Product Probe: Z-Palette's

If you've read yesterday's post, you are all too aware of my hellish, self-inflicted ordeal with depotting some of my eyeshadows. Despite my trials with depotting, I really do love the idea of being able to make a custom palette with eyeshadows, blushes, and bronzers that I already own. Not only does this help me use products that I am less-likely to use due to bulky packaging, or the fact the the product is hidden in my drawer under other products. With me making a point to love all my products, having the ability to add a blush or an eyeshadow to a weekly palette makes getting ready for work SOOO much easier (since I seem to wake up at the very last second, every single day). So on to the review.....

I was so excited to receive my Z-Palette, which I purchased from the Makeup Geek store online. Not only are Z-Palettes available in various colors, they are also fairly priced at $20 for a large palette (the size shown in yesterday's post). One of the good things about Z-Palettes is that they come with square and round magnets that have stickers on the back, which can be easily attached to various product pans, if the pans do not automatically stick to the bottom of the palette. Unfortunately, for the price, I am not a fan of the decorated cardboard that is used to make the Z-Palette. While it's sturdy for sitting on one's makeup vanity, if you try to clean it, it's a wet mess. I would much rather spend $8 for the large MAC pro palette, which is made of more durable materials. I really want to love the Z-Palette, but for the price and the material, the MAC palettes are a much better buy (and you can buy the same magnet stickers online starting at $3 from Amazon).

Do you own a Z-Palette? What's your preference?

Depotting Disasters!

For some strange reason, last week I decided it would be a great idea to depot some of my ‘less’ used eyeshadows and fill up the z-palette that I ordered from Makeup Geek months ago. After watching countless YouTube depotting videos, searching Pinterest, and looking at blogs, I was up for the challenge….and then I got started. Depotting is not for the faint of heart and I learned that I am the faint of heart. Not only did I have to rip up the packaging for the Urban Decay Ammo Palette to get the shadows out (luckily I wasn’t head over heels in love with shadows), but I also got powder and shadow all over my vanity. Some of the shadows have huge chunks missing from them as scars from the move. After all of the struggle, I also learned (the hard way) that domed products DO NOT fit into the standard z-palette, hence I cannot close the palette with my Laura Geller baked blush in it. I have learned my lesson, I am officially against depotting and plan to buy all future shadows as individuals if I plan to transport them. L

Have you tried depotting? 

Weekly Makeup Basket – October 6th, 2014

In an effort to consciously use more of my makeup products (and feel less guilty about all the 2014 holiday collections I’m going to purchase), I plan to start doing weekly makeup baskets. This will help me focus on specific products in the mornings and not get distracted because I literally have the attention span of a 2-year old when it comes to makeup. So without further ado, let’s get into what’s in this week’s makeup ‘basket’.

(Items in purple are part of my project pan)

•  Tarte Clean Slate Poreless Primer
• No. 7 Shine Free Face Primer
• Covergirl & Olay Simply Ageless Eye Corrector (I hate this - wrong color and too heavy)
• NYX Matte Bronzer

• NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Cashmere
• Revlon Brow Fantasy (Dark Brown) 
• Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara (deluxe sample size)
• Urban Decay Primer Potion (sample)

• Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24-hour Foundation 
• Kat Von D Lock It Tattoo Powder Foundation

• Urban Decay Ammo Palette - I recently depotted this into a z-palette. Not sure how I feel about depotting other products to save space, seems like a hellish, messy process.
• Jordana Easyliner Retractable Pencil (not shown)
• MAC Brown Script (shown between the blush and UD Ammo Palette)
• Laura Geller Baked Blush (not sure what color - purchased this on HauteLook

What do you use on a weekly basis? 

Product Probe: Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet + Matifying Foundation

As I am nearing the end of my bottle of Mat Velvet + foundation, I figure it would be a great time to provide a review.  I ordered this online from Sephora in June 2013 for $36.00, which isn’t bad for a ‘high-end’ foundation. It is now October 2014, which seems like a long time to finish this foundation, but during the past year, I also focused on finishing a Clinique foundation that I hated but forced myself to use until the very last drop.

