Coastal Scents Revealed Palette 2 Review and Swatches!

Tonight I am going to catch up on some posts that I've been meaning to do OUTSIDE of my Tomoson posts! :) Last week I finally decided to go ahead and use up some of my Birchbox points and one of the things I bought was the Coastal  Scents Revealed 2 Palette! I received a sample of four of the colors awhile back and absolutely fell in love. There's a color in there that reminds me of my favorite Urban Decay shadow ever, so I was pretty much instantly sold!!

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about or what Birchbox is, it's a monthly subscription program where you receive higher end samples to try out and review for points. Every 10 points equals a dollar, and they add up! They also have the best customer service  out of anyone program I've ever contacted, and if they screw up, they pay you in points. It's rare, but it happens. If you're interested in learning more about Birchbox, you can look through my site for my review of my monthly boxes or visit their website HERE! You can also sign up there by using my referral link, which would be awfully sweet of you.

Anyway, on to what I purchased! Here's some pictures I took for reference!

Overall, I am THRILLED with this palette and will definitely be getting the original Revealed palette ASAP. This one has a mix of matte and shimmers, with little to no fall out. In my experience, they go on smooth and buttery, not chalky at all. They're also highly highly pigmented and blend beautifully. On to swatches!

Here's the top row, from left to right. I love all of them. They're all perfect for every season and nice and neutral, but I like that version 2 has more pink tones. I'm really into the whole cut crease thing right now so these are basically great for that, and your regular highlight colors.

Here's the bottom row from left to right. I'm really into the shimmery brown ones, since when I'm not doing a cut crease that's basically all I use. I also like the matte mauvey colors alot, and the black is great because a little goes a looong way!

Let's not forget the brushes!! If you're going to get either Coastal Scents Revealed Palette, definitely get the one with the brushes because they are AMAZING. I'm probably going to get a set of their brushes now just because they're so affordable and literally work as well as my MAC brushes. LOVE THEM!

AND last but not least here is the makeup look I spent entirely too long making for this post. I used a bunch of colors from the palette & don't really remember which ones though... my bad! :)

I never wear brown eyeliner or a nude lip, but I felt it was appropriate. If you have any questions about any of the other products I used, feel free to ask! Or maybe if my nails hold up for the post I'll just tell you. :)

One notable fact, I have a ton of acne lately, and thanks to Tomoson I found a brand new AMAZING concealer that is going to be reviewed very, very soon on here.

I used Elf's Studio Primer & Sealer as my eyeshadow base which is my new LOVE.

It makes the shadow stay on forever and perfectly matches my skintone! I love it!

This isn't the greatest photo because I look all grumpy, but It shows all the makeup. I don't normally wear all this makeup, but mostly it's alot of bronzer (Hoola & Too Faced) and blush. :) I think the eyeshadow look is a perfect transition into fall makeup, which is my favorite.

Final thoughts, I will be buying every single one of these Revealed Palettes that ever exist. I love this one and as soon as I get 200 more Birchbox points it will be mine mine mine. So again, if you want to help CLICK HERE for a referral then you can earn points to get awesome stuff like the revealed 2 palette for free too!

BUT that's not all I got with my 500 points. More on that later :)

Xx Ashley C.

Studio Gear Hydrating CC Cream Review!

Who's ready for an awesome new product!?!?!

I was recently given the opportunity to test out Studio Gear Cosmetics' new Hydrating CC cream via Brandbacker, and I'm really excited to bring you my review! I personally had never tried anything by Studio Gear before, but I've seen it around at Ulta and was pretty curious about it. I'd also never tried a CC cream before, so I was double thrilled!

My CC cream was in the color "natural", and so far, I love it! It's a super lightweight product though, so be aware of that. On the package it suggests that you can use it as a primer underneath your regular foundation, so I tested it both ways. As a foundation itself, like I said it's super sheer, so if you're looking for something full coverage I don't recommend it. However, if you're like me and in the summer look to wear something less heavy, this may be a good option. It leaves the skin feeling hydrated, yet not overly greasy, and has many anti-aging benefits. It's also really neat because when you squeeze it out, it's a greyish white color, but when you rub it in, it immediately adjusts to the color of your face!! I love this! It doesn't make your skin like all orange and unnatural. 

When you squeeze it out!

Perfect match!

