All Hail the Queen

LUSH Valentine's Day Products

2012-01-30T11:21:00.000-05:00

I am not going to go into my thoughts on Valentine's Day, I may not love this holiday but a new crop of LUSH products can brighten my day no matter what the theme of the line is. And I must admit that the Valentine's Day product line is among the best of the limited edition products that they release during the year. Valentine's Day is the perfect time for pink and girly products and what company does that better than LUSH?! I remember the Leap Frog product from last year, who could forget that cute little frog product? I always want to buy another one of him for novelty value alone, he makes me giggle and just looking at him always brightens my day. So I might actually be able to say that I look forward to Valentine's Day just for this product collection...

LUSH's collection consists of a mixture of body and bath products and has the introduction of a fragrance this year, I have not yet tried their fragrance line in the store and I am very interested to see what type of fragrance this company feels is a good choice for this holiday. Since I am most interested in the fragrance choice, I have decided that that is where we will begin...
25:43 Gorilla Perfume - LUSH inventor and co-founder Marc Constantine created this perfume especially for his son Simon in honor of his wedding day. Simon's bride wore this fresh and citrusy perfume down the aisle, and it captured the moment beautifully with notes of tonka and lime accord. Simon (not to be bested by his Dad) later added notes of lemongrass, vanilla, ylang ylang, and litsea to round out the already light and clean essence of 25:43. Born of a truly romantic notion, share this perfume with your partner to create your own scented memories! Love is in the air: Since the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the number of proposals there has tripled! This inspired Simon to share his perfume. Did you know? The strongest sense tied to memory is smell. Create beautifully fragranced moments with our most romantic perfume yet. Behind the name: It took Marc twenty-five minutes and forty-three seconds to blend this masterpiece for Simon. Talk about a flash of brillance!

Love Potion Massage Bar - Some people like to give candy-grams or flowers, but at LUSH, we think you should pop the all-important "Will you be my Valentine?" with a sensual, full body massage. Call us forward, but we think few gestures are as effective! Offer to massage your beloved with our Love-scented cocoa butter bar, Love Potion. Fresh apple blossom, orris root infusion, and bergamot oils (along with aphrodisiac jasmine) cast a spell on their senses, leading them right down the path to shouting out, "Yes! Yes! I'll always be yours!" in sheer pleasure. Job done. It's all about the foreplay: Prep for your massage by drawing them a bath with our Fizzbanger Bath Bomb. Plus, a name like that is definitely an icebreaker. Double the 'Love': Follow your Love Potion massage with a spritz of our Love perfume! Soft, romantic scents: Love Potion is full of gorgeous floral oils like carnation, ylang ylang, rose, apple blossom, and jasmine.

Sweetheart Bar Soap - If you have to declare your feelings for that someone special, give them a slice of our limited edition Sweetheart soap. After all, it smells better (and is kinder to the environment) than a valentine and they'll be reminded of your adoration every time they soap up with the jasmine, vanilla, and sandalwood suds. The cramy, moisturizing lather will leave them soft, smiling - and thinking of you! If you are not quite ready to gift them with a P.S. I Love You, take it slow and work them into a lather with a slice of Sweetheart. Chocolates are so last year: Give your Valentine a scrumptious smelling slice of Sweetheart instead of chocolates - it will definitely last longer! No honey here: Like most of our handmade soaps, this skin softening wonder is vegan. Snap up a slice: Sweetheart is only available for a limited time.

Magic Mushroom Bubble Bar - Magic Mushrrom has two distinctive scents. In the red cap, there's the nostalgic fragrance of our Yummy Yummy Yummy shower gel (sniff); and in the white bit, we've used our siganture creamy vanilla scent. Together, it blends to give you bubbles that smell like a bowl of fresh strawberries covered in cream. There won't be mushroom for anyone else in your life - or bath - when you've got one. Welcome back, little mushroom. It's been one long year since we-ve said goodbye to our exceptionally fruity, sweetly creamy Bubble Bar and it's been tough. Make mounds of frothy bubbles with this limited edition romancer.

Leap Frog Bath Bomb - Another magical creation by Michelle, The Frog Prince is an extremely handsome and regal frog with a pair of vibrantly red and kissable lips. Give him a quick peck, drop him in the tub, and wiat for your prince to come. Simon's new fragrance is an aphrodisiac blend with sweet undertones; he used jasmine, neroli, and rosewood to create a sensual fragrance for those longing for their prince - or princess - to come. It's not all about the fragrance with this one; it's also brimming with cocoa butter and almond oil for a luxuriously moisturizing soak.

The Ex-Factor Bath Bomb - Valentine's Day isn't for everyone. It can make your blook boil when you're not with anyone and it can do the same when you are. Our blue Bath Bomb was invented for wronged lovers and those who dislike the romantic sentiments of Valentine's Day. While it has the cute blue color of a smurf, there's nothing quite so sweet about Ex-Factor. Its musky, creamy scent and dissolvable limbs make for a wickedly fun bath, where you can fizz away appendages and head until your thirst for revenge has been satisified.

The Leap Forg isn't the only giggle that I get from this collection, The Ex-Factor gives me a good laugh too. I will have to order both of these bombs just for the amusement that I get from them. I think that Ex-Factor might be the perfect product for me to use on Valentine's Day night, I can play in the bathtub and kiss the holiday away until next year!

I think the Sweetheart soap is adorable even though I normally hate those types of products, I really must order a bar of this very soon. And I must buy another Magic Mushroom Bubble Bar, I am on my last bottle of Yummy Yummy Yummy and I love that fragrance, this is now the only way that I can get my hands on it.

photo courtesy of LUSH

Illamasqua Powder Blusher

2012-01-29T13:15:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite looks from this winter is the contrast between pale skin and bright cheeks, I was so happy to see that this look will be continuing well into the spring months and took that as a sign that I should start bulking up my blush collection since the trend doesn't seem to be ending any time in the near future. I have been ordering Illamasqua like crazy over the past few months from the Sephora website so I decided to start trying their blush line. I had seen pictures and swatches from this product on many of the major beauty blogs, they always looked amazing and are highly pigmented. I started with the powder formula, I didn't realize that they carried a cream formula too until I was playing around on the Sephora website. I bought three of the powder blushes from Sephora and I am so happy that I did, they are among the best powder blushes that I have ever used.

These blushes are available from Sephora only (in the United States) and Illamasqua (European Union), the Sephora website carries the whole line and only certain stores in the country have the counters. Which is bad for me since I got addicted to this company last year after trying out their Liquid Metal product and I have been a slave to the website ever since. "A powder blusher. Illuminate and enliven your complexion with the color and drama of Illamasqua Powder Blusher. Color intense and highly pigmented, it can be used to shade, brighten, enhance, and define the shape of your face. Be bold, be daring, and be the center of attention."

The available shades of the product...

- Ambition Shimmer - shimmering neutral pink
- Beg - muted warm rose
- Chased - lilac pink
- Create - honey beige
- Disobey - matte bronze
- Excite - vibrant coral
- Hussy - bright petal pink
- Katie - light milky pink
- Lover - vibrant apricot
- Morale Shimmer - shimmering magenta pink
- Nymph - bubble gum pink
- Panic - cherry red
- Thrust - magenta
- Tremble - light warm pink
- Tweak - reddish pink

I bought three of the pink shades from this blush line, I started with Kate and then recently purchased Nymph and Hussy. Katie is the first shade that I fell in love with, it is a "light milky pink". This is the palest shade of pink blush that I own. It produces a perfect, pale pink flush on my cheeks. This shade is very pale and very cool so only the palest of the pale skinned ladies can pull this shade off, this is one of the hardest shades of blush to wear since it is so pale. I do wonder how much this shade would actually show up on someone with medium to tanned skin, I don't know how much wear I will get from this shade when I do my self-tanning in the summer months. But I love this shade now when my skin is very pale.
Nymph is a bright bubble gum pink shade, it is very pigmented but still flattering. This shade is a bit deeper than Katie and not quite as cool. This shade is much more universal and I can see many ladies getting wear from this shade. I will wear this one all year round, the bubble gum pink is very innocent and girly but will still show up against a bit of a tan. Hussy is the most pigmented all of three shades and the one that I was most taken aback by when I first saw it in the pan. It is described as "bright petal pink", it is warmer than the description implies and looks like a bright, warm rose in the pan. I put way too much of this product on the first time that I used it and I looked like a had a fever, the color was so bright and intense. I had to work with this shade a few times before I figured out the secret for perfect application, I just lightly tap my blush brush on this shade and that little bit of pigment is enough to create a bright cheek look. This is the only shade that will appear as intense on tanned skin as it currently does on my pale skin.

With how pigmented these blushes are, you must pick out shades that you really love. I overdid both Katie and Hussy the first time that I used them, now I just lightly tap my blush into the product and sweep it on my cheeks. I didn't have the same issues with Nymph, this one wasn't quite as pigmented as those too. Of the shades that I own, Katie is my favorite shade however I will not be wearing it near as much when my skin has a bit more color to it in the summer. Hussy was my least favorite of the shades, there is nothing wrong with it but isn't wasn't what I had in mind when I ordered the shade. The shade is still flattering on my skin and I will wear it more when I have some color in the summer months. Nymph is the most basic of three, it is great bubble gum pink hue but it isn't as unique as the other two. However I am very happy with these blushes and i love this formula.

Many of the shades in this line are unique, I don't know that I could pull off any of the orange, red, or purple hues though I would love to see how they look on different skin tones. I am really gload that there is a company that takes blush pigmentation very serioulsy because I love bright cheeks but a very highly pigmented blush isn't always the easiest to find.

photo courtesy of Sephora

Bath and Body Works Super Rich Body Cream Collection

2012-01-28T11:49:00.000-05:00

One of my traditional favorite products from Bath and Body Works is the shea butter cream in the True Blue Spa line, I first used this product in college and have used it every single winter since to dry my dry skin. The original cream is among the best products in the whole store and is one of the best products to try dry, easily irritated skin. Several years ago, the product was also released in an unfragranced version for those who are senstive to fragrances. This winter, Bath and Body Works expanded on this best-selling product and introduced it in three new fragrances to appeal to all those who love their scented body products. The Lemon scent first caught my eye, I am so happy that this company has brought Lemon Vanilla back in some version of body products!

Let's start with the original product, this is one of the best on the market for dry, rough skin and most poeple fall in love it from the first time that they use it. "Nothing makes skin feel better than incredibly rich Shea Butter. This deluxe cream takes it even further with protecting, conditioning Vitamin E and Macademia Nut Oil. Because you know more is really more. Infused with Shea Butter for the ultimate spa experience. Ultra-thick, moisture-rich texture. Creamy coconut shea butter fragrance. Not tested on animals." This cream hydrates on contact with skin and helps my dry to retain moisture throughout the day. A little bit of it goes a very long way and less is more when it comes to this cream. I use a small amount and then emulsify it on my palm and then apply it to my skin. A tube of this cream lasts me all winter and well into the spring months, this is one of the best creams for dry skin and I really recommend that anyone with dry winter skin try it out.

As I stated above, this fantastic cream is now available in three new fragrances. We are going to start with the Lemon since everyone knows how much I love lemon scented body products, I bought this product about five minutes after smelling it for the first time. My only complaint is that I wish there was more in this scent than just the cream, I would love if the hydrating shower cream that matches the original body cream came with this scent too. I will just layer it with my Lemon Vanilla shower gel instead, I guess. "Your favorite at-home spa collection is the best way to keep skin hydrated and feeling smooth with rich shea butter, Vitamin E, Macademia Nut Oil, and lemon to protect, nourish, and condition skin. Ultra-thick, moisture-rich texture. With invigorating lemon extract for a creamy lemon fragrance." This product reminds me of a cross between the Lemon Vanilla and C.O. Bigelow Lemon Body Cream, the Bigelow version actually contained the lemon extract too and it helped to brighten skin. I haven't seen that effect yet from this cream but I also don't know how much lemon oil is actually in this formula, it was an active ingredient in the Bigelow cream but it not be in this formula. Needless to say, the brightening effect o the lemon was not why I purchased this product, I was more interested in the fragrance and hydrating power of this formula.

The second of the new versions is the Vanilla Almond, another scent that I loved and bought within minutes of trying it. This scent reminded me of the Shea Cashmere and Silk product line that was around last fall, I just prefer the texture of this cream to that line anyway. "Your favorite at-home spa collection is the best way to keep your skin hydrated and feeling smooth with rich shea better, Vitamin E, Macademia Nut Oil, and almond oil to protect, nourish, and condition skin. Ultra-thick, moisture-rich texture. With nourishing Almond Oil and a vanilla almond fragrance." Pretty much I have the same comments for this scent that I have for the Lemon, I love this scent and wish that it came in a matching body wash. This cream is the one that I am using right now since the rich scent is best for fall and winter and I can use the Lemon scent in the spring months.

The last of the new fragrances is the only one that I didn't purchase, the Pomegranate version. I have never liked the scent of pomegranates and they don't like me either so this cream is not the best choice for me. I tried this cream on along with the others and this smelled awful on me, not a surprise. "Your favorite at-home spa collection is the best way to keep your skin hydrated and feeling smooth with rich shea butter, Vitamin E, Macademia Hut Oil, and antioxidant-rich pomegranate to protect, nourish, and condition skin. Ultra-thick, moisture-rich texture. With extract from antioxidant-rich pomegranate for a juicy pomegrante fragrance." This cream smells like rotten fruit on me which is a bit sad since I love using antioxidant products and this one would be a good way to reap those benefits all over my body. I would love if the same benefits came in a fragrance that worked a bit better with my skin chemistry.

I love the new Lemon and Vanilla Almond versions of this product, I am so glad that I bought them and I will use them to help hydrate my skin in the winter months and throughout the spring. I would love if these creams came with matching scented washes but I guess I can't have everything...

photo courtesy of Bath and Body Works

MAC A Shade of Red For Every Heart

2012-01-27T15:42:00.000-05:00

I wrote about the Philosophy Valentine's Day products about a week ago and now I see that MAC has come out with a Valentine's Day collection also. I believe that this company has done this for past few years and I love that a makeup company also realizes the impact of the holiday and released a full line of red lip shades to celebrate. I may not be a fan of the holiday but we all know how much I love red lipstick shades and I am more than happy to see a whole collection of MAC's best reds in one place. I also think that I see a few deep pinks mixed in here too, a shade that I will wear for the rest of the winter and well into the spring months.

The MAC website states the following in a description of the collection, "For Valentine's Day...a selection of reds, from the brightest to the darkest, for every whim and decadent desire." I see every type of lip product in this collection, along with matching nail polish shades.

Here is the Valentine's Day collection...

Lipstick - Colour plus texture for the lips. Stands out on the runway. Simmers on the street! What made MAC famous.
- Cockney - sheer yellow red with multidimensional pearl (Lustre)
- Hang-up - deep berry (Cremesheen)
- Dare You - deep brown red (Cremesheen)

Pro Longwear Lipglass - A longwearing Lipglass that goes on smooth and lasts for up to six hours! Envelops lips with shine and colour and pro-longs the hours between reappliction.
- Driven by Love - red-blue with slight pearl
- Lasting Achievement - mid-tone purple with slight pearl

Lip Pencil - A pencil designed for shaping, lining, or filling in the lip. Lip Pencils have a smooth, creamy texture that is perfect for lining the lips or filling them in. They are long-lasting and available in a wide selection of colours that each work well with many different lipstick shades.
- Beet - vivid reddish-pink
- Cherry - vivid bright bluish-red

Nail Lacquer - Revoluntionary new high gloss formula. Three long-wearing finishes - Cream, Sheer, and Frosted. Visibly different. Provides no-streak/no-chip finish. Contains conditioners and UV protection. Go hi-lacquer!
- Vintage Vamp - rich deep retro wine (Cream)
- Rougemarie - immodestly sexy red-bleu (Cream)

Love these reds! My favorite shade in this collection is the Lustre Lipstick in Cockney, a sheer neutral red shade. I do wonder how close this is to Ladybug, I already love this shade but I do wonder if I need to own both of them. I love the Hang-Up shade in the Lipstick too, this is a great deep berry that will work well for fall and winter. I can skip over the lip glosses, I'm not a huge fan of very pigmented, shiny red glosses. The same holds true for the Lip Pencils, I never use them and don't ever plan on starting. I do love both of the Nail Lacquer shades, I always am in the market for new reds and these are great reds to boot.

photo courtesy of MAC

Stila Kitten Collection

2012-01-26T10:16:00.000-05:00

Today we are looking at yet another collection however this one is a permanent offering from Stila and has been for several years now. Kitten at one time (and might still be) their best-selling eye shadow shade and it inspired a whole line of products in the same, ultra-flattering shade. Kitten is a pink champagne that somehow always manages to look great however I wear it or whatever look that I pair it up with, there are very few products that can make the same claims and that is one of the huge reasons that this is such an iconic product line. The only other shade that I can compare this to is the Midnight Cowboy shades from Urban Decay. Like Kitten, it has been used in all types of makeup items for the simple reason that it is a universally flattering shade and works well with the trends from every single season. I may buy new makeup shades every single season, but staples like this are the backbone of my collection...

Kitten is described as a "shimmering nude pink", it has a very shimmery finish and is an eye shadow that is best applied with a finger to build the shimmer and keep it in place. The eye shadow was the first product available in this shade and then the rest of the line followed. I often pair this eye shadow with bright lips or a more natural makeup look. I bought the eye shadow years ago at Sephora and I have never regretted this purchase, I want to order other products in the line. I am most interested in the lip gloss but I am betting that I could make the highlighter work well for me too.

Here are the products in the Kitten collection...

Eye Shadow - Inspire your inner artist and create a palette of color with Stila's award-winning eye shadows. Our assortment offers something for every Stila girl - from classic neutrals to the hippest, trend-setting shades in mattes and shimmers. Our award-winning shades are known for their high quality formula and texture which can be worn wet or dry. Each sold in pans so you can replace your own.

Lip Glaze - Want lips that get all the attention they deserve? Turn on the shine and you'll be turning heads with Stila's most popular lip gloss in our most iconic shade, Kitten! Cosmetics experts agree - this top seller is an essential addition to any beauty bag.

All Over Shimmer Powder - Introducing a gorgeous all over shimmer powder with Kitten and a pale iridescent pink. This multi-purpose powder instantly enhances the complexion with a fresh, radiant glow. Inspired by light, Stila's All Over Shimmer Duo in Kitten creates a luminous, youthful glow. Inspired by light, Stila's All Over Shimmer Duo in Kitten creates a luminous, youthful glow. Packaged in a convenient compact with mirror, this powder can be used as an eye shadow, highlighter, cheek color, and decollete. Enchances the complexion with natural, illuminating glow. Micro-fine particles adheres to skin, lasting all day. All-over-glow can be used on the eyes, cheeks, face, and decollete. Packaged in an easy-to-carry compact with mirror.

Glitter Eye Liner - Inspired by Stila's best-selling, award-winning Kitten eye shadow, this new Kitten Glitter Eye Liner instantly lights up your eyes with twinkling multi-pearl glitter. Kitten Glitter Eye Liner instantly lights up your eyes with twinkling multi-pearl glitter. Kitten Glitter Eye Liner gives lids a touch of sparkle with a unique combination of glitter in champagne, rose gold, bronze, gold, and pink. A glitter eye liner in Stila's best selling eye shadow shade Kitten. Thin brush is easy to use. Can be appiled to lashes, eye lids, etc. Contains chamomile - soothes the skin and improves skin elasticity

Silk Shimmer Gloss - Pure shimmer and glossy delight! The silk proteins make for smooth, moisture-rich wear, while ultra-fine pearl provides high shine and maximum comfort. Vitamins A, C, and E supply anti-oxidant protection for the healthiest lips. Silk fibers create smooth, luxurious, moisture-rich wear. Ultra-fine pearl shimmer for high-watt shine and impeccable comfort. Contains high levels of anti-oxidants, Vitamins A, C, E and minerals.

Smudge Pot - The verdict is in, and Smudge Pots take the prize for sexy eyes! This unique gel eye liner and shadow is an innovative alternative to traditional powder and liquid formulas. This clever little gel has an inky intensity that leaves powder shadows in the dust. A favorite for the sultry, smoky eye. Apply with a liner brush for razor-sharp precision or smudge it with your fingers for more complete coverage. Remember to always close the airtight lid to keep the gel soft and pliable.

All of the products in this collection are the same shade of pinky champagne shimmer, I bought the eye shadow years ago and have been using it for years. I don't know that I would buy the lip gloss in it, I don't think that this shade would be as flattering on me as the other products in this shade are. I would love to own the Smudge Pot in this collection to wear against strong lip looks. The last product that I want from this collection is the highlighter, this will be great to wear out at night.

Stila's Kitten is a cult product for many good reasons, it is a universally flattering shade and works with any eye or lip look that I can come up with. If you haven't tried this shade, I strongly suggest that you start with one of the eye makeup products and see how well it works!

photo courtesy of Stila

Dior Anselm Reyle Collection from Dior

2012-01-25T20:22:00.000-05:00

Chanel isn't the only company that released a second line this spring, Dior has followed suit with the Anselm Reyle Collection for Dior (actually Dior may have released their's first, according to some of the coverage that I have seen in fashion magazines). This is another very small collection, it is targeted to eyes and nails only, with a strong emphasis on the purple hues that have been so popular this winter and spring. This collection is actually a collaboration with German artist Anselm Reyle, apparently other companies are seeing how well MAC does these collaborations are going to start putting their own spin on it.

A bit of background on the artist, Anselm Reyle specializes in all types of mediums, especially paint and sculpture. He is best known as a master of abstract art and his use of foil as a medium in paintings. This series is called "foil paintings", that are created using "foil arranged and installed in colored perspex boxes". He best known series of sculptures are his version of traditional African tourist art, he takes what is traditionally sold in the marketplaces and puts his own spin on the artwork. I looked at several of the "foil paintings" online and they are simply magnificant, it is hard to believe that typical household foil can be formed into these intricate structures and paintings. I would love to see an exhibit of these works in person...guess this is yet another reason for me to move to New York City.

Here is the collaboration with Dior...

Anselm Reyle for Dior Eye Shadows Palette - A limited edition eye shadow palette created in partnership with the artist Anselm Reyle. With this exclusive, chic, and ultra-modern palette, the artist reinterprets one of his favourite themes, that of the camouflage motif, in a combination of daring and unusual shades. Hand pressed using traditional House of Dior expertise, it offers a variety of shimmering or matte looks in shades of violet, gray, and black for a sophisticated look.
- violet/gray/black

Anselm Reyle for Dior Dior Vernis - Striking shades of nail lacquers. The "Anselm Reyle for Dior" palette in complemented by a fun range of trend-setting nail lacquers in striking colours. Ultra Violet, Untitled Black, Pink Graffiti, Electric Blue, and Metallic Silver make up this electrifying range echoing Anselm Reyle's distinctive taste for fluorescent and saturated colours.
- Ultra Violet - bright blue lavender cream
- Untitled Black - true black cream
- Pink Graffiti - bright blue pink cream
- Metallic Silver - shimmering silver foil
- Electric Blue - bright blue cream

This might be one of the most beautiful eye palettes that has been released all season, it is another one that I would be afraid to use since it is so lovely. I would be more likely to purchase the nail polishes from this collection, with Ultra Violet and Metallic Silver being my favorites of the collection. I don't really need another metallic silver shade, I already own a great one from China Glaze and the silver foils aren't all that different. My big pick from this collection Ultra Violet, it is very unique and I don't own any type of shade that is even close to this.

I love that Dior collaborated with an artist to make a collection, I hope that all types of beauty companies take up this trend!

photo courtesy of Dior

Philosophy Valentine's Day 2012 Products

2012-01-23T11:00:00.000-05:00

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and it is time to begin shopping for the holiday. We all know that I am not a Valentine's Day person and tend to skip right over the actual holiday itself. However this does not stop me from buying all kinds of candy and body products that smell exactly like candy. candy Hearts are among my favorite kinds of candy so I tend to buy bags and bags of them at this time of the year. Philosophy has taken the scent of the Candy Hearts and based their entire Valentine's Day product line on it. This makes me want to buy everything in the collection so that I can use it all year round and enjoy the scent of the candies.

This line comes in a full sized 3-in-1, lotion, lip gloss and a set that contains smaller version of the items, wrapped up and ready to give to your Valentine or a good friend. I will be needing to buy the full sizes, otherwise I won't have enough to fill my candy heart cravings for the entire year.

The 3-in-1 is my top choice from the collection, I love Philosophy 3-in-1s and I think that they are among the best body washes available right now. "A luxurious three-in-one cleanser with a sweet candy fragrance. Show your valentine some love year-round with this multitasking cleanser and conditioner for hair and body. The shampoo and shower gel combin provides a multi-sensory bathing experience with a gentle formula great for everyday use. The rich, foaming lather leaves the body silky soft from head to toe and the candy heart scent will please and sugar lover." I don't even feel the need to elaborate any more as to why I must own this product, it smells like candy hearts!

The second item that I want from the collection is the full size body lotion, I go through lotions so fast in the winter months that I am actually considering purchase two of these so that I don't burn through it well before I have the body wash finished. "A silky, ultra-moisturizing lotion that melts into skin with a sweet candy fragrance. Wrap yourself in the delicious essence of Valentine's Day year-round with this luxuriously hydrating body lotion. The anti-oxidant rich formula is packed with natural oils and shea butter to help moisturize, soothe, and soften, while protecting against environmental attack. The lightweight texture absorbs easily into skin and the candy hearts fragrance lingers with the perfect blend of sweet and tart."

The Lip Shine is the last piece of the collection, I'm not a fan of Philosophy Lip Shines so I am betting that I can skip over this lip gloss. "A high gloss, high flavor lip shine in the sweet flavor of candy hearts. A must-have for Valentine's Day, Sweet Talk Candy Hearts Lip Shine is the perfect candy-flavored lip shine for sweet, kissable lips. This highly emollient lip shine hydrates lips, adds a smooth shine, and offers a sheer pink tint." This lip gloss shade is a "sheer pink sparkle". Pretty gloss but also pretty generic and I already own lots of pink lip glosses...

The set is called the Sweet Talk Trio, it contains the regular size in the lip gloss and smaller sizes in the body products. "A three piece set of lavish products for hair, body, and lips with a sweet, yet tart fragrance. Give your sweetie something to smile about with this trio of luxurious hydrating products. The three-in-one gel delicately cleanses skin and conditions the hair. The body lotion soothes and softens with a formula of natural oils, shea butter, and anti-oxidants. The highly emollient lip shine adds a sheer pink tint to any pout. A perfect blend of sweet and tart, the Candy Hearts fragrance will please any sugar lover."

I really want the full sizes in both of the body products, I want to have enough product to use it all year round instead of just at Valentine's Day. I can skip the lip gloss and I have no reason to by the set since I will be buying the full sizes. I many not enjoy this holiday but at least I can eay candy hearts and smell like them too!

photo courtesy of Sephora

Chanel Knightsbridge Collection

2012-01-22T10:30:00.000-05:00

As I was looking at the Chanel spring collection, I saw a second new collection on their website, the Knightsbridge Collection. The name Knightsbridge made me think of London and some of the places that I remember reading about in Agatha Christie books, I love the English and have always wanted to visit London. Therefore, I was very excited to check this collection out since all of the shades were inspired by London and named after well known areas of the city. This collection is very small, it consists only of one new blush shade and the rest are lip shades. There is lots of pinks in this collection so I am hoping that it contains some hits for me!

The Chanel website states, "Limited edition hues inspired by the rich and colourful spirit of London, exclusively on Chanel.com". Now I know not to go to the counter looking for this product line...

The Knightsbridge collection from Chanel...

Poudre Tissee - This exclusive creation, part of the limited edition Knightsbridge Collection, brings a radiant flush and iridescent shimmer to the face. A unique and flattering compact formula, the powder is decorated with the signature Chanel logo and an elegantly embossed surface.
- bright pink with light pink detailing

Rouge Allure - Hyde Park - The iconic Chanel lipstick debuts in an exclusive new shade - a vibrant coral pink named for a landmark Royal Park in London. This ultra-flattering hue is part of the limited edition Knightsbridge Collection.
- Hyde Park - warm medium coral pink cream

Rouge Allure - Belgravia - This new addition to the iconic Chanel lipstick collection dresses lips in a lustrous and vibrant rose hue. Part of the limited edition Knightsbridge Collection, the colour pays tribute to a region of London, rich with history and classic architecture.
- Belgravia - cool medium pink rose

Rouge Allure - Kensington - This lustrous lipstick formula is now rendered in a bold and brilliant fuchsia, inspired by London's most posh shopping districts. This vivid shade is part of the limited edition Knightsbridge Collection.
- Kensington - bold medium pink fuchsia

Glossimer - Chelsea - This brilliant pink lip gloss delivers the ultimate pop of colour, along with subtle shimmer and a high shine glow. Part of the limited edition Knightsbridge Collection, its striking hue is named for a thricing artistic and cultural area of London.
- Chelsea - bright pink shimmer

Chanel's new blush hues have been fanstatic this spring, I love this pink hue. I am just afraid that I would never use it because I wouldn't want to ruin the "C"s in the lighter pink shade. This is another one of the limited edition products from Chanel that is almost too beautiful to use and might just end up being a waste of money. So the verdict is up on this product for the moment. I love the Kensington Rouge Allure shade, I have really been into bright pink lip shade lately and this one will fit the bill perfectly.

I now want to go shopping in London. Perhaps I will bury myself in an Agatha Christie book and pretend that I lived in London during the 1930s...

photo courtesy of Chanel

Clinique Almost Lipstick

2012-01-21T12:54:00.000-05:00

This spring, Clinique has released new shades in their best selling Almost Lipstick product. This line used to consist of one shade, the cult favorite Black Honey, a lipstick shade that I have worn for years and always counted among one of my favorite lip shades ever. I often wished that more shades were available in this this formula and my wish has finally come true. This lip product is now available in a range of eight shades, from the palest pink all the way down to the traditional Black Honey shade. I have owned the original Black Honey shade for a long time now and I have already bought three of the new shades to go into the spring season. This formula is more hydrating than the average lipstick so these are a great product to use in the winter when my lips are very chapped and the shades will work all the way into the warm weather.
"Transparent pigment merges with the unique, natural tone of your lips to create something wonderful and yours alone. Sheer, glossy. Emollient-rich and very lightweight.", states the Clinique website when describing the product. This lipstick technically could be considered a tinted lip balm, each shade is sheer enough to be universally flattering, helping to create the coveted "my lips but better" look that never goes out of style. Black Honey remains the most pigmented of the shades, the new shades are easy to wear even if you never wear color on your lips.

The shades!

