WELCOME TO BAILEY BEE

I am so excited to finally share my new blog name and design with you all!

In just a handful of weeks, my blog turns six years old. I began this blogging journey while on an off-semester in college shortly after deciding to transfer to an in-state school from my out-of-state family school. Throughout the life of this blog I have proceeded through and finished college, joined the professional world and got my own place with my significant other. Beautymunson was my place to pop on and interact with others who share a love for all things beauty. It became such a part of my identity that it is actually a nickname many of my friends now call me in real life.

However,

I love sharing things with all of you so much and those things are no longer limited to just beauty. That paired with the fact that I will eventually be dropping Munson as my surname led me to the decision to rename and rebrand this online home of mine.

Bailey Bee is a beauty, home and lifestyle blog.

Nothing changes but a name and a color scheme so please stick around! I have my own domain now (check it out!), a new email (hello@baileybeeblog.com) and a whole slew of ideas for this page. My main goal for this blog has not and probably will never change-- it is still to create a personal community within the larger beauty, home, lifestyle and overall blogging communities.

Thank you for all of the support over the past six years and here's to six more successful ones!

Love, Bailey

NYX IN YOUR ELEMENT 'FIRE' AND 'METAL' PALETTES

Happy Monday! I am here to share some photos and swatches of NYX's new In Your Element palettes in Fire and Metal. This post will be short and sweet.. here is the outside of the packaging:

and the two palettes side-by-side (SWOON)

Here is Metal post-swatch...

The Metal palette is not good. There are a few shades that are and I was dying over the shade second from the right but overall these guys are glittery, flaky and seal after just one finger pass. No good. This puppy went back to Ulta!

HOWEVER

The Fire palette is sooooooo gooooooooooooooooood. If you're going to get some of these palettes, the Fire palette needs to be one. The first yellow shimmer (far right) is a bit lacking and the dark shade four from the left isn't as exciting as I expected it would be but the rest are buttery and beautiful.

I'm also interested in the Earth palette but it seemed too similar to Fire to make sense enough for me to purchase it. I bought these two palettes when Ulta was having a 30% off NYX sale so the price tags weren't too out of bounds for my wallet!

FENTY BEAUTY ON A PALE GIRL

Woooooo hoooooooo!!!!!

New and exciting release alert!!!!

I have TRIED Fenty Beauty— Rihanna's makeup line that released a couple of weeks ago. I LIKE it!

For someone who considers themselves in tune with the beauty community, this release came and went without me knowing anything of it. It wasn't until I kept seeing Instagram stories… and posts… and blog posts… and articles on the products did I quite literally get up and run out of the door. To Sephora I went!

I tried four of her products— her face primer, foundation (I know), and two "Match Stix".. one for contouring, the other for highlighting.



Fenty Beauty Match Stix in 'Amber' (top) and 'Porcelain' (bottom)

As someone who is not afraid to take advantage of Sephora's incredible return policy, I am proud to announce that I only returned one of these products. And it wasn't even because of the product, really but here I am getting ahead of myself…

Let's start off with the fact that I don't really need to introduce the brand. Everyone else has and if you don't know about Fenty Beauty, just give it a Google :) As for the products, I will begin with the moisturizing primer. As a "no foundation" kinda gal, I appreciate this primer because it preps my skin for foundation in ways that I didn't know it needed. It makes your face slightly tacky and ready to layer while moisturizes so you aren't scaly or flaky underneath that MATTE FOUNDATION!!!!

Woo hoo! I love Fenty's foundation! First off, I'm not the lightest shade. I am not even the SECOND lightest shade. I wear 120— the third lightest. How amazing is that?! The formula of this foundation is light coverage with a matte finish so my frecks get their time to shine while my oil stays under control. I have found that dotting the foundation around your face with your finger and then following up with a Beauty Blender is the best way to apply this product because if you go in with a sponge from the get-go, the sponge will absorb most of this watery foundation.

