Urban Decay Back Talk Palette – Forgive or Forget?

October 20, 2018October 20, 2018 Maritza3 Comments

If you read my recent post on makeup brands everyone loves, but I don’t, I mentioned that Urban Decay was seriously slipping. A brand that I lived for and looked forward to all their releases, is now trying to compete with Colourpop’s weekly release schedule.

A good example of my theory is the Back Talk palette that came out this spring. The shades are completely up my alley with rich mauve and berry tones, which are actually quite perfect for fall. However, as much as I LOVE the colors, I hate how these shades perform, which is why it sat in my makeup cart collecting dust for about 4 months.

However, life is all about forgiving, so I decided to give this palette a second chance. We all tend to go into things with preconceived notions of how things will perform based on reviews we read or hear, so maybe now that the hype has died down, its time to come to my own final conclusion.

Yeah…no. Still not a fan.

The four cheek colors are BEAUTIFUL and actually perform great. Double Take is a creamy, soft pinky mauve that I would buy all on its own. Cheap Shot is a deep berry, really beautiful, I imagine, on darker skin tones. Low Key is a summery peach shade which I use as blush topper and Party Foul is a pink champagne highlighter that gives a lovely lit from within glow.

All the Cheek products are high quality. When you swatch them, they are creamy and smooth to the touch, which is the first thing you notice is missing with the eyeshadows.

The mattes are ok. BackTalk by far performs the best and has the most staying power. WTF completely faded away by the end of the day and 3 Sheets is so close to my skin tone, that I can’t tell what it did, but it’s a beautiful base on me.

The shimmers were the worst! Bare is similar to Party Foul in color, but no where near close in shine. Curve, Shade and 180 are more of a satin than shimmer and I’m not quite sure what is the best way to use them because I really want them to SHINE, but not even with setting spray.

Attitude is by far the most shimmery of them all and the most pigmented. It’s a shimmery strawberry shade and lovely. You need to use a bit of setting spray to get it to its full potential, but even with that it fades pretty quickly.

Overall, the shadows are pretty disappointing, however, not as disappointing as the way this palette was structured. With this slim, removable mirror separating the cheek from the eyes, it’s the stupidest design. You can’t snap the palette shut without the magnetic mirror, but I always take out the mirror when using the palette because it so slim it’s useless to me, so on more than one occasion I lost track of the mirror under other stuff and couldn’t find it right away.

Double Take, Low Key and Party on the Cheeks. 3 Sheets, BackTalk, WTF and Bare on the eyes.

Urban Decay, let’s stick to a basic palette design. Honestly, I think most of us would appreciate it.

Back Talk was on sale in Sephora for $38 last time I checked, however, it’s so similar in tone to the Naked Cherry that maybe it’s worth investing in that for the eye shadows.

Till next time, my friends.

Maritza

Nope

Makeup Brands Everyone Loves, But I Don’t

October 15, 2018 Maritza17 Comments

Ok, so take this post with a grain of salt because, as my friend, Karla, likes to say, “You do you, Boo!”.

Seriously, if you like any of the brands below, then more power to you. The world is a very diverse place and if 300 million people liked the same stuff, then it would be a pretty boring place to live.

With that being said, the brands below are just not my thing. I’m probably in the minority on all of them, but let me tell you why I just don’t gravitate towards them.

MAC

I have never been a MAC girl for various reasons. First off, I have yet to see a MAC salesperson who looks genuinely happy to see me there. Most of the time they looked overworked and annoyed. Also, I know that everyone raves about the lipsticks, but I always feel like they tug at my lips when I apply them, so I really don’t get the hype.

I also feel like I hear a lot of people talk about their tried and true MAC favorites, but I have not heard anyone RAVE about any new releases in a long time. MAC is just coasting these days.

Kylie Cosmetics

I’m going to keep this short. Why would I spend 3x the money on a palette or lip kit, when I can the get the same shit at Colourpop?

Sorry, Kylie. I think you are all hype.

Urban Decay

They release so damn much and it all looks the same. Seriously, everyone is going crazy about this Cherry Naked Palette, but it has the same tones as the Back Talk palette that came out in the spring. Which kind of sucked. I know because I own it and it’s a total let down.

Also, except for the Naked palettes, they always do the craziest packaging and I don’t like it. If I have to pull out the mirror or slide the palette out of some contraption, then I’m gone.

Tarte

Tarte has become the Claire’s of the makeup world with their cheesy packaging and non offensive color stories.

Seriously, every palette is neutral and they must have hired everyone Toys R Us let go when they closed down because everything is Princesses and Unicorns at their marketing department. They need to bring back the adults.

Anyone else agree? Disagree?

If so, let me know in the comments below.

Till next time, my friends!

Maritza

Need It, Want It, Skip – New Beauty Releases Vol. 2

May 9, 2018 MaritzaLeave a comment

Whenever I’m feeling down or stressed, nothing gets me in a better mood that surfing the IG page of Trendmood and getting all excited over new makeup releases.

As Elle from Legally Blonde would say, “Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don’t kill their husbands. They just don’t.”

Anyways, let’s see what I will and won’t be be buying anytime soon.

Need It

Walmart is stepping up their game ya’ll!! They are releasing 4 curated boxes with samples and full size products for $9.88. At that price, I’m definitely getting one.

You all know I support my Cuban peeps, so this release from Alamar Cosmetics has my credit card primer and ready. With a shade paying homage to the great Celia Cruz, how can I not get it?