- Black Honey - deep plum red
- Chic Honey - deep berry
- Flirty Honey - bright pink
- Lovely Honey - warm medium rose
- Luscious Honey - bright pink coral
- Shy Honey - cool pale pink
- Spicy Honey - warm medium beige
- Tender Honey - neutral medium bronze

We have already talked in detail about Black Honey so I am not going to revisit this shade today. I purchased the Flirty Honey, Chic Honey, and Shy Honey. Flirty Honey is my favorite of the shades, it is a sheer bright pink that will be best in the spring and summer months. It is a bi too bright to wear already so I will be putting it away after testing it out. This one is the most pigmented of the three that I bought and works well against many skin tones. Chic Honey is a shade that is best for the fall and winter months, this one is a deep berry. It isn't all that different than Black Honey, maybe a shade or two lighter. If you already own Black Honey, you don't really need this one but I don't regret buying it because it will be another staple for me in the cool weather months. Shy Honey is the least pigmented of the three, I get a very sheer pink tint on my lips. If your lips are very pigmented to begin with, you will get next to no color from this shade. I like this shade but it is the only one that I doubt that I will repurchase since it is just so sheer.

All of the shades applied well, the formula is creamy and hydrating. This formula makes chapped, dry lips look and feel much better. This formula contains some of the most universal shades on the market today and I am confident that everyone will find at least one shade that they love from these. My initial favorite when I saw pictures was the Shy Honey (the really light pink), I went to the counter to buy that one and Chic Honey. I grabbed Flirty Honey as an afterthought when I was being rung out and that one ended up being my favorite of the group.

photo courtesy of Sephora

China Glaze Spring 2012 - Electropop

2012-01-20T09:07:00.000-05:00

Coming on top of the new NARS collection, my excitement for the spring collections just keep building with the release of the new collection from China Glaze. I missed out on the spring collection last year from this collection, when I finally looked at the swatches on Scrangie's blog, I realized that it could have been one of my favorite collections of that seasons. I love the pale blues and greens in that collection and I search for shades from that collection each time that I visit Ulta and Sally Beauty Supply. I feel like I have been waiting for the spring China Glaze collection since the beginning of the winter and it is finally here! It isn't up yet on the Ulta or Sally Beuaty website but at least I can begin deciding what shades that I want to buy so I can order as soon as they come to those stores!

This collection is called Electropop and it is a breath of fresh air and holds promises of spring. I have been wearing deep blues, reds, and purples the past few weeks and this collection gets me very excited for a change of scenery, I need some new pastel polishes this spring and this collection will be my starting point for shopping. Mixed in with the pastels in this collection, China Glaze introduced a few new bright shades that will tempt me also. I have bought so many deep jewel toned polishes since the beginning of the fall that I just want to wear some different shades.

Here is the spring collection from China Glaze!

- Kinetic Candy - pale blue-gray cream
- Electric Beat - medium periwinkle blue cream
- Aquadelic - bright aqua cream
- Gaga for Green - medium cool green cream
- Sunshine Pop - bright yellow shimmer
- Make Some Noise - bright warm coral jelly cream
- Wicked Style - bright pink berry cream
- Fuchsia Fanatic - bright fuchsia cream
- Gothic Lolita - medium cool lilac shimmer
- Dance Baby - pale pink cream
- Sweet Hook - pale lilac cream
- Techno - clear base with multi sizes of silver glitter

I can't decide if Kinetic Blue or Sweet Hook is my favorite shade, I love both of them and they both fill gaps in my nail polish collection and will both make my Most Wanted list for the upcoming month. I can't wait to wear some of these great cool-toned pastels on my nails this spring. I'm not really taken with any of the brights, so I will just be skipping to the pastels from this collection. The other shades that I like are: Dance Baby, Gothic Lolita (love the name!), and Electric Beat.
I am just so ready to add some new pastels to my nail polish collection and fill in some holes!

photo courtesy of China Glaze

NARS Spring 2012 Collection

2012-01-19T09:03:00.000-05:00

The collection that I have been waiting for ever since the beginning of the spring collection releases! I have always loved NARS and go through phases where I buy tons of the stuff from them and I have a feeling that with the release of this new collection that one of these phases is beginning again. Lately i have been buying blushes, lipstick, and nail polishes and NARS made great shades in every single one of these products especially blushes. It doesn't matter that I just ordered a few new blush shades from Illamasqua, I will still find some that I want from this collection and will end up buying many of these too. When I first look at the collection page, I immediately see some great pink shades, one of my favorite new trends for the spring season.

Here is the new collection from NARS...

Trio Eye Shadow - A trio of harmonious color combinations of eye shadow shades. Worn alone or all together, all Trio Eye Shadow shades feature micro-fine poweders that are highly pigmented, longwearing, and crease-resistant. Color glides on smoothly, evenly, and blends effortlessly. True color application. Can be applied dry or with a dampened brush for stronger intensity. Multi-function; use for shading, lining, and highlighting the eyes.
- Douce France - icy pink/rose petal pink/deep rose

Duo Eye Shadow - Modern, unique, sometimes unexpected color combinations of eye shadow shades. Worn alone or together, all Duo Eye Shadow shades feature micro-fine powders that are highly pigmented, longwearing, and crease resistant. Color glides on smoothly, evenly, and blends effortlessly. The effects can be subtle or smoldering - the options are endless. True color application. Can be applied dry or with a dampened brush for stronger intensity. Multifunctional use for shading, lining, and highlighting the eyes.. Classic, neutral, and fashion-forward shade pairings.
- Paramaribo - metallic brass/metallic bronze
Shimmer Eye Shadow - Highly pigmented, velvety-matte, ultra-fine powders for shading, creating depth, and lining eyes. Long-wearing, crease-resistant colors glide on smoothly and evenly and blend effortlessly. Can be applied sheer or layered for a more dramatic effect. True color application. Can be applied dry or with a dampened brush for stronger intensity. Multi-function; use for shading, lining, and brow color. Rich, vivid shade range, from neutrals to high fashion hues.
- Lhasa - lavender gray

Soft Touch Shadow Pencil - Soft Touch Shadow Pencils provide easy, portable, long-wearing application. These jumbo-sized pencils have versatile functionality to shade the lid, line, or highlight the eye. Smooth, creamy texture delivers a smooth, velvety feel to the eye and make for easy blending and an ideal base for layering with a powder shadow for increased color intensity. Portable application. Smooth, creamy, long-wearing formula. Easy and seamless blending. Ideal base for layering with powder eye shadow to increase color intensity.
- Dark Rite - navy

Blush - The ultimate authority in blush, NARS offers the industry's most iconic shades for cheeks. Natural, healthy-looking color that immediately enlivens the complexion. A light application of even the highest intensity hues delivers a natural-looking finish. Silky texture in matte and shimmery shades. Micronized powder ensures soft, blendable application. Iconic NARS shades.
- Gaiety - bright candy pink

Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil - Gorgeously glossy color in a jumbo lip pencil. Spectacular shine in an innovative, lightweight formula and enriched with Vitamin E plus a blend of moisture-rich hyaluronic spheres that make lips appear fuller. Ultra-smooth, buttery on lips. Contains Vitamin E, hyaluronic spheres, and phytosterol esters; ingredients known to moisturize, increase hydration, and improve barrier function. Convenient, easy application.
- Mexican Rose - hot pink

Lipstick - A lustrous, long-wearing lipstick infused with conditioners to provide comnfortable wear and sumptuously, silky color. Smooth, ultra comfortable wear. Sophisticated shade range. Patented blend of conditioners and anti-oxidants hydrate, nourish, and protect lips.
- Bilbao - shimmering topaz

Pure Matte Lipstick - Bright. Bold. Perfectly matte. This super-rich lipstick provides high impact payoff: an ultra-pigmented, long-wearing formula that glides on effortlessly with comfortable wear. Contains wild mango butter, known to provide advanced moisturizing properties to repair dryness and scaling. Long-wearing application. Enriched with Vitamin E and acai oil for anti-oxidant benefits.
- Valparaiso - rich raspberry

Shimmer Nail Polish - Fashion-forward and classic NARS Nail Polish shades impart incredible luster and prolonged gloss rentention with UV protection to prevent polish discoloration. An advanced polymer system provides extended wear and a durable, chip-resistant finish. Modern, iconic shades. Long-wearing, chip-resistant. Toulene, formaldehyde, and DBP-free.
- Diamond Life - metallic violet

And from this collection I want...blush, nail polish, and lipstick! It looks like NARS will just continue to fuel my obsession with these products. My favorite piece of the collection is the Gaiety blush shade, I love the bright pink and this will be very flattering with my skintone. My other favorites are the Diamond Life Nail Polish and the Pure Matte Lipstick in Valparaiso (I think this is the shade that the model for the collection is wearing), this shade will be wasy to wear all year round and could easily become a staple in my collection. I think that the Trio Eye Shadow is very pretty and I would like to add it to my collection but it's not the end of the world if I don't buy it.

The rest of the collection is a bit too warm for me, especially the new Lipstick shade so I can safely skip on the rest of the collection. I love NARS and this collection will be ushering in another phase of major NARS shopping. Also NARS is coming up on the first anniversary of the opening of their first flagship store in New York City so I am hoping that this company might bring out something special to celebrate!

photo courtesy of NARS

Thierry Mugler A*Men

2012-01-18T13:40:00.000-05:00

Right after my last semester ended, I reread Perfumes: The Guide from Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez, a book that details almost every single fragrance currently on the market and gives a background on many of the large perfume houses and the science behind the making of the fragrances. In addition to providing lots of information on fragrance, the book also makes recommendations of what the authors feel are some of the best crafted fragrances. One of their choices as the best crafted fragrances is the Angel line from Thierry Mugler, they recommend all of the fragrances in the line including the mens ' version of the fragrance. That fragrance is recommended for both genders, a fact that surprised me and made me want to out a mens fragrance on my skin.

I have never tried to wear a mens fragrance before, I know many women that love mens or unisex fragrances but I have always preferred girly floral scents, none of which smell anything like I would imagine a man wearing. The Angel line of fragrances are considered to be gourmands, so I thought that this one might be a fragrance that would work for me also. The mens's version contains all fo the gourmand notes in the original version but lightens it up a bit with mint and lavender notes. I was seeing this as a lighter, easier to wear version of Angel.

I love the description that is given in Perfumes: The Guide so we will start with this and then go into the actual fragrance description and notes from the Sephora website. From Perfumes: The Guide; "Angel was at once the inspiration for dozens of perfumes and a devilishly hard act to follow. To this day, of all the progeny only three stand out: Lolita Lempicka, Angel Innocent, and A*Men. The dissonance at the heart of the original lay between the floral base and the remainder of the fragrance, a chocolate oriental. This irreconcilable difference, this clash at a crossroads between two marching bands playing different tunes, was what made Angel unforgettably great. Jacques Huclier has managed to reinterpret that effect brilliantly. Instead of flowers, he gives one band a herbaceous lavender-mint chord brightened by aldehydes. In the other, he reinforces the roasted section with caramel, coffee, and tar. The result, while much less radiant than Angel (thank God for that), has the same wonderful, simultaneously poisonous and delicious eat-me-and-die feel as the original. Hard to imagine on a guy, but a great feminine."

The official fragrance description from Sephora, "Angel Men, the first perfume for men by Thierry Mugler, offers an unexpected shock or woody and fiery notes. When creating Angel Men, Thierry Mugler was inspired by a vision of an imaginary hero moving through a legendary universe in which the past, present, and future merge." The notes of the fragrance are: Lavender, Bergamot, Helional, Aldehydes, Peppermint, Roasted Coffee, Patchouli, Caramel, Tonka Bean, Tar, Musk, Vanilla, Chocolate.

This fragrance was not quite what I had in mind, my body chemistry was at odds with this scent. The first spary of it produced the strong lavender scent and then went right into the chocolate notes. It was ok at first but as soon as the coffee, tonka bean, and tar notes began to develop, the fragrance became very strong on my skin and completely changed. The coffee and tar notes really stood out and made the fragrance nauseating on me, one of my friends couldn't even stand next to me after I applied it. I don't know if mens' fragrance are stronger in general or if the fragrances from this designer are very strong in general (the traditional Angel is) but this one was so strong that I couldn't breathe around it. This fragrance was too masculine for me, but I imagine that it would be too feminine on most men, this is a fragrance that doesn't really fit into the traditional fragrance mold and therefore is among one of the hardest to wear. This isn't a fragrance that works with my chemistry but I would lovely to smell someone who can wear it well!

photo courtesy of Sephora

Benefit Total Moisture Face Cream

2012-01-17T11:37:00.000-05:00

This is yet another post from my Sephora skincare hauls of the last few months! This started as a deluxe Beauty Insider sample from Sephora and then I quickly ordered the full size in it. I have never associated Benefit with skincare and I tend to head right to their brightly colored makeup displays in Sephora and at their counters in department stores. I am doubting that I ever would have tried their skincare had I not gotten this sample from Sephora, it even lives in the shadows on the brand's page on the Sephora website. I wasn't expecting all that much from this skin cream, I kind of assumed that Benefit released a skincare line just to grab a few extra dollars and I never saw it mercendised or recommended in my local Sephora. And what happens when we assume?! This a lovely skin cream for those of us with normal to dry skin that need a bit of extra moisture at night or during the coldest days of the winter, in fact I have just ordered another jar of this since I am getting low heading into the coldest days of the winter.

"A hydra-concentrated facial cream with tri-radiance complex. Formulated for normal to dry skin, this concentrated facial cream provides immediate and long-term hydration for an ultra-radiant complexion. It contains an exclusive "tri radiance complex" to help develop the skin's reserves of water and reinforce skin's moisture barrier. This product contains natural plant-based squalene and mango butter emollients."

This is thick and very hydrating face cream, I use it at night currently but I might start using it during the day too if the weather gets even colder and drier. I use enough of this cream to cover one of my fingertips and that is enough for me to cover my whole face. I love that this cream is very concentrated, it absorbs very quickly and helps hydrate my face. This is much higher quality skin cream than I ever expected to see from this company.

Squalene is one of the key ingredients in this face cream. Squalene is a plant-based hydrating ingredient and is one of the most common hydrating ingredients on the market today. It is a fat molecule so it helps to hydrate the skin and to hold the moisture in by strengthing skin's natural moisture barrier. This ingredient also has anti-oxidant properties to help protect the skin all year round. The Sephora website doesn't give any more details about the "tri-radiance complex" so I decided to check for more information on the Benefit website. It gives very few details also except that it states that the squalene si part fo the complex so I am going to guess that this cream is formulated to act as an anti-oxidant and to protect skin as it hydrates. Mango butter is another plant-based emollient to help hydrate and protect the skin. I believe that mango butter is what helps to give this cream its thick texture.

This cream has one drawback, for me it is not that much of an issue but for others it could be. This product has a very noticeable floral fragrance, I like it but if you are sensitive to fragrance than you would not be able to stand using this product. I have complained about this before in skincare products, I prefer little to no fragrance since a fragrancve can ruin an otherwise amazing product. This isn't the hugest issue and doesn't detract from the product performance but it is something that could be improved on.

Next time that you visit the Benefit counter, look past the blushes and mascara and give this cream a try. I found their skincare to be quite impressive and on par with some of their best makeup items.

photo courtesy of Sephora

Urban Decay Spring 2012 Collection

2012-01-16T13:40:00.000-05:00

I knew that a let down was coming for the spring makeup season and I believe that it is here. The new collection from Urban Decay is very small and actually doesn't contain any new products. The company released new shades of some of their best selling products, which is good in that I know that whatever I like is tried and tested and worth a purchase but I know that I am not going to find my next Holy Grail product in this group. I also dislike how little organization this new collection has, there is no theme to the collection and almost no rhyme or reason as to what products and shades were chosen for it. I really hate when a collection consists of random products and shades that are grouped together and called a collection. Is it all that difficult to come up with a group of products with a theme and then provide a name for the whole collection?

This collection consists of a few new lip shades, a new concealer, and a few new shades of their famed 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil. I was kind of wondering if Naked 2 was going to be part of this since it slowly coming back into stock but I guess that it was released too early to be part of this collection. I bet it will be part of the collection on the Sephora website since they have finally begun to stock it in their stores and on their website. This collection includes the release of Perversion in the 24/7 Glide On Liner, a shade that has previously been available in their best selling eye shadow formula.

Here are the new items from Urban Decay...

24/7 Concealer - Hide dark circles and blemishes with our creamy formula that dries matte and stays put. Because it's a pencil, it's easy to apply with precision. A concealer in pencil form equals precise application, and less mess - no brush, no dipping your finger into a pot, or squeezing a dollop onto a sponge. Dot on tiny blemishes, or shade in large problem areas (like redness around the nose and chin). The creamy formula blends easily, then dries down to a smudge-free matte finish.
- CIA - light ivory
- DEA - ivory beige
- FBI - neutral beige
- NSA - deep beige
- ATF - creamy brown
- DOD - reddish brown
- KGB - orangish dark brown
- MI6 - deepest brown

24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil - Creamy, forever lasting, award winning, and waterproof, 24/7 Pencils delight you with lush tropical hues, deep metallics, and unusally vibrant neutrals. The best eye pencil ever, ever, ever! Never before has a pencil this creamy and brilliant been waterproof, too. Velvety-soft, this never-before-seen formula stays soft and creamy for blending (about 30 seconds), then dries down to a long-lasting finish that will not budge. Line eyes with a hint of color or go for the full artistic, multi-hued effect with the wide selection of lush tropical hues, deep metallics, and unusually vibrant neutrals. Incredible with Urban Decay Eye Shadows. Created with 50% moisturizing ingredients suspended in a sophisticated waterproof formula, 24/7 Eye Pencils offer long-lasting color and a dreamy, creamy feel when applied. With Jojoba Oil, Vitamin E, and Cottonseed Oil.
- Perversion - blackest-black matte
- Woodstock - sparkly hot pink with silver micro-glitter
- Demolition - deep brown with matte finish

Pocket Rocket Lip Gloss - Undress our men with the flick of your wrist. Pocket Rocket Lip Gloss combines two of our favorite things: naked dudes and gorgeous lip color. Undress our men with the flick of your wrist! Inside the cap of our custom tube is a photo of a yummy man. Tilt the tube back and forth to strip them to their undies (We've even included front and rear photos). Whether you swoon for a future senator or a tree hugger, one of our men is sure to please you. Our guys make awesome gifts for bachelorette parties, baby showers, or bdays.
- Rashad - medium cool pink (sheer)
- Dustin - nude with iridescent fleck

Super Saturated High Gloss Lip Color - Sephora only. Urban Decay's creamiest, most sumptuously pigmented lip pencil. This formula delivers all the opaque, saturated, high impact color of your favorite lipstick and an arresting high gloss finish in one chubby pencil. And with a dynamic bright to deep shade range in creamy and sparkly textures, the runway ready possibilites are endless. Even the glittery hues in this collection of high gloss lip pencils feel smooth on your lips (and leave not a trace of sparkle grit). This conveniently portable pencil's high gloss shine can be blotted for a more stain-like effect, but no matter how you wear it, the color lasts. Free of mineral oil and paraffin, this contains plant-derived ingredients that nourish lips. Because the barrels and boxes are color-matched to each shade, locating the color you want it easy, even in the deep dark depths of an oversize tote.
- Apocalyse - deep plum
- Lovechild - pale pink

This collection is a total letdown, this might be the first Urban Decay collection that I want nothing from. I wouldn't mind having the pink shade of the new Pocket Rocket gloss line but I can live without it, it's not a must have. I'm not interested in any of the other lip products and I can skip the eye liners too. I have the Zero shade already and when I am done with this pencil, I would consider checking Perversion out but I don't really need to add yet another black eye liner to my collection at the moment. I don't care for the concealer pencil, I use full coverage creams and liquids, I need coverage for larger areas then just a blemish or two. I know that this one states that it can be used on larger areas but its doesn't look as though it will work well and it will take much longer with this type of formula.

Hope summer collection is much better than this one...

photo courtesy of Urban Decay

Clinique Colour Surge Eye Shadow Trio

2012-01-15T10:16:00.000-05:00

I havent given much love to Clinique eye shadow lately, I have been using almost exclusively Urban Decay, Tarte, and MAC shadows. Clinique is best known for their skincare products especially those that are formulated for sensitive or easily irritated skin types. I have been using both their face cream and the Almost Lipstick a lot lately which made my remember the Eye Shadow Trio that I have and love from this collection. I hadn't had some of the best experiences with this company's shadow so I skipped over them when I was buying foundation and lip gloss one day at the counter. The counter was having some type of event and one of the makeup artists really wanted to do my eye makeup with a new trio that had just had just released. I had some time so I was more than happy to give her the chance to play with it.

Currently there are only four Eye Shadow Trios available from Clinique, a bit depressing sine I think that these are some of the better eye makeup combinations from this company. "Three coordinating shades of velvety, shimmery colour to help create a wardrobe of looks, from subtle to dramatic. Creamy, intense shadows build quickly, blend easily for lasting colour. Wear them alone, as paired or layered together. Ophthamolgist tested." This trio contains three coordinating shadow shades, the highlighting shade takes up half the compact, since most people tend use the most of that shade. The compact comes with a double-sided applicator, one side is a sponge tip and the other is a soft fan brush (overall applicator is too small to be useful and mine ended up in the trashcan).

The four shades available in the Trio...

- Totally Neutral - classic neutral beige partnered with a deep grayed brown and midtone muted khaki gray
- Blushing Nude - palest neutral peach partnered with a midtone muted brown and tan with a hint of pink
- Come Heather - soft heathery violet partnered with a deep purple and a pale peach
- Ebb and Flow - palest blue green partnered with a midtoned seafoam and a blackened teal

I own Ebb and Flow, a more colorful trio then I tend to pick out. I would typically use one colored shade with two neutral shades instead of doing thee colored shades. Sometimes it pays to let someone else try something new out on you. If left to my own devices I am willing to bet that I would have picked out any of the shades but Ebb and Flow. I use the pale blue green shade as the highlighter, the seafoam in my crease, and then the blackened teal on my lid or as a liner. This trio is striking enough to draw attnetion to my eyes but is still muted enough to be professional and use in a work setting. The highlighter shade is the least pigmented of the three and is my least favorite, if I don't use a primer underneath it then it is barely visible on my skin. The black teal shade is one of the most unique that I own and I wish that it was available in an eye liner formula.

I hope that Clinique brings out more shades in this trio, I love the format and the way that the shades are put together. I think Clinique will have a hit on their hands if more shades of this product are released over the next few seasons.

photo courtesy of Clinique

Dior Spring 2012 Collection - Garden Party

2012-01-14T19:30:00.000-05:00

Garden Party from Dior is one of the most hyped collections of the spring and I have been seeing hints of it since the middle of December. This collection is a full color collection that is based on spring flowers, it contains pastel hues and lots of pinks and purple shades. This collection reminds me a lot of the Chanel spring collection with all the pink hues in it, I loved that one and I expect to love this one also. Garden Party contains a palette called the Garden Clutch which I am already in love with and completely demonstrates the pride that Dior puts into its product presentation and packaging.

Here is the Garden Party collection from Dior!

Garden Clutch - A lip and eye palette for a fresh look. A pale pink case with a delicate woven decoration, and two silver-plated rosebud clasps. The Dior Garden Clutch is a precious accessory inspired by Dior's jewelry making expertise. The case opens to reveal the must-haves for fresh, radiant eyes and lips. Three eye shadow shades to light up and emphasize the eyes and two lip glosses, one to enhance the lips, the other to give them color.
- Milly Garden - dark gray/light gray/cool bone/pale pink shimmer/medium pink cream

5 Couleurs Garden Edition - The legendary 5 Couleurs palette has been reinvented in a superb collector version: the shadows have been delicately embossed with a rose motif as if they have been hand-embroidered in the Dior Couture Ateliers. Two palettes feature a range of fresh pastel harmonies, one in luminous green, the other in violets and delicate shades of pink.
- Garden Pastels - shades of greens and pale pink
- Garden Roses - shades of lilacs and pinks

3 Couleurs - Dior has reinvented the smoky eye thanks to a new 3 Couleurs Smoky palette. A chiaro-scuro variations of effects and textures, this eye shadow trio provides infinite, easy, custom-made smoky eyes. This original case reveals the secret of smoky "catwalk" eyes. Its sliding lid is as astonishing as it is intelligent, revealing an innovative, pop-up mirror. Inside, an ultra-smooth base prepares the eyelid. The matte and iridescent shadows of this duo provide made-to-measure make up from the most simple pret-a-porter, to the most glamourous Couture looks.
- Smoky Navy - deep navy matte/medium navy blue shimmer/pale sky blue matte

Skinflash Primer - Radiance boosting makeup primer. Inspired by backstage makeup technique, Skinflash Primer is an anti-fatigue remedy for a complexion that glows with beauty and light. In one stroke of a brush, skin is smoothed and signs of fatigue and a dull complexion are swept away. Created with the latest discoveries in optics, Photo-Smart Pigments boast photochromic properties that attract the light and optimally diffuse it over the complexion. These pigments are able to adapt to all types of lighting and blend seamlessly into any skintone with one universal illuminating shade. The formula's energizing and conditioning texture instantly restores freshness and vitality to a tired complexion. Your skin will be left with a flawless surface - full of vitality and perfectly prepped for the application of foundation.

Diorskin Blush - Rosy Glow reacts with the moisture in each skin type, giving a delicious and subtle blush to the cheeks. When applied, the initially fresh, light color develops into a rosy blush to suit each individual complexion, for an ultra-natural, tailor-made healthy glow that lasts all day.
- Rosy Glow - medium rose

Rouge Dior - Rouge Dior is a wardrobe of 32 sublime shades directly inspired by the deep, luxurious colors of Dior Haute Couture gowns to reveal all the beauty of triumphant and radiant feminity! Instantly and day after day, this exceptional lipstick offers the lips the extreme splendor of full, smooth and perfectly defined youthfulness. The secret? A new generation of plumping hyaluronic acid microspheres. Generously coated with pigments on the lip surface, they help boost the radiance and depth of color. In a midnight blue Haute Couture case, with the canework motif dear to the brand, unveils the "Haute Couleur" stick, made even more extraordinary due to its unique shine and its engraved CD signature.
- Pisanelle Pink - medium neutral pink cream

Dior Addict - Straight from the runway, new Dior Addict Ultra Gloss features a featherweight formula with a flash-plumping, "spotlight shine" effect. Hyaluronic spheres keep lips smooth and moisturized, while mirror-like micropearls reflect light in all directions for a dazzling finish! Available in 18 catwalk colours, and 3 unique shade formulas, soft Glow, shimmering Pearl, and vibrant Flash
- Black-Tie Plum - deep cool plum shimmer

Dior Vernis - Dior creates a stir with these limited edition scented nail polishes. Two fresh shades, soft green and flowery lilac that upon drying, release an intoxicating rose fragrance.
- Waterlily - pale mint green shimmer
- Forget-Me-Not - medium lilac cream

I am on the fence with the rose scented nail polishes, I love the scent of roses but scented nail polish reminds me of a polish formula that I would have loved in middle school. I am willing to bet that either the polish is so scented that it gets in the way of other fragrances or it is so weak that you can only smell it when you put your hand right up to your nose. And how often do we have time to do that during the day? Nice concept but it wouldn't make me buy the polishes unless I liked the shades to begin with.

I don't need to restate that my face piece of the collection is the Garden Clutch palette, it is a rare combination of both great packaing and lovely shades for lips and eyes. This is one of the few makeup palettes that is lovely enough to set on my dresser to display. I love the Garden Roses eye palette, the pinks and lilacs will be perfect for the spring season. I can skip the other palette since I don't wear greens all that much. The blush is another top choice of mine, I want to try this one out at the counter and I hope that it turns the perfect rose shade on me. I had wanted the Rouge Dior in Pisanelle Pink a few months ago but never got around to purchasing it, perhaps this would be a good time to follow up on this shade.
I love these collections witth all the pinks in them, however they are best for pale cool skintones and they are slightly polarizing since not everyone can wear these shades very well.

photo courtesy of Dior

Philosophy Amazing Grace

2012-01-13T07:53:00.000-05:00

Philosophy's Amazing Grace is one of the fragrances that I put in the same category as Pink Sugar, wore it in my early 20s and now cannot wear any of the perfume versions of it. These two fragrances have been best sellers for Sephora for years and I remember seeing then recommended to me as Top Picks when I first began ordering from there in college. I bought my first bottle of Amazing Grace right after I got out of college and wore it religiously for several months, this actually is one of the bottles of perfume that I finished all the way to the last drop. Wearing a fragrance all the time eventually burned me out on it and once the bottle was done, I put off buying another one until the next season. And then the next season. I never did end up buying that second bottle of perfume and instead bought it for my mother for Christmas. Then she wore it almost everyday too...

Amazing Grace is the most popular fragrance for Philosophy and I believe that it was one of their first fragrances, if not their first fragrance. I do know that it is their best selling and is available in the widest range of bath and body products of any scent from this company. I may be done with the fragrance but I still list the body products among my favorites, exactly the same fate as the Pink Sugar fragrance. This clean soapy floral fragrance is great any time of the year and I love picking up new products in this scent as they are released.

The Philosophy website provides a great description of the fragrance and the Sephora website fills in the blanks of the fragrance notes. "Embrace your beauty, and express your feminity with Amazing Grace spray fragrance. Our best-selling, amazingly clean, beautifully feminine scent." Sephora states that this fragrance is "a uniquely feminine blend of soft, floral blossoms accented by a hint of light musk."

I bought this fragrance is the EDT and the 3 in 1, I want to buy both of the hydrators that have been released in this fragrance too. The EDT was my favorite piece of the product line initially but now it is the 3 in 1. The fragrance mist was very light and I mostly wore it in the spring and summer months. This fragrance smelled very soapy when I first sprayed it on, then the florals came out within the hour. After about two or three hours, the musk came out and then the fragrance wore off soon after. I got many compliments on this fragrance but it still never managed to be one of my favorites, I think it is because I smelled this fragrance all the time when I was walking down the street or at work and the appeal of it wore off. Speaking of wearing off, this fragrance has one of the worst staying powers of any fragrance that I owned, it lasts less than three hours and I have to touch it multiple times during the day. The lasting power is a big reason why I went through a medium sized bottle of this scent so quickly.

There is nothing wrong with this fragrance, but it just isn't unique enough for me. I still like using the body products but I associate this product with college and it being a fragrance of the masses. Another fragrance relegated to my fragrance graveyard...

photo courtesy of Philosophy

The Body Shop Chamomile Gentle Eye Makeup Remover

2012-01-12T09:40:00.000-05:00

A new eye makeup remover is another one of my skincare spree purchases! For the first time in ages, I have used up my stash of Caudalie Cleansing Water and decided that I should try out a new product. I love the Cleansing Water but I wanted to see what else is out there and I knew that I could always return to my beloved Caudalie product if others didn't meet my standards for getting my makeup off without irritating my eye area. I considered the famed Lancome eye makeup remover but I decided to try something that is a bit more natural and has a formula that is a bit closer to the Caudalie formula. the last thing that I wanted to do with this experiment is made my eye area red, itchy, and irritated. Thinking along these lines, I decided to order The Body Shop's Chamomile Eye Makeup Remover from the Sephora website.

The Body Shop's skin and body product line are considered part of the Sephora "natural and organic" line and are recommended for sensitive, easily irritated skin like my own. I tried to find this product on the Sephora website again when I went to write this post however I can't find it so I got the details from The Body Shop's website. "Float the day away with refreshing rosewater to gently cleanse and dissolve eye makeup. Also conditions lashes so they feel soft and silky."

