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. 

NYX Sex Bomb Palette Review/Look

Long time, no post. As always. But I purchased this palette.. i'd say 2 months ago.. and I absolutely love it! I mainly wanted it for the bright red eyeshadow because I don't really have a red eyeshadow. But I ended up loving this palette as a whole & all the colors in it.. which is very rare when it comes to palettes.. for me, atleast. 

I purchased this at Ulta for $7.49. Pretty decent price.. NYX products are affordable anyway.

(sorry my up close pictures are shitty.. camera phone)

All the colors are super creamy and not powdery/chalky at all. The only one I didn't really care for just from looking at the palette is the shimmery sand colored one. I don't like ugly shimmery eyeshadows. H8. Fo' lyfe.  Kidding. But the way I wore it in the pictures.. I used all the colors in the palette.. even the ugly shimmery one. I blended the ugly shimmer on top of the matte light taupe color in  the crease and let me tell you.. those colors look AMAZING together. Really, they do. I fell in love with the ugly shimmer. These colors blend very well together. I find that some drugstore eyeshadow palettes are hard to blend the colors together without either losing pigmentation .. or just looking horrendous as a whole. But this palette blended all together = BAM. 

My overall opinion of this palette.. is great. I honestly have nothing negative to say about it. It's one of my favorite beauty purchases this year, thus far. Soooo... go get cha one ;).

My Favorite Liquid Eyeliner !

Here lately, I've been doing winged eyeliner daily. I also take selfies while wearing this look & get a lot of comments on Instagram telling me it looks really good and asking what kind I use. Welp, here it is:

 Maybelline Line Stiletto Liquid Eyeliner

I've only tried out a handful of liquid liners to be honest, but out of the ones I've tried - I love this one. I actually just love this one in general that I keep repurchasing it! It's anywhere from $6-8 I believe depending on where you purchase it at. The cheapest probably being Wal-Mart. It has a felt tip which I love. I hate the liners that have the crappy brushes - they are terrible to use in my opinion. This one however is very easy to apply.

Yay selfies! :D Haha I wanted to show you some pictures of me wearing the actual product. I personally love this liner & would recommend it! If you have any favorite liners, let me know!

Yay for personal blog posts! :D

I've been MIA lately. I've actually had a lot of personal stuff going on. I'm currently single. My past relationship that lasted three years was a complete joke. My computer also got struck by lightning so that helped the downfall. I actually even closed down my shop for a few weeks. I was shipping orders out later than I should have been so therefore I thought it'd be best for me to take a break & focus on myself. Good news, I got a new car! Bad news, I'm always broke now. Haha. But I've been better the past month & ready to get back into doing what I love! I need to do more blog posts, videos, stuff with my shop, etc. I also should probably finish makeup school, haha. I've been getting back into graphic design lately as well! I'm going to start doing logos, business cards, etc. for people & also going to be designing my own prints. I'm currently focusing on myself & doing things that I want to do in life. I've made a lot of new friends in the midst of all of this that have been here for me. So this summer has been kinda sucky at first, but it's gotten way better towards the end. I've actually been going out more and socializing as well. Which is odd for me, I never go out. Hermit for life. But I've had fun going out with friends and drinking and what not. That's also another reason I haven't been posting anything! I'm getting back into wanting to do more posts though. So expect that. I know I always say that in previous blog entries, but I mean it this time dammit. I want to do game reviews, book reviews, makeup reviews, show pictures of stuff I have for sale, show pictures of things I make, all kinds of goodness to come! 

Blah, this was an extremely long and boring blog post, I know. Just felt like I had to post something to let everyone know where I was.

DUPLE ALERT! Mac Beauty Marked Dupe

Hello again lovies! Sorry long time no talk. To be honest I haven't been into makeup/beauty items lately so that's why I have not posted in a while. But I have recently done a swatch comparison for you all!

Mac's Beauty Marked compared against Ulta's After Hours ES.

They are very similar in color. Mac's Beauty Marked is just a tad darker(blacker) than Ulta's After Hours. Personally I like Ulta's After Hours swatch better than Beauty Marked.

