bailey bee

beauty, home and lifestyle blog

Natasha Denona Mini Gold Eyeshadow Palette Review

The Natasha Denona Mini Gold Palette

Ever since I saw the sneak peeks for the Natasha Denona Gold palette, I have been waiting for the mini palette release. I still, to this day, want the full-sized VERY badly. That price tag is the only thing standing in my way.

Anyway, I was so excited to pick up this mini version when it released a few weeks ago. From what I had heard, this was one of Natasha’s best mini palettes to date. I knew (from swatching in-store) that the brand has incredible shimmers but what I was most impressed with in this palette were the two matte shades. They are so well pigmented and the tones bring a lot of depth for two fairly “medium” shades.

The Natasha Denona Mini Gold Palette swatched on-arm

Oh, man. Bia. How pretty is Bia?! It and D’or were the two shades that made me want this palette. Although D’or swatches a bit chunkily it is a strangely wet formula that applies beautifully to the lid. Additionally, Antheia is a beautiful duo-chrome with an incredible pay-off from the get-go and is a more traditional shimmer formula.

Lastly, Lodge is the ideal transition shade for my skin tone. Having it plus three other “winners” (Bia , D’or and Antheia) make this mini palette worth stashing for me. I’m going to utilize this a lot over the coming months to create some classic looks, some smokey as well as some funky– I’m thinking Bia as a structured, winged eyeliner? OH yes.

Even if it has a slightly different color story, it’s hard to pass up this $25 baby palette in place of its $129 counterpart. One day I WILL get that full-sized gold palette, though! What are some of your faves from ND?

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My 2019 Sephora VIB Sale Picks pt. 2

My Sephora VIB sale 2019 picks

I did a round-up of my favorite products from Sephora when they had their last sale in May. Although my favorites haven’t much changed, I wanted to shoot this your way with a couple of updates as the fall VIB Sale begins NEXT WEEK (Monday for VIB Rouge, Tuesday for VIB and Beauty Insiders)

My two additions to my round-up are NARS lipsticks and Drunk Elephant’s Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil. As for the rest of the products, let me do a bit of quoting from my last post…

I rarely wear foundation but when I do, it is the Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Foundation. I wear 120 but really am more likely a match for 110. This is a matte, semi-sheer coverage foundation that dries down quickly and stays put throughout the day. This works wonders for my combination skin and I love that my freckles can still shine through when I’m wearing this.


In the same vein of Fenty, my favorite eyeliner currently is the Fenty Beauty Flyliner. It is a deep, dark black that doesn’t flake off and the pointed tip of the applicator actually stays pointy (unlike my old favorite, the Stila Stay All Day liquid liner). It continues to be super saturated and applies beautifully even with a bit of age.


The YSL Touche Eclat All-Over Brightening pen is a very bougie option, I understand, but it is incredible. This pen provides the right amount of coverage while not making the application area look cakey at ALL. I use this under the eyes to cover darkness, around the nose to cover redness and on blemishes as well. I feel really fancy when I click the bottom of the pen to dispense the product. It’s worth the splurge for that alone..
 heh. But really, you have 15% off, why not?!


I have begun using the Anastasia Beverly Hills clear brow gel for things other than my eyebrows. This stuff is liquid concrete for your brows and lately I have been utilizing it as a hardcore gel for my baby hairs whenever I wear a power pony. It slicks them back and they do. not. move. Love this stuff 4ever.


If you aren’t a gloss person, you’ll enjoy the Bite Beauty French Press lip glosses because they are the perfect formula for us “non-glossers”. The formula is really slick and plush so you won’t feel like your hair is getting stuck all over your lips. The French Press range has a great nude for every skin tone, too. It’s hard to go wrong with a nude gloss.


Next up is my tried and true Tarte Amazonian Clay highlighter in ‘Exposed’. This is the ideal powder highlight because it contains no base pigment and gives a perfectly natural, glossy glow. I use this every single time that I do my makeup and somehow I haven’t hit pan. Talk about a good value!


The mascara that unseated my favorite of MANY years (the Maybelline Colossal) is the Hourglass Caution mascara. This stuff is a rich, dark black and separates the lashes while simultaneously lengthening. It doesn’t flake off during the day but comes off easily with remover at night.

As for the newbies,

NARS recently reformulated their lipsticks and there really is no truer OG lipstick than a NARS lipstick. The formulas are comfortable and the pigment is never lacking. May I suggest Dolce Vita? It’s been my fave for years.

