Sunday Post

I missed this last week!! Did anyone miss the post?

Here are some snaps to catch up on the last two weeks

Let's go back a few Monday's for the recap

I have drank half this box of coconut water, no more than half this week. I only have 2 containers left, is it bad to drink so much? It's just so damn refreshing when cold

Spotted these and knew spring is finally arriving, shoe season wise anyway!

Spring means bringing out the bright colors!

This weeks diet consisted of

Few "What I wore" snapshots

Purchased these last two weeks

Organizing

Finished Reading

Now on to book 2!

What have you guys been up to?

The Good, the bad, and the over hyped - Lip Balm Edition

As a continuation segment from my original searching for an HG pencil liner, lip balms, and just about any beauty product have a long standing list with me as being both necessary and worth the search

Today's topic: Lip balms

Are all lip balms created equal? no way! But with price variances ranging from .69 cents to $60 dollars the range is huge, so here is a little abridged guide to some of the ones from my past

I too, have fallen for the trap of cheaper convenience lip balms (which I love!) and the draw of higher end lip balms for those interested in that market.

Here are my thoughts on some of the stand out's I have tried (Good and Bad)

The Good

Burt Bees Lip balm: Waxy, minty, available everywhere, now in an arrange of shades, tints, and flavors. The only negative is the lack of SPF

MAC Tinted Lip Conditioners: I like these! Ok those who hate pot forms wont, but I like the subtle amount of color, spf factor, and the tub will last you quite a while. It also smells like vanilla which I don't love but its not over bearing, it's also smooth and easy to apply! They also sometimes come out with nice Limited Edition ( of course) shades

Bon belle Lip Smackers in Dr. Pepper: This product has sentimental value so I may be biased but I love the smell, the slight red tint, the smoothness, along with the price. Been buying this since I was 13 and will never stop!

The Ehhh

Rosebud Salve: I bought this because I thought the packaging was cute. Going to be honest. It took me YEARS to get through my one. I never repurchased again. Though many people hate the sanitary factor of these vintage looking tins, the new tube kinds are available, but this was a no for me. Felt a bit like Vaseline, rose scented at least, and did not last long on my lips

The Bad

CarMex: IM SORRY for those who love this stuff but I JUST DON'T GET IT. I've tried the pot form, the tube form, and the squeeze tube form. All different textures, all hate. Left my lips more chapped, felt like it was rubbing off my lips upon application, and the squeeze kind was like Vaseline again so slid off. This will always be a mystery to me in regards to it's cult following

Blistex Silk and Shine: Waxy, I thought all blistex was wonderful till I tried this one. They are all not created equal. At least it has SPF.

The Overhyped/Overpriced

By Terry Baume de Rose: Yes, I bought this. I was in one of those manic shopping days where everything is yes yes yes! Thankfully those days are far and few. I have used about half the tub of this and I AM going to use it all but I personally don't think its worth the price. It smells gorgeous, like roses, it has a very stick to your lips texture! When I apply it at night I feel it the next morning but the price, dear lord the price, far too high for what this is.

Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream: A celeb favorite. I got mine at Marshalls by the way…this like the By Terry, I apply at night and feel it the next day, except I personally think this is more hydrating. I also think it looks and feels like honey, but smells like a plastic factory.

If I were to repurchase one of these two, it would be the 8 hour cream, I have a huge tube instead of the jar so this is going to last me eons, but I would repurchase this. Not HG, but a nice night treatment.

My favorite

It's no surprise if you read my blog my favorite is the Blistex in the Blue Tub. OK, "Lip Medex"

Honestly everyone I have told about this and have tried it LOVE IT. Just heals cracked lips and is smooth and nourishing. Yes it's in a pot which is not ideal, but the product love is so high I don't care. The availability and price has me in love for the the rest of forever!

So tell me

What's your favorite?

Current Lust List ~ Spring Purse Edition

With all these lovely new make up products, I think they would simply be used at their best, chucked into a brand new bag!!! My current new obsession: PURSES

I used to be quite the "Bag hag" before I was into make up, but it seems the bug never died

Marc by Marc Jacobs Werdie Top Handle Messenger

First up!

My ideal bag for spring!

Marc Jacobs Werdie Tote

I'm in love with the blue tones and the bright blue strap, how incredible would this look on with a white button down and jeans?

