Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit-A Review

So the other day I received the Anastasia Contour Kit. 
First let me say, if you become an Instagram Famous makeup artist, you will probably receive these for free and before they are available to the public. 

That is not the case for me. I am not Instagram Famous so I have to stand in line with the rest of the common folk. 

This palette has only been out for a short period of time and it has already reached cult status. Because of this, it is constantly sold out! Plus Anastasia does not offer a pro discount for this item so MUA's you are paying full price. Unless........*twirls mustache*
Unless you are mindlessly scrolling through Instagram and you notice an unassuming post from Anastasia Beverly Hills mentioning that Sephora has the palette stocked. Then you log into your Ebates account and shop the Sephora site at a 4% cash back. Now I know 4% is not much of a discount but if you do as much online shopping as I do, it does add up. 
So I got my order in and within an hour they were sold out again!

This palette is much smaller than I had expected. The packaging is a standard black magnetic flip top with no mirror. You receive 6 refillable colors, 5 matte and 1 shimmer. 

The colors are Top 3: Vanilla, Banana, Sand (Shimmer) and Bottom 3: Java, Fawn, Havana.

Vanilla is a pinkish toned setting powder, Banana is a yellow toned setting powder, Sand is a cool pink shimmery highlighter. I was very impressed with the setting powders as they do not settle into fine lines, even when you are setting the makeup under your eyes. Also, the highlighter is shimmery without looking like a disco ball exploded on your cheekbone. 

The bottom 3 are all the contour colors. Java is a brown with pink undertones, Fawn is a cool ashy tone and Havana is warm kind of burnt brown. 

Fawn is the reason I really wanted to try this palette. I explained to you yesterday how I like to stick to cool taupey colors to contour and this is a perfect shade for me. When I saw Fawn, I knew I was going to fall in love with her and I was right. I used to use Makeup Forever eye shadow in #127 for my contour. Fawn has replaced her. 

These colors are all very soft and blendable and quite complimentary to a wide range of skin tones. I believe ABH will be expanding the color choices for this palette. If you do not see a shade that is a good match for you, hold onto your brushes, she's working on it. 

I highly recommend this palette for everyone! It's $40 when it's in stock. Each pan is .11 oz

I forgot to mention in my contouring post yesterday, you can contour with cream or powder products. Some people powders like these and some people use multiple shades of foundation. Some people use lighter and darker concealers and some use a combination of powders and creams. Just as long as you have lighter and darker color choices in pretty much any medium, you can get it done. 

Repeat from yesterday-This is very subtle everyday shading.

 

 

For a good time, click on one of the links below: 

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Lorac PRO Palette Review, An Eye Shadow Lovers Dream

Lorac PRO Palette

One day while strolling through Ulta with me mum, I happened to dip my finger without much thought (except that it was shiny and pretty and directly in my line of vision) into the Lorac PRO eye shadow palette.
Then the sky's opened and the angels sang and I frolicked in a field with some fairies. They fed me Nutella cupcakes and brushed my hair and my world did not suck.
After I awoke from my too much good makeup blackout, I could not stop staring at this palette. I kept dipping my fingers in like I had just seen color for the very first time. I would walk around and shop, while periodically returning to admire this palette. I walked out of Ulta that day without this bar of gold (and Lorac stained fingertips). Why you ask? Because I was sticking to my budget. Like a big girl. I am proud of that but I have never forgotten her and all of her beauty. Fast forward a few months and me receiving a 20% discount code for being an Ulta member, plus 4% back from Ebates and you've got yourself a deal!

So let me introduce you to Lorac PRO Eye Shadow Palette! If I was doing cartwheels over the Urban Decay palettes, I am doing naked cartwheels over this Lorac palette.

First, the packaging. It is sleek and light and sturdy. It feels like a matte, rubbery material that I thought was going to be a nightmare with finger prints but so far, so good. It does not look messy, although I'm sure when powder gets on it (it inevitably will), it will be a different story. I'm not sure how easy the packaging will be to clean. 

Next, the product. If you haven't figured it out from my above comments. I love the product. So soft and pretty and super blend-able. You get 16 shadows, 8 matte (top row) and 8 shimmer (bottom row). Just gorgeous. If I had to pick my favorites, right now my top 3 would be Deep Purple (OBSESSED), Gold and a tie between Taupe, Nude and Lt. Bronze because I just can't decide!

Gorgeousness

I feel like I do such a horrible job swatching and photographing eye shadows so I never do it but if you Google "Lorac Pro Swatches" you can see approximately 9000 of them. 

Lastly, the price. It retails for $42.00 for .32 oz of shadow and you also receive a mini tube of Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer, which I haven't used but feels pretty, pretty, pretty good. 

If your in the mood for love, click on one of these links to show me some!

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How to Save Money Shopping Online with Ebates

How many people that read this blog shop online? Can I see a show of hands? Oh, everybody does? Good, then you'll want to read this post and learn how to save money while shopping online. I had learned about Ebates from a fellow blogger and decided to give it a try. So far, it is working out great for me and I always like to pass along helpful info to you guys when I get it.

What is Ebates? It is a cash back shopping site. Lets say you want to purchase something from Sephora. You go to Ebates.com, click on the Sephora link and shop as usual. Ebates will offer you cash back when you shop through them. How can they do this? Ebates is an affiliate to many of these online shopping sites. An affiliate (in this case Ebates) will receive a small commission, or a kickback, when they refer someone to a website. They then pass some of these savings onto their members. For example, if Sephora offers Ebates 16% for referring someone, or basically advertising for them, Ebates then gives you 1/2. Sephora gets the sale, Ebates gets the percentage, you get cash back. Everybody is happy!

 Ebates will offer different cash back rates for different companies. For instance, last week if you ordered from Sephora through Ebates you received 8% cash back on your order, Ulta earned you 4% cash back. These rates change all the time. You receive this money at the end of every quarter in the form of a check.

This is what an Ebates email looks like

Ebates works with TONS of online stores (1600), ranging from the big boys such as Home Depot and Target, to the lesser known stores. Besides offering cash back, Ebates will alert you when your favorite stores are running a special. For instance, I was alerted to Ulta's 20% off sale and then I earned an additional 4% cash back. Understand how it works?

I do most of my beauty shopping online. Ebates works with most of the big name beauty sites including Paula's Choice, Skin Store, Bobbi Brown, Lancome, etc.This could spell trouble.

So far I have not had to fill anything out besides my email address. Easy Peasy!

If you are curious and would like to try Ebates for yourself, feel free to click on my referral link.

And if you're in the link clicking mood, don't forget to click on one of these bad boys!

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