One of my fondest memories growing up is collecting Caboodles to store my “makeup” in. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t always makeup, but more like hair scrunchies, slap bracelets, and whatever my mom would give me from her makeup collection, but the storage was the coolest part. Everyone I knew owned one, and they came in different colors and sizes. Every year I would ask for another one, and every year I would happily wake up on Christmas morning, shredding the wrapping paper open to find a shiny new Caboodles container! Now known as the “Classic,” they still sell Caboodles, and have expanded their brand beautifully. Caboodles is twenty-five years old, and celebrating strong with a gorgeous collection of modern, updated makeup storage and organization. In the above video, I wanted to show you in detail the two products I love, as well as how I use them, and a little bit of my makeup storage. To see photographs of two products from their collection, as well, read more…

Today was an unusually blustery day for us in the south, with temperatures in the mid sixties (I know, I know…that isn’t that cold), and gray skies. We finally got some much needed rain and I was inspired by the moody sky to create an eye makeup look that falls somewhere between blue and gray. This is a great way to make blue eyeshadow extremely wearable, especially since a lot of people are very intimidated by blue eyeshadow and find it to be “dated.” I used the City Color Multi-Flash Eyeshadow Palette which I swatched a few days ago on Beauty Gala. To see photographs and how I achieved this look, read more…

The second I spotted the brand new New York Color display in the drugstore, I picked this eyeshadow duo up and thought of Katy Perry at the 2011 Grammy Awards. She was way ahead of the color-blocking trend and showed us a bright but feminine purple and green eye makeup look. This is not only very trendy right now, but it’s also springtime, meaning…have fun with your makeup! I really like this look because it’s bright and eye-catching, but it still manages to be soft and simple. To see photographs and swatches of the eyeshadow duo and how I achieved this super simple makeup look, read more…

Last night my husband and I were sitting around trying to decide what to do when he asked if I wanted to do one of my infamous “drugstore crawls.” This is when I pop into one or more local drugstores to see what new releases and collections they have out. I didn’t have anything specific in mind like I usually do, but figured there had to be some new products out. I stumbled upon these brand new City Color Eyeshadow Palettes in my Rite Aid. City Color products are scattered throughout my Rite Aid and they are typically priced very reasonably, almost like Wet n Wild products are. However, these palettes look way more “mainstream” than usual, and I can tell that City Color is stepping their game up. There were three palettes available: nudes, smokey, and the one in the post, “Multi-Flash.” I was so excited to dip my fingers into this palette today and swatch it finally because I was really curious about the quality of these palettes. To see more photographs and my thoughts, read more…

For Easter weekend I typically go with something pastel or even some fun nail art, but I wanted to do something different this year. Milani Cosmetics released a brand new collection of nail lacquers and one of my favorites from the collection is Key West. It is in-your-face gorgeous with tons of turquoise shimmer and sparkle. It reminds me of the ocean at Cocoa Beach, Florida, where I was two weeks ago. This shade will look amazing on any skin tone, and it would look fabulous as a pedicure, too! Basically, I fall in love with nail polish shades from time to time and right now this is my favorite! To see more photographs and swatches, read more…

Milani Cosmetics Powder Eyeshadow Palettes are back! I am so excited for this release because last summer Milani released the first palette in this collection, “Paint,” and I reviewed it here on Beauty Gala. Impressionist and Abstract are the two newest additions to the family of the eyeshadow palettes that not only look aesthetically really cool, but also put down beautiful color. Those of you who love neutral eyeshadow shades and don’t have the budget for the more expensive Urban Decay Naked Palettes will find the nude palette especially pleasing. Pastel enthusiasts will absolutely adore the candy-sweet colors of the spring-inspired palette. To see photographs and swatches, read more…

Happy Friday everyone! It feels like it has been a long week over here, but I am definitely glad it’s the weekend and time to relax again. I decided to pull out some drugstore products to create an eye look because there are so many great drugstore available options out there! If your budget doesn’t call for high-end makeup you can still purchase products with great pigmentation and create gorgeous looks. This look, Violet Sunset, is inspired by my favorite color of all-time…purple, and of course the sky during a sunset, when it takes on various shades of bronze, orange, and coral. Two unsuspecting colors complement each other very well by blending seamlessly into each other, and they each make the other stand out. To see how to achieve this look, the products I used, and more pictures, read more…

I recently picked up three of the new Wet n Wild Matte Lipsticks at the drugstore because I was loving the color selection. While I am a huge fan of the matte lip look, I usually shy away from matte lipsticks because they can be really drying and sometimes flake or feather on your lips. I picked up three shades, all bright, in-your-face spring colors, and I put them to the test. If you’d like to see more photographs and swatches, read more…

Every once in awhile a drugstore product comes out that I become so enamored with that I must have every single shade from the collection. Maybelline Color Tattoo 24-Hour Eyeshadow is that product for me right now. When they were first released, I thought to myself, “Oh, another cream eyeshadow that will crease immediately.” I have eaten my humble pie and bow down to Maybelline for creating an incredible product that indeed does not crease on your eyelid, even after many, many hours of wear. I have several shades from the collection, but I wanted to focus on one of the most versatile shades, Bold Gold, a metallic gold cream eyeshadow that will bring light to your eye area. To see photographs, swatches, and how this shadow looks after many hours of wear, read more…

I will always be a huge fan of New York Color eyeshadow palettes because they put down really beautiful color and pigmentation for the price. I was scouting the local drugstore displays and caught this palette, Queens Boulevard. It contains four shades in it, with three of them being shades of purple, and one of them being a white highlighter. I personally have a love affair with the color purple, but beyond that, purple really brings out the color of my eyes, which I love. To see more photographs of this look and how I achieved it, read more…