I am also thinking of some sparkly lace up shoes to complete the look!

Marc by Marc Jacobs messenger bag

Tory Burch 797 Satchel

I love the one in the black croc print but all the pictures were too small

The navy blue is also nice, but better suited for fall

The Proenza PS1 Bag

It reminds me of my Mulberry but I still love it. Love the style of these

The Mulberry Lilly Bag

Simple shape, chic, easy to wear for day and night

Comes in a multitude of shades, but this burgundy one caught my eye!

As you can see I am quite into the same style of bag. Dual handles, long strap, semi slouchy and comfortable, and big enough to hold all my things, but not my life

What kinds of bags are you eyeing for spring?

Burberry Make Up ~ Initial Impressions

Burberry make up has taken the make up blog o sphere by storm with incredible reviews and swatches of quite possibly the best take on a neutral make up that many have seen in quite some time, or thus far

I too fell for the luxury brand bug, with the growing claims of incredible quality and performance, I just had to see for myself what the fuss was about!

Housed in metallic gunmetal magnetic casings, these are in terms of packaging, gorgeously stunning. Then again, Burberry knows quite a few things about aesthetics.

It feels heavy enough to not feel cheap, you can tell when using these, just by looking at them the luxurious feel and quality

Burberry does not fly far from their brand imaging. Neutral colors, extremely and elegantly well done. I would describe their brand, make up line included as under statedly sophisticated. Some of the shades look a bit "meh" in the display, but when swatched, the smoothness, color payoff, texture, the whole sha bang is there!~ (putting it quite properly)

I purchased two eye shadows Pale Barley(right) and Midnight Brown (Left)

Let me just saw, when you swatch these, before you even see the color on your fingers you can feel the incredible smoothness and texture. The level is incredibly fine, and when you do swatch "wow" to the pigmentation

Pale Barely

Is EXACTLY what I wanted MAC's Patina to be

(which looks horrendous on me btw)

This is mix of a cool gold mixed in with enough taupe or brown to not contrast harshly against my warm skin. An incredible all over the lid color, for us 1 shadow only girls

Midnight Brown

Was something I had swatched before, and was a bit ummm, hmmm, over

The color is a gorgeous rich brown with golden shimmer. The shimmer is not as easily seen on the eyes, again that subtly sophisticated sort of shimmer that comes out in fine quality products.

I umm-ed for a moment because I thought, it looks a bit dark, but I bit the bullet, apply it sometimes at my outer corner or lower lash line and it's called love people

Tangerine Blush

I couldn't walk out without a blush right??

Tangerine is a peachy shade. It seems like a mix of slightly dirty peach because it seems to have the SLIGHTEST bit of brown tone in it, as if they made a peach blush and threw in a bit of MAC's Tenderling. The mix makes this incredible natural looking and if a human can blush peach ( which I know is impossible) the brown in it makes it just more human. The barely blushing peachy glow. You can tell it's a peach blusher, but somehow it got grounded before hitting "Peach blush on me" territory.

(I have yet to try it with the brush)

Swatches

Overall impressions:

Incredible quality. People rave about these for a reason. A stunning array of beautifully packaged, and incredible quality product wrapped in shades of a neutral lover girl's dreams.

The price is high, absolutely.

Considering the quality, the brand, the packaging, and the amount of product you get, which is generous, this is where quality over quantity comes in.

I would have rather have 5 of these shadows and consider that my entire eye shadow collection, than a parade of 100 less quality ones. These are going to stand the test of time, and be used for just about any occasion.

Expect more Burberry from this blog in the future!

Spring Cleaning

Yesterday I looked at my desk and went "BLAH!!!" I can't take this anymore, clutter, mess, samples, tissues, empty boxes! So I opened a window and cleaned my desk.

A nice spring clean!

Yes, it's quite embarrassing the state my ROOM is in, but at least there is one small place of sanity. I took some "before" shots but they were too horrific to post

The make up shown above is all my current go to make up, I took the rest and put them away in drawers, so I wouldn't have to look at another potential mess, and I can finish the products I am currently using

The Ladurée box holds all my favorite cream shadows if I don't want to use my daily shadow

The flowers bring some freshness no? LOVE THEM, especially in the glass jars we had at home

The tin holding my daily make up I purchased yesterday from Urban Outfitters and you can find the link here!

