Rimmel Stay Matte powder - Review

I've said it before, and it bears repeating here: I have oily skin. At least, my T-Zone is oily. Annoyingly oily. While I haven't found a perfect skincare solution (really hoping my Clarisonic can help me with this), I have found that powdering my face is the best way, at this point, to keep the shininess away. Trolling through Target, I happened upon their small selection of Rimmel products, and this gem caught my eye.

Rimmel's website claims this powder will keep you shine free for 5 hours. I'd agree with that. I like they don't stretch that to "all day," or try to skirt the time issue altogether. At the same time... 5 hours isn't long. I typically apply my make up at about 5:00 AM, and take it off anywhere from 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM, depending on what I'm doing in the afternoon. I'd be much more impressed with the longevity of this product if I was still matte by the end of the day, but, I can't knock Stay Matte for not living up to my dreams.

Stay Matte retails for $3.99 at my Target (and I assumed it'd be the same at yours). For the price, you get 12 grams of pressed powder. It comes in 3 shades, and I selected Transparent 001, which is, obviously, transparent (hence, no swatch). It's housed in a plastic compact, with a removable lid. This brings me to my only complaint about the product - it'd be a nightmare to travel with. The whole idea of a pressed powder is that it's easy to transport, and not messy to use. The lid on this powder comes off extremely easily, which would eventually end up with me, a broken powder, dirty purse, and an angry face. I wish they sold this in a standard compact.

Previous to picking up Rimmel's Stay Matte powder, I was using the Maybelline Fit Me powder. I have a MAC Blot compact floating around in my purse I should break out and use, to compare Stay Matte to Blot. I have noticed this powder doesn't really like to be layered. What I liked about MAC Blot is the fact I don't have to blot, I can just use my kabuki to apply it. Stay Matte can get a little mask-like when doing this. This is a minor complaint, though, and can easily be avoided by not reapplying, which is really easy to avoid.

Overall, I'm impressed. I haven't tried any of Rimmel's other products, but I like this quite a bit. I may need to pay a little more attention to this line in the future.

Etsy Find - Lost in Makeupland, part 3 - Alice's Chains

This is the third part of a 4 part series for this seller. I'm not sure why I broke this up the way that I have, but it made sense when I started... so I'll just continue on.

Today we'll look at half of Belén's newest collection, Alice's Chains, inspired by... Alice in Chains, which happens to be one my husband's favorite bands (when he's not listening to "elf metal"... yeah). Anyway, I only have half of this collection, because I felt most of the colors were too similar to what I have elsewhere, or were not colors that I would wear. While they're all beautiful, I can't justify buying something because it's pretty (I know it's a great reason and all, and that's what keeps the cosmetic industry going sometimes, but I just can't!). 

Now you can see how Belén packages samples! Like most sellers who have very reasonable priced samples, she sends them in small baggies. 

Rain When I Die is a brown/umber color, with a bit of red to it. Would? is a soft orange, with a touch of peachy-gold. Them Bones is a light yellow-gold, which reminds me of MAC's Nylon eyeshadow, only less frosty. All of these shades have shimmer to them, but I like the contrast between this type of shadow and the Rock my Look collection. The other colors in this collection are Love, Hate, Love, which is a bright green, much brighter than Weed from the core collection. Man in the Box is a hot magenta (I've never really thought of what I would consider a color representation of a man in a box... hmmm....).  Dirt is a yellow-red.

The texture of these, like all of Belén's eyeshadows is so dreamy. They're soft, blendable, and fairly pigmented. Rain When I Die is the only one I have any real issue with, but that's sort of par for the course when dealing with dark-ish colors.

I cannot rave enough about Lost in Makeupland's eyeshadows. Belén's color choices and inspiration really make her line unique. As previously noted, she's very easy to talk to, and she really cares about her customers. Look to part 4, where I discuss (most of) her highlighters!

Clinique Choco-latte Palette - Review

Do you ever revisit something and realize how nice it is? Especially if you have a swap box, and you've tossed something in there because you hadn't been reaching for it... and then one day, you decide to try it again (after removing it from your swap list, of course), and have an "OMG. This is amazing!" thought?

