Urban Decay Book of Shadows Volume 3 Review + Swatches

For Christmas, one of the best presents I got was the Urban Decay Book of Shadows Volume 3 palette. 

I've really been loving it, so here is my in depth review of it. 

Urban Decay Book of Shadows Volume 3: NYC Edition

This palette is designed to look like a book from the outside... duh, BOOK of shadows. When you open up the upper part, out pops a really cute design with lights (I wonder where they put the batteries for those lights...), with pop up paper cutouts of buildings and people and a mirror in the background. It also has a cute UD <3 NYC graphic in the front. For practicality, this definitely isn't a palette that is travel friendly, but I love this cute addition to the palette to keep at home.

The actual eyeshadows pull out like a drawer style. The palette itself is a very sturdy cardboard, so I'd say the packaging is okay. Again, for practicality, not the best. It has 16 shadows that, as you can see, have a lot of variety.
I will now do swatches and reviews of each individual shadow by going by each quadrant.

Top left of palette: Oil Slick, Uzi, Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, SWF

Swatches (without flash, l/r): Oil Slick, Uzi, Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, SWF

Swatches (with flash, l/r): Oil Slick, Uzi, Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, SWF

Okay so this first quadrant has the most of the glitter eyeshadows in this palette. Glitter adds variety and glam to the palette, but I'm glad they only had only these three obvious glitter eyeshadows in this palette. I personally do not like glitter eyeshadows, but let's get into deeper detail with the individual eyeshadows...

Oil Slick- This is the only black of the palette, and I was quite dissapointed that it was a very glittery black. You can't see it much in the above pictures, but doesn't have an all-over shimmery finish or very small microglitter, but it's pretty chunky awkward glitter that you can actually pick up off the shadow.. which means that it creates fallout. It's not very pigmented as a black shadow, and very hard to control, so I'd have to say this shadow was a dissapointment. However, if used in the right way, I think it can add some bold edginess if paired as a smokey eye in the outer crease with a matte pop of color on the eyelid.

Uzi- This color is supossed to be a glittery silver color. It looks like a perfect night out color, perfect for New Years especially, in the pan. However, it doesn't have great pigmentation, and you have to swipe on quite a few layers which creates more glitter buildup, which creates fallout. On the skin, it looks like a white cast with silver sparkle, so maybe if you're really fair this could look like a pretty sparkle on the eyelid, but on a medium or darker skin tone it could look pretty silly.

Midnight Cowboy Rides Again- Of the glitter eyeshadows, I like this one the best. It's a little more wearable, as its a neutral color with glitter. For a not too crazy but slightly glammed up look, this is a nice wash on the lid, though it's not very pigmented. It literally blends into the skin- a nude, rather than a gold which you might expect from a sparkly nude.

SWF- In this glittery first quadrant, this is the only shadow that isn't glittery, but more of a frosty finish. In the swatches, it's not very pigmented, but on the eyelids it's pretty when combined with a neutral color to add a slight finish of frosty pink that's not overdone.. as you guys know, it can sometimes be very hard to pull of a light pink, and this is perfect for not overdoing it!

Top right of palette: Stray Dog, Mildew, Last Call, Rockstar

Swatches (without flash, l/r): Stray Dog, Mildew, Last Call, Rockstar

Swatches (with flash, l/r): Stray Dog, Mildew, Last Call, Rockstar

This second quadrant is AWESOME. Oh by the way, the pictures I did without flash aren't great quality, I'm sorry.. I don't know why my camera doesn't pick it up as well haha.  I think this fourth quadrant just has a lot of similar finishes that are awesome.. I haven't gotten all my eyeshadow finishes down, so I'm not exactly sure which ones this would be.. so if you guys know, then please let me know! :) It's definitely shimmery, but I know that's not an actual technical eyeshadow finish.
Anyways..

