Buxom Full Bodied Lipsticks (Hooligan & Nudist) Review

When I made my beauty resolutions for the year, I vowed to cut back on my eyeshadow purchases in 2013. 

While I haven't stopped buying shadow all together, I have definitely bought less this year than usual so I'm proud of myself.

Unfortunately, I seem to have replaced my eyeshadow obsession with a lipstick obsession.

I swear, it feels like I've already bought 55 tubes and it's only April 30th. 

Okay, I haven't really bought that many but I've been a lipstick buying kick for sure. 

Shopping Bag -- All Maybelline

(Note: As I sat down to write this post, I realized that there is third Maybelline-related post I've done in a row.  It hasn't been intentional -- I promise to mix things up a little better this week!)

A few months back, I did what I called a "Shopping Bag" post to share photos and swatches of products that I didn't plan to do a full review of for whatever reason (it's limited edition and hard to get, I've already reviewed the product in another shade, etc). 

I haven't done one since but I finally have some products that fit the bill -- all of which are made by Maybelline interestingly enough.

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind The Perfector Skin-Smoothing Powder Review

I've mentioned before that it can sometimes be a challenge to find powder that works with my normal-to-dry skin.

I mean, I can usually get most powders -- with the exception of super mattifying formulas -- to look okay if I work hard enough, but I really don't want to put that much effort in to setting my makeup.

(And yeah, despite having normal-to-dry skin in the fall and winter and normal-to-combination skin in the spring and summer, my foundation doesn't seem to last if I don't set it with powder.  It's like my pores eat it or something...)

I want a powder that I can just dust over my face without thinking about it too much.

Maybelline Color Tattoo Summer 2013 Limited Edition Shades (Waves of White, Precious Pearl, Sandy Shores, Cool Crush and Seashore Frosts)

I adore the Maybelline Color Tattoo Shadows.

For me, they're just as good as M.A.C. Paint Pots, which is high praise since the Paint Pots have long been my favorite cream shadows.

These days, I actually give the edge to the Color Tattoos simply because they come in so many beautiful shades -- I think that I have almost all of the colors in the permanent range actually.

That said, I'm usually able to resist their limited edition collections. I think that there was one last fall that featured deep browns and other autumnal shades -- the colors were lovely, no doubt, but with the exception of a green shade, I had other cream shades in similiar shades so I just didn't see the need.

I was a good girl.

I was not such a good girl when I stumbled across the Summer 2013 Limited Edition Color Tattoos at Walgreen's the other day.

Laura Geller Beauty Off the Vine AD Shipment #2

Back in December when I received the Laura Geller Beauty Off the Vine TSV from QVC, I didn't expect to keep up with the auto-delivery kits.

It wasn't that I didn't like the products -- most of them were big favorites actually (and have continued to be).  But there were a couple of small issues with the one of the items and since I already have plenty of makeup, I thought it might be best to cancel the auto-delivery option.

Well, perhaps I'll cancel the final shipment but I just couldn't resist this second one. 

Sonia Kashuk Eyeshadow Quad in Fair and Square Review

Over the past year, whenever I've complimented my friend Laura on her eyeshadow, it turned out that she was wearing a Sonia Kashuk quad.

Her eyes always look so fabulously shimmery -- and if there's one thing that lures me in when it comes to shadow, it's shimmer.

I can't resist it.

So I'd been meaning to pick up one of the Sonia Kashuk Eyeshadow Quad for a while and when I was doing some Christmas shopping at the end of last year, I finally bit the bullet.

(When I said I have a backlog of products to review the other day, I wasn't kidding.)

e.l.f. Maximum Coverage Concealer

For the most part, I believe that you get what you pay for.

Of course, that might just be my way of justifying spending freely on makeup, skincare, clothing, shoes, etc. but in most cases, I really feel like it's true.  

That's why I get so excited when I find really inexpensive products that deliver the goods like their more costly counterparts -- and I am woman enough to admit when I'm wrong.

I bought the e.l.f. Maximum Coverage Concealer without any real expectations.  

As a whole, the brand is pretty hit or miss -- there are quite a few gems in the line, but there are also quite a few lemons.  I never feel bad about trying an e.l.f. product, though, because they're nice and cheap.

Tarte BB Tinted Treatment 12-Hour Primer SPF30 in Fair

It's so rare that a gimmicky product turns out to be any good.

