Hello everyone! Today I'm bringing you some new products from NARS... complete with a little review and pictures of both the products! Yay for summer collections, yes?? :)

Let's get to the breakdown...

 NARS Laguna / Casino Bronzing Powder Duo

 When I first opened this duo, I was surprised because both powders look really similar. However, I've had these for a couple weeks now and I'm confident in saying they are fairly different. 

 On the left side, there's Laguna. Laguna is the famous matte bronzer that works for pretty much every single skin tone. It's a really nice shade and it's super easy to work with! 

 On the right side, there's Casino. You can see that has a slightly warmer tone and is also very easy to work with. I'd say that Laguna is better for contouring while Casino is better for bronzing (carrying up onto the cheeks). I think these are both really nicely pigmented and smooth. 

I couldn't find the bronzing duo online (they might be sold out :( ) so here's links for the bronzers seperately. (affiliate links)

LAGUNA

CASINO

 NARS Long Hot Summer Eyeshadow Palette

 This is the cutest little palette. This is actually smaller than the bronzing duo! Inside, there are 6 neutral-toned eyeshadows. 4 of the shadows are shimmery and 2 of them are matte. 

 The names are from left to right, top to bottom: Long Hot Summer I, Long Hot Summer II, Bellissima II, Long Hot Summer III, Long Hot Summer IV, and Bengali

 I found the names kind of funny and un-original for NARS. However, that's not what matters right? Let's talk about the eyeshadows themselves. I love these eyeshadows and I love how compact this palette it. However, I feel like there's not a ton of versatility in looks with this. I can get maybe 2 or 3 different looks, but I feel like theres should've been one more matte or perhaps a different range of colors because I find some of them a little similar *cough cough, Long Hot Summer III and IV, cough cough*. If you don't mind having the option of 2 or 3 looks, I'd say this is great because I love the size! However, if you're like me... who likes to look different everyday, I find myself reaching for supplemental colors when I'm using this palette. 

Well, there's my quick review and haul of some of the products from the new NARS Long Hot Summer Collection ! Let me know if you've tried these products and what you think of them :) 

xoxo,
Morgan 

[REVIEW] Rire Lip Powder Review in Hot Plum

I'm always on the hunt for interesting and fun products (let me know if you find any ok? :D ) so when I saw this RIRE Lip Powder, I knew I had to get it and test it out. Check out my video review below to see what I thought about it!

Let's get to the breakdown...

So, in typical fashion, here are the close-up pics and my written review of the product.

RIRE Lip Powder in Hot Plum
Pick one up HERE (affiliate) 

Packaging...

The packaging is... ok. Honestly, to me, it looks a little cheap. Plus, I don't find it that functional. As you can see in the demo that I did in the video, the handle actually makes applying the product more difficult. It doesn't allow for an accurate application and since the handle is tapered, I could see this slipping out of my fingers, dropping it, and making a mess. 

Consistency

This had the COOLEST consistency. Like the name implies, it does start off as a powder. However, magically, it turns into a liquid lipstick consistency when you apply it or rub it. I love it and it actually feels fairly moisturizing on my lips considering this started off as a powder. 

 Application
This applies really smoothly. I love how it glides onto my lips, which are usually very dry. Like I mentioned above, I'm not a fan of the packaging, but overall, the actual product was nice to apply. Plus, I really liked the color!

Overall

I didn't test this to see how long it would last, however, it did pretty much seem like a liquid lipstick stain. It does stain a little bit but you can also wipe it off for the most part. Hopefully, that makes sense. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this first impressions and let me know of any other cool products you've tried!!

Packaging: **

Consistency: *****

Color: ****

Overall: ****

xoxo,
Morgan 

[Review] Maybelline Pure BB Mineral Cushion BB Fresh Review

I have been dying to get my hands on this. Luckily, I just happened to have a friend going to China so I made sure she picked the up for me. Sorry to review something that's a little hard to find at the moment, but I'm thinking maybe we can encourage Maybelline to release their Pure BB Mineral Cushion BB Fresh globally :)

Let's get to the breakdown...

Packaging...

The packaging is very simple looking. I actually really like that is a very clean design. The cushion bb cream can be popped out of the packaging so I assume you can get refills for this :) Unfortunately, I can't read the box itself because as you can see in the pictures it's in Chinese and Japanese... which I can't understand. haha.

