October Faves

From one product junkie to another, here are my favorite finds for October - - -

1- Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous. I've tried a lot of stains and pencils   

    out there and this is the most moisturizing. This is in the form of a chubby pencil but believe me,  

    it is a stain and the color lasts forever. Word of warning from experience: this doesn't have a ton 

    of color when first applied but just apply it once and leave it alone, the color deepens 

    dramatically.

2 - L'Oreal Voluminous Smoldering Eyeliner in Brown. This is the smoothest eyeliner I've ever 

    used (and I've been using eyeliner daily for ten years so that really says something). This goes 

    on like butter and is easily manipulated if you want that smudged look. I like cleaner lines so 

    after I apply this, I take an eyeliner brush and go over it once to make sure it doesn't smudge on 

    its own.

3 - Ole Henriksen Truth Revealed Super Creme with SPF 15. During the Fall/Winter this is my 

    absolute fave for daily face moisturizer. This creme is highly concentrated with vitamin C, 

    Omega 3 Extracts and micro algae to help with firmness, refine texture, fight free radical 

    damage, diminish the appearance of fine lines/wrinkles as well reduce uneven pigmentation. 

         

          I have oily and acne prone skin but have no problem wearing this. I only tend to wear it 

    during the colder months because it is a slightly heavier moisturizer but I find that after a few 

    months of use, I really like the way my skin looks. 

4 - Nail Guard System Gel Coat in the Strengthens formula. I used to have horrible nails that 

    would split despite all of my efforts and this is the only thing that has saved them. $25 a bottle 

    may seem overpriced but I will never stop buying this. 

5 - Lush Lip Scrub in Sweet Lips. Despite always obsessively applying products to moisturize my 

    lips, they would always look dry and cracked. I've tried Philosophy's lip scrub but that wasn't 

    strong enough and scrubbing with a wet washcloth did absolutely nothing (because whose 

    mother hasn't told them to try that). This isn't watery like Philosophy's lip scrub; instead it's dry 

    and rough. It's basically just sugar with vanilla and chocolate scents (ummm yes please!). Yes, 

    this is something you could make on your own, but looking over at my stack of unfinished craft 

    projects I know myself better than that and will instead happily hand over my $10 to Lush.

6 - Sundari Neem and Coconut Hair Treatment Oil. I tried this as a sample from Bloom.com  

    and immediately had to purchase a full size. I am a huge fan of hair oils and I love how silky and 

    smooth this makes my hair. I have fairly thick curly/wavy hair so I know that I can apply oils all 

    day long and after washing that my hair won't be weighed down. If you are not sure how your 

    hair will handle oils, start small and apply a minimal amount only from the midsection down; 

    staying away from the scalp. I keep this in for about an hour before I wash my hair. The 

    package says to leave in for 30 minutes, but again, I know my hair can handle it. 

       This contains:

            - Coconut Oil: strengthens the hair shaft and reduces protein loss 

            - Neem Oil: makes the scalp and hair follicles healthy, encouraging faster growth

            - Therapeutic Grade Plant Extracts: prevent and repair damage caused by styling heat,     

               chemical processes and UV exposure

7 - MOR Lip Macaron in Passion Flower. This is my third Macaron, so clearly I have a thing for 

    these. I love the way they look, smell, feel and how long they last. They come in little metal 

    pots, each one a different color depending on the flavor. The lid easily twists off and the pot is 

    full of lightly scented, clear lip balm. Some may think these are pricey at $10 each but honestly, 

    it lasts me months and I love using it. It's so pretty that I'm never embarrassed to take it out of 

    my bag (opposed to that busted up tube of chapstick that has been through the wash a few 

    times) to use and I always get questions on what it is. 

OCC Lip Tars

 

 

I discovered these OCC Lip Tars awhile ago online but now that Sephora carries them, I was finally able to try them out. As far as I know, Sephora is the only store you can find them in and if you are unfamiliar with these, definitely go in and check them out - they are only going to become more popular and already have a huge cult following. This is what Sephora says about the company:

"Founded in the New York City kitchen of makeup artist David Klasfeld, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics began in 2004 with only two shades of lip balm. Since then, the brand has grown into an entire range of innovative, professional-quality makeup. Best known for Lip Tar, a high-pigment liquid lipstick collection, OCC is cruelty-free and PETA-certified as 100 percent vegan."


These are the two colors I picked up:

                                                                        Grandma & Memento                                                                              

Purchased individually, these Lip Tars come in their own plastic pouch with a mini lip brush.

