Woo, that title is a mouthful! And yes, this is my third Makeup Monday in a row - hope you're enjoying the product and services review. I'll be getting back into posting other things during the week soon, but want to at least make sure I get a weekly update out. And this week I have another foundation to talk about!

Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation

$8.59 at Target

I picked this foundation up right before a work trip to Las Vegas at the beginning of the month. I needed something new once I found out the Urban Decay All Nighter foundation was oxidizing on my skin past the point of wearable - I couldn't show up to a work conference with mismatched foundation! But I also wasn't willing to shell out an additional $40 for new foundation, so I picked this up on a whim the day before I left, and I'm very glad that I did.

PROS

First things first, this foundation did an amazing job holding up not only in the 95+ degree dry heat of Las Vegas, but also in the 90+ degree humid heat of North Carolina, and that's already off to a great start in my book. Full disclosure, I do have combination oily/normal skin, but my T-Zone never gets to be too oily and the normal parts of my face never tend to get too dry, so keep that in mind if you're considering your own skin type. But I have had really great success getting this foundation to stay put for most of the day. I've found that it applies best with a beauty blender and I am particularly fond of it with the Wayne Goss Method.

Also, you really can't go wrong with the price of this. I think the price at my local Target was a little more than the website - about $10 - but even so, that's a great price considering the foundations I've been using have been ranging in the $35 to $40 range. And I find that I don't need a ton of product to get the medium coverage that I like - just about a pump and a half does it for me, even on the days when I'm dealing with breakouts. The finish is nice and I haven't noticed any oxidizing on my skin, which is a huge relief after my last purchase!

And finally, I love the pump on this foundation. It dispenses just the right amount of product and it even has a locking mechanism so you can make sure you're not spilling foundation everywhere if you're traveling with it and you've lost the cap or it falls off. This is a very easy foundation to travel with in general. It holds up well in multiple environments, it's safe to travel with, and there's not a lot of unnecessary flair to the 1 fl oz packaging, which makes it very easy to throw in your makeup back and get moving with.

CONS

While I do really like the pump on this foundation, I kind of wish the cap wasn't clear. Mostly because, like most pump foundations, after you've dispensed the product, you do tend to end up with a little left behind. And on a clear cap? Well...

It's not hard to clean out or anything, but I'm pretty lazy so I just end up with a super messy looking foundation bottle sitting on my counter.

Also, I don't know that I really believe everything boasted in the "3-in-1" claim in the name of foundation. According to the foundation claims, it should do the work of a primer, concealer, and foundation. I definitely don't think it does all of those things. I still use a primer and I definitely still use a concealer because this is more of a medium coverage foundation. Now, the "primer" and "concealer" inside of this may contribute to some of the lasting power, but I wouldn't throw out the rest of my routine just for this foundation.

And finally, unsurprisingly, there isn't a fully rounded range of colors here. For the drugstore, it's not bad! But this foundation definitely lends itself more to light and medium skin tones than deep skin tones. There are only about three on the truly deep end of the spectrum on the Covergirl website. So while there's an abundance of undertone differences across the medium skin tone range, the deep end doesn't get nearly as much attention.

THE VERDICT

Overall, I've been really happy with this foundation. It's become my current day-to-day foundation and it does a great job getting me through the work day. It's easy to apply, it lasts, and it comes in at a great price point. Right now, this is hands down my favorite drugstore foundation, and if you're looking for a new foundation at a good price point, I recommend giving this a try!

But if this isn't at the top of your drugstore list, let me know what is! I'm always looking for new drugstore foundations to try out, and would love to hear your top recs!

It is truly the age of liquid lipstick! Matte is in, and a liquid formula is the way to go for a super long-lasting matte finish. But a slightly more recent trend is the metallic matte lip - a foiled, shiny look to make a statement while still outlasting your typical gloss or lipstick bullet. And the metallic liquid lipstick has become so popular that you can now get them in the drugstore! So, today, I'll be reviewing one of those options from Milani!

Milani Amore Mattallics Lip Creme

$8.99 at Milani Cosmetics

Just a disclaimer before we get too far into the review: while I was tracking down the site to link to, I noticed that Milani has changed the packaging on these lip cremes. The colors and the color names seem to be the same, but the new packaging is more square as opposed to my cylindrical bottle. I do not know if the the formula has been changed along with the packaging, so until I get my hands on a new one to make an update, let's assume I'm strictly discussing the old version.

