Madd Style Cosmetics: Greyed Out Green Tutorial

I recently placed an order because I had to have 'Ship of Fools' - it is such a gorgeous shade of green! My inspiration was primarily based around this color because I felt compelled to use it right away.. seriously. I kept trying to think of other color combinations I wanted to try, but I kept coming back to 'Ship of Fools' every. single. time. ;) So, I hope that you all love it as much as I do! <3
I apologize in advance for the lighting.. Arizona does not think that it's time for fall yet, and the sun was shining obnoxiously bright. ha ha

Top left: Too Faced Shadow Insurance Anti-Crease Eye Shadow Primer,

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero,

Benefit Cosmetics 'They're Real!' Mascara, 

MicaBeauty Cosmetics Gel Eyeliner in Black,  

&Tick:Tock Infinity Eye Shadow Base in 'Milky Way'

Bottom left: bdellium tools brushes #777, #781 and #716,

Real Techniques 'accent brush' & Tarte double-duty eyelining brush

Top &bottom right: Madd Style Cosmetics eyeshadow pigments in: 

"Heart of Gold" Potion, Birf'day Suit, Ship of Fools, Witch's Brew, and Touch of Grey

As always, start out by applying your preferred eye shadow primer and eye shadow base. I went pretty easy on the eye shadow base for this look.

Apply 'Ship of Fools' all over the lid and just slightly into the crease.

Grab a fluffy crease brush and lightly blend out 'Ship of Fools' in the crease.

Start slowly adding in some 'Touch of Grey' in the outer corner/crease. Don't worry about making your edges perfect - you can easily go in with a q-tip lightly dipped in makeup remover if you need to! :)

Grab your fluffy crease brush once again and start blending out 'Touch of Grey'- if you need to, lightly add in a bit more 'Touch of Grey' and continue to blend. Keep doing this until you are happy with the overall shape and have it blended the way you want.

Go in with a shade that is close to your skin tone (I'm using 'Birfday Suit') and blend out around the edges of 'Touch of Grey'.

Grab 'Witch's Brew' and apply to the center of the lid (I used my little accent brush to make it easier). Next, apply a little bit of 'Heart of Gold Potion' to the inner corner/duct area.

&Last but not least - add some eyeliner and mascara to complete the look. :)

Thank you all for viewing! xoxo

Birchbox Quick Look: September 'Heritage' Box

My box contents this month:

• benefit Ultra Plush Lip Gloss in 'Sugarbomb' - 6.5ml/0.22 fl oz
• RUFFIAN Nail Lacquer in 'Delirium' - 0.17 fl oz/5ml
• Racinne Ultimate Youth Power Eye Serum - 5ml/0.17 fl oz
• Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel Sensitive - .25 fl oz/7ml
• COOLA Tinted Matte SPF 30 for Face - .10 fl oz/3ml

Not bad this month, Birchbox! I'm actually excited to try everything I received. I'm typically partial to Zoya when it comes to nail polish.. but this RUFFIAN Nail Lacquer in 'Delirium' looks amazing! It's almost a blurple shade but when the light hits it just right, it appears nearly fuchsia. The eye serum is generously sized and I'm sure I'll be able to get enough use out of it to figure out whether the product works for me or not. I've received so many COOLA samples from subs the last few months that I was slightly bummed to see another one.. but who am I kidding? At least it is something that I can and will use (Arizona, need I say more?)! Also disappointing to note that the sample packaging seems to have changed from the convenient little travel-size tube to a non-resealable packet (which also contains less product..!?). I've tried the Juice Beauty Peel in the past and although I like it, it hasn't given me any noticeably amazing results.. however, my skin is difficult and frustrating. So.. maybe it's just me. :(  Last but not least, I'm definitely not a huge fan of lip gloss - but this one has a bunch of gorgeous little multi-colored sparkles! I'm thinking it will look quite lovely layered over some other lip colors. ;)

Are you a Birchbox subscriber? Which products did you fall in love with this month and which products could you have done without? Let me know in the comments! :)

If you're interested in signing up for Birchbox I would love it if you use my referral link by clicking here. :)

Birchbox is a beauty and 'discovery' subscription service. For $10 a month (free shipping), you will receive a selection of samples to try. Samples may range anywhere from skincare to makeup and the occasional non-beauty related extras (or 'lifestyle' extras). You may cancel your subscription at any time (unless, of course, you sign up for a yearly subscription). Birchbox awards points for reviewing the products you receive each month - each review is worth 10 points, 100 points are equal to $10 that can be used toward purchasing full-size items in the Birchbox shop!