Normally I never use lip brushes but after the first time I tried applying this just with my fingers, I understood why one comes included. This is not something you can apply haphazardly and you want to be careful not to 'go outside the lines' when applying this. I accidentally did the first time I tested it in store and it was very hard to remove.      

Even though it is not a stain, it definitely has long lasting color like a stain. Applied with a gloss on top, I was able to wear it for many hours and only needed to re-apply after eating. Once the product begins coming off, my lips still retained the color.                                                          

Memento is a midtone pink plum that was lighter then I thought it would be once applied but I consider that a pleasant surprise. Grandma is a classic coral - a beautiful bright color. While Grandma is the brighter of the two, they are both totally wearable. To tone the color down, after applying the Lip Tar, go over it with a gloss. To tone down Grandma, I put a nude colored gloss on top. It's amazing all the different shades you can get out of these by playing around with glosses or even layering the Lip Tars over one another.                                      

First picture is Memento, second picture is Grandma in natural light. You can build upon it to make it even brighter. 

Grandma & Memento in natural light

Soap & Glory gift set

It's getting to that magical time of the year - - gift set time! As we get closer and closer to the holidays, brands will begin releasing some amazing collections that you can't find the rest of the year. I have such a love for gift sets because they allow me to try new brands and products that I might not be able to otherwise afford. Also, it's hard for me to commit to products long term and actually use them up, so trial sizes are really a blessing to me.

My first gift set of the year is this Soap & Glory set called 'The Best Things in Life are Three'. I bought this because I am completely unfamiliar with this brand and wanted to give it a go. I feel like I saw this brand in Target years ago (or maybe I'm crazy) but recently have been reading very good reviews on it now that it is sold in Sephora, which is where I purchased it for $25.

This comes with their three classics that contain their original pink scent. I ordered this based on reviews, without testing or smelling it. Let me warn you that this is not for people who have trouble wearing fragrances. It has a very strong smell and I can tell you that it smells exactly like the perfume Miss Dior Cherie by Dior. Right now I am loving it because I have and love the perfume, but I can see myself wanting to skip wearing this lotion some days just because it is strong. As for the quality and texture; they both are amazing. Unlike some other lotions that are heavy on perfume yet drying, this lotion and body butter are very moisturizing. 

This kit include:

- Good size travel case that can fit all of these products and much more

- The Righteous Butter body butter (this is huge! over 10 oz)

- Hand Food hand cream which is a perfect purse-sized lotion

- Clean On Me travel shower gel

Final Thoughts:

To me, this is a very good deal if you can handle the scent. Normally I carry a purse-sized lotion by L'Occitane which costs me $10 and use body butter from The Body Shop that is the same size as this Soap & Glory one but for $18. Just those two products already put over the total price of this set. Again, the only downfall for me will end up being the strong fragrance. 

illamasqua autumn wish list

I am pretty sure that you can never just 'browse' the Sephora website. While attempting to do just that (unsuccessfully) I found two new Illamasqua polishes that I am loving. The first one is called Vice which is a deep cerise color (means moderate to deep red. Totally had to look that up. Why so serious, Illamasqua?)  and the second is the one I love the most, Kink. 

I love hunter green in general and have been searching for a polish in this color that doesn't seem too costume-y and I think this one will be the winner! 

This is a different polish from the other Illamasqua ones that I own. These two supposedly have a rubber-like finish to them that dries matte and is more chip resistant. Color me curious! This brand is great because their polishes don't contain parabens, sulfates, petrochemicals or anything toxic like that. Let's save the environment and have cute nails at the same time. Join me. 

And naturally Sephora is sold out of the two colors that I want, so I will update when I finally get my hands on these. 

butter London review

Okay, I finally had to cave and see what this butter London nail polish craze was all about. I picked up two colors from my local Ulta when they were having a buy one get one free deal (awesome, I know) but normally they are $14 each. This brand is big in Europe and is quickly gaining popularity here in the States.

A good thing to know is that they are toxic free. Polishes that are not toxic free contain chemicals like Formaldehyde and Carcinogens which aren't really things you want being absorbed into your body (90% of what you do put onto your skin is absorbed. Scary!).

I didn't know what to expect quality-wise and was a bit surprised by how thin the polish was but it went on smoothly and evenly and dried incredibly quickly. For both colors I applied a base coat and two coats of the color. They have very unique colors and I would re-purchase from this brand again.