The foundation has a liquid-to-powder feel and is marketed to not need setting powders so you're able to go right in with Fenty's Match Stix. These multipurpose cream sticks come in many colors to be used as a contour, bronzer, blush, highlight, eyeshadow and lipstick. I purchased 'Amber' to contour with because it is unbelievably cool-toned. It's similar but slightly darker, cooler and much easier to blend out than Colourpop's 'Dove' Sculpting Stick. The second shade I bought was 'Porcelain', which appears darker than it applies. The matte shades that are meant for concealing/highlighting are pretty natural looking so if you like a super highlighted undereye, this is not the product for you. I really liked Porcelain but I felt my spending was getting a little crazy and Porcelain wasn't a drop-dead unique kinda deal so I let it go over the others.

I did not buy any of the shimmery highlighter sticks or powders because they were all intensely glittery and I just know I would have hated them on my face. When it comes to the ones I did try, they're great. I'm excited to see the future of Fenty Beauty (although the sneak peek of the Holiday collection looks…….. ehhhh….. but we will hold out to truly form an opinion).

Have you tried any products that I didn't include in this post? I love seeing everyone's opinions on this line because it seems everyone has a different thing they like and don't like.

MAKEUP GEEK SHOWSTOPPER CREME STAINS IN 'DO-SI-DO', 'FOXTROT', 'FLAMENCO' + 'TWERK'

I grabbed four of Makeup Geek's newest lip products— their Showstopper Creme Stains in various different shades the day that they dropped. The packaging is so sleek and beautiful that I couldn't stay away! Unfortunately, I don't like the product inside of the packaging :(

But let's get some photos out of the way first...

and here are my four shades swatched on the lips:

Starting with just the base shades, I do like them. I didn't expect to like 'Foxtrot' and do. Same with 'Do-Si-Do' and 'Twerk' is just light enough to really show it's color well. I thought 'Flamenco' was going to be deeper but it's still a pretty red. I love the dancing theme of the shade names, too.

Now we can get into the obvious. The formula is horrific. I'm so confused by this product and I'm begging people to help me understand them because they are lightweight, yes. They're lightweight because they are so thin and streaky on the lips and once you get enough on your lips to make the color even, the product gets thick and cracks (see: Do-Si-Do)

They don't "stain", either.

I'm very sad with these :( I'm going to pair them with liners so I can get SOME wear out of them but ultimately on their own, they are not the best on the market. Stick with eye products, MUG.

Did anyone else pick them up ASAP? I would LOVE to start a discussion on them so I can understand them better. Since they're stains, I wouldn't expect that they're "supposed" to be layered over liners but if someone knows something I don't, my ears are open.

Have an awesome week!

KYLIE COSMETICS ROYAL PEACH PALETTE + 2 LOOKS

Well, well, well…

Here we go again with another Kylie product. That doesn't suck. I saw the promo pictures for this product and felt like I could really do some fun things with this palette and it is comprised of shades that I don't feel like I already own (for the most part...). It was a recipe for success! I managed to snag this last week whilst in the middle of a manicure. It's okay. My nail technician knows of Kylie and her cosmetic brand and was just as excited as I was that I was able to purchase it.

This is the Royal Peach palette. It was $45 and has 12 shades in it. This palette also comes with a very decent blending brush.

I love the elongated layout of this palette and the mega-mirror. But the best part? The shadows are magnetized loosely in the palette meaning they can easily come out and be put into a Z Palette. My palette isn't even put together anymore!

There are lots of reddish peach shades in the Royal Peach palette. Thankfully, there are also some solid transition shades. 'Sorbet' is a pale orange, very similar to Makeup Geek's 'Peach Smoothie' and 'Sandy' is a warm mid-toned tan very similar to Urban Decay's 'Beware'. The poppy shades in this palette are 'Royal' a matte, bright blue, 'Mojito', a metallic yellow-green and 'North Star' which is a metallic lilac that is very close to Anastasia Beverly Hill's 'Macaroon'. There's enough excitement in this shade range to create many different looks without getting bored.

