Merry Christmas + Last 10$/Week Challenge Update

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you all have a wonderful day filled with fun and good times with your families. If you don't celebrate Christmas, then happy holidays, or simply I hope you have a great day! :)

So you all probably have noticed that I have been quiet for the last two months. I hope to start doing more posts again during the new year. I'm sorry for my silence, and I really don't have much of an explanation to offer as to why I haven't posted. I simply wasn't feeling motivated or inspired. I actually hadn't worn any makeup in 6 weeks until yesterday! Anyhow, hopefully you will be seeing much more from me on here soon. I'm leaving for a cruise in less than two weeks so I was thinking I could start with a pack with me cruise edition kind of deal. Let me know if you'd like to see that :)

As far the 10$/week challenge, I've been doing quite well. In fact, it ends in 6 days, and unless I do something terribly stupid until then, I've managed to stay on budget for the whole year! I'm incredibly proud of myself and I can hardly believe it's already been a whole year. Anyway, enough with the rambling, here are the latest and last items that I bought this year :

MAC Moisture Cover Concealer (23$), Smashbox Full Exposure Travel Palette (23$), Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pommade (23$)

Sorry for the crap quality of the picture, I'm not home and all I have is my phone with me. :/ At least I'm posting something right? :p

So the total is 69$, which I'm basically rounding up to 90$ (or 9 weeks) because of sales taxes. So this concludes my resolution for this year! Hope you all enjoyed this and have a nice week everyone!

Beauty Empties Number 6

So I finished a few small and candles and a big one! The Winter Cafe candle was great, but I don't think I would buy it again. It's just not that special. Same for the chocolate mint and the hot chocolate ones (they don't make them anymore though so it's kind of a moot point). The Pumpkin Cupcake and White Barn ones I would definitely get again tough :)

1) Cover Girl Clump crusher X2 (expired) - I got a value pack at Costco to replace them. More info on my thoughts here
2) Maybelline Great Lash Clear Mascara which I use as brow gel. I also have already repurchased this.
3) Red Cherry Lashes in 119 and 28. I quite like Red Cherry lashes and would repurchase, but I feel like they don't last as long as some other brands.
4) Last for lashes I got two pairs of Ardell lashes. One of them is really old and has been well loved. The other one is it's replacement, which is terrible quality. I don't know what happened with Ardell lashes, but they're not the same anymore (happened to me for two different pairs).  As I was peeling them from the packaging, the lashes were pulling apart, essentially destroying the lash before I even got to use it once. So it was a nice waste of 7$. I'm really disappointed, let me just say I won't be buying any more Ardell for the time being.

As far as samples are concerned I have three perfume samples which were all nice, but I wouldn't get the full size of. I also have two Laroche Posay products : the cicaplast Baume which helps heal scars. The tube was too small for me to notice a diffence, but I'd like to try it for acne scarring. It's super expensive tough so I'm on the fence about that. The other one is the Toleriane Ultra Intense Soothing Care. The sample is tiny which means it's kind of pointless in my opinion. I do have the full size though and I love it.

1) Bioderma x2 - Check this post to see what I think!
2) Bath and Body Works shower gel in Honeysuckle Amore - I feel the same about this shower gel than the other one I mentionned in my last empties. Read it here
3) Bath and Body Works hand soaps - While I find these drying, I cannot keep myself from repurchasing. The lovely colors and scents just keep drawing me in over and over again.
4) Lush Fresh Face Masks - These are my new obssession! They feel so great on the skin and are all natural. They do not irritate my sensitive skin and I really feel like they do something for my skin as opposed to most cheap face masks you can get at the drugstore.
5) Neutrogena Oil Free Makeup Remover - I've had at least 5 or 6 of these. Really love this makeup remover. More info here
6) Glysomed Hand Cream - My favorite hand cream, more details here
7) Sensodyne Pro-Namel Toothpaste - My toughts here

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That's it for these empties! Hope you enjoyed all the quick product reviews! I tried not to repeat myself too much so I linked the products I reviewed in earlier posts as much as possible :) Hope you all don't mind, but my opinion hasn't changed so I thought it would be better this way. Let me know how you feel about that!