PROS

1. Finish There's nothing more frustrating than picking up a product that claims to have a certain effect or finish and finding out it absolutely doesn't. Thankfully, these Milani lip cremes live up to their "metallic" promise. Even after the color dries down on the lips, you're still left with a reflective sheen. Not glossy or glittery - definitely metallic.

2. Payoff Now I've only tried the shade 04 Cinematic Kiss (pictured above), but the color is pigmented enough that I didn't notice any streakiness, and it only required one layer of color. Which is especially good for liquid lipsticks since they don't always do as well when you have to apply multiple layers.

3. Feel The best part about this lip creme, in my opinion, is the way it feels on the lips after it's been applied and been given time to dry down. A truly matte finish will feel dry once it's set, but there's a big difference between "dry" and "drying." The Milani Mattallics dry down into a comfortable finish that was easy to wear and didn't leave me desperate to run chapstick or a gloss back over it.

CONS

1. Smell Dear god, this lip creme smells terrible. It's pretty obvious that Milani was aiming for a buttercream type scent like you get with the Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipsticks. They did not achieve that. What you get instead is a saccharin, medicinal scent that lingers until the lip color dries completely down. What I noticed is that the smell dissipated faster on my first application but lingered a horribly long time when I reapplied later int he day. I ended up taking it off rather than waiting for the smell to die down.

2. Wear Honestly, I was pretty surprised by how bad the wear time on this lip color was. I applied it at about 11:30am on Saturday and proceeded to do nothing for the next few hours. As in, I laid in bed and watched YouTube videos until about 1:15pm when I realized I should go get lunch. I didn't eat anything before then and the only thing I had to drink was the occasional sip of LaCroix through a straw. So when I got in the car and checked my lipstick, I was pretty upset to find that the inner rim of my lips had rubbed off as much as it had. I wouldn't be surprised to see that from any liquid lip after a full day of wear or a big meal, but not after 2 hours of inactivity.

THE VERDICT

Unfortunately, these are a pretty hard pass for me. Even though there were a lot of things I really liked about the Milani Mattallics, and you can't beat a price point under $10, the smell was just too overpowering, and the wear of the color wasn't good enough to override having to wait that out. If you're on a budget and really gunning for a metallic finish that's comfortable to wear, you could definitely give these a shot. But if you're like me and not huge on the metallics anyway? Save the $10 and try something else.

TITLE: A Right Honorable Gentleman
AUTHOR: Courtney Milan
GENRE: Romance, Historical
RATING: 4.5 / 5
Goodreads • Amazon
Miss Catherine Hooks is one of the best governesses in all of England; her employer, the Right Honorable Edward Glennon, is one of the busiest men. The fact that they’ve fallen in love is immaterial. Honorable people in their situation do not mention such things. But Edward’s son is on the verge of leaving for school, and when Cat asks for the only thing she can demand under the circumstances—a reference and help finding a new position—she discovers that even a right honorable gentleman has his limits…

Let me start by saying that this is not a full book, but rather a 30 page short story from Courtney Milan, and I was lucky enough to read it for free by being subscribed to her newsletter! So if you like Courtney's work, I would definitely recommend going to her site and subscribing to the newsletter for future freebies and sneak peeks. I finally got around to downloading this short story last night for something to read before bed, and I am so glad that I did!

I can't tell you exactly how long it took me to read the whole story because I was in bed, in the dark, and tearing up more often than I care to admit, but it was definitely less than an hour. But even with it being a quick read, it was so good! Cat and Edward suited one another like two sides of the same coin, and the tension and affection between them was nearly palpable, even when they were doing their best to ignore it themselves. This is also an amazing example of how you can use the "employer/employee" trope without playing into any uncomfortable power dynamics.

Cat is a middle-aged governess who holds her own against one of the most powerful men in the country in a way that is satisfying and believable for the story. And by the end, you're absolutely rooting for them. And maybe a little misty eyed if you're like me and just prone to crying when when a line gets you right int he feels. My only complaint, aside from wishing the story were a little longer, is that I do wish we'd gotten to see just a little more from Cat's perspective after her resignation, her on her own outside of Edward's company. But ultimately, the story was incredibly sweet, the character compatibility was fantastic, and for a short story, the wrap up was satisfying. I'll definitely be checking out more from Courtney after this!

