Comments

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So I’ve had this bad boy for a while now so I thought I’d share my thoughts with you all! I waited in that insane virtual line for hours to get my hands on this only to find out later it’s super easy to get your paws on. This sweet peach glow kit retails for $42 and contains a blush (or blush topper, rather), bronzer and highlighter.

This smells like peach rings candy. While I find this pleasant, I find the chocolate bar and other chocolate scented palettes overwhelming and off-putting so if you’re not into fake peach this is a hard pass. Also, the whole makeup smelling like food thing slightly weirds me out, I always wonder if that means it lessens the life and will expire sooner, maybe that’s be over thinking it but ick!

That being said I really like the blush, I enjoy the highlight and the bronzer isn’t for me. The blush is light and glowy and the perfect wash of peach for my cheeks. It applies well, as the product is not heavily pigmented which I find to be a positive thing for blushes. The highlighter is pretty and gives a natural glow to my face, not quite as subtle as hourglass highlighters but definitely not the crazy glow you get with Anastasia glow kits.

This bronzer could probably be pretty on the right person but for me it is far too orange. I have cool-toned, fair skin and this bronzer gives me more of a soft kiss of Tropicana (no pulp) rather than the sun-kissed bronze I was aiming for.

So if you consider that I’m not really a fan of the bronzer, that’s $15 wasted which is pretty steep. I say if you love this blush color, skip this and scoop up the papa don’t peach blush (which is gorgeous!) and if only the highlighter tickles your fancy, I’d opt for a a single peachy-toned highlighter instead.

Though I am satisfied with my purchase, I’d think this one through before dropping $42 on this baby.

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XO

Amanda

TJ Maxx Haul

~ SeriouslyStyled ~ 3 Comments

This past week I had the pleasure of doing some shopping with my mom at our local TJ Max and found some pretty cool beauty steals!

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Smashbox LA lights blush and highlight palette $24.99

Too Faced Melted Metal lipstick in Metallic Bunny $5.99

Origins GinZing cream eyeshadow in Blue-tiful Burst $11.99

Estee Lauder Double Wear eyebrow pencil duo $16.99

Alba Bontanica fast fix for a pijmple $3.99

Pearl essence Dry Shampoo in Lavendar Fields $6.99 (this smells incredible)

Bobbi Brown Smokey in Seconds kit $34.99 (Includes liner, shadow stick, makeup remover and mascara)

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Close up of the blush/highlight palette

Total Spent: $105.93 Honestly a pretty good haul for the total, I’ll update in a week or so with reviews of these products!

