Dark Circles, Turtles and Waterproof Eyeliner

Since really getting into makeup, I have noticed that I have gotten much more deliberate with my purchases.  I usually do not pick things up just on a whim.  If I buy something, I have probably thought about and contemplated purchasing it for some time now.  I do have a few things I am dying to get my hands on currently, so I thought I would share them with you.

1. A good under eye concealer.  I have officially become my mother.  I am having the hardest time concealing my under eye circles, probably having a lot to do with the fact that I have never really had much of an issue with this before.  I have tried my Chantecaille stick foundation which I use to conceal blemishes, but I have a feeling that is just a smidgen too dark for my undereye.  I have also tried my Chanel long lasting concealer which kind of creases on my under eye.  Oy. I have plans to go to the mall and play with Chantecaille, Giorgio Armani, and Laura Mercier's concealers as I have heard good things about those.  I would love to try Becca's concealer, but I am wary of ordering base products online as I am not sure if it will be a good color match.

2. Chantecaille Turles palette. When is this going to be out already??? I feel like I've been waiting for it to come out for forever.  The turtle palette is modeled just like the tiger palette, with 3 eyeshadows and a blush, but with warmer colors.  If you want to see a promo picture, you can find one of Temptalia's blog.

3. The black eyeliner from Armani's spring collection.  It is supposed to be the same liner as was released with the spring collection in 2010 which was super black and water proof.  I swatched last years edition on my hand and was completely amazed, but when I went back to find it, it was no where to be found. I am soo excited they decided to rerelease it. 



Do you have any wants right now?  Any reccs for a good under eye concealer?

Chantecaille Hydra Chic Lipstick in Tiger Lily

I realized today that a while back I mentioned that I had bought one of the new Chantecaille lipstick formula hyra chics in tiger lily but never actually showed you swatches or talked about it ever again. Shame on me.  I hope to make amends by finally showing it to you all now. 

Behold, tiger lily.

It is red. I love red. I grew up in red lipstick, quite literally as I was a dancer until the age of 15.  I rock a red lip from time to time despite the grossed out faces it receives from the DBF (he no likely the red lipstick...or any kind of visible lip products for that matter). 

Back to the review, I couldn't be more impressed with the Hydra chic formula.  I think I have mentioned more than once that I have amazingly dry lips.  Formulas that most boast as hydrating, I often find drying.  I even shy away from Chanel lip products as I find them to be drying.  Hydra chic, unlike Lip Chic, is not moisturizing per say, but it is not drying in the least bit.  It kind of acts as a second skin.  If it weren't for the fact that I have it in a red color, I would probably all but forget that I had it on.  In fact, I went to reapply, thinking it was all gone, and it was still perfectly in tact.

Which brings me to the second point of why this formula is so amazing, longevity.  This stuff wears like iron.  I am pretty hard on lip products, with all the constant eating and drinking, but this wore for a good 5+ hours on me, which is saying something.

And on to color.

This is in cool, natural light.  I would say that tiger lily is more of an orange red than a blue red, which this swatch doesn't particularly show.  It has no shimmer and somewhat of a satin finish.

This picture is with flash just to show another aspect of the color.

Overall, you have to try the new hydra chic lipstick formula. Yep, I'm saying have to.  Trust me, you will not be disappointed in the least bit. If your a fan of red, you will probably love tiger lily, but there are 3 other great shades currently and 3 more coming in the spring collection.

Laura Mercier Eye Basics in

I used to be in love with Urban Decay Primer Potion.  The stuff is good, I must admit.  It wears well with no creasing.  However, the packaging is infamously horrible and I found it hard to blend over.

Come Sephora friends and family sale, I decided to give Laura Mercier Eye basics a try.  I have heard good things about them and the packaging is much better than Urban Decay's.  Look, I think you may actually be able to get all the product out!!(hallelujah!!)

I bought the color linen.  In retrospect, I probably should have picked up something darker such as wheat because linen is a little too light to really blend into my skin.  I am about nc20 for reference.

There are also peachy tones in linen which is nice and brightening to the eye area.

What do I think this is a good primer? Well, I do think it is easier to blend over than Primer Potion.  However, I do find that it creases.  I can't give an exact amount of time it takes for it to crease because I don't check my eye makeup very frequently.

Overall, would I repurchase, no.  I would recommend this to people who have drier eyelids who just want something to intensify their eyeshadows.

This product can be found here.  Note: this is an affiliate link.

Chanel Glossmier in Pleasing

Pleasing was part of the Chanel holiday 2010 collection.  It is the only item of the collection I picked up since I have increasingly been falling out of love with Chanel powder products. 

Glossimers are great glosses.  Sheer to medium pigment and not too sticky.  I love them alone and over lipsticks.

Pleasing is beautiful, a sparkly brown pink color.  Its a nice neutral that can be worn over most colors. I like it particularly over Chantecaille sari rose lip chic. 

I am normally not a fan of sparkle in my makeup, but glossimers make sparkle sophisticated.

Overall, I would recommend picking this up if you can still find it.

