The Battle of the Watercolor Palettes

 For beginner crafters out there, traversing the waters of watercolors can be treacherous and can leads to fewer hits than misses.  I'm here to tell you about what I think are the worst and the best palettes for beginners budget.  Now, this post is just about the palettes you can get, I'm not even going to go into the tubed colors you can buy now that are also watercolors.  Palettes are the easiest to work with and come with the greatest selection of colors for one price instead of, say, six tubes of color for the exact same price.

The first palette I have for you, pictured above, is from American Crafts and I bought it from Tuesday Morning.  At first I thought, oh this is great, it's super vibrant, and the colors selection is fantastic.  However, much to my dismay, the beautiful pigment stayed in the palette when I tried to paint with them.  The colors were very light, almost Pastel looking but not in a good way.  They did not mix up the way I wanted them too and it was very difficult to pick up any color.  I had to lay down the color a few times just to get it even remotely in the same solar system as the color that I wanted.  The only plus side to this palette is that it came with two pretty nice brushes and the packaging is pretty sturdy for being made out of plastic.

 The next palette is the Artists Loft pearlescent palette from Michaels. I payed around $5 for this palette and for that price it was worth each and every penny.  The colors are in the middle of the rode as far as I am concerned concerning pigmentation but the real winner is the shimmer.  Now, it's nothing like the Fine Tec shimmer watercolors but remember those are close to $30 but it does hold it's own.  The shimmer is really nice and shows up the best when the paint is dry.  I haven't had a chance to try every single color but the ones that I have tried are really really nice and great for adding a pop of something to your project. It does come with a brush but I wound up moving that to my embossing powders and am using one of the brushes that came with the American Crafts palette.

 Finally, the palette that surprised me the most, the Artists Loft 28 Color palette.  I purchased this for a little under $7.  If that is a little too high for you, they have smaller palette as well that is the same consistency.  These colors are absolutely amazing, especially for the price.  They are creamy, pigmented, and have a great range of colors.The only thing that isn't so fantastic about this palette is that you are constantly wetting the cakes of color because they absorb the water so quickly.  Other than that I have found no fault with this palette and I am really happy that I got it.

Do you have any watercolor palettes that you really enjoy? I would love to know down in the comments! XO
~Emma~
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Welcome Back!

Hello my lovely darlin's! I have been gone for quite some time, haven't I? In my defense I did have a summer full of surgeries, spending time in hospital beds (which I am still currently in), and having both legs in knee high casts.  So taking pictures and blogging and filming were not even plausible.  Now I'm slowly getting back to normal and so will this blog, but YouTube is going to take a little bit longer.  I missed putting reviews up for you guys and posting pictures.  I've been pretty active on my Instagram accounts though, because they are easy to post to.  It has been a really rough time not being able to have the outlets I am used to, to pour my energy into.  So I found another outlet, cardmaking.  Before my surgeries I was crafting a lot but it has become more than a hobby now.  I have an Etsy shop called Cardstock Queen (linked below) where I sell my handmade, individually unique, cards and planner dashboards.  I have even sold a few things so far, and of that I am very proud.  I have gotten into many different mediums when it comes to crafting and making cards from only being someone who used colored pencil and one or two Copic markers to using watercolors and acrylics to color my images.  This is something I can pour my heart and soul into daily and come out almost as satisfied as I was when I was performing.  I also color a lot now in coloring books and practice hand lettering for my cards.  This by no means mean that I have shied away from my makeup, oh no, if anything it has made me more aware of colors and more bold in what I try.  So, this means that this blog will become more than just makeup and a few life updates.  There are going to be posts about my cards and new techniques that I learn.  There will be posts about my everyday life and my planners and how I stay organized in that sense.  I hope you enjoy this new change to the blog and are glad to see me back.  Below are some pictures of cards that I have done that are up or will be going up in my shop very soon, enjoy! XOXO