49 Questions-get to know me!

~ SeriouslyStyled ~ Leave a comment
1) Are you a morning or night person? Morning! I am so not a night owl. I fall asleep at 9:00 PM on particularly rough work days but in my defense my work schedule is 7am-3pm so I always feel like my days are off center compared to others. (However, I love both my hours and my job so I won’t complain).
2) Which do you prefer, sweet or salty foods? Sweet! But I also love salty.
3) Ninjas or pirates? Pirate Ninjas.
4) Favorite Movie? The Holiday
5) Favorite flower? Those bright colored daisies you find at the grocery store or classic red roses.
6) What was your favorite childhood television program? Tough one, the best cartoons were in the 90’s. Maybe Doug or Hey Arnold.
7) Are you a collector of anything? Those pressed pennies you get when you visit new places. I used to collect beanie baby bears and still have a ton.
8) If you could be any animal, what would you be? Panda
9) If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Teleportation.
10) What is usually your first thought when you wake up? WHYYYY
11) What do you usually think about right before falling asleep? “Tomorrow when I get home, I’m going straight to bed.” Then I never do. Lol.
12) What’s your favorite color? Pink.
13) What’s your favorite animal? Squirell or Dog
14) Do you believe in extraterrestrials or life on other planets? Yes
15) Do you believe in ghosts? I’m undecided but leaning towards yes.
16) Ever been addicted to a video/computer game? Which one(s)? The Sims and Glover when I was younger.
17) You’re given 1 million dollars, what do you spend it on? Student Loans… el oh el.
18) Have any bad habits? Diet soda, nail biting, not doing my dishes…
19) Which bad habits, if any, drive you crazy? It is a little annoying when I run out of forks…so I suppose not doing my dishes.
20) List 3 of your best personality traits: Witty, talkative and exuberant
21) List 3 of your worst personality traits: Overwhelming, lethargic, neurotic.
22) Have any celebrity crushes? James Marsden…my fave.
23) List 1 thing you wish you could change about yourself: I’d like to lose some weight and have a more positive outlook on life at times.
24) Any tattoos or piercings? Doubles in my ears, used to have cartilage but it hurt to sleep on.
25) What’s the first thing you notice in the opposite sex? Probably height and hair.
26) What personality traits do you look for in a partner? Compassionate.
27) What personality traits do you dislike in other people? Snarky, overly agressive, cold.
28) Do you see yourself getting married in the next 5 years? Yes, I’m getting married next June!
29) Are you mostly a clean or messy person? So very messy!  My poor fiancé has to deal with my mess. Lol.
30) If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live? Australia
31) If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go? NYC or Hawaii (We’re looking at NYC for the honeymoon!!) Yeahhh 🙂
32) List 5 goals on your life’s to-do list: 1) Get my CPIM 2) Work for a large international company 3) Get a dog 4) Travel outside the USA 5) Pay off my student loan.
33) Name 1 regret you have: I’m not sure I have any regrets but if I did I’d say not majoring in business/supply chain for undergrad but ultimately I found what I love so no love lost.
34) Name 1 thing you miss about being a kid: No bills!
35) Name 1 thing you love about being an adult: I can eat ice cream for dinner and no one tells me when to go to bed. Lmao. Also, I pick my own groceries and don’t have a curfew.
36) What’s your favorite song of the moment? Shape of You – Ed Sheeran or Perfect- Ed Sheeran
37) What’s your favorite song of all time? Eye of the Tiger
38) What’s your favorite thing to do on a Saturday night? Watch movies/hang out with friends.
39) What’s your favorite thing to do on a Sunday afternoon? Sleeping or shopping!
40) Have any hidden talents? I can recite the Greek and Spanish alphabet’s.
41) You’re about to walk the green mile, what do you have as your last meal? Boneless wings with ranch, lobster tail, cherry Dr. Pepper, mac n’ cheese and chocolate covered pretzels.
42) What would be your dream job? Buyer for Estee Lauder/L’Oreal/Trader Joes/Amazon/Cisco or Apple. Hire me, please! I have my MBA in SCM and am quite charming! 😀
43) Which would you rather have, 100 million dollars or true love? I already have my love so how about 100 million dollars? (Is that cheating? Lol.).
44) If you could have 3 wishes granted, what would they be? 1) For my parents to not have to work & be able to travel 2) to not gain weight when I eat 3) for everyone in my family (and my friends) to be healthy and happy
45) Ever wish you were born the opposite sex? If so, why? No, not really. Though it’d be nice for jean shopping.
46) Name 1 thing not many people know about you: When I was little I used to walk with my toes pointing towards each other
47) If you HAD to change your name, what would you change it to? I really like the name Skylar
49) What is one question you’d like answered? How do you make waffles without a waffle maker? Do you just resort to pancakes?

 

XO

 

-Amanda

Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Palette Review

~ SeriouslyStyled ~ 4 Comments

 

Oh my gosh isn’t this thing gorgeous?! Not only is this pretty to look at but it’s also definitely been tons of fun to play with! Mixing new shades has been both fun and oh so wrong (I’ve gotten some really ugly green lipsticks. Lol!). This baby is $48 on the Anastasia Beverly Hills website, which offers free shipping on orders over $25.

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However, I will say the mixing plate and spatula are a pain in the rear to clean, it isn’t just a swipe and be done type of product. The actual lipsticks in the palette are both creamy and have a beautiful matte finish. They’re also incredibly long lasting! I don’t really mind carrying a lipstick palette along with me, as my purse is a black hole but I never seem to want to bring this one because it’s lacking one seriously important thing if I’m using a product this large on the go; a mirror.

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All in all the actual product is beautiful and applies nicely and is also incredibly long lasting. These are traditional cream lipsticks, so they do transfer and don’t have the longevity of a liquid lipstick, as to be expected. However, this is something I would only recommend to a lipstick junkie or obsessed  makeup collector like myself. It isn’t very convenient (although it may be if you travel frequently) and there is no way to store the unique shades you mix up from the palette unless you go purchase small pill containers. So if you do want it, the product quality is well worth it but do realize it does have it’s drawbacks.

 

XO

-A

TooFacedXKatVonD Better Together eyeshadow palette review

~ SeriouslyStyled ~ 4 Comments

This collection will set you back a whopping $65 but also comes with a full size Better Than Sex mascara and a full size Tattoo Liner in Trooper. If you account for the cost of these two items in the price then you’re paying $23 for the eyeshadow palette or about $1.91 per shade.

