Browsing Tag

makeup

Beauty

Tartelette in Bloom

I have a confession to make.  I have an obsession with palettes…eyeshadow palettes to be specific.  I must have at least 6 of these by now.  What do I need 6 palettes for?  How many eyes do I have?  Confessions of a cosmetics junkie.  Makeup palettes are just so darn pretty – it’s hard to pass up.  I have the first 3 Urban Decay Naked Palettes (I LOVE the Naked2 Palette.  If you’re ever going to try one, this is the one to get hands down), 2 Charlotte Tilbury ones, 1 Bobbi Brown one and now….this wonderful, beautiful tarte one.  In my defense, I travel a lot for work.  Wouldn’t these be great for travel?

First of all, look at the swatches.  They’re gorgeous!  I am very into neutral tones in case you couldn’t tell.  I like how this has a blend of matte and luster finishes.  These eyeshadows are pretty pigmented and easily blend-able.  As I was using my finger to swatch the colors, it was like touching butter! When I went to Sephora to purchase this palette, the associate ringing me up said “This is my current FAVORITE palette.  The colors are beautiful.”  Thank you Sephora employee for verifying my absolute NEED for this.  ha!

In conclusion, if you’re looking for an eyeshadow palette that you will reach for every day, this is it.  The price point isn’t too terrible either.  Luckily, I had a $50 gift card that I received for my birthday back in May so all I had to pay was 3 pennies.  Yes, $0.03. What a steal!

tarte Tartlette in Bloom Clay Eyeshadow Palette | Sephora $46

Beauty

Becca x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Pop

Happy New Year everyone!!!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season.  I was incredibly lazy the last 2 weeks and it was wonderful!  I was able to spend time with my closest girl friends, do a thorough cleaning of my room and closet, and hang out with my cats.  I am pretty sure I took a 2-3 hour nap almost every single day and I have to say that I enjoyed every minute of it!

As I was looking through my posts, I could not believe that I have not written a post about the best highlighter ever!  A few months ago, I was online and noticed a huge trend for the Becca and Jaclyn Hill collaboration.  Of course I was intrigued. Jaclyn Hill is an incredibly popular beauty YouTuber known for her love of highlighter.  I went right over to Sephora and purchased the highlighter not really knowing what to expect.  Man oh man, this is the BEST highlighter ever!  I sweep it on the apples of my cheeks with a fan brush, dab a bit on the inner corners of my eyes to look awake, and another dab right on my cupid’s bow.  I look awake and refreshed without looking like I just threw glitter all over my face.

I think it’s perfect for a lot of different skin tones and can definitely work for you.  I purchased the Champagne Pop color which is a soft white gold with pinky peach undertones.  This color is also the main staple of the BeccaxJaclyn Hill collaboration.  A lot does go a long way so be careful when applying.  Also, I heard that if you travel with it, it WILL most likely shatter so be very careful.  But if it does, there are a lot of great hacks online that will help you put it right back together.

So, what are my final thoughts?  This is a definite NEED in your cosmetic arsenal.  I cannot tell you how much more awake I look with this on and, dare I say, glowing?  It’s worth the hype!

Beauty

Sigma Brushes

Happy day after Christmas everyone!  Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your family and ate a ton of really great food.  I definitely gained a few pounds in the last few days.

I have been on the lookout for a new blush brush.  Every time I watch Youtube videos of makeup people putting on make up, their brushes look so nice and fluffy.  It applies their makeup so nice… I want that!  So when my good friend told me that she had purchased some Sigma brushes online during Black Friday, I immediately went to find some deals.  Sigma has been having great deals since then and I scored!

I already have a kabuki foundation brush that I bought for the same good friend as a gift, and I love it!  I have to say that Sigma brushes are pretty on point with the brushes you can buy at the fancy department stores.  Plus, when you get the package it’s like opening a Christmas present.  Their packaging is on point!