Also, Drunk Elephant’s Virgin Marula Oil has been my skin savior lately. It was briefly touched on in my recent Drunk Elephant post. I got a facial a couple of weeks ago and the esthetician told me my skin was very dehydrated. This was and is shocking to me because I am an avid moisturizer! She told me to try out a facial oil as it would penetrate deeper into the skin and provide more hydration than your typical facial moisturizer. I like to think that adding this heightened level of moisture has allowed my breakout to dissipate.

Let me know below what you’re thinking of picking up during the VIB Sale! I’m focusing on the more expensive things on my wishlist that can only be found at Sephora. Ulta has way, way better coupons on a much more frequent schedule so buying the other, cheaper things I want down the road shouldn’t be a problem. I’m trying to be a responsible shopper!

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Battle of the Purple Eyeshadows

Makeup Geek Curfew and ColourPop Sleeper eyeshadows

Purple is a fun color to wear on the eyes because it can provide depth without deepening a look too dramatically. Purple is also supposed to be the “best” eyeshadow color to pair with my green eyes. It was because of that reason that I, once upon a time, purchased Makeup Geek’s ‘Curfew’ eyeshadow single.

Since that “once upon a time” I have hardly used ‘Curfew’ as it didn’t lend itself enough to my looks that needed that “depth but not deepening” effect. Curfew is fairly light and doesn’t pack much of a punch.

on-arm swatches of Makeup Geek Curfew and ColourPop Sleeper eyeshadows

I didn’t realize what I was missing out on until I decided to purchase ColourPop’s pressed pigment in ‘Sleeper’. Just LOOK at the difference between the two products! Although Sleeper has a leg up on Curfew as it is a pigment and thus, far more pigmented, the two are pressed into the same component and are used the exact same way. It is because of this that I judge them equally as well!

So, in the hunt for the best purple eyeshadow, I found ‘Sleeper’. If you’re looking for a bomb pop of color that isn’t all that scary, I highly recommend this shade of purp. I have a handful of other hues of purple that you can check out in my eyeshadow collection, too.

NABLA Cosmetics Secret Palette Review + Swatches

It has been a VERY long time since I have been excited about an eyeshadow palette release AND actually purchased upon debut. The Italian makeup brand NABLA is fairly well-received and once I saw the swatches for this palette I had myself creating a calendar reminder to buy it ASAP. The Secret palette is full of color and allows you to utilize different color stories for endless amounts of looks. This assortment of shades paired with the solid formulas NABLA is known for has made this palette a surefire winner in my book.

Just look at those shades! Each horizontal row complements itself well but I really like the funky combos that the vertical columns make, too.

Let’s get into the most important aspect of this palette— the formula and wearability of each shade.

All shades swatched well on the arm except for Hypersensual and Nablack. To be honest, I’m not sure why Hypersensual performed so lackluster-ly. It’s a seemingly easy shade to make. As for Nablack, I bet we all have better black eyeshadows that we’re loyal to anyway so it’s not a huge deal to me. It still performed just fine on the lashline to create a smokey vibe.

The standout shades in terms of formula were Giulietta, Fantasize and Ghibli. You barely have to even touch these shades to get them to provide pigment and all blend out effortlessly.

As for my sleeper pick, I Promise ended up being REALLY pretty on the lid. It wasn’t a strong swatcher but is a very dimensional shade that works well paired with a crease color blended out as well as on its own across the lid.

Just serving a warning– Rosemary is a stainer. I’m not really that surprised as that has been my experience with pigmented teal shades in the past and it’s not necessarily even a negative thing. But still a thing to mention.

Again, I have not been this excited over a palette release in freaking years. I’m so excited to dive deeper with these shades and get so much more use out of them! If you’re wary of purchasing from an international seller (if you’re from the US, of course) then fret not. NABLA is the real deal and they shipped this palette to me within a week! If you’re as into this as I was then there is absolutely no reason not to pick it up. Enjoy!

If you wanna see some other palettes I have reviewed, check ’em out here.

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Fenty Beauty Poutsicle Juicy Satin Lipstick in ‘Sun Snatched’

Fenty Beauty 'Sun Snatched' Poutsicle lipstick

Fenty Beauty has released another seasonal collection! I am tempted to buy almost every new release from Fenty– eSPeCiALLY the seasonal collections. They are usually even more whimsical and bright than their regular line of products (which are already tons of fun!) This Getting Hotter release was no different.

