Not Another Wet n Wild Hunt?

Wet n Wild's Limited Edition Pop Art Craze trios weren't for me. Though the display and the white palettes were super cute, I just couldn't get behind most of the color combinations/the colors themselves. I did buy one trio, To Muse and Carouse, and ended up returning it because of its quality. The eyeshadows were so powdery and dry, had terrible color payoff, and were just...awful. And I LOVE Wet n Wild!

The Limited Edition Tough Girl Collection trios were released shortly after. Again, super duper cute but did I really need them? No. But apparently also yes because I ended up getting these two:

Then another limited edition set? What are you doing to me, Wet n Wild?? I've yet to see any official promo stuff for the new fall trios (Silent Era Film, Grays Matter, and Camera Obscura). Lots of photos are popping up on Instagram using #wnw, #wetnwild, #wetnwildbeauty, and all other variations of the hashtag I've been stalking like the giant mess that I become when I see "limited edition" on a thing.

Camera Obscura instantly reminded me of the Bobbi Brown Limited Edition Navy & Nude Eye Palette. At $60 it was a little plain to get all that worked up over, let alone buy, but a kinda-sorta dupe for $2.99? Gimme! How creepy is it that I want to message complete strangers asking to buy the trios for me? I won't. But I want to.

I went to a couple Walgreens' and Kmarts (plus a Walmart for good measure) and had no luck. While searching I happened upon this Limited Edition Fergie Jet-Set Palette and G. over at Nouveaucheap wrote about it! I couldn't justify spending $30 on a single item at Walgreens but G. received one from Wet n Wild to review, so if you're interested keep a lookout for her upcoming post. Maybe it's worth it? Maybe I'll hate myself for not buying two? WHO KNOWS!

Obviously not much has changed since my last Wet n Wild hunt (literally nothing). Down the ★ Inexpensive ★ Limited ★ Edition ★ Drugstore ★ rabbit hole I go...

ETA: I've updated the post to add a comparison between the Enlisting for Beauty (limited edition) and Silent Treatment (permanent) because Chantelle asked:

Enlisting for Beauty reminds me of Silent Treatment. Are the shades in those two so similar that I only need one?

Silent Treatment on the left, Enlisting for Beauty on the right

You can see they're actually very different trios and I would suggest picking up both if you're a fan of neutrals! Silent Treatment is cooler-toned than Enlisting for Beauty and both have great pigmentation. Enlisting for Beauty isn't quite as smooth to the touch as Silent Treatment but still totally worth it.

P.S. Erin found and got me the new fall trios all the way in exotic Cleveland! Yes!!

A Romantic Look with LORAC's GLOgetter Palette

In an attempt to hold onto summer a little longer, I've been using my limited edition LORAC GLOgetter Palette which was an ULTA exclusive released in late spring. There was a bit of a frenzy trying to get a hold of these guys, but I lucked out and picked mine up in-store for only $20!

The LORAC GLOgetter Palette was the only palette I packed for my vacation in NYC this summer and it never left me wishing I'd brought something in its place. I find that LORAC's eyeshadows are always so nicely pigmented, soft to the touch, and very quick to blend. I won't gush too much since this palette is no longer available but hopefully you can dupe the colors I used for this look with products you own!

I used a very light hand while applying everything so the look would be softer and subtle while I embraced fall with my lip color (Rimmel #107 Lasting Finish Matte).

Products Used:
Milani Eyeshadow Primer in 01 Nude
LORAC GLOgetter Palette
Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in Black
Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeliner Pencil in Turquoise
Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara
Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Eyeliner in Nude
e.l.f. Eyebrow Kit in Medium (not pictured—oops!)

Step 1: Pat champagne peach onto eyelid with an eyeshadow brush.
Step 2: Apply warm purple to outer crease and blend with a blending brush.
Step 3: Apply mauve taupe to crease and blend with a crease brush.
Step 4: Apply champagne as highlight to browbone and tear duct with finger.
Step 5: Line lower lashline with turquoise eyeliner, set with golden teal duochrome.
Step 6: Line waterline with nude waterproof eyeliner.
Step 7: Give yourself wings!

HauteLook just had a new for fall LORAC exclusive: The Stylist Palette and I'm totally kicking myself for not getting it. It was only $15, too! I showed restraint though because already have enough. Aren't you proud of me??

Disaster Strikes and History Repeats Itself

Well, well, well, look what we have here. A plant update/disaster story courtesy of Princess, my clueless 15-year-old cocker spaniel.

Here she decided Andrew's backpack would make a great dog bed

She's deaf, going blind, and slides a bit when she walks because she doesn't have 100% muscle control anymore but she's generally really healthy considering her age. She's always on the hunt for food, or whatever she thinks is food, and is rarely ever looking forward or up. In her world it's eyes on the floor = eyes on prize (possibly food, though it's mostly dog hair).

I'm not entirely sure if Princess mistook my hands being filled with plants as my hands being filled with treats, or if she was just scanning the floor for never-even-there crumbs. Either way, she knocked into me and when I couldn't recover fast enough, I tripped. This happens countless times every single day. Andrew and I are constantly tripping over her, but this time I tripped while moving my leaf cuttings from one window sill to another and, thus, disaster struck.

