February Favorites

Another month, another favorites post...Happy (almost) March! :)

NARS Blush in Douceur

Lately I've been loving nude-ish blushes and nothing topped Douceur this month! It seems to incorporate beautifully with many different looks and I love it on my complexion.

Shu Uemura Painting Liner in Black 

This is only my second gel liner I have ever used in my life. Since purchasing it a little over 2 months ago I have decided I can never be without it again. It has an amazing staying power both on lids and waterline. I have been using it almost daily since buying it and as you can see from the little pot, it'll last me a very long time! I cannot ask for anything more of a gel liner. Well done Shu Uemura :)

Urban Decay Eye-shadows in Half Baked & Dark Horse 

Lately my eye make-up includes gold quite a bit and I think Half Baked is versatile enough to use during the day and nighttime. Darkhorse, a shimmery dark chocolate/pewter, looks beautiful on crease with Half Baked all over the lids. I have been loving these two together. I am also using Half Baked on lower lash line for a little sparkle; it looks so pretty even without a black eyeliner on waterline.

YSL Gloss Pur in Pure Rose (Sorry I am obsessed with it!)

Not much to say about this gloss. It's been my favorite go-to lip product this month and that's all there is to it!

 
Sephora Blush Me Twice Duo

I purchased this duo a very long time ago; most likely because this vibrant pink color grabbed my attention. Well, today I am not really using this duo for the pink side but actually for the bronzer side. I have never given the bronzer much thought because I always had another bronzer (or 2) on rotation. Recently while going through my stash, I rediscovered this product and began using it as my bronzer. I think the color is just perfect for my complexion to be used as a bronzer; it's not matte but not too shimmery. It provides just the right amount of color!

Essie Splash of Grenadine + OPI Sparkle-icious

Splash of Grenadine was part of Essie's 2010 Resort Collection, which I surprisingly spotted (I mean the entire collection of 4 nail polishes) at Ulta the other day. It's a cross between pink and purple and just pairs perfectly with OPI's Sparkle-icious which was part of the Burlesque Collection. What I usually do is paint all my nails with Splash of Grenadine, then pick one finger that will have a coat of Spakle-icious as well which is usually the ring finger.

What are your February favorites?

Bits & Pieces

Just sharing with you guys bits and pieces of goods I collected in the last few weeks.

First up, we have this Sonia Kashuk eye make-up remover...I have been using my H2O & olive oil mixture as my eye makeup remover for a long time. Since I have just run out of my mixture, I thought I would try an actual product just for the sake of trying something new. I have no clue how it will perform as this is my first time using a non-makeup Sonia Kashuk product. (I do love her eye shadows though!) Hopefully it'll be a great alternative to that of Neutrogena because I simply despise the oily residue it leaves on my eyes.

I had been wanting to get a Clarisonic cleansing system for a long time! I just recently caved and picked it up. I haven't been using it long enough to tell you how I am liking it so far but I will do a separate and more detailed review on it when the time comes.

 I was in dire need of new brushes for bronzer and MSF application. I was previously using a really old (in fact so old using it to this day should be illegal!) The Body Shop brush for applying my MSF and a not-so-old-but-not-that-great-and-now-a-little-too-scratchy-for-my-face Avon brush for bronzer. Simply put, these new brushes were a total need and not a want at all. Besides my little elf concealer brush, this will be my first time using a "real" elf brush.

The complexion brush feels soooo soft, I love it! I feel like this is just made better than the bronzing brush (perhaps because it's from the "Studio" line?) and it will not shed, or at least not as much as the bronzing one. Bronzing brush is soft too but not as much the complexion brush and right now I feel like it'll shed so much that it won't have any hairs left. We'll see!

I actually vowed that I will be staying away from Bella Bamba because...I mean another pink blush, really?! But I just couldn't help it. It's just very pretty and girly, smells like flowers and/or candy, I love the new and improved box with its little mirror inside.

Nothing big here, just my 123958th container of my favorite facial scrub. After I run out of my last tube, I always say to myself that I want to try a new scrub and I just always find myself going back for more of this green tea scrub, I don't know what it is! It seems to work for me, I love the smell, the feeling on my face afterward.

Rose D'oro is only one of the 9 colors in Milani's baked blush/bronzer range. It's gorgeous and looks like it will be perfect for achieving a sun-kissed look.

Topless and Barefoot is part of Essie's new Spring collection called "A French Affair". I had just received my quarterly Ulta certificate and chose to get a free nail polish with it. I was originally planning to get a nail polish from OPI's Texas collection but absolutely nothing grabbed my attention, at all! So I decided to go with Topless & Barefoot. It's a pastel nude in creme finish.

