November 2015 Favorites

This is a long overdue post, about favorites that is.....But I haven't really fallen head over heels in a while.  Until this past month!  I have fallen in love with entirely too many things! Shhh, don't tell my husband (muah!).

First up is this NARS Steven Klein One Shocking Moment Cheek Palette.  This palette comes with 4 blushes, a highlight/contour duo and a bronzer.  Gorgeous packaging, long lasting color and beautiful shades anyone can wear.  Perfect staple for everyday use!!

Paloma contour duo, Laguna bronzer top row, Robotic, Blasphemy, Luster and Dolce Vita blushes bottom row

Courtesy of bubblymichelle.com

Laguna bronzer and Blasphemy blush

Next up is Chanel Perfection Lumiere foundation.

My favorite blogger, Stephanie Lange, raves about Chanel foundation so I had to try it myself.  I love it.  It has beige undertones and since I am more neutral, those shades work more with my skin tone. This goes on very light and I find is best applied with a beauty blender to achieve light coverage and a second coat for medium to full coverage.  It does have a very perfumey smell but it did not irritate my skin or make me break out.  It has a hefty price tag but a little goes a long way!!

My next favorite this month is Estee Lauder Double Wear concealer.  To be honest, I can't believe it took me this long to try it.  I fell in love with Double Wear foundation last year and since I am always on the hunt for a heavy duty concealer for my dark under eye circles, this should have been a natural selection for me.  It goes on light but dries to full coverage.  It is offered in a range of shades and I chose light.  It does not crease on me and stays on all day until my makeup remover takes it off!

Next, I tried Benefit Gimme Brow in a Sephora sample pack.  Since my brows are so thin to begin with, I was always nervous to try this product.  Since I have gotten bangs this winter, I have been letting my brows grow (thank god for bangs!!) and this is literally the perfect product to brush my brows in to place and add some color and volume.  It is described as a brow volumizing fiber gel and it does just that and looks so natural!!

Another sample I got from Sephora is the Tarte Lights Camera Lashes mascara.  My short stubby lashes always need a lift (hee hee) and this does the trick!!  It adds nice length and blackens them perfectly with 2 coats.

And my last favorite from this month are my ear jackets from Asos  These are another rec from Stephanie Lange.  They are gorgeous.  I have gotten so many compliments on them and even bought my mother a pair!  Sadly, they are currently sold out since I started this post but hopefully they will stock again soon!

And there ya have it!  My November 2015 favorites.  There have been so many holiday releases as of late and I just recently won an amazing giveaway on Instagram so I will be doing a haul post along with some more reviews soon!  Hopefully I can provide some great gift ideas for you!

And it is also that time of year when the DIY crafts and gifts start so let me know if you have any special requests!!

If you have any favorites from this month or love any of my favorites, let us know in the comments below!!

Have a great day!! xo

April 2015 Choix Unboxing And Review

Last month was my second month of the Choix subscription.  It is $20 a month and you get to select the 5 items you sample, all high end brands that I myself, have limited access to.  Tom Ford, Kevin Aucoin,Chanel,YSL,etc.....

the goodies

You also get a $10 coupon code to use towards a full size product out of the items that you sampled for the month.

Let's talk about what I selected this month.

• Nars Dual Intensity Eye Shadow in Phoebe-what's neat about Choix is they send you the sample already pressed in a little pan for you.  You can get a little palette from them to hold all your shadows in so you can take them with you or keep them all in one spot.  I actually really liked this color and it lasted forever on my lids.
• Smashbox Primer Water-I have been wanting to try this for a while but didn't love it as much as I hoped I would.  It was very refreshing but to me not worth the price tag. I also found it did nothing for my pores prior to foundation application and found it better suited for a finishing spray.
• Bobbi Brown Foundation in Cool Beige-I liked this so much that this is what I used my $10 off code on and am waiting for the full size product so I will do a full review then!  It truly is "your skin but better" foundation.  I find application best with Real Techniques Expert Face Brush!
• Chanel Illuminating Base Primer-this primer was a little too shimmery and sticky for me.  Ya know how Smashbox's original primer feels?  This is the exact opposite and again too hefty of a price tag. If you don't have crater sized pores then this would be better for you than me!
• Lastly, Bobbi Brown Under Eye Corrector in Light Bisque-I love this stuff and have written a post on it before.  In fact, I merely ordered it too be able to use the $10 off coupon on it but I fell in love with the foundation instead!! This is a miracle product that you use under your concealer to counteract the discoloration. 

Click HERE if you would like to try this monthly sub!! As you know, I LOVE surprises but since this box lets me access such amazing stuff I really was glad I tried it!!  I mean sure, you can have them pick your products for you if you want though :)

So overall this was the best box I have received from them so far but I can't blame it on Choix since I made all of my own selections.  Being the foundation and concealer junkie I am, those were where I ran into problems since color selection was hard.  They don't offer all the choices for each brand so I found myself going back and forth reading shade descriptions on Sephora's website.

What do you think?  Have you tried Choix before? Do you think you will?

Let me know in the comments below!! xo

December 2014 Product Favs

Don't even get me started on how I can't believe the holidays are over and 2015 is almost here. I mean, we are in the FUTURE people!!  At least in high school, I thought this day was so far away.

Usually I show ya'll my favorite products from my monthly beauty boxes, for the most part.  Well this month I want to share gifts and purchases over the last month.  Now, these are all what the beauty world considers high end and not drugstore but I am showing you these products because they are worth it.  These are quality products that have fabulous payoffs.

First up is Urban Decay's Vice 3.  This has been around awhile but it is brand spanking new to me and I am in love.

Look at these colors.

courtesy of chloeash.com

I will be doing a post with different looks from this palette and I also have my eyes on Vice 2 for next month.  The pigments on these shadows are incredible and since I am a shimmer girl, there are only a few matte transition colors in here so it is perfect.

Keeping with Urban Decay, their eye shadow primer potion is by far the strongest eye primer I have found to date.  It keeps my shadow on all day without creasing.  In fact, if I make a mistake while getting ready for work, it is a pain in the butt to fix :) I actually have received samples of all four of their formulas to try so I look forward to that!

Next up is the NARSissist cheek palette.  This is actually no longer on the market so I am glad I snagged it when I did.  The colors all work so well together on my winter skin but they are too light for when I have a tan unless I use a very heavy hand.

This is all I need to contour and highlight my face.  The highlighter (devotee) is a perfect shade for all skin tones.  The blush (orgasm) is a cult favorite.  It is a peachy shade and I love corals more than reds or pinks.  And the bronzer (laguna) is not a dirty brown but similar to Too Faced's chocolate soleil bronzer (which was also one of my favorites a few months back).

courtesy of makeupandbeautyblog.com

Next is the Real Techniques buffing brush from the Core Collection Set.

Now I love this entire set of brushes, I actually use the domed one for my NARS bronzer, but the stipple one makes my Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation go on with an airbrushed finish and they are so easy to clean and I have never had a problem with shedding. They are actually on sale at Target right now so grab them while you can!

And last but not least is Kat Von D's foiled love lipstick in F.T.W.

This color is so pretty and my only complaint is the smell.  It is kind of chemical like.  It is no longer available at Sephora (insert sad face here) but the link I included will take you to Amazon.

And there ya have it!  My December 2014 product favs.

Do you use any of these? Are you just as in love as I am?  What were your product favs this month?

Let me know in the comments below!!

Have a great day!! xo