I give eye makeup remover quite a challenge on a daily basis, I use all kinds of primers under my eye shadows and at least two coats of mascara a day. I have had many eye makeup removers that can only make a dent in getting all of my eye makeup off and I have to try and get the rest of it off in the shower with my regular face wash. Which I hate doing since I don't feel that face wash can get eye makeup off and I don't like using it that closely around my eye area. I have been using this new eye makeup remover for the past week and so far it has been performing better than I thought that it would.

This eye makeup remover effectively gets all of my eye makeup off with the first swipe of the cotton ball. I do have to use a second swipe to get the rest of my mascara off from underneath my eyes but this is normal for me. The product has a light scent, with the chamomile and the rosewater combining into a nice herbal fragrance. This fragrance doesn't bother me at all and unless you are super sensitive to fragrance, then it shouldn't be an issue for anyone. I love how gentle this product is and how it doesn't bother my eyes at all. So far, this is only the second natural eye makeup remover that I have found that effectively gets my eye makeup off and doesn't irritate my eyes at the same time.

My only complaint about this product is the packaging and it's not even that big of a complaint. The bottle is short and fat and I feel that it might involve a lot of shaking and squeezing to get product out as I get to the end of the product. I prefer the Caudalie Cleansing Water bottle, it is tall and skinny and the product is very easy to get out until the very last drop. This is a small complaint but it is the only thing that I would change about this product.

photo courtesy of The Body Shop

Bath and Body Works Escape to the Tropics

2012-01-11T10:58:00.000-05:00

We have been seeing the spring makeup collections releasing and it was only a short time before the spring lines in body products began to follow. The first new collection of fragrances that Bath and Body Works released is called Escape to the Tropics and it is a needed breath of fresh air now that winter is full upon us, with no signs of spring coming up anytime soon. This collection is very close to the Island Escape collection that was released at this time last year. I loved it then and I know that I will love this line too. This line consists of three fragrances, two of which are returning scents from last year and one that is brand new. The two returning scents were my favorites from last year and even though I still have a bit left over from last year but I know that I will buy some more this year since I loved them so much last winter.

The first of the returning fragrances is Bali Mango, one of the best mango scents that I have used in quite awhile. The Body Shop's Mango line is still my favorite mango scent ever and is the most realistic, it is the true mango without any other notes added to it. However, the Bali Mango is a close second favorite of mine and that it why I will be stocking up on some more of it this time around. "An exotic getaway of juicy mango, sugar cane, pink passion flower, and luscious nectarine." The top notes are: Tangerine, Asian Apple, Peony. The middle notes of the fragrance are: Thai Lychee, Passion Flower, Pink Rose, Nectarine. The bottom notes are: Raspberry Coulis, Skin Musk, Sugar Woods. This is crisp, sweet mango scent and it is one of the stronger mango scents that I have used. This is simply one of the best "tropical" scents that is available right now and if you like mango scents then you will want to buy yourself a few bottles of it.

The second scent is another one that was offered last year however it is under a different name this time around. Last year, you might remember it being called Hawaii Coconut and this year it is named Aruba Coconut. Last year, this was my favorite of the three scents and I bought more than enough of it to last me the whole year, but I know that I will be buying more of it this time around. "An island blend of creamy coconut, exotic lychee, and white musk." The top notes of the fragrance are: Juicy Thai Mango, Fuji Apple, White Nectarine. The heart notes are: Passionflower, Vanilla Orchid, Casaba Melon. The base notes are: Coconut Cream, Tahitian Vanilla, Indonesian Sandalwood. This is one of my favorite coconut scents, it is very different from many of the others on the market today. Most coconut scents are warm and creamy but this one is a bit more crisp with the Melon and Orchid notes in it. This scent is less of a true coconut but more of a tropical floral with a coconut note in it. I just love this fragrance so much and I can't wait to buy more it this time around!

The new fragance for this year is Rio Rumberry and it is the only one that I don't like, it is a berry scent and I normally don't like berry scents.  Being that this is berry scent, I knew that I wouldn't like it as soon as I read the description on the Bath and Body Works website and it was confirmed when I smelled the fragrance for the first time. This a very sweet berry scent, if you like berry scents then you will love this one. "An exotic blend of tropical berries, fresh papaya, and vanilla blossom." The top notes are: Thai Papaya, Tangelo, Fresh Coconut Water, Sparkling Summer Lemon. The middle notes are: Tiare Flower Plumeria, Watery Starfruit.  The bottom notes of the fragrance are: Coconut Cream, Tahitian Vanilla, Indosnesian Sandalwood. I just don't like berry scents so I will be skipping over this one.

This collection comes in the same products that many of the limited edition Bath and Body Works collections come in; the Body Mist, Body Lotion, Shower Gel, and Lip Gloss. This time around the collection also comes in the Triple Moisture Body Cream and the GLowing Body Scrub.  The Triple Moisture Body Cream is one of my favorite moisturizers and I love that these fragrances are now offered in this product too. I will be buying some of the body creams this year in additions to shower gels and body lotions. I am on the fence with the body scrub formula this year, "Our Signature Glowing Body Scrub helps skin feel soft, smooth, and supremely sexy. Bamboo gently exfoliates and helps smooth skin, while Coconut Milk extract and Vitamin E nourish to keep skin looking beautiful."  This version is very scrubby and reminds me of the scrub that came out last year with the Coconuts line (that I didn't really like all that much). Last year, this line contains one of the best creamy scrubs that had come out in years and I wish that this year's collection contained the same formula scrub, I will be skipping the scrubs this time around.

I love that this collection is back this year so that I can buy more products in the mango and coconut fragrances. I will be buying some shower gels, lotions, and creams this year.  The only way that this line could be improved is to have the same scrub as last year instead of this new formula but I won't complain that much since I love two of the fragrances in this line.

photo courtesy of Bath and Body Works

Chanel Spring 2012 Collection - Harmonie de Printemps

2012-01-10T13:52:00.000-05:00

The spring collections are now coming out fast and furious and I have been seeing pictures of the new Chanel collection all over the beauty blogs. Chanel is always among the front runners when the new collections come and this season is more of the same. The new collection from this company is named Harmonie de Printemps (Harmony of Spring is a loose translation) and this might be one of my favorite Chanel collections, it is elegant and fresh and will look great on me this spring. This is one of the few collections from them that I remember that is focused around a strong cheek look, I feel like the past few have been all about eye makeup so this collection has a very different look and feel to it. I am so excited for this collection since I love bright pink cheeks and I would love to add some Chanel products to my blush collection.

From the Chanel website, "An enchanting makeup collection inspired by springtime hues." I see lots of pinks and peaches in this collection. This collection is like a breath of fresh air this winter and I can see it having lots of appeal to many ladies.

Here is the new collection from Chanel...

Blush Horizon de Chanel - The luminous hues of sunset are now captured in one elegant highlighting face powder. Subtle gradiations of rose, coral, and peach can be applied on their own or blended together, to highlight and sculpt the face or achieve an overal warmth and radiance.

Rouge Coco Baume - A moisture-rich lip balm with an advanced Hydratendre Complex, this formula hydrates and softens lips, for a healthier and fuller appearence. Its sheer, lustrous texture glides on smoothly with a sumptuous, high-gloss finish.

Le Vernis - Classic and trend-defining shades from the runways of Paris. State-of-the-art formula strengthens and mositurizes nails as it delivers long-wearing, high shine, chip-resistant colour. Applies evenly without streaking.
- April - deep rose cream
- May - light blue pink pearl
- June - light warm coral cream

Les 4 Ombres - One essential compact offers unlimited eye looks, with shade combinations that range from matte to satin to shimmer. Versatile smudge-proof formula can be applied dry for subtle shading or dampened for more intense colour, all with long-wearing results - in even extreme climates. Dermatologist tested.
- Ecolosion - pale peach frost/pale ivory with sparkle/medium beige pearl/metallic plum

Rouge Coco - Chanel presents a modern interpretation of classic creme lip colour as an homage to the rich life and legacy of 'Coco' Chanel. New lightweight lip colour glides on for easy application, and features a Hydratendre complex to help soften, soothe, and condition lips - even boosting their ability to hold in moisture - for a plumper, smoother, and healthier-looking appearance. A range of wearable shades with full-coverage finishes, from matte to pearl to soft shimmer.
- Destinee - deep red cream
- Charme - bright pink coral cream
- Superstition - warm bright orange cream
- Paradis - warm coral cream
- Chalys - warm soft pink cream

Ombre Essentielle - An instant Chanel classic, this ultra-fine powder eye shadow is sensuous in feel, foolproof in its application, and fabulous in its range of matte, satin, and shimmer finishes. The versatile formula can be applied dry for subtle shading, or dampened for more intense colour - and the complementary shades can be blended with one another to lighten or deepen tone.
- Tigerlily - warm medium orange
- Rose de Mai - subtle pale pink rose shimmer

Stylo Yeux Waterproof - Waterproof, smudge-proof eyeliner delivers long-lasting definition with a twist of the wrist: Colour winds up when you need it, winds down when you don't. Gentle, soft, silicone-enriched formula delivers smooth, even lining. A built-in sharpener at the opposite end detaches for quick refreshes.
- Grenat - deep red burgundy

Rouge Coco Shine - Rouge Coco Shine Hydrating Sheer Lip Shine provides lasting moisturizing shine in a water-light texture. The formula glides on for easy application and a unique Hydratendre complex hydrates and softens lips, giving them a healthier and fuller appearance. Available in a complete range of shades, from delicate beiges to dazzling berries, with a hint of shimmer to embrace a glossy finish.
- Flirt - sheer warm orange
- Candeur - sheer cool pink beige

Rouge Double Intensite - Glorious long-lasting colour paired with high-shine gloss delivers full-coverage colour that lasts all day. Glossy top coat imparts brillant shine and superb hydration, while the innovative fluid texture of the base colour coat applies smoothly, comfortably, with perfect adherence to lips - and no transferring or feathering.
- Rose Topaz - deep rose cream

Levres Scintillantes - Gorgeous shimmer and a high-shine glow is delivered effortlessly to lips with just one stroke of this best-selling lip gloss. A wide range of shades, from sheer and natural to sparkling and rich, look beautiful on their own, or over your favorite Chanel lipstick. Equally beautiful: the conditioning formula's comfort and long wear.
- Bonbon - sheer cool light pink
- Petillant - sheer warm medium beige
- Bagatelle - sheer medium warm pink

Poudre Universelle Compacte - Imparts a translucent, natural matte finish when applied over makeup in the morning or as an anytime touch-up. Ultra-fine lightweight formula with light-reflecting pigments and luxuriously soft feel creates a flattering, halo-like look. Available in a range of shades to suit all skintones.

Le Crayon Levres - Enhance the shape of your lips and gives them perfect definition with this creamy-textured pencil. Long-lasting, full-coverage colour with a semi-matte finish glides on to soften and soothe lips, and ensures lipstick stays in place while extending its wear. Makeup-artistry touches for the most professional-looking result: a built-in brush for blending, and a lip pencil sharpener for precise application.
- Bois de Rose - medium pink red
- Rose Corail - warm light peach pink

Perfection Lumiere - Effortless to apply, with seamless blendability for a naturally flawless effect, this breakthrough foundation is the ideal all-day, everyday formula - suitable for all skin types in a diverse range of 20 shades.

Inimitable Intense - This technologically advanced formula builds on the success of the original mascara, delivering dramatic effects with a unique brush. The result in a more intense lash look, with the same easy application. Lashes appear longer, thicker, and more curled, yet each lash, even the finest is still precisely separated - without clumping, spiking, or flaking.

Ombre D'Eau - A quick and easy alternative to powder eye shadow, this fluid formula glides on for a long-lasting, lightweight veil of shimmering colour. Bi-phase liquid powder shakes to combine for subtle-to-intense shading, with stay-fresh, crease-resistant results.
- Source - light blue pink

This blush might be one of my favorite pieces of the year so far, I love the bright pink shades and the mixture of all the shades that are contained in it. I can't wait to go the counter to find and try this product out! With the exception of the blush, I think that my favorite pieces of the collection are the lip products. I love the range of lip products that are offered in this collection, I have choices from all textures of lipsticks and lip glosses. A few of the lip shades are much too warm and orange for me so I will be heading more toward the pink and rose shades. My favorite shade is the Rouge Coco in Chalys, a neutral pink that I will be getting a huge amount of wear from. The other shade that I will buy from the Rouge Coco line is the Destinee shade, a deep cool red that I can wear right now but might end up putting away until next fall after the beginning of the spring months. I also like the Glossimer gloss in the Bonbon and Bagatelle shades, these are both much better for the spring than the deep lipstick.

Rounding out the collection, the Les 4 Ombres is a very attractive eye palette and I will get a huge amount of use from these neutral shades this spring and again in the fall months. The nai polishes are attractive but not very unique, I was hoping for something a bit less generic from Chanel this psring. This company put out some of the defining nail polish shades in their fall collection but these three shades do not live up to that reputation.

This blush might be one of my early favorites for the whole season...

photo courtesy of Chanel

Giorgio Armani Armani Code Pour Femme

2012-01-09T20:42:00.000-05:00

January is the month that I begin going through all of the products that I have opened and look to see what I can realistically use up before I begin to get all of my new spring products out. Almost every single year, I have refound a product that I haven't used in at least a few months. This time around, I discovered an old bottle of Giorgio Armani Armani Code Pour Femme, a fragrance that was given to me years ago as a gift. I wore a lot when I first received it but I haven't worn it as much in the past year since I often tended to reach for Stella or Chanel No. 5 when I am getting dressed up and going out. But i am glad that I refound this fragrance since it is one of the most unique that I own.

The Sephora website gives both the background on the fragrance and a full description of the fragrance itself. The bottle of this fragrance is what first attracted me to it when I saw a picture of it in a beauty magazine. I remember reading in the article that the bottle was designed to resemble an Armani couture gown and was made for dressing up and going out.

First the background on the fragrance. "Embrace your feminity with a fragrance that represents timeless elegance. The distinct, sophisticated scent was inspired by the glamour of Hollywood's leading ladies. Code for Woman, an essence of utter feminity, pays homage to ladies and their magnetic attraction. The combination of flora, fruit, and warm vanilla create a sensual experience that leaves an addicting trail along the way. Dose yourself in this unforgettable fragrance for a sophisticated finish to your elegant style." This fragrance was one of the first very rich and feminine fragrances that was created by Giorgio Armani.

And now onto the actual fragrance description. "The heart of the fragrance lies in the distinct freshness of orange blossom, while the deep scent from the flower's pistil evokes exciting vibrancy. The sunny radiance of the Tunisian orange blossom is amplified by feminine sophistication of India's precious sambac Jasmine. Orange zest from two types of orange peels - one from the Ivory coast and the other from Italian oranges - add a hint of cheerfulness. Soft Madagascan vanilla and a touch of honey creates a warm, sweet finish."

"The sleek, clean silhouette of the glass bottle is decorated with an oriental-inspired motif and transparently embroidered with a shadowing effect. The color and lace represent the feminine spirit of Mr. Armani's couture designs. Together, glamour and mystery combine to create this mesmerizing composition. A seductive new fragrance for women, Armani Code Pour Femme is a fresh, sexy, feminine blend of zesty blood orange, ginger, and pear sorbet softened with hints of sambac jasmine, orange blossom, and lavender honey, warmed with precious woods and vanilla."

The notes of the fragrance are: Blood Orange, Ginger, Pear Sorbet, Sambac Jasmine, Orange Blossom, Seringa Flower, Lavender Honey, Precious Woods Complex, Vanilla.

This fragrance starts out very strong on the Blood Orange and goes right into the Orange Blossom and Jasmine notes. The original fruit notes dies off very quickly on me and then this fragrance goes right into a deep floral that stays on me all day long. The honey and the Sandalwood notes comes out within a few hours and make the fragrance even richer as they mingle with the jasmine note. This fragrance has one of the best lasting powers of any fragrance that I have every tried and therefore it can be overdone very easily. I use a very small amount of this perfume on my pulse points and neck.

The term "addicting trail" in the description gave me quite a good laugh. It certainly does leave a trail, I have had women come right up and follow in me to ask what fragrance that I am wearing. I wore it out to a Spanish restaurant one Valentine's Day several years ago and while I was eating, I accidently ate a hot pepper and ran to the bathroom so that I wouldn't get sick at the table. This is when the two women followed me into the bathroom and asked what I was wearing. Thoughts of this fragrance and this incident always put a smile on my face everytime that I reach for it!

photo courtesy of Sephora

Noomi Rapace's Hair Color

2012-01-07T14:20:00.000-05:00

It's a new year and I feel like heading off to the salon to update my look. My hair has been red or has had red highlights for the past three months and now I am considering going more toward a really dark brown. My complexion is pale this time of the year so the dark color would be a very striking contrast. Noomi Rapace's complexion is very close to mine at the moment so this hair shade should be very attractive on me.

And in my mind, Noomi Rapace is the original and best Lisbeth Salander and I will always prefer the Swedish version of the movies.

I will update with what shade I decide to color my hair. Any thoughts guys?

photo courtesy of Google

Matrix Sleek Look Iron Smoother Spray

2012-01-06T11:04:00.000-05:00

I have been playing around with all types of haircare products lately and the Sleek Look line from Matrix has been one that I have been repurchasing products from and trying them out for the first time since college. The first product that I used from this line is the one that we are going to look at today and this is the product that I have repurchased more times than I can count. This might actually be one of the few products that I have used consistently since college and still use to this day. The Iron Smoother spray is one of the most unique products that I have used in the past few years and I believe that this was one of the first products of its kind to protect against the damage caused to the hair cuticle by flat irons and daily heat styling.

I blow my hair dry every single day and then use a ceramic iron on it for for touch ups so I am always attracted to a product that promises to protect and hydrate my hair. Dry and coarse to begin with, my hair can get even worse after all the styling that I do to it. I get lectured all the time from my stylist but I have told her that I never plan to stop heat styling so she recommends the Matrix line of styling products that will help reduce the daily damage to my hair. I first used this product back in college when it was brand new and was in the front of a display at Trade Secret.

I found a product description of this styling spray on the Drugstore.com website. "Sleek Look 4-Step Professional Smoothing System balances moisturization levels to lock-out frizz. Unique patented formulas helps transform curly, frizzy, dry, or coarse hair into a salon-smooth, sensuously sleek style. For sleekest results, never skip a step. Sleek Look Iron Smoother Step 3 Smooth. Flat iron faster, stay sleeker longer. Invisible shield protects against heat damage (up to 450 F/230 C) and humidity. Maximizes the performance of thermal tools with heat-powered style memory. Lasting shine and frizz control. Style stays silky straight, ultra-smooth."

This product is best used on dry hair and used every single time that you style your hair. When I first purchased the product, it could be used on wet or dry hair but now I see that it is recommended for use on hair that it already dry for best results. The "heat-powered style memory" might be a bit of a stretch but the product does perform best when used every single day, I think that the effect might be attributed to the product having a bit of a buildup and forming a film on the hair, if I skip a day or two of use with this product, my hair will not straighten as well or as quickly the next time that I use it. Quite frankly though, most styling products work best when they are used everytime that you style and not just once in a while. This product works very well however I do not really attach much credence to the "heat-powered style memory" claim.

If you decide to use one product only from this line to help straighten and heat style your hair, this is one of the ones that I really recommend. Used on a regulat basis, it helps to cut my straightening time down and keep my hair is better condition. It doesn't hydrate but it helps to keep my hair protected and help prevent moisture loss that comes with daily styling. This product works best in conjunction with other smoothing or straightening products since coarse hair is hard to work with. Last but not least, this product has a definite fragrance to it, I can smell whiffs of it in my hair throughout the day. It reminds me a clean ozonic fragrance, it could be a bit lighter since someone who hates fragrance might not be able to use this product because of it. The fragrance is the only major drawback of this product, it really performs well in protecting and helping to straighten my hair.

photo courtesy of Drugstore.com

MAC Mineralize Skincare

2012-01-05T13:32:00.001-05:00

This is the third of the new collections that have been released from MAC, however this one is all new skincare products instead of a colour collection. In haven't used MAC skincare before, I tend to get distracted by all the colors and limited edition collections at MAC and then forget to ever see the rest of the product line, I tend to be more in the skincare shopping mode when I go into Sephora and see all the skincare lines on the back wall. Perhaps this new product line will change my mind a bit and make me go to the MAC counter before I head over to Sephora for face care...

This skincare collection is called Mineralize Skincare and the whole line is based on the popular Mineralize makeup line and has taken the technology that makes this line so popular and brings them into the skincare arena. "The 77-Mineral Complex that made our Mineralize makeup so good for your skin, debuts as a skincare collection. Featuring our ionized Super-Duo Charged Water technology, a nourishing regime to cleanse, hydrate, condition, and charge the skin." Today's post will be introduction to the collection and the new products and then I will further review each one of them as I purchase and use them so I will have more detailed information about these products in the next few weeks.

MAC's first Mineralize skincare line...

Mineralize Charged Water Moisture Eye Cream - A luxuriously rich eye cream. Infused with our ionized Super-Duo Charged Water technology. Moisturizes and adds radiance, while instantly - and over time - reducing the look of dark circles, lines, and puffiness.

Mineralize Charged Water Moisture Gel - An ultra-light, gel-like cream that absorbs instantly to give the skin intense hydration. Infused with our exclusive Super-Charged Water technology, this formula leaves skin softer, more luminous. Use day or night.

Mineralize Charged Water Face and Body Lotion - An "everywhere" lotion that fuses diamond powder with our ionized Super-Duo technology to give immediate hydration to the skin. Rich, yet gentle, leaves skin soft and supple while strengthening its overall capacity for moisture. Fragrance-free.

Mineralize Charged Water Cleanser - A lightweight cleanser formulated with our ionized Super-Duo Charged Water technology. Removes all makeup (except waterproof and longwearing) with a wipe - no rinse-off required. Leaves skin nourished, soft, absolutely cleaned.

Mineralize Charged Water Revitalizing Energy - A fusion of Mineralize Charged Water and pure diamond powder. Instantly enlivens, energizes, and revitalizes the skin while adding radiance. Refreshing green tea and citrus fragrance.

I will be following up with more detailed thoughts on these products when I get to purchase and try them out. I think that my first purchase will be the Moisture Gel, followed by the Cleanser and the Eye Cream. This product line sounds very promising and if it performs as well as it sounds like it will then it could really help to be put MAC on the map for more than just makeup collections!

photo courtesy of MAC

MAC Naturally

2012-01-04T10:02:00.000-05:00

Naturally is the second of the new collections that has been introduced this week from MAC. This collection is almost totally opposite from the Iris Apfel collection, that collection consisted of bright, pigmented shades for lips and eyes. This collection is almost the exact opposite, this is large collection that focuses on neutrals and making ladies look beautiful without a lot of makeup. This appears to be the first collection that MAC is putting out for the spring time and I seem to remember MAC doing a collection along the same lines every single January to kick the season off. Personally, I have been buying all types of pigmented products and not quite as many neutrals (with the exception of Naked 2) and this collection will be a change of scenery for me. I am hoping that this collection will provide me with some great basics to start my spring look with!
This collection is one that is based heavily on Mineralize eye and face products, we have being seeing many Mineralize products over the past few months which leads me to believe that they must be selling very well for MAC. MAC seems to produce one large collection each season that contains a large amount of the Mineralize products and this seems to be the one for this spring season.

"Nature Girl...for a look that's understatedly sexy and gloriously "undone" - a new collection of nothing-to-hide hues. Soft shades, rich patinas, and sheer loveliness. Just what you need to keep your look dreamily down to earth!" This collection will contain some great neutrals for eyes and I want to fine another great neutral pink lipstick from this company. I will be using products from this collection to create a natural polished look for work and to pair up with more dramatic eye and lip looks.

Here is the first of the spring collections from MAC...

Mineralize Eye Shadow - Baked minerals refined into a powder formula provide exceptionally sheer and lightweight application. Colour builds lightly, layer after layer, without heavy coverage.
- Summer Haze - palest gold with deeper gold veining
- Cloudy Afternoon - cream with gold, gray, and pink veining
- Daylight - peach with dirty blue lavender veining
- In The Sun - gold with violet veining
- Twilight Falls - cool brown with bronze veining

Zoom Fast Black Lash - Deeply dark drama. Same as Zoom Lash, buth with carbon black pigment. Saturates lashes with the richest black ever. Creamy, velvey formula builds density and conditions. Feels supple, light, flexible. Ultra-sculpted brush embraces and separates each lash, hugging every curve.
- Black - deep dark black

Eye Pencil - Eye Pencils are formulated to provide rich, consistent colour using ingredients that have virtually no irritancy potential. They are comfortable to apply and sharpen to a fine point to allow for a precise application. Eye Pencils can be used to create a sharp line or a softer, smoky effect. They are long lasting and won't cake or streak.
- Coffee - muted brown
- Ebony - soft black

Lipstick - Colour plus texture for the lips. Stands out on the runway. Simmers on the street! What made MAC famous.
- Sweet Sunrise - light neutral peach pink
- Beach Sand - light tan
- A Perfect Day - light neutral pink
- Pillow Talk - midtone rosy nude

Tinted Lipglass - A unique lip gloss available in a wide variety of colours that can create a high gloss, glass-like finish or a subtle sheen. Designed to be worn on its own, over Lip Pencil or Lipstick, Tinted Lipglass is the perfect product for creating shine that lasts. It's pigmented, very shiny, and can impart subtle or dramatic colour. It contains Jojoba Oil to help soften and condition the lips. Tinted Lipglass is packaged in a convenient bottle with a sponge tip applicator that provides a quick, smooth, even application.
- The Wee Coquette - naked neutral pink
- Naked Space - creamy midtone nude peach
- Fresh Air - light pink
- Hot Spell - bronze with multicolored pearl

Mineralize Blush - Baked minerals refined into a powder formula to provide exceptionally sheer and lightweight application. Colour builds lightly, layer after layer, without heavy coverage. Veils and enhances the cheek bones with a luminous, pearlized shimmer
- Fresh Honey - warm apricot
- Subtle Breeze - blue pink
- Early Morning - peachy pink

Mineralize Skinfinish - A luxurious velvet-soft powder with a high frost metallic finish. Smoothes on: adds buffed-up highlights to cheeks, or an overall ultra-deluxe polish to the face.
- Blonde - soft pink to rose degrade
- Redhead - gold to salmon pink degrade

286 Duo Fibre Blending Brush - With its soft dome shape, this two-tone, duo-fibre brush of goat and synthetic fibres provides a sheer, more controlled application of MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow.

187 Duo Fibre Brush - A large full circular brush used for lightweight application and blending of face powder or pigments. Use to create soft layers or add textures. Made from a soft blend of goat and synthetic fibres.

I can see a lot of products in this new collection that I would like to own and will become staples in my makeup collection. Starting with face products, I would like to buy the Mineralize Blush in Subtle Breeze, I am always on the lookout for new pink blushes. The Mineralize Eye Shadow formula is a newer one to me so I still have to play with these at the counter before purchasing them. In the past, I have found that they all look lovely in the pan but the texture and pigmentation can vary greatly, with some of the shades being amazing and others being total duds, I do not recommend ordering these without trying them. What ones do I wish to try? I love both of gold shades, Summer Haze and In The Sun. The lip products might be my favorites in this collection, lately I have only been buying deep and pigmented lipsticks so this collection is a huge change of pace for me. From the Lipsticks, I want A Perfect Day and Pillow Talk and from the Lipglasses, I want The Wee Coquette and Fresh Air. I want all the neutral pink lip shades and I know that I will get lots of use from them.

This collection looks as though it will be a big hit for MAC, anyone can find something in this collection that will work for them and is easy to wear. I have found some great basics in this collection and I will be building my spring makeup collection off many of these shades.

photo courtesy of MAC

MAC and Iris Apfel

2012-01-03T11:36:00.000-05:00

This is the second week in row that MAC has released new collections, this time around we have three new collections to choose from. Two of the collections are full color collections and the other one is an introduction to the new line of Mineralize skincare that is coming out. The first of the color collections in another collaboration, this time with another fashion and style icon, Iris Apfel. I am loving these MAC collaborations and I am just hoping that MAC keeps creating collections with the style and zest that the past few have inspired.

Iris Apfel is a style icon and former owner of the textile firm, Old World Weavers. After her and her husband retired from the running of the business, they made major contributions to many art museums and her sense of style inspired one of the greatest exhibits at the Metropolitian Museum of Art. This exhibit has since been picked up by other major museums around the United States and then became a huge success at all the museums.

"Inspired by a rare bird who has always been ahead of her time, MAC presents a colour collection featuring Lipsticks, Beauty Powder, and Eye Shadows with as much flair and joie de vivre as the woman who helped create it...Iris Apfel." This collection looks as though it will contain some major lip shades, especially a great series of reds. And we all know that I love a red lippee more than any other type of beauty look...

Here is the Iris Apfel collection!

Eye Shadow - Highly pigmented powder. Applies evenly, blends well.
- Silver Gull - blue gray with sparkle
- Early Bird - bright coral
- Robin's Egg - midtone teal
- How Zat - deep gray with silver sparkle
- Diamond Dove - deep gray brown

Opulash - Superlative style and state-of-the-art science merge. A new formula in a more saturated intense black with extra-volumization, expansion, and curl delivered dramatically with our most bodacious brush yet. Lasts 15 hours!
- Black - deep black

Eye Pencil - Eye Pencils are formulated to provide rich, consistent colour using ingredients that have virutally no irritancy potential. They are comfortable to apply and sharpen to a fine point to allow for precise application. Eye Pencils can be used to create a sharp line or a softer, smoky effect. they are long lasting and won't cake or streak.
- Ebony - soft black

Impeccable Brow Pencil - A classic creamy, long wearing brow pencil with an easy-to-sharpen pencil. Fills in, defines, and colours with precision. Provides a natural matte finish. Makes the brows look impeccable.
- Taupe - midtone dirty taupe

Lipstick - Colour plus texture for the lips. Stands out on the runway. Simmers on the street! What made MAC famous.
- Flamingo - light milky bright coral
- Morange - loudmouth orange (Amplified Cream)
- Party Parrot - bright red pink
- Pink Pigeon - bright cleanest pink
- Scarlet Ibis - bright orange-red

Lip Pencil - A pencil designed for shaping, lining, or filling in the lip. Lip Pencils have a smooth, creamy texture that is perfect for lining the lips or filling them in. They are long lasting and available in a wide selection of colours that each work well with many different lipstick shades.
- Entertain Me - clearly orange
- Embrace Me - vivid pinkish fuchsia
- Redd - clearly red

Beauty Powder - A silky-soft "beauty" powder that's delicately tinted and luxuriously pearl. Goes on as an ultra-fine shimmering "veil" to the skin. Can be applied as a highlight, soft blush, or an overall finish.
- Too Chic - soft peachy cream with fine shimmer

Nail Lacquer - Revolutionary new high gloss formula. Three long wearing finishes - Cream, Sheer, and Frosted. Visibly different. Provides no-streak/no-chip finish. Contains conditioners and UV protection. Go hi-lacquer!
- Sandpiper - creamy pale stone beige
- Oriele Orange - bright orange coral
- Toco Toucan - bright blue fuchsia

My favorite pieces of this collection are exactly what I thought that they would be! Some of the lipstick shades are a bit too loud for me, I can't wear the oranges or the corals in this collection. The reds are the best, with my favorite red being Scarlet Ibis. The colored eye shadows are too much for me but How Zat is a great shade for a smoky eye. This is more of a winter collection, I can't see myself pulling many of these shades off in the spring so I will only pick up the two products that I mentioned above and use them for the next month or two and then again in the fall.

photo courtesy of MAC

Diane Von Furstenberg Diane

2012-01-02T08:16:00.000-05:00

Last fall, famed dress designer Diane Von Furstenberg released her first fragrance. I constantly see her vintage wrap dressed on celebrities and all over the pages of Vogue but I wondered if any other of her designs were are famous as her signature wrap dress. A bit of research showed me that her wrap dresses were her claim to fame and nothing else has ever replaced them in her product line. The Sephora website actually provided a fantastic background on the designer and how her famed wrap dresses led to the creation of her first fragrance.

