FOTD: Anniversary Edition

Face: NARS Pro Prime / YSL Touché Éclat in BD10 / BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector in Moonstone / MAC Margin Blush

Eye: MAC All That Glitters / MAC Star Violet / Clinique High Impact Mascara / Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara / Anastasia Brow Wiz / Chanel Liner in Beryl

Lips: MAC Cosmo

Nothing much to say today other than... yay! It's my anniversary. Two whole years of being married and it's flown by faster than I can even believe. We're going out to dinner tonight to a restaurant with a 40's feel— casual dressy, so I figured I'd go a bit feminine with my makeup. Lots of pinks, focus on the lips, soft eyes and cheeks, strong brows. Lots of new stuff here I haven't reviewed yet which means... lots of reviews coming up, whoop! 

My poor Cosmo lipstick looks like it's been through hell and back (it has). It was my first MAC lipstick and is still one of my all time favorites. Also the blush I'm wearing was the one I wore on my wedding, *nostalgia*. While I'd love to stay and chat I've got so much to do before tonight! Nails to be painted, presents to be picked up and... my hair needs a good taming because it's literally taking over my face. Eeeep!

What do you guys think of this look? I may throw on some eyeliner before heading out but I'm not sure! Yay or nay?! Hope everyone has the best Tuesday ever. ♡

Urban Decay Naked Palette

Urban Decay Naked Palette · $50

The hype around Urban Decay's palettes can't be denied, and for good reason. I've been wearing eyeshadow tons more now that I've cut down on eyeliner use, and I've got to say I much prefer it that way. So with that I've been debating getting a UD palette for some time now, going back and forth between the original Naked palette and the Naked 2 palette. After some research and recommendations, I went for the original!

The colors in this one are bronze and cocoa neutrals, making them a bit warmer than Naked 2 which is exactly what I wanted. There are few matte colors thrown in with the shimmers as well which is awesome as I'm a sucker for a nice matte brown (I'm looking at you, Buck). I'm pretty excited about most of the colors here, but especially Sin, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked, Smog, and Toasted. Such great summer/autumn colors and I can definitely see myself wearing some of these year round too since they're so versatile and neutral. It comes with a little bottle of Primer Potion which is super cute and a total plus (vs. the random lipgloss that comes with Naked 2).

With our NYC trip coming up in two (!!!!) days I wanted something that I could easily bring with me and that would have all the colors I needed. This is exactly that. It's so travel friendly that I can just throw it in my carry on and be done with it.

What do you guys think of the Urban Decay Naked/Naked 2 palettes? Which is your favorite?

Benefit Hervana

Benefit Hervana  · $28

Oh Benefit, I can't seem to stay away from your products for longer than a week. This may be becoming an obsession.

Hervana is described as "good karma face powder" and while I'm not quite sure what that actually means, it doesn't really matter because I am officially infatuated with this stuff.

I waaas a bit skeptical how this would look on my olive toned skin. Orgasm is my go-to blush (but whose isn't?) so I'm really used to coral/pink and not so much berry tones. I asked a MUA at Sephora what she thought and told me to go for it because it would look fab and I wouldn't regret it. She was right. It's basically the opposite of what I usually wear and I'm totally okay with that because this stuff compliments my skin in ways I never thought were possible. Contouring, brightening, giving me nice flush  — basically everything you want from a blush. 

I've been using this way more than Orgasm and am definitely excited to try other Benefit blushes. Benefit is easily growing to be one of my favorite brands *gasp* but is that really much of a surprise when the quality of their products is so high/great?

What do you guys think of Hervana? Which Benefit blush should I try next?

LUSH Emotional Brilliance

My lovely sister-in-law works at LUSH in England and sent me a few things for my birthday. I was super excited because I love LUSH to bits and the fact that they were coming out with a make-up line was just too perfect.

The marketing for the line is pretty wonderful; it's all about conveying and portraying yourself through their cosmetics and colors. Feeling a little passionate? Pop on their Passionate lipstick. As LUSH Co-founder Mark Constantine said, "You choose the colour that represents a word. As long as you believe in that word, it’s got nothing to do with anyone else.". Obviously not everyone is going to use them this way, but the idea is cute, non?

I'm absolutely in love with what I've used so far. Sophisticated is my new favorite cream eyeshadow — it's perfect for my skin tone and is versatile enough to be used day and night. The Feeling Younger skin tint is seriously amazing. It works wonderfully as a highlighter, adding a bit of glow and shimmer right to your cheek bones. I'm already planning to do a FOTD (face of the day) using most of the products I can so you guys can see just how amazing this stuff is.


What do you guys think of LUSH's makeup line? Do you think their marketing will be successful in getting people to wear how they feel, so to speak?