It took me quite a while to clean up the mess and go through each cutting while playing plant surgeon. After two long hours of babying the leaves and the tiny plants growing from them, I ended up with a few new arrangements. Admittedly, they look super cute with their little toothpick supports even if it's sad they need them.

Because I mist the plants I don't think drainage will be an issue this time around, I just hope they're not in shock/on the brink of death. So many tiny leaves broke off and now I'm guessing all of their energy will be put into recovery versus growth. I'll be happy as long as they don't all die.

The leaf cuttings and plants which were totally unaffected by Princess' wrath are still going strong. Some have been late bloomers but now have wild hot pink roots growing in every direction after looking like this only a month ago.

One of my lithops is worrying me a bit; same goes for my Split Rock. Both have gone wrinkly all of a sudden despite both only being watered once. I'm not totally sure, but I think the misting of nearby plants may be the culprit. I hope they make it...

And here I thought this single leaf I knocked off a couple weeks ago was a tragedy! I post progress shots on Instagram if you'd like to see these little guys growing in between posts, and I've blogged about them in July and August. It's all so cute and stressful! Can you believe they survived this just last Friday?

Sonia Kashuk Eye Couture Review and Swatches

Sonia Kashuk's Eye Couture Eye Palettes finally proved too irresistible a few weeks ago. Gorgeous jewel tones caught my eye while walking through Target's makeup section. Then I spotted the words "Limited Edition" and I had to make Jewel of an Eye mine, like, immediately.

Jewel of an Eye, Eye On Neutral (M), Eye on Neutral (S), Eye On Glamour

For months I'd pick up Eye On Glamour but I'd always manage to talk myself out of it. "The color arrangement is making you do this—put it baaack." This time was different though. It was on clearance; I had no choice. The situation was quickly snowballing and before I knew it I had Eye on Neutral in my basket as well. It's the Target effect! Then last week I spotted a new addition to the Sonia Kashuk line, the Eye on Neutral SHIMMER! I'm such a sucker...

I was able to find very little info online (frantically on my phone while in the makeup aisle) before checking out and I wish I'd known better. So reviews and swatches for each of these Sonia Kashuk palettes was an absolute must.

Jewel of an Eye
$19.99 | 9.6 grams
Available in stores and online

Jewel of an Eye is a new Limited Edition all-shimmer palette for Fall 2013, which launched in early August. It has beautiful jewel-toned colors perfect for Fall, but is totally well-rounded enough to use all year. The eyeshadows are opaque, extremely soft to the touch, and a great way to play with rich, deeper colors. The steel blue/teal is the only semi-dry shade.

Bottom Line: DEFINITELY GET IT! NOW! GO, GO, GO!

Swatched without primer


Swatched over primer

Eye On Neutral 02
$19.99 | 9.6 grams
Available in stores and online

Eye on Neutral 02 is a re-release of an all-matte palette in the permanent line (the packaging was made less bulky). There's a wide range of neutral colors but the texture is so incredibly chalky. The eyeshadows are blendable, swatch pigmented, but sheer out significantly once applied to the eye. If a cream base is used the color can be built up, though.

Bottom Line: I feel like this palette gets a lot of hype because it's an all-matte neutral palette at a mid-range price. Given the quality I would recommend skipping it.* I will say despite its powderiness, it's great for brows!

Swatched without primer


Swatched over primer

Eye on Neutral Shimmer
$19.99 | 9.6 grams
Available in stores and online

Eye on Neutral Shimmer is an all-shimmer palette new for Fall/Winter 2013, which launched mid-August and seems to be permanent. There's a great range of neutral shades, much like the all-matte version of the palette. The colors are beautiful and opaque, the texture is nice and soft, and it's an awesome accent to Jewel of an Eye.

Bottom Line: A great alternative to the all-matte Eye on Neutral palette and worth getting if you love neutrals and aren't afraid of a little shimmer.

Swatched without primer


Swatched over primer

Eye On Glamour
$13.98 | 9.6 grams
Available in stores and not sold online

Eye On Glamour is a bright-colored multi-texture palette from Spring 2013, which launched in March and is now discontinued. There is a mix of mattes, satins, and glitter shades, with the glitters being totally out of control (after swatching I had it on me for what felt like days). The colors are beautiful in the pan, however most performed just as chalky as Eye on Neutral 02.

Bottom Line: It's awful. And it's actually the reason I was back at Target last week and ended up with the Eye on Neutral Shimmer palette. I hastily returned it before taking anything more than a phone photo of it (sorry about that!).

Swatched without primer

Overall: Sonia Kashuk's Eye Couture Eye Palettes have me torn, they're so hit-and-miss. For the amount of product these palettes provide, and the number of colors, it seems like an awesome deal. However, some of the eyeshadows are just unusable in my opinion. Thankfully Target has a great return policy and, I'll admit, I feel guilty returning used cosmetics but you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

*NOTE: Because it's at this weird too-expensive-for-its-own-good/so-cheap-when-compared-to-high-end-stuff, it's hard to completely hate Eye On Neutral 02. For $7 more you can get Urban Decay's Naked Basics ($27), for $19 more Stila's In the Know ($39), or for $22 more you can get the LORAC Pro Palette ($42), hell, even the LE Enlisting for Beauty Wet n Wild trio may be a good alternative and it's only $2.99! I think I may return mine because I own all of those palettes already (except Wet n Wild's new trio) since I have zero self-control.