It's the little things, right? So as a primer this works well too. I used my regular pore minimizing primer first, then applied the CC cream on top of it, then my matte foundation, which usually makes my skin a little drier than normal. The CC cream prevented it from becoming too dry, which is awesome! I will definitely be adding this to my makeup routine permanently!!

The price for Studio Gear's Hydrating CC cream is $34, and you can purchase it at their website HERE!

It's currently available in Linen, Natural, and Wheat.

I also have a special discount for you today!!! :)

Use code: "bloggercc" and receive 10% off entire purchase at www.studiogearcosmetics.com!

Have a great day everyone!!

Xx Ashley C.

*Note this product was sent to me for my honest opinion & review via BrandBacker by Studio Gear.*

Nyx HD Photogenic Concealer & Matte Lipstick Double Review!!

As promised, today I am reviewing the green concealer and pink lipstick I got in my epic haul at Ulta last week. I am absolutely, positively in love with both of these items and in my opinion there is no turning back now.  I love this lipstick more than words & the concealer is fabulous too.

Up first I will review Nyx's HD Photogenic Concealer in the color green. Until this point I'd never tried the magic that is green concealer,  but I'd been really interested in it. Why the heck would anyone want to use green concealer you ask?  Well green is on the opposite side of the color wheel as red, therefore it neutralizes any redness/acne on your face.

 Here's what it looks like compared to my skin.  Kind of a weird minty green color. 

Here's a fancy picture of what it looks like when you dot it on and then rub it in. You kind of resemble the incredible hulk. lol :)

You dab a little bit of this on any of your ugly red zits or other yucky red spots on your face, apply regular foundation over top,  and voila! Redness be gone!  It really does work too!  I've been super acne prone lately for some reason after a good month of having awesome clear skin so I got this just in time. You can barely even tell any of my hideous bad skin is under there with this concealer on. It's awesome! I highly,  highly recommend this product and honestly,  for only $4.99 you really can't beat it.  Especially when Ulta has Nyx for buy one get one half off!

Here's a pic of my face upclose, after all my makeup was complete. As you can see, there is visible green concealer and also no red spots or acne!

Next, lets talk about this gorgeous matte lipstick. This is also by Nyx, and I bought this in the shade Summer Breeze! This is my first pink matte lipstick and I'm super glad I got it instead of the regular kind that I originally had in my hand.

Here is a pic with no flash of Nyx's Summer Breeze. It's super pink and very pretty! :)

& Here is another pic with flash to give you a better idea of what it looks like in real life!

I've used matte red before and really liked it, so I figured why not give this a whirl. Maybe I'm biased because of my pink lippie habit, but the color is absolutely gorgeous and it lasts all day long with only a couple of touch ups along the way from eating, drinking, and smoking. It's also a really great color for ombre lips, which I tried today. If I had to describe this color, it's like a hot hot baby pink color, but since it's matte it really stands out. I'm in Love!  If you're into matte lippies, definitely grab some of these! I plan on buying more of these as soon as possible. They only cost $5.99 which is way cheaper than high end lipsticks and still cheaper than most drugstore lipsticks BUT it drastically out performs them both!

And here's a picture of all of my makeup from the day I made this tutorial! I also used my CK One Mascara that I got from the Ulta haul for my birthday gift... BTW it is WONDERFUL!

I hope you guys enjoyed this review! I have tons more coming this weekend!! Check out the Facebook page for sneak peek posts that I put up earlier!! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Xx Ashley C.

Top Ten Lip Items! What in my bag?

Hello my lovelies! I am very excited to announce that I have added my good friend Chynel as a contributor to the blog! She loves makeup almost as much, if not MORE than myself, and I'm very excited to see what she has to bring to us at 2 Girls 1 Blog!! She should be reviewing her Julep Gem Collection (that I am totally jealous of) she recently received today or tomorrow. I guess that technically makes us 3 girls 1 blog, but since Nicole is more of a guest poster, I think it's going to work out just fine. I'm a firm believer that more content = a better blog, and it will take a lot of stress away from me.

Side comment: Nicole, you will probably be mad at me, but I want to be successful and provide as much wonderful content to our blog as possible. I think you will ultimately be pleased with my decision.

Onward to the fabulous lip goodies!!! I always carry around a minimum of one of my Ipsy bags filled to the brim with lipstick and gloss where ever I go. I love being glossy almost as much as I love eyeliner.

Love them!