Here are two looks that I've created with (almost) all of the shades in the Royal Peach Palette.

Sorbet and Sandy thru the crease with Mojito on the inner/lid -- Duke and Crush on the lower lash line blended out with Cinnamon

'Sorbet' and 'Crush' on the crease and outer third, 'Seashell' on the center with 'Queen Bee' on the inner third -- 'Duchess' on the lower lashline and winged on the upper lash // had to pair this look with the @makeupforeverofficial Starlit Powder in '02' on the inner corner 

In all, I am very pleased with this! Kylie's products are becoming very trustworthy at this point and I can't wait to see what sector of makeup she journeys into next.

KAT VON D ALCHEMIST PALETTE

I recently purchased the Kat von D Alchemist Holographic Palette from Sephora. What was one released for VIBs only was eventually released to the public and is now sold out on the Sephora website (SORRY!!!)

After reading lots and lots of comments, I decided to take the plunge. The slight drama around this palette was that it was wildly similar to Anastasia's Moonchild palette (which I do not own) and many people did not feel it necessary to own both. Although Kat has released word that she has been working on the formula for this palette for seven years, many felt it was a direct rip-off of ABH.

The other popular complaint was that the pans were too small. While they are small (average eyeshadow pan size), I will never make my way through a full shade. Anastasia's pans are so big and unrealistic that I didn't mind KVD's being smaller.

As for the actual product, compared to Moonchild, this KVD product is smoother and a better all-around product. That is what ultimately led me to buy it.

The packaging is great. I'm not too big on packaging and I will most likely depot these from the packaging eventually but it is very pretty. The white triangular palette has a slight holo reflect on the front and although it looks like plastic in photos, the body of the palette is paper-based. Think back to the original Naked palette to understand what I mean.

There were more complaints about the pans being round instead of triangular and while triangular pans would be soooooo cool, round pans work for me since again, I will eventually depot these.

The Alchemist palette is a buttery, smooth collection of four shades that are meant to be used as highlighters, eyeshadows, lip toppers and anything else you can think up for them. Without killing the "vs. Moonchild" topic, I think this palette took the four best shades from ABH, perfected them and released them.

I can't wait to create endless looks with these shades and have already thrown blue saphyre on as a highlight twice since purchasing (check insta— @beautymunson— to see!)

JOUER COSMETICS 'PAPAYE' LIQUID LIPSTICK + 'SKINNY DIP' LIP TOPPER

I have been wanting to get into Jouer liquid lipsticks for so long. My fire has been fueled solely by Mariah Leonard. I finally bit the bullet and nabbed Payaye and their beautiful lip topper, Skinny Dip. What’s crazy about this purchase is that the same day I bought them off of Nordstrom’s website, I saw that they were releasing mini lipsticks in a Holiday Set that included Papaye and Skinny Dip! I decided I would try the two out and then most likely return them and purchase the holiday kit.

Well, I’ll be returning them. But I don’t think I’ll be purchasing the holiday kit.

For as long as I have been waiting for a great quality and long lasting pink/gold duochromed and metallic liquid lipstick, Papaye is unfortunately not for me. I am making myself return it because the gold metallic shines over any kind of pink within the lippie on my pale skin and it will probably only be worn a few times. I have to keep my spending habit under control and keep my senses so I will be giving it back to the Jouer gods :(

Skinny Dip is really really really pretty. I like it on it’s own. I liked it over other lipsticks. But again, I just didn’t LOVE it enough to hold onto it.

Here are some photos of the products— followed by swatches and on-lip photos:

As you can see, both just don't work with my skin tone. Papaye is too gold, not enough pink. Skinny Dip is not enough gold. Bummer.

Have any of you tried any more "normal" liquid lipsticks by Jouer? I'm still looking to try some out!