MAC Angel Lipstick

MAC Angel Lipstick · $15.00

I've been wanting to get a few more lipsticks to add to my collection as I've just started getting really into wearing them. I used to be a bit fearful of wearing any colors on my lips but that all changed once I started frequenting the MAC counters and stores. I started with Saint Germain (go figure), then Cosmo, and now Angel. 

I wear Cosmo quite often — it's a nice reddish tone and is totally different to Saint Germain which is a super bright Marina Diamandis-esque pink. I wanted something a little more subtle for daytime and something that would really suit my skin. The woman at the MAC counter in Bloomingdales kept handing me bright colors (lol) but then handed me this. Immediately I loved it, asked Richard for his opinion, and 3 minutes later I purchased it.

It's the perfect pink for me and is a lot lighter on the lips than you'd think. I was afraid of the frost finish as I've got quite chapped lips most of the time, but it seems to be okay with a little lip balm. I've been wearing it every day since I got it which is a good sign (except for the fact that I ordered another lipstick from MAC which I love even more than this and it should be here tomorrow, oops).

What do you guys think of Angel? What's your favorite MAC lipstick/finish?

Fresh Mini Sugar Lip Treatment Duo

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15 (Mini) · Sephora Beauty Insider Gift

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!!

As you Beauty Insiders know, Sephora's birthday gift this year is a mini set of Fresh's Sugar Lip Treatment; one in Clear and one in Rosé. I've seen the Sugar Lip Treatments every time I've gone to Sephora but never really stopped to check them out. When I got the birthday postcard I felt kind of meh but was excited to have the chance to try them out anyway.

I've got to say that these are definitely under-hyped (at least as far as I'm concerned) because they're seriously amazing products. I'm not sure how else to describe what they do except for that they basically melt onto your lips leaving them soft and hydrated and immediately ridding you of any chapped-ness. The Rosé color is actually quite nice — it's a pinkish berry color that is pigmented, but still sheer enough to not be too much. I mean, it is a lip treatment after all.

What do you guys think of the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments? Which are your favorites?

Face of the day (FOTD) #1

Face:

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer  

Laura Mercier Silk Créme Foundation in Medium Ivory  

NARS Orgasm Blush 

MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Microfinish Powder 

Eyes:

MAC Naked Lunch Eyeshadow 

MAC Honesty Eyeshadow 

MAC Mystery Eyeshadow (eyebrows) 

Maybelline Illegal Length Fiber Extension Mascara 

Lips:

MAC Saint Germain Lipstick 

Benefit: Full Glam Ahead

Benefit Full Glam Ahead · $12

On my way out of Sephora I saw this little box of goodness and couldn't resist. After my amazing experience with Sun Beam I figured why not try a few more products from Benefit aaaaand of course, I wasn't let down.

BADgal Lash is my new favorite mascara. The brush amazing; it's really big and thick which helps plump up my lashes while adding a nice amount of length. The bottle itself is cute (as with a lot of Benefit's branding) and I definitely see myself repurchasing this once this little bottle runs dry.


High Beam is hyped up like none other. Everyone seems to say its like model-in-a-bottle so I was really excited to try it. Unfortunately it seems that the pinky tones didn't mesh well with my olive skin, but I'm definitely willing to try it a few more times to see if I can work it out. I've thought of possibly mixing Sun Beam and High Beam so maybe I'll try that and see what happens.

Stay Don't Stray is a "360 degree primer for concealers and eye shadows" and it really is exactly that. I use this a lot with my concealer and the one thing I really love about it is how much it brightens the area under my eyes. It holds my concealer like none other, so I'm pretty excited to try this with shadows! I'm not sure it's a product that I need to own, but I definitely love using it and having it around.

Overall I'm pretty happy with this mini set and it was definitely worth $12 (if not more). I have a feeling that I'm starting to grow a serious addiction to Benefit products, and I do have a bunch more things I want to try from them (*cough* POREfessional, CORALista, Hello Flawless! etc etc *cough*).


What are your favorite Benefit products? Any recommendations on what I should try next?

Benefit Sunbeam

Benefit Sunbeam

I've never used a highlighter before but after reading about them, I really wanted to try one. My decision was between this, Benefit's Watt's Up, High Beam, or NARS' Albatross. I wanted something that wouldn't be super noticeable, but that would just give the definition I was looking for. Although the reviews on all the other highlighters were wonderful, I decided to go with Sunbeam after trying it in the store.

Sunbeam gives my olive skin a beautiful bronze glow which is exactly what I was looking for. It looks stunning at night when out having drinks or at a restaurant with atmospheric lighting. During the day, the sunlight hits it in all the right spots and gives me the warmest glow — I couldn't be happier.

It's easy to apply, highlights the right parts of your face (while complimenting your blush) and overall just adds a little something extra.

What's your favorite highlighter? I'm pretty sure I'll be sticking to this one for quite a while! x