MON//Lorac Pro Palette & Stila Eyes Are The Window Spirit Palette

Oh hey! Long time no see. 

I can't even begin to expla nin how hectic my life and schedule have been. Everything in my life has been in a transitional phase that seems never ending and turbulent. I have wanted so badly to come back on here and start turning out posts but so much of my time is consumed by school, work and self care in general, that the Bats & Rabbits blog has to be put on a shelf, awaiting for me to return when I can spare a moment. That is my shortest explanation for my recent absence. I apologize and I dearly hope I can sort out some things so that I can have a window of time to blog, because creating and sharing with you all, is what I really enjoy doing. 

Last month, I was itching to add some new eye shadow to my collection so I picked up two new eye shadow palettes. One I was keen on for some time, The Lorac Pro Palette, and the other was released rather recently and I couldn't get it off my mind once I had seen it which is Stila's newest "Eyes Are The Window Palettes" I grabbed the palette in "Spirit". 

Both palettes are just breathtaking..Just look at them! 

Now, both of these palettes have three things in common. They are neutral themed palettes with warmer tones. Also, they both have buttery soft shimmer and soft matte shades. Honestly, you can't go wrong with either one of these palettes they both have a similar shade range if your in the market. However, if you are more keen on that Stila palette you are gonna have to invest a hefty chunk of change for it. The palette costs roughly 50$ (crazy!) guess you really do pay for "dat packaging" its so pretty and so fancy looking I wonder if Iggy Azalea would write a song about it.. I got mine with at a discount by using a mall gift card I had gotten. ( I can enable myself very easily when it comes to makeup.) The Lorac Palette is slightly more reasonably priced at $42. Though, I also got this palette on a HSN deal where they were selling them for $22. Sadly, that deal is not going on anymore and I really apologize for that! But, it goes to show that holding off and being on the look out for deals can sometimes grant you the things you want, at the price you want. 

I fell in love with the Stila Spirit palette for its autumnal shades and the way they coordinated the colors instantly inspired me and helped me transition my mind towards fall looks and aesthetic. There are four "creamy shades" which seems a bit repetitive but they all are different. Being a former painting student I can aptly discern a difference in color. They threw in a beautiful garnet color which I gravitate towards every use and some useful brown shades for blending and a sneaky blue shade which I have not used yet, but it is pretty. These colors have nice pigment, soft to the touch and are very build-able and blend-able.

The Lorac Pro palette, is so heavily talked about and raved about and justly so, these colors are pig-men-ted. I barely have to touch and I have vivid color on my fingertip or brush. The packaging is light, thin and sleek, much like Apple products, which means...its very aesthetically appealing and easy to cart around with you when you travel. I am having so much fun with this palette! Creating looks feels so simple and easy. Just have a trusty blending brush with you like a MAC #217 and have at it. I love using "Lt. Bronze" all over the lid and in the inner corner and then pat on "Gold" in the center and blend out "Garnet" and the tiniest hint of "Espresso" in my crease and a hint of "Garnet" again underneath to even things out. I just feel like everyone that wears eye shadow needs this palette in their life! Its so versatile and handy. You. Can't. Do. Wrong. 

That about wraps it up for me on the eye shadow talk for today. Over all I highly recommend both palettes, they are equally gorgeous, however you might get a little more bang from the Lorac palette, simply because there is more shade selection. But, lets face it, when I wake up in the morning to Stila's new fancy packaging I think about writing my own song about it. 

What are your favorite eye shadow palettes? Let me know in the comments below! Also, if you care to see posts in particular from me that would be immensely helpful information to have. Thank you for your patience, I love you all so much and even my most stressful afternoons are lifted when I receive a comment on one of my posts saying you enjoyed it. I hope to be posting again soon! Until then I can be reached and followed through my social media icons in the sidebar. 

See you soon! ( Its a promise!) 

- A 

T H U R S : T R A V E L // What Is Going In My Travel Beauty Bag

 

Hey, guess what? I am back baby! back to the ol' grind as they say. For those of you who don't know I took my first trip out west to California last week! 

Fun fact!, It as actually born in California but other than visiting a Target store as a newborn. I had never experienced the glorious California sun or anything the state had to offer until now and it was glorious. My next blog post will showcase the snapshots I took from the trip and video montage is in the works as well. All things to look forward to on The Bats and Rabbits blog! 

Alrighty, now onto the beauty essentials! 

