20% off @ ULTA!

Hey Everyone!  Just wanted to let y'all know that ULTA has 20% off till Saturday!

This is a good time to get something you may want to try, but did not want to pay full price for.  Or it is also a great opportunity to stock up on items you need.  If you want to shop online you can visit ulta.com.

So what are y'all picking up?

X+O,

Review: MAC ME OVER Blushes

Hey Everyone!  Here are the swatches for the 2 new blushes from the Mac Me Over Collection.  This was the collection that were showcased in stores last week.  There are 2 shades that were released in this collection, Stunner (light coral pink) and Equilibrium (light bronze).  I was more excited for the shade Stunner, as I love all coral/pink shades of blush.  When I layer Lilicent (cream blush by Mac) under Stunner I get a perfect not overdone look.  As for Equilibrium, I have not found a way to get it to work for me...any suggestions?

So for now, I would only recommend Stunner.  At least until I can make Equilibrium work for me...

But with blushes I always tell all the women in my life (my mom, aunts, cousins and friends) to try on a blush and see how it looks on them!  What looks good on me, may not work for you and vice versa...

You can find these new goodies on maccosmetics.com

Have a fabulous day!

 X+O,

Review + Lip Swatches: Bare Escentuals Pretty Amazing Lipcolor

Hey Everyone!  Hope your wk is off to a great start!  I visited my local Sephora this past wkend and found these Bare Escentuals lip colors which I found to be interesting.  They are in lip gloss packaging but have the coverage of a lipstick.  The 2 colours I picked up were: Charisma (coral pink) & Ambition (hot pink/fuchsia).  Below I have swatches of both colours on my hand as well as on the lip, to give you a better idea of the colour and coverage.

You can find these on sephora.com, along with 10 additional shades.  

Pros:

* Sleek packaging

* Coverage of a full coverage lipstick (ie MAC's amplified finish)

* Many colour options

* Hydrates and repairs, while it also plumps and firms lips simultaneously

Cons:

* Cost $16

So what do you think?  Would you pick these up?

 X+O,

URBAN DECAY: 15 Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection

Hi Everyone!  Got this palette a while ago and have been getting tons of use out of it!  I have included swatches as well, and like always you can click on the pic to enlarge it.  Lets get down to the pros and cons of this product, so you can decide if you need to make this palette a new addition to your collection!

Pros:  

* Wide range of colors, from neutrals to blues/teals to pinks/purples

* The amount of looks you can create with this palette are endless

* Creamy, buttery, high quality texture 

*Richly pigmented with excellent colour payoff

* Beautiful gun metal filigree designed packaging with a secret compartment for storage

* 15 X's .05oz eye shadows for $55

*  All shadows will work with every skin tone

Cons:

* Cannot just throw it in your purse/ Not travel friendly

*  Whenever there are multiple shadows in a palette it can get messy and colours can mix

* Some of the colours are limited edition

Have y'all picked up this palette?  How does it compare to the Urban Decay NYC palette?

X+O,

MAC: MAC ME OVER!

Hi Everyone!  It's been quite some time since I've posted...but things have been so hectic lately!  This new collection filled with fall hues really excites me, so I ended up purchasing much more than I expected...

What I got:

*Brushes 226 & 211

* Lipstick in Runaway Red

* Eye khols in Teddy & Smolder

* Blushes in Stunner & Equilibrium

* Fluidline in Dark Envy, Avenue, Midnight Blues

* Eye shadows in Creamy Bisque, Carbonized, Mythical

Haven't had a chance to play around with the colors, since I picked them up today.  But everything that I picked up appears to be of high quality and well pigmented.  Planning on testing out the products and then reviewing them.  

What did you pick up??

X+O,

Review: LaVanila The Healthy Deodorant

I had recently been looking for an alternative to my trite and true Secret Clinical Strength deodorant.  I have read so many horrible things about the aluminum in deodorant that I thought I would give a "natural" deodorant a try.  I decided to start with Lavanila's The healthy deodorant that I had seen several times at my local Sephora.  This is what Sephora.com says about this deodorant.

The Healthy Deodorant
What it is:
A clinical-strength deodorant that is 100% natural, safe, and effective.

What it is formulated to do:
LAVANILA The Healthy Deodorant uses beta-glucan technology to effectively fight odor while soothing, conditioning, and strengthening the skin. It goes on clean, with no sticky wetness, and delivers long-lasting, luxurious results.

What it is formulated WITHOUT:
- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Dyes
- Petro-Chemicals
- Phthalates

What else you need to know:
This dermatologist-recommended, non-irritating, allergy-tested formula does not contain aluminum or mineral oils.

(Information gathered from Sephora.com)

Here are my thoughts.....

Pros: 

• Smells amazing!  The one I purchased and used up was in their lavender vanilla scent.  I would have liked to try their grapefruit vanilla scent as well.
• It is not a "wet" deodorant.  It goes on dry and pretty much stays that way.
• The packaging is adorable and sophisticated.
• Void of any  nasty chemicals such as aluminum!
• The formula is smooth.  It feels silky as you glide it on.
• Unlike using my Secret deodorant, I was able to wash off the residue of the Lavanila easily in the shower.  I'm sure that feeling was a side affect of the aluminum or the other chemicals my old yucky deodorant.

Cons:

• Unfortunately, this deodorant did not last all day.  I had to reapply mid day.
• The price is kind of steep for deodorant ($18)
• This deodorant also caused a rash under my arms.  I know, I should have discontinued it's use, but I wanted to use it all up!
• Both a pro and a con, the scent somehow mixed with my body chemistry and developed into an awful smell towards the end of each day.  Am I just weird??
• Since the formula is somewhat creamy, it did cause white deodorant stains on my shirts and under my arms.

