Nars Orgasm/Laguna Blush/Brozer Duo

I saw this when I was watching fafinettex3's April Faves. I thought it looked so pretty and was looking for a really great bronzer.

So, I went to Sephora and had one of the girls test it out on me. I totally fell in love! The sales girl was a little heavy handed with the brush so it looked a little cakey in natural lighting, but when I brought it home to try for myself, I found it a lot less cakey. Fantastic!

Here's what it looks like:


Now, Aubrey from fafinettex3 is fairly darker than I am. So before I made this purchase, I really had to try it out. The blush gives you a perfect hint of pink and the bronzer totally slims the face down! I was really worried because it looked SO pink and SO brown, but was happy to find that they blend very well into the skin.

I tried this out on my friend who has even fairer skin than I, and she loved it so much that she went out to buy it the very week!

I think you'll find that it's very impressive and a great investment :).

Love Always,
Me

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine

When I was in Beverly Hills, I got a little caught up in all the luxury of Rodeo Drive. So when I wandered into Chanel and saw the cosmetics counter, swatching became a must!

This is Chanel's Rouge Coco Shine in Monte Carlo:

I'll be honest, the packaging (how cute is that Chanel monogram!) and the name of the lipstick was a lot of the appeal for me. I really wanted to get my normal peach/pink/coral color, but this berry shade was calling my name!

Here's a swatch:

As you can see, it's relatively sheer. At first I felt like that was a bit of a failure on their part since the lipstick was so expensive, but I bought it anyway because I really hate red lipsticks that are mega-pigmented.

Over all, this lipstick is SUPREME. You really get what you pay for because the formula is just amazing. It gives your lips an amazing shine without any lipgloss and is VERY moisturizing. The color? VERY long lasting. I dabbed a little on 5 hours ago, and after coffee, gum, and eating lunch, there is still a red tint on my lips with no reapplication. THAT to me is AMAZING.

Love Always,
Me

Estee Lauder Double Wear Cream Shadows

Update: It's been THREE MONTHS! I know... I'm god awful :(. The plus side to this is that I have accumulated a good amount of goodies to share with you. Now that finals, graduation, and vacationing is all over, I am going to make a better effort to blog haha.

A while back, I saw frmheadtotoe talk about these cream shadows in her video, and thought "how awesome!" So when I happened to be near a CCO, I grabbed some. Let me tell you: SO TRUE. They are every bit as impressive as she said they would be.

At $12.25 a pop, I got three:


Vintage Violet - my favorite because I find it to be most wearable.


Silver Leaf


Sea Mist - so pretty!!!


Here are some swatches (just a swipe):

Very true to color huh?

I absolutely adore them! They are so creamy and so vibrant! I only just swiped them a bit and they came out mega pigmented. I haven't tried yet, but I'm pretty sure you can double this up as dramatic eyeliner.

My only regret is the Silver Leaf. I realized later that I didn't really have a need for it, and that I should've gotten a golden color instead since it better compliments my skin tone. Oh well!

Tip: Apply cream shadows with your fingers. It has a thicker consistency, so it can easily clump your brushes. AND by using your fingers, you will warm up (melt) the product resulting in easier application.

Love Always,
Me

MAC Cutie Palette

I was merely browsing the MAC counter at Nordstrom when the sales woman comes up to me and insists I peek at the upcoming collection. She said the word "pastels" and of course, I was sold.

I took a gander and pre-ordered the lipstick in Playing Koi.

It's a little more bubble-gum-pop than I had expected, but I still love it. AND the texture is, as always, mega moisturizing.

I don't have an awesome picture, but you can check it out here.

This is the MAC Cutie Palette.

It has a cool transparent cover! I think this is my first pre-set palette from MAC.

Here are the colors (clockwise starting from the white shade): Moshi Moshi!, Goody Goody Gum Drop, Boycrazy, and Azuki Bean. Cute, no?

The colors actually lack a lot of pigment on my skin, probably because I am fairly pale. So the colors don't show up until after quite a lot of packing, BUT the colors in this quad do go VERY well together.

I am semi-happy with the purchase, but I know that I would have regreted not buying it. :)

Azuki Bean is my fave for now! I wear it daily, layered over my beloved Satin Taupe.

Love Always,
Me

Skin79 BB Cream

Yes, I know every Asian girl out there is obsessing over this!


Gorgeous packaging! We all know what a sucker I am for that :).


I think I've been loyal to Laura Mercier's tinted moisturizer for an eternity, and it has yet to fail me, but bubz and jen have been raving about this product. I got it because it was only about $16 on Amazon and because bubz says there are whitening properties. Typically, I wouldn't think too much about whitening agents in my cosmetics, but lately... I'm not sure... but I think I've discovered sun spots :(.

Anyway, the texture of this is between a tinted moisturizer and liquid foundation. It goes on a lot thicker than I'm used to, but the coverage is just enough to even out skin tone perfectly. My favorite thing about this BB Cream is probably that it lasts quite a while throughout the day.

The trade-off is that application isn't that smooth. If you're using your fingers, you really need to learn how they work and how to blend with them, or you'll end up chafing your skin or with blotchy looking skin. Also, if you over do it with the product, you're going to look cakey.

BUT for $16, it's a total bargain, so give it a try!

Love Always,
Me

Orgasm vs. Sugar Bare

Beckie came home a while ago and after about 30 minutes, I ran in there and told her I wanted to give her a mani. She told me she already began the process of painting her nails and lifted her left hand to eye level.

"That looks JUST like my NARS orgasm nail polish!"


Almost like twins huh?

I'm sure you all are no strangers to the Orgasm collection by NARS. This baby cost me a whopping $17!

Beckie's nail polish is Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in 05 Sugar Bare.

Here are some swatches (did a quick swipe on the back of my gum box LOL).

Sugar Bare is on the left and Orgasm is on the right. The only real difference is that Orgasm seems to be a lighter shade of pink with a bounty of gold sparkles. Sugar Bare is a darker pink but goes on pretty sheer.

Just GUESS how much Beckie paid for her almost-like-Orgasm-nail-polish??? That's right, at a TOTAL COMPLETE STEAL she picked this up at 2 for $1 at the Dollar Tree.

Good trade-off?

Love Always,
Me

Urban Decay's Naked Palette

Gorgeous, no?

For those of you who actually know what this palette is, know that it's a tad on the difficult side to get your hands on one. Believe me when I say I sat around for a quite a while before it was available to me!

The BEST thing about Urban Decay palettes is that it comes with a brush. Yes, see that FULL SIZED brush? I love it! It's a great brush, but it's not that useful. This one in particular is more for precision lining and highlighting, but not so great for shadow application.

I have no complaints about the shadows though. Like most Urban Decay shadows, they are super pigmented and minimal on fall-outs. The shadows are pretty neutral and remind me of different shades of almond. The thing is, I feel like they aren't so great alone. I tried to do an everyday neutral look with a combo of two colors and a highlight but it didn't turn out as great as I hoped it would.

I will say though, "virgin" is perhaps the most amazing highlight I have yet to try.

Love Always,
Me