It's snowing blizzarding outside! #SnowstormNiko. I feel extremely grateful that I'm on QI this month and don't have to go into work today. God Bless my colleagues who have to brave it into work today, hope they all stay safe. I lost my voice...again. I had a bad cold starting a few days ago and I've been coughing and hacking so much that I think my vocal cords are are swollen. And my throat is killlllling me. I've been drinking so much tea to calm my throat, it's insane. I've gone through almost two boxes just in the last few days. Thank gosh I'm on my QI block and can just relax and heal at home, instead of overusing my voice on the floors.

A few weeks ago, I was shopping at Target and found sooooo many adorable things for Valentine's Day. I really had to resist not picking everything up. OH and then I found a box of dark chocolate heart-shaped cookies at Trader Joe's that I had to include in this haul. They're super yummy! As far as the stuff I got from Target, the first thing you see on the left is this super cute mason jar topped with a heart-adorned lid. Inside the jar, I put some Hershey's Cupcake Kisses (the bag pictured above) and placed the jar in my kitchen. I'm totally going to keep it there even past Valentine's Day. Perhaps my favorite purchase are the pink and gold glitter votives in the center there. It's no surprise that I love anything glittery, and these look absolutely stunning on my work desk. I also bought a pastel pink heart-trimmed mug. I have so many mugs in my cabinet, but I couldn't pass this one up. Last, but not least, I got a sweet little heart-shaped cookie cutter. I'm hoping to make some sugar cookies this weekend, so this is going to be perfect!

If you're in the Northeast, please stay safe during this storm! 

Colour Pop Pressed Eyeshadows Review & Swatches

Hey guys, happy February! I thought I would make it all the way through my ED rotation without getting sick, but nope. I've had a horrible runny nose, cough, and sore throat for the past two days. Just grateful that it's not the flu though. I'm living on soup and tea, praying that I don't lose my voice again because that's the last thing I need after this chaotic month.

Today I wanted to talk about some new releases from Colour Pop. They released a new line of pressed eyeshadows last month and you know that I had to get my paws on some. How fricken beautiful is the packaging?! Love the silver stars theme, so stinkin' cute. Once you get past the paper packaging, each shadow comes housed in the classic round eyeshadow pans and fit easily into any Z-Palette. They come at $5 a pop as opposed to $6 for Mac and Makeup Geek shadows.

 

Left to Right: Wake Up Call, Bel Air, Note to Self, Top Notch, You Know The Drill, High Strung

The first four shades are matte, the last two shades are metallic. Even though they're called metallic, they don't have chunky glitter in them and go on very smooth. Although the four matte shades might look similar in the pan, they are quite different when swatched. 

Top to Bottom: High Strung, You Know The Drill, Top Notch, Note to Self, Bel Air, Wake Up Call

Here is my description of each shade: 

Wake Up Call -- medium neutral-toned matte brown with hints of mauve

Bel Air -- medium cool-toned matte taupe-brown 

Note to Self -- your basic warm matte brown with hints of orange

Top Notch -- matte red-brown 

You Know The Drill -- metallic medium buttery gold-bronze 

High Strung -- metallic copper rose gold with hints of mauve 

As you can see, they swatch beautifully. Each swatch above is just one swipe. Super super buttery, even the matte shades. Good, affordable matte shadows are hard to find, but these are amazing and comparable to high-end brands. The Colour Pop Pressed Eyeshadows are very comparable to the MUG eyeshadows, but I think these shadows feel even creamier than MUG ones. They are only $5 a pop, whereas the MUG and Mac shadows are $6 each. I can't say enough good things about these. These eyeshadows have everything you could want from an eyeshadow -- they blend beautifully, wear all day without creasing, have good color payoff, and come in a variety of color selections and finishes. That being said, these aren't anything extraordinary and are very similar to MUG and Mac shadows. They do feel a tad creamier, but in the end they apply just as beautifully as MUG and Mac shadows. However, I could see myself going for ColourPop over MUG because they offer free shipping and faster delivery. But as far as the product quality, it's neck in neck.

Since I've added these pans to my collection, my Z-palette is now full, yayyy! Which only means I'll have to buy a new palette since there's still so many MUG, Mac, and ColourPop shadows I still want to try. Be still, my heart.