Stray Dog- One of my favorites from this palette! It's a gorgeous taupey brown neutral color that I love to use as an all over lid color or a crease color to add dimension.. it's just a great unique color that is very versatile at the same time. It's very pigmented and a staple color for every girl! It's a pearly, shimmery color that is suitable for everyone and since it's an all over shimmer without individual microglitter (at least, none that can be detectable when put on) it adds dimension without fallout!

Mildew- I haven't had a chance to wear this color very much yet, but it's a gorgeous forest moss green. Emerald has been stated the color of 2013 from Pantone Universe, so green will definitely make a comeback this year! It's a gorgeous color that I think will be an awesome pop of color.

Last Call- This is a beautiful cross between a magenta-pinky-reddish-purple... In other words, a very romantic color that I can't wait to use as a crease color with SWF and another neutral color on Valentine's Day (tutorial!). It's a great unique color that is soo pigmented and smooth..

Rockstar- This is a slightly deep purple color, but its a purple in such a way that when applied, it doesn't look someone just punched you in the face. I think it's a gorgeous color as well that is just very royal. :)

Bottom left of palette:  Haight, Maui Wowie, Goddess, Sin

Swatches (without flash, l/r): Haight, Maui Wowie, Goddess, Sin

Swatches (with flash, l/r): Haight, Maui Wowie, Goddess, Sin

Haight- A blue/teal color that's gonna be perfect for summer! For those of you intimidated to wear blue eyeshadow, this is slightly darker than what it looks like in the swatches so it's acceptable as a pop of color, or a liner for summer/springtime!

Maui Wowie- Basically a much more pigmented version of Midnight Cowboy Rides Again. Glittery, but has a neutral tone so it's acceptable to wear as classy glam. Very pretty neutral. A little bit of fallout should be expected though, as with all glitter eyeshadows.

Goddess- A very pretty royal dark blue with silver sparkle. Again, fallout could be a problem. This is a truly pretty color though. It's quite pigmented and since its a dark royal blue, it's more acceptable and easy to work with. To switch it up for summer, I suggest using a dark blue eyeshadow/liner for liner instead of black to spice it up. :)

Sin- The most perfect highlight color ever. So natural and gives a nice sheen. I use it always on the inner corner and as a browbone highlight, but as an all over lid color, it is perfect if you want a candlelit glow! A staple color! A favorite of this palette!

Bottom right of palette: Aquarius, Smog, YDK, Ecstasy

Swatches (without flash, l/r): Aquarius, Smog, YDK, Ecstasy

Swatches (with flash, l/r): Aquarius, Smog, YDK, Ecstasy

Aquarius- Such a pretty baby blue!! This would look so pretty if you're fair. Be careful not to pair it with a bold lip. For medium to dark skin tones, this color is something you have to be careful with.. Blue eyeshadows are always hard to work with because they can be clown-ish, but this is so beautiful and looks like a MAC Lustre finish eyeshadow, so it gives a bit of leeway because it's not a vivid matte. Honestly, I think this is a perfect color for spring as long as its worn carefully!

Smog- GORGEOUS GORGEOUS crease color!! It adds sooo much dimension and its suchh a rich color. ENOUGH SAID. Beautiful neutral. One of my favorites of this palette!

YDK- This might my favorite color from this palette, no joke. When I wear an all over lid color, I'll most likely go with YDK. It's such a universal neutral that adds a great rich glow thats a bit more mature than a regular champagne. It's so smooth and pigmented (well.. most of the eyeshadows in this palette are.). If I ever hit pan, I definitely am repurchasing this as a single eyeshadow. It's so beautiful and all of you should check it out!

Ecstasy- Would look so pretty paired with rockstar! A light purple that you have to be careful with, again, same thing goes as with Aquarius. But still very pretty.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Zero

I got an Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Pencil in Zero, which is very dark black along with the palette, which is a very decent size! It's basically a creme pencil, and my camera definitely blurred out the swatches... it's a very dark pigmented creamy black that's very easy to control. If you're looking for a black creme pencil, UD 24/7 Glide on Pencil!!