This first color is called Slapper which has been causing quite a stir lately due to its unique color which makes it hard to accurately photograph. You wouldn't think that this is a unique color but in one light it can look teal and then in another more of an aqua. Not a huge difference but apparently a big deal to some people. These photos were taken near natural light and I feel are a fairly accurate representation of the color. Of course, we were all born with our own opinions and I invite you to listen to your own :)

I know I might have gone a little crazy with the pics for this color but I wanted to make sure I was thorough. This is a bright and vivid color and even though I don't normally wear shades like this, I think it's really fun and have gotten a lot of compliments on it. 

This second color is called Wallis. I have worn this several times since purchasing and I'm still undecided. butter London describes it as "A tarnished, metallic olive gold nail lacquer, as mysterious and regal as its namesake." Uh, that's for sure. I do like it because it's different and I do use gold as a neutral polish...ugh I don't know, maybe it is that 'olive' element that doesn't have me loving it. Any thoughts?

NYX lip product mini haul

I've really only recently discovered NYX, which I've only ever found at Ulta, but so far I like what I have tried. I'm a lip product junkie and the ones from this brand are reasonably priced which makes them a double threat! Ulta recently had this brand on sale for 40% off so these are the lip products I picked up - - -

From left to right:

- Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Pink Rose #163, Ulta $5.49

- Xtreme Lip Cream in Natural #10, Ulta $5.99

- Xtreme Lip Cream in Skin Tone #08, Ulta $5.99

- Xtreme Lip Cream in Buttery Nude #04, Ulta $5.99

- Round Case Lipstick in Strawberry Milk # 595, Ulta $3.99

- Soft Matte Lip Cream in Milan #11, Ulta $5.99

- Soft Matte Lip Cream in Tokyo #03, Ulta $5.99

I really like this lip gloss; this shade is incredibly wearable and great for when you want some color but nothing over the top. It's a soft rose pink with a touch of shimmer and is buildable. In the swatch I did a couple passes so you can see that it is fairly pigmented. It has a great soft applicator and a nice fruity smell to it (I refuse to wear glosses that smell bad; I've tried and failed miserably). This is also fairly long lasting and moisturizing. I already have my eye on some more shades!

These Xtreme Lip Creams are unlike any product I've ever tried before. The packaging says "It's not a lipstick, nor is it gloss. It's like nothing you've experienced before. It's a liquid lipstick that goes on with full xtreme color and intense shine." This is a really good description of exactly what it is! 

Because these are literally liquid lipsticks and not lipglosses, I find them a bit drying so I apply them to bare lips first, let it dry, and then apply a little bit of potted gloss or lipgloss over. They don't have a fruity smell like the lipgloss but instead have a sweet plastic smell that I don't find unpleasant enough for me not to wear.

I purchased three neutral colors and in the swatches I applied several coats. The first photo I took near a window for natural light and the second is an indoor lighting shot. 

Overall, I like the unique idea of these but find them too drying and needing too much 'babysitting' (always checking in the mirror to make sure my lips don't look too dry or needing re-touching) to become one of my go-to items. 

It's hard for me to really speak to this lipstick because I think the problem may be that I just picked the wrong shade. Ulta says that this is NYX's best selling lipstick and has a velvety texture with high shine and I have to say I agree with those points but I just don't like this particular shade. Because I like the texture, I would be willing to purchase this in another color. 

Strawberry Milk is a light baby pink that looks somewhat frosty when applied; something I also don't like for myself. This lipstick also has an odd smell to it. I can't describe it as anything else but what white mushrooms smell like lol. Luckily, the smell goes away after it's applied. 

So I know the whole matte look is pretty much over, but I hemmed and hawed for so long about jumping on that bandwagon that I basically ended up missing it lol. So at 40% off I figured I would finally cave and try it!

Despite the fact that I am obsessed with keeping my lips moisturized, I thought I would hate these because matte tends to look and feel drying but I actually found that I was able to tolerate these better than I thought I would. 

The color on top is the lighter color, Tokyo, which I am still playing around with and not as comfortable wearing just because it is such a light color; I worry that it makes my lips look cracked and dry. The bottom color, Milan, is far more wearable for me and I actually love the shade. On my lips it ends up looking like a medium hued rose pink. Once it starts feeling a little too dry, I can apply a gloss or even just chapstick and it looks like a pretty colored rose gloss. 

