Merry Christmas! Win It!

Thank you for all your support this past year. I've grown to really love each and every one of my readers and viewers out there! You mean the world to me!

During this season, it's personally a time where I like to reflect on all that the Lord has given me. Above all, He gave me the most precious gift of all - sending His Son Jesus Christ to die for my sins. During this season, I'm so thankful for Jesus' birth! :)

If you've watched my youtube video, you'll know I'm hosting a giveaway on all of my Social Media Sites. For the giveaway on my blog, you have a chance to win the Jouer Lip Gloss in Wind (My personal Favoriteeee pinky nude gloss) and Zoya Polish in Brigette (from their new Naturals Line!)

In order to enter this blog giveaway, follow this blog (bloglovin' COUNTS! :)) and leave a comment below. Tell me an interesting fact about yourself! I'd love to get to know you!

For all other giveaways: 

Swatches + live action on my video!

To Win the Lorac Pro to Go Palette! 

1. Follow my youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/jessicalee422

2. Leave a comment below telling me what your favorite gift that you've ever received or given was. 

 To Win the Naked 3 Palette! 

1. Follow my Instagram: http://web.stagram.com/n/jessicalee422/ (jessicalee422 is my username) 

2. Like the post that says "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" and leave a comment telling me what you did on Christmas Day. 

To win the Michelle Phan Shade Play palette in Melbourne Blues and the sparkling shadow top coat! 

1. Follow my twitter account: https://twitter.com/#!/jessicalee422 (jessicalee422 is my username) 

2. Comment if you've been naughty or nice this year with the following: 

If you've been naughty: " I've been naughty this year, but please let me still win @jessicalee422 's giveaway http://youtu.be/w4l0Vz_Vay0 " 

If you've been nice: " i've been nice this year, so please let me win @jessicalee422 's giveaway! http://youtu.be/w4l0Vz_Vay0 " 

To win the Laura Mercier Lip Colour in Shy and the Bubbi Blending Brush! 

1. Follow my facebook account: http://www.facebook.com/jessicalee422

2. Like the post with the picture of the giveaway prizes and comment on that post telling me what you're most thankful for this year. 

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em cosmetics amalfi coast aquas palette

hola friends!

hope you are all well today. here's my next emcosmetics review. this time we have for you the amalfi coast aquas palette.

first off, can we talk about how beautiful the outside packaging is? It's sleek yet vibrant. In all honesty, I wish this was my youtube cover photo! so good! haha :D I adore her attention to detail, even in the inside lining of the packaging with all the 'em' words.

I had high hopes for the eyeshadow palettes as I've heard great things about the life palette! The packaging didn't disappoint. At first glance, I was like eh.. looks kind of like the elf palette. Almost kind of cheap, white plastic. but it's not. it's sturdy thick plastic, with a sleek logo and magnetic closure. what I particularly loved in this palette is how there is a peel me sticker on it. haha... dork? :0P

Here is the palette. There are so pros an cons to this. while I hate small brushes, these two brushes seem to be quite functional. with a lid brush, angled liner brush and a smaller 'contour'ish blush. I can appreciate that, although I would probably never use it. [I honestly would rather use my fingers than brushes if i don't have any haha!!!] 

Second, I'm a bit confused as to why the shadows are different sizes such as this. I'm sure she explains it somewhere, but I couldn't find where. I understand how the life palette is in this configuration as there is a blush color in the center and a lip color, etc. I would've LOVED to see #2 as the center color as it is definitely my favorite shade that I use often all over the lid. I could see how #4, #3 and #6 are smaller because they are the darker shades that can be used as the liner colors. 

Now here are the swatches. the left side are swatches without any primer and the right side are swatches with the primer. The primer makes a substantial difference in the matte shades, and subtle differences in the more satin-y shades.

#1- is a warm golden brown. It's a slightly satiny but has glitter particles. If you enjoy glitter, I think you would love this! Unfortunately, I find that if you have hooded or thicker eyelids, this shadow will enhance your lids and make them look thicker than they are. The color itself is gorgeous though!

