The Beauty Blogazons Weekly Roundup: March 30

• Lola's Secret Beauty Blog: As a new convert to the Maybelline Color Whispers, Helen has fallen hard for their lovely colors and formula.
• Mama Fashionista: March Julep It Girl Unboxing!
• Makeup Demon: Looking for nail caring oil? Read the review of Essence Studio Nails Caring Nail Oil.
• TheFabZilla: Enter to win Too Faced Better Than False Lashes. Ends April 7, 2013. Full details on TheFabZilla.
• Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom: Destany tests out FEVERshadow from Wishful Bath & Beauty is the stunning Rue's Wildflowers!
• Beauty by Miss L: This week Miss L reviewed her favorite hair care products by Keune.
• Love At First Site!: MAC Archie's Girls Betty Bright Lipstick International Giveaway! Do you wanna win this Limited Edition MAC lipstick?
• Chickettes.com: What's the difference between UV and LED nail lamps? Find out which is best for your gel manicure needs.
• The Convenient Beauty: Improve your skin texture with Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser.
• Rachel's Makeup and Skincare: Rachel feels the Tom Ford Brow Sculptor hasn't gotten as much love as it deserves and as such has decided to give it some.
• Cosmetics Aficionado: Go bold and orange with Milani Sweet Nectar lipstick.
• Cult of Taupe: I recently rescued 3 knock out shades from Fyrinnae. Come see what I've been missing!
• Beauty Professor: Already in love with the formula, the Beauty Professor reviews her latest lipstick acquisition: By Terry Sheer Rouge.
• Midnight Manicures: Check out Jeanie's Milani COLORstatment Naturals and Browns Lipsticks and Lip Liners Review. Another win for Milani Cosmetics!
• Baking Beauty: Does Aveeno's Positively Radiant Cleanser really even skin tone and texture?
• MakeUpMom123: Don't Be Afraid of Glitter Eyeliner!
• The Passenger Element: Tiny purchase @ SiJCP ft Cover FX.

Spring Beauty Essentials Giveaway

Hey all - Just a reminder that this is still going on! Another week to go...

Quite a few of the Beauty Blogazons got together and decided to put together a giveaway! This is very exciting as I just finished my first giveaway.

Just to go over some of the more important rules:

• Giveaway open from March 21st to April 4th 12:00 am EST
• Open to US residents only
• 23 winners, 1 prize to each winner, 23 bloggers participating.
• Must be 18 or older to enter or have a legal guardians permission
• All winners are picked at random

Here is a collage of all the prizes. Can you guess which is the prize I contributed?

You can click this to enlarge it.

List of the contributors:

Lipgloss Break, LozLosa, Manicurity, InTruBeauty, Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom, Harajuku Girl FL, Lani Loves, Justina's Gems, (POREfessional) Beauty Info Zone, 10 Fickle Fingers, Polish Etc., The Fabzilla, Manicurator, Rachel's Makeup and Skincare, Sincerely Stephanie, Beyond Beauty Lounge, Lisa's Nail Obsession, Valiantly Varnished, Darling Girl Cosmetics, Midnight Manicures, Beauty and Fashion Tech, Beauty With a Twist.

And finally the widget:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everyone!

Tom Ford Cheek Color in Flush

Alright, I promise this is the last Tom Ford post for awhile. I just wanted to get all of these out of the way at once. The last of the set of Tom Ford items I found worthwhile was the blush. This blush rivals my love for Burberry blush. It is so incredibly soft and finally milled and it is incredibly pigmented. The color I purchased, Flush, is a serious orange color. It does not mess around and is perfect for the season.

Without Flash

With Flash

Tom Ford states that "symmetrical, sculpted cheekbones are vital to creating the Tom Ford look. This sumptuous powder blush delivers layers of possibility, from a sultry glow to a more dramatic, color-rich look. Formulated with spherical pearls and rich emollients, it glides onto the skin with the comfort of a cream, achieving outstanding luminosity and a velvety transparency."

This blush is an amazing texture and incredible color. I fell in love with it the instant I saw it. It was perfect. It has this shine to it that really creates luminosity on the cheeks without emphasizing pores. It is truly a remarkable blush. I love pairing this blush with the Le Metier gloss in Coral Rose to truly bring out the orange tones in both. 

Other than brushes (like all of them) and maybe other blush colors (love lust), I am most likely done with Tom Ford. Like I have said in my other posts, I was really not specifically thrilled with this line. The eyeshadows actually creased and faded within 3 hours of wear...seriously? My ulta brand eyeshadow is better than that and its an 1/8th of the price! 

This blush can be purchased from Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks, or any of these retailers online. 

Tom Ford Brow Sculptor

I figured while I was here I might as well continue on my Tom Ford reviews. The brow sculptor is another unique Tom Ford item that I don't really see other bloggers giving much love to. Why is it such a unique brow pencil you might ask?

Why it's the shape of the pencil that makes it so unique. It is a calligraphy tip and so it makes a much less harsh line when you use it properly to fill in your brows. I use the flat angle tip against my brow and push it up to create a smooth line almost like powder and a brush. The pen itself is also incredibly soft making it super easy to blend and give a natural look.

The other end of the pencil has a "grooming brush" that allows you to brush your brows after to keep them looking spiffy. Are there any other hidden goodies included in this pencil? Why yes there is! If you twist the cap counterclockwise there is a hidden pencil sharpener!

"To Tom Ford, the eyebrows are one of the most important elements of the face. A perfectly groomed and shaped brow is the most powerful noninvasive way to define and enhance your features. The unique calligraphy tip allows a tailor-made stroke, from thine to wide. Remove the opposite-end cap to uncover a grooming brush; twist the cap counterclockwise to reveal the sharpener."