Clinique's Choco-latte quad has been in my stash for years. Literally. I think I bought it in 2008? It had been on my swap list since 2009. About a month ago, for whatever reason, I decided to remove it, and try it out. I mean, I've changed a bit in the last 2 years, maybe this palette did too, right? (I know, I know... pressed powders don't change.)

This palette completely made me rethink what I have on my swap list. Really. I've worn it 10 times in the last month, which is kind of crazy. I mean, it's just 4 neutral shades thrown together in seemingly random order (not lightest to darkest, like most palettes). 

I like the packaging of Clinique palettes, because they almost always make the back of them clear, so you can see the colors. The lucite doesn't really provide a true rendering of the color, but you get the jist of it. It's also unique, because I can't think of anyone else who does this. 

The lightest shade (furthest right), is a very delicate, light, almost matte eggshell color. Perfect for highlighting, because it doesn't scream highlight when worn. The darkest color is a little chalky when swatched, but that doesn't translate to the lid. It's a matte, chocolate brown. The next shade is a light taupe, but it has a bit of gold in it. This shade is fairly pigmented. The last shade is a decidedly warm, mid-toned brown with decent pigmentation.

I typically wear the taupey shadow on my lid, the warm brown in the crease with a smidge of the darker brown for definition, and the lightest shade to highlight.

Most of the Clinique shadows I've come across are soft but not too soft, pigmented but not too pigmented, if you understand. They're sort of... mediocre, I guess. But that has such a bad connotation to it, and I hate to use that term, because Clinique shadows aren't bad. I really like to work with them, but the line as a whole isn't terrible exciting. For most cosmetic mavens, Clinique is the catalyst to their makeup addiction. It's where they begin, and once they move on, they don't look back. I like that Clinique shadows are of medium softness - there isn't a ton of powdery leftovers after my brush has left the surface of shadow, if you follow me. I guess Clinique is like that trusty, comfortable pair of old shoes. They do the job of protecting my feet, my friends may kind of hate them, but I can't think of leaving them behind. I think if Clinique made a little effort, they would become a little more trendy, and wouldn't be trashed by Makeupalley and others. Interesting point, though, Clinique is one of the best selling brands under the Estee Lauder umbrella. I think the gift with purchases help.

Clinique quads retail for $25.50, which is a fair price. For your money, you get 4.8 grams (0.16 oz) of product. That's almost the equivalent of 4 MAC shadows. Like with any line, there are some wonderful and some serviceable textures. But, I really like this quad. I feel it accentuates the green in my eyes, and it represents a very good value.

Clinique Black Honey Eyeshadow Palette - Review

I'm a sucker for Clinique. I really am. I have no idea why, exactly, but I remember looking at their ads as a kid, thinking they were the epitome of awesome. As an adult, I sort of skipped over Clinique (going to MAC, instead). I guess I'm making up for lost time now.

When I saw promotional images of Clinique's fairly small Fall 2011 collection, Black Honey, I thought the quad looked awesome, and the rest... well, not so exciting. I was somewhat intrigued by the blush (and still am, in some ways), but when making a decision on purchases, and the amount of room in my makeup storage device (aka, the 6-drawer upright Malm from Ikea), I had way more room in my eyeshadow drawer than I do in my blush drawer.

Like all Clinique quads, the packaging is somewhat plan. A lucite bottom, so you can see the product without having to open the quad, and a shiny silver lid. This is the first quad I've had that doesn't have a smooth lid - it has "speedbumps" on the lid, for lack of a better term. I'm not sure if this redesign is for a particular reason, like to reduce the fingerprint potential, or if it's just to update their look. The palette includes the standard fair for Clinique, a sponge-tipped applicator, and tiny useless brush, and mirror running the full length of the palette. This retails for $25.50.

