Monday, December 31, 2012

NarsSkin Purifying Foam Cleanser and Multi-Action Hydrating Tonor and Nars Eyeshadow in Strada


I wasn't originally going to review the Narsskin Purifying Foaming Cleanser as I had received it as a sample with my New Wave Pallet and didn't think it was all that fantastic. However, upon my most recent trip to the Nars counter, I had been given a deluxe size sample of the Toner, which I am in love with, and now figured I would just review them both. I threw in the eyeshadow as well as I bought it at that time, and its Nars as well, and well why not!

I am absolutely in love with this toner. I usually just use a pH balanced water as my toner as I never thought it necessary to get fancy with it, but this toner completely changed my mind. It is described on the Nars website as a gentle exfolient that "instantly refreshes and tones, refining the appearance of pores for a smooth and even appearance. Skin is revitalized and brightened." Apparently all of the Narsskin products contain "Nars exclusive Light Reflecting Complex designed to restore skin's youthful radiance and reflect light like a prism." This Toner is fragrance free, paraben free, oil free, and alcohol free. Why the love for this toner? The exfolient mentioned at the beginning of the description. As stated previously many times, I have dry skin and in the winter, it flakes a bit. This toner gently removes all those little flakes from my face while moisturizing so my face looks refreshed and moisturized and my foundation applies much smoother. I'm also loving how much product is in my deluxe sized sample. I will absolutely be purchasing this when it runs out. My skin looks that good.

The Narskin Purifying Foaming Cleanser is just alright. I would liken this to the Shiseido Pureness Foaming Cleanser I reviewed here. It has foaming beads in it that very lightly exfoliate. Nars states that is is "a refreshing, foaming cleanser that lifts away makeup and impurities with botanical exfoliating spheres to gently smooth the skin's surface. Enriches with Wild Rose and Peony extracts, it soothes skin and reduces shine." This is idea for normal to oily/combination skin and seasonally oily skin. This also contains no synthetic fragrances, is paraben free, alcohol free, and oil free. I suppose the reason I wasn't so excited over this was that it is nothing really special. The only thing remarkable about it is the scent. I cannot quite place my finger on what it smells like and every time I open the bottle it drives my nuts. I will figure it out at some point, or if any of you have any ideas I would love to hear it. It cleans nicely and isn't too over drying, I just really can't say its anything special. I prefer the Shiseido version better.

With Flash

Without Flash

With Flash

I am so in love with this color it is ridiculous. I went to the Nars counter mostly to play, but had to walk away with this. It is described as an Amethyst infused with gold and it is just amazing. It was really hard to capture just what this color looks like with my camera phone (I need to get a better camera at some point) and I do not think I did this color justice. It is a gorgeous light blue-purple with lots of golden shimmer in it. I mostly use this color as a layering color as its the shimmer that I love so much about this color. However, I am wearing this color on its own right now and it looks splendid. This, like other Nars colors, is highly pigmented and lasts all day with no problem. It is smooth and buttery and a joy to use. 

All these products can be purchased wherever Nars is sold. I purchased mine at Lord and Taylor, but they are also available at Barney's, Sephora, http://www.narscosmetics.com, etc.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Barney's/Saks Haul and Nastassja Skincare line

Rachel was a bad girl yesterday...=(



I think I might have lost my head a bit. There is the new limited edition Chanel Illuminating Powder (Poudre Signee De Chanel), 2 Burberry Eyeshadows, a Burberry Lipstick, 2 Lush eyeliners (which will be reviewed in my next Lush update), Koh Gen Do foundation, Armani Eyes to Kill, Sponge Krema Triantfillo (finally!!!), and a sample of something I'm not really sure of (it was kind of thrown at me). Soooo...I had a bit of fun? I think I might have a problem. My name is Rachel and I am a beauty shopaholic.

I got home from this haul and found my glossybox prize on my doorstep. I won the Nastassja Skincare line and was surprised when I opened the box and found the entire line, I thought I would get some products and mostly samples.


It also came with a 50% off my next purchase coupon. I really don't know anything about this line, so I'm going to do a little research and try these out and review them soon!


First Guest Post



Carly from Lacquered Lover went on Vacation this week and as such asked if anyone would be interested in guest posting for her. Well, I jumped at the chance and you can see my first guest post here! The post is about the nail polishes I recently received in my Luxebox and my Glossybox this month.


The Beauty Blogazons Weekly Roundup: December 29


Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Dior 'Rouge Dior' Lip Color in 786: Mysterious Mauve


I searched for quite a few months until I finally found my perfect purple lipstick. A color that was not too cool (i.e. too blue), but yet not too pink. Many purple lipsticks that I tried looked perfect in the tube, but once applied looked more pink than purple. The Dior lipstick was the closest I found to my perfect purple. I have just recently seen online that Lancome has a new lipstick: L'absolu Nu in Prune Mantille that looks great and I will need to try out.

