Hausfrau Book Review

So a few months ago, I was at Barnes & Noble with my boyfriend and was browsing the new fiction section & stumbled upon the absolutely GORGEOUS book cover of Hausfrau by Jill Alexander Essbaum. So I literally picked it because the cover is amazing :P Shallow, I know. But I read the synopsis and it actually sounded like a book I would enjoy. I didn't have the $26.00 to purchase it then, so I ordered the advance copy of it off Ebay for only $6.00 because I'm a cheap ass and my local library didn't have it.

My copy isn't as pretty.. but ya know. 

This book is about a woman named Anna. She is a good wife, mostly. She is an American living in Zurich with her husband and three children. You think she'd be happy, but she isn't. Her life feels unfulfilled and she fills it with having affairs with other men. Not just one man, but three :P This is a depressing novel but yet it's very good. I feel like if you're the type of person who wants lots of action packed stuff going on in a book -- this wouldn't be for you. Not a lot of people would probably want to read a book about a housewife feeling shitty about herself for doing shitty things.. but it was very well written. You actually felt the way Anna was feeling. Very good pick up.  

Dupe Alert - Anastasia Artist Palette!

So, if you've been following me .. or know me.. you know I make & sell my own cosmetics pigments. Well I picked up the Anastasia Artist palette over the weekend & realized I have 3 dupes in my Thirtyonewest line! 

Pretty sweet, huh?

That's it really, the end. 

If you haven't checked out my Etsy shop lately, I have some new pigments up for grabs! So be sure to check out the shop -- my link is on the left side of the screen ;)

Dry crusty face? Not anymore!

I have combination skin.. Mostly normal.. But an extremely oily nose & dry forehead (between my eyebrows). Even though my nose is super oily, it's also really dry at the same time. Weird, I know. But it peels really bad. I have been looking for a good moisturizer to use in the winter/summer.. And I randomly decided to pick up the Olay Age Defying Anti-Wrinkle Night Cream. That's a mouthful. 

I think I paid about $13 for this at Target. This stuff is AMAZING! It hydrates the hell out of my face & leaves it smelling like I sprayed some high end perfume on my face. It smells really good. If you are sensitive to smell, I wouldn't recommend this. This product helped get rid of my dry patches super fast. As for wrinkles, im only 25 and don't have any wrinkles currently. So I guess I'll be able to let you know about that in 10 years :P lol 

But for people with dry skin or dry patches in their skin, I'd highly recommend this product. 

Hard Candy Birthday Suit Palette - Review/Swatches

I only purchased this about 3 days ago at Walmart and have only done one look with this palette. So I suppose this is kind of a first impressions review type post. This palette is $6.00 at Walmart -- I think they have 4 other palettes with different finishes in this collection. I only picked up one to test it out.

The one I picked up is a neutral - completely matte - palette. The colors look gorgeous just from looking at the pictures. The packaging is awesome.. Shit, just the packaging is worth $6.00! It comes with 2 double ended applicators for application.. But of course I don't use those. I forgot to picture them :/ oops. Anyway here are the pictures:

These shadows are kind of chalky. However, when I did the one look I did with this palette, I had no fall out. These shadows are very blend-able, but if you blend them out too much - the color will fade. So you have to build up the color if you blend. I wish I would have taken a picture of my look, but I was in a hurry and forgot :/ so I'll have to post a separate post with different looks with this palette. For the price this palette is.. It isn't horrible. I've only tried it once so I have yet to use all the colors, but one color I did use was the navy blue color that isn't greatly pigmented and it showed up on my eyes. I did have to add more of the color after I blended, but it stayed and didn't fade throughout the day. I actually really liked the look I came up with using this palette.  So if you'd like to try out this palette, I'd say pick it up since it's cheap. I think I'm going to purchase a shimmery one & see how it is compared to this one as well. So.. To be continued.. Possibly. Unless I get lazy & don't post for another 3 months :P. Joking.. Sort of ;)

Urban Decay Electric Palette - Review & Different Looks

I was finally able to get the Urban Decay Electric palette about 2-3 weeks ago. When I purchased it, I didn't realize that it was a 'pressed pigment' palette. Since I make pigments, I know some of the ingredients are not always eye friendly. Sure enough, 4 out of the 10 colors aren't approved for eye use. However, I've used those 4 on my eyes and also slept with the color on (i'm lazy & don't always wash my face like I should before bed sometimes - don't judge).. and my eyes have yet to fall out and I can still see just fine. I love this palette! I always tell people if you're going to spend money on expensive eyeshadow, get some type of Urban Decay palette. Their shadows are super pigmented and long lasting. I've tried different looks with all the colors in the palette. I've just forgotten to take a picture of some of the looks -- but here are a few:

^ In those pictures I used 'Freak' all over the lid & used 'Fringe' as the transition color in the crease & 'Gonzo' directly in the crease. Don't hate too much on the liner job I did. I was in a hurry and it sucked that day. K, thanks.