I also received a mini of the original Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion.
I have to say it's not the greatest thing ever. I've not an eye primer before, so I really don't have anything to compare this to, but it makes my eyelids feel very oily. Maybe thats what it's supossed to do... anyways, other than that, it does do its job, and keeps the eyeshadows on all day! However, it does not make the eyeshadows very pigmented- if I want more pigmentation, I will use my NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk.
Anyways, it's okay, but honestly, I'll stay with my NYX "primer"!

Swatches (with flash, l/r): Sin, YDK, Smog

Awkward myself. Ignore the fact that I'm not wearing any other makeup than the eyeshadow.. it was to emphasize the eyeshadow ;)
Anyways, I wanted to finish up this review by showing my favorite eyeshadow combo from the palette! This is an everyday makeup, which I might do a tutorial on soon. Anyways, I basically use Sin on the inner corner, YDK as an all over lid color, and smog on the outer corner. As you can see, it definitely makes my Asian eyes look like it has more dimension. It also looks more mature than a regular champagne wash. I think it's a perfect, super easy neutral eye!

Anyways, I really like this palette. Definitely reccomend it! It has a good amount of neutrals to work with (some are actually in the Naked/Naked2 palettes) while still having a great variety of other colors to add some fun to the look when you want to. Overall, a great beginner palette and a way to test out Urban Decay products. Yup, this was actually my first Urban Decay product! Surprise, surprise. Also, this was my first beauty review post, so hope it was decent :P
They sell the single eyeshadows of the palette, so if you saw something you really liked or want to try out, you can purchase them on the Urban Decay site or even buy the palette if you would like to.

I'm very grateful for being able to get this palette, as I love it :) I definitely can say YES to the Urban Decay hype, their eyeshadows are one of the smoothest!

-Angela.

Influenster College VoxBox

If you guys don't know, Influenster is a site where you can sign up and be active by reviewing products and seasonally, they will check your profile and if you've been active, they'll send you a VoxBox with a theme that is right for you. For fall 2012, there was the College voxbox (which I got), Beauty Blogger Vox Box, and Holiday Vox Box. I was chosen for the College one (which doesn't make quite a lot of sense, because I don't go to uni but anyways) and I've finally tried most of the products so I decided to do a review on all of the products.

It comes in a nice box with an influenster card.

The first product was these imPRESS nails that are a press-on manicure, and I have mine in Holla, which is a nude ish design with fishnet/lace detailing on it, which I think are super cute. I am actually saving these for Valentines Day or for a special event, so I have not actually tried this. But I have talked to a lot of people who have used these and so far, not so good opinions I've been hearing :\ A lot of people say it falls off too easily- and thats pretty much the only con. I'll have to see for myself, and maybe make a separate NOTD when I do wear these.

The next thing I got were YAY food! The Tropical NECCO wafers. A lot of people liked these! But, unfortunately, I didn't very much. It's not that it tastes bad or anything. I just thought they'd be crispy wafers, but they turned out be kind of the chalky, hard wafers.. and I don't realy like those kind of hard candies. So, not a plus for me. But the smell was HEAVEN.

This next thing might seem random, but fights very well into the whole College theme.. its a Pentel EnergelX pen. At first, I was dissapointed, like seriously? A pen? But. NO. BEST. PEN. EVARRRRRRRRRRRR. I used ONLY this pen for the following months on assignments and in-class essays and it is the best pen I have ever used. I used to use cheap ones because I thought it didn't make a difference. It does. Got me some A+s, especially on those finals ;) It writes sooo smoothly and is such a pigmented black color. Its a liquid gel ink pen so it has the pigmentation of a gel, but glides like a liquid and dries fast so it doesn't smudge, which I don't like about gel pens. So it's so perfect. Plus, the grip is just right, because having too big of a grip can be bulky sometimes. I used so much of this pen that I ran out of ink after a couple months. A couple weeks ago, I replaced it with a pack of 2 new Pentel EnergelX pens.. I think they are an updated version because they look different- silver and slimmer, but still the same great quality. Plus, I realized this isn't a cheap pen. It's about $5 for 2, which is the most expensive in all of the office pen selections. So, if you want to splurge on a pen.. Pentel EnergelX is the way to go.

