HOLIDAY | Urban Decay Elements Eyeshadow Palette with Makeup Look and Swatches

It's mid-December and you are FINALLY seeing a holiday makeup post from me! I feel like I have had my blinders on this year when it has come to reading holiday posts for fear of overspending because let's face it, Christmas has become a consumer occasion and my goal this year is to focus on the feelings behind the gifting and making sure I am helpful to clients and kind to my brothers and sisters in retail!

I haven't done a lot of looks and palette reviews this year as I have really enjoyed being makeup-free on my two days off each week so if I am going to play with a palette, it is DEFINITELY going to be one worth having and that is EXACTLY what is happening today! The newly released Urban Decay Elements Eyeshadow Palette is indeed a sight to behold if you love metallic shades!

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NAILS | Christmas Gradient Dotticure #CBBxManiMonday

I haven't done a dotticure since the beginning of October and I was just itching to do one again and though I had grander things planned for today's manicure, there was just too much to do and I didn't get a chance to start my manicure until 11pm which is when a dotticure is the ultimate solution! 

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KBEAUTY | AmorePacific Moisture Bound Intensive Serum Masque #100DaysofSheetMasks

Before we even get into the mask, let's start off this post by mentioning that THIS IS MY 2000th BLOG POST! Not that all of my posts are incredibly meaty, but well into my 7th year of blogging I have managed to stay relatively close to 20 posts a month from when I was still in school to now having a full time job and I have realized that as long as you keep talking about things that interest you whether they be the newest beauty releases, heart to hearts or endless sheet mask chatter, the content will never stop and never feel like work. It will always feel truly fun and I hope I will be able to write well into my menopausal years!

What's in store for this 2000th blog post? One of the luxurious masks from the 100 Days of Sheet Mask challenge - the AmorePacific Moisture Bound Intensive Serum Masque!

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BEAUTY TOOLS | Miniso x Pink Panther Makeup Sponges, Brushes and Puffs

Having a Miniso store so close to my work has made me a very loyal "client" of theirs as I often go there on my lunch to see what new sheet masks and beauty products they have. A large chunk of my sheet masks from brands like It's Skin, Papa Recipe and Mediheal have come from my trips to Miniso so needless to say, I LOVE this store. Earlier this year, Miniso officially partnered up with the Pink Panther for some SUPER cute beauty tools and even a sheet mask! A couple of months ago I came across these adorable makeup sponges and applicators and had to see how they measured up against the "big guys"!

Purchased by me

KBEAUTY | Ultru I'm Sorry for My Skin Black Mud Mask Tightening #100DaysofSheetMasks

BEST. CLAY. MASK. EVER. Ok, review done. We can all go home. All kidding aside though, this mask was such a surprise to me and I would not have given it a go until much later in my mask journey if wasn't for some prompting from YouTuber @sarireanna who is also a skincare addict like myself! I received the Ultru I'm Sorry for My Skin Black Mud Mask as a press sample from the June Beauteque Monthly Mask Box and thought to myself "Meh, it's clay so it'll be messy and drying for my skin". I was oh so wrong and now I have purchased two more because I am over the moon for the results!

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NAILS | Wintery Trees #CBBxManiMonday

This time of the month is what I think of as the "sweet spot" of Christmas where we still like the holiday music that is now playing in every store and there is still ample amounts of time to get things done and wrap up unfinished projects and goals before the year is out. Working in retail and especially the luxury retail sector means that reaching out to clients is the only name of the game until Dec.24th so I am waiting for the holidays to hit me like a ton of bricks around next week as it always does. Like on my wedding day, I am trying to stay "present" and calm so that I can think logically if a staff member or client has a problem as well as enjoy the season where clients shake your hands and wish you all the best for the New Year!

 PR sample