Y’all know I am a sucker for an orange lip and Fenty Beauty always seems to do them right. Once I saw these Poutsicle lipsticks announced, I knew I was gonna need this shade: Sun Snatched. The formula and finish of these Poutsicle lipsticks are satin as opposed to the line’s main lippie, the Mattemoiselles, which are very matte. This makes for comfortable wear with an approachable sheen– the perfect combo for summer.

“Sun Drenched” is a red-leaning orange that wears evenly and for a good handful of hours. If you’re drinking or eating while wearing these lipsticks, be warned they won’t last as long but that’s to be expected with any non-matte lip product.

before/after on-lip swatch of Fenty Beauty 'Sun Snatched' Poutsicle lipstick

I like this shade because although it definitely leans red, it is still most definitely an orange. I love, LOVE orange lips and this rounds out my collection very nicely. When Fenty released the second grouping of their Mattemoiselle lipsticks, I compared two of them alongside another favorite orange lippie of mine. If you want to read that post, click here. Those two Fenty shades were ‘Pumpkin Rose’ and ‘Saw-C’. I swatched them below to compare to ‘Sun Snatched’.

Fenty Beauty Orange Lipsticks in 'Sun Snatched', 'Pumpkin Rose' and 'Saw-C'

Almost every time Fenty drops a seasonal collection I try to tell myself to hold back and almost every time I have regretted not picking up the items that initially caught my eye. Unlike other brands that fake you out with limited edition releases, Fenty don’t play. These products won’t return once they have left. If you have your eyes on any of the super poppy Poutsicle Juicy Satin lipsticks, I recommend grabbing ’em now. The formula is ideal for warmer weather and I’m sure you won’t regret it!

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Light Bronzer Faceoff: Physician’s Formula Butter Bronzer vs. Fenty Sun Stalk’r vs. Benefit Hoola

Fenty just released a new line of Sun Stalk’r bronzers and I was keen to get my hands on the lightest shade, Inda Sun. I wanted to compare it to two other popular “light” bronzers on the market– the Physician’s Formula Butter bronzer in ‘Light’ and Benefit’s Hoola bronzer in ‘Lite’

Keep on reading to see how it compared and to see some swatches.

three light bronzers: physican's formula butter bronzer in 'light'. fenty beauty sun stalk'r bronzer in 'inda sun' and benefit hoola bronzer in 'lite'

Upon first look, you can see that Hoola Lite is significantly lighter than these other two. I almost never wear it for that reason. It’s too light for me and that is saying something because I am on the fairer end of the spectrum (NW15, Fenty 110/120). That being said, I really commend Benefit for releasing a product that works for the fairest of fair complexions.

on-arm swatches of three light bronzers: physican's formula butter bronzer in 'light'. fenty beauty sun stalk'r bronzer in 'inda sun' and benefit hoola bronzer in 'lite'

I didn’t have any expectations going into this comparison so I don’t feel anything in particular when I notice that ‘Inda Sun’ is the darkest of the three. In addition to being the darkest, it is also the reddest. I like this because both Hoola Lite and the Butter bronzer both seem to disappear into my skin. They do a proper job of adding warmth to the face but I like my bronzer to add a bit of depth as well so I see myself reaching for Inda Sun over the others quite often.

The formulas are important to consider as well. As per its name, the Butter bronzer is smoother than the others and almost feels a bit wet. Both Inda Sun and Hoola Lite are your traditional powder products with Inda Sun being a finer powder than Hoola. The finer the powder for a bronzer, the smoother the transition on the face. I have found all three apply really nicely with little to no patchiness.

I am really excited to continue using this Sun Stalk’r bronzer. The formula and shade are perfect for my intended uses. Each of these bronzers have nice formulas and apply well. Their main differences are the shades and depth of color.

I’ve done some other “faceoffs” in the mascara, eyeliner and eyebrow gel departments. Check ’em out!

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My 2019 Sephora VIB Sale Picks

I rarely do these kinds of round-ups simply because I am never ahead of the curve enough to get your attention before or as the sales begin. This time, however, I am! I wanted to share my favorite products from Sephora as their VIB sale kicks off today for VIB level members as well as Beauty Insiders. Read below for a short blurb about each product shown above.

From top to bottom, left to right…

I rarely wear foundation but when I do, it is the Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Foundation. I wear 120 but really am more likely a match for 110. This is a matte, semi-sheer coverage foundation that dries down quickly and stays put throughout the day. This works wonders for my combination skin and I love that my freckles can still shine through when I’m wearing this.

