Beauty for a Bargain: Ebay 88 Shimmer Palette

A few months ago I reviewed my Metal Mania palette, which I absolutely love. While browsing online a few weeks ago I decided to look at some other palettes to add to my collection.

Which leads me to this week's Beauty for a Bargain post!

In the past I had bought palettes from both Coastal Scents and BH Cosmetics. While I was happy with the products I received from both sites, I had heard whispers across the net that they were selling wholesale palettes from China with their names stamped on the case for a jacked up price. I decided to test this theory for myself and headed on over to eBay to look for a palette that I had been lusting after for a while, which was the 88 Shimmer Palette.

Now, I fully plan to do a post comparing all my palettes in a later post, but I do really believe they are all the same. Ebay is just way cheaper. Anyways...

I quickly found multiple sellers offering the palette I wanted. I ended up settling on this one and wound up paying around $10! Considering the same palette runs for $19.95 plus shipping (unless there is a sale), ten bucks is kind of a steal. I expected shipping to be insanely slow, but I ended up getting my package about ten days later.

I was really excited opening my package. It came in your standard brown paper package. When I opened it, my palette was taped between two thick squares of styrofoam. The palette itself was packed snugly in a ton of bubble wrap inside a black box which listed the ingredients in the eyeshadow. Not a single eyeshadow was broken, except for a tiny dent in one of the greens (which you can see in the above picture). It didn't bother me, though. The shadows were gorgeous!

The shadows come in a plastic black case. The case is not the sturdiest in the world, but considering how cheap the product is and how lovely the eyeshadows are it isn't much of a concern. There is a mirror on the inside and two disposable applicators (much like my Metal Mania Palette... hmmm... just saying.) The shadows themselves are super pigmented and go beautiful. There is a bit of powdery-ness to some of them, but I think this could be due to the fact that they were in my mailbox for days before anyone bothered to check it... gotta love the crazy holidays. I tried them out today and, with a primer, I think they are comparable in quality to some of the more expensive shadows I have tried. If you pat them on rather than swipe they powdery-ness doesn't matter at all. They blend like a dream, too! However, there were a few duds in the palette... all were still totally wearable, though. They just didn't have the same color payoff as the rest. I am sure with a good primer and a bit of patience the color can be built up! Also, there is a bit of glitter in these..., but they are a "shimmer" palette, after all.

Overall, I think these shadows are fantastic and I plan to purchase more of these to use on clients in the future. They last all day, too! For the price these absolutely can't be beat. I can't sing their praises enough. If you are a makeup collector like myself, or if you are just getting in to makeup, these are perfect!

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

Thanksgiving hiatus.

Hi all! I am just dropping in to tell everyone that I will not be posting for the next few days. I will be eating wonderful food, visiting with family, and spending time with the handsome devil in the picture above. My family time is super valuable to me and considering Zach doesn't get much Christmas time off at all (State Farm is a dream crusher.) I am going to cherish our time together and spend as little as possible behind a computer screen.

Get excited for next week, though! I have ordered a ton of stuff to include in my new weekly "beauty for a bargain" posts. If the online reviews are correct they should be aaaaaaahmazing. Hopefully they come in next week because I am impatient!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving!

What I Wore: Thankful.

Cardigan: Thrifted.
Top: TJ Maxx
Skirt: Modcloth
Boots: Modcloth

I am still no expert in outfit photos. I get really paranoid of people seeing me. I know I shouldn't care, but it is a bit awkward. Not only that, but my tripod is super short and does not make getting photos easy. One day I will get the hang of it though! I do really like this outfit, though. I got the skirt and the boots from Modcloth last year for Christmas and I have maybe worn the skirt twice since then. I have been a very t-shirts and jeans kind of girl my whole life (minus a few phases in high school..). I have just in the last few years started to branch out and actually be myself, so up until today I could not figure out how to style that skirt. I think I found a good combination!

Also, Goodwill is a kingdom of cardigans. Never paying full price for one again when there are so many for less that 10 bucks!

I am so excited for Thanksgiving! Thursday night will be the huge dinner on my mom's side of the family. There are so many of us it's a treat to get us all in one place. Saturday we will do a dinner at our place for my dad's much smaller side of the family. I can't wait. I am feeling very blessed lately, so I thought I would share a few things I am thankful for.

• My parents, who love me unconditionally no matter how much of a handful I can be. My mom is my rock and my dad is my constant source of entertainment.
• Zachary Hugh. He is my best friend and my soul mate. He makes me laugh and treats me way better than I deserve sometimes. He is incredible thoughtful and just an all around amazing man. (Not to mention the fact that I opened my email to find an amazon gift card from him just because that simply stated that he loved me and to buy makeup. He knows me too well.)
• My brothers. My oldest brother Derrick for being a constant inspiration for me both artistically and emotionally. My other older brother, Stefin, for fighting for our country and always being there to defend me even when it includes knocking creepy guys into lockers. My little brother for being the coolest 14-year-old I have ever met and not complaining when I watch a scary movie and have to sleep on his floor even though I am 20.
• A roof over my head and food in my tummy... even though my tummy hates food. 
• Coffee.
• My kitties for being the best snuggle bugs ever.
• The fact that I am getting to do what I enjoy most with my life.
• And I am thankful for those who read this blog. It is so great to get to talk to people who are into the same things I am. You guys give me the drive to chase the dream I have for this little blog. It has come a long way in the few months it has been up. You guys rule! 