"Diane Von Furstenberg first arrived in the world of fashion in 1972 when she launched her iconic wrap dress. By 1976, Diane had sold millions of her dresses, which symbolized female power and freedom to an entire generation. After a hiatus from the fashion industry, Diane reemerged in 1997 with the re-launch of her iconic dress that started it all - and transformed her company into the global luxury lifestyle brand that it is today. Close to the skin, fluid and enveloping, Diane's new fragrance is built like one of her designs: it wraps up a woman's body and leaves her feeling sexy with a touch of mystery."

"Close to the skin, fluid and enveloping. Created for all and unique for everyone, Diane's fragrance is built like one of her dresses: it wraps up a woman's body and stays with her all day long. Be the woman you want to be. The eau de parfum elevates this fragrance concentration, amplifying the uniqueness and the character of the scent while highlighting the distinctive ingredients such as patchouli, frangipani flower, and violet." The florals and patchouli notes are very evident in this fragrance and it is not the easiest one to wear.

The notes of Diane are: Frangipani, Violet, Patchouli, Musks, Myrrh. As I stated above, this fragrance is very heavy on the patchouli and florals and will not appeal to a lady who likes lighter fragrances. I have heard this fragrance described as being "old lady" however it is just a heavy floral oriental and appeals only to those who love strong, heavy fragrances. As it so happens, I love heavy floral woody fragrances so this one really worked on me. When I first tried it, I almost rejected it after the first spray. The first spray is all strong frangipani and was very off-putting, I was not expecting such a strong oriental, this is a fragrance that is best experienced after the dry down.

I received several samples of this fragrance with a bunch of Sephora orders, I made a few in row and somehow ended up with several sample vials of this fragrance. The second and third times that I used this fragrance were much better. I let the fragrance dry for about five to ten minutes each time before I smelled it and after the initial burst of frangpani, it evolved into a deep beautiful floral oriental. This fragrance reminds me of both Chanel No 5 and Coco Mademoiselle, if you like either of those two fragrances then this one will be right up your alley. This fragrance has been going strong for over six hours now and hasn't lessened in intensity, this one will go all day and into the night.

This fragrance is best for the fall and winter months so I will use up the samples that I have of it this season and I plan to buy the full bottle at the end of next summer. I find that this fragrance could be worn at the office and then will work equally well at a nice restaurant or bar. I would not pair tis fragrance with casual clothing, it is a more formal fragrance. I can see where this fragrance may not have the mass appeal that others on the market have, it is not light and can only be worn in certain circumstances. This is not a fragrance that can be your only perfume, it has a certain time and place but is perfect for the times that I get more dressed up at work or going out.

One last thought - I will not be pairing this fragrance with a Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress. Overkill!

photo courtesy of Sephora

Too Faced Spring 2012 Collection - Natural Beauty

2012-01-01T15:12:00.000-05:00

Time to begin the spring collections! We may have two long months of winter ahead of us but I am so excited for the warm weather and to see the start of the spring beauty collections. Personally, I save all of my Christmas money and giftcards to start buying spring makeup and fragrances as soon as they begin to release and the money has been burning a hole in my pocket since the holiday, I can't wait to try some brand new items out! We are going to begin with the spring collection from Too Faced since it was the first spring collection to emerge, with Chanel coming out soon after.

The new collection from Too Faced is named Natural Beauty, a collection that is based on the neutral eye trend that was seen all over the spring runways. This looks like a very easy collection to wear and should contain some top selling products. It appears that Too Faced is capitalizing on the best selling series of eye palettes that promise well done naked and neutral eyes. I have the Neutral Eye Palette, the first of its kind and the product the created the whole collection of eye palettes that Too Faced has been releasing for the past two or three years. I am expecting another in the series of palettes from this collection and I am really ready to start looking at the spring makeup products!

The newest collection from Too Faced...

Natural Face Natural Radiance Face Palette - Our multi-tasking palette contains everything you need to create a warm, all-over glow. A thoughtfully selected assortment of natural, sun-kissed shaded delivers a healthy, non-makeup look look that is irresistibly sexy. Six Face Essentials: Includes a universal luminizer, brightener, and concealer in neutral shades, cream and powder cheek options along with a golden-bronze veil for an overall glow. Flexible Usage: Our versatile face collection can be used with your favorite complexion products, applied alone to naturally conceal and highlight or for quick touch-ups. How To Tutorials: Our three, how to lesson cards demonstrate application techniques and color placement. Natural Value: Our all-inclusive, portable collection (with convenient mirror) helps you achieve the many faces of natural for only $39 (a $76 value).
- Powder Blush/Bronze Veil/Creme Blush/Luminizer/Concealer/Brightener

Tinted Beauty Balm Multi-Benefit Skin Care Makeup - Our innovative beauty balm offers multiple skincare and makeup benefits in one simple step. Our powerful, multi-mineral complex instantly achieves a healthy glow and improves skin's overall appearance. Light diffusing pigments tint and add radiance (available in four shades). Anti-aging, multi-mineral complex primes and prevents damage. Moisturizes with oil-free hydration. Hypo-allergenic and soothing for all skin types. Broad spectrum, chemical-free SPF 20. Anti-aging, Multi-mineral Complex: Magnesium, Potassium, Zinc as well an Ginseng, Ginko Biloba. Soothes and Nourishes: Vitamins A and E, as well as Chamomile soothe and nourishes while our oil-free hydrating formula moisturizes. Blends Easily: Four gorgeous shades, with luminosity and effortless blendability to suit individual skin tones and shades needs. Sun Protection: Broad spectrum, chemical-free SPF 20 offers optimum protection for the sun's harmful UVA/UVB rays. Multi-use: Can be used as a primer to prep skin for either foundation for more coverage or powder for a lighter finish.

Natural Kiss Neutral Lip Color Collection - Our Natural Kiss Lip Palette compliments all skin tones, creating a warm-toned, pretty pout. Four shades in cream, gloss, and shimmer finishes provide a polished, "born this way" look to any natural beauty. Convenient lip brush and mirror are included for purse-ready, muss-free application. Custom Looks: Mix and match our blendable cream, gloss, and shimmers to transform your ever changing look. Luxurious Formula: Keeps lips soft and supple with our hydrating formula. Portability: Flattened bristle lip brush applies maximum coverage on the go, while the palette's large convenient mirror allows for instant touch-ups anytime. Paraben and Mineral Oil-free: Our good-for-you formula is free of parabens and mineral oil.
- Gold Shimmer/Beige-Pink Shell Cream/Totally Nude Cream/Maple Gloss

Natural at Night Sexy and Sultry Neutral Eye Shadow Collection - Introducing a sultry, nighttime version of our best-selling Natural Eye Collection! Intensify your evening makeup with this array of seductive, warm shadows that will take your look from sundown to night-on-the-town. These nine tempting shadows in a variety of highly-blendable matte, shimmer, and glitter textures add instant after-hours glamour to any natural look. Naturally Sexy: A collection of nine, complimentary shadows are the perfect palette of sexy, late-night neutrals. Tempting Textures: Pigment-rich, high performing shadows offer a sophisticated range of textures from velvety mattes to silky shimmers. How-To-Cards: Three, easy-to-follow, how-to-cards show you how to create Night, Fashion, and Classic looks.
- After Hours - deep matte chocolate
- Cocoa Star - deep chocolate with gold shimmer
- Eclipse - deep gold shimmer
- Full Moon - golden beige shimmer
- Moonstone - medium bronze shimmer
- Nightcap - medium matte chocolate
- Night Fever - deep matte black-brown
- Nightlight - light beige shimmer

Natural Flirt Makeup Collection - Grab all the attention with a naturally gorgeous look to send all the right beauty signals! Our limited edition Collection is filled with best-selling faves for the eyes, lips, and face.
- Shadow Insurance Candlelight - Just a drop of our warm, shimmering primer applied to eyelids eliminates creasing and fading while transforming shadows into more radiant versions of their original formulas.
- Exotic Eyes and Full Lashes - Achieve luminous eyes by applying Magic Mushroom Shadow to lids. Lashgasm Mascara completes the eye look providing long, fluffy lashes.
- Bronzed and Bright Skin - Our Pink Leopard Bronzer formula brightens and perfects complexions effortlessly.
- Petite Pouf - A unique retractable brush made with our signature "Teddy Bear Hair" is ideal for touch-ups.
- Glamour Gloss - Shine beautifully in This is Pretty and experience the gentle plumping sensation.

I am so ready to begin some spring beauty shopping! I really like the Natural at Night Eye Palette however so many of those shades are in the Urban Decay Naked Palettes that I think that I can skip over it. The original Natural eye palette isn't even all that different from this one, this new version contains a few deeper shades but nothing revolutionary. This is one of those palettes that I really like but don't really need since I already own almost every single one of the shades already.

I find the other two palettes to be very pretty but I am afraid that both of them might be a bit too warm for my skintone, especially the face palette. The lip palette I want to see in person at Sephora and see how pigmented the shades are and if they would wash me out or are sheer enough to be flattering on my cool toned skin. The Beauty Balm is of top interest to me, I want to try it as a primer in the cooler weather and then see if I can get away with it alone as I start to self tan in the coming months, I think that this product will be my first purchase from this collection. I do like the Natural Flirt Makeup Collection, I wanted to try the bronzer and the mascara already and the other shades in it are very attractive.

photo courtesy of Too Faced

Most Wanted January 2012

2012-01-01T09:44:00.000-05:00

First post of the new year! Time to bring in 2012 the right way...with lots of new beauty products! This is a huge time of the year for MAC, they released two new collections right after Christmas and now are releasing two more collections in the very beginning of this month. So this means that most of my shopping this month will be at MAC and that company will dominate my Most Wanted list.

My first Most Wanted of the New Year!

- Trish McEvoy Black Rose Oud
- Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Eye Gel
- Illamasqua Powder Blush in Hussy
- MAC Daphne Guinness for MAC Pro Long-Wear Lip Creme in Approaching Storm
- MAC Daphne Guinness for MAC Blush Ombre in Azalea Blossom
- NARS Semi-Matte Lipstick in Schiap
- L'Eau de Vanessa Bruno
- OPI & Nicki Minaj Nail Polish in Pink Friday
- MAC Naturally Lipstick in Pillow Talk
- MAC Naturally Mineralize Eye Shadow in Summer Haze

Looks like this will be a good month for lip products and MAC!

Boscia Revitalizing Black Hydration Gel

2011-12-31T16:53:00.000-05:00

When almost all of my skincare products ran out last November, I had a series of huge Sephora orders and purchases. One of the items that I ordered from their website was the brand new face cream from Bosica, the Revitalizing Black Hydration Gel. I believe that Kose was the first skincare line to use black tints in their products and about a year ago, I saw that Boscia was following suit. The original black mask from Boscia must have done very weel for the company since over the past few months, a whole facial line of black products have emerged, with the face gel being the latest one.

I should have bought this product in the summer, I wanted to it so bad when it came out and then when I bought it, I realized that I wasn't thinking and that I bought a face gel for the winter (not the greatest idea for my skin). I used it a few times in early November and really liked it but by the beginning of December, my skin was too dry for it to provide full hydration. Needless to say, I have put this product aside for the moment and plan to start using it again in May.

Sephora gives a full product description of the product. "A cooling moisturizer with an ultra-light gel texture. This hydrating gel refines skin texture and brightens and clarifies the complexion while minimizing the look of pores, both instantly and over time. This gel contains a range of powerful ingredients. Artichoke leaf extract improves elasticity to help tighten pore walls. Charcoal absorbs excess oil and impurities as it detoxifies. Glycolic acid helps clarify skin and smooth rough texture. Vitamin C helps brighten skintone and minimize fine lines as it defends from free radical damage."

This product is housed in what is now my favorite type of container. I first ran into this type of container when I used Kate Somerville face products and I am glad that other companies are beginning to adopt this type of packaging. Instead of dipping my fingers into the jar, there is a top on the jar that is pushed down and automatcially dispenses the perfect amount of product to use all over my fave. This is great for products that contain Vitamin C or any other type of natural or organic ingredient since it helps to keep the formula stable and will allow it to last longer. When products with this type of formulation are exposed to the air, they begin to degrade and breakdown very quickly, rendering the product useless after several months time. I hope this is where the packaging industry is going to go over the next few years...

The product itself is a lightweight gel with a black tint and a bit of gold shimmer in the formula. The formula absorbed quickly and easily into my skin, with no residue left at the end. It leaves a bit of a tingling feeling after application and this didn't bother me the first few times that I used it but began to as my skin got drier and drier as the weather changes. It left my skin soft and smooth, no complaints there but this formula just isn't enough in the winter months. It helped to brighten and clarify my skin, applying this over Clarin Vital Light Serum enhanced that formula and really lit up my skin.

This gel is best for warmer weather months for me, I am just putting it to the side at the moment since I need a stronger face cream. I could see this product working very well year round for someone with normal or oily skin and I would recommend to anyone with one of these types of skin.

photo courtesy of Boscia

MAC Daphne Guinness for MAC

2011-12-30T09:18:00.000-05:00

The last of the new MAC collection is the largest and the only full color collection. This collection is a collaboration of MAC and Daphne Guinness. MAC has released a large amount of collaboration collections this year and many of them have been among their best collections of the year so I have high hopes for this collaboration! Daphne Guinness is a big name in the fashion world, a British journalist and collector of haute couture who has an impeccable sense of style. In addition, she was named to the International Best Dressed list in 1994 and continues to be a major player in the fashion world. This will be a great color collection and I already am putting some of the items on my Most Wanted list!

"A first glimpse into the winter colour palette imagined and created by Daphne Guinness. An artist and collector of haute couture, Daphne is her art...this collaboration with MAC is "a window into my imagination". Limited edition." The shades in this collection are deep and cool toned and I fully plan to pick some of these up when I can get up to the counter!
The MAC and Daphne Guinness collaboration...

Eye Shadow x 4: Interior Life - Dark, moody, painterly, this limited edition Eye Shadow compact melds Daphne Guinness' choice of muted pink and dusky lavender with charcoal and mid-tone gray, creating a rich, smoky look.
- Stratus - light pink (Matte)
- Interior Life - dark lavender-y gray (Satin)
- Bruised Sky - mid-tone gray blue (Veluxe Pearl)
- Heather Belles - dark charcoal/carbon (Satin)

Pigment - Pigment is a highly concentrated loose colour powder that contains ingredients to help it adhere to the skin. Create a subtle wash of colour or an intense effect. Does not streak or cake. Easy to blend and long-lasting.
- Aurora - pinked taupe
- Circa Plum - frosty dirty mid-tone lavender
- Nebula - dark grayed brown with pearl

Eye Brows - Self-propelling, self-sharpening, brow defining. Confidently adds what you need: shape, colour, density in one streamlined tool. Like a pen, creates its own just-right point. Provides definition, shapes, deepens/fills in color. Creates striking arches. Easy to tote around. No sharpener needed.
- Fling - light taupe ash blonde
- Stud - deep rich blackened brown

Powerpoint Eye Pencil - Waterproof. Longwearing. Metallic, shimmer, and matte finishes. Smooth to apply. Won't transfer, smudge, or budge... Draws the line, powers your eyes. Makes it point. Lasts.
- Gray Utility - uniform gray
- Engraved - rich black

Pro Longwear Lipcreme - Lightweight texture, creamy finish, and comfortable longwear combine in this has-it-all pro-class lip colour. Slick in use, applies without the need of top coat, and still lasts up to 12 hours. Won't feather or transfer, and the colour stays true. Helps lips stay soft and hydrated.
- Warp Speed - light silver
- Red Dwarf - blue pink
- Seasoned Plum - mid-tone lavender
- Approaching Storm - deep rose

Cremesheen Gloss - A lip finish that fuses the creamy, sheen-filled nature of Cremesheen Lipstick with the shine of MAC Lipglass. Soft, comfortable, non-sticky. Applies with a doe-foot applicator. Use as a top layer to its namesake Lipstick or on its own.
- Borealis - pale gray pink with iridescent pearl
- Japanese Spring - pale dirty pink
- Narcissus - dirty eggplant
- Richly Revered - deep plum brown

Blush Ombre - A powder blush featuring a shade wave of gentle ombre hues. Ultra-fine formula provides the cheeks with flawless, medium-buildable coverage and lightly pearled, natural-looking radiance. Limited edition.
- Azalea Blossom - light cool pink
- Vintage Grape - mid-tone violet pink

Nail Lacquer - Revolutionary new high gloss formula. Three long-wearing finishes - Cream, Sheer, and Frosted. Visibly different. Provides no-streak,no-chip finish. Contains conditioners and UV protection. Go hi-lacquer!
- Hyperion - light gray blue green
- Endless Night - pale gray pink with iridescent pearl
- Blueblood - deep eggplant

My favorite pieces are the Blush Ombre in Azalea Blossom, this is the perfect cool pink for my skintone. The blush compact contain two shades so I can make it deeper or brighter based on the look that I am going for that day. My second favorite piece is the Lipcreme in Approaching Storm, the deep dark rose shade. This will be great for a dramatic lip look while my skin is pale this winter.

I love the nail polish shades in this collection, especially Blueblood. However none of the shades are very unique and I could find dupes of them in the OPI or China Glaze line if these sell out before I get a chance to buy them. I could go either way on the eye shadow, I would use three of the four shades but I'm not overwhelmed by the palette. I bet that I could skip over it unless it looks amazing in person. The last piece of this collection that I really like are the Red Dwarf and Seasoned Plum lipsticks.

This might be one of the best collections of the year from MAC!

photo courtesy of MAC

MAC Metal-X

2011-12-29T09:59:00.000-05:00

The second of the new MAC collections is the one that is designed for the eyes. Metal-X is a cream eye shadow formula that was originally released as a limited edition product back in 2007 and now is again being released as a limited edition collection in the end of 2011. I know that this product has tons of fans so I am wondering if MAC is considering releasing this in their permanent or pro line. Based on the description on their website and the swatches that Temptalia has posted, this product formula looks as though it is very close to Illamasqua's Liquid Metal. This means that it will be a full pigment eye shadow but will be much more high maintence in application than a traditional cream formula.

"After a stunning 2007 debut, the molten magic and liquid metal of Metal-X Cream Shadow is back, better than ever! Gilt-loaded, platinum-popped - 9 shades in all. Metal heads look forward to the return of extreme multi-dimension and shine!" The words 'liquid metal' are even in the product description so I imagine that this product is very close, if not exactly like, the Illamasqua formula!

Metal-X Cream Shadow - A cream to powder metallicshadow that provides liquid metal effects. Goes on smoothly, blends like a charm. An extremely luxurious highlight/finish for eyes, cheeks, and skin.
- Cyber - metallic silver with silver pearl
- Virgin Silver - white with silver pearl
- Fusion Gold - light pinky beige with gold pearl
- Palladium - metallic ash
- Rusty - dirty peach gold
- Red Hot Copper - warm copper
- Venetian Tarnish - golden tarnished bronze
- Vintage Coin - metallic olive green
- Gold Carbon - metallic taupe

I read all about these shadows on the Temptalia blog, I haven't gotten up to the counter yet. She states that the formula is more high maintence than a traditional cream shadow, a fact that didn't surprise me based on the description from the company. If you want a cream shadow that is easy to apply and can be applied and blended quickly with fingers, then the MAC Paint Pots would be the best bet for you. This formula is more pigmented and would better if you want a highly pigmented finish and a more dramatic eye look.

My favorite shade is the pink gold shade, the Fusion Gold. Gold Carbon is very pretty also, I would it as a shadow or a liner which is also the same way that I would use Vintage Coin and Venetian Tarnish. Overall, the golds are my favorites in this formula. Cyber is also a great shade and I would use it for a dramatic silver gilded eye look.

Now onto the MAC and Daphne Guinness collection!

photo courtesy of MAC

MAC Tour de Fabulous

2011-12-28T10:27:00.000-05:00

Here commences the huge MAC after-Christmas releases! On December 26th, three brand new collections were released, the first group of new releases from MAC since before Thanksgiving. I was much looking forward to these new releases because after looking at the holiday collections and the awesome collaboration with Gareth Pugh, there was little to no reason for me to even visit their website. One of the collections is a full color collection and the other two are smaller and more focused, one toward lip products and the other toward eye makeup.

We are going to start with the two smaller collections and then finish up with the large color collection that was made with Daphne Guinness. Tour de Faboulous is the lip product collection and it features a range of new Lipglass shades and matching Lip Pencils. "Lips speak louder than words. Eleven intense new shades of Lipglass with eight coordinating Lip Pencils. A Tour de Fabulous! Limited edition."

The new lip collection...

Lipglass - A unique lip gloss available in a wide variety of colours that can create a high gloss, glass-like finish or a subtle sheen. Designed to be worn on its own, over Lip Pencil or Lipstick, Tinted Lipglass is the perfect product for crating shine that lasts. It's pigmented, very shiny, and can impart subtle or dramatic colour. It contains Jojoba Oil to help soften and condition the lips. Tinted Lipglass is packaged in a convenient bottle with a sponge tip applicator that provides a quick, smooth, even application.
- Casual Air - frosted pale pink
- Check This out - coral with 'transforming' yellow-pink pearl
- It's a Wow - midtone blue pink ('rose pink')
- Rich and Witty - neutral dirty pinked beige
- Comfort and Joy - midtone frosted dirty mauve
- Famously Fab! - purple-lavender, slightly pearled
- Tour de Fabulous - clean/bright yellow pink with pearl
- StylePacked - bright, vivid fuchsia
- Knockout - red with pearl
- Rich Bounty - deep red-brown with pearl
- Real Posh - deep berry, slightly pearled

Lip Pencil - A pencil designed for shaping, lining, or filling in the lip. Lip Pencils have a smooth, creamy texture that is perfect for lining the lips or filling them in. They are long-lasting and available in a wide selection of colours that work well with many different lipstick shades.
- What Comes Naturally - pale peachy beige
- Hip 'n' Happy - dirty blue pink
- Have to Have It - soft warm beige
- Just Wonderful - dirty mauve
- Entertain Me - clearly orange
- Lasting Sensation - bright coral
- Embrace Me - vivid pinkish fuchsia
- Just My Type - intense warm brown

I love some of these new Lipglass hues and I think that I will need to go the counter and treat myself since I haven't bought lip gloss in almost two months. My favorite shade is the one that I have pictured, it is It's a Wow. I love this cool, clean shade of rose and I can see myself getting a huge amount of wear from it all year round. Since spring is coming upon us next, I would like to buy Casual Air and Tour de Fabulous to start my pink lip gloss arsenal for that season. Last but not least, Rich and Witty is another good pink neutral shade that I will be able to wear with many different eye looks.

Now onto the eye makeup collection of the releases!

photo courtesy of MAC

Urban Decay Naked vs. Naked 2 Palettes

2011-12-27T10:13:00.000-05:00

My last post was all the details that you will be needing about the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette, I love mine and I really recommend that you guys all go out and buy it when it finally becomes available. But one of the big questions with the new version of the palette is this: "If I already own the original Naked palette do I really need the new version of the palette." I would initially agree that you need both palettes but we will look at them a big deeper and see who might want both and who might be able to get away with only buying one of them.

Both palettes contain 12 shades of eye shadow, some of which are unique to each palette and some of which are in the traditional Urban Decay shadow range. Both palettes allow the user to create a range of eye looks, from a light neutral to a deep smoky look. It appears that Urban Decay was very careful when they created both palettes in that they made sure that all the shades could work together and give the user maximum benefits from their purchase. That being said, are the shades in the palettes all that different and do really they create looks that are very different. My honest answer is that many of the shades are not very unique and the looks created by each palette will not be very different. That being said, the original palette contains warmer shades than the new one, which focuses on cool tones and the popular taupe and greige hues that we have been seeing all throughout the fall and winter seasons.

As a refresh, I have included a picture of the original palette and we will quickly look at each palette in both palettes. I am not going to discuss the brushes that are included in these palettes or the primer and lip gloss that come with, all of these products could be purchased on their own and don't really affect the palette itself.

The original palette offers the following shades...

- Virgin - nude satin
- Sin - champagne shimmer
- Naked - buff matte
- Sidecar - beige sparkle
- Buck - brown matte
- Half Baked - bronze gold shimmer
- Smog - golden brown shimmer
- Darkhorse - bronze-plum shimmer
- Toasted - taupe-bronze
- Hustle - mocha shimmer
- Creep - near black metallic
- Gunmetal - dark gray metallic

And the shades in the Naked 2 palette...

- Foxy - cream bisque with matte finish
- Half Baked - golden bronze with shimmery finish
- Booty Call - shimmery cork
- Chopper - copper shimmer with silver micro-glitter
- Tease - creamy pale brown with matte finish
- Snakebite - dark bronze shimmer with metallic base
- Suspect - pale golden beige with shimmery finish
- Pistol - light gray brown with shimmery finish
- Verve - oyster with shimmery finish
- YDK - cool bronze shimmer with metallic base
- Busted - deep brown with shimmery finish
- Blackout - blackest black with matte finish

I am impressed that the only repeat is Half Baked, it appears that Urban Decay has been listening to their fans complain that so many of the shadows are repeated from palette to palette and they are getting a massive collection of the same shades (I have Smog in three different palettes as this point and I don't need the shade three times!). I respect Urban Decay for creating two palettes that are similar yet aren't copies of each other and both of which provide a great shade range for their fans.

The shades in the two palettes that are the most similar are the highlighters down at the left end of the palette, none of them are exact dupes for each other but none of them are all the different. Both of the palettes contain pale matte shades which are the hardest of the shades to work with and my least favorites. The deeper shades at the right end of the palette are where we really see the differences between the palettes and are the major reasons why you would want to purchase both of the palettes. There are absolutely no dupes in the dark shades, Darkhorse is completely unique from the original palette (this one has very few dupes overall in the Urban Decay shadow line). From Naked 2, Snakebite, Pistol, and Blackout have no dupes at all.

Do you need both? I think that the answer is in the affirmative! If you are an Urban Decay fan, you will end up buying both. If you have blue eyes and use these types of shades all the time then you will want both palettes. If you have brown or hazel eyes and prefer to use shadows with more color then you could get away with only owning one of them, likewise if you don't do a neutral eye look all that often then of course you will not need both palettes. I love both of the palettes and really recommend that you purchase both as they are both beautiful and different in many ways.

photo courtesy of Sephora

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

2011-12-27T09:33:00.000-05:00

The original Urban Decay Naked Palette is a staple in my traincase, it has been a favorite of mine since I first bought it in the late summer of 2010 and I still reach for it more than any other eye palette that I own. This month, Urban Decay released a follow-up to this best selling palette of neutrals and bronzes and I first posted a picture of it when I saw hints of it on Facebook. I was lucky enough to be on my computer when the official email came, stating that it was available for purchase in very limited quantities. I ordered the product so fast that I never even looked at and hoped that I would love it the way that I loved the original. Within an hour, the Urban Decay website was completely crashed and the palette was soon sold out and every restock every since has been sold out. I was very lucky to get mine when I did and now I am glad that the semester is over and I have time to really play with the shades in it.

So far this product is only available on the Urban Decay website, I have heard rumors of a late winter release to Sephora and to other retailers that carry this beauty product line. It is still sold out but at least it is listed on the website, an improvement from the first sell out. I'[m sure that there are a lot of ladies that are looking at this on the company website and beginning to decide how they want to spent their spring beauty budget...

"The most anticipated sequel of the decade! Our new palette is meticulously packed with 12 Taupe + Greige neutrals, featuring five exclusive new shades. Naked 2 has 12 pigment-rich taupe + greige neutral eye shadows, including five new shades. Our palette proves once again, neutral is anything but boring (and is downright sexy when worn Naked). Feast your eyes on our shades ranging from pale to deep, matte to sparkly. This collection lets you achieve lots of neutral looks, smoky dramatic eyes, and everything in between. Let's just say there's a whole new way to get Naked! The case has an art-school inspired look with hinged lid - taupe metal with embossed chocolate brown artwork. It's smooth, modern, and cool to the touch - a real tactile experience. Plus, our palette also features a travel-sized Lip Junkie Lip Gloss in Naked, AND a double-sided, cruelty-free Good Karma Shadow/Crease Brush (available only in this palette). Any self-respecting makeup lover will love to have both palettes to get their complete neutral fix!"

This palette contains five shades that are brand new and only found in this palette; the rest of the shades are from their normal eye shadow line (some of which were also in the original Naked palette). The shade list...

- Foxy - cream bisque with matte finish
- Half Baked - golden bronze with shimmer finish
- Booty Call - cork with shimmer finish (exclusive to this palette)
- Chopper - shimmering copper with silver micro-glitter
- Tease - creamy pale brown with matte finish
- Snakebite - dark shimmering bronze with a metallic base
- Suspect - pale gold beige with shimmer finish (exclusive to this palette)
- Pistol - light brown/gray with shimmer finish (exclusive to this palette)
- Verve - oyster with shimmer finish
- YDK - cool bronze shimmer with metallic finish
- Busted - deep brown with shimmer finish (exclusive to this palette)
- Blackout - blackest black with matte finish (exclusive to this palette)

This palette contains several standout shades and one major letdown. The standouts are the shimmer and metallic finishes; the best are Half Baked, Booty Call, Verve, Suspect, and Snakebite. I am not going to talk at length about Half Baked, this has been a favorite of mine for years and I have covered it many times before. Booty Call is a great highlighting shade, it is pretty champagne with enough pigment for a highlighter. Verve is the shade in the palette that has the most gray in it, it is a true greige. It is very pigmented, easy to work with, and looks great with all the neutrals in the palette. Suspect is not very unique but is another shade that works well as a highlighter and blends well with every shade in the palette. Snakebite might be my favorite shade in the palette, it a dark bronze with gold shimmer. I use it right on the lid or as a liner. Very pigmented and buttery soft when applied, this is among the best of the Urban Decay Eye Shadows. The major let down is the Tease shade, I don't like mattes to begin with and this shadow embodies all the reasons why. It applies hard and the texture is really lacking, it is very dry and hard to blend. I tried it as a highlighter and it took longer to get on than any other shade in the palette. It looked dirty when applied with the NARS 3 Brush and I had to start blending it with my fingers to soften it, my least favorite of the palette.

