If you can remember back to my review of the original Baby Lips back in 2011 & even some of my limited edition Maybelline Baby Lips posts then you’d know I am a big fan. I like the feel, the tint, & even the scent on the originals. Maybelline has brought us something new though- the Maybelline Baby Lips Dr. Rescue Medicated Balms. I picked up 3 shades & have my final thoughts all ready for you. Keep reading to see what I thought + lip swatches! [Read more…]
I bought it. Affiliate links.
I am the first to admit I love the look of matte lips…on other people. I have dry skin & as much as I try to make matte fit into my beauty lip area it often falls…well…flat. Too drying, too harsh, too…wrong. I have been super excited for Revlon to bounce some new formulas off of their Revlon Colorburst Balm Stains which I totally love. Today I’m showing the first two shades I picked up from the matte range in Shameless & Audacious. Keep reading to see how they stack up!
First, the packaging. I have an issue with the safety seal simply being a sticker. I feel like you HAVE to open the shade you want before you buy it in case someone else already have. That always makes me feel kind of like a jerk. The exterior is identical to the standby Balm Stains except the packaging is more of a matte satin instead of shiny like the Lacquer Balms or plastic-y like the original Balm Stains. Please do note that these shades don’t say that they are supposed to be a “stain” but rather a “matte balm“. My takeaway from that is that they won’t stain the lips & don’t have a guaranteed long-wear time but that they will be comfortable, like a balm.Both of these shades are true mattes.
Revlon Colorburst Matte Balms in Shameless- This is a true purple with some slight violet to it. I found it a bit patchy upon one swipe but in person it really built up nicely which made the color much more even. I didn’t find it heavy or uncomfortable after building up a bit either which was nice! A bold & rich shade.
Revlon Colorburst Matte Balms in Audacious- This is absolutely another “look at me!” type shade being that it is definitely a peach based tangerine. & it applies like a dream. I barely even had to build this up!
Left to right: quick swipe of Audacious, Audacious built up, quick swipe of Shameless, Shameless build up.
I found both of these shades comfortable to apply. way more comfortable than perhaps any matte product I’ve tried. The crayon applicator makes my life easier, the minty scent is pleasant for me personally, & I honestly wouldn’t think this was a drugstore product. No tugging at my lips which is a miracle. I will point out these aren’t moisturizing (like a balm) but I also don’t find them drying which is super important. Because these aren’t stains, a thin layer of lip balm after exfoliation does wonders. These last a solid 4 hours on me but they will rub off on a coffee mug. Comfot beats longevity when it comes to matte in my world.
Overall…very happy. I bought mine at CVS on a special but I expect them to pop up in permanent displays soon. In fact, I like these so much I already bought 2 more! & I have more on my list! I will have my Lacquer Balm review up soon!
What do you think of these shades? Have you tried the Revlon Colorburst Matte balms? Would you be interested in seeing more once I build up a bit of a collection?
If you love flakies then you’re in the right place! This is my first flakie from Butter London actually! Recently they released two duos, one Ice & one Fire. The Butter London Ice Duo contains Bluecoat & Leccy, both of which are quite lovely & perfect for winter. More information & swatches after the jump!
From Butter LONDON:
These lacquer duos will add a spark to your life with innovative overcoats that transform your lacquer with a festive look.
Bluecoat Nail Lacquer: Opaque, navy shimmer. A twist on the traditional style of dress in British private schools.
Leccy Overcoat: Sheer, blue opal fleck overcoat. Brit slang for electricity.
Butter London Bluecoat- Lovely brightened navy shimmer. First coat was a bit patchy but the second coat evened out beautifully. 2 coats.
Butter London Leccy- A shard flakie top coat with flashes of blue, green, purple, & orange. One medium coat. This was a bit thick but that is what makes it easier to grab the pieces I believe. If you’re used to flakies this won’t be a problem to apply at all, nice formula actually!
Overall, a very pretty duo! You can pick this up from ULTA, Macy’s, Nordstom, or the Butter LONDON website for $24, that is a nice deal since polishes usually retail for $15 each!
