Collective Haul! March 2012

Happy Tuesday lovelies! Today I thought I'd share with you a little collective haul of a few things from Sephora and Ulta. I don't know about you, but when I heard about the Naked2 palette I actually wasn't all that excited, at least once I noticed the similarity it shared with the original one. I even told Angie with assurance that I wasn't going to get it, and yet here it is in a haul -___-

The reason I gave in wasn't because I was excited, or felt like I HAD to have it. It was more because I basically only wear neutrals on a day-to-day basis and I undoubtedly love the formulation of UD shadows, so this palette has a value that's quite difficult to pass up on (in my opinion). I know I will get a ton of use out of it!

Believe it or not, I was most excited to try the Soap & Glory Hand Food Hand Cream because Ingrid or Missglamorazzi from Youtube has said such great things about it. I definitely was not let down. This is hands down the best hand cream I've ever used. It leaves your hands baby soft and has such a beautiful scent.

The Tarte box was a 500-point perk from Sephora. I was so so excited for it because I had been waiting for what seems like forever for a good option and this was it! I've only played with the LipSurgence Natural Matte Lip Tint which was in the color, Fiery, a bright red. I absolutely love it!

The Nars products were a V.I.B gift which I was so excited for because Nars has slowly become one of my favorite make up brands! It included a sample of its Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base, Bronzing Powder in Laguna, and Illuminator in Orgasm. I've mostly used the eyeshadow base and so far so good, I prefer its consistency over the UD primer potion, not sure if I'd repurchase it though. The last goodie I wanted to mention was the deluxe sample of Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial. HOLY COW is this stuff good! People have said they get results in as little as one day but it took a week for me to see real results. My skin tone has basically evened out completely, its incredible! This is now a holy grail product for me.

Moving on from Sephora, I was out shopping yesterday with my girlfriend and we went into Urban Outfitters. We were looking around when I laid eyes on the Stila Daydreamer palette. I've been wanting this little guy for months! I think I first saw it some time in December at a Sephora inside a JCPenny. I had trouble finding it online afterwards but finally found it ironically on the UO website. Even then I kept thinking it over and over. Just a few days ago I decided I was just going to get it but yesterday when I was at UO I had to do a double take because the palette was marked at $4.99! My jaw dropped, literally. The palette was originally at $18, so there was no question about it at that point. I cannot wait to start playing with it!

Last but not least I had a $3.50 off coupon for Ulta, so naturally I HAD to get something. I was in need of a waterproof mascara and my girlfriend recommended the Maybelline Illegal Length, so we'll see how it works out. I'd also been dying to try the NYX Slide On pencils and I needed a bright electric blue color so I grabbed Azure. If it lives up to my expectations, my bank account will suffer the consequences.

What was your latest purchase?

-Michelle

Best Beauty Products of 2011!!!

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all had a fantastic New Year's weekend and first let me apologize for not having done the New Year's look I said I would. Things just got pretty busy AND the place I was staying at had terrible wi-fi coverage, so once again sorry :(

Although I am very excited to start a new year, there's no way I can forget about all the amazing things that 2011 brought me, including the amazing beauty products I discovered so I wanted to take the time to share those products with you.

