Heaven in a Jar?

Light blue sky, fluffy white clouds, pure bliss; these are the makings of heaven, right? Well, it's no coincidence that this small blue jar from Clinique holds my own personal Utopia. I was never one for night creams. My daily lotion worked just fine for me, and my oily skin certainly didn't need any extra moisture. But as the months grew cold and the air became dry, I noticed some flaky patches around my eyes and mouth. Cue this little bit of heaven! Clinique Turnaround Overnight Radiance Moisturizer (whew, that's a mouthful) is rich, creamy, and dreamy!

I purchased this cream from Nordstrom for $46.50 USD, which I consider to be a reasonable price for a night cream. When I asked the salesgirl if this product was oil-free, she responded, "nothing is oil-free." Huh? A quick glance at the packaging informed me that this product is indeed oil-free (a necessity for my rather oily skin), and made me raise an eyebrow at the less-than-informed employee. But enough negativity! I've been using this cream for almost three weeks, and the difference is more than noticeable. My skin looks brighter, smoother, and the pre-wrinkles (is that a real term? If not, TM that son of a gun!) on my forehead are much softer. Clinique products have always worked wonders for me, and this little gem is no exception. The box states that this is for "very dry to combination oily" skin, and I truly believe it will suit all skin types. If you're looking for a night cream for the winter months, or need a little more moisture year round, I'd give this a try.

The texture is to die for!

Have you changed your skincare routine to accommodate the winter weather? Have you tried this this heavenly cream? If not, what's your favorite night cream? Leave comments below! Xx

Maybelline Baby Lips

I am such a sucker for advertising and packaging, it's sick really. I see something in a magazine and I think, "Wow! I need that," even when I don't need it at all. I kept hearing about Maybelline Baby Lips balm and reading about it in magazines, so of course my natural instinct is that I need it, I must have it, I can't live without it. This is one of those times where I was pleasantly surprised.

I have tried every lip balm under the sun, and usually they work just fine, but this winter, my lips have been chapped and flaky and allover gross. I've been using some Nivea balm that really just doesn't thrill me. My lipstick has been looking ridiculous because my lips were in such poor condition. I picked up Maybelline Baby Lips at Target for less than three dollars, and instantly my lips felt better. It claims to take four weeks for full lip recovery, but I can feel a difference in only one night. If you're like me and suffer horrible dry lips, I fully recommend this balm.

Oh, and Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a fabulous evening last night, and I hope you all have an even better 2012 filled with love, happiness, and health. Lots of fun stuff coming up in the New Year, I'm very excited about it all! Have a great day. Xx

TIGI Cosmetics, Part 3 - Lip Color

On to the third installation of swatching all of the TIGI Cosmetics I can get my hands on. Today, I present lip colors. First, let's take a looksie at some Decadent Lipsticks! These lipsticks are described as having a "long lasting formula" with "no shine." TIGI also recommends using this color as a "lip stain, blusher, or even eyeshadow base" which kind of skeeves me out. I don't think I'd ever use a lipstick as an eyeshadow base. These lipsticks are super creamy and pigmented, and don't seem to rub off. Bliss, Faith, and Finesse are all amazing. Beauty is the strangest shade; it reminds me of a sheer version of Chanel's Paradoxal nail polish, if that makes sense. The only issue with the lipsticks, and one that might bother you if you're sensitive to this sort of thing, is the smell. They have a very strong lipsticky/waxy smell that you'd probably relate to kids' play makeup. The top photo is kind of horrible, as it doesn't show the iridescent shimmer in some of the shades. Click here to see an alternate photo which showcases this a bit more.

Top photo, from left to right: Decadent Lipstick in Gossip, Splendor, Bliss, Fierce, Honesty, Peace, and Happiness. Bottom photo, from left to right: Beauty, Faith, Loyalty, Power, Passion, Finesse, and Luxury.

Below, Lip Cremes, which contain antioxidants and emollients to keep lips moisturized. These come with a felt tip, twist-up applicator. These lip colors are very creamy, and most shades have some type of shimmer, with the exception of Miami and Manhattan. The formula is sticky and thick, but it doesn't feel uncomfortable. I think these are very pretty.

From left to right: Lip Creme in Maui, Monaco, Malibu, Madrid, Miami, and Manhattan.

And last but not least, Luxe Lipgloss. These glosses are super shiny and moisturizing. The glosses either have a peppermint or vanilla (smells more like chocolate, though) fragrance. Dumb Blonde is a clear gloss, and Superficial and Diamonds & Pearls both apply clear with gold and silver glitter, respectively. Goddess is the only shade that contains no frost or shimmer.

