Updated Menu Bar :)

Better Navigation?

Hi everyone :) you may have noticed some broken links or a different menu bar throughout the past day or two because i was still working on the coding and fixing things up. but everything *should* be working correctly now! Please let me know if you find anything thats not :)

Anyways, here's a brief rundown on what i changed... :)

1. Menu bar - view reviews by brand name alphabetically

As you can see in the screenshot below (or you can directly test it out for yourself!) I've added a drop down menu under Reviews where you can choose to see swatches, or reviews by brand or type. Furthermore, if you choose a specific letter, you can see all the brands i've reviewed. Hopefully, this will make things easier :)

2. Menu Bar - Reviews by type

I have tried to group things together so lets say you're looking for a blush, you can click on the appropriate link and it'll bring up all product reviews of blushes.

3. Looks 

I have also grouped together eye, face, nail and outfit looks into this drop down menu. If you're looking for those, just click here!

4. My Holy Grail Products

I have added a new page - holy grail - which has a list of the products i feel are really good and holy grail material. if i have reviewed these in the past, there will be a link attached.

5. About Me

I have added a new page that gives you a brief peek into my life. Also, if you're wondering what skintone i am or what type of skin (dry, combo, oily etc) i have, you can also refer to this page. That way, you can determine if the products i review will be a better match for you.

6. Contact Pinkbox Makeup

I m not sure how many of you are familiar with this form, but if you have any questions, suggestions, tips or comments, feel free to fill out the form and it will directly forward your message to my inbox! If you would rather use your own form of mailing, my email is also provided.

For companies, small businesses or advertisers, my contact info is also available on this page.

7. Disclaimer

I have also updated my disclaimer if you're interested lol

And thats about it :) I hope these changes make it easier to navigate throughout my blog :) Let me know if you have any suggestions or comments! <3 <3 have a good day!

p.s. if you havent already, why dont you check out my Sigma F80 flat top kabuki giveaway? :) there will be 2 winners! good luck! :D

Drugstore Blush RAVE - Loreal True Match

i cant believe i stopped using this!

Ive had this huge crush on this one blush - L'oreal's true match in Innocent Flush (n3-4) since... forever lol well actually, this is my second compact already so you can tell how much i loveeeeed it! but ever since i started hauling more, i've forgotten about this for the past little while :(


Anyways, i've been seeing alot of fellow bloggers post on "forgotten makeup products" or posts about "stopping their own stash" and totally got inspired to take a peek into mine :p looking back into what i have, i'm finding quite a few gems that really needs to come out of the drawer and into my makeup bag! :D


So, today's post is going to be this one blush that i absolutely adore but sadly, forgotten about until now :(

innocent flush n3-4

a gorgeous matte true peach.

comes with a mirror and a brush that is not TOO scratchy

finger swatch.. this is with ONE swipe!

this blush is SOOO soft and silky!

What They Say:

True Match Blush flawlessly complements your skin’s tone and texture. Coordinates perfectly with True Match Makeup, Powder and Concealer. True-to-life shades precisely match your skin tone and undertone, leaving you with the most natural flush of color imaginable.

A unique Opti-Match Technology formula provides a skin-true texture that blends smoothly, never looks chalky or cakey. Stays fresh and natural-looking for hours. Oil-free, vitamin-rich, and non-comedogenic.

Packaging - 4/5

This comes in your average compact case with a mirror and blush included for easy touchups on-the-go. There is a clear lid so you can see the shade inside and the overall compact isnt too bulky. 

I actually find the included brush to be a LOT better than any other i've tried. its reasonably soft and is also slightly angled! The only downside to the packaging (other than the cheap looking silver plastic) is that the brush touches the mirror slightly when the compact is closed causing the mirror to get blurry at times.

swatch & then blended out

swatch & then blended out

swatch & then blended out

blended lightly & then built up heavier

Product - 5/5

First off, this blush is a gorgeous matte true peach shade which gives off a very natural flush to the cheeks when applied. It is super soft and silky (the softest & silky-est blush i've ever felt!) and super blendable. The pigmentation is great and is easily picked up by any powder/blush brush. The color goes on lightly to give you a light flush, but can definitely be built up heavier to give more of a peachy rosy cheek.

Pros:

- super soft and silky

- super blendable

- gorgeous matte color

- great pigmentation

- brush and mirror included

- inexpensive 6g for $6-10

- available in drugstores

Cons:

- silver plastic packaging can look cheap

- brush in compact touches the mirror

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Overall

I absolutely love this blush and have heard it is a close dupe for MAC's peaches but i dont own that blush so i cant be certain. Looking at swatches, peaches seems to be slightly darker?