What do you think of this duo? Winter-y right? Looks snowy to me š
I bought it. Affiliate links.
Have you been on the search for the perfect red lipstick? Personally…I want all the red lipsticks I can find that actually wear well & look great against my skintone. I have neon reds & sheer reds aplenty, staining reds & vampy reds galore…shimmery reds….not so many! But I am always on the hunt for one that “works” without being tacky looking on me. Maybelline Colorsensational Lipstick in Ruby Star fits the bill, check it out! [Read more…]
Are you an avid toner user?For a long time I honestly wasn’t. I really didn’t understand the point. Now I can’t imagine my day to day without them! For the past 3-4 years I’ve been loving & hugging on toners (it is a serious relationship) & am constantly changing things up to go between luxury & the affordable. I was recently able to pick out some Ziaja products & of course I chose some toners! Keep reading to find out more!
In case you aren’t familiar with the Ziaja site, they have some amazing European products & they’re under $10. I’d say that is nearly drugstore prices! One of my favorite things about their website is they list all of their ingredients for you. I don’t know why more brands don’t do this for convenience sake! I chose the Marigold & Cucumber facial toners, both of which retail for $8.99 regularly.
The Ziaja Marigold Facial Toner is actually my favorite & it is meant for sensitive skin! The scent is really a beautiful floral, I find it really luxe smelling before bed with marigold extract. You just swipe with a cotton pad & you’re good to go! I love this one so much it was in my October Monthly favorites here!
The Ziaja Cucumber Face Toner is aimed at more normal/oily skin I believe & I use it in my t-zone when I’m breaking out a bit to help clear up my skin. Clean skin is happy skin! It isn’t drying at all & contains cucumber pulp extract! Obviously, it smells really fresh & clean! I really like this for down my neck as well!
Overall I’m really happy with both products & have really enjoyed using them! Each bottle contains 7 fl oz so it will last me quite awhile! Love! Plus, very reasonably priced. Ziaja carries more than skincare as well including hair & hand products! I’ll have more products reviewed soon so stay tuned & you can check out http://www.zjashop.com/ for more information & to purchase!
If you love matte nail polishes then this has likely been your year. Sinful Colors came out with two new to them type lines recently- the Crystal Crushes which I reviewed recently that are textured & the Leather Luxe which are matte & have some instructions to make them look more like leather.
Sinful Colors Laced Up- This is what I’d call a poppy red which to me always looks more orange. This is one coat & it does dry matte. I wanted to shoe it with topcat as well, it is truly a beautiful shade.
The directions from Sinful Colors was to add stripes of top coat at varying lengths to make the finish look more like leather. What do you guys think? I think it had kind of a cool effect but I prefer it matte or shiny. I also took another photo which is the first one in the post!
Sinful Colors Strapped- This is a really unique shade, kind of a cool toned jade. I really love it! With topcoat you can see it shines a bit more green! Again, this dries matte.
I really like these shades & am definitely interested in checking out some more! I especially love Strapped, such a gorgeous shade! If you’ve been wanting to try some new matte shades then I found the formula on these really lovely, the dry down is pretty much perfection, no unevenness at all!
PR Sample. Affiliate links.
I love most deeper lip colors & tend to break them out a lot more during the fall & winter. Something about a moisturizing, deeper shade that doesn’t look patchy is kind of hard to find. Dark lip colors can be tricky. This Laura Mercier Creme Smooth Lip Colour in Merlot is effortless, keep reading to learn more!
From Laura Mercier-
A luxurious lipstick that gives lips the ultimate in colour, texture, and finish. In one smoothing swipe, the crĆØme formula envelops lips in rich colour with a semi-lustrous finish.
Melot is a burgandy/wine shade. The pigmentation is really nice & buildable. On the left is one quick swipe with minimum pressure & on the right is a few swipes of built up color. I tend to wear it slightly more natural. Built up it is really luxe looking & reminds me a bit of berry jelly. Love. The texture is really comfortable to wear & lasts about 3-6 hours (depending on food/drink) before I worry about reapplying. I love the packaging too, feels really sturdy.