 Since receiving a Bath & Body Works mailer the other day, I had been dying to try out their new scent Carried Away. Finally yesterday I had the chance to check it out! I tested it on my hand and walked around int the store a good 15 minutes sniffing...everything! The scent was still there, going pretty strong. I decided to buy it because I just loved its sweet, flirty, summery scent. I came home an hour later, washed hands with soap, the scent still lingered on. On my skin, its staying power is just amazing. Quick glance on the back of the tube; ... "a whimsical blend of lush raspberries, white jasmine and whipped vanilla inspired by the way love sweeps you off your feet". Oh yeah, it's definitely comparable to love tee heee!

 I just ran out of my beloved Neutrogena hand cream and when I saw these on a shelf at my local Walgreens I knew I had to try it! I love EOS lip balms so I thought I'll probably and hopefully love their hand creams as well. First impression...it smells delish (if you like the cucumber scent that is), very moisturizing, creamy texture.

What have you all been hauling lately? Did you buy any of these products?

Little Basket

Having my daily products in this little basket makes my morning routine so much easier! Previously I just had them in my make-up bag and it was such a hassle to have to shuffle through all these products to find the one I am looking for. I don't have to look for them or have them get lost in the midst of my collection. I just have it sit on my bathroom counter (which is where I do my make-up). I think it looks pretty and provides easy access to just what I need. I should have done this sooner!

So here is what it looks like...

I didn't go out and buy the basket for this purpose. It came as a package that had three pretty little hand towels nestled in it which was gifted to me by my grandma. So look around and you may just have something laying around in your house that can be used for holding your goodies.

Essential products my basket holds...

Revlon PhotoReady Foundation

MAC Studio Finish Concealer

MAC MSF Natural

Sephora Blush Me Twice Duo

NARS Blush in Douceur

Dior Amber Diamond

Urban Decay Primer Potion

MAC Quad - Print, Grain, Shale, Patina

MAC Wedge

Shu Uemura Black Painting Liner 

Milani Liquif'eye Eyeliner Pencil

MUFE Smoky Lash

Anastasia Clear Brow Gel

EOS Lipbalm in Lemon Drop

YSL Gloss Pur #2

I use these products daily with just a few of them on rotation such as blush, lip products and eye-shadows. I do sometimes switch out the colors in the MAC quad, but Print and Grain are just my must-haves all the time. Lately my make-up consists of exactly what you see here though.

Do you guys have a basket/box that holds your everyday items?

NARS Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal has been on my lust list for longer than I can remember! So when 'opportunity' came around, I took it and made this beauty mine! I am a sucker for NARS blushes in general and have always had an excellent experience with them; with the exception of Orgasm only because I find the texture to be a little too glittery for my liking.

I don't have an excessive blush collection but I think I have all the colors I would ever want minus a shade like Taj Mahal! So it was meant to be. It does look a bit scary in the pan because it is an unusual orange color. It is very pigmented that you really need to very lightly touch your brush to the blush to get a beautiful color pay-off.

No Flash

Taj Mahal is a exactly what I would call a burnt orange shade that would be just perfect for the fall season, because it fits right in! In pan it looks like it's matte but if you look closely you can see teeny tiny flecks of micro glitter in it. Once applied, it instantly adds warmth and glow to complexion without any visible glitter but more of a sheen.

L - Natural Sunlight  R- Flash

When lightly applied, it looks more like apricot on me. I have not tried to play up the intensity with it just yet, because honestly I am scared to look like a clown! I think this blush will look amazing on darker/tan skin tones. I would probably stay away from it or use it very cautiously if my skin were any lighter than it currently is. Overall, I am very very happy with Taj Mahal.  NARS quality is undefeatable when it comes to blushes, what can I say? I can't wait to use it as part of many other looks!

I used my Sigma Angled Top Synthetic Kabuki brush (F84) to apply this blush. I think I dipped a little too much in the pan so I ended up with way too much color on my face as you can see below.

Oops too much blush!

So I went back and tried again with a super light hand. I think that resulted in a better look!

What do you guys think about Taj Mahal?

YSL Gloss Pur - #2 - Pure Rose

Soooo on my way back from Istanbul, I had to stop by the amazing Duty Free Shop! I really wanted to pick up Chanel's Bronze Universel and to my surprise they didn't have it?! After hearing the bad news, I walked around to see if anything else will attract my attention. Honestly, I couldn't find a single thing I wanted from Chanel, Dior, Lancome...nothing. Then I ended up at the YSL counter and looked through the beautiful Rouge Voluptes, I initially picked up #2 & #7 but then put them back. While they were both gorgeous, I just didn't need 2 more lipsticks! What I need more of are lip glosses, I want to love them as much as everyone else lol So that's why I went for one!