This next item was a beauty item! A ShowTime Glitter Pencil Eyeliner in ShowTime Black from NYC, which I've always wanted to buy from- they are very affordable and have some great products that are raved about (ahem, NYC Sunny). Anyways, this turned out to be my first NYC product, and I was glad that the beauty product was from a brand that I knew and heard about a lot and could trust would be good.. which it turned out to be. This pencil eyeliner is a very dark black with SILVER SHIMMER. YES. It's soo unique and can add a subtle glam effect without being too out there. In the swatch I did, it doesn't look very black because of the flash, but I can assure you that it's pretty black on the range of pencil liners. The silver shimmer in this liner is not an overall effect, but individual microglitter embedded into the pencil, but the glitter doesn't go everywhere, it's like implanted in the pencil- it's difficult to explain, but it's not messy at all. Since it is a pencil, it's really easy to handle as well. The silver sparkle is also very subtle and can only be seen pretty closely so if you're intimidated by that, that's not a factor to worried about either.

Finally, I got these Energy Sheets. They are basically like breath strips, but in a pack that somewhat looks like a cigarette pack.. but anyways.. they have some caffeine in it so it's supossed to give you energy without the calories of drinking a Starbucks. It also has about half the caffeine of coffee in one strip, so you can adjust your dosage- though it is recommended that only 4 be taken every 3 hours.. or something of the sort. I was very excited about these because sometimes I have those days when I'm just falling asleep in class, so I thought this could be an easy way to wake myself up. So one day I tried these one of those days. First of all, the taste. I didn't know what I was supossed to do with the strip in my mouth, I thought it would easily dissolve like a breath strip on my tongue, but instead it got all sticky and weird so I kinda had to chew it, which was awkward,and it ended up tasting WEIRD, soooooooooooooo weird, it was minty, but a WEIRD mint, like as if someone mixed orange juice and toothpaste together and it was just such a weird taste, and unappetizing too. I tried to drink water to get rid of the taste, but it made it worse. It stayed there about an hour. I hated it. Many other people hate the taste of it too, so I know its not just me. So about the actual energy- I took one sheet and it kicked in about 30 minutes later and I started getting really really hyper and my hands started shaking a little (I'm a really hyper person in the beginning, so you can imagine what happened ahahahahah). For a product that's supossed to give you more energy to be more concentrated, I was very distracted and scatterbrained. Maybe caffeine just isn't for me (but STARBUCKKKKS). However, it really depends on how you like this- some people didn't experience any reaction, some had the same reaction as I did, some just liked it a lot and wasn't bothered by the taste (I ended up giving this to one of my friends, who liked it).

Anyways, this was my first Influenster box, and I'd have to give a 3 out of 5 because it was good to try all these products and some were awesome but some were just.. eh. But still, I'm very grateful for being chosen by Influenster to recieve this box!
Of course, this isn't sponsored and I am not getting compensated by making this post. Influenster just sends boxes to a lot of people who are active on their site, and not for the sake for having good reviews for them (but a lot of people do that anyways haha).
These boxes are free and you can obtain them by just being active on the site and having some kind of social media outlet (eg YouTube, blog, etc), so if you're interested just go to influenster.com and sign up!

If you're interested in any of these products, I've listed the product info here..

