Hey guys! So, I don't generally buy things unless I have a reasonable assumption that I'm going to like it. Whether that's because I've seen reviews or because I'm familiar with a brand and have confidence in their quality, I'm most likely to spend my money on things I have confidence in. Recently though, while out shopping, I encountered the Rude Cosmetics The Rude Awakening Book 5 Eyeshadow Palette and even though I couldn't find any reviews online before purchasing, I decided to take a chance on it and ultimately review it here on the palette in hopes that I might give other people some context before they make their buying decision about this palette - make sure you read right to the end. 

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More and more, we're finally seeing drugstore brands releasing larger palettes and I really feel like it's the right time because we're also seeing huge improvements in more affordable eyeshadow formulas. Very recently, CoverGirl released two new palettes - both of them scented - and I decided without question to pick up the CoverGirl TruNaked Peach Punch Palette. I'd only ever tried one of the TruNaked palettes before, The Goldens, and I was really overall impressed with both the curation and the formula so it was a no brainer that I'd want to try out this one. 

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Now that September has hit and the nights are distinctly getting cooler, I've felt my fall makeup trigger happen. For me, that definitely leads into more burnt tones, smokier eyes, and bolder lips in comparison to my fresher, bronzier summer makeup. It also means that I'm much more likely to reach for matte products, since I love to kind of leave the glow behind for the moment and embrace the sort of warm, velvety look of matte products. Recently, I finally saw the NYX Lid Lingerie Shadow Palette at my local London Drugs and it seemed like the perfect time to try it out, so I just had to buy it. 

For my review, swatches, and a couple of eye looks keep reading!

Are there ever products that you stumble upon in a store and just have to have, even though you've really never seen or heard anything about them? Generally, I like to look up swatches and read reviews of higher end beauty products before I pick them up - which is why I'm rarely first on the review train with big new releases - but as soon as I saw the PÜR Cosmetics Soiree Diaries Eyeshadow Palette, I had to have it and it went home with me that day. 

So, how did it work out? Keep reading for my review and swatches!

I know that as a Canadian beauty junkie, I do complain a little bit about all the things that it's hard to find in Canada - but it really is a bummer when new drugstore products come out and we simply can't find them in our drugstores. Sometimes new products come out here quite a bit later than they do in the States, so we're left drooling over the products that Americans get and trying to plan a shopping trip across the border. One of the products that I've been itching to try out ever since I saw them talked about online are the Milani Everyday Eyes Palettes. This collection of 6 pan palettes was absolutely raved about by some of my favorite Influencers and I was itching to try them out, so as soon as I saw these my local Superstore there was no way I wasn't going home with one, and I decided the clear choice was the Earthly Elements palette, which is a selection of very warm neutrals. So, did it hold up?

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By now, I feel like everyone has heard a ton about this palette and been touched by the hype surrounding it, but I only recently decided to order it and give it a try and I definitely have some feelings on it so I thought that I would do a review for you guys! So, like I said, this was a hugely hyped palette because Carli Bybel has a really successful YouTube channel and a lot of viewers. Admittedly, while I've watched some of her videos, I'm not a subscriber and I'm not all that familiar with her. I decided to pick up this palette because I love a neutral palette and I liked the idea of having shadows and highlights in one palette and I thought I would really like the colour scheme. 

So how do I feel about it now that I have it? Keep reading for more!

I love when Essence releases new products - it's definitely a run out and grab them as soon as they're released kind of a thing. You guys know all about my love for Essence and probably also about my love for all things neutral. For me, these products are pretty much the best of everything - and the products that have been out overseas for a while that I've been dying to get my hands on. In case you were wondering, these are NOT Trend Edition products so you don't have to rush out to try and get your hands on them. Now, even though I wanted to, I didn't grab all of the new releases from this collection, but I did get my hands on a few of the products and I can't wait to tell you guys how they perform!

Keep reading for a closer look!

Recently I realized that I have a lot of single eyeshadows that don't get a lot of use in my collection, so I've been trying to reach for them more and more often... and of course, I just had to add another 5 new ones to the collection because, you know, reviews and stuff. Ahem. I kind of wish I had ordered the entire collection of these eyeshadows when they first launched, because they're such a great price point - especially considering the size of the pan! Each of these pans contains 2g of product, which is the same size as the Make Up For Ever artist shadows, just for reference. Each shadow comes packaged in a single pan, but can be depotted for use in a Z-Palette - which is what I plan to do once I pick up some more of these.