Because this shade is buildable it has almost become a neutral for me. I can build it up at night for something more comfortably vampy or wear it a bit more light with a dramatic eye look. I love the rose-y tones on me & I’ve had compliments from strangers which are always appreciated.
Laura Mercier Creme Smooth Lip Colour in Merlot is my only shade from this line but I definitely need to try some more! You can purchase Laura Mercier products from the Laura Mercier website, Sephora, & Nordstrom.
I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for this palette! I bought the Tarte holiday kit last year (see review here) 77% for the blushes & have picked up quite a few since. But a blush palette? That’s my jam. There is something just so incredibly right with this palette- from the variation in shades to the packaging itself. Plus, the bracelet is quite cute no? Keep reading for review & swatches of the brand new Tarte Off the Cuff Amazonian Clay Blush Palette!
Honestly I didn’t expect to like the exterior of this palette- I assumed it would be scratchy or snag on stuff. But it is actually super cute & comfortable to stash & it also doesn’t scream “I”M A HOLIDAY PALETTE, HEAR ME ROAR!” which is quite nice. The cuff that comes with the palette is actually nice quality, check out my Instagram photo where I’m wearing it! Normally jewelry additions to makeup are throwaways but this one is a well-made keeper.
Inside this beauty you have 4 blushes & a bronzer. Normally I highly dislike bronzers being tossed in to fill a slot that could be blush because a solid 90% of the time they are shimmer glitter messes. But Tarte must have gotten the memo because I’ve used their Park Ave Princess Bronzer for years (lightly of course since I’m ghastly ghostly) which is both matte & fantastical. The other 4 shades are indeed blushes (squeeee!) & 3 out of 4 are matte! Yes. Yes Tarte understands that matte blushes are easier to wear most of the time. They finally understand.
Left to right in this palette we have Crave, Dazzled, Darling, Dollface, & the Park Ave Princess Bronzer.
Crave is such a me shade- coral pink. It has a brightness but it actually really wearable. The corals seem to look really nice on me year round. The only shade that isn’t matte in this palette is Dazzled but it is oh so wearable. In fact, this might even be my favorite shade in this palette! I thought it might fulfill my lust for Benefit Dallas boxed blush. This is a dusty plum with wearable golden shimmer. Darling is a peachy neutral, more colorful than my favorite neutral shade Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed. Dollface is a permanent shade & an oh so wearable light but bright pink. I already drooled over the Tarte Park Ave Princess Bronzer but I again I say woohoo!
Swatches left to right- Crave, Dazzled, Darling, Dollface, & the Park Ave Princess Bronzer.
Obviously I’m pretty stinking happy with my purchase. I mean the packaging alone is a subtle glam that isn’t too in your face ka-blam! I was going to pick some of my favorite shades but honestly I love them all. I was suprised that this was a color combination I’ll be able to use year round, even during summer! I always see palettes packed with plums & reds but these are way more wearable options for me personally!
You can purchase the Tarte Off the Cuff Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush Palette & Bracelet for $42 (This is a $110 value!) from Sephora. This is limited edition so snap it up while you can!
What do you think of this palette? Are you a Tarte blush fanatic like me? What are some of your favorite shades?
If you can remember back to some of my favorite eyeshadows of all time from Sephora here then you know how absolutely enraged I am that they weren’t made permanent. I came across the Victoria’s Secret Metallized Eyeshadows in Metallic Mink & Femme Fatale while cruising their new makeup & swatched them with the testers. Hmmm these seem quite similar to my beloved discontinued formula! Keep reading to see how these stack up!
From Victoria’s Secret:
Go for major metallics. This innovative hybrid-texture eye shadow from our VS Makeup collection drenches lids in extraordinary, multi-dimensional color and the hottest metallic finish ever.
TIPS & TRICKS: For a more intense effect, build color on lids. Sweep on a light shade, then layer the same shade or a deeper hue over it.
So the packaging on these is just ok, the lid worries me because it isn’t super sturdy. I like the diamond/quilted type imprint on the eyeshadow (the Sephora eyeshadows were quilted as well!) but that made these a bit hard for me to photograph.