-imPRESS Press-On Manicure: $5.99 for colors, $7.99 for patterns. Get them here.
-NYC New York Color Show Time Glitter Eyeliner Pencil: $2.49 per pencil. Get the eyeliner here.
-Necco Tropical Wafers: $1.29 each, $24.00 per box, $37.50 per tub. Get candy here.
-Pentel EnergelX Pen: $1.90 per pen. Get the best pens ever here.
-Energy Sheets: $5.95 per pack of 10 sheets. If you're into that kind of thing..

Anyways, I hope this didn't sound like toooo negative. I'm just being honest, I hope you guys can appreciate that about me :D Anyways, hope you guys can check out influenster and possibly get a box for spring!

TOODOOLOO for noww!

Winter Outfit - Cozy and Put Together

Hey guys! So this week I got back to school, explaining my lack of posts. Technically, I need to be working right now, because have huge projects due on Monday that I'm only a quarter through (ahem, science fair). But as I said, I've been wanting to write more. I've definitely keeping up with that resolution through my diary, which I've been writing in every day so far (even if it means staying up until midnight). For my blog, I want to do a post about.. every week at the minimum. Let's see if we can keep up with that.

Anyways, other writing style wise, I've been focusing on getting much more serious with writing (if you guys didn't pick up, I really want to pursue English Lit or something of the sort) so I want to possibly finish WRITING a book this year. I've started many stories over the years, but none have I actually finished or published. So.. if you would like to keep up with that, remember to check out my Wattpad, which is an e-book community. If you're part of it, definitely fan me, or just check out my works (the book that I'm seriously pursuing is The Beginning of the End, which you can check out here.). Even clicking on the link will help me get more exposure, as it counts the reads like a YouTube video would count views. :)

Hum. Other updates before we get on to the outfit? 

I MADE AN INSTAGRAMMM. 

Finally. I was very resistant against it until finally I caved and got one. So that is my personal Instagram where I post a lot of selfies and such, but if you'd like to follow me and get to know me better then definitely follow me. But for future reference, if you want to ask questions/leave suggestions for my blog, do not reach me through Instagram- the best way is through Twitter, which I made SPECIFICALLY for that purpose or through email. All links can be found through the "Contact Us" tab at the top of this blog. 

OK enough about self promotion! :D Let's go on to the winter outfit, shall we?

Bracelet: BCBGeneration

Sweater: Abercrombie and Fitch

Necklace: Gift from Korea

Blouse: Loft

Dark Wash Jeans: Rewind from JC Penny

Shoes: Ralph Lauren

So this is suchhhhh cozy winter outfit! These pictures were actually taken quite a while ago, explaining why it's so sunny in the pictures. Nowadays, it's always cloudy and quite depressing hahaha. Anyways, this is one of my favorite outfit combos. The sweater is such a cute, sophisticated, yet comfortable piece, with a bit of texture because of it's open knit design, which allows for me to layer underneath. I love wearing blouses with cute collars underneath sweaters so the top part can just peek out! Also, it just adds a little warmth to an otherwise chilly open knit sweater. For the necklace, I went with an understated, cute, statement piece. You can't see it well in the picture but it's a beautiful bear with crystals and gold and silver detailing, which really adds some nice warm and cool tones to the outfit. I like it because it's kind of simple but bold at the same time, and really adds a laidback but put together feel to the look. For the jeans, I went with a dark blue wash, and with the bracelet, I went with my trusty red-and-silver statement bracelet, and joined both the colors in the shoes, which are red-blue-white plaid... so it just ties the whole color scheme together! Just adore. If you guys want to know where I got all these items, just look at the captions below the photos. I've decided to start doing that instead :)

Anyways, that's all for now. Remember to follow my Instagram and possibly check out my Wattpad.

And wish me luck on my science fair :)

-Angela.

My New Years Eve Nails

Hey guys! I don't think I showed you my New Years nails. I really liked them so I thought I'd share. 

For Christmas, I got a new camera which is much more high quality than what I used to take these pictures so don't worry, the quality will get better! 

Anyways, for New Years, people usually go for a silver or goldish color, but I decided to go with a really icy blue!