With Flash

Without Flash - sorry for the yellow, I took this at night

This lipstick has a wonderfully creamy texture and remained on my lips for over 8 hours and stained my lips so that even after 8 hours some color remained. There was no bleeding without a lipliner and was quite moisturizing for a lipstick. I didn't think it was drying at all. It was very comfortable on my lips. 

This item can be bought from Lord and Taylor or Nordstrom or online at either of those stores.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas


MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!


I apologize for the sparsely added posts as of late. I recently picked up a second job and have been quite busy. I hope to post a review of the Dior Rouge Lipstick in Mysterious Mauve to make-up for not posting yesterday! Happy Holidays everyone and enjoy your day off to those (such as myself) who do not celebrate! =)

Saturday, December 22, 2012

The Beauty Blogazons Weekly Roundup: December 22


Friday, December 21, 2012

Lush Part 2

I felt it was necessary to write about the new products I have played with before the list got out of control. I also wanted to do it before many of the products I tried became discontinued as many of them are only here for the holidays. One thing is certain, the more I play the more I love this stuff. Many of the things on this current list were samples I received at separate times and since I didn't want to take pictures of each individual small sample, many of these are stock photos. I have now tried the hair Henna, Dream Steam, Moon and Stars Steam, Rehab Shampoo, Let the Good Times Roll, Buche de Noel roll, Love Lettuce Fresh Face Mask, and Cosmetic Warrior Fresh Face Mask. If you missed the original Lush post and would like to check out those products you can check that post out here.

Henna in Caca Rouge:



Lush states that they "use the finest Persian henna; the leaves are dried and ground into a powder and mixed with conditioning cocoa butter, which format the basis of our Cacas. Organic lemon juice helps to bring out the redness and gives hair shine and lustre. You're left with stunning, shiny and healthy-looing hair." This stuff comes in a solid brick and is a process to melt it down. They will do this for you in store and even apply it if you ask. You can see in the image above it being melted down to a thick, gooey paste. This stuff is nasty, feels nasty, and is impossible to get our of your hair afterwards. It took 5 shampoos and a few tears to get it out, however once successful, it looks wonderful. I love the redness it gave off. Its a wonderfully orangey red that has a somewhat natural look to it. It also lasts far longer than any other hair dye I have ever used. I'm 5 weeks in and still going strong. The only negative (other than the application of course) which I didn't know before I gave this a try, was that you can't use regular hair dye on your hair after you use this. I'm not exactly sure why, I just know you can't.

Toner Tabs - Moon and Stars and Dream Steam:


These guys are steamer tabs. You throw them in a pot of steaming hot water and put your face over the steam with a towel. The Moon and Stars tab (the second one) refreshes and hydrates your skin with lavender oil, which also has antibacterial properties, so is the "perfect ingredient for a facial steam. Neroli oil helps improve the tone and texture of the skin and is known in aromatherapy to enhance feelings of serenity and well being." 

The Dream Steam (the first tab) was inspired by Lush's Dream Cream body lotion. It contains "the most calming ingredients to soothe troubled skin." This steamer is great for sensitive skin. It contains "rose absolute to calm redness, antibacterial tea tree oil to cleanse and the lavender and chamomile oil blend to make skin and minds feel at peace." Once you are finished with your steam you can throw the extra water into a spritzer bottle and store it in the refrigerator for 2 days to spray face for a pick-me-up during the day. I don't have a lot to say about these guys except that they really hydrate the skin and feel wonderful. I like using them before exfoliating and a mask to open up my pores.

Rehab Shampoo - 



This shampoo was given to me as a sample to help rid myself of the henna from my hair. This is one of their liquid shampoos (I have also tried one of their solid shampoos, but will review that in my next Lush post). This shampoo is called rehab because it is meant to help recover abused hair back to health. "Enzymic papua cleanses, while almond oil softens the follicles." This was a very light shampoo that smelled minty and really got into the nitty gritty henna that was in my hair to remove it. My hair was really quite cleansed with this product (or it might have had to do with the five shampoos necessary). Either way, I liked it and would recommend it if your hair is in need of some TLC.

Cleansing Rolls: Let the Good Times Roll and Buche de Noel


These two cleansing rolls are limited edition for the holidays. They smell like the season and I really wish they would make Let the Good Times Roll a permanent product. Cleansing rolls are Lush's solid facial cleansers. You break off a bit of the roll, add water, and mix it together in your hand until it forms a bubbly paste and then you use that to wash your face like normal. Le the Good Times Roll smells like popcorn. I want to eat it. it is made "with maize flour, polenta and a popcorn topping. We combine these ingredients to give you a very soft scrub, leaving your skin bright, clean, and smooth." I found it too harsh to use as a daily cleanser, but I love to use it as a mild exfolient twice a week. It just smells so GOOD! 