This is an overall warm toned quad, with one color that is slightly more neutral. The highlight shade is a the perfect slightly yellow "glow" color - you can't really see it on my arm. It has a touch of sparkle, but it's not shimmery, or matte. More of a satin, I suppose. On my brow bone, however, it brightens up the skin. The second shade is a shimmery honey brown tone - not bad, not great. The third shade is a satin finish, more red-version of the second shade. The last shade looks very interesting - a dark shimmery red-touched brown Swatched, it's as little less exciting, and on the eye.. well, it's just not that thrilling.

The best way I've found to wear this palette it to applied the second, shimmery shade to my lid, the fourth color to my crease and blend it out with the third, slightly matte shade, and use the highlight under my brow. The contrast between the middle shades is minor on my lid. This palette doesn't really do much as far as bringing out the green of my eyes.

Overall, the pigmentation was as expected. Not "holy-mother-of-god" pigmented, but not terrible. The shadows are not super soft, but a brush can easily pick them up and apply them. Keep in mind, I'm a huge fan of subtle highlight shades, so I'm pleased with the highlight shade in this palette. They blend well enough, although the darkest shade likes to stick to some of the bases I've used (like the 24/7 Shadow Pencil in Sin).It's manageable,  though. I like that the shadows do not kick up a lot of dust when used.

Is this palette unique? No. Is it a must have? No. It's it pretty? Yes. Is it worth swatching? Sure, since your stash may have a need for something warm and neutral. I will say that the girl working the Clinique counter at my Nordstrom said I was purchasing the last one they had, so someone is buying them. If you're interested, I wouldn't wait, since the Nordstrom I go to is not exactly busy.

By the way, I thought I'd mention, I swatched the Gradient Powder Blusher from this collection... and it's very pretty. A darkened, warm, nude color. Fairly soft, pigmented, and seemed to blend okay using my finger. I'm still trying to decide if I like it, or if I want to wait to see if it shows up at my CCO. I'm concerned it'd be too dark for my face, though.

Just a little update....

I just updated my blog sale. You may, if you have some available funds, take a peek before the MUA Blog Sale lists it :)

Etsy Find - Lost in Makeupland, part 2 - Rock my Look

This is part 2 in a 4 part series for this seller. Today, I'm discussing the collection that originally drew me to her shop and made me spend a pile of money - Rock my Look.


I love eyeshadows that are "blackened *something*." It's inexplicable. I don't wear black eyeshadow because it's very harsh on my skintone, and hard for me to wear without looking overly goth. Having a color to add to the  darkness, however, seems to make things softer, not as harsh and thus easier for me to wear. When I started browsing Etsy in late November/early December of last year (2010), I was drawn to the soon-to-be-released Rock my Look collection from Belén's range. I ordered a sample set, to challenge myself to branch out a little. It didn't work as planned, since I was supposed to finish a sample before ordering a full size (laughable, really).

The collection of six shadows is available as a sample set, or as a full size set, or individually. The sample set is $4.50 (would be $6.00 individually), the full size set is $25.00, and individual full sizes are $5.99. Libertine and Queen are sample sizes that I decanted into 5 gram jars for ease of use, and the others are full sizes. You can see that samples are generously sized, and you can get several uses out of them.

The collection, if you don't recognize some of the names, is inspired by rock bands. I'm a fan of Queen, and Aerosmith, which made this collection especially meaningful. I also like it when sellers like Belén include a piece of their life in their work, because anyone can look at a generic flower and be like "ah, yes, this rose is pink and white!" and release a "collection" of pink, white and brown shadows (since flowers grow in soil, which is usually some shade of brown). 

These shades really come alive when swatched. Seven Nation Army, to me, is a straight-up silver with a grey base. Very, very pretty. Dream On is, without a doubt, my favorite shade of the bunch. It's a true duo-chrome, ranging from bronzey brown to a flashy gold.  Queen is a red-based purple. Yeah Yeah Yeah is a blackened green, another one I really like. Volta is a blue-purple. Libertine is a greyed-silver. All have an element of deepness to them, the flash sort of washed that out, but it made their nuances so much more vibrant. 