From left to right: Luxe Lipgloss in Superstar, Superficial, Your Highness, Goddess, Foxy, Dumb Blonde, and Diamonds & Pearls.

All of the TIGI lip products are impressive. They pack a lot of color and shine, and they all stay on well. As I said before, the only problem is the smell of the lipsticks, but if that is something you can ignore, go for it! If you've previously tried any of these products, leave comments below and let me know what you think! Phew, I just realized this was a wordy post. 

Oh, and happy Monday everyone! I hope this week goes by fast so we can get to all of the Thanksgiving festivities, hehe! Remember to vote in my poll below, please and thank you! Look for more posts this week on my latest beauty purchases, including foundations, lipstick and more. Talk to you soon! Xx

TIGI Cosmetics, Part 2 - Liners & Cream Shadows

So here it is, the first of a huuuge batch of TIGI Cosmetics swatches. I'll present all of the products a few at a time. Next week, I'll work on lip and shadow products. For today, we'll start with Pencil Liners.

Click to enlarge either photo!

From left to right: Eye Pencils in Black, Brown, Royalty, Blue, Peacock, Green, and Lip Pencils in Nude, Decaf, Espresso, Kiss, Couture.

And below, Long Wearing Creme Eyeshadows, followed by Black Patent Liquid Liner and the Precision Black Eyeliner Pen.

From left to right: Long Wearing Creme Eyeshadows in Bubbly, Brown Sugar, Purple, Playful, Imperial Grey, Black Patent Liquid Liner, and the Precision Black Eyeliner Pen.

The first thing I can say about all of these products is the longevity of wear. When I first played with the liners and cream shadows on Wednesday, they stayed on even after washing my hands several times. Today, it took some pretty heavy scrubbing to get all of the swatches off. 

I like the color selection of the eye pencils, especially Royalty, which is a pretty royal bluish purple with a touch of shimmer. Peacock seems a little electric for me, and Black isn't as intense as I'd probably like. The lip pencils are a nice texture, but I think the color selection could be a little more exciting. All of the lip pencils lean a little brown. The pencils are all very creamy and blendable, and they come with a little smudge tip on the other end. 

Cream shadows are not my favorite, so these aren't really an exception. As you can see from the swatches, it's hard to get the perfect amount on the applicator (which is a sponge tip). There is a nice variation of colors, though (I think the Imperial Grey shade is my favorite, followed by Bubbly). The Black Patent Liquid Liner is nice and shiny and black! It doesn't bleed, unlike the Precision Black Eyeliner Pen, which doesn't carry as much pigment as a black liquid liner should.

All in all, I really like the eye and lip pencils. The cream shadows are nice, but not anything to get too excited about. I'm partial to my MAC Fluidline eye liner, so I don't see myself switching to these liquid liners anytime soon. Let me know what you think of these products in the comments below, and let me know what you want to see next! Xx

TIGI Cosmetics, Part 1 (of a million, I'm sure)

Imagine the ecstasy that came over me today when I walked into the salon and my manager pointed out what seemed to be a beauty mirage. But no! It was real! I could reach out and touch it! The beautiful white plastic display sparkled like a priceless diamond. It was...


TIGI Cosmetics. Oh lordy, did I let out a scream! I was giddy like a six year-old on Christmas morning. I think I may have shed a single tear. Not really, but it felt like it was coming. And here it is!


Shadows and glosses and brushes galore. I've decided to swatch and review all of the products here over the next week or so, and present them here in separate posts. Let me know in the comments below if that's something you'd like to see, or if there is any product in particular you're curious about. I can't wait to get my hands on it all!

Luxor The "Wet" Brush

My hair is not particularly tangly. On a bad day, I've got to tug a brush through my hair extra hard, but usually it just glides right through. I'm lucky that way, I guess.

My sister Melissa, on the other hand, has hair that gives me nightmares. I swear, she spends a half hour combing her hair out after she washes it. It looks painful. I've read about "The Tangle Teezer" a million times, and it looked like a beacon of hope in a sea of knots and tangles. I am just too lazy to order one, however, and decided to purchase The "Wet" Brush by Luxor instead. We carried them in my salon for a short period of time (I mean short...I'm talking a week or so), and I'll be honest: the packaging was hideous. It looked like it stepped straight out of the 90s. I took a chance though, and I'm so glad I did.

After washing my hair last night, I could tell it would be knotty upon brushing. Imagine my delight when this brush glided through the tangles like a hot knife through butter. It was magical. It felt great on my scalp, through my ends, everywhere. I knew this brush got my seal of approval when Melissa loved it too. Her testimonal: "It rips through tangles but didn't make my damaged ends break off." I probably wouldn't use the word "rip," but hey. It combats tangles like Dwight D. Eisenhower! (Stupid joke, I'm aware.) The best part is, it's cheap as heck. You can buy it here for less than $7 USD. I recommend this brush even if your hair isn't a knotted mess. It's a great brush, and it's gentle on the hair. My one caveat? It isn't the most effective brush on dry hair. When hair is wet, I give it two thumbs up.