Recent Beauty and Random Favorites

Hey everyone! Today I'm sharing my current and recent favorites! I used to do these every month, but I realized that it was getting a little boring with the same products repeating over and over again. I've waited a little too long to do this one so I have a bunch of things to share now! I especially have a ton of random favorites because I've been really into reading and watching shows lately :)

So without further ado, let's proceed with the favorites ♥

 ** BEAUTY **

Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder in Highlight 01

Golden toned extra shiny highliter. It's super pigmented and looks great on the top of the cheekbones.

L'Oréal Colour Riche Balm in 818 Nourishing Nude

Great feeling on the lips, sheer natural color and beautiful shiny finish. It's really moisturizing too! It's really perfect for my dry chapped lips.

OPI Dulce de Leche Nail Polish

Probably not the first time I mention this one, but for me it's the perfect nude, wearable, work appropriate color!

Lush Fresh Face Mask in Love Lettuce

I love all the Lush masks that I have tried so far, but I've repurchased this one twice. I love the feeling of my skin afterwards and it's quite soothing. Great to pamper yourself during the weekend.

Tony Moly Party Lover Liquid Liner

Super black, really thin brush and very easy to control. I love the results and I'm glad I finally found a liquid liner that I love besides the Elf 1$ liner.

Urban Decay Naked Basics

Tiny little palette, but so practical and versatile! I love to pack this along with a few shimmery shadows when I travel. It contains all the basics that you would need to do a well rounded makeup look. Also, the color Naked is perfect for my brows. Love!

EcoTools Eye Enhancing Duo Brush Set 

I love this double ended brush set. The angled brush is super fine and perfect for precision work and I love the blending brush. As with all other EcoTools brushes, they are soft and great quality too.

Lush The Olive Branch Shower Gel

Wonderful Scent, gentle on the skin, I couldn't ask for more from a shower gel! The small bottle lasts quite a long time, but the size is perfect for travel which I always appreciate.

Le Petit Marseillais Body wash in White Peach and Nectarine 

This is the first time I try this brand, but I'm already sold! The scents are to die for and the formula is extra gentle. I also have a raspberry one which is incredible.

Toleriane Ultra Intense Soothing Care moisturizer and Toleriane Dermo-Cleanser

I think I'm going to review this in-depht soon, so I'm going to be brief. This skin care line is gentle, moisturizing and perfect for my allergic skin. The products are expensive, but really worth it for me.

Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Palette 

Incredibly cool packaging. As soon as I saw it on the Sephora website I knew I had to have it! The shadows themselves are very basic, but the quality is unparalleled. Great palette!

** MUSIC **

Zomboy

I love a lot of Zomboy's music, but lately I'm quite into the Dead Symphonic E.P :D

Dj Bl3nd
I've been listening to Dj Bl3nd Freakshow Vol. 8 a lot! Really great music :)

** TV & MOVIES **

- Hotel Transylvania

- Witches of East End

- Veronica Mars

- Once Upon a Time

- Prison Break

** BOOKS **

- Divergent Series

- Razorland Series

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That's it for my current favorites! Let me know if you have any recommendations for me wether it be beauty, books, tv or music! I'd love to hear it :)

Current Beauty Wishlist

Hey everyone! Today I'm just doing a quick post to share my current beauty wishlist! These items won't be purchased this year for the most part (gotta keep my 10$/week project in check!), but I'm probably going to get them in the future.

For the remainder of my yearly makeup budget (6 weeks, so 60$), I'm still undecided as to what I want to spend it on. As much as I'd like to get more eyeshadow, I've got so many palettes now that I feel it might not be the best choice. I am debating on getting more Darling Girl Cosmetics shadow though. Another option is getting a BB cream and other Korean products that I want to try. Other than that I was thinking of getting a Christmas set at Sephora. I'm not sure what to do! What would you guys get?

Current Beauty WIshlist by luhivy featuring origins skin care

Caribbean Sunset Makeup Look Remake

Hey everyone! Today I'm sharing another makeup remake! I felt like going back to look at my oldest makeup looks recently. I guess I was curious and wanted to compare my current creations to what I used to do when I first began. I stumbled across the very first bright makeup look I did when I received my BH 120 Palette 3 years ago. It was a caribbean sunset inspired makeup which consisted of a gradient pink to yellow look. Since then, the palette has accompanied me through more than a hundred colorful looks which is really crazy to me.

