USA Beauty Swap with Megan (Little Miss Average)
9.12.13
Megan was one of the first friends that I made when I decided to seriously start blogging several months back. One of the sweetest, down-to-earth people I know, Megan has the ability to make you feel like even the most impossible, absurd dream you have is within your reach. Oh and she also runs a fabulous, cozy blog over at Little Miss Average, which you should totally jump over if you've never read it before. Anyway, over the summer we decided to do a swap while I was still in Taiwan. I sent over several of my favorite Asian products and asked her to hold her package till I arrived in London as I was worried about my luggage limit. A couple weeks ago, I got my package in the mail after a long day and needless to say, I've been loving the things that she's got me!
I love that Megan included a letter, it was so stinking sweet and screamed of her personality. I think you can tell a lot about a person from their penmanship and Megan's handwriting was along the lines of what I had pictured. It was rounded, bubbly, and ridiculously cute. It's no secret that I'm a huge lover of Doctor Who and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (I'm practically screaming it in every other post...) In fact, Megan and I bonded over the fact that we were both huge Doctor Who fans. I think we might have had a couple lengthly fangirl sessions in emails and twitter. This Doctor Who bookmark is probably my favorite thing (other than the letter, of course) in the package. What makes it better is that Megan has the same one, so we're twinsies! (Yes, that does make me ridiculously happy. Call it not having an actual twin)
One of the first products to catch my eye was the Essence Quattro Eyeshadow in Denim 4.0. I've never tried any products from the brand before, but have heard amazing things about them in the blogsphere. Plus, the colors of this quad is absolutely gorgeous. Definitely a bit out of my comfort zone, but I've already made them work once (see the results here), and I'm determined to make them work again.
So um...I might have smushed my finger in the Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush before I took the photos. I had one of these blushes back home in Taiwan and absolutely hated it. It wasn't pigmented, and it didn't bounce. But I'm convinced that they made a change in the formula when it crossed international waters, because Megan kept raving about this blush. I was excited to see it in the package as I knew this was something she truly loved. And good gracious, they did change the formulation when crossing international waters because the US version is gloriously pigmented and best of all, it bounces. Megan sent me Peach Satin, like the name suggests a beautiful peach shade, that has made it's way into my blush rotation. I love to use this on a lazy day, as it simply is the perfect shade.
Another product that I've heard much about but never had the chance to try out until Megan's package is the NYX Extra Creamy Round Lipstick in Haute Melon. I'm a huge fan of corals and this lipstick was the first thing I tried on when I ripped open the package. It didn't matter that I had already changed into my pajamas and was getting ready for bed. I wanted this on my lips. And boy, oh boy, is it beautiful. This bright coral has made its way into my heart. Sadly, I haven't been using it as much as I'd like as the color is a bit too summery. But I can see that I'll definitely be getting a lot of use out of it next year!
Megan is from North Carolina, and what's really cool is that she lives really close to the Burt's Bee company. So naturally, she included a bit of her hometown and picked out a Burt's Bee lip balm. I've never really branched into that brand before, but I've heard wonders about their stuff. Coming to London, I've been needing a massive amount of lip balms and this Burt's Bees Moisturizing Mango Lip Balm has already earned a space in one of my bags. The last makeup item is the Covergirl Flamed Out Mascara. She mentioned that she searched high and low to try and find The Hunger Games packaging for this product (again, another thing we both have in common). While this doesn't have The Girl On Fire on the packaging, it still has a snazzy flame design on the beautiful packaging. The wand is the shape of an hourglass that took some time to get used to. But once I did, I couldn't stop using this mascara. The design of the wand says that it's able to "fan out" your eyelashes, and it does exactly that. On it's own, I don't feel like this mascara is dark enough for my already dark lashes, but it's a great layering mascara that I love to use under the L'Oreal Telescopic.
Last but not least is the Freeman Facial Clay Mask with Avocado & Oatmeal. I still haven't used this so I can't comment on it, but I'm sure it'll be an amazing mask as it's from Megan.
I've completely devoured the peanut butter cups she sent me and am loving the products that she sent me. It was a wonderful experience and what made it the best was the personal bond that the both of us had beforehand, making it really easy to pick out products for her. You can see what I got her here.
Have you ever done an international beauty swap before? Would you be interested?
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