I love these shades as liners. When applied wet, they are amazing. I love that they're not glittery - the shimmer is very fine, which is unique. So many sellers think shimmery must mean uber glittery, which I dislike. These are very soft, and generally well pigmented (Queen is a little less so than the others, as is Volta). They wear wonderfully over my normal bases (UDPP + something else, like a paint pot, Sin 24/7 Shadow Pencil, etc). I don't wear some shades, like Libertine or Yeah Yeah Yeah very often, and I should wear Dream On more than I do (that, however, can be said of most of my collection). 


I've heard Belén is plotting a release of a collection called Rock My Look 2, or something like that. I'm hoping that'll happen. I'm (not so) patiently waiting for new colors from Lost in Makeupland as it is, and the thought of a new family of deep colors like these makes me very, very excited.

Wet 'n' Wild Walking on Eggshells Trio - Review

You know you have a problem when you can't help but buy some sort of cosmetic when you're at a drugstore. Just something. Anything, really, that looks pretty. I technically broke my self-forced drugstore no-buy for this trio, and I'm very happy to report that it's awesome. The shades are soft, blend-able, pigmented, and it's super cheap! Does it replace my everyday, holy-grail, shadows? Not every single day, but I reach for this usually 2x a week, so that's something. Is it the best palette in the world? No.

Your $4 or so gets you three nice, neutral shadows. This palette is fairly light-toned, none of the colors are deep in any way. I can't see this palette being a go-to for someone of darker skin tones, but for me, an NC15-ish person, it's a great, everyday look. 

You can see I've used it enough to remove the "E" and "C" from the shadows themselves. That should say something. 

Pigmentation wise, these are pretty darn good. From the right side, the browbone color is one of the better highlighting shades I've seen from a drugstore brand. Despite what EmilyNoel83 of YouTube states, it's not a dupe for Shroom (at least, on me. I don't want to start ranting about her dupe video now... but... I could go on and on about how she's not right). For me, Shroom doesn't get frosty. If I still had anything left in my Shroom eyeshadow pan, I'd attempt a swatch, but I can't because it's all gone. Shroom gave an illuminated glow to my skin. This browbone color is a slightly frosty cream (in other words... NOT LIKE SHROOM). The crease color is a shimmery red-toned brown. It's not quite deep enough to define my crease the way I like. The eyelid color is very similar to All that Glitters on me, a shimmery shell-pink color.

I really like this trio. Like the Gilded Age trio, though, this one suffers from the frostiness that is drugstore makeup, it seems. "When in doubt, add frost!" seems to be the mantra of the formulators. I wish the crease shade had been matte, or a little darker, or both. Especially both, since you could use the browbone shade to make it shimmery, should you wish to.

I wouldn't call this a must buy, unless you have no neutrals, or you need a travel palette. It is fabulous for the price, but I think Wet'n'Wild missed the mark with this one.

NOTD - China Glaze Grape Pop

I love this polish. It's great medium-dark purple cream polish, although my camera skews it a bit blue. This is 1 and a half coats (to even some streakiness), and the coverage is great. I could've done another full coat, but I was in a little bit of a hurry, and I think it turned out just fine. This is very similar to the Rescue Beauty Lounge polish called Mismas. Close enough that I swapped away Mismas (this is sacrilege, but I dislike RBL's polishes. I know, I know. How dare I). Anyway, I love this color. I think it suits me rather well, and I love that it's a dark-ish color that isn't blackened in some way. 

Etsy Find- Lost in Makeupland, part 1

This is part one of a 4 part series for this seller. I have several of her shadows (and I'm not-so-patiently waiting for her new releases), and highlighters. Today we're going to cover the shades I have from her permanent or standard collection.


Lost in Makeupland is run by the very sweet Belén, who is very involved with her line. She does not repackage, and it shows - her colors are unique, varied in texture and tone, and of course, very pretty. I've ordered from her several times, and each time has been a treat. She has shops on Etsy and Artfire, and ships from Algeciras, Spain.