Buche De Noel is very similar to Lush's Angel's on Bare Skin. The major difference is the scent, whereas Angel's doesn't contain any scent, Buche De Noel smells like christmas. "It is names for the log-shaped French dessert. Ground almonds gently exfoliate away dead skin while kaolin clay acts as a mild, deep cleanser. Then we added almond oil and seaweed to nourish and moisturize seasonal dry patches and leave skin softer than a freshly fallen snow." I still liked Angel's better as I found it a bit more gentle and a bit more cleansing.

Fresh Face Masks: Love Lettuce and Cosmetic Warrior



Do you remember how I stated that BB Seaweed was my favorite mask in my last post? Well Love Lettuce has far surpassed BB Seaweed in my affection since then. If you don't recall from my last post, Lush's Fresh Face Masks are made with such fresh ingredients that they must be refrigerated and only have a 2 week shelf-life and as such cannot be shipped. They can only be purchased in store. Love Lettuce is an exfoliated face mask. You put it on like a mask, let it sit for a bit, and then I remove it by making circles so that you get the exfoliating action. This mask is made with a blend of "fresh seaweed to nourish and soften and 1005 pure French lavender oil to balance an oily T-zone and ease any inflammation." This is probably why I like it so much, it combines the softening and hydrating qualities I loved so much in the Seaweed mask with a bit more of a zing cleansing wise by combining the lavender and scrubby ground almonds. It is just an amazing mask. 

Cosmetic warrior is probably the nasties smelling of all Lush's masks. Every time I bring a new product home from Lush, I immediately stick my nose in it as I LOVE the scent of lush products. Please, if you buy Cosmetic Warrior, don't do that. This product is made with tea tree oil and garlic and boy does it smell like those two ingredients. This mask is a bit more aggressive than the ones I have tried before. It is made for more breakout prone skin that needs a bit more cleansing. However, Lush keeps in mind that breakout prone skin is generally a bit more sensitive and as such also includes honey and egg whites to "smooth and tighten pores." So this product really gets in and cleans pores while still being soothing for more sensitive skin. I loved how my skin looked after using this.

These products can be purchased in your local Lush store or online at http://www.lushusa.com

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

ColorOn Eye Envy Kit

ColorOn Eye Envy are those press on eyeshadows that I'm sure many of your have seen in an add somewhere (I originally saw it in an add on my facebook). When I was last in Las Vegas I saw a booth where there was a guy selling these things. I was very intrigued and bought one. I know that there are many people who are very skeptical about it, which is why I decided to share my take on this product.







As you can see my kit came with a blue and grey, purple and grey, and purple and black. The kit also comes with a setting powder and brush. I have to say I was pretty impressed with this kit. You place the eyeshadow swatch thing on your eye, press it firmly down (the more your press it on the darker the shadow) and then you blend it out on your eye to make it look like shadow and not a big blob and lastly you set it with the powder. Not only does this work, but it lasted longer without lightening or creasing than any shadow I have ever experienced. You must use makeup remover to get it off because it just doesn't come off.

While in Vegas, I also tried the one that has the liner on it. If you do decide to get these I would suggest you stay away from the ones with the funky prints and the liners because it is impossible to place it perfectly on and you can't blend out a liner or the print to make it work.

These guys are great for travel because you don't need to carry multiple shadows with you. This little kit is small and lasts a long time. You can use each of the little eye pad things up to 10 times (though if you use a lighter application I would imagine you can use them longer.

These guys can be bought in Vegas (if anyone is interested I can give an exact location as to where this guy was selling them) or online at http://www.coloronpro.com/instant-makeup-eye-envy.html

Monday, December 17, 2012

Winter USA Luxebox and December USA Glossybox

Today was a wonderful mail day for me. I spent a lovely afternoon playing at the Nars counter in Lord and Taylor and at Lush and come home happy to play with my new samples and low and behold I have my luxebox and glossybox waiting for me at my door! I'm sorry I haven't received last month's glossybox yet, but I still am waiting on that product that was missing from my box! I have to say, considering all the negative comments I had about the fall luxebox, loose button MORE than made up for it here. I am thrilled with what I received. This season the products came in a lovely silky bag with the loose button logo instead of the silky handkerchief from the fall. Well, without further ado, here are the things I received.





Eyeko Mini Skinny Brush Mascara
Essie Nail Lacquer in Leading Lady
Orlane Eye Contour
Marc Anthony Beach Spray
Donna Karen Perfume in Woman
Kerastase Cristalliste Lumiere Liquide
Marc Anthony Strictly Curls Defining Lotion
Loose Button Kabuki Brush




Ecru New York Cosmetic Hair Care
Forest Essentials Luxurious Ayurveda
Heartland Fragrance Co. Bath Salts
Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Heat Protect Spray
Pleats Please by Issry Miyake 
Zoya Nail Lacquers
Jewelmint ring

I am really excited about both of these boxes. The nail polish color from my glossybox is very similar to a Butter London color I was planning on purchasing, so I'm really pleased about that. Any of you get these boxes? Were yours the same? 