And of course this comes in Tom Ford's standard brown and gold.

It's funny, I am not a huge fan of Tom Ford products as I feel that many of the products (highlighter, primer, eyeshadows, lipsticks, etc) are incredibly over hyped and expensive, but there are select products that are so unique that they do require some love.

This product can be purchased from Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Saks, Nordstrom, or any of these retailers online.

MAC Matters (March 2013): Build A Core Collection with $21 per month

Hey there. This is  new blog series that was originally started by Pammy Blogs Beauty. I decided to jump on this bandwagon and do this series with her. You can see her original post here and follow her series as well. You can check out my January purchase here.

The idea of this series is to take the $21 a month one would spend on a beauty subscription service (Pammy chose to cancel her current subscription, I am choosing to opt into this as a "new subscription") and instead use it to buy Mac products in an effort to build a core collection of Mac items.

These are the rules (borrowed with thanks from Pammy):

Goal: Build my core MAC Collection using an average of $21.00 per month.

• Purchase at least one item a month: If the item is under $20, I can save the remainder for the next month. While there are many items priced under $20, there are plenty that are over the $20 range that I can save for. 
• Do a monthly blog post to share what I got! My goal is to continue this series for 12 months to see what kind of core collection I can build! 
• To coordinate with my "Build a Core MAC Collection" purchases, I will also be posting "MAC Matters: From the Stash" reviews! These "stash" items are MAC items that I love that are already in my makeup collection. Some months, I will be "saving" my $21 to go towards a bigger MAC purchase. This is when you will likely see the "stash" posts. Or, I might include a "stash" item mini review within my "Build a Core MAC Collection" posts because if you are reading this because you want to build your own MAC collection, you might enjoy reading about what I am already using and loving! 
• If this series is popular, I will repeat the series with another brand upon completion of 12 months with MAC.

You can see Pammy's last installment (February) here.

 Check out what I got for March! 

It's the Mac Prep + Prime Highlighter! I have been wanting this for awhile and I'm not exactly sure what held me back. It is a lot like the other pen highlighters on the market right now (such as YSL Touch Eclat), but it is much cheaper and in my opinion it doesn't crease under the eyes like I think the YSL does. 

Mac says this is "a pen-style highlighter that efficiently brings a soft sheet wash of color to the skin. With its precision application, adds radiance just where you want it. Goes on smoothly for cushion-soft wear. Use over makeup for highlights, touch-ups or under makeup to brighten and prime."

This comes in three different shades: Bright Forecast, Light Boost, and Radiant Rose. I bought this in the lightest shade, bright forecast. I had a Mac makeover done in December and the makeup artist used this under my eyes and I have wanted it ever since. It looks fantastic and when set with a little powder, lasts all day without creasing. It just really adds a brightness to your eyes. I have used it every day since purchasing and I am in love with it! I think anyone who loves any of those under-eye pens will love this too, and it is so much cheaper than many of those currently on the market!

This was $24 and I had $37.50 left over from February so that leaves me with $34.50 for April.

Anyone have any cool suggestions on what to buy in March or other future months? Feel free to share in the comments.

Mac cosmetics can be bough in a Mac boutique, Mac in Macey's or on http://www.maccosmetics.com.

The Beauty Blogazons Weekly Roundup: March 23

• Emily hudspeth, hair and makeup: Fuschia & Yellow, a LOVE inspired bridal shoot.
• Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom: Destany tries on the plums and berries lipsticks from the new Milani COLORstatement line.
• Lola's Secret Beauty Blog: B. Kamins Nia-Stem Serum Kx is a high-powered anti-aging serum that fights lines, sun damage, and leaves the skin radiant and smooth! It definitely ranks among our recent great skincare discoveries!
• TheFabZilla: Fact or Fiction? TheFabZilla spills the deets on Too Faced Better Than False Lashes!
• Midnight Manicures: Are you a fan of the new textured polishes? Check out Jeanie's review of the Zoya PixieDust Nail Polish Collection.
• Beauty Fiends: Julia at Beauty Fiends is giving away 9 digital subscriptions to the Zinio library! Enter now!
• MakeUpMom123: Hot Styling Tools Wars - Instyler Wins.
• datyorkLOVES: Undecided on colors for your mani? Check out datyorkLOVES red and white manicure, its simple and a classic!
• Beauty by Miss L: Miss L used Oriflame Aqua-Rhythm Day Cream for two months and shared her opinion about it this week.
• Rachel's Makeup and Skincare: Rachel tries out Tom Ford's Shade and Illuminate. What's the verdict?
• Love At First Site!: Clinique Chubby Stick Intense Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm in Heftiest Hibiscus, A review.
• My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog: Laura from My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog shows us the hair products she has been using: Rock Your Hair!
• Cosmetics Aficionado: Estée Lauder goes retro again with another Mad Men collection.

USA March Glossybox

My gloss box came today, and I have to say I'm not as excited for these boxes as I used to be. Not to say that this box's contents didn't excite me (in my opinion it is a way better box than February and I will actually use these products), I'm just not as excited about the whole subscription box idea in general anymore. Anyway, here are the contents:

Elite Models: Liner (brown)

Koh Gen Do Cosmetics: Oriental Plants Emollient Cream

Modelco: Cheek and Lip Tint (red)

Prestiche: Essential Oil Bar Soap (Lemoncella)

Sebastian Professional: Shaper Fierce

This box also came with a Prestiche gift certificate. 

Glossybox is a monthly subscription service for $21 a month and can be purchased from glossybox.com.