Sephora Promo for VIB's: Clutch Full of Goodies!

There's a good promo going on right now at Sephora for VIB's (AKA, you've spent enough money at Sephora in a years time to be elevated to the next level of beauty insider). Just enter the code "VIBClutch" at checkout and you'll receive a complimentary clutch with eight samples (and they look deluxe size). In the picture it looks like you will receive things like Benefit POREfessional, Smashbox primer, some type of mascara (looks like Lancome or Dior?) and a few other things but not sure if those are the items you will really get or what. Oh why must I be enticed into purchasing something when I wasn't even in the market for anything? I don't know about you but when certain deals come my way, I feel like the money I spend doesn't really count because it wasn't my idea, it was Sephora's. Hey, whatever makes me feel better right? Even if its faulty logic. 

**Forgot to mention, you must spend $35 to qualify for the code. Always a catch. 

Let's Talk Primer: Essence I Love Stage Eye Primer

I have used a bunch of eye primers and I have determined which ones work for me, which ones I wanted to work but they don't work that well, and which ones just plain out suck. We all have different eyelids and different needs so what works for me may not work for someone else. When I say something sucks, I mean it sucks for ME. So don't let me discourage you from trying a primer that I don't like! That being said, I fully believe that cheap eye primers are not nearly as good as pricier ones. So far on my "do not like" list I have Laura Geller Eye Spackle, NYX Eyeshadow Base, and now... sadly.. Essence I Love Stage. On my "like very much list" is Urban Decay Primer Potion, Too Faced Shadow Insurance, and Tarte Lifted Natural Eye Primer.

Essence I Love Stage eye primer: I wanted SO bad to love this, the price is $3.50 USD, the consistency is amazing and similar to that of Smashbox Photo Op eye primer. I Love Stage is flesh colored and blends so well while drying to a nice matte finish. But sadly, that's where our love affair ends. I have worn this primer two days in a row and have had the same odd result. It didn't make my shadow crease or look messy persay, but instead my eyeshadow just kind of disappeared altogether. This primer somehow sucks the shadow up like a ship passing through the Bermuda Triangle, never to be seen or heard from again. 

I did try it again the second day to give it one more chance because I really wanted to like it. Much to my chagrin, my shadow did another disappearing act within 3-4 hours. Oddly enough, I think Essence alludes to the fact that this primer is a suitable stage makeup primer, or so I've heard. I figure if it can't last through 3 hours of sitting in an air conditioned office, I'm not so sure it has the ability to take on more intense surroundings. Too bad on the primer but I have enjoyed some of the other products by this brand.

Going to the Office Look of the Day! Keeping it Neutral

My work makeup look is pretty much the same as my every day makeup look but with less eyeshadow and minus the winged liner. But everyone has their own idea of "office appropriate", what I wear to work may be what someone else would wear for an evening out! This look is neutral of course and I have all the bases covered, meaning I used all the same products I normally would but maybe kicked down a couple of notches. So much so that you can't even really see my eyeshadow... I'm proud of myself for that.

Face:

Laura Mercier Mineral Powder, Natural Beige

La Mer Radiant Concealer, medium (under eye)

Cle de Peau Concealer, beige (spot cover)

MAC Stereo Rose MSF, for blush

Jane Iredale Pressed Mineral Powder 

Eyes:

Tarte eye primer

Urban Decay Virgin eyeshadow (all over + browbone)

Urban Decay Naked + Buck eyeshadow (crease)

Jordana Fabu-liner, black

Clinique eye shaper eyeliner, brown sugar (on bottom)

YSL Volume Effect Faux Cilis Shocking, black

MakeUpForEver brow pencil, No.4 Dark Taupe

Prestige brow gel

Lips:

NYX Pale Pink liner

Estee Lauder Rose Amethyst lipstick

MAC Fashion Fanatic Plushgloss

Nails:

OPI Tickle Me Francy (it's like a light mocha, amaazing!)

Office Appropriate Outfit that you can't see:

JCrew knit cardigan

JCrew basic ribbed tank

Banana Republic khaki cropped pants

Nine West nude patent wedges (with a modest 2-inch heel)

Lisa Taubes gold-fill chain link necklace + bracelet

MAC Heavenly Creatures Prize Contest Winner Announcement.....