Thank you for viewing! <3

FTC: This subscription is paid for by myself/by my boyfriend. I am not being compensated to write this post, these are my honest opinions on the products and company. If you choose to use my referral link, I will receive a bonus of 50 points to use on the Birchbox website. My photos are taken in natural lighting and are unaltered aside from cropping.

Ipsy Quick Look: September 'Classic Beauty' Glam Bag

My bag contents this month:

• Starlooks Kohl Eye Pencil in 'Obsidian' - 2.4g
• butter LONDON Nail Lacquer in 'La Moss' - 6.0ml/0.2 fl oz
• NYX Single Eye Shadow in 'Cryptonite' - 0.088oz/2.5g
• Elizabeth Mott 'It's So Big' Volumizing Mascara - 0.14 fl oz/4ml
• Cailyn Cosmetics Tinted Lip Balm in 'Big Apple' - 0.14oz/3g

Absolutely looooving the color of the cosmetic bag this month! As for the pattern printed on it.. I'm not entirely sure (...and while I'm on the topic, it doesn't really seem to fit the theme of 'Classic Beauty'? Is it just me?). I really wasn't "wowed" by the items sent out this month, to be completely honest, but I did receive the couple of items I was really hoping for over all. So, there's that!
The butter LONDON nail lacquer is a mini (which is super cute, by the way!) in the color 'La Moss'. They describe this particular shade as a "vampy deep, dark red nail lacquer full of red wine, just like its inspiration." and I'd have to agree that their description is spot on! I feel like this color is pretty unique and I don't currently have anything like it (I know, I know.. hard to believe, huh?). I'm also pretty thrilled with the Cailyn Cosmetics Tinted Lip Balm. I was kind of worried that the color leaned a bit more orange-red, but I actually found it to be more of a red-pink. It isn't nearly as moisturizing as a typical lip balm would be - but the color payoff is incredible and I'm in love with the fact that it's matte (and has some serious staying power).

I could go either way with the Starlooks Kohl Eye Pencil. It's not incredibly exciting based on the fact that it is just a basic black eyeliner. I will likely find a use for this but it definitely won't be replacing my beloved Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils! Just from swatching the pencil on the back of my hand, I didn't find the formula to be very creamy/buttery smooth.. but, I won't be writing it off just yet, either. The 'It's So Big' mascara sample is intriguing and I'm really looking forward to trying it (it might be a while, however, because I've recently acquired a mass amount of mascara samples!). As for the NYX Single Eye Shadow.. I won't even bother to open/swatch this product. I love eye shadow - honestly and quite literally, it is my number one most 'hoarded' (a.k.a. gotta catch 'em all) cosmetic product. ha ha  But I just don't really use black eye shadows, and this shade doesn't strike me as being particularly unique in any way. Bummer!

Here are my quick swatches this month:

Starlooks Kohl Eye Pencil in 'Obsidian' on the left,

& Cailyn Cosmetics Tinted Lip Balm in 'Big Apple' on the right

Are you an Ipsy subscriber? Which items did you fall in love with this month and which products could you have done without? Let me know in the comments! :)

If you're interested in signing up for Ipsy I would love if you use my referral link by clicking here. :)

Ipsy is a beauty subscription service. For $10 a month (free shipping within the U.S.), you will receive 4-5 deluxe or full-size beauty products in a 'glam' (cosmetic) bag. You may cancel your subscription at any time (unless, of course, you sign up for a yearly subscription). Ipsy currently has a point based referral system in place (when someone uses your specific referral link to sign up for the monthly glam bag, you will receive 250 points). The points you accumulate can be used to redeem for monthly bonus item(s) in your next glam bag. You are encouraged to give feedback on the products you receive each month, which will help them match you to more relevant products in the future.

Thank you for viewing! <3

FTC: This subscription is paid for by myself/by my boyfriend. I am not being compensated to write this post, these are my honest opinions on the products and company. If you choose to use my referral link, I will receive referral points on the Ipsy website. The photos were taken in natural lighting and are unaltered aside from cropping.