Full size eyeshadows are packaged in 5 gram jars, samples are in plastic baggies. I've transferred my samples, for the most part, into 5 gram jars for ease of use.  You can request that Belén not include a sifter, and just pack the jar full of product. The amount of product in a sample size isn't given, however, it's generous. At this time, a full size shadow is $5.99, a sample is $1.00. You can also purchase sample packs, which range in price depending upon how many samples you wish to purchase. Shipping starts at $2.75 to ship state-side, which is rivals U.S. seller's shipping policies. You will need some patience, however, as it can take a while for packages coming from Spain to arrive (the longest I've waited was over a month, but it was Christmas time. The shortest I've waited was less than 2 weeks). 


Her core collection includes approximately 17 eyeshadows, two of which are highlighting shades (one of which will be reviewed with the highlighters I have from LiM).  A good portion of these are vegan. We'll look at 7 of these shades today.

From the core range, I have Ink Bubbles, a "bright" and "fuschia" pink, which is surprisingly wearable on me (this is a sample that I transferred to a jar, so you can see how much is there). Guns and Roses comes in two versions, vegan and not vegan. The vegan version is grey with pink sparkle, the non vegan has red sparkle. Purrrple is a rich purple, with a touch of grey. Oh My... It's Black! is... black (seriously, what'd you expect?), and applies fairly matte. Weed is a super bright, happy green (sort of with the name was different, though. Drug references in makeup are a pet peeve). Expensive is a beautifully metallic gold, especially applied wet. Bioshock is a deep, lush blackened green/teal.

The swatches above are applied dry to bare skin (no primer). You can see that some colors apply a touch sheerly, like Purrrple, but all of these really come alive when wetted with a bit of MAC's Mixing Medium. They all blend beautifully, and last a while on my lids (over UDPP and a color base, applied wet). As noted in my previous Linnaeus Cosmetics review, the best way I've found to make mineral or loose eyeshadows stay on my lids is to apply them wet, then lightly dust my lids with the same color, to "set" the shadow. I love Bioshock as a liner. Purrrple looks great against my green eyes, as does Expensive. If you made me pick a favorite of this group, I really couldn't - they're all so lovely.

Overall, I love this line. I love the feel of it, and Belén's enthusiasm for this line, and her eye for color.  I also like that she draws inspiration from more than one place. She's not all about music (I have a review and swatches of the Rock my Look collection), but from other areas. She's planning a collection based on people's pets, for example. She is also a great deal of fun to talk to, as well.

NYC Blushable Creme Sticks - Review

I used to believe that a good blush was very, very hard to find. Especially at the drugstore. While I still have some troubles finding a formula that works for me, I'm very pleased to say I've found a blush that will last all day on me, and is fairly inexpensive. The only problem I have is how hard it is to find.

Last year, NYC released a new product, their Blushable Creme Sticks. As you can imagine, they are cream blushes in stick form (fancy that!). They sent out samples to the most popular YouTube beauty people, created tons of hype, and had people searching everywhere for them. After looking at swatches, I decided I'd try a couple. I ended up with three of their permanent colors: Pink Plaza, Big Apple Blush, and South St. Seashell. Earlier this week, I picked up the two new, limited edition colors: Gold Radiance and Bronze Radiance.

NYC states:

Sheer crème blush creates a silky powder finish
Soft and creamy formula blends easily with fingertips to desired intensity and coverage
Convenient twist-up stick for quick application
Dermatologist tested
KEY INGREDIENTS
Vitamin A, C and E

These are simply fantastic. It's very rare for me to search out a drugstore product like this, since I have so many blushes, bronzers, and highlighters already. I've been so good recently at not buying things "Just because," but I had to get these. The consumed my thoughts since I heard of them. And for $4.99, I can't complain about the price.

Pink Plaza is a coral pink. Big Apple Blush is a slightly berry-pink. South St. Seashell is a warm nude-brown. Gold Radiance is essentially gold glimmery-glitter. Bronze Radiance is a metallic bronze. South St. Seashell is my favorite, surprisingly. It's very wearable, and is neutral enough that I can wear it everyday. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to use Bronze Radiance, because it's so metallic.