Just like all other YSL lip products, Gloss Pur also comes in the classic and very luxurious gold packaging. 

I adore the little mirror that is on top of the Rouge Voluptes, so I was totally expecting to see one on my Rouge Pur as well. Unfortunately no mirror here. But the packaging is still glam and sleek at the same time. I love the squared bottle and the black and red YSL logo right on the front of the cap.

This shade is called Pure Rose. I would describe the color as a milky cotton candy-ish pink with a hint of coral/orange to it. There are a total of 12 shades in the Gloss Pur line. Pure Coral is definitely on my list!

For the most part, I prefer doe-foot applicators when it comes to lip glosses. Rouge Pur comes with a brush wand which is ok. Regardless, the fresh mango-scented gloss just glides on lips with ease. I am truly amazed by its consistency! It's not sticky at all, and leaves lips with a glossy, high shine sheen! I was informed that there is aloe vera involved in the formulation which is a bonus as aloe vera is known to smooth and soften skin while providing essential moisture. I think the color pay off is decent but it's definitely not the same color you see in the tube. Of course that depends on the pigmentation of your lips as well. I don't think it is the longest wearing lip gloss in the world but anyway I cannot think of a lip gloss that lasts for hours on lips, maybe I am not aware of it? On average it lasts about two hours or so on my lips, of course depending on your activities the length of staying power may slightly change.

I am very happy with my new lip gloss! I love the scent, the non-sticky finish, the color, everything! I believe it's one of those staple colors in every girl's collection since you can wear it practically anywhere! It comes with a not so pocket-friendly price tag; $30 for a .20oz tube. I did, however, buy it for $26 at Duty Free, score! :) It's not cheap but then again, it'll probably last me a long time since I only occasionally wear lip glosses.

Gloss Pur is available at yslbeautyus.com, Nordstrom and Sephora has few shades on their website.

Have you tried Gloss Pur? What are your favorite lip glosses?

Zoya Didn't Forget About Me!

Like most nail polish lovers out there, I also took advantage of the three free nail polish deal from Zoya last month. I already knew the demand would be out of this world (I heard approximately 700,000 bottles were given out...now that's A LOT of nail polish wow!) and my new polishes would take a while to come home to me but I didn't think it would take this long! Not too long ago I received the long awaited package but there were only 2 nail polishes in it...Apparently, Kelly is pretty huge in the Zoya world hence being on back-order forever. I thought I'd wait to get all three to publish this post so without further ado, here are the newest additions to my nail polish collection!

L-R: Ibiza, Mata Hari, Kelly

Of the three, I wanted Kelly the most because I am a sucker for unusual shades like this. I love all three of these colors especially because I don't own anything close to Ibiza or Mata Hari. I don't own an exact dupe of Kelly but I do have several colors like Kelly that are reminiscent of wet cement. 
  

...and Zoya was nice enough to include swatches of their new shades from their Intimitate collection in the package! I was happy to see them as when I saw these colors on their website a while back, my jaw dropped! They are all very pretty and needless to say I want them all :)

L-R: Marley, Dove, Caitlin, Dannii, Jules, Gemma

This post is obviously not a review but I can't end it without telling you all that Zoya nail polishes are super user/wearer-friendly! I own a several other of their polishes and so far haven't bumped into a color that doesn't apply like butter! Application is always so easy, combination of their medium-sized brush and their amazing formulas make even the shakiest hands apply them like a pro. While I do love, OPI, Essie and China Glaze, using their nail polishes I always mess up and paint the sides of my nails as well. Mess up is seriously very minimal with Zoya ones, it's almost too strange! Another thing I love about them is the fact that they are formulated without Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate and Camphor. Way to go Zoya!

Which colors did you guys pick up from this Zoya event?

Lush Finds

I have seen Ocean Salt mentioned in blogosphere maaaaany times but the thought of salt and scrub together made me think twice about this scrub until a recent trip to Lush. I was actually searching for a cure for my out-of-control cuticles and after reading a bunch of rave reviews about Lush's Lemony Flutter cuticle cream on nail blogs I just had to give it a try! So off to Lush I went. I usually don't fall for the "let us give you a hand massage etc" line that sales associates try to pull on customers. This time I gave in and let them do their thing! One of the products they tried on my hand was Ocean Salt...