The USA loose button luxebox was a 2 season event and will not be taken forward. So it is not something you can subscribe to, but glossybox is a monthly subscription service for $21 a month and can be subscribed to at http://www.glossybox.com/


Sunday, December 16, 2012

My Holiday Beauty Wish list

This is my top ten list of things I would like for the holidays (or my birthday coming up in January) in no particular order:

1. Sponge - Krema Triantafillo



2. Tatcha - Sampler Set




Koh Gen Do - Maifanshi Moisture Foundation


4. Koh Gen Doh - Maifanshi Color Base Yellow


Koh Gen Do - Maifanshi Color Base Yellow


NARS - Mini Highlighting/Bronzing Blush Duo



Hourglass - Visionaire Eye Shadow Duo



Hourglass - Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick


8. Sephora+Pantone Universe - Precious Metals Shadow Palette

SEPHORA+PANTONE UNIVERSE - Precious Metals Shadow Palette


9. Sunday Riley - Good Genes Treatment 

Sunday Riley - Good Genes Treatment







Saturday, December 15, 2012

Up & Coming Beauty Bloggers Weekly Report


Harriet at Little Miss Student Beauty is holding her MAC Christmas Giveaway!

Lola at Lola's Secret Beauty Blog tells us what's on her Holiday Wish List!

Olivia of The Unknown Beauty Blog says "Out with the old and in with the new!" with MUFE Aqua Brow!

Rachel from Rachel's Makeup and Skincare swatches the many items from the Lorac Eye Candy Full Face Collection.

Emily at Mrs. WASP shows us the awesome green manicure that is Julep Cindy.

Lindsay at The Beauty Think Tank has a special challenge for you all, The Official Run a Mile with Lindsay Day 2012!

Submissions for The Up & Coming Beauty Bloggers Weekly Report is going on hiatus until after the Holidays!  So stay tuned in the future for more great posts, from great bloggers!

The Beauty Blogazons Weekly Roundup: December 15


Thursday, December 13, 2012

Lorac: Eye Candy Full Face Collection

Please note this post is going to be VERY picture heavy. Enjoy! =)



For Hanukkah this year my parents bought me this wonderful little kit. It contains 4 different eyeshadow quads, an eyeliner quad, and a lipstick/cheek stain quad. Not only does it contain quite a bit of wonderful products, but it also comes in this cute little chocolate box. Each of the quads are meant to look like chocolate bars and they are even named after chocolates. How cute? This collection is described as "a deluxe assortment of sweet, tempting treats that contains a luxurious selection of fresh colors for eyes, cheeks, and lips that you simply can't resist. The eye shadow palettes, cream eye liner palette, and cheek and lip tint palette are all infused with ultra rich color and velvety smooth texture for a variety of eye-enticing looks."I have to say I am absolutely thrilled with this collection. The eyeshadows are all like butter; they apply silky smooth, blend amazingly, and last all day (when I wear primer, they do rub away pretty quickly without primer due to their ultra blend ability). The eye liner pallet colors apply smoothly, I would almost compare it to Bobbi Brown's gel liner, are very pigmented, and last all day. The only palette that I wasn't thrilled about was the lip and cheek palette. It is very dry and chalky on the lips and isn't really blendable enough that I want to use it for my cheeks. I found that it is only really useable if mixed in with a clear lipgloss to make a sheer wash of color.

Blackberry Truffle SeductionL Smokey Eye Shadow Palette


Left Image with Flash, Right with Sunlight

Caramel Love Affair: Golden Eye Shadow Palette


Left Image with Flash, Right with Sunlight

Tantalizing Cocoa: Bronze Eye Shadow Palette


Left Image with Flash, Right with Sunlight

Ooh La La Vanilla: Nude Eye Shadow Palette


Left Image with Flash, Right with Sunlight
Mesmerizing Dark Chocolate: Cream Eye Liner Palette


Left Image with Flash, Right with Sunlight

Indulge In Berry Kisses: Cheek and Lip Tint


Left Image with Flash, Right with Sunlight

Ultimately, many of the colors are similar, but I have found with use that they are all ever so slightly different and as such have different uses. I really do like and recommend this palette even with the cruddy lip/cheek tint colors. I think it is a great buy at $59 for beginners with relatively no makeup to those with tons and tons of it. I also think it makes a great holiday gift for those still looking. 

This collection is a Sephora exclusive and as such an be purchased in a Sephora store or it can be purchased online at http://www.sephora.com.