The formula on these is great. They are firm, yet pigmented.The swatches above are a single pass of the stick. It's not like you are taking a dried out stick and rubbing it on your face, they glide on and blend well. On my cheeks, they'll last up to 12 hours. Seriously. 12 hours. I usually "dab" the blush-tones on my cheeks, then take my 187 or 188 and blend these a bit. I'll set with my normal powder, and I'm done. I don't really find they set to a powder-type finish. They don't have that weird, chalky feeling that some cream-to-powder products have, which is great. 


Overall, I can't help but to recommend these. I think they're great. I wish they were easier to find (only one store in my area carries these, despite the fact that multiple stores carry other pieces from the brand). I also wish they'd introduce more colors. I checked the display several times to see if they had any other colors that would work on my NC15 self, and couldn't find one. 

NOTD - Sephora by OPI Sample Sale

What a bright, shimmery red! I was hoping it'd be more burgundy, since I had ordered it from Sephora.com. At first I was kind of sad... but then I realized it looks pretty good with my skin tone, and can be a 1-coat-wonder, if it's applied carefully. This is two coats, since I wasn't careful. I really like the Sephora by OPI brushes to be easy to use, and the formula is usually great! I'm sorry to see this color isn't listed on Sephora's website anymore (not that I'm anywhere near finishing the bottle - which I can't find, now). I topped this with one medium-thick coat of Diamont (which I desperately need to thin)!

Maybelline Volum' Express The Falsies Flared Mascara - Review

Whew! What a long name! I was pleased with the One-by-One mascara, and was extremely excited to try the The Falsies Flared mascara, since Maybelline appears to be on a roll with their last several mascara releases. I picked this up at the same time I got the Master Drama liner, and have had a chance to use this for a while.

According to Ulta.com (since Maybelline doesn't have this mascara mentioned on their site):

False lash glam goes flared! Up, out & over the top, instantly! Maybelline's exclusive spoon brush loads lashes with massive volume and presses them into a flared arch while the flexible-hold formula with pro-ker fiber provides a lasting curve.

I have to hand it to the copywriter here. This description makes me think of leaving my husband and kid to run away with The Falsies Flared, since it will do everything my little heart desires. Common sense, however, demands that I stay where I am... how can a mascara make my lashes do something they don't already do?

In all honesty, to get your lashes to "flare" out, you may wish to take your favorite mascara, and apply it in such a way as to direct your lash in the direction you want them to be. I seriously doubt you have to buy a drugstore mascara to have this happen. Regardless, I like this mascara.It give me volume, and length (in that order). I chose "Blackest Black," since my lashes are light in color naturally, and I love drama. It covers my lashes fairly well. The only issue really I have with The Falsies Flared is, well, it's TOO volumizing. I mean, with one coat, my lashes are near perfect. With 2 or more coats, however, my lashes end up clumpy, and beginning to clump together, which is not a look I like. I have to use a spoolie, or a lash brush to fix things.

The "exclusive spoon brush" is really a curved wand (which I think we've all see before), with a little flexible bit connecting it to the handle. It does move fairly easily, but I don't think it's cause for celebration. Even though the brush is huge, I don't seem to have the issues I normally have with over-sized brushes. I don't end up with mascara on my lids or under my eyes, which I'm grateful for.

Overall, I like this mascara, except for the clumping. I could do without that. Do I look like I have flared false lashes on with this mascara? No. I look like I have thick black mascara on. But, that's okay with me (oddly). If you're looking for a false-lash look, you may be better off layering this mascara, using a completely different product, or wearing falsies. Just a thought. ;)

Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Cream Shadow - Review

I need a cream shadow like I need a hole in my head. I've been perfectly happy with my UD 24/7 shadow pencil in Sin, and I've been neglecting my Smashbox Waterproof Shadow/Liners (so nice!), and my MAC Paint Pots (hit or miss). But, with the Glow your way to Gorgeous kit, I found myself with a new cream shadow, the Amazonian Clay Waterproof shadow in "Shimmering Taupe." What else could I do but use it?

The pot is SMALL. Super small. Be prepared, you may pay $25 for a small jar of cream shadow, that's holding 0.1 oz of product. The price is a little high. Like, woah. Moving on....