F40 – Large Angled Contour Brush Copper | Sigma Beauty $23:  Fluffy angled brush with soft bristles.  It may say “contour” in the title and you may think it’s for “contouring” but you can actually use it for blush or bronzer.  It’s a great brush for really getting into the hollows of your cheeks and makes applying blush so easy!  The option to get a copper handle didn’t help me make it love it even more!

F23 – Soft Angled Contour Brush | Sigma Beauty $26:  I wanted to use this with my Charlotte Tilbury ‘Filmstar Bronze & Glow’ Face Sculpt and Highlight (read the review here).  Initially I was using the powder brush but figured I should invest in a brush for contouring.  This brush is so soft but stiff enough to contour my cheeks.  Plus, this is great for highlighting the tops of my cheeks too.  I definitely recommend this brush if you are looking for a new contour one.

Sigma Spa Express Brush Cleaning Mat | Sigma Beauty $25:  This thing has great reviews.  You know how I love washing my makeup brushes so I figured if this would give my brushes an even deeper clean, then why not?  Well, I have used this twice already and I think my hand is better at cleaning my brushes than this thing is.  I got the “Express” one because it’s made to fit smaller sinks.  Truthfully I don’t know if my sink is considered to be smaller than normal, but I didn’t want to risk it and get a mat that is too big!  There are suction cups on the back to help stick to your sink. Sadly this is a big skip.  You do not need this at all.

Brush Cup Holder | Sigma Beauty $25:  There was a promotion going on when I made my purchase and it came with a free Brush Cup Holder.  I think this will be great when I have to travel.  I have a lot of trips coming up in the Spring for work, perfect for trying this out.  So far, seems fine.  You just have to be careful that you stand it upright and not crush the bristles.

Moral of this story.  Sigma brushes = good.  Cleaning mat = bad.  Anyone have any other suggestions for affordable, but high-quality makeup brushes?  If so, leave me comment below.

 

Beauty

Charlotte Tilbury Haul 1.0

charlotte-tilbury-2As a beauty lover, I have been eyeing Charlotte Tilbury’s products for quite some time.  My good friend was promoted to Counter Manager at the local Big Fancy for the brand, and I thought how perfect for her to show me the line.  She sat me down and went over everything and did a full-on makeover on me.  Truthfully, I wasn’t expecting much. Sadly for my wallet, I walked away with quite a few items that are now a part of my daily routine.

‘Air Brush Flawless Finish’ Skin Perfecting Micro-Powder (Medium) | Nordstrom $45:  Let me remind you that I have combination/oily skin.  With that being said – this powder is AMAZING!  I have been pretty loyal to MAC’s Mineralize Skin Finish Powder for years and now there’s a new winner in my cosmetic bag.  The first day I wore this, my skin was just starting to get oily at 4pm. When I used to wear my other powder, my nose was oily after about two hours at 10am.  The trick is to not swirl your brush around, but rather tap it on.  *tap tap tap* You do not want to waste any of this wonderful powder.charlotte-tilbury-5charlotte-tilbury-6Powder & Sculpt Brush | Nordstrom $49: I am a stickler for brushes that specifically go with a product.  I am the easiest person to sell something to if it’s beauty related.  I use this brush for the Micro-Powder as well as the Filmstar Bronze & Glow.  It’s soft and feels luxurious.  I do not own a brush this size, so of course I needed it.  I have to say that it works pretty well with the powders, but if you already own something similar – you can pass.

‘Filmstar Bronze & Glow’ Face Sculpt and Highlight | Nordstrom $68:  I already had a highlighter that I loved and I am not a contouring person.  However, when my friend put this on and I looked in the mirror – Damn!  Did my skin look good!  It gives just the right amount of sculpting on the hollows of your cheeks and just the right amount of highlighting on the tops of your cheeks.  I do like to add some of the highlighting powder to the bridge of my nose and cupid’s bow too.  I have ditched everything else in my cosmetic bag.charlotte-tilbury-4charlotte-tilbury-8 charlotte-tilbury-9