Let me know :)

SUGARPILL 'TRINKET' LIQUID LIPSTICK

This is my first post about a Sugarpill Cosmetics product!! On it's second release, I was able to purchase their super cool liquid lipstick in the shade 'Trinket'. Trinket is a natural rose shade upon application and in the tube but exudes golden glitter once the lipstick has dried and you rub your lips together. It's the coolest thing I have seen in awhile.

See how ridiculously cool this is?! I have to say, for as cool as it is, you can think of the words "glittery lipstick" and know exactly what I'm about to say. It is a bit gritty buuuut not in the way that I have experienced before. It's a matte liquid lip so the grit becomes flaky and I have consistently dealt with having the flakes get in my teeth and make the look appear messy.

That being said, I am a sucker for a good pink-to-gold lipstick and this is different than anything else I own. It's fun to toss on and play around with but I can't ever see myself wearing it out and about since I'm not confident that it would stay put.

What do you think of the finish, though?!

URBAN DECAY VICE LIPSTICK IN '714'

Hello everybody! Happy Monday.

Today I am sharing with you my newest lippie to add to my collection.

Introducing... Urban Decay's Vice lipstick in '714'

Yeah. Lip lines ain't crisp. Sorry :(

I got this guy in the 2016 Sephora Favorites Beauty's Most Trending bundle and I love the color. It's bright, festive berryish red and it really has a POP factor. It's advertised as a matte but I never experienced it matte-ing down. It seemed to stay satin, which was fine. I was so impressed that I got a full sized lipstick (a fairly newly released one) in this Sephora Favorites group. You really truly cannot beat the $75 price tag for what you get, especially this year. If you’re looking to pick up one of UD’s Vice lipsticks, they are $17 each.

Another lipstick post: complete ✓

TARTE AMAZONIAN CLAY BLUSH PALETTE COLOR WHEEL

Hi again!!

I am so excited to share with you Tarte's new limited edition blush palette wheel. I picked this up from Sephora for only $44!!!!! SO cheap. I decided to start shopping around for a good blush palette this past week because I have been wanting to fill in the gaps in my makeup collection. Blush is one of the few things that I haven't dove into fully and I wanted a palette with ranging shades and finishes. This palette was IT. Between these 10 shades there are mattes, lustres and two highlighters.

Although pretty, the packaging is not my favorite. I like the double-sided wheel thing but I'm not into the purple front. But I'm not big on packaging anyway so it's not a huge deal for me.

Do you see how beautifully these swatch? I am just in awe. I was totally telling myself that I was going to return this before I even received it in the mail because I thought that I was wasting my money on something that wouldn't be very good quality. For the record, I am no longer going to return it.

Here are the shades swatched on my arm with the names alongside. My photo two above shows the shades a little more true, so look there. Then check out the one with the names.

From Tarte's website, here are the kinds of colors we're dealing with:

• Mod is a peach coral
• Deco is a poppy pink
• Surreal is a hot pink
• Culture is a coral shimmer (so pretty. coral with gold is my favorite)
• Idol is a nude shimmer
• Icon is a dusty rose
• Montage is a pink mauve
• Ironic is a dusty rose
• Crafty barely shows up on my arm because it's a very light, pale pink shimmer
• and Concept is a pink nude

I can't get over how pigmented these are and I'm really excited to branch out from my MAC 'Melba' blush that I pair with every single look that I wear. If you're in need of a large variety of cheek shades, DEFINITELY pick this palette up.