According to QVC:

 Micronized Amazonian clay intensifies color pigments while working to nourish skin, reduce surface oil, and improve overall texture for smooth application. Thanks to a botanical blend of natural plant waxes, the shadow glides on smooth and forms an impermeable layer that protects against sweat, tears, and creasing for hours of wear time. Not only is it super long-wearing, it works to infuse delicate eyelids with Amazonian clay, aloe leaf extract, beeswax, and vitamins A and E. The richly pigmented shadow is formulated without parabens, sodium laurel sulfate, mineral oil, petrolatum, synthetic fragrance, or phthalates.

 "Shimmering Taupe" is a light/mid-toned brown taupe. It's not a "my lid but better/shimmery" shade, like UD's Sin is, it's darker, but still a nice neutral. It's not especially warm toned, but it's on the warmer side of neutral.


Wear-wise, this is fantastic! I still have to use UDPP under it, and set it with a powder shadow (such is my life), but it wears as well as the UD 24/7 Shadow Pencils. I use my finger to apply it, because the brush that was included in the Glow your way to Gorgeous kit is almost useless (no, really). Because the pot is so small, though, it can be hard to get at. The shadow blends nicely with my finger, and is decently pigmented. It's very smooth and slightly creamy feeling. It's not moussey, or sticky.


I really like this product. I like the color, I like the texture a lot, and my shadows last all day over it. I think the price is ridiculous, though.

Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer - Review

I wish this kit had arrived about a week before it actually did, so I could've had this review up for you guys, because I think most people were curious about this product from the Glow your way to Gorgeous kit, but, c'est la vie, non?


Anyway, I have a weakness for concealers. I don't know why, since I tend to only use concealer on my under eye area, but oh well. When I heard rumblings of a new tarte TSV on QVC (ugh), I immediately began to wonder "Do I need this?" Upon finding out what the kit actually had in it, then answer was affirmative.


You may wonder what, exactly, is maracuja? It's otherwise known as passionfruit, here in the U.S., and you don't need to pay Tarte's high price for pure maracuja or passionfruit oil. Just poke around websites that sell soap making oils, and you can find the same thing that Tarte sells for $40+ for a much nicer price tag. Anyway, to find out what benefits you may see from using maracuja oil, please click here (way to many for me to cut and paste, sorry!).

After deciding I "had to have" this kit, the only remaining question was, what shade of concealer do I need? Usually, I need the lightest shade available (I'm on the pale side of NC15), and without swatches, I was flying blindly. I decided upon the shade "Light," remembering the Amazonian Clay foundation in that shade had worked well for me.

This color works amazingly well for me. I posted this picture previously, but I like how well it shows how this concealer compares to other concealers I've talked about, or have used, in the past. This is slightly yellower than the Fit Me concealer, and seems slightly lighter than Moisture Cover Select. The Amazonian Clay foundation looks crazy yellow here!


When taking this picture, I noted how thick this concealer is, and I questioned how a thick cream, like this, could be creaseless. After using this product for several days (everyday since I bought it), I can say I haven't noticed creasing, but I also have to admit that I don't have a lot of fine lines under my eyes (I know my day will come, though!). The concealer lasts all day, doesn't oxidize, and is very, very pigmented.


My only problem is how darn thick this stuff is! I'm seriously afraid the seam at the end of the squeeze-tube container is going to rupture when I'm trying to get the concealer out. I don't have problems blending the concealer using my MAC 224 (the only concealer brush you'll ever need!), though. Maybe it's the small opening at the end of the tube that's the problem?


When this product is released to the general population of Tarte retailers in September, I believe the MSRP will be $24 and change. I think that's a fair price. I like this concealer a lot, and am glad I signed up for the autodelivery (not that I'll need a new concealer in 3 months, but whatever). You can still get the Glow your way to Gorgeous kit here, for $54.96 plus shipping.