Let me start with a few general products, Nars blushes. After the first one I got, I was hooked. The quality of these blushes is fabulous. Blend like a dream, very nicely pigmented, and a wide variety of shades. I know that at first glance they may seem overly glittery but somehow the glitter doesn't transfer the way it looks in the pan. I don't know if I'm making sense, but trust me, they're beautiful. Now I'm itching to try their cream blushes ;) Next product is EOS lip balms. I love that they're 95% organic AND simply adorable to look at (I'm a sucker for cute packaging). Moving on, NYX jumbo pencils. They're a cheap but effective option for eye shadow base to make any of your eye shadows really appear true to color and last longer. They have such an incredible range of colors too, you're bound to find at least one that catches your eye. So now Revlon lip glosses, these are so great I just can't believe it took me this long to try them. They have the perfect texture, not too sticky but not too thin or watery either. Plus they are so nicely pigmented, will definitely continue buying these. Also in the world of lip glosses I have to include the Buxom Big and Healthy Lip Polishes. Oh. My. Gosh. These are by far my all time favorite lip glosses. They're supposed to be lip plumping so they give your lips this lovely tingling sensation which I personally really like. I'd say they are a little bit thicker in texture to say the Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Glosses, and sheerer as well, beautiful nonetheless. Last for my general products, but definitely not least, are the Real Techniques brushes by Samantha Chapman. Personally, I prefer these over Mac brushes. Mac brushes seem scratchy to me and the Real Technique brushes are ever so soft. They feel lovely on the skin and don't shed AT ALL. My Mac brushes shed all the time, that is why I wouldn't say they are the best out there. I look forward to getting more of the Real Technique brushes in the near future! Oh gosh I forgot about Essie polishes! This year I was able to pick up a few shades from Essie and quickly fell in love. Each polish applied beautifully and honestly all you need is one, yes one, coat of the varnish for a completely opaque nail.

On to the more specific products I'd like to start with my Urban Decay Naked palette. What can I say, its a gorgeous palette that's worth every penny. As I'm sure you've all heard tons about it, I won't ramble on and on, but if you're an eye shadow type of girl, this palette is a must. So this year I ventured out into trying different foundations. I have very sensitive, acne-prone skin, so I was basically scared to try other stuff but I'm very glad I did. I found two foundations that I can no longer live without. The one in the picture is Neutrogena's Skin Clearing Oil Free Liquid Foundation. I use the shade honey beige 110 and it matches me perfectly and using my Real Techniques stippling brush it blends so well, you can't tell I'm wearing foundation. I'd say it has medium coverage, but it's definitely buildable, and leaves a matte finish, not overly matte though. This is my staple every day foundation. The other foundation I've run out of the sample's I had of it and it is the Make Up For Ever Matte Velvet + foundation, and I wear the shade #45. This is the foundation I use when I want a completely flawless look. The coverage is amazing! Covers absolutely everything you want to cover and lasts all day. I apply this one with another one of my favorite finds this year which is the Beauty Blender. The combination of my Beauty Blender and the MUFE Matte Velvet+ foundation has been such a life saver for me, love love LOVE them!!!!!! Simply can't say enough. Another MUFE product I found was their HD Microfinish Powder. Put this stuff over your foundation, concealer, blush, bronzer, etc. and it makes everything just blend in together giving your face a more natural look, without looking cakey. A little goes a long way with this powder so I don't really believe it to be pricey at all.

Speaking of bronzers, I finally found a matte, non-orange bronzer that suites my skin perfectly, and that is Too Face's Chocolate Soleil Bronzing Powder. This powder is perfect for contouring, and smells deliciously good! Ok, so the last face make up product is the Sonia Kashuk concealer palette. The texture of this concealer is perfect for covering blemishes, creamy but not too creamy, and very well pigmented. I wouldn't recommend it for under eye concealer though. The last two products are eye shadows. One is Mac's Naked Lunch eye shadow. There's nothing really special about this eye shadow, but I love that its the perfect all over eye shadow for the days you have to rush out the door, also, it is a very nice highlight shade for when you're doing a natural eye look. The other is Chanel's Illusion D'Ombre Long Wear Eye Shadow in Illusoire. The moment I swatched this at the Chanel counter I knew I had to buy it. It's a greyish/purplish/taupe color with silver sparkles and has a mousse like texture. This eye shadow lasts alllllllll day and is so easy to use, I don't even use a brush with it, just my ring finger. It's great for nights out! Now for the last product, Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. They also have this in the lotion form, but since I have oily skin, I use the gel. This provides the perfect amount of moisture without leaving your face feeling oily/greasy. Also it leaves your skin feeling really soft and is one of those products where a little goes a long way. I only use one pump and it's enough for my whole face.

Well that's it guys! Those were all my new finds of 2011 that I have learned to love and probably can no longer live without haha hope you enjoyed!

What were your favorite finds?

-Michelle