Congratulations to MsKimiKiwi for winning my MAC Heavenly Creatures contest! I have contacted you via your facebook page so please get back with me regarding your address and choice of prize, Supernova mineralized blush or Light Year MSF. Thank you to everyone who entered! The turnout wasn't as large as usual when I run a contest so the odds were pretty good for everyone who entered, especially to those that were eligible for extra entries. Please stay tuned for more contests in the future by signing up to follow my blog and choose to be notified when I post something new.

*Winner was chosen randomly via random.org

Suave Keratin Infused Dry Shampoo, Same as Bumble & Bumble?

Suave and I go way back, back to my childhood when I used a number of their products. Not by choice of course but I used them nonetheless and I had very nice hair. Suave remains to this day to be that staple inexpensive drugstore brand that many people enjoy and can afford. So how did I enjoy their new Keratin-Infused Dry Shampoo? Well, if you want a lot of details, read on but if you would prefer an abbreviated summary, scroll down to the bottom and read the "in a nutshell" points.

What it is and What it Claims: 

I bought the Suave Keratin-Infusion dry shampoo that states its comparability to the Bumble & Bumble white powder dry shampoo on the actual can. In fact, the Suave product has been proven to refresh as well as the B&B white powder which is highly revered by the dry shampoo using community. Suave's special Keralock Technology contains Keratin and absorbs oil to keep hair clean and manageable in between regular shampoos. Now, I still don't know what Keralock Technology is but I'm going with it.  In addition to these claims, the product is supposed to revive volume and extend your blowout. Maybe that's where the mysterious Keralock comes in to play. This dry shampoo is for all hair types and can be found in most drugstores and grocery stores. 

How it Helps Blondes: 

I made the mistake of waiting until I needed my roots touched up to make my appointment with my stylist. As luck would have it, she's not available for 2 more weeks which will make 11 weeks since my last root touch-up which is 3 weeks too long. By that point, I may be no longer a blond because my roots will be so bad. So to freshen up my unwashed hair today, I used the Suave Keratin dry shampoo for the first time. I looked in the mirror and something looked different. My blond was brighter and whiter and my roots were like 2 or 3 shades lighter looking. What had just happened?, I asked myself. So I sprayed the product on my arm and it came out as a white powdery substance. I didn't know that this product was actually similar to Bumble & Bumble in the sense that it was a white powder, I just thought that Suave meant that it freshened as well as B & B. So in actuality, the Suave product had coated my hair with a white powder. It sounds worse than it is. It actually looks quite natural and not at all like PETA threw a bag of flour on me (Sorry Kimmy).  But this is too good to be true, I thought. Surely, this look will fade and my hair will go back to looking desperate to get to the salon. It's now been 6 hours since I used this product and my color still looks brighter and whiter (platinum) and my roots are still camouflaged to an acceptable shade of brown. 

Oh and it did clean my hair and increase volume, no word on how it does on extending my blowout.

How Does This Work on Non-Blonde's?

I was curious to this product's level of versatility, so I used it on my brunette daughter and it did go on with a white cast (which made her hair look grey-ish) but after rubbing it in, it wasn't noticeable. The closer you hold the bottle to your head, the whiter it will come out. That being said, I think (unnatural) blonds who can't stand when their roots grow in will be far more impressed with this product than those who do not experience this hair-tastrophe. For non-blonds, it may very well be just another dry shampoo.

What Others are Saying:

The general consensus is that this product is really good, according to blog posts that I've read and the reviews on Makeupalley.com. Thus, you don't have to take my own personal word for it. 

In a Nutshell:

*White Powdery substance similar to Bumble & Bumble

*Infused with Keratin

*Helps to Camoflauge Roots for Blonds in Between touch-ups & Colorings

*Smells pleasant

*Has typical dry shampoo qualities, gives more volume, absorbs oils

*Supposed to Extend your Blowout

*Has Been Tested Against Bumble & Bumble white powder shampoo, determined to be as good. 