 In this one I used 2 of the colors that weren't eye approved on the lid -- 'Savage' in the crease & 'Slowburn' on the lid. I mixed 'Freak' and 'Thrash' together to apply under the waterline.

& the last look I used the other 2 colors that aren't eye approved - 'Jilted' in the crease & 'Urban' in the outer & inner corner of the lid. Lastly, I put 'Revolt' in the center of the lid. 'Revolt' is a seriously pigmented metallic silver. I was very impressed with this one.

Oh, I almost forgot! I used 'Jilted' as a blush as well -- I accidentally put a little too much on :P haha it was more pigmented than I thought.

Hope this was helpful and somewhat enjoyable. 

Friday Reads! A Visit from the Goon Squad

I've been in a reading slump lately. I honestly just haven't had the time for it, and when I do have free time I tend to hang out with my boyfriend instead of reading or playing games like I use to. But I'm trying to get back in the groove of my old hobbies and started reading this book about 2 weeks ago.

I picked up A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan .. God, I'm not sure how long ago. It was a Goodwill find though (as a lot of my books are).

I'm currently about 100 pages in, and this story starts out with a character who is a Kleptomania. It starts off with her stealing a wallet from a lady in the bathroom then goes into some of her favorite items she has stolen. Then, the next chapter is about her boss. His issues, etc, etc. 

As of right now, I cannot tell you what this book is about.. because.. well.. I dont really know. Every chapter thus far is about a different person but they connect with people from previous chapters. So I know this story eventually comes together and has a point. I just don't know what yet.

Even though I don't really know what is going on, I still enjoy reading this book so far. I like the writing style. It also makes me want to continue to read this book so I can see how all these random people connect in the end. The only thing I can complain about this far is that sometimes it is hard to follow. Only at the beginning of a new chapter when you don't really know who the chapter is about.. but you eventually find out when reading a little further in.. and that honestly isn't even a huge complaint.

I'm enjoying this book thus far! That's it for my friday reads. I'm just taking it one book at a time currently :P

Current Favorite Lip - Wearable All Year :D

This has been my favorite lip look since I think February of this year. It's super affordable & they both have a lasting quality. These two together are awesome :)

First up, the Elf Matte Lip Color in Tea Rose. This color is great. It's not quite a nude. It's kind of like a dark nude/brown with some mauve mixed with it. Such a weird and unique color that looks fantastic. I luuuurve it. I apply this all over my lips - starting it out as a lip liner then working my way to fill in the rest. These last for quite a long time. If you're not too wild about this color, check out the others. There are currently 4 other colors (I believe) & these are definitely worth picking up for only $3 each! You can purchase these at either Target or E.l.f.

Next is the lipgloss. It's called Cappuccino. This is by Ioni Cosmetics -- and I've only seen this brand at a store called Fred's. I'm not sure if they are nation wide or what.. but it's kind of like a general store. But Ioni Cosmetics has nail polishes, lipsticks, eyelashes, liners & more. Most of their products are only $1! One freakin' dollar. Holy shit. And this lipgloss is amazingly pigmented. You could wear this alone and still get the color you see through the tube. How I apply this on top of the Matte Lip Color is I just dot it on sparingly and after I lightly pat my lips together, I pat the excess gloss off on a towel. I don't really care for glossy lips, personally. They are not my thing. Your hair blows and gets all up in that mess.. no thanks. But I need to apply a light layer of gloss on top of my lipstick/liner because my lips are very dry and peel-y and all that gross stuff.

^^ Here is a somewhat crappy picture of me wearing the combination. You can't really see the color good.. but whatev.

So a total of $4 for a lovely dark nude-ish/brownish/mauve-ish lip. Not too shabby, my loves. Seriously, check these out.