F A C E 

I had not traveled in a really long time. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I would take. One of the most important things was a pair of sunglasses. Which, in the past I have the tendency to overlook, only to be punished by the suns unkindly bright glare in my eye sockets. If you are taking a trip soon into a sunny climate I would highly advise a pair of cute shades for your trip, though that may be obvious. (Make sure your cool shades also protect those ultra cute eyeballs of yours too! That means UVA ray protection baby!) I got these super adorable polka dot sunglasses at Target.(This girl can't get enough of her polka-dots) 

L I N K 

The other important essential was a light feeling base that also provided some coverage. (Nobody wants their makeup feeling heavy and slippery in the heat!) so I brought my trusty Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation. Which I have mentioned a numerous amount of times already but, it does provide the look and feel I want in a "summer" foundation. Light and non heavy, looks luminous on the skin but also does a good job at covering any skin problems I am dealing with at the time. This product blends beautifully when used with a Real Techniques Expert Face Brush. 

L I N K  + L I N K 

I also brought my holy grail concealer which is the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. (review here) I won't bore you with another explanation of how great this stuff is but take my word for it. Its amazing and does double duty for covering spots and concealing dark under eye circles. ( I had to buy a second tube during my trip, I feel lost without it in my makeup stash!

L I N K 

For highlighter I brought my Mary Lou MAN-izer from The Balm.(another review here) which also served as a wonderful compact mirror for music festival makeup checkups. 

L I N K 

For blush I brought along my recently acquired Ambient Lighting Blush from Hourglass in the shade Diffused Heat. I don't have a lot of blush in my makeup stash yet so this blush is the star of the show. It is a beautiful poppy shade that is marbleized with Hourglass's famous Ambient lighting powder.  

It looks marvelous on the cheeks especially for the hot summer weather. 

L I N K 

  E Y E S 

Only brought along three eye shadows for the trip. I considered bringing just my Naked 3 palette. Maybe that would have made more sense but I have been gravitating towards wearing gold eye shadow again. That is where MAC's Amber Lights comes into action. A quick swipe of this on the outer corners of the eye with a MAC 217 blending brush and really you are good to go, I mean if you are on the go that is!  That is a very minimal and effortless look! For a little more highlight I put Stila's single eye shadow in the shade Kitten in my bag. It is a ultra shimmery nude//pinky shade that really brightens up the eyes and lastly I brought along MAC's Antiqued a reddish bronze color that looks great in the crease. Sometimes, it can be just as good to bring a couple of great singles instead of an entire shadow palette for a trip. It's limiting yes, but also effortless.

L I N K + L I N K + L I N K  

For the brows I brought my Anastasia Brow Wiz pencil but it was on its last leg so I ended up not  getting as much use out of it except for using the brush end to at least groom my brows.(#sadbrowgame)

L I N K 

Lastly, for eyes is mascara! I brought along two. One is a mini of Make Up Forever's Smoky Extravagant Lash and the other which is not pictured above was L'Oreal's Miss Manga mascara. The one I preferred was actually Miss Manga. It was still in it's testing stage but I have really grown to love it. For most bloggers out there this mascara is either a full love or a full out hate. For me the weird bendy wand is great for getting into the root of the lash and pull forward to fully coat the lashes. This mascara is excellent at separation, length and a little volumef The Smoky Extravagant is great too, don't get me wrong. Either would be a great choice to bring along on a trip somewhere.  

L I N K + L I N K 

L I P S 

On the lips,(not pictured above)I brought two reds (of course) One being the Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in the shade Standout which is a cooler and darker red and feels minty upon application. The other is NARS's velvet matte lip pencil in the shade Red Sq. Which is the warmest red I own but I am so smitten with this shade for the summertime. 

L I N K + L I N K 

S K I N - C A R E 

Besides the obligatory 50+ spf sunscreen I brought very minimal skincare with me. My skin still had a major meltdown during the trip but at least I can say I cleansed and moisturized every morning and night! 

For my cleanser I brought my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser. This product is still in my testing stage. So far I really like it! I wish I could say it changed my skin dramatically but so far I still suffer from really bad breakouts. However, this stuff does breakdown all my makeup and feels amazing and even cooling effect on the skin when you first rub it in. Plus you can buy it in different sizes so you can actually get a nice travel size to test out before going for a bigger bottle

L I N K

My beauty bag moisturizer is the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream. Which is amazingly cool on the skin and does not irritate or plug up the skin. This product is PERFECTION for the sensitive skin types out there like yours truly. The smaller tube is super affordable at $12! I would highly recommend it. 