I thought about using this week's Makeup Monday for the new Power of Makeup palette collab between NikkieTutorials and Too Faced, but I haven't had enough time to actually play around with that to give a fair review. And then I remembered, wait a minute! I have another collab palette I can talk about! So today we're going to be diving into the Swamp Queen palette collaboration between Grav3yardgirl and Tarte!

Grav3yardgirl + Tarte Swamp Queen Palette

$45 But largely sold out now

Unfortunately, this was a limited release collaboration and most online retailers (aside from Ebay listings and such) are sold out now, but your local Ulta or Sephora may have one or two left in stock! This palette comes with 9 different eyeshadows, a blush, bronzer/contour shade, and a highlighter. It also includes a brush and a decently sized mirror. Overall, it's a pretty decent amount of product for the $45 it was originally retailing at. I was also lucky enough to get a hold of this palette when it first launched on the Ulta website, so I've had a pretty fair amount of time to play around with it at this point.

PROS

1. Long Wearing
The first thing I have to talk about with this palette is just how long wearing these eyeshadows are! Seriously, I was blown away the first time I tried them out. I put my eyeshadow on at 8am without any shadow primer, and at 9:30pm that night when I took my makeup off, my eyeshadow looked exactly the same. It hadn't creased or faded or slipped at all. And that's held true for every time I've used these shadows. Seriously, if I know I'm going to be in for a long day and night, I turn straight to this palette.

2. Packaging
This a gorgeous palette. Not just the makeup, but the packaging itself is so pretty and unique. Designed to look like wood grain with foiled lettering and a winged gator engraving, it definitely stands out from a lot of makeup palettes that are available right now. The palette and the box have the same look to them, so either one would look great sitting on a shelf or your vanity. There's also a decent weight to the palette, which makes it feel more expensive. And my favorite part is how true to Bunny all of the names are. From the "Does This Thing Really Work?" blush to the beautifully red-toned "Dogman" eyeshadow, the whole palette is really an ode to her channel and her fans.

3. Color Selection
If you're not a rabid fan of neutrals like I am, you may disagree with me here, but I am obsessed with the colors in this palette. At a glance it's easy to write a lot of these colors off as standard netural palette fare, but I don't think that's really fair to the selection. Dogman (pictured above, 4th from the left), in particular, is an amazing eyeshadow. Red seems to be in right now, and Dogman is the perfect shade to give you a wearable amount of that. It's not a true red, which can make your eyes look irritated, but it does have more red tones than any other eyeshadow I currently own.

I'm also incredibly fond of the the highlighter, Gator Wings, and Uncommon (4th and 3rd from the right). Gator Wings is an absolutely stunning highlighter with a pale yellow-gold sheen and Uncommon is a perfectly light, all over color with just enough cool undertones to make it more interesting than your average taupe. There are a lot of really interesting and very wearable looks to be had in this palette, and I'm a huge fan of that.

CONS

1. Blush/Contour/Highlighter Shades
I know Bunny's intentions with the palette were to make it as universal as possible, but the blush and the contour/bronzing shade fall a little short for me. On one hand, the blush, while a pretty color, is incredibly pigmented. I've found I have a hard time using a light enough hand to get a wearable look out of this blush. And that's largely personal preference, because I don't like an intense blusher, but I could actually stand for the blush to be a little softer. And as far as the contour/bronzing shade goes, it's really just not my color. It's a little too warm for my skin tone, so I probably won't be using it for much outside of maybe another eyeshadow. As for the highlighter, it's a beautiful color, but the amount of glitter in it leads to a very heavy amount of fallout. Still use it and love it, but if you're not a fan of glitter, do your best not to touch the highlighter!

2. The Brush
Honestly, I'm just not crazy about this brush. It's fluffier than I like for my 'all over the lid' brushes to be, but the shape of it really isn't conducive to working into a crease. And it's too small and dense for blending, but it's also too large and fluffy to work for your under eye area. Ultimately, I think this is a decent brush for someone who isn't very particular about their makeup brushes, but I personally would have preferred a fluffy blending brush or something easier to work in the crease. Then again, I also haven't used the brush that often, so maybe with a little more playing around, I'll find something I really like it for.

3. Availability
And, of course, probably the biggest con for this palette is that it's pretty much sold out! This was a limited addition palette that had a number of staggered releases at various stores and in various countries, but it's been out for a little while now, so if you're interested, you'll probably have a hard time finding one for the original $45 unless a local store still has a few in stock or Tarte re-releases a handful.