Have you tried The "Wet" Brush yet? Do you swear by another brush or comb? Leave comments below and tell me what you think! Xx

Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Intense Eyeshadow

Hi dolls! I know you're probably starting to hate me for lack of updates, but I promise, many many new posts coming soon.

So I recently got my hands on Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Intense Eyeshadow, which isn't necessarily a new product, but something I have been obsessing over since I first heard of it! These shadows are extremely pigment-packed, smooth, and stay on for ages. It's definitely the most luxe eyeshadow I've ever tried. The color payoff is amazing, and while the range of colors isn't anything groundbreaking, each shade is absolutely beautiful. Here are my four favorites:

Left to right: (4) Pulp Fiction, (2) Lust Red, (7) Sweet Fire, (5) Gold Blitz

As a longtime lover of gold eyeshadows, (5) Gold Blitz is exactly what I'm always looking for. It's a deep, rich, almost bronzy-gold shade that looks beautiful on it's own or with darker shadows.

Here's what this shadow looks like in its pot. Pretty marbleized colors coming together to create one fabulous shade. While the container seems small, it holds a good amount of product. With such strong color payoff using a teensy amount of product, I can see this lasting a while. Eyes To Kill shadows are definitely a luxurious product, and one will set you back $32 USD. I think it's a worthwhile splurge, and I can't wait to get my hands on a few more.

Have you tried Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Intense Eyeshadows? What are your thoughts? Would you spend 32 dollars for one shadow? Leave comments! Xx

Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray

Working at a hair salon has resulted in my addiction to hair products.  I am always buying new products as soon as we get them, even if I don't necessarily need it (hello, my annoyingly soft hair does not need MoroccanOil, but does that stop me from getting it? NO).  Even though I bought dry shampoo, I never really jumped on the bandwagon; I didn't see enough of a difference to continue buying it (I used TIGI's Rockaholic Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo).  I couldn't resist, though, when one of the lovely ladies I work with started using Oribe products.  I had to try something from the line, and luckily, my introduction was the Dry Texturizing Spray.

 I'm not really sure if it's technically a "dry shampoo"; Oribe's website describes it as an "invisible dry spray [that] builds in incredible volume and sexy texture."  Let me tell you! Whether I use it in clean or dirty hair, I definitely see a difference.  When I spray it into my clean hair, I get loads of volume and my style stays in place.  Using it in dirty hair allows me to gather my hair in pretty buns and ponytails or restyle it loose and down.  The smell is really nice but sometimes comes off a little strong.  And the packaging is absolutely beautiful!

If you're looking for a dry shampoo but are turned off by the idea of white, powdery sprays, I would recommend Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray.  This product doesn't come cheap: one can (8.5 oz) will set you back 39 dollars.  But hey, for some of us, you can't put a price on good hair!!

Ole Henriksen Firm Action Mask: My Review

Skincare has kind of been my obsession lately.  I think that clear, beautiful skin is the most important aspect of great makeup; it's your canvas, so treat it with care.  My latest acquisition was the Firm Action Mask by Ole Henriksen.  My sister Adrienne uses products by Ole Henriksen and she seems to really enjoy them, so I was excited to try this mask.  I feel bad saying it, but I was kind of underwhelmed.


The first thing I noticed was the smell, which is supposed to be "aromatic", but I found it kind of cloying and strong; too much scent to be sitting on my face, right under my nostrils.  The texture is similar to your typical clay mask, but dries slower and to a much harder finish.  I'm talking feels-like-you-have-a-stone-mask-on finish.  The label instructs you to keep the mask on for 30 minutes, which kind of seemed like a long time to me.  Maybe I'm just used to face masks staying on for 15 minutes before I'm good to go.

 Don't get me wrong, once I rinsed the mask off, my skin felt smooth, but I just felt super dry and tight!  My skin is pretty oily, but I think this overcompensated and just sucked any moisture I had out of my face.  Knock on wood, since I began the Pond's Experiment, I feel like my skin was looking great! (I'll post my final evaluation of Pond's next week)  But yesterday, I noticed some pretty obnoxious blemishes creeping up on my forehead and chin.  Product of this face mask?  I'm not sure, but I wasn't impressed enough to give it another chance.  The price of the Ole Henriksen mask isn't bad ($27 USD), so if you feel like you could use some drying action, give it a try.  Otherwise, I'd say skip it.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Be safe! xox