 Shade...

I got mine in shade 02. For reference sake, I'm about an NC 20-25 in MAC foundations. This shade is a PERFECT match for my skin. It has a nice yellow undertone, which makes it looks super natural. Since this is from Asia, I was worried it was going to have the typical white, ghostly cast that a lot of Asian foundations have but this doesn't :) Unfortunately, there are only two shades available which is a definite letdown. 

 Coverage...

This has a fairly high coverage for a bb cushion. I would say this is one of the highest coverage bb cushions I've tried! I love it. You can see my freckle in the pictures below to see the coverage!

Finish...

The finish of the Maybelline Pure BB Mineral Cushion BB Fresh is very natural looking. I like that it's not too dewy so you don't look like an oil slick but it's also not too matte, which can make you look lifeless. 

Lasting-Ability...

Without a primer, concealer and powder, this bb cushion lasts a good 6-7 hours on my skin. Keep in mind my skin is dry so I don't have to retouch with powder throughout the day too often. I tried it with a primer, concealer and powder and it lasted pretty nicely the whole day. I'm pretty happy with how this looks at the end of the day. Check out my video review to see exactly what it looked like! 

Overall...

Packaging: ****

Shade: ***

Coverage: *****

Finish: *****

Lasting-Ability: ****

Overall: ****

xoxo, 

Morgan 

Colourpop Cosmetics Eyeshadow, Lippie Stix, & Ultra Matte Lip Haul + Swatches!

I have been dying to try Colourpop Cosmetics! I kept checking out the website, looking through their instagram and watching other hauls on youtube... yet I almost feel guilty since I know I have so much makeup and I've been trying to cut back a little. Well, long story short, that didn't work. I broke down and figured well, this is my passion so what the heck?! Plus, I get to share it with you guys and maybe introduce you to some products you'd be interested in trying too! Well, that was a bit of an intro. haha.

Let's get to the breakdown....

Colourpop Cosmetics Super Shock Eyeshadows

Now these babies are awesome! If you've watched any videos or read any blogs about these videos, every one raves about the texture of the eyeshadows. I'm jumping on that band wagon! Well, I guess not really, since I genuinely LOVE the texture of these eyeshadows! 

Their eyeshadows are $5 a pop, which makes them pretty affordable. The colors are very pigmented and unique. I love their wide array of colors, shades, and finishes. 

Using these eyeshadows are really easy! You can use the with a brush or your finger. They do say on the website that using your finger improves the color payoff. I feel like thats how most eyeshadows are anyways. The swatches below were done with my finger. Look how pretty they are. 

The shades from left to right are: Puppy Love, Bill, Bandit, Central Perk, BAE, and Friskie.

I wanted to pointed this eyeshadow out in particular because I think this is so cool! All of the proceeds from this particular eyeshadow, Puppy Love, go to Best Friends Animal Society. I think that's so awesome and I'm always down to support a good cause. Plus, the color is really pretty :) 

 As you can see marked on the sides of the boxes, you need to keep the lids of these eyeshadows nice and tight to prevent them from drying up. Another thing I want to note about these eyeshadows is these don't last a very long time. I've used Puppy Love less than 10 times, maybe around 8 or 9, and I've already hit pan! I pointed this out in the video above and you can see where I hit pan. I'm assuming this is because of the smooth texture so you use more product up when you use it. 

 ColorPop Cosmetics Super Shock Blush

This is the only blush I've tried from Colourpop. The shade I have is in Flush'd. The color of this is a really pretty coral color. I was actually hoping this would be a little bit more... brown I guess? I'm not really sure. I do want to say the pictures on the Colourpop website aren't the best. I feel like this is a common issue with ordering online so that's the beauty of bloggers right?! :D I still love this color though and it looks really nice on my skin tone. 

 Colourpop Lippie Stixs

These are a BIG seller for Colourpop. Not only do they come in a wide array of colors, but they're super smooth, comfortable to wear, and very affordable at $5 each. I love the price point of these because I feel like I can experiment with different colors and not feel guilty if I don't wear it everyday. 

From left to right: Grunge, Brink, Lady, Nevermind, Rayezor, and Oh Snap.