Peachy Purity

It's such a dreary Sunday here! While watching Bridezilla re-runs (like a car crash, I just can't look away) I decided to change my nails to something bright and cheery. I like to do things a little unexpected and wear all the bright colors in the Fall and Winter and darker colors during the warmer months. Not life changing but it makes me happy :)

This color is Purity by Illamasqua which I grabbed at Sephora for $14. Normally I would not pay that much for nail polish unless it was a unique color - which I think it is - and good quality. During the summer I had seen a lot of colors like this but they were more of a sorbet which I liked but didn't love. I wasn't sure what version of the color I wanted exactly until I saw this one, which is more of a peach. (I did a base coat and two coats of the color. I didn't bother with a top coat since I'll probably change it in a few days but it has amazing shine without a top coat). Normally you can find a 'steal' version of the more expensive colors but to this day I still have yet to see one for less that is similar to this shade. Sometimes it's okay to splurge if you love it!

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butters

This is one product that has been insanely popular recently. Even if you didn't care about beauty products one bit, there is no way you could not know about these. And after picking up a few myself, I can see why. I picked these up at Target for $6.49 but you can find  them in literally any drugstore, supermarket, Walmart, Kmart, Ulta, etc.

These are the four that I own so far (they are easily addicting so I will probably end up adding to this collection). From left to right the colors are:

- Peach Parfait

- Cotton Candy
- Candy Apple
- Creme Brulee

The Peach Parfait is a soft rose pink with sparkle. I originally purchased this because this was the color I saw in an ad. In the ad it was very vivid and bright but in reality I find that it just ads a little something extra, nothing crazy. I actually don't mind that it wasn't as I expected as I still find it incredibly wearable. I've just noticed that you have to be careful due to the sparkle that your lips aren't dry or chapped or else it looks rough. 

Cotton Candy is pretty self explanatory - a soft pink. This color does not have sparkle in it so I have no problem applying this without thinking twice and without a mirror. It is a sheer wash of color, but there still is color there.

The most saturated of all the shades I own is the Candy Apple shade. Even with only one pass, this has more than a decent amount of color to it. And since the color is buildable, it's easy to achieve a good red lip. I would say that this red has blue undertones so keep that in mind when purchasing. This color does not have sparkle in it. 

Lastly, the Creme Brulee is my new favorite. I've really been into nude lips lately and this shade gives me that without making me look ill. This one also does not have sparkle in it. You can see in the swatch (kind of!) how light it is but on my lips it really does the job.

Left to right: Peach Parfait, Cotton Candy, Candy Apple, Creme Brulee.

What's in your makeup bag?

I may just be really weird, but is anyone else ever curious about what other women carry around in their makeup bags? Okay, it may just be me. Maybe it's because I'm so product obsessed; I'm always on the hunt for the 'perfect' lipgloss, etc and I feel like if I could just see inside someone else's bag, they may have it and my life would finally be complete. But I'm big enough to know and admit that that would never happen - there is no 'perfect' product (even though sometimes I think that I've found it, the feeling is only fleeting and then I'm on the hunt again).

 But anywho, these are the products that have temporarily ranked high enough to earn a spot in my makeup bag. Next week could be a different story entirely, though.

Voila! This is my current makeup bag. It's a leather L.A.M.B. bag that I picked up at a Last Call by Neiman Marcus store for about $100. I must have been temporarily blinded by its beauty to pay that much but I've had it for years and has well withstood all the torture I've put it through. 

From left to right:

- e.l.f. Tone Correcting Powder, $3 at Target
- NYX Matte Blotting Paper, 50 sheets for $3.59 at Ulta (they always send out coupons, though)
- e.l.f. Kabuki Face Brush, $6 at Target
- tarte Smooth Operator Micronized Clay Finishing Powder, $28 at Ulta
- Sephora Lip Attitude in Glamour, $14 at Sephora
- tarte LipSurgence tinted pencil in Moody, $24 each at Ulta but watch around the holidays when  
  they sell sets which is how I purchased mine
- Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Peach Parfait, $6.49 at Target
- L'oreal Colour Riche Le Gloss in The Mystic's Shine, $6.49 at Wegmans Supermarket

I have about a million lip products but I try to carry a variety with me; nothing like realizing you have 6 similar pink colored lip glosses and nothing else. 