NOTD - Chanel Peridot

Ahhhh. I love green stuff. Eyeshadows, nail polishes, etc... no green blush or lips, please! In January, I think, I saw a very poor swatch of some upcoming Chanel polishes. One of which was called Peridot, which is a green, semi-precious gemstone. I wrote down "Chanel NP - Peridot... MUST OWN!" and then sort of forgot about it. last month, swatches surfaced of this magical nail polish, and my lemming was reborn. I had to have it. I happened to get the 3rd to last bottle from my local Nordstrom (after turning down the SA's hard-sell offers on the quad, cream eyeshadows, etc. She was not amused, and I kept thinking "Hello? This is still a $50 sale for you!"). Anyway, this polish is stunning. It's olive, emerald, and gold in one, depending on the angle and light. I would've loved to see a little of the blue that appears in the bottle, but I'm not that picky. Love this polish, but it doesn't wear particularly well on me. You can see some tip wear already on my pointer finger.

NOTD - Chanel Graphite

It's been said that Chanel regret is bad regret. And I find that to be true, as I think many people do. Remember how quickly Chanel's Jade polish sold out? It was listed on eBay for literally hundreds of dollars. So, I don't mess around. A Nordstrom Note for $20.00 and a gift card left over from Christmas helped me get a hold of two of Chanel's fall 2011 polishes. This is one of them, Graphite, a glitter-dense graphite grey polish. As soon as I saw it, after feeling so confident I wouldn't fall for it, I had to have it. I'm so, so glad I did. This is a 1-coat polish. Seriously, how many glitters can say that? I love how it looks textured, but it's smooth as silk on the nail. It's not a straight-up grey, as there's a gold hue in there. It's a slight hue, but I think it makes this polish wearable for warm-toned me. The picture above is without flash, just natural light. The picture below is with a flash, so you can see how shiny and glittery this polish is.

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Tarte Glow Your Way to Gorgeous 8 piece TSV - July 2nd, 2011

I preordered this, after really enjoying the Tarte 8th Wonder of the World set, and not knowing how to say "no" to a concealer. I received my kit today, the day before the TSV officially posts, but I thought you'd like to see what you get:

Amazonian Clay blush in Peaceful - no flash

Amazonian Clay blush in Peaceful - with flash

Of note in this kit is the introduction of the Maracuja Concealer. I ordered this kit with the shade "Light" in the concealer. The following picture shows this concealer compared to several others. First picture is taken with the flash, the second is without:

I'm a light NC15, and feel this color will work well for my skin tone. My son tried to help me, as evidenced by his hand and feet in the pictures. Hope you don't mind them too much. 

My initial impression is this: this is a thick concealer, but it blends well. Since Tarte claims it won't crease, I'm curious to see if that will hold true. 

Linnaeus Cosmetics - Sneak Peak!

On 07/09/2011, Marin's website for Linnaeus Cosmetics is scheduled to launch. She's got a busy week ahead of her, because she has a lot of great plans for us in the week leading up to and the actual launch of her site. To find out what these plans entail, check out her blog post here. I'll give you a hint: It involves free stuff! Very awesome free stuff, too!

Marin was kind enough to send me samples of one her new collections, based on the Orchid Dottyback. The colors include Reef, Ru Blue, and Truculent. Reef is a red with a touch of coral (I think it'd be a beautiful lip color, but it's not lip safe. I may try it anyway, because it's so pretty). Ru Blue is a bright, happy, sky blue. Truculent is a beautiful violet purple - my favorite of the collection. All of these shades are shimmery, but not glittery. For some reason, my camera couldn't capture Reef very well. It's much more pigmented than it appears above, like Ru Blue and Truculent. These are swatched on clean, dry skin. 


Please check out Marin's blog. You can read my previous Linnaeus Cosmetics reviews here and here, to help you figure out what you'll be picking up when her website launches!

NOW (Nail of Wednesday) - China Glaze OMG!

I totally lucked into getting this polish. It was still available when I first started to get into nails, and I thought the name was very funny. I've had it for a couple of years, and Wednesday was the first time I had worn it. OMG is a silver holographic polish. I did wear a top coat (Diamont), which did tone down the "holo" by a remarkable amount. This polish was extremely thin, even though I applied 2 coats, you can still my nail line (click to enlarge). I'm not sure if I love it. I'll have to compare it to Nfu oh #61.