It looks really cool, and kind of ice princess-y :D I bet it would look great for fair skin as well. It's just an awesome winter look.

I actually mixed two different colors to achieve the look!

I used an awesome foil silver color from Revlon (Silver Dollar) as the base and used a really pretty sheer blue color over top after it had dried- it's so sheer on its own but soo pretty when layered over silver. It has really tiny rainbow microglitter to add dimension as well. This nail polish is from Wet n Wild in the color Blue Wants To Be A Millionaire. 

Since my nails are so delicate, I always use a base coat. I usually use the Sally Hansen Miracle Cure, which is great. It's very simple and seems to protect my nails very well. The nail look lasted for about five days, which is a good amount for me.

I really liked this look and probably will repeat it again during the course of winter (:

Angela.

Happy New Years!

Sorry for being so M.I.A! I was just super busy in December because of finals, then I was on vacation, then Christmas happened, and then New Years. :P How'd you guys spend your holiday season? And mostly, what was your New Years resolution? My 2013 resolution is to write more. I'm very interested in English literature, so I just want to take some time out of my life to just write. Write poems, stories, on here, and start my diary up again. I used to write obsessively in a diary for most of my life, but I quit during middle school, so now, I am starting back up again! I'll definitely try to write on here more.

New Years was pretty awesome. I just spent it with the fam, and in the day, me and a few of my friends went out shopping, which was very fun :) I did a tutorial on a formal New Years look on my YouTube channel, if you'd like to check it out.

For my outfit, I went with a super simple but really cute black dress from Alfani that is very cute and modest at the same time because it is mid-thigh length and quarter sleeves. The sleeves have ruching, which you can't see, but it adds a very cute, girly touch. The thing about this dress that makes it very special is the pocket detailing, which is very silvery with really glam silver beading that just screams new years. I went with a classic string pearl bracelet and an Ann Taylor diamond-and-pearl bow statement necklace to balance off the somewhat plainess of the top part of the dress. Since it can be chilly, I wore black stockings with heart detailing, which is really cute and flirty!

The makeup isn't done justice in these pictures. It's a beautiful simple look, with dark blue eyeshadow in the outer V of the eye and brought a little along the crease (Goddess and Haight from the Urban Decay Book of Shadows Volume III palette, which I got for Christmas! You can see what else I got at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cv4t78QunM&list=UUZ1pI68BQ--iuRHPucBC0AQ&index=4) and balanced off the look with gold color in the inner lid, as a blue-silver eye look would look too clown-ish in my opinion (Midnight Cowboy Rides Again from Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol III and True Gold Loose Pigment from Bare Minerals). It can also serve as a metaphor.. because New Years Eve is the most important night of the year, and the turning of the day is captured by this eye look with the blue turning to gold. I highlighted the inner corner of the bottom rim- it obviously makes a difference and makes my eyes shine very bright.. I used NYX Exquisite Garnet Glam Eyeshadow Stick and then used a glitter black eyeliner from NYC to rim the outer part of my eyes and my eyelid to add some definition. I balanced the look with an ombre cranberry lip (Loreal Lipstick Pure Burgundy and MAC Lip Conditioner Virtuous Violet).

If you want to see how I created the whole look then check out my tutorial:

2012 has truly been an amazing year! I will be launching a new blog on movie, book, and all things media reviews so be looking out for that!

It's really hard to balance a blog and a YouTube and figure out what I should upload to each, but I hope you guys can be patient with that. Maybe in the future I'll just translate everything I did in a video to a post, like I did above. For instance, favorites videos! My December 2012 favorites were really long so I won't do a post on that just yet, but if you want to check it out, its at : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJvcUzEAp6k.

I also made YouTube partner, which explains the fancy thumbnails. Thats a big step considering I don't like to self promote, so I'm quite proud. Thanks all of you guys who are subscribers or just followers of this blog, I really appreciate all the support!

See you next time!

Angela.