L I N K  

For my acne prone/problematic skin I like to treat the nastier spots with a spot treatment. Traditional treatments use Salicylic acid or Benzoyl Peroxide but those ingredients do not always bode well on my skin. I chose to bring my Acne Spot Fast Fix by Murad. Which uses other ingredients to treat nasty spots quick. I find that it does a decent enough job. I have bad luck with skincare trying to clear up my face. Nothing seems to work miracles. Though, I do find that this guy works well on nasty and painful spots. 

L I N K 

The last thing,which might already be obvious to everyone to bring for summer travel is a good deodorant. I grabbed the Dove Clinical Protection Cool Cucumber Deodorant. Lets just say it kept me feeling fresh under the arms for a very full day at Disneyland! 

And that's all I brought along in my beauty bag! I hope it helps any of you who are traveling soon! Safe travels!~ 

What beauty essentials do you bring with you on a trips? Let me know in the comments below! 

Connect with me on Twitter & Instagram!

Twitter: @AllegraShortill

Instagram: @morbidcupcakes 

See ya all soon! 

   -A

Face of The Day #FOTD : Current Makeup Routine

Hello my dears. Today marks the first day of Spring!!1 I am so pleased that we have finally crossed out of Winter country. Now I expect to start feeling the warmer air wash over my cold skin and for flowers to start sprouting from their dirty beds. 

Today, I wanted to share my daily makeup routine with you all. It's bound to change since I am always experimenting with new products and have the desire to try new things when it comes to makeup. However, at the moment these products are my staples.

Base---- Sephora Collection: Perfection Mist Airbrush Foundation

     I wrote a whole blog-post about this foundation: here. I REALLY love this foundation. I spray it directly on my face or onto my Real Techniques Stippling brush and blend right in. It's long wearing, the price is affordable and it makes my face look really good. I am using my second can of it now!

Concealer---- NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer 

   Another "holy grail" product in my routine is the famed NARS creamy concealer in the shade, Chantilly.( Because I am uber pale.) I also have written a full review on this product also!: here. I have very problematic skin: very blemish prone with some scarring etc. It's just a mess. However, this stuff just pleasantly covers all that up and gives me a bright, even complexion. 

Highlighter--- Mary-Lou-Manizer by The Balm 
 Review: here. Most beautiful champagne color! Gives the perfect glowing complexion.

Blush/Contour--- Milani Powder in Amber Nectar
 A very  recent purchase that I am very pleased with. This product is a combination of: highlight, blush and a bit of bronze as well. This blush drew me in mostly due to its beautiful embossed roses on the product and it's name. Doesn't Amber Nectar sound like something that is perfect for spring? I think so.

Brows--- Anatasia Brow Wiz in Brunette 
Cult favorite and for good reason. The retractable nib on this product is so tiny you have so much control over your brows to create natural or dramatic brows that never fade. Plus! the brow brush on the other end is handy as well. The only downside is the price however perfect brows seem worth it.

Eyeshadow--- Stila Single Eyeshadow in Kitten & The Wet n' Wild Comfort Zone palette

I had been wanting a beautiful champagne color for my lids so I could just swipe it on and head out the door in one easy swoop. I find that Stila's Kitten shade does the job in a beautiful way.
 I think everyone needs a good champagne eye-shadow shade in their makeup collection because it is so versatile and effortless.

As for the Comfort Zone palette. It was one of the first reviews I ever did on The Bats and Rabbits. Here. It's one of the best bang for your buck I have yet to try. As you can see I have done major damage to the pale champagne shade and also the copper shade. I love using the copper color for the outer edge and crease! 

Lips--- Revlon Matte Balms in Standout and Sultry
 I love wearing lipstick, don't get me wrong. However, something about the chubby lip pencils really gets me. Every blogger and their mother have talked about these brilliant matte balms by Revlon because they are perfect drugstore dupes for the Clinique Chubby Sticks and also the Tarte Matte Balms! I first got the shade, Standout,because I love wearing deep red lip products! In fact, when I got my second matte balm in the shade, Sultry it was a tiny step out of my comfort zone because in the past I exclusively only bought red lip products. Both, are beautiful and it makes me want to collect them all! 

And that, my dears is the complete rundown of my current makeup 

routine. I hope all of you enjoy the first day of Spring!

Also! I finally bit the bullet and got a Twitter!

I never ever, ( ever) thought I would get a twitter but I knew I needed to cover all bases when it comes to communication to all my lovely dears. I am actually kind of enjoying it, albeit a tad confusing at times. I have added a "follow me on Twitter!" social media button at the top of the blog. Send me your tweets! I want to network!, get to know other bloggers and other readers! 

Tweet! 

 Thank you! and see you next time! 

xoxo

- A