MAKEUP OF THE DAY - 04/02/16

Products used:
Eyes:
-Urban Decay Primer Potion
-Colourpop eyeshadow in 'Strength'
-NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils in 'Rust' and 'Milk'
-NYX single eyeshadows in 'Rust' and 'White'
-Stila Stay All Day liquid liner
-Maybelline Colossal mascara
-Urban Decay eyeshadow in 'Secret Service' (brows)
-Maybelline Brow Drama brow gel in 'Soft Brown'

Face:
-Maybelline Instant Age Rewind treatment concealer in 'Fair' (undereyes)
-MAC Pro Longwear concealer in 'NW15' (elsewhere on face)
-MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural in 'Light'
-MAC Studio Sculpt Defining powder in 'Delicates'
-MAC blush in 'Melba'
-KIKO Milano highlighter in '01' (cheekbones/inner corners/brow bones)

Lips:
-NYX lip liner in 'Hot Red'
-Sugar lip treatment in 'Rose'

Hope you have a great weekend!

NYX LIP LINGERIE IN 'BABY DOLL' AND 'EMBELLISHMENT'

…..
Introducing…..
2015's Biggest Disappointment Award…
….to NYX's Lip Lingeries!!

I got swayed into loving these from Mariah from TheGalsGuide and was so so so so so excited for so so so so so long to get these in the mail from Ulta (especially Embellishment) but wow. What a let down. I actually wanted these so badly that I got impatient on Saturday (I got my package the following Tuesday) and searched at FIVE CVS stores around my city and spent a huge chunk of time driving far out from where I actually live looking for these and all of the stores either didn't carry them yet or were reworking their NYX section of their makeup aisle so everything was "in the back" and for some reason were unable to track them down for me back there.

I get my package on Tuesday and I immediately throw on Baby Doll to see how it looks. To my surprise, I actually liked the color on me. I figured I was going to need to exchange it for another tone. It actually looked great but.. as I went to add a second layer since the first wasn't fully covering my lips, I realized the product was sticking to itself. Eventually, my lips were sticking to themselves. Figuring that I was only supposed to be putting one layer of product on, I went to take it off and reapply.

Well. This shit doesn't come off. Not in a "omg wow this stuff doesn't come off even when I eat a sandwich with it!!!' it just didn't come off. Not with water. Not with makeup remover. Barely even with RUBBING ALCOHOL. These seem to be very similar to the Jeffree Star and Anastasia liquid lipsticks (from what I've heard) and maybe I'm just not the type to like these stick-and-stay-on-for-days products but.. I didn't like 'em. Chalk five on the disappointment board. Here are the colors on the lip pre-sticking:

I then figured maybe 'Baby Doll' was just formulated poorly. Nope. 'Embellishment' was just as bad. Which blows because the colors are really cool and I was really digging this line before trying them out. Oh well. You win some, you lose some. These definitely were losers and are going straight back to Ulta where they came from, sadly. I'll leave the severe liquid lipstick trend to the men and women of Instagram.

Have you guys tried any of these Lip Lingeries out? Did you have the same issues I had? PLEASE let me know because I am so baffled!

LORAC POCKET PRO PALETTE

After a sudden surge of feeling dramatic and creative, I've been playing around with a lot of eyeshadow looks that involve taking the shadow out further out and attempting the "soft wing" trend. My Urban Decay shadows just haven't been cutting it and I realized that I really missed the blendability and depth of my deeper LORAC shadows.

I decided to pick up this lil' baby LORAC Pocket Pro Palette from Ulta. It's the only three shades I would ever need to create a simple, go-to, every day look. In the same shipment I also got a Z Palette. Let's just say… depotting LORAC shadows is a big no-no. They're too soft. I lost a lot of shadow in the depotting process but hey, what can ya do. I definitely didn't want to have to keep track of this tiny mini palette. That being said, I took some pictures before I ruined them for good:

And just because I know that those pictures don't mean anything unless you can see what they look like swatched and applied, here are some photos of these beautiful shadows in action:

It's unbelievable how buttery "Nude" and "Espresso" are. I don't know how LORAC does soft, pigmented shimmery nudes so well but man, they definitely are the best.

This trio has been needing to join my army for awhile and now that they have, they will be stars on days where I don't want to think about my shadow combos. They blend in an instant, complement each other so nicely and pair well with any cheek/lip combo.