And let's face it -- most of the so-called BB cream products on the market here in the U.S. are nothing more than gimmicks. 

They're glorified tinted moisturizers, but because there's so much hype surrounding true Asian style BB creams, American companies try to jump on the bandwagon.

Don't get me wrong -- there are a few good ones (the Smashbox Camera BB Cream is one of my favorite face products) but for the most part, I've given up even trying any of the American versions.

When I saw Tarte's entry into the BB "cream" market, though, I was kind of intrigued.

Boston

I was going to post a review today, but after hearing the news about the tragedy at the Boston Marathon, I just don't have the heart.

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected in Boston. Be safe.

Revlon Photoready Primer + Shadow Palette (Pop Art)

Trips to CVS are such a mine field for me.

I go in only needing a tube of toothpaste or a birthday card or a 12-pack of Diet Coke (or 3) and walk out with a bag full of makeup. 

I just cannot resist the siren call of the cosmetics aisle no matter how hard I try. 

That's how I wound up with the Revlon Photoready Primer + Shadow Palette in Pop Art.

It was purchased on a complete whim when I did a quick browse of the makeup section and saw that Revlon was on BOGO 1/2 off.

It wasn't the primer shadow that the palette supposedly has that caught my eye -- it was the sparkle topcoat.

I love me some sparkle.

(Some obscenely gorgeous ad with Halle Berry wearing the shadows probably helped convinced me too.)

bareMinerals Beautifully Brilliant TSV AD Shipment 2 (To the Nines)

BE Beautifully Brilliant TSV AD Shipment #2 - To the Nines

Back in late October or November, I got one of my favorite bareMinerals TSV kits that I ever ordered from QVC.

The Beautifully Brilliant Holiday Collection.

Of course, I signed up for the auto-delivery kits and my UPS guy delivered the second kit in the series, To the Nines, on Monday.

As soon as I saw that there were peachy colors in it, I knew that it would be love.

I'm easy like that. 

50% Off at The Balm Website

You all know how much I adore The Balm Cosmetics.

If their awesome products and adorable packaging wasn't enough, here's another reason I adore them -- they've just re-launched their website and they're having a 50% off sale on everything on the site for the next 24 hours to celebrate.

Yep, you read that right.

50% off everything.

Awesome, right?

They had actually planned the sale for last week but the response was so phenomenal that the site kept crashing so they rescheduled.  That's pretty cool of them too, I think.  I've been poking around the site, trying to decide if I need anything (they have a new line of blushes that's calling my name) and it seems to be working fine now, so head on over and check it out.

Happy shopping!

This or That Tag

At least one of us has time to lounge around these days ... pretty stylish coat, right? (And yeah, whenever I don't have an appropriate photo to go with a post, I just go with one of Brownie. Sue me.)

Once again, I must apologize profusely for the disappearing act. 

This week, I've been swamped with projects for work and the fact that I am the world's worst procrastinator means that it always comes down to crunch time for me.  I've been off my normal work schedule since I got back from Vegas, which only makes things worse, so I'm determine to get back to normal this week -- with work and the blog.

The wonderful Des from Simple Charm Beauty recently tagged me for the This or That tag -- Thanks, Des! -- and I thought that would be a fun post to get me back into the swing of things ... and maybe let you get to know me a little bit better. 

 

March 2013 Favorites

In a lot of ways, March felt like a really long month. 

I went to Vegas, came home sick, had a ton of work to catch up on, and took a quick weekend trip for Easter -- it just seemed to go on and on.

Not that I'm complaining, mind you. 

Besides being sick and all the work, it was a pretty great month.

And there were a few pretty great products that I definitely relied on in March.

Revlon Photo Ready Cream Blush in Pinched

Even though my skin has gotten drier over the years, I still have a problem with keeping makeup on my face all day.

It's usually foundation that winds up magically disappearing from my face, but blush is the #2 culprit.

When I really want to ensure that my cheeks look perfectly flushed all day, I'll layer a powder blush over a cream blush -- that combo seems to give few extra hours of wear that either product alone.

I've wanted to try the Revlon Photo Ready Cream Blushes for a while, but they're somewhat pricey (normally $12.99 at Ulta) so I waited until Revlon was on sale and I had a coupon for 20% off at Ulta. I have quite a few drugstore cream blushes that I really like, but I could always use one more.