I'm going to start with Maybelline's Baby Lips in Pink Punch. This is hands down my favorite lip balm of all time for a few reasons. First, it really is awesome at moisturizing your lips. Baby lips gets rid of my chapped lips in just a few days. Second, the color is gorgeous! It's the perfect baby pink color, not too bright and bold for those that are scared of intense colored lips. It's a color that is probably better suited for spring or summer, but I'm not going to lie I use it year round. You can purchase it here!

Next, is my all time two favorites to use together. I like to use them alone as well, but together they make the perfect combination. First is Sephora's Ultra Shine Lip Gloss in Pin Up Pink. I love Sephora's lip gloss, and it comes in tons of  great colors. I've owned a couple of colors in the past, and I think the shimmery ones are really great too. They have just the right amount of shimmer, and they aren't overly sticky. This color has no shimmer, it's just the perfect, baby pink gloss that isn't too bright and isn't too sticky. The other product in the photo is Sexy Mother Pucker by Soap & Glory in Candy Gloss. This product is a plumping gloss, and I love love love it. I've been using it for years to give my lips more of a full look and it works wonders. Plus it leaves you with a great tingle feeling and it's pretty much addicting. You can buy Sephora's lip gloss here, Sexy Mother Pucker here.

These next two lipsticks are part of Julep's Paris Jazz trio. They're described as "silky little lip colors inspired by the roaring 20's". When these came out Julep was boasting about how they were the most moisturizing lip colors ever, I don't really see that. What I do see, however is how lovely these colors are. The top photo is "Lady in Red", which I often use for date nights with my husband. It is a completely Matte bright red color and is great. The bottom is "Sweet Lorraine", which I like to wear to work with my Starlook's Tipsy lip pencil. It's a bubblegum pink very sheer lipstick. I wish they came in full size and individually! Get them here!

These next two are my go to lipsticks for fall this year. The one on the top is Mirabella's Posy, which in the swatch is on the left. It's part of their color sheers collection, and I can't find it on their website, but you can buy it here. It looks quite a bit darker on my lips than this swatch and is a really nice reddish, pinkish sheer color. Perfect for work or a night out. It is also SUPER moisturizing because it's made with a mango butter base. I did notice I had to reapply it more than usual. The other color is Kat Von D's Painted Love Lipstick in Lolita, which has been my favorite for years. I got this sample from Sephora, but I also have it in her lip gloss. It's a dark rose color and goes on completely opaque in just one coat. Not super moisturizing but it lasts for hours without coming off. You can buy it here. 

The first one in the next picture is Urban Decay's Revolution lipstick in "Anarchy". I received this product in an Ipsy bag awhile back and I'm pretty much in love with it. It is the hottest pink lipstick I've ever seen in my life and one coat lasts the entire day. In fact, if you don't scrub the crap out of your lips before you go to bed, it is still there the next day. Found that out this morning. It goes on so smooth and is kind of shiny like a gloss. There's nothing bad to say about it and I always get tons of compliments when I wear it! I want to own every single color of the brand. Buy it here.

The middle is Sephora's Glossy Gloss in "Marquisette". I love it because it looks great over every color I have and I use it constantly. It makes any matte color look amazing and looks pretty cool by its self. Marquisette is a clear gloss with tons of gold glitter in it. You can buy it here.

Last but certainly not least is Julep's strawberry mint lip balm. I'm pretty sure every Julep Maven own's at least one of these, and if they don't, they want to. It's the perfect lip balm and it tastes amazing. It doesn't really have a color, but its got a little bit of shimmer and makes your lips super duper soft and silky. You can try to buy it here, but it's usually sold out.

So yeah, that is my arsenal of lip faves. I love each and every one of them, and you should too! :) What are your favorite lippies?? Any suggestions for plumping glosses?? Hot pink lip gloss is my favorite, so if anyone knows a hot hot pink plumper, I'm sold!

Xx Ashley C.

P.S. All of these products were purchased by me and picked by me to review based on my own opinion.

Nutra Nail Speed Dry Top Coat Review

Recently, I ran out of Seche Vite. Sad day. Apparently, Walgreens doesn't carry it, so I picked up a bottle of Nutra Nail's Speed Dry 30 Second Top Coat. I'd used their Nail hardener before and really liked it. Plus, I did some quick searching for topcoat reviews and for the price, it seemed like a good buy. It cost a mere $3.99!!!