But, i can definitely say that if you have fair-medium skintone, this blush would look great! For the darker skinned beauties, i would probably recommend that you choose a different shade (loreal offers a wide range of these blushes) as innocent flush may be too light for you.

However, this line of blushes are definitely top notch and im surprised that they are not talked about more! great color, great texture and pigmentation & great price! What more do i need? :)

Possible Dupe for MAC "All That Glitters"?

Heres another possible MAC dupe!

As you might have seen, i recently got my hands on some gorgeous glamour doll eyes shadows to review :) (click here for full review and swatches!) 

Well, one of the shadows i picked was "He Loves Me Not" and when swatching it, i found it to be very very similar to MAC's all that glitters! Lets find out for sure :)

GDE He Loves Me Not & MAC All That Glitters

GDE He Loves Me Not & MAC All That Glitters 

GDE He Loves Me Not & MAC All That Glitters

with flash, he loves me not seems slightly darker...

GDE He Loves Me Not & MAC All That Glitters

and when blended out..

GDE He Loves Me Not & MAC All That Glitters

 

GDE He Loves Me Not & MAC All That Glitters

Overall, i definitely think that GDE's "He Loves Me Not" is a total dupe for MAC's "All That Glitters"


Both are buttery soft, very pigmented and blend amazingly well. The main difference between the two is that He Loves Me Not is a finely milled eyeshadow and is in powder form, whereas All That Glitters is in pan form. PLUS, there is of course, a price difference: GDE goes for $6 for 2-2.5g whereas MAC goes for $17 for 1.5g. (However, Glamour Doll Eyes is only available online so there may also be a shipping cost depending on where you live)


Overall, i love both shades! If you are tight on cash and dont mind using powder shadows, i would totally recommend Glamour Doll Eyes! However, if you're always on the go, in a hurry or just like the pan form better, the MAC one will be more travel friendly.


Since i have both....
For daily everyday basis, I will probably stick to using All That Glitters because its more convient and mess-free. However, for days/nights out, i think i'd switch to using He Loves Me Not because i find it more buildable since you can easily pack on as much color as you want :)

What do you think? Let me know! :D

Please Note: The above Glamour Doll Eyes shadow (He Loves Me Not) was provided to Pinkbox Makeup for review purposes only. No other monetary compensation was received. As always, all opinions and reviews are my own honest opinion and based solely on my personal experience.

Forever 21 Nail Polishes

i LOVE these shades!

Just a quick post today :) i picked up two nail polishes from forever 21 yesterday and totally had to share because im loving the colors! :D i also purchased a cute dress, a cardigan, and some coral colored accessories :)

if anyones's wanting to see pics of the rest of my haul, feel free to let me know in the comments! i'll gladly take pics and share :)

they dont really have names... but on the back it says:

BM 4306, NL223

can you see the tiny shimmers? they're not very noticeable unless you put it to a light

one coat each.. a tad streaky

one coat each

the flash totally brought out the purple undertone in the first shade

in normal lighting, its more taupey and grey

two coats each

two coats each

two coats

and in the end, i decided to go with this beeeautiful lavender-grey shade first :) i absolute LOVE it!

cant exactly tell you how the lasting power is on these polishes, but they applied nicely (with two coats) and costed about $4 each.. so not too shabby! I applied a top coat on these, so i'll keep you guys updated on how good these polishes stay on!

what do you think? :) have you tried out the polishes from forever 21 before? let me know :D

Glamour Doll Eyes ♥ Review

Have you heard of Glamour Doll Eyes?

If not, then you're missing out! They are an eyeshadow company that "strives to bring you fashionable and unique colors to strut your stuff!  All of their ingredients are made from earth minerals and are FDA approved for eyeshadow use."

I've previously bought their cyber monday sample packs which gave me plenty of sample sized eyeshadows from their Big Cities collection and 80s Child collection. (click on links to see full review and swatches) Those were my first experience with GDE and i was definitely impressed. 

anyways, i was contacted by the lovely people from Glamour Doll Eyes to do a review and i was more than happy to and super excited!! I was allowed to pick out 6 shadows of my choice for this review and trust me, this is NOT an easy thing to do! I had to cut down from a list of almost 20 shadows that i really wanted! lol anyways, heres my review!