This palette also contains a small lip gloss and a dual-ended brush. One side of the brush is a crease brush, the other side is a stiff shadow brush. The crease side made me the happiest, I was actually looking to buy a crease brush with a stiffer bristle than my MAC 224 Brush so that was an unexpected treat when I opened the container (I ordered this palette so fast that I never even took notice of the brushes in it!), the shadow side is just like any other stiff shadow brush. It applies nicely but I prefer to use my MAC shadow brushes, they are larger and can get more shadow on my lid much quicker.

The lip gloss included with this palette is a small version of their Lip Junkie product, a gloss that I haven't tried yet. The gloss was another surprise since I never looked at what shade it was when I was ordering it. "Get hooked on shine, without the sticky hangover. Lip Junkie features a soft, luxe texture, stay-put shades, and tastes like wedding mints. Addicted yet? You want a super-shiny lip gloss, but can't stand the sticky texture, right? Wait til you feel the soft, cushiony texture of this gloss! Lip Junkie stays put longer than other glosses, but never feels gummy or gooey. It comes in a range of pretty amazing shades (if we do say so ourselves), and the color payout is amazing. Take your pick from sheer to pretty neutrals, kick-ass brights, or glimmering near-black. And the flavor? Think yummy wedding mints...a sweet mint with a little zing that makes breath feel fresh." Naked is the shade that is contained in this palette, it is a permanent shade and the name makes it a great addition. It is a pinky neutral, very my-lips-but-better. The flavor is great, I love mint glosses and this one has a bit of kick to it. I want to try more of these glosses!

In conclusion, if neutrals are your thing than you will love this palette. If you are an Urban Decay fan, than you will love this palette. These shades are very wearable and you will get lots of use from them and the palette is worth ordering and waiting for. But is it better than the original Naked and do you need one or both? That will be covered in my next post...

photo courtesy of Urban Decay

Vincent Longo Water Canvas Blush

2011-12-26T10:23:00.000-05:00

Vincent Longo is a line of products that I used to use all time about five years. However in that time, it has been pulled out of the Sephora stores and Bath and Body Works has stopped carrying makeup in their larger stores so I now have to find this line online and therefore I have bought much less of it in the past few years. One of my favorite products in the line was always the Water Canvas Blush and this is one of the only products that I still continue to use from the line, I have been using this blush since before I started this blog. It was always a staple in my train case yet I kept forgetting to write about it for some reason, this blush is fantaastic and is the reason that I started using cream blush (and haven't looked back ever since!).

Pretty much the only way that I can get this product line is to order it from the company's website so that is also where I am getting all of my product information for this post. "Based on the patented technology of our legendary Water Canvas Foundation, Water Canvas Blush is a moist, refreshing formula, so light and natural looking, it perfectly mimics the flush and glow of healthy skin. Contains 75% Microwater, and unique 100% natural botanical seaweed polymer, along with Vitamin E, and silica. Moisturizes and protects the skin. Easy to apply and very long lasting. Two shades may be used to sculpt cheekbones for the most dramatic, yet utterly natural finish."

This product is the most concentrated cream blush that I have ever used. Ever... I am still using the same jar that I purchased over five years ago, I only need a very little bit of this product for my cheeks. Due to the Microwater in the product, care must be put into closing and opening this product. The jar is airtight so the product isn't aging at the same rate that other products do. This product must be kept airtight, it will quickly dry out if it is closed wrong and the whole product can be lost in a matter of hours, the case contains a mechanism that produces a clicking noise when it is closed correctly.

The Microwater in this product is exclusive to the Vincent Longo Water Canvas line, I don't know how long the company has this patent for so I don't know when we will be seeing other companies using this type of technology. This technology actually makes the product feel cold when applying it, an odd feeling in a cheek color product. This blush produces the most natural flush on my cheeks and I get many compliments on how great I look when I have it on. Compliments on my overall look and skin, not on my makeup shades.

This product can be applied with either clean fingers or with a sponge. Vincent Longo provides a variety of application details on their website. "For a clean, natural look, apply Water Canvas Blush onto the apples of the cheeks with your fingers. For a more professional look, blend color more intensely along the cheekbones with Vincent Longo #37 Foundation Brush or Vincent Longo Wedge Sponge." I have found that this product is best used with clean fingers, over bare skin or a liquid foundation. I didn't like the way that this product blended over a powder foundation (which I rarely use anyway). The #37 Foundation Brush gives this product a very dramatic, sculpted look which I don't really like. I have used it with the #26 Highlighter Brush, this tools provides more pigmentation than using it with my fingers but still looks more natural than using it with the sponge or the stiffer brushes.

This product is available in the following shades...

- Aqua Crimson - peachy pink
- Aura Passion - medium neutral
- Lucky Light - light peach
- Mermaid Muse - deep warm peach
- Clover Mist - deep warm pink
- Forever Flush - medium warm peach
- Morning Tender - bright rose pink
- Nature Ray - light neutral
- Savannah Fresh - medium warm pink
- Swan Lake - medium cool rose
- Terra Dew - bright warm red
- Tuscan Spell - deep brick red

The only shade that I have from this product is Swan Lake, the cool medium rose. These blushes are very pigmented so many of them would look awful against my pale skin. Any of the warm peaches looked very unnatural and the deeper neutrals and reds were just too much for me. I wish that this product contained a few more shades for cool skin since I love this formula. I would love to buy this product in more pink shades, I feel that the shade range is too skewed to warm and deep shades. In addition to wishing that there were more shades in this range, I am also wary of ordering these online since they are so pigmented and can look very different in person.

photo courtesy of Vincent Longo

Spring 2012 Beauty Trend Report

2011-12-25T15:46:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope that everyone is enjoying their holiday, I am working hard to get some blogging done and to get a few extra entries saved before the spring semester begins. Winter may just have arrived last week however the spring collections are beginning to be seen on a few cosmetics' companies websites, I think that Too Faced posted their's on the first the day of winter itself. Within the next month, the collections will come out faster than I can keep up (especially after the semester begins) so we are going to begin early by looking at some of the top trends that we should expect to see throughout spring. At the beginning of every spring and fall season, Allure has an article with the top trends from the runways and I have seen that these lists are completely on point so I am going to continue to get my information from this source.

Overall spring looks like it is going to be lots of fun and contains some trends that will be easy for me to work with. I am anticipating that the late winter release to Sephora of Urban Decay's Naked 2 palette will be huge and that this product will be contained in the company's spring 2012 makeup collection. I am glad that I am not seeing pictures of the brightly colored shadows that were all over the runways the past few years since they could get overdone very easily, I am seeing more of a shift to neutral eye shadow colors and more vibrant lips, trends that I can easily work with.

Courtesy of Allure magazine...the top trends of spring 2012!

Red Lips - Makeup artists took red in totally unexpected directions. Charlotte Tilbury chose a deep chocolate-red at Donna Karan, while Pat McGrath went for a glossy cherry at Balenciaga and a metallic crimson at Yves Saint Laurent. She described the latter and "young and slighty eccentric". Trick of the trade - To avoid any hard lines, skip lip pencil and clean up the edges of your mouth with a finger, as McGrath did at Dior. "It's a fresher way to wear red.", she said.
Messy Updos - With updos, neatness was not a virtue. "The more disheveled the hair, the nicer it looks.", Guido said of the wispy crown of braids at Valentino. French twists were soft and loose at Louis Vuitton and Dolce & Gabbana, while the bouffants at Fendi were "destroyed a bit" by hairstylist Sam McKnight right before models right the runway. Trick of the trade - For a roughed-up twist like those at Louis Vuitton, spritz a texturizing spray on dry hair for matte finish. After securing the twist with pins, pull out a few pieces from the top and bottom, "so it's a little bit punk-y.", Guido said.
Earth-Toned Shadows - In shades of taupe, khaki, and copper, there was nothing overly dramatic about spring's smoky eyes - but smudged all over the lids and under the eyes, these tones were subtly sexy. At Haider Ackermann, clear gloss topped the copper shadow, which "made the look even more seductive.", said makeup artist Stephane Marais. Trick of the trade - Soften the edges of the shadow with a domed brush. "It should look like a watercolor.", said makeup artist Lucia Pieroni, who employed the technique at Missoni.

Tough Hair - Grungy, wet-looking hair - achieved with loads of mousse or a combination of sprays - "has an edge and coolness", said Guido, who created the looks at Prada, Lanvin, and Alberta Ferretti. At Giambattista Valli, hairstylist Orlando Pita left the bottom half of the hair dry and fuzzy for the same kind of grunge-meets-glamour effect. Trick of the trade - Start with dry hair. curl your hair from the ears down, then rake mousse from roots to tips until your head is saturated. But skip hair spray: it makes the hair too crispy.

Flushed Cheeks - Two was better than one for the sweet cheeks at many shows this season. Makeup artists dusted a combination of peach and pink blushes on the apples and along the cheekbones. "It gives a really gorgeous hue without looking too heavy.", said makeup artist Diane Kendal who used the trick at Alberta Ferretti and Proenza Schouler. Trick of the trade - When wearing two shades of blush, don't layer one on top of the other on your face - the colors won't blend sufficently. Instead, swirl your brush in both blushes before applying.

Ponytails - All manner of ponytails came swinging down the spring runways. Some were curled and romantic (Nina Ricci), while others were slicked back and architectural (Herve Leger and Marchesa), and at Balmain, they looked as if they had traveled straight out of The Official Preppy Handbook. Trick of the trade - Spritiz a saly spray on your ponytail for a messy vibe - Guido's last step at Reed Krakoff - or curl the ends for a polished look, like he did at Nina Ricci.

Crazy Hair Color - Hairstylists went wild with temporary color. At Gucci, Luigi Murenu brushed on streaks of black and gold; Eugene Souleiman added rose gold extensions at Peter Som. At Thakoon, Odile Gilbert coated the updos with colored chalk that's used in Europe for indigestion. Trick of the trade - For real life, colorist Aura Friedman, who dyed the extensions for Peter Som suggests getting a couple of one-inch streaks under the top layers of hair on either side of your part. Rose gold is pretty on blondes, and pale coral or mauve works for brunettes.

Black Eyes - Black on the eyes sounds basic, but when the rest of the face is bare, it becomes dramatic. Thinly lining the top lashes at Jil Sander added definition to an otherwise minimal face. A line on the inner rims at Prada looked tough with concealer-covered lips. And at Gucci, McGrath used black shadow and glitter for a "graphic, rebellious effect". Trick of the trade - For a charp, clean line, as at Jil Sander, choose a retractable pencil, as makeup artist Peter Philips did. "It makes it so easy because it's just like a pen".

I am torn with what my favorite of the new trends will be, I love both red lips and the earthy eye shadow shades. I can't wait to wear Naked 2 all spring and I am hoping that I find a few more great earth toned shadows this spring. The colorful hair trend intrigues me but I don't know that I can bring it into the real world, I doubt that I will be taken seriously if I have a few streaks of mauve in my hair even if I can hide it well. Perhaps I will try this trend with clip-on streaks of color and see how it goes one night when I am going out. The Tough hair trend is not me but I will try the Messy Updo trend, normally I prefer my updos tight and polished but I will try it out and see what happens. And the Flushed Cheeks trend? Just the reason that I needed to order even more blushes!

The picture included with this post is from the spring 2012 collection from Louis Vuitton.

photo courtesy of Vogue.com

Creative Nail Design Solar Oil

2011-12-24T19:37:00.000-05:00

I use hand cream every single day, often more than once a day. However this time of the year, not even the best hand cream can help my hands and especially my cuticles. I complained about my cuticles for the past few weeks until my friend gave me a small bottle of cuticle oil that her stylist had given her to try out. Apparently she felt that I needed it a bit more than she did...

What she gave me was a bottle of Creative Nail Design's Solar Oil, one of the product most often used in manicures and a star on the Makeup Alley Nail Board. "A synergistic blend of naturally light oils and Vitamin E, designed to deeply penetrate and protect skin and nails. Jojoba Oil carries Vitamin E deeply into the skin to help reduce visible signs of aging. Naturally light oils keep skin soft and supple. Keeps natural nails, nail color, and nail enhancements tough and flexible. Repeated use drives oils deeper into the natural nail. Super-penetrating formula conditions skin and nails."

The most positive part of this product is that it works exactly as designed, when rubbed on the cuticles at least once or twice, it helps to soften them and greatly improves the appearance of dry, ragged cuticles. I use this on bare, cleaned cuticles and then layer my regular hand cream on top, I don't recommend using them in the opposite order since the oil wouldn't be able to pentrate through the hand cream barrier. It smells very pleasant, the Sweet Almond Oil in it is responsible for the fragrance of the product.

This product is formulated with Vitamin E and Sweet Almond Oil, both of which are very effective. But considering that they are the two major ingredients, this isn't a very unique formula and the same type of effect could be achieved by buying the pure oils at a health food store. Not to knock this formula but I really think that it could be more complex if the company wants to treat it as a unique product and give the consumer a reason to only purchase this formula.

This product only has one downside but it is pretty large, the product must be used every single day in order to keep the hydration levels the same in the cuticle. I forgot to use it one night before bed and the next morning, my hands looked exaclty like they did before I began using this product, I would love if there was a product that would actually keep the hydration levels constant since I will end up being a slave to this product if I don't want my cuticles to be awful for the next few winter months. I can see myself using through bottles of this product really quickly...

photo courtesy of In Style.com

Aquolina Pink Sugar Body Mousse

2011-12-23T08:19:00.000-05:00

Earlier this season I wrote about the Pink Sugar Glossy Body Gel that had been part of my body product collection for quite a long time, I love that gel but can't deal with the rest of the body product collection. The Body Mousse is the major illustration in why this is one of my least favorite body product brands and I wish that Aquolina would improve on the quality of the line. I bought these products for the same initial reason that everyone else did and I will not repurchase for the exact same reason, the quality is just not there even though the fragrance is wonderful. I think that is what this company banks on to get people to buy the products, they all love the fragrance and want to be able to use it in more ways than just the perfume. I had stopped using the perfume itself a few years ago but I still got great pleasure from using the scent in body products.

"A rich and luxuriously soft cream based on a compound of limnanthes alba oil with extract of karite butter, to moisturize and nourish the skin after a bath or shower. Notes: Lily of the Valley, Candy Floss, Licorice, Fruits, Strawberry, Woody Notes, Powdery Musk, Vanilla, Caramel." Now I never talk about prices on this blog, being a firm believer that if you love something enough than you will figure out how to pay for it, but this collection is way over priced. The pricing is along the lines of Laura Mercier and LUSH however the quality is something like you would buy at the drugstore. Many people buy this product once for the smell and then are so disappointed in the product itself that they never repurchase it.

I was expecting a body butter-like texture for this product but sadly it is nothing like a great butter or cream. The texture is light and whippy yet somehow sticky at the same time. This cream has next to no hydrating properties to it and does nothing but fragrance my skin. It leaves a film on my skin that will annoy me for the rest of the night and the only way to avoid this is to use such a small amount of the product that I get hydration benefits at all. There is just no point to whatever hydrating ingredients are in this formula, I could find 20 better formulas on the market for practically half of the price. The formula is why no one ever repurchases this product, I firmly believe that if Pink Sugar improved the product quality, they would have a surefire winner on their hands. Not even lower the price, just improve the quality of the formula, I would glady pay the full price that is asked for this price if I felt that it actually helped my skin.

The shower gel is great in this line and I might try the regular lotion in an attempt to find something to layer the gel with. If this doesn't work than I am going to have to find a cream in one of the major notes or just give up on this whole body product line. Which is such a shame because it smells so great and I will only use the body products now.

photo courtesy of Nordstrom

My Favorite Products at this Time

2011-12-22T15:16:00.000-05:00

I might already be thinking about the spring months but that doesn't mean that I'm not enjoying some lovely holiday beauty products! Right now I have been using some of the best candy smelling holiday body products and some party ready beauty products. Even though this is the season of stress, I have been trying to take some time out and enjoy the best part of the holidays - all kinds of fun new beauty products and makeup shades. This is the best time of the year for body products, especially for those of us like myself who have a major Snow Fairy addiction and have to purchase all of it this time of the year and make it last until next Halloween.

My favorites of the holiday season!

LUSH Snow Fairy Shower Gel - "The fairy is back again this year for her legion of fans. The sweet bubblegum and cotton candy scent of this shower gel is mixed in with iridescent glitter, making her irresitible to those who love all things pink and fluffy (and those who deny loving all things pink and fluffy too!). Mark and Mo's daughter Clarie asked for a sweet, shimmery gel when she was 15, so Mark came up with this fragrance. We'd imagined that it would be popular with girls, but never believed that it would be so popular with grown men too! Use to wash your body and hair, and smell like a sweetie all day long. Lathering up in mounds of sparkly bubbles always tickles us pink! Being a vegetarian company, we use synthetic musk to give Snow Fairy her sweet vanilla-y scent." This is the perfect cotton candy scent that makes your whole shower smell sweet but doesn't linger after the shower and compete with your perfume. This is a returning best seller for a reason, this is one of the original cotton candy scents and I think it is the best out of all of them. I am considering buying another bottle before LUSH completely sells out.

Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Phallic - "Leave your mark with bold, rich, vibrant colors that stand out. The formula is hard wearing and chip resistant and contains individual finishes from matte to high gloss. Apply two coats for high intensity and use with Illamasqua Nail Base Coat and Illamasqua Nail Top Coat for the perfect finish. Make a statement and talk with your hands!" Phallic is a deep midnight blue shade with a shimmer finish. This was my favorite shade when I reviewed the product and I am still in love with it, I have done my last few pedicures in it and I keep falling more and more in love with it. It is the perfect midnight blue with shimmer that can be shine in certain lights. In certain lights, the shimmer comes out and the shade looks as those it is twinkling on my nails. This is the best midnight blue shimmer since Ciel de Nuit from Chanel and that is the highest praise that I can give any polish shade.

Urban Decay Eye Shadow in Half Baked - "An industry favorite and our best-selling product! Available in over 50 shades, our pigment-rich shadows are versatile, blendable, and beautiful. This is the product we were born to make - our best-seller! Professionals, celebrities, and makeup junkies swoon for our wide array of shades. Each one is pigment-rich: we load the shadow with color, and add very few binders (the stuff that holds shadow together), resulting in beautiful color that blends easily and lasts. Lots of finishes to suit your mood: sparkle, shimmer, duotone, or unsparkly satin. Our subway token compact comes complete with a window (see your shade without opening), and snaps shut with one hand - no more lost lids." Half Baked was first introduced to me in the original Naked Palette and now is featured again in the Naked 2 Palette (bought it just haven't finished playing with it to review yet), where I got to play with it again. It is a "rich gold" and that is exactly what it is. This is a lovely gold, rich and buttery in texture and is always flattering to my blue eyes. It made more sense in the original Naked than it did in Naked 2, but I am more than happy to already have a back up of it.

Stella by Stella McCartney - "A fragrance based on the contrast between the freshness and softeness of the rose, and the dark sensuality of amber, Stella is a sophisticated scent focused on an intense sense of feminity. The concept of Stella McCartney bath line is based on ecological and organic cosmetology, selecting the best natural raw materials and capitalizing on vegetal extracts based on organic agriculture and on extraction methods that respect and protect the natural life force of the plants. Notes: Rose, Peony Flower, Mandarin, Rose Absolute, Amber." I just bought another bottle of this scent and the matching roll-on and I have been wearing it almost every single day since. This has been a favorite fragrance of mine for years and I never cease to get compliments every single time that I wear it. This is one of the perfect rose fragrances and the amber note in it makes it very unique and adds a depth to the fragrance that is sometimes missing in single rose fragrances. I also love Stella McCartney and how vegan-friendly all her product lines are.

China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Ruby Pumps - "China Glaze is a professional-level nail enamel made with a special balance of polymers and resins that combine to create a nail lacquer that is long-lasting, chip-resistant, and resistant to color and shine fading. Will not thicken in the bottle, no thinners necessary." Ruby Pumps is a bright red with red glitter in it and it is made to look like Dorothy's pumps in the Wizard of Oz, this is the perfect holiday party color. It is impossible to look at this color and not feel festive. I have done my past few manicures in this shade to lead right up to the holiday itself. Wear is ok on this shade, it is bright and shiny however I get tip wear within a day of putting it on, so I do need to redo this manicure more than I do with other shades.

Happy holiday beauty everyone!

photo courtesy of Urban Decay

Philosophy Purity Made Simple Face Wash

2011-12-22T13:10:00.000-05:00

Last year, I was all about the Purity Made Simple Foam Face Cleanser in the warm weather months, it is one of the few cleansers that I completely used up and then considered repurchasing again. I am considering rebuying it next summer, since it is much too light to use this time of the year. The foam version is very effective to clean my skin in warm weather but this one will dry my skin out too much in the cold, dry air. So what did I do? Bought the original Purity Made Simple so I can keep reaping the benefits of the wash in a formula that is much better for dry skin.

In the past few weeks, I have run out of almost every single piece of skincare and I have bought a whole group of new products from Sephora. This is unprecedented timing, I have never had everything that I own run out in a two week period. This means two things: I had a few huge bills from Sephora and I am now using all new products and my skin is having a slight freak out some mornings. The Boscia Willowbark Breakout Treatment has been very effective in keeping the few new breakouts that I got from this process at bay. In addition to all the stuff that I have been trying, winter has just arrived and my skin is now much drier than it was a few weeks ago. My facial skin is my big obsession at the moment and getting it well adjusted to the new products that I am trying.

When I knew that I would need a new face cleanser, I decided to ignore any type of product that contained foaming ingredients or any fancy frills. I purchased a product that wasn't really new to me, I already stated in the beginning of this post that I had used the foaming version of this face cleanser last year and was very happy with the results in the summer months. Technically the version that I am using of this product is new, but the overall formula is not.

Sephora's website states, "A highly effective one-step facial cleanser. Philosophy Purity Made Simple is a pH-balanced formula that rapidly dissolves dirt and makeup while deep cleaning pores. The best-selling cleanser contains infusions of sage, chamomile, and carrot. Purity Made Simple is part of a collection of Philosophy products designed to soothe even the most dry and sensitive skin." I use this cleanser once in a day in the evening to clean off my makeup and the dirt that has accumulated during the day's activities. The suggested use of this product is twice a day but I never wash my face twice a day and I don't plan to start at a time of the year when it is very dry and easily irritated.

Also on the Sephora website, I found a few more details about the clinical test results that were found during the product testing. "100% reported that the cleanser is gentle enough for the eye area. 97% reported effective removal of dirt, oil, and makeup. 97% reported a clean, residue-free finish."

I have been using this face wash for about two weeks now and so far I have really liked it. It is best used on wet skin. I use about a nickel-sized drop to cover my whole face and it is the perfect amount. It doesn't foam up so I apply it all over my face, massage it in, and rinse it off. I use it all over my face however I have not tried it on my eye area and I don't plan to. I use a separate eye makeup remover to get all my eye makeup off, cleansers have never gotten the job done for me and I don't expect one that is this gentle to make a dent in my eye shadow primer and eye liners. It works well enough at getting my facial makeup off, which is all that I require from a gentle cleanser.

My skin is not tight, dry, or irritated after use of this product and I am really happy with it. Even though the textures are very different, this face wash and the foaming version work very much the same. The big difference between the products is in the fragrance; the foam version has a strong lemon scent that was a bit cloying but this version has a light herbal scent that is very nice. I like the scent of this one much better than the foaming version. I am actually tempted to buy a huge bottle of this face since I have been getting such great results from it!

photo courtesy of Sephora

OPI Nicki Minaj Collection

2011-12-21T21:11:00.000-05:00

Nicki Minaj is the newest beauty industry obsession, after the annoucement that she would be pairing up with MAC for the newest Viva Glam shade, she became the toast of the beauty industry and I am willing to bet that we will be seeing even more from her within the next few months. I am seeing the same trend that we saw with Lady Gaga two years ago and then with Katy Perry last year. I love all of these women so I am happy to see all of these trends and they end of making me buy all kinds of products and shades that might not have appealed to me before. The new Viva Glam shade comes out in Feburary so we have a bit to go before we are able to see that shade.

OPI will be releasing a nail polish collection made with Nicki Minaj in January 2012, so I am dubbing 2012 the "year of Nicki Minaj". Let's see how correct I am, I am betting on a fragrance release and tons of other color products coming out in the upcoming year. This collection contains six brand new shades, five of which are regular shades and one of which is a crackle finish top coat. Personally, I am the most excited for the Viva Glam lipstick but I am looking forward to this collection too.

The fact that Viva Glam teamed up with Nicki Minaj was actually the only reason that I ever gave her music and style a chance. I used to gag at every wig that she wore and I would refuse to ever listen to her songs. But when she teamed up with MAC, I downloaded a few of her songs from iTunes discovered that I really liked her. Thank god for MAC!

The shades that are in the Nicki Minaj and OPI collection are either bright or glitter finishes, but I would expect nothing less from a collection that was inspired by Nicki Minaj. This would not be a collection of boring reds and pinks and that is exactly what OPI needs to keep up with Illamasqua and China Glaze. This collection might inspire me to buy crazy shades from OPI, something that I rarely ever do. Normally, OPI is the company that I go to for reds and sheers. This is a whole new concept for me and might actually make me love OPI a bit more than China Glaze for the moment...

First we will start with the regular nail polish shades...

The first shade in named Pink Friday, after the title of Nicki Minaj's first album. On first glance, this is my early favorite shade of the collection. Lately, bright pinks for both lips and nails have been my style and I can see this going right into the spring. I am over the holidays and just so ready for spring! I am just so looking forward to spring shopping....

Pink Friday is the first shade is the collection. It is a light blue pink and we all know how much I love blue pinks! This is a great light blue pink shade and I imagine that this is will be the best shade to match the upcoming Viva Glam Nicki shade. This is a light blue pink and I wish that I could tell if it has a shimmer or a cream finish but the picture isn't exactly forthcoming as to what the finish of this shde is. It is the perfect light blue pink and I love it it. I can't wait to buy this shade and rock it all spring, this is a great shade and I can't wait to wear it. The second of the the new shades is Did It On 'Em, a bight green that is is so ready for spring. This is a bright yellow green that is reminescent of a shade that I wore in middle school. This is another shade that I can't tell if it is a shimmer or a cream. I doubt that this shade is one that I would use very much on my nails but would use more on my toe nails. I wish that OPI had a few more details of these shades, I can't really tell what I want to buy from it.

The next shade is named Fly, a shade that would be great for the spring and summer months. It is a bright robin's egg blue cream that reminds me a lot of the China Glaze shade For Audrey, a favorite polish of mine already. I really like this shade but I have to see it in person first because I might not need this if it very close to For Audrey, however unless it is an exact dupe, I will most likely end up buying it because the shade is so pretty. This is the last of the non-metallic shades, we will look at those two shades next.

The two metallic shades are very very heavy on the silver and chrome, both shades are able to be worn now and well into the spring. The first shade of this finish is named Metallic 4 Life, a deep metallic charcoal shade. This one will work best this time of the year but I don't know how well it will translate with the spring trends of light and bright polishes. In the warmer months, this might be better as a pedicure shade with black or silver sandals. I will reserve full judgement in this matter until I see it person. The second shade in the metallic finish is Save Me, a chrome that looks like it has holographic shimmer in it. This is the wildest of all the shades and another one that would work well in the winter time but also might be better with sandals in the warm weather. I really like the Metallic 4 Life shade but I think that I will be skipping over the Save Me shade, I doubt that I would get all that much wear from it.

The last polish is one with the popular Crackle finish that was first introduced in the Katy Perry collection last spring. I thought that the Crackle polishes were really unique and pretty when they first came out but I am now waiting for the trend to end. Putting a black crackled top coat over a light cream polish looked great but now taking the trend all the way to metallics is beginning to look cheap and trashy, I doubt that I will ever wear a Crackle again after seeing some of the looks that have been created with it. This shade is named Super Bass Shatter and is my least favorite shade in the collection, it is deep plum metallic Crackle top coat. I have a feeling that this will take the trend to new level of awful, I can't even imagine how bad this will look over any of the polishes from this collection. I am skipping over this polish and I cannot wait for this Crackle trend to end!

I love the pink and blue shades in this collection, the pink will look so pretty when paired up with the Viva Glam shade that should be coming out within the next two months!

photo courtesy of OPI

Boscia Willowbark Breakout Treatment

2011-12-20T19:30:00.000-05:00

A few months ago I wrote up the Murad Acne Spot Treatment and praised how gentle it was on my skin. Instead of making the healing look worse than the blemish itself, that formulation worked slowly but surely and cleared up my skin without creating a dry, red mess. I finished up my tube of that and decided to try another acne product that is also formulated without benzoyl peroxide or other drying ingredients. Which is not the easiest task, most of the ones in Sephora contained at least one of the ingredients that doesn't work well with my skin. I decided to concentrate my efforts on the skincare lines that have earned the Sephora seal for being natural and ended up quickly finding a product in the Boscia line of skincare.

The Willowbark Breakout Treatment really intrigues me because this is the first anti-acne product that contains active plant ingredients that help combat the blemished areas. "A botanically-based spot treatment for acne blemishes. Botanical willowbark helps provide relief from breakouts effectively and safely, even for the most sensitive skin. This unique anti-irritant calms inflammation while soapberry peal cleans and purifies. A combination of jojoba leaf and Vitamins C and E work with other effective ingredients to help reduce redness, control oil, maintain a clear complexion, and combat free radicals. Ideal for all skin types, including sensitive skin." This product is ideal for use twice a day in order to be most effective.

This acne treatment is even less irritating than the Murad formula, which I really like. My face showed no signs of irritation even when I got product way outside of the blemished area. This product is not for you if you want a quick fix for a blemish, it took an average of three to four days for the healing process to be complete. As with the Murad formula, this product excelled at reducing the redness faster than the blemish itself, it made the whole area less noticeable and much easier to cover up. This might no hold true for everyone, I have reactions to many traditional anti-acne ingredients and the reaction most often manifests in dryness and major redness. I have already stated that my biggest skincare concern is redness so I would much rather have a formula that takes longer to fully work but doesn't destroy my skin in the meantime.

I really liked the results that I got from this product and I would recommend it but only for others with skin like myself. This product is very effective for those of us with more sensitive skin and not a ton of breakouts. however with how slowly this product works, I cannot see that it would be effective for someone with moderate to severe acne, I think that a more traditional formula would give them much better results. This product is best for those of us who only get the occasional hormonal or stress-related breakout, not for someone who puts acne at the top of their skin issues.