In the same vein of Fenty, my favorite eyeliner currently is the Fenty Beauty Flyliner. It is a deep, dark black that doesn’t flake off and the pointed tip of the applicator actually stays pointy (unlike my old favorite, the Stila Stay All Day liquid liner). Even with a bit of age, it continues to be super saturated and applies beautifully.

One of my favorite lipstick formulas at Sephora are the NARS Velvet Matte lipstick pencils. They are opaque, super comfortable on the lips and are very easy to control the placement of with the pencil-like applicator.

The YSL Touche Eclat All-Over Brightening pen is a very bougie option, I understand, but it is incredible. This pen provides the right amount of coverage while not making the application area look cakey at ALL. I use this under the eyes to cover darkness, around the nose to cover redness and on blemishes as well. I feel really fancy when I click the bottom of the pen to dispense the product. It’s worth the splurge for that alone.. heh. But really, you have 15% off, why not?!

I have begun using the Anastasia Beverly Hills clear brow gel for things other than my eyebrows. This stuff is liquid concrete for your brows and lately I have been utilizing it as a hardcore gel for my baby hairs whenever I wear a power pony. It slicks them back and they do. not. move. Love this stuff 4ever.

If you aren’t a gloss person, you’ll enjoy the Bite Beauty French Press lip glosses because they are the perfect formula for us “non-glossers”. The formula is really slick and plush so you won’t feel like your hair is getting stuck all over your lips. The French Press range has a great nude for every skin tone, too. It’s hard to go wrong with a nude gloss.

Next up is my tried and true Tarte Amazonian Clay highlighter in ‘Exposed’. This is the ideal powder highlight because it contains no base pigment and gives a perfectly natural, glossy glow. I use this every single time that I do my makeup and somehow I haven’t hit pan. Talk about a good value!

The mascara that unseated my favorite of MANY years (the Maybelline Colossal) is the Hourglass Caution mascara. This stuff is a rich, dark black and separates the lashes while simultaneously lengthening. It doesn’t flake off during the day but comes off easily with remover at night.

Lastly, we have a new favorite of mine in the Velour Lashes Effortless lashes in ‘Would I Lie?’. I love me some falsies but I don’t love when they are too long or super thick. Velour’s ‘Effortless’ line is what my dreams were made of and this style in ‘Would I Lie?’ is the wispy star of said dreams. They look so natural and have a very comfortable band that blends into your natural lash line easily but are not too finicky to apply.

I hope I persuaded you to try out at least one of my favorite products! There’s no other time than the present with your 15% off coupon code (HEYVIB) to try out some new makeup!

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MAC Powder Kiss Lipsticks in ‘Shocking Revelation’, ‘Influentially It’ + ‘Sultriness’

MAC Powder Kiss lipsticks in 'Shocking Revelation', 'Influentially It' and 'Sultriness'

Ah, yes. More MAC Powder Kiss lipsticks coming at you on this fine morning. I liked the first two I tried so much that I wanted three more! I forsee myself adding even more to my collection because MAC released even MORE colors that just arrived in-stores at Ulta.

My three newest shades of these MAC Powder Kiss lipsticks are ‘Shocking Revelation’, ‘Influentially It’ and ‘Sultriness’. As with the others, these retail for $19 and are what MAC proudly proclaims are a matte, yet moisturizing formula. I’m gonna just come out and say that although I wouldn’t say these lippies are “moisturizing” per se, they definitely are not drying and that is a win for a matte lipstick.

on-arm swatches of MAC Powder Kiss lipsticks in 'Shocking Revelation', 'Influentially It' and 'Sultriness'

Shocking Revelation is marketed as a “clean blue red”.

Influentially It as a “nude beige”.

Sultriness as a “baby blue pink”.

I naturally lean towards colors like ‘Shocking Revelation’ but was hoping to find a solid nude (for me) in ‘Influentially It’. Initially, I was scared away by promo pictures but when I swatched in-store I really liked it. Unfortunately, it is a biiiiiiit questionable on the lips as you can see in the on-lip swatch below. As for ‘Sultriness’, it is everything I wanted ‘Scattered Petals’ to be. A soft, neutral-leaning-cool pink.

on-lip swatches of MAC Powder Kiss lipsticks in 'Influentially It', 'Sultriness' and 'Shocking Revelation'

All three colors wear pretty decently and that wear time ranges from around 4-5 hours, depending on the shade. The lighter the shade, the shorter the wear time is for these guys. I think my next pick up from this range is going to be a pretty wine shade. Which do you want us to review next? All of the shades can be found here.

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