Friday, October 31, 2014

LORAC The Royal Eye Shadow Collection | LORAC Holiday 2014 Limited Edition

LORAC’ S new holiday collection features a new, limited edition, four palette packed eyeshadow set called the Royal Eyeshadow Collection ($38; ulta.com), featuring a variety of travel friendly eyeshadow palettes. The collection has a mix of neutrals, smoky greys and easy to wear browns.

LORAC The Royal Eyeshadow Collection Holiday 2014
LORAC The Royal Eyeshadow Collection Holiday 2014
LORAC The Royal Eyeshadow Collection Holiday 2014 Review, Photos & Swatches

Texture wise, I found the shimmery, more darker metallic shades easy to work with than the lighter ones which were a tad chalky and difficult to blend. I like the selection of mattes - small, but nice colors for the crease, as liners or even to smudge along the lower lash line. My favorites are the richer, bronzy neutrals, the greys and a gorgeous burgundy, all of which look beautiful on the eyes. The palettes are quite slim, have a magnetic closure and come with a small mirror inside. Overall, the Royal Eyeshadow Collection makes for a really cute gift, the quality is nice and the shadows are smooth for the most part with hardly any fallout, except from the lighter shades, which tend to be just a little patchy.
LORAC The Royal Eyeshadow Collection Holiday 2014 Countess Palette
LORAC The Royal Eyeshadow Collection Holiday 2014 Countess Palette Swatch
LORAC The Royal Eyeshadow Collection Holiday 2014 Duchess Palette
LORAC The Royal Eyeshadow Collection Holiday 2014 Duchess Palette Swatch
LORAC The Royal Eyeshadow Collection Holiday 2014 Princess Palette
LORAC The Royal Eyeshadow Collection Holiday 2014 Princess Palette Swatch

LORAC The Royal Eyeshadow Collection Holiday 2014 Queen Palette

LORAC The Royal Eyeshadow Collection Holiday 2014 Queen Palette Swatch




LORAC The Royal Eyeshadow Collection Holiday 2014
LORAC The Royal Eyeshadow Collection Holiday 2014 Ingredients

What are your thoughts on the LORAC Royal Eye Shadow Collection?

*Press Sample

My Top 5 Favorite Blushes This Fall

A quick roundup of my current favorite blushes this fall. As you can see, I prefer neutral toned ones mostly, but love to switch up to something a bit more deeper, with a color pop once in a while.

Favorite Blushes for Fall 2014 for medium dark skintones from burberry, laura mercier, nars and chanel



Chanel Cream Blush in Destiny ($38 ; chanel.com) - Love this bronzer-blush hybrid sort of color. It is very sculpting in a way and the formula is really nice for my dry skin and lasts quite a while. Its a color perfectly suited for someone who doesn’t like bright pinks or colorful blushers. Its one I would wear year round.

Chanel Cream Blush in Destiny

Chanel Cream Blush in Destiny Swatch


Laura Mercier Cream Cheek Color in Praline ($25; lauramercier.com)  - I’ve had this for almost a year now and have worn it so much. Its such an easy to wear color that you just can’t go wrong with. The formula is just fantastic and truly creamy, dewy and super blendable.

Laura Mercier Cream Cheek Color in Praline

Laura Mercier Cream Cheek Color in Praline Swatch

Burberry Light Glow Natural Blush in Blossom Blush ($42 ; burberry.com) -  I've wanted to try Blossom for a very long time and it being out of stock for ages, Burberry decided to stock it up sometime last year. Its a gorgeous, mid tone coral pink that I can see working as a subtle blush for any skin tone. Its not too bright that you need to go light handed, or super light that it doesn’t show up at all. Just the perfect balance between the two with a subtle sheen that adds a bit of glow to your cheeks.

Burberry Light Glow Natural Blush in Blossom Blush
Burberry Light Glow Natural Blush in Blossom Blush Swatch


NARS Lovejoy ($30; narscosmetics.com) - Lovejoy is an old favorite that Ive rediscovered recently and fallen in love with. Its quite a deep, rusty color that is super flattering on most medium to dark skin tones. It is quite shimmery though and very pigmented, so go very light handed on this one, no matter what your skin tone is. Its a gorgeous color though and one of my most recommend ones from the NARS blush line.

NARS Lovejoy Blush
NARS Lovejoy Blush Swatch



 NARS Unlawful ($30; narscosmetics.com) - A recent launch from NARS for fall and another one of their permanent launches to check out if you are looking for a blush to wear this fall. Unlawful is a tad glittery in the pan though, but the glitter doesn’t translate much onto my cheeks and the color, a medium brown rose is just fabulous. While not as pigmented as Lovejoy, it still has good color payoff and nice blendability. NARS does great blushes for medium-dark skin tones and this is definitely one among them.

NARS Unlawful Blush
NARS Unlawful Blush Swatch



What are your favorite blushes this fall?

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Beauty.com x Tess Giberson - New Limited Edition Winter Forest Bag Filled With Samples Free With a $125 Purchase

Beauty.com's latest collaboration with Tess Giberson features a new Winter Forest Bag, decorated with tree silhouettes in icy blue and black that comes filled with 13 prestige beauty samples in both deluxe sample and full sizes. The spacious, travel friendly bag and samples are a free gift with purchase on orders $125 and above.





Here's what's in the bag.