My last thought on this product: I recommend the smaller version of this product. I made the mistake of buying the large pump bottle instead of the pen. Well, the large bottle pumps so much product out that I apply it to blemishes and then still have at least half of the pump left. I imagine that the pen would get rid of this issue. It is good thing that this product is not irritating since I have often ended up with it all over the blemish and the areas around it.

photo courtesy of Sephora

Illamasqua Nail Varnish - Shimmer Finish

2011-12-17T10:16:00.000-05:00

I have been talking the past few months about my nail polish obsession and therefore that is what I have been the majority of my beauty budget on. My two current obsessions are China Glaze and Illamasqua. I tried one polish from Illamasqua last summer and quickly became obsessed with the great formulation and unique shades. This polish is available in three finishes - Shimmer, Glossy, and Metallic. I decided to focus on the Shimmer finish polishes to begin with and I have been ordering them from Sephora for the past few weeks. I wish that this collection was carried at more Sephora stores, the closest one to me that carries this collection is over an hour and a half away and I have to cross state lines to get there... My Sephora is aware of my love of this line so they will call me when they get sent any of these products by mistake but so far nothing has really been working out in that vein.

The Illamasqua website gives a full product description, "Leave your mark with bold, rich, vibrant colours. Hardwearing and chip-resistant with individual finishes from matt to high gloss. Apply two coats for intensity and use with Illamasqua Nail Base Coat and Illamasqua Nail Top Coat for the perfect finish. Talk with your hands and make a statement." I bought three Nail Varnish shades in this finish - Phallic, Bacterium, and Baptiste.

Phallic is the first shade that I ordered from this product and the shade that began my whole obsession. It is only natural that I would try out a new nail polish line with a deep navy blue. This shade is a "deep midnight blue" with a shimmer finish. I love this shade, it is the perfect navy blue and the shimmer finish makes it very unique. I apply two coats of this polish for full coverage, one coat is not near enough for an opaque finish. In natual light, the shade looks like a midnight blue cream but in certain inside lights or out in the sun, the shimmer lights up and create a lovely, dazzling "lit from within" finish. This polish is next to Chanel's Blue Satin as one of the best navy blues that I have ever used. It lasts three days with no chipping and stays color true the whjole time. Removal of this polish is the only downfall, it removes very hard and it left an awful stain on my nails, I must repaint my nails right after I take this off. Removal aside, I love this shade and I have been obsessed with it the past few months.

Bacterium is the second shade that I ordered in this finish. I was initally very unhappy when I opened up the box on this one, the shade in the bottle looked nothing like what was displayed on the Sephora website. The Sephora website called this color "an opalescent beige" however the Illamasqua website called it a "pearlescent ash ochre". The Illamasqua website is much closer to what the shade actually looks like. In the bottle, the shade looks like a warm khaki shimmer and a shade that I never would have ordered if it was described that way. I was very close to returning this shade right away but I decided to try it on and keep an open mind. I hated my first manicure with this shade, I thought it looked odd with my skin but the shade began to grow on me after a few hours. Two coats gives an opaque khaki finish with minimal shimmer and a pearl finish. One coat gives a sheer khaki finish and the pearl is much more evident, I prefer this shade used in this manner. It creates a neutral look that is unique enough to cause people a double take. The wear on this polish was the worst of the three, this one only got me about two days before it began chipping and wearing off, a top coat extended the wear by about a day but it didn't really improve it that much. Removal was very easy and I have no complaints in that area. This still isn't my favorite polish but I will wear it for a more natural manicure look.

The last polish that I order was Baptiste, a shade that is on par with Phallic for amazingness. This shade is another deep tone, perhaps the shimmer finish comes out better in the deep toned polish shades than the lighter ones. This shade is described by Sephora as a "deep royal purple", it is a very dark and true purple. I don't own that many purples (I wear reds and blues when I do deep shades) so this one also took a bit of getting used to looking at. I quickly fell in love with this shade once I got used to seeing the purple on my nails, this is the shade of purple that I think of when I think of royalty. Two coats minimum are needed for this shade, it had a few issues getting it to cover evenly the first time that I worked with it. But one is even and fully opaque, it has a "wow" factor that we don't see enough in the new shades of polish. This one lasted about three days without chipping also but I did need top coat on it to keep the shine factor up. Removal was better than Phallic but still left some traces on my nails.

My initial Nail Varnish purchases have made me very happy even though I don't know that I still would have bought Bacterium had I seen it in real life. I love Phallic and Baptiste and I am now wondering if the better shades of this product are the deeper and more intense ones. I will be trying a shade range of all the other finishes to see if this holds true. Overall, application is smooth and pretty even (with the exception of the first coat of Baptiste), the brush is easy to work with, and the wear is better than many other brands. I will be ordering more shades of this polish formula to try all the finishes in it...

photo courtesy of Vampyvarnish.com

Shu Uemura Holiday 2011 Collection - Holiday by Wong Kar Wai

2011-12-16T11:16:00.000-05:00

Christmas is in less than a week and a half and therefore that means that this is the last of holiday collections. I was reading magazines last night and I am completely ready for the spring season to begin. I saved one of the best holiday collections for last, I have heard raves about the holiday collection from Shu Uemura and now we are going to check it out. Looking back on it, I should have put this collection first since it takes this company forever to ship the products over from Japan and they won't arrive in time to give for gifts if that is your intention. So next year, I will learn from this and put this collection first in the season...

The holiday collection from Shu Uemura was made in conjunction with film maker Wong Kar Wei. "For the holiday 2011 season, Shu Uemura comes together with internationally renowned film director Wong Kar Wei. Shu Uemura introduces a holiday rich in emotions and atmosphere, with beautiful package decoration inspired by Wong Kar Wei's special short film for Shu Uemura 'Mask'. Indulge in sensuous emotions, experience the essence of beauty, and boldly express your own passion this 2011 holiday season." This collection contains mostly single products with two sets of nail polish shades and I am looking forward to seeing if this collection is as great as I read that it would be.

The last of the holiday collections for 2011...

Rouge Unlimited Holiday Collection by Wong Kar Wai - Drown in the sensuality of glimmering lips. Three classy yet playful colors for alluring feminity. A brightly glittering shade to add a fun, festive shine to lips.
- Rouge Luster - express the heat of passion with this deep, tender red shade and a delicate gold shimmer.
- Pink Flush - caress your lips with this bright, warm pink with a fresh, glossy finish.
- Glitter Fuse - an innocent beige shade with a heavenly splash of golden dust full of hope.

Mini Nail Duo - A set of 2 mini bottles to enjoy rich, glamorous colors alone or to create original nail art to accessorize your fingertips with sparkling drama.
- Bleu Splendor - a set of cool and classy yet playful colors. S Starry Shine in a midnight blue Christmas sky.
- Festive Rouge - a pair just right for the festive season. Pearly warm and deep rouge meets golden charm.

Flashing Gold Mini Brush Set - This brush set includes the following brushes. Cream Color Brush: designed for the application of cream or liquid eye shadows. It is also an ideal brush for covering/blending blemishes and discolorations. Powder Brush: ideal for face powder and cheek color application. Eye Shadow Brush: a basic eye shadow brush for bringing out various effects and provides easy control of eye makeup. Precision Brush: depending on preference this may be used as a lip or eye liner brush and is ideal for powder or emollient textures.

Limited Edition Wrex+ Brightening Cleansing Oil Advanced Formula - Like watching a scene from "Mask", an exquisite image decorates this edition of Brightening Cleansing Oil. The perfect way to end a festive day - gently remove your makeup with this cleansing oil for beautiful luminous skin.

Lustrous Glow Powder - This warm, rosy powder with shimmering gold pearls enhances a lustrous glow. Use to create a natural, transparent complexion or to add a little brush to cheeks.

Pressed Eye Shadow Refill - Experience the infinite color choice for your ever-evolving style. Truest color payoff and a non-fading finish. Blends effortlessly for ideal coverage control. The powders capture light, absorbing and reflecting it for multi-dimensional effect. Full color spectrum. Five different textures. Matte (m): A velvety, even finish gives vivid color with a smooth finish. Pearl (p): A silky shimmer of light for luminous radiance. Iridescent (ir): Captivating shades offer glimmering reflections of changing colors. Metallic (me): Smooth like liquid with a metallic glow. Glitters (g): Abudant sparkles for glistening glamour.
- g Gold - sparkling gold
- m Light Beige 813 - matte light beige
- me Soft Purple 735 - metallic lavender
- p Dark Purple 781 - sparkling purple aubergine
- g Silver - sparkling silver
- me Medium Blue 686 - metallic denim blue
- ir Medium Blue 675 - iridescent denim blue
- p Dark Blue 696 - pearl midnight blue

Quad Custom Case Black - For 4 Eye Shadow refills or 2 Glow On blush refills or 2 Eye Shadow refills and 1 Glow On Blush refill. Shu Uemura's pursuit of perfection takes form in this innovative palette case. The jet black palette has a rich, lacquered finish, but the lid and base of both have slightly different tones, this color scheme is inspired by the harmony of the "wa", or traditional Japanese style art. An eco-concept, seeking a design without glue, plastic frames or other elements that may end up in a landfill. Shu Uemura's refill palette is like a game, with one small movement you can change your eye shadow selection to match your every desire.

Glittery Mascara - Sparkling glitter creates a mysterious golden veil and a hologram reflection on your eye lashes. Use as a topcoat over mascara for maximum glamour, or use alone for subtle, sparkling finish to make your heart dance.
- Glorious Masquerade - golden glitter

Jeweled Love Accent False Eye Lashes - Enhance your feminity with these partial eye lashes to cast a tender and alluring gaze. Lashes blended with fluttery, classical bordeaux feathers to create a soft, gorgeous look. Decorated with gold crystals, it is perfect for a holiday celebration.

Dance in Glitter Premium Edition False Eye Lashes - Raceful and luscious eye for special nights. Dancing in a shower of shining glitter, entice all those around you with these delicate, ravishing lashes.

This is the most unique collection that I have seen this season and since this is the last one, I know that it won't be topped at all. Actually the look created by this collection seemed to inspire what Cosmopolitan stated was the "perfect" look for getting dressed up on New Year's Eve. The glittering false lashes and glitter polish are perfect for getting very dressed up and celebrating. The eye lashes are too out there for me to pull off but I do like the glittering blue nail polish set that it is used on the model. That set would be my favorite piece of the collection and I am very tempted to order it from Japan.

My other favorite pieces are the Rouge Luster lip shade, I have heard great remarks about Shu Uemura's lipstick shades and I really want to try one out. I also love the eye shadows from this company so I want to order a few shades from this collection: I want the silver, gold, and lavender shades.

I love this collection and I am glad that many of the products are still in stock so that I can order a few. Holiday is always fun but I must say that I can't wait for the spring collections to begin!

photo courtesy of Shu Uemura

Giorgio Armani Holiday 2011 Collection - Madreperla

2011-12-15T09:49:00.000-05:00

I feel like the last few collections that we have looked at have been very small and I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing. Let me explain. I am happy that companies are focusing on quality over quantity and aren't just creating giant collections of products and shades in the hopes that people who love the brand buy everything. However, all these small collections makes it seem like holiday isn't as big a deal as the other seasons and considering that I give lots of beauty gifts this time of the year, I love to see variety. Though I might just be hitting the time in the holiday season where I am just sick of everything that has to do with the holidays and the season in general. The last statement is most likely the most accurate.

This collection is named Madreperla and Megan Fox is the muse for the collection again. At this point, I believe that she is the model for the whole line at this point. This collection consists of twopalettes; one for the face, one for the eyes, and three new shades for the lips. I think that I might be most interested in the face palette since I have seen a lot of great picks for the eyes and lips this season but nothing great for the face so far.
The newest collection from Armani...

Face Palette Holiday Color 2011 Madreperla - Armani's new limited edition holiday color collection features a signature black lacquered compact. For a satin eye effect, dress up your eyes with two harmonies of three shades in one shot.
- pale beige/golden beige/gray

Eye Palette Holiday Color 2011 Madreperla - Armani's new limited edition holiday color collection features a signature black lacquered compact. For a satin eye effect, dress up your eyes with two harmonies of three shades in one shot. Harmony #1 includes beige pearl, metallic gold, light green pearl. Harmony #2 includes white pearl, metallic taupe, and lavender pearl.

Gloss d'Armani Holiday Color 2011 Madreperla - Concentrated high definition color, fusing shine, comfort, and lasting hold. When one take is enough: Gloss d'Armani's flexible velvet applicator adds volume and defines contours instantly and effortlessly, with expert touch. Technology: Color-Fil Shine Technology, with a translucent base that traps pigments and pearlescent particles for a hydrated, silky smooth feeling without any stickiness. Comfortable, stay-fast color is like a second skin that remains true for eight hours. Treat yourself to lacquered lips. Armani's new limited edition holiday color collection features must-have Gloss d'Armani, now available in three new shades.
- 404 - deep ruby red
- 603 - deep brown
- 606 - deep cool purple

I think that this is one of the first collections that I can honestly say that I dislike pretty much every product in this whole collection. I hate all the lip shades, I don't find any of them very wearable. the eye palettes are nice but I don't need any of those shades so there is no point in me buying them. I also don't find the face palette to be all that wearable either since it contains the gray hue in it...

photo courtesy of Giorgio Armani

Make Up For Ever Holiday 2011 Collection - Wild and Chic Collection

2011-12-14T14:47:00.000-05:00

The holidays are getting closer and closer and that means that we are coming to the end of the holiday collections, I believe that we have less than five of them left to look at. Today's choice is a collection from Make Up For Ever that is a small collection of sets and palettes. This collection is named Wild and Chic and the shades from it could work equally well for a fall or holiday collection. This collection is based on the python prints that we have been seeing all over the runways and print magazines since the beginning of the fall season. This collection is not a traditional holiday looking collection however it is still a great looking group of sets. The one drawback about this collection is that it mostly contains eye makeup products, I wish that there was some more variety in this collection...
"Take a walk on the wild side. You have seen it on the catwalks, in the shops, and worn by fashionistas around the globe, the Python print is back! And Make Up For Ever is making the most of it! For this holiday collection, Make Up For Ever takes up the trend and creates arty python prints, showcased in objects of desire. Clutch style palettes, Minaudiere cases, holding selections of Eye Shadows, Aqua Creams, mini Aqua Eyes or mini Lab Shines. A new limited edition Wild and Chic collection with an offbeat tone directly inspired by the fashion trends. May the safari begin..."

Here is the collection...

Wild and Chic Must Have Palette - The Wild and Chic Palette is our must have product for this collection. This compact clutch-style cardboard palette decorated in an anthracite gray snake print holds six existing eye shadow shades and a mini Black Aqua Eyes, fabulous to create multiple harmonies. Saturated with matte or pearly pigments, this eye shadow selection will give you that perfect intense and radiant color result for the urban jungle out there.
- pale champagne gold pearl/pale gold shimmer/matte olive/reddish copper shimmer/deep matte chocolate/deep matte forest green

Purple Minaudiere - The Wild and Chic Aqua Cream and Aqua Eyes Minaudiere is a selection of your 4 beauty faves: 2 Aqua Creams and 2 mini Aqua Eyes, presented in a glam collector purple snake print metallic box. Aqua Eyes are great no fade, no smudge, long-lasting eye pencils. Their creamy, subtly iridescent texture lights up the eyelids with extra fine pearly particles. Aqua Cream are fabulous waterproof eye shadows with an impeccable hold that does not crease or run. Highly concentrated in mother-of-pearl and pigments in each of its shade, its pearly texture offers an intense payoff making the colors look luminous and instantly radiant on the skin.
- Aqua Eyes - Matte Black and Pearly Brown
- Aqua Cream - Anthracite and Taupe

Khaki Minaudiere - The Wild and Chic Aqua Eyes Minaudiere is a selection of 5 mini Aqua Eyes presented in a trendy khaki snake print metallic case. These long lasting, highly pigmented eye pencils are great no fade, no smudge eye liners. Their creamy, sublty iridescent texture lights up the eyelids with extra fine pearly particles.
- Matte Black/Black with Purple Highlights/Pearly Brown/Copper/Forest Green

Turquoise Minaudiere - The Wild and Chic Shine Minaudiere is a selection of 4 Lab Shine Glosses presented in a trendy turquoise snake print metallic case. The Lab Shine lip gloss mirror formula is light catching and provides a spectacular and intense shiny result. Specially designed to achieve an ultra-bright effect, its silky brush ensures an optimal and dazzling coverage.
- Light Beige/Fresh Pink/Electric Rose/Ruby Red

Premium Aqua Cream Palette - Wild and Chic Aqua Cream Premium is a set of 10 best selling Aqua Cream products and one 5N brush, presented in a glam collector metallic clutch style box decorated in black snake print. Aqua Cream are fabulous waterproof eye shadows with an impeccable hold that does not crease or run. Highly concentrated in mother-of-pearl and pigments in each of its shade, its pearly texture offers intense payoff making the colors look luminous and instantly radiant on the skin.
- charcoal/taupe/white/gold/copper/pale pink/mauve/deep brown/warm pink/violet

My favorite pieces of the collection are the minaudieres, these are some of the best gifts that I have seen so far this season - I would love to give on of these or get one for myself. The one that I would love to have for myself is the Turquoise with the lip glosses in it, I have never tried any of the lip products from this company and this looks like an awesome way to try them out. The Wild and Chic palette is awesome too and I must buy this for myself.

These might be the best gifts of the season!!

photo courtesy of Make Up For Ever

Bobbi Brown Holiday 2011 Collection - Party Collection

2011-12-10T19:52:00.000-05:00

Bobbi Brown's holiday collection is all about the fun and parties of the holiday season - which is exactly what we should be celebrating this time of the year! I am all about having fun and as I stated earlier this season, lots of people tend to forget about that this time of the year and more stressed out than anything else. Bobbi is so inspired by the parties and the fun of this season that she even released a new fragrance named Party to complement all the lovely makeup that is in this collection. This collection is all shimmer and great shades for both lips and eyes. I am so excited to look at these products!

The Party Collection from Bobbi Brown!

Onyx and Silver Eye Paint Palette - Accent eyes with the cool silvers and icy blues in this palette. these long-wearing, densely pigmented shadows can be applied wet or dry for a variety of effects. A unique combination of metallic powders, translucent oils, and polymers deliver a lustrous, highly-reflective finish.
- Tinsel - light silver
- Silver - blue silver
- Blue Onyx - deep indigo blue
- Lava - black with silver pearl

Chocolate and Gold Eye Paint Palette - Warm up your eyes for the holidays with this palette of golds and bronzes. These long-wearing, densely pigmented shadows can be applied wet or dry for a varoety of effects. A unique combination of metallic powers, transulcent oils, and polymers deliver a lustrous, highly-reflective finish.
- Gold - pale gold
- Bronze - beige gold
- Black Gold - black with gold pearl
- Chocolate - rich born with gold pearl

Party Eye Palette - Pop the bubbly! Champagne, gold, and copper shades will accentuate and complement any party attire for the holidays. Includes a Mini Dual Ended Shadow/Eyeliner Brush.
- Bone Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow - off white
- Champagne Quartz Metallic Eye Shadow - champagne pink
- Pebble Metallic Eye Shadow - pinky grey brown
- Pink Blaze Sparkle Eye Shadow - golden rose
- Copper Sand Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow - golden brown
- Black Chocolate Eye Shadow - blackest plum

Cool Party Eye Palette - With this versatile palette, you can choose to keep it cool and icy or choose to go for a more dramatic smoldering eye. These are the perfect shade options to go from day to night, with just the right amount of shimmer and sparkle. Includes a Mini Dual Ended Shadow/Eyeliner Brush.
- White Eye Shadow - pure white
- Iced Blue Metallic Eye Shadow - pale icy blue
- Rockstar Metallic Eye Shadow - medium metallic gray
- Sterling Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow - medium silver blue
- Gunmetal Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow - dark charcoal blue
- Onyx Sparkle Eye Shadow - black sparkle

Ultimate Party Collection - This collection features everything a girl about town needs to look party ready. With eight matte, Metallic, Shimmer, and Sparkle Eye Shadows plus four Glitter Lip Glosses, this palette will add a special touch of holiday fun to any look. Includes a Mini Lip Brush and Mini Eye Shadow Brush.
- Navajo Metallic Eye Shadow - creamy pinkish white
- Chrome Patina Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow - silver khaki
- Pewter Chrome Eye Shadow - cool bronze metallic
- Plum Steel Metallic Eye Shadow - gray plum with silver pearl
- Crushed Granite Sparkle Eye Shadow - pale silver lilac
- Antique Gold Metallic Eye Shadow - deep gold sparkle
- Black Topaz Metallic Eye Shadow - deep green with gold pearl
- Rave Glitter Lip Gloss - deep chocolate plum
- Soiree Pink Glitter Lip Gloss - baby pink with silver flecks
- Iced Lilac Glitter Lip Gloss - light lilac with silver flecks
- Tinsel Glitter Lip Gloss - bright pink with gold pearl

Party Shimmer Brick - For the holiday season, Bobbi adds Party Shimmer Brick to her iconic collection. This high luster combo of gold and silver will brighten your face for a glowing effect.

Dual Ended Eye Liner - Bobbi'e Dual Ended Eye Liner, one side brightens, while the other side defines for long-wearing that doesn't fade. A unique combination of soft waxes and oils, plus a high concentration of pigments provides silky-smooth application and dense, even color.
- Jet and Chrome - black and silver
- Caviar and Gold - blackest brown and yellow gold
- Chocolate and Bronze - dark brown and golden chocolate

Lip Color - Bobbi's original formula treats lips to rich color with a soft-matte finish. Infused with Vitamins E and C as well as Beeswax, it also moisturizes and comforts lips.
- Party Alice - pink rose
- Party Rose - deep berry

High Shimmer Lip Gloss - Bobbi's new lip gloss combines gorgeous, light catching shimmer with lasting, non-sticky shine. Made with fine pearls and clear pigments, High Shimmer Lip Gloss stays color-true and gives lips beautiful, brilliant dimension. Plus it's enriched with emollients and Vitamins C and E to moisturize, condition, and protect lips, so they feel as good as they look. Whether you wear it on your own or on top of your favorite Lip Color, the new tapered applicator lets you apply it like a pro.
- Silver Pearl - silver with pink pearl
- Gold Pearl - yellow gold with pearl
Shimmer Lip Gloss - Bobbi has sized up all her glosses to give you an extra dose of shine. Shimmer Lip Gloss offers beautiful, non-sticky shine with a touch of iridescence and is perfect on its own or over your favorite lipstick. Formulated with Aloe Extract to soothe and soften lips; Vitamins C and E for anti-oxidant protection; and Jojoba and Avocado Oils to moisturize lips.
- Black Pearl - dusty mauve

Bobbi's Party Eau de Parfum - Bobbi's new fragrance for the holiday season will put you in a festive mood. Featuring a rich bouquet of violet leaves, rose petals, and sandalwood, it's both classic and feminine, making in a perfect match for a cocktail dress or cozy sweater.

Lip Gloss Trio - Shimmer, sparkle, and shine. Bobbi's Lip Trio is the perfect gift and back for a limited time in three beautiful shades and textures. Now available in our original 4.2 ml lip gloss size. Wear each shade alone for a quick pop of color or layer over lipstick for extra shine. Includes Bare Sparkle High Shimmer Lip Gloss, Aubergine Lip Gloss, and Pastel Pink High Shimmer Lip Gloss.

Love, love, love this collection! The eye palettes in this collection are among two of the best that I have seen all season. I think that the brown and gold is my favorite of the two since all of those shades will work very well with my blue eyes. The Ultimate Party palette might also be the best palette that I have seen this whole season and I am hoping that this will be sitting under my Christmas tree on Christmas morning, I will be sending out some strong hints to family over the next few days. I will be sending the same hints out about the newest Shimmer Brick, I haven't even tried a Shimmer Brick yet but this one is so lovely that I want it just for the design in the powder.

Last but not least, I see another new rose fragrance! Adding fragrances to the holiday collections is a great idea and one that I hope that we continue to see over the next few seasons, I need to seek this one out too!

photo courtesy of Bobbi Brown

Trish McEvoy Holiday 2011 Collection - Winter Romance

2011-12-09T10:48:00.000-05:00

The new collection from Trish McEvoy is aimed at both the holiday seasons and the winter months afterward, it is much less holiday than many of the other collections that have come out so far. This collection creates a much softer, more neutral look than all the metallics and smoky eyes that we have been seeing for the past few weeks. This collection contains a range of products, from eye and lip shades to a new fragrance. I think that my favorite part of this collection will be the new fragrance, it is dark rose with a base of spices and woods. I am always looking for new rose fragrances and this one sounds very unique.

"Be a hopeful romantic this holiday season with these dreamy beauty enhancers.", states the Trish McEvoy website. The model for this collection has a more dramatic neutral eye look with natural shades for the lips. I just ordered the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette so I don't know that I need any more neutral shadows but this look is really pretty and I want to see if I already own anything like these shades.

Here is the holiday/winter collection from Trish McEvoy...

Eye Base Essentials - Trish McEvoy's Eye Base Essentials is a shadow primer and upper-eye brightener designed to correct darkness and discoloration of the eyelid, instantly creating a more vibrant, bright-eyed look while locking shadow in place for crease-proof, all-day wear. Wear alone or as primer for shadow longevity. Available in a range of shades to suit all skintones.

Deluxe Eye Shadow - This creamy, pigment-rich shadow delivers added brightness over your shadow primer, Eye Base Essentials. Long wearing, crease resistant, color true. Can be used dry and wet with Finish Line. Can be applied sheer or layered for more coverage.
- Shell - creamy pale beige

Eye Shadow - This creamy, pigment-rich shadow delivers perfect depth and intensity for shading, contouring, and lining. Long wearing, crease-resistant, color true. Can be used dry and wet with Finish Line. Can be applied sheer or layered for more definition.
- Antique Rose - medium warm rose shimmer

Glaze Eye Shadow - This creamy, shimmering, pigment-rich shadow delivers perfect depth and intensity for highlighting, contouring, and lining with a sophisticated finish. Long wearing, crease-resistant, color true. Can be used dry and wet with Finish Line. Can be applied sheer or layered for more definition.
- Romance - pale shimmering blue pink

Intense Gel Eye Liner - Trish's intensely pigmented, longest wearing gel eye liner in pencil form glides effortlessly along the lash line for high-powered definition and the built-in sponge tip allows for effortless creation of a sultry smokey eye. For use on inside or outside the lash line.
- Arabian Nights - deep navy blue

High Volume Mascara - This revolutionary tubular volumizing mascara forms water-resistant tubes 360 degrees around lashes, dries instantly, and cannot smudge or smear. Better than waterproof, the 24 hour formula stays just-applied looking yet slides off with only warm water without leaving a trace. The precision brush grabs lashes at the roots to lengthen even the shortest hairs for the look of a naturally lush lash line.
- Jet Black - deep black

Lash Curling Mascara - This revolutionary tubular curling mascara forms water-resistant tubes 360 degrees around lashes, dries instantly, and cannot smudge or smear. Better than waterproof, the 24 hour formula stays just-applied looking yet slides off with only warm water without leaving a trace. The innovative curling brush lifts and curves each lash for instant eye-opening curl.
- Jet Black - deep black

Bronzer - This innovative bronzer for all skin tones delivers a soft golden glow for a lit-from-within look. The ultra-fine powder glides evenly onto skin to create all-over warmth and definition while adhering for long wear. Trish prescribes this illuminating bronzer year-round for a healthy, natural glow. Universally flattering for all skin tones. Translucent pigments provide a mistake-proof application.
- Golden - medium matte bronzer for all skin tones

Lip Liner - This perfect lip-defining formula glides on smoothly for precise, natural definition.
- Barely Rose - neutral medium rose

Classic Cream Lip Color - Trish McEvoy's Classic Cream Lip Color Collection combines mistake-proof pigments with a lip-conditioning formula for a rich, creamy, long-wear finish.
- Vibrant Pink - medium cool pink

Black Rose Oud - Glamorous. Discover Black Rose Oud, a mesmerizing, opulent, modern scent that combines rare black baccara rose and coveted agarwood with vibrant florals, exotic spices, and sensual woods.

Very excited for this new perfume fragrance, this spicy rose sounds very unique and I must try it out very soon. I want all of the eye shadow shades from this collection, I see both of the pinks working very well with the original Urban Decay Naked Palette and I will be able to create many versions of this eye look by adding that palette to this look. I can live without the lip products from this collection but I am very curious about that bronzer, I am wondering how a bronzer will make my skin look this time of the year when it is super pale.

photo courtesy of Trish McEvoy

Clarins Vital Light Facial Serum

2011-12-08T14:27:00.000-05:00

My skincare choices have consisted of almost exclusively Caudalie for several years, all the way up until I began looking at Clarins products for my French Week 2011 theme week. I started with one of their primers and quickly fell in love with both that product and what the sales associate told me about the background of the brand. Therefore I jumped at the chance to try out a huge sample of the Vital Light Serum when Sephora offered it for free on their website several months ago. After about two weeks with my sample, I fell in love with this product and quickly bought the full size version of this facial serum. This is the first time that I have ever liked a serum near as much as my beloved Caudalie Vinoperfect Facial Serum, a very huge accomplishment for this serum.

This is the first skincare product that I have used consistently from this company and it was a great introduction to their brnad of high quality skincare. I have to count the primer that I bought from Clarins as a makeup product since I only use it when I need my makeup to last all day long, I use this product much more consistently than the primer.

The Sephora website gives the best product description that I have seen so far for this serum. "A superchared serum that defies dark spots, dullness, and wrinkles. This serum helps to correct the appearance of dark spots. It also visibly lifts and firms skin while restoring the deep luminosity of a young-looking complexion. Vital Light Serum features the unprecedented ingredient Hexylresorcinol. The latest scientifically proven dark spot reducer, this active ingredient addresses dark spots at the source: the pigmentation process. It is four times more effective than a two percent concentration of hydroquinone, an anti-dark spot ingredient used in the pharmaceutical industry. This serum also includes a tripeptide and exclusive plant extracts."

"Hexylresorcinol is 100 percent safe, 100 percent kind to skin, and creates zero toxicity. This product also boosts the performance of Clarins Vital Light Day and Vital Light Night products. It is allergy tested and non-comedogenic."

The Sephora website provides some of the results of the testing that was done on this product, showing that it is very effective and works the way that it is designed to. "71% saw a reduction in dark spots. 84% saw firmer skin. 85% saw a more radiant complexion. 88% saw a more even skintone. 57% saw a reduction in wrinkles."

The active ingredients are as follows...

- Hexylresorcinal - The latest scientifically proven ingredient, this safe, gentle alternative to hydroquinone is used to treat hyperpigmentation. A natural molecule, it reduces dark spots by going to the source of the pigmentation process.
- Spergularia - A pioneering plant extract, it helps lighten dark spots and hyper pigmentation to promote smooth, even skintone.
- Waltheria and Cochlearia - These two pioneering plant extracts reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles while restoring the deep luminosity of young looking skin.