Why, Besame? Why must you play to my inner geek and release a collection around Marvel Avengers Infinity War. Now I must get it and my credit card is getting ANGRY!

Want It

I love Urban Decays All Nighter Spray so this All Nighter Powder has got me intrigued. Want to check out some reviews before I commit though as I think my $10 Covergirl powder works just fine.

I just ordered Maybelline’s Lemonade Craze and now they come out with Soda Pop. What next? Strawberry Milkshake? Ohh… that’s not a bad idea, but let me see if Lemonade Craze lives up to the hype before I commit to another palette.

I think this MAC collection is a little weird, which is why it has me thinking about it so much. In one pic you see macaroons and sprinkles and in the others pic sleek dark designs. I’m really not much of a MAC fan girl, but it has me curious.

This subscription box from Storybook Cosmetics has me checking Trendmood regularly for updates. I love specially curated collections and usually Storybook creates products around popular books and movies, so I’m curious to see if the subscription will be the same.

Skip It

Not feeling this 90’s throwback palette. It’s not that I don’t like color and it definitely seems like it has a nice mix of shimmers and mattes, but it seems a little too candy colored for me.

Everyone and their mother is going bananas over this Limited Edition Physicians Formula Butter Collection and I know the price is freaking fantastic at $12, but I think I’m the only person in the beauty community who doesn’t care for the scent or the colors. For that reason, it’s a no for me.

This Model Co. and Karl Lagerfd collab is cute, but I just can’t seem to imagine myself applying lipstick with a mini sized bust of this late, great designer. However, it definitely seems like a collectors piece.

Omg, these Natasha Denona mini palettes are a joke. Now I know that travel sized products are convenient and even better values than the full size at times, but these look like they were created for American Girl Dolls. I just can’t deal with how silly they look.

Anyone else excited or left scratching their heads over upcoming new releases? If so, leave them in the comments below.

Till next time, my friends!

Maritza

Ulta

What’s in My Cart? – Ulta 21 Days of Beauty

March 19, 2018March 19, 2018 Maritza2 Comments

Why are there always sales when I’m on a Low-Buy?

Damn you, Ulta!

Anyways, I happen to be perusing the ad for the Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty and couldn’t stop myself from adding some stuff to my cart. Unlike the Sephora sale where everything is 15% off, some of the stuff advertised is not on sale at all, so I tend to stay away from those, as that’s just filler, and try to really snag the deals.

On the top of my list are some Urban Decay Eyeshadow Singles, which go on Sale March 23 for $10/each. I know lot’s of people don’t like singles, but I really love them. Urban Decay makes really pigmented shadows and sometimes getting a few singles fills in the gaps in your palettes. At $10 a piece, I might pick up Blunt and Sellout.

Also, I really want to get the Buxom Full On Cream in White Russion for $10 on March 22, but don’t want to place two orders and I don’t have an Ulta close by, so this is a maybe. I do love me White Russian though and $10 is such a STEAL!

I’m a huge fan of Clarins and whenever I see a good deal, I always try to snag it because, let’s face it, they ain’t cheap! That’s why the All Stars Exclusive Discovery Kit for $27 is going in the cart. It comes with travel sized versions of the Instant Eye Makeup Remover, One Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser with Orange Extract, Hydra- Essential Silky Cream and UV Plus Anti-Pollution Suncreen in SPF 50, which is great because this is a good opportunity to find out if you really like these products before you splurge.

While I’m here might as well stock up on some faves. Sofia loves the OGX Haircare Line so seeing as they are Buy 1, Get 1 50%, will definitely pick up some Shampoo and Conditioners for her. Since she has thin hair, we get the Thick & Full Biotin and Collagen Shampoo & Conditioner.

Also, the Hubs and I both like to use Olay Regenerist and seeing as it’s also Buy 1, Get 1 50%, will pick up 2 so that we can each have our own. I swear he uses too much and I am way more light handed. Now we will each have our own and no one is reaching for the divorce papers.

That’s it friends! I know it’s not a very exciting list, but I feel like I want to stay true to my Low Buy and only get the essentials….and some little extras 😉.

Did I miss anything special? Let me know in the comments below.

Till next time my friends!

Maritza

Fashion Inspiration

Summer Lovin

July 9, 2017July 27, 2017 MaritzaLeave a comment

We are moving out of our apartment in August and so for the next few weeks, we will be decluttering, donating, boxing up and sending to storage most of our stuff. We are downsizing for various reasons, and it’s quite cathartic going through all your stuff and putting aside the things you truly love and giving away those items that are just not your style anymore.

And before you ask… yes, that also includes make up.

That still doesn’t mean that I don’t want new things, but it’s a give a take at this point. If I really want something, I made a promise, that I have to get rid of something I don’t use any longer. Once, we move into our permanent place, I am hoping that it will have the space for a big vanity and closet to house all my beauty things.

So, what do you when you can’t justify making a purchase, but really, really, really want it?
I like to make little vision boards of all the stuff that tickle my fancy and imagine me wearing it or using it on a particular occasion. Sometimes, this makes me want it even more, but other times, it removes that need after it’s been sitting in my folder for a while, particularly, the $1500 YSL purse and $13,000 Chanel watch. You know, got to feed my children and all, but it’s a Vision Board, so you put on there what you want!

The inspiration behind this particular board is poolside cocktails at The Delano Hotel in South Beach. I wanted something easy and effortless, but not pretentious.
Do you create vision boards? If so, leave your comments below and share some of your wants.
Have a wonderful Sunday, my friends.

Maritza