Would I repurchase this foundation? Heck yeah! I have oily/combination skin and I love a matte finish. This foundation wears well for a 10-hr workday with minimal touch ups. I apply this foundation with my brush / real techniques sponge (depending on my mood) and then set with a powder. While I won’t purchase this immediately, because I have 3 or 4 other foundations that I would like to use first, this is definitely one of my top 3 foundations.

Have you ever tried the Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet +? What’s your favorite mattifying foundation?

Project 10 Pan (P10P) Pitfalls

In yesterday’s post, I briefly mentioned how disillusioned I was when starting my project pan. I was WAYYYYY off track and over ambitious with the products that I chose, but I’m way too stubborn to just give up. So after 4 months of project pan, I am modifying the rules a bit.

I am allowing myself to purchase makeup after I finish any 10 products or if I haven’t reached my goal by October 16^th (my birthday), I am allowed birthday splurges.

Yep, I said it. I am determined to finish and even if I don’t finish before my b-day, I plan to continue my project pan. While I do plan on purchasing for my birthday, if my project pan items are not finished, I will not be opening any new products. I am freakishly scared about makeup expiration dates, so I don’t want to open anything new until I can commit the time to thoroughly enjoy it.

Now on to the mistakes I’ve made when undertaking my Project Pan:

#1  Not giving myself a timeframe. Shoot, if I would’ve given myself a 2-month timeframe I probably would’ve been more serious in this undertaking and would’ve have gotten bored with my makeup (hence the lack of blog posts).

#2  Not picking items that were close to being finished. My bad. I should have chosen products that were on the brink of being finished that way I could have a sense of accomplishment, especially when I started with the Kat Von D powder foundation, it was practically brand new. I am all about the small wins.

#3  Not giving myself any wiggle room. In retrospect, I should have picked more than 10 items so that if one product was taking too long, I could still finish at least 10 things. Adding a few ‘extra’ products would’ve also given me some variation and change to stop the boredom of a constant project pan.

Are you currently on a project pan or focusing on using some of your products up? Any advice on how I can improve my next P10P?

Project 10 Pan…Is it time to call it quits?

In June, I posted the details of my project 10 pan here and to be honest, it’s been a long one. I must admit that I was completely disillusioned about the amount of time it takes to finish makeup products, but I did learn some valuable lessons along the way, which I will share later this week. Until then, here is a peek at what’s been going on with my project 10 pan items.

 1.   Anastasia Brow Wiz - finished 5/21/14

 2.   Model In A Bottle Setting Spray – finished 5/23/14

 3.   NYX HD Concealer – finished 5/12/14

 4.   Tarte Clean Slate Primer -> This one is taking forever to finish because I HATE  it.

 5.   Kat Von D Lock It Tattoo Powder Foundation -> I like this for setting my liquid foundation, but by the end of a long work day it seems to slide off. I like the MAC Mineralize Skin Finish (MSF) better, but maybe it's the primer that I'm using.

 6.   Lorac Behind the Scenes Primer – 8/1/14?? 

 7.   Too Faced Primed & Poreless Face Primer – I haven’t use this in a while because I’m trying to focus on finishing that dreaded Tarte primer first.

 8.   Clinique Stay Matte Oil Free Foundation – finished 8/20/14

 9.   Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer – finished 6/24/14

 10. NYX Matte Bronzer – I use this for a slight contour so a little goes a long way, I can see a dip in the pan so this is a good deal for the money.

A Little Fall Fun!!

So after my very sad post about my project pan (which I’ll do an update on later this week), I decided to write today about happier times. We are officially entering Fall, yay! Is anyone else excited? Fall and Winter are my favorite times of year, not only because of the weather, but also because of all of the holidays and family time that comes along with the season. One of my favorite things about this time of year are the HOLIDAY COLLECTIONS! I am already eyeing the Tarte collections and I plan on getting my grubby little hands on it as soon as it is available online or in-store. Am I the only make up lover out there that WANTS ALL THE MAKEUP? Lol! I can never have enough or too much.

Do you plan to purchase any of the 2014 Holiday Collections?