No Birthday is Complete Without the Gift of Makeup....

My sweet husband and daughters gave me some great gifts for my birthday so I thought I'd share the makeup-related ones with you. I don't remember a time that I didn't get at least one makeup item for a birthday or holiday or at least a gift-card to a makeup store. Makeup for me is like toys are to a little kid. I get giddy and excited when I receive makeup as a gift and at my age, giddy and excited are not easy to come by. I've used all four of these items and absolutely love three out of the four. I've included swatches below and my first impression of each.

Dior 5 Coleurs Lifting Eye Palette Lifting Ivory (Above)

Tom Ford Lipstick Nude Vanille (Top), Kevin Aucoin Lip Gloss Dahliana (Middle), MAC Eye Kohl in Phone Number (Bottom)

Tom Ford Lipstick in Nude Vanille: LOVE! The perfect lipstick, in my opinion. It's creamy but not slick, it's opaque coverage but not too matte, it has good staying power and a light vanilla scent. If you love the paler nudes, you will love this. It's close to MAC Myth but much more wearable and a prettier finish. Unfortunately, the Tom Ford lipstick is worth every penny. 4,800 pennies to be exact.

Kevyn Aucoin Lip Gloss in Dahliana: My first Kevin Aucoin lip product. This is a beautiful milky pink that anyone would love. Interesting applicator too. Very happy with this item.

MAC Eye Kohl in Phone Number: This is a great color if you don't want stark black but are looking for a more charcoal shade. It's creamy and gorgeous and it is great as a base on the lid and smudged under the lash line for a smoky eye. And it looks great paired with the above mentioned lip products! 

Dior 5 Coleurs Lift Eyeshadow Palette (Lifting Ivory): I was excited to get this but it's a piece of crap. The colors look so pretty and subtle but they are so subtle that they melt off your eyes almost instantly. Not to mention they are full of shimmer but void of any actual color, it's very odd. And the eyeliner it comes with is dry as a bone. I was able to make a decent winged line with it and it disappeared before I put down my brush. As if this wasn't enough, the palette comes with an eye base in the center that is full-on shimmer. So you apply a shimmer base under shimmer shadows. Not shimmery shadows, SHIMMER shadows. There is nothing there besides shimmer. All three of the shadows are this way. I didn't swatch these because I'm returning it after one use. Keep in mind, this is the first awful Dior product I've ever had. Dior eyeshadow is usually amazing.