Keep reading for a closer look & swatches!

One of the products I was most excited about from my recent Freedom Makeup London haul is the Pro 12 Audacious 3 palette. I've been pretty obsessed with doing rosy neutral eye looks lately, so this palette seemed absolutely perfect for my purposes and, of course, it was one of the first things in my basket. The cost of this palette is just insanity. It ended up costing me $7.84 CAD, which is just about as affordable a palette as you can get, really. I've been really impressed with the quality and performance of Makeup Revolution eyeshadows, so I had high hopes for this one... but how did it stack up to what I was hoping for? You'll have to keep reading to find out!

Keep reading for a closer look & swatches!

Anyone who reads this blog with any kind of frequency knows that I LOVE NYX lip products. As far as I'm concerned, they're pretty much the best the drugstore has to offer. Of course, this means that (along with SO MANY other people), I get really excited when NYX releases new lip products. As a lot of you know, the High Voltage Lipsticks were released earlier this year and got a lot of attention online, but I hadn't seen them in my local drugstore until recently and I instantly knew that I  had to pick this one up and try it out. I had every hope that it would live up to my pretty much sky high expectations when it comes to NYX... but you'll have to keep reading to find out if it did!

Finding a good matte palette in the drugstore can be a bit of a pain. I think more and more brands are starting to pick up on the matte trend, but it's a much harder formula to do well than you standard shimmery eyeshadow and I've found that most of the matte eyeshadow palettes that I've come across have been pretty lackluster. I forever hold out hope though! Enter the Hard Candy Top Ten Trendsetters Palette in Birthday Suit*, which is an all matte palette with a very neutral color story at an incredibly affordable price. You guys know I needed to have this in my life! But how does it measure up?

Keep reading for a closer look and swatches!

I absolutely love the time of year when all of the new collections are being released. Both drugstore and high end brands put out their Spring collections around the same time and it's a makeup lover's dream, I swear. I like to peek around online and see what's going to be coming up, and it seems like every major blogger and Youtuber is featuring all of the new collections to whet my palette. I can't actually remember where I initially saw these palettes, although I suspect it was on Instagram, but I was instantly intrigued. Of course, when I saw them at my local Walmart and then were under $8, I had to give them a try. For research, right? A blogger needs content... Ahem. These are the things I tell myself when I shop.

So earlier this year when these shadows were released, it seems like Milani just sent the entire collection to everyone on Youtube. Seriously, the number of videos I saw that included every.single.shade in the entire collection is ridiculous. And of course, after seeing the swatches I was sold. I wanted to be a Youtuber with a box full of eyeshadows. WHY NOT ME, I exclaimed. Of course, I know why not me. Not on Youtube. Probably not going to be on Youtube because.. stress. Also, camera, but mostly stress. Truth being told, with the amount of time I spend talking to myself, it would probably be really easy for me to film the videos and have 2903482035 things to say, but putting them out for the consumption of strangers just wouldn't play. So I'm not going to. Long description for why I'm not going to do something that no one ever suggested that I do. Anyway. Shadows.

As far as I know, these shadows are not available in any of the Canadian stores that sell Milani. Which is sad. In fact, I find it sad in general that stores here don't have the full Milani line, but such is life. Anyway, I finally got enough Ipsy points to order a bonus and this dandy little trio was on offer. So I ordered it. And I waited and I waited, because I ordered it like 2 days after the cut off for last month. And then they arrived and there was a celebration of eyeshadow application proportions. And then some more.

Keep reading for more pertinent thoughts and a closer look at each shadow.

I recently went on a tear of Spring Cleaning. The way I see it, if I can't have the spring weather then I can at least have the spring cleaning. My collection of makeup and nail polish has had the fat trimmed and, while a few things that were either useless, horrible or old went into the garbage, I managed to give most of the stuff that's still good and just not for for away to friends and family. I've tried to resolve not to be a hoarder, but let's be honest...