Unique Lip Colors from ColourPop : Wet, Charm, Raw, & Tootsi Lippie Pencils & Sticks + Drift Eyeshadow

I just placed a ColourPop order that included some pretty unique little lippie pencils and one lippie stick. I thought I would show you some swatches in case you're on the hunt for some funky colors. For some reason, I was totally intrigued by them, I guess I just wanted something a little different.

I thought Charm and Raw would go perfectly with some of the NYX Macaron Lippies I picked up last summer. Seeing them in person, I think they're relatively similar colors (as far as bold crazy colors are concerned). I feel like I could have just picked up one or the other, I don't need both, but then again, come to think of it as I'm typing, I could still use them as eyeliner. If that Charm works in the waterline, I'm gonna be ecstatic.

Tootsi looked like it would go well with my new favorite Trap liquid lipstick from ColourPop, or other colors of a similar hue that are so popular these days. Once I got it home, it really did match so well! It is a medium/deep brownish purple-ish taupe-y color that really is just unique. (I can't stop saying "unique," it's just such a great way to describe these!)

And the color Wet just looked awesome not only because of the shade itself but the interesting metallic looking finish. You know I love mattes, but I just couldn't resist, it looked super unique. I thought the lip liner would be metallic too, but it's actually matte just like the rest of the lippie pencils, which is even better! It's like a gray-brown.

And here's a little bonus...
I also picked up the Super Shock Eyeshadow in Drift because it looked like a great shade for the autumn. Seeing it in person, it's exactly what I think of when I hear "marsala," the Pantone color of the year 2015. I can't wait to film a tutorial featuring this little guy for the autumn season, perhaps with one of these interesting lip colors! Haha.

Thanks for reading!
I hope these swatches were helpful or at least entertaining for you!
Love,
Alaina

Creamy Potato Soup in the Crock Pot Recipe

Instagram @lainamarie91

I just made this soup last night after searching through some Pinterest posts. I gathered my newfound knowledge about potato soup and just threw some stuff together that sounded like it would work. So here you have it, my creamy potato soup in a crock pot recipe.

I chopped up a bunch of potatos, maybe a dozen or so small red round ones. I could have chopped them up even smaller but I was running low on time in the morning heading out for work. I just left the skins on because I wasn't about to peel all of these little potatoes, I just rinsed and scrubbed them before chopping them up. 

Creamy Potato Soup in the Crock Pot 

Ingredients:

12 Baby Red Potatoes

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

2 can-fulls of Water

1 Chicken Bouillon cube

8 oz package Cream Cheese

1/4 T salt 

1/8 T pepper

1/4 Tablespoon Onion Powder

2 cloves minced Garlic

2 Tablespoons Cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 Cup Water 

Bacon 

& Cheddar cheese

I threw all of the stuff into the crock pot on low for 11 hours (because that's how long I'm gone during the day). When I came home, it still looked too watery, so I stirred it up a little bit and it got a little better. It looked like there were still chunks of the cream cheese floating around. It still wasn't as creamy as I wanted it, so I added the cornstarch and water, turned the heat on high for a few minutes, and it thickened up really nicely.

I just fried up 4 pieces of bacon (which turned out to be the perfect amount) when I got home to make sure it was nice and crisp, then added some cheddar cheese and it was awesome!

I was skeptical about this soup, but my lovely husband requested it. I didn't think I was a fan of potato soup, it sounded kind of boring to me. I also didn't like that I kept seeing cream cheese as a main ingredient in all of the recipes I saw. I'm not a huge cream cheese fan. Luckily, it really didn't have a strong cream cheese flavor. The cheese and bacon on top were an excellent addition too.

Let me know if you try it out!

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina

Kat Von D Chrysallis Eyeshadow Palette

When I saw that this was on sale at Sephora, I knew I had to pick it up. It caught my eye a little bit back when it first released but it takes a lot to get me to purchase high end makeup. 

As it was right around my birthday, I justified this purchase as a birthday present to myself. When I shop at Sephora, I typically head straight for Kat Von D anyway, so I knew I would enjoy this little guy. It has a nice mixture of color and neutrals, but not just typical boring colors that you can find in any brand, so that's something I like about it.