#2 - is a beautiful champagne color. this is a perfect color for all over your lids. it has a nice satin finish and is creamy and pigmented. This is by far my favorite color of the bunch!

#3 - is a warm brown color with a slight sheen and small shimmer particles. It is slightly cooler than #1 and I wish that instead of #1, it could've been replaced with this instead. The shimmer is not overpowering and the base color is beautiful!

#4 - is a matte medium brown that leans slightly grey. at first swatch without primer, I was like 'woof. this color is horrrrible.' but then i found out two things: #1 with primer it is beautiful. like seriously beautiful. how i regret saying bad things about you. #2 this makes a beautiful blending/crease color. the color does an excellent job blending with other colors because of its delicate formula. it isn't too harsh, so it makes a really soft blend.

#5 - colors like this always make me want to scream mermaid!!! hahah! this is a beautiful satin blue. This pairs beautifully with the champagne color as a crease color and also pairs nicely with the dark shade using a gradient look.

#6 - This is a deep matte blue that looks slightly green when swatched. This is similar with #4 in that its a very soft matte shade so the blendibility is made possible with this shade of blue. I like how you can deepen this color easily as well, making it a beautiful liner also!

Overall, this palette is worth checking out. As a neutral fiend... with only neutral palettes, this one steps out of the comfort zone while still being in it. It has some gorgeous neutral shades in the brown family but adds a bit of pop and fun with the blues. Although some shades have their downsides, all colors are workable to make a beautiful look. 

You can purchase this palette for $38 (6 shadows) at emcosmetics.com or by clicking here :) 

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em cosmetics review: pillow plush lip balm

My good friend gifted me with a bunch of emcosmetics goodies, which made me soso happy because I didn't have to spend a bajillion dollars to test out her products! So appreciative <3

I'm going to be doing these reviews one at a time on my blog and then give an overall review on my youtube channel.

Today I'll be talking about one of my favorite products: the pillow plush cushiony lip balm.

 

Packaging: I adore the packaging of this product. I love that its not a standard lip balm case. It has an adorable 'resin bump' sphere shape on the top which really adds to the detailing of the package. The one thing I don't prefer with the packaging is that it is a finger dipping product. I love to take these lip balms on the go, but after a dirty subway ride or getting some gas, the last thing on my mind will be to reapply lip balm to sooth my lips. I would much prefer something of a twist up balm or i'll even use a squeeze tube (which are my second least favorites LOL)

Smell: I love the smell of it. It's reminiscent of the cabbage patch doll smell with a hint of vanilla - um does anyone know what that smells like? It has a slightly sweet, slightly vanilla scent that is not overpowering. Also after applied on the lips, the smell disappears.

Texture: I LOVE the texture of the balm. It is slightly thicker, which for me is a thumbs up! and it gets better - although it is thicker, it does not get sticky. Although the color faded after about 2 hours, the feeling of the balm still lingered on my lips.

Moisture: This lip balm - although it doesn't quite compare to my cult favorites: Sara Happ Lip balm or Hourglass treatment lip oil, it does have a nice moisture factor. My lips felt slightly plumper after a couple hours of wear, which leads me to believe that the product is really penetrating nicely into my lips.

Color: I have this color in lollipop. I think this for me was the deal breaker. I think for a lip balm, this color was the star of the show. Generally for me lip balms have such slight colors that I think they should just keep the lip color clear. This one was nicely pigmented for a balm, but not overpowering to take the place of a lipstick or gloss.

lol omg i was doing swatch heaven, dont mind my extrememly dirty finger.

Overall: It does a great job as a balm with great color, texture and moisturization. although packaging is cute, it may not be the best pick for those who love to be extra hygienic because of the finger dipping package. 

You can purchase emcosmetics at http://www.emcosmetics.com/ and the lollipop lip product here.

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