‘Matte Revolution’ Luminous Modern Matte Lipstick | Nordstrom $32: I wanted to try a matte lipstick because it has been the trend lately.  I was immediately drawn to Very Victoria, a suede taupe nude.  My friend suggested I try Bond Girl, a chic natural berry.  My first instinct was to tell her no and that it was too much color for me.  She promised that it looks great on everyone.  Fine, I’ll try it on.  Bond Girl looks different on each person who tries it on.  It also looks great on each person who tries it on.  It is my new go-to lipstick for Fall and I wore it in my style post Black After Labor Day.  The best part?  This matte formula is hydrating and not drying at all. Almost feels silky when applying.  Definitely try this if you are looking for a matte lipstick.charlotte-tilbury-1charlotte-tilbury-7

{Bond Girl on TOP, Very Victoria on BOTTOM}

Final Thoughts:  I love Charlotte Tilbury’s products so far.  Everything that I have purchased, has been in my daily, if not weekly rotation.  I barely wear lipstick, but have been because of the Matte Revolution lipsticks that I purchased.  If you can, you definitely need to try her products out.  I went to a Master Class last week at the Big Fancy and have Charlotte Tilbury Haul 2.0 coming up.  Stay tuned!

Beauty

August Birchbox Review

August BirchboxAugust Birchbox 4

It was all about hair this month, except for a few skincare/beauty items.  (When I made my profile, I put that I prefer skincare products and not so much makeup and hair care which is why even though that’s the theme for this month, I only got 2 products).

What I loved from my Birchbox this month:

Vasanti BrightenUP! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator | Birchbox $34.00:  You know I love a good exfoliator, but I absolutely loved this!  I really wasn’t expecting much and decided to use it one night before I went to bed.  My skin was baby butt soft!  It’s gentle on your skin so you don’t have to worry about having redness when you’re done washing your face.  Even looking at the product on Birchbox’s website – it’s sold out!  So I guess I wasn’t the only one who thought this stuff was awesome.  I’m buying it when it comes back in stock!

August Birchbox 3

R+Co BADLANDS Dry Shampoo Paste | Birchbox $28:  I was skeptical about this.  Dry shampoo in the form of a paste?  WTH…. BUT if I use it as a dry shampoo/texturizer on my 2nd and 3rd day hair then it’s wonderful!  It’s a gritty paste, so you have to rub it in your hands to get it be like a dry shampoo.  I like to add a bit of volume to my hair and I’m a #messyhairdontcare type of girl so this product did it’s magic.  If you have fine hair – this won’t work for you.  It will probably weigh your hair down and make it super greasy.  Thick, dry hair like me?  Works like a charm!

August Birchbox 2

Beauty Protector Protects & Oil | Birchbox $28.00:  I was kind of not expecting much with this box. When I picked up this hair oil, I just thought it was any other oil.  I was wrong.  It smells like vanilla and doesn’t weigh down my hair and make it super greasy.  Granted, I didn’t lather my hair in the oil but just used a dime size amount.  I have an Argon oil from Kiehl’s that I use but sometimes I feel like it makes my hair too greasy.  I put on the oil after washing my hair and air drying.  This product won my hair over!

What I didn’t care for:

Balance Me Congested Skin Serum | Birchbox $30:  I had high hopes for this one, but the smells was atrocious!  It’s all natural, free of parabens and sulfates, blah blah blah, but the smell was so strong that I thought it was full of chemicals.  PASS!

Manna Kadar Cosmetics Day-Dream Palette | Birchbox $25: I think this is an eyeshadow but can be used as a bronzer/highlighter.  I would probably use it for the latter but truthfully, it was too peachy for me to use as a bronzer or highlighter.  I feel like I have so many others in my personal arsenal cosmetics that this was just okay for me.
August Birchbox 5

If you want to be a part of the Birchbox bandwagon for $10 a month – SIGN UP HERE!

Also, don’t forget about the JORD Wood Watch Giveaway that’s going on.  Enter to win a $75 gift card to JORD.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!  I’ll be heading on over to the LA Fair doing what I love the most – eating and shopping!