Makeup Wars: Top Purple Shadows!!!

I Bought It  Affiliate Link

It is time for another Makeup War! This time the Makeup Wars bloggers are battling it out over the best Purple Shadows! So, what does a die-hard "neutrals-girl" like myself think about purple shadow???...I love 'em! Seriously, they work so well with my coloring that they are almost a neutral. Plus, with the cool effects of color theory, wearing purple shadows really brings out the very slight green tint in my blue eyes. If I am not in neutral shadows, I tend to be in a purple. I like to embed purples right into the outer corner of my eye for just a little pop of color in an otherwise neutral look.

All You's "Best Beauty Buys 2012": Giveaway and First Impressions Review

All You Magazine has finally released it's official "Best Beauty Buys 2012" list!!! Guess what? I am hosting a Giveaway for some of these items!!!

I love reading these "Best of Beauty" type magazine articles and blog posts.  I always end up taking notes and adding items to my beauty "wish list" from lists like these. Actually, I keep a running list on my notes app on my iPhone. That way I always have my list with me when at the drugstore, grocery store, or mall. :)

I am so excited that I not only got to test out and review some items from All You's "Best Beauty Buys 2012" list, but also I am able to *give away* a gift bag containing 10 items from the All You list as well!

So, do you want to know what is on the full list? 
Be sure to check out the August Issue of All You Magazine which is on sale now at your local Walmart. Or, visit All You's website!

Twenty eight products won across four categories: Makeup, Face, Body, and Hair. The team at All You tested out hundreds of products to come up with this great list. I am excited to see that many of my all-time beauty favorites made this list! Also, I found some exciting new products too! :)

All You Magazine:

All You Magazine is a magazine geared towards the value-driven consumer (me, me, me!!!). Sure, I love my beauty splurges; but, nothing beats a great bargain! The magazine is available either through subscription or you can purchase it exclusively at Walmart. The magazine has articles on health and beauty, cooking and recipe, and parenting and kids. Oh, and it contains a ton of coupons!!! As a new stay-at-home Mommy, it is just a perfect magazine for me. Actually, I am going to start subscribing! Also, there website is worth checking out too. There are tons of daily deals and coupons as well as great recipes and beauty articles.

If you are interested in entering my Giveaway as well as seeing the All You "Best Beauty Buys 2012" list (and my review of some of these items), then please keep reading after the jump! Buckle in for a LONG post; but, hang in there!!! I promise there is a Giveaway towards the end of the post. :)

Pammy Loves Products! June Favorites and Monthly Reflections

I am going to try something different with my Monthly Favorites Posts! Ya'll let me know what you think! :)

I want to open it up each month with a "Monthly Reflection". This will just be my non-beauty related musing on life at the moment. If you want to skip my musings and get right to my top-product picks, please just skip over my ramblings and jump the page break to get directly to my top products list (and check out the cute new "list" graphic! Thanks Christine!!!)

Whatever is going on in my life always segues into my beauty needs! Having a hectic month? I need quick and easy beauty products! In the mood for self-pampering? You might see a lot of body products that month. Is there a change of season? Then I will shake-up my beauty routine too. For me, my beauty products are always refelctive of what is happening in my life. Some months I shop more...and have more new products to try. Sometimes a new season will hit, and I will have access to new makeup collections and samples. You just never know!

There is one constant: My beauty routine is always changing! Beauty routines really are "fluid": they change and evolve as we do.

Monthly Reflections:
I know that having a young baby at home makes time go by on warp speed. I mean, last year at this time I was busy with nursery preparations, baby classes, and baby showers. Now I have a 6-month old? That is just crazy-pants! She is growing so fast. Awwhhhh!!!!

Motherhood is the most amazing journey I have ever been on. Every day is a new experience or a first. I feel very lucky and blessed to be experiencing the art of Motherhood. I know that it is a state-of-being that will take a lifetime to perfect.

Another Year Older:
As I write this post, I am on the eve of yet another Birthday. Another year has gone by. I can't even believe that I am in my (cough) late 30s! Sometimes I can't believe it because I still feel like I am 15 on the inside. But other times, I feel old as the hills! LOL! There is one thing that is for certain, this past year has been the most amazing of my life with the birth of my first daughter! There is no question that I feel lucky and blessed to have this beautiful child in my life. While I get older ever day, I realize that, in many ways, my life is just beginning. I am only at the beginning of my long journey as a Mom. It is a dream come true for me!

Lets Talk Products!

So, those are my musings for the month of June! Now, lets talk products!!! June has been a great month for favorites! Some of the items on my list are repeats from previous months (there is a particular item from Pixi that I am particularly obcessed with!) and some items are new products that I either purchased or fell in love with while testing for review. Either way, these products are all flippin great!

To find out what made this month's "Pammy Loves Products" list, keep reading after the jump!

Makeup Wars: Battle of the Taupes!

The Battle of the Taupes is the first of (hopefully) many Makeup Wars amongst myself and some of my favorite bloggers! Yes, this is a new and unique post roundup link series hosted here on Pammy Blogs Beauty and my fellow blogger's pages.

*be sure to click on the "last shadow" and "next shadow" graphic!

Here is the scoop:
After some general discussion amongst bloggers on the love of and comparison across taupe shadows, the Makeup Wars group was born. We are a group of Makeup Bloggers (and Star Wars lovers) led by our fearless commander Christine from 15 Minute Beauty Fanatic.

We embark upon our first battle: The Battle of the Taupes. All blogs participating are reviewing and swatching their favorite taupe shadows. Taupe is a unique and much-loved shade by bloggers. Is it brown? Is it grey? Is it grey-brown? I know my eyes started to almost go fuzzy while trying to determine what shadows were actually true "taupes"!

I will showcase my very favorite taupe shadow in this post (a well as a comparison of said shadow to other taupes in my makeup collection). Also included in this post: Links to fellow Makeup Wars blogger's Battle of the Taupes posts! So, please visit the links in this post (see header graphic and links below) to see what taupes they are loving!!! That is the fun of this: Discovering tried-and-true taupes loved by various bloggers! :) 

Our group is unique!
There is something cool and different about the Makeup Wars group and concept. We are a group of bloggers from all walks of life, different colors of skin and hair, from across the country, and in different stages of life. We are bound by our love of makeup and our desire for blogging. I think it is a unique concept for us all to either review the same product for Makeup Wars or the same type of product (e.g., taupe shadow). Have you ever liked a product but wondered how it would work with a different hair type or color of skin? Have you ever read a favorite bloggers review but then thought, "But would this color work on my skin tone?" This group will have those answers for you!!! Variety is our strength! Collectively, we have a ton of great ideas and our discussions only increase our enthusiasm for the products we are reviewing! :)

To see my very favorite taupe along with links to fellow Makeup Wars Blogger's taupe posts, please keep reading after the jump!