Overall, I really like this topcoat. I find it comparable to Seche Vite with significantly less shrinkage. It takes a little bit longer to dry your nails and is not quite as high gloss. That being said, if you follow the instructions and wait 1 minutes after painting your nails to apply it, it dries them to the touch in about another minute! This works for me! I don't know about you, but I always find that I have something important to do right after I finish my nails and end up screwing them up, so fast dry time is my number one priority!!!

Here are some pictures of my current mani with the Nutra Nail Top Coat! I took these pictures on day two so you will see there is minimal shrinkage, no chipping, and they still look FABULOUS!
For this mani I used:
Julep - Evangeline (LE Holo from 2013 Cupid's Mystery Box)
Sally Hansen- Black Out
Nutra Nail Speed Dry Top Coat

Here is a picture with flash!

And a grainy one without!

EDIT: I should probably mention that I have an office job and type constantly all day. My nails usually chip an hour after coming to work, so this is extra impressive for day 2!

Isn't it great!? 

Xx Ashley C.

Halloween Drip Nails!

Time for some easy peasy nail art everyone!!!
Nail drippies are one of my favorites because they are so ridiculously easy and look really cool no matter what colors you use. You could do blood drips with white and red too with this same technique.

For this tutorial I used:
Julep - Adrianna
Sally Hansen - Black Out
Random Nightlights glow in the dark polish from Sally's mentioned in another post

Start out by painting your nails whatever solid color you are using. This is really obvious but for the sake of this being a tutorial I will say it. :)
Allow that to dry for a bit and then add your glow in the dark topper. I used two coats of mine just to make sure they glowed really nicely and had a lot of glitter. :)
Once that is dry, you get a dotting tool, pen, bobby pin, toothpick, whatever you have thats roundish on the end and start in the middle of your nail and make a dot. You then drag it upward toward the tip of your nail and repeat this as many times as you want on your nail to make the dripping paint.

When you're done it should look something like this:

The last step is to paint a line across the tips of your nails. You can do this as thick as you want. Mine is pretty thin and is just like a french mani tip.

See how easy it is!! I may do blood drips next and I'll add a picture of it! :)

And here comes the best part!

I swear if I could find more of this stuff I'd buy a million bottles!! It glows like crazy!!!

Xx Ashley C.

Ghost Nail Tutorial!!

I love October. More importantly I love Halloween. Especially Halloween inspired nails. I did Nicole's nails Friday night and we decided on ghost nails. Even better they glow in the dark! :)
Here's how you can do it yourself!!

For this mani we used:
Julep - Cleopatra
Sally Hansen - Hard to Get
Random black nail polish
Night Lights Glow in the dark polish that I bought from Sally's years ago... it's great.

And here's what it looks like completed!!

And here's the glow in the dark!! 

Hope you enjoy this super easy Halloween inspired tutorial!!

:D Xx Ashley C.

Mini Drugstore Haul!

Walgreens is pretty much my favorite drugstore ever. They always have the best stuff on sale!!! I told you guys I was going to get another Wet N Wild palette and lucky me they were still on sale for $2.00!!!!

I picked up Walkin' on Eggshells which is one the of neutral trios. Can't wait to test it out tomorrow!! You can buy it here!! 

I also have been dying for some gel liner.... mine from Sephora is sadly all dried up and I was on a super budget so I decided to pick up some Elf cream liner for $3.00!! I've never tried it before but I like the Elf products that I have tried so far so I figured why not. Pretty excited! Even more excited now that I just realized it comes with a brush too! 

I know I said yesterday I was going to review the Julep liner today.... BUT I woke up way later than anticipated this morning and did a bad job on my makeup. I'm probably going to actually review both Julep and Elf liners tomorrow or this next day so watch out!!

I also grabbed two really great looking nail polishes by Sinful Colors because they were 2/$3 and the matte color display totally sold me. I bought a reddish orange matte color called "Laced Up" and a Hot Pink/Fuschia color called "Forget Now". I tried out Laced Up earlier and it goes on really really nice. It only took two coats and went on perfectly smooth. I can't really decide if it is more orange or more red.... I vote orange and my husband votes red... So you can decide... Please ignore my horrible black tips I was going to Halloween colors. lol I also haven't even bothered to clean up. :)

  

So great and matte. 

AND last but certainly not least my husband had two wonderful gifts waiting on me when I arrived home... in the form of mustaches. 

Have a great night!!! 

Xx Ashley C.