Quick Inspiration Pt. 3

*All photos by me.*

xoxo Elle

One Lump or Two Unboxing

   Ever have a dream about a pair of shoes because they are legitimately something from, well, your wildest dreams? Because that is what happened after I first saw the One Lump or Two heels by Irregular Choice, but I wasn't at all in a position to drop $325.00 USD on shoes (I never have been but if I ever was going to, it would be this pair)... I let the desire pass and went about online-window-shopping about a week later, when I was creeping on ThinkGeek and noticed that they have a small selection of Irregular Choice shoes. I figured I would torture myself a little and see if they had the heels of my dreams and...

   They did - and they were $278.00 USD, 30% off, free shipping, and I could get 3% cashback via EBates... Click HERE to sign up and receive $10.00 USD on your first cashback check! EBates hosts thousands of sites and even have specialty events with 15% cashback... The total after tax, discounts, and cashback was about $200.00 USD and Mister agreed I should go for it - I could always return them, right?

   A few days later, my first ever pair of Irregular Choice shoes arrived at my doorstep and my heart skipped a beat when I witnessed how gorgeous the One Lump or Two heels were, and I wanted to share that feeling with you all!

    The box for these heels is a bit thin for a heavier pair of shoes like these, but the design is covered in themes from the Alice in Wonderland cartoon - and can we talk about how adorable the print on the tissue paper is? I like that the heel was protected with bubble wrap and separated from knocking into each other because they're so detailed and, again, more heavy.

   The amount of detail on these heels is unreal... Playing cards, tea, quotes, floral, sparkles, print from the Alice in Wonderland cartoon, fork and knife, ruffles, cake, hearts, and more... And they're extremely comfortable to wear! The heel is sturdy and supportive, although the weight of the shoes was a bit to adjust to - now I love it. Being a staple piece that is a mixture of nerdy, vintage, cute, and outrageous, I can't wait to post different OOTD photos to show off how versatile they really are.

   I cannot get over how in love I am with the One Lump or Two heels and how thankful I am to have found them on ThinkGeek! Irregular Choice shoes are an investment, but well worth the money - they are works of art, tend to be quite comfortable, and last a long time if taken care of (to my knowledge from friends and other bloggers who collect their merchandise)... Very excited to build my own collection of Irregular Choice shoes - if you've been hesitant to try them out, I 100% recommend doing it - and to see the new Alice Through the Looking Glass film.
   Do you own a pair of quirky shoes like these that you love to death? Tag me (@ElleLeFleur) in your photos on Instagram and show them off!

*This post is in no way sponsored and all opinions are my own.*

xoxo Elle

Alice Through the Looking Glass Palette

   Once more, Disney sought out Urban Decay for a collaboration and thus the Alice Through the Looking Glass Palette launched this past April. I of course got my hands on it right away in excitement to show to you all... Although I have my issues with Lewis Carroll as a person, Alice in Wonderland and its accompanying stories (and games, media, etc) are one of my childhood favorites that grew with me as I have aged!
   The launch of so many fun collaborations thanks to the new film release has me all abuzz and jumping right down the rabbit hole... Won't you join me?

   First and foremost, the Alice Through the Looking Glass Palette is absolutely gorgeous in design! It matches not only the newest film but the general curious and whimsical feelings that the Alice in Wonderland stories bring about... The box, palette, and brush all feature a kaleidoscope pattern on both the front and back, black and white flowers on the sides, and shade previews on the back of the box. When you lift the top panel a framed mirror lays centered with a backdrop of black and white, melting clocks - in the center of the mirror is the quote "we're all mad here"... Below the mirror are two small ~doors~ that say "I'm not strange, weird, off, nor crazy. My reality is just different from yours." and when lifted open they reveal a beautiful, blue, 3D butterfly that represents Absolem.
   As far as the actual palette itself, its slightly hidden on the front/side - which says "I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I must have changed several times since then." - and is pulled out using a fabric tab. This aspect is pretty cool as far as looks go, but as a whole the palette is too bulky to be convenient for travel unless you bring solely the actual palette itself (making sure its safely in a Ziplock or something like that).

   Nestled into the bottom of the palette is a duel ended brush - to me this is more like a duel ended blending brush, and although it isn't my favorite, it is still a nice brush in texture and size... The palette itself features twenty eyeshadows that are named after different aspects of the film - a good mixture of matte and shimmer, as well as neutral and bright, options. The colors in this palette are both unique to the palette and ones that Urban Decay already sells - personally, I hope the color Lily becomes permanent because its my favorite in the entire palette. Worth whatever-the-heck they would charge for it!
   So, now I am going to come off a bit bitter... With all twenty shades, I'm only in love with two - Lily and Salazen Grum. They're smooth as silk, go on beautifully opaque, and have barely any fallout (if any at all). Aside from those two shades, the only other colors I enjoy are Cake, Heads Will Roll, and Time; they are unique, nicely formulated, and fun to play with. Every other color in the palette is either extremely chalky with far too much fallout, so patchy that it took over five swipes to make a decent swatch on my hand (aka Gone Mad), or were - to be blunt - quite generic in the sense I could find them in many other decent palettes or single shadows. I will say that most of the colors were very blendable, and/or worked wet or dry...
   None the less, I did have fun trying some extremely simple, easy-to-wear looks - which are shown below - that were inspired by different parts of the movie trailers!

 "Time Is A He"

Lid: Kingdom

Crease: Chronosphere

Bottom Lash Line: UD 24/7 Liner in Underground

"Excitable, Emotional, Prone to Fantasy"

Lid & Inner Corner: Lily

Crease: Cake

Bottom Lash Line: Heads Will Roll
Liquid Liner: Art-ki-tekt by LA Splash Cosmetics

 "Gone Too Long"

Inner Corner: Metamorphosis

Crease: Time

Lid: Bandersnatch

 "Truest Friend"

Inner Corner: Paradox

Transition: Hatter

Outer Corner: Gone Mad

Liquid Liner: Art-ki-tekt by LA Splash Cosmetics

"Urksome Slurvish"

Lid: Salazen Grum

Outer Corner: Mirror

Liquid Liner: Art-ki-tekt by LA Splash Cosmetics

   This palette sort of had me experiencing every emotion I have ever felt about a makeup product... I really enjoyed this palette during the Urban Decay master class, and expressed how worth-while I thought the Alice Through the Looking Glass Palette was. This was the first palette I had gotten excited for with bright colors! But now I am rather frustrated with the outcome and actually returned it (after calling Ulta and explaining my feelings, they completely understood and said I wasn't alone - yikes)... If you ask me (and I don't mean this is a critical way), enjoying five out of twenty shadows in a palette is not worth $60.00+ USD.
   I'm not rating this product because it really is a gorgeous and well thought out piece of art - if you're a collector of palettes then you may enjoy having this on your vanity, but it isn't for me... I had fun coming up with a few looks, even with the bit of struggle I had with some of the colors, and really hope you all approve of my honesty within this post. Still a fan of the Urban Decay vegan, single eyeshadows and will continue to pick them up from time to time!

*This post is in no way sponsored and all opinions are my own.*

xoxo Elle