NARS Tinted Moisturizer Review

When word of this hit the internet that NARS was FINALLY releasing a Tinted Moisturizer to the make up market well "Ecstatic" is a word that can adequately describe how I felt on this long awaited launch

I've used this for about 3 weeks now and have finally come to an opinion. I have read the upcoming growing amount of *glowing* reviews for this product but honestly, initially it was not love.

( Trust me, I was the MOST surprised at this realization)

Texture:

The texture of this is thicker than Laura Mercier's tinted moisturizer. It's spreadable and bendable.

Coverage:

The coverage of this Tinted Moisturizer is also higher than Laura Mercier's in my opinion. I know many people love LM's TM because of it's higher coverage in comparison to other TM's on the market, well this beat it.

Moisturization:

Thumbs up for my combo skin. I normally have combo skin, that is normal in winter, and oily as heck in the summer but I have 1 dry spot on my face. The area between my nose and my upper lip is dry (randomly)

Whatever foundations I would apply with powder by 6 hours time the area looked like it was dry, separating, and you can detect the powder easily

With this Tinted MOISTURIZER the 1 patch of my face stays looking hydrated and just normal! the whole day. This factor I love.

Finish:

The TM has a beautifully glowy finish. Not dewy. Glowy. If you have normal to dry skin I really would not powder because to me it looks like the optimal finish. If you have combo to oily skin, I would apply a sheer dusting of powder because that glow will resurface later, but over 8+ hours, it really does look glowy again, and I only blot around he nose. The rest of the face and T zone has a very nice and healthy sheen which I enjoy - but this is a personal preference

You can see the glow here, swatched on the middle portion of my hand

(The color is a bit dark for me at the moment)

Lasting Power:

This lasts over 8 hours on me which is what I expect from a Tinted Moisturizer, and I can confirm by hour 10-12 it doesn't look too shabby. It's not as good as the first 8 but definitely no need to really touch up

So everything so far sounds good, sounds like NARS! So why didn't I love it??

APPLICATION

I initially applied this with my hands. I would apply a few dots around my face and quickly pat with my fingers all over the face to spread and add a "HD" effect. The coverage was too high for me. This provided a full medium coverage on me, which I don't like. This was my only real flaw and again this is complete preference, but I usually buy tinted moisturizers to not look like I am wearing make up, and look incredibly natural. When applied with my hands I honestly think the coverage is medium and once lightly powdered I looked like I was wearing something.

Applied with the hands you can see the higher coverage as the spreading marks on my hands are visable

(center of the hand)

Keep on trucking! I wasn't going to give up on this just yet! I have tried a few brushes with this and have settled that the Sephora Platinum Airbrush 55 as my method of choice.

The HD air brush from Sephora provides a more sheer application that looks more skin like, just as glowy, and makes my skin still feel comfortable and breathable!

I also loved the finish with the beauty blender! A touch more sheer then the brush, but still so lovely!

I knew NARS wouldn't let me down!

Amount and Price:

The TM comes in 1.9 Fl Oz which is standard for a TM, but since this one provides such a higher level of coverage than others I have tried on the market I do find myself needing less product and believe this will last in the long run.

Size reference

The price is $42 in the US, which is LM's price category, aka foundation category, but again, the coverage is quite high for a TM, you do not require as much product.

Shades:

This comes in 9 shades, which is reasonable for a tinted moisturizer range. They don't have to be an exact match because they are supposedly "sheer" but they do have a nice light option and one for deeper skin tones which I can appreciate

I have the shade Alaska (shade 2) and it's a tiny bit too dark for me at the moment but 70% of the year it should be fine. I am an NC 25 most of the year.

Packaging:

I like the packaging! Tube design. Not glass, light, and easy to travel with. It's a snap top but it's a very secure snap! And the finish of the packaging doesn't leave as many finger prints as normal NARS items, so it doesn't look grubby after the first use.

Extras:

NARS has added bit's of extra skin care loving properties to this product including sun protection in the form of PA plus plus! It also is stated to have properties to help improve discoloration over time with regular use. Sounds good to me!

Repurchase:

The beautiful finish, the adaptable coverage, the promise of improving skin over time with proper sun protection, along with the convenient tube design! This is not my HG base but this is the best tinted moisturizer I ever tried, and I would repurchase!