I took a look at this palette online and fell in love with the first little third of it. That deep matte raspberry and pretty shimmery fuchsia shades totally caught my eye and screamed FALL to me. And once I got the palette at home, I fell even more in love with the whole thing. 

Let's just take a moment to appreciate this beautiful packaging. 

Gotta love Kat Von D's packaging, for sure.

This palette has a really nice weight to it. It seems to be made of cardboard or some sort of paper product, but it's surprisingly weighty and well made.

It has a magnetic closure and the lid folds right over, so it doesn't prop itself up in anyway.

Now let's do some swatchy-poos!

Top row: Lifelike, Lunar Lights, Lucid

First trio: Hybrid Moments, Mezzanine, Transition

Second trio: Glasswing, Melancholia, Black Milk

Third trio: Graphic Nature, Entombed, Tornay

Lifelike,
 Hybrid Moments, Mezzanine, Transition

Lifelike: This is a perfect matte highlighting cream shade on my fair skin. And I am so glad that it's a large pan because I think that a really good matte highlight will always be the first shade to hit pan on.

Hybrid Moments: This is a matte raspberry with a bit of a neutral brownish undertone. It's very unique in this way because it can work as a neutral defining shade or a pop of color without going overboard.

Mezzanine: This turns out to be less bright and fuchsia-y on the skin, but it's still a really great way to add color to a look without going overboard.

Transition: This shade really surprised me. I didn't think I would like it so much but it is so creamy and buttery and just a gorgeous light pink shimmery shade with a depth to it that makes it go really well with the other pinky shades in this part of the palette.

Lunar Lights,
Glasswing, Melancholia, Black Milk

Lunar Lights: A white shimmer shade with almost a metallic silver-like finish to it, this one would be great for those who love a shimmery highlight, but I've somewhat strayed away from that in my makeup routine the past year or so. 

Glasswing: This is an excellent transition shade. It is a nice medium warm brown that works great on my fair skin. It may not work as a transition for those with deeper skin tones though.

Melancholia: Another smooth as butter shade. This is a medium silver shimmer and it is just beautiful.

Black Milk: This is a light grey eyeshadow. I don't really know what I'm going to do with this one yet. I feel like it's a little light for a transition in the crease, but not dark enough to define the lash line. So I think I will have to experiment with this one a bit.

Lucid,
Graphic Nature, Entombed, Tornay

Lucid: This is another surprising shade for me. I think it's somewhat unique. It's a light pale pink but it's not too cool-toned pink. It also seems to have a matte base with little shimmers in it. 

Graphic Nature: I love this one. It's a beautiful graphite lead color with a bit of a sheen, but a lot of depth. It's a nice buttery one again.

Entombed: This one reminds me of the blue from my Kat Von D Beethoven palette I got for my birthday a few years ago from my best friend Shroomy. It has a lot of depth to it, but a really pretty navy blue sheen on top. 

Tornay: This one looks almost black when swatched, but in the pan you can see that it's a deep dark matte navy blue. 

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Overall, there is not a disappointment in the palette. I am very impressed and can't wait to play with this some more!

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina

Colour Pop Ultra Matte Lip - Trap Review

Let's just admire this color for a moment! Holy cow, it is beautiful! So unique and grungy and edgy and very cool, if you ask me. I understand why this type of color is so popular these days.

This product is transfer-proof.

It's actually decently comfortable on the lips, given the formula of the product and all. I wouldn't say it's moisturizing, but it's not really drying either. 

It does not feel sticky on the lips at all. It is also a really lightweight formula with a ton of pigment. It's thinner than the LA Girl Matte Flat Finish Pigment Glosses, which I reviewed recently too.

It fades a little bit while snacking or eating, but because of its light/neutral-ish color, you can't tell too much when your natural lips start peeking through in the center.

It reapplies nicely. It doesn't get chunky or streaky or weird when you go over the old product after it starts to fade. As with the LA Girl Matte Flat Finish Pigment Glosses, I find it best to blot off the lips after eating but before reapplying.

I feel like the lipstick comes out a shade or two darker on the lips than it looks in the tube. It seems to be more purple/mauve-y on the lips than the grey-taupe with a purple undertone you see in the tube. It's still a very cool color though.

Have you tried any of the new ColourPop Ultra Matte Lipsticks? What colors are you loving?

Love,

Alaina