 What are you thankful for?

Thrifting.

I was looking around on my computer and found these thrifting photos from nearly a year ago. I must say, I have the itch to go hit up some antique stores and goodwills! It has been way too long since I have really gone thrifting. I posted about the craft fair, but it was so crowded and my little brother was bored and hungry and I didn't really look. I want to get my hands dirty and dig through some dust and cobwebs!


When I go thrifting I generally look for...
- quilts
- any kind of woodland creature figurines
- dresses
- decently priced furniture
- vintage cookware
- men's vintage blazers (for Zach)
- teacups
- cardigans (one of the most over-priced clothing items when buying from a normal store, in my opinion!)
- books



What do you look for when you go thrifting or antiquing?

New layout!

As some of you may notice I am working on changing my little old blog again. It all started with a beehive doodle and now I think she is my new mascot. I had to make a blog banner with her in it and my last template did not have a banner and I could not figure out the witchcraft to fix that.

Soooo... my blog is a work in progress again.

In other news, my mom bought me footie pajamas. Check out the look of pure happiness on my face.

Granny.

This is a photo of my great-grandmother, known to me and everyone who knew her even if they weren't related as "Granny".

Today I really miss her. I don't know what triggered it.

So, I thought I would write a post dedicated to her with some of my favorite memories. I think everyone needs a little bit of Granny in their lives! She passed away when I was 16. I still expect to pick up the phone and it be her on the other line. No matter how old or how frail she got, Granny always seemed invincible to me. The photo above is one of my favorite pictures of her. So much of her personality comes through in it. She had a great sense of humor and was always willing to do silly things with us kids.

Granny was born in 1915 and was one of 14 kids. I think there may have been more, but some of them passed away. Granny was a firecracker since day one. Her mother passed away when she was 8, leaving her and her siblings under the care of her alcoholic father. I remember her telling me that one day he decided that she needed to stay home and help raise the younger kids and quite school. She defiantly began the walk to school anyways. Her father started throwing rocks at her, so she turned around and started hurling them right back at him. Then she hauled ass to the one-room schoolhouse that she attended. She said she remembered watching the door thinking he would come through and pull her out at any minute, but he never came. She did quit school after that day to help raise her siblings, but it was on her terms. She was only in fourth grade.

She still always valued education after that. I remember sitting in her lap as a kid and she would draw apples and have me count them. Sometimes she would work with me on adding and subtracting. Often she would bring in a book or magazine and have me read it to her because she claimed she couldn't see the print. Really, she just wanted me to read. Granny was reading gossip magazines well into her nineties and I never once saw her wear reading glasses.

Granny was also hilarious. She taught me how to curse, or "cuss" without meaning to. After using some of my new found language once at my dad's work I knew better to use it again (where anyone could hear me, anyways). It's not my fault, though! I really thought "little shit" was a term of endearment. She also used the term "piss ant" if us kids were being particularly bad. That probably sounds horrible to everyone reading this... but Granny was never mean to us. She got onto us if we were being bad, but she never spanked us or anything. She even called my mother completely distressed because I was grounded for smarting off to my parents. She said "grounding sounds bad. It sounds like you are putting her in the ground. Do not use that word." I don't even think she knew those were "inappropriate"  terms she was using.

My granny was a beautiful person inside and out. She could cook like no other and could sew anything. She was constantly finding us cool stuff at yard sales (some were more confusing than anything... like the time she bought my older brother a line dancing instructional video. We pretended to like these weird gifts anyways!) and constantly played games with us. She lived for her kids, grand-children, and us great-grandchildren. She never complained when she had to miss her "programs" to watch us play video games after our aunt bought us a PS2. Although, she did not like my Harry Potter game because of the part where you have to shoot spells at the Cornish Pixies. She thought they were cute and said that "old Harry Potter" was "hateful". Even in my teen years she still babied us. I cant tell you how many times I crawled into bed with her and let her put an arm around me or sat in front of her chair while she brushed my hair.

Cora Lee Davenport was an amazing woman and I am blessed to have had her in my life. If you have a Granny in your life, take a few minutes to think about her. If she is still living call her or go for a visit even.

This week on Instagram.

1. Ordered some cosmetics from Ebay and came across this cell phone case for a friggin' dollar plus free shipping. Whaaaat. 
2. Zach seriously goes to the grocery store for every. single. meal. This is my attempt at breaking that habit. 
3. Soooo good! 
4. The Walking Dead. Every darn week. It's good family time!
5. HUGE sweet taters. Yum!
6. My pappy sent over a whole mess of turnip greens. So good. 
7. My first night at Game Stop. I was so sleepy in that picture as my first night was a midnight release. 
8. Yet another foster baby. They are so sweet!

Man, I need to instagram more. It has been too hectic to even think about! Hope everyone is having a great evening!