Flashback Friday: Pink and Blue Eyes

Happy Friday!!! There was more sunshine this week, and it was harder to be stuck inside at work:( But! I'm looking forward to the weekend and hoping for some more beach days! Yay!!

When I was younger, I was very impressionable when it came to reading magazines. If Cosmo told me that boys liked girls who wore gorilla suits and pink mohawks, it's quite possible I would've done that. (thankfully, I never read an article that said that;) What I did read, however, was that blue eyeliner made brown eyes pop!

Now, for most of my life, I was convinced my eyes were the color of muddy puddles. You know what a muddy puddle looks like right? Just a dingy brown.. maybe some scum or mold floating around in it... ew. Gross. And that's how I felt about my eyes. They were brown.. but not a pretty chocolate brown. Not some deep color boys would get lost in, lol. There were flecks of green/hazel in them too. And sometimes a yellowish tint... I'm getting sad just thinking about how disgusted I used to be with them (update, I have since grown to accept and enjoy the unique color that is my eyes;) Anyway, if Cosmo said blue would make them pop, I was going to make my eyes pop!

From then on out, it was the same beauty routine on my eyes all the time. Day in and day out. Bonne Bell Eye Style Shadow Box in Girlie Pink (shocking, right? Some things never change... lol) and Wet 'n Wild eyeliner in Deep Blue (or Navy Blue, I can't remember the exact one I was using then. But the eyeliner that was pretty much 99 cents at CVS lol). I rarely used mascara.

I was still all about wearing eyeshadow the "right" way. I would use the lightest pink on my brown bone, the medium pink at the bottom over the lid, the dark pink in the crease for contouring, and the silvery color on the inner corner of my eye. This was my eye routine for my junior and senior year of college... and probably part of my post college life, too...

So... why do I bring this up now...? Maybe it's regression, but.... I'm doing it again. Haha.

Now, I've definitely matured it some! (I'm now using purples instead of pinks; and have upgraded to Maybelline's Define-A-Line eye liner in Navy Blue) But some wisdom from Cosmo is ever enduring, and I really do think that the blue makes my eyes pop!

How about you? Do you ever go back to beauty trends you used in the past? What are your thoughts on colored eye liners?

Review: NYX Crimson Amulet Collection

Hi Lovelies! Before I jump in to today's post, I wanted to draw your attention to my fabulous new blog layout! LOL. I know I'd been saying that when I got my 100 followers, I felt like I was a *real* blog now and wanted to make it feel... better. Hahaha, I wasn't sure exactly what that meant, but I knew I was just looking for something *more*... whatever that *more* was... I went through 100s of pages of blog templates.. and layouts... I looked at blog designers portfolios... I just couldn't see paying someone to do the work for me that I should be able to figure out on my own, ya know? (nothing against people who do do that; believe me, I was *very*close to having someone do it for me). But, my dad taught me years ago that you appreciate things more that you do yourself... and so... I fought on. Anyway! I think the finished product (for now) really captures my personality and what I wanted when I thought of the words "glitter" "gloss" and "glaze" nearly eight months ago!

So! Onto today's topic! I picked up The Crimson Amulet Collection bout a month or so ago from Ulta. This palette was based on the new Johnny Depp movie--Dark Shadows. I was really excited about getting this! It has twenty-four eye shadows, four lip colors, five blushes, one highlighter, one shadow base, and one liquid liner. OMG there is so much in this little box!!!

I'm going to be completely honest with you--I have not used any of the blushes, the liner, or the shadow base. (sorry!) But I don't want to wait any longer before at least starting the review! It's a limited edition collection, and if I wait much longer to review it, you won't be able to buy it! hahahah

So, I've also been putting off the review, because when I first started using it, I really wasn't that impressed. I don't like the lip colors at all... the consistency is just awkward for me... I think I was hoping they'd be more creamy.. more gloss like? And they're just very stiff... while there is some color variation, they aren't lip colors I'd really use a whole lot.

The eye shadows are good texture--typical NYX shadows. It's got a lot of neutrals with some pops of color--both matte and shimmery--I did like that part. The colors are all very blendable, and I'm pretty sure the possibilities are pretty endless.

I'm going to give it a positive review though because I have gotten more compliments on eye looks I've made from this collection than from anything else in a while. Every time I use the blues and purples together people are always asking "Close your eyes! Let me see!" or "What color is that on your eyes?" It's a huge hit!:)

However, here is the best part, ladies and gentlemen! You get all of this for $25!! I'm totally serious!! What a bargain!! So, while I don't really like the lip colors, the eye shadows make up for it, and I love how it's like a little book you can carry. You can throw it in your purse and pretty much use it to touch up or change your look throughout the day... perhaps change your daytime look to a date night or girls night out look!:)

Have you tried this collection? Do you have any favorite products that come in a package deal like this? Have you seen the Dark Shadows movie??