The one on the left, the L'oreal Colour Riche gloss is the newest one for me. It's part of the limited edition Project Runway collection. I went to Ulta and they were sold out of this color but actually found it while I was grocery shopping later that night! For hard to find items like that, think outside of the box because while Ulta's shelves were bare, Wegmans looked like they hadn't sold any of the Project Runway stuff. This is a really cool gloss, it looks kind of crazy in the tube but it is a sheer glittery lavender color. Sounds weird, but try it! (I promise you won't look Halloween-y)

The tarte LipSurgence chubby pencil I acquired last year when I was uber-obsessed with these. So now I own like 15. Sigh. They are nice but tend to be a bit drying so therefore they are not my true love.

I love the Sephora Lip Attitude!! Go to the store and try these immediately if you have not already. This is the one product that if I forget my chapstick, I could put this on and be good to go they are that moisturizing. And the color is awesome - sheer but buildable. The Glamour color that I have is a cool Barbie pink but because of it's texture, I don't look like Barbie but instead have an amazing soft bright pink lip. 

Lastly is the Revlon Lip Butter which have been all the hype lately. These are nice because they are decently moisturizing but you need to be careful because they do have glitter in them. Before applying, I make sure that my lips aren't chapped or dry. If they are and you apply this, it looks chunky and just not nice. 

The other products are pretty self explanatory but the e.l.f. Tone Correcting Powder deserves a pause. This contains four powders - yellow, blue, green and pink. If you have bad skin, you know how these colors can help balance out your skin color. This isn't a be-all end-all but it's still nice to have. I have horrible acne scars that I have waged war with, so when I am more self conscious about them while I'm out, I'll swirl the kabuki brush in the green powder and dab that wherever I need it. 

L'oreal Colour Caresse sticks

I am a sucker for good packaging and L'oreal Colour Riche Caresse sticks do not disappoint! These are not as thick and saturated as a regular lipstick but they also don't have that sometimes cheesy high-shine that glosses have - basically, they are awesome! They are available in 16 shades and can be found at any drugstore, Walmart, Target, etc. Regular price they are $9.99 each but if you watch the sales or clip coupons, you can get a really great deal on these. 

When I went to Target, they were just about sold out so I only picked up these three colors (from left to right): Blushing Sequin, Velvety Fuchsia, and Cardinal Plume. Just like most of my lip products, I like these because you are able to control how much color and how much of a statement you want to make. If you are looking to get a lot for your money, these are a good bet - you can go from sheer to full on color or anywhere in between with these. 

For these swatches, I only did two passes across my hand and you can see how much color that gives me! Because these are a hybrid between a lipstick and a gloss they are decently moisturizing.

 

Left to right:

Blushing Sequin - like a hot pink with a coral touch

Velvety Fuchsia - really pretty fuchsia color with tiny bit of purple sparkle

Cardinal Plume - medium red with cool undertones

Graphic scarves for Fall

Fall is my favorite season! Even though it's still almost 80 degrees where I live (ughhh whhhyyy) I am still syked for all things Fall. I am totally a jackets/boots/scarves kind of girl. Last year I wore a lot of solid colored scarves so that they would match more of my wardrobe but this year I am jazzing things up a bit and going crazy with prints. And I found it's not that hard to find good ones for cheap; and I am all about that. 

From left to right:

1. Orange, yellow, teal scarf from Charming Charlie $14.99

2. Light pink and black scarf with little skulls inside the bow pattern from Charlotte Russe $9.99

3. Black, red, aqua, yellow, pink, cream scarf made by sakroots purchased from DSW $22.95

4. Lavender with 'girly' skulls made by Free Press purchased from Nordstrom Rack $14.97

Clearly I have a thing for tougher graphics this year but I always make sure they have a girly element, too, so I don't come across like a hardcore biker. Unless you are one, then that's cool, too. Here's how I wore the one with the larger skulls - 

Jacket - Express

Ring - Jewelmint
Nail polish - Sally Hansen No Chip 10 Day Color in White Tip

Blue Rose

Found another new Sally Hansen color that I love! (I really need to stay away from Target). This is another 

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure that I picked up for around $6.99. This color is called Blue Rose. I like this because I've been seeing a lot of either neon and bright blue or navy blue out there in stores and I wanted something different and unique. I would say that this color is about two shades lighter than navy. Sometimes after I bother painting my nails navy I end up thinking it was just a waste of time because it ends up so dark that it looks black; which is something that I like but not when I purposely paint them another color than black.
Again, the quality of this polish is amazing. Like I mentioned in another Sally Hansen post, you apparently don't need to do a base and top coat with this but I do anyway. I find that this brand of polish lasts me over a week before it starts to slightly chip. For me, that's good and makes it worthwhile.