 Here are the swatches done in the same order as above. If you want to see what they look like on my lips, check out the video above! I tried every color on my lips to show you how they look on my skin tone. I also did this with the Ultra Matte Lips as well :) 

 Colourpop Ultra Matte Lips

These are also a big seller for Colourpop. Again, they come in lots of colors, are very affordable at $6 each, and they're comfortable to wear for a matte lip color. You can see the color family that I like to stick with can't you!? :) haha. I swear, even though they look really similar in the tubes, they all look very different on my lips. Again, I did apply them on my lips in the video above, so if you're curious to see how they look check that out! 

From left to right: Avenue, Beeper, Teeny Tiny, Chilly Chili, Bumble, and Tulle 

 The swatches below are in the same order as stated above! 

Alrighty! :) That's everything I hauled from Colourpop! I did this haul in two separate orders. The first order I did have some issues with, which I talked about in the video, so if you're curious about that check that out! Just to give you a hint; some of my lippies smelled like PLASTIC. Yuck! Just watch the video and I'll explain :) Hope you guys had fun reading this post! 

Please don't forget to subscribe to my channel, The Beauty Breakdown, for more video reviews, tutorials, etc and follow this blog for more fun stuff :) Love you so much!

xoxo, 

Morgan 

[Review] Etude House Big Cover Concealer BB and Cushion Concealer + Monkey Wish Eyeshadows

In this month's Pink Bird Ambassador Box from Etude House, I got some exciting goodies! In my pink box was the Big Cover Concealer BB in Beige, the Big Cover Concealer Cushion in Peach Pink, and 3 Eyeshadows from the Look at my Eyes Monkey Wish Eyes Collection. I was sure to show you guys these in my recent First Impressions of the products, but let's get into a little written review :)

Let's get to the breakdown...

Etude House Big Cover Concealer BB in Beige

The concept behind this BB cream is to be a high coverage BB. I believe it designed with oily skinned people in mind. The tip is a multi tip, so it has different sides and surfaces so you can apply the BB cream is several different ways. You can use the side to apply a thin layer everywhere, you can use the curved side along your cheeks and nose, or you can use the tip for spot concealing. This concealer is very high coverage and set very quickly! When I apply it, I work with one section at a time. I find that this does ok on my dry skin, but I really think this would be excellent for oily skinned people. Also, I wanted to note that this seems to run a little light. Usually in Etude House shades, I'm always shade 3. However, the shade 3 of this BB cream is a little light. It's not crazy light, but it is a bit lighter than normal. Oh, and there are 4 shades altogether. 

 Etude House Big Cover Concealer Cushion in Peach Pink

I am in LOVE! I love this concealer. This is a color-correcting concealer so it brightens any areas you apply it to. They do have 3 other "skin-colored" shades, which are designed for covering pimples, under eye areas, etc., and 3 color correcting concealers in total. This one is not necessarily for covering pimples but I love using this under my eyes! It really does brighten my face and it blends so nicely! I really do like this and find myself reaching for it a lot. 

 Of course, my only complaint of this concealer is the applicator. I really don't care for these sponge tip applicators. How I use this is I just swipe it onto the back of my clean hand and then apply it on my face from there. 

 Swatches

Below are swatches of both the Concealer BB and Concealer Cushion. The first picture is my hand with no makeup. I use this area for my swatches because of the freckle of my wrist! haha. It's a great gauge to see the coverage and how it looks in general. To see it on my face and see how it blends/the application, check out my first impressions above!

The swatch on the left is the concealer BB in beige. The swatch on the right is the concealer cushion in peach pink. 

 Look at My Eyes Monkey Wish Eyes 

I received 3 different eyeshadows. Etude House brought out these eyeshadows in celebration of the Lunar New Year and the Year of the Monkey (Fun Fact: I was born during the Year of the Monkey!). The packaging of these eyeshadows are limited edition and each eyeshadow has a little monkey imprinted in each eyeshadow! 

 From left to right, the eyeshadow shades are BE109 Pay Day, PK013 Cheer Up, and GR707 Exam Passed.

 Swatches

The swatches below are done without an eyeshadow primer and with my finger. Overall, I'll be honest. I'm not impressed with these eyeshadows. These actually swatched a lot nicer than I thought they would! On my eyes, I don't think they look particularly nice. I feel like these fall short of the quality Etude House usually has for the eyeshadows. My favorite color is Exam Passed but the one that is the smoothest is Pay Day. Unfortunately, Cheer Up is just too chunky and not very smooth.