1. Alterna Caviar CC Cream 10-in-1 Complete Correction
2. NUXE® Huile Prodigieuse® Multi-Purpose Dry Oil
3. Origins® Plantscription™ Anti-aging Serum
4. h2o+™ Deep Sleep Recovery Cream
5. bareMinerals® Active Cell Renewal Night Serum
6. PHYTO Phytopolleine Botanical Scalp Treatment
7. GoSmile Teeth Whitening Gel
8. Miracle Skin Transformer Treat & Conceal – Eye and Face
9. Dr Dennis Gross One-Step Acne Eliminating Pads
10. tarte lights, camera, lashes! mascara
11. Tocca Eau de Parfum
12. Nick Chavez® Color-Saver Sulfate-Free Shampoo
13. Caudalie® Polyphenol C15 Anti-Wrinkle Defense Serum
14. An offer for you from the Beauty.com site ($10 off an order of $40 or more).


I quite like beauty.com's collaborations, but I do wish this one came with a couple more makeup samples. It does have more haircare than skin or makeup, but some nice deluxe sizes like the Tarte Mascara and the Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Dry oil. My bag also had a deluxe sample of the Alterna Perfect Iron Spray, but that is not listed as part of the contents of the bag. This sample bag is available as a free gwp until stocks last.







For more info on this offer, visit beauty.com's offer page here!

*Sample Bag and products provided courtesy of beauty.com. NO affiliate links have been included.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Smashbox On the Rocks Always Sharp Eyeliner Set | Smashbox Holiday 2014 Limited Edition

Smashbox's Holiday On The Rocks Collection has an Always Sharp Eyeliner Set ($39; sephora.com) featuring five of the Always Sharp Waterproof Kohl Liners. The Always Sharp liners are self sharpening and sharpen every time you twist the cap to open them. The set contains Raven, Midnight and Sumatra which are creamy mattes and 3D Orchid and 3D Night Gem, the 3D liners that have a bit of shimmer and dimension.


I think the set is a great value and a great way to try these liners out. All of them are full sizes, go on creamy and don't budge once set. They don't tug or pull on the lash line and the mattes don't sting my waterline either. My only qualm though is that its difficult to know how much product is left - you end up using it until the end and then realize you've finished the product which can be quite inconvenient - no twist up mechanism here. That apart, its a really nice formula to try and the set has some very wearable colors that are neutrals, but not boring. Midnight and 3D Night Gem are limited-edition, exclusive to this holiday set.

Smashbox On The Rocks Always Sharp Liner Set Review, Photos & Swatches

Smashbox On The Rocks Always Sharp Liner Set

Smashbox On The Rocks Always Sharp Liner Set Ingredients

Smashbox On The Rocks Always Sharp Liner Set Smashbox Holiday 2014

Smashbox On The Rocks Always Sharp Liner Set Smashbox Holiday 2014

Smashbox On The Rocks Always Sharp Liner Set Smashbox Holiday 2014 Swatches of  3D Night Gem, Raven, Midnight,  Sumatra, 3D Orchid
L-R : 3D Night Gem, Raven, Midnight, Sumatra, 3D Orchid


What are your thoughts on the Smashbox Always Sharp Eyeliner Set?

*Press Sample

Saturday, October 25, 2014

NARS Corsica Lip Gloss and Sherwood Nail Polish | NARS Laced With Edge Holiday 2014 Collection

NARS' new Laced With Edge Holiday 2014 Collection features some gorgeous, very wearable pieces, a couple of which I have swatched and reviewed in this post. The Lip Gloss in Corsica ($26; narscosmetics.com), a mid tone dusky rose with subtle shimmer and Nail Polish in Sherwood ($20; narscosmetics.com), a rosy purple with a good amount of shimmer.

NARS Laced with Edge Holiday Collection Corsica gloss and Sherwood Nail Polish




Corsica is quite similar to Dolce Vita Lip Gloss by NARS. Dolce Vita has a bit more pink and doesn't have shimmer, while Corsica is more of a muted pink with a bit of shimmer. It is not too sheer and is perfect for a wash of color and shine. Sherwood Nail Polish is a metallic rosy purple with a hint of brown. The formula was a tad on the thicker side, but completely opaque in two coats. The color is just fabulous, very fall, and quite unique. Overall, I absolutely love them both and have worn them quite a bit since I tired them on the first time. Both Corsica and Sherwood are limited edition.

NARS Laced with Edge Holiday Collection Corsica gloss and Sherwood Nail Polish

NARS Laced with Edge Holiday Collection Corsica Lip Gloss Review, photos & Swatches

NARS Laced with Edge Holiday Collection Corsica Lip Gloss Review, photos & Swatches

NARS Laced with Edge Holiday Collection Corsica Lip Gloss vs Dolce Vita Lipgloss COmparison


NARS Laced with Edge Holiday Collection Corsica Lip Gloss Swatch

NARS Laced with Edge Holiday Collection Corsica Lip Gloss vs Dolce Vita Lip Gloss Swatch Comparison

NARS Laced with Edge Holiday Collection Sherwood Nail Polish Review, Photos & Swatches-001

NARS Laced with Edge Holiday Collection Sherwood Nail Polish Review, Photos & Swatches-001

NARS Laced with Edge Holiday Collection Sherwood Nail Polish Review, Photos & Swatches




What are your thoughts on Corsica Lip Gloss and Sherwood Nail Polish by NARS?

*Press Sample