Review -- LORAC Lips with Benefits Lip Gloss in Chuck

I've had my eye on the LORAC Lips with Benefits Lip Gloss in Chuck since the line first came out.

I held back from buying it because it is a pretty expensive gloss, I have plenty of other glosses in my collection, and I thought the product might be a little gimmicky.

I mean, the whole swirl of three color stripes definitely look cool in the tub, but in the end, they're all just going to blend together into a single shade like any other gloss, right?

Still, every time I saw Chuck mentioned in a blog post or a YouTube video, every fiber of my being told me that I had to have it.

It just looked like the perfect nude gloss -- and nice and opaque to boot.

Eventually, I gave in -- though I would like to point out that I waited until Beauty.com was having a 20 percent off sale to buy it so I didn't have to pay full price. That counts for something, right?

Review -- Too Faced Spring Collection La Creme Lipsticks in Taffy and Pink Chocolate (Along w/ Permanent Line Shades)

Sometimes, I try to determine what type of makeup products are my ultimate weakness.

If you've been reading the blog recently, you might think eye shadow palettes -- that's a definite possibility.

I'm always crazy for foundations, concealers, powders, BB creams, tinted moisturizers and any face product that claims it can make my skin look flawless.

But then I do get kind of crazy around blushes and highlighters too.

Lately, though, I have been totally bonkers about lip products.

I feel like I've purchased a ton of lipsticks and glosses lately, and there are still a ton more than I've got my eye on.

That's why when I saw the new Too Faced La Creme Lipsticks from their spring collection, I couldn't resist.

Review -- Too Faced Chocolate Bar Eye Shadow Collection

How many eye shadow palettes does one girl need?

If I'm any indication, apparently every.single.one. in the damn world.

But while I'm terrible weak when it comes to pretty palettes, Too Faced didn't exactly play fair with their latest offering, the Chocolate Bar Eye Shadow Collection.

Not only does the adorable packaging resemble a candy bar, the shadows themselves smell like chocolate, just like Too Faced's Chocolate Soleil line of bronzers.

Review -- IT Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Vol. 1 Matte Luxe Transforming Eyeshadow Palette

Recently, I did a post about an IT Cosmetics TSV that was available on QVC.

I mentioned that in the past year or so, I've tried quite of a few products from the brand and have come away super impressed.

I'm kind of backed up in terms of reviews, though, so I haven't posted much about IT Cosmetics -- that's going to change in the next couple of months because I'm such a fan of the items I've tried that I'm bumping them up to the top of my review list.

And that starts with one of my more recent purchases -- the IT Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Vol. 1 Matte Luxe Transforming Eyeshadow Palette.

On first glance, it's just your standard matte shadow palette, but IT Cosmetics tries to make theirs a little more versatile by including what they call a Transforming Pearl Shade that can be layered over the matte shadows to give them a pearl or satin finish.

Review -- bareMinerals True Romantic Trend Collection Ready Eyeshadow 4.0 in The True Romantic and Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Feel The Love

It's that time of year when all the makeup brands seem to be coming out with their spring collections.

I don't know about you, but I always find it a little overwhelming, considering the fact that we've just made it through the holiday season and all the craziness that entails. Depending on the day -- we've gone from 10 degrees one day to nearly 50 degrees the next -- it still feels like winter here in the NY-metro area too, so it seems even crazier to be thinking about spring makeup.

That hasn't stopped me from picking up a few things from spring collections, though -- I'm a makeup fiend; would you expect anything less?

My first purchases were from the bareMinerals True Romantic Trend Collection.

The collection contains an eyeshadow quad, a lipstick, a lipgloss, and a loose blush.

They all look lovely, but I held myself back from purchasing all of it.

Instead, I settled on the Ready Eyeshadow 4.0 in The True Romantic and the Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Feel The Love.

Review -- Em Cosmetics Holiday Life: New Year's Countdown Edition Life Palette & Winter Life: Ice Bunny Edition Life Palette

I've been curious about Em Cosmetics since the line launched a few months back.

I didn't make a purchase right away, though, because I was kind of taken aback by the $75 price tag on the Life Palettes that were some of the first products introduced.

I like the concept of those large palettes, and you get quite a bit of product, but I wasn't willing to shell out that kind of money on a brand that I was entirely sure of the quality of.

When the website recently had a buy one-get one sale, I decided it was as good a time as any to finally give Em Cosmetics a try.

So I picked up the Holiday Life: New Year's Countdown Edition Life Palette and the Winter Life: Ice Bunny Edition Life Palette, both of which are limited edition. They are both currently still available and retail for $29 each.

Review -- Clinique All About Shadow 8-Pan Palette in Neutral Territory 2

Neutral/nude/natural eye shadow palettes have been all the rage in the makeup world for the past few years, and I've tried most of them.

The Clinique All About Shadow 8-Pan Palette in Neutral Territory 2 may be the best one that I've tried this year.

It doesn't offer as many shade options as the Urban Decay Naked Palettes or my beloved Nude'Tude Palette from The Balm, but the colors that it does have are all lovely, wearable, and easy to work with.

It's kind of a no-brainer palette, now that I think about it.

By that, I mean that you can put together a look with having to think too hard about it -- I don't know about you, but when I'm in rush, I usually don't have time to think too much about my makeup, which is why this palette was definite favorite for me during the busy holiday season.

Deal Alert -- bareMinerals Degrees of Dazzling & Too Faced All I Want For Christmas

I got a couple of really fun items as Christmas gifts, and when I was checking to see if they were still available, I saw that they're both marked down now that the holidays have passed.

Instead of spending a while testing them out for a review, I thought I would do a quick overview while you can still get both in case anyone is interested in picking them up at a discount.

You know, a little post-holiday gift for yourself.

Considering how crazy the holidays always are, I think we all deserve to treat ourselves.

Product Alert -- Upcoming Tarte Shades of Clay Amazonian Colored Clay 7-Piece TSV on QVC

Hope everyone is having a fabulous New Year! I've started 2014 with a cold, which is kind of a bummer, but I'm still determined to get back on a reliable blogging schedule. It's one of my resolutions for the year, so don't hesitate to keep me honest.
 
If you asked me to list my favorite makeup brands, Tarte would easily come in somewhere in the top 3.

That's why it's always pretty much a done deal that I'm going to order a Tarte Today's Special Value (TSV) from QVC when they appear.

When the TSV contains a slew of new products, then I'm a total goner.

The Tarte Shades of Clay Amazonian Colored Clay 7-Piece TSV that will air on QVC on February 4th is chock full of new goodies and some old favorites, so I had to give it a try.

The kit contains:

• Tarte Colored Clay CC Primer
• Tarte Amazonian Colored Clay Liquid Foundation
• Tarte Amazonian Colored Clay Bronzer Blush in Pink Bronze
• Tarte Amazonian Colored Clay Eyeliner in Black
• Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara
• Tarte LipSurgence Lip Gloss in True Love
• Tarte Bamboo Foundation Brush

You also get a nice big, hot pink makeup bag to hold all your items.