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On the Too Faced side there are six shades: BFF (matte cream), Lovely (matte baby pink), Friendspiration (shimmery brass) , Heart of Gold (shimmery green toned old gold), Power Couple (dark chocolate brown with gold glitter) and Better Together (deep shimmery purple).

I was pleasantly surprised with all of the shimmer shades on this side of the palette. The only two dudes in the whole palette were the two matte shades: BFF and Lovely. They take a lot of building up to get color payoff, whereas all the other shades glide on like butter. The matte shades though disappointing do work if you’re willing to spend a bit of time blending.

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On the Kat Von D Side we have another six shades: Por Vida (matte white), Darling (shimmery grey), Yours (cool-toned deep, matte grey), Devotion (Deep matte black), Swoon (a gorgeous deep red with gold reflects) and Lovestruck (a light, shimmery, peachy gold).

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Ahh all of the shades on the Kat Von D side are honestly stunning. They blend like butter and do not disappoint. They are the exact same quality I have come to expect from Kat Von D. Not to mention the overall aesthetic of this collection is stunning. The two palettes also are connected via magnet and come apart easily if you only wanted to take one side while traveling.

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Overall, I find this collection a great value if you love the mascara and liner that the collection comes with or have been itching to try them. The quality, pigment and lasting power is all here in this little baby. I’d definitely scoop it up if you’re considering it!

 

365 Days of Samples-2

~ SeriouslyStyled ~ 1 Comment

Update #1 

Here are the samples I drew last time and my thoughts on them:

1.) The Professional Matte Rescue Foundation Primer-Benefit $28 for full size

I’ll be honest, I haven’t used this yet. I have extremely dry skin and live in northern Ohio, so I’ve been avoiding making myself look too matte and therefore dry and cakey, looks like this guy is rolling over to my next set of samples.

2.) Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream Perfume $80 for full size

It’s a nice, light fragrance. It, however, does not last very long on me unlike the original Daisy. It disappears far to quickly and isn’t anything special. WNR.

3.) Origins Night-A-Mins  renewal cream $43 for 1.7 oz.

This smells really nice and is nice and hydrating. WCR.

4.) Belif Aquabomb moisturizer $38 for 1.68 oz.

I started using this a bit and it is extremely hydrating and lovely. It has a light fragrance and does good things for my dry skin. I’ve made a large dent in this but I’ve still got a bit left so this rolls over to the next set of samples. WR.

5.) Nexxus hair treatment $15.79 for 4.8 oz.

This actually made my hair really soft and nice feeling. I used it as a conditioner and was honestly really impressed with how far this small sample went. I already have my holy grail conditioner/treatment but if I ever couldn’t find it or needed something else I’d look for this. WR.

6.) Whish body butter (lavender scented)$18 for 5 oz.

I can not stand the smell of this stuff. However, it does moisturize my skin. However, I like to smell like something…that I can tolerate the scent of. I’m glad to be rid of it. WNR.

7.) Philosphy Take a Deep Breath oxygenating gel $40 for 2 oz.

This is okay, it smells nice and works fine. However, it’s nothing special. WNR.

8.) Tatcha moisture rich silk cream $150 for 1.86 oz.

Oh. My. Gosh. This stuff is luxurious and incredible but when I looked up the price tag I was honestly horrified. $150?! That’s crazy! I did find a travel size on Amazon for $33, I would consider purchasing this to see how far I could stretch it while it was still beneficial for my skin. This stuff made my skin so soft, supple and moisturized. I even hoarded and got the most I could out of this sample because I love the way it made my skin feel. WCR.

9.) Shea Moisture facial wash/scrub and mask(s). (It’s a 3 pack). All 3 + extras for $19.

Ugh. I think this stuff was okay as far as cleansing my skin went but the mask made my face itch like crazy and boy does this stuff stink, in the worst way. I couldn’t get through the additional two face products and will be passing them along to the friend because I can’t stand the scent and doesn’t do well for my skin. WNR.

10.) Josie Maran Argan Daily Moisturizer $32 for 2 oz.

Before I opened this I thought it was the organ oil, however this is a moisturizer. It is very sticky and has a texture like Elmer’s glue which I find off-putting. It does, however, moisturize my skin and make my skin feel nice. I’m not sure I can get over the texture though. WNR.

Stay tuned this week for my next set of samples drawn from my box.

8 samples finished so far! Not too shabby. 

WCR- Would consider repurchasing
WNR-Would not repurchase
WR-Would repurchase