Alright, so that's what I received in my last Pink Bird Ambassador Box! Hope you guys enjoyed and don't forget to follow this website for more reviews and subscribe to my youtube channel, The Beauty Breakdown! I'll love you forever :) 

xoxo, 

Morgan 

[Review] Etude House Tint My Brows Gel in #1 Brown First Impressions! Tattooing My Eyebrows?!

Ok, so my eyebrows are something that are very important to me. I feel like eyebrows really make your face look complete, so I'm willing to try anything to make my eyebrows look...well...on fleek. haha. When I heard about Etude House Tint My Brow Gel, I thought "YES! Eyebrows for more than one day and I don't have to fill them in?!". So you bette believe I went straight to the internet and bought myself one.

The concept behind this brow tattoo is it's supposed to last for up to a week, despite washing your face, applying makeup, and touching your eyebrows. This is a great concept for those of you who might like to have "no makeup" days, but still want to look put together.

You can pick one up HERE (affiliate) 

So let's get to the breakdown...

Process...

With your face cleansed and dry, you want to apply the gel onto your eyebrows/where you want to dye your hair (or more, the skin underneath). After that, let it sit on your face for two hours. Yes, you will look insane... I know I sure did! It's also advised on the side of the box that you leave it on overnight and remove it in the morning. However, ain't nobody got time for that! I was already shocked I had to leave it on for two hours! Talk about a time commitment. Once the two hours are up, you remove it. It should peel off in one piece. You're supposed to peel it off from the tail of the eyebrow (oops). I didn't do that and lost a couple eyebrow hairs in the process of removing it (which I showed in the video below!). However, I have since tried removing it from the tail as well and STILL lost a couple hairs. So I don't know if I have sensitive eyebrows or what, but I say just remove cautiously and if anything, scrape it off. 

Packaging...

The packaging of this product isn't anything fantastic. Although I will say, I wish the applicator was a little bit different. When applying this, I did manage to be fairly accurate but I think a sharper tip would've made applying this much easier. 

Shade...

I LOVED the shade of this product. I got mine in shade #1 brown and I felt like it was a prefect match for my eyebrows. However, I have heard that the other two shades, light brown and grey brown, are a bit of miss for some people. I've read really mixed reviews on how these shades look. Some people say the light brown is too orange and the grey brown is too grey, while others say they like the look. So definitely check out some swatches and decide for yourself if you think you'd be happy with the colors. I personally think the shade I have looks the most natural.

Results...

I have really mixed emotions about this product. This is supposed to last for about a week and I do have to admit, it did! I really liked how it looked on day 2-4 because after it had faded a bit, it looked super natural.  Personally, I felt like it looked a little too "painted on" on day 1 for my liking.  Now this is where my mixed feelings came in. Besides the first day, I still found myself filling in my eyebrows despite them being colored in more. I just felt that with a full face of makeup, the tint wasn't quite apparent enough for my liking. I also just generally like having my eyebrows held in place by some type of wax or gel as well. I will say that when I didn't have any makeup on though, they looked great and I obviously didn't feel the need to fill them in. Since I wear makeup almost everyday, this just honestly isn't that useful for me. I do like the concept but 2 hours?! 2 HOURS?! For something that I'm going to end up going over anyways? It's just not that practical for me. So take it as you will. This would definitely fit the needs of some, but for me, it just doesn't make much sense to repeatedly buy and use this. 

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5 

Overall...

I'd say I could see the tint on my eyebrows for about 5 days. On day 6, it was completely gone. Keep in mind, I carried on with my normal cleansing routine and wasn't going to tailor my skincare around my eyebrows. On the instructions it does say to avoid pressure (haha), makeup remover, oil, and cleansers in this area while you have it on. That's a bit much in my opinion so I didn't really follow that. By the way, I'm aware I forgot to take a before picture for the website, but you can see in the video what my eyebrows looked like before very clearly! So just refer to that :) Also, I know the lighting is also a little different in each photo but I was traveling and using my phone to take pictures. But, you get the point! lol. Anyways, that's my written review of the Etude House Tint My Brows Gel! Hope you guys enjoyed and don't forget to follow this website and subscribe to my youtube channel, The Beauty Breakdown, for more reviews, travel posts, and more!