 

Mac's Beauty Marked = $15

Ulta's After Hours = $6

Also the Ulta brand eyeshadows are $2 each this month! So you can pick up this shade as well as others for super cheap! 

Sorry for not posting more for you guys. I am hopefully going to post more often. Just let me know what you guys are interested in seeing/reading about! :)

February Favorites 2013 !

I made a YouTube video of my monthly favz this month :)

You can watch it here

Be sure to subscribe! :D

YouTube Account :) Yay!

Long time, no talk. I always say that I will post more and never do. I suck. Sorry. Butttt - I've made a YouTube account! I plan on uploading every week. I'll be doing random videos from video game reviews, video game let's plays with my friends, makeup tutorials using my Thirtyonewest pigments, thrift hauls, favorites videos, and more. Just a bunch of randomness on one channel. So it'd mean a wholeee lot if you went a subscribed and watched my videos! :D

My channel is : stfulaurenpack

I may post more on here & I may not.. just depends! But I will for sure be posting on YouTube.

Hope you guys have had a good year so far!

Platinum Blonde and Ombre Turquoise Hair

I dyed my hair about.. hmm 5-6 weeks ago? And I forgot to post pictures on here. I couldn't decide whether to dye my hair bright red (Ariel style) or very blonde with turquoise. Obviously (hence the title) I went with the blonde and blue. I got the stuff to do it myself and my friend DeOnna did it for me. I just thought I'd share with you what I used for my hair.

I got the following from Sallys:

Loreal Quick Blue Bleach (I got the HUGE tub of it)

Ion Sensitive Scalp 30 Developer 

and Beyond the Zone Turquoise dye (I forgot the name of it)

I really like the blonde in it -- but the turquoise I used didn't work the way I had planned. I wanted a bright turquoise color & it turned that uggie green color :P It still didn't look terrible -- I liked it -- just wasn't as bright and crazy as I wanted. It looked like I had went swimming in chlorinated water and only got half of my head wet :P lol

I tried to dye it turquoise a second time maybe 5 days later and it didn't really do anything. So I wouldn't recommend the Beyond The Zone brand if you want a bright color.

 Now the green has faded and it's just like a light brighter blonde on top & a sandy blonde on the bottom. I like it. I'm not sure if I want to leave it alone or if I want to do ombre bright red hair?! :D I kind of want to do the bottoms red. Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know yet.

Oh I also wanted to share -- my hair isn't fried!! I was scared to bleach my hair because everyone complains that it fries their hair & blah blah blah. But my hair isn't dry to the touch or anything! Maybe because I don't use heat on my hair at all? I don't dry my hair & I couldn't tell you the last time I straightened it or curled it. I've also been using some great products! Maybe I'll share those in another post if interested.

Anywayyy - just thought I would share my somewhat new hair & what I used to get it the way it is! :)

Elf Essential Blush Swatches/Review in Glow & Coy

I've had these blushes since maybe -- June? I've been meaning to do a review/swatch post of them and just keep forgetting about it :(

Anyway - these are the new Elf Essential Blushes for $2 - not $1. They use to have these in a different compact (a shitty compact) for $1 and it didn't include a brush. They still have the same colors - I'm not too sure if they have updated the formula at all or not. I picked up the colors Coy & Glow.

I personally like these blushes. Sure, they are a bit 'chalky' but it's a blush for $2 -- what do you expect? They are actually really pigmented. Glow is such a pretty shimmery peach color and Oh my gawdddd - Coy is an AMAZING color! It's like a shimmery nude-taupe color? I can't really even describe what color it is - pictures cannot even do this color justice. It's a lovely and unique color. I'm not sure about the lasting power because the times I've worn these I haven't paid attention to see if they lasted all day or not. So I can't really say about that - but for $2 - I would say give these a shot! 

Fun Pictures Using Thirtyonewest Pigments

I was bored today and wanted to do some new pictures with a few pigments just messing around & here's what I came up with:

I thought they looked kinda cool :P I may do some more just for fun.

Okay that's it - just bored and wanted to share my awesome creativity & photography skills ;) bahah.