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Sephora Wishlist #1

So I'm back, even though I'm still pretty much on bed rest, I feel good enough to try and start writing again.  I wanted to start off with something a little simpler and not so picture heavy since I can't get to my products right now.  This means there will be a lot of lifestyle and about me posts, if that's okay.
I absolutely adore Sephora, especially when the people are nice and the area is clean (trust me, that didn't used to be true of certain places).  These are my high end, really spendy, wish items. I would love to know what some of yours are!
1. Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet: I have never owned this perfume but everytime I go to Sephora I get a little sample just so I can have some on hand because it is one of my favorite scents. The price tag on this little guy is $78 for 1.7oz.  I haven't yet, but I definitely think it will be worth the splurge, possibly very very soon for a very special event.
2. Bite Amuse Bouche lipstick in Meringue which is a nice peachy nude.  I've tested the consistency and the wear time on my hand in stores and it is just so creamy and wears longer than you would think it would given the consistency.  This lipstick runs $26 per bullet but they will last you a good while when taken care of properly.  You can find it here at the Sephora website or at the store.
3. Tarte Glamazon Pure Performance 12 hr lipstick in Foxy. I purely want to try this because I have never tried anything but Tarte's blushes.  This color looked like an amazing color for me and it's currently on sale for $14 but the regular price is $26 and you can find it here.
4. Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm: I used to use the Body Shop cleansing balm but I have run out and would like to try something different so I was ecstatic when I found this.  Initially I was looking for the Emma Hardie cleansing balm that so many blogger rave about but, alas, my search was fruitless.  This costs $29 and can be found here on the website or in most stores.  This is another one that may be purchased in the not so distant future.
5.  Too Faced Boudoir Eyes Palette.  I really wanted the romantic eyes palette but that has sadly been discontinued but this is pretty close in comparison in my eyes.  There are light and dark colors so you can go from day time to sultry in just a few swipes.  It's a great all around eye palette.  It costs $36 and can be found here.
6. Becca Shimmering Pressed Skin Perfector in Opal: Yes, I know this has a cult following but I really do want it because I like it and not just to have it.  If it's anything in consistency and  make like Champagne Pop I will be a happy girl.  The Shimmering pressed skin perfectors cost $38 and you can find them at the Sephora website, in store, or at Ulta.
7. Glam Glow mud mask.  Need anything more be said? This puppy will cost you $69 and the only place that I know for sure that carries it is Sephora.
8. The original Chocolate Bar palette: Ever since I discovered Too Faced, I have wanted the Chocolate Bar Palette.  This would be a great staple piece in my palette collection.  This palette costs $49 and can be found here at the Sephora website or in store at Sephora and Ulta.
9. Urban Decay Naked Illuminating Shimmering Powder for Face and Body in Luminous.  I am a highlighter fiend, I absolutely adore every highlighter that I can get my hands on. I don't mind glitter in my highlight and there is a lot of glitter in this highlighter.  I like that it's not only for the face but it's for the body too.  This product runs $32 and you can get it here on the Sephora website or in the store or at Ulta.
10. My final product is the Elizabeth and James Nirvana Rose perfume, which is new to the line.  I have yet to smell it but I love the Nirvana scents and I love roses, so where could I go wrong? I could get the rollerball for $25 but I really want the actual spray perfume.  I would get the 1.7oz spray perfume for $85, again, another big splurge item that will totally be worth it.  If you're curious about their new perfume, be sure to check it out here or in the Sephora store.

Lush Shampoo Bar: Review!

Everyone uses shampoo, but what type of shampoo do you use? My best friend uses all natural products, I use off the shelf regular shampoo, or, at least I used to! Now I am using the Lush Shampoo bar! I use the Jumping Juniper shampoo bar and, while I can't really use it when my hair is freshly dyed, I use it every time I wash my hair.
The best way to use it is to suds it up in your hands and then scrub your hair.  If you scrub your hair with the bar, you will get the same effect but you will use up your shampoo bar faster.  It smells really nice and refreshing.  It really leaves your hair feeling nice and clean but not stripped. It cleans away grease and "balances sebum" in the hair  leaving it healthier and gives it a good shine. It smells of lavender which is my favorite scent, but it can be a little overpowering while you are washing your hair if you don't like the scent. The lavender really helps to soothe the scalp, so if you're having scalp troubles this is the bar for you! Lush has quite a few scents for you to choose from as well as each of them offering a different benefit.  An example is their Jason and the Argan Oil bar, it really helps enrich your hair with good oils while providing you with a nice rosey scent.  If you would like to check out all of their Shampoo Bars, check out their website here or if  you would specifically like to see the Jumping Juniper bar be sure to check it out here.

Have you tried the shampoo or conditioner bars? What do you think of them, I'd love to know! Don't forget: Be bold, be beautiful, be YOU!
XOXO,
Emma