Birchbox

Just popping in to let you guys know that I signed up for Birchbox today.  Birchbox is basically a monthly subscription that sends deluxe sized samples of mid to high end products.  Many times these samples are the same size as the 100 pt prizes from sephora and the whole box is only $10 a month or $110 per year. 

If you are interested in more information you can visit there website here.  I will review my first one when I receive it and let you guys know if I think it is worth the investment.

*I am not affiliated with birchbox.

Travel Sized Beauty

I am getting ready to travel back to my parents house (again, I know) this weekend to say goodbye to my dear friend who is moving to Ireland.  I was thinking about everything that will be checked versus everything I will carry on, and I got to thinking.  I will never be able to get away with not checking a bag. 

First of all, I am on a lot of prescription products for my acne and psoriasis, but those aren't the problem.  Dermatologists are usually more than happy to give you sample sizes of those for travel purposes.  My issue is my other skincare and makeup items. 

Absolutely none of my Chantecaille products come in sizes that are travel friendly, and we all know how much Chantecaille I use.  Maybe (in my dreams I know) Chantecaille will see this post and make a travel sized vital essence!! I can always stick some future skin in a sample pot, so that isn't the issue.

Apart from use in actual travel, travel sized items are a really nice way to try a product that you are unfamiliar with.  They are also perfect for keeping in your handbag as us beauty junkies tend to attempt to stuff our purses with way to many cosmetic items.  I love mini sized lip glosses and such for just this purpose.  I know Chantecaille did a small sized powder in a collection a couple winters ago, but I wasn't into the brand at that time and missed out on it. 

Are their any companies you wish made small sizes or any products you wish came in travel sized?



image from stuffunemployedpeoplelike.com

Chantecaille Winter Bloom Blush

Yes, I know, more Chantecaille.  Well, if you don't like it then you should probably leave now.

I think I have covered quite a bit of their line thus far, but here, I present to you, the blush in Winter Bloom.  I swapped for this initially, but now that I have the Promenade in Prague palette (I am collecting the palettes, kind of, in case I haven't mentioned that yet) I swapped this one away because it is in that palette. 

Winter Bloom is a really nice peach color that makes my cheeks just glow.  I was amazed when I first wore it because I couldn't perceive any shimmer in the pan at all. 

I would say this is decently pigmented but not so much that pale girls can't wear it.  You can definitely adjust for more or less color.  I actually prefer for my makeup colors to be able to be built up instead of needing to be toned down.  I just find this kind of scheme easier for my hurried lifestyle.

This is a swatch in natural light. I don't think I really captured the glowiness, but it's pretty darn color acurate.

Overall, I would recommend this to any and all fans of peach blush.  If you want it in the little case, it retails for $28.  If you prefer to put it in a palette, you can get just the pan for $21.

Chantecaille Quartz

My love for Chantecaille is no secret.  I have recently fallen in love with the eyeshadows and have started collecting the palettes. They are amazing, creamy, decently pigmented, and smooth.  I love how the shimmery shadows have tasteful shimmer, like quartz here. 

 Quartz is a kind of taupey color with pinkey red shimmer. 

 Its a really nice my lids but better (MLBB) color. Lasting power is pretty good, even without a primer. 

If you haven't already, I would highly recommend checking out Chantecaille eye shadows. They are available on Chantecailles own website, Nordstrom, Saks, and Neimans.  Free pans, as pictured above, retail for $21 and with a container retail for $28. 

Benefit Porefessional

I must say, I am somewhat of a primer-phobe.  I think it stems from the fact that I am very acne prone and don't like to use too much on my skin for fear of breaking it out.  This means that for the first several months I only used Porefessional as a touch up product.
Porefessional is a mattifier that helps to disguise the appearance of pores.  It definitely has a siliconey feeling, much like Smashbox's primer.  It is lightly colored beige, but I don't think it really translates on to the skin.  It has a slight scent which I find to be pleasant, but scent sensitive people be forewarned.

It comes is squeeze tube packaging which is nice and sanitary for the germaphobes of the world.  You get a decent amount of product. I would say it should last at least several months with daily use.

 Here is a blob on my hand, to show color and texture.

Porefessional can be used two ways.  One is as a mattifying touch up.  This is how I originally used it. I would pat a small amount over any shiney areas, and, I must say, the result was amazing. It really did disguise pores and mattify.  The effect lasts several hours as well.  I did finally break down and try it as a primer. It cooperates really well with my Chantecaille Future Skin founation and keeps me from getting shiney.  This lasts a little bit longer than using it as a touch up does.

Overall, I would highly recommend anyone who suffers from shine or large pores give this product a try.

Here you can see it blended out on my hand.



Disclaimer: I received this product for reviewing purposes from the company. This in no way influenced my opinion on the product.

This product can be purchased here.  Note: this is an affiliate link. 

Happy New Year!

Happy 2011 to everyone! The first thing I did in 2011 was watch Ghostbusters.  It was on Comedy Central when I woke up. So, I say I started it off right.

I updated my blog sale today. Links to that can be found to the right. Head over and check it out!

What was the first thing you did in 2011?