Guess I have to keep looking :(

Have you tried this deodorant? 

Do you have any other suggestions for a "natural" deodorant?



International Makeup Swap: Take 2

Hello Again!

This is the second installation of my International Makeup Swap series.  Around the same time that I swapped with Linsay from Pandora's Beauty Basket, I also swapped with another lovely lady.

Her name is Adrienne from Adrienne Adores.  We had such a good time with this swap.  I was lucky enough to find two amazing people to swap with.  And, they were both from Scotland!

Just like with Linsday, Adrienne and I discussed how much we were going to spend on each other and gave each other ideas on some products that we wanted.

Some of the items I received:

Collection 2000 Shimmer & Shade in Just Peachy

Eyeko big fat balm

MUA eyeshadows (2)

MUA lipstick in Shade 7

17  Mirror Shine Lipstick in Bee Hive ----LOVE!!

17 Blush

Adorable polka dot brush set!

Nivea Travel of Body wash

Yummy Smelling Hand Lotion

Accessorize Lip Gloss

Accessorize Nail Polish in Pink Spice

Accessorize Eye Palette

Lip Liner

Mascara

Accessorize False Eyelashes

Of course, Adrienne included a cute little card with the package.  I though that was so sweet! 

As you can see, the accessorize eye shadow palette is beautiful!  I think I fell in love with all products she included in this package, but all the accessorize items are my favorite!  Thank you, Adrienne for makeup this swap another great success <3

So, what do you think?  Would you be willing to do an international makeup swap with a complete stranger?  I hope you have as good as a time as I did!

International Makeup Swap: Take 1

Hi everyone!

Some time ago I did a makeup swap with a sweet gal named Linsay from Pandora's Beauty Basket.  Take a look at her blog, it's great!

When we first started emailing we decided to first set up a budget so we knew how much we would spend on each other. Then we both gave each other some time to collect our goodies and pretty much mailed each other's packages together.

We also gave each other ideas of things that we wanted to try out from each other's countries. I think that was the most helpful thing! She had specific items that she wanted and that made it very easy for me. :)

Some of the items that I received:

Barry M Dazzledusts in #51 & #39

2 True Lip gloss in #22

2 True loose eye shadows in #11, #12, & # 1

Beauty UK Blush

Barry M Lipgloss in #12

17 Bronzing Summer Glow Kit

No 7 Eyeshadow Quad

2 True Liquid Eyeliner

2 True Mascara

Me Me Me Beat the Blues Highlighter

I got so many awesome goodies! Did I mention that she even included some shortbread biscuits and other yummies? I am so lucky that this was a successful swap and again, thank you Linsay!!

Have you ever done a international swap? It is a great way to try out makeup items that you couldn't otherwise get in your country. Good luck and hope you enjoyed this post!

Review: Crazy Rumors Lip Balm

I can't even tell you how much I love these lip balms! I recently began hauling lip balms about two months ago. I don't know what came over me. I didn't have money to buy makeup, so I figured lip balm was cheaper. Little did I know that I would be buying tube after tube. I bought so much lip balm, I'm ashamed of myself!

These lip balms can be purchased on the Crazy Rumors website. It's a cute website, and easy to maneuver through.

This balm company was started by a nice little couple looking for the perfect lip balm. I think they found it!

This formula is just amazing. Smooth, buttery, never grainy, and not oily. It's moisturizing without being heavy. And, good for my husband that the balm is not super shiny. He can give me a kiss and not worry about looking like he just put on some lip gloss!

One of the best things about these balms is that they are organized on the web page according to their "collection". Do you like tea? Coffee? Ice cream flavors? Yes! Then you will love navigating through the website trying to figure out which balms you're gonna pick up.

The scent is subtle. It's not going to knock you in the face, but it does linger for a little bit. If I could think of one complaint I would simply want the scent and flavor to last a little longer.

It was very difficult for me not to buy just about everything on that website. From the moment I first used a crazy rumors lip balm, I was hooked. If you're a lip balm junkie like I am, I suggest you check it out!

Review: Sigma Dry & Shape

I'm back! I apologize for not blogging for so long, it's been a crazy couple of months.

I recently hauled some things from Sigma, and one of the items was their new dry and shape. I was really excited to use this since it's just a pain in the rear to wash and dry my makeup brushes.

The texture of this product is exactly like their brush rolls. It's not leather, but it feels like leather. One of the biggest complaints I have about this material is that if you get powder on it, it can be difficult to rub off. The powder particles seep into the small lines and grooves that are naturally in this material.

As you can see from the picture above, I was really disappointed when one of the seams tore the first time I used it! I tried to contact customer service but since my mother bought this for me, I didn't have the invoice number. When I asked if they could look it up, they never emailed me back...... Very disappointing. Usually I'm quite impressed with Sigma's customer service.

Even though I had the issue with the torn seam, I was quite impressed with how quickly my brushes dried. I tried to use synthetic brushes since I knew that these usually take the longest to dry on their own.

The large bulky handles of my pixiwoo/Sarah Chapman brushes did not fit in the bottom portion of the dry and shape. I just kept the handles out and it worked out fine.

Within four hours most of the brushes were completely dry. Even the most dense of the synthetic brushes was about 90% dry.

Overall, I really like this product. I'm not in LOVE, but I'm in like. If it wouldn't have torn on it's first use, it would have been a different story. Not only does it dry your brushes faster, but it also shapes them as well. I forgot to take pictures of my finished brushes, but if you have some brushes that are frayed or spread out due to too much use, this product would shape each and every little hair back into place. They would look new!

Do you have this product? How do you like it?