Anyway, I decided it would be nice to recreate it to see how everything has changed since I began blogging and the difference is really astonishing! The new look shows that I now have better tools, better lighting, better photo quality and better skills. I'm really happy with how much I have grown and learned on this journey. Anyway, enough with the rambling and let's get on with the new and improved caribbean sunset makeup! Hope you all enjoy this :) Also, you can check out the older version here.

Products used :

Base

• UDPP
• NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk

Eyeshadow & Brows

• BH 120 Palette (1st Edition)
• Coastal Scents 88 Warm Palette
• NYX Eyebrow Kit in Medium

Liner & Lashes

• Ardell 120 Demi Lashes
• Cover Girl Clump Crusher Mascara
• E.l.f. Liquid Liner in Black

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So what do you all think of the new updated version? Also as you can see I have adjusted the look a little bit according to my current tastes (no more yellow up to the brow, neater filled-in brows, slightly different color gradient on the lower lash line, sharp edge), which look do you like more?

My Little Pony Series : Pinkie Pie Inspired Makeup (Take 2)

Hey all! Here's another MLP makeup for you all :) This time it's inspired by Pinkie Pie because looking back at the one I did last time, I'm not really happy anymore. I like this one a lot more! Also, I'm unsure wether I prefer the double liner or the single liner. What do you all think? 

Products used :

Base

• UDPP
• NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk

Eyeshadow & Brows

• BH 120 Palette (1st Edition)
• Coastal Scents 88 Warm Palette

Liner & Lashes

• Ardell 120 Demi Lashes
• NYX Studio Liquid Liner in Extreme Blue
• L.A. Colors Grafix Liquid Liner in Navy
• Cover Girl Clump Crusher Mascara
• E.l.f. Liquid Liner in Black

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My Little Pony Series : Octavia Inspired Makeup

Hey all! Today I'm rehashing a old series for which I haven't created any new makeups for a while, the My Little Pony series! I posted the other looks on Deviantart and someone said they wanted to see an Octavia makeup so here it is! Hope yoy all enjoy :)

Products used :

Base

• Elf Mineral Primer
• NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk

Eyeshadow & Brows

• BH 120 Palette (1st Edition)
• NYX 10 Color Palette in Velvet Rope
• NYX 10 Color Palette in Smokey Eyes
• Coastal Scents 88 Warm Palette

Liner & Lashes

• Ardell 120 Demi Lashes
• Cover Girl Clump Crusher Mascara
• E.l.f. Liquid Liner in Black
• Milani Liquif'Eye Liner Pencil in Purple

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NYC Vacation Snapshots

Hey all! These are just a few snapshots  I took while in NYC. Be forewarned, these are mostly pictures of food, more specifically : ramen. Anyway, enjoy!

That's it! I decided to go easy on the camera this time around so these are all cellphone pictures (if you were wondering why the quality of the pictures is so great :p) Anyway it was a great trip! Cannot wait to go back. We did so many great things ♥

Cozy Knit Fall Outfit Inspiration

Hey everyone! Just a quick outfit inspo post today :) This one is a cozy outfit knit for fall all in grey tones and comfy fabrics.  Just looking at it makes me excited for fall :D Would you wear this? Let me know in the comments! ♥

Cozy Fall Outfit Inspiration by luhivy featuring a matte eyeshadow

That's it for this post today :) Hope you enjoyed! 

Stylish Plaid Fall outfit Inspiration

Hey everyone! Quick outfit inspiration post today! This one is a fall inspired look complete with plaid, gold jewlery and berry tones. I'd totally wear something like that out, would you? I don't own any plaid shirts at the moment, but I'm looking into it. Do you guys have other ideas of how I could style them to make them versatile? Let me know in the comments if you do :)

Also, fall is my favorite season so I'm especially excited about fall fashion! I love the layering, the booties, the knits, the berry tones, all of it! ♥ Anyway, the outfit contains a few pricey pieces (the jeans and the necklace especially), but I'd definitely substitute those pieces for similar more affordable ones!

Plaid Fall Outfit Inspiration by luhivy featuring a gold necklace

That's it for this post! Hope you all enjoyed it :)

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