I did a bit of researching into Hexylresorcinal but wasn't able to find much more than I found out about it from the Sephora website, it was originally used to treat small skin irritations and showed so much promise in this area that it was then used in clinical trials to treat the signs of aging. It showed promise in this area of skincare and as an added benefit, it showed unexpected promise is skin lightening and brightening. The current ingredient that is most used for brightening is hydroquinone, a bleaching agent that is very effective in small doses but has come under review from the FDA and cannot be used by women who are pregnant or nursing. It also has no effect on the signs of aging. This new ingredient is considered to be safer than hydroquinone and still as effective on lightening the skin, it also can be used in anti-aging.

I am a huge fan of this serum, it brightened my skin like almost nothing else that I have ever tried and evened my whole complexion out. The redness in my cheek area was reduced and my skin looks great without the full makeup routine. The texture of the product is thinner than the average serum and two pumps covers my entire face. It has a slightly perfume fragrance, nothing unpleasant but I would prefer it to have less fragrance since it could be irritating to those who have issues with fragrance. I use this product after cleansing both night and day and I beganto see results in two to three weeks, it first brightened my skintone and then as I kept using it, it evened out my facial redness. My skin looked clear and bright after three full weeks of use.

Do I prefer it to Vinoperfect? Yes and no. Here is a comparison. Vinoperfect has an anti-oxidant in it, this one does not and I prefer to use some form of antioxidant on my face during the day. I like that aspect of the formula of the Caudalie serum better. This serum works much faster since it contains more chemical ingredients instead of the natural based ingredients in the Vinoperfect. I love both serums and I bet that I will switch on and off between them, I am thinking about using this one at night to continue evening out my skintone and the Caudalie one for the antioxidant protectin during the day.

photo courtesy of Sephora

YSL Holiday 2011 Collection

2011-12-07T11:07:00.000-05:00

The YSL collection for this holiday is all about smoky eyes and red lips, this makeup collection is very dramatic and is very appropriate for all the holiday parties that will be occuring this season. I love both red lipstick shades and smoky eyes and therefore I am really excited for this collection and I am really looking forward to some great new red lip shades. I have been buying red lip shades almost solely from MAC and Lipstick Queen so I am really looking forward to trying a new one from YSL (I haven't used any lipsticks from this collection yet). I don't know if I will replicate the whole look on the model, doing both the smoky eyes and the red lipstick at once but I would be willing to try each look individually.
Here is the holiday collection from YSL...

Palette Terriblement Noir Eye Shadow Palette - Yves Saint Laurent revolutionized women's fashion in 1966 when he created "Le Smoking", the tuxedo suit for women. Taking inspiration from the iconic design, this limited edition eye palette uses one of the most emblematic symbols, the satin cumberbund while playing with the most sophisticated of black and white. Each shade expressed a different texture, representing the beautiful fabrics used by Yves Saint Laurent Couture House; Shiny Silk, Matte Velvet, Sparkling Moire, Glittering Lame, and Creamy Satin. Dress yourself in the textures of Yves Saint Laurent and create the most sophisticated couture smoky eye.

Manucure Couture - An elegant new Manucure Couture is inspired by the "Le Smoking" tuxedo jacket. Two deep black shades, one matte and one shiny for a sophisticated tone-on-tone manicure. Accessorize your nails with a couture look for the season: velvet and satin never looked so gorgeous together.

Rouge Pur Couture - A new generation lipstick inspired by Monsieur Saint Laurent's iconic color palette - red, fuchsia, and orange - in a collection of captivating couture shades that offer each complexion a customized look. Enveloped in a luxurious gold case designed by Creative Director Stefano Pilati, Rouge Pur Couture speaks elegance. Lips are saturated with intense, stay-true color, thanks to the Coloreveal Technology while natural extracts provide comforting moisture that lasts all day. Provides medium to full coverage with a radiant, satin finish. SPF 15.
- 38 Rose Aphrodite - light blue pink cream
- 40 Rouge Eros - medium berry red cream

Golden Gloss - Worth its weight in gold, this gorgeous gloss dresses lips in a sophisticated, high-shine shimmer that's truly precious. Sparkling 24 carat gold flecks (0.2%) create a mirror-like effect for guarenteed glamour, while a complex of nourishing oils protect and hydrate for optimal comfort. Scented with a subtle hint of mango that's utterly irresistible.
- 46 White Gold Quartz - warm white shimmer
- 47 White Gold Topaz - medium grape purple shimmer
- 48 White Gold Amethyst - deep black plum shimmer
Ombres Duolumieres - As homage to the spirit of Monsieur Saint Laurent, these vivacious, couture-inspired color pairs combine beautifully to dress eyes in a seamlessly sophisticated look that's luminous and lasting. The light shade may be worn alone, or as a base to extend the wear of the accompanying deep-toned shadow, while the dark shade creates depth, contour, and intensity. The silky, long-wear formula is infused with an optical smoothing effect that reveals breathtakingly radiant color that won't fade.
- 41 Silver Moire/Black Flannel - shimmering pale silver/black with shimmering silver flecks

The eye shadow palette that was inspired by "Le Smoking" is one of the best that I have seen all season, if not all year. I love this palette and can't even begin to list all of the looks that I could create with it for going out at night. That is my first choice from this collection, there is no point in getting the eye shadow duo since both shades in it are taken care of in the full palette. I can safely pass over all three of the lip gloss shades, I'm not that into any of them but I do like both of the lipstick shades. The pale pink that is included with this collection looks very close to the original Viva Glam Gaga, making it worthy of being checked out very soon.

This collection is right up there in my five favorite of the season...

photo courtesy of Nordstrom

Entre Derm Facial Toner

2011-12-05T17:54:00.000-05:00

I have been trying the Entre Derm system over the past few months and now I am onto trying my last product from this system. I have worked through the hardest and most technical of the products, both face creams and the eye cream. My last review was of the cleanser, a good basic creamy cleanser for normal to drier skin types. Today we will look at the toner that came with this set, this is another step to the cleansing routine in this collection. Toners are made to get any excess makeup and residue off the skin after cleaning and to help clean out and tighten the pores.

This toner is made to continue the cleansing of the skin and to get all of the excess makeup residue off so that the creams from this collection can penetrate deeper into the skin and help to deliver the anti-aging ingredients deeper into the epidermis. "Although crucial in daily skincare protocol, cleansing the skin affects the natural pH levels. Using a toner helps restore this balance and acts as a primer to receive active ingredients. Entre Derm Facial Toner compliments the Entre Derm Facial Cleanser by opening the pores and conditioning the skin to respond to the Entre Derm Day and Night Creams containing Somazone. Entre Derm Toner also helps to add elasticity and resiliency so you look and feel refreshed."

This is your typical toner and the only thing that it accomplishes is getting any excess makeup residue off at nightime. I never use toners because they tend to dry my skin out, making all of my redness issue even worse. This toner is no different than the typical toner, it helps to get all of my excess makeup residue off in the evening. It helps to complement the cleanser since cream face washes tend to not always get all of the makeup off my face especially with the way that I use primers to help keep my makeup in place. I like that it gets all the residue off but it still dries my skin out like any other toner that I have ever tried does. I just prefer to use a cleanser that will get all of my makeup off in the first place and not give me a reason for a separate toning step.

I am very happy that I was sent the whole Entre Derm set from a PR company since it gave me a chanvce to learn about the company and how all of the products work together. My favorite product was the day cream with the face cleanser being my second favorite. I would recommend this system to someone that has more issues with aging that I do at the moment since I wasn't able reap any of the reparative benefits from this product line. Also this line is best for someone with normal skin since neither of the face creams are made for very dry skin and the cleanser is too creamy for oily skin types.

photo courtesy of Entre Derm

Dior Holiday 2011 Collection - Les Rouges Or

2011-12-03T09:14:00.000-05:00

December is finally here and that means that we only have about three and a half weeks left to finish up all of our holiday shopping. This also means that the holiday collections are beginning to dwindle down, we have just a handful left. But the ones that we have left are still some great collections; we have yet to look at Bobbi Brown, Shu Uemura, and Lancome. But first we will look at a traditional favorite company of mine at the holidays, the Les Rouges Or collection from Dior. This collection might be small but it promises some great gold shades to usher in the holiday party season.
The latest from Dior...

5 Couleurs Eye Shadow Palette - Dior's bestselling eye palette offers endless possibilities in a seductive range of rich, versatile colors designed for easy application and wear. Use the oval wand to apply the lightest shade to the upper part of inner eyelid, then blend the darkest shade along the lash line. Shade the outer brow with one of the remaining colors. For more intensity, use a fourth color under the lashes.
- Incognito - pale champage gold/pale cool beige/shimmering cool taupe/deep shimmering bronze/medium bronze

Vernis - Gold to the end of your fingertips. Glowing in a haze of new light, nails are transformed into precious accessories. Injected with a golden powder as delicate as that of a goldsmith, Dior Vernis cult shades dress up in a radiant blaze.
- Or Divin - pale shimmering gold

Rouge Dior - Rouge Dior is a wardrobe of 32 sublime shades directly inspired by the deep, luxurious colors of Dior Haute Couture gowns to reveal all the beauty of triumphant and radiant feminity! Instantly and day after day, this exceptional lipstick offers the lips the extreme splendor of full, smooth, and perfectly defined youthfulness. The secret? A new generation of plumping hyaluronic acid microspheres. Generously coated with pigments on the lip surface, they help boost the radiance and depth of color.
- Pisanelle Pink 428 - neutral medium pink cream

The eye shadow palette is the star of this collection, it is perfect to help create a shimmering gold eye to wear this holiday season. I would use this one all the time, from this season and then all the way into the spring and summer. Tbis palette is going to be a great choice for me. The lipstick shade that was picked for this collection will for well for a professional atmosphere or against any type of strong eye makeup look. I'm not a fan of gold nail polish as it tends to be too warm for my skintone so I will skip over that shade but the rest of the collection is going to be great for me!

photo courtesy of Dior

Guerlain Holiday 2011 Collection

2011-12-02T10:16:00.000-05:00

The Guerlain holiday 2011 collection is completely to die for, I have been seeing hints of it in all the fashion and beauty magazines over the past few weeks and it has been getting some major blog raves from many of the top bloggers. This collection proves that it is quality that counts, it only contains four products however these are among the best of the whole season. This concept is so much better than some companies who make huge collections but over half of the products and shades are ones that we have already seen this season or are completely unworkable in many situtations. This collection contains many shades of blues for eyes, which isn't my favorite look but I am very excited for the rest of the pieces in this collection.

The Guerlain holiday collection...

Vol de Nuit Limited Edition - A perfumed shimmer powder for face, body, and hair. Pressing on the bulb releases a silky, airy powder. Inspired by the fragrance Vol de Nuit, makeup and fragrance merge in an ultimate beauty step. A powder with chypre, vanilla notes true to those of the fragrance Vol de Nuit, whole dominant green and woody energy is softened with vanilla and iris.

Meteorities Perles de Nuit Limited Edition - The uber-cult pearls highlight for Christmas. For unforgettable celebrations, these uber-cult pearls are being reinvented in a holiday season limited edition with new pink, white, gold, orange, and silver shades. Five perfectly smooth beads to correct, illuminate, and even out the skin and give radiance with unprecedented sparkle.

Parure de Nuit Limited Edition - A pressed, 2-in-1 powder for face and blush. A powder with pale pink, white, deep pink, and blue green harmonies. Four shades decorated with an iridescent and translucent shower of stars, to form a universal harmony that gives the face a fascinating aura. Nestled in a black velvet suede-finish pouch lined in blue-green satin, the black lacquer case conceals an extremely soft brush made of blue-green goat hair.

Ecrin 4 Couleurs Limited Edition - The colors of the night. A new harmony offering couleurs for night owls, from twilight to the deepest night. Iridescent - minute green, blue, and gray pearlescent particles play under the light and released luminous colour with an extremely metallic finish. Matte - a black shadow with an extra-matte, ultra-gentle, and incredibly comfortable finish for a precise, intense liner effect. For blazing, smoky, strong, and spellbinding eyes.
The most amazing piece of this collection is the Vol de Nuit shimmer powder, I am very interested in this woody fragrance and this bottle will look beautful displayed in my bedroom. I wish the shades in the Ecrin 4 Couleurs would be better suited to me, the palette is beautiful however I don't do blue eye makeup shades and therefore there is no point in me purchasing this product. I am very intrigued by the blush and face powder in this collection, I wonder how the blue-green acents in the powder actually appear on the skin.

It kills me to not have any type of Guerlain counter anywhere near me...

photo courtesy of Guerlain

Most Wanted December 2011

2011-12-01T21:13:00.000-05:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Lots of lovely new beauty products and all kinds of sets and palettes that perfect for giving or keeping for yourself. Of course I couldn't only pick ten products!

This month, I am most excited about the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette, a top pick for me this month. I ordered it early this afternoon and I am so excited to report that I was one of the first 5000 people to buy one, everyone else must wait until the end of January for the restock, I will be reviewing as soon as I get this in this mail.

My loves this month are eye makeup, nail polish, and the new LUSH products...

- MAC Gareth Pugh for MAC Nail Lacquer in Ascension
- Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette
- Butter London The Black Night Nail Lacquer
- Aveda Damage Remedy Daily Hair Repair
- Smashbox Long Wear Liquid Eye Liner in 14 K
- Illamasqua Lipstick in Maneater
- Givenchy Dahlia Noir
- Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation Night Cream
- Philosophy Marshmellows For Toasting 3-in-1
- LUSH Candy Cane Bar Soap
- LUSH Rose Queen Bath Bomb
- Dior 5 Couleurs Eye Shadow Palette in Incognito

NARS Danmari All About Cheeks Palette

2011-12-01T14:48:00.000-05:00

It seems like it has been ages since NARS has a released a new palette, I can't resist a NARS palette and therefore tend to stalk both their website and Sephora's for the newest releases of them. The newest in the palette series has just been released, I was beginning to wonder when this company would release something for the holidays. As excited as I was to see a new NARS palette, I can consider that this is my least favorite of the NARS palettes and might be the one with the least universal appeal. Typically, the palettes offer some combination of products and shades however this one offers only blush shades, half of which I am willing to bet won't work at all for me and wouldn't make the palette worth a purchase.

The Danmari All About Cheeks Palette contains six of the best NARS Blush and Bronzer shades. This palette is another one of the products that will help create the classic Kabuki look, a theme of many of the new NARS releases of this whole year. From quickly looking at the palette, I can already see that the best-selling Orgasm shade is included in this palette. Personally, I own and like this shade but I don't think that it is the greatest blush shade every released and it wouldn't entice me to purchase this palette, I do wonder how many more sets and palettes can contain this sahde before the market is totally saturated with it....

The Sephora website provides the following product description, "Based on the exquisite tradition of Kabuki theatre, this palette features six high-pigment powders that let you play up your features like a true performance artist. The ultimate authority in blush, this limited-edition mirrored holiday NARS compact features the essential blush and bronzer shades, ranging from warm bronze and luminous highlighting hues to shockingly bright pink. Turn a new cheek withthis fashion-forward mix created exclusively for Sephora."

The shades included with this palette are...

- Hungry Heart - gold ivory
- Super Orgasm - peachy pink with gold glitter
- Desire - cotton candy pink
- Casino - dark brown with golden shimmer
- Orgasm - peachy pink with golden shimmer
- Sin - berry with gold shimmer

This palette would be better for someone with a medium skintone than my super pale skin, I already need a tan to pull off the traditional Orgasm shade so I know that the Super Orgasm would be even worse against my winter pale skin. Hungry Heart has too much gold in it for me, this is another bad shade for me this time of the year. Casino is the bronzer of this group, it has a shimmer finish which I don't like in bronzers. I only really use matte finish bronzers so this is another miss for me in this palette. Desire is the shade that I like the most, it is the bright pink and would be the best shade for me.

This palette must be made for ladies with medium skintones and either warm or neutral undertones. This one is total miss for my pale, cool skintone so this is officially my least favorite NARS palette ever. I will pass over this one and hope that NARS releases a better one for me next spring...

photo courtesy of Sephora

Look at This!!

2011-12-01T12:19:00.000-05:00

I just found this picture on Facebook a few minutes ago...it appears that Urban Decay is releasing a sequel to it's bestselling Naked Palette (one of my favorite makeup palettes ever and the one that I use almost every single day of my life). The company should be releasing further details today so I will be stalking my email until I get them...I can't wait to see the first pictures of this palette!!!

photo courtesy of Facebook

Tarina Tarantino Holiday 2011 Collection - Aurora Collection

2011-11-30T11:13:00.000-05:00

I see that Tarina Tarantino has released their holiday collection in a timely fashion, their fall collection came out so late that I was already in the middle of the holiday collections by the time that it hit the counters at Sephora and wasn't really able to go back and check it out. I wish that they would have released that collection in the summer months when I have more time to blog and don't have to worry about classes. Oh well... The holiday collection looks gorgeous so I am willing to forgive the fact that I wasn't able to get my hands on anything from the fall collection. This collection contains some great shades of purples and pinks and will work all the way from the holidays into the beginning of the spring months.

The holiday collection is named Aurora and reminds me of the main character of Sleeping Beauty. I love the icy shades in this collection and they remind me of a Disney Princess waking up from a long sleep. "Tarina Tarantino took her inspiration for this mesmerizing new collection from the luminous, colorful glow of the Arctic Northern Lights, magically icy landscapes, and wintery dreams. The result? A range of stunning products - from shadows to cheek color to eyeliner - that sparkles with opulence and whimsy." I love the pink shades from this collection that are used on the model and I think that I can make this collection work for me since I have the same hair color and skintone.

Here is the collection...

Aurora Jewel Shadow Palette - A compact with five coordinating eye shadows to make your eyes sparkle like jewels. These palettes feature five shimmery eye shadows in colors that call to mind the hypnotic nightime glow of the aurora borealis. Each shadow includes crushed pearls, diamond dust, and silky porcelain for a glimmering effect. These longwearing formulations feature ultra high intensity pigments and can be applied wet or dry. The compact's oval shape makes it easier to see the whole surface of your face when applying makeup.
- Diamond Dusk - pale champange/icy pale silver/medium rose/shimmering medium charcoal/deep shimmering black
- Violet Storm - pale champange/medium forest green/pale shimmering lilac/bright blue/deep shimmering plum

Sparklicity Gloss - A hydrating gloss that adds color and sparkle to your lips. One of the most innovative lip products on the market, this gloss contains gemstone powders to create dazzling glimmer effects on the lips. Lip staining pigments add color that increases with each additional coat. Natural oils and butters provide hours of non-sticky hydration. Wear alone or over other lip products.
- Paiette - sheer light pink with iridescent shimmer

Fleur de Lash - A superior mascara formulation that thickens and lengthens lashes. With Fleur de Lash, Tarina Tarantino has combined the best long-lasting formula and a luscious, thick brush to give you traffic-stopping lashes. Fleur de Lash is like false lashes in a tube, for lashes so beautiful you want to bat them all day long.
- Black Opal - black

Sparklicity Pure - A microcrystal sparkle product to add luxurious shimmer to the eyes, cheeks, and lips. Made almost entirely of a shimmery reflex material, Sparklicity Pure creates an incredible sparkling effect without binder materials getting in the way of its reflective properties.
- Pure Opal - white iridescent shimmer

Eyelicity Glitter Liner - A collection of sparkly liners. These three vibrant shades provide smooth color payoff and excellent coverage. Shades in pink and white highlight and brighten the eye. Each color is easy to blend after application and is highly smudge-proof.
- Black Diamond - black liner with iridescent glitter

Pearl Glow Primer - A two-in-one primer that adds a luminous glow and primer in one step. Tarina Tarantino's Pearl Glow Primer is like capturing beautiful light in a bottle and is the perfect shade of "glow". It also gently moisturizes the skin and creates a perfectly prepped surface for makeup application.
- Pearl - opalescent glow
- Pearl Nude - nude tinted opalescent glow

Dollskin Cheek - A collection of smooth-texture high-definition blushes. This micronized, high-definition powder features a silky, blendable, and buildable texture that imparts the collection with a natural glow. It's true color payoff that wears all day long. For every skintone.
- Carved Rose - cool vivid pink
- Charm - medium rose
- Feather - shimmering peach
- Neapolitan Lane - muted beige pink
- Parasol - shimmering bright pink coral

For the first time in quite a few collections, the cheek shades have caught my eye first instead of lipstick shades or eye shadow palettes. I must try the Dollskin Cheek product, especially the Carved Rose and Charm shades. I am forever on the hunt for new blushes and I love the look of very vivid pink cheeks against pale skin, I am so excited to try this product out! The Diamond Dusk eye shadow palette is lovely however the shades are not very unique and I would only really be likely to purchase this is the pigmentation and formulation of the shadows is very special and unique so I will need to try this one out at the counter before I make a decision on it. The lip gloss shade is pretty but since it is light pink with shimmer, I know that I already own a ton like it and can safely ignore it for the time being, maybe it will look amazing when I try it at the counter. Last but not least, I am very intrigued by the primer from this company, this one will be going on my shopping list right along with the blushes.

I haven't used as much fromthis company as I would have liked to before checking this collection out. The shades that are featured in it are lovely however somewhat generic but I have heard many raves about the pigmentation and textures from this company's products. If the raves are correct then it would make all of these products worth a purchase since they would be unique in the beauty market. This is a line of products that I will need to try at the store and can't just order online. With the hustle and bustle of my Sephora at this time of the year, I may have to postpone this shopping trip until the new year...

photo courtesy of Sephora

Smashbox Holiday 2011 Collection - Holiday Flash

2011-11-29T09:34:00.000-05:00

Smashbox is mostly known for their palettes and sets when it comes to their holiday collection. I did see many nice sets on their website that would make great gifts this time of the year however I was most interested in focusing on their color collection for the season. I might be wrong but I seem to remember that the past few years, this company hasn't done any type of color collection and instead did a focus on the gifting collections for the holidays. But this year looks very different and I am more excited to see what type of shades that they have come out with this time of the year instead of how they decided to update the types of sets that they offer almost every single year.

Holiday Flash is the name of the color collection for this holiday season and even though it is not very large, it looks like it will hit the big trends of the season and contain some shades that are perfect for dressing up for holiday parties. In this collection, I see lots of metallics and reds, this looks like a very traditional holiday makeup collection. "Turn on the studio sparkle with our megawatt favorites for the season.", states the Smashbox website in a description of the overall collection. I am getting a glimpse of metallic liquid eye liners and I am thinking that they are ones that I have been seeing recommended in a bunch of this month's beauty and fashion magazines. We all know that pen-style liquid eye liners are a favorite product of mine so I very well might need to take advantage of the new shades offered in this collection...

Holiday Flash from Smashbox!

Holiday Flash Longwear Liquid Liner - Amp up your eyes this season with a pop of gorgeous metallic color. The long-wearing formula will take you from morning to holiday party! For a dramatic, high-fash look, try applying black liquid liner to your upper lash line first, then layering the Chrome or 14K shade right above it.
- Chrome - metallic silver
- 14K - metallic gold

Holiday Flash Eye Lights Quad - Eyes will glimmer like a string of holiday lights with this quad of exquisite metallics! All four shades can be worn wet or dry for ultimate versatility. To create more intense color, simply dip your brush (preferably one with stiffer bristles) into water, squeeze out any excess, and press into the shadow.
- Gold/Pearl/Silver/Pewter

Holiday Flash Double-Ended Lip Gloss - This sparkling duo of glitter-infused glosses will get you ready for any mistletoe action! Bring an old lipstick back to life by applying a coat of this glittery gloss over it. Mix and match old and new to create glimmering custom colors!
- Star - sheer red with multi-color glitter
- Siren - clear with iridescent glitter

I love this little collection, it is very traditional holiday but there are some great choices in it! My favorite item is the liquid liner in the gold shade, I will buy this the next time that I head up to Sephora. The eye palette is very pretty too but the sahdes aren't unique enough for it to warrant a purchase. I can skip over the lip gloss duo, sparkling red glosses aren't my favorite and I would rather wear red lipstick than red gloss anyday. I hope that Smashbox continues to release more than just gift collections at the holidays!

photo courtesy of Smashbox

Bath and Body Works 3 Cheers Collection

2011-11-28T13:34:00.000-05:00

December is almost here and it is really time for the holiday party invites to start coming fast and furious at us. In addition to all the holiday parties that are coming up, New Year's Eve is on the way too and I will start looking for a party dress to wear for this year's celebration. With all that in mind, Bath and Body Works has released a new line just for the holiday party season that is designed to get us all in the party mood and ready for the fun part of the holidays. With all the extra work that goes into this season, it is often very easy to forget about all the fun that can happen this month and all the reasons to be excited about the season. Bath and Body Works newest holiday product line helps us all to remember to have some fun this time of the year and to make sure that we do some celebrating in between all the shopping and gift wrapping!

This collection contains three new fragrances and I am willing to bet that it is limited edition since it is holiday-themed and contains very few products in it. The collection is named 3 Cheers and it contains the following fragrances: Strawberry Sparkler, Jingle Bellini, and Vanillatini. Small sizes of the lotion in these fragrances was available at the beginning of the month but sold out before I was able to do anything more than smell them in the stores. From the beginning, Vanillatini was my favorite of the collection, it had a warn vanilla and coconut scent that I could wear from now all the way through next summer. Since I hate winter and cold weather, I am perfectly happy to use summer fragranced body products all year round in hopes of bringing thoughts of the beach into my shower. I liked the other two fragrances but since they weren't as strong in the bottle, I did pass them over until I was able to really try them when the full sizes of the products came out. The two light fragrances are the Jingle Bellini and the Strawberry Sparkler and I was able to retest all the fragrances last week when the full sizes of the products became available in the stores.

Strawberry Sparkler is one that I had expected to like the least of the three, I don't normally like many berry scents in general and I find that a lot of the strawberry scents on the market tend to be very fake and cloying instead of light and fresh. This is on the sweeter side, it reminds me more of a strawberry ice cream type of fragrance than the traditional berry fragrance. "Our exclusive Strawberry Sparkler is a flirty cocktail of wild strawberries, sparkling mandarin, and pink jasmine." The top notes of the fragrance are: Sparkling Mandarin, Fiji Apple, Wild Strawberry. The heart notes: Pink Jasmine, Mirabelle Plum, Vanilla Orchid. The base notes are: Sugared Musk, Blonde Woods, Tonka Bean, Vanilla Extract. This fragrance really reminds me of strawberry ice cream and I fell in love with it when I gave it a second chance. It is light and sweet and can be worn all year round. This scent is much better than I originally thought that it would be!

The second fragrance is Jingle Bellini, a peach-inspired scent. Many peach fragrances are either really good or really bad so I usually skip over most peach scents. This scent is more complex than a simple peach, it combines the peach notes with a bellini-inspired group of notes, making the scent more complex and better than a simple, sweet peach. "Our exclusive Jingle Bellini is a festive cocktail of peach champagne, apricot nectar, and powdered sugar." The top notes are: Apricot Puree, White Peach, Sparkling Prosecco. The heart notes are: Juicy Nectarine, Honeysuckle Blossom, Passionfruit Nectar. The bottom notes of the fragrance are: Sugarcane, Golden Vanilla, Creamy Sandalwood, White Musks. This fragrance smelled the lightest in the bottle and didn't really have a very distinctive scent until I tried it on. Even applied, it is the lightest of the three fragrances and will be best for those who like very little fragrance. This one reminded me of the scent of an actual bellini, I love how different this is from the sweet peach fragrances, I predit that this scent will have lots of appeal.

The last fragrance is the Vanillatini and it was my initial favorite and still remains my favorite of the collection. This one reminds of both the Coconut Vanilla and the Hawaii Coconut from this company (both of which I loved last spring) and therefore I knew that it was just a matter of the store getting the full sizes in before I would end up buying the products in this fragrance. "Our exclusive Vanillatini is an addictive cocktail of fresh vanilla, creamy coconut, and lemon zest." The top notes are: Juicy Bergamot, Lemon Zest, Watery Green Apple, Pineapple Sorbet. The middle notes of the fragrance are: Blackcurrant, Sheer Musk, Jasmine, Creamy Coconut. The base notes of the fragrance are: Exotic Vanilla, White Musk, Sandalwood. I love this fragrance and I am so excited to find a new vanilla and coconut fragrance to wear all the way until next summer. This one is a light mix of the two notes however it is more crisp than simply sweet since it contains a melange of the crisp fruit notes in it. I love this fragrance so much!

All three of the fragrances came in the Shimmer Mist, the Body Lotion, the Shower Gel, and a Lip Gloss. I was a bit disappointed that only the Shimmer Mist is offered since I don't normally wear any type of spray shimmer and that killed me buying the fragrance mist in any of the scents. However, I did indulge in the body lotion and the shower gel in all three of the fragrances. I was a bit surprised that I ended up liking the Strawberry as much as I did but I was very happy that I found three new fragrances to buy and ones that will last me well into next summer yet too. I love this little collection and I wish that it was around longer than just the holidays!

photo courtesy of Bath and Body Works

Harajuku Lovers Jingle G

2011-11-27T11:57:00.000-05:00

I think that the Harajuku fragrances just keep getting worse and worse... The Super G fragrance that came out this fall was one of the worst fragrances that I have smelled in the past few months and I must say that the newest fragrance from this company suffers from the same tragic fate. Jingle G is the newest fragrance and of course it is themed toward the holidays even though I believe it came out in mid fall (right after the other fragrance from Harajuku). This fragrance is more of an oriental fragrance than the others so I was hoping that it would be nicer than the past few. I find that oriental fragrances are harder to craft than the simple fruity florals that this company has been churning out for the past years so this fragrance actually has the potential to be even worse than the rest of the collection.

Jingle G is the cutest little bottle and would be a great stocking stuffer for anyone who loves Harajuku fragrances or Gwen Stefani herself. "Jingle all the way with Jingle G! A warm, cozy fragrance, this fruity-oriental scent is perfect for nuzzling underneath the mistletoe. Decked out in a festive red and white suit, Jingle G has a built-in hook in her cap that enables her to become a holiday tree ornament. With a bright red hair bow and gold belt buckle to hold up her three-button suit, Jingle G is ready to celebrate the holiday dressed in festive style."

The description of this fragrance is very correct in that it is much warmer than the other fragrances. This one reminds me of a version of Pink Sugar with a bit more of a floral note, I believe that this is close to one of the discontinued Victoria's Secret Pink fragrances. The notes are: White Star Fruit, Gardenia, Tangerine, Honeysuckle, Orange Blossom, Jasmine, Vanilla, Cedarwood, Lace Benzoin Tears. What are Lace Benzoin Tears? I have never heard of this note or anything even remotely related to it.

If I was a teenager or in the beginning of my college years, I might really like this fragrance but I can't make this fragrance work now. This fragrance is a glorified version of a body spary that would appeal to a younger girl but I don't like this one at all on me. The gardenia and vanilla notes are the strongest ones in this fragrance and this is combination that just doesn't work on me.