The first photo of the eyeshadow is with flash & the second is in natural, angled lighting. Swatches below.
Victoria’s Secret Metallized Eyeshadow in Femme Fatale- This is a really unique metallic burgundy because you can really see the pink in this while still getting a dose of the cranberry/red shade. You can see this better swatched below.
Victoria’s Secret Metallized Eyeshadow in Metallic Mink- A metallic …yeah the name is actually pretty accurate. I like the touch of gold & champagne in this, very pretty neutral & quite wearable for a metallic.
The swatches I did for this post aren’t over primer…they aren’t even wet! The two shades I chose are the only ones I can speak for but they are wonderfully pigmented & pretty smooth one applied!
The pigmentation looks the same as the Sephora eyeshadows but the texture is a bit different. While the Sephora shades are ridiculously smooth these have a bit of flakie-ness to them that isn’t disruptive but is noticeable to my comparison. This isn’t really a deterrent for me & doesn’t have fallout either. Wet I don’t even notice the texture being an issue either. I wear these eyeshadows over a primer (as is my habit, not because they need it) & I don’t notice fading or smudging, especially wet. I’m very impressed.
The shade Femme Fatale is readily available on the Victoria’s Secret site but for some reason I don’t see Metallic Mink. I’ll go out on a limb & say that the shade “Cosmic” very well might be this one renamed but I won’t know until I see it in person. Femme Fatale is a seriously cool shade, I highly suggest checking it out if you dig red/pink type shades! The Victoria’s Secret Metallized Eyeshadows retail for $12- $14 depending on the shade apparently so if you’re interested check out Victoria’s Secret for deals which are frequent!
What do you think of these shades? Have you tried the Metallized Eyeshadows from Victoria’s Secret yet?
I’m completely addicted to jumbo lip pencils & the Tarte LipSurgence Lip Tint pencils were (from what I can remember…) my first loves.I’ve collected quite a few pencils & I actually like them all. There are a few with a bit too much glitter for day to day but I’ve found a way to wear them all probably because I absolutely love the formula. For reference, none of the shades in this set are “glittery” woo! These pencils retail in a full size for $24 each so I’m always on the lookout for deals. Keep reading to see if this one is for you!
These pencils last a really long time in the tube so I wasn’t worried about only having minis. The Tarte Pure Delights 8-Piece LipSurgence set is limited edition for the holidays & contains 8 pencils total- 4 original lips tints & 4 matte lip tints.
I wanted to give you a visual on how much product you actually get. Here is my full size Tarte LipSurgence Natural Lip Luster in Escape (a limited edition shade) next to the mini matte shade Glee. The full size contains 0.1 oz while the mini contains 0.06 oz. They contain more than half of a full size which is quite decent! The packaging is also exceptional for a mini, the caps, feel, & twist up is identical to the original so if you like them you’re set.
If you’re a visual person, check out these two twisted up! I don’t use Escape much which is why I used it to compare (pretty glitzy!) so this is pretty much two untouched pencils.
If you dig peppermint, long lasting color that leave a staining effect, & automatic jumbo lip pencils I think you’lll really like these. They aren’t especially moisturizing for me personally but I do have somewhat dry lips. However, definitely not uncomfortable either! The only different between the two rows below are the matte/original formulas.
Top row: Tarte Lipsurgence Lip Tints in Lovely, Believe, Grateful, & Enamored.
Bottom row: Tarte LipSurgence Matte Lip Tints in Glee, Generous, Cheerful, & Destined.
So there you have it! I absolutely love this set, a really nice mix of shades that actually lean a bit bolder than a lot of the shades Tarte usually offers. The mini sizes have me tossing them in my handbag more often & will be perfect for clutches this holiday season. How perfect would these be for gifts as well? You could seperate them into 4/2 or give the whole set to a fellow beauty lover.
My favorite shades so far have been Believe, Enamored, Glee, & Cheerful! What do you think of this set? Interested in any of the Tarte sets this year?