Elf Disney Villians Maleficent Palette - with Swatches!

I just did a review for the Cruella palette -- so here's my review for this one!

In case you haven't read the other post about the Cruella palette -- these are $9.99 and are ONLY available at select Wal-greens.

This one includes:

8 eyeshadows

1 eyelid primer

1 liquid eyeliner

2 lip & cheek pencils

Swatches:

I have yet to test this palette out. I haven't really went anywhere to be putting on makeup lately :P The 'day' eyeshadows I have found from swatching aren't as pigmented as the 'night' eyeshadows. This palette comes with a clear glitter liner instead of the black liner like the other palette. I really like this liner! I think it will look great and you can use it in so many different ways.

I said I was going to purchase the other one - but I don't think I am. Not that I don't like these palettes - because I do -- I just know I won't wear them a lot so I know they'll go to waste :/ I have too much makeup and should probably limit myself and not buy the other one just for shits & giggles lol.

Elf Disney Villians Cruella Palette - w/ SWATCHES!

If you read my blog - you already know I'm a huge Elf fanatic. So when I found out about this I was excited! I was kinda iffy about the price -- being $9.99 (don't act like I'm cheap! You know Elf is inexpensive! :P). The reason being is because it's really hit or miss with their eyeshadows. Some Elf eyeshadows are great while others suck and don't have any pigmentation. But I picked up 2 of these to test out.

 First off -- I'll start by saying that these are ONLY available at select Walgreens. You can check out Elf's website and do a store locator on this item to see if any of your local Walgreens carry it. They don't even sell this item on Elf's website. These cost $9.99 each.

This one includes:

8 eyeshadows

eyelid primer

2 lip & cheek color pencils

1 liquid eyeliner

1 pair false lashes & lash glue

This also includes a little day & night tutorial on how to use these palettes like most Elf Beauty Books do! The one thing that is different about this Elf Beauty Book is that they actual named their eyeshadows in these palettes :)

My overview of this palette thus far:

I haven't done a look on myself using these yet - because I just picked them up yesterday! But I did a look on my mom using the night time Cruella look and the eyeshadows are quite pigmented and blended out well on her eyelids. I've tried the Elf eye primer before  - it's $1 from their essential line - it actually works good. The liquid liner is also from their essential line & is $1. It works well for the price - I personally find that the tip of the eyeliner brush is too thin for my liking - but it works nice. The lip colors are actually pretty nice! I have yet to use them on my cheeks however. I'm not sure how well these would blend out as blush? Kinda weird - but maybe it works!

I recommend this palette. This is a neutral everyday look palette. I think it's a nice kit and the eyeshadows in this palette actually have nice pigmentation.

I also picked up the Maleficent kit - and tomorrow once I get paid I'm going to get the Evil Queen one. I unfortunately didn't have enough cash with me to get all 3 at the same time :( That's why I'm reviewing them separately. So be sure to check back tomorrow for a review on the other one! :)

FOTD w/ Thirtyonewest Pigments & Pink Hair

This is kinda old - but I really like the way it came out so I'll share my 2-3 week old FOTD anyway ;)

I wanted to do my face just using my Thirtyonewest pigments so I can show customers how you can use them & what not.

The colors I used on my eyes:

Wedding Lace, Naked Study, Odd Liquorice, & Octopus Ink.

 I used Wedding Lace as the inner corner & brow bone highlight. Naked Study on the eyelid. Odd Liquorice on the outer corner & in the crease. Octopus Ink in the outer corner to darken the Odd Liquorice.

Colors on my face:

Antoinette - Blush & Lips!

(mixed Antoinette with a clear lipgloss for the lips)

Wedding Lace - Highlight.

 & Of course I felt prettier with my pink wig on ;)  I need to invest in some new colors of wigs. I like the pink but it's getting a little old :P 

I hope you guys enjoyed this FOTD look - be sure to check out our shop:

 www.thirtyonewest.etsy.com

to get your pigments for only $6.00!

And let me know if you have any other requests of me using Thirtyonewest pigments!