The Harajuku fragrances have been killing me lately and this is no expection. I do wonder if this line is coming to an end since I feel like the fragrances are getting worse and worse. I liked the originals but I feel like the new versions are beginning to get cheaper and cheaper. This is really cute packaging and I love that it can be used as an ornament but I can't get past the fragrance inside the bottle.

photo courtesy of Sephora

OPI for Sephora Holiday 2011 Collection - Glimmer Wonderland

2011-11-25T10:08:00.000-05:00

Everyone who has been reading this blog for the past few months knows that I have been obsessed with nail polish since the middle of the summer, nail polish was one o the few beauty items that I was never all that interested in until I discovered China Glaze from a friend's manicurist. Ever since that happened, it is rare that I go two weeks without ordering or buying a few new shades of polish. So far, we have looked at a bunch of holiday polish collections, all of which are focusing on glitter polishes in fun holiday shades. The new OPI for Sephora collection, named Glimmer Wonderland, promises more of the same polish shades that we have been seeing all season.

In the spirit of the holiday season, this collection is currently available in both single polishes and sets that are perfect for those on your gift list. Personally, I am looking at the sets for myself if I find that I love a bunch of the shades in this collection. "Inspired by all things bright and sparkly, Sephora by OPI's Glimmer Wonderland Collection captures the energy of the holiday season. These shimmering, color-rich shades are like 'the instant glam you get from a sequin party dress or sparkly accessory you throw on to glam yourself up!' says Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI VP and Artistic Director. Add glimmer to your tips and toes with Be-Claus I Said So, a red glitter, or Naughty is the New Nice, a light blue metallic. Even better, these festive shades are long-wearing, chip-resistant, and free of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), toluene, and formaldehyde." The last thing that I could possibly need is more nail polish but I can't wait to check these shades out!
The collection...

Glimmer Wonderland Eighteen Piece Mini Nail Colour Set - An eighteen piece set of mini nail polishes. Get your nails ready for any occasion with a collection of nail colours that that brings together best-sellers, trend shades, and basics. A perfect treat for yourself, it makes a great gift too. Sephora by OPI brings together Sephora's authority in beauty trends with the colour expertise and renowned quality of OPI. Each long-lasting, chip-resistant polish ensures flawless results and its ingredient list excludes DBP, toluene, formaldehyde.
- Dear Diary - sheer warm light pink
- How Cute is That? - opaque vintage pink coral
- Natural Environ-mint - opaque celadon blue
- It's Hippo To Be Square - opaque lilac
- Access 24/7 - opaque magenta
- Ms. Can't Be Wrong - opaque metallic deep mulberry
- Don't Feed the Hand Models - opaque pink beige
- Metro Chic - opaque dark smoke with a hint of purple
- Already Famous - sheer pewter with medium champagne and silver glitter
- I'm With Brad - opaque metallic wine over dark coffee
- Sample Sale - opaque deep red metallic
- Fiercely Fabulous - opaque poppy red
- Break a Leg-Warmer - opaque charcoal gray
- Bring On the Snowflakes - opaque silver foil
- Mermaid To Order - opaque metallic turquoise green
- I Don't Bite - opaque soft purple with fine holographic glitter
- Eve-y On the Eyes - opaque metallic red violet
- Just a Little Dangerous - opaque metallic amethyst

Glimmer Wonderland Six Piece Mini Nail Colour - A six piece set of mini nail polishes. Get your nails ready for any occasion with a collection of nail colours that brings together best-sellers, trend shades, and basics. A perfect treat for yourself, it makes a great gift too. Sephora by OPI brings together Sephora's authority in beauty trends with the color expertise and the renowned quality of OPI. Each long-lasting, chip-resistant polish ensures flawless results and its ingredient list excludes DBP, toluene, and formaldehyde.
- Bare To Be Different - sheer warm ecru
- Looks Like Rain Deer - opaque gold with fine and chunky iridescent glitter
- Sample Sale - opaque deep red metallic
- Never Enough Shoes - opaque black with multi-colour medium glitter
- No-el If I Know - opaque silver foil
- Already Famous - sheer pewter with medium champagne and silver glitter

Glimmer Wonderland Four Piece Mini Nail Colour - A four piece set of mini nail polishes. Get your nails ready for any occasion with a collection of nail colours that brings together best-sellers, trend shades, and basics. A perfect treat for yourself, it makes a great gift too. Sephora by OPI brings together Sephora's authority in beauty trends with the colour expertise and the renowned quality of OPI. Each long-lasting, chip-resistant polish ensures flawless results and its ingredient list excludes DBP, toluene, and formaldehyde.
- Just a Little Dangerous - opaque metallic amethyst
- It's Bouquet With Me - sheer violet with silver and holographic chunky glitter
- Let Them Eat Fruitcake - opaque metallic dirty lilac
- Dear Diary - sheer pale pink

Nail Colour - Fashion forward, wearable nails colours for the modern woman who is looking for an effective, safe, environmentally conscious brand. Sephora by OPI Nail Colour, a line of 54+ trend-setting shades, puts the final touch on fingertips and toes with a top quality formula you have come to expect from OPI. The long-lasting, chip-resistant polish ensures flawless results with each application, and its green ingredient list excludes DBP, toluene, and formaldehyde. Sephora by OPI coombines the quality and color expertise of OPI, the world leader in professional nail color, with Sephora's reputation for the latest in beauty and sophistication.
- Be-Claus I Said So - clear with medium and chunky red glitter
- Chest-Nuts About You - opaque pink champagne with fine glitter
- Don't Be Eggnogious - clear with medium and chunky copper glitter
- Stop Stocking Me - opaque metallic gold plum
- Sugar Plum Fairies Gone Wild - clear with medium and chunky purple glitter
- Naughty Is The New Nice - opaque ice blue with fine silver glitter
- Countdown to the Kiss - opaque royal blue with medium glitter
- Keep Me On My Mistletoe - opaque champagne gold with fine glitter
- New Year's Red-Solution - opaque metallic golden red
- Good Tidings We Bling - clear with fine and chunky red and green glitter

I thought that the sets were going to be the Christmas shades since they are all part of the Glimmer Wonderland collection, not sure why they would be labeled as part of this collection and not contain any holiday themed shades at all... Anyway, I still love both the six and four piece sets and will be adding both of them to my nail polish wardrobe soon. The single shades are very traditional holiday with what we have been seeing so far this season, lots and lots of glitter! The shades that are clear with the color glitter will be skipped over, I already dismissed many of them with the traditional OPI holiday collection and I don't like them any better this time around. Chest-Nuts About You is my favorite shades of the collection, it is great neutral basic with a bit of gold shimmer in to make it something special. Stop Stocking Me and Countdown to the Kiss are my other choices from this collections, both are great deep shimmer hues that will work this whole holiday season and the rest of the winter months.

photo courtesy of Sephora

MAC Gareth Pugh for MAC

2011-11-24T12:53:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I am currently biding time before football comes on so I have some time to update and perhaps do a bit of reading for class. I think that a look at the newest MAC collection is in order before I try to do any type of school work today. The newest collection is another one in the series of collaborations that MAC has done over the past few months. I have been really liking many of the collaboration collections lately, I feel like this is really when we are seeing different looks and shades instead of the same ten shades that we see all the time in collections. This collection was made with Gareth Pugh, a British fashion designer with a taste for the subversive and avant-garde. His work is often compared to that of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano, many of the items that go down his runway are a combination of both art and fashion. This makeup collection looks very much like what I would expect to see from a company like Illamasqua, a refreshing change from all the holiday collections that we have been seeing over the past month.

"London-based style subversive Gareth Pugh infuses his shadowy, esoteric vision into an exclusive collection for MAC. Shades, accessories, and design - as stylistically daring as his reputation!" I see lots of deep shades in this collection with a large emphasis plum hues. All the shades in the collection are very dramatic and I hope that they have the high quality pigmentation to back up how amazing they look in the pan!

Gareth Pugh for MAC...

Gareth Pugh for MAC Pigment - Limited edition Pigments exclusively shaded for Gareth Pugh for MAC. The square jar and black outer packaging features the collection's marque.
- Guise - frosty gray
- Deceit - blackened plum with pink pearl

Gareth Pugh for MAC Metal X Cream Eye Shadow - Gareth's Pugh's futuristic vision takes on a striking metallic shine. On the skin, this creamy powder formula melts into a vibrant liquid metal finish. The designer's signature style is articulated in the black compact. Limited edition.
- Ardent - frosted blackened burgundy
- Obscura - frosty gunmetal gray

Flight Lash - A limited-edition lash designed to amplify the geometric intensity of Gareth Pugh for MAC. Highly sculptured, this dense, dark, triangle-shaped lash is designed for stylish drama.

Studio Fix Boldblack Lash - Fashionflower girl's confidence stems from petal-light lashes that sprout dramatically with a new Mascara that's intensely carbon. A high-coverage, long-lasting formula matched with a molded brush. Get lashes that are blacker than black!

Gareth Pugh for MAC Technakohl Liner - Gareth Pugh knows the power of bold. Soft enough to smoke the eye, firm enough to define a line, Technakohl Liner is the perfect fit for his vision. Stylishly presented in the glossy black of the collection. Limited edition.
- Grayprint - rich pewter gray with frost
- Graphblack - rich graphic black

Gareth Pugh for MAC Lipstick - Limited edition Lipstick in shades reflecting Pugh's trademark drama. His impeccable high style is evoked by the lipstick's glossy black square casing and signature marque.
- Restrict - creamy grayed nude
- Fervent - glossy blackened berry

Gareth Pugh for MAC Lipglass - Unconventionally shaded, pearl infused; shades as deliciously cultish and fancinating as any Gareth Pugh design. A square vial with sculpted glossy/matte black cap and the collection's signature detail adds to the impact.
- Vacant - sheer light lavender gray with violet pearl
- Outrage - sheer berry with gold pearl

Gareth Pugh for MAC Powder Blush - Keying into the look of Gareth Pugh for MAC, this midtone nude offers a paler yet profound approach to cheek definition. The defining touch makes this so stylishly Pugh - a dramatically chic square black compact.
- Strada - midtone nude

Gareth Pugh for MAC Beauty Powder - A shade as soft and enigmatic as its name - Etude. The black compact, a juxtaposition of matte and shine with the collection's signature marque on the lid. On the powder's surface, an intricate mix of patterns. This is form, content, and beauty, Pugh-style. Your entire order ships for free with this item!
- Etude - translucent neutral beige

Gareth Pugh for MAC Nail Lacquer - Shade and finish, this limited edition Nail Lacquer sums up the entire sub-culture mood of Gareth Pugh for MAC. The square glass bottle features the collector's signature marque. Limited edition.
- Inert - creamy midtone grayed nude
- Ascension - gray with blue violet reflective pearl
- Hyper - deep blue with violet purple

Gareth Pugh for MAC Square Handled Buffer Brush - Dense, extra-soft; this ultra-full, dome shaped Powder Brush adds polish to all Powder and Pigment applications. The glossy black short handle with the collection's signature matte marque is distinctly and stylishly Gareth Pugh! Limited edition. your entire order ships for free with this item!

Gareth Pugh for MAC Makeup Bag - Dramatic, dark, edgy. Everyone will know it's a Gareth Pugh for MAC! Organized with loops on the inside. Glossy black with matte on the outside. The key accessory of the collection. 6" x 6" x 2". Limited edition. Your entire order ships for free with this item!

Off the bat I can already state that my favorite part of this collection is the Nail Lacquers! This a great series of shades for those of us who are beginning to get sick of glitter finishes and red shades, I love deep jewel tone polishes in unusual shades so I will be putting Ascension on the top of my shopping list. My second favorite part of this collection is the eye makeup products, I love both the liners and the eye shadows. The Grayprint shade of Technakohl Liner looks as those it will be great to create a gray smoky eye, alook that I am looking forward to wearing this holiday season. I want both shades of the Metal X cream shadow, I want to use them as both shadows and liners, the grays in this collection are simply stellar. To end out my list on this collection, I want the berry shades in both the Lipglass and the Lipstick, both of these will work very well with my pale skin.

MAC, thank you for creating a collection that looks like nothing else on the market today and that contains a large range of beautiful shades. This is the best collection from MAC in the past few months and this type of collection is what I love about MAC!

photo courtesy of Nordstrom

MAC Black Friday Exclusive

2011-11-23T11:09:00.000-05:00

I may not brave the crowds and the rush every year to get the best deals on black Friday but I do know lots of poeple who look forward to this day every single year. I prefer to spread my holiday shopping out a bit and get it done in chunks throughout the end of November and December. But this is one black Friday special that I can completely embrace. Starting at midnight on Friday morning, MAC will re-release their limited edition Black Knight Lipstick shade in limited quantities. The best part about this is that it is online only so I can do it from the comfort of my desk chair.

Offers like this get me more excited for Black Friday shopping than marked down TVs, a cult classic that is available for a limited time only on one day of the year?! This is worth fighting the crowds for!

photo courtesy of MAC's Facebook page

Rooney Mara's Curls

2011-11-22T10:03:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving week ladies! This will be a crazy week for me so updates might be a bit more spaced out than usual so I apologize in advance. However the holiday season and end of semester craziness is coming quickly so I will post as much as possible but I can't promise a new post every single day for the next few weeks. One thing that I am most looking forward to in the ext month is the opening of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, being a huge fan of both the books and the Swedish movies.

The star of this version is Rooney Mara, normally a fair haired and pale skinned redhead is turn into Lisbeth Salander, a top level computer hacker with a punk sense of style. This is one of the biggest movie makeovers that I have seen in years and it makes me even more excited to go and see this movie. This picture is of her normal look, I love those curls and might consider test driving a look like that when my hair gets a bit longer...

photo courtesy of Google

Aquolina Pink Sugar Glossy Shower Gel

2011-11-21T12:24:00.000-05:00

Pink Sugar is a scent that takes me all the way back to college, I used it non-stop right after I turned 21 and then all the time for the next two or three years. I went through multiple bottles of it over the years but now I can barely spray it on myself in a store without getting sick of it in ten minutes. I have moved on to a beauty place where the EDT in this fragrance is no longer for me and I can't wear it at all. I still like the fragrance itself but there is something in the EDT that makes it not work with my skin. A bit sad since I did love this fragrance for years. But at least this fragrance comes in a full array of body products....

I have been using the Glossy Body Gel in this scent on and off for a year or two now since I bought a tube of it from Sephora, even with the lighter scented shower gel, I still go through phases of loving and hating this scent. I tend to prefer it in the colder months since it one of the stronger scents gels and it produces a very rich, creamy foaming lather. "Ideal for a fresh and mouth-watering wake up call, cleansing the skin to perfection by delivately embracing it in a sensual fragrance.", states the Nordstrom website for a product description. The notes of the fragrance are: Lily of the Valley, Candy Floss, Licorice, Fruits, Strawberry, Woody Notes, Powdery Musk, Vanilla, Caramel.

The fragrance itself smells more of cotton candy but the shower gel is more of a yummy vanilla and caramel mixture, being very heavy on the sweet vanilla. This shower gel's fragrance reminds me very much of the Vanilla Bean Noel scent from Bath and Body Works, just add a slight cotton candy note to it and you will have this exact scent. This shower gel produces a thick, creamy lather; it lathers well enough but doesn't produce the masses of lather that many shower gels do. Which is one of the major reasons that I really like it, it doesn't strip or dry out my skin and helps to keep it hydrated in the cooler weather months.

My favorite aspect of this shower gel is that it can be layered with so many types of fragrances. I have used it with so many types of scents, from the matching Pink Sugar lotion to any type of cotton candy scent that I have ordered from etailers. There are very few washes that the layering and matching works so well and it is fun to play with this scent and see how many combinations that I can come up with.

I may not use the EDT anymore but I still love the body products in Pink Sugar and will continue to layer them with all kinds of other sweet fragrances.

photo courtesy of Nordstrom

MAC Miss Piggy for MAC

2011-11-19T12:04:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week we looked at the O.P.I. collaboration with The Muppets to celebrate the new movie that is being released this holiday season. I stated then that I was really excited for the collaboration that MAC was doing with the movie too. I was envisioning bright pinks for lipsticks and glosses and lots of fun eye shadow shades. I have been stalking the MAC website for the past few days and finally I found the collection up when I got home from work Wednesday night. And it turned out that there was NO reason for me to get excited about this collection. It is a total of three products, an eye shadow, a set of false lashes, and a Penultimate Liquid Eye Liner. Three products?! One of the three is a permanent product that I can get all the time, what is the point of this collection?! ARGH!
From the MAC website, "To celebrate the supremely talented Miss Piggy's return to the silver screen, she and MAC have created a limited edition, online exclusive collection for Eyes featuring Miss Piggy Pink Eye Shadow, Penultimate Eye Liner in Rapidblack, and 36 Lash." This collection is online only so it will never hit any of the counters and I won't even be able to play with the eye shadow unless I order it now. So disappointing...

Miss Piggy for MAC collection...

Eye Shadow - Known for her bedazzling blue eyes, silky blond hair, and sensationally shapely measurements, Miss Piggy was kind enough to collaborate with MAC on the universe's most perfectly pink eye shadow.
- Miss Piggy Pink - midtone blue pink

36 Lash - Originally launched as Sultress Lashes, Full Lash, creates a naturally dramatic look: MAC Lashes are handmade to exact specifications. Each pattern and design is perfectly shaped and arranged to give a striking effect, whether the look is natural or dramatic. Available in a variety of shapes and densities. If properly cared for, lashes can be reshaped or adornedc if desired.

Penultimate Eye Liner - A liquid pen-style liner that provides the ultimate precise, bold line in a rich, deep carbon black shade. Goes on fluidly, in one steady stroke, to style any fashion of eye line.

What is the point of this collection?! The eye shadow shade that was released for this collection is lovely and I would like to buy it but I don't see the point of the rest of the products. I was at leat hoping that they would be in a special packaging, since I already love Penultimate I would buy another tube of it in a special Miss Piggy packaging. However the permanent products in this collection are nothing different that the normal products that MAC sells all the time.

This could have been such a great color collection but what was released is just such a disappointment to me...

photo courtesy of MAC

My Current Favorite Products

2011-11-18T20:50:00.000-05:00

The last time that I talked about my current favorites it was all about fall and the new shades and products that I have been using for the change of the seasons. It is still technically fall and leaves are falling to the ground but we are all beginning to look toward to the holidays. I am still wearing my fall makeup shades and fragrances but I am beginning to think about what products I will be switching over to for holiday parties.

My current favorite shade is red, both for lips and nails and it plays a large role in my favorite products of the moment. These reds have been working out very well for me all fall season and will go right into the holiday season and the winter months...

MAC Lipstick in Russian Red - "Colour plus texture for the lips. Stands out on the runway. Simmers on the street! What made MAC famous." Russian Red is described as an "intense bluish-red" and it has a matte finish. This is the classic red lipstick and I see it on every blog and magazine. It imparts a cool bright red lip with a long-lasting matte finish and I use it every single season. This is the most flattering red shade that I have ever used and I recommend this shade to everyone that asks me about red lisptick shades.
China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Heart of Africa - "China Glaze is a professional-level nail enamel made with a special balance of polymers and resins that combine to create a nail lacquer that is long-lasting, chip-resistant, and resistant to color and shine fading. Will not thicken in the bottle, no thinners necessary." Heart of Africa is a deep cherry red with a bit shimmer to it, I just tried this one a few days ago and I fell in love with it right away. It applies as a full coverage deep red in two coats and the shimmer finish is very attractive. It stayed chip-free and shiny for about three days before I needed to touch it up. The only drawback to this shade is that it didn't remove as well as I would have hoped and it left a bit of a red stain on my nails. This is another one of those shades that works great in the fall months and will go right into the holidays.

MAC Plushglass in Ample Pink - "Sheer lip colour in a pearlized high-shine gloss finish. Comfortable to wear: lush, multi-dimensional. Gives a cool-warm, vanilla buzz to the lips. Moisturizes, soothes, and visibly plumps the lips to make them look luxuriously healthy and well-conditioned. Contains Vitamin E for added environmental protection." Ample Pink is one of those lip glosses that works with any eye look and I originally purchased to work against a smoky eye. This is a favorite gloss of mine and I pull it out all the time, this is one of the only products that I am in a position to need to repurchase within the near future. This color is a "full soft rose" and it is perfect match for my skintone. The plumper in it makes my lips looks like soft pillows and I always see guys looking at them when I wear it out on the town. This is one of the best lip glosses that I have ever made.

Bath and Body Works Creamy Body Wash in Dark Kiss - "Our Dark Kiss Creamy Body Wash is the ultimate luxuriously hydrating body cleanser. With rich, creamy moisture and a gentle kiss of fragrance, this pampering treatment works hard to nourish the skin while you shower. With natural soybean oil and our exclusive Triple Moisture Complex of milk proteins, rice bran oil, and acai berry. It leaves your skin feeling deeply moisturized and soft as silk. You have to feel it to believe it. Our exclusive Dark Kiss is a seductive blend of dark berries with a kiss of vanilla to unleash your most primal passions. Key fragrance notes: Sensual Incense, Mirabelle Plum, and Night Musk." My favorite Bath and Body Works fragrance is a creamy, hydrating body wash that helps my skin to hold moisture in it in the shower. My skin gets dry in the fall and winter and I always need to change to body washes and bar soaps that are made to not strip moisture from the skin. This is a revamped formula from Bath and Body Works and is available in a wide range of fragrances to appeal to everyone.

Thymes Kimono Rose - "Kimono Rose is a modern floral collection that revels in true feminine sophistication. Sheer and romantic, its vital essence is at turns playful and passionate, a fragrant dance that glides easily from day to evening. Effervescent clementine and voluptuous cassis tumble together on a creamy blend of satiny rose, white peony, and jasmine petals. A gentle kiss of vanilla leaves a sheer, sensuous finish." This is modern rose scent that works best in the cooler months, the base note of vanilla and the cassic note make the fragrance a deep, spicy version of rose. This one is very unique and will appeal even to those who don't think that they like rose fragrances. A few sprays of this lasts all day long and well into the evening. It is a lovely way for me to bring my beloved rose fragrances into the fall and winter.

Fall is ending and now we are going to head into the holidays, the reds will still be a prominent part of my look through the month of December and all the sweet holiday body products are going to begin to work their way into my rotation.

photo courtesy of MAC

First Look at Nicki Minaj and Ricky Martin Viva Glam!

2011-11-18T08:42:00.000-05:00

This is the first promo picture that was released for next year's Viva Glam release, I was so excited when I heard that Nicki Minaj was the model for it this year and this ad doesn't disappoint!

That lipstick that he is holding looks like it almost the exact same shade as the original Viva Glam Gaga, a shade that I love and have been searching for a back up tube of for months now. I was hoping that the shade would be a brighter pink but I will be really happy if it is similar to the original Viva Glam Gaga.

So excited to see more photos as they are released!

photo courtesy of Daily Mail UK

Laura Mercier Holiday 2011 Gift Collection - Colour Palettes and Sets

2011-11-17T13:01:00.000-05:00

Earlier today we looked at the Laura Mercier holiday color collection and now we are going to look at the gift set and palette collection that they are offering in conjunction with the color collection this holiday season. I dont know what I am more excited about, the pretty plums that I saw earlier in the color collection or these wonderful palettes that I am seeing. Personally, I would love to unwrap a Laura Mercier palette this holiday season and I bet that lots of other ladies would love to do exactly the same. Most of these palettes are focused around eye shadows, with a few lip shades mixed in and a set of just Laura Mercier's top rated brushes.

Here is the gift collection from Laura Mercier...

Petite Eye Colour Trio - New limited edition Petite Eye Colour Trio is available in three shade specific sets.
- Smoky Neutrals - Coffee Ground (matte), Bamboo (Luster), Stellar (Sateen)
- Smoky Mauves - Kir Royal (Sateen), Wisteria (Luster), Sparkling Dew (Sateen)
- Smoky Taupes - Twilight Gray (Matte), Sable (Sateen), Mica (Luster)

Baked Eye Colour Palette - Enhance eyes this holiday season with Laura's stunning new Baked Eye Colour Palette. In shades of warm bronze, cool pink, and smoky lilac, this beautiful palette features a range of five Baked Eye Colours, plus a mini Double-Ended Eye Colour/Creme Eye Detail Brush for flawless application. The 5 mini Baked Eye Colours can be used wet or dry.
- Sienna (deep chocolate brown), Terracotta (bronze shimmer), Ballet Pink (pale cool pink), Pink Petal (light cool pink), Lilac (pale cool lavender)

Luxe Colour Portfolio - Perfect for home and travel, this beautifully packaged faux snakeskin organizer includes six Eye Colours, three Tightline Cake Eye Liners and two Cheek Colours, along with three mini expert Brushes to create infinite colour combinations.
- 6 Eye Colours including Primrose, African Violet, Merlot, Truffle, Topaz, and Stellar
- 3 Tightline Cake Eye Liners including Ground Expresso, Black Ebony, and Burgundy Wine
- 2 Second Skin Cheek Colours including Rose Petal and City Pink
- 3 Mini Brushes including Ponytail, Crease, and Flat Eye Liner

Luxe Eye Portfolio - Perfect for home or travel, this beautifully packaged faux snakeskin organizer includes a collection of twelve new, exclusive and top selling Eye Colour shades, plus three mini professional Brushes that allow you to mix and match shades to customize your look.
- 12 Eye Colours including Rich Sienna, Morning Dew, Black Coffee, Rosewood, Pink Crystal, Sable, Royal Gold, African Violet, Mica, Golden Cream, Fig, and Sparkling Night
- 3 Mini Brushes including Ponytail, Crease, and Smudge

Mini Lip Glace Set - Laura Mercier Lip Glace is a high-shine, perfectly pigmented lip gloss with rich, long-lasting colour and brilliant shine that creates the appearance of fuller lips. With the unique blend of moisturizing, anti-aging, anti-oxidant, and plumping ingredients provided by the Laura Mercier Lip Complex, the non-sticky gloss formula applies smoothly without feathering or bleeding. Available in a variety of coverages and finishes.
- 5 Lip Glaces including Rose, Blush, After Hours, Sparkling, and Quartz

Kohl Eye Pencil Set - Laura Mercier Kohl Eye Pencil is formulated specifically for lining the inside of the eyelid and the base of the lashes. The soft, creamy formula glides easily along the eyelid, creating a smooth and well-balanced line. The luxurious texture allows anyone to achieve the perfect "smoky eye" with maximum wearability. Each pencil contains a thicker diameter than the Eye Pencil to create a more pigmented, dramatic effect.
- 5 shades include Stormy Gray, Black Violet, Brown Copper, Black Gold, and Black Navy

Travel Brush Set - These Laura Mercier travel-friendly set of tools for face, cheek, eye, and brow may it easy to perfect your look wherever you may be. The sleek, snakeskin case includes a removable mesh pouch and collection of four mini Double-Ended Brushes and one full size Brush.
The Lip Glace set will be the perfect gift for many of the ladies on my gift list and I will be grabbing one for myself also, the shades that have been included in this set are so pretty and I really want to try this formula out. I want to pick up the Luxe Colour Portfolio for myself, it contains great shades and a range of products from me to play with. This is a wonderful gift collection and you have lots of great choices to give and receive.

photo courtesy of Laura Mercier

Laura Mercier Holiday 2011 Collection - Moonlight Collection

2011-11-17T12:02:00.001-05:00

I haven't been very interested in the past few Laura Mercier collections, a bit surprising since before that I was a huge collection of Laura Mercier and I was always finding new products and shades that I wanted to buy from the company. I have always loved the face makeup and the body products from this company the most, with a few hits and misses from many of the eye and lip products. The holiday collection haas just been released, a color collection along with a palette gift collection and a collection of body product gifts. Today we will look at the single product color collection, a new collection called the Moonlight Collection.

This collection looks as though it is based around lovely highlighting shimmers, deep plum and pinks shades. This collection doesn't look like your traditional holiday collection, I see no reds or golds and the shades seem to be a bit more subtle than we often see this time of the year. I am very interested in this collection and I can't wait to see the purples in it and I am interested in adding a few of these shades to my eye shadow collection.

The Moonlight Collection from Laura Mercier...

Face Illuminator - Limited edition. A beauriful face illuminator with a soft rose gold shimmer perfect for highlighting.

Luster Eye Color - Laura Mercier Luster Eye Color is a luxuriously smooth eye shadow that imparts pure dynamic iridescence with a sophisticated frost finish providing amazing adherence for a freshly applied look throughout the day.
- Pink Pearl - medium cool pink shimmer
- Crystal Beige - light champagne shimmer
- Deep Garnet - deep cool plum with plum shimmer

Tightline Cake Eyeliner - Laura Mercier Tightline Cake Eyeliner is an easy-to-use, cake eye liner that delivers long-lasting colour payoff that doesn't fade throughout the day for flawlessly defined eyes. Now available in 6 smudge and transfer-resistant, colour true shades, the formula glides on the lash line smoothly and stays all day long.
- Orchid Shimmer - deep plum with plum shimmer

Lip Glace - Laura Mercier Lip Glace is a high-shine, perfectly pigmented lip gloss with rich, long-lasting colour and brilliant shine that creates the appearance of fuller lips. Any skin tone is virtually enhanced by creating a subtle contrast in texture.
- Bare Beam - nude with pink shimmer
- Nude Lilac - lavender with gold sparkle

Creme Lip Colour - Laura Mercier Creme Lip Colour delivers ultra-rich colour in an irresistibly lightweight formula. Its unique blend of moisturizing, anti-aging, anti-oxidant, and plumping ingredients enchance the lips leaving a smoother, healthier appearance. One swipe of colour provides hydration and prevents moisture loss ensuring fresh and flawless lips.
- Rose - warm nude pink

Shimmer Lip Colour - Laura Mercier Lip Colour - Shimmer now changes the way you feel about lipstick in one swipe in the newest, revolutionary lip colour formula. The wide range of shades and finishes enchances your lips' appearance, protects them from the elements, provides hydration and cares for your lips like skincare.
- Raspberry Sorbet - berry rose shimmer
- Evening Pink - bright fuchsia pink

Nail Lacquer - A deep violet nail lacquer with long-lasting, high-shine finish. The ultra-smooth formula provides chip-resistant color and intense shine for lasting results.
- Twilight - deep violet with shimmer

My favorite pieces of this collection are the deep plum shades, I must have the new Nail Lacquer shade even though I am way over the Twilight craze. I wasn't aware that Laura Mercier even really made polishes, I have never used any shades from this line but I would love to try them out. I have been on a major nail polish kick lately and now I have yet another brand to add to my obsession. The other product that I love is the Cake Eye Liner which is also in the deep plum shade. Both of these products will be added to my shopping list when I next head over to Sephora.

The rest of the collection is very pretty but most of the products can be skipped over. I really like the face highlighter however I wonder how warm the shade is since it is laced with gold shimmer. It is also is totally out of stock on the website so I will make a decision when/if the product comes back into stock. The lipstick shades are great pinks and I am more interested in the Creme formula than the shimmer but I would be more likely to purchase a bright pink shade with a cream finish. The last pieces that I am interested in are both of the lip gloss shades, I am hoping that the lavender shade is not too warm with the gold shimmer in it.

Laura Mercier has finally broken their record of collection misses for me, this is a great collection and I love how different it is from the rest of the traditional looking holiday collections.

photo courtesy of Laura Mercier