I was really surprised that though it has a salt content, it was not abrasive on my skin at all! Instead it left me feeling squeaky clean and really smooth. Even though this product has 50% sea salt, it has other ingredients such as avocado and coconut fats which I assume help make it non-abrasive. Unfortunately the scent is not coconut-y, but more citrus-y - I can definitely pick up lime.When I was told I could even use it on freshly shaven skin, I was sold! How many body scrubs are out there that can be used on freshly shaved skin? I am not the one who necessarily exfoliates after shaving but still, it's good to have a product that can be used on hand :D I had to have it! No really, I was actually on the market for a new body scrub because I just ran out and was in the mood for trying something new :)

I was given this wooden stick with my purchase to mix up the scrub. After mixing it, scrub is quite creamy but you can still feel the salt particles to some extent. Although Ocean Salt markets as part of Lush's Facial Care line, I personally haven't used this as part of my facial care regimen as my skin has been really sensitive as of late. Therefore I don't want to contribute to any potential breakouts because I will die! However, on other areas of my body, I have seen great results. I think Ocean Salt does an excellent job removing dead skin from drier areas such as elbows, knees and I have noticed less flakage on my upper leg area (once winter rolls by, I get super dry here! :/) Ocean Salt comes in two sizes; 4.2 oz (which is what I have here) for $19.95 and 8.8 oz for $34.95. Because I wasn't sure about how my skin will react to it, I decided to go with the smaller container.

Lemony Flutter quickly became one of my favorite everyday products. (I carry it in my purse just in case)This freezing Chicago weather took a huge toll on my cuticles; they are dried to point of no return. Not even Bio-Oil works at this point :/ Then Lemony Flutter came to my rescue! There is something in this product that smooths my cuticles and helps them stay that way for a good while. Perhaps the combination of beeswax and avocado oil? Obviously it's ridicilous for me to expect the moon and stars from any product, but with continuous use I can say that I have benefited from Lemony Flutter. What I have been doing since I started using it is that I apply product and then gently push cuticles back. It's definitely not sticky by any means but if you don't like the oily feeling then you may want to skip this. I am not too crazy about oily hands but oils seem to provide a prolonged moisture which is what I need. Lemon scent is always a plus :) Lemony Flutter retails for $14.95 for a 1.5 oz. container. It is not cheap but it's one of those products you would call "a little goes a long way" so I can't complain!

What are you favorite Lush skincare products?

January Favorites

Hey everyone!

I apologize for the hiatus; I had been overseas for 3 weeks but now I'm back in blogging business! :) Here are my most used and loved items for the month of January!

Dior Amber Diamond 
I use Amber Diamond daily, not fearing I'll hit pan on it soon! It does look a little too shimmery in the pan but I promise you that once you apply few swipes of it on your face, it will only leave it looking glowing and luminous and not overdone. I usually do a light swipe of it down my nose, some on top of my cheekbones and a little dab on cupid's bow. 

MAC Beauties Play It Cool (LE - A Tartan Tale)
I have surprisingly neglected this little palette for the longest time. Happy that I rediscovered it because the looks you can do with these 6 shades is endless! I love purples, they look beautiful with brown and green eyes :)

MAC Wedge 
I have been obsessed with Wedge since I bought it last month. I use it to blend anything and everything. Wedge is a very versatile color; you can use it to blend two colors together or use it to blend out just one color which is what I am doing lately. While in Turkey, I "stole" my sister's All That Glitters quite a bit, I used that all over my lid with Wedge on crease and voila! :)

MUFE Smoky Lash 
Smoky Lash was everything I wanted it to be! Lengthening, volumizing, thickening, defining and the list goes on! Definitely delivers, couldn't be happier with it! :)

Shu Uemura Painting Liner
The only other gel liner I have ever tried was that of Wet n Wild's, which dried up to a little ball in no time. Then I met Shu Uemura's painting liner and wow! I have been absolutely loving this gel liner for the past couple of months now and I can't say enough about it! It lasts all day, literally it will not come off unless you take it off! It applies very smoothly and is really easy to work with. I don't only use it to line my lids but also in my waterline and it stays on :) I use it in conjunction with my angled liner brush.

Givenchy Ange ou Démon Le Secret 
I lusted over this scent ever since I received a little sample of it that came with the purchase of another perfume a while back. Had I known I will love it more than the perfume I purchased, I would have got this instead! Well, my wish was granted and I got this as a birthday gift back in December :)

Lush Lemony Flutter Cuticle Cream 
My cuticles have gone out of control! I think I contributed to their current condition as I have the very bad habit of snipping them :s I know I know, we're supposed to only gently push them back so that's why I resorted to Lush's Lemony Flutter and I am really happy with it! I use it on all my dry spots, in addition to cuticles, like on top of my hands, elbows, heels etc. I can see a little physical difference in my cuticles, obviously I can't expect huge changes overnight, I've been only using this cream for a little over 3 weeks, so far so good though! Plus I'm a sucker for lemon scent!