THE VERDICT

If you can still find one of these palettes and you're a fan of the neutral coloring, I highly, highly recommend it! This is the first palette I've tried out from Tarte, and the lasting power of these shadows alone have made me want to get my hands on more. But as far as collaborations go, I think Bunny and Tarte did it right, and they've managed to put out a palette that's beautiful, high quality, and really respects the content creator and her community. So brava!

And if you're interested in a (shorter) review on another of Bunny's limited edition items, I also got my hands on the Texas Toast liquid lipstick. So let me know if you want to see a Makeup Monday on that!

Some lovely and talented people on Twitter last week reminded me of my third true love behind writing and eating: makeup! Considering how much of my time goes into watching beauty bloggers and how much of my money goes to Ulta, I thought I could take a little time each week to share my insights on some of my favorite (and least favorite) makeup products!

Urban Decay All Nighter Liquid Foundation

$40 at Urban Decay

First up is a new foundation line from Urban Decay! With the Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation being a favorite of mine for the last few years, I couldn't pass up the chance to try out a new foundation in the same line. Especially when I realized that the two primary differences between the All Nighter and the Naked Skin lines were 1) more coverage and 2) a full matte finish.

PROS

Let me start by saying that I've been using this foundation for about a week now, and I'm already a huge fan. Especially in the depths of a hot, humid, southern summer. I already have combination oily skin to begin with, and the weather hasn't been helping with a daily heat index typically over 100 degrees and anywhere from 50% or higher on the humidity index. Needless to say, these are perfect conditions for your makeup to slide away as soon as you step outside, so finding my favorite foundation in a full matte finish has been a godsend.

My favorite part about this foundation so far has been its versatility. The formula is absolutely thicker than the Naked Skin but not nearly so thick as, say, the Tarte Amazonian Clay foundation, and that gives you more options as far as application. Personally, I prefer a very natural, day to day work look and much more glam evening or going out looks. And the All Nighter foundation has proven to work for both. For a heavier, full-face application, I use the same Optical Blurring brush that I purchased from Urban Decay when I first started wearing their Naked Skin foundation. But with the thicker formula, you get a much fuller coverage. Similarly, because of the thicker formula, you can also apply the All Nighter with a beauty blender and achieve a perfectly medium coverage look for day to day.

The matte finish does keep this foundation on much longer than my other, dewier foundations. Aside from keeping my T-Zone looking dry throughout the day, I've noticed this foundation seems to do a better job of getting through the work day in place - or through an evening in a crowded bar with a broken AC unit. Admittedly, I do also use several layers of powder to set my foundation, but it's the same routine I use with most of my liquid foundations, and the All Nighter has, thus far, lived up to its name in that respect.

CONS

My first con is really only half a con, and that's the pigmentation in these foundations. I list it as a con because if you're like me and you've been using the Naked Skin foundation before now, I'm not sure the All Nighter version is 100% the same color. The description specifically calls out having 3 times the pigmentation than the original formula, and while that does a great job of providing fuller coverage, I do catch myself bringing my foundation much further down my neck than I usually do to make sure I don't end up with any harsh lines where my skin changes color. Even though I'm using the same 2.0 shade that's a perfect match for me in the Naked Skin.

Another con is the range of colors available for this foundation. Don't get me wrong, they do have 24 shades available, but the deeper tones don't go as deep as they could, especially considering all the boasting of extra pigmentation. For a comparison, here's a side by side of the fairest shade (0.5) and the darkest shade (12.0) currently available in the collection:

Not the worst color range I've seen from a line, but from other reviews, it doesn't sound like you're going to have an easy time finding anything with a red undertone here. Fingers crossed we see some expansion of the line in the near future.

The only other con I can think to mention isn't so much a con as it is a claim I haven't fully tested. This foundation is listed as being waterproof. I can say that I was able to sweat in this foundation and didn't have much transfer off, so that was definitely a plus, but I'm not sure I trust taking it for a swim just yet. As with most waterpoof makeup, if you can avoid actually getting it wet? All the better.

THE VERDICT

Right now, I am really loving this foundation. I feel like I made a good call trying this out instead of just picking up another bottle of the Naked Skin. If you can find a color match, I highly recommend giving it a try! If you have already, leave me a comment down below and let me know what you thought about it!

And if there are any specific products you'd like to see me talk about, let me know! I have more makeup than I know what to do with and I'm still always on the lookout for more!