Turning 27 & Celebrating Year Two

The end of August and start of September holds two significant days for me. Those two days being my birthday and Andrew's and my wedding anniversary. It's still hard to believe we're married—let alone celebrating our 2-year anniversary! This year we took some time and enjoyed a short vacation while house-sitting for his parents.

TOP & PANTS: H&M, JEWELRY: Forever 21, Art Effect, Macha, DIY, SHOES: Sam Edelman

Everything sort of jumbled together during that week and a half, as most vacations do, and ended with an incredible meal at an entirely-too-fancy restaurant as a gift from my in-laws. It was the perfect, and I mean perfect, excuse to finally break out my Sam Edelman Yara Lucite Heel sandals. They are absolutely the most gorgeous things I have ever put on my feet.

Lightly Smoked Salmon, Caviar, Radishes, Cucumber, Horseradish Crème fraîche (+ a single chip (lol))


Gazpacho with Heirloom Tomato, Shrimp, Crème fraîche | Corn Soup with Leeks, Corn, Lobster

Raspberry Sorbet, Peaches, Basil

Wild Icelandic Cod, Seasonal Mushrooms, Bacon, Turnip, Tarragon Sauce
(My entrée, blurred in the background: Wild Alaskan Halibut, Seasonal Vegetables, Porto Sauce)

Chocolate Flourless Cake, Vanilla Ice Cream & Raspberry-Blueberry Tarte, Blueberry Ice Cream

The food served at Oceanique was fantastic and we'll probably never go back again—ha! After our meal, we ended the night with a few cocktails at Billy Sunday (Rahm Emanuel walked in, strangely enough). Andrew's more of an Old Fashioned, served up kind of guy, whereas I like my alcohol to taste as little like alcohol as possible. Billy Sunday's Cobbler was just the drink for me.

Vin De Maison, Soursop, White Dog, Lime, Martinique Bitters, Elderberries

Andrew surprised me with a horseback riding adventure on my birthday—something I'd never done before. I wasn't expecting to be as frightened as I was and it took some serious soul-searching to calm my nerves. The horses were beautiful and quite docile but still. Although it happened to be the hottest day of August, the trail was beautiful and the experience was a lot of fun and mostly pain-free. The sore thighs the next day? Whoa.

We also spent a day at the Lincoln Park Zoo (while it was 90° with 80% humidity), ate loads of food, did some frivolous shopping, and of course a good amount of relaxing. I'd like to say the end of my summer was awesome, but it's well into September and still 95° out. You guys know what I mean!

Get the Look with theBalm's BalmJovi Palette

theBalm's BalmJovi Rockstar Palette is a great, well-rounded face palette, and the first of its kind in my ever-growing collection. Much like their Meet Matt(e) Nude palette, it performs awesomely! As I mentioned a couple months back, theBalm sent it to me after my Nude ‘tude/eBay fiasco.

Even though Moderato is a little dry, it still performs well for a matte and darkened up my crease nicely. I do find Iron Maid-in to be pretty sheer so using a gold cream base was necessary to get the color payoff I wanted—a little annoying but workable. All in all, I really dig the palette's perfect-for-fall color range, and love the variety of textures. I've yet to use the cream products in the palette, but that's because I have one billion lipsticks already.

Products Used:
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Pure Gold
theBalm BalmJovi Rockstar Palette
Physician's Formula Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner + Serum in Ultra Black
Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara
Maybelline Lash Discovery Mascara
NYX Wonder Pencil in Light
Anastasia Brow Powder Duo in Dark Brown

Step 1: Apply golden base (Pure Gold) onto eyelid and blend with finger.
Step 2: Pat gold (Iron Maid-in) onto eyelid with an eyeshadow brush.
Step 3: Apply brown (Allegro) to outer crease and blend with a blending brush.
Step 4: Apply coral (Don’t You Want Me) to soften edge of outer crease.
Step 5: Apply eggplant (Moderato) to crease and blend with a crease brush.
Step 6: Apply pale gold (Solid Gold) as highlight to browbone and tear duct.
Step 7: Bring pale gold down to inner 1/3 of lower lash line with a pencil brush. Step 8: Apply mauve (Blink 1982) to outer 2/3 of lower lash line.
Step 9: Line waterline with nude waterproof eyeliner.
Step 10: Give yourself wings!

Check out my previous post on this palette if you'd like to see swatches, it also covers theBalm's Meet Matt(e) Nude. HauteLook offers theBalm every couple months or so but I'm not totally sure if the BalmJovi Rockstar Palette is always available. Keep an eye out just in case!

UPDATE: theBalm is back on HauteLook today (6/20/14) through Monday (6/23/14) 8AM Pacific! Get this palette for 51% off - only $19.50!