Dont forget - you can click on all pictures to see them in full size! :D

super cute packaging :)

all the items included in the package :)

i LOVE how the GDE team promotes honest reviews. I would never review something or write something just for the sake of pleasing a company and im sure a TON of other bloggers are with me on this one. We tell it like it is! :)

the shades i ended up choosing

close up of the packaging

all containers neatly packaged so you know they are brand new :)

Packaging - 5/5

I love the cute design on each of these eyeshadows :) Glamour Doll Eyes recently re-did their packaging and i love it! The jars are sturdy and the lids twist shut tight so no leaking even if thrown around abit (just remember to be careful when you open the lids!) I also love how GDE seals all eyeshadows shut with a plastic wrap. This lets me know that the shadows are 100% brand new and also prevent leakage during mailing :)

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Now, time for more detailed pictures of each eyeshadow!

 He Loves Me Not

a neutral beige with some warm rose undertones

i lovee this neutral shade! Its very similar to MAC's All that glitters (i'll be comparing them shortly) and i love using this all over my lid just to brighten up my eyes for an natural everday look.

My Belle
a mix between orange and a reddish pink color, then has a twist of deep gold specks

My belle is soo pretty! It looks like an intense orange in the jar, but it comes off as a pretty pink with an orange and sometimes even blueish sheen.. meaning in different lights, this will look different! soooo gorgeous!

Taylor
a rich red with medium sheen that rubs down to an intense, almost metallic pink

This is a intense bright warm red tone shade. Red's a tougher shade to use on the eyes because it can make your eyes look puffy, but since this has an orange-brown undertone, it makes it more workable! plus, this blends really really well so im looking forward to experiementing more with this shade :)


These first three shadows have less shimmer out of the six and have more of a sheen to them. The following three shadows are packed with shimmer!


  Brown Eyed Girl
an extremely shimmery brown with hints of purple undertones

I LOVE this shade! Its more of a cool toned brown thats almost nearing on taupeish. It kind of reminds me of hot chocolate powder hehe yummmmm :) definitely a really nice shade to use in the crease. Ive been pairing this with He Loves Me Not for everyday and love it! pics to come!




Premonition
a gorgeous dark greyish lavender

This is a gorgeous grey purple with really pretty shimmer! WIth flash, there is almost a blueish sheen to it as well! :D




Pistol Pistol
a blackened silver (almost gunmetal) with multi colored shimmer, but mainly red shimmer

click to enlarge

Pistol Pistol is such a unique color! Its a gunmetal grey that is packed with multi colored shimmer! The result, a super unique color that shines and sparkles from all different angels :) lovely shade to use for a night out!

All Swatches

He Loves Me Not, My Belle, Taylor, Brown Eyed Girl, Premonition, Pistol Pistol

He Loves Me Not, My Belle, Taylor, Brown Eyed Girl, Premonition, Pistol Pistol

Shadows & Product - 4.5/5

These shadows are serious stuff! The shades i chose all pack in gorgeous shimmer and sheen (and for those who like matte, GDE also sells matte shadows) and definitely pack in a ton of pigmentation :) You really dont need much to get the color to really pop! What i really like about GDE shadows, are that they are all very unique. They have an amazing range of colors available as well as a variety of colored shimmer in each. Gorgeous gorgeous shades that you probably wont find anywhere else!

The only .5 i took off was due to the fact that you have to be careful not to overblend these shadows because since they do blend out quite easily, you can start to lose some of the pigmentation with overblending. I recommend you pat these shadows on for the best effect :)

Overall - 4.5/5

These are really really great eyeshadows! Amazing colors, shimmer, sheen and pigmentation, i would really recommend everyone to give them a try. Even if you're just a neutrals girl, there are a TON of gorgeous neutral shades that are so pretty :)


Plus, the GDE team is really nice and always helpful, so you can definitely depend on good service! I love my 6 GDE shadows and if it wasnt for my new years resolution to try to spend less and use what i have, i'd definitely be making an order right now for all the other shadows i had on my wish list! :D




My favourite shadows from the six i received:
My Belle, Brown Eyed Girl and Pistol Pistol


although i really love the other 3 shades as well... lol He Loves Me Not almost seems like a MAC All That Glitters dupe! I will be swatching and comparing those soon so keep an eye out for that :) As well, I will be posting eye looks using the above eyeshadows so look out for that too! :D Anyways, i hope you enjoyed this review! Hope you all have a great week! :D

Please note: The above products were sent to me from GlamourDollEyes for review purposes only. No other monetary compensation was received. However, as always, all opinions and reviews are my own honest opinion and are based on my personal experience.