*Cheap and accessible

*Nothing special if you aren't blond but it will clean your hair 

The Marilyn Monroe Look + My Face of the Day

The coolest thing I've learned all year is that Marilyn Monroe's iconic cat eye was actually created with a brown liner pencil, contrary to popular belief. If you haven't seen Lisa Eldridge's Marilyn tutorial on YouTube and you are the least bit interested in the glam goddess that is Marilyn, you must check it out. Not only does Lisa do a fantastic tutorial but she tells of some of the inside secrets used by Marilyn's makeup artist and close friend, Allan "Whitey" Snider. Many of these secrets were never shared publicly but there are a few good tid bits of information that did see the light of day. Marilyn's look was much more than just a cat eye and red lipstick, her look took hours to achieve from the perfect contour and highlight to the layers upon layers of lip products. It is all quite fascinating really. Her iconic look has been used by many but will forever be associated with Marilyn.

I was inspired by this rendition of Marilyn Monroe's makeup, so much so that I opted for red lipstick over my usual nude. I also did the lashes on the outer corners but pretty much did my own thing for everything else. Oh, and the mole is mine, not drawn on! Haha!

Products Used:

Face:
Laura Mercier Mineral Powder in Natural Beige
Cle de Peau concealer, Beige
Maybelline Fit Me pressed powder
NYX blush, Peach (it comes off pink)
Dior hightlight/bronzer/powder trio (for contour + highlight)

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Urban Decay Virgin eyeshadow all over
Urban Decay Naked + Buck lightly in crease
Jordana Fabu-Liner, black (I just couldn't bring myself to do brown)
L'Oreal Clean Definition Telescopic mascara, black
YSL Volume Effect Faux Cils mascara
Ardell individual lashes, short flare (just on the outside corners)
MakeUpForEver brow pencils, No.4
Prestige brow gel
L'Oreal kohl pencil, ivory (lower water line)

Lips:
Rimmel Lip Liner, Ravishing
Clinique lipstick "Angel"
MAC Plushglass, Nice Buzz

First Impressions of the Benefit Ultra Plush Lip Gloss

When I think of Benefit I think of their boxed blushes, which I have used several of and think are quite good. Benefit is nothing if not creative (with some success and some fails) and so I was happy to see them release coordinating lip gloss shades for their ever so popular, yet bulky, boxed blush shades. These glosses come packaged in a squeeze tube similar to Lancome Juicy Tubes and run $18 each. Never one to dissapoint, the new Ultra Plush gloss comes adorably packaged to match whichever blush go with which is always a big selling point.

The shades available are Dallas, Hoola, Coralista, Dandelion, Bella Bamba, and Sugarbomb. My first impression is that Benefit did a good job matching up the colors to the blush by still keeping in mind that these are lip colors and must be treated as so. So I've tried a few of these shades out and it didn't take me long to form a general opinion. Along with a lot of other little opinions.

What I like About The Ultra-Plush Lip Glosses:

The gorgeous colors! They are all so pretty. My personal favorite and from what I hear, the best seller at my local ULTA, is Sugarbomb, a beautiful shimmery (not glittery) medium pink/nude (swatch below does this color no justice, its much more shimmering). Coralista, which looks like bright coral but goes on sheer, is also a dazzler. I was curious to see what the Hoola gloss would look like given that its coordinating shade is the Hoola bronzer. I was pleasantly surprised to see the gloss translated into more of a golden nude than a matte brown like the bronzer, thank goodness. And just like their matching blushes, Dandelion is a pale pearly pink (nice but nothing special, much like the blush), Dallas is a dusty mauve, and Bella Bamba is a deliciously bright watermelon pink (again, goes on more sheer). 

The concept. I love the idea of having a gloss that is a perfect match for my blush. I mean, that seems like the easiest way to know that you've gotten it right, right?

Surprise surprise, the packaging. Never before has there been cuter packaging for a squeeze tube gloss. Both the tube itself and the cute little box it comes in.

Photo Credit: www.imabeautygeek.com

 Photo credit http://musicalhouses.blogspot.com

What I Didn't Like About The Gloss:

SO SLIPPERY! If you don't like sticky glosses, you will totally love these. But if you like staying power, you won't. Which is why I prefer my gloss to be sticky, because sticky stays.  It was hard for me to really get a good application of the gloss on my lips because it slid all around and was actually kind of messy. Kind of like rubbing olive oil on your lips, it slides outside of the lip line and kind of looks greasy. Not that I've done that, but I'm trying to compare consistency. 

The Price. $18 for a squeeze tube gloss seems pricy, especially for one with zero staying power and constant need for reapplication. However, if this weren't an issue, $18 isn't bad for .50 oz. I mean, NARS lip gloss is $24 for .28 oz and it smells bad. Lancome Juicy Tube or Clinique Moisturizing Gloss are similarly priced and also give .50 oz but neither of those have the cutesy packaging or whole matching blush concept thingy- which kind of makes up for it. Sort of. 

Other Observations:

Given the slippery nature, these glosses have no other choice but to be sheer. So if you're looking at Bella Bamba thinking, oh that is way too bright for me, the sheerness makes it very easy to wear.

This next point is something that I didn't really like, its just my preference.. I think that forgetting Hoola and substituting it with something like Hervana would have been better. I know Hoola is top selling and all, but its a bronzer. Although Benefit did do a good job translating that into something wearable for the lips.

You Will Like This Gloss If:

You hate sticky lip gloss. On the flip slide, if you love sticky gloss, you won't love this one.

You like really smooth slippery, almost greasy feeling gloss.

You like bright and fun but sheer colors.

You don't care how the product performs as long as the packaging is cute.

Nail Talk: Glittery Tips, Love it or Leave it?

Personally, I love glitter tip manicures. I was watching QVC about a week ago and the beautiful Mally Roncal, makeup artist to the stars, was sporting the most beauiful manicure that I'd ever seen. She had a really nice opaque pale pink (think OPI Sweetheart) with gold glitter polish on the tips in a gradiant effect with the most glitter at the tips and then fading out when approaching the top 1/3 of the nail (depending on length of your nails). What was really cool about it was that the tips didn't look all nice and neat like a typical french manicure, but rather, it looked as if she had dipped her nails in glitter. This gold and pink combo looked like a princess manicure, so feminine and pretty yet cool. I thought I'd share a photo I found that looked the closest to Mally's manicure but of course this look can be achieved using any color combinations. 

Photo credit: www.cosmeticcupcake.com

A Review for L'Oreal Full Definition Mascara, Dupe for Georgio Armani Eyes to Kill?

We are all familiar with the original L'Oreal Voluminous mascara, right? Well, L'Oreal has released another mascara in the Voluminous line called Voluminous Full Definition- which means this time you're supposed to get the volume of the original but with more definition. What could be better? Particulary because I just posted yesterday about this same topic. I was interested in trying this new mascara after hearing good things about it but hearing that it was similar to the popular Georgio Armani Eyes to Kill was all the motivation I needed to give it a try.

Comparison of Full Definition Voluminous & original Voluminious

Length, Volume, Definition
This is a really good mascara. Plain and simple, it does what it claims to do. You get the same great volume as the original Voluminous but this version does a much better job separating and defining the lashes. I mean it should if that's the whole basis of creating this product right? As for lengthening properties, I found Full Definition to be very similar to the original, if not the exact same. But I find that when your lashes are defined, they naturally look longer because it just looks like you have more of them. However, I don't think Full Def went out of its way to lengthen but it doesn't do any better or worse than the original.

Formula, Clumping Factor, & Buildability

One complaint I've heard numerous times about the original formula is that it's too wet. The Full Definition isn't quite as wet as the original and I feel that the brush comes out of the tube without quite as much excess product as the original. Having said that, it is still a wet formula and you will notice some excess product on the tip. I didn't experience any clumping with this mascara but most any new mascara will be a tad messy at first. Just blot it on a paper towel and call it a day. No need to banish it from your life forever, it will dry out as time goes on.

Another check mark in the Full Def category is that this mascara is very buildable, yet it doesn't take forever to dry. I used two coats and was good to go, despite being a three coats kind of girl. All in all, I prefer this one over the original without question. What can I say, I'm selfish, I want volume AND definiton.

Packaging & Wand

Same basic look as the original Voluminous but instead of being grey, its metallic gold with gold lettering. Very sleek! And I don't know if this was done on accident but my wand is slightly bent which doesn't affect performance at all. Same traditional wand as original but there appears to be some finer bristles.

Who May Like This Mascara?


*If you really like the original Voluminous but think its too clumpy or messy.

*If you want to avoid clumping at all costs but still want volume

*If you want volume and definition, duh! Who doesn't?

*If you tend to prefer L'Oreal mascara over all the other drugstore brands.

As for the burning question, is the L'Oreal Full Definition better